Saturday Themeless by John Andrew Agpalo
John's third LA Times puzzle turned out to be a pleasant and quick walk in
the park for this solver. John's construction had a low word count of only sixty
four which yeilded a very desirable count of only six three-letter words. When the long
fills appear with ease, it greatly facilitates obtaining a "got 'er
done!"
1. Running tally?: VOTES - I followed a bunch of these Tuesday night.
6. City on the River Clyde: GLASGOW - GLASGOW on the Clyde at night
13. Fast train between Union Station and Back Bay
Station: ACELA - This train and its lovely three vowels
pulls into our crossword station quite often.
14. Target of a dehumidifier: MOISTURE and 12. Adds 14-Across: WETS - I'll be making the switch in our basement very soon.
15. German city: STADT - The largest in Germany according to their 2018 census
16. Outline in a plaster of paris keepsake: HAND PRINT.
17. "Get lost!": TAKE A HIKE.
19. Mike Trout's team, familiarly: HALOS - Mike Trout has been one of the MLB's best players for years as a member of the Los Angeles Angels, but like the Cubs' Ernie Banks, has never been in a World Series.
20. Vulcan salute, e.g.: GESTURE.
21. "Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe" painter: MANET - The Luncheon On The Grass with clothing optional. Our friend Jeffery Wechsler would be so disappointed I don't know my MANET from my Monet.
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22. Hall of Famer Ronnie who won four Super Bowls with the
49ers: LOTT - Some consider Ronnie to be the best safety in
NFL history. Here he is separating a receiver from the ball
23. Got completely out of hand: RAN WILD.
25. Colony toiler: ANT.
26. Commits a hoops infraction: GOAL TENDS - If a basketball shot is in or above the basket cylinder, neither the offense or defense can touch it. Ironically, as our own goal tender Splynter can attest, it is perfectly legal in hockey!
 
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30. Incapable of having a bad hair day, say: BALD -
Waddaya think?
33. Catastrophic: DIRE.
34. Deliberate: SLEEP ON IT - The verb not the adjective. My car salesman friend says the chances for a sale go way down when a customer wants to do this.
36. Veto: NIX.
37. Pioneer in "New New Orleans" cuisine: LAGASSE.
39. Tax: LEVY.
40. Quite buff, casually: SWOLE.
42. In proportion: TO SCALE - Gutzon Borglum made a scale model and then transferred those dimensions to the mountain.
45. Notable name on a case: SAMSONITE - My 1964 H.S. graduation present from Grandma Opal
49. Strikingly real: VIVID - This amazing holographic reproduction of an ABBA concert now playing in London is said to be very VIVID!
50. Supersuit designer who insists, "No capes"!: EDNA MODE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - A cartoon based on Edith Head. If you're interested...
52. [Look below]: SEE NOTE.
53. Levels a theatre, say: RASES - Alternate spelling for RAZES [Look below]
Down:
1. Seemingly endless: VAST.
2. Like many gazebos: OCTAGONAL.
3. Water heater: TEA KETTLE - Wrapped by a tea cosy not cozy (similar to raise and raze?)
4. Like Meg, among the March sisters: ELDEST - Little Women
5. Occupied, as a table: SAT AT.
6. Missing: GONE.
7. Topper: LID.
8. Lot surface: ASPHALT.
9. High and dry: STRANDED - How hurricanes can leave boats
10. Chicanery: GUILE.
11. Second-guessing phrase: OR NOT.
14. "Let me be clear": MAKE NO MISTAKE.
16. Some characters in Japanese writing: HIRAGANA - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
16. Some characters in Japanese writing: HIRAGANA - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
18. "Ben-__": HUR - It took 800 workers 4 months to build this recreation of Rome's Circus Maximus for the 13-minute chariot race scene in the 1925 version of Ben-Hur. [Look Below] Today this land has massive lanes of traffic and shops in Culver City, CA.
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| 1925 |
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| Today |
22. Spots for many STEM classes: LABS.
27. Cat treat?: NINE LIVES.
28. Rush hour: DRIVE TIME.
29. Alluring: SEXY.
31. Vehicle with gull-wing doors: DELOREAN - It could also be a time machine.
32. Shiba Inu meme that inspired a cryptocurrency: DOGE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
35. Capital on the Tyrrhenian Sea: PALERMO.
39. Pacific weather phenomenon: LA NIÑA.
40. Veiled criticism: SHADE.
41. Hockey great Gretzky: WAYNE - Also his nickname
44. LaLiga chants: OLES - LaLiga manages the pro soccer
teams in Spain.
