Saturday Themeless by Hoang-Kim Vu
Posted in 2021: Hoang-Kim Vu works on a global malaria research project in Washington, D.C. His crosswords have appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today. When he's not solving or constructing, Kim enjoys collecting passport stamps, spending too much money on pet nats, and trying his best to raise a one-year-old daughter and a pitbull with bad knees with his wife/co-constructor/forever editor Jess.
The left half of the puzzle went very quickly and then I made the right side more difficult by misreading some clues and entering incorrect alternate fills. I really enjoyed the solve and to quote my friend Irish Miss: "The juice was worth the squeeze!"
Across:1. Having the wrong profile, in a way: CATFISHING - Catfishing means someone is using a fake identity to trick you into believing you’re in a real online friendship or romance with them.
11. Dark cloud: PALL - Omen looked good for a long time.
15. "Grateful that you'd think of me!": IT'S AN HONOR.
16. __ vera: ALOE - Don't you hate when you see versa and put in VICE? 🤨
17. Class of talking heads and pundits: CHATTERATI - I had never heard of it but I liked it and it became pretty obvi obvious.
18. A principal deity of Hinduism: SIVA.
18. A principal deity of Hinduism: SIVA.
19. __ Lingus: AER.
20. Like some hygiene: ORAL.
21. Where one might let sleeping dogs lie: PET BED - Sleep over!
23. Ideal location for speakers: DAIS.
25. Word in a Samin Nosrat title: ACID.
25. Word in a Samin Nosrat title: ACID.
27. Hibachi part: GRATE - Not GRILL
 |
| Lucie ARNAZ Nicole Kidman |
30. Racer's boost: ENERGY BAR.
32. Warded (off): STAVED - I have managed to STAVE off maturity for quite a while
32. Warded (off): STAVED - I have managed to STAVE off maturity for quite a while
34. Spanish pronoun: ESA - "ESA casa es muy grande" I'll bet you can translate this by yourself but if you can't see it below *
35. Lids: CAPS.
36. Use a red pen, say: EDIT.
38. Kin kin: KITH - Origin
 |
| Friends Family |
40. Assessment for many jrs.: PSAT.
43. Only defenseman to lead the NHL in points: ORR - Bobby first did this in 1969. His Bruins also won the The Stanley Cup that year and Bobby celebrated with his famous leap which is immortalized in this statue.
49. In transit: ON THE ROAD - How 'bout a sing-a-long...
52. Earlier, in the past: AFORE.
Afore the Storm
The sun, a weary, fading gold,
Afore the storm, the story's told.
The wind begins to softly sigh,
Afore the rain, the clouds roll nigh.
The world holds breath, a silent plea,
Afore the storm, wild and free.
54. Just so cute: TWEE - I remember first seeing this word on the bottom line of a Sunday LA Puzzle many years ago.
57. Ma Rainey's "Louisiana __ Blues": HOO DOO.
59. Place for multiple outlets: MALL 😀
61. Stage name of South Korean rapper Park Jae-sang: PSY - His Gangnam Style made him fabulously wealthy. For what it's worth, Gangnam is a very stylish, hip part of Seoul.
62. Staple of southern cuisine: OKRA.
63. Feature of some Gothic facades?: PIERCED LIP - Uh, not Gothic buildings.
66. "__ we forget": LEST.
67. First mates?: ADAM AND EVE 😀
68. Art Deco designer: ERTE - The Fashion illustrator Erté was originally named Roman Petrovich Tyrtov but went by Romain de Tirtoff in France. Erté was his pseudonym, the French phonetic spelling of his initials, R.T.
69. Parts of overdue explanations?: LATE PASSES - I've looked at thousands of these over my career.
Down:
1. Insects whose broods emerge at regular 13- or 17-year intervals: CICADAS.
2. Fundamentally: AT HEART.
3. Catherine the Great, e.g.: TSARINA.
4. Word in a Samin Nosrat title: FAT.
5. Getting a kick out of: INTO.
6. Cartoondom's "Princess of Power": SHE-RA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
7. "Carmen Saeculare" poet: HORACE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
8. Standing together: IN A LINE.
9. "__ for me": NOT.
10. Strong hold: GRIP.
11. Those who can provide the latest dish?: PASTRY CHEFS - Yes, a PASTRY is usually the last (latest) dish served. 😀
12. Chinese e-commerce giant: ALIBABA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
13. Little bump: LOVE TAP.
14. Up-front people: LEADERS.
22. Key ingredient in pastel de nata: EGG ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
26. Computer platform?: DESK 😀
29. Feature of the London Zoo: ZED - In London zebra starts with the letter Z which they pronounce ZED and not ZEE. Also, in the London Zoo zebra is pronounced zeb ruh not zee buh.
