Themeless Saturday by Amie Walker & Matthew Stock
We have escaped blizzards this winter on the Great Plains but Amie and Matt provided a blizzard of proper names. However, after getting through the grid I had only one empty cell at #51 where I did know Ms. _UGH or what a _IPINGBAG was (My lovely bride did!). After a run through the alphabet, I tried a "P" and was pleasantly surprised when I got the Congratulations message for a hard-earned "got 'er done!"
Across
1. Arno city: PISA - The Arno's headwaters are up in the Apennines and then the river meanders through Florence and PISA on the way to the Ligurian Sea.
5. Let up: ABATE.
10. Ontario, for one: LAKE - The "O" of the mnemonic HOMES for the Great Lakes
14. Sticks around at lunch, say: ANTS ON A LOG 😀
16. "Pssh": I BET.
17. Awards show extra: SEAT FILLER.
18. Sushi sometimes served with ponzu: TORO - Saturday cluing for TORO!
19. Here and there?: SPLIT 😀
20. Second-worst possible "Wheel of Fortune" spin: LOSE A TURN - I'll bet you can also see the worst wedge in this picture
22. "One, two, __": hide-and-seek cheater's count: TEN. 😀
23. Get off the road: TOW 😀
24. Lean: TILT.
25. Trounce: WHOMP.
27. "We'll take care of that": LET US - Yeah, I'm old enough to remember these ads
30. Time of self-prioritization and boundary setting, colloquially: VILLAIN ERA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
35. "This is bad!": OH NO.
36. "Have a guess?": ANY IDEA.
37. Anthem officially adopted on Dominion Day in 1980: O CANADA - My favorite national anthem!
39. Home __: TURF - Here's the Sharks and Jets defending theirs in West Side Story
40. "Start again": FROM THE TOP.
42. One who makes tracks: SKIER 😀
44. "Qismat" actress: TANIA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
45. Escape room find: CLUE.
47. Mark, as a box: X IN.
48. Civil rights law, for short: ADA - Americans with Disability Act
51. It might have frosted tips: PIPING BAG.
54. Oatmeal __: STOUT.
56. Soup noodle: UDON.
57. Soiree whose invite might say "Let's get nauty": 😀 YACHT PARTY.
57. Soiree whose invite might say "Let's get nauty": 😀 YACHT PARTY.
59. Sue Sylvester series: GLEE - I did not know of Ms. Sylvester but did know of GLEE
60. Cover of knight: PLATE ARMOR.
61. Outskirts?: HEMS 😀
62. Imperfect, e.g.: TENSE The imperfect tense is used to describe an action that is unfinished or that happened regularly in the past. Here is an example of the imperfect tense in English and
- "John was eating breakfast when the telephone rang". "Was eating" is in the imperfect tense.
Down:
1. "Nah": PASS.
2. Lacking the knack: INEPT.
3. Uninspired: STALE.
4. Skylar of "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend": ASTIN.
6. Party favor with a twist?: BALLOON ART.
7. "I'll take care of that": ALLOW ME or...
8. Emu's six: TOES - Three and three
9. Bird in the National Audubon Society logo: EGRET.
10. Tot: LITTLE ONE.
11. Start of a delicate conversation: ABOUT THAT.
12. Australian soccer star Sam: KERR - Samantha ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
13. Place-name that means "River-Town" in Old English: ETON - The name derives from Old English Ä’a-tÅ«n, meaning “River-Town”, a reference to
15. Poetic adverb: OFT.
21. Trouble: AIL.
23. Porch pirate, e.g.: THIEF - Ten ways to thwart them
25. Thick bundle: WAD.
26. When court dates are scheduled: PROM NIGHTS - Ah, paradise on the court in the gym/
28. Mac user's command+Z: UNDO.
29. Wet bar?: SOAP 😀
30. Brewery sights: VATS.
31. Native north of the Arctic timberline: INUK - An INUK is a single person of the Inuit people
32. Dickinson's "The Heart Asks Pleasure First," for one: LYRIC POEM - A poetic look at the cycle of life
34. Muscle protein: ACTIN - Now I remember why I didn't like biology
38. "Eureka!": AHA.
