Saturday Themeless by Rafael Musa
Rafa, a software engineer for Airbnb in San Francisco. is a frequent constructor and collaborator.
1. Sudoku diagrams: GRIDS.
6. Snap: PIC.
9. Rib: TEASE.
14. Iconic part of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird": OUTRO - Song beginning: Intro :: Song ending : OUTRO. Depending on the tempo, the OUTRO lasts about half as long as the entire 9 minute song.
9. Rib: TEASE.
14. Iconic part of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird": OUTRO - Song beginning: Intro :: Song ending : OUTRO. Depending on the tempo, the OUTRO lasts about half as long as the entire 9 minute song.
15. Admirable sorts: CLASS ACTS - There's this blogmistress in Minneapolis I know...
17. Piano part: PEDAL.
18. Store for a little while?: POPUP SHOP.
19. "La Classe de Danse" painter: DEGAS - Even I can translate this title
21. Tale designed to tug at one's heartstrings: SOB STORY.
22. Parade locale since 1890: PASEDENA
24. Approves: OKS.
25. Seuss character who lives in a pond on Sala-ma-sond island: YERTLE.
26. Greek goddess of discord: ERIS.
29. "Use your inside voice": DON'T YELL.
31. Challenging direction to sail: UPWIND.
35. __ Bauer: EDDIE - Not a chance for Hank
36. Not well: ILL.
38. Cartoon hero with a blond bob: HE-MAN.
39. Hudson Valley college chartered by a brewer in 1861: VASSAR.
41. "Hola" follower, perhaps: COMO ESTA.
43. "__ bon!": TRES.
45. Packaged meals that might contain tamagoyaki: BENTOS.
46. Big Mac rivals?: PCS. 😊
49. Requirements for some brick buildings: LEGO SETS - This LEGO SET has a titanic price of $929.
51. Water wings?: SEA PLANE 😀
54. "The Social Network" Oscar winner Sorkin: AARON.
56. Urban prowlers: ALLEY CATS.
58. Jeopardy: PERIL.
60. Small digit: LITTLE TOE. 😀
61. Outerwear option: PARKA.
62. Shot not allowed in some pool halls: MASSE.
63. Chemistry suffix: ENE.
64. Warm compress targets: STYES - _ _ _ E S was not ACHES
Down:
1. RNC group: GOP.
2. Wished undone: RUED.
3. "Maybe": IT DEPENDS.
4. Queen, maybe: DRAG ARTIST.
5. Way out?: SO LAST YEAR.
6. Main doc: PCP.
7. Words of resignation: I LOSE.
8. Graham's "Boardwalk Empire" role: CAPONE.
 |
| Al CAPONE Stephen Graham |
9. Qt.'s 192: TSPS.
10. Right way?: EAST - On a map
11. Sound before some blessings: ACHOO 😀
12. Wading bird that communicates with bill clattering: STORK An annoying 25 second example
13. Awards for top plays: ESPYS - Last year it was Saquon Barkley's hurdle effort.
16. Car company that hosts Share the Love community events: SUBARU.
20. Counter offer?: SALE 😀
23. Spot with a sandwich board: DELI.
25. Jedi of Dagobah: YODA.
27. Safari and others: IPHONE APPS - I use the Safari browser on my MacBook and iPhone
28. Pick-me-up indulgence: SWEET TREAT.
29. Coder, colloquially: DEV - Isn't it obvi? Totes adorb!
30. Bus. type: LLC - Limited Liability Company
32. "My bad!": I'M SO SORRY - This is close enough to post this great emo song of my yute
33. D.C. team: NATS.
34. Cellular plan?: DNA 😀
37. University of New Mexico mascot: LOBO.
40. Adjust, as a corset: RELACE - I'll bet you can name this character whose corset is being RELACED.
42. Table outside?: MESA 😀
44. American century: SENATE - The less common second definition from Merriam-Webster
46. Song of worship: PSALM.
47. "La Vida Es un Carnaval" singer Cruz: CELIA - Even I could translate this.
48. Cures, in a way: SALTS.
52. Some rescues: PETS.
53. Singing crocodile voiced by Shawn Mendes in a 2022 film: LYLE.
55. Largest company headquartered in Oregon: NIKE - Makes sense
57. "Capisce?": SEE.