31. Debugging agent?: RAID.
33. Designer Christian: DIOR.
37. Equestrian gait: TROT.
39. Spanish aunt: TIA.
40. Cause of some misalignment: POTHOLE 😀
41. Hoodwink: SNOOKER - He SNOOKERED a lot of 'em
42. Under the poorest conditions: AT WORST.
44. Hot pot fodder: RAW MEAT.
46. Comes crashing down: TOPPLES.
47. Marked by decay: EROSIVE - Very visible from your gondola in Venice
48. Enters once more: RETYPES.
50. Jeff Lynne's gp.: ELO - A frequent visitor to the cwd bandstand
51. "Oh my stars!": DEAR ME.
55. "Free Solo" locale, familiarly: EL CAP - EL CAPitan is in Yosemite
58. Pearlescent shade: OPAL.
 |
| OPAL Craft Beads |
60. Writer/producer Waithe: LENA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
64. Journalist Tarbell: IDA.
65. Canine care deg.: DDS - A veterinarian with a DVM might work on the canine teeth of an animal but a dentist with a DDS degree works on human canine teeth
*Translation - That house is very big
FWIW - Did anyone else catch that fact that PALL and MALL were in the same puzzle? The cigarettes were named for a famous street in London.
42 comments:
This puzzle, while I
wouldn’t call it “easy,” fell into place after a little tweaking (such as changing “Dell” to “desk”). I got through it pretty much intact. FIR, so I’m happy.
HG, I did not notice PALL MALL, but as I was flying through the puzzle (for me with my slow typing speed), I was thinking that Hoang-Kim had thrown us a softball today. I glanced at the timer (12:13) with only 3 words left to fill -- all in the NE quadrant. 11A, 16A and 18A. 16A had to be ALOE, but probable answers for 12D, 13D and 14D weren't there. After a couple of minutes, it all came together when I reread the clue at 21A and realized it wasn't PETspa, it was PETBED, and it wasn't GRill, it was GRATE.
Thank you, Hoang-Kim.
Seeing Hoang-Kim's name reminded me of the excellent article he wrote last year. A great read for solvers who have an interest in the ACPT competition and some insights into the approaches used by the world's best solvers.
The World’s Fastest Crossword Solvers Can’t Tell You How To Do This
Congrats to Paolo Pasco on winning the 2025 ACPT. He also won 2024. He came in second in 2023 by just a few seconds. A new era at the acme of speed solving?
A DNF today. SHERA, FAT, and HORACE I would have never filled. With even CICADAS, AT HEART, INTO, IN A LINE, NOT, and TSARINA filled, there was no way to finish the NW.
CATFISHING & ACID (as clued) and CHATTERATI are words I know nothing about. My hold was a KEEP (safe) instead of a GRIP. The rest of the puzzle fell into place easily.
POTHOLE changed my VOODOO to HOO DOO. LENA was unknown.
"Free Solo"= death wish for EL CAPitan.
I did not enjoy that southeast corner at all. You’ve got IDA, ELCAP, LENA, DDS, EROSIVE and PSY. Please - this is a CrossWORD puzzle. Could we please get some real WORDS in that poor, neglected section. Especially with the two (?) clues / answers which require at least some context (PIERCED LIPS and LATE PASSES). That one could have used an editor with an eye on the solving experience.
Took 16:30 today to topple this one.
I didn't know today's writer (Lena), the Saturday staple of a foreign food (pastel de nata), the Spanish pronoun (and I continue to resist believing that "foreign language word" type clues as actually qualifying as clues), or "twee". I also struggled to accept that "hoodoo" (which you can see at Bryce Canyon National Park) had anything to do with Louisiana.
Like TTP, that upper-right section took me the longest, but I also concur with SouthsideJohnny about the clunkiness of the lower-right section. Still, it was a good Saturday puzzle, with a reliable HG review.
Everything left of the line of descending black squares came easy, everything to the right, not so much. DNK CAT FISHING or CHATTERATI, SIVA, or ALI BABA as clued. Unfamiliar with Samin Nosrat, SHERA or the work by HORACE. Somehow it all came together for a FIR w/out help in 34:04. I liked the clue for ADAM AND EVE. Thanks Hoang-Kim for the Saturday worthy challenge, and to HG for your expo. Good catch on the PALL and MALL, reminded me of a neighbor lady when I was a kid who smoked the non-filter variety.
