Saturday Themeless by Emily Biegas
In my last puzzle by Emily I came up a few cells short and today it was one cell with the coffee crossing modern "dish the dirt" show. I had a hard time starting this puzzle but had fun once I left the starting block and then had to finish the NW. It was populated by clues and fills that were not in my vocab, so I had to get help on two cells to unlock that corner. I'll get over it. Does the picture suggest to you that Emily and I may have different life experiences? π
1. Many a Maximum Fun collaborator: PODCASTER ¯\_(γ)_/¯
10. Signal to change a battery: CHIRP - Smoke detectors leapt to my mind. It would be a real chore to count all the batteries in this house and most just quit working when they need replacing.
15. Espresso variety: AMERICANO - I was so sure of some variation of ARABICA for too long
16. Norse pantheon: AESIR ¯\_(γ)_/¯
17. Makes: GENERATES.
18. Buttoned-up sort: PRUDE.
19. Fashion designer Saab: ELIE ¯\_(γ)_/¯ Here he is with some of his creations.
20. Noted law maker: NEWTON - I have taught NEWTON's Laws hundreds of times
22. "__ of Me": PJ Harvey album: RID ¯\_(γ)_/¯ - No idea on the artist or the song. I looked up some of her lyrics and they match the tenor of her picture.
23. Impetus: REASON.
25. Poivre partner: SEL.
27. WashU's city: STL - A 12-minute drive from The Gateway Arch
28. House Stark patriarch: NED - ¯\_(γ)_/¯ From Game Of Thrones
30. Fed action: RATE CUT.
32. Show stopper?: SERIES FINALE π The most watched TV episode of all time - 106 million viewers.
34. "Measure twice, cut once," for one: MOTTO -
37. Sentimental one: SAP.
38. Golf course halves: NINES - The first NINE holes are called the front and the second NINE holes are called the back
39. Discount emporia: THRIFT STORES.
42. Look down upon: SCOFF AT.
43. Goss: TEA - Slang double header: Goss is short for gossip and "stir the TEA" means share the goss.
44. UFC style: MMA - Mixed Martial Arts. Not a fan.
47. Feature of an ungulate: HOOF.
48. Title choice on some forms: MRS - On the old What's My Line show, John Daly's first question of a female contestant was her marital status. Uh, that would not fly today.
50. Contests: ARGUES.
52. Fender Deluxe Reverb, e.g.: AMP - Fender says guitar and Reverb says AMP.
53. "Help me out, would ya?": BE A PAL.
55. WNBA positions: Abbr.: CTRS - The best of the new NBA CTRS is 7' 4" Frenchman Victor Wembanyama .
56. Take care of: SEE TO.
58. Joint tissue: CARTILAGE.
60. Shinto shrine entrance: TORII - The TORII Gate in Omaha's Lauritsen Gardens was a gift from Omaha's sister city Shizuoka, Japan.
61. Race unit: KILOMETER - My granddaughter regularly runs 5K and 10K races
62. First name in landscape photography: ANSEL.
63. Drag event?: SNOREFEST.
Down:
1. Motorola devices: PAGERS - Many hospitals still use them. They are great for professional purposes, almost never get spam calls and can get service where cell phones can be blocked.
2. Tamagoyaki, e.g.: OMELET ¯\_(γ)_/¯
4. Grand Council of the __: political body in Canada: CREES
5. Cause of inflation: AIR π
6. Security line machine: SCANNER.
7. The Village Voice critic Greg who was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 2024: TATE ¯\_(γ)_/¯ Uber obscure to this solver
6. Security line machine: SCANNER.
7. The Village Voice critic Greg who was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 2024: TATE ¯\_(γ)_/¯ Uber obscure to this solver
8. TMZ alternative: E-NEWS.
9. Athletic position?: ROSTER SPOT - Here is a list of 87 players trying to make a ROSTER SPOT on the 2026 KC Chiefs 53-man squad.
10. Skipper, for short: CAP'N.
11. "That girl?": HER.
12. "Consider it done!": I SURE CAN - My reply when C.C. asked me if I could blog the Saturday puzzle about ten years ago.
13. Lampoon: RIDICULE.
14. Antecedes: PREDATES - Precedes was a decent first guess
21. "Frozen" character who sings "In Summer": OLAF - Naive OLAF sings this ironic song
24. Ad hoc: ONE OFF - Several TV characters were intended to be ONE-OFFs, only appear once and then leave the cast. Some made such a lasting impression they became regulars. Examples: Frasier Crane, Saul Goodman, Max Klinger, Gomer Pyle, et al. Others?
26. "Train Dreams" writer Johnson: DENIS ¯\_(γ)_/¯
29. Fighting words?: DISS TRACKS - DISS has become a familiar fill and here it serves to describe musical answers to artists who felt they were "disrespected'.
