Saturday Themeless by Kyle Dolan
I liked Dr. Dolan's puzzle and never felt I was not going to solve it. My issue became trying to decipher what Kyle meant by his "off-the-wall"cluing. My experience was the frequent recitation of 48. Exasperated cry: DOH! once I saw what he intended, the fill was fun to enter and also unlocked big sections of the puzzle. Today's exercise had only 28 blocks which gave us 103 open squares and only six three-letter words. I'll share with you some of the circuitous thinking that I used to cut through Dr. Dolan's obfuscations. :-) As has become my custom, I did have a one-cell problem where you see the red cell in the grid, but I'll get over it. I thought ARE WE OK/ALAIK worked.
Across:
1. Shell station?: PASTA BAR - Just when I thought of every shell I could...
9. Yet: IN TIME.
15. The 24 Hours of Le Mans, e.g.: AUTO RACE - This great movie is about personal rivalries and corporate machinations but the climax is The 24 Hours Of Le Mans.
15. The 24 Hours of Le Mans, e.g.: AUTO RACE - This great movie is about personal rivalries and corporate machinations but the climax is The 24 Hours Of Le Mans.
16. Networking aid: ROUTER - If we need a generator after a power loss, the order for plugging in would be fridge/freezers and then the modem and ROUTER. π
17. Exams with answers provided by parents: DNA TESTS π
18. World capital named for a river: OTTAWA - fun to learn
19. Headgear that sparked a riot in 1922 New York City: STRAW HAT - Really? Talk about your fashion police.
20. Christmas delivery?: NOEL π
21. Floral gifts for some graduates: LEIS - Three-letter (plural) floral gift? Ya gotta go Hawaiian!
22. American painter James __ Whistler: MCNEILL - Of course his famous work below was entitled Arrangement In Gray And Black No. 1 which we all know by its more famous name. A fascinating bio
25. Chef's coat?: TEFLON π Well actually, Kyle, the coat is on the pan.
28. Is revealing: TELLS ALL.
29. Harlem Renaissance writer Locke: ALAIN. ¯\_(γ)_/¯
28. Is revealing: TELLS ALL.
29. Harlem Renaissance writer Locke: ALAIN. ¯\_(γ)_/¯
30. Waiter's annoyance: DELAY - I never even thought it might be about a food server. The DELAY waiting in the line at Space Mountain was always very long and annoying.
31. Bucket brigade?: NBA Groan. A made basket in basketball is also called a bucket.
32. Flooring option: TILE - My first two floor coverings were
C
A
R U G S
P
E
T
33. Unbroken?: FIXED - Now that's funny!
34. "Estoy __": Spanish "I'm doing all right": BIEN.
35. Joint-stabilizing band, for short: ACL.
36. Gold __: PLATE - Sometimes all that glitters is not gold, it's gold PLATED
33. Unbroken?: FIXED - Now that's funny!
34. "Estoy __": Spanish "I'm doing all right": BIEN.
35. Joint-stabilizing band, for short: ACL.
36. Gold __: PLATE - Sometimes all that glitters is not gold, it's gold PLATED
37. Tree cultivated for its seeds more than 5,000 years ago: CACAO.
38. Magic City residents: MIAMIANS - Not Orlandoans π
40. Grows darker: LATENS - If spellcheck is all right with this, so am I
41. Offer to treat: IT'S ON ME - A phrase a friend of mine never uttered
42. "The Leavers" novelist Ko: LISA. ¯\_(γ)_/¯
43. Marvel hero Cage: LUKE ¯\_(γ)_/¯
44. Lines from the heart: LOVE NOTE - Ketty Lester had a beautiful 1962 song with this theme
48. Exhausts: DOES IN
50. Basis of some ratings: AGE LEVEL.
51. "Nearly there": ONE SEC - A familiar phrase I heard waiting for three women in the car
52. Reef denizen: MORAY EEL - Yikes!
53. "Knock on wood": HOPE SO.
54. "I won't ask again!": ANSWER ME.
