Themeless Saturday by Ricky Sirois
Ricky had a generous portion of proper names but they all succumbed to adequate help.
1. Shillelagh cousin: MACE - Shillelagh would knock me out of any spelling bee I would enter!
5. Hooey: GIBBERISH.
14. B in chemistry: BORON 😀 It can be found on the 25. Primo who wrote "The Periodic Table": LEVI ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Review of Levi's book that is only peripherally about chemistry
15. Suddenly: ALL AT ONCE - 95% on Rotten Tomatoes
16. Elite: A LIST.
17. Gradually: PIECEMEAL.
18. Friction: STATIC - A great demo in my physics classes
20. Pose: ASK.
21. Locks in place?: PERM - Locks of hair will stay in place after a PERManent which, of course, is only temporary.
22. Hidden assets: HOLE CARDS.
24. Only native of Great Britain to be named "Doctor of the Church": BEDE - Somehow I knew this. No, really!
26. Research Triangle city: DURHAM.
28. Moving violation?: FALSE START - Ya gotta wait for the gun!
32. Ovine mother: EWE.
33. Jason's ship: ARGO.
34. Thought-provoking: MEATY.
36. German article: DER.
37. Spitting image: CARBON COPY - Digital version 😀
39. Escalate: DEEPEN.
41. Close: NEAR.
42. Color for a San Jose Shark: TEAL.
42. Color for a San Jose Shark: TEAL.
43. Card that opens doors for journalists: PRESS PASS - Everyone here can tell what Super Bowl required this pass for reporters.
48. Crust: CHAR.
49. Level with Space Cowboys and Storm Chasers: AAA - We've seen many baseball games in Omaha where the AAA Storm Chasers play. FWIW, real storm chasers around Omaha have been very busy this spring.
54. One-named singer who played Nettie in the 2023 remake of "The Color Purple": CIARA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
56. Isaac of "Dune": OSCAR ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Isaac seems to be his surname.
57. Really good point: SWEET SPOT.
58. Rock band whose founding members adopted the names Gene and Dean: WEEN ¯\_(ツ)_/
58. Rock band whose founding members adopted the names Gene and Dean: WEEN ¯\_(ツ)_/
Down:
1. Very, musically: MOLTO - Allegro Non Molto means lively but not too lively
2. Default font in Google Docs: ARIAL.
3. Elvis, for one: COSTELLO - One too many blanks for the King
4. Beguiles: ENTICES.
5. __ year: GAP - Our daughter had a wealthy friend who took a GAP year to "find himself". Our daughters found themselves in the University of Nebraska.
6. Source material for "Troilus and Cressida": ILIAD - Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida" draws inspiration from Homer's "Iliad"for its setting, characters, and themes, but it also incorporates elements from Chaucer's "Troilus and Criseyde". ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
7. Favor: BLESS.
8. Support: BACK.
9. Saison chaude: ETE - In France, the hot (chaude) season (saison) is summer (ETE)
10. One-piece garment: ROMPER.
11. Words admitting vulnerability: I NEED HELP.
12. Run off: SCARE AWAY.
13. Leadership position: HELM.
14. Pan: BASH.
19. Common character in "The Far Side": CAVEMAN.
24. Save: BUT - Not much is known of Little Richard's childhood SAVE that he was a music prodigy. This use of SAVE is a long way down the list in Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
26. Winter affliction, perhaps: DRYNESS.
27. "Have we __?": MET.
28. Unblockable shot: FREE THROW 😀
29. Pleasant: AGREEABLE.
30. Aid in learning to play guitar: TAB.
31. Compensate (for): ATONE.
33. Put in: ADD.
35. Sea creature that uses echolocation: PORPOISE.
37. "Scooby-Doo" souvenir, maybe: CEL - This original Hanna Barbera CEL can be yours for $5,250.
38. Income stream: CASH COW - Providing daycare services has become a CASH COW for many churches
40. Show off: PARADE.
43. "Fork it over": PAY UP.
45. Full steam ahead: APACE.
46. Glad rival: SARAN - Cling Wrap has completely replaced Saran Wrap at our house
47. Michelin award: STAR.
48. Stages of an audition process: CUTS - The same is true in athletics. Making CUTS is a hard thing to do.
49. Pioneering football coach __ Alonzo Stagg: AMOS.
52. "The 1619 Project" publisher, for short: NYT.
