Saturday Themeless by Geoffrey Schorkopf & Rafael Musa
 |
| Rafael |
 |
| Geoffrey |
This is my 3rd collaborative puzzle I have had with these transcontinental constructors. I was very pleased to earn a "got 'er done" and really enjoyed some of the cluing and fill.
Birds of a feather: Rafael is a software engineer for Airbnb in S.F. and Geoffrey is a software engineer at Fastly in Atlanta.
Across:
1. Chance to refuel after a run: APRES SKI - Oh, APRES (after) a SKI run!
9. Cruelty-free target of poaching: PEAR. 😀
13. Contributes to: GOES IN ON.
14. Ncuti who plays the Fifteenth Doctor: GATWA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
15. Mobile vendor?: APP STORE. 😀 The vendor is not mobile, the device for which it is intended is mobile
16. Extravagant: WANTON.
17. Chiang Mai residents: THAIS - Chiang Mai is the name a city in NW Thailand that is also the capital of the Chiang Mai province.
18. Bath bomb component: EPSOM SALT.
20. Place that's all abuzz: HIVE.
21. The Refined Feline purchase, perhaps: CAT TREE.
22. Did brunch, say: ATE.
23. Like crosswords, hopefully: FUN.
24. Vicuòa kin: ALPACAS.
28. Folks who are so last yr.: SRS 😀
29. Spanish for "the gilded one": EL DORADO - A legend of South America
29. Spanish for "the gilded one": EL DORADO - A legend of South America
30. Pilots on the air: SERIES PREMIERES - Can you name these pilots that became regular SERIES after this PREMIERE. * Answer at bottom
34. Conflict involving customs: TRADE WAR.
35. Y as in Yucatan?: AND - One of my all time favorite clues! The letter Y is Spanish serves as the conjunction AND and Spanish is certainly spoken in Yucatan.
C.C. Y yo somos amigos desde hace años. (C.C. and I have been friends for years). Even after I had AND filled in, it took a small bolt of lightning for me to get it! DOH!
36. Japanese leader: EMPEROR.
36. Japanese leader: EMPEROR.
37. On point: APT.
38. Deg. from Goizueta: MBA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
41. Causes a scene?: DIRECTS - He directed many a memorable scene.
43. Snippy: CURT.
44. Physical procedure?: BLOOD DRAW 😀
47. Husk-steamed fare: TAMAL - Tamale is an anglicized version of the Spanish word tamal (plural: tamales ). The English "tamale" is a back-formation from tamales. You're welcome.
 |
| Here is a TAML on a plate with some tamales in the background |
48. Freshens, in a way: REDOES.
49. New York university: COLUMBIA - COLUMBIA is about 4 miles north of Ground Zero
51. Swears: AVERS.
52. Cutesy name for the squishy parts of a paw: TOE BEANS.
53. Trash: DISS.
54. High-minded one: IDEALIST.
Down:
1. Name on a literary award: AGATHA - The Agatha Awards are annual literary prizes named after AGATHA Christie and present by Malic Domestic Ltd to honor traditioanal "cozy" mystery and crime fiction. These are books featuring no explicit sex, excessive gore, or gratuitous violence.
2. Chart-topper: POP HIT.
3. Fix a lot, say: REPAVE - Uh, perhaps a parking lot
4. Polish brand: ESSIE.
5. Takes a load off: SITS.
6. __-Cat: SNO.
7. Like gochujang and jjimjilbang: KOREAN - The former is a culinary item and second is a bathhouse.
9. With a crispy crust, say: PAN-SEARED.
10. Piedmont blues guitarist Baker: ETTA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
11. Unaccounted for, for short: AWOL.
12. Tirade: RANT.
14. Important part of a set: GAME POINT - Unusual tennis scoring for a game is 15, 30, 40, GAME POINT. You win the set if you win 6 games (7 games if there is OT). Tennis peeps will understand this scoreboard:
16. Country homes?: WORLD MAPS 😀
19. Played out: STALE - Same old, same old
21. Swears: CUSS WORDS - Producer David O. Selznick fought the censors hard in 1939 to get this word into one of the most famous lines in film history.
23. Full scholarships, informally: FREE RIDES.
25. Mercury or Saturn: CAR.
26. Gator tail?: ADE.
27. Short cry for help: SOS.
29. Stray: ERR.
30. Femme canonisée: Abbr.: STE - The abbr. for a French female saint (Femme canonisée) is STE
31. Hesitant sound: ERM.
32. Art form that originated in the Bronx: RAP.
33. Knife block insert: PARER.
37. "Oryx and Crake" novelist: ATWOOD.
37. "Oryx and Crake" novelist: ATWOOD.
39. Processing centers?: BRAINS - Some process better than others.
40. "About dang time!": AT LAST - Nobody does it better than our cwd friend Etta James.
