Saturday Themeless by Karen Steinberg
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| Karen and David Steinberg |
Hi Gary,
I'm the mom of crossword constructor and editor David Steinberg; I'm also a writer and psychologist, even though in high school math was my favorite subject and an occupational interest test told me I should become a computer programmer (!). As a teenager I solved crosswords in magazines and logic puzzles in books but stopped when I got to college. I didn't start up again until more than 35 years later, when David began constructing.As for this puzzle, ZILLENNIAL was the seed entry—as soon as I heard the term, I wanted to make a puzzle using it. I listen to many podcasts and watch many (too many!) reality TV shows, so I'm constantly hearing new words and expressions and writing them down. I was lucky that some other good long entries (especially ZETTABYTE and BELLY BUTTON RING) worked well with the grid. Despite all the great new words these days, though, I'm trying to focus more on themed puzzles now. I do have a couple of other themelesses I'm working on too, however, so we'll see which I end up finishing first!
Best,
Karen
On a sadder note, Karen told me that her husband Paul passed away in 2023. Losing someone like Paul is heavy, but there’s something genuinely powerful in what Karen said—“the puzzles go on.” It speaks to continuity, legacy, and probably something they shared deeply as a family.
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| Karen, Paul and son David had the first "Family Puzzle" in the NYT on 5/22/22 |
1. Studies: GAZES AT
8. Google Play download: APP GAME - Subway Surfers is said to be the most downloaded APP GAME numbering over 3 billion.
15. Woodcutter in a tale told by Scheherazade: ALI BABA.
16. Went by yacht: CRUISED.
17. Navel brass?: BELLY BUTTON RING - Karen supplied a very gettable grid spanner.
19. Patisserie treat: ECLAIR.
20. Cocktail whose color comes from grenadine: PINK LADY.
21. Winter hrs. for most of western Indiana: EST.
22. Relieve (of): DIVEST.
23. "Milk" director Gus Van __: SANT - You may have to blow up the image to see Gus's name below the title.
25. Sector: ZONE.
26. Not discourteous: CIVIL - CIVIL discourse is as desirable as it is rare in some venues
30. The CW predecessor: UPN - United Paramount Network. CW stands for the parent networks CBS and Warner brothers.
31. "Ooh, burn!": ZING - I stuck with DING too long
32. "The Tale of __ Puddle-Duck": JEMIMA - You can get this 1908 first edition for $650.00
33. Winless racehorses: MAIDENS.
35. Apple cultivar that dates to American colonial times: WINESAP - Some say WINESAP apples came to America as seeds from Europe and some say they are native to our country.
35. Apple cultivar that dates to American colonial times: WINESAP - Some say WINESAP apples came to America as seeds from Europe and some say they are native to our country.
36. Euchre kin: ECARTE - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Here it is as an APP GAME
37. Oscilloscope display: WAVE - This Heathkit oscilloscope is the same model I used in my physics classroom for years.
38. Sch. in Athens: UGA - The University of Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, GA have had 11 bulldogs name UGA for their mascot. Here is number 10.
39. Sparked again: RELIT - Grilling in a wind might require this action
40. Connection point: NODE.
41. Barbaro's role in "A Complete Unknown": BAEZ - Monica Barbaro played Joan BAEZ in this biopic about Bob Dylan.
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| Joan Baez. Monica Barbaro |
42. Pyle player: NABORS - Jim NABORS was supposed to be a "one off" character in The Andy Griffith Show but was an immediate hit, became a regular and eventually got his own spinoff series
44. Berkeley, familiarly: CAL.
45. Kodai Senga's signature pitch: FORK BALL - The pitch is thrown with fingers forming a fork around the ball
48. Yoga pose that alternates between arching and rounding the spine: CAT COW.
51. Beyoncé challenge in the song "Energy": EVERYBODY ON MUTE. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
53. Shows some major respect?: SALUTES.
54. Mythical hunter transformed into a stag: ACTAEON ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Google this gruesome story if you must.
55. Cunning: SLYNESS.
56. Lunar event: MOONSET - Today the Moon will rise at about 6:00 am and set at about 7:30 pm. The Moon is in the Waning Crescent phase and will be so close to the Sun that it will be invisible for all practical purposes. My students were always amazed that the Moon is not visible every night.
Down:
1. Kapler who was NL Manager of the Year in 2021: GABE.
2. Obi-Wan player: ALEC - Sir ALEC Guiness played the role in the 1977 Star Wars but said this about it
3. Microgeneration of the 1990s: ZILLENNIAL - The group that spans the gap between Millenials and Gen Z's and a seed entry for Karen.
4. Marketing method: EBLAST - An EBLAST (email blast) is a one-time mass email sent to a large group of recipients simultaneously, often to promote, announce or inform
5. "Just tell me!": SAY IT.
6. Dict. tag: ABBR.
7. __ cross: TAU.
