Saturday, November 9, 2019, Joe Deeney

Themeless Saturday by Joe Deeney


I had a very pleasant exchange with Joe about this puzzle and here is his response:

Hi Gary,

I always enjoy reading the Crossword Corner blog post and the comments when I have a puzzle in the LA Times. Of course I'm familiar with her puzzles (and a fan of them!), but I've never had the pleasure of meeting or talking with C.C..

This photo was taken at the Exploratorium in San Francisco in 2014. I believe the device was intended to swap one's hearing left/right. I don't remember much else about it, but I've always enjoyed the photo. :-)

My notes suggest I originally constructed this puzzle in June of 2018. I submitted it to Rich that November; in January, he requested a revision to the SW corner. I gave him a few options and he accepted this version in February.

I keep a running list of potential seed entries for themeless puzzles - I try to limit myself to entries that I've got clever clues for. The seed for this puzzle was SAGITTARIUS, which I clued as [Fall guy?] - I haven't seen the final version yet so I'm not sure if Rich kept the clue. 

I have a unexplained fascination with grids that have 90 degree rotational symmetry - more than half of the themeless grids I construct have this. I thought this grid arrangement would be a fun challenge. In hindsight, the corners are quite difficult to fill cleanly. FUELOILS, DYSONS, and FREONS are all unfortunate plurals that I probably wouldn't use today.

Thanks for your fun photo and sharing a bit about yourself. I look forward to Saturday's blog post! Let me know if you have any more questions.

-Joe

Across:

1. Jacket whose earliest version was created for pilots: BOMBER - This WWII BOMBER jacket was "featured" on Pawn Stars and eventually sold at auction for $2,650

7. Saw the sites?: SURFED - Sites not sights

13. "The Conduct of Life" essayist: EMERSON - All nine of his essays from this 1860 publication

15. Players on the road: TROUPE - Taylor Swift required 82 semis for her TROUPE to set up here in Columbus, Ohio

16. Place to park a whirlybird: HELISTOP - Our local hospital has a HELISTOP where patients are loaded and unloaded. Maintenance is done on the aircraft in a HELIPORT at the local airport.

-and- 

6. Whirlybird part: ROTOR - Both horizontal and vertical

18. Even though: ALBEIT.

19. More than is prudent: ONE TOO MANY - AA motto: "ONE drink is TOO MANY and a thousand aren't enough"

21. If-then-__: programmer's construct: ELSE - Below you get two chances

22. Factor in club selection: LIE - Use a very lofted club and swing hard!

23. Catches on the range: ROPES - ROPES as a cowboy verb here

24. Drilling org.: ROTC - Yeah right, I was the only one who had to change OPEC

25. First of a box set: DISC I - DISC I is their first studio album Please, Please Me

28. DVR button: REW.

29. Crooked: ATILT - Gate Of Europe in Madrid

30. Privileged group: INNER CIRCLE.

33. Sign of fall: SAGITTARIUS - Joe's cluing of "Fall Guy" didn't make it past Rich

34. Comedy of errors?: BLOOPER REEL - Google at your leisure 

35. "Speak up!": SAY IT - "Just shout 'em right out!"

36. Some smoke detector batteries: AA'S - Why do those AA'S always go dead at 3 am? Beep, beep...

37. Spruce (up): SPIFF - Wal Mart's attempt to SPIFF up

41. "Over here!": PSST.

42. Groom carefully: PRIMP.

44. Surly sort: CUR - A CUR can have two or four legs

45. Is in Spain?: ESTA - "Dónde ESTA el baño" is probably a phrase we all have learned to relieve a biological imperative

46. Michigan national park: ISLE ROYALE - Cost to get to ISLE ROYALE from Copper Harbor, MI - $136/person for this boat (round trip),  $7/day National Park user fee and $10/day to park your car at Copper Harbor.

49. Sat on a sill, perhaps: COOLED.

51. Avoided a tag at: SLID INTO - Whit Merrifield SLID INTO and contorted around the tag at second

52. Minolta partner: KONICA.

53. Boards with a jump: LEAPS ON - Or not...

54. Cunning: SNEAKY.

55. V11 vacuums, e.g.: DYSONS - Want one?


Down:

1. Take in: BEHOLD.

2. 1978 horror sequel: OMEN II - Meh...