31. Lack of sensitivity: TIN EAR - Oho, that's not what you meant...
32. Shortchange: STIFF - I would never STIFF a server because of a bad meal
33. "I could __": EAT.
34. Stratovolcano in NorCal: MT SHASTA.
35. "Gimme a break": OH COME ON.
36. Highway enforcers: TROOPERS - A truly thankless job
40. Mild: TAME.
41. Many a "Selling Sunset" cast member: REALTOR. ¯\_(γ)_/¯
44. Re-strain?: MUTATE π Kind of a stretch?
45. Picks a lane?: MERGES.
46. Declare: ASSERT.
49. Valencia's country: SPAIN.
51. Sign of treble?: G CLEF - Named for the second note on the staff. The stylized "G" wraps around that second line
54. "Alligator Boy" in a 2021 Netflix animated film: ARLO. ¯\_(γ)_/¯
57. Runoff cause, perhaps: TIE - It wasn't an actual TIE but no one got more than 50% of the vote.
59. "__ Mine": George Harrison book: I ME - Song video and book cover:
I thought this puzzle
ReplyDeletewas fair, for the most part.
However, when I felt stymied in the northwest, I “accidentally” turned on the red letters, so I can’t say I finished without help, but I did finish it. See ya!
Started slow, swam around in the NW for a while at the end but FIR.
ReplyDeleteNice, tough Saturday
New here. Any idea how to turn off the automatic checking feature? When I enter a letter into the last open square, it immediately tells me I screwed up somewhere. But the teacher isn't supposed to snatch your test until you've looked it over, right? (I get that I can wait to hit the last letter, but sometimes I don't notice because I jump around.)
ReplyDeleteWhat site are you using to play the puzzle?
Deletelatimes.com
DeleteI have noticed this too, if there is a way I have not found it. So what I do is when I see it is the last letter, I change a letter somewhere else to make it wrong. No more announcements...
DeleteSorry, make a letter blank, not change....
DeleteJust noticed, on iPad there is no option to delete a comment?
Good idea!
DeleteOn LATImes crossword screen - see Gear symbol (for settings) top right? Touch. Then see “Error Check Mode”, and turn it off. Hope it works for you
DeleteAlthough I usually solve on paper, I think I've tried to fix that on the LAT site without success. But IIRC, solving on the Go Comics site and selecting "expert mode" does the trick.
DeleteThanks for your help, folks!
DeleteDNF. As in real life, I did fine in the South, filling everything correctly from SEREIES FINALE on down. But when I ventured up North I struggled, only able to answer 16 - and only 12 right.
ReplyDeleteI wanted "noted law maker" to be "Murphy."
The final episode of M*A*S*H may have been most watched, but the absolute best was the SERIES FINALE of Newhart, where Suzanne Pleshette was the surprise guest star and the whole series was revealed to have been only a Bob Hartley dream. Don't argue with me on this one - my mind is like concrete - all mixed up and set.
I didn't like "golf course halves" for NINES. Many courses have three NINES, so they can maximize the number of rounds while giving each NINE a day off every third day. And, of course, there are tons of NINE hole golf courses. Better clue would have been "dressed to the _______."
This one had way too much A&E for my tastes. But I did enjoy H.Gary's narrative.
I agree that the Newhart finale was classic.
DeleteSame. I actually laughed out loud
DeleteThank you, Emily and Husker Gary
ReplyDeleteOne wrong cell and no help needed, but it took 30:11. A number of answers took time to work out.
I originally had CAPPUCINO where AMERICANO was needed. Never had either. Coffee is fine, thank you.
When I finally broke that logjam in the NW, all of the answers there flowed. A rush of AHA moments. I simply had no logical reason to change the CINO part to CANO.
In retrospect, I know more people named TATE (about a half dozen), than I know named TITE (zero). Well that, and AMERICANO is certainly heard more often than AMERICINO in other contexts. You know, as in a Mexacali friend calling a person an Americano...
Oh well.
I never enjoy a Saturday (and there are many) when the LAT is too lazy to find a constructor talented enough to give us a witty, creative crossword puzzle and instead bludgeons us with trivia and loads up the grid with question marked clues so they can feel good about themselves because they published a “difficult” puzzle on a Saturday.
ReplyDeleteThis one was like walking around in an unfamiliar room blindfolded. No matter which way you turn you are going to bump into something painful or nonsensical like TAMAGOYAKI, UNGULATE, TORII, AESIR, et c. Oh well, enough said. You can probably tell that I didn’t like it.
The editor is responsible for this mess. Please find someone else who will actually provide enjoyable puzzles.
DeleteI’m with you 100%.
DeleteSaturday is the hardest day of the week, hence the question mark clues.
DeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteOn my first pass through, I had very few answers filled in and very little hope that I would come up with any more, let alone complete the puzzle. There were so many unknowns and so many vague clues and references that it seemed impossible to gain any footing. However, through numerous WAGs, some luck, and untold P and P, I got my well-deserved TADA,. It took a tad over 60 minutes but the satisfaction of meeting the challenge was worth the time and effort. One criticism I have of this offering and many others is that the author thinks every single clue has to be difficult, rather than giving the solver a helpful building block here and there. Difficulty balanced by fairness seems more solver friendly, IMO.
Thanks, Emily, and thanks, HG, for the entertaining and enlightening commentary and the always sparkling array of photos. Learning moment (of which there is always one or two) was that it’s Elie Saab, male, not Ellie Saab, female.
Have a great day.
Thought NED, IME, AIR, SPAIN, BEAPAL, BOIL, TAME, TIE and HER were pretty easy.
DeleteOnce again, I completely agree with I-Miss. I was staring at a blank grid and picking off little bits until something came to light. A real challenge from Emily.
ReplyDeleteFirst little bit was SEL, and that crossed nicely with ELSA from Frozen, until it turned out to be OLAF.
Another gimme was AMP. Since 1963, the Deluxe Reverb has been renowned for it's tone. I came inches from scoring a vintage one on Craigslist last year. Just missed. Grrr.
I was puzzled that Seattle was abbreviated STL for Washington University. Doh!
Thanks for filling in the gaps, HG.
I read an article a few? years ago about a noted AMP maker in England - I forget the brand, maybe Vox? - but they were still making them with tubes and ferro-resonant power supplies as they have always done. The gist was that for some musicians, solid state amps with switched mode power supplies just aren't the same and don't produce the same tones. I've also seen a bidding frenzy or two on old amps at auction sales. I guess that if you can still get the tubes...
DeleteWashington U in this case is located at 4400 Clayton Ave, St Louis, MO 63110. I love to pile on constructor errors, but time I can't. Dammit.
DeleteTube amps are still very popular and lots of companies make them, including: Fender, Marshall, Peavey and Vox. I have a Mesa-Boogie. And replacement vacuum tubes are still being made as well.
DeleteI think the article I read was about Marshall amps.
DeleteRustyBrain,
DeleteI found that article that I read. Actually not. It was a 1.5 hour BBC documentary called "Play it Loud: The Story of the Marshall Amp"
I couldn't find a streaming service that's carrying it right now. However, it is broken up into episodes and available on YouTube. Here's the URL for Episode One:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ogsh57TEJg
It's not just about their amps though, it has a lot of good scenes and commentary about the early days of rock and roll in Great Britain.
Cool. I'll check it out.
DeleteI just watched the 12 episodes. It's really good. I think Splynter would also like it
DeleteDNF. The NW did me in. I'm familiar with Motorola but pagers are so old I didn't think of them. Also Newton did not come to mind either.
ReplyDeleteThis was a typical Saturday presentation and it's difficulty matched the day.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle even so.
Peter S pretty much summed up my thoughts on this puzzle. I have nothing to add.
ReplyDelete12:48. Good overall puzzle. Nothing really wrong with it. NW was the last to fall because I convinced myself that 2 down was a NEOPET instead of an omelet.
ReplyDeleteDNF, got tired after a while. It seems I had to look up every other clue because it contained some unknown name. This CW was outside my knowledge base.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much HG. Reading your review was helpful.
I finished this unenjoyable puzzle out of sheer stubbornness. It didn’t quite reach “vanity project” status but came very close.
ReplyDeleteSo many obscurities as well as some shaky cluing (“re-strain” among others) make me a little wary about even bothering with her next puzzle.
2/10
I won’t lie - this was a challenge.
ReplyDeleteTook me over an hour, and had to “cheat”/look up omelet & reason.
Got a lot of the trivia by perps.
My fave wordplays:
denial, air, deca, & ten ahead.
Shoulda known Americano;
shoulda guessed generates.
My only quibble: “motto” is not the same as “adage”/“maxim” (just as I filled too!)
Thx, Emily & HG. & all. Have a great week!
Agreed!!
DeleteNot a chance for me to FIR. No DENIAL here; I bombed. Most of everything above MOTTO, SAP, & NINES was blank. Too many unknowns starting with 1A, PODCASTER and AMERICANO beneath it. ELIE, RID, CREES, TATE, OMELET, ENEWS, DENIS, and NED were unknowns as clued; I didn't fill. With even ___SSTRACKS filled, the DI didn't make it. Never heard of the term DISS TRACKS. ARLO, The Alligator Boy, and any character from Netflix, Apple TV, or Amazon Prime video be an unknown for me.;
ReplyDeleteMotorola makes RADIOs, but couldn't think of PAGER,
Hoping for better luck tomorrow.
For some strange reason, I'm showing up as Anonymous again. I just have to remember to type in Big Easy.
