Saturday August 2, 2025 by Adrian Johnson & Will Nediger
 | ||
Adrian
|
I had a collaborative puzzle from these two constructors back in February. As you can see by the colorful grid, there was a lot of "Unique" fill in this one! I had to work around some alternate fills that I love to do and, of course, the long horizontal and vertical fills were the real key. This was about a 40-minute excursion to get to an unassisted "got 'er done"
Across:
1. Strategic chess move, casually: SAC - SACrificing a piece so that you can gain an advantage
8. 41-Across developer: SALK and 41. Major medical breakthrough of the 1950s: POLIO
VACCINE - Some of us stood in lines just like this
12. Thin reed: OBOE.
14. Each: A POP.
15. Home of the Nubian Pyramids: SUDAN.
16. Handy navigational aids: ARROW KEYS ๐
18. Came to the surface: AROSE.
19. Chap with chaps, perhaps: RANCHER ๐ - RODEOER? seemed right to me in this part of the world. Yeah, spell checker didn't think much of it either.
20. "Let's meet up then": I'M FREE.
21. Cold draft in the winter, say: SEASONAL BEER.
24. Not altogether in the altogether: SCANTILY CLAD ๐ Not quite naked!
26. Least sanguine: PALEST.
27. Niger neighbor: CHAD - It's a 26-hr drive between their capital cities
28. Opposite of fore: AFT.
31. Org. that accepts returns: IRS ๐ - Amazon does a good job too.
32. Ballpark souvenir: CAP - When we were in D.C. this hat was $29.95 at the Pentagon Mall. I got it for $9.95 from a kiosk across the street from Ford's Theater.
35. Opposing vote: NAY.
36. Brew that might have ice or spice in it: TEA.
37. "Glad and big" protagonist of an e.e. cummings poem: OLAF.
Sunday Sermon: "i sing of Olaf, glad and big"
XXX (by E.E. Cummings)
i sing of OLAF glad and big
whose warmest heart recoiled at war:
a conscientious object-or
43. Places for puffers: SMOKING AREAS - Here's one at Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. I can't imagine...
45. Shell casing?: PIE TIN ๐
46. Tidbits: MORSELS.
49. City west of the Wasatch Mountains: OGDEN.
50. Salvadoran eatery: PUPUSERIA - I had my first PUPUSA in a great El Salvadoran restaurant here in town. PUPUSARIA made sense to me at first.
52. Area of expertise, casually: THING.
53. Brownie point?: OVEN.
54. Home of many a steppe family: YURT ๐ - Home, home on the steppe
55. Fantasy football datum: STAT - Top 10 Fantasy Football Points for running backs for 2024
56. "Charlie's Angels" star Cheryl: LADD.
 |
Down:
1. Reach great heights: SOAR.
2. Pokรฉmon that ultimately evolves into Alakazam: ABRA ¯\_(ใ)_/¯
3. Summery dip: CORN SALSA.
4. Savors the moment: TAKES IT ALL IN.
5. Liqueur similar to Campari: APEROL ¯\_(ใ)_/¯
6. Dodgers legend Campanella: ROY - A man discovered this decades old program in his basement. It was signed by Branch Rickey, Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella. Branch made Jackie and ROY the first and sixth black men to play MLB baseball in 1948.
7. Covert __: OPS.
8. Enjoyed the motion of the ocean: SURFED.
9. Crush on: ADORE - Modern slang for "have a crush on"
10. Element of a security grid in many an action film: LASER.
11. Arthroscopy target: KNEE - I have many friends who have gotten relief with this procedure
13. Epoch that produced the earliest primate fossils: EOCENE.
15. Carnival performers: SAMBA DANCERS - I felt so comfortable with GANDY DANCERS but I needed to think of Rio de Janeiro!
17. "Something smells good in here!": WHAT'S COOKING.
20. "Someone in my circle probably knows the answer": I'LL ASK AROUND.
