Saturday, October, 30, 2021, Adrian Johnson

 Themeless Saturday by Adrain Johnson

CARINA!

After only a month's absence, our friend Adrian Johnson has another Saturday puzzle for us. To refresh your memory, Adrian is from Laramie Wyoming and has graduated with a degree in  International Studies from Macalaster College in Saint Paul, MN. I had a delightful struggle with the puzzle and had one bad cell at LE_A/CARI_A. Not knowing anything about Game Of Thrones is one thing but for this amateur astronomer to miss CARINA was a real disappointment.  It seemed that a lot of consonants could have filled that cell. Sigh...Particularly impressive to me was Adrian's double stack of grid spanners with a central grid spanner thrown in for good measure. Wow! Adrian's notes:Hi Gary

Thrilled to be back with my third LA Times themeless, just 5 weeks after my sophomore effort at the end of last month. I'm back to my old ways with a grid heavy on 15-letter entries, yet somehow this puzzle has one less grid spanner than my February LAT debut. As for the fill... I haven't seen 54A, but I made a deal with my partner that if she finishes my crossword I'll watch it with her. 

Personally, I'm not a big fan of superhero/fantasy movies as a whole, but Endgame was more than a movie. Endgame was the culmination and turning point of the Marvel Cinematic Universe– a saga of 25 (26 on 11/5) films that's become a cultural phenomenon and touchstone for millions around the world. 

My other seed, 15A, reminds me of how much of a pushover I'd be as a father... allowing my kid to act up and then telling them "okay THIS time I mean it..." but then not being serious, thereby provoking a never-ending cycle of mayhem and empty promises in our house. I didn't find it in any database or wordlist I use as a constructor, so I thought It'd make for an engaging and original start to the puzzle. 

Crosswords are my favorite OUTSIDE INTEREST in life right now, and I can't wait to share more of my work with you in the months and years ahead!

-AJ

Across:

1. Make bold, maybe: STRESS - When you really want to stress a point

7. Advanced degree candidate's no.: GRE SCORE - I took mine and got my score (no.) in 1968

15. "No more kidding around!": THIS TIME I MEAN IT - A seed entry for Adrian

17. Hobby: OUTSIDE INTEREST - Here is my hobby where I am celebrating my first hole-in-one

18. Peck in the park, informally: PDA - "Get a room!"

19. Controversial oil well verb: FRACK.

20. "Whose __ was that?": IDEA 

21. Philosophy 101 subject: PLATO.

22. Headey of "Game of Thrones": LENA - LENA Horne didn't work for a Saturday puzzle

24. "Turning Tables" singer: ADELE - She and her lovely vowels are on stage here quite often.

27. Main ingredients in the Thai dish tam som: PAPAYAS.

30. Shuffle alternative: NANO.

iPod NANO           iPod Shuffle

31. Speak from memory: RECITE - Did you have to memorize and RECITE the Gettysburg Address too?

34. One-named "Chandelier" singer: SIA - Her IMDB

35. Start thinking about old unpleasantness: DREDGE UP THE PAST - A Thanksgiving tradition that should be abandoned. Get over it!!

38. Stately tree: ELM.

39. Gas up?: AERATE - Inside this dispenser are tanks of syrup for flavor and CO2 tanks for AERATING "gassing up" water, This combination produces a soft drink

40. World's largest fashion magazine: ELLE.

41. Responds to a minister, in a way: SAYS I DO.

43. Coarse cloth: TWEED - Professor Indiana Jones in a TWEED suit

44. Join (with): ALLY.

45. Sources of suffering: BANES.

48. Ginormous: MEGA - _ _ G _  turns out to NOT (see 1 across) be HUGE

50. Completely surround: BOX IN - This guy in D.C. got BOXED IN but refused to sell his small building for years even though he was offered $3M.

51. Food is tossed in it: WOK.

54. 2019 culmination of a 22-film story: AVENGERS ENDGAME - One of AJ's seed entries. I hope he and his partner watch it soon!

58. Thrift store merchandise: VINTAGE CLOTHING - A store in NYC's West Village

59. Free throws, usually: SET SHOTS - Wilt Chamberlain didn't in his early years but changed to overhead SET SHOTS later in his career because he didn't like how the underhand style looked. He missed a lot  either way.

 

60. "You're absolutely right": SO IT IS - What I say when my lovely bride is right. When I'm right, silence...

Down:

1. "That's enough!": STOP.

2. Sound of a flop: THUD - In sports an athlete who falls down dramatically feigning being fouled despite being untouched is said to have "flopped". The THUD is manufactured

3. Romance writers' award until 2019: RITA - Accusations of racism

4. Assassin standout?: ESS - Yup, there's a lot of 'em.

5. Smother: STIFLE.

6. Libya's Gulf of __: SIDRA 

7. Company with woodchuck ads: GEICO - GEICO also used pigs, squirrels, et al

8. Stars' play area: RINK - Their rink is in Dallas. 

9. Lifesaver, briefly: EMT - Can't say enough good things about First Responders 

10. "Catch my drift?": SEE.

