Saturday, May 14, 2022, Beth Rubin

 Saturday Themeless by Beth Rubin 

Last December I blogged a Saturday themeless that Beth constructed with Brad Wilber. Today our librarian from Los Angeles has her first solo entry. Here are her comments on this puzzle: 

 

Hi Gary, 

Of course I remember you! So glad to hear that you liked the puzzle. I rewrote/updated what I had written last time with additional comments about the puzzle. See below: 

 

Thanks for inviting me back to the L.A. Times Crossword Corner! Originally from New York, I am a librarian, crossword constructor, writer, and artist living in Los Angeles. My puzzles have been published by the New York Times, L.A. Times, Universal, Crosswords Club, Spyscape, and Daily POP Crosswords. 

 

I was fortunate to connect to Erik Agard and the Crossword Puzzle Collaboration Directory just a few weeks into learning how to construct a puzzle. The guidance and mentorship have been stellar. The crossword community’s generosity, humor, and creativity continue to inspire me. 

 

I’m a big fan of V Spehar’s TikTok UNDER THE DESK NEWS segment and built a 16x15 themeless puzzle around this seed entry. During their Thursday Night Good News Only Update, V wears a banana-printed shirt. I was happy to include the entry BANANA SEAT as a nod to good news. This puzzle also has a nod to my dad, who taught me my first CHESS OPENING moves, and my wife, who thank goodness, did not find me UNDATEABLE! 

 

A special thanks to Patti Varol for her superb editing, encouragement and support. 

 

Hope that you enjoy the puzzle! 

Beth

Across:

1. Improve one's class?: SKIP A GRADE - Funny start!

11. Quick: RAPID.

16. Alcopop kin: WINE COOLER.

17. Bring out: EDUCE - The clue did bring out EVOKE first

18. Single, but way too flawed: UNDATEABLE - Also a TV series it seems

19. Giant: TITAN.

20. Polish site: NAIL - PAW lish not POH lish

21. "Git!": SCAT.

22. Nucleotide triplet: CODON - All you'd like to know

23. Test for some srs.: GRE 56. "Can I have a bit more time?": TEN MINUTES? - I doubt the proctor would allow it.

24. Cena of "Peacemaker": JOHN.

25. Mariah Carey holiday hit: OH SANTA - Listen if you like

27. Resort town named for a native tree: ASPEN.

29. Mixed __: BLESSING - Living to a ripe old age can be a mixed BLESSING

30. Full of nervous energy: RESTLESS.

33. "The Rotters' Club" novelist Jonathan: COE - "Three teenage friends grow up in 1970s Britain watching their lives change as their world gets involved with IRA bombs, progressive and punk rock, girls and political strikes."

34. Current events TikTok segment that V Spehar broadcasts from their office floor: UNDER THE DESK NEWS.

39. Milne hopper: ROO - A cwd visitor from the 100-Acre-Wood

40. Famished: RAVENOUS - Check out 44 Across below!

41. Holiness: SANCTITY.

44. Étouffée option: PRAWN.

47. Arctic wear: ANORAKS.

48. 1856 Stowe novel: DRED - This was her second anti-slavery book whose title by coincidence presaged the DRED Scott decision of the next year.

50. Umbrella spoke: RIB.

52. Word in British placenames: SHIRE - Yes, John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins created what became known as WorcesterSHIRE (WUUS-tər-shər) sauce in WorcesteSHIRE, England in the early 18th century. It's said to be a good example of umami flavor.

53. Natural satellite: MOON.

54. "Have it your way": FINE.

55. Dong-hyuk who created "Squid Game": HWANG 

58. Make one: MERGE - Make one lane

59. Wheelie bike feature: BANANA SEAT.

60. Mascot whose weight is listed as "Top Heavy": MR. MET 

61. Challenges for a translator, perhaps: SLANG TERMS - 24 more

Down:

1. Chased a pitch: SWUNG - Baseball people know why hie did this 

2. Kwanzaa candelabra: KINARA.

3. West __: INDIES.

4. Toll: PEAL - After his historic ride, Paul Revere made many bells that tolled/PEALED throughout New England

5. Do one's part?: ACT - Nice cluing for either meaning

6. Walks out, say: GOES ON STRIKE 

7. Laurel and Hardy producer: ROACH - Hal made big money on this fabulous team but paid them very little

8. First British martyr: ALBAN - When Rome ruled Britain

9. Scapula neighbor, for short: DELT - Ella Dershowitz had DELTS and 22. Queen's gambit, for one: CHESS OPENING in last Saturday's puzzle

10. Long start, once: ERE - A famous George M. Cohan lyric, "Give my regards to Old Broadway
And say that I'll be there, 'ERE long!" and 28. Tense beginning?: PRE - PRETENSE

11. Throw again: RETOSS - There should have been one here

12. Brand whose website has a "3 Stripe Life" section: ADIDAS - Yup!

13. Table: PUT ON ICE.

14. "Maybe later": I CAN'T NOW.

