Saturday, May 24, 2025, Erik Agard

 Saturday Themeless by Erik Agard

Erik's byline and enigmatic smile always means to get ready for an adventure and this puzzle did not disappoint. His grid-spanning center stacked block was very helpful.

 I had a very unusual experience in that the SW corner had a lot of blanks at the end because of so many possibilities and my wrong take on Pacific in the down clue. Once I changed HAN Dynasty to QIN, that gave me QUARRELSOME and the SW cleared up as fast as I could type!

Across:

1. Point guard?: PEN CAP 😀 No basketball here.

7. Rihanna song with the lyrics "That was quite a show / Very entertaining / But it's over now": TAKE A BOW. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Unknown but the lyrics made sense quickly

15. Harlem theater: APOLLO - This theater and NASA's moon project use two "L's'" and skater Apolo Ono only uses one. It reminds me of Ogden Nash's silly poem

16. Upper management?: HAIR CARE 😀

17. Going from A to B, say: LINEAR - In plane geometry the shortest distance between two points is a straight line but not in curved geometry.

18. Far from fresh: OVERUSED - Even Erik could not avoid an OREO reference at 13 Down

19. Wave home: OCEAN 😀 Yeah, we baseball peeps thought of a third base coach signaling a runner to head for home

20. Uber around the Eiffel Tower?: TRES 😀 This finally occurred to me. Uber is German for "very" which is TRES in French.

21. Uncles, in Spanish: TIOS.

22. Save, in a way: DVR - DVR became a verb

23. China's first imperial dynasty: QIN - The Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) was the first imperial dynasty of China, establishing a centralized government and uniting the country after the Warring States period. I held on to HAN for a long time but it took over after only 20 years of the QIN Dynasty so...

24. 2, 4, and 24, e.g.: EVENS - I looked for a pattern but these were just random even numbers

26. Negative post?: PRE 😀 Erik! The opposite (negative) of "post" is PRE

27. Many a TV episode title: PUN - Here are some: 1. So Help Me Todd · 2. Better Off Ted · 3. Fawlty Towers · 4. Get Smart · 5. Schitt's Creek · 6. I Dream of Jeannie · 7. Grey's Anatomy · 8. Pawn Stars.

28. The Grand __ Opry: OLE.

29. Foreign exchange issue: LANGUAGE BARRIER - A fellow golf league member works in a packing plant where there are mostly Hispanic workers. He uses a device like this in verbal exchanges. 

36. Imposition lead-in: I'M TERRIBLY SORRY.

37. Setting for Haiti: EASTERN TIME ZONE - Haiti has chosen to be on the Eastern Time Zone but its island mate, the Dominican Republic, has chosen to be in the Atlantic Time Zone. 

38. Journey part: LEG.

39. Brahma, for one: GOD.

40. Gaming release of 1985: NES.

40 Years Ago

44. "__ Explain Things to Me": Rebecca Solnit essay collection: MEN - She is given credit for coining the phrase "Mansplaining". 

45. Paul with an axe: LES - Never mind Paul Bunyan, this axe is slang for a guitar and LES Paul invented the solid body electric guitar.

46. "Neat": COOL and 41. "Neat": SWELL.

47. Relaxation locations: SPAS.

49. Precipitated: LED TO.

51. Public: ON RECORD.

53. Frymaster filler: HOT OIL.

54. Fiction title?: MISNOMER 

55. Not busy: AROUND - "Can you help me on Sunday?" "I'll be AROUND."

56. React slightly: BAT AN EYE.

57. Tutor's charge: MENTEE - Every student I taught was said to be a CHARGE of mine or my responsibility  

Down:

1. Word for "stick" found in a Bay Area city name: PALO - Of course, PALO Alto means tall stick

2. "Shogun," for one: EPIC DRAMA.

3. Duds: NON EVENTS.

4. "Let's be __": CLEAR.

5. "Reacher" star Ritchson: ALAN.

