Saturday, February 1, 2025, Adrian Johnson, Will Nediger

 Saturday February 1, 2025 by Adrian Johnson & Will Nediger 

Adrian

Will

I had a nice 14-minute trip through Adrian and Will's puzzle. I wrote to Adrian about this puzzle he co-authored with Will and this was his gracious reply.

Hi Gary,

Great to hear from you. Will and I are good friends that have collaborated a few times on puzzles, most recently co-organizing a charity pack to support humanitarian relief efforts in Palestine (https://www.puzzlesforpalestine.com/) that we hope you’ll check out. Some wildly creative work from the best people in the business, 22 puzzles and no minimum donation—whatever you can spare to support rebuilding and humanitarian efforts.

This puzzle was a stunt of sorts to see how many 12-letter entries we could fix into a 15x grid. I sent Will the layout last year, he helped lock much of the center into place, I polished off the corners, and we were off! Thanks as always for the work you do.

Cheers,

Adrian

Across:

1. Attach: TIE ON.

6. Pickle: SCRAPE - Origin of the phrase

12. "You're getting ahead of yourself": DON'T BE SO HASTY.

14. "I'll meet you halfway": LET'S COMPROMISE.

15. Vaudeville singer Smith: MAMIE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

16. __ bran: OAT - Love this variety

17. Break stuff?: ADS 😀

18. Like: AKIN TO.

20. Car mirror's view: REAR - Not what you want to see

23. "__ Masters": reality show with building contests: LEGO.

24. When all's been said and done, to a Brit: AFTERWARDS.

30. Gifts that might be made with kukui: LEIS - A LEI made with Ti leaves and kukui nuts

31. Udder part: TEAT.

32. Joplin's "Treemonisha," e.g.: OPERA.

33. Zig instead of zag, perhaps: ERR.

34. Newspaper that covers Congress: THE HILL.

36. __ canto: BEL - Bel canto, Italian for beautiful singing is both a style of singing and a style of opera. 

37. "Julia" star Swinton: TILDA.

39. TV explorer Márquez: DORA The Explorer

40. School house, informally?: FRAT 😀

41. One might be on a roll: SESAME SEED - Yes, I'm embarrassed I can still sing this song from memory!

43. Freddie portrayer in "Bohemian Rhapsody": RAMI.

RAMI                                Freddie

44. Audition dismissal: NEXT.

45. Basil who designed England's Coventry Cathedral: SPENCE.

 

47. "That's the spot": AAH.

50. Question for a magician: HOW.

52. Planet-mapping tool: RADAR - An artist's concept of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mapping the red planet.

53. Highly stressful situation: PRESSURE COOKER - If they pay you millions...

58. "You've been up too long": IT'S TIME FOR BED.

59. Promise: ASSURE.

60. Coarse cloth: TWEED - I'll bet you know who this prof in TWEED coat is. (* answer at bottom.)

Down:

1. Big name in pizza rolls: TOTINOS.

2. Like some jewels: INSET

3. "There's more," briefly: ETC.

4. Letters with a negotiable price: OBO - Or Best Offer - A cool name for a thrift shop in Spokane, Wa 

5. Nautilus captain: NEMO - James Mason played the good captain in this Disney movie. BTW, 20,000 leagues is approximately 60,000 miles. Jules Vernes' book referred to how far the Nautilus travelled while under the sea not how deep the sea was. You're welcome.

6. Recycling-plant worker: SORTER.

7. Margaret of "Fire Island": CHO.

8. Zodiac mammal: RAM.

9. Home of most of Turkey: ASIA.

10. Condition that may be treated with EMDR therapy: PTSD - A very interesting 3-minute video about Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reoricessubg therapy for treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

11. Socket sets: EYES 😀

12. People who partially identify as female: DEMIGIRLS.

13. Blowout remedy: SPARE TIRE - Where it was in my Uncle Virgil's pickup

14. Endpoint of the Detroit River: LAKE ERIE - I was pleased to learn that Lake Huron flows into a Lake St. Claire and then the Detroit River takes that water down to LAKE ERIE.

15. Marimba strikers: MALLETS - Lionel Hampton used those MALLETS on xylophones, vibraphones and marimbas.

19. Promise: OATH.

21. Rotten to the Corps, perhaps: AWOL 😀

22. Genre for Flo Milli and Flau'jae: RAP - Not familiar with either of them but RAP made sense

25. Business offering stock options?: FEED STORE.

26. Sugar Bowl home: TAHOE - Yeah, I tried every variation for New Orleans I could but...

27. Handled better?: REBRANDED.

28. Ideal wheels: DREAM CAR - I'll take a '57 red and white Vette convertible! 

29. More coarse, in a way: SALTIER not 34. Not at all ferocious: TAME.

35. Boyos: LADS - A Welsh term

38. Dojo level: DAN.

40. Flipped out: FREAKED.

42. Dig up: EXHUME.

46. Europa Clipper, for one: PROBE - Surveying the surface of the Jupiter moon of Europa.

47. Capital of Samoa: APIA - 5hr 35min flight SSW of Honolulu 

48. Poetry, weaving, et al.: ARTS.

49. Pianist Myra: HESS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

51. Warp counterpart: WEFT.

54. Stampede Wrestling co-founder Hart: STU.

55. Military title: SIR.

56. Interrupting animal in a classic knock-knock joke: COW - I laughed really hard the first time I heard this joke.

57. City-building resource in Catan: ORE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I don't play.

*That of course is Dr. Henry (aka Indiana) Jones