Saturday Themeless by Zhouqin Burnikel
Solving C.C.'s clever puzzle had me following a familiar pattern. I searched for a solid foothold which came up at the grid-spanning PLEASE BE PATIENT/AND YET HERE WE ARE and everything grew out from there. I had a very pleasant 29-minute exercise where C.C.'s construction skills always made me feel I would never COME UP DRY. Another lovely feature was that she only used six 3-letter words.
1. Early revolutions: WARM UP LAPS 😀 Tradition at the Indy 500 has a pace car leading the cars around for the last WARM UP LAP.
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| 1964 Indy 500 |
11. Exam with a max score of 180: LSAT.
15. Only shopped at farmers markets, perhaps: ATE ORGANIC.
16. Set in stone: ETCH.
17. Help in obtaining top-shelf products: STEP LADDER 😀
18. "Educated: A Memoir" writer Westover: TARA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
19. Homes for some queens: HIVES. 😀
20. Instrument invented by Hermes: LYRE.
21. Bamia or sambar: STEW. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
22. Frosted: ICED.
23. "Fore!" site: TEE 😀
24. Bundles: WADS.
26. Earring parts: POSTS.
28. Ending of "Oedipus": SIGMA - Oedipus is spelled Οιδίπους in Greek. The last letter is the lower case Greek letter SIGMA
31. Put on a bashful front: ACT COY.
35. Overdrive: HIGH GEAR.
37. Line for waiters: PLEASE BE PATIENT - All these peeps are in line and waiting to get to the top of Mt. Everest
39. Cannes Film Festival prize: PALME D'OR - Golden Palm
40. Prankster with opposable thumbs: MONKEY.
41. Aisha of "Archer": TYLER.
42. Oman neighbor: YEMEN.
44. Go, to the dogs: MUSH - 😀 The comma in the clue made this my fav clue.
46. General concern: WAR.
47. Material for some biodegradable bags: HEMP.
51. Kitchen work: PREP.
53. St. __ Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub: IVES ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
55. "Brave" studio: PIXAR - It netted a $350 M profit at the box office
56. Zest source: RIND - I loved orange marmalade before I knew it was zest from the RIND that gave it such a distinctive flavor
57. "Great, now we're pouting": REAL MATURE.
59. Smell: ODOR.
60. Messages that something's gone wrong: ERROR CODES.
61. Word in skin care ads: DEWY.
62. One who has seen it all: EYEWITNESS.
Down:
1. Paper used in origami: WASHI ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
2. Unfinished story, perhaps: ATTIC 😀 Oh, the top story of a house
3. "Still Me" memoirist Christopher: REEVE - My favorite movie portrayer of Superman wrote this after his horse riding accident left him paralyzed.
4. Wore a long face: MOPED.
5. Addresses with dots: URLS. 😀
6. Org. with many excellent drivers: PGA - Fore!
7. Big scoops: LADLES.
8. "... somehow nothing has changed": AND YET HERE WE ARE.
9. Huntington Beach landmark: PIER.
10. Item that's often turned in: SCREW 😀
11. "Our food's getting cold!": LET'S DIG IN.
12. One who might crunch numbers for fun: STATS GEEK - Uh, I might be guilty
13. Orchard unit: ACRE.
14. Spring break?: THAW.
23. Trifled (with): TOYED.
25. Running back Jeanty who was runner-up for the 2024 Heisman Trophy: ASHTON.
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27. Nurse: SIP.
29. Thick hair: MANE.
30. Like some indie movies: ARTY.
31. Cal. entry: APPT.
32. Roland Garros surface: CLAY - The CLAY court in Paris is named for WWI air hero Roland Garros who died in combat in 1918 but never played tennis.
34. Left empty-handed, in a way: CAME UP DRY - In this state that depends heavily on irrigation this can be a big problem
36. Fortnite streamer, e.g.: GAMER ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ An online streaming game
38. Little dude: BOY.
43. Psychologist who created a notable hierarchy: MASLOW - I'm sure I memorized this list when I got my M.A. in Counseling.
45. New team member: HIREE.
47. Suddenly come up with: HIT ON - Dick Fosbury HIT ON the idea of high jumping with his face up and completely changed the sport.
49. Some stable parents: MARES 😀
50. Iron: PRESS.
51. Nudge: PROD.
52. Wheels: RIDE.
54. VIP member?: VERY 😀
55. Formal agreement: PACT.
58. Scan that may diagnose a torn ACL: MRI - “An MRI has confirmed that Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes sustained a torn ACL in his left knee in today’s game. Patrick and the club are currently exploring surgical options.”
