Themeless Saturday by Alan Massengill & Doug Peterson
Today's puzzle by Alan (left below) and Doug has a nice wide-open grid with only 27 blocks and 102 open squares. The long grid-spanners were very "gettable" and clever fill added to the fun. Hanging on to LEGIT too long was a speed bump. My potential Natick was at _AVI/_ONCE and for some reason, NONCE made some sense for one-off and the Congratulations window came up.
Across:
1. Ocean spray?: SEA SALT.
8. Sings the blues: ACTS SAD - I chose Buck's version over Ringo's.
15. Flurry: HUSTLE AND BUSTLE.
17. Particulars from behind closed doors: INTIMATE DETAILS - She should know.
19. States: AVERS 20. __ service: LIP - He AVERS that he will back me up but it turned out to be LIP service when I needed him.
21. Space that may be kind of a lot: ACRE π
22. Signs: OMENS - Get to the basement!
23. Numbers game: KENO.
24. Really chill: ZEN.
25. Highlands estate owner: LAIRD.
26. One duo and two trios: OCTET π (1 x 2) + (2 x 3) = 2 + 6 = 8
27. Works from home?: BATS π
28. Command performances?: SALUTES - What a private has to do to a general or...
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| QEII and the lads after a command performance |
32. Surveyor's support: BIPOD.
33. Game for pick-y people: LOTTERY.
35. CLE team: CAVS.
36. Final challenge, perhaps: ESSAY π I always liked multiple choices better but knew there would probably be an ESSAY question near the end
37. Spark joy in: ELATE.
39. NL players since 2022: DH'S - The National League finally started using it 49 years later.
42. Groks: GETS - We solvers grok and suss
43. No-hit performance?: B-SIDE π - Hanging onto LEGIT too long and not knowing BRITE left me starting at _ S E D E for a while. Richie Valens' La Bamba was once a B-SIDE.
44. Drink choice: NEAT - We veterans here remember Tinbeni who refused to have ice in his scotch
45. "How To Triumph Like a Girl" poet LimΓ³n: ADA ¯\_(γ)_/¯ The poem
46. New York minute: TRICE.
47. One-off: NONCE
48. "It came back to me so easily!": LIKE RIDING A BIKE.
51. "Let me worry about that": I'VE GOT IT COVERED.
52. Signified: DENOTED.
53. Text-style workers: EDITORS - A fun play on the word textile
Down:
1. Red selection: SHIRAZ - I picked up on the clue for red wine but this wine naif needed a lot of help for this variety
2. Carol Burnett character: EUNICE - Eunice and her Mama had issues
3. Toward a paddle wheel: ASTERN.
4. Steps over a wall: STILE.
5. Element of the Third Pillar of Islam: ALMS.
6. Green span: LEA.
7. Tea ceremony surfaces: TATAMIS.
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| The mat is called a TATAMI |
8. Plus ones?: ADDENDS - This math teacher deserves a time out for trying to see this as someone who is taken as date to an event instead of...
9. Many semi pros: CBERS - I quickly saw semi as a tractor/trailer combo, good buddy!
10. Sounds of contempt: TUTS.
11. Retirement income org.: SSA.
12. Lift provider on a runway: STILETTO - I'll admit my first thought was of supportive underwear.
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| Can be hazardous |
13. Only Top 40 hit for actor/singer Jack Wagner: ALL I NEED - It reached #2 behind Madonna's Like A Virgin
14. Tyrants: DESPOTS.
16. "Give up?" comeback: NEVER - General McAuliffe had a different way to respond to a German demand to give up in 1944.
22. Western: OATER.
23. Trademarked pods: K CUPS - I use them everyday but can't find any strong enough
25. Chabert of "Mean Girls": LACEY - She's on the left below. I did not know her name but her face was instantly familiar as my lovely bride is a big fan of her much different persona as Hallmark's Queen Of Christmas.
27. Almost-ready versions: BETAS.
29. Ease up: ABATE.
30. Plummet: NOSEDIVE.
33. Passport, for one: LEGAL ID.
34. "Guilty as charged": YES I DID - Saying "Guilty as charged" can defuse a tense situation
35. Rhythmic flow: CADENCE - A fun way to keep it.
39. "Taxi Driver" Oscar nominee: DENIRO - His famous line from that movie
40. Cyberwarrior, sometimes: HACKER.
41. Lipizzans, e.g.: STEEDS - Horse lover General George Patton was instrumental in saving a large number of Lipizzans from the advancing Russians in 1945.
43. "Rainbow __": classic cartoon that inspired collectible dolls: BRITE ¯\_(γ)_/¯
46. Turkey __: TROT - A jerky dance of the 20's is now a name used for Thanksgiving Day fun races like this one in our town.