Down:
1. Exaggerates, in a way: PADS - I had an expense account once that may have not been all that accurate π
2. Family member: AUNT.
3. Outstanding: STAR.
4. Blatant fabrication: TOTAL LIE - This is one of the worst.
5. Confirmation question: ARE WE ON.
6. Open, as a piΓ±ata: BASH IN.
7. Represent: ACT AS.
8. Musical pause: REST.
9. Battleship precursor: IRONCLAD - The Civil Wr featured the battle of the IRONCLADS, the Monitor and the Merrimac.
10. More than: NOT ONLY.
11. Contracted pupils, perhaps: TUTEES - Wow! I suppose a tutor would have a contract with TUTEES who are also pupils. No eyes involved!
12. Granita kin: ITALIAN ICE.
 |
| A Sicilian treat |
13. Bit of Persian language?: MEW π
14. Young fig.: ERA - The winner of MLB's Cy Young Award usually has a low Earned Run Average.
22. Rumble: MELEE.
23. Outfitter with signature boots: L.L. BEAN.
24. Grassy plains: LLANOS - Pampas or LLANOS coin flip
25. Flooring option: TATAMI.
26. Bring out: ELICIT.
27. Go out: FALL ASLEEP π
28. Scholarship materials: TEXTS - As a teacher since 1968 I can tell you just seeing a student with a TEXT does not guarantee any scholarship is going on.
30. Designer von Furstenberg: DIANE.
33. Spanish steps?: FLAMENCO π
34. React: BAT AN EYE.
36. Small digits: PINKIES.
37. Guide for future rulings: CASE LAW - Not the actual law or statute but a compilation of how different jurisdictions have applied laws.
39. Do stuff?: MOUSSE - Oh, that kind of "do".
40. Natural detox centers: LIVERS.
42. Access, in a way: LOG ON - Remembering User Names and Passwords can be a real chore
44. Eastern priest: LAMA.
45. Simple wager choice: OVER - The OVER/Under for the recent Super Bowl was 45.5 points. The final score was 29 - 13 which adds up to 42 and that means you'd be a loser if you bet the OVER.
46. Swarm (with): TEEM.
49. Chef Jiro of the documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi": ONO - ¯\_(γ)_/¯ Jiro ONO is in the middle below
24 comments:
Some misleading
cluing, as befits a Saturday, such as “go out” for “fall asleep” but, for the most part, I thought the puzzle was pretty fair and logical.
And we have a new “Ono”!
FIR, so I’m happy.
FIR but it took a long while. SE corner came quickly but all the rest was a slog.
Nice challenge
DNF. Filled 25, about average for my Saturday. Had 7 filled wrong, way over my average. Sill fun, and gives me something to aim for when I grow up.
The only Ko I know is the fabulous golfer and beautiful New Zealander Lydia, who became the world's #1 golfer when she was 17.
I used to josh around about our company's practice of supplying expense report forms by the PAD.
I can't believe that I didn't get IRONCLAD. I've lived a couple of miles from where that battle took place for the last quarter century. They've raised the turret of the Monitor, and it has been sitting in a chemical solution to mitigate its corrosion for more than 20 years. It sank during a storm off Cape Hatteras while being towed to join the Union blockade of North Carolina.
Thanks to Kyle for the stretch objective, and to H.Gary for the fun tour. Congrats to all who finished.
By the way - fabulous bucket brigade yesterday in March Madness. With 2 1/2 seconds to play, Kentucky inbounded the ball from underneath the Santa Clara goal, trailing by 3. Two bounces, followed by a shot from midcourt that banked in as time expired, sent the game to overtime. Kentucky won 89-84. Next up is Iowa State, and I'm afraid that UK will need a near-perfect game to have a chance, and those are as rare as, well, midcourt buzzer beaters.
LATENS? LATENS?? LATENS??? An obscure ALAIN? An obscure LISA? An obscure LUKE? The ACL is a band? A NOEL is a delivery? Miami has a nickname, and it’s Magic City? Did anyone know Whistler’s middle name going in? Did anyone guess that the “bucket brigade” was the NBA, without perps? And I only now realized that “Young fig.” referred to Cy Young and earned-run averages. That’s dreadful!
