Saturday Themeless by Kyle Dolan
I liked Dr. Dolan's puzzle and never felt I was not going to solve it. My issue became trying to decipher what Kyle meant by his "off-the-wall"cluing. My experience was the frequent recitation of 48. Exasperated cry: DOH! once I saw what he intended, the fill was fun to enter and also unlocked big sections of the puzzle. Today's exercise had only 28 blocks which gave us 103 open squares and only six three-letter words. I'll share with you some of the circuitous thinking that I used to cut through Dr. Dolan's obfuscations. :-) As has become my custom, I did have a one-cell problem where you see the red cell in the grid, but I'll get over it. I thought ARE WE OK/ALAIK worked.
Across:
1. Shell station?: PASTA BAR - Just when I thought of every shell I could...
9. Yet: IN TIME.
15. The 24 Hours of Le Mans, e.g.: AUTO RACE - This great movie is about personal rivalries and corporate machinations but the climax is The 24 Hours Of Le Mans.
15. The 24 Hours of Le Mans, e.g.: AUTO RACE - This great movie is about personal rivalries and corporate machinations but the climax is The 24 Hours Of Le Mans.
16. Networking aid: ROUTER - If we need a generator after a power loss, the order for plugging in would be fridge/freezers and then the modem and ROUTER. π
17. Exams with answers provided by parents: DNA TESTS π
18. World capital named for a river: OTTAWA - fun to learn
19. Headgear that sparked a riot in 1922 New York City: STRAW HAT - Really? Talk about your fashion police.
20. Christmas delivery?: NOEL π
21. Floral gifts for some graduates: LEIS - Three-letter (plural) floral gift? Ya gotta go Hawaiian!
22. American painter James __ Whistler: MCNEILL - Of course his famous work below was entitled Arrangement In Gray And Black No. 1 which we all know by its more famous name. A fascinating bio
25. Chef's coat?: TEFLON π Well actually, Kyle, the coat is on the pan.
28. Is revealing: TELLS ALL.
29. Harlem Renaissance writer Locke: ALAIN. ¯\_(γ)_/¯
28. Is revealing: TELLS ALL.
29. Harlem Renaissance writer Locke: ALAIN. ¯\_(γ)_/¯
30. Waiter's annoyance: DELAY - I never even thought it might be about a food server. The DELAY waiting in the line at Space Mountain was always very long and annoying.
31. Bucket brigade?: NBA Groan. A made basket in basketball is also called a bucket.
32. Flooring option: TILE - My first two floor coverings were
C
A
R U G S
P
E
T
33. Unbroken?: FIXED - Now that's funny!
34. "Estoy __": Spanish "I'm doing all right": BIEN.
35. Joint-stabilizing band, for short: ACL.
36. Gold __: PLATE - Sometimes all that glitters is not gold, it's gold PLATED
33. Unbroken?: FIXED - Now that's funny!
34. "Estoy __": Spanish "I'm doing all right": BIEN.
35. Joint-stabilizing band, for short: ACL.
36. Gold __: PLATE - Sometimes all that glitters is not gold, it's gold PLATED
37. Tree cultivated for its seeds more than 5,000 years ago: CACAO.
38. Magic City residents: MIAMIANS - Not Orlandoans π
40. Grows darker: LATENS - If spellcheck is all right with this, so am I
41. Offer to treat: IT'S ON ME - A phrase a friend of mine never uttered
42. "The Leavers" novelist Ko: LISA. ¯\_(γ)_/¯
43. Marvel hero Cage: LUKE ¯\_(γ)_/¯
44. Lines from the heart: LOVE NOTE - Ketty Lester had a beautiful 1962 song with this theme
48. Exhausts: DOES IN
50. Basis of some ratings: AGE LEVEL.
51. "Nearly there": ONE SEC - A familiar phrase I heard waiting for three women in the car
52. Reef denizen: MORAY EEL - Yikes!
53. "Knock on wood": HOPE SO.
54. "I won't ask again!": ANSWER ME.
Down:
1. Exaggerates, in a way: PADS - I had an expense account once that may have not been all that accurate π
2. Family member: AUNT.
3. Outstanding: STAR.
4. Blatant fabrication: TOTAL LIE - This is one of the worst.
5. Confirmation question: ARE WE ON.
6. Open, as a piΓ±ata: BASH IN.
7. Represent: ACT AS.
8. Musical pause: REST.
9. Battleship precursor: IRONCLAD - The Civil Wr featured the battle of the IRONCLADS, the Monitor and the Merrimac.
10. More than: NOT ONLY.
11. Contracted pupils, perhaps: TUTEES - Wow! I suppose a tutor would have a contract with TUTEES who are also pupils. No eyes involved!
12. Granita kin: ITALIAN ICE.
 |
| A Sicilian treat |
13. Bit of Persian language?: MEW π
14. Young fig.: ERA - The winner of MLB's Cy Young Award usually has a low Earned Run Average.
22. Rumble: MELEE.
23. Outfitter with signature boots: L.L. BEAN.
24. Grassy plains: LLANOS - Pampas or LLANOS coin flip
25. Flooring option: TATAMI.
26. Bring out: ELICIT.
27. Go out: FALL ASLEEP π
28. Scholarship materials: TEXTS - As a teacher since 1968 I can tell you just seeing a student with a TEXT does not guarantee any scholarship is going on.
30. Designer von Furstenberg: DIANE.
33. Spanish steps?: FLAMENCO π
34. React: BAT AN EYE.
36. Small digits: PINKIES.
37. Guide for future rulings: CASE LAW - Not the actual law or statute but a compilation of how different jurisdictions have applied laws.
39. Do stuff?: MOUSSE - Oh, that kind of "do".
40. Natural detox centers: LIVERS.
42. Access, in a way: LOG ON - Remembering User Names and Passwords can be a real chore
44. Eastern priest: LAMA.
45. Simple wager choice: OVER - The OVER/Under for the recent Super Bowl was 45.5 points. The final score was 29 - 13 which adds up to 42 and that means you'd be a loser if you bet the OVER.
46. Swarm (with): TEEM.
49. Chef Jiro of the documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi": ONO - ¯\_(γ)_/¯ Jiro ONO is in the middle below