41. Like many who celebrate the Guelaguetza: OAXACAN - More
43. Get on track?: RUN.
46. Country whose national bird is the endangered steppe eagle: EGYPT ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
48. Arcade pioneer: ATARI.
49. Digs for archaeology majors?: DORMS - I'm not sure Morey Hall, my old DORM, had any archaeology majors.
 |
| Morey Hall Wayne State College, Wayne NE |
50. Wheels: AUTOS.
51. "Dune: Part Two" star Florence: PUGH ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
52. Not busy: IDLE.
53. Hayride perch: BALE.
54. Self-care spot: SPA.
55. Banks who coined the words "flawsome" and "smize": TYRA - Awesome with a flaw and Smile with your eyes
58. Gym top: TEE - Kids wear most anything in P.E. today.
Notes from C.C.:
1) Happy 56th Anniversary to our Thursday Sherpa Bill and his wife Teri!
2) Looks who Big Easy bumped into yesterday?
24 comments:
As usual for a Saturday, there was quite a bit of misdirection, and quite a few obscure names and terms. But after replacing “town” with “turf” I gradually managed to solve this challenging, but ultimately fair, puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.
I’m not exactly sure what the term “thumper” means in context to a CW, but people seem to use it when they have a negative impression of a puzzle, and that would be me today. I mean a Saturday themeless should be hard, requiring some cogitation, but this one was over the top as far as level of difficulty and ultimately I had no chance. Clues such as Skylar, Qismat actress, Sue Sylvester, (and the worst one of them all)-Australian soccer star Sam, plus the unknown fill of VILLAIN ERA, PIPING BAG, INUK, ACTIN, STOUT, and TORO (as clued) led to my demise. HG ~ I always enjoy your Saturday blog, today much more so than the puzzle, thank you.
Another vanity project, designed with the solver's failure in mind. "Sticks around at lunch, say" for ANTSONALOG was solved via perps but is still absurd cluing.
Excessive paraphrasing, multiple obscurities, and extremely cutesie cluing made for an unenjoyable 16 minutes.
"Villain era??" C'mon now...
YP, the "Thumper" comment originates from Walt Disney's Bambi.
After a quite doable Friday puzzle, I thought I'd give Saturday a try for once. Nope. Let's just say 35 across.
DNF, filling 50, 47 correctly. I had PISA, but erased it for apart (instead of SPLIT.) My brewery had cans, and my wet bar had soup.
Since I had a U at the end (from SOuP,) I wanted the song to be (crossword favorite) ELO's XANADU, but couldn't figure out the extra letter. You didn't have a National Anthem until 1980? What's up wid dat, Eh?
PIPING BAG evoked a Scot in a kilt and his musical(?) instrument.
Couldn't fit "gandydancer" for one who makes tracks.
I always confuse "panic room" with "escape room."
I Really wanted the Banks with the colorful expressions had to be "Mr. Cub" Ernie. Too many letters.
Thanks to Amie and Matthew. I had fun, but it would have been more fun without the A&E crapola. I don't expect to finish Saturday puzzles, but see them as an opportunity to learn. Real stuff, not showbiz stuff. And thanks to H.Gary, especially for the Al Bundy cameo and the Greyhound...bus.
Took 23:40 today.
About half of that time was spent near pipingbag/Egypt/Oaxacan.
I knew some of today's actresses (Issa & Pugh), but not all (Tania and maybe the Glee clue). Never heard of the Australian soccer star - but why would I?
I had home turn before turf, but "line lines" didn't make any sense. Maybe life lines makes more sense, but I don't still don't understand that one.