22. Loc. of an annual November marathon: NYC
23. Need kneading, maybe: ACHE ๐
24. Bar tended to at a cookout: SPIT.
25. __ package: CARE. They were a vital operation just after WWII. It is what we used to call "stuff" we sent to our girls when they were in college.
28. Source of immunity: ANTISERUM.
30. "Just My __: A Book About Fonts": TYPE ๐
33. Annoyance: PAIN.
38. Concert stage effect: FOG or other occasions
40. "Juno and the Paycock" playwright: O'CASEY - Set in the 1922 Irish Civil War. Juno is the wife of Captain Boyle who she calls a paycock (Irish for peacock) because he struts around all day.
41. Heady: POTENT - The early 1970's and middle 1990's were heady days for Husker FB
42. Took off at a jazz club: VAMPED - Herbie Hancock's piece to use an intro or to fill time (left, then right and then both hands)
43. Spectacle: SIGHT.
44. __ fast: MEDIA - I could not give up all my media for 21 days.
45. Kitchen stack: POTS.
47. Source of some Turkish delight?: LIRA.
50. D.C. insider: POL.
51. Cavaliers sch.: UVA.
Notes from C. C.:
Today we celebrate the 71st Birthday of Subgenius (Darryl), who is often the very first to post on the blog each morning. Wishing you a beautiful day, Darryl!
33 comments:
Well, it’s a great day.
Not only did I solve the puzzle (though it took me a good while) but it’s also my birthday! So, what’s not to like? Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Most of my WAGs were golden, and this one came together in about 14 minutes...until it fell apart. Coming here, I learned that YSA is not a Spanish pronoun -- it should'a been ACHE not ACHy. Bzzzzzzt. Sezst Lah Vye. APEROL sounds more like a drug than a drink. PUPUSERIA was inferable -- Pupusas And More is a roadside fooderia near us. Thanx for the challenge, Adrian and Will, and for the expert guidance, Husker.
HBD, Sub-G. Doing anything memorable today?
Not a fan - I thought the cluing was deceptive - I’ve never heard a chess player refer to a SAC for example. A SAC bunt in baseball would work - why fit a square peg in a round hole ? POTENT for “Heady” looks like another swing and miss - you can lawyer it into submission, but why ?
I also really don’t enjoy “look how smart I am puzzles” and the SE in this one is an abomination - you have PUPUSERIA, OCASEY, YURT, LIRA and the needlessly obtuse ANTISERUM all stuffed into that small section. “Just because you can” is not sufficient justification for that kind of nonsense.
I don’t know what it is about the LaT - but they have this Jekyll and Hyde situation going on, where M-F they pretty much shine, but decent Saturday grids are few and far between. Jeez, recruit Robyn W. to show you guys how to do a tough but fair Saturday-worthy puzzle for heaven’s sake.
FIW. Hand up for missing ACHy x ySA. My alibi is that I was so concerned with SAC x ABRA and PUPUSERIA x LIRA that I forgot about that iffy ySA. Hand up for erasing RodeoER for RANCHER, which didn't make me Jolly. Also pest->PAIN.
Never heard of MEDIA fast, but it sounds healthy.
My cousin got polio. She survived, but it gave her a stunted arm which required her to use a steering wheel knob when she got old enough to drive. I remember "helping" my uncle load up her iron lung into his El Camino to return it to a medical device place. (I was too little to be of any actual help, as I figured out later.) I got the Salk jab and the Sabin sugar cube when they became available.
I'M FREE is a great cut from The Who's rock opera album Tommy.
Thanks to Adrian and Will for a Saturday puzzle that even I can stake a stab at. My favorite, for no particular reason, was SCANTILY CLAD. And thanks to H.Gary for another fine review (except for the 8/1 heading.) HBDTY, Subgenius.
Yeah, but at the LAT Saturdays have long been for people who find weekday puzzles easy. I usually can't finish Saturday LATs, and when I can, there are complaints that it was too easy. I don't mind struggling one day a week, and there are always Cornerites who FIR even the toughest ones. My hat's off to them, and I'm glad that they get a challenge once a week.