11. Canopus' constellation: CARINA - Canopus is the brightest star in CARINA that is the "Keel Of The Argo"

12. Short promotion: ONE DAY SALE.

13. Hilltop: RISE - "They'll be coming over the RISE any minute now"

14. Place Sundance liked to see: ETTA - Ah yes, The Sundance Kid's girlfriend ETTA Place always has a, uh, place in crosswords 

16. Substance: MEAT - Some college football teams don't get into the MEAT of their schedule until this time of year

21. Drudge or trudge: PLOD - I'm more used to the former word being a noun

22. Woodshop tool: LATHE.

23. Heaviest of the three modern fencing swords: EPEE.

24. Quito's range: ANDES.

25. Alfalfa's love interest: DARLA.

26. Suspicious plant: ENEMY AGENT - This scene from Stalag 17 had William Holden outing Peter Graves as the ENEMY AGENT who was actually a Nazi plant in their prisoner barracks.

27. The Panthers of the ACC: PITT.

28. Symbolic compromise crossing: AISLE - Not much of that being done in today's very contentious Congress

29. Having no more room, perhaps: SATED - If relatives are SATED they won't DREDGE UP THE PAST at Thanksgiving.

31. Thin in tone: REEDY - Anyone else think of Barney Fife?

32. Latvian capital: EURO - A KFC in Riga. Instead of a decimal point, the EURO uses a comma.

33. Pro concerned with returns: CPA.

36. Olympic sprinter Devers: GAIL.

37. Prayer supports?: PEWS - It amazed me that St. Mark's Basilica in Venice (and many other great churches) had no PEWS, just chairs. 

42. Op-ed features: SLANTS - One piece may "point with pride" and the next one will "view with alarm"

43. Care for: TEND TO.

45. Bartlett relatives: BOSCS - I posted pear types last Saturday     

46. Double or triple skating move: AXEL - Count the revolutions

47. Boys of Sevilla: NINOS - The Boy Who Touched The Stars

48. Cuban team, for short: MAVS - HUGE made me think HAVS (sic) would work before I realized Adrian was talking about the Dallas Mavericks, the NBA team Mark Cuban owns

49. Name that sounds like its first two letters: EVIE 

50. Poison lead singer Michaels: BRET.

51. Stand by: WAIT.

52. Start to science?: OMNI - OMNI and SCIENCE both sound very different in this word below

53. Bar supply: KEGS.

55. Cry of exasperation: GAH - Not UGH or BAH

56. Word with surf or trip: EGO - I knew EGO trip but not

57. Letters next to a 4: GHI - Even on my iPhone 11

Saturday, September 25, 2021, Adrian Johnson

 Saturday Themeless by Adrian Johnson 

I first encountered Adrian on Feb. 13 of this year when he co-authored a Saturday themeless with Jeff Chen. Today we have a solo puzzle by Adrian with a very striking grid design. Adrian's comments:

Hi all,

It’s great to be back in the LA Times, and I’m excited to share my take on one of the most iconic themeless patterns of recent memory with you this weekend. 

 

I started with a NE crossing of PR BLITZ & ZEDONKS (A ZEDONK with mom and dad - hg), which I thought was a fun, lively and scrabbly launching point for my creative thinking (though it didn’t survive my final edits). When I moved south and got JALISCO/JUKEBOX/XY PLANE to work in the SE, I knew I was onto something. My favorite clues that survived edits are 18A (which I owe to Brad Wilber), 41A and 41D, while my favorite entries are 15A, 1D and 8D.

 

Ultimately, I’m delighted by the end product, a feeling not based on how I might judge a “fun” or “lively” crossword, but instead rooted in the variety of words and phrases I was able to fit into the puzzle. The grid’s 36 7-letter entries give ample opportunity for a constructor to push themselves to develop an engaging picture of our world using many parts of life and culture, forcing solvers to stretch their brain and use all their knowledge to get to a victorious finish. In just one corner of this grid you get Mexican geography, French language, English playwriting, two musical entries that couldn’t be more different, some math, a cleaning agent and a tedious synonym. That kind of diversity is what makes me the happiest when reminiscing on this year-old crossword.

Thank you for taking a crossword journey with me on this fine Saturday, and I hope you enjoyed the puzzle! 

Adrian said to feel free to contact him: Adrian johnson435 at gmail

-AJ

Across

1. P.D.Q. Bach's "Iphigenia in Brooklyn," e.g.: CANTATA - (CANTATA - hg) Peter Schickele's group performs many fun pieces mocking classical music and this is one of them. Here is some of this silliness

8. Dumpling cooker, perhaps: STEAMER - I wrote to C.C. and told her I'd bet a lot of money that she has a bamboo STEAMER. Her reply: "You lose! We have a small kitchen. These steamers are so bulky. In China, all families have steamers. Chinese don't bake bread. We steam mantou (Chinese bread)."

