Saturday March 1, 2025, Dr. Ed Sessa

 Saturday Themeless by Dr. Ed Sessa

What a fun puzzle by the good doctor. How cool is it that he has three horizontal and three vertical grid spanners? Wow! As you can see in the colored grid, those spanners were pretty unique. 

You might remember that Dr. Sessa had his house on Sanibel Island wiped out by Hurricane Ian in 2022. Since then he has moved back to the mainland and this is what he told me.

Hi Gary,

We live now in Fort Myers just east of I75 which is out of the flood zone from the Gulf and Caloosahatchee River. Returning north just proved too much of a major move at this point in our lives. Warm regards to everyone at Crossword Corner.

Ed and Penny

Across:

1. Part of an underground network: SEWER.

6. HQs for F-16s: AFBS - These are parked at a Turkish AFB

10. Miles off: AFAR.

14. Opt out of a traditional union: ELOPE 😀

15. Plant: MOLE - Klaus Fuchs was a MOLE for the USSR at Alamogordo, NM where the Manhattan Project was building the atom bomb.

16. Lone: SOLE.

17. Like a land baron: ACRED - Hmmm...

18. Former attorney general Holder: ERIC - This first black US Attorney General called himself Obama's "wingman".

19. Chi-town pub: TRIB - This pub means publication 

20. Comes on the scene: MAKES AN ENTRANCE - Chandler and Joey do just that (:07)

23. Unlikely donor: MISER - A famous one in literature.

Bah Humbug!

24. Device with a rotating handle: VISE. 😀

25. Cruet filler: OIL and perhaps vinegar

26. Storage container: BIN.

27. Word on a coeur de bonbon: AIME - My granddaughter's translation of the text below is, "I love you more than candy"

29. Punic tunics: TOGAS B - Love the rhyme!

31. "Young Frankenstein" role: INGA - It's mandatory to include this scene

33. Vassal: SERF.

35. Yoko from Tokyo: ONO - Things were falling apart for The Beatles before she showed up but she accelerated it.

36. Parlor choice: DOUBLE SCOOP CONE - I first got the word DOUBLE and thought this was about a betting parlor but not so much. Butter brickle is my favorite. 

41. Chess, for one: PIE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

42. Pahlavi dynasty title: SHAH.

43. Cheese often served with pale ale: EDAM.

44. Ranchero rope: RIATA.

46. Designer Schiaparelli: ELSA - She and Salvador. Together they made the famous (to someone) Lobster Dress.

 

48. Road houses?: RVS 😀

49. Anthology series that begins with "Murder House," familiarly: AHS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

50. Option in Hawaiian-style fried rice: SPAM - A pineapple, fried rice and SPAM. What says Hawaii more than this? 😀

53. London road of pop fame: ABBEY.

55. Workplace perk for pet owners: PAWTERNITY LEAVE - Some companies allow employees to get time off to adopt a pet or take one to the vet.

59. Concept: IDEA.

60. Danish shoe brand: ECCO.

61. Stand in front of an audience: EASEL 😀 Stand as a noun.

62. Citation abbr.: ET AL.

63. Herring kin: SHAD.

64. Coin collectors: SLOTS 😀

65. Learning method: ROTE - Sometimes it is good but sometimes...

66. Brought on board: SOLD - If you are SOLD on something you might be brought on board.

67. Like fans during a tight championship game: TENSE.

Down:

1. Clothes line: SEAM.

2. "Breaking Bad" epilogue: EL CAMINO - The sequence.

3. Toiling away: WORKING UP A SWEAT.

4. Pentathlon gear: EPEES.

5. Waters in the Great Rift Valley: RED SEA 

6. Devotional period?: AMEN The end of a printed prayer can be a period 😀

7. Pervasive environmental hazard: FOREVER CHEMICAL.

8. Smoked salmon accompaniers: BLINI.

9. Schism units: SECTS.

10. "Black Clover" action hero: ASTA - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Nick and Nora's dog? Not so much...

11. Just because: FOR NO GOOD REASON.

12. Vikander of "Irma Vep": ALICIA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

13. Enemies of the Galactic Empire: REBELS.

21. Pop up: ARISE.

22. Pave over: RETOP.

26. Use a paddle, perhaps: BID - Yeah, I'm the only one who first put in ROW

28. MASH potatoes, etc.: MESS - M*A*S*H was where we had an army MESS that served mashedpotatoes 😀

30. As soon as: ONCE - Do it at ONCE!

32. Not too much: A BIT.

34. One with a stable upbringing: FOAL 😀

37. Rental agreement: LEASE.

38. "Y'know, I've been thinking ... ": OH SAY.

39. O'Hare and JFK, e.g.: NAVY VETS - Edward (Butch) O'Hare and JFK are two NAVY VETS who had major airports named after them

40. Pair in gin rummy?: EMS - Meta clue ruMMy

44. Slender sword: RAPIER.

45. "What other choices were there?": I HAD TO.