Finished with help, but in my defense, there were too many instances in which one could not be confident without perps that the right answer was in fact correct. And too many others were unfathomable without perps.
Fortunately, I speak some Spanish, so estoy BIEN and LLANOS were assets for me. MOUSSE was a good “get,” though MOUSSE is useless unless you already have perfect hair. CACAO was a good trivia entry. The LIVERS entry was clever. I wish FLAMENCO had come to mind sooner. Ditto for FALLS ASLEEP.
Never had a chance, gave up after 5 minutes.
Well my FIR streak lasted just one day, after several whacks at this one I had to TITT with only 83% filled, one of my worst showings ever. The SE had me stymied and remained a sea of white. The only name I knew today was DIANE, all others perped except for LISA and ELLE. Emir? Imam? No, LAMA. The reef denizen had too many possibilities to even guess. Thanks for the challenge Kyle, even if we weren’t on the same wavelength, and to HG for the needed enlightenment.
Actually, I knew the Whistler name, but like you, failed with latens.
Took 34:34 today to somehow get this one.
I totally agree with Copy Editor's comments, even though I knew the Actress of the Day (Elle).
Not a fun Saturday puzzle, in my humble opinion. The question mark clues continue to go beyond cleverness.
DNF. I went down in flames on this one. It's rare that I can't finish a puzzle, even a Saturday puzzle. But this one was simply not on my wavelength at all. I found some footing everywhere but not enough to get a hold of anything.
Oh well, next week will be better.
Good Morning:
I have been pretty vocal and critical of Dr. Dolan’s clueing style in the past and, at first pass today, I thought , “Here we go again!” However, as I plodded along, each little filled square yielded success until, finally, I finished w/o help. Although it took just over an hour, I enjoyed every minute because I was able to crack Dr. Dolan’s coded clues. Finally! There was misdirection and trickery, yes, but fairness and generous footholds overcame any and all roadblocks.
Thanks, Dr. Dolan, you are back in my good graces, and thanks, HG, for always highlighting the author’s strengths and achievements. I enjoyed the Kitty Lester vocal and the beautiful Persian Kitty, too. Learning moment was that Miami is the Magic City.
Have a great day.
Every puzzle has a “voice” and the vibe I got from this one was that it was not so much intended to “challenge” me and more to just deceive me. Stuff like “yet” for IN TIME and “exhausts” for DOES IN gives off an aura of “I don’t care, I can lawyer this clue into acceptance, so shut up and eat your peas”.
I remain convinced that the LAT editorial team just doesn’t do difficult puzzles well. When Erik Agard is interviewed, he sometimes reminds that, when constructing a difficult puzzle, the solver must feel like they are winning. The editors at the LAT would benefit from a class on by Robyn W. on writing clues that are tough, witty and enjoyable for the solver.
So many candidates for Worst Clue of the Month, I hardly know where to begin. This former sportswriter, basketball player/coach/fan especially hated the clues for NBA and ERA.
Themeless? I think not. Today's theme was "Obscurities and Obfuscation."
Hacked my way to the finish line in 29:05, double my usual Saturday time, and got no enjoyment out of the experience.
Agree on all counts. I could feel the constructor's smugness throughout this vanity project of a puzzle.
The best thing about this puzzle was the Ono that wasn’t Yoko. Not that I have anything against Yoko, but geez, does she really have to appear in EVERY crossword puzzle? It’s like Emo. I mean, I like My Chemical Romance and everything, but Cripes…
Kyle kept us on our toes today--which he usually does. His misdirections were by and large clever, but occasionally they bordered on being misleading.
Overall this was a well-crafted crossword. I'm impressed by all the white space in the grid, and just a handful of 3-letter words.
I would like to see Kyle try a pangram in a future puzzle. Pangrams add to the fun for a solver. And Kyle is so adept, I would think that constructing a pangram would be child's play for him.
When I lived in France, I did crosswords, and their puzzles are occasionally pangrams (pangrammes), same as ours. The six rarest letters in the French language--and thus pangramme-inhibitors--are, in alphabetical order, J, K, Q, W, X, and Z. For the English language, it's nearly identical: J, K, Q, V, X,and Z.
