Saturday Themeless by Enrique Henestroza Anguiano
This is my fourth LA Saturday themeless with Enrique who has a background in computational linguistics.The puzzle gave me fits as some of the cluing was, to borrow a crossword we have seen here
Yes, Enrique has a lot of white real estate in his construction with 98 open squares (squares that don't touch a border or a block). The stack of three grid spanners is impressive!
As usual, I skated around and enjoyed most of the puzzle, however, I had one Natick at 27 Down/Across and could not come up with a Japanese breaded cutlet or a 3-letter name for an actor named Penn. I'll take my one bad cell and try to face tomorrow!
This just in: Yeah, I know we had KATSU in Tuesday's puzzle but I did Enrique's puzzle before Zachary's Tuesday construction. The consolation is that I did get KATSU on Tuesday. 😊
1. Way to play music that's a hit?: SLAP BASS 😀 - Yup, he's hitting or SLAPPING that BASS
9. Words after a deep breath: I'M CALM.
15. Where the action is?: MOVIE SET 😀
16. The __ Brothers: "Black Water" band: DOOBIE - A fun listen
17. Egg option: OVER EASY.
18. Position: ORIENT - A recent activity of mine
19. Mulligans: REDOS - In a friendly game of golf you can request a mulligan or to REDO a shot. Our group allows one on the front 9 and one on the back. Some guys never take one. It can also be used if you say or do anything you wish you had not, "I'd like to take a mulligan on that!"
20. Lavender brew: HERBAL TEA.
22. Jacob's twin: ESAU.
23. Unagi roll fish: EELS.
23. Unagi roll fish: EELS.
24. "Food's getting cold!": EAT.
27. "The Namesake" actor Penn: KAL - When I looked him up, he was more familiar to me as Kumar of Harold and Kumar but I still would not have had to guess at the first letter of his name.
28. Big Mac rivals?: PCS 🤨 - Enrique, I have never called my Mac computer big! Yeah, I know, it's a big rival not a Big Mac.
31. Four-part cooking series starring Samin Nosrat: SALT FAT ACID HEAT.
37. "How's about this instead!?": I GOT A BETTER IDEA - I had to swap out ANOTHER for A BETTER.
38. Election system that gets the press involved?: PAPERLESS VOTING - 😀 Yes, you press a button or icon and do not put a mark on a piece of paper.
39. Alums-to-be: SRS - The SRS where I teach are handing out grad party invites this time of year.
40. Big bird: EMU.
41. Shortish releases: EPS - Back when vinyl ruled the world, Extended PlayS held more music than a 45 but less than an album. This group made one with four songs, not two, you can get this EP record on eBay for $150.
42. Instrument once plucked with a quill: LUTE.
44. "Who's this under?": NAME 😀 Uh, Mr. and Mrs. John Smith...
48. Hot pockets?: EMPANADAS.
53. Sunny?: SOLAR 😀 - Some crops flourish under solar panels as their rotation following the sun gives just the right amount of sun and shade.
54. Friendly gesture: HAT TIP.
55. Ulaanbaatar's country: MONGOLIA.
 |
| VW96+R47 Unnamed Road, Ulaanbaatar 17025, Mongolia |
57. "You're making me blush!": OH STOP.
58. Oktoberfest snacks: PRETZELS.
59. Pushes boundaries?: WIDENS.
60. Be reasonable: SEE SENSE.
Down:
1. Food contraction that omits "ome": S'MORE - Short for SOME MORE. A word invented in a 1938 summer camping manual
2. Melts for: LOVES - See picture above for melting everyone LOVES
3. Estée Lauder subsidiary: AVEDA.
4. Spin on a classic ballet performance?: PIROUETTE.
5. Some queens: BEES 😀
6. "Hugo" actor Butterfield: ASA - The Hindi version
7. Brief meeting?: SESH - Short for session and seen in cwds more and more frequently
8. Eye annoyance: STYE.
9. "We Shall Overcome" phrase: I DO BELIEVE.
10. Principled: MORAL.
11. Tesla stock?: COILS - Nikolai Tesla sat inside his invention for publicity. I had a smaller Tesla Coil in my classroom.
