Themeless Saturday
C.C. here. Gary will be back tomorrow.
Our Saturday puzzles often feature stacked 9, 10 or 11s on each side. Or a few sparkling 15's intersecting one another. Sometimes it's like today's grid. The key is in the middle (I so want to flip this grid over):
7D. Stay the heck away from: AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
8D. Time to throw in the towel, perhaps: LAUNDRY NIGHT.
20D. Elixirs: MAGIC POTIONS.
Once this stack was set, then the constructor branched out in 19A, 32A, 41A and 52A. He had more flexibility on the outside.
XWord Info shows that August Miller lived on a dairy farm in Western MA.
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| XWord Info |
1. Conventional leader?: ABBESS. Convent-tional. A few more brilliant clues fitting Saturday: 17. Light show?: SITCOM.
19. Line of ownership?: THAT'S MINE. 34. Eat down by the river?: ERODE. 49. Event in which the best competitors are untouchable?: EPEE. 4. Breakout performer?: ESCAPEE. 11. Private performances?: USO TOUR. And 24. Something left on the cutting room floor?: TRESS.
7. Option for table service: A LA RUSSE. Unfamiliar to me.
Wikipedia says it's "a style of serving food in which dishes are brought
to the table sequentially and served separately to each guest." Russian
style.
15. Pops in: SAYS HI. Not VISITS.
16. Went up in smoke: VANISHED.
18. Not shy: OUTGOING.
21. Art patron Henry: TATE. Founded Tate Gallery.
22. Some concert merch: EPS. Not TEE.
23. Supplements: ADDS TO.
25. Besides: ELSE.
27. Foundation of many cultures: AGAR.
28. Altercation: RUN-IN.
32. Big name: CELEBRITY.
35. Plumeria arrangement: LEI.
36. Takes back: RECANTS.
38. Hem, for instance: SEW. And 14. Hem, for instance: EDGE. Clue echo.
39. African capital served by Kotoka International Airport: ACCRA.
According to Wikipedia, the airport is named after "Named after
Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka (1926–1967), a member of the
National Liberation Council. Kotoka was killed in an abortive coup
attempt at a location that is now the forecourt of the airport."
41. Leg exercise that mimics a ballet step: PLIE SQUAT.
43. "Moneyball" squad: THE A'S. Oakland Athletics,
44. "Flights" novelist Tokarczuk: OLGA. She won Nobel prize in literature in 2018. "Flights" won Man Booker in 2018.
45. Some links: URLS.
46. Use leaves for eaves, say: THATCH.
48. Big name in sealant: DAP. Still one or two tubes in our garage.
52. Underground feminist punk movement: RIOT GRRRL.
55. Selena y __: American Tejano band: LOS DINOS. Unknown to me.
.webp)
57. Beach bottle: LOTION.
59. Critical moment at Wimbledon: SET POINT.
60. Layette piece: ONESIE.
61. "Off the top of my head ... ": AT A GUESS.
62. Least: MEREST.
Down:
2. Chum, e.g.: BAIT.
3. Divisive way to sell pizza?: BY THE SLICE. Masterful use of "divisive".
5. Vaccinations: SHOTS.
6. Members of a virtual community: SIMS.
9. Poker offerings: ANTES.
10. Gulf structure: RIG.
12. Second-largest branch of the second-largest religion: SHIA. A few precious gimmes.
13. In transit: SENT.
25. Showiness: ECLAT.
26. Freeloader: LEECH.
27. "The Land Is Inhospitable and So __ We": 2023 Mitski album: ARE. You don't need to know the album to get the answer.
29. Expected: NO SURPRISE.
30. Just perfect: IDEAL. Yes, Renee, I use kabocha for my soup. Perfect texture and sweetness. Going to try this next.
31. Terrarium pets: NEWTS.
33. Irreverent: BRASH.
37. Assam export: TEA.
40. Fairly tame, per the MPA: RATED PG. Motion Picture Association.
42. One of four in the WNBA: QUARTER.
47. Golfer Palmer, to fans: ARNIE.
48. Bee that doesn't sting: DRONE. Drone bees don't work. All they do is mate with the queen.
49. Animated ice queen: ELSA.
50. Ada Limón, for one: POET.
51. "__ bien!": ESTA. Not TRES.