I've not heard of "villain era", but that seems like the type of answer that Patty enjoys for a Saturday puzzle, much like obscure food (toro)
Good Morning:
I finished w/o help in normal Saturday time but I can’t say I enjoyed the solve. On the contrary, the too cute by half cluing and the obscure fill, (Oaxacan, Stout, Tania, Actin, Inuk, Kerr, Astin, Toro, and the most egregious of all, Villain Era) evoked annoyance and frustration. I think one of the most important dictums of crossword construction, i.e., the accessibility to a wide-range of solvers, has gone the way of pay phones and analog clocks/watches, not to mention manners and common sense. End of rant. 😤
Thanks, HG, for your calm and soothing voice which is always an antidote to a joyless solve. Your snazzy visuals and balanced commentary are balm for the soul.
Happy Anniversary, Bill and Teri. 🥂💕
Have a great day.
This was a Good/Bad puzzle, in my view.
The Good: It was cleverly constructed and contained many clues/answers that exercised one's mind appropriately, often resulting in that satisfying "aha" moment when solved. Amie and Matthew also managed to dodge all those (3Down) overused vowel-rich staples spit out by the generator Crossword Compiler.
The Bad: Prioritizing cutesiness and showing off, to the detriment of what is in the best interests of the solver. Examples would include many unimportant vocalizations and conversational throat-clearings, as well as quite a few obscure names who you either knew or not. Even if you got to the correct answer, there was no "aha" moment, because you couldn't tell if it was correct or not.
A few specifics: There were some long answers that ranged from farfetched to the inscrutable, like PIPINGBAG, OATMEALSTOUT, and VILLAINERA.
On the other hand, look at the matching symmetrical five-letter words at 9Down and 46Down. They are both in the form EG__T, and both concern birds. This is elegant construction and design.
And to me, clever misdirection is at the heart of crossword puzzles, and here Amie and Matthew did not hold back. There must have been a dozen or so good misdirected clues.
Thanks, Husker G, for your usual helpful and entertaining recap. And thanks, Amie and Matthew, for an extremely challenging--satisfying at times--Saturday diversion.
I flew through the top half of the puzzle in about five minutes. Thought to myself this is way too easy. Yep. It came to a screaming halt soon after. Villain era , piping bag, Pugh, Sue Sylvester series did me in. Oh well, there's always next Saturday.
DNF. I threw in the towel with "villain era". All other sections I finally got with a lot of persistence. For me there were too many extremely obscure clues. One expects that on a Saturday, but this was over the top.
Overall this was an extremely unenjoyable puzzle. I'm glad it's over and if I never see it again it will be too soon.
Well, I came close. The Reno-Tahoe area got me, mostly because of the VILLAIN ERA/INUK natick, one of the worst I can recall. I went wrong with Taps/VATS, Time LINE/LIFE LINE, and home perm/TURF. Considering all the similar stuff I figured out, I’d say I did pretty well.
The puzzle was full of compound words for which one component was easy and the other needed to filled in (like -----LINE), which had a nearly impossible to translate clue. There were many instances, as Tehachapi Ken points out, in which you could come up with the right answer but feel unsure about it. The puzzle was also full of ridiculous paraphrases, but I hung in there gamely.
Of all the Kerrs that Aime (or probably Patti) could have chosen, an obscure female athlete? YACHT PARTY? Geez. TANIA/Qismat? Ho-kay. Oh, and X-IN, which I got right only because of my WAG on OAXACAN.
In retrospect, it was dreadful.
Hmm, I got the first three - PISA, ABATE, & LAKE- and most of the lower half but it was a DNF. Pssh? TORO, SPLIT, SEAT FILLER, ASTIN there's no way I would have completed those. VILLAIN ERA- never heard of it and even had VIL__AIN ERA filled. My Home TOWN became TUR___. And i even filled ___IPING BAG, but guessed HUGH instead of PUCH. I didn't have ANY IDEA what "Piping" was until Gary's explanation.
When we ran into Hoda Kotb yesterday, she was walking with some of her old NOLA friends in the French Quarter. She was a local newscaster for 15+ years before she hit the big time on the Today show. DW knows many of her friends who played tennis at the club where her ex was the head pro.