Thanks, Kyle, for your worthy Sarurday entry. And thanks, Gary, for the colorful visuals in a recap that was quite helpful.
Thank you Kyle and Husker Gary.
63 minutes and 54 seconds to end with one wrong letter. Argh!
One wrong letter! Exactly the same as HG. I though ARE WE OK was a great answer to "Confirmation question." That left me with the unusual ALAIk that I considered might be some form of Alec.
The SE filled first, then all the way up to the NE. But it was bareS ALL before TELLS ALL, and batter before TEFLON that held me at bay. Also in the west, it was pine before TILE. In the SW it was uses up before DOES IN and iN A SEC before ONE SEC. Those were all the ones that kept me in check for far too long. In the NW, there was also road RACE before AUTO RACE, but I changed that one rather quickly.
The last to fill the guessed M in MCNEILL, along with the comparatively simple (in retrospect) EE to make MELEE. And finally the X in TEXTS, which I didn't understand even after finally entering it as the last letter. Oh, duh. As in TEXT books. D'OH!
Oh well. I still enjoyed it. There were so many AHA! moments along the way, and good feelings when initial hunches and suspicions about clues worked out. I think that Dr Dolan is the obvious heir apparent to the previous Saturday level constructors.
Unlike two cornerites, the SE was my Waterloo. I kept learn for LOG ON, so my reef denizen looked like a Mr so and so. π€£.
The rest of the puzzle slowly filled after much effort and WAGS. STRAW HAT? NOEL? The only names I knew were MCNEILL and DIANE. The others showed up thanks to perps.
Lots of good clues like the ones for PASTA BAR, MOUSSE, DNA TESTS, FALL ASLEEP.
CSO to CanadianEh! on OTTAWA. I figured that one out pretty quickly when I remembered having been in that city when its river was frozen solid.
So all in all, I liked this puzzle.
Thank you HG for your terrific review.
Another beautiful spring day.
DNF, approx. 75% filled. Lots of clever clues with smattering of unknown names.
I don’t think even Whistler’s mother knew his middle name. (“Can I get outta this darn chair now Jimmy?”)
Inkovers: flake/PLATE, books/TEXTS, code/CASE, ugh/DOH
Wasn’t sure if LL BEAN had an E at the end. Filled it anyway but refused to fill LATENS. Seemed so wrong
Wouldn’t the “contracted pupils” be the hired Tutors and the pupils they tutor be the TUTEES?
Anyway. It was an IRONCLAD typical Saturday blank fest for me.
Again felicitations to you finishers π
Well, I'm happy today! I didn't even TRY to do this puzzle!
(I get to do a Sunday 4/5 puzzle instead) - Woohoo!
But I did have to read the write up, and I'm glad I did! HG, I had no idea!
In 1922 there were riots about straw hats? Hmm... I had no idea!
I wonder, did it have anything to do with The Susquehanna Hat Company?
Which reminds me, I wanted to try (in a hobbyist sort of way) to make a ring from copper wire. but I just now read the first comment under the video, which says, "mine didn't turn out like that..."
Hmm...
Actually,
If I had read my first comment first, I may not have read the write up at all...
(Where was I before all this.)
?
I did eventually come up with LATENS on my own, but I wasn't happy about it.
"Lawyer this clue into acceptance" ought to become a Corner catch-phrase.
The editor was tutored for years by Rich Norris, but unfortunately it didn't take.
Challenging but still interesting Saturday puzzle, many thanks, Kyle. And thank you, as always, for your helpful commentary and pictures, Gary.
Well, the guys at the PASTA BAR had probably shown up IN TIME after their AUTO RACE and were wearing a STRAW HAT and a TEFLON jacket. One of them had an AUNT who was a STAR and she came to cheer her nephew on. She did ask if he had a DNA TEST and was glad that he did, and that it had made him FALL ASLEEP that afternoon. He really needed some REST after that busy morning. In return for this his family all sent him a LOVE NOTE, thanking him for his good work. Hope you all got one of them too.
Cheers, and have a lovely weekend.
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