FIR. Happy Birthday SubG.
I had to really work at this one. And I was so sure of a quick finish when I threw down polio vaccine and Salk. I was a kid in school when we were part of a test of the vaccine in the 50's. I got the placebo unfortunately.
Was i ever wrong about finishing. From there on everything was a major task. And pupuseria was all perps. Real learning moment for me.
The SW was the last to fall as I tried in vain to work with Aspen and pans in that corner. Sight was the breakout point and ultimate solve.
Overall, for a Saturday, this was an enjoyable puzzle.
Good Morning:
This took 43 minutes to solve, with a good portion of that time spent in the SW corner. I was confident that Not so was the beginning to Fast and until I erased that and started from scratch, I made no progress. Media Fast is not in my vocabulary but, somehow, chipping away here and there, Sight, Ogden, and Potent filled in and led to the finish line, although slowly and painfully, I might add. The cluing was a mixture of clever, but fair, misdirection vs unnecessarily deceptive and too cutesy to be considered clever, IMO.
Thanks, Adrian and Will, and thanks, HG, for your expert guidance and, as usual, beautiful visuals.
Happy Birthday to the early bird, Subgenius. May your day be special. ๐๐๐๐
Have a good day.
Took 26:59 today to finally get this one.
Lots and lots of unknowns, including: pupuseria, aperol, Nigerain food and neighbors, media fast, eocene, Olaf, O'Casey, and the clue for scantily clad. On the flip side, I knew the Actress of the Day (Ladd).
I continue to dispute the validity of any clue that consists of "foreign language" + "part of speech" (e.g., "Spanish pronoun"). That's not a clue.
Happy, Happy Birthday to SubG!
I was also a pioneer. Got the real thing so was exempt for the main event
I was slow, but got it! I really liked this puzzle although i didn’t know รก few answers like APEROL, PUPUSERIA. I’ve never heard of CORN SALSA, but that’s what came up. I knew O’CASEY, but at first the OC threw me off. It’s all on how you parse รก word.
I’m old enough to remember the POLIO scare and the SALK VACCINE breakthrough.
The SW also gave me some PAIN. I held on to scene too long until I finally changed it to SIGHT.
I like the title of the font book.
Thank you HG for รก nice review and for that picture of the early bird. Happy birthday Subgenius. ๐๐๐๐
A Saturday stumper that was doable if you work at it, can't complain at all...
From yest, thanks for splainin the backwards books. I'm relieved to know it's not everyone trying to make a buck, it's just unscrupulous show producers trying to recap their costs...
Happy Birthday SubGenius!
I tried to find a pic of an Einstein cake in a submarine, but google wasn't having it. So just print and cut out the above, and toss it in the bathtub...
Going to lunch at my favorite restaurant with my brother and his wife. Naturally, they are treating me to it since it is my birthday.-SubG
A DNF today. The SW did me in. I knew "Shell casing" was CHITIN. So that mad CUPS a gimme. I don't know too much. Wrong on both. PIE TIN, THING, OGDEN and POTS never made it. The rest was easy to finish, especially for a Saturday.
CHAD capital Niamey to N'Djamena across Niger and Nigeria? Not if you value your life.
SPIT- I get my roasted chickens at Sams for $4.99. I once roasted on of a spit and it took to long.
Thank you, Jinx. I look forward to the Saturday challenge all week. Today, I FIR, just lucky. It wasn’t easy and I told myself to just keep going…
I FIR in about a half-hour, but the Naticks of the NW and the insipid entries in the SW turned it into a slog.
SALK, POLIO VACCINE, and the cleverly clued SCANTILY CLAD launched me in the East. ANTISERUM seemed contradictory and stopped me short, but I like PUPUSAS, Cheryl LADD, and MAE Jemison, so that was sufficient in the SE. I thought OVEN was lame and VAMPED was inaccurate, but they seemed to fit, so . . .
