Saturday Themeless by Ricky Sirois
Ricky provided me with a very pleasant 29-minute solve that evolved from the bottom up with long fills emerging and becoming the seeds from which the rest of the fill emerged.When this picture was taken in 2022, Ricky was the Assistant Director of the Concord, MA Public Library and a participant in The National Scrabble Players Championships.
1. Doctrines: DOGMATA - Dogma leapt to my mind and so its plural filled the bill.
8. Incomplete Wikipedia article: STUB - ¯\_(γ)_/¯ A stub is an article that is deemed too short and incomplete to provide in-depth encyclopedic coverage of a subject.
12. 1990s sketch comedy show: IN LIVING COLOR - This show ran on the then-new Fox Network and launched some very famous careers such as Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Lopez.
15. PBS series hosted by librarian Mychal Threets: READING RAINBOW - I fondly remember when this show first appeared in 1983 with LeVar Burton as the host.
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| LeVar Mychal |
17. Lemon juice?: GAS π
18. Javelin: SPEAR.
19. Strong suit: ASSET.
21. Conditional word: ELSE - If you issue a threat that ends in "OR ELSE", you'd better have an idea what that ELSE might be.
23. Senior: OLDER.
25. Mother of Apollo and Artemis: LETO.
26. Shaping tool: LATHE.
28. Tillamook's state: OREGON - Where you can find the home of great cheese and ice cream
30. Blast: BALL.
32. "Am I free to go?": ARE WE DONE - AREWE _ O _ _ first gave me ARE WE GOOD?
34. Complex trap: WEB.
35. Nail salon brand: OPI - A frequent cwd polish brand
37. Gen __: XER - We two Boomers raised two Gen-XERS, born 1967 and 1971
38. __ Γtats-Unis: LES - lez-ay-taz-yoo-nee
32. "Am I free to go?": ARE WE DONE - AREWE _ O _ _ first gave me ARE WE GOOD?
34. Complex trap: WEB.
35. Nail salon brand: OPI - A frequent cwd polish brand
37. Gen __: XER - We two Boomers raised two Gen-XERS, born 1967 and 1971
38. __ Γtats-Unis: LES - lez-ay-taz-yoo-nee
39. Recklessly: HEAD FIRST.
42. Has a summer job?: ADDS - π We crossword peeps always suspect that a flower might be a river and a summer might be someone finds sums by adding.
44. Recently: OF LATE.
45. Birds paraded on Saint Stephen's Day in Ireland: WRENS - No, they don't get those little birds to line up π More
47. Pressing need: IRON.
48. Hardship: TRIAL - PP&M sing that TRIALS don't last forever.
50. Grow friendlier: THAW.
54. Squeals: SINGS - Or rats or tells or narcs
56. __ nerve: OPTIC.
58. Like: ALA.
59. "Regardless of what you think ... ": BELIEVE IT OR NOT - A vintage 1930 version
62. "I deserved that": SERVES ME RIGHT.
63. "Do-Re-Mi" figure: DEER a female deer...
64. Spanish wives: ESPOSAS - Hmmm...
Down:
1. Expression of grief: DIRGE.
2. Youngest Oscar winner: O'NEAL.
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| 1974 Candidates |
3. Part of a frame job?: GLASS π - Could be used for art or eyesore
4. Just OK: MID.π Meh...
5. Dollar alternative: AVIS.
6. Second-rate: TINPOT - This TINPOT leaped to my mind
8. Alarm: SCARE.
9. French pronoun: TOI.
10. Pinkie-side bone: ULNA.
11. Gravity-powered racer: BOBSLED - SOAPBOX fit so nicely but...
13. Equipment that may level the playing field: GRADER.
14. Copper alloy popularized by its use in FabergΓ© eggs: ROSE GOLD.
16. Wipes brand: WET ONES.
22. Lens opening?: ELL - A meta clue we see often here
24. Sports reporter Holly: ROWE - Holly is a proud cancer survivor and sometimes works with no or very little hair.
27. Up in the air: ALOFT.
29. Played over: RERAN.
30. Barbecue option: BEEF RIB.
31. Snacks for sea otters: ABALONES.
33. Leeway for a test-taker: EXTRA TIME - Standardized tests forbid this
34. Start of some "Jeopardy!" responses: WHO IS - The correct question is at the bottom of this write-up.
36. Neoplasticism pioneer Mondrian: PIET - Composition with Red, Yellow, and Blue' (1939-41). Experts say the original would sell for $20M or more today.
40. Offered as an inducement: DANGLED.
41. App gestures: SWIPES.
43. Setting not observed by most of Arizona: Abbr.: DST.
46. Ruling classes: ELITES.
49. Opportunity on Mars, e.g.: ROVER π
51. Chills: HANGS - Derived from "hang out"
52. Word in many Polynesian languages: ALOHA.
53. Los Angeles neighborhood where many Walter Mosley novels are set: WATTS ¯\_(γ)_/¯
55. Royal address: SIRE.
57. Business org.: CORP.
60. Anticipatory period: EVE.
61. Duran Duran album with the hit "Hungry Like the Wolf": RIO - Some serious Saturday cluing for RIO
Correct Jeopardy question is: WHO IS Celine Dion?
I got it!
ReplyDeleteIt helped that a lot of the longer answers were well known, either from television or simply in-the-language phrases.
It took me less than half an hour, and I enjoyed it.
FIR, so I’m happy.
Took me a long time, but I got it. FIR.
ReplyDeleteFavorite clue: “Has a summer job?”
(I’m missing Misty.)