12. Help with a heist: ABET - Michael J. Pollard, on the right, played C.W. Moss who drove the getaway car for the 1967 movie Bonnie and Clyde.
13. "I forgot what to say!": LINE - What an actor says when he is lost and needs a prompt
14. Threads owner: META.
21. Posts a GIF, perhaps: REACTS - I do that often. A picture is worth a thousand words!
25. Miles away: AFAR.
26. Some Apple Design Award winners: TABLET APPS.
26. Some Apple Design Award winners: TABLET APPS.
27. Breaded cutlet dish: KATSU - Who knew (before last Tuesday)?
28. Mani-__: PEDI.
29. William the Conqueror's burial place: CAEN - 32 miles from Omaha Beach
30. Single party election?: STAG - These guys elected to have no women at this party
31. Small suctions on cups?: SIPS 😀
32. Vegan gelatin substitute: AGAR.
33. Cuts (off): LOPS.
34. Overflowed: TEEMED.
35. Release: DROP - A British airman in WWI gets ready to DROP a bomb from the gondola of an airship
36. Prepare to go out again?: 😀 HIT SNOOZE - This took me awhile.
42. Chai __: LATTE.
43. Labor group: UNION.
45. "It's Not Me, It's You" singer Lily: ALLEN.
45. "It's Not Me, It's You" singer Lily: ALLEN.
46. Sends flying, perhaps: MAILS
48. Site with step-by-step guides: E-HOW.
49. Fish tacos choice, on menus: MAHI - Enrique, no hint on the double name in the clue? C'mon! 😀 Half fish taco choice...
50. Condition that may respond to CBT or LSD: PTSD - A thoughtful article
51. Boomers at a concert?: AMPS.
 |
| The Grateful Dead's Wall Of Sound |
52. Sensitive: SORE.
53. NCOs who know the drill: SGTS.
56. Jennifer Affleck, __ Lopez: NEE - Yes, she changed her name.
32 comments:
The three grid-spanning answers made this puzzle almost solve itself, once I came up with them. (At first, like HG, I had “I got another idea” instead of “I got a better idea”.) So I would say that this puzzle, while challenging, like any Saturday puzzle, wasn’t too bad. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
So close, but no cigar. Didn't learn anything on Tuesday. (Hey, that's a long time ago.) So d-o went down in flames with MAL/MATSU. Bzzzzzt. Thanks for playing. There was lotsa nice stuff in this one, and some downright devious stuff too. Thanx for the adventure, Enrique and Husker.
DNF, answering 41 clues, all correctly. None of them were grid spanners.
Today is:
THE IDES OF APRIL
NATIONAL BORINQUENEERS DAY (at the start of the Korean War, this Puerto Rican group was activated as the 61st Infantry)
NATIONAL MAKE LUNCH COUNT DAY (started by a chain restaurant, this day encourages employees to lunch away from the office)
NATIONAL THOMAS JEFFERSON DAY (in addition to being a Patriot and politician, he was a lawyer, and a scientist of agriculture, paleontology, and astronomy)
NATIONAL SCRABBLE DAY (they just introduced a dumbed-down version to attract Gen Zers)
We have company, so I may be (crossword favorite) AWOL for the next few days. Be back NLT Tuesday, and may be able to sneak in a quick word every now and then before then.
Thanks to H.Gary for the fun review.
Took 10:54 today for me to finish.
Definitely some clever/fresh clues today. I don't consider "see sense" to be one of them though. I couldn't recall Katsu from earlier this week, and by tomorrow I probably won't be able to again.
Knowing the Doobie Brothers song helped solidify the top-right for me, because at first I wanted volts instead of coils (for Tesla stock), and "I had a dream" instead of "I do believe."
Seemed like a lot of cooking/eating-related clues/answers: eels/sushi, Salt Fat Acid Heat, eat, over easy, s'more, pretzels, mahi, and herbal tea.