In the NW, SAC was not obvious to me the way it would have been if baseball had been the subject instead of chess. ABRA and EOCENE were unknown. As for ARROW KEYS, I don’t think they’re so darned “handy.”
In the SW, I had OGDEN early on, but SIGHT, THING, and STAT were nothing entries, and I’ve never heard of MEDIA fast and couldn’t possibly have come up with it without perps.
Other gripes: APEROL was a complete unknown. I wouldn’t want KNOT “UP” in my puzzle or my game story. OLAF was unknown as clued. SEASONAL BEER tasted weak. I’m not sure the SPIT is a “bar.” The “puffers” had me worrying about snakes. I suppose the “sanguine” clue wasn’t inaccurate, but it had me thinking about my overly rosy cheeks in an overly literal way.
Other likes: Hand up for okra before TARO, but it was good trivia. I liked the misdirection in the pronunciation of “Carnival.” ROY Campanella; I read “It’s Good to Be Alive” three or four times when I was about 10.
Happy B'day, SubG!
Nope. Not my cuppa today. After 45 minutes, the V-8 can hit me with "I'm NOT enjoying this!" and I TITT. Whew. I remember getting the Salk vaccine in grade school. They had the gym set up with lines and tables, and paraded the entire class through. I'm pretty sure parental permission was required, but I can't recall any of my classmates opting out. Polio was one of a parents darkest fears back then.
...and a happy orbit completion day to SubG!
I usually fight it out until the bitter end, but the SW corner did me in. I had "scene" instead of SIGHT, and couldn't let it go. But that doesn't mean I didn't have fun! A challenging Saturday from Adrian & Will.
"Shell casing" at one of my favorite weekend getaways is called The Sanibel Stoop - bending over to pick up some of the myriad of shells on the beach of Sanibel Island. I haven't been there since hurricane Ian wiped out the classic gulf cottages we liked to stay at. They won't be rebuilt, replaced instead by high-rise condos probably. Another slice of old Florida gone forever.
Thanks HG for the infotainment. And HBD to Darryl!
Tough but fun Saturday puzzle, many thanks Adrian and Will. And thank you too Gary for all your help and advice.
Well, I tried to figure out if that RANCHER in the puzzle had anything to offer us, or more important for his workers and staff. We did hear them ask "WHAT'S COOKING," But the best I could find was that PIE TIN, which was sadly empty, though there was some CORN SALSA and at least some SEASONAL BEER. Not the best lunch for everybody, and I hope everybody doesn't just head off to the SMOKING AREAS--at least not until after lunch. Well, after a bit of a disappointing morning, why don't we hire some SAMBA DANCERS to cheer everybody up. That might have us end with a much better day!
My best wishes for a good day for everybody! And Happy Birthday, Sub Genius!
Nope. Once again, had to use red letters and several alpha runs. Only 12 names, but I DNK 9, so a real struggle there. "Shell casing" was not BRASS. Took a while for the old brain to figure out "Not that kind of shell, unclefred!" Anyway, managed to fill in about 20 minutes, but only because of the alpha runs, so can't award myself a FIR. Overall, a clever CW; just above my ability. Thanx HG for the terrific write-up, your time and effort are appreciated. And HBD to SG!
Happy Birthday, SubGenius!
Everyone already pretty well covered what I would say about this challenging grid, took some thought and work and a few corrections along the way, but I was able to conquer it w/out help in a little over a half hour. As Jayce is (sometimes) fond of saying, “I liked this puzzle”. I remember the sugar cube version of the POLIO VACCINE, hopefully any erroneous info will not prevent people from getting vaccinated, a resurgence would be devastating. Thank you Adrian and Will, I admire your collaborative abilities! Happy b/day to early riser (or insomniac) SubG! ๐๐ผ๐ You have a way of concisely describing a puzzle in the fewest words possible, can’t accuse you of verbosity!
Well, my favorite cluing for “oboe” is ‘an ill wind that nobody blows any good’. FWIT:)
.... and here I thought that I was the only person who thinks of "birthdays" in that way.
