Saturday, June 11, 2022, Debbie Ellerin

Saturday Themeless by Debbie Ellerin

Today I am happy to blog my 9th Saturday themeless puzzle from Debbie Ellerin. She is a retired computer programmer that has moved to Los Angeles after tiring of Boston winters. 

SISTER ACT: In this picture she is seen with her sister and fellow LA Times puzzle constructor Sheryl Bartol. 

Across:

1. Netflix series starring Lee Jung-jae: SQUID GAME - Synopsis: "Hoping to win easy money, a desperate Gi-hun agrees to take part in an enigmatic game; not long into the first round, unforeseen horrors unfold." Lee Jung-jae is 456 in the picture

10. "Where the Impossible Becomes Possible" park: EPCOT - I've been there over 40 times and would return tomorrow.

15. MLB great who said, "Play so good they can't remember what color you were before the season started": HANK AARON.

16. Poor showing: NO ONE 

17. Fried side: ONION RING - Fresh, never frozen, thank you.

18. Comfort-first footwear: CROCS.

 

19. Banned spray: DDT.

20. Language similar to Thai: LAO - Hello in Thai: สวัสดี (S̄wạs̄dī). Hello in LAO: ສະບາຍດີ (sabaidi)

21. Server's need: RACKET.

22. How Mulan appears for much of "Mulan": AS A MAN - Groundbreaking on gender identity

25. Bar food: SUSHI.

26. Logic game with clickable cells: MINE SWEEPER - An iPhone obsession for me 

29. Laughable: ABSURD.

32. "Spread the word": PASS IT ON.

34. Short notes?: IOU'S - The note is probably short and has to be written because your funds are short

35. App glitch: BUG.

36. Costa __: RICA - In San Jose, Costa RICA, this meal cost 1990 colóns. The currency is named for Christopher Columbus, known as Cristobal Colón in Spanish. 

37. Often turned down, in a way: DOG EARED.

40. Pointless tiles?: BLANKS.

42. Lucky charm: RABBIT'S FOOT.

44. Max on the drums: ROACH.

45. Most inexperienced: RAWEST - The RAWEST teachers often get classes with the toughest students

48. Charge: ACCUSE.

50. __ Vegas Aces: LAS.

51. Purpose: AIM.

53. Pupper: POOCH - An affectionate name for a dog or puppy

54. Colorado county with Mesa Verde National Park: MONTEZUMA.

57. Danish astronomer Tycho who lost part of his nose in a duel: BRAHE - His notes tracking the Great Comet of 1577. (TY coh or TEE coh, BRAH or BRAH hay or BRAH see)

58. Kudos: ACCOLADES.

59. Quite full: SATED.

60. "Perfection" gesture: CHEF'S KISS.

Down:

1. Pumped?: SHOD - Yup, pumps are shoes and in a recent Sunday puzzle, we had "Letters on some pumps: EEE"

2. Chance for some grilling: Q AND A - If I give a space talk, grade school kids are much more likely to engage me in a Question AND Answer session than high school kids

3. Hand and foot: UNITS.

4. When doubled, classic New Orleans song: IKO - This Mardi Gras song is too fun not to post!

5. "This Is Us" creator Fogelman: DAN - At the left

6. Gale player: GARLAND - Yes, Judy GARLAND played Dorothy Gale. BTW, Toto's real name was Terry. You're welcome.

7. European rocket: ARIANE.

8. Part of MSG: MONO.

9. Lang. of Ghana: ENG - 68% of Ghanians speak ENGlish

10. Boxes up: ENCASES.

11. Thief who may set off a glitter bomb package: PORCH PIRATE.

12. Gingerbread house?: COOKIE TIN - One might "house" gingerbread cookies in a tin

13. Not now: ONCE.

14. Bechdel __: TEST - New to me but interesting to learn

21. Regrets: RUES.

23. Off-menu small bite: AMUSE-BOUCHE

My granddaughter with a French major had never heard of this word/phrase

24. Orbiter until 2001: MIR.

25. Party favors: SWAG - This year's Oscar's SWAG Bag was valued at just over $137,000 and included items ranging from designer popcorn to a voucher for $12,000 worth of liposuction.

