Saturday Themeless by Brian Callahan & Katie Hale
Across
1. Wheels that are longer than cars: LIMO.
5. Chicago pub: TRIB - Uh, they got this headline wrong
9. Lighthouse spots: CAPES.
14. Like some Blue Apron kits: OVEN READY.
16. Kaaba honoree: ALLAH - Islam's holiest site
17. Attempt to reach a distant star: FAN LETTER 😀
18. "Westworld" role for Thandiwe Newton: MAEVE.
19. Spectrum hue: INDIGO - Neil deGrasse Tyson says there is no color INDIGO in the spectrum. He thinks Newton inserted it because he thought there needed to be seven colors.
20. Group that produces the podcast "The Perfect Scam": AARP - Wanna listen to a few of their podcasts?
22. Marked, as on a treasure map: XED.
23. Older millennials, once: NINETIES KIDS - This baby boomer subs for a lot of peeps from this generation.
26. Spa garb: ROBES.
29. Looking (into): DELVING - Did they DELVE far enough?
30. Draft choice: IPA - The crossword tavern always has this on tap
31. PFCs, e.g.: GIS.
32. Wraps: STOLES - The height of fashion when I was growing up
35. Dish with crushed Oreos: DIRT PIE - Replete with gummy worms
38. Item best not pocketed: CUE BALL - He makes the 8-ball to win but he also makes the CUE BALL which means he loses. Oops!
39. Got from point A to point B?: SEGUED 😀 - Speaking of pool, how 'bout that BRACKET POOL we had yesterday?
40. Deplete: SAP.
41. Streetlight Manifesto genre: SKA.
42. Lunar program named for Apollo's twin sister: ARTEMIS.
 |
| NASA's return to the Moon by 2025 |
46. Spangly camis, e.g.: GOING OUT TOPS - I learned this is an real phrase. Here's a spangly CAMIsole
49. Barista's pot: URN.
50. Pangolin diet: ANTS I had never heard of them
57. Day time: AFTERNOON.
59. Serengeti lumberer: RHINO - Uh, they can lumber at 35 mph.
60. "Oh, come on": NOW REALLY? 😀
61. Bank visitor: DONOR - Parachute Plasma is building a new facility just north of us and will be soliciting DONORS
62. Fox tail?: TROT 😀
63. Slugger Sammy: SOSA - Sammy's home run race with Mark McGuire was the biggest story of 1998. Of course in ended in a steroid scandal.
Down:
1. __ hip hop: genre also called "chillhop": LOFI - What is it?
2. Tennis great Lendl: IVAN.
3. Darn: MEND 😀
4. Connected with a server: ONLINE.
5. Rocky range: TETON.
6. Chuck E. Cheese, e.g., until 1993: RAT.
7. Forms a mental picture: IDEATES - I've never seen this word and its four vowels any where but here.
8. How many travel in Europe: BY RAIL - Some at 180 mph
9. Bivouac: CAMPSITE - a temporary camp without tents or cover, used especially by soldiers or mountaineers. Merriam-Webster offers the three-syllable pronunciation first but also accepts the two-syllable variation.
10. Following: ALA.
11. Material that clearly divides people?: PLEXIGLASS 😀
12. Hanging out, in a way: EAVED 😀
13. Loses: SHEDS - A New Years resolution for some
15. Hair salon giant that owns Supercuts: REGIS.
21. Gets ready to go, perhaps: REVS UP.
24. Name that sounds like consecutive letters: EDIE 😀 and 27. Name that sounds like consecutive letters: OPIE 😀
25. Handle: KNOB - Remember when TV's had them?
26. Clears (of): RIDS - The Pied Piper did RID the people of Hamlin of their rats but...
28. Saving space: BARGAIN BIN 😀
31. Amateur sleuth Fell of John Dickson Carr mysteries: GIDEON - If you look closely you can read "A Dr. GIDEON Fell Mystery"
33. Edmonton CFL team: ELKS.
34. Knock 'em dead: SLAY.
36. Move: TURN - It was Casey's TURN at bat, but alas...
37. Housemate who's liable to snap: PET GATOR 😳
38. Throw: CAST.
40. Indulges, as a portraitist: SITS FOR.
43. Storm, for one: MUTANT - Out of the Marvel stable of comics
44. Gothic architecture feature: SPIRE.
45. Sun Salutation sequence: ASANAS - ASANAS are yoga positions
46. Position that requires passing judgment?: GUARD 😀 - He is passing judgement as to whether the car should be allowed to pass onto the base.
