Saturday Themeless by Zhou Zhang & Rafael Musa
There was a lot to like and struggle with in Zhou and Rafa's wonderful puzzle that features pinwheel stacks of 8. My solving experience started on the SE edge of the pinwheel and rotated clockwise to the NE where incredibly clued BRA PAD and GOT OPEN finished the solve.
We have seen Rafa here quite often collaborating with others, especially Rebecca Goldstein.
6. Energy crisis?: BAD VIBES
16. Result of doomscrolling, perhaps: BRAIN ROT - New to me but makes sense
18. Maintain one's dignity: SAVE FACE.
21. Had no defense?: GOT OPEN š¤ I assume this is when a football receiver GOT OPEN because the defense did not cover him.
23. SEC-regulated events: IPOS.
25. Farm worker: ANT.
26. M-W alternative: OED š¤ - The Oxford English Dictionary can be an alternative to the Merriam-Webster version.
27. Surname of both founders of the fashion label The Row: OLSEN - They came to mind pretty quickly
29. Appears to point to: BODES - Seeing Rafa's name on a puzzle BODES that this could take some time!
31. Pan handler: OVEN MITT.
33. Animal with a white rump: ELK.
34. "A Court of Thorns and Roses," for one: ROMANTASY SERIES ¯\_(ć)_/¯ A portmanteau of ROMANce and fanTASY- Bill Maher did a recent monologue about this where he posits that the popularity of these books—which often feature intense, protective, supernatural male characters—stems from a sense of sexual or romantic unfulfillment among women in the modern world.
39. Apple product: PIE - It would be easier if clued this way: An apple product.
40. "You wanna fight!?": COME AT ME - š”
41. Composer with a namesake horn: SOUSA
44. Ignored a scarecrow, perhaps: CAWED š
45. Take (down): JOT š
46. Reactions to stubs: OWS - Nothing to do with tickets
47. Automaker Karl: BENZ.
48. Simple shelters: HUTS.
49. Left over, in a way: UNEATEN.
52. Pretend: ACT AS IF.
55. Pico de gallo, e.g.: RED SALSA.
57. Short person?: DEBTOR š - If you're short of funds...
58. Suddenly gave way: CRUMPLED - We studied this bridge that eventually gave way and CRUMPLED into the Tacoma Narrows in physics class
59. Solution for wounds: SALINE.
60. Ingredient in carajillo and affogato: ESPRESSO
1. Something that might be right up one's alley: SIDE DOOR - A slight variation
2. Nochevieja follower: ANO NUEVO - Spanish:
Nochevieja (December 31st, Old Year's Night) is directly followed by AƱo Nuevo (January 1st, New Year's Day).
3. As one: IN TANDEM.
4. Weeping mother of Greek myth: NIOBE - I've planted a few of these NIOBE Weeping Willows.
5. Charlotte Hornets color: TEAL.
7. Catalonia neighbor: ARAGON.
8. Swiss host of the World Economic Forum: DAVOS.
9. "The Sympathizer" Pulitzer winner __ Thanh Nguyen: VIET
10. Skinny: INFO š
11. Push-up form?: BRA PAD.
12. Epoch whose name means "new dawn": EOCENE - The term highlights the "dawn" of modern mammalian fauna like horse, bats and whales around 40 million years ago following the extinction of the dinosaurs. You're Welcome.
13. Artery inserts: STENTS.
15. Office building subdivision, for short: STE - Suite
20. Queen Latifah's "Nature of a __": SISTA.
24. Imaging technique: PET SCAN - Positron Emission Tomography
27. __ vincit amor: OMNIA - A proclamation in ink that Love Conquers All
28. Lo-cal: LITE.
29. Run: BLEED.
30. National vegetable of Pakistan: OKRA.
32. Quick outings?: NAPS š
33. "Hanna" star __ Creed-Miles: ESME - ¯\_(ć)_/¯ Beautiful, young women with guns are standard TV and movie tropes these days.
35. "Holy cow!": YOWZA.
36. Unsatisfying response to "why?": IT JUST IS.
37. Love and hate: EMOTIONS.
38. Releases: SETS FREE.
41. Point of origin: SOURCE.
42. People with good deeds to their names?: OWNERS - This is a famous deed for a home in Memphis.
43. Finished: USED UP.
44. Perfumes during a rite: CENSES.
47. Quintet in London's Elizabeth Tower: BELLS - Big Ben is the largest of these five
48. "Se __ inglƩ": HABLA - English is spoken.
50. Video genre that may cause chills, for short: ASMR - Experience as much of this 3-hour example of eerie
Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response
as you like.53. S&L options: CDS.
54. Bears, e.g.: TEAM - They are threatening to move
56. Flap: ADO.
1 comment:
I got it! I’d say
I’ve “redeemed myself” after two or three days of missing out.
Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
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