Saturday Themeless by Brian Callahan & Matthew Luter
I had a very quick liftoff on Brian and Matthew's puzzle but there were a few, "Gary, we have aproblem" events that took some in-flight adjustments. Eventually, "Crossword base here, the puzzle has landed!" Too much space? 😀
Brian and Matthew are shown below l -> r.
1. Jimmy who plays Senator Bail Organa: SMITS - Five letter Jimmy actors are few and far between. Jimmy joined the Star Wars troupe
6. Luge, e.g.: SLED - 80mph on a lunch tray? Yikes!
10. Focus of a theme park that began in Billund, Denmark: LEGO.
15. Upbeat greeting: HI YA and 24. Upbeat greeting: HEY. Sup?
16. Brute: OGRE.
17. Unstable: ROCKY.
18. One reading supertitles, maybe: OPERA GOER - Translations projected above the stage.
16. Brute: OGRE.
17. Unstable: ROCKY.
18. One reading supertitles, maybe: OPERA GOER - Translations projected above the stage.
 |
| Oh, that's what they're singing. |
20. "Voyage to India" singer: ARIE and 7. "New Rules" singer Dua: LIPA - Both are often in concert in our puzzles.
22. Places for boxers to be washed: PET SPAS 😀
25. One who is a pro at getting into people's heads?: ENT - This one got me started on CPAP
27. Loved ones: DEARS.
28. Currency of Ont.: CAD - A Big Mac costs #7.81 CAD ($5.66 USD)
30. Felt for: PITIED.
32. "Def!": TOTES - Using TOTES for totally and Def for definitely is cringy slang for me
33. "What bizarre behavior!": WHO EVEN DOES THAT.
37. Adjust, as a lock: REKEY.
38. Flap on a zebu: DEWLAP - Under his neck
39. "The Demon of Unrest" author Larson: ERIK ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
40. Apple platform: IOS - My iPhone uses IOS and my MacBook uses OSX
41. Plagiarizes: CRIBS - Cheating by any other name is still the same
41. Plagiarizes: CRIBS - Cheating by any other name is still the same
44. Winter libation: NOG.
45. "Yo te __": AMO.
 |
| I love you more! No, I love you more! |
48. Letters in the sand?: BEACH READ 😀
51. New York stadium namesake: ASHE - I had to anagram SHEA to get to the correct fill
52. Doesn't travel far for fare: EATS LOCAL.
53. Plagiarize: STEAL - Plagiarize redux
54. Small deviation: BLIP.
55. "Crying in H __": Michelle Zauner memoir: MART ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
56. Numerical prefix: TETRA - Carbon TETRAchloride has four chlorine atoms bonded to one Carbon atom.
57. Short diner orders: BLT'S.
58. Amazon Handmade alternative: ETSY.
59. Literature exam component: ESSAY.
Down:
1. Guitar attachment: STRAP - Some are personalized.
2. Tied fast: MOORED - Fast is an adjective here
3. Provoke: INCITE.
4. Looks between one's fingers, perhaps: TAKES A PEEK.
5. Artful: SLY.
6. They're usually around two feet: SHOES 😀
8. Palette array: EYE SHADOW.
9. Flitted: DARTED.
10. Trademarked image: LOGO.
11. Phase of self-surrender in Joseph Campbell's hero's journey: EGO DEATH ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
12. Mochi option: GREEN TEA.
13. Whitman's "Gliding __ All": OER.
19. Acker of "The Gifted": AMY ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ She's on the right
21. Keep moist, in a way: BASTE.
23. Head outside?: PRIVY 😀 A bathroom on a ship is called a head but I doubt if they are outside like this one.
26. __ cricket: TEST - This is the most prestigious form of cricket. I don't understand that or the game at all.
28. Gives up: CEDES.
29. Baking exercise?: HOT PILATES - The same exercises done in a hotter room.
31. Family member with a window to the world: INDOOR CAT - The tags on our Lily are superfluous now because she is a strict INDOOR CAT.
32. Pre-1917 rulers: TSARS.
33. Architect Christopher: WREN - A lovely two-minute bio
34. Flashy moves from a selfish hoopster: HERO BALL - A basketball player is said to be playing HERO BALL when he selfishly tries to take over the game especially at the end. I always think of James Hardin.