47. Right introduction?: ORTHO - Greek prefix meaning “straight”, “upright”, “right” or “correct”.
48. Not subtle: OVERT.
52. Accessory with a slide clip: BOLO.
53. Reacts to a meme, maybe: LOLS
54. "Dark Sky Island" singer: ENYA.
56. "That's __ from me": A NO
58. Wee hour: TWO - Are they still making 2 a.m.?
49 comments:
I don’t really know
how I did it, but somehow, through P & P, I managed to solve this very challenging puzzle without turning on the red letters, googling anything, or any other “extra” assistance. One of my last entries was “ortho” for “right introduction?” and, once I got that, the final pieces of the puzzle fell into place. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Had no idea what "Spangly carris" could be, so BARGAIN BIN, PET GATOR, and SEGUED remained snow-covered. Finally, TITT after 25 minutes. Not sure if I'd seen "camis" that it would've made a difference. Saturdays seem to be just out of reach lately. Thanx, Brian, Katie, and Husker. (I hadn't heard of the pangolin, either, until it was listed as a possible suspect for the animal-to-human Covid link.)
Fifteen minutes in there was a sea of white. I turned on the red letters and the grid became a sea of white speckled with red. At that point I decided it was time to move on to other endeavors.
This was a typical P&P Saturday - first horizontal pass had sparse fill then first vertical pass had a few more footholds and eventually it came together.
One of my kids is into LO-FI music on one of their Spotify playlists. It is short for low fidelity originally.
It took me a minute to quit trying to think of a famous Chicago bar for pub and switch to their newspaper the TRIB
I had to switch from ports to CAPES for the lighthouses- just outside my husband's hometown in Oregon is the CAPE Meares lighthouse which you can climb up to the light since it has been decommissioned
Learning moments: I didn't know the actress Thandie Newton had gone back to her full middle name she now goes by Thandiwe
Also didn't know that Chuck E Cheese was originally a RAT and then became a mouse mascot. They look about the same to me. We had one near us when we lived in Wisconsin - but it was a drive to get to one when we moved to Missouri and I was happy about that. Kids loved it but they were always unhappy when they hadn't gotten enough tokens to get the junky prize they wanted. And I wouldn't have wanted to keep track of kids at a birthday party!
We used to make DIRT dessert instead of PIE - but I'm sure it was similar recipe that was just put into a flower pot. We also had a similar recipe using Nilla wafers in a beach pail that was called Sand Dessert.
Thanks HG for the fun blog - cute cat pic solving the crossword and to Brian & Katie for the puzzle
Guess we will take the decorations down now that it is the final day of the Christmas season on Jan 6- Cloudy weekend anticipating the storms arriving on Mon/Tues - stay safe everyone!
DNF, TTIT with six blank cells in New England. Six erasures as well.
Today is:
NATIONAL CUDDLE UP DAY (there are multiple benefits to cuddling with a human or canine)
NATIONAL BEAN DAY (beans are an exceptionally healthy meal and snack choice, and they supply an excellent source of fiber as well as music)
NATIONAL SHORTBREAD DAY (love it. Mary, Queen of Scots receives credit for the innovation of shortbread)
NATIONAL PLAY OUTSIDE DAY (today probably isn’t the best to put down electronic devices and get outside, but it’s better than taking the electronics outside in the rain or snow)
NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY DAY (from the wheel to smartphones, technological achievements have impacted our daily lives)
I would never have thought of ALA, EAVED or SHEDS as clued, but I think I overachieved for someone with my ability.
A high school chum would always greet the first beautiful day of spring by announcing "it feels nice out - I think I'll leave it out."
