Saturday Themeless by Evan Mulvihil
Evan told me, "I am a clinical pharmacist at Zuckerberg, San Francisco General, a crossword constructor and lover or all things word-play related."
1. Fold: ACCEDE.
7. Pen: ENCAGE.
13. Polo player?: LAUREN.
14. Opposite of "Nothin' but net": AIRBALL - When shooters miss everything.
16. Words of resignation: I TRIED.
17. "Elmo's World" character played by Bill Irwin: MR NOODLE. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
18. Quaint contraction: SHANT.
19. Comedian Wyatt: CENAC - Wyatt worked with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show until they had a falling out
20. Cab alternative: ZIN - You might have a ZINfandel rather than a CABernet
21. Tic-__-toe: TAC - We had this in a Saturday puzzle two weeks ago.
22. Have in common: SHARE.
24. Slams the door on: STOPS.
26. India's neighbor on a Risk board: SIAM - SIAM on this board game encompasses several modern countries.
28. Just __ by: EKED.
29. Went up: ROSE.
30. Abundance during amateur hour?: ROOKIE MISTAKES.
34. Orchestra known for an annual Fourth of July concert: BOSTON POPS.
35. Some unicorns: TECH STARTUPS - Unicorn companies are those that reach a valuation of $1 billion without being listed on the stock market and are the dream of any tech startup.
38. Fruit with wrinkled skin: UGLI.
39. Court pro: STENO - Old and new machines
43. Breaks open chests in Fortnite: LOOTS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
45. Pitch: TAR.
46. Baby: SPOIL - A verb
48. Oft-mispunctuated word: ITS - IT'S (contraction) very common to misuse the word ITS (possessive)
49. One hoping for a refund from an online return: E-FILER - I'm one of those hoping
52. Crime novelist Buchanan: EDNA. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
53. "Elsbeth" star Carrie: PRESTON. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
55. Good standing with sailors?: SEALEGS 😀
57. Idle: SITTING.
58. Sir Ken Robinson's "Do Schools Kill Creativity?," notably: TED TALK.
59. Hammers: POUNDS.
60. "Heather Has Two Mommies" writer Newman: LESLEA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Down:
1. Groups of celebs who might bypass the line: A-LISTS.
2. Persian rugs?: CAT HAIR 😀
3. Place to enjoy krioyo cuisine: CURACAO.
5. 411: DEETS - I need the details
6. Demise: END.
7. Got a bit extra, in a way: EARNED INTEREST 😀
8. "High Priestess of Soul" Simone: NINA.
9. Some restaurant clogs: CROCS - I've never owned or worn this footwear.
11. "Zounds!": GADZOOKS.
12. Figure in Kepler's first law: ELLIPSE - Piece 'o cake for me.
17. One unsuited to battle a god?: MERE MORTAL.
19. Pre-wedding trials: CAKE TASTINGS.
23. Job at a bank: HEIST 😀
25. Yappers: TRAPS - Rude
27. Finale of "The Sopranos," maybe: MOB HIT - Creator David Chase's decision to fade to black rather than show what did or didn't happen was brilliant. He compared it to Schrödinger's cat. Tony is both alive and dead.
23. Job at a bank: HEIST 😀
25. Yappers: TRAPS - Rude
27. Finale of "The Sopranos," maybe: MOB HIT - Creator David Chase's decision to fade to black rather than show what did or didn't happen was brilliant. He compared it to Schrödinger's cat. Tony is both alive and dead.
31. Heavy socks?: KO'S 😀
32. Did some politicking, say: SPUN - "Oh no, that is NOT what the candidate meant."
33. Traditional literary motif: TOPOS - TOPOS are stories from classical tradition weaved into modern American drama. Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under The Elms has been referred to as a modern retelling of Euripides' myth of Hippolytus and Phaedra. (Raise your hand if you thought I already knew that!)