53. Latch (onto): GLOM.
54. Lane in Metropolis: LOIS.
56. Debtor's note: IOU.
58. Lets hit it: NET.
Happy birthday to Kelly Thatcher, our caring blog regular and constructor friend. Have a beautiful day, Kelly!
Happy birthday to AnonymousPVX also.
C.C.
Combining Spanish and
ReplyDeleteFrench seems about par for the course on a Saturday. But that was one of the few times I had to pause in this easier than usual Saturday puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.
Nailed it. My kind of puzzle. Lots of satisfying AHA moments as it came together. In the end, so many great and clever clues.
ReplyDeleteVery few gimmes. ASS in the NW quadrant. RIG and SHIA in the NE quadrant. ELSA, EPEE, POET, IOU and ARNIE in the SW, and DRONE and DAP in the SE. ECLAT and TEA in the middle section.
After the low hanging fruit (the gimmes), the highly probables went in and started getting tested. BAIT, SHOTS, SIMS in the NW quad. ANTES and SENT in the NE. GLOM, LOIS, LOTION and ONESIE in the SE. I sensed MEREST, but held onto that one as possible, not highly probable. The middle section had the most probables that needed to be proved and that broad middle corridor gave me the most traction.
ELSE, LEI and ACCRA were all highly probable on the West side. ADDS TO, RUN IN, and URLS in the East. TRESS and ARE in the middle. I agree with C.C. You didn't need to know the artist, the album or the album's title to conclude the answer would be ARE.
ARE led me to the answer Asia before AGAR at 27A: Foundation of many cultures. Makes perfect sense to me, but not today. I'd find out later that AGAR was the better fit.
With the gimmes and highly probables all in place I had spurts of word and phrase recognition that led to many of the other answers, and especially the three long answers running North to South in the middle. Soon it was done. Perhaps too soon.
ALA RUSSE was new to me, as were PLIE SQUAT and LOS DINOS. Also DNK the "Flights" novelist OLGA, but she also perped in.
Thank you, August. I really enjoyed it. A good test of solving skills. Keep 'em coming. BTW, one of my favorites was the clue and answer for NET. That one caught me totally by SURPRISE, and I might not have understood why it worked had it not been for 59A. I initially thought it was a contraction missing its apostrophe.
Thank you, C.C. I must admit I was surprised to see you were subbing for HG.
HG, if you are reading, the news here just reported about the small plane crash in the Fremont area.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteLooked daunting, but gave it a try. Glad I did. This was quite the august offering from Mr. Miller. Needed my Wite-Out to correct TRES/ESTA and RECALLS/RECANTS. LAUNDRY appeared quickly; NIGHT, not so much. A LA RUSSE and RIOT GRRRL were unknown, but perp-filled. In the end, it came together quickly. Thanx, August and C.C.
Thought I knew all the regulars, but I don't recognize Kelly Thatcher's name. HBD, anyway. You, too, Anonymous PVX.
Typical of a Saturday, I had to search for some foothold and put it together piece by piece, all over the grid. As C.C. stated, there were only “a precious few gimmes” from whence to start. Lots of unknowns as clued, and many unknowns even after filled, notably: A LA RUSSE, RIOT GIRRRL, (the graphic in the blog shows only two R’s, not a triple run), and LOS DINOS among others. Like TTP, I really enjoy a puzzle like this, exceptional cluing which really makes one think! FIR w/out help in 30:53. I got NET by perps, stared at the clue for bit and finally realized that “Lets” is a noun, a somewhat errant tennis serve which results in a do-over. Haven’t heard of the expression AT A GUESS. People who work all day might have a LAUNDRY NIGHT, personally I have a laundry day. Thank you August for the Saturday worthy challenge, and to C.C. for your insights to the puzzle! I’m thinking that since HG is doing tomorrow’s blog, we may see a Zhouqin byline?
