Saturday, June 2, 2018, Erik Agard

Themeless Saturday Puzzle on National Prairie Day

Today Erik Agard's challenge comes to us on the first Saturday in June which is National Prairie Day. Who better to discuss his puzzle on this day than someone who has lived his entire seventy-one years on the prairie of the Great Plains than Husker Gary. 

Shown here is a beautiful part of my state where an exclusive golf course has been carved into the prairie near Valentine, Nebraska. This combines the love of where I live with my favorite pastime.

 Here our constructor Erik is shown after winning an ACTP event. If you "blow up" the puzzle behind him, I think you will get an idea of the sense of those championship puzzles.

Here is a 2013 interview Erik did with C.C.

OXLIP

I last blogged an Eric Agard puzzle on Cinco de Mayo where he partnered with Sam Donaldson. 

Today's solo effort by Erik challenged and entertained me greatly especially where I definitely thought TOME was correct but whose O could not possibly be right to start TULIP for 

44. Yellow perennial: OXLIP where I already had firmly established _ _ L I P

Oh well, I left it in as you can see below in DA GRID and I'll accept my uncertainty as punishment. 




Let's see what else this wunderkind (19 yrs old in 2013) has for us here on the prairie and elsewhere in the U.S. of A.


Across:

1. Pitch sign: CLEF - Now if this had been a C.C. puzzle... 

5. Saturn, for one: GAS GIANT - We live on the third of the four inner "Rocky Planets" from the Sun. Beyond Mars there are four GAS GIANT planets that probably have no solid surface

13. Super-fancy: LUXE - Okay

14. Slightly more than a one-man show: TWO HANDER - A new term for me. A play for two actors as seen here

Linda Lavin and Sarah Paulson in Collected Stories

15. Most eligible for service: ONE-A - A classification that drove many Vietnam Era boys to college for at least a year

16. Pluralis majestatis: THE ROYAL WE - Below, you see a Queen Victoria statement after a comedian told an "off color" story in her presence at a large public gathering  

17. Bee's home: SACRAMENTO - Neither HONEYCOMB nor MAYBERRY NC worked where Sacramento's newspaper's was intended

19. Te __: iconic Chickasaw actress: ATA- An incredible Oklahoma Chickasaw woman who saw fame as an actress, story teller and politician. She performed for FDR and George VI in 1939 who was the aforementioned Queen Victoria's grandson

20. Layer of very large eggs: EMU.

21. Grilled, in Mexican fare: ASADA.

22. Jefferson, for one: DEIST.

24. Slangy "Absolutely!": TOTES - Short for Totally. Man, you must really be in a hurry if you use TOTES for  Totally as in "the scenery is TOTES amazing!"

26. Add: TOSS IN - "All right, we'll TOSS IN the undercoating on that car!" Yeah right!

28. Pixy __: candy: STIX - essentially artificially colored sugar

29. Modern navigation aid: URL

30. Some Spitzes, for short: POMS - Here's a POMERANIAN getting cooled off at a dog show

32. Rhetorical question to one who's too good to be true: HOW ARE YOU REAL? - A question I've had about the amazing Minneapolis (by way of Xi'an, China) woman who runs this blog and has given me a lovely new dimension to my life!

36. Scandinavian name akin to Nicholas: NILS - The "36. Guitarist Lofgren" must have been already checked out of the clue library

37. "Code Switch" airer: NPR.

38. "No more!": STOP 

40. Fired at the table?: FLAMBE.

42. Member of a Hindu trinity: SHIVA

Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord SHIVA

43. Ones with wide spines: TOMES - My first thought for a wide-spined TOME

46. Young partner: ERNST - ERNST and Young is a professional services company headquartered in London

48. Image quality word: RES  - Hi RESolution and Low RESolution 

49. Long Reach Dusting System brand: OXO.

50. Rainforest visitor: ECO TOURIST.

52. Act naturally: PLAY IT COOL - Ringo did get to sing Act Naturally 

55. Chaps competitor: IZOD - Some of my golf shirts are IZOD I bought on sale





56. Powerful slitherer: PINE SNAKE - Here's  one in its namesake milieu 

57. Red Lobster has one for kids: MENU  Lobster burger with crab fries?

58. Wolverines rivals: SPARTANS.

59. Meeting of two sides: EDGE.



Down:

1. Secrecy metaphors: CLOSETS - I think most everybody is out of most every CLOSET and for the most part that is great including the one labelled 8. LGBTQ part: GAY.

2. Green flitter: LUNA MOTH - That which FLITS can be called a FLITTER which I usually consider to be a verb. That which FLITTERS would then be called a FLITTERER I guess.

3. How it's done: EXECUTION - The EXECUTION of a sacrifice bunt in baseball is cool to watch. I know this will be scored a base hit but still... 

4. "The mind-killer," in Frank Herbert's "Dune": FEAR.

