Saturday Themeless by Chandi Deitmer and Erik Agard
Chandi wrote, I am a full-time puzzler out of Cambridge, MA with a love of nice people, spicy food, and (whatever entry POWER CLASHING is!). Hmmm...I wonder who came up with that clue/fill? π
I had a lovely trip through this collaboration but POWER CLASHING, BURBLE and MOCHI DONUT were speed bumps. Also, 46, 47 and 53 Down were just devious. I got the fill and then wracked what little brain power I had to make sense of them.
1. Take off: STRIP.
6. Book jacket blurbs: BIOS.
10. Cover one's tracks?: DUB π - Did you enjoy the "singing" of Deborah Kerr in The King and I, Natalie Wood in West Side Story and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. Marni Nixon was the actual performer who glorious singing voice was DUBBED over for these famous roles.
13. African capital with a City of the Dead: CAIRO - More info
16. Attorney-__: AT LAW.
17. Boxing titles?: RING NAMES - Take a guess at the RING NAME of this boxing great Walker Smith Jr.. Answer at bottom of write-up *.
18. Greta of "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse": LEE ¯\_(γ)_/¯ She voiced a character named Layla
19. GPS figs.: ETAS - My GPS does not consider detours and construction zones or my tendency to drive 4mph over the speed limit so my Estimated Time of Arrival is not always so accurate.
21. Echelons: TIERS.
22. Magnetic presence in a classroom?: DRY-ERASE BOARD - My classroom board was home to many NASA and Disney magnetic "stickers"
26. Retired players?: VCRS - Failure to expand the idea of "players" made this take more time than necessary. At first I thought of baseball and OUTS.
21. Echelons: TIERS.
22. Magnetic presence in a classroom?: DRY-ERASE BOARD - My classroom board was home to many NASA and Disney magnetic "stickers"
26. Retired players?: VCRS - Failure to expand the idea of "players" made this take more time than necessary. At first I thought of baseball and OUTS.
27. Screenwriter's creations: ARCS - Those of us with a few miles on our tires will remember the name of the show whose story ARC was the search for the one-armed-man killer. Show is named below**
28. Halyard attachments: SAILS - This land lubber confused halyard with lanyard which is where we coaches carry our whistle and convention goers wear their ID'S. π
30. Dose holder: VIAL.
31. Pewter element: TIN.
34. Setting for some of "Pachinko": KOREA ¯\_(γ)_/¯
35. Participate in story time: TELL A TALE.
37. GPS fig.: LAT - This screen shot shows you the LAT and LONG of the White House.
38. Catch: SNAG.
40. Stream-ing music?: BURBLE - Not a common word to me but exchanging it for BUBBLE gave me TRANCHE
41. Increases: UPS.
42. Some social circles?: HORAS. π
44. Standard intro course: SALAD π the course was "intro" not "first". I wonder if this was a product of Chandi or Erik.
45. Rice flour pastry: MOCHI DONUT ¯\_(γ)_/¯
40. Stream-ing music?: BURBLE - Not a common word to me but exchanging it for BUBBLE gave me TRANCHE
41. Increases: UPS.
42. Some social circles?: HORAS. π
44. Standard intro course: SALAD π the course was "intro" not "first". I wonder if this was a product of Chandi or Erik.
45. Rice flour pastry: MOCHI DONUT ¯\_(γ)_/¯
48. Team whose logo is a basketball with a B: NETS.
49. In some cases, it won't break: PHONE π My iPhone is in an Otter Box case and has been saved several times
50. Surprisingly good event?: MIRACLE - The 1980 Lake Placid Olympics is truly one
52. Conductor Solti who held the record for most Grammys before BeyoncΓ©: GEORG.
53. Slayer player: METAL HEAD.
55. Classic Monopoly token: IRON.
56. Ticket line?: ONE PLEASE.
57. Misses: GALS - Noun not verb
58. Worked into a lather: SUDSY
59. Word with chosen or precious: FEW.
Down:
1. Prep, as milk for custard: SCALD.
2. Spud: TATER.
3. B.B. King's given name: RILEY.
4. SIMPLE __: IRA.
5. Looks in two different directions at once?: POWER CLASHING ¯\_(γ)_/¯ It's a fashion "thing". Chandi's note to me said she did not enter this. π