ReplyDeleteFIR, but also->ELSE, set to->RUN IN, recalls->RECANTS, as a guess->AT A GUESS, escaper->ESCAPEE, and marches->USO TOUR. AT A GUESS seems strained, but hey, I FIR on Saturday so who am I to complain?
ReplyDeleteYP and I think alike (sorry, YP.) I suspect we'll see CC's offering tomorrow.
BTW - CC, you can throw away those DAP cartridges. They only have a shelf life of a couple of years.
I finally got "let's hit it" for NET. All lets hit the net, but not all serves that hit the net are lets? Still too much mystery for me. Why is there a score of 30-30? Shouldn't that be the first deuce? Or 30-40 ad in? Or 40-30 ad out?
Thanks to August for the Saturday Special that was so easy that even I was able to get after much trial and tribulation. My favorites were "foundation of many cultures" for the Ektorp AGAR, and "something left on the cutting room floor" for TRESS. And thanks to CC for the fun review. Work you tomorrow.
Too many clues with question markers for my taste (like “Conventional leader?“, I don’t know if they have a name) along with a bunch of stuff I haven’t heard of, and boy, is there a lot today - ABBESS, A LA RUSSE, PLIE SQUAT, GRRRL, LOS DINOS, Zedonk, and even SIMS. That’s a big ask to parse together that many unknowns from very tough crosses. This one may require solving skills a notch or two above mine. Oh, well - it was pleasant enough at least trying to make sense of it all, but all told, not a very rewarding solving experience.
ReplyDeleteLOS DINOS, not LAN. Either way, I didn't know it.
DeleteIt was an 'almost' FIR today. I couldn't make the SW work. My mind was stuck on TRES bien, but I knew it was SET POINT. ESTA bien- unknown. I thought Limon was a POET, knew ELSA, but LANDINOS was unknown. I didn't know RIOT GRRRL but the perps took care of it. I filled the rest. The picture under 52A has TWO Rs, as in RIOT GRRL instead of THREE. Which is correct?:
ReplyDeleteA LA RUSSE- never heard of that one. Ad OLGA, PLIE SQUAT, and ARE to others filled by perps.
This was by Big Easy. I don't know why it posted they way it did.
DeleteTook 13:42 today to glom onto this one.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know today's writer (Olga), the exercise (plie squat), the "riot grrrl" movement, and a few others. I've never heard "a la russe", "at a guess", or "merest", though I'm sure someone else has.
Cute clues for "net" and "by the slice", but "abbess" was overly cute.
Are EPs still concert merch?
I agree with Jinx prediction for tomorrow's constructor.
FIW. Tried in vain for tres bien, a common phrase from my childhood, but I got stymied in the SW altogether. I ended up taking a WAG at the crossing of los dinos and esta and was wrong. And esta bien escaped me.
ReplyDeleteBut the rest of the puzzle, although daunting, was fun. My first fill was The A's; I love that movie Moneyball.
So overall an enjoyable puzzle for a Saturday.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was my kind of Saturday puzzle and one reminiscent of Barry Silk’s Saturday stumpers. The cluing, as CC mentioned, was cleverly misleading but not frustratingly so, and the fill was sparkling and fresh, especially the impressive Avoid At All Costs, By The Slice, No Surprise, Magic Potions, etc., all of which provided helpful footholds to achieve an enjoyable and satisfying solve. August challenged me with plenty of unknowns, i.e., Ala Russe, Plié Squat, Riot Grrrl, Olga, Los Dinos, etc., but he also offset these obstacles with fairness in cluing the surrounding fill.
Thanks, August, for a special Saturday treat and thanks, CC, for the analysis and summary from a pro’s viewpoint. Your presence on a Saturday was surprising, but it bodes well for a CC Sunday grid. 🤞
Happy Birthday, Kelly. 🎂🎉🎊🎈🎁
Happy Birthday, Anonymous PVX. 🎂🎉🎁🎊🎈
And a belated Happy Birthday to Rusty Brain. 🎂🎉🎁🎊🎈
Have a great day.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Saturday and I don’t have a puzzle to blog? What is happening? :-)
-C.C. asked me to blog her Sunday puzzle tomorrow and I was happy to oblige!