15. So cool it hurts: UBER HIP - The hippest of the hip

16. Cost of winging it?: AIRFARE - One of  Adrian's favorite clues. 

17. Court figures: LAWYERS - William Jennings Bryan v. Clarence Darrow is a very famous pairing

18. Bistro cheese?: MAITRED - A MAÎTRE D is a "big cheese" in a restaurant. I struggled for the name of a cheese and then for recognizing the French word I had generated but got 'er done. As  you read, Adrian credits Brad Wilber with this cluing 

19. "90 Day Fiancé" airer: TLC - Google if you must

20. Fireballs, e.g.: METEORS - Pieces of space rock that usually just burn up in the Earth's atmosphere can be streaking across the sky in this long exposure picture 

22. Kings, on NBA scoreboards: SAC - Even Omaha was a part of  this family tree from 1973 - 1975

23. Ungulate feature: HOOF - Good advice I seldom heed

25. Music with conga drums: SALSA - Desi Arnaz's/Ricky Ricardo's instrument of choice

26. Nigerian pop star: SADE - Let's take a nice, smooth jazz break

27. Get a tat: INK UP.

29. Connection: TIE.

30. ESPN analyst Rose: JALEN and 47. Net support: RIM - Those RIMS are now spring loaded so they don't break off when guys like JALEN Rose  dunk on them

31. Adolescents: TEENERS - Okay, if Merriman Webster says so...

33. Samovar transport: TEA CART - Samovar

35. Bit of hope: RAY.

36. German gripe: ACH - ACH du Lieber! 

37. Offered as proof: ADDUCED.

41. Pay-to-play system: JUKEBOX - This scene would not pass the woke test today

45. Director Sergio: LEONE - He  and Clint made several "spaghetti westerns" and I'll bet you can translate the title below (hint: puñado means fistful - hg)

46. Sr. income source: IRA.

48. Emotionless: STONY.

49. Streaming concerns: LAGS - A new ISP is coming to our town and promises much faster downloads

50. Skate park features: RAILS - What could possibly go wrong?

52. Leader of a popular breakfast trio: SNAP, Crackle and Pop. A great item in your Keto diet.

53. ER personnel: MDS.

54. "Heather Has Two __": 1989 children's book: MOMMIES - My neighbor's grandson has two MOMMIES and they are both lovely people.

56. Buck Henry was the first to host it five times, briefly: SNL - Who knew it would be a big hit in TV and crosswords?

57. "Do we have the ok?": IS IT A GO - Our constructors' request to Rich. Rich's reply, "Yeah, were' going to give it a 4. Shot: TRY."

59. Common cleanser: SAL SODA - It's been around for decades 

61. Habitual surfer: NETIZEN.

62. Medieval trumpet: CLARION.

63. London area: EASTEND.

64. "The Entertainer" playwright: OSBORNE.

Down:

1. "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," e.g.: CULT HIT - Ya think?

2. Awabi sushi mollusk: ABALONE.

3. Unsuccessful rollout that tried to imitate Pepsi: NEW COKE - The Edsel of soft drinks

5. "I'm talking now": AHEM - "I didn't mean to talk while you're interrupting" 

6. Rotation targets: TIRES - Most say you should rotate your tires every 7,500 miles

7. High-level H.S. math course: AP STATS.

8. Abenaki leader who first contacted Plymouth settlers: SAMOSET - He is said to have wandered into the Plymouth camp and asked for some beer in English which he learned from British sailors with whom he had had contact on the coast

9. Crown: TIARA.

10. Goddess of discord: ERIS - Here ya go

11. Sailor's direction: AFT.

12. Wine used to flavor zabaglione: MARSALA.

13. Modern book case?: E-READER.

14. Trifling sum: RED CENT - Derivation

21. Certain Ivy Leaguer: ELI.

24. Community-building races: FUN RUNS - FUN and RUN in the same sentence?

26. Potpourri packets: SACHETS.

28. Parting word: PEACE - The one-word sign off word for the host of the original Today Show, Dave Garroway

30. Pickup game: JACKS - The set I had

32. Manhattan liquor: RYE -  2 oz RYE or Canadian whisky, 3/4 oz Sweet red vermouth, Dash Angostura bitters, Maraschino cherry (Garnish)

34. Café freebie: EAU

37. Hardly sharing words: ALL MINE.

38. Jordan River outlet: DEAD SEA.

39. Monitors a Lab, say: DOG SITS - Uh, that lab is a canine, not a scientific area

40. Place to play ball: DIAMOND.

41. State known for its tequila: JALISCO - Blue Agave plants used to make tequila in a field near Tequila, Mexico in the state of Jalisco 

42. Lyon greeting: BON SOIR - Good Evening in Lyon and the rest of France

43. Without respite: ON AND ON.

44. Where many plots are made: XY PLANE - Plot these points in an XY PLANE (Cartesian Plane), join the points and you got yourself a triangle 

50. Seth who played Wozniak in "Steve Jobs": ROGEN - ROGEN and Woz below

51. Makes watertight: SEALS.

54. Place to use an exit strategy: MAZE.

55. Rock quarry unit: SLAB - This quarry in Carrara, Italy produced the SLAB that Michelangelo used for the David

58. Start of a fair exchange: TIT - TIT for tat

60. Sign of success: SRO - Husker VB has a streak of 270 consecutive sellouts and so Standing Room Only tickets are all that are available for games