35. "Fine, you made your point!": OK I GET IT.
36. Castilian hero: EL CID.
40. Text after a long journey: I'M HOME.
42. Plagues: BESETS.
43. Bogart film set in the desert: SAHARA - 1943 vintage
45. Knee pt.: ACL - Tearing it has ended many athletic careers
47. Push back: DELAY.
49. Hieroglyphic animals: ASPS.
50. Hearing things: EARS 😀
52. Subside: EBB.
53. Fr. title: STE - An abbreviation. for a female saint
28 comments:
Yahoo! I got a
Saturday crossword! Without turning on the red letters or making a single mistake! ( Of course, I corrected things as I went along, but ultimately this is true ). This is truly a “red-letter day”! (Without the red letters, as I said.) So I can certainly say,
“FIR, so I’m happy.” In fact, I’m ecstatic!
Good morning!
I don't use red letters, so either I get it, or I don't. Today was touch-and-go, but in the end, I went. Yay. Thanx, Brian, Matthew, and Husker.
IOS: My ancient IPhone7 can't be updated beyond IOS 15. My BofA app won't open -- I must download a newer version from the app store. The newer version requires IOS 16. Catch-22.
DELAY: My lawn guy was supposed to come on Thursday, but delayed until Friday. On Friday he delayed again. Now he's going to shoot for 9/4 -- that's a whole week late. Grrrrrr. Guess who's looking for a new lawn guy.
PRIVY: After boot camp I was assigned temporarily at the recruit center processing new recruits for a Confidential Clearance. I got thoroughly reamed by a company commander when I directed a recruit to the head, "It's up those stairs and to the right." "Belay your last! It's the compartment up that ladder on the starboard side."
Finished a Saturday!!! Finished it wrong, but I had scribbles in every cell. Goofed with TOTEx x TExT, as well as IrDOOhCAT x WHOEVErDOESTHAT and BEACHhEAD.
It took me a second to recognize ERIK Larson, one of my favorite authors. I've read The Devil in the White City, Isaac's Storm, and The Splendid and the Vile so far. The problem is that as soon as my go-to used bookstore gets one of his books in, it sells. I have never encountered an author who can make history so interesting and alive. White City chronicles the Chicago World's Fair and the serial killer (a physician) who ran rampant during it. Isaac's Storm details the early days of what would become the National Weather Service, and the hurricane that destroyed Galveston and led to Houston's rise to prominence. The Splendid and the Vile is an account of WWII England, especially Churchill's trials and tribulations.
H.Gary said that he doubts that marine heads are outside. Never saw one outside, but most men (and a not insignificant number of women) just pee over the rail. Two associated facts: 1) The Coast Guard reports that a substantial number of boating drowning victims are found with their zippers down, suggesting a mishap while relieving themselves, and 2) it is legal to pee over the rail, but it is a federal offense to pee in a bucket and dump the contents overboard. Your tax dollars at work.
Thanks to Brian and Matthew for letting me play with the smart kids on this Saturday. And thanks to H.Gary for the fun tour. Congrats to the Huskers.
FIR. I had ro really work at this one. The urge to throw in the towel was almost constant. But I was determined to persevere and got the win. Yay me!
There were so many changes i needed to make as I went along. Rocky instead of shaky, and hero ball instead of solo ball, to name a few.
The bottom filled first and I worked my way up. Last to fall was the NW.
So overall, as Saturdays go, this was an OK puzzle.
HIYA. I persevered and finished this puzzle in due time. Somehow what i didn’t know filled with perps and really WAGS. Sometimes you get lucky.
Some clues I liked like the ones for BEACH READ, INDOOR CAT, EYE SHADOW.
We had hot yoga yesterday now we’re doing HOT PILATES. I kept HOPPY for MALTY for too long not knowing MART as clued. That was not easy to guess.
In the NE we had LEGO tethered to LOGO.
Thank you HG for that informative review and the cute kitties.