TITT in the SW. I’m now enjoying a DAB.
Hola! As usual on Saturday, this was a slow slog for me but eventually I finished. PAPUSERIA came easily only because my late niece was married to a man from El Salvador and PAPUSAS were his favorite meal. And what a surprise it was in Turkey to discover that they used the LIRA as currency. The exchange rate was also a surprise. A taxi ride cost two million LIRA but equalled only a few dollars. Their bills were printed in the millions.
SCANTILLY CLAD certainly describes summer wear in the desert, usually consisting of shorts and a top. The top varies and can be anything from a t-shirt, tank top or a sports bra. Since the temp is predicted to be 117 this week we can expect to see more of the latter.
Happy birthday, SubGenius! I hope you have a big celebration planned.
Stay cool, everyone!
Man, was this one ever a gonad-fragger — Adrian and Will really put us through the wringer today! So much clever misdirection in the clueing; I had “compasses” for navigational aids until my brain finally got out of the woods and off the high seas, and tried partiallyCLAD until I noticed there wasn’t room for two L’s. Logan UT preceded OGDEN (they’re both west of the Wasatch Range) and my FIR went down in flames with my astronaut as MoE instead of MAE…whatta PAIN. And here I thought I’d cruise through this cw after I got ILLASKAROUND and WHATSCOOKING. No cee-gar.
In our household, any attempt at a MEDIAFAST would end exactly that way: FAST.
Nice work in the recap, Husker G (as usual). Great riff by Herbie Hancock (who’s a super-nice guy, btw). Loved the Carnival graphic, but shuddered at the photo of arthroscopic surgery. Needles, ๐ซฃ
Word-that-needs-to-go-away dept for this week: APOP. ๐คฎ
DNK that antiserums are a source of immunity; I thought that came from treatments like the POLIOVACCINE.
Wait, another birthday boy?? Well, Happy Happy to ya, SubGenius! 71, you young whippersnapper (I gotcha by 3)! And now I know where your handle comes from — you were a sub-mariner, I take it? Cool! When I was just starting out in the photo biz, I worked with the guy who shot all the pics on the USS Nautilus when it went under the North Pole in ‘58 — 67 years ago tomorrow, August 3rd.
====> Darren / L.A.
Argg!!! All day on and off solving this and I missed it by ONE square!?!
HG - I stuck with the A in PUPUSaRIA (no clue) 'cuz who knows how O'CAS_Y spells his name...
Hi All!
Well, at least I came close to solving a Saturday. I started at breakfast, touched it while making DW lunch, and finally finished it over dinner. Thanks Adrian & Will for a day's worth of noodling.
A very informative expo, HG. Thanks for all the effort.
WOs: @3d I started "cool r"anch, ARiSE @18a, 23d was ROSE (think bread or pasta), I toyed with "phone a friend" at 20d but SALK's VACCINE cured me of that; ibid ANTI body_ @28d. I had RAE b/f I remembered she is MAE (my Paternal Grandma's name). I think that's it.
ESPs: Seemed like all of it :-)
Fav: I'M FREE from The Who //Jinx beat me to it
DW loves her APEROL Spritzes and she helped me with the spelling.
Unclefred - brass is all I could think of too until PIE TIN finally perp'd (the E was the last square I inked).
Happy Birthday SubG! //and Darren / L.A.(?)
Cheers, -T
Thought somebody else might have caught it, but that's Jaclyn Smith in the "Charlie's Angels" pic, not Cheryl Ladd.
Thanks, -T, but no…mine was back in June๐ I was just razzing SubG a little!
I am clearly missing something clever in the clue re 34A. ESA is not a Spanish pronoun. It means “that”. So I was puzzled by the clue/answer. But when I went to LAXCrossword.com to check what I had from all the other answers that filled in 34A, the clue for 34A was about Esa Tikkanen, a famous NHL player from Finland. That’s clearly acceptable. What’s explained above isn’t. IMHO.
Post a Comment