6. City that can be seen from Table Rock: BOISE.
7. Male equivalent of "bint," in Arabic: IBN.
8. Edu alternative: ORG.
9. Man known for his many gifts: SANTA CLAUS.
10. Like many mosques: DOMED.
11. App opener: USER.
12. TΓ©a's "Madam Secretary" role: BESS.
14. Uncouth: CRASS.
15. Skating event: PAIRS.
20. Paves the way?: TARS.
23. Irish novelist Woods: EVIE ¯\_(γ)_/¯
24. Leave folks hanging: BAIL.
25. Big name in brushes: ORAL-B.
28. Genre originally sponsored by Procter & Gamble: SOAP OPERA.
29. Media training?: ART SCHOOL π
30. Honey-don't list?: VEGAN MENU - I'm a "meat and taters" kind of guy!
31. Dining room section: TABLE LEAF π Ours are stored in the dining table.
32. Unsettled: ILL AT EASE.
33. Maslovian considerations: NEEDS - I studied (read memorized) these for my Master's Degree and then forgot them.
 |
| Heidi Klum Karlie Kloss |
35. Tropical staple: TARO.
36. Financial term from the French for "slice": TRANCHE - This compelling scene from Margin Call uses the word TRANCHE and gives insight into a big cause of the 2008 financial crisis. It's worth 9:48 of your time.
39. Place to make a connection: NODE - Part of a Local Area Network
43. Apt: SUITED.
46. Lockers in a row?: HORNS - Wow, variations on locker, row and horns! Here we see two kudu locking HORNS during a row (rhymes with cow). People can do the same thing metaphorically.
46. Lockers in a row?: HORNS - Wow, variations on locker, row and horns! Here we see two kudu locking HORNS during a row (rhymes with cow). People can do the same thing metaphorically.
47. Quarry containers: TRAPS - Continuing with animal references, some people use TRAPS to catch whatever quarry they are after.
51. Person to fight with: ALLY - Two ways to go: The person who is with you and fighting on your side is an ally. The person who is not with you is someone you are fighting with/against.
52. Piece of work?: GIG.
53. JASON's five, e.g.: MOS - I got this eventually. JASON stands for the first letters in the MO.'S July through November. All capital letters in the clue put me off the name and MOS is most likely months. Aarrgghh!
54. __ point: DEW - Recent numbers for Omaha.
*Walker Smith Jr. fought as Sugar Ray Robinson
**Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen) sought the one-armed-man who killed his wife in The Fugitive
41 comments:
I thought this was a very fine Saturday offering. Just enough crunch to make me work for my supper. Erik has been entertaining for many years now as Gary explained, and Gary probably has been entertaining since he was born. Happy Saturday
I did okay on the
top two-thirds of this puzzle but couldn’t get any hold on the bottom third. So I did something I rarely do: I TITT.
I’m not happy about that, but I am happy to be on this site and see how the rest of you did. Subgenius out!
Nope! Saw Erik's byline and didn't investigate further.
FLN - I'm with Big Easy on "parts is parts." Although some of the stuff doesn't matter, like the plastic clips that hold the body parts and interior panels together, stuff like emissions sensors are better when they are from a big name like Bosch. Getting them from the dealer doesn't make them better, just more expensive.
Worst abuse I've heard about is when a stealership quoted a sparkplug changeout as necessary add-on work to the owner of a diesel pickup truck.
Congrats to all who enjoyed today's offering; I'll try again tomorrow.
Good morning!
Managed two-thirds, but came to a screeching halt in the SE. Continued to fuss with it until I ran up against my personal time limit. This one goes in the loss column. Thanx for the abuse, Chandi and Erik. Congrats for sticking it out to those of you who completed this one.
way too many?,s
Good Morning:
I think the clue for Mos (months) says it all about the intentions of at least one of the constructors, which is to be as obtuse and and deceiving as possible to confound, confuse, and frustrate the solver. This results in a constructor placing his desire to showcase his superior knowledge and cunning above providing the solver with a fair, challenging, yet enjoyable and satisfying experience. I, too, TITT, and I, too, am swearing off Eric’s future offerings.
Thanks, HG, for being the Saturday Sherpa through thick and thin. I admire your steadfast equanimity.
Have a great day.
DNF. I struggled through the upper two thirds of the puzzle, actually scratching my head on power clashing but having no alternative, and even managed to fill in the SW. But the SE had me completely flummoxed. 53D was a total mystery to me, and in fact still is in many ways, even after an explanation. And I continued to try to force trams before traps as I was thinking of mining.
Overall this was not an enjoyable puzzle for me.
Took 17:49 today, luckily.
So, so many unknowns: power clashing, mochi donut, ibn, Georg, Evie, etc.
Do all VCRs play? Don't some just record?
The Saturday LAT puzzle still needs some work on the "?s".
I finished it but can’t say I understood some of the clues, nor was it enjoyable. I, too, am adding these names to my “don’t bother with list”.
Another Saturday Stinker - and this one is even more malodorous than usual. Pretty much everywhere you turn you are going to bump into a proper name, some arcane trivia, or one of those annoying clues with the (?) that are supposed to be witty or humorous. I’ve probably done 500 puzzles from many different outlets so far this year, and if this one isn’t the worst, it is definitely in the top three.
I knew this would be a challenge with Erik as one of the constructor's and it did not disappoint!