27. Future chips: SPUDS - Steve Gangwish is standing in front of a bin of SPUDS that are raised on several farms in Nebraska for Lay's Potato Chips. 

28. Paper loser: ROCK.

29. Swedish folk duo First __ Kit: AID - Two sisters from Stockholm. An obscure musical reference that had a pretty obvious fill.

30. Rude, crude dude: BOOR.

31. Make easier to swallow: SUGAR COAT - Yeah, I know, you thought of this too.

33. "One Mic" rapper: NAS - No links or images from me

35. Broderick of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch": BETH - Beth is on the right. I would have known this "highest charting" Kiss song

38. Mortified: ABASHED.

39. Tahdig ingredient: RICE - "Tahdig (Persian: ته دیگ, tah "bottom" + dīg "pot") is a specialty of Iranian cuisine consisting of crisp, caramelized rice taken from the bottom of the pot in which the rice (chelow) is cooked. It is traditionally served to guests at a meal." You're welcome.

 
40. Brag about: BOAST OF.

41. Bowie album with "Sound and Vision": LOW - A 45-year-old album

43. Literature Nobelist Anatole: FRANCE - Okay...

46. Mecca native: SAUDI - Some hotel rooms have arrows on the ceiling pointing toward Mecca so Muslims can pray toward their holy city

47. __ table: TIMES - One place where I support rote learning 

48. LAPD alerts: APB'S - Today - BOLO - Be On the Look Out for

49. Sox manager Alex: CORA.

50. Drink of Scotland: LOCH - Drink is slang for a large body of water and so... I wasn't sure about this and so I contacted Debbie. She said her cluing was "Nessie's hangout". C.C. and Irish also agreed with my take.

52. Photon's lack: MASS - CORA and MASS were givens for this baseball fan/physics teacher.

54. Bub: MAC.

55. Literal edges: ELS - LiteraL

56. Drummer Starkey: ZAK - Ringo and Maureen Starkey and young son ZAK in mid 1960's

Saturday, March 12, 2022, Debbie Ellerin

 Saturday Themeless by Debbie Ellerin 

Debbie is our retired computer programmer who moved to L.A. from Boston. This is the eighth themeless I have blogged for her and it was a real challenge.  I had plenty of head slaps in the NW corner but eventually got it all together. I am so embarrassed that I struggled with the three long across fills before getting them! Here are her comments:

Hi Gary,

I wrote this puzzle in January of 2021, soon after the presidential inauguration, and AMANDA GORMAN was one of my seed entries. I liked learning that most states have a state fossil, and Utah's is the ALLOSAURUS. I like the improved clue for 4-D ARE, I won't use it but you will. Hope you all enjoy!

Across:

1. Alaska's flag includes the best-known part of it: URSA MAJOR - The Big Dipper is only part of the constellation URSA MAJOR (the Big Bear)

10. Stop orders: HALTS.

15. 2002 Emmy winner for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: RAY ROMANO.

16. Caribbean sorcery: OBEAH.

All you'd ever want to know

17. Bagel-shaped confection: LIFE SAVER - Duh!

18. First Japanese tennis player with a WTA #1 ranking: OSAKA - A Haitian father and a Japanese mother

19. Cute: SLY.

20. Shrink: ANALYST - Oh, a head shrinker!

22. Get it, in slang: DIG - Lyrics to a 1968 hit Grazing In The Grass: "I can DIG it, he can DIG it, She can DIG it, we can DIG it. They can DIG it, you can DIG it. Oh, let's DIG it. Can you DIG it, baby?:

23. Blinking aids: LIDS.

24. Fugu danger: TOXIN - Eat at your own peril. A puffer fish's TOXIN is more lethal than cyanide.

26. Ars __: chiromancy, e.g.: MAGICA - Palm reading is considered part of Ars MAGICA - Magic Arts. (Debbie told me that chiromancy is a word Rich added) 