47. Blue species native to Pandora: NAVI - I have never seen the movie Avatar
49. Comedian Nwodim: EGO - I'm getting used to her name
50. Ragnarok figure: GOD ¯\_(γ)_/¯
43 comments:
What made this puzzle
possible to solve were the many in-the-language grid spanners that were, for the most part, common sense. For a Saturday puzzle, I found this quite doable and enjoyable. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
For the most part, things were going swimmingly (love that word). In the end, it came down to _ONCE/_AVI and SHIRA_/_EN. D-o guessed right on the first, and wrong on the second. Bzzzzzzt. Thanx, Alan, Doug, and Husker.
Took 20:02 today, in a palindromic way.
Lots of unknowns (Laird, nonce, riels, eunice, Ada, stile, etc.), but I knew today's actress (Lacey).
Gotta run. Have a great day.
Good morning.
I am so mad. At myself. One letter. I don't know much about wine, and for some reason SHIRAc sounded familiar and I thought it seemed correct. In retrospect, that was the name of the French president, wasn't it? Maybe that's why it sounded familiar.
Thank you, Alan and Doug. I liked the challenge and enjoyed most of the clues.
Unfortunately, I'm running late, and will have to read HG's review when I get back later today.
I don’t think the LA Times does difficult puzzles very well. Too many clues/answers that just seem to be trying too hard. A passport is a LEGAL ID - what is an illegal ID, a library card? Many B-SIDE singles go on to become hits in their own right. The New York Minute clue elicits nothing but a shrug. NONCE reeks of “look how smart I am”. The clues should be difficult, challenging and ENJOYABLE. This one just devolved into a slog.
FIW. The SE did me in starting with putting down Navu instead of Navi. That and entering DBs thinking Diamond Backs and i stalled in that corner. Nothing made sense so I took a WAG and was wrong. Oh well!
The rest of this puzzle was fun. The long answers were somewhat easy and the perps were fair and helpful.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
I thought this was plodding along but then finished under my usual Saturday so go figure
On 1A I put in SEA but waited for the perps as lots of options foam, mist and eventually salt- but the S had me fill Syrah for the red wine until perps changed to SHIRAZ . They are the same wine with different spellings in different places https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrah
ZEN filled after I ended up with the SHIRAZ. We use You Tube for our TV provider and I usually record shows to skip the commercials but some shows I watch live. You Tube periodically gives an options to skip the ads and if you push that button it brings you to a quiet nature scene
and recommends that you "Enjoy the Zen"
Never worn STILETTOs when I was young and certainly won't now
All of a sudden we had a heat wave throughout the Midwest - don't forget to hydrate and stay in the shade and if you have health issues Stay inside with A/C
Thanks HG and Alan & Doug!
I remember seeing the LIPPAZANer stallions in the Spanish Riding School in Vienna - beautiful horses
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipizzan
You're probably thinking of Jacques Chirac.
The grape variety Shiraz, aka Syrah, produces full-bodied red wines.
Good Morning:
I believe it’s been a while since we’ve seen such a challenging grid, but P and P and some helpful perps overcame any and all obstacles. A few areas of difficulty were finally resolved by correcting Sharaz to Shiraz, Legit ID to Legal ID, and Aside to Bside. Lacey, Brite, Riels, and Alms and God, as clued, needed those aforementioned perps. Props to these two pros for as near a perfect Saturday offering as possible and, with highest praise from my standpoint, a puzzle reminiscent of the much-missed Barry Silk.
Bravo, Alan and Doug, and thanks to you, too, HG, for the stunning visuals and the Seinfeld and Stripes videos. It was touching to be reminded of our ice-phobic Tinbeni.
Have a great day.
At first I had Γ‘ SEA of white spaces, but after Γ‘ ONCE over, I got to work. As has been pointed out the long answers were quite doable, my usual bane and frustration stems from the proper names, all of which I didn’t know, like NIECE as clued, EUNICE, ALL I NEED, LACEY, BRITE, DHS, NA VI, EGO as clued, NO BET, ADDENDS. I’ve been living under Γ‘ rock Too long. π€£
Also I kept horses too long, but finally switched to STEEDS. We get TRICE followed by NONCE. I really liked the clue for EDITORS.
I did FIR, so all’s good.
Thank you HG for your review. Most helpful.
I’ve got to figure out how to keep my account posted correctly. The above is Monkey.
CC has a wonderful Wall Street Journal puzzle today:
CC's WSJ Puzzle
Came over here to see how badly I did, and was surprised that I, like some others above, only missed by one letter. Close, but no SHIRAZ. Alan & Doug teamed up to make this one twice as hard!