53. Sexy: HOT.
34 comments:
To me, this didn’t seem as
tough as the usual Saturday puzzle, or maybe I’m just getting better at them (but probably the former, as I recall one puzzle, not too long ago, which almost nobody was able to solve, including me.) Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
DNF, filling 55. GAP and ASK instead of per and sit were my errors. As in my life, I had no troubles with the fills below I-80.
There is a high-tech industrial park called Research Triangle Park, AKA RTP by the locals. Canadian telcom manufacturer Nortel had their US HQ there, until there was no more Nortel.
My liver can attest that the Bloody Mary is NOT an URBAN MYTH.
Hoffman was nominated (but didn't win) an OSCAR for his RATSO. Midnight Cowboy remains the only X-Rated Best Picture winner.
Thanks to Ricky for the Saturday challenge, and to H.Gary for another fine review.
I started at the top without much success so I had to relo to the SW to get a foothold and work from there. With significant perp help I was able to salvage the unknowns URBAN MYTH, WEEN, LEVI, OSCAR and MOLTO. Changed Hefty to SARAN. After 25 minutes, the north was still snow covered from the Dakotas to New England, the verticals slow to come to get the triple stack of 9’s. Correctly WAGed I NEED and SCARE which helped. Once I got GIBBERISH the rest fell into place (balderdash didn’t fit, and jumper became ROMPER). Anybody remember the TV show “Romper Room”? Definite Saturday clues for BEDE, ETE, and ILIAD among others. FIR w/out help in 36:36. I liked suddenly directly over gradually. Thank you Ricky for the morning challenge, and to HG for the synopsis. Cling wrap used to give me fits till we got a dispenser with a traversing blade, no more wadded up pieces in the trash. 😂
FIR. This seemed a bit easier than most Saturday presentations. My first fill, a long one, was agreeable, and I quickly filled that corner. From there it was over and up and across. Last to fall was the NW. Entices kept me stupid for a while. And molto was a complete unknown.
But overall this was an enjoyable puzzle for a Saturday.
1A stayed with cane far too long.
Good Morning:
I really enjoyed this solve, as I have enjoyed the other recent offerings from Ricky. I particularly like (and appreciate) his cluing style, which is a well-balanced blend of cute and clever vs cutesy and show-offy. At no time, throughout the solve, did I feel frustrated or unfairly tricked. Not only was the grid dreck-free and full of lively entries, IMO, it was a fine example of a puzzle designed to please and satisfy the solver, yet still offer a fair challenge.
Thanks, Ricky, for an enjoyable Saturday romp and thanks, HG, for the usual sparkling and informative summary.
Have a great day.
"...balderdash didn’t fit" but poppycock did. It also erased easily.
Took 19:38 today to find the sweet spot.
Lots and lots of unknowns today, including the following: today's actress (Ciara), Ween (?), shillelagh and it's crossing with the music term, this use of "level", this Levi fellow, crust for char, the Frawnch, and the German article.
I continue to abhor all (foreign language) + (part of speech) clues.
Knowing Bede, Amos, & Ratso sure helped.
I think I only FIR cuz I kept returning between errands. Some Saturday worthy clues. Not sure how “favor”and BLESS work well together. HOLECARDS new to me. Knew LEVI and OSCAR (kinda) but not AMOS. “Pose” is usually filled with sit (photo). Not this time. DRYNESS an affliction? I thought GIBBERISH was spelt with a J (it’s all “hooey” anyway)
“Midnight Cowboy” 1969 would probably be rated PG today. At the time there were laws against LBGT folks, (beginning to sound familiar again)
Inkover: onesie/ROMPER, parody/PARADE, sit/ASK, head/HELM
We had a college Chem teacher with a thick accent: “Hydrogen Peroxide is for cleaning PORPOISES”
SARAN is a combing the name of the inventor’s wife Sarah and daughter Ann …. “Bloody Mary” URBAN MYTH what? that it cures a hangover? CAVEMAN (was thinking “cows”)
PRESSPASS Three STOOGES from “Three Little Beers” 1935
“saison chaude" / ÉTÉ is a bit beyond basic CW français. “À mon avis”
Oxymoron: “you can ____ my store if you don’t ‘patronize’ me” …. SHOP AT
Enjoy as the French say “Le weekend”
Basically DNF, but I was hoping for some explanations from H Gary, our deconstructor? Isn’t that the expected norm? I too had cane forever until Costello couldn’t be ignored. How is mace related to shillelagh? And I don’t mind not knowing answers and needing perps, but crossing the world famous (not) Ween with Ciara and Oscar names seems cruel and unusual! I was happy to understand (partly by process of elimination since I never see it used that way) ‘but’ for save! Still don’t know Bede though.