Edie is another name that sounds like consecutive letters. True for corssword-favorite Falco, but not for Mrs Hill, former Fox New regular and fill-in gal at The View. She is E. D. (for Edith Ann) Hill.
The Southeastern Conference starts today, with Florida hosting Kentucky. I hope the Wildcats turn Florida into their PET GATORs.
Thanks to Katie and Brian for the almost-doable puzzle, and the H.Gary for another great tour.
I guess E. D. comes from EDith.
Nasty, and not in a good way, if there is such a thing.
Good Morning
I finished w/o help in 40:18, longer than my average time, but still a respectable time for a Saturday, IMO. I'll begin my critique with high praise for some excellent cluing, especially those for Fan Letter, Plexiglass, Bargain Bin, and Cue Ball. I will also offer a mea culpa for my intentions to label Going Out Tops and Nineties Kids as Green Paint. Having learned to look before I leap, I Googled both phrases and learned they are, in fact, real expressions. Learning new ideas and facts is one of the reasons we solve crosswords. Another reason is being challenged to decipher all the misdirections, the play on words, the trickery, etc., that the constructor presents us. A key factor in the equation, though, is to balance the challenge with fairness to the solver.
Today's grid had several lesser-known or age/culture specific references, i.e., Maeve, Allah, LoFi, Regis, Asanas, Gideon, and Artemis.These were difficult enough on their own to parse out, so why pile on by cluing common, ordinary words such as Ortho, Elks, Storm, and Ants so obliquely. The solver needs footholds not unnecessary obstacles. I don't mind having to exercise as much P and P as it takes to complete a puzzle, but, at its completion, I'd like to have a feeling of satisfaction and enjoyment. Today's brought neither.
Thanks, Katie and Brian, and thanks, HG, for all the sparkling photos, especially the crossword-solving cat! I wonder what he/she would think of today's offering? Purr or Hiss? 🤣
BTW, it just occurred to me that SS hasn't posted in quite a while. Hope all is well.
Have a great day.
LACW Addict:
What does P & P stand for? Is one for Persistence?
Thank you
FIR. Finishing this puzzle correctly is the result of a couple of WAG's. I still don't get ala as the answer for following, and I had no idea who Maeve was. Mutant made no sense until I got here and read the explanation.
But for a Saturday CW, I'm just glad I got to the end, and finished right.
Phew!
LACW Addict, I believe the P & P refer to Patience and Perseverance. KS, I think of A LA as "in the manner of" which could be twisted into "following."
IM @ 8:53 a.m.
I don’t know if you recall, Ms. I.M., but at his last posting our mutual friend SS told us he was going on an extended vacation and would see us all again when he returned. I hope this puts your mind at ease regarding him.
Well, my "Constructors to Avoid" list just doubled. Too many clues were utterly ridiculous.
Irish Miss said it perfectly. There were very few answers I could come up with to use as an anchor for the rest of the puzzle. Many of the clues weren't all that hard to come up with, but not when I didn't have any letters to use.
It was an 'almost' this morning. I could not get the SW finished. I had AT BAT, RHINO, DONOR and _ _ ING OUT TOPS. I didn't know ORTHO meant 'right', thought baristas only made individual cups of coffee not using premade coffee in a pot, and BLING-OUT and SLING-OUT were just not VIABLE. NOW REALLY, I thought a 'cami' was something worn under clothes, not as outer wear.
A few others were unknowns were perped- GIDEON, SKA, REGIS, MUTANT, MAEVE, and ASANAS. Thought maybe 'Hanging out' could be EAGER-ly awaiting but EAGED wasn't a word.
Millennials, Xers, Yers- don't really know or care to pigeon-hole anybody.
SubG @ 9:15 ~ Thanks for the reminder, as I had forgotten. 😉
Almost, but not enough P&P to finish. First, I gave myself permission to Google #s 18, 20, across and 1 down right off the bat. I M☘️ indeed analyzed this puzzle perfectly.
I don’t get EDIE, unless that first letter is supposed to sound like the letter “a”??? Even so…….
I too loved HG’s cute little cat with a CW puzzle. So apt.