43. __ Up: board game with a desert motif: CAMEL. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
44. Slender fastener: BRAD.
45. Stubbs of the Four Tops: LEVI - Of all their great tunes, this is my fav.
 |
| LEVI |
46. Some Olds works: ODES - Sharon's ODE to Dirt
47. Polka horn: TUBA.
50. Suni honored with the Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award in 2025: LEE.
*Friends Big Bang Theory Golden Girls Seinfeld
I got it!
ReplyDeleteBut it certainly wasn’t easy. I took it little by little, a few letters here, a few letters there, until it gradually “gelled.”
I still don’t think “erm” is a word, though.
FIR, so I’m happy.
If "erm" isn't a word, then neither is "welp". Or a whole bunch of other non-words that keep happening.
DeleteErm is always used in British literature the way we Americans use um 😶🤷🏻♀️
DeleteAnd in Closed Captioning on British series on PBS
Delete.Prof M here. Woke up from a bad dream at 2:05 AM Arizona time and decided to start the Saturday puzzle. Shortly decided to go back to my bad dream. Nite
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteGuess who got lost in the weeds? Again. Actually, it all came down to two letters: P_AR, GA_WA, __TA. PEAR and ETTA never occurred to me. GATWA never would've occurred to me. Bzzzzzt. Enjoy your ceramic Dalmatian. Thanx, Geoffrey, Rafael, and Husker.
DNF. Filled 52 entries, 42 correctly. Notably: GetS IN ON, senor oro (instead of EL DORADO), and god (instead of CAR).
ReplyDeleteThe Cadillac EL DORADO was a pioneer in front-wheel drive cars. Very nice cars, but front-wheel drive cars are terrible for retrieving a boat from a ramp. You must have driven real wheels for that. I saw that demonstrated at the (crossword favorite) Marina del Rey small boat ramp. Nearly new EL DORADO, nearly new largish boat. Took four guys pushing and two sitting on the front fenders to get that boat out.
Spot me KO and I can fill KOREAN, even when the clue looks like a cat walked across the keyboard.
Thanks to H.Gary for the explanation. On to Sunday!
Google/Blogger has PMS again, but I'm not blue. As Boy George sang in Karma Chameleon, you come and go, you come and go. As Taylor Swift sang, I shake it off.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteOverall, Infound this on the easy side for a Saturday but it took a WAG at Etta/Gatwa to get the TADA. Never heard of either person. The fill was fresh and lively and the cluing, for the most part, was clever and thought provoking. It was an enjoyable solve but could have used a bit more challenge, IMO.
Thanks, Geoffrey and Rafael, and HG, for another Saturday synopsis. Loved all of the photos, especially the toe beans and the cat “doorman.”
Have a great day.
Ooh! Enough challenge for me, thank you. 🤣🤣
DeleteDitto!
DeleteEven though I persisted it was — ugh!
DeleteFIR. For a Saturday puzzle I didn't find this as hard as some in the past. There were several proper names I couldn't have possibly known, but the perps really helped.
ReplyDeleteIt took a WAG at the novelist Atwood to open up the SE for me. But once I stared at the letters in Atwood's name it all fell into place.
Overall an enjoyable puzzle.
(Have not done the puzzle yet, but...)
ReplyDeleteFYI Jinx!
I think A.I. was listening yesterday when I googled Amazon RCA cable adapters, because
this came up in my YouTube recommendations this morning.... Coincidence?
Bluetooth to rca? Who knew?
Who gnu? Certainly not me! Had i known that I would have packed a couple of my old-school speakers and my JVC into my Penske van when I moved the bulk of my stuff to Florida. Too late now, unfortunately.
DeleteAnd I'm blue again, but I'll be damned if I can figure out why.
DeleteTook 13:50 to, somehow, finish this one. Five minutes in, I didn't think it was possible.
ReplyDeleteSo many unknowns, which include: Gatwa, this definition of wanton, jjimjilbang, Goizueta, Etta, Levi, this Olds, and the Saturday obscure foods (tamal and gochujang).
Worst clue of the month candidate: Femme canonisée: Abbr.
Regrettably, that was abutting the always dreadful "erm."
Thank you, HG for a solid review.
After my first pass I thought there was no way. But then, slowly, clues began getting filled and I FIR.
ReplyDeleteI had the same experience as Sub-genius, little at a time, a letter here and there, and done. I encountered lots of unknowns, but perps were kind. And lately if I see a strange looking word, I figure it’s Korean.
ReplyDeleteThe OLDS clue was really devious. So, there’s an ETTA Baker and an Etta James. The old conundrum, avows or AVERS. And then these pesky hesitant sounds. It’s a crap shoot, or perps, which one of the several choices it’ll be.
Thank you HG. You always come through with a great review of the most difficult CW of the week.
I read the clues, filled in Tuba, and typical Saturday puzzle for me, stopped and moved on.
ReplyDeleteAt first the top 1/3 was a sea of white, but then the middle filled pretty quickly for a Saturday before slowing back down at the bottom. A few toeholds and the longer unknowns started to fill. AHA moments when the 1A clue was not about running and the 9A clue was not about hunting!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in India in the early 80's it was still Bombay and Madras - I'm glad they got back to the original names / languages with MUMBAI and Chennai.