Good Morning:
I finished w/o help in below average time but I'm still shaking my head as to how that happened. There were so many C/As that I didn't know: Slap Bass, Salt Fat Acid Heat*, S'more, as clued, Averda, Meta, Caen, as clued, Allen, Coils, as clued, I Do Believe, etc. *I'm familiar with it but not the title's sequence. I guess perps and some WAGs were enough to get me to the finish line. Katsu was a gimme because of recent usage, but I stumbled over On The Set/Movie Set, Lyre/Lute, and Sails/Mails. See Sense as a stand alone sounds awkward, as does the green paintish Tablet Apps. I agree with HG that some of the cluing was outré, but it is Saturday and I did finish, so all's well that ends well.
Thanks, Enrique, and thanks, HG, for the usual fun, facts, and visual treats. Your Saturday summaries and graphics are always a highlight of the week's reviews.
Have a great day.
Every Saturday I go through the process of trying solve my favorite pastime for an enjoyable weekend.
To cut to the chase, most of these “difficult and challenging “ crosswords rely on incomplete and sometimes wrong, clues for common words , arcane language, rare hints for rare puns.
Rare uncommon names, rare foreign dishes in uncommon languages.
I Wade through it without pleasure or delight and proceed to life for the rest of the weekend. It is as if to do our number one necessary chore, as the first walk over in the morning …. But I don’t have to enjoy it. Whatever.
Just a little item I noticed in the description of ABET: the actor who played C. W. Moss was named Michael J. Pollard, not Fred. He was nominated at both the Academy Awards and Golden Globes for Best Supporting Actor for this role.
FIW. The crossing of Kal and katsu did me in. Matsu and Mal seemed logical to me, but alas, no, it ain't so.
I got the long answers without a problem. I only struggled in the NE until coils filled in, and then the light bulb went off.
For a Saturday puzzle, although typical and hard, this was enjoyable.
This got solved in fits and spurts - definitely had a few gimmes for me that opened sections up: I thoroughly enjoyed the Netflix series "SALT FAT ACID HEAT" if you are even remotely a foodie (or just like eating food) and love to see different parts of the world, then you would
like it.
As a teen I was confused by the two French cities CAEN which is in northern France in Normandy (thus home of William the Conqueror who was Norman) and CANNES in southern France and home of a famous film festival. To my Midwestern ear they were said the same.
KAL Penn for me was a favorite fellow in the first group on the TV show "House"
Thanks HG for another fun blog and to Enrique for the puzzle.
If you get Apple+ TV - the new 2 part documentary on Steve Martin came out and was really interesting if you are someone like me who came of age when he began gaining popularity
A typical Saturday, on the first run through only a few answers which I could confidently fill. Like IM☘️, not sure how I did it with all the unknowns, but somehow after 33:07 I received the congratulatory message for a FIR w/o help. My last fill being a WAG for the “K” in KAL/KATSU, (I have no recollection of KATSU being in last Tuesday’s puzzle 🤷♂️). The only Penn actor I know is Sean. Thank you Enrique for the very challenging puzzle, and to Husker G for your dissection, your blogs are always educational in an entertaining way! I would guess your students really enjoyed your classes!
Gave up early, about half filled, getting ready for a week in Orlando with kids and grandkids (this is spring break in Massachusetts)
Enrique Henestroza Anuiano sounds like the kind of Irish proper name that would show up in a crossword 😊
“Words after a deep breath” ”Im having an affair with your sister” was too long 😀
SLAP a BASS?, a fish? 🐟. ohhhh, a big standing cello 😃….Thought Burger King “Whoppers” were “Big Mac” rivals. 🍔 😋
Billy the C’s burial place? tomb fits 😉
Should I REDO the shot? Something I’ll hafta “mull again” …. KAL PENN sounds like a bi-coastal state university. SALT FAT ACID HEAT: how to dispose of that pesky corpse in your trunk 😳
Where was I in the 60’s in the record store? Never heard of EPs… and hand up ✋for forgetting KATSU which I knew from Tuesday, Guess the brain cells tire as the week progresses
SESH has become a frequent flyer. Add it to the list of nonsense fill.