8. On the move: ACTIVE.
9. Tending (to): PRONE.
10. Anticonformist subculture: PUNK SCENE.
11. Some brunch dates: GIRL TIME 😀
12. China setting: ASIA.
13. Make better: MEND.
14. Anxious: EDGY.
18. Halloween prank: T-PING - A leaf blower and toilet paper is a great demo of Bernoulli's Principle
12. China setting: ASIA.
13. Make better: MEND.
14. Anxious: EDGY.
18. Halloween prank: T-PING - A leaf blower and toilet paper is a great demo of Bernoulli's Principle
22. Puts on: DONS.
23. Ancient region between the Tigris and Euphrates: SUMER.
24. Quickly: APACE.
25. Niche mag: ZINE - A magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject matter”.
27. Facial expressions, e.g.: VISUAL CUES - Read the room!
28. PR concern: IMAGE.
29. Bolivian cultural center: LA PAZ.
31. One sextillion memory units: ZETTA BYTE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
32. Speak unseriously: JIVE June Cleaver (Barbra Billingsley) speaks JIVE
34. Mid-party errand: DRINK RUN - Getting low on liquor so...
35. Balls (up): WADS.
37. Macrocosm: WORLD.
40. "We can manage without them": NO LOSS.
41. Superhero star of a Lego movie: BATMAN.
43. Sweets: BABES ❤️
44. Epic poem division: CANTO.
45. Admit, with "up": FESS.
46. Like a kumquat: OVAL.
47. Depend (on): RELY.
48. 2025 French Open winner Gauff: COCO.
49. __-Missouria Tribe: OTOE - A familiar cwd tribe
50. Bounced: WENT.
52. Vegetable related to lilies: YAM.
There were a few times
ReplyDeleteI needed a WAG, like with “Coco” and “zing”.
But for the most part, I thought this was a fair puzzle.
FIR, so I’m happy.
When your seed entry has a Z, the last thing you should do is force more Zs in the grid just for the sake of including "unusual" answers.
ReplyDeleteDNF. Filled 40, 34 correctly. One of my incorrect entries was cst for western Indiana's time zone. In my native Kentucky, Louisville is about as far west as EST goes. I was so sure that Western IN must be cdt that I fact checked it and learned something.
ReplyDeleteI thought about TAU, but I thought TAU was a cross, not a "TAU cross." Now I see that a TAU cross is a religious symbol.
"Balls up" could have been clued as "the way Jinx sleeps."
FLN: Congratulations to Splynter for scheduling your new arrival. June is only 16 days away!
I appreciated Karen's puzzle, but her idea of a great puzzle is the exact opposite of what I find interesting. I don't find new and/or arcane terms to be enjoyable, nor do I like tons of A&E fill. I'm sorry to say that your name will join Agard's on my "let's pass on this one" list.
Amen!
DeleteLike minds. Less than half-way through, my thought was "she's going on the list."
DeleteFIW. I took a WAG at Somer and was wrong. I put Sumer instead. I was thinking Samaria.
ReplyDeleteI had high hopes to finish a winner when I was able to fill the two long across answers. But some the clues were beyond my grasp and required too many guesses.
Overall a so-so puzzle.
Took 28:13 for me to guess wrong at the intersection of the director and the ancient region.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the Actress of the Day (Barbaro), but quickly figured it was "Joan" or "Baez".
"Actaeon" was unknown and uncool, especially crossing "otoe". Never heard of "Zillennial" or "Zettabyte" either. Not sure I've ever heard "sextillion" either.
There were some really good parts to this puzzle, but there were other parts too.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThere were far too many unknowns, for me, anyway, and even though I gave it my best shot,, the NW and SE required help, so FWH. I found some of the cluing
Inconsistent and in green paint territory. However, the ingenuity of Naval Brass=Belly Button Ring negates some of the questionable entries such as Bounced=Went. Am I missing something there? Saturdays should test our mettle but the generational gap in slang, buzz words, actually all references, is widening rapidly for me, leading to more and more unsuccessful solves.
Thanks, Karen, and thanks, HG, for the great review and for sharing the author’s very interesting comments and plans.
Have a great day. It’s a beautiful Spring day here (finally) and a celebratory one for my great nephew’s graduation from RPI. Congrats, Robert Michael!
FIR WH. As Irish Miss☘️ so ably put it the generational gap is getting to me also. Names of people I’ve never heard of, buzz words and slang defeat me. The constructor admits to watching a lot of TV and unfortunately I watch none.
ReplyDeleteThis not a criticism of this puzzle, just an observation that the times they are a changin.
I would never use GAZE as a synonym for study. The clue for BELLY BUTTON RING is great, so is PUNK SCENE.
Thank you HG for your usual great review and getting in touch with Karen Steinberg.
Speaking of new words, my grand nephew just texted that he’s “ garaging” this morning, meaning he’s going to garage sales.
ReplyDeleteI made it through most of the puzzle until the South East. I always object to crossing names, especially obscure names. Never heard of Coco Gauff. If not for that I would have FIR. Also, is "appgame" a term people actually use? Anyway, looking forward to next Saturday.