Thanks HG for the fun blog and Geoffrey & Rafael for the puzzle
I saw Rafael Musa's byline and decided I had better things to do on a Saturday morning.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend, everyone!
Gotta love a puzzle that seems unsolvable at first and ends with a FIR. I had to make a WAG at E_TA/GA_WA, not knowing either one, but ETTA seemed likely, and GATWA didn't look bad. Other unknowns were Goizueta, Oryx and Crake, Camel Up, Levi Stubbs, and the poet OLDS, but clearly the perps were fair to get me there. And it didn't take long, either. Many thanks to Geoffrey and Rafael for figuring out how to make this work! Good stuff!
ReplyDeleteHusker Gary, I never encountered an explanation of tamal vs tamale before. Thanks for that! Here in Los Angeles, one sometimes hears people talking about making tamales, and perhaps offering a few to take home. How silly English speakers must sound when we approach the booth at the farmers market marked "TAMALES" and ask for a "tamale." I am able to converse a little in Spanish, but was ignorant of this matter. ¡Muchas gracias por la aclaración!
¡De nada!
DeleteI don't think I've ever seen the e-less TAMAL. Of course, my knowledge of Spanish is limited to "una cerveza mas, por favor." That's probably incorrect, but I usually get my beer.
DeleteI never say "uno" cervesa mas... I say Mas Cervesas! por favor!
DeleteCE:D
12:36. Overall good puzzle. Like others, started VERY slow. Then, it just seemed to really open up without much difficulty.
ReplyDeleteAnother DNF for a Saturday puzzle today. The NE tripped me up. Even with AWOL, RANT, and WORLD MAP completed, I couldn't finish. Poached PEARs, GATWA, Bath bomb- never heard of them. The V8 moment never came for TREE after writing CAT. My cat's trees were in the back yard. EPSOM SALT had no chance.
ReplyDeleteSet Point, match point, Ad in, ad out- yes, but I've haven't heard anybody I played with or against call it GAME point. Maybe the term is used in no-ad scoring. The LAST point is the hardest to win. Everybody chokes.
WANTON for 'Extravagant'? Maybe for somebody with unlimited cash.
ETTA, KOREAN, ATWOOD, CAMEL, LEVI- unknowns completed by perps and guesses.
CAMELS and ALPACAS are from the closely related camelids.
Time for a 'MUMBAI gin & tonic'
So, my first time thru yielded: Thai, and, sno?, odes, tuba. I almost quit! Y entonces … I just began again … and slowly it turned, step by step, initial by initial … and suddenly all I had left was e_ta x ga_wa …. It just had to be a “t”! Right?! Thanks to all for the challenge, and the pleasure of “jobs” well done! I could almost use this puzzle as prompts for a cheesy (oh, I mean “juicy”?) memoir - stories to tell about: Chaing Mai, blood draw, idealist, inept, world maps, cuss words, free rides, side doors ….
ReplyDeleteThe western half filled fairly quickly, the east not so much. As with most Saturdays I felt like I was headed for a FIW or the dreaded DNF, took a couple breaks which invariably helps, and I managed a FIR w/out help (except for the friendly perps) in the unenviable time of 43:10. Saturday clueing for the CW standards ETTE and LEVI among others. Several other unknowns also filled via perps. Swears was a noun and not a verb. Accordion wouldn’t fit where TUBA went. TRADE WAR was apt fill for the present political climate. Thank you Rafael and Geoffrey for the very challenging puzzle, and to HG for the informative and entertaining review.
ReplyDeleteHola! Finishing a Saturday puzzle is not always possible, but I persevered with this one and did it! Of course, I had some help from ALEXA as I did not know GATWA and nothing about KOREAN. EL DORADO was my first fill and then it fanned out from there. I was pleased to see TAMAL because as Gary aptly explained, it so often is misspoken.
ReplyDeleteI keep a jar of EPSOM SALT for my granddaughter who is on her feet all day and often needed a good soak.
I did not realize ETTA was such a widespread name as I had only seen ETTA James.
Not being a CAT person, I never had heard of The Refined Feline and was glad when CAT TREE perped.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
On 10 down and 43 down (and a few others) the reviewer posted some symbols that look like a forward Z and a backward Z with parentheses between them with what looks like a smiley face. What does that mean?
ReplyDeleteIt’s a shrugging emoji
DeleteThis is Jayce. I liked this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised by the number of posters unfamiliar with Ncuti Gatwa given he's appeared in 32 episodes of Sex Education, 19 episodes of Dr Who (playing the doctor) and the Barbie movie (playing a Ken).
ReplyDeleteBut then again, I'm also frequently surprised by the things everyone else seems to know that I don't.
I really wanted to finish this puzzle, and did with some help. Looked up “gochujang”, “Ncuti and “The Refined Feline”. Favorite clues were Y as in Yucatán and cruelty-free target of poaching. I still needed that bolt of lightning to finish. Thanks Geoffrey, Rafael and HG for ‘splaining it all!
ReplyDelete