Well, a Saturday
ReplyDeletepuzzle from C.C.! She can do everything, can’t she?
And, as I would expect from her, it was fair and far from unsolvable!
I got it right the first time.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteThe misdirections did not distract me from my goal. Finished in 12 minutes, which may be my best Saturday ever. I'm familiar with POSER, but don't think I've ever heard it spoken. HEMP reminded me of those 20# potato sacks in the grocery stores of my ute. Is STATS GEEK a never-before-seen entry? Nicely done, C.C. and Husker.
The comment at 5:29 was mine.
DeleteTook 10:29 today with no error codes.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the Actress of the Day (Tyler) nor did I know one of the writers (Tara, but I was able to guess Reeve), and I've never, ever heard of "washi" or "Ives".
My early revolutions were "first years", which gave way to "warm up laps."
Nicely done, C.C.
FIR, but lets begin->LETS DIG IN, lad->BOY, and WADS->webs->WADS.
ReplyDeleteJumble-playing Cornerites will enjoy CC's HIVES today.
I asked Zoё's vet if Siberian huskies are as loud, dramatic and opinionated as they seem on those Facebook videos. "Oh Lord yes" was her reply.
EYE WITNESSes are notoriously unreliable in their descriptions of events.
MOPED could also have been clued "alternative to a motorcycle." We had VESPA a day or two ago.
I seem to remember that whenever my name was used along with HIT ON, a trip to HR ensued.
Thanks to CC for the fun puzzle that even my dumb mass could solve. My favorite was "unfinished story" for ATTIC. And thanks to H.Gary for another fun review. I should get a tee shirt made declaring "ERROR 406."
FLN - Thanks to Darren for the pronunciation tweak. Also, your violin-toting girlfriend reminds me of the big Soft Cell hit from 1981, Tainted Love.
"Once I ran to you
Now I'll run from you"
I had a relationship like that when I was a teen.
Given my consistently miserable and checkered record online, my tee shirt would be "Client errors 400 through 408 (All of the above. And proud of it).
DeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed solving this wonderful offering from our incomparable CC. The fill, especially Please Be Patient, And Yet Here We Are, Tell Me Now, Let’s Dig In, Came Up Dry, Real Mature, is stunningly fresh and vibrant. The entire puzzle just sizzles with innovation and outstanding creativity and craftsmanship. I think it’s one of the very best efforts from CC that I’ve ever solved. Brava, CC.
Thank you, CC, for such a memorable Saturday experience, and thank you, HG, for highlighting CC’s talents. Your photo array, as usual, was striking and evocative.
Have a great day.
"Educated" is well worth the read. A true story of how a young girl overcomes her restrictive, abusive upbringing in a strict Mormon household and pursues higher education on her own.
ReplyDeleteNow, that was a fun and enjoyable puzzle.
ReplyDeleteThis was the first Saturday LA Times puzzle I completed without looking anything up in several weeks. Then I came here to make sure I had everything right. My favorite clue today was 10 Down, "Item That's often turned in". Great job CC and HG.
ReplyDeleteI saw CC constructed the puzzle, and thought I had a chance at a Saturday. I ended up throwing in the towel as I couldn't get a foothold anywhere.
ReplyDeleteFIR. For a Saturday puzzle this was fair and we'll clued. Last to fall was the SE. When eye witness showed up I was in for the win. I impressed myself by filling in the long answers without any trouble. A fun puzzle to say the least.
ReplyDeleteOverall a very enjoyable puzzle.
A breezy Saturday from our fearless leader. Lots of fun clues that were on my wavelength, and anything I skipped automatically filled in by perps. I really liked how all the long phrases were in the language, nothing contrived or forced. C.C. seems to be very good at this!
ReplyDeleteMy only question is why 28A "Ending with 'Oedipus' " didn't end with a question mark?
Re: STATS GEEK. My dad was an mechanical engineer who's passion was flight. Going through his notebooks revealed pages upon pages of calculus and analytic geometry as he studied airfoil curves and propeller shapes...all for fun!
We don't need ERROR CODES when HG is at the wheel. He's always right on.
Wow! Stunning fill in today's puzzle. I had half a dozen solid DNKs, and was still able to FIR, which points to a very fair grid. Just a lovely composition. Congratulations, C.C. Burnikel, and many thanks to HG for a lively review.
ReplyDeleteCC has a talent for creating puzzles that are challenging yet very doable. She’s a real pro.
ReplyDeleteI encountered several unknowns, mainly people’s names, and WASHI, yet I FIR and felt good about myself. A lovely Saturday.
Thank you HG for your review. You’re also a pro.