6. Iberian country, on Olympic scoreboards: POR - Portugal

7. Rose barb: THORN.

8. Dialectical source of "no cap" and "down bad," for short: AAVE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  African American Vernacular English

9. "Long Division" novelist who wrote "Heavy: An American Memoir": KIESE LAYMON ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

10. Get it wrong: ERR.

11. Angle type: ACUTE.

12. Wide bowl: BASIN - Old hotels always had a BASIN and a chamber pot in the room. Uh, I'm only showing one of those.

13. Fried __: fair fare: OREOS - "Nutritional" info on a fried OREO

14. Commits to, in a way: WEDS.

20. Giving a bit of color: TINGING.

23. Pacific counterpart: QUARRELSOME 

25. Knowledgeable: VERSED.

26. Ballet bend: PLIE.

27. Hand sanitizer brand: PURELL - Like DVR, it became a verb as in, "PURELL me."

28. Does as asked: OBLIGES.

30. Trick: GET.

31. Grocery payment meth.: EBT - Electronic Benefit Transfer

32. Marsha Warfield's "Night Court" role: ROZ.

33. Put right: IRONED OUT - "I took the job once we got everything IRONED OUT"

34. Human rights activist Eckstein who is profiled in Season 4 of the "Making Gay History" podcast: ERNESTINE. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

35. Some deli loaves: RYES.

41. Supreme Court name: SONIA and 43. Supreme Court name: ELENA - Vowel-rich jurists

42. Lowest-tier: WORST.

44. Sierra __: MADRE - Three separate ranges in Mexico

45. Show a tell: LET ON.

46. Search thoroughly: COMB.

48. 2022 "Predator" prequel: PREY.

49. Focus of many fandom wiki pages: LORE.

50. Ye __ Shoppe: OLDE.

52. Trick: CON.

53. Cubano ingredient: HAM.

Saturday, April 5, 2025, Enrique Henestroza Anguiano and Erik Agard

Saturday Themeless by Enrique Henestroza Anguiano and Erik Agard

 

Erik Agard

Enrique and Erik presented a real big boy puzzle with occasional obscure-to-me fill and insidious cluing. The northeast corner provided me with too many alternate fills, the worst of which was XOXO replacing TATA. Arrrggghhh. A bad cell cost me a 100% but once I got what the guys were after in a section, everything cascaded to completion. Somewhere, Enrique and Erik have to be snickering about the cluing for BURSAR and PADS.

Across:

1. Activist Lee known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth": OPAL ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

5. Fakémon images, e.g.: FAN ART - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Fakémon are fan-designed fictional creatures based on the Pokémon franchise, ofter created as FAN ART or to be mistaken for real Pokémon. Google at your pleasure.

11. "What's __ deal?": HIS.

14. Pitcher's start: HERE'S AN IDEA - I went to ad pitcher's right away. Uh, some are not so great.

16. [raises index finger]: ONE.

17. Boundary-breaking home concept: OPEN KITCHEN.

18. Pithier version of lorem ipsum text: TBA - 😀 Lorem Epsom is a standard place holder in a graphic design until the text To Be Announced is inserted.

19. __ and gentler: KINDER.

20. Sonic, notably: HEDGE HOG - The Drive-In restaurant possibility kept me guessing.

22. Even a skosh: AT ALL.

23. Canadian conservative: TORY.

24. Repetitive email sign-off: XOXO - As I mentioned, TATA was repetitive but not correct and overstayed its welcome.

25. "__ queen!": YAS - A phrase that might be heard at a 51. Fierce competition: DRAG PAGEANT.

26. Send a return over the net: E-FILE - 😀 Turbo Tax does it for me every year

28. Made less sharp: TUNED 😀

29. Signs of safe traffic flow: STOPS 😀 Our recent blizzard/blackout made every traffic light intersection into four-way STOP SIGNS.

30. Oaxacan sauces that can have more than 30 ingredients: MOLES - We've had this a couple of times recently but it still took me time. 