45. "Smooth Operator" singer: SADE.
46. Freezer brand: EDYS - EDY'S is in the freezer and is not the freezer brand.
48. Private place to sleep?: COT 😀
I didn’t find this puzzle nearly as easy as our moderator, Husker Gary, did. I’m directionally challenged, so I’m never quite sure how to say it, but I had plenty of trouble with the lower left section, whatever you call it. Still, I persevered and got the win, even though it seemed to take me forever to do it. FIR, so I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteThis one looked daunting, but proved to be easy. D-o went wrong here and there: HAT/LID, and SALERNO (oops, that's a butter cookie) before SLEEP ON IT showed the way to PALERMO. Nice exercise, John Andrew. Nice Expo, Husker Gary.
Humidifier: We keep a small one in our walk-in closet. It generates a half-gallon of water every week.
BALD: My H.S. prinicipal maintained that he wasn't bald. He just had a high forehead and a wide part.
Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe: In my primitive French, I translated that as "lunching on herbs." Reminds me of the English Garden in Munich, where it'd be entirely possible to wander past such a scene.
Took a couple WAGs in the SW to get me a FIR in 24:04, my last fill being the E in the SWOLE/DOGE cross. Another nominee for worst clue of the month - Shiba Inu…and the answer was just as obscure, for me anyway. DNK if it was ED NAMODE, or EDNA MODE till the expo. I knew it was an S and not a Z in RASES, due to the spelling of theatre. Like HG, it always takes me a perp to fill M__NET. Comedian Steven Wright said he likes to put a humidifier and dehumidifier in the same room and let them fight it out. All in all, a fun and challenging puzzle today, thanks John.
ReplyDeleteHG ~ always enjoy your Saturday write-ups (and your musings on the other days). I was at EPCOT last Saturday, I always check out the stage at the UK pavilion, always some good British cover bands. Your photo of the mangled boats is presently a sad and common scene here in Punta Gorda and a lot of SW Florida, sunken boats and others now sitting on dry land, tossed up by the hurricane surges. No thanks as to whatever is in that bowl 🤮.
Took 7:36 today, which may be a record time for me on a Saturday puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI agree with YooperPhil about another strong candidate for worst clue of the month for "Shiba Inu meme that inspired a cryptocurrency" and "Some characters in Japanese writing". On a related note, I also didn't know the German city or German word for city, the Tyrrhenian Sea capital, or the city on the River Clyde.
I have fond memories of my children when they were younger mimicking (aping?) Edna Mode from "The Incredibles."
Wayne Gretzky's career goal scoring record is now somewhat in jeopardy. Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals is now "only" 34 goals away from tying "The Great One's" record of 894. Ovechkin is almost 40, which is old for an NHL player.
I second your motion about the Japanese writing clue, and the equally obscure HIRGANA, all perps for me. Kudos to anyone who knew that off the top of their head.
DeleteOvechkin's nickname is "The Great 8." They moved him from left wing to right wing this year, and it's taken opposing defenses a while to catch up.
DeleteFIR, somehow. Finally got PALERMO, which provided a base for guessing LA GASSE, SWOLE and DOGE. Miles became totes then VOTES, stros->HALOS, monet->MANET, hat->LID, and el nino->LA NINA.
ReplyDeleteWANT SOME? In the words of some hillbilly philosopher of my ute, "it is better to try and be found WANTing than it is to WANT and be found trying."
At my age and asset level, cryptocurrency speculation makes no sense. Kind of reminds me of a time 30 years ago or so, when it was popular for people to list their occupation as "day trader."
Thanks to John for a Saturday puzzle that even I was able to complete, and to H.Gary for another fine review.
This was an enjoyable puzzle albeit somewhat easy for a Saturday. Even so, it took two alphabet runs to correctly fill two squares in the SW section of the grid.
ReplyDeleteMy SAMSONITE suitcase is the same model as Husker Gary's, except it in a delicious shade of lime green. Looks awful now, but it was easy to spot on a carousel!
ReplyDeleteI went to a hologram concert of Roy Orbison several years ago, and he was remarkably VIVID. The musicians were live, and he appeared solid and even interacted with the band leader. After a few songs, you forgot the amazing technology and simply enjoyed the show as real...until he vaporized, then rose up magically from the stage floor wearing a different outfit. An awesome way to turn back the clock and see a performance from your youth.