35. Bulbs that may not need to be replaced: TULIPS 😀
36. Delusion of grandeur: EGO TRIP
37. Friendly with: CLOSE TO.
40. "Your terms are a joke": NO DEAL
41. Individual: SINGLE.
42. "The Great North" setting: ALASKA.
44. Become real: SET IN - It has finally SET IN that Husker FB has come to be mediocre at best.
47. Attacks, as with questions: PELTS - Despite the less than optimal video quality, this is a fabulous example:
50. Residue used to make pan sauces: FOND - I love these little "leftovers" but never knew there was a name for them
51. Instagram video: REEL - Make your own series of videos
54. "The Simpsons" disco guy: STU.
56. Slangy ending with hater: ADE 😀
19 comments:
There are some words I only got through perps, such as
“fond” (as clued) and “topos.” And some names, ditto, such as “Cenac” and “Leslea.” But somehow, through P&P, I managed to solve this challenging puzzle without turning on the red letters or using any “outside” help. FIR, so I’m happy.
Easy enough, but I'm usually not a fan of puzzles with so many "?" clues. Usually some of them don't land at all. I don't get what the surface for 17D is supposed to mean (I assumed "unsuited" = "naked" but no) and I also don't see how "player" works in the LAUREN clue. I thought the answer would be an actor known for playing Marco Polo in a movie. Can anyone enlighten me?
FIR by perps and WAGs. Too many unknowns to bother listing, and the ones I *did* know were heavily masked by tricky clues. My *first* fill was ZIN, so at least all the wine I've consumed has done me some good. Tough one, Evan! Thanks for the tour, Gary!
Welp, that pretty much sucked out what little joy there is in my life.
FIR Saturday, which for me is about as common as spotting a unicorn roaming around without a leash. crease->ACCEDE, its bad->I TRIED, mailer->EFILER, and logos->TOPOS.
One of the all-time best ROOKIE MISTAKES happened Thursday, when Jets ROOKIE Malachi Corley caught the ball and had a clear path to the end zone for his first NFL touchdown. One little problem - he started celebrating before he got into the end zone, and the ball tumbled out of bounds inside the goal line for a touchback. He still awaits his first NFL touchdown, but the Jets won the game and covered the point spread against the lowly Texans anyway.
I filled SEA LEGS within the last couple of days, but I don't remember whether it was the LAT, Scheffer, or Penny/Dell crossword puzzle.
Thanks to Evan for the fun Saturday challenge that even my dumb mass could solve. And thanks to H.Gary for the fine review. If it is any condolence, my Kentucky football program has been mediocre since that traitor Bear Bryant defected to Alabama.
I believe the reference is to the fashion firm Ralph Lauren, known for its polo shirts.
Tehachapi Ken @8:25 I got that LAUREN is Ralph Lauren and "polo" is the shirt, but I don't see how "player" works in the non-surface reading of the clue.
I am in awe of all who had no problems with this CW. I did a walk through and decided this was not for me. So I came here and realized I was right. So many unknown names, expressions, etc. Even HG’s nice recap didn’t clear up everything.
Oh, well, can’t win them all.
FIR. I felt pretty good when I threw down Boston Pops, and got the other long answers as well. But the NW and SE got me bogged down. Last to fall was the NW when Lauren came to me and I had my aha moment.
Not sure I liked deets, topos, or fond, but the perps and perseverance got me through.
Overall quite enjoyable for a Saturday puzzle.
I wasn't as fast as Gary today, but I did manage to FIR in short order. It had a few gimmes- ALASKA, BOSTON POPS, NINA- but I DNK some things-TOPOS, FOND, LOOTS, CURACAO- along with unknown people-LESLEA, PRESTON, CENAC, MR NOODLE, Ken Robinson- who worked their way in via perps.
CAKE TASTINGS? That's a new one for me. At NOLA area wedding receptions cakes are usually the last things offered. And by then people are already full or have left.