I was thinking just the opposite: a printing “press” that produced paper ballots 🗳️
Anyway ‘nuff said, hope to be doing the phone version of the puzzle pool side taking SIPS on a G & T . 😎
I, too missed the cross of KAL/KATSU using "C" instead. Lots of P&P filled in the rest, with perps highly useful to drag the grid spanners to heel.
Best clue of the day was "Hot pockets". Worst 1D. Enrique and Gary teamed up for some great collaborative effort..
Perhaps some day we will begin to appreciate all we have in life.
Marshmallows.
I thought I was going to have to throw in the towel. I p & p and succeeded, well almost. I had to leave the first letter of KAL blank. Like Irish Miss ☘️ I don’t know how some of the fills appeared since I didn’t know what I was doing: SLAP BASS, I DO BELIEVE, PAPERLESS VOTING, but to quote Subgenius I’m happy.
I think it takes talent as a CW constructor to lead the solvers to victory in spite of themselves.
I too had I GOT another IDEA
THANKS HG. Fine recap.
I got an FIR with help only from DW, and I flagged only 19 unknowns, questionable clues, and ridiculous answers (like SEE SENSE), but those 19 were unusually incendiary, and I'll be back from a meeting in a few hours to elaborate. Irish Miss summed up my reactions pretty well for the meantime. I loved seeing Husker Gary get annoyed, which is rare for him, at the MAHI answer, and also must salute HG for the little snippet illustrating OH STOP and for confirming that JLo is indeed officially Mrs. Affleck.
Valerie and I had to work our way through this one but that is normal for a Saturday puzzle. Many unknowns (initially) but they all got figured out. Least favorite section was the Southeast and unknown proper noun and where SEE SENSE is not an expression we have heard before but with all of the E's and S's it was figure-out-able.
DNF because of the crossing of _AL and _ATSU. I know that KATSU appeared earlier this week, but not being a meat eater, I did not commit it to memory!
Nevertheless, a very neat puzzle with the triple stack of spanners in the middle. I thought 36 Down, "Prepare to go out again?" was a cute clue for HIT SNOOZE. I don't set an alarm because our little dogs want an escort outside in the morning, but sometimes I wish they could SNOOZE a bit longer.
Thanks, Enrique, for a great puzzle, Patti for editing, and Husker Gary for all the explanations and links. What a great DOOBIE Brothers video!
BTW. Is it Anuiano or Anguiano (I suspect the latter. It’s what’s on what looks like his smiling face business card)
Like I said you gotta get those Irish names spelled correctly.
😃
Monkey ~ “I think it takes talent as a CW constructor to lead the solvers to victory in spite of themselves”. Great quote, pretty well sums it up! YP
Agree
Took two passes and what did I fill? MONGOLIA, PRETZELS, SGTS, ERASE, UNION, ABET, SRS, AGAR, LOPS, EASU,EMU, and PEDI. That's it.
I DO BELIEVE (I didn't fill) there is no way in hell I would have ever filled S'MORE, SLAP BASS, EMPANADAS, TABLE TAPPS (oh it's Tablet Apps) HERBAL TEA, SEE SENSE, SALT FAT ACID HEAT, PCS, KAL, and others.
CAEN- really? At least I know who is buried in Grant's Tomb.
NEE- didn't know they were married
REACTS- I've never used a GIF, Emoji, or Emoticon- don't intend to either.
MAHI- only knew of "mahi mahi"
Uncle, Thumper and a few others on this one.
PAPERLESS VOTING- It's always (in my lifetime) been that way in Louisiana. The voting machines were mechanical until about 25 years ago.
AMPS make no noise. It is the speakers that "boom."
Lots of "Trouble in River City" cluing today.
Lots of clues ending in question marks.
Lots of clues that are simply one possible paraphrasing of the answer, such as "Who's this under?"
There is no fish called MAHI.
Ditto
Sucky cluing
Thanks, Enrique, for your puzzle! I enjoyed all the wordplay like Prepares to go out again? and Pushes boundaries.
I Slum Dogged it to a 40:11 FIR. I knew KATSU both Tues. & today because chicken katsu is very popular in Hawaii. You'll see it on the lunch menus of most local-style restaurants. Another help was I blogged the 10/30/23 puzzle with the theme SALT FAT ACID HEAT. I also read the book but I have not seen the Netflix show.