15. Cozy spot: DEN.

24. Raspberry: JEER.

25. Elizabeth who plays Scarlet Witch in the MCU: OLSEN - No chance for me to get this Marvel Comic Universe character

26. Improves, maybe: AGES - I seem to be doing a lot more AGING than improving

29. Eliot title hero: BEDE - The four English teachers I asked about this clue  in lunch gave me a collective shrug about this Mary Ann Evans novel written under her pseudonym.

31. "__ how I roll": THAT'S - Blog Saturday puzzles? THAT'S how I roll!

32. Tax: LEVY.

34. Bear up?: URSA.

35. "It went straight to voice mail": NO ANSWER.

36. 2014 memoir subtitled "Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery": DO NO HARM - Another interesting book our librarian/constructor has for us today

37. Western Asia native: KURD -  My first west Asian native for _ U R _ was a TURK not a KURD

38. Govt. cybersecurity monitor: NSA.

42. [I'm so uncomfortable right now]: CRINGE.

43. Retailer with a RedCard credit card: TARGET - Headquartered in C.C.'s Minneapolis

45. Bell hooks, for one: WRITER - Why Gloria Jean Watkins changed her name to uncapitalized bell hooks

46. Time slot with talk shows: NINE A.M.

48. Part of DKNY: DONNA - DONNA Karan of New York

49. "Succession" sibling: ROMAN - A character in this series

51. Tops: BESTS - These two girls from the small school where I sub hope to TOP/BEST much bigger schools to win a state track championship next week.

53. Happy __: MEAL.

54. Make one: FUSE - This shows glass FUSE art before and after being put in a kiln

55. "Let me think ... ": HMM.

56. "Full Frontal" network: TBS - Political satire.

57. D.C. player: NAT - The Washington NATionalS were 2019 World Series Championships 

Saturday, December 11, 2021, Beth Rubin and Brad Wilber

 Saturday Themeless by Beth Rubin and Brad Wilber

Hi Gary, 

BETH: Thank you for inviting us to the L.A. Times Crossword Corner! Originally from New York (where Brad now lives - hg), I am a librarian, crossword constructor, writer, and artist living in Los Angeles. My puzzles have been published by Universal, Crosswords Club, and Spyscape. This is my Los Angeles Times debut and my first themeless. 

 

I was fortunate to connect to Erik Agard and Facebook's Crossword Puzzle Collaboration Directory community just a few weeks into learning how to construct a puzzle. The guidance and mentorship has been stellar. The generosity, humor and creativity of the crossword community continues to inspire me. 

 

It’s been wonderful learning the basics from someone of Brad’s expertise and lovely getting to know him as well. Thanks to Rich for his excellent edits. Hope that you all enjoy the puzzle!

BRAD: When I connected with Beth, I was excited to be collaborating with another librarian. Lots of common ground emerged between us, and not only were we well-matched in puzzle making, Beth became an empathetic sounding board for pandemic life in general.

I gave Beth a starting corner with a seed entry from academia (which I'm keeping under wraps--sorry, themelesses are a cutthroat business!). But when she came back with this beautiful corner with DIPLOMA MILL, I wasn't that interested in doing a collegiate minitheme, so we ditched my corner and re-evaluated. Beth did lots of wonderful experimentation in the middle of the puzzle as we struggled with the joinery of the two stacks of 11s. She brought in the novelist Carl HIAASEN and that proved 

Checking Out With
Beth and Brad

quite important to a clean, fresh grid fill. Librarians for the win! We really tried to get a whimsical verbal expression in the spot where PILED IT ON is (we may try it again next time we work together), but that had to be shelved.

We ended up being quite proud of our work on the clueing: new takes on MUTTS and ION, ETTU, and SIDE ONE. It's such a pleasure being back in the L.A. Times again! Enjoy…

Across:

1. Some chocolate purchases: ASSORTMENTS - If you order from See's Candies you can make your own ASSORTMENT

12. Inflation fig.: PSI - How much air is in your tires?

15. Purveyor of fraudulent credentials: DIPLOMA MILL - An exposé in the St. Louis Star in 1923

´

16. Bit of positivity?: ION - a crossword staple

17. Hair, in many cases: DNA EVIDENCE - "Uh, number 3, can we have a word?"

18. Latin word in many academic mottos: LUX - Light And Truth

                                                    

19. Climber's rest stop: LEDGE.

20. Poetic indicator of relative time: ERE.

21. Juice extractor: PRESS.

23. Pasture palindrome: EWE.

24. Wouldn't share: BOGARTED - Named for BOGART, of whom it is said never took a cigarette out of his mouth. It's when marijuana smokers accusing others of not passing around a joint.