29. Feline defense: CLAWING.

31. Jewish month after Av: ELUL - My September 11th birthday this year is 15 ELUL 5782 on the Jewish calendar

32. Go-ahead: GREEN LIGHT.

35. Clay, beginning in 1964: ALI.

36. Thingamabobs: DOODADS.

37. Verbal shrug: MEH.

38. Means of filling up for less?: DOLLAR MENU - Not available in Russia anymore 

40. Swain: BEAU - In one episode, Thelma Lou tried to convince Barney he wasn't her only BEAU

41. Attacked en masse: STORMED.

42. Puts on a coat: PAINTS - Seinfeld: Well, I painted my apartment again. I've been living in this apartment for years and years, and every time I paint it, it kinda gets me down. I look around, and I think, well, it's a little bit smaller now. You know, I realize it's just the thickness of the paint, but I'm aware of it. It keeps coming in and coming in.

44. Dazed: AT SEA.

45. Guaranteed, as a victory: ICED - Field goal kickers did this in almost all NFL games this past playoff season

46. Surly sort: CUR.

47. Like Oz, but not Kansas: IN COLOR.

The scene where The Wizard Of Oz went 
from B/W to Technicolor

50. Banana Boat no.: SPF - SPF = 8 here

53. Ram among the stars: ARIES.

55. Its formal name includes "Patient Protection," informally: OBAMA CARE.

57. Sanjay of CNN: GUPTA.

58. Kept track of: MONITORED.

59. Literary work that sounds like two of its letters: ESSAY.

60. Doves: PEACENIKS.

Down:

1. Bing results: URLS - Bing is a search engine where you can find URL'S. Go there

2. Something to travel by: RAIL.

3. "Resident Alien" network: SYFY.

4. I won't use it, but you will: ARE - Debbie said she really liked Rich's cluing here. I ARE? Nope. You ARE? Fine

5. Assembled artwork: MOSAIC.

6. "The Hill We Climb" poet: AMANDA GORMAN - I was happy to learn of AMANDA who read her poem at the 2021 Inauguration. 

7. Diner cupfuls: JAVAS 

8. Torts taker: ONE-L - First year law students are called ONE-L's and they do take a course called Torts.

9. "Gilmore Girls" girl: RORY - The evolution of the character RORY's hair

10. Birds named for their sounds: HOOT OWLS.

11. Six-pack makeup: ABS.

12. Phoenix and Washington, e.g.: LEADING MEN - River Phoenix and Denzel Washington and 21. Rock or Rivers: STAND UP COMIC - Chris Rock and Joan Rivers

13. Subjected to flak: TAKING HEAT.

14. Uneven do: SHAG.

23. Word in some rap handles: LIL.

25. Letters atop a face: XII.

A little after 9 a.m. on this one

26. Lake formed by the Hoover Dam: MEAD.

27. Utah's state fossil: ALLOSAURUS.

28. Unpleasant journeys: GUILT TRIPS 

29. Turned over: CEDED - What Mexico CEDED to America in 1848

30. Tend: LEAN.

33. Sports radio host Jim: ROME - Here ya go

34. Conclusion beginning: THUS - The alternative first word in this fabulous movie introduction.

36. "IMHO ... ": DARE I SAY.

39. LAPD unit?: LOS - LOS Angeles Police Department 

40. Nod, at times: BID.

43. Deal with lawn thatch: AERATE.

Even really big lawns

45. Glazer of "Broad City": ILANA - Agnes and C.C. used the ABBI part of this duo last Saturday. ILANA perped itself today.

46. Batting practice setting: CAGE - MLB just settled their strike

48. Freebie: COMP.

49. The duck, in "Peter and the Wolf": OBOE - I learned the instruments of the orchestra from the this Prokofiev work

50. It's a wrap: SARI - Along with a toga, this is standard crossword casual attire 

51. Head Start class: PRE-K.

52. DEA agents: FEDS.

54. Flight board abbr.: ETA.

56. Scam: CON.