-August’s puzzle was at a very nice level of difficulty.
- A LA RUSSE provides more culinary info
-TATE had to be answer to any art patron for me
-Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and other USO tours insisted privates and other enlisted get the best seats.
-An ELIXIR peddler
-I think I could get down to a PLIE SQUAT but the return trip would not be guaranteed.
-OLGA Tokarczuk is a real Saturday name. So is Mitzki but ARE was an easy fill.
-I must have missed the “redefinition of punk” RIOT GRRL engendered.
-“Lets hit it/NET” took some sussing but I guess all Let Serves in tennis, by definition, hit the NET. No apostrophe in Lets should have been a tipoff.
-See you tomorrow.
-Yes TTP, a small plane did hit some power lines along the Platte and crashed into the river. As of now, all we know is that all three people in the plane died. We had a crippling blizzard last month, a severe hail storm on the north edge of town on Thursday and now a plane crash last night on the south side of town.
HG, thanks. I tried to read the article posted on the Fremont Tribune site, but it was behind a firewall. I read a few other articles but at the time, none cited the cause of the crash. After I posted my comment, the national weather showed scenes of golf ball sized hail in a another area of Nebraska, but I now don't recall where it was.
DeleteBeyond me. I threw in the towel. After an easier than usual Friday puzzle those looking for a challenge had me beat.
ReplyDeleteREturnS > RECallS > RECANTS but otherwise did fine by jumping around, filling in bits and pieces until something clicked.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the b-day wishes! I like to think I'm aging like a fine wine...my wife says more like a fine cheese.
Why the new commenting format?
ReplyDeleteIrish Miss, my commenting format has not changed. What are you seeing that is different?
DeleteFor one thing, I have to keep changing the posting identity from Anonymous to Irish Miss. It seems something has changed with Blogger and my Google profile information, Any suggestions to remedy this would be appreciated. Please not my 8:53 post is in black and sans the Shamrock.
DeleteOK, thanks. C.C. also sent me a note on a different blogger issue. Right now, they do not look to be related, but it is possible.
DeleteIn the meantime, let me know whether you are on PC platform or an Apple platform, and then what type of device you are using. Is it a desktop, a laptop, a tablet or a smartphone?
I'll check for your response later.
I use an iPad, TTP.
DeleteFIR - agree that the constructor was very clever, but some puzzles are like Slum Dog Millionaire where they are a good match for your history or thinking! Not to say it was easy; although I don’t time myself, I can guess it took close to an hour. SE was the toughest as even the published example of riotgrrl only used two ‘r’s’!! And the irreverent clue went from sassy to crass to brash finally! Fun!
ReplyDeleteFIR in 14:10 but not one moment of it was enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed August's puzzle and FIR on paper, no cheating. I had to shift to the Downs to get started, and loved the long entires. Glad I never noticed THE A'S at 43-Across, because I'm not sure I would have parsed THEAS correctly. Zedonk was a learning moment. Thanks for blogging, C.C.! Happy birthday to the celebrants.
ReplyDeleteBecause of a mostly blank SE (except for LOIS) expected a DNF which would have been NO SURPRISE but after returning a couple times things fell into place for a rare Saturday FIR. Stingless “bee” only spelling and quilting came to mind. “Layette” always thought it was a piece of furniture for the nursery. “Beach bottle” was truly a far out clue. GRRRL was total perps. Changed grab to GLOM
ReplyDelete“Vaccinations”/SHOTS (hey no profanity) (Mom had a young uncle who died of Tetanus and a 4 year old sister who died of Diphtheria).
EPÉE cuz tag for untouched.
“Light show”’as SITCOMS are not overly serious I guess.
When I lived in Italy in the 70’s pizza BY THE SLICE didn’t exist, individual small pizzas were served sit down and cut with knife and fork. When DW and I went back in the 90’s BY THE SLICE had become common. My own theory is pizza as we know it is an American “thing”. My baker 1911 immigrant (sorry for the offensive term) Grandparents had no idea what pizza was and never used the term … oh except “pizza fritta” (fried dough).