31. Set available at thenounproject.com: ICONS - See for yourself

32. Two score: FORTY - Abe used "four score and seven" (80 +7) so...

33. Rep: AGENT.

34. Mutual aid groups: BLOCS 

Europe 1914

35. Gets hot under the collar, say: IRONS 😀

36. Ken's job, in "Barbie": BEACH - Coach and teach were briefly in Ken's CV

37. Fun time: GAS.

40. Dish (out): METE.

41. Remove from a 46-Down: OUST and 46. Headquarters: SEAT. You're fired!

42. Struck down: SMOTE - There's a lot of SMOTING in the Bible.

44. Deep-fried South Asian street food: PANIPURI ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

46. Calm: SOOTHE - Serene, the six-letter adjective was replaced by the six-letter verb

47. "And you __?": ARE.

48. Ugly duckling anthem of 1975: AT SEVENTEEN - I've been around teens my entire adult life and I have never had a song reach out and touch me like this Janis Ian's.

50. Unit of illuminance: LUX.

52. Competition with a Golden Buzzer, to fans: AGT.

53. Supremely miffed: SOREST 😖

54. "i cant w/ u": LMAO - The phrase "I can't with you" is a casual way of expressing exasperation or frustration with someone's behavior or actions suggesting the speaker finds them overwhelming or intolerable. Therefore, its absurdity might drive one to Laugh My Ass off.

Down:

1. "If you say so": OH, OKAY.

2. Seed in some 30-Across: PEPITA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

3. Where to see the stars: ARENAS - In this case, athletic stars

4. 1980s US Open three-peater: LENDL.

5. Word with job or craft: FAIR.

6. Formicarium dweller: ANT.

7. Uhura player: NICHOLS - I knew the character instantly but not her real name

8. Stick: ADHERE.

9. Like some voices and wetlands: REEDY - Abe Lincoln's voice was said to be REEDY and we have all heard the REEDY voice of Barney Fife.

10. Sharp flavor: TANG.

11. Sweet, chili-infused condiment: HOT HONEY.

12. What highly motivated people may have zero goals for?: IN-BOXES 😀 

13. One making waves: SEA GOD 😀

15. Zoology class figures: SKELETONS - SPECIMENS hung around a long time

21. Does a happy dance: EXULTS - ELATES hung around a long time

23. Bill-collecting label: TIPS 😳  I was really taken aback the first time I had to make a decision on a TIP while the wait person was holding the iPad.

27. Nunito sans, for one: FONT ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  - Word on my computer has a ton of FONTS but not his one.

Not on my computer!

28. Lyrical story of unrequited love: TORCH SONG - There are so many good ones but nobody does it like Frank.

29. Act opener: SCENE I - Name the musical that had its opening scene on a train. (Answer below*)

30. Class offered by MITx, e.g.: MOOC - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  MITx is MIT online

31. Court call: I GOT NEXT - What you'd say to challenge the winner for a one-on-one game. Name this movie (Answer below **) No more movie quizzes, I promise.

32. Lacking sparkle: FLAT.

33. Under-the-table purchase: AREA RUG 😀

34. Overwhelm: BESIEGE.

35. Animal also known as a rooibok: IMPALA.

36. Brown bread specialist: BURSAR -  😳 Wow, talk about an all-time twisted clue! Bread is of course slang for money and the specialist for collecting money at Brown University is the BURSAR Michael C. White. 

37. "We did good!": GO TEAM - Yay us!

38. Angela Bassett's "9-1-1" role: ATHENA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

39. Taken care of: SEEN TO - I have SEEN TO blogging this fun puzzle.

41. Album ender: OUTRO - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  An "outro" (a blend of "out" and "intro") refers to the concluding track of an album, or an instrumental solo played as the song fades out.  

43. Rest stop along a highway: MOTEL.

45. Some legal places to make records: PADS - 😀 This is the runner-up to the cluing for BURSAR.

49. Some execs: VPS.

*That is the opening scene from The Music Man. The entire scene

** Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes are going one-on-one in White Men Can't Jump

 

Notes from C.C.:

Happy 84th Birthday to dear Irish Miss (Agnes), my creative puzzle collaborator and close friend, who has guided me through so many life issues. So grateful to have her in my life.