5. 1950 Pulitzer winner for the poetry collection "Annie Allen": GWENDOLYN BROOKS - For this book she became the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize. I truly enjoyed learning about this poet

6. Heart lines: AORTAS.

7. Order to go: SHOO - cute clue

9. "Barefoot Contessa" host Garten: INA - Speaking of female authors 

10. Dwight's opponent: ADLAI - Combined, Adlai got 162 Electoral votes in 1952 & 1956 while Ike got 899

11. Older efts: NEWTS Eft/Newt Life Cycle if you're interested. None of these became The Speaker Of The House as far as I know

12. Minister to: TREAT.

14. __ arts: THEATRE - I missed the British spelling by a centimetre 


16. Symbols after many brand names: TMS - Many of these TradeMark symbols are followed by a  ™ or  ®

18. Remote fillers: AA'S - Papa, how did you change channels before there were remotes?

22. Christian on a runway: DIOR - Hey ladies, it's Ready To Wear 

23. Interlace: ENMESH - FITGURL uses the name in its product

25. Liz, to Richard, twice: EX-WIFE

27. Incite: SPUR.

29. Minor in astronomy?: URSA - The Little Dipper is part of the Little Bear (URSA Minor) Constellation and is the one point in the northern sky that stays in essentially the same place every night

31. Sent up: SATIRIZED.

33. Shakespeare title starter: ALLS - I remember reading ALLS Well That Ends Well in HS but have no memory about the storyline or characters. However, I can calculate square roots with just a pencil and paper, so...

34. Like some summer shoes: OPEN TOE - Some TOES should be out of sight and out of mind

35. Many a Top-40 hit: LOVE SONG - "Our Song" was Can't Help Falling In Love With You

39. Outstanding and then some: PAST DUE - Funniest (probably the only) scene about PAST DUE books ever made!

41. Certain Saudi: MECCAN - One would live a mere 8 hr 3 min drive from Riyadh via Route 40

42. Stand-up comic Gilliam: STU - How rare were black faces on TV in 1968? This picture of STU and Frank Sinatra Jr. is listed as an historical photo.

is 

43. Company that developed Bazooka Joe: TOPPS - TOPPS got into the bubble gum business and had Hopalong Cassidy trading cards in packs included with the gum in 1950. Success came when they switched to baseball player cards in 1952. This TOPPS card is worth big money!

45. Chief Tui's daughter, in a Disney film: MOANA - We'd better learn this recent (2016) Disney heroine as it is bound to become a cwd favorite with all those lovely vowels

47. One day, in "The Martian": SOL - On SOL 71 (upper left hand corner), The (stranded) Martian  (Matt Damon) uttered this fabulous, if slightly profane, statement 

50. Peak in Catania: ETNA - Move over ETNA, MOANA is here 

51. Winter coat: RIME - A beautiful scene in China where apparently they also have winter! 😏

53. Ending with law: YER.

54. "Was __ das?": IST - Das ist das Ende von Erik's Hinweise und jetzt fühlen Sie sich frei, zu kommentieren! (This is the end of Erik's clues and now feel free to comment!)

Saturday, May 26, 2018, Kyle Dolan

A Themeless Saturday Puzzle on Sally Ride Day 


Today we celebrate the birthday of America's first woman in space, Dr. Sally Ride. Her mission came 20 years after the Russians put Valentina Tereshkova into orbit in 1963. She is remembered as a true American hero and pioneer who died too young and this NASA educator is very pleased to acknowledge her contributions to the space program


30. They often display two years: GRAVE STONES

Dr. Dolan's challenging Saturday puzzle required that I get footholds in each quadrant. I strongly suspected I was going to have to go back and do some fudging and corrections in the southwest corner but ISLAY, ASYLA,  HEY YA and HER gave way to give me an enjoyable, solo "got 'er done."

As you can see by Kyle's Tweet at the right, he was excited about getting this puzzle published in the LA Times today.

Here are the rest of Kyle's entries. I may have given short shrift to some proper names but am confident in your search capabilities if you decide you are even remotely interested.


Across:

1. Tipping point: LAST STRAW.

10. "The Screwtape Letters" author: LEWIS - Calvin's Miss Wormwood is named for the apprentice devil in C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters

15. Nixon, in John Adams' "Nixon in China": OPERA ROLE - I wonder if Nixon's big aria is I Am Not A Crook!

16. Public perception: IMAGE - We all know what happened to the IMAGE of the guy above

17. Smoking choices: CLAY PIPES - These were found along the banks of the Thames and some date back to the 1580's

18. Confuse: MIX UP.

19. Org. with a tepee-shaped logo: KOA - We stayed in this KOA campground that had a lovely view of the Grand Tetons

20. Cowboy handle: TEX.

21. Keep things as they are: SIT PAT - I'm more familiar with STAND PAT when you have a good poker hand and don't want to take more cards

22. Seekers of a better life, perhaps: EMIGRES and what some of them seek 56. Safe places: ASYLA.

25. 18th Dynasty Egyptian ruler, familiarly: TUT - Lord Carnarvon , the 5th Earl of Carnarvon (right),  financed the Howard Carter (left) dig that found TUT. The Lord occupied Highclere Castle that was used in Downton Abbey and later died under mysterious circumstances. Some think it was the curse of TUT.