Held off on ASTERN because many paddlewheel boats have paddles on the sides, and even pedaled versions often have the wheel up front.
Thinking too hard about "lift provider on a runway" gave me Bernoulli (with one L to fit) - whose principle of fluid pressure related to its speed makes flight possible. That seemed a little obscure (besides, I couldn't spell his name) so I settled on High Heel, which was on the right track until it wasn't.
More math - a surveyor's transit always sits on a tripod for stability, so BIPOD made no sense until I saw Gary's pic (great write-up BTW). So a BIPOD is not a "stand alone" item but an add on to a monopod: 2 + 1 = 3.
Got her done - but w/ 3 wrong letters
When I lived in Cambodia in 1970’s I learned “riAls” (not “riels”), and didn’t know “astern”, and so just ignored “ze_” π€·πΌ♀️
And didn’t know “DHs” - but got it by perps. Still don’t know what “DHs”, as I am stupid about baseball, and all sports π
Thanks to all for a great puzzle and elaboration. Happy weekend
Nah. TITT. I'll Echo Bill From Bayonne at 8:45 on this one. Didn't care for most of the cluing...wound up with more WTF?s than Aha!s this morning. Too clever by half.
Sophia, I'm pretty sure DH stands for "Designated Hitter" -- but don't ask me why they need one, or what they do.
This was a disaster. No handle on the wall to wall clues and mistakes like crossing seconds with avows so even perped answers were wrong. Errors like seamist, bahs, high heels, grape, verdict, horses. and last and least, scribes
When I was just old enough to recognize letters I thought Aunt Fritzi read as Aunt Frances , (Dads youngest and pretty sister)
Inane: DW and I took the train to Vienna (1976?) when I was at Uni in Itqly and among many other things saw the LIPPAZANER stallions perform, it was free if you just went to the practice. On the train ride home she asked about a word she saw all over town wondered what it meant :“Wien”
I’m impressed by all you geniuses π§who finished. Mensa applications in the mail. ππ
Anyway a beeeuuutiful hot sunny day. Headed to the lake.
Enjoy the weekend
Oh one other thing. Saw the movie “The Life of Chuck” yesterday. Highly recommend… π π
Like Sophia at 10:26 AM, I didn't know what DHs were, and H-G's otherwise excellent review left me still wondering. Thanks to desper-otto for translating to "Designated Hitter."
I had two blank squares: the H in DHS at 39-Across, and the C in NONCE at 47-Across, which adds up to three incomplete words. That was frustrating, but filling the rest of the puzzle felt like triumph over adversity, so thanks for that, Alan and Doug! Thanks for explaining, H-G!
Agree 100%
FIR in just under 20 minutes but only got about three minutes of enjoyment out of this puzzle.
Way too many obscurities, ridiculous clues, and eye-roll moments. This puzzle did not spark joy.
If not only proper names but also words like trice and nonce are objectionable, what is a constructor to do? I contend that those two words are what many puzzle aficionados who object to names are seeking instead.
FIW, missing my WAGs @ cONCE x cAVI and TRICa x CADaNCE (bad spelars of the world, UNTIE!) But I got my WAG @ BRITE x TRICa, so I got that goin' for me. Which is nice.
"Pro team from the Falls City" would be a great Saturday clue for BATS. (The mighty Louisville BATS are the AAA club for the Reds.)
The Jack Wagner tune is a little tame for my tastes. Here's Mike and the Mechanics with their big hit ALL I NEED Is A Miracle.
Thanks to Alan and Doug for letting me play with the smart kids today. And thanks to Gary for another fun review.
This puzzle came close to being an ideal Saturday puzzle – crunchy, but not absurdly so.
My FIR came down to changing SEA salt to SEA MIST, although I was uneasy about STILE and didn’t like the pluralization of RIELS, as clued. Hand up also for Tsks before TUTS, horses before STEEDS, and guava before OLIVE.
There were numerous likeable entries, including LIKE RIDING A BIKE, SHIRAZ, STILETTO (as clued), NONCE, TRICE, NOSEDIVE, LICIT, LIP service (because I like the Elvis Costello song) and, especially EUNICE, whose appearance on The Gong Show (singing “Feelings”) was one of the best things I’ve ever seen on television.
A few attempts at clever clues fell flat, but the puzzle merits an A.
Devilishly difficult.
That’s why I wanted to enter RIaLS.
My brush with greatness - years ago my neighbor was an A&R man for Atlantic Records. Mike Rutherford was vacationing nearby (without the Mechanics) and because of my neighbor, asked to borrow my Stratocaster while he was here. As it was (and still is) my prized possession, I said no.