Yooper Phil here ~ I don’t use red letters or any other aid to solve a puzzle, I don’t even use DW as a reference, if I can’t get it on my own, so be it, I’ll accept defeat, as in the last few Saturdays. Today I was able to FIR in a little over 20 minutes, due mainly to friendly perps cuz I had a bunch of unknowns, MART, ERIK, AMY HERO BALL, and what a zebu is to name a few. Thanks Brian and Matthew for the construction, and to HG for the expo!
YP here ~ d-o, you really have to upgrade your relic, the advances in tech are a thousand fold since the 7.
Good Morning
I finished w/o help in normal Saturday time, but I had to overcome a plethora of unknowns along the way: Beast Mode, Ego Death, Hero Ball, Hot Pilates, Test Cricket, Green Tea, Dewlap, Amy, ENT, Arie, Mart, and Oer. Fortunately, the long entries, such as, Take A Peek, OK, I Get It, Indoor Cat, etc., plus ample obvious fill resulted in a FIR. The cluing was clever, yet didn’t cross that too-cutesy line, at least for me.
Thanks, Brian and Matthew, and thanks, HG, for the usual sparkling review and visuals, especially the sweet photo of Darling Lily, our favorite Indoor Cat! The comic for Blip was too funny!
Have a great day.
The PRIVY entry was simply brilliant, and the puzzle as a whole was pretty good, too, posing plenty of challenges and not too many annoyances. Somehow, even TOTES was delightful, as clued.
I also enjoyed DEWLAP and MALTY, as well as SMITS, CRIBS, HIYA, and EAT LOCAL.
Just go get a cheap Android TracFone. They are about 30 bucks, do everything you need
Well, it’s Saturday at the LAT and, as usual, going to be a bumpy ride. Nice touch starting off with Bail Organa (there’s a household name for you) because, heaven knows we don’t get enough Star Wars clues. Let’s follow that up with IGBO - personally, I love “look how smart I am” clues.
Wow, all of that in only the first two rows - impressive. Even more so as we move east and bump into Mr. Mochi and his pet Zebu, along with another nice touch in quoting Yoda (way to show us who’s boss).
Obviously, a puzzle can be made more difficult with either devilish wordplay and tricky cluing, or we can load up the grid with obscure factual references, which basically turns it into a trivia test. Fortunately, when confronted with the latter, I have this wonderful friend named Uncle Google. He’s more than willing to enlighten me regarding such wonderful items such as HEROBALL, INDOORCATs, TEST CRICKETS, and of course, the marvelous concept of ordering up a big old plate of HOT PILATES.
Sailors on old ships used a tow-rag, a long piece of frayed rope that dangled in the water, to clean themselves after pooing. The "head" of the ship, located at the bow (far away from the captain's quarters at the stern), contained "seats of ease" with holes, allowing the rope to trail into the sea. After use, the rope was returned to the water to be washed by the ship's motion or wave action, with the end often fraying to create a brush-like effect. I know -TMI. LOL
Brian & Matthew served up a quintessential Saturday puzzle. Unfortunately, I still FIW. I should've recognized BEAST MODE, but stuck with BEAST zOnE instead.
Thanks, HG, for filling in all the blanks as you always do.
DNF. Some clever cluing, but the obscure names and pop culture trivia convinced me to TITT.
It was my fastest solve for a Saturday puzzle that I can remember. The A&E unknowns were solved by perps and the other unknowns 'kinda' made sense.
OER, ERIK, H-MART, SMITS, Mochi, AMY- no knowledge of those. GREEN TEA was a guess after a few perps.
EGO DEATH and HERO BALL are terms I've never heard.
I didn't know what a supertitle was until Gary's explanation but OPERA GOER was almost completed by perps.
ASHE and what used to be SHEA were near each other in Queens.
TEST cricket was filled because I remembered TOTES adorbs.
India ARIE, DUA LIPA, and RITA ORA- the only reason I know about them is as crossword fills.
I ain't asking nobody for nothing " if I can’t get it on my own"- Charley Daniels' song "Long Haired Country Boy"
Your solving method is the same as mine with a pen and newspaper.
Although I've heard of actor Jimmy SMITS, I kept thinking of the terrific collaboration between jazz greats Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith. Here's their cover of Down By the Riverside.
Delightful Saturday puzzle, Brian and Matthew, a bit tough but very interesting and fun to work through. And thanks, as always, for your helpful commentary, Gary--always a huge help.