26. Japanese flier that sponsors an LPGA major tournament: ANA - All Nippon Airways

27. Scottish landscape feature: BRAE - Hillsides

28. Director Wiseman: LEN - I didn't recognize any of his work in the IMBd but I do recognize his wife Kate Beckinsale. 

29. Colorful gem: OPAL.

34. "Broad City" co-star: ILANA GLAZER - Talk about not knowing her - I had every letter of her name except the first L and then GAG LAW furnished that.

35. Concert pieces: GRAND PIANOS

36. Cry for attention, maybe: MEOW - My de reguier kitty picture! Awww...

37. Horsefeathers: ROT 

38. Source of tweets: NEST - I wonder if our robins are sending messages from their NEST outside my window

41. Wayfarer's rest: INN - Confidently putting in NADIRS for Low Points gave me A _ _ which held off INN for awhile 

42. 2013 Spike Jonze film: HER - Okay

43. It often involves getting a card nowadays: CHECK-IN - Disney now offers a wrist band that unlocks your resort door instead of a Key Card.

46. Family tree entry: NEPHEW - I sub for mine a lot

48. Kaitlin's "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" role: DEE - Okay

49. Chicago-to-Lansing dir.: ENE - It appears to be a 3.5 hr drive with the first part around the lake

50. Southernmost of the Inner Hebrides: ISLAY - It is just off the coast of Scotland, known as The Queen Of The Hebrides and known for a good single malt, uh, scotch

13. Lesser Antilles lizards: IGUANAS - Where they are and what they are. 

Geography lesson for today - Upper Midwest, the Inner Hebrides and The Lesser Antilles.

51. Ringer's workplace: BELL TOWER - Quasimodo played for Notre Dame at this workplace

54. Easily crumbled: MEALY  - "MEALY-mouthed" more familiar to you?

55. Leading by a lot: WELL AHEAD - Jockey Ron Turcotte on Secretariat looks back to see where the other horses are in the finish of the 1973 Belmont 

57. "What a terrible shame": I'M SO SORRY - I'M SORRY, SO SORRY. The little girl with the big voice and some puppies!

Down:

1. Age of Enlightenment thinker: LOCKE- He had much to say on being tolerant of other religions, people retaining rights over government and the rearing of children

2. Composure: APLOMB.

3. What's inspired by the ocean?: SEA AIR - inspired/expired for inhaled/exhaled

4. Whirl: TRY - "Aw come on, give it a whirl!"

5. Drain: SAP - Don't let her cut your hair Samson!

6. Lacking originality: TRITE - Nothing here from Dr. Dolan

7. Things to learn, with "the": ROPES - You learn the ROPES of teaching by teaching

8. "A Clockwork Orange" antihero: ALEX.

9. Jazzman Montgomery: WES.

10. Contain: LIMIT - The job of relief pitchers is to come in and LIMIT the damage already done

11. Release: EMIT.

12. Roll in a pantry: WAX PAPER - A really great use for WAX PAPER. You can see it on the ground at the end of the clip.

14. Of a dividing membrane: SEPTAL - My ENT tells me the SEPTUM in my nose is crooked but to leave it alone for now

21. It might end at the sleeves: SUNTAN - Marines after 7 months in the desert

23. Expression suppression: GAG LAW - These never seem to work with our members of Congress. GAG ORDER seems more common

24. Put on again: RERAN - Seinfeld and I Love Lucy lead the pack

25. Model 3 automaker: TESLA - Here's one rolling out of a charging station in Rocklin, California. Will these soon be ubiquitous? 

28. For real: LEGITimate

29. "Be right there!": ONE SEC - ONE SEC, we just had that yesterday!

31. First name of two U.S. presidents: ANDREW - Jackson and Johnson

32. Mist: VAPOR.

33. Pungent gas: OZONE.

34. Part of a golfer's skill set: IRON PLAY - A harder skill to manage because you don't use a tee in the fairway as Michelle Wie shows here

35. Commencements: GENESES - Plural of genesis 

36. Low points: MINIMA - Ah yes, College Algebra

39. One that might hold tips: SKEWER - Beef tips and much more on SKEWERS

40. Failure to make good notes?: TIN EAR - There are others with this same opinion 

42. 2003-'04 OutKast chart-topper: HEY YA - If you like obscenity-laced, mysoginistic "music", he's your guy! 

43. Barred rooms: CELLS

44. Adele hit that won three Grammys: HELLO - Every kid I asked in a H.S. math class knew instantly!

45. Like oversized glasses, to some: NERDY - Name this non-NERDY actor in oversized glasses and the movie where this was one of the last scenes. Answer below the grid.

47. Dining area: HALL - MESS seemed right at first

48. Think: DEEM - If you DEEM it necessary, please comment

51. Airport near D.C.: BWI - Baltimore Washington International

52. Grad student jobs: TA'S.

53. "What have we here?!": OHO - To quote this lovely lady in Minneapolis we know,  "Gluey fill"


Feel free to comment (see 48 Down) on this paradoxical day - Dr. Ride and Dr. Dolan are the pair 'o docs

The big glasses wearer is Robert Di Nero and the movie was Casino where he was a mob guy who ran a casino and no one dared call him a NERD.