In my haste RAN WILD was filled as run wild (with no help from the perp) and i went down in flames.
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle though
FIR. The NE was the last to fall when I changed moist air to moisture. Also had ran riot before ran wild. These stumbles slowed me down a lot.
ReplyDeleteLots of unknowns, but it is Saturday after all. Hiragana? Wow, tough one, all perps to solve. And Edna Mode crossing with Palermo was rough as well.
But overall, this was a fun puzzle and quite enjoyable.
FLN : C Moe
ReplyDeleteWe’ve passed the distinctively all blue “Bleu Bistro” on Periwinkle Way but with a menu 50-100 smackeroos “trop cher à nos goût”. Looks like some entrées could come with a magnifying glass as well. 😁
Just here for the week. So more like “torpor” like a 🦨 rather than true hibernation 🐻
Thanks.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI was AWOL yesterday due to circumstances that reinforced my strongly held belief that incompetence and indifference permeate the local work force. End of rant. On a more positive note, I really enjoyed this solve, although I’d prefer more of a challenge in a Saturday grid. Despite the unknown Hiragana, Doge, Edna Mode entries, the rest of the fill was either evident or easily discernible, even the slangy Swole. Speaking of fill, today’s was fresh and lively and added to the solving enjoyment, IMO.
Thanks, John Andrew, for a Saturday special treat and thanks, HG, for the always entertaining and informative review, not to mention the sparkling visuals, with the exception of that unappetizing bowl of ?
A very belated but sincere Happy Birthday, Charlie Echo! 🎂🎊🎁🎈
Have a great day.
My first run through this CW left me despairing, as often happens on Saturdays, then I calmed down and a good time completing it. Several unknowns such as SHADE as clued, HIRAGANA, DOGE, SWOLE, EDNA MODE, but perps and WAGS came to the rescue.
ReplyDeleteI liked the NINE LIVES clue. HG, enjoyed your recap, and laughed at that weird cat walk.
Charlie Echo had a birthday? Well happy belated birthday 🎉
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed this puzzle. Made me feel smart and in the know - not typical for Saturday. Edna Mode was my fave “Incredibles” character. And, I even knew a couple of the sports references (Wayne, goal tends) - don’t know how that happened. Thx
ReplyDeleteNeat puzzle, Mr Agpalo-- I liked it!
ReplyDeleteLike Subgenius at 3:51 AM (and others) I was momentarily stuck in the lower left or southwest. DNK EDNA MODE, struggled to come up with WAYNE's name, and sure don't recognize DOGE in this context. HIRAGANA was another unknown. FIR anyway.
desper-otto at 5:57 AM, I'd be willing to bet that's a DEhumidifier in your closet, and not the opposite.
I appreciate Husker Gary pointing out fine points of the puzzle's construction. I liked the look of the grid and found it interesting to solve, but I don't know enough to appreciate what makes it special, so thanks for that!
Yes, my brain misfired. Seems to happen more frequently of late.
Delete... and going down a DOGE rabbit hole online, I bumped into a SWOLE DOGE!
ReplyDeleteYoutooz Swole Doge Vinyl Figure, 5" Buff Doge Meme Figure Meme Collection Based on Famous Internet Memes https://a.co/d/3YbQLZM
A.most made it today. Called an "o" instead of an "A" for the cross of 40A and 32D. Never heard of SWOLE. Don't like most of these funky slang made-up words.
ReplyDeleteRest of the puzzle was a piece of cake. Perps made a large contribution to the unknowns in the puzzle Thanks to John and HG for their teamwork on today's offering.
Making a plaster cast with your HANDPRINT was a standard activity in elementary school. Often you find them in fresh concrete as well.
I do run a dehumidifier in my basement, but have never needed to resort to a humidifier. Only rarely will static be a problem. I have a hot water heating system and it seems to make a difference.
You can take your pumpkin spice and put it where the sun doesn't shine.
Westward.
I believe that Mr. Agpalo provided us a pleasant--for the most part--Saturday challenge. The head-scratchers, such as HIRAGANA, DOGE, and STADT, were for the most part scattered around, and easy prey for nearby perps. Not so in the SW, which assaulted us with such gems as SADE, EDNAMODE, SEENOTE, SWOLE, and other obscurities. In my case, Gretsky, O'Hare, and Palermo led the heroic perp charge down there. So I emerged relatively unscathed.
