Saturday Themeless by Geoffrey Schorkopf & Rafael Musa
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| Rafael |
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| Geoffrey |
This is my 3rd collaborative puzzle I have had with these transcontinental constructors. I was very pleased to earn a "got 'er done" and really enjoyed some of the cluing and fill.
Birds of a feather: Rafael is a software engineer for Airbnb in S.F. and Geoffrey is a software engineer at Fastly in Atlanta.
Across:
1. Chance to refuel after a run: APRES SKI - Oh, APRES (after) a SKI run!
9. Cruelty-free target of poaching: PEAR. π
13. Contributes to: GOES IN ON.
14. Ncuti who plays the Fifteenth Doctor: GATWA ¯\_(γ)_/¯
15. Mobile vendor?: APP STORE. π The vendor is not mobile, the device for which it is intended is mobile
16. Extravagant: WANTON.
17. Chiang Mai residents: THAIS - Chiang Mai is the name a city in NW Thailand that is also the capital of the Chiang Mai province.
18. Bath bomb component: EPSOM SALT.
20. Place that's all abuzz: HIVE.
21. The Refined Feline purchase, perhaps: CAT TREE.
22. Did brunch, say: ATE.
23. Like crosswords, hopefully: FUN.
24. VicuΓ²a kin: ALPACAS.
28. Folks who are so last yr.: SRS π
29. Spanish for "the gilded one": EL DORADO - A legend of South America
29. Spanish for "the gilded one": EL DORADO - A legend of South America
30. Pilots on the air: SERIES PREMIERES - Can you name these pilots that became regular SERIES after this PREMIERE. * Answer at bottom
34. Conflict involving customs: TRADE WAR.
35. Y as in Yucatan?: AND - One of my all time favorite clues! The letter Y is Spanish serves as the conjunction AND and Spanish is certainly spoken in Yucatan.
C.C. Y yo somos amigos desde hace aΓ±os. (C.C. and I have been friends for years). Even after I had AND filled in, it took a small bolt of lightning for me to get it! DOH!
36. Japanese leader: EMPEROR.
36. Japanese leader: EMPEROR.
37. On point: APT.
38. Deg. from Goizueta: MBA ¯\_(γ)_/¯
41. Causes a scene?: DIRECTS - He directed many a memorable scene.
43. Snippy: CURT.
44. Physical procedure?: BLOOD DRAW π
47. Husk-steamed fare: TAMAL - Tamale is an anglicized version of the Spanish word tamal (plural: tamales ). The English "tamale" is a back-formation from tamales. You're welcome.
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| Here is a TAML on a plate with some tamales in the background |
48. Freshens, in a way: REDOES.
49. New York university: COLUMBIA - COLUMBIA is about 4 miles north of Ground Zero
51. Swears: AVERS.
52. Cutesy name for the squishy parts of a paw: TOE BEANS.
53. Trash: DISS.
54. High-minded one: IDEALIST.
Down:
1. Name on a literary award: AGATHA - The Agatha Awards are annual literary prizes named after AGATHA Christie and present by Malic Domestic Ltd to honor traditioanal "cozy" mystery and crime fiction. These are books featuring no explicit sex, excessive gore, or gratuitous violence.
2. Chart-topper: POP HIT.
3. Fix a lot, say: REPAVE - Uh, perhaps a parking lot
4. Polish brand: ESSIE.
5. Takes a load off: SITS.
6. __-Cat: SNO.
7. Like gochujang and jjimjilbang: KOREAN - The former is a culinary item and second is a bathhouse.
9. With a crispy crust, say: PAN-SEARED.
10. Piedmont blues guitarist Baker: ETTA ¯\_(γ)_/¯
11. Unaccounted for, for short: AWOL.
12. Tirade: RANT.
14. Important part of a set: GAME POINT - Unusual tennis scoring for a game is 15, 30, 40, GAME POINT. You win the set if you win 6 games (7 games if there is OT). Tennis peeps will understand this scoreboard:
16. Country homes?: WORLD MAPS π
19. Played out: STALE - Same old, same old
21. Swears: CUSS WORDS - Producer David O. Selznick fought the censors hard in 1939 to get this word into one of the most famous lines in film history.
23. Full scholarships, informally: FREE RIDES.
25. Mercury or Saturn: CAR.
26. Gator tail?: ADE.
27. Short cry for help: SOS.
29. Stray: ERR.
30. Femme canonisΓ©e: Abbr.: STE - The abbr. for a French female saint (Femme canonisΓ©e) is STE
31. Hesitant sound: ERM.
32. Art form that originated in the Bronx: RAP.
33. Knife block insert: PARER.
37. "Oryx and Crake" novelist: ATWOOD.
37. "Oryx and Crake" novelist: ATWOOD.
39. Processing centers?: BRAINS - Some process better than others.
40. "About dang time!": AT LAST - Nobody does it better than our cwd friend Etta James.
43. __ Up: board game with a desert motif: CAMEL. ¯\_(γ)_/¯
44. Slender fastener: BRAD.
45. Stubbs of the Four Tops: LEVI - Of all their great tunes, this is my fav.
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| LEVI |
46. Some Olds works: ODES - Sharon's ODE to Dirt
47. Polka horn: TUBA.
50. Suni honored with the Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award in 2025: LEE.
*Friends Big Bang Theory Golden Girls Seinfeld