FIR. For a Saturday puzzle I found this to be a tad easier than I expected. I had a lot of trouble in the NW, not knowing She Ra and having never heard of chatterati or the author Samin Nosrat. But persistence paid off and a few WAG's didn't hurt either.
As far as the cluing, most of them were somewhat fair, and of course the proper names are always a bane.
But overall I enjoyed this puzzle.
I'm impressed at how many of you were able to FIR quickly. I needed a lot of help on this one. Lots of obscurities, like all of the names, including the one in the clue for acid. And clues I thought were iffy, like facade for a face, and how is a latepass part of an excuse? Did not enjoy this one. Felt it crossed the line between cleverness & just making it hard.
I believe a crossword should feature wit and wordplay, with fresh and original clues and a lively fill. Today's puzzle fell short here, and in many ways was more of a crossNAME puzzle.
The names that were not well-known (to me) included the rapper Park Jae-sang, writer/producer Waithe, Ma Rainey, Jeff Lynne, and Samin Nosrat (twice!).
With obscure clues, the solver is denied the satisfaction that is at the heart of solving. For instance, today I got PSY for the rapper, thanks to perps and wags, but I had no idea if I was right--thus no satisfaction. With obscure names, you either know it or you don't.
Thanks, H-Gary, for your usual conscientious and entertaining recap.
DNF. TTIT with 6 unfilled squares, and of the ones I filled I missed cSARINA, CHATTaRATI, wALL, and LaNA.
I think that getting a Nosrat must hurt a lot more than a PIERCED LIP.
I enjoyed the struggle today, except for TWEE. I just finished reading The Russia House, a British spy novel. I liked it, but all the British slang made it a chore to read at first. Had I not had that recent experience, TWEE wouldn't have grated as much.
Thanks to Kim for the fun challenge, and to H.Gary for the fun explanations.
Oddly, it was a mix of easy and difficult for a Saturday. Many IDK’s, but were sussed out thanks to perps. The NE corner was my toughest, but ultimately I FIW due to moving too fast (not reading clues thoroughly) and not double checking (I had ADA for the dental association instead of the degree - stupid mistake! And pantry chef instead of pastry - just because pantry is a word! That’s what you get when you don’t put in the work!
In Stephan Pastis' comic strip "Pearls Before Swine" the crocodiles refer to their neighbors as "zeebas".
I liked Hoang-Kim's puzzle and only missed one square. Like Anonymous at 9:25 AM, I had pantry chefs instead of pastry chefs. (Pantry chef is a thing!) I spell SIVA as Shiva, so although I was perplexed by Niva, I didn't see the error of my ways.
One person's obscurity is obvious to another. If you have access to Netflix, Samin Nosrat's four episode series based on her book Salt Fat Acid Heat is worth watching.
Eldest daughter loved She-Ra cartoons and dolls.
Thanks, Hoang-Kim and Husker Gary!
This clipped right along for a Saturday- though I had to come back for the NW corner
I sussed that CHATTERATI was a revision from literati because they were talking rather than reading literature
Like SS I thought of Bryce Canyon National Park with HOO DOO - but also vaguely remembered that it is a part of a meshed religion with southern African/ Caribbean origins kind of like VooDoo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodoo_(spirituality)
I thought the movie "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" was good with Viola Davis as Ma Rainey and Chadwick Boseman in his last screen role before he died of colon cancer in his early 40s
Samin Nosrat's Salt FAT ACID Heat was a gimme as all my kids like her cookbook and the Netflix miniseries about it was really fun and traveled to all the countries known for using different elements in their cooking
Thanks HG for the fun blog and Hoang-Kim for the puzzle!
Good Morning:
In spite of the fact that there were numerous unknowns in this offering, the perps were very fair and enabled a finish w/o help in normal Saturday time. I thought the cluing was well-balanced, with clever misdirection yet discernible answers. The fill was fresh and lively with entries such as Chatterati, Catfishing, Pastry Chefs, Pierced Lip, Adam and Eve, Save The Date, etc. The solve was enjoyable and satisfying, unlike some Saturdays that frustrate rather than fulfill.
Thanks, HKV, and thanks, HG, for the bio snippet and your usual scenic and informative tour. Thanks for the CSO but credit goes to SS for the squeeze/juice descriptor; I only borrowed it.
Have a great day.