ReplyDeleteThe NE was seemingly written on my behalf. First, I am a ship nut, and some great liners were built on the Clyde, like Lusitania, Queen Mary, Aquitania, Queen Elizabeth, and QE2, plus Royal Navy vessels like Hood and Repulse. The other easy part of the NE was that I am an Angels fan (19 Across).
Hey, how do I do Italics, Bold, accents, and the like?
I did not like 38 Down, "What opens and closes safes?" (ESS), but I did like 21 Across "'Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe' painter" (MANET), because I own a print of it, and I also liked 34 Across "Deliberate," because most of us assume it's an adjective. Nope, not here; it's a verb.
Thank you, John Andrew, for providing us with a thoughtful, amusing, and clever Saturday-appropriate exercise that I found satisfyng in the solve.
A nice puzzle with some clever clueing JAA and thanks HG for the comment about Ben Hur, a favorite old movie.
ReplyDeleteA very bad start with many empty spaces that then began to fill in. Knowing , SADE, LAGASSE, ACELA,GLASGOW, EDNA MODE and the sport clues LOTT, WAYNE HALOS, GOAL TENDS led to one’s unknown: STADT, the Japanese clue, SWOLE/DOGE (why not a Venice reference?)
TAKE A HIKE, MAKE NO MISTAKE and SLEEPONIT? - oh, SLEE P ON IT fun to discover.
ReplyDeleteRun amok/RUN WILD, car/COT. Interesting RASES (down) rises(up).
The MANET painting, now in the Musee d’Orsay, Paris, is huge, unlike the Mona Lisa which is small in comparison. Expectations are often changed by reality.
Happy day, all!
The puzzle didn’t seem difficult by Saturday standards, but it had sufficient points of interest, plus obstacles such as HIRAGANA, EDNA MODE, and (especially) SWOLE.
ReplyDeleteThe latter caused me to FIW. I knew SHIBA INU is a dog breed, so I filled in DOGs, and I subsequently thought SWOLs seemed just as likely as SWOLE. I had no reason to know or think of the DOGE cryptocoin. I am no fan of crypto, to put it mildly.
At least I FIRred quickly. GLASGOW was my first fill, helping me fill the NE, and ACELA, STADT, and LOTT helped the NW fall quickly as well. Three paraphrase entries parsed better than the usual ones. WAYNE Gretzky and O’HARE propelled me in the SW. LA NINA and LEVY got me through the SE.
DRIVE TIME should have been easier for someone who has written quite a lot about radio ratings, but I got it, which made it easier to prove NINE LIVES was indeed the “snack” misrepresented by its clue. I didn’t like ESS, of course, and I thought it was unfair to expect non-baseball fans to know superstar-who’s-always-injured Mike Trout’s team.
I couldn’t decide whether the clue for BALD was ingenious or simply not true. Maybe baldness makes every day a bad hair day.
At least I FIWed quickly.
DeleteHola! Yea! I finished a Saturday puzzle! That is highly unusual but this one seemed to fill quickly. I love fill like: HANDPRINT, LAYER CAKE, TAKE A HIKE and some others. Actually, I liked the entire puzzle. Thank you, John Andrew Agpalo. When deciding between MONET and MANET I wait for the perps. ASPHALT yielded MANET.
ReplyDeleteACELA made another appearance today. SALERNO changed to PALERMO. WAYNE Gretsky lives here in Arizona and has been featured in the newspaper and that is how I know his name.
It is a very dark and sad time in our country's history that Japanese-Americans were interred during WWII. My friend, Carmine, was five at the time and went with her mother. Her father was Chinese-American and stayed home thus protecting their property. The monetary compensation they received later was, I'm sure, a small comfort that did not make up for the humiliation, discomfort and disruption to their lives.
In our state, VOTES are still being counted for local offices.
Have a beautiful day, everyone!
It's not just AZ that is still counting. The longer it takes, the more I suspect hanky panky. I understand a day or two for absentee and provisional ballots, but come on already. Recounts can legitimately cause further delay, but the official first count shouldn't take this long.
DeleteJust my opinion, but I think that the states like my Virginia that count ballots that arrive after election day as long as they are postmarked on or before election day are inviting trouble. I would feel even more strongly about that if the USPS service was better here.