WEES ..it was just the NW left staring me in the face sneering and was ready to TITT. Only fill so far was up there was AIR, SCANNERS, and sea (wrong) then realized it wasn’t a brand of “espresso” but a drink made with espresso, Filled AMERICANO but still DNF the rest.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone heard the term “Goss”? DISSTRACKS?
Started to fill outlet STORES but wouldn’t perp. Thought the “athletic position” meant an athlete “spotting” another at the gym
DENIS Johnson? ELIE?…ARLO? (OH COME ON, there’s a standard CW clue for this!)
Inkovers: Olga/OLAF, Sea/STL
The dinosaur PREDATES humans so luckily it couldn’t PREDATE them π¦
NEWTON didn’t make the laws he discovered them. Otherwise before Sir Isaac ”made” gravity the people below the equator would fall off the earth. ππ«£
Have a great weekendπ
I always wanted one of those tee shirts that proclaim "186.000 miles per second - it's not just a good idea, it's the law"
DeleteFIR but not happy. Last to fill was that insane cross of CRExS and ELIx. Did anyone else think that was unfair?
ReplyDeleteIs that phrase really a MOTTO?
And what about that clue for EAT? How many other words fit much more APTly?
Some clever bits ruined by unfairness.
Love it! We should have a new term: FIRBNH = Finished It Right But Not Happy!
DeleteI suppose a particular person could claim it. As their personal MOTTO. But my first reaction after tried adage and maxim was, “Oh, I guess it could be.”
DeleteThe crosses gave me MOTT_ so I went with MOTTE until _NEEFF didn't make sense. :-(
DeleteEmily's puzzle was hard -- as expected on Saturday! I FIR on paper, no cheating (no Google, no asking a friend, no reference materials). What's not to love? The fact that it felt hopeless and then filled completely is something I enjoy. Many thanks, Emily, Patti, and Husker Gary!
ReplyDeleteFLN, thanks to Splynter for a fine review of Friday's puzzle. Your illustration of the grid helped me understand what I had filled.
Took 20:04 today.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the fashion designer (Elie), PJ Harvey or her album (rid), the Norse thing (Aesir), the Japanese thing (torii), the alligator boy (Arlo), or the POFOS (Patti's Obscure Food of Saturdays) (tamagoyaki/omelet).
The top-left was the last/most difficult area.
As usual, I agree with Ms. Irish Miss.
This is Jayce. Monkey at 10:18 AM already said what I was going to say.
ReplyDeleteI was looking for something like MOSES for noted lawmaker.
I really don't think "Measure twice, cut once" can be considered a MOTTO.
Some fill that I liked include PODCASTER, GENERATES, CARTILAGE, KILOMETER, SNOREFEST, RIDICULE, PREDATES, TROOPERS, and MUTATE. I guess I like real words as opposed to phrases and proper names, and more than 4 letters long.
Good reading all your comments.
Saturday stumble. Thanks for the fun, Emily and HuskerG.
ReplyDeleteSaturdays are usually above my pay grade, but I almost finished this one. But it didn’t look good on the first pass. This CW was nothing to SCOFF AT.
Eventually things started to perp or WAG, but I did have to Google “Tamagoyaki” to get OMELET and open up that NW corner. (I see that I am not alone)
This Canadian knew that Grand Councils are indigenous, but CREE was too short. I am more used to hearing CREE as both singular and plural, but CREES is also used for the plural.
Was 43A a maxim or an adage? Neither - a MOTTO. Meh! (Even AI agrees with me and Sophie.)
I agree that “re-strain=MUTATE” is a groan too far. Another m’eh!
“Goss=TEA” was spilled and I filled today. But I held my nose.
“Drag event?=SNOREFEST” took a moment to compute. Boring! That groan was a smiling one.
Of course you know that I wanted KILOMETre.
I thought WashU was in Seattle. (Hi RB). I rearranged the letters to STL. Thanks HuskerG for the map to set me straight.
Wishing you all a great day.
WAGS and red letters accompanied my Saturday brunch.
ReplyDeleteI believe “Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico” is ANSEL Adam’s most magnificent photograph.
ReplyDeleteAnd, finally, Happy August Oneth, everyone!
ReplyDeleteA nice challenge but ultimately doable like a good Saturday
ReplyDeleteA few gimmes- I went to WUMS at WASH U in STL. I also lived in Madison, WI home of the flagship UW campus and my daughter lives in the Seattle area and got her grad degree at UW
Some of best current centers in the WNBA are A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces - last year's MVP and Jonquel Jones of the New York Liberty - the MVP of this years All Star game
My go-to order at my Friday meet up with friends at my local coffee shop is a 1/2 caf AMERICANO- with a generous top off of milk.
Thanks for the fun blog Gary, and the puzzle Emily!