3. Free-for-alls: MELEES.

4. Many a theatre attendee: BRIT - Theatre/theater

5. Gulf Canada alternative: ESSO.

7. Halts: STAYS - S T _ _ S Hmmm, what else could it be? 

8. Business card letters: URL.

9. "I Spy" actor: ROBERT CULP - Too soon to mention his co-star?

10. They usually have higher flash points than kerosene: FUEL OILS - Kerosene's flashpoint is around 100°F and it's 150°F for FUEL OILS and so the latter is considered to be safer

11. Dispatch: EPISTLE - St. Paul's EPISTLE to the Corinthians contains my favorite words from the Bible

12. Discover: DETECT.

14. Baby shampoo product line: NO MORE TEARS - An ad campaign that has been around for a long time

17. Auditors' follow them: PAPER TRAILS - Part of the PAPER TRAIL that sent Al Capone on an all-expenses-paid trip to Alcatraz

20. Air freshener option: NEW CAR SMELL.

26. PBS cooking show hosted by Mary Ann Esposito: CIAO ITALIA - Here 'ya go

27. Pricey bar: INGOT.

29. Celestial ovine: ARIES - The Ram

31. Pinch: NIP.

32. More than displeasure: IRE.

33. Singer at Woodstock with his "Family": SLY (and the family) STONE - Unlike countless others, SLY has proof he was actually at Woodstock

34. Big wind: BASSOON - First of all, ya gotta love a musical group called The Breaking Winds. Secondly they are a BASSOON - playing quartet, here doing Lady Gaga music  complete with costuming and choreography!

35. Iotas: SPECKS.

38. "Just you watch!": I CAN SO.

39. Atlanta's county: FULTON - When Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium was torn down, the outfield fence over which Hank Aaron's 715 sailed was saved in place and a parking lot was built around it

40. Trademarked halocarbon products: FREONS - Everything you could possibly want to know

42. March 14, mathematically: PI DAY - Google is full of many clever, delicious variations

43. Asked too much: PRIED.

47. Jazz singer Anita whose stage name is pig latin for a slang word for "money": ODAY - DOUGH in pig latin is ODAY

48. Performance anxiety: YIPS - Usually associated with golf but can happen to hitters, fielders, field goal kickers, 3-pt shooters, ad infinitum 

50. Luther opponent Johann __: ECK - The Leipzig Debate

Friday, August 30, 2019 Joe Deeney

BIRD IDIOMS


18. Fat flier?: ROUND ROBIN.

A round robin is a tournament format in which every player (or team) plays every other player (or team) in order.

26. Frozen flier?: COLD TURKEY.

Cold turkey has come to mean to suddenly stop doing something.  Often associated with quitting smoking. 

40. Feeble flier?: LAME DUCK.

Referring to an elected official who is nearly powerless because they are only holding the position  until the end of the current term.

53. Funny flier?: SILLY GOOSE.

I think the meaning of silly goose has to be taken in context.  It can be playful and it can be insulting.

64. Frugal flier?: BUDGET HAWK.

One who trains the focus of a keen eye and a sharp pencil on a spending plan, looking for opportunities to pare spending.



Each theme "flier" clue was described with an adjective that began with the letter F.   5 theme clues that used only 6 different words.  Pretty neat.   Definitely consistent.

I enjoyed solving this puzzle and spotting the birds hidden in the clues.  I had no idea where we were going until I got one.    I hope you did not find this puzzle "for the birds."  


Across:

1. Letters before QIA: LGBT.  LGBTQIAPK+ and What It Means

5. "Harrumph!": PSHAW.

10. Chance in a box: AT BAT.

15. "Small world": OH HI.

16. Make it right: ATONE.

17. First two-time Nobelist: CURIE.  Marie Skłodowska Curie

20. Cuts back: TRIMS.

21. Suffix with violin: IST.

22. For whom Wednesday is named: ODIN.

23. One of a famous 154: SONNET.  A Guide to the Sonnets of William Shakespeare

24. Ignite: START.

29. Unpleasant look: SNEER.

31. Dress down: BERATE.  Refund: Rebate.  Old car: Beater.  

32. Metaphorical Donne poem: THE FLEA.

34. Rand who created Howard Roark: AYN.  From the book, The Fountainhead.

35. Old phone part: DIAL.   I posted this before.  I love how the parents? encourage the boys to figure out how it works. 


