Friday, August 5, 2022, Jake Houston

TITLE: Time for bed Princess Winnifred the Woebegone; you must chose your bed. We wouldn't want you to pea in bed.

We are welcoming back Jake who first appeared in this themeless just over one year ago where HG presented Jake's background. He is also creating and promoting a musical based puzzle platform discussed HERE. Perhaps we will inspire him to come by and tell us more.

Today we have another version of a classic Friday theme, remove something from the fill but clue it so the solvers can find what is missing. Today we have a reveal accompanying the 4 bed sizes and they are located in ascending order of size and they descend the grid.

We also have some fun 7 and 10 letter fill to wrap around the 9 and 11 themers. ARTICLE, ATE INTO, THE FLEA, ADRENALINE, DIDGERIDOO, OPEN SESAME and  WAYNE MANOR. All distracting a bit from a simple theme.

20A. *Aircraft with dual turboprops: (TWIN) ENGINE PLANE  (11). Self-explantory.

38A. *Gutsy wager on "Jeopardy!": TRUE DAILY (9) (DOUBLE). I know many cornerites also love Jeopardy and the late Alex Trebek, but it was the professional gambler James Holzhauer who taught all-time champion Ken Jennings that strategy. 

44A. *Wildflower also known as wild carrot: (QUEEN) ANNE'S LACE (9). Queen Anne's lace the herb (Daucus carota) can reach heights of about 1 to 4 feet (31-120 cm.) high. I did not know this.

57A. *Tennyson poetry series set in Camelot: IDYLLS OF THE (11) (KING).  Our literati really praise this book but when I tried to read when I was 12 years old, I did not finish it. I have never gone back, though I love the Arthurian stories and legends. I really liked the BBC TV series MERLIN many of the books on this bigger than life man and even the silly movie A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. 

72A. With 73-Across, space-saving furniture, and what the answers to the starred clues each do: HIDE. 73A. See 72-Across: A BED. And if you hadn't sussed the theme before the reveal, you have it here. I am thinking about a Murphy bed but my wife does not like Mrs. Murphy. 

Across:

1. Pataky of the "Fast & Furious" films: ELSA. Do you like the double with 1D. "Anything __?": ELSE.

5. Pronoun on a coffee mug, maybe: HERS. These days we must be politically correct, right?

9. "What Unites Us" writer Rather: DAN. A collection of essays on patriotism by the long time CBS news man. 

A REVIEW.

12. Profit (from): LEARN. Ideally we should learn from experience, individually and as a nation. No politics.

14. Musical narrated by Che: EVITA. Here it is starring Madonna.  

                               

16. Wedding vow: I DO. She did...often.

17. With 65-Across, seat of California's Orange County: SANTA.  65A. See 17-Across: ANA.
  

18. Illuminated: LIT UP. If I were Boomer, I might say the Marlin's bullpen keeps getting lit up.

19. Beats by __: DRE. Have I told the story of an early date with Oo where we ended up at Brands Mart to shop for a birthday present for her son back in Thailand. I learned one of my first words of Thai... แพง (pronounced

Phæng - pang) meaning expensive.

22. Stylist's option: GEL. Do you gel your hair? Ladies? Gentleman? Uncommitted?

23. Rom-__: COM. RomANTIC ComEDY.

24. "Dark Phoenix" superheroes: X-MEN. There have been 13 including the DEADPOOL ones. DARK PHOENIX starred Sophie Turner from the GAME OF THRONES.

26. AFB truant: AWOL. Air Force Base - Absent Without Leave.

29. Manual readers: USERS. Really? We are not a culture of manual readers.

34. Babysitter's handful: BRAT. Why do they need to eat while taking care of a child?

36. Get to the point?: TAPER. Like a candle? Or an anteater?

40. "See ya!": BYE. You can't get rid of me yet.

41. Eroded: ATE INTO. Like a drip of water on a rock.

43. Salsa, e.g.: DIP. I have watched many J Lo and  Shakira videos and the dips are exciting.

Oh you mean the food; never mind.

