Saturday Themeless by Mike Graczyk
A fun solve on what appears to be Mike's initial LA Times puzzle. My trek started in the NE with my Greek wife's least favorite salad and expanding out from there.
 |
| NOT ME! |
10. Saw: ADAGE.
15. "Do I know you?": HAVE WE MET.
16. Historic site in Jordan known as the Rose City: PETRA - One of the new seven wonders of the world
17. Eggs-cellent breakfast spot: 😀 OMELET BAR.
18. "Door's open!": ENTER.
19. "You bet!": YES.
20. Pinch-hit: STEP IN - What we subs do during the school year
22. Next: THEN.
23. Hardly pusillanimous: BOLD.
24. Bears named for an Alaskan archipelago: KODIAKS.
26. Call it a day: GO HOME.
29. People who pay flat rates?: TENANTS - I think we all know what an apartment is called in the UK
30. Wistful words: I HOPE.
31. Went to court?: WOOED - 😀 Court is a verb here.
32. One who loves ewe very much: RAM.
34. Migrators in the Maasai Mara's Great Migration: GNUS.
35. Brook swimmer: TROUT.
36. Brand of shapewear: BALI.
37. Brief alarm: SOS.
38. Essence: POINT.
39. Test versions: BETAS.
40. Takes back: RECANTS.
42. "You bet!": SURE DO.
43. Ouster: DEPOSAL - Ouster : Oust :: Deposal : Depose
44. One thing after another: LIST.
45. Campus building: HALL - My home for two years
46. Connecticut governor Ned: LAMONT ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
48. Rugby ball prop: TEE.
51. Taco truck option: ASADA.
53. Places to break some records?: RAGE ROOMS - or break most anything else
53. Places to break some records?: RAGE ROOMS - or break most anything else
55. Hammer and anvil, for two: BONES.
56. "I wish wearing flat-irons on our heads would keep us from __": "Little Women": GROWING UP.
57. IV part: INTRA.
58. "No prob": EASY PEASY.
Down:
1. "Hello, sailor!": AHOY.
2. Appellation: NAME - For wine: An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated,
3. __ Rocher cosmetics: YVES ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
4. Office no.: TEL.
5. "Way cool!": AWESOME - In my opinion, this is the most overused adjective used today
6. Boiling point?: KETTLE 😀
7. War zone journalist: EMBED.
8. Bring in: REAP.
9. Go down swinging, perhaps: STRIKE OUT.
10. Mimic: APE.
11. Tooth component: DENTIN.
12. "If we stayed on such a road ... ": AT THAT RATE - Ten minutes/hole. AT THAT RATE we should be done in three hours.
13. Dish with feta and Kalamatas: GREEK SALAD.
14. Brings in: EARNS.
21. Largish combo: NONET - Nine, count 'em, nine
23. Catchy tunes, informally: BOPS.
25. Pops: DAD.
26. Some play dates?: GIGS - My grandson will be taking his years of experience, his Master's Degree and connections to NYC to play some GIGS.
27. "Just wondering": OH NO REASON - Yeah, right...
28. Leaves for one's residence?: HOUSE PLANT.
29. Pluto and others: TOONS.
31. Plain to see: WRITLARGE.
33. Soup often served with gyoza: MISO.
35. Like some languages: TONAL.
36. Muppet who loves pigeons: BERT.
38. Faux finish?: PAS - I have made many a faux PAS in my life.
39. Way to travel with class?: BUS TRIP - I travelled the 1,400 miles to KSC with 23 classes with airplanes but never on a BUS. 😳
41. "You're even farther now ... ": COLDER - The opposite...
42. Muscular: SINEWY.
43. Abu __: DHABI - The silent "H" threw me for a while
44. Screen icons: LOGOS.
47. "Matilda" star Wilson: MARA.
48. Caesar wrap?: TOGA. 😀
49. Cassowary kin: EMUS.
50. Award for top plays?: ESPY - ESPN's yearly awards for top sports plays
52. Butterfield of "Sex Education": ASA.
54. Number worn by Oscar Robertson: ONE.
Wow! I did that so fast!
ReplyDelete(Less than 15 minutes.) And on a Saturday, no less!
FIR, so obviously I’m happy!
This makes up for a lot of the (garbage) we’ve experienced this week, IMHO!
Whoopee!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteWednesday came on Saturday this week. Most of my WAGs were golden. Most, but not rEmOvAL or EASY as pie. Both fixed EASY PEASY. Excellent debut, Mike. Enjoyed your expo, Husker.
About as EASY PEASY as it gets on a Saturday, FIR in 17:18. Filled the NW quickly and confidently which is rare for me as a starting point on a themeless. Took a WAG to get the M in the MARA/LAMONT cross, I know some state governors, Connecticut’s not being one of them. I love a GREEK SALAD, but disappointed when a restaurant uses black olives instead of Kalamata, not the same. I like the expression “WRIT LARGE” but I never use it. RAGE ROOMS are really a thing? Thank you Mike for taking it easy on us today, congrats on your LAT debut. And as always HG, enjoyed your entertaining recap!
ReplyDeleteFastest and easiest solve for a Saturday that I can remember, especially in the NW. And that section has a mini plot. Guy went to an OMELET BAR, used the old line on all the women "HAVE WE MET?" Were there ANY TAKERS? One girl said YES. He was BOLD, thinking "I HOPE she would like to STEP IN his car and GO HOME with him". She said, "buddy I have 'GNUS' for you: GO HOME. He WOOED the wrong girl and managed to STRIKE OUT.
ReplyDeleteMy paper was clean except the SE. For the Cassowary kin, I was thinking singular, not plural with either KIWI or RHEA. The rugby prop TEE solved it.
RAGE ROOM is a new term for me. If that's your thing, go work on a demolishing crew where you can use a wrecking ball. Now that would be fun.
DeleteMARA and YVES were other unknowns filled by perps.
FIR. For a Saturday I found this extremely easy. And compared to yesterday a definite walk in the park.
ReplyDeleteI loved the clue for bus trip. In fact that whole corner was the last to fall, mostly because I didn't know Ned Lamont and crossing with Mara was the only cruel spot in the entire puzzle. But a WAG did the trick.
Overall a very enjoyable puzzle.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThe SE corner gave me a bit of trouble but, overall, this was a nice Saturday treat that I think we deserved after some clunkers this week. The cluing was clever but not cutesy and the fill was fresh and lively. Normally, I prefer a more challenging offering on Saturday but I thoroughly enjoyed this reprieve from any teeth gnashing or hair pulling.
Congrats on your impressive debut, Mike, and, as always, thanks to HG for entertaining, enlightening, and educating us so skillfully and successfully. If I never heard the word “Awesome” again, I’d be very happy. And I’ll sit out the Mars trip, as well.
Have a great day.
FIR, overcoming my stall in the Carlsbad area. Took a break, returned to the puzzle, figured out DEPOSAL, then the rest fell.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the weatherman on the Today show must have branched out into cosmetics, but "Al" was too short, and I think he spells his last name with a "K" or two.
My favorite uniform trivia involves the Cincinnati Reds. Back in the Johnny Bench and Pete Rose days, they had a guy who had his first name, his last name, the birth month, and the day of the month he was born all displayed on his uniform. Lee May had his first name on the back of the uniform. His last name, May, was depicted by his number, 5. He was also born on May 5, so his number depicted those as well. (He also batted 5th in the lineup.)
Thanks to Mike for a Saturday puzzle that even my dumb mass could solve. And thanks to H.Gary for yet another fine review.