Didn't know the "W" in TWEE so stared at RAt MEAT way too long. I knew that couldn't be right (could it?) and RAW MEAT finally dawned on me for the win. On the whole, a tough but fair Saturday.
ON THE ROAD is a classic novel by Jack Kerouac. I also enjoyed the CBS vignettes of the same name as Charles Kuralt roamed around America.
I think of LATE PASSES as a result of overdue explanations to the staff, not a part of them.
FIR. Yea! I liked this puzzle which gave me just enough difficulty to satisfy. Except for SIVA, i didn’t know any of the names but perps came to the rescue. I enjoyed some of the clever clues like PASTRY CHEFS and ADAM AND EVE.
I never heard that Louisiana song. I don’t understand the repetition of kin in spite of HG’s reference. Of course I know about KITH and kin, the clue left me clueless.
Thank you HG for á very Nice review. I’d like to get on the road again.
FIR but with minimal enjoyment. Too many obscurities and clues that were "twee."
Lots of footholds have me the illusion I could finish this, but the many footholds were separated by complete unknowns. I think this constructor was catfishing with me...
honorable mention...
Ms. Irish Miss, I greatly appreciate the attribution. You have a perpetual, royalty-free license to borrow it.
I may have to borrow your "frustrate rather than fulfill".
Finished, but with a ton of red letter help. I'll Echo T-Ken on the lack of satisfaction. Too many WTFs, too few V-8 cans!
Here's a more detailed look at what crossword puzzles test:
1. Vocabulary and Word Knowledge:
- Crossword puzzles require you to know a wide range of words and their meanings.
- You need to be able to recall words quickly and accurately, even when the clues are not straightforward.
- Clues often involve wordplay, idioms, and other types of verbal reasoning
2. Memory and Recall:
- Crossword puzzles challenge your memory as you need to remember clues, letters, and previously entered words.
- You often need to recall frequently used words and common patterns.
- Solving a puzzle involves piecing together information and making connections, which strengthens memory
3. Problem-Solving and Deductive Reasoning:
- Crossword puzzles require you to use deductive reasoning to deduce the answers based on the clues and the letters you already have.
- You need to be able to identify patterns, relationships, and constraints to solve the puzzle.
- Solving a puzzle involves breaking down a complex problem into smaller steps and finding a solution.
4. Cognitive Flexibility and Creativity:
- Crossword puzzles can encourage flexible thinking as you need to consider multiple possibilities and adjust your approach.
- You may need to think "outside the box" to solve clues that use wordplay or metaphors.
- Solving a puzzle can be a creative process as you explore different combinations of letters and words to find the right answers
5. Cultural Literacy and General Knowledge:
- Crossword puzzles often incorporate clues that test your knowledge of history, literature, pop culture, and other areas.
- You may need to recognize famous people, places, or events to solve the clues.
- Solving puzzles can expand your knowledge and appreciation for different aspects of culture
Wisconsin Tourism Federation?
Wisconsin Tourism Federation to change name
Was convinced that Samin Nosrat was an anagram (it didn't make any better sense read backwards) or nom de plume but realized even if so, that was no help. Looking forward to watching the series. Enjoyed the puzzle.
The first thing I noticed was the crowded grid, the paucity of black squares, which made me expect I’d be excusing a lot of little things. The second thing I noticed was how many WAGs were working out for me. The third was how many useless clues I overcame to FIR.
I made a lot of early progress in the NW, so the puzzle never felt hopeless. The first three down clues were a launch point, and made IT’S AN HONOR visible. CATFISHING AND CHATTERATI came later, although I originally had NOr instead of NOT crossing the latter. I’ve never heard of SHE-RA.
SAVE THE DATE launched the SW, although the word “card” in the clue threw me a bit. AT WORST also came easily. SNOOKER came very easily. Perps filled it completely and I didn’t even notice until the grid was full.
ADAM AND EVE propelled me in the SE, and PIERCED LIP helped too, but RAW MEAT, DEAR ME, PSY, EL CAP AND LENA didn’t come immediately to mind. I never say “El Cap.” Both the clue and answer for LATE PASSES perplexed me, but two of my WAGs – EROSIVE and RETYPES – helped me along.
The NE was the toughest. I should have gotten ALI BABA more quickly, but SIVA was an unknown, and I found the clues for PASTRY CHEFS and LOVE TAP (my final fill) misleading.
There were several delights, including STAVED, KITH, SPOT (as clued), HOODOO, TWEE, DESK (as clued), and the canine care misdirection of DDS. I also liked AFORE, although I thought that word was more dialectic than archaic.