39. Half a matching set: HIS.

43. __ wrongs ...: TWO.  don't make a right.

44. Bet first: OPEN.

46. Phil's twin on "Rugrats": LIL.  Phil and Lil DeVille.  No idea.

47. Eyes slyly: PEEPS AT.

49. Baffler: ENIGMA.

52. Jet: SPRAY.

57. "Creed" actress Thompson: TESSA.  Tessa Thompson   No idea.

59. Simultaneity: UNISON.  Ballet Mécanique

60. Rick's "kid": ILSA.   Casablanca

62. Comedy club reactions: HAs.  HA HA HA HA HA !

63. Colorful four-tone toy: SIMON.


67. Vintner's concern: AGING.  Oeno stuff.

68. Didn't dine out: ATE IN.

69. Latin 101 verb: AMAT.   He loves.

70. "That's incorrect": NOT SO.

71. "It __ happened yet": HASN'T.

72. "So Sick" singer: NE-YO.   Shaffer Chimere Smith   No idea.

Down:

1. Sri Lankan primate: LORIS.  So cute.  Don't rub their bellies.


2. The Flying Dutchman, for one: GHOST SHIP.  A Tale From Holland

3. Group with an extremely high population?: BHUTANESE.   The people of Bhutan.    The country's landscape ranges from lush subtropical plains in the south to the sub-alpine Himalayan mountains in the north, where there are peaks in excess of 7,000 metres (23,000 ft). - Wikipedia

4. Sn, on a table: TIN.   And  27. Pb, on a table: LEAD.     Elements in the Periodic Table, in Group 14 (the Carbon Group), Periods 5 and 6 respectively. 

5. Cowpoke's pal: PARD.

6. Not easily moved: STOIC.

7. Fraternize: HOBNOB.

8. Team's lack?: AN I.

9. Harmless cyst: WEN.

10. Carry on: ACT OUT.

11. Flush: TURN RED.

12. Precipice: BRINK.

13. "Mental Illness" Grammy winner Mann: AIMEE. 

14. Cross: TESTY.

19. "How about that": DO TELL.

23. Politician's positions: STANCES.

25. One sometimes accused of being blind: REF (eree).  

28. Stop producing opportunities, as a financial market: DRY UP.

30. Adjust, as wheels: REALIGN.

32. Brief while?: THO (ugh).   While I tend to agree that two wrongs don't make a right, sometimes tit for tat feels good.  Though I don't think it's always the best reaction. 

33. Pal of Picasso: AMIGO.

36. "So sad!": IT'S A SHAME.

37. Far off: AWAYS AWAY.

38. Land purchase: LOT.

41. Muppet who doesn't use the pronoun "I": ELMO.

42. Didn't give up on: KEPT AT.

45. __ Column: Trafalgar Square monument: NELSON'S.

Nelson's last and most famous battle was fought off the Spanish cape of Trafalgar, when he defeated Napoleon and the French and Spanish fleets. 

48. Mature leader?: PRE.

50. "12 Years a Slave" Oscar winner Lupita __: NYONG'O.  "12 Years a Slave is a 2013 biographical period drama film and an adaptation of the 1853 slave memoir Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, a New York State-born free African-American man who was kidnapped in Washington, D.C. by two con men in 1841 and sold into slavery."

Nyong'o played the role of Patsey, a slave who works alongside Northup at a Louisiana cotton plantation.

51. Thought-revealing drama techniques: ASIDES.

53. Geena's "Thelma & Louise" co-star: SUSAN.   "It stars Geena Davis as Thelma and Susan Sarandon as Louise, two friends who embark on a road trip with unforeseen consequences."

54. Fictional fencer Montoya: INIGO.  Inigo Montoya is a fictional character in William Goldman's 1973 novel The Princess Bride.