Like HG - Maslov's hierarchy of needs as a concept was lurking in the recesses of my brain, but the specifics are long gone
- lockers in a row was a favorite clue , though the answer took ESP
- The MIRACLE on Ice team included our friend Mark Johnson who now coaches the UW women's hockey team who just won their 8th NCAA Frozen Four championship under him this year
- GEORG Solti was music director of the Chicago Symphony from 1967-1991 when we lived in Chicago we were able to see him conduct on our annual opportunity to be house doctor for a night - which was fun since we couldn't afford tickets on a resident's salary
Thanks HG for another informative write-up and Chandi & Erick for the puzzle
Irish Miss described this puzzle better than I ever could. And, Cripes, I’ve been a lawyer for nearly 40 years…
Some months ago we were subjected to a travesty of a puzzle constructed by Erik and another young man whose name escapes me. So when Erik reappeared solo on a Saturday puzzle a few weeks ago, I felt that the previous grotesqueries and absurdities had been toned down a bit. I feel pretty much the same today. He does have a co-constructor today, Chandi, who was definitely not his partner in the show-off fest from a half-year ago.
I appreciated seeing Georg Solti, the great conductor of the Chicago Symphony, make an appearance in today's puzzle.
Hey, Sailor Jinx, did you stick around long enough to see the clue that was just for you, "Halyard attachments"?
Thanks, HGary, for so astutely and cleverly negotiating your way around today's review.
They all play. What's the sense of making a recording if you can't play it back?
Like Jinx, I also took a pass as soon as I saw the byline, and Irish Miss' summary confirms that it was a wise decision on my part.
Life is too short to waste time on an Erik Agard vanity project.
David Janssen was "The Fugitive", not Davis.
I managed to finish, but, but, I looked up Γ‘ few Names like, EVIE, LEE, KLUM.
My first confident fill, was SOAP OPERA. That gave me some hope.
Never heard of MOCHI DONUTS, BURBLE, and POWER CLASHING. Of course I knew TRANCHE.
I still don’t get MOS for JASON’s five.
I agree way too many “?” clues to suit me.
Thank you HG for your fine review and as Irish Miss ☘️ states, for your equanimity.
"MOS" are the abbreviated months of July, August, September, October, and November (JASON).
Hmm,
I usually attempt a Saturday stumper just to see what ridiculous stretches constructors will go to. But today I was really impressed with some of the word play! "Lockers in a row" was ingenious, and was one of many pleasant surprises that make unknown names, and languages I don't speak, tolerable...
All in all, a worthwhile challenge, fun, and learning experience...
Hmm,
Except maybe, Jason/Mos. Let's see, did the constructors give us a chance? Perpage maybe?
Sudsy? Hmm, tough, but fair..
One please? Actually, not bad, you just have to work on it...
Metal head??? Hmm, now this is a Classic Natick! Would an alphabet run finish the puzzle? Yes, the other 25 letters don't make any sense at all. But a very unsatisfying way to finish what otherwise could have been a perfect difficult but rewarding puzzle. But then again, nothing is perfect....
I'm surprised by all the negative comments. I'm no brainiac, but I did finish it correctly... after more than an hour! I thought it was tough but fair.
I question whether VCRs are "retired." Big business may think so, but I don't!
Finished with help: I had MOCHI but couldn’t suss the DONUT, and I had TRANC but couldn’t suss the French financial term. As I’ve said before (a couple of people misunderstood): Some of the younger constructors EXPECT the solver to look things up, which isn’t how it should work, and when Erik Agard collaborates on a puzzle, Patti and her crew don’t seem to edit.
This puzzle contained about as much unfairness as any I’ve tackled. POWER-CLASHING is not only a ridiculous, obscure concept, but the clue literally contained mis-“direction.” I’ve never heard of DRY ERASE BOARD or the needlessly obscure EVIE. “Slayer player” meant nothing to me. And I had no idea why “SIMPLE” is an IRA or who JASON’s five/MOS were/are, although I figured out as I wrote this that five consecutive months were a factor. The BURBLE entry was too elastic – could have been bubble or babble -- and therefore a clunker, especially as clued. I’ve never heard antlers called “lockers.” I should have figured out that “quarry” wasn’t the marble kind. As for Sun Salutations: Enough with the damn yoga poses. Total annoyances count: 24.
LIKES: The DUB clue; the BOISE trivia; GEORG Solti (but not the needless details); The B.B. King name (I knew it, but not immediately); the dining room “section”; the “fight with” misdirection; and the fact that Procter was spelled correctly, which most of the public doesn’t get right.
I'm with Irish Miss on this one, and like Jinx, I'll add Erik "look at what a clever boy I am" to the don't bother with list. What a lousy excuse for a crossword puzzle. No sense of accomplishment or pleasure to be found. (Except in HGs review. Wish I'd gone there first!)