“Conventional” is not a conventional adjective of “Convent” Google says conventual…
“Mitski Album” “Tobarchuk” “Lukaechixk… Wha? Who? Why? How? Wouldn’t want the other guys at the gym seeing me do a PLIÉSQUAT 🩰🫢
Participating in the Easter vigil tonight where the priest blesses fire repressing the new “brightness in the dark” and hopefully doesn’t burn down the church.
Test
ReplyDeletehow is let's hit it net?
ReplyDeleteWhen the ball is served in tennis and the ball hits the net and goes on to the opposite side, the call by the umpire is "Let" and the ball is served again, no foul.
DeleteIt's "lets" not "let's".
DeleteCame to blog to find out let's/net. Thanks for explaining it's not "let's". It's the noun let meaning a ball in a serve that hits the top of the net and goes over
ReplyDeleteCurious I had to come to the comments in my phone because my iPads comments uRL link takes me back to the. Blog every time
P.s. I do not recognize Kelly, does she have an avatar name?
Testing.
ReplyDeleteTesting
ReplyDeleteTough Saturday puzzle but still with many interesting items, so many thanks, August. And your commentary is always a pleasure, many thanks for that too, C.C.,
ReplyDeleteWell, it looks like the CELEBRITY in this puzzle was friendly and OUTGOING, and SAYS HI to all of us. She was not a bit BRASH and that makes her pretty IDEAL to the group that rewarded her by giving her a LEI. That made her really happy and she thanked everyone before she VANISHED.
Have a lovely weekend, everyone.
ACCRA got this COPY EDITOR rolling right away in Oregon/NorCal, and, despite the terrible “THE A’S” answer, it didn’t take me long to fill the western two-thirds of the puzzle. ECLAT was a WAG. I did worry about LOS DINOS but could come up with no alternative, since “ninos” didn’t perp. The long vertical entries CC cites as the core of the puzzle weren’t terribly troublesome, although I had USO show instead of TOUR for a while and needed a mental breakthrough on PLIE SQUAT to parse the lame WNBA/QUARTERS entry (just stop it, Patti!). I knew RIOTGIRRRL would have a bunch of Rs. So, I solved the puzzle fairly easily, considering this is Saturday, and I did like the puzzle overall.
ReplyDeleteBut throughout the solve, I kept noticing clues that attempted unsuccessfully to be clever and that some of you would like every one of them. Puns should work “both ways,” and few do. We’re all entitled to our opinions, of course. These are mine:
CLEVER: Conventional leader (though not really “conventional” in any sense not pertaining to convents); the AGAR clue; the ESCAPEE clue; private performances, but only as a crossword clue, because the performances aren’t “private” in the usual sense.; The “leaves for eaves” clue. The TRESSes on the cutting-room floor. The “chum” clue for BAIT.
NOT CLEVER: Light show/SITCOM; The “divisive”-ness of pizza slicing, which would have to tick people off to be a good pun; THAT’S MINE as a “line of ownership” (what is a “line of ownership” in any other sense?); the labored “untouchable” clue for EPEE; “Let’s hit it”/NET.
OTHER COMPLAINTS: “AT A GUESS”; The labored clue for ARE; “Pops in/SAYS HI; a not-well-known OLGA; MEREST.
MORE ABOUT SELENA: It really troubled me that I didn’t know LOS DINOS, because I lived about a mile from Selena in Corpus Christi just before her breakout as a star and thus have read quite a lot about the Quintanilla family. Other female show biz celebrities from Corpus Christi: Farrah Fawcett, Eva Longoria, Barbara Barrie.
Terrific puzzle, I thought...some really nice entries and the clues sparkled. Thanks, August, and thanks, C.C. for the great review...and for the birthday greetings! (Kelly Clark = Kelly Thatcher...I've got so many names I sometimes feel like the subject of a "Wanted" poster...:-))
ReplyDeleteHBD 🎂 Kelly
DeleteYou must have had an ancestor whose trade was to “use leaves for eaves” Like one one of Margaret’s forbears
THATCH fascinating’ !!