DNF, I had to TITT. I get frustrated by paraphrasing, á type of clue that seems to be on the increase, and proper names. When you add slang like VILLAIN ERA, then I’m totally out of my element, so this puzzle was not for me and I prefer to spend my time elsewhere.
Kudos to you clever cornerites who persevered.
Thank you HG for á review that I enjoyed á lot more than CW.
Today is DW 75th BD and her two out-of-town sisters are arriving soon to surprise her. Part of my excuse for TITT early.
Ontario: not Canada Eh’s prov cuz it’s not an abbr. (and a NYS county is too long.) and later “Oh CANADA wouIdnt fit. Guess SEAT FILLERS is (are) a thing. Thought “Steppe” was a cold winter-like locale. Never woulda guessed EGYPT.
“Ponzu”; isn’t that an illegal Japanese investment scheme? “Sam” the soccer star? “Guelaguetza”? (sounds like a tropical AILment) Did anyone know VILLAIN ERA?
So TON ( like BridgerTON) means town, OK, but E is river? Dedicated “gym” rats often sport an oversized tank top but if it’s a TEE it must be ripped.
We’ve had Inuit and Aleut but INUK is new to me.
Dresses no longer in fashion … OUTSKIRTS
Watch your ____ . around those rare eagle nests … STEPPE
Frequently eliminated gangstyle…. OFT
____ have ____ instead of kale salad …LETUS.
Former hotel … EX IN
Where England is located … INUK
Now which drawer has 75 birthday candles 🎂.
Looks like there are a bunch of words that start with T to fill in “Home ____”, of course I guessed wrong with team. Also, just came from the grocery store and saw a new brand of Oreos, “Post Malone”, look for it to be a future clue for CW’s stalest cookie.
Probably one of the lamest puzzles I have ever seen. Poor clues, obscure clues, and not-really-clue clues. TITT. On the plus side, it did make a nice liner for the bottom of the birdcage.
Amen.
Hand up I found this extremely difficult. Notably due to some answers that still make no sense to me: SPLIT as clued, PROM relating to COURT, VILLAIN ERA, PIPING BAG, STOUT as clued. And those crossed proper names. Argh. In the end I did manage to FIR, so I suppose I should be happy.
This OAXACAN kindly posed with some of his big ART
His name is Carlos Jarquin and he later invited Merlie and me to his home, where he had a vast collection of this art. It turns out he is renting his home and we fear he could lose it as happened to us.
Challenging but interesting Saturday puzzle, many thanks, Amie and Matthew. And thanks for your always helpful commentary, Husker Gary. And, finally, a Happy Anniversary to you, Bill and Teri.
I BET the player didn't LOSE A TURN when he played "Wheel of Fortune" at the YACHT PARTY. He wasn't INEPT, having attended ETON, and he usually solved everything FROM THE TOP. But he was full of GLEE when the game was over. He wanted to work on BALLOON ART, and write some LYRIC POEMS, and play with his LITTLE ONE. This all reminded him of the pleasure of PROM NIGHTS, back in the day, and made him happy. And if he's happy, I'm happy too.
Have a delightful weekend, everybody.
This Saturday puzzle felt like I was slogging but then came in about the same time as usual . Learning moment about VILLAIN ERA - but designating a segment of life as an ERA became popular with Taylor Swift's ERAs tour.
"I'm in my _____ ERA", so the VILLAIN filled by perps
Most women (and men who like to cook) have heard of a PIPING BAG or a pastry bag - even if they don't use one themselves. I have a friend who uses hers for deviled eggs to get that nice swirly top on them. Here are some others
https://www.tastingtable.com/1122068/the-absolute-best-uses-for-your-pastry-bag/
We were in Alaska this summer and learned a lot about the First Nations like the INUK
Thanks to HG for the fun and informative blog and to Amie & Matthew for the fun and challenging Saturday solve
I forgot to wish a wonderful anniversary to Bill & Teri!
I found several clues to have incomprehensible answers, but after some thought MAYBE "Lifelines" refer to the lines on your hand, that some people think can predict your future??
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