Too many unknowns to be able to complete today, especially in the SE. Even with PORPOISE, CASH COW, and STAR on the PLAT, the last three proper names fills were unknowns. I've never heard of CIARA or WEEN.
LEVI-I knew Mendeleev wouldn't fit. No idea about that one.
HOLE CARDS- you live and learn. I've never played Texas HOLD 'em. I thought they were called 'hold cards', not HOLE .
Other unfilled DNKs - BEDE, TEAL, CHAR, AAA, URBAN MYTH, GAP, ROMPER, TAB,
46. Glad rival: SARAN - I get the commercial cling wrap from Sam's in 500' rolls that have the sliding cutter on the box. I can't wait to get rid of the remaining Glad Wrap in our cabinet.
1619 Project and other fantasies brought to you by the NYT.
P.s. Bloody Mary was a scary story told as kids while looking in a mirror, not the drink.
FYI, hole cards are any cards dealt face down, usually in 7 card stud, but also Texas hold em.
I can't remember a time before I knew the idiom "ace in the hole." 'Course I can't remember where my car keys are either.
A mace and a shillelagh are both instruments to whop somebody upside of their head.
DNF.The SE did me in, though in retrospect I should have come up with the COW of CASH COW, then I would have been á le To get CIARA and WEEN, total unknown to me.
The rest of my UKs like HOLE CARDS, AAA as clued, and NYT as clued, filled with perps. I like the PERM clue.
I remember “Midnight Cowboy” I loved it and I think that was Dustin Hoffman’s best acting role.
Well, I’ll soon put á bib on and go to á crawfish boil.
Thank you HG for á fine review. What would I do without this friendly blog?
I need to review my own posts for typos. I meant be able to. And come to think of it UK is not the right way to abbreviate unknowns.
Another fine contribution from Ricky Sirois today. He seems to always raise the bar, to encourage us to be better solvers by his example. His puzzles are well-constructed, such as today's, which featured six stacked 9's in the NE and SW. With his clever fill, Ricky keeps the best interests of the solvers (us) in mind.
Like others, the SE challenged me, but the Natick of CIARA, OSCAR, and WEEN was resolved with the aid of such reliable friends/perps as porpoises and good old Saran wrap.
So thanks, Ricky, for again demonstrating for us such a fine puzzle. And thanks, HuskerGary for your helpful review.
Thx!
A more famous Elvis once said, "Don't be cruel!" I found Ricky's puzzle to be tough today, and still would have had a complete success BUT for BUT, which didn't seem right to me, so I had cUT (thinking that's how you "save" a coupon, perhaps?) and thus the incorrect cEDE, completely forgetting the venerable BEDE. Oof! WEES re: CIARA, WEEN and some sports entries for me. Husker Gary did a good job pulling the wool from over my eyes. Thanks!
Enjoyable Saturday puzzle, many thanks, Ricky. And thanks for your helpful comments and pictures, as always, Gary.
Well, it's a Saturday puzzle so it's supposed to have a lot of GIBBERISH in it. But it was still AGREEABLE and did not SCARE me AWAY. Yes, I got off on a FALSE START and ended up with almost nothing on my A LIST, with not even a single FREE THROW. The puzzle was pretty much an URBAN MYTH to me, and I'm sure everyone is nodding and saying "I TOLD YOU SO," and you're all right. Just wish I'd gotten some food in the puzzle and never even found out what that MEATY lunch was. Still, BLESS you all and look forward to seeing you again next Saturday.
Have a lovely weekend.