ReplyDeleteAnother disappointingly awful Saturday slog fest brought to you by the editor at the LAT. ZILLENNIAL and ZETTA BYTE are your idea of a good time ? SUMER crossing SANT ? ACTAEON ? ?
ReplyDeleteTo add insult to injury (at least Patti went big in the F/U department), one small section contains JEMIMA, UGA, BAEZ, LAPAZ and WINESAP. Nothing there to discern, or reason out - simply boring trivia that either you know or you don’t. It’s hard to believe that six days a week the LAT can publish a decent puzzle yet they so consistently stink up the joint Saturday after Saturday.
A near miss for me. I brought my towel to the beach down in Florida, then threw it in when all I had was LEFT for WENT. Oh, and an N at the cross of ECARTE & ZETTABYTE. But that's Saturdays for ya.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, Gary was on top of things and I always appreciate his little bios.
As is my wont on Saturdays I gave up and DNF around 20% of the puzzle. Lots of errors that contributed:
ReplyDeleteRamona/JEMIMA, thus rave/JIVE
eclipse/MOONSET (that’s a thing?)
the dog/CAT COW (ow!)
sestabyte/ZETTA
Finally changed fastBALL ⚾️ to FORK
You say CAL and everyone know it’s “Berkley”? EBLAST? UPN? ECARTE? ( I ass u me is pronounced “Ay Car Tay”)
As ☘️ Miss said a nice sunny 70’s degree day in upstate NY. Think I can safely put in the rest of the annuals. 🤞
I don't know if this was a case of a mother trying to one-up her son or not, but it sure had a show-offy feel to it. It seemed designed for even seasoned cruciverbalists to either fail or TITT.
ReplyDeleteNothing enjoyable about this one at all. I'm gonna make like Beyonce and put this constructor on mute going forward.
I did struggle with this puzzle. And had to check some (Sumer, Coco, Sant) to feel finished. And, missed a few (recur for relit, ecarre for ecarte - because I insisted on terrabyte for zettabyte, even tho I knew it had to be zing, not ting). Loved the “aha” moments when an unknown became suddenly KNOWN (like Nabors, & tp-ing, fork ball, & salutes - to name a few). Am I weird that I like (somewhat☺️😉) Saturdays stumping me? It’s usually the only day that does. And, I like being “forced” to see stuff I usually don’t look at - even SPORTS, which is my least favorite activity/area of all space/time. Thanks to all for this space and for crossword puzzles to keep my retired/ing (psychologist & math geek also, btw, Karen Steinberg) brain alive and well! So grateful!
ReplyDeleteHas anyone ever heard of BOUNCED to mean WENT?
ReplyDeleteFIW which ended a fairly lengthy streak of FIRs. Typical Saturday toughie but I did like the challenge, struggled in the extreme SE and I thought I had it figured out, which I did through WAGs and preps, but got no congratulatory message. Pored over the grid for a bit and couldn’t find a mistake, which was one bad cell. I had a Z in place of S in the SUMER/SANT cross. I thought with all the other Z’s in the puzzle that must be one too, and I know of other van Zants. DNKs too numerous to mention. Euchre is a very popular card game here in Michigan and some other parts of the Midwest, not sure about elsewhere, but I’ve never heard of ECARTE. Thank you Karen for your creation, and to HG for the recap. Like others, I appreciate the info from the puzzle authors.
ReplyDeleteHats off to those who finished without help from red letters or outside sources! I did my best with paper and pencil as usual, but wound up with quite a few blank squares, especially in the midwest. Unknowns that hurt my performance included ZILLENNIAL, ZETTABYTE, and COCO.
ReplyDelete"Bounced" as a clue for WENT is not too far fetched, though. Husker Gary's illustration for 50-Down shows "bounce" as a synonym for "go" -- Let's bounce, girls -- so it makes sense that when someone bounced, they WENT.
Did not enjoy Karen's brain buster today. Always appreciate Husker Gary.
NaomiZ Thanks for your reply about BOUNCED/WENT and BOUNCE/GO. What I am wondering: Has anyone here ever used this term or heard it before?
DeleteHola! Nope. Not my cup of tea today. I don't keep up with current lingo, have never seen or heard Beyonce'. Have a lovely day, everyone! It's gorgeous here.
ReplyDeleteSomewhat tough, but still interesting and enjoyable Saturday puzzle, so many thanks, Karen. And thanks, for your helpful commentary and pictures, as always, Gary.
ReplyDeleteWell, if a fellow GAZES AT the BELLY BUTTON RING that a PINK LADY wears on her body, along with other VISUAL CUES, it might not be a surprise if he asks her out for a date. But it's possible she might respond by telling him that it's GIRL TIME, when she and some other MAIDENS go to a local bar to get a DRINK of RUM (rather than RUN), and spend the evening with some other BABES on a beach where they watch a lovely MOON SET, looking for VISUAL CUES. They're probably not yet at a point when they might adopt that yoga pose they call a CAT COW these days. It's a new world, they realize, and they SALUTE the young women for their skill. Then it's time to go home and watch an old BAT MAN show on TV.
Have a lovely weekend, everybody.