But 22 annoyances, including quibbles with 16 clues, are too many. Using obscure literary titles -- for ACID, FAT, and HORACE -- is a turnoff for many of you, and the ZED gimmick has passed its wear date. Obscure names, too. I’d draw the line somewhere between IDA Tarbell, who is suitably well-known, and LENA Waithe, who is not.
Copy Editor,
Can you email me crosswordc@gmail.com?
Tough but interesting Saturday puzzle--many thanks, Hoang-Kim. And your commentary is always a help, Gary, so thank you for that too.
Well, you might think that you can't get any better LEADERS in a puzzle than some PASTRY CHEFS--especially if they offer you an ENERGY BAR before too long. As a DIETER I'm often looking forward to a good breakfast with more than just an EGG-- although surely RAW MEAT would be the WORST dish to expect. So I often want to get ON THE ROAD and look for a place where we can get some really great "pastel de nata"--whatever that is. But this morning's offering was pretty good, wasn't it?
Have a great weekend, everybody.
I surprised myself by solving this puzzle without having to resort to looking something up, using "Check Grid," or doing an alphabet run. It was satisfying. I liked this puzzle.
Gary, your write-up was, as always, a pleasure to read.
SIVA is also spelled SHIVA, because what we write with our letter S is pronounced like SH in many of the Indian languages.
FENDED became STAVED. I like that word.
To explain the clue for KITH, "Kin kin," I read it as "a kin (relative) to the word kin."
I wonder if the pianist Dieter Zechlin was a DIETER.
Good reading you all.
Sounds difficult! I wonder how I can do them? LOL Actually, I got little traction on crosswords until I turned 40. By then I had accumulated a breadth of knowledge that I found made them possible, and I have enjoyed doing them ever since.
Thank you Jayce for the KIN KIN explanation. Of course, now I see it.
Thank you, SS. I’ve taken advantage of your Squeeze/Juice idiom several times already. It’s sort of an expanded riff on deferring to Thumper, yet still speaking civilly. Borrow away on anything you wish! 😉
Agree!
I agree!
Hola! I lost my post earlier! Drat!
Mostly I enjoyed this puzzle which for a Saturday was reasonably solvable. However, I could not finish CATFISHING and three other terms. Thank you, Gary, for your clearly explained solution.
My new unit A/C was installed this morning and so now I can look forward to cool air during the coming hot summer months. It's just not tolerable without it. Enjoy a fine Saturday, everyone!
For way too long I had those outlets in a wALL to plug lamp cords into. Hands up?
So we'll have "bloggerati" in a crossword near us soon?
Some names just should be changed. Bellcore used to issue Common Language Location Identifiers (CLLI, pronounced "silly") for wire centers. For example, "VNNY" for Van Nuys (CA.) They had to redo the name for Furnace Creek, CA after first issuing "FU for Furnace and "CK" for Creek. Their second attempt was nearly as bad: "FU for Furnace" and "CR" for Creek. They finally settled on "FRCK," which remains its CLLI.
Yup. 'Cept I didn't fix mine.
Jinx, your explanation about Furnace Creek gave me a good laugh, plus it was interesting.
Monkey, you're welcome.
Thanks to HKV for a fun Sat.(almost) solve! I appreciated today's footholds!
FAVs: clues for DIETER, ZED, and SAVE THE DATE; and Kin kin. Finally sussing ADAM AND EVE was a satisfying aha moment.
ACID & FAT were in the punchbowl since I've blogged on that title a couple of times. Ultimately, I could not work out ?O?E TAP in the NE. Like NaomiZ, I wanted an H in SIVA.
Thanks and kudos to H-Gary for a job well done! I did get PASTRY CHEFS but you illuminated the cleverness of "latest" in the clue.
Nope. A plethora of TWEE clues and unknown obscure names turned this into a hella uphill slog. No joy in Crosswordville tonight. Nuff said.
====> Darren / L.A.
For the other HOODOO, have a listen to CCR’s tune “Down On The Bayou” — the line “chasin’ down a hoodoo there”…
====> Darren
Crossword puzzles just rem8nd me that I am screwed... but there is one more thing I have found them very useful for, just keep your mind busy during unpleasant things. I've had several sebaceous cysts removed while doing a crossword, and I believe a tooth as well! Works even better during periods of political unrest! Waiting for a plane? Stuck in the jet while taxing for take off at Newark? Soooo many things.....
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