Oh. DOGE is usually an official from Venice. When did that change?
ReplyDeleteSlightly tough, but still manageable Saturday puzzle, thank you very much for this treat, John. And, as always, thanks for your helpful commentary, Gary.
ReplyDeleteMAKE NO MISTAKE, after the VOTES at that crazy election RAN WILD, a lot of people felt STRANDED on the ASPHALT of their lives. It made them feel they had little choice but to SLEEP ON IT, or TAKE A HIKE, maybe to some pleasant place like PALERMO, where they might enjoy a VIVID view and stop in at a cafe to order a LAYER CAKE and some TEA. After that they might enjoy some DRIVE TIME and hopefully that will help them to reCOVER.
Have a sunny, lovely weekend, everybody.
Down in flames at the southwest corner, but an enjoyable failure, at any rate! Juuust a little outside.
ReplyDeleteWhen Caitlin Clark stopped at Yankee Stadium, she took a pic with Aaron Judge, said “he sure is swole” or similar.
ReplyDeleteIn the picture she looks like a short blade of grass standing next to him.
Yeah, he’s a big guy.
Puzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I thought this might have been the easiest Saturday solve ever for me. I solved it on the computer in under 12:00 minutes and that included a few write/overs when I "checked" the grid. Nevertheless, the short solve time did not take away anything from the puzzle; I thought it was well-crafted
Second, Irish Miss @ 9:09 --> glad to hear you are OK. I gave you a CSO yesterday and when I didn't see your usual post, I almost emailed you
Enjoy the weekend, all
Thanks for your concern, Moe. I just had a very frustrating and complicated day full of “Murphy’s Law” moments. Thanks for the CSO.
DeleteI'm with H-Gary when he says, "When the long fills appear with ease, it greatly facilitates obtaining a 'got 'er done!'" Thanks for the fun John! Please send us another soon!
ReplyDeleteFAVs: clues for BALD, ESS, and SAMSONITE. Speaking of, I love that Grandma Opal had high expectations for you, H-Gary!
I wanted MILES for 1A. (Hi Jinx!) Tomorrow is our local half marathon. I will tally a 13.2 (knock on wood).
Just last week I saw a Tesla Model X with gull-wing doors. DH told me the name of the doors. Great timing!
I also had an advantage with HIRAGANA. I can write it and read it phonetically but that doesn't mean I always know what I am reading....
Thanks to H-Gary for filling in the gaps! I'm glad you provided that EDNA MODE video. I could not remember her.
I very much enjoyed solving this puzzle today.
ReplyDeleteEL NINO --> LA NINA
M-NET
AGGASSI --> LAGASSE
ESSEN --> STADT.
I especially liked:
GLASGOW
SAMSONITE
LAYER CAKE
OCTAGONAL
ASPHALT
STRANDED
DELOREAN
PALERMO.
I rather disliked:
SWOLE.
I strongly disliked:
"Get lost!": TAKE A HIKE
"Let me be clear": MAKE NO MISTAKE
"Care for a bite?": WANT SOME
DOGE. (I still don't fully get it.)
I knew HIRAGANA only because I had to take Japanese as a requirement for my college degree. It still took a few perps to get going on that answer, though. At first I was thinking along the lines of characters in literature such as SAMURAI.
I have grown exceedingly tired of hearing politicians saying MAKE NO MISTAKE and "Let me be clear".
Thanks once again for your informative write-up, Gary. Good reading you all.
I remembered that many years ago I dated someone who owned a car with GULL WING doors. I don't recall the brand but it was a real surprise to see those doors open upwards! I dated him only a short time before I met my future husband.
ReplyDeleteClose but no cigar today. I even filled HIRAGANA, DOGE, SWOLE, and EDNA MODE (never heard of THEM) but the SE foiled me. My mind was on electric freezers, not the Ice cream. ENEMY was unknown I don't understand how COVER and 'number' go together.
ReplyDeleteLAGASSE- today was our anniversary but we didn't go to Emeril's. They have a prie fixe menu for about TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS, drinks not included. We went to Galitoire's on Bourbon St. DW's favorite. It was only $200 for both of us, including the drinks.
Happy Anniversary, BE!
DeleteBig Easy, think of number as being a song. After the orinal artist, all other recordings of that "number" are considered to be covers.
ReplyDeleteA lurker known as Plugged