😄
TTP, my Win 11 laptop got into a weird configuration, with the blog and peanut gallery comments on the same page. A refresh gave everything the usual look.
ReplyDeleteHi, Jinx. It was a server-side issue rather than a client-side issue. Your symptom would have disappeared after the server-side issue was resolved and you refreshed / reloaded the page.
DeleteI gave this puzzle a half-hearted stab and quit after 5 minutes. Just flat out didn't give a damn. Didn't read CC's writeup or any of your comments yet, just on the very slight chance I may go back and have another stab at it.
ReplyDeleteGave it a whirl, but soon decided that it was time to TITT. Clues were just not on my frequency today, and many were too clever by half, such as "conventional" which has no earthly connection to convent, much less "abbess" and none of the USO shows I attended were restricted to PVTs! Just wasn't getting any enjoyment from this one, but that's just me. YMMV.
ReplyDeleteDNF. I was defeated by the NW. Zedonk rang á bell but just not loud enough. I conquered the rest however. I enjoyed all the clever clues CC pointed out. I needed perps to convert “bien” to Spanish from French.
ReplyDeleteLots of names I didn’t know like Á LA RUSSE, OLGA and LOS DINOS, but again perps helped. So all in all, I enjoyed this challenging puzzle, but then what are Saturdays for.
Thank you CC for your reviews and everyone’s comments.
I don’t detect any Chang in format.
ReplyDeleteThat should read change. Really, Mr spell-check!!
DeleteThanks, August, for the brain workout! I had a 3-box FIW but just filling all the boxes felt like a win. FAVs: Lets hit it; ESCAPEE; and Divisive...
ReplyDeleteThat Moneyball clue really had me for a while. I kept thinking, "I know it's the Oakland A's." Oh ... THE A'S.
I was pretty pleased with myself for figuring out that LOS _ _ _ _ _ would have to end in OS because of the Spanish masculine plural. That's #3 on TTP's list.
Thanks to C.C. for giving us her Saturday grid insights! I did not know why ABBESS and ALARUSSE worked. That kabocha & couscous bowl looks really good.
Happy Birthday to Kelly and to APVX!!
Hola! Wow! It took me all day to solve this puzzle because I went on to do other tasks in between thinking. First, the entire eastern side filled quickly though I had not heard of A LA RUSSE, and I've been to Russia!
ReplyDeleteBut VANISHED and OUTGOING soon emerged, then I had to ask ALEXA about Selena's band, LOS DINOS, in spite of having watched her movie so many times, but long ago. Ah! The aging brain.
And I am embarrassed to say that ABBESS never occurred to me and I left it blank. Conventional does not equate with convent in my mind! And I should know! Too, too clever!
I also have LAUNDRY days, today being one of them, but I managed to finish that and I really liked MAGIC POTION for elixir.
Thank you August for the challenge and C.C. for the SURPRISING visit!
Happy birthday Anonymous PVX and Kelly! Rusty brain, too!
ReplyDeleteNot many names, 9, but DNK 6. Also DNK ABBESS, ALARUSSE, THEAS, which I failed to parse as "The As" until I came to the blog, or RIOTGRRRL. The picture C.C. posted showed 2 "R"s, but the CW has 3 (??). Lots of really clever clues, as C.C. mentioned. I noted 27A, 34A, 4D & 11D as particularly sparkling clues. Last to fill was the SW. ESTA = perps when TRES didn't work. Anyway, it took almost 30 minutes, but eventually I did FIR, which is unusual for me for a Saturday. Nice CW, thanx AM, and nice write-up, too, C.C., thanx. HBD to those w/ a BD today.
ReplyDeleteNice challenge but doable
ReplyDeleteA few gimmes - ELSA was the "Frozen" princess that I watched with my granddaughter today.
I have landed at Kotoka Airport in ACCRA in my 5 trips to Ghana for medical missions- It was completely rebuilt from the first time I went there to the last few times it was a very modern facility
I thought the 19A Line of ownership was going to be provenance - like on an antique or artwork but not enough letters
Thanks CC for the blog today and August for the puzzle
HBD to Kelly and RB