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 was 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.