I also had poppycock before GIBBERISH.
The NW corner tandem of MACE and MOLTO didn’t bother me, and I did FIR, but there were WAY too many “I suppose it can mean that” clues in this puzzle. My job has been to make things more clear, not less. Ricky, must you use a Thesaurus for EVERY clue?
The worst were the clues for URBAN MYTH, AAA, CHAR, ETE, BUT, and TAB. I suppose the clue for RISER seemed that way to non-singers. I thought a more prominent OSCAR could have been clued, especially sandwiched between CIARA and WEEN, both unknown to me. It took a lot of perps to convince me to replace Kiss with WEEN.
I should have gotten GAP year more quickly. My Jeopardy stint occurred during my gap year, but the term wasn’t much in use then, which is why my stated occupation on the show was “ex-student.”
More clear-cut CSOs to me were PRESS PASS and the San Jose Sharks’ TEAL. Yes, I have used a press pass at the Shark Tank. And our newspaper was the CASH COW of the corporation, which made us resent the better newsroom funding at three more frequent Pulitzer Prize-winning papers in the corp.
I am happy that I was able to solve this puzzle, albeit by often resorting to "Check grid." I enjoyed this one quite a bit.
Hola! Yea! Me too! Happy to have finished this Saturday puzzle. Luckily I have heard of Elvis COSTELLO but have no idea about HOLE CARDS. And I know of many a LEVI but not Primo. Thank you, perps. CARBON COPY drew a smile and made me wonder how many young people really know what that is. I suffered through many CARBON COPIES until my typing improved. But by then computers were invented and I could just backstroke my errors. Yea for modern inventions!
Venerable BEDE is definitely in my wheelhouse.
Luckily ETE emerged or I would not have known it. I know a few French terms but not "saison chaude".
The wife of one of my nephews is named CIARA.
Thank you, Gary and Ricky for this Saturday romp! Enjoy your day, everyone!
Never liked that movie.
CE@12:03PM I’m with you about the iffy clues. I add to your list that friction is not synonymous with STATIC. One is the cause, the other the effect.
FIR, but need a transfusion after bleeding red letters from my serial WAGing.
Actually, they mis-clued CASH COW. It has a technical meaning, at least in the world of business. It means having large market share in a stagnant business. Another common type of business is the "star," having a large market share in a growing market. Filling the quadrants are the "question mark" (low market share in a growing business) and "dog" (low market share in a stagnant business.) Our CASH COW was wireline telephony, our star was wireless, our question mark was internet backbone networks, and our dog was pagers.
Ken, in case you don't know about David Bywaters, here's a quote about the crossword puzzles he creates:
"All the crosswords here have themes involving modifications either in language or its interpretation. Their purpose is rather to amuse than to baffle. I care nothing for hipness; I make no effort to include the latest neologism, celebrity, or TV series. If you want crosswords that are extremely challenging and thoroughly modern, you'll find plenty of them elsewhere."
That's why I enjoy his work so much. He's due to post a new one today, but I haven't seen it yet.
I took those as being idioms with similar meanings - "I got a lot of friction when I announced the project's delay," or "I got a lot of static when I announced the project's delay."
Thanks, Ricky! This one was (to parody a truck tagline) built Saturday tough! I did FIR w/o help but I had too many WAGs to feel like an accomplishment. There were several one-word clues that were trickier than they appeared. Ex.: Pose (ASK not sit) and Close (NEAR not shut)
Hand up for HEFTY before SARAN.
In my neighborhood, a "moving violation" is when people leave their broken furniture on the sidewalk as they skip town. This is not OK people!
Thanks to H-Gary for explaining it all! I liked the PORPOISE diagram. How interesting!
Jinx, I've also heard "ace in the hole" all my life; just never thought of it referring to the face down card in stud poker. There were no playing cards in our house and my mother hated it when a couple of friends showed me when I was about 12 how to play draw Dr. Pepper poker with 10s,2s, & 4s as wild cards. Dr. Pepper used to advertise to drink on at 10am, 2pm, and 4pm. They played another called Baseball poker, with 3s & 9s as wild cards. 3 outs and 9 innings.
Agree with Irish miss. Decent challenge w/o being too cutesy. FIR with no aggro.
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