55. Age __: LIMIT.

56. Onetime Rolex rival: ELGIN.   "Elgin was founded in 1864, right as the civil war was coming to an end. The first watch Elgin made, an 18 sized B W Raymond railroad grade watch, was finished in 1867 and over the next 100 years, they went on to produce about 60 million watches. Elgin produced their first wristwatch around 1910." -  The Elgin Watch Collectors Site

Fun Trivia ?  NBA HOF'er Elgin Baylor was named after his father's favorite watch: -  NBA.com - Legends Profile: Elgin Baylor

58. Invite as one's date for: ASK TO.

61. Email folder: SENT.

64. "Harrumph!": BAH.

65. Acting guru Hagen: UTA.

"Hagen was an influential acting teacher who taught, among others, Matthew Broderick, Christine Lahti, Amanda Peet, Jason Robards, Sigourney Weaver, Katie Finneran, Liza Minnelli, Whoopi Goldberg, Jack Lemmon, Charles Nelson Reilly, Manu Tupou, Debbie Allen, Herschel Savage, George Segal, Jon Stewart, and Al Pacino. She was a voice coach to Judy Garland" - Wikipedia

66. Role for Harrison: HAN.   Actor Harrison Ford played Han Solo.

Saturday, April 27, 2019, Joe Deeney

Themeless Saturday Puzzle by Joe Deeney

Seventy-two years ago on April 27, 1947 Yankee Stadium was filled with fans who were there to pay tribute to the orphan from Baltimore who grew up to be the greatest Yankee of them all - Babe Ruth. Today we commemorate Babe Ruth Day on the date that memorial service was held.

The ceremony was held twelve years after George Herman Ruth was an active player and was fighting the cancer that would claim his life the next year. The wizened Sultan of Swat proclaimed, “There’s been so many lovely things said about me, I’m glad I had the opportunity to thank everybody.”

The Babe at Biography.com

Today appears to be Joe Deeney's fifth visit to our little word curiosity shop and his first on a Saturday.

I hope he checks in with us to explain what he has attached to his head in this picture and why he has that unusual smile on his face!

Now let's circle the bases on Joe's puzzle:

Across:

1. Venue for seven Verdi premieres: LA SCALA - Teatro alla Scala (Italian: “Theatre at the Stairway”). This is a poster from the premiere of Verdi's Otello in Milan in 1887

8. Savannah grazer: ORIBI - My Okapi (O _ _ _ I) had to be taken back to the zoo for this animal

An ORIBI

13. Mesmerize: ENTHRALL.

15. Sudoku skill: LOGIC - Basic Sudoku strategy tells you what number has to go in the red square (*answer at the bottom)

16. 1982 bestseller using Milne characters, with "The": TAO OF POOH - A lovely explanation and synopsis 

18. Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum town: STOWE.

19. Leaning: BIAS - News outlets these days seem to have their own thinly (or not so thinly veiled) BIAS

20. Unchecked: DESELECTED - This elevator allows you to DESELECT selections

22. Will of "Blue Bloods": ESTES - His IMDB

24. Tide may wash it away: STAIN.

25. When one might eat bánh chung: TET - Sticky rice cake traditionally served during the lunar new year of TET celebration in Vietnam

26. See 2-Down: NIN and 2. With 26-Across, "Delta of Venus" author: ANAIS - A crossword stalwart

28. Act addition?: IVE - C.C. would call this fill "gluey". I'd prefer 28. Jim Croce tune _ _ _  Got A Name

29. Fashion: MAKE - Last weekend I had my SIL fashion/MAKE a repair for my screen door with a screw, a washer and 5 toothpicks

30. 1987 film loosely based on "Cyrano de Bergerac": ROXANNE - A 1:30 trailer for this sweet movie Rotten Tomatoes gave an 89%

32. Gugino of "Wayward Pines": CARLA -  Her IMDB

33. "C'mon, man!": DON'T BE THAT GUY 

35. Daughter of Billy Ray: MILEY - The Cyrus'

36. Respond to a pledge drive: PHONE IN.

37. Star qualities: EGOS.

38. Portuguese saint: SAO -  SAO Paulo (Saint Paul), Brazil is 3x larger than the capital of Brasília 

39. Sea follower?: TAC - SEA-TAC (Seattle Tacoma Airport) to the Space Needle is a 23 min drive (uh, not at rush hour)

40. Small amount: TAD.

41. Get ready to compete, bodybuilder-style: OIL UP - I didn't feel like posting pix of BEACH BODS last week nor OILED UP bodybuilders this week. You're on your own.