Hola! I'm back from a glorious time in northern California. What a beautiful area! But it's puzzle time and today is the first one I've had from the LA Times. Ooh1 Erik Agard! That's enough to put a chill on one's puzzle solving chops, but I gave it a try and finally gave up on the SE corner where LOW point was getting me nowhere and now, I know why. DEW point! And SUDSY replaced my SOAPY. I managed about 90% and that's satisfying but still a DNF.
Thank you, Gary, for finishing this for me! I hope you all have been well and enjoying life as much as possible.
It was a MIRACLE that I finished as much as I could.
Enjoyable Saturday toughie, many thanks Chandi and Erik. And your commentary was very helpful, as always, many thanks for that too, Husker Gary.
Well, there were so many conflicting words in this puzzle and that made it a bit difficult to TELL A TALE about what was going on. But we could start with ART SCHOOL where the kids might be taking a COBRA POSE in the morning, and work on their DRY ERASE BOARDS during the day and then watch a SOAP OPERA or two on TV before going home. But for lunch it would be important to offer them a VEGAN MENU with some TATER spuds and a MOCHI DONUT and some TARO. Nothing CRASS about all this, and nothing to make the kids ILL AT EASE, so they'd be having a good time.
Have a cheerful, good day, everybody.
Plain ugly clueing.
After struggling to fill about half of this puzzle I threw in the towel and clicked "Reveal Grid" to see the answers, and even then I didn't understand some of them, e.g. POWER CLASHING. Got no enjoyment from this one.
Wow! I got it now. I’ve never seen the months referred to that way. Thank you.
I agree with Mary. I was surprised to see that I’d been working over an hour, but eventually made it FIR. That was the second surprise! I enjoyed the challenge… that’s what Saturdays are for, in my humble opinion.
I’ve been solving crosswords for almost 50 years. I’d be bored to death if I was still solving the same ones after all these years. I don’t want to be able to cruise through them without any thought and as such, Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays offer no challenge and I just skip them. I want to be exposed to anything & everything that different constructors bring. I am happy for an opportunity to expand my knowledge.
You go girl!!!
I’m with you 100%
Like Irish Miss, I saw Erik’s name and thought “ah s**t, here we go” and he didn’t disappoint. At least he scaled back on the obtuse clueing — a little. The only reason I gave this shot (besides being a stubborn cuss) was that I got SANTACLAUS right off the bat, and figured maybe, just maybe, I was in his part of the universe. Yeeeahh, riiiight…
Beef #1: since when are dry-erase boards magnetic? I’ve used ‘em for years, and even Post-Its have a hard time sticking to one. POWERCLASHING?? That just looks like an excuse for poor taste, not knowing how to dress yourself decently. And the JASON thing is pure useless BS; why would one refer to such an odd sequence of months? Sorry, Erik — no cee-gar.
Now the good stuff: the clue on HORNS was awesome, as was the ones for SALAD and TRAPS (I, too, spent way too much time on the rocks…). Plus, I’ve eaten mochi donuts down in Nihon-Machi (“Japan town”) so that was a tasty clue for me. Had “pill” before VIAL until the perps said otherwise, but being a bit of a METALHEAD, that was tuned in nicely. I could go on, but at least this one didn’t make me totally p.o.‘ed at the constructor; maybe Chandi acted as a tempering factor — if so, then thanks to her!
Gary, props for managing to do a civil review on today’s puzzle; I’m sure I would not have been as charitable (which is why I probably should never try to write a recap for The Corner!). I’d end up running like David Jansen π€£
====> Darren / L.A.
I haven't been solving nearly that long, though I likewise enjoy the learning moments that a well-constructed puzzle can lead you to. Perhaps it is a fine line between the challenging and the overly abstruse, but this falls on the latter.
Before Covid 19 caused the company I was teaching for to shut down, I used our magnetic dry erase boards for grouping project tasks into their relevant process groups. Our secretary/receptionist typed up labels and glued the paper to magnets, then every day at the end of class the students had a group exercise of arranging tasks covered that day, then add tasks we had covered in previous classes. But what amazed me was when I suitcased a class at a local community college. They had a white board that had a printer attached, so that participants could add/edit thoughts and ideas then print the end result to distribute to the group. I didn't use the board, but I was certainly impressed.
Too much “cutesy “ clueing for my taste. Ringnames, powerclashing, and veganmenu make no sense.
Sadism times two. LAT and NYT puzzle by Erik Agard on a Saturday. Not worth the effort.
BURBLE is what a JABBERWOCK does. A brook BABBLES.
Sadism x three. Another Erik Agard crossword puzzle in the latest New Yorker dated 07/21/25!
I think it was posted here that Erik Agard is a professed narcissist.
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