59. "__ Mañanitas": LAS - Translation
For a Saturday, this
ReplyDeletewasn’t bad at all! There were few obscurities, and the ones there were
were easily sussed by perps.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteAlmost. But not quite. It came down to _OM_ESTA (my Spanish is pretty much limited to Dos Equis) and IP__NEAPPS and d-o blew it. Rats. Looks obvious now. Thanx, Rafael and Husker.
Almost. But not quite, too. I got about 95% solved correctly, but needed the help of red letters to fill the last few squares of the grid. All in all a very fine puzzle and a great way to start the L-O-N-G weekend.
ReplyDeleteFIW, with mERTLE x mODA and EReS x ePHONE APP. I always thought "mERTLE the Turtle," and didn't remember that yoda was a Jedi (which is nowhere near a catchy as "Jeramiah was a Bullfrog.") I also wondered who would create a puzzle with "e-phone app," and I'm now going on my second year as an iPhone owner. And the only god of discord I knew was Ires, and knew him only from crosswords.
ReplyDeleteFree Bird is a great song selection for DJs who need a bathroom break. Great song in general, too. Skyyrd would close out their concert encores with the tune. Fantastic way to end a show!
I filled MASSE without benefit of perp. The reason the shot is banned in most pool halls is that most players will damage the felt table covering while executing he shot. Same with jump shots.
I think that sailing downwind is more challenging than sailing upwind. If you lose your concentration sailing upwind the boat will slow down a little, but if you lose your concentration sailing downwind you could cause an accidental gybe, which can easily kill someone as the boom comes across the boat out of control. (The reason it's called a boom is that's the sound the spar makes when it smacks someone in the head. Or so I was taught.)
Thanks to Rafael for the fun Saturday challenge, and to H.Gary for another fun review.
Skynyrd played shows with a huge Confederate flag as a backdrop on stage. It makes you feel old when you realize most of the band died in a plane crash 49 years ago.
DeleteFIR. This was pretty easy for a Saturday. My only misstep was throwing down aches before styes. Perps corrected me quickly.
ReplyDeleteThere were several rather clever clues throughout the puzzle. The clues for PCs and Lego sets are two examples.
Overall a most enjoyable puzzle.
Took 9:42 today to get on.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the French/Frwanch (tres), the Spanish (las; though I knew como esta), the role of someone named Graham (Capone), or this singer (Celia) or her Spanish song. Fortunately, the unknowns were spaced-out enough that I could get/keep traction.
Seemed like a few too many "?" clues, but that's the LAT crossword on Saturdays. Speaking of LAT Xwords on Saturdays, an obscure foreign food reference is often seen, and today's "tamagoyaki" was no exception.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteProps to the author for some outstanding cluing and an overall pleasant solve. Compared to some recent head-scratcher Saturdays, the perps were kind and overcame any rough spots.I got fooled (again!) by ESPYs instead of Emmys, and the clue for Senate had me stumped, too. He Man was unknown, as was Vassar, as clued. While it didn’t reach the expected difficulty of a Saturday solve, it was challenging enough and, more importantly, rewardingly enjoyable.
Thanks, Rafael, and thanks, HG, for the usual array of eye candy photos and commentary and for highlighting so many of the great clues. Thanks also for the Brenda Lee flashback.
Have a great day.
I agree much easier puzzle than some Saturdays. I managed to FIR. Some unknowns like YERTLE, DEV, CELIA, and LYLE were taken care of by perps.
ReplyDeleteIt might be obvious, but I don’t get the clue for TSPS. I liked the SO LAST YEAR and ALLEY CATS clues.
Thank you HG. I enjoyed your review.
There are 192 teaspoons in a quart.
DeleteThank you Brian. Who knew?
DeleteTSPS = teaspoons
ReplyDeleteTSPS = teaspoons
ReplyDeleteThat only makes 2 teaspoons! LOL
DeleteYes, but what does the # inthe clue refer to?
DeleteA teaspoon approximately = 5ml there is no standard teaspoon size, as the size varies with you flatware.
Delete192 X 5ml = 960 ml and that's close to a quart.
Officially, a quart is 946.4ml
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Rafael created a fair Saturday puzzle with gettable crosses.
ReplyDeleteWhen one sails in a zigzag pattern into the wind, it's call tacking. When one sails directly UPWIND, it's called a miracle.
HG, liked your Titanic Lego set-up!
10:20. Fun puzzle but a little too much on the easy side for a Saturday.
ReplyDeleteA few challenges here and there as expected on a Saturday, but perps made it doable.