When I saw OGRE and BEAST MODE at the top of this puzzle, I figured we were on ROCKY territory and were going to get a lot of HATE exchanges that would require people to be PITIED. But that opening didn't manage to MISLEAD us or STEAL our good spirits in the end. We just had to put on some SHOES and some EYE SHADOW and go out with a friend who EATS LOCAL and order a good lunch along with some GREEN TEA. After that it'll be time go to the spa and do some HOT PILATES, and then go to the ocean for a BEACH READ. Not a bad way to spend the weekend, I'd say.
Have a delightful and pleasant sunny weekend, everybody.
Hola! YooHoo! I almost finished a Saturday stumper. By the time I got to the NE I was too tired to finish GREEN TEA/ENT/TEST which I don't get anyway. And I did not know Yoda's quote.
But, thank you, Brian and Matthew; I enjoyed the challenge and for a Saturday, I did pretty well. And thank you, Gary, as always for your knowledgeable expo and nice photos. Have a lovely day, everyone!
Thanks to Brian and Matthew! I had FIW in 2 places, so not too shabby. FAV was the PRIVY clue.
I have read "Crying in H-Mart" and recommend it.
Thanks to H-Gary for another stellar Saturday survey! FAVs were the "Be careful when doing something stupid" meme; photo of your INDOOR CAT Lily, and the WREN lesson.
I enjoyed the journey of solving this puzzle, which I did manage to do. I also enjoyed reading Gary's write-up and all of your comments.
Just curious, sumdaze: Do you still ever bike down to that Choke Coach? And did your husband's nose heal up okay?
Hi Jayce @ 3:40. Yes and yes. It's so kind of you to remember.
BTW, the Choke Coach's menu has not changed. ;-)
…and are an unstable PITA compared to iOS phones.
====> Darren / L.A.
Like many of you, I persevere on paper without benefit of red letters or kibitzing. The SE corner was tough for me today, having to change "Shea" to ASHE, and "Mme" to STE. CRIBS did not come quickly, nor did BESETS, and I DNK SAHARA. Elsewhere in the puzzle, I had questions about the flap on a zebu (?), the _Crying in H ____," Acker of "The Gifted," and "____ cricket". Still and all, I Finished It Right, so it had to be fairly constructed, and I did not hate it! Many thanks to Brian and Matthew for the brain game, and to Husker Gary for a lovely review. Beautiful cat, BTW, and always better off indoors.
Despite managing to FIR, today’s puzzle was one-a them love/hate situations for this olde farte.
Lots of great fills and clueing in Brian’s and Matt’s construct, with some cleverly deceptive (but not obscure) clues, made for a mostly entertaining time…until crossing proper names reared their fugly heads at the 33D/39A intersect — and then our most grotesque of slang terms in history, TOTES 🤮🤮🤮 (yep, a triple-gagger). Why is it so hard to clue the word as, say, “Carry a load”, instead of this trite bit of garbage? Patti, wake up!😎
Thanks to HG for saving the day with another erudite review; plus nice catch on the Shea/ASHE anagram — a fun bit of NYC trivia to remember. Also, thanks for ‘splainin’ TEST cricket — I was wondering if maybe that was something miners would TOTE down-shaft if they ran out of canaries…
Adding to the fun on our blog today was the extended analysis of maritime bathroom habits — I’m sure this info will come in so handy next time I’m on board a vintage sailing ship…
Yesterday (?) we had HOTYOGA; today, HOTPILATES. What’s next, Hot Tai Chi? (not to be confused with hot chai tea…😎)
Onward to Sunday! Have a great Labor Day, everyone 🇺🇸
====> Darren / L.A.
ditto. I too FIR - with no lookups. And I did learn a little along the way - with perps completing the holes in my trivia knowledge. H’rray!
Super Saturday. Thanks for the fun, Brian and Matthew, and HuskerG.
I worked on this CW in my newspaper while travelling out of town. Things were still a little ROCKY when we reached our destination; on the way back, some areas filled, but then I FIRed after reaching home.
I am always pleased to complete a Saturday CW.
Hand up for PRIVY being my favourite today.
I’ll take a CSO for CAD - our Loonie.
Wishing you all a good evening.
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