44A reminded me of Chevy Chase and the Underhills.
The NE took half my time. I had to let go of I'M sAfe. THREAD was unknown to me.
Thanks to H-Gary for his Saturday run down! I like that you always tell us about your own solving experience. Also, I did not know what TABLE TAPPS were so thanks for clearing that up!
Hmm,
Just looking for a link to keep my place as to how far I read the blog,,,
I think Anon-T will approve...
slap a bass?
Elaborating on my earlier post. Like sumdaze, I spent much of my time in the northeast before I finally FIR. My list of dislikes had 19 items, indicative of a challenge but not an out-and-farce.
I certainly didn’t commence at 1A. I would never come up with SLAP BASS without perps, and the clue was one of many that were too clever by half. As Jayce noted, the number of clues with question marks indicated someone was trying too hard to be cute, including the Big Mac misdirection, the lame pun on “press,” associating “election” with going STAG, the SIP clue, and, as others have noted, the imprecision regarding what AMPS do.
If you’ve never rehearsed for a play, the LINE entry is unfair. . . .I came up with REDOS quickly but refused to pen it in because I hoped the answer would prove more artful. And, as usual, I was no fan of the clues containing quotes indicating dialogue. I was very reluctant to go with I GOT anything, although I did cite a “Sopranos” line with that syntax just yesterday. And who actually says “I’M CALM?”
I did like seeing the DOOBIE Brothers (from San Jose), KAL Penn, EMPANADAS, and, as I mentioned above, I DO BELIEVE. And again, I thought HG killed it today.
Hola!
This puzzle competed for my attention with "America's Test Kitchen" and you can guess which held most of it. I want to make the cutlets now!
And Alexa was my solving partner since I did not know Lily ALLEN. Otherwise I managed the rest by myself even though I was distracted. MONGOLIA was easy as was DOOBIE and I DO BELIEVE. Mani PEDI, of course!
I had bad news and good news from the family. My great-nieces' fiance' had a heart attack at the young age of 40! When I called my niece, Carol, to ask for a ride to the upcoming bridal shower we had a nice conversation which concluded with a plan to take me to church tomorrow followed by lunch. I do believe I'm their favorite aunt!
KAL Penn was on TV a long time ago and while I don't recall much about the show, I do recall his name.
There is a beautiful photo in my bedroom of my granddaughter doing a PIROUETTE pose when she performed in a dance recital.
Mmmm. EMPANADAS bring back memories of Sunday morning brunches when my mother made them.
PRETZELS have never been something I like.
I heard a report that cicadas will swarm this summer. Oh, joy!
I hope you are all enjoying a beautiful Saturday!
Hi All!
Nope - DNF. I did about as well as Jinx if not a few words less.
Thanks Enrique for the puzzle. Thanks HG for the wonderful review.
Fav: Doobie Brothers [China Grove 3:19]
Inanehiker - Thanks for the heads-up on Steve Martin. I think we still have Apple+.
LOL CED. I first thought you were going with Funny or Die (wait 'til the end).
Hope everyone is having an enjoyable evening.
Cheers, -T
I'm mystified by the disappearance of my comments from this morning. I'll just say I missed one spot where _AL and _ATSU crossed, and I enjoyed the puzzle very much!
Anonymous the Repeating: Have you heard of latency, or proagation defay?
No? Well, you just demonstrated the phenomenon ... when you push the publish button, it takes about half a minute for the software to process your note and display it. Hitting the button too soon results in repeats of your message (as in your 'trifecta' above). (I learned this the hard way too,)
Weird. There were some legit comments in the spam filter:
Waseeley - Mar 24, Mar 28
Big Easy - Mar 29
Misty - Apr 2
TTP - Apr 5
Darren - Apr 7
Waseeley - Apr 8
Monkey - Apr 10
Wendybird - Apr 12
NaomiZ - Apr 13
Inexplicable.
They have been restored.
Michael, in this case, the Anon at 8:06, 8:10 and 8:12 (P.M.) was replying to three separate comments from earlier in the day.
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