26. Imperious dismissal: LEAVE ME.

28. Surfboard damage: DING.

Before.            and              After

31. Shocked big-time: APPALLED.

34. Official who sings in Hebrew: CANTOR - This movie in all its iterations is about a boy who did not want to be a CANTOR like his father

36. Leverage provider: CROWBAR.

37. Where to find "Octopus's Garden" on "Abbey Road": SIDE ONE.

38. Utah Jazz center Whiteside: HASSAN 

39. Ran into trouble: HIT A SNAG - in 1865, the steamboat Bertrand HIT A SNAG in the Missouri River an hour east of me. It was rediscovered one hundred years later and now its cargo is on display in this beautiful museum

40. Shakespearean last gasp: ET TU and 49. When 40-Across was spoken: IDES - Shakespeare 101

41. Neologists: COINERS - People who invent/coin new words like webinar, malware, blogosphere, etc.

43. Zoom frustrations: TIME LAGS - The TV broadcast of Husker FB games is 10 seconds later than the local radio broadcast.

45. __ rule: MOB.

48. Love of collectibles: VIRTU.

50. "__ Kapital": DAS - Marks and Engels 101

51. Succumbed to stage fright: FROZE.

53. Brown or Rice ending: EDU - Brown (brown.EDU) and Rice (rice.EDU) University web sites 

54. '90s-'00s HBO series with lots of therapy sessions: THE SOPRANOS - Lorraine Bracco played Dr. Jennifer Melfi who was conflicted in trying to counsel Tony Soprano.

57. Comprehend: GET.

58. Impresario's contact: TALENT AGENT - A TALENT AGENT's job is to hound impresarios (people who put on shows, etc.) to get jobs for their clients 

59. Hibachi waste: ASH.

60. Election focuses: SWING STATES - Candidates spend more time in "toss up" states rather than states that are solidly blue or red.

Down:

1. Disorient: ADDLE.

2. Power cord?: SINEW - One use of the SINEW (tendon/ligament) of the Bison was used to make the bowstring to power a bow and arrow

3. Club relative: SPADE - Also hearts and diamonds

4. First name in film designers: OLEG - OLEG Cassini

5. Wander: ROVE.

6. "Eww! Say no more!": TMI.

7. Redesigned: MADE OVER  8. Popped up: EMERGED - A new Lidia EMERGED below

9. Common starting hr.: NINE AM - Not at any job I ever had

10. "I Am Jazz" cable channel: TLC - This reality series focuses on Jazz "Jennings" who was identified as having gender dysphoria and the show follows Jazz's life as a transgender girl 

11. Took a day to consider, with "on": SLEPT.

12. Faulted to excess: PILED IT ON - "I heard you the fourth time!"

13. __-chef: SOUS - Literally "under chief/chef". Here are three SOUS Chefs in training. 

14. "Need You Tonight" band: INXS - If you'd really like to hear that

22. Dermatological symptom: REDNESS.

24. Yoga asset: BALANCE - I can see that

   Dancers Pose/Natarajasana

25. Reels off: RECITES - "Fourscore and seven years ago..."

26. Premise in many John Grisham novels: LAWSUIT - Mr. Grisham was named in a LAWSUIT for libel in 2007 for a non-fiction book he wrote.

27. Idris of "The Jungle Book": ELBA.

29. Actress Gaye of "Ali": NONA.

30. Novelist Iles: GREG.

31. Reason to call a chiropractor: ACHE.

32. Nit, to a Brit: PRAT - and 51. Alpha Phi Alpha, e.g.: FRAT - What would you call a FRAT PRAT?

33. Like a situation in which emotional persuasion trumps factual accuracy: POST TRUTH.

35. Purim month: ADAR.

37. Voice used for "Humpty Dumpty," say: SING SONG.

39. Crime novelist Carl: HIAASEN - I've never heard of Carl but I read a snippet from this fun book that is illustrated by a crossword friend of ours and I might buy it!

42. Yale sobriquet: OLD ELI.

44. Crosses at obedience school?: MUTTS 

45. "Rouen Cathedral" painter: MONET - He did over thirty of them

46. Thinning layer: OZONE.

47. Tops: BESTS.

48. Chevy named for a star: VEGA - This lightweight, rear-wheel-drive vehicle would not fare well in the snow we got last night. 

52. Sitar sequence: RAGA - A pattern of notes, rhythms, etc. in Indian music 

55. Hem partner: HAW - Derivation

56. NBA stat: PTS - Here are the all time leaders. Notice the #1 scorer only made one 3-pointer in his entire career.

FWIW: Today I start my fifth year of writing up the Saturday puzzles for C.C.'s wonderful site. In so doing, I have gained so much knowledge from the puzzles themselves and the wonderful band of bloggers who post here!