Monkey, EDIE sounds like E-D, and OPIE sounds like O-P.
No way today. Thought I had fallen into an alternate universe. Some clever clues, but not nearly enough for enjoyment. YMMV.
Quick post to say that I echo IM in my thoughts about this CW.
Even this Canadian had to think hard for the new Edmonton ELKS name (formerly Eskimos).
I had three Google LIUs and still was stuck in the SW corner. Finally TTIW and came here.
Thanks HuskerG, Brian and Katie for the Saturday workout - but my muscles are aching!
I noted ROBES, CAPES, STOLES to go with those TOPS.
Canadian blood DONORs are not paid.
Wishing you all a great day.
D-O @ 10:46. I see your explanation. I assumed consecutive means one after another and “d” precedes “e”.
CanadianEh!, most US blood donors aren't paid.
I’m thinking that this is the latest in a series of Saturday grids designed to not be solved.
The explanation pic for 53 D really describes the editor’s state of mind.
EAVED??…really?
Plus a nice warning for all of you with the very popular Pet Gator.
Gee this is getting sad.
CanadianEh @11:03
I am a blood donor in the US, I just donated my 177th pint last Thursday. I have never been paid. I do know there are some centers here that do pay for plasma, I'm not sure about whole blood. I encourage anyone who is able to donate to do so. It is a rewarding feeling.
FIR, despite objections SG and IM have already covered, so I’ll mention what I liked: The toehold I got with ARTEMIS, the distant-star clue for FAN LETTER, and CUEBALL DELVING and OVERT as fill. And then I’ll mention how much I didn’t like “pub” meaning “publication” in the TRIB answer, which was one of my final entries.
CEh, 11:03, and also Anonymous,12:17:
Years ago, I did apheresis - plasma donation - for quite a long time. Payment was never mentioned and there were many others doing the same thing at the center where I went. It's an interesting proess, with two needles, took awhile, and tvs were provided for us to watch while connected.
I can't remember a puzzle with so many misdirected clues, It got to a point where it actually helped me. I managed to fill spaces by thinking, "oh, they can't mean that, it must be this, or the other thing." All in all, a very enjoyable Saturday stumper!
And, I also enjoyed the Casey at The Bat Poem!
So much so, that a reprise, ALA Disney, is required....
Took 19:37 today for me to ... guess correctly at the intersection of "ala" with "Maeve" & "Allah."
Thank you, Ms. Irish Miss for your concern, and thank you SubG for remembering.
I have returned. [cue: groaning.]
I enjoyed some time in the land of our dear unclefred, and other cornerites who reside in FL.
Speaking of things I enjoyed, this puzzle was one.
I didn't know today's actress or her role (Maeve or Ma Eve). I also didn't know this Gideon, that Chuck E. Cheese was transformed into a mouse, or that anyone has a pet gator.
33D perplexed me for a while. I knew Eskimos was no longer a PC team name up north, but I got off track looking for an abbreviated answer based on the clue containing "CFL".
Another Saturday chalked up to the FIR column.
However, I loved several of the the clues that misdirected my mind to the wrong thought paths…. Attempt to reach a star…materials that divide people…etc
And just when I thought I had a toe hold in one area the D-LIST clues would appear and dash my hopes of a clean solve.
Thanks Katie and Brian for some fun and clever clueing… too bad you resorted to
D-LIST clues for a lot of the smaller fill and as a result lowered the enjoyment level of your work
…… kkFlorida
Worked this AM no time to do the puzzle but a few unsolicited remarks
( “ugh does he have to”)
The gothic church in the picture is the Visited and toured it, Truly magnificent. Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary
Wish I had bought stock in PLEXIGLAS manufacturers as the pandemic revved up.
ORTHOPEDIC :straight child
Remember when those TVs had hostel and vertical control KNOBs
I thought Newton added INDIGO to honor his patron Lord Roy George Biv? No?