ReplyDeleteMy grands all take their lunches to daycare in BENTO boxes - they keep different items separated and don't have the risks and waste of plastic baggies or individual packaging
My kids liked the picture book "LYLE, LYLE the Crocodile" . Never saw the movie as they were too old and the grands were too young in 2022
Thanks Gary for the fun blog and Rafael for the puzzle
p.s. I have read "Remarkably Bright Creatures" by Shelby Van Pelt - which I enjoyed
Just watched the movie adaptation on Netflix last night with Sally Field as the lead - would highly recommend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b14IFe4an5k
Did not finish, but got further than I usually do on a Saturday. The SW was my downfall, but still happy I got as far as I did.
ReplyDeleteI actually FIR on a Saturday that had many gimmes- PASADENA, YERTLE, VASSAR, TSPS, EDDIE Bauer, NIKE, LOBO- and some easy WAGS-YODA, GRIDS, PARKA, PCS, ACHOO, ESPYS, BENTOS, MASSE, LITTLE TOE.
ReplyDeleteDNK- AARON, COMOESTA, HEMAN, CELIA, LYLE, or CAPONE as clued.
SAD STORY became a SOB STORY.
OUTRO is a word I've only seen in a crossword puzzle but just yesterday, I passed the Lynyrd Skynyrd Monument Site exit off I-55. It's about 2 miles north of the LA-MS state line, where the band members died in a plane crash.
DRAG 'ARTISTS' QUEENS- just go to the Quarter around any holiday or parade and you see a lifetime's worth just walking the streets.
Comparatively easy for a Saturday as I FIR w/out help in 20 minutes, more enjoyable than some themeless that I struggle an hour with, but I’ll never complain about the difficulty or ease of a puzzle. As usual it was the names that needed perps, CAPONE, HE MAN, CELIA, and AARON, the other names I did know. Thanks for the puzzle Rafael, and to HG for the follow up, you and the other bloggers are all CLASS ACTS.
ReplyDeleteChallenging, but still interesting Saturday puzzle, so many thanks for this treat, Rafael. And your commentary and pictures are always a pleasure, thanks for those too, Gary.
ReplyDeleteWell, my seniority caught up with me with me in this puzzle, where there were a variety of things I either didn't know, or didn't quite understand. I'm certainly familiar with INTRO, but not OUTRO. And I've never heard of a POP-UP SHOP, although the photo of one was a pleasant treat, and I'd be willing to do some shopping there. Wish I were young enough to attend one of those PASADENA parades--I bet those are a real pleasure, especially if they displayed some DRAG ARTISTS. If I did attend, and heard people complain about anything, I'd probably shout "DON'T YELL!". That food in those BENTOS looked delicious, and I'd be a happy customer of those SWEET TREATS. Never heard of a SEA PLANE, but if I ever took one, I'd probably have to wear a PARKA.
Well, I'M SO SORRY that I can't stay any longer and can't be more help, but I really enjoyed this puzzle, and hope you all did too. Have a wonderful rest of the weekend, everybody.
Ever since my local newspaper, the South Florida SunSentinel started making the CW in the e-edition impossible to print (and I called their technical services, and they couldn't come up with a way to print it either) I've gone online to do the CW. I can print a blank from there, but end up just doing the CW online. I always turn on red-letter help, because I'm not that great at solving. Today red-letter was definitely needed; FWH in 20.
ReplyDelete15 names, DNK 10 (as clued) which contributed to my struggle. Living in SOFLO, half the population speaks Spanish so I did know COMOESTA. Tamagoyki sounds Japanese, so BENTOS sounded right too, and was.
Wanted to enter PANTS, but red-letters only liked the PA part; easy to figure out it must then be PARKA.
BE@12:02 you mention the Lynyrd Skynyrd band plane crash. Three members of the band were killed, along with their assistant road manager, the pilot and co-pilot, when the plane ran out of fuel and crashed in a heavily wooded swamp. 20 of the 26 on board survived. It was ten years before the remaining members played again, with Johnny Van Zant taking over for his brother Ronnie. They went on to make some really great music.
Sailing was mentioned. Many years ago I rented a small sailboat in Sarasota and took my cousin out in it to show her how to sail. After an hour I tried to sail back toward shore, but the wind was coming directly FROM shore. The sailboats little dagger-board did not provide enough traction, and after tacking back and forth for quite a while, I had to lower the sail and shamefully paddle the boat back in. Embarrassing.
Thanx RM for this Saturday level CW.
Thanx too to HG for the terrific write-up.