Saturday, September 16, 2023, Brynn and Mark Diehl

Saturday Themeless by Brynn and Mark Diehl

Brynn and Mark's offering for us today was a 15-minute solve for me. The long fills were all very doable and greatly helped the process. 

Across:

1. Mark with a diamond tip: ETCH.

5. Adrift: AT SEA.

10. Card that's often swiped: VISA 😀

14. Cause a stir: RILE.

15. Complex concerns?: RENTS - 😀 Oh, an apartment complex!

16. "Hamilton" pair: ACTS.

17. Periodic table figure: ATOMIC MASS - Uranium has an atomic number of 92. When its ATOMIC MASS is 238 it is mostly harmless but when it is 235, it can be fuel for an atomic bomb.

19. Mug shot subject: PERP - OJ's mug shot on a, uh, mug

20. Giddily silly: SLAP HAPPY and 49. Madcap: ZANY.

21. Alpes-Maritimes city: NICE - Alpes-Maritimes is a department (called states in USA) in the south of France (extreme SE of continental France on map). It contains the city of NICE which is often used for misdirection in crossword puzzles. It has alps (Alpes) and seaside (Maritimes).

22. Reggae's __-A-Mouse: EEK.

23. Ruckus: ADO.

24. Thus far: TO DATE and 40. Thus far: AS YET.

26. Late night for Old St. Nick: EVE 😀

27. Tennis clinic topic: GRIP.

29. Dinosaur in the den: VCR

30. Bounced: GAVE THE HEAVE HO - That's what most people have done to their VCR's

34. Significant stock holders: WAREHOUSE STORES.

35. Acela stops, e.g.: AMTRAK STATIONS.

37. Feint: DEKE.

38. Fashion line: HEM.

39. Take a turn for the worse: SPRAIN 😀

41. USWNT uniform number for Lindsey Horan: TEN.

42. Wanders around the airport?: TSA 😀 This wander is a noun naming someone who uses the wand not a verb describing the actions of someone who roams the airport

45. One thing after another: LIST.

46. Dish often served with applesauce: PORK CHOPS - Remember...

50. Cops who need collars: CANINE UNIT 😀

51. Starting pay?: ANTE.

52. Disney character who may have been named in 1931 for a newly discovered planet: PLUTO - PLUTO is now considered to be a dwarf planet and PLUTO Pup is not making 'toons any more.

53. Zither kin: LYRE.

LYRE                                Zither

54. Soft summons: PSST.

55. "Groundhog Day" segment: RESET - A fun movie with a clever premise that was perfectly cast. 

56. Tech hotline caller: USER.

Down:

1. Remove traces of: ERASE.

2. "Star Wars" or "The Starry Night": TITLE - TITLE of a movie and a painting

3. "__ & Dagger": Marvel series: CLOAK.

4. __ seed oil: HEMP.

5. Game piece: ARCADE TOKEN.

6. Something a conductor might pick up: TEMPO 😀

7. Onesie closer: SNAP.

8. Amazon Handmade rival: ETSY.

9. Zedonk parent: ASS.

10. Lacking zip: VAPID.

11. Austria's Eisriesenwelt, for one: ICE CAVERN.

12. Part of a pre-marathon routine: STRETCHES.

13. Nile Valley hazard: ASP.

18. "That was the last straw": I HAVE HAD IT.

21. Problem for those struggling with delayed gratification: NO PATIENCE.

24. Forms a union: TIES THE KNOT 😀

25. Greek equivalent of the Hindu god Kamadeva: EROS - Kamadeva is the Hindu god of erotic love, desire and pleasure.  

26. Billie Eilish's "Happier Than __": EVER.

27. Beau of literature: GESTE - Beau (magnanimous) GESTE (gesture). A signed, first edition for $535.81

28. Three-toed bird: RHEA - 36. "Mm-hm": YEP. 

30. Strategies: GAME PLANS.

31. Works in a hotel lobby, say: ART PRINTS 😀

32. Ear protection?: HUSK 😀 - Um, what do they call people who remove those HUSKS?

33. Va-va follower: VOOM.

34. Behavior: WAYS.

41. Old hat: TRITE.

42. Stephen Sondheim octet: TONYS.

43. Bryce Canyon formation: SPIRE.

44. Sunflower kin: ASTER - How 'bout dat?

46. Faint: PALE.

47. Burden: ONUS.

48. "Only Murders in the Building" platform: HULU.

49. Cook quickly: ZAP.

50. Hosp. administration: CPR 😀 CPR could very well be adminintered in a hospital no matter who forms the administration of the hospital.