Hola! Often i give up on Saturday puzzles but today I almost finished. NONCE evaded me! And I have no idea about NAVI. But all the rest filled in good time without HUSTLE AND BUSTLE. ALEXA gave me RIELS and it's the only time I asked for her help today.
I liked the clue for CBERS.
The Lipizzaner STEEDS performed in Phoenix many years ago and my late friend, Virginia and I went to see them. However, when I visited Vienna, they were gone for the summer, so we just toured the stables.
Thank you, Alan, Doug and Gary for today's fun.
I'm expecting visitors from New York, so I need to HUSTLE. Have a lovely day, everyone!
I will not belabor the excellent points so many of you have made this morning, in particular the perspectives of Copy Editor and Irish Miss, to which I can just add "Ditto, ditto."
With Alan and Doug's puzzle, I feel we are witness to how creative and satisfying a crossword can be. And a self-imposed nightmare for the constructors! This puzzle is a panorama of white, with TWO sets of adjoining grid-spanners. Of the 225 total squares in the grid, there are only 27 black ones. I think the average is somewhere around 40.
And as for the sandwiched grid-spanners, I can only imagine the time and headaches these constructions would have necessitated for Doug and Alan. If you piggyback any two 15-letter phrases, you're going to have nothing but gibberish in the resulting 15 perps.
And thanks to Patti and her crew for overseeing this masterpiece; and of course HGary, for your usual skillful and helpful recap.
In my younger, slimmer days I wore STILETTOS and loved them!
Tough Saturday puzzle, but although my comments will complain about its toughness, I still enjoyed it--so, thanks all the same, Alan and Doug. And your commentary is always a help, Gary, so thanks for that too.
Well, since this was a tough puzzle, it made me ACT SAD right at the start. There was no way I was going to be able to HUSTLE AND BUSTLE through this one, and even the INTIMATE DETAILS made me crazy. This was a lot tougher than RIDING A BIKE. But even though I never GOT IT COVERED, I still enjoyed playing with it, and thought it was fun. So thanks, EDITORS, for this Saturday treat.
Hope you have a pleasant, sunny day like ours, everybody.
"'Tis a puzzlement" as the king of Siam sang, if I recall correctly. A puzzlement indeed, and a masterful one. I struggled and pondered and looked things up and finally solved it, enjoying the entire experience. An hour well spent.
Smart. It would be just another good guitar to Mike, I'm sure.
MERLOT-->SHIRAZ. HORSES-->STEEDS. RIALS-->RIELS. DIPOD-->BIPOD. HOD-->GOD. LEGIT-->LEGAL-->LICIT. PACINO-->DENIRO.
I got a kick out of the references to John Locke and Julius Irving crossing each other in the same puzzle.
Oops. Meant changing SEA mist to SEA SALT.
Some know Lipizzans are STEEDS, but not SHIRAZ as wine. Me, I don’t know horses, but my favorite wine is Petit Syrah, a SHIRAZ.
Seems like eons ago that I did this puzzle, all I remember is that it seemed the standard Saturday Stumper requiring whack a vowel, and every single perp... been too busy otherwise to even think straight, but somehow, when HG said that he had never seen Avatar, I wanted to say, "you are missing something." And went looking for a free link...
You know a movie must be good, when ten years later, the only way you can watch it is to pay for it....
Nope. Quit counting the alpha-runs. Far too many things I simply DNK, including what a "Caponata" is. AILERONS made sense, but no, not even close. I was so proud of myself for doing yesterday's CW in record (for me) Friday time. Today I was just totally defeated. TRICE, NONCE, ADDENDS all also escaped me w/o the dreaded alpha-runs. AM&DP, you thoroughly humiliated me today. It's not infrequent that I DNF a CW, but today was just ridiculous. I was not even CLOSE. Thanx anyway. HG, nice write-up, thanx for all the time and effort you put into it.
It was hard but good.
Have you tried the Jaffur's Petite Sirah?
Thanks for the tip, MM. I willl look for it.
Thanks, D-O! Now I know a baseball term. Maybe if I pay more attention, crossword solving will make even me “sporty-er”π
And, Monkey (prob TMI coming; just my puzzling about us humans): as a counselor (church or/& therapy, for 40+yrs now), I’ve become really humble about wordsπ (Tomayto-Tomahto? Rial-Riel?) Somebody(-s) make them up; sometimes lots of somebodies use them, and then somebody(-s) decide to redefine or respell or disuse or misuse or stop using … until somebody(-s) bring them back … and then …. π€¦πΌ♀️ A big part of therapy, and spiritual practice for me has been about 1st making sure people means the same thing(s) when we use the same word(s) - cuz often we don’t
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