46. Curling piece: STONE. You women are tough if you use stones to curl your hair. 

Oh you mean the sport dominated by Canadiens: never mind.

48. Class struggle?: TEST. Ha Ha, not a Karl Marx struggle, just a learning class. Or is it?

49. Butt heads: CLASH. Who is Beavis then? 

51. Groundbreaking tools: HOES. No cheap off color humor from me. Any more.

52. Repast: MEAL. How can you re-past? Why does this mean to eat?

54. Wow: AWE. Shucks ma'am.

56. "Montero" singer Lil __ X: NAS. Of course...rated XXX.  LINK at your own risk.
                        
66. Farm song refrain: EI EI O. Rated e i e i o.

67. Jetson who attends Little Dipper School: ELROY. So cute. 

68. "Loki" actor Hiddleston: TOM. He has played Loki in many movies and a series. LINK.

69. "¿Cómo está __?": USTED. Hi Lucy.

70. French flower: SEINE. He even includes the flower/flower misdirection and some...

71. Mined find: ORE. Rhymed guide.

Down:

2. Pastrami spec: LEAN. There is much debate about lean and fatty, the Jack Sprat of the deli world.

3. Squealed: SANG. If you want to know why, ask.

4. Encyclopedia entry: ARTICLE. Lots of them.

5. Toolbar button with a question mark: HELP. I am not familiar with this,

6. Diabolical: EVIL. Diabolical is a characteristic of the Devil.

7. EGOT winner Moreno: RITA. The EGOT is back.

8. Wow: STUN. I know my sense of humor sometimes stuns.

9. Australian wind: DIDGERIDOO. The didgeridoo is a wind instrument, played with continuously vibrating lips. The didgeridoo was developed by Aboriginal peoples of northern Australia. Women are not supposed to play as they believe it may cause infertility.

10. Fight-or-flight hormone: ADRENALINE. Pleasure hormone melatonin, pain hormone...don't pay her.

11. Oasis guitarist Gallagher: NOEL. "Some day you may find your hero; some day you may lose your mind."

13. Technology prefix: NANO.

15. High point: APEX. ACME; pay your money, take your chances.

21. CGI bird in Liberty Mutual ads: EMU. It is hard to believe a non-existent computer image has become a very hated spokes creature.

25. CFO's degree: MBA. Master of Business Administration.

26. Ready to swing: AT BAT. I did not realize swingers had expressions to show they were ready. I guess visually...

27. Gothic estate in Gotham City: WAYNE MANOR. Bruce will you have tours when you rebuild?

28. Words that provide access: OPEN SESAME. The phrase first appears in Antoine Galland's French translation of One Thousand and One Nights (1704–1717) as Sésame, ouvre-toi (English, "Sesame, open yourself").

30. Great deal: STEAL. I do not think we should be encouraging crime. 

31. CNN correspondent Hill: ERICA. I have never seen her either on CBS or CNN but learned today she is from Clinton Connecticut, about an hour SW of where I grew up and next to where my uncle who was a doctor would rent a house for a month every summer in Beach Park. I also learned Beach Park does not exist anymore.

32. Ancient characters: RUNES. Not all the old crazies but their alphabet. The one from the Vikings is the most well known, I think.
                        
33. All ready: SET. Go!

35. Sorts: TYPES. It seems like I have been sorting this write-up for hours.

37. Dorm figs.: RAS. Resident advisers, who as far as my experience with two sons who stayed in campus facilities, they mostly advised about the good party spots. We are in Florida after all.

39. __ Equis beer: DOS. The most interesting beer? They fired the guy. Then they hired him back when sales plummeted. EVERY TV AD

42. "CrazySexyCool" singers: TLC. The STORY.

45. Unreliable stat from the fashionably late: ETA. 

47. John Donne poem featuring an insect: THE FLEA. The LINK. Is this a sex poem?

50. Owns: HAS.

53. In __ of: LIEU.

55. Burdens: WOES.

56. Org. with an alphabet: NATO. The Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, commonly known as the NATO phonetic alphabet, is the most widely used set of clear code words for communicating the letters of the English alphabet, technically a radiotelephonic spelling alphabet.  Wiki.

