Theme: This puzzle isn't all there!
Today's puzzle appears to be an L.A. Times debut for each of our two constructors. Dena R. Verkuil has had three puzzles published in the New York Times, and JP Willard co-created a puzzle with Lynn Watson for Universal crossword. Did these newbies ERR somewhere? They left three clues blank!
The explanation is found here:
59-Across. Is completely unaware, or what can be said about 17-, 26-, and 47- Across: DOESN'T HAVE A CLUE. It is true that 17-, 26-, and 47- Across don't have clues. It is also true that "doesn't have a clue" is an expression meaning to have no knowledge, understanding, or idea about something, or to be out of touch with reality. The following theme entries have no clues, but they do have answers, all of which are expressions meaning essentially the same thing.
17-Across. : ON ANOTHER PLANET.
26-Across. : IN LA LA LAND.
47-Across. : OUT TO LUNCH.
I hope you didn't draw total blanks on the theme answers! On to more traditional clues!
Across:
1. Norimaki or gunkanmaki: SUSHI. Norimaki consists of rice and fillings tightly rolled in a sheet of nori seaweed. Gunkanmaki is an oval mound of rice wrapped in nori to create a little vessel for soft, creamy, or loose ingredients. I took an educated guess on this one.
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| Norimaki and Gunkanmaki |
6. Swiss Army Knife's array: USES. A Swiss army knife has many uses, but do the uses consitute an array? I questioned this, thinking that "array" best described physical objects, like the blades and tools on a Swiss army knife, but I learned that you can have an array of problems, or styles, or options, or other things that exist as concepts.
10. Yemen's Gulf of __: ADEN.
14. Budget-friendly: CHEAP.
15. Home of the Shipibo-Conibo people: PERU. An indigenous group living along the Ucayali River in the headwaters of the Amazon.
10. Yemen's Gulf of __: ADEN.
14. Budget-friendly: CHEAP.
15. Home of the Shipibo-Conibo people: PERU. An indigenous group living along the Ucayali River in the headwaters of the Amazon.
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| I took this photo of a local fisherman on the Ucayali River in 2018. I love that a butterfly landed on his cap. |
16. Wrapped garment: CAPE.
17. [Theme clue]
20. Blabbed: TOLD.
21. Tear (up): RIP.
22. Zigs and zags: DODGES.
23. Send: MAIL.
25. Actress Essman: SUSIE. Susie Essman plays Susie Greene on Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm.
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| Susie Essman on Curb Your Enthusiasm |
26. [Theme clue]
30. Part of a circumference: ARC.
32. Like some grapes and tennis players: SEEDED. Tennis players are ranked, or "seeded," according to past performance, and distributed across tournaments so that the best players do not face each other until later rounds. Seeded grapes, well ... we don't have to eat those anymore, thanks to selective breeding.
33. Union fees: DUES.
35. Cry noisily: SOB.
37. Rubber tree goo: LATEX. Proteins in latex can cause skin irritation. DH can't tolerate bandages made with latex.
38. Playground game: TAG.
39. Kick back: CHILL.
41. Funny bone spot: ARM.
42. Succinct "No time to waste!": ASAP.
44. Get down: BOOGIE. Some sources say "get down and boogie" means to get up and dance.
45. 5-Down regulators: Abbr.: SEC. Transactions on the New York Stock Exchange are regulated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
47. [Theme clue]
49. Gleam: GLINT.
51. Frees (of): RIDS.
52. Galápagos lizard: IGUANA. Iguanas in the Galápagos islands eat algae in the ocean. They are the only lizards that spend any part of their lives in a marine environment.
33. Union fees: DUES.
35. Cry noisily: SOB.
37. Rubber tree goo: LATEX. Proteins in latex can cause skin irritation. DH can't tolerate bandages made with latex.
38. Playground game: TAG.
39. Kick back: CHILL.
41. Funny bone spot: ARM.
42. Succinct "No time to waste!": ASAP.
44. Get down: BOOGIE. Some sources say "get down and boogie" means to get up and dance.
45. 5-Down regulators: Abbr.: SEC. Transactions on the New York Stock Exchange are regulated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
47. [Theme clue]
49. Gleam: GLINT.
51. Frees (of): RIDS.
52. Galápagos lizard: IGUANA. Iguanas in the Galápagos islands eat algae in the ocean. They are the only lizards that spend any part of their lives in a marine environment.
.JPG) |
| I took this photo of a marine iguana on Española in the Galápagos in 2016. I kvetch about having to work at my age, but someone has to pay for all this galavanting. |
54. Casual greetings: HIS.
55. Make at work: EARN.
59. [Theme clue]
62. Gal: LASS.
63. Start of a classic palindrome implausibly attributed to Napoleon: ABLE. Although this palindrome first appeared in print almost 30 years after Napoleon's death, it was written as though he might have said it -- especially if Napoleon had been fond of inventing phrases that read the same way backwards and forwards -- in English, no less:
“Able was I ere I saw Elba.”