I remember the well to do ladies in the fifties wore fox stoles with the legs dangling and the mouths used as clasps. Even as a little boy thought that was weird
OK off to my 6 y o great nephews birthday party
Thank you Brian and Katie for a typical Saturday toughie, which WFIR (Teri and I). I stymied about 3/4 thru and decided to give it (and me) a rest and asked her to take a look at it. When I got back she'd filled (and corrected) all but the Northeast, which fell pretty quickly after that.
And thank you Husker for explaining the subtleties of this very subtle puzzle. IMHO there wasn't TOO much P&P and the puzzle relied more on very subtle cluing.
Some favs:
5A TRIB. Teri got this one as I didn't know any Chicago purveyors of IPAs.
19A INDIGO. Well INDIGO might not exist, but INDIGO BUNTINGS do.
38A CUE BALL. I few Thursdays back I found a clip that showed a pool shark clear about 1/2 doz balls in one shot with the 8 Ball being the last to fall and CUE BALL staying up. Speaking of POOL ...
39A SEGUED. I didn't follow yesterday's BRACKET POOL, even after MOE splained it.
50A ANTS. I learned about Pangolins from my youngest grandsons (who know everything 😀). Here's the Kratt Brothers up close and personal with several Pangolins.
61A DONOR. Favorite clue. I used to donate blood before I got AFIB and was afflicted with the high cost of Eliquis.
1D LOFI. Favorite video. I think I'm ready for a NAP.
5D TETON. The TETONS are about 125 mi NW of Wyoming Catholic College in Lander, WY where my oldest grandson is studying.
6D RAT. I guess a mouse pushing cheese was a big improvement over a RAT?
7D IDEATES. Crosswords are museums for such words, lest they forever fade from memory.
12D EAVED. An inflectional morpheme of EAVE.
43D MUTANT. That one blew right over my head.
46D GUARD. BENCH fit but didn't perp.
Cheers,
Bill
Musings
-One of the vagaries of blogging is knowing when to add a picture and/or text to an answer and when not to (brevity is indeed the soul of wit). My goal is to try to maintain a healthy balance and I thought the clue/fill for EDIE, OPIE and ALA were just fine and did not need any more info but I also know some of our wonderful peeps here will respond with additional info.
-CED, that Casey At The Bat (second time around) was fun and of course would be booed off the TV or movie screen today with its non-PC content. BTW, I thought the version I posted had a very so-so narration of that wonderful piece of literature.
-Newton and INDIGO: “To the mediaeval mind, there were just five colours in the rainbow: red, yellow, green, blue and violet. But Newton added two more – orange and indigo – because he believed that the harmony of colours in the rainbow must be similar to the harmony of notes in a major musical scale.” You’re welcome.
-I try to make a useful blog and am always happy to learn what you commenters add!
-Once again, this is a game, not a test! :-)
Nah, nope, no way.
Puzzling thoughts:
FIW with a quintet of errors in the middle north section. REGIS, REVS UP, DELVING, NINETIES KIDS, and EDIE made this one end with a few red marks
As CanadianEh? alluded to, what became of the Edmonton Eskimos? When (and why) did they become the ELKS?? I had ESKS (which looked silly) at first ... another spot that almost tripped me up was in 17-across when I tried MAKE A WISH (hey, it fit the clue!!)
Whatever happened to TTP? unclefred?? OwenKL??? tinbeni????
Puzzle was another groaner for me. I lost count of how many words took red-letter runs for each letter. As Gary pointed out, "this is a game, not a test!" I'm feeling like I no longer "got game". I don't live in the same universe as these young whippersnapper constructors.
Thank you, Gary, for another great expo.
One of my sis-in-laws' aunts gave her a STOLE back in the day. She never wore it, but made a lot of noise about having the fur. My husband asked me if I wanted him to save his money and get me a STOLE. I told him "No, the only hairy things I need around my shoulders are your arms." He was very pleased with that answer.
PK, I like that!
Oof! I suspect days like this drive more folks to the blog to understand where they went wrong. So hello from among the vanquished! I don't solve online, and I don't Google. I never heard of DIRT PIE, and I don't think of nice blouses as GOING OUT TOPS. So many complete unknowns crossing so many unlikely answers: PET GATOR? Could we have gotten an actual clue? Thanks to H-G for cheerfully solving.