43. Low-pay position: MCJOB - I've had many McJOBS (starting with a paper route) and learned valuable lessons from each

47. Antic: SHENANIGAN.

50. Merrie Monarch Festival celebration: HULA - It celebrates the legacy of Hawaiian King David Kalalakua 

51. Cunning canines: FOXES - A fox is of the species vulpine in the family of canines, therefore a cousin of dogs

52. "Glass" director: SHYAMALAN - Rotten Tomatoes - Critics - 37%, Moviegoers - 73%

54. Soccer Hall of Famer __ Lalas: ALEXI - His IMDB

55. Teaching a lesson, perhaps: TUTORING - A MCJOb for some new teachers 

56. Emulates a matryoshka doll, save one: NESTS.

57. Rx's from vets: PET MEDS 


Down:

1. Do not disturb: LET BE - My colleague always told kids to, "Leave it be"!

3. Short-tailed weasel: STOAT - Any animal with these friendly letters is welcome in our cwd zoo

4. Slayers, in the Buffyverse: CHOSEN ONES.

5. Husky's hello: ARF.

6. "Training Day" law org.: LAPD -  A trailer for this 2001 movie

7. Soothing succulents: ALOES.

8. Fictional photojournalist: OLSEN - Jack Larson's portrayal of Superman's early TV buddy Jimmy (far left) OLSEN is my favorite 

9. Drilling org.: ROTC - Close order drill

10. "Later": I GOTTA RUN.

11. 100 times a year, roughly: BIWEEKLY - It can be twice a week OR every two weeks (approximately 26 times a year) according to Merriam Webster

12. Sipped cooler: ICED TEA.

14. Daydreaming: LOST IN THOUGHT.

17. No-nonsense dismissal: HEAVE HO - If USC determines that Lori Loughlin's daughters knew of the fraudulent scheme to get them into school, they will be given the HEAVE HO

21. Factor in golf club selection: LIE - This LIE calls for hitting down with a more lofted club than usual

23. It's often done on highways: SIXTY -  A patrolman might 27. Pull in: NAB you if the speed limit is thirty

29. Fetish: MAGIC CHARM - Superstitious ball players consider their dirty caps a MAGIC CHARM and so they don't clean or replace their old ones

30. Obsolete organizers: ROLODEXES.

31. Highly populated people?: NEPALIS - Nepal has many high places to populate 

32. Third-stringers: C-TEAM - Nowadays it's not A-TEAM, B-TEAM, C-TEAM, it's Varsity, JV and Reserves. A 3rd stringer by any other name...

33. Excavate, with "in": DIG A HOLE - Or maybe you should quit

34. Hill worker: ANT.

35. Often not a Yankee supporter: MET'S FAN - My dad's hatred of the Yankees stemmed from being a Brooklyn FAN.

38. Sunday subject: SIN.

41. Spot for a drink: OASIS.

42. Satisfy a debt: PAY UP.

44. Andrews with an Oscar, two Emmys and three Grammys: JULIE - She won a Tony for My Fair Lady but Jack Warner wanted the better known Audrey Hepburn for Liza in the movie. Julie then took the role of Mary Poppins instead and beat out Audrey for the Oscar in 1964

45. Warner __, '20s-'30s portrayer of Dr. Fu Manchu: OLAND - Some now consider Warner's portrayal stereotypical and racist

46. Forehead covering: BANGS - Selena Gomez with and without

48. "I'm done with this one": NEXT.

49. Silver of FiveThirtyEight: NATE - His statistical site is named for the 538 electors for American presidents. On the eve of the 2016 election he predicted Hillary had a 71% chance of winning and Donald Trump a 29% chance

53. Bon __: MOT - Literally Good Word from the French

Raise a glass to the Old Bambino today!

That Sudoku square must have a 3