47. Most fit: ABLEST.

51. Clear clothes lines, in a way: PRESS 😀

52. Dried poblano: ANCHO - When a poblano pepper is dried, it becomes an ANCHO pepper

54. Memphis street of blues fame: BEALE - You'll find this statue of Elvis at 117 BEALE Street

56. Fish story: TALE - "You should'a seen the one that got away!"

57. Maiden name of an 1860s first lady: TODD.

Mary TODD Lincoln

58. "Or __ what?": ELSE.

Saturday, February 22, 2025, Zhouqin Burnikel

 Themeless Saturday by Zhouqin Burnikel

C.C. has a very challenging and mouth watering-entry for us with her 400th puzzle. I kept coming up to culinary clues and fill that were foreign to me but they all worked themselves out and I got a very satisfying "got 'er done!" As you can see by the graphic at the left, she had some very unique or 1 other long fill.

Across:

1. Seated asana?: CHAIR POSE 

         

10. Also: TOO.

13. Some transparent covers: GLASS DOMES.

14. Dove bars?: COOS.

15. Clearly embarrassed: RED AS A BEET.

16. Concert lineup: AMPS.

17. Skin care company with a Sanskrit name: AVEDA - From Ayurveda which is Sanskrit for "knowledge of life".

18. Smart Fiesta kit brand: OLD EL PASO.

20. Hill with no peak: MESA 😀

21. Bread like limppu: RYE - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Finnish RYE bread

22. Track records: BETS.

23. Noodles: PASTA.

25. Brought up the rear?: STOOD 😀

27. Hymn associated with King David: PSALM.

30. Sound for silence: SHH 😀

32. The Grand Ole __: OPRY - We went to see the new Grand Ole Opry in Nashville but it was flooded out so we went to where the show originated - Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville to sit in the original pews.

33. Ticks away: ELAPSES.

35. Start without a key: HOT WIRE.

37. Juicy bits?: PULP.

38. Masked drama whose name means "skill": NOH.

40. Food that never decays: HONEY.

41. Not great at all: SMALL 😀

43. Real head-turner: BEAUT.

45. Rainbow eucalyptus, for one: TREE - Native to the Philippines 

46. Liquor in a dark 'n' stormy: RUM.

47. Run: TROT.

51. Play things for kids: TOY PIANOS - A vintage Schoenhut model over 100 years old

54. See-through fabric: GAUZE.

55. Whale that preys on seals: ORCA.

56. Total variety: RAISIN BRAN.

58. Go nowhere: STAY.

59. Frank Stella pieces: MINIMAL ART.

60. With it, once: HEP - Hip or Hep? My last fill was the ending vowel in 27. Rich fruit cake: PLUM TORTE.

61. Travel at night, maybe: SLEEP WALK 😀 Here's Dick Clark introducing the great old 50's instrumental with this title. 

Down:

1. AIDS Memorial Quilt designer Jones: CLEVE.

           

2. Dead zone?: HADES 😀

3. Taqueria option: ASADA - Grilled meat  in English

4. Emmy nominee Rae: ISSA.

5. Vitamin fig.: RDA.

6. New Orleans heros: PO'BOYS.

7. Gyeran-mari and tamagoyaki: OMELETS.

8. Acorn, for one: SEED 😀

9. One of the Haim sisters: ESTE - She is on the right

10. Red hot pizza: TOMATO PIE.

11. "My bad!": OOPS, SORRY.

12. Bone, in Italian: OSSO - Mi sono rotto un OSSO del braccio (I broke a bone in my arm)

13. Approximate weight of some large butterflies: GRAM.

14. City with views of Table Mountain: CAPETOWN.

19. Scale divs.: LBS.

21. Noodle dish with a tonkotsu variety: RAMEN - Tonkotsu is a Japanese word that refers to both a ramen broth made from pork bones and a fried pork cutlet dish. You're welcome.

23. "Thx" counterpart: PLS.

24. Patient sound?: AHH.

26. Turn blue, perhaps: DYE 😀

28. Top sports figure?: SALARY CAP - When you pay your QB a huge salary, it's hard to get good players for other positions and stay under the SALARY CAP.

29. Google Wallet alternative: APPLE PAY.

31. Lackluster: HO HUM.

33. Short records: EPS - Extended Play recordS play a little longer than a 45 rpm record and far less than a 33 1/3 rpm LP

34. Have a good cry: SOB.

36. Fry alternative: TOT 😀 - Tater TOTS are a good alternative to French fries.

39. Mulan, for one: HEROINE.

42. Ring around the collar: LEI.

44. Down Under one: AUSSIE - A nickname for Australia is OZ because it's pronunciation is close to its first syllable.

47. Sitar accompaniment: TABLA.

48. Like much of Maine: RURAL.

49. Netflix show set in Missouri: OZARK.

50. Farmer's market structure: TENT.

51. Peter of the Wailers: TOSH ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

52. Quintet for most starfish: ARMS - Creepy

53. Place for cuticle oil: NAIL.

54. Chew like a mouse: GNAW.

57. Naughty child: IMP.