58. Menu item: DISH. I prefer food.

59. Creature in Tibetan myth: YETI. These mythical creatures have been written about for millennia.  Alexander the Great demanded to see a Yeti when he conquered the Indus Valley in 326 B.C. But, according to National Geographic, local people told him they were unable to present one because the creatures could not survive at that low an altitude.

60. Wasn't truthful: LIED. They were not under oath...

61. Mined find: LODE. I told you there would be another rhyme at some time,

62. Windy City paper, with "the": TRIB. The HISTORY. 

63. Polish: HONE. When I was young I was confused why a local softball team would call themselves the Polish Citizens. 

64. Sized up: EYED. I see this as a creepy way to end an otherwise fun puzzle. but that is just me. 

I must be too self-conscious. I had fun with this one as we went all over to get to the end. I did feel like a tour bus conductor taking you all for a ride. Not that kind of ride. Have a wonderful August, Lemonade out and be good to yourselves, your loved ones and all the rest. It is free.

Saturday, July 24, 2020, Jake Houston

Saturday Themeless by Jake Houston

Jake is another new constructor and his puzzle was fun to solve. It featured proper names that spanned generations from Luke Wilson to Georgie Jessel. Wow!

Here is a note from Jake with some personal information:

Hi Gary!

I’m a writer, musician and soon-to-be tech project manager from New Haven, Connecticut. I graduated Yale College (Husker - He is an  6. New Haven alum: ELI) in 2019 with a B.A. in American Studies, and have been constructing crosswords since shortly after graduation. I got really into making themelesses during the pandemic, and this one, from June 2020, was one of my favorite early grids. 

Jake added info about this particular puzzle:

Triple stacks are easier to work with than other themeless formats (at least for me), because the grid has a focal point which provides an easy place to start. I built the grid and left Crossfire alone for a few minutes so that it could find some nice combinations for the center stack, and I was happy with this particular trio (31-Across is particularly relevant for Los Angeles!). I then worked outward from there, adding cheater squares when needed. There are a few entries that aren’t ideal (I wouldn’t be in a hurry to use 32-Down in a grid nowadays), but I think there’s a pretty nice density of juicy phrases, and even some one-word entries that I like (who would have known how meaningful 37-Down would become in our lives?). I was also pleased that my original clues for 37-, 39-, and 53-Across survived the editing process - and thanks to the LA Times team for the additional great clues

-Jake

Across:

1. Original airer of "The Flintstones": ABC - The first primetime cartoon show for adults. TV Guide for September 30, 196o: 

4. Frat Pack brother of Luke: OWEN - The Wilson brothers are in the top row - Owen is second from the left and Luke is on the right

8. Where a queen may be crowned: PROM - Let's not talk about the movie Carrie

12. Swedish aerospace giant: SAAB.

14. __ system: SOLAR - We learned last Sunday that a mechanical scale model is called an ORREY

16. Emmy winner Ward: SELA - She has a recurring role in crosswords 

17. Metaphor for nonstop action: THRILL RIDE - My first big one was the incredible Hulk at Universal Studios Orlando.

19. Throws in: ADDS.

20. Former capital of Myanmar: RANGOON - The new capital, Naypyitaw, is a 4 1/2 hours drive north of the old capital of RANGOON (Yangon), Burma (Myanmar)

21. Beemer alternative: JAG - I would say "JAG whar" but in the U.K. they would say "JAG you whar"

23. Insurance ad woman: FLO - Haven't we seen enough of her?

24. Prayer leaders: IMAMS.

25. Coach's strategy: GAME PLAN - The great coaches change their GAME PLAN when the original isn't working

27. "I am not strange. I am just not normal" artist: DALI - 15 things about his most famous painting

28. UFC sport: MMA - Mixed Martial Arts is part of Ultimate Fighting Championship

30. Boots, in a way: LOADS - When a computer boots up, it LOADS the operating system. More

31. Hubbard movement: SCIENTOLOGY - L. Ron Hubbard. Old Mother Hubbard moving to the cupboard leapt to my feeble mind first.