64. Pointe shoe fabric: SATIN. My late sister was a dancer; she had pink satin pointe shoes hanging by their ribbons in various rooms of her home.
64. Pointe shoe fabric: SATIN. My late sister was a dancer; she had pink satin pointe shoes hanging by their ribbons in various rooms of her home.
65. "Keep Commerce Human" website: ETSY. I have never encountered this slogan for Etsy, but I do recommend the site for handmade items and craft supplies.
66. Low on the Mohs' scale: SOFT. The Mohs scale ranks the hardness of minerals from 1 (softest) to 10 (hardest).
67. "Poor Things" Oscar winner: STONE. If you enjoy a steampunk aesthetic, blending the Victorian era with futuristic and fantastical elements, you just might love Emma Stone in Poor Things. I did.
Down:
1. One who may be loched in?: SCOT.
2. "Not for all the tea in China": UH NO. Seasoned solvers have come to expect silly answers like this one. "No way" and "Not on your life" wouldn't fit.
3. Elephant __: SEAL.
4. Crafted with care: HANDMADE. Like much of the merchandise on ETSY.
5. NYSE debut: IPO. An Initial Public Offering is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public.
6. Like their walks to school (in the snow, both ways), per some grandparents: UPHILL.
7. Flow slowly: SEEP.
8. Fumble: ERR.
9. "Yo, bro!": SUP DUDE.
10. Maine attraction: ACADIA. It was rainy and cold when DH and I visited Acadia National Park in October 2019, and the leaves had not yet changed to autumn colors. So here is someone else's (enhanced?) photo of the view from Cadillac Mountain:
11. Posting with a hazard symbol, e.g.: DANGER SIGN.
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| You come in here, stuff's gonna fall on you! |
12. Duel-purpose tool?: ÉPÉE.
13. Catches: NETS.
18. Simple chord: TRIAD.
19. __ Angeles: LOS.
24. Speaker of the house?: ALEXA. Amazon Echo smart speaker hardware is inhabited by Alexa voice assistance software.
25. Formfitting: SNUG.
26. Puerto Rico, por ejemplo: ISLA. Puerto Rico, for example: island.
27. Comes close: NEARS.
28. "I bet I know what you're going to say": LET ME GUESS.
29. Modify to fit: ADAPT.
31. Infant's ailment: COLIC.
34. Reprimand: SCOLD.
36. "This tastes terrible": BLEH.
38. Like a bed sheet with no creases: TAUT.
40. Purrr-fect roommate: HOUSE CAT.
43. Some Bach works: SONATAS.
44. Capital city with a New Year's Eve Potato Drop: BOISE. We may have to switch to this broadcast on New Year's Eve!
46. Sophisticated: CLASSY.
48. Spot for a hot pot: TRIVET.
50. Place to stay: INN.
52. Not engaged: IDLE.
53. Kid at a petting zoo: GOAT. When eldest son was in nursery school (more than 40 years ago), his class made a field trip to the L.A. Zoo. The dear boy told me he was catching the GOAT in this photo with the string in his hand.
54. 13.1 miles of a marathon, e.g.: HALF. A marathon is a foot race with a distance of 42.195 kilometres, or about 26 miles and 385 yards.
56. Midrange voice: ALTO.
57. Total: RUIN. In this case, TOTAL is a verb, meaning to damage beyond repair. To give almost equal billing to eldest daughter, she totaled my car when she was 17. Bless the airbags in that old Corolla.
58. Hawaii's state bird: NENE. Who's seen a NENE? ME ME!
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| We took my mama to the Big Island and saw this Nene, or Hawaiian Goose. |
60. "The White Lotus" airer: HBO.
61. Pack animal: ASS.
Here's the grid:
As this post NEARS its end, LET ME GUESS ...
Did you ADAPT easily to the missing clues?
Or did they RUIN the puzzle for you?
Let us know in the comments below!
-- NaomiZ
4 comments:
I can’t say I like this kind
of puzzle. “ Blank” clues can be frustrating. And this puzzle seems considerably more difficult than the usual Wednesday offering. I’d say it would fit a Friday time slot better. Having said all that, I got through it okay anyway. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
Subg, maybe it's more difficult because it's not Wednesday. My elephant EARS didn't make the trip, but that was the sole Wite-Out moment. NENE used to be a cw staple, seldom seen now. I believe our TV includes ALEXA, but I never enabled it. I don't care for appliances that answer back. Nice work, J.R. and Dena. Enjoyed your expo (and your world travels), NaomiZ.
As far as clues, I had none about an elephant seal. How have I lived this long and not known about an animal with an inflatable nose! Jimmy Durante would have loved them.
Took me 13:48 to finish this puzzle. I thought it was fun! Figured out the theme about halfway through.
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