CAT HAIR- I kept thinking wigs or Persian carpets. I SHANT lie. I TRIED IRAN AIR and Ralph LAUREN let it CAT show up.
Went round and round with this one, filling in little words here and there until longer ones became apparent. Some solid perps plus a few educated guesses and tada...FIR! Several erasures though, wanted DRESS FITTING as a wedding trial.
What is the statute of limitations on spoiler alerts? I didn't have HBO back in 2007 and am just catching up on the Sopranos. Just kidding, 17 years is probably enough (for everyone but me LOL). But don't tell me what happens at the end of Romeo and Juliet!
Pretty much what Naomi said, seems like I needed perps for the entire puzzle cuz I didn’t know much, none of the names, except LAUREN. Starting off at 1A I could think of three different meanings of “Fold” but accede was not one of them. In the end I had five blanks and not a clue, that usually means I’m headed for a FIW, but lo and behold I WAGed correctly on first try in the MR NOODLE, CENAC area for a FIR in 41:51. Very tough puzzle for me. Still don’t understand how ADE relates to hater, or how CROCS are affiliated with restaurants. TOPOS and FOND?? Nope. Thanks Evan for the extreme challenge this morning.
HG ~ 17 minutes on this puzzle is a great time IMO! Thanks for the fine recap.
Huzzah and zounds, Evan! That was quite a workout. One bit of cleverness followed by another after another. I notice, for instance, that your one-word clues are usually not the expected part of speech: "Pen" and "Hammers" and "Baby" are here not nouns, they're verbs. And for equal time, you have some clues, like "Pitch," which the solver may anticipate are verbs, but nope, they're nouns.
I enjoyed clues like "Good standing for sailors" (SEALEGS), "Cab alternative" (ZIN), "Heavy socks" (KOS), and many other misdirections.
I've never heard or seen the word "haterade." Why can't people use "hatred," which, after all, is a legitimate English word?
Thank you for 48 Across (IT'S). That kind of mispunctuation is one of my pet peeves, especially because I see it all the time, including in this blog, I'm afraid.
For 10 Down, I'm assuming that ABO is referring to blood types. Also, for 5 Down, I'm not convinced that DEETS is an adequate or accurate depiction of 411.
Thanks, Evan, for a satisfying, informative, and enjoyable Saturday challenge!
After 20 minutes of Google Assist, I admitted defeat and TITT. Nope. No fun.
Good Morning:
Congrats to HG for that impressive finish time. It took me twice as long but I enjoyed every minute of the solve. Mr. Noodle, Cenac, Preston, Leslea, Topos, etc. were unknown but, eventually, fell into place. While solving, I was continually surprised (and impressed) by the cleverness and subtlety of the cluing. In addition, the fill was outstanding, e.g., Rookie Mistakes, Mere Mortals, Cake Testings, Gadzooks, Boston Pops, etc, and only 10 TLWs. IMO, this is aas close as it comes to a perfect puzzle.
Thanks, Evan, for a true gem of a challenge and thanks, HG, for the excellent review and commentary, as usual. Loved the kitty Pirate and the pretty Persian.
Have a great day.
Well, if the constructor sees this, he can correct me, but the question mark pretty much detours the clue. The question mark suggests to the solver not to take the clue literally.
This was just a tad out of my wheelhouse, so I'll just Echo Monkey. Lots of clever clues...just too clever for me!
This puzzle did have a theme, but not one that I can repeat in mixed company. It took me 16 unenjoyable minutes to complete this assemblage of obscurity, questionable clue/answer relationships, and cluing that was too cute and often nonsensical. Perps and WAGS saved the day but still couldn't get the sour taste out of my mouth.
Ken, both "haterade" and "deets" are relatively new (and unwelcome) additions to modern slang. Deets is short for "details" and both it and "411" mean "information" in that context.
Example of "haterade" might be to respond to constant criticism of say, one's favorite athlete with "stop drinking that haterade!" (A takeoff on Gatorade).
Post a Comment