35. Reality show with auctioneers: STORAGE WARS - They bid on unclaimed storage lockers. Like many other "reality" shows, there is a debate whether this is real or staged.

36. Illustrations on some old maps: SEA MONSTERS.

37. Uses a lot?: PARKS - Badly below

38. Talk acronym: TED - The TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Foundation is a non-profit that offers live talks and TED Talks online

39. It's behind you: PAST.

43. Emergency building section: FIRE AREA.

46. Transform: MORPH 

47. Gilbert and Sullivan princess: IDA.

48. Theater pickups, on signs: TIX - Broadway tickets

49. Multitalented Jessel of vaudeville: GEORGIE - A gimme for those of us with some miles on our tires who might struggle with some contemporary names. His IMDB

GEORGIE seen here in the 40's
with a girl named Norma Jean Baker

51. Italian tubes: ZITI.

53. Higher education?: BIBLE STUDY - Fun clue

55. U.K. prime minister during the Suez Crisis: EDEN - Lying about what happened cost him his job. How it was handled on BBC's The Crown

56. MIT __: business school: SLOAN.

57. Forward thinker: SEER.

58. Fishing boat tools: RODS - The oars and nets were in the other boat

59. Marine hazard: EDDY.

60. Lock-changing aid?: DYE - Locks of hair

Down:

1. Lindgren who wrote the Pippi Longstocking tales: ASTRID - It will cost you $1,200 for a 1945 first edition that is 5. Showing signs of age: WORN.

2. Grand __: BAHAMA.

3. Earthly: CARNAL.

4. "Hedda Gabler" setting, now: OSLO - Ibsen's 1891 play was set in Kristiania, Norway which was renamed Oslo in 1925. Learning for me but easy to fill. Talk about your Saturday cluing! 

7. Title woman in an André Breton novel: NADJA - Talk about needing perp help!

8. MADD ad, e.g.: PSA - Public Service Announcement 

9. Warnings: RED FLAGS - 14 relationship RED FLAGS for women so they don't make a 13. "Not a good idea at all": BIG MISTAKE.

10. Noted fly swallower: OLD LADY - A fun read if you've forgotten it

11. Stonewallers?: MASONS.

15. Set of sheets: REAM.

18. Head of the LAPD?: LOS - Not ELL, but the whole word

22. Actress Sarah Michelle __: GELLAR.

25. Rap genre: GANGSTA and 46. Rapper __ Def: MOS 

26. Rude losers: POOR SPORTS and 29. Nasty: MEAN.

28. Barcelona-born surrealist: MIRO - Mira el MIRO (Look at MIRO)

32. Global networking pioneer: COMSAT - Jake regretted this entry but it was right in this NASA guy's wheelhouse. One of the first COMmunication SATellites was called Telstar and inspired this funky 1962 song.

33. Parisian bean?: TETE - Two French athletes competing against one another can be said to be going TÊTE à TÊTE

34. Due: OWED.

35. Like some knives: SERRATED.

Plain vs. SERRATED

36. Got hitched: SAID I DO - Married? No, but thanks for playing!

37. Xanax maker: PFIZER - Common name for tranquilizer alprazolam

40. Contended: ARGUED.

41. __-sense: superhero asset: SPIDEY.

42. "__ here": "Poltergeist": THEY'RE.

44. Kids: RIBS - The verb not the noun

45. Kick out: EXILE - "Napoleon, pack your bags for St. Helena"

49. Smiling, probably: GLAD.

50. Choice word?: EENY - ELSE was the, uh, wrong choice 

52. Helpful connections: INS - I've never had an "IN" to help me get a job but two former students who are police officers did let me off with a warning instead of a ticket.

54. Gym specimen: BOD - Jake probably didn't mean Dad BODS.