Thanks, Katie and Brian! FAVs were the clues for FAN LETTER, CUE BALL, AND BARGAIN BIN.
It would never occur to me to have a GATOR as a pet. That woman kissing one is out of her mind!
I had a DNF today as I could not get a foothold in the SW. I had "coach" for one who needed passing judgement. OTOH, the SE went quickly for me.
PK@3:48. I like how you roll!
Thanks to H-Gary for another Saturday set-my-mind-at-ease! Your visuals are the best!
Hi All!
Total Crash & Burn. Like HG said, 'tis only a game - I'll lick my wounds and move on.
Thanks for the puzzle NINETIES baby(s) [bzzt!]. Thanks for the salving expo, HG.
PK - I'll just leave all y'all with Young Frankenstein and fox stole.
Cheers, -T
Wow, that was a tough slog.
A few quibbles:
Surely a Blood Bank is where donations are stored - not where donors go to give blood? I've given blood in busses, churches and office conference rooms but never at a blood bank.
A building may be 'eaved', but the building isn't hanging out - the eaves are.
Is LOL a verb now?
Not sure anyone will see this. We went to Ventura for the day on a whim.
Big Easy Hand up tried BLING OUT and SLING OUT TOPS. Either makes far more sense than GOING OUT.
Hand up NE not really fair with utterly unknowable MAEVE and inaptly clued ALA and EAVED. Got all of that.
Hand up I TITT in the SW. Hand up URN seemed wrong. Hand up Blood BANK did not occur to me and does not seem right. I am usually a DONOR three times a year and I try to do it on a Bloodmobile, not at a Blood BANK. Actually tried OTTER, thinking river OTTERs may visit a river BANK.
Finally did a Red Letter to determine it was xxxOR not xxxER and I was able to FIR from there. Still counts as a FIW for me.
Here we were a year ago at a famous GOTHIC cathedral.
Yes, I have posted that before.
From Yesterday:
AnonT Thank you for the amusing and appropriate comments about Batman and Robin and about my colorful LYCRA wet suit at the Red Sea! My neoprene one for the Pacific is just black.
Monkey at 11:16AM I am with you. EDIE defies the clue. E comes after D, so is not CONSECUTIVE. Tried ABIE which is the only other answer that fits the clue, besides OPIE. Argh! Grrr! Very grudgingly filled EDIE.
Picard: I just read that the repairs on that famous gothic cathedral should be done by December 2024.
Thank you for agreeing with me about the EDIE clue. I was beginning to think there was something I just was not seeing.
We have several Blood Banks located here and people can go there to donate blood.
EDIE fits the clue if it's pronounced as E-D which is how my niece pronounces her name, but spelled Eydie.
Some might also remember the famous singer, Eydie Gorme and that is who my niece is named after.
Depositor never fit 61a.
My job during Desert Storm was at the Blood Bank in Ft. Hood. We knew a week before the ground war started as we were spending 16 hour days taking, processing, and shipping blood. 26 days later it was the same thing but in reverse as, thankfully, it wasn't needed. So, we reprocessed it for the Freezers.
Re: Plasma donations - my understanding is folks get money for it; you see a lot of these in poorer neighborhoods like where I grew up.
Picard, ED is consecutive in reverse :-)
Oh, and I can't hear of Ventura without thinking of America.
Cool Cathedral pic!
Cheers, -T
I've taken loved ones to a blood bank to donate their blood for their personal use after surgery scheduled in the same city as the blood bank. I know my mother had the transfusions she had banked.
PK - At the blood bank we had a number of vets & wives putting away blood for their future surgeries. A few of them were hard to poke (no visible veins) and I'd always get a real pro to do it //I didn't want to hurt 'em!
Funny I did that so long and yet, now, I'm so apprehensive with the phlebotomist when it's my turn to get stabbed :-)
-T
I got the answer GUARD for position that requires passing judgment, but my thought was the clue was referring to a basketball guard who requires using good judgment when passing the ball! I wonder which thought was what the author had in mind?!
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