Themeless Saturday by Annemarie Brethauer and Katie Hale
Annemarie worked for twenty years at a local government access channel as a writer/director/producer and was also used to being strictly behind the camera (Documentaries like "Know Your Zoning Code."). She is now retired and freelancing as a puzzle creator.
Katie Hale, originally from Houston, is now a stay-at-home mom in London and Patti's assistant editor for the LA Times puzzles. We have seen her in a collaborative role quite often. In fact, this is my fourth Saturday Themeless collaboration with these two constructors.
After a run of very difficult solves, this one proved to be much easier and fun to do although some of the cluing...
Across:
1. Skip-the-line status: TSA PRE - No hint of abbreviation
7. Ambulatory access: APSE - New use of ambulatory for me. It can be a noun denoting the passageway used to access an APSE
11. Out of sorts: OFF.
14. Wartime partners: ALLIES - In 1945, I doubt my dad and uncles would ever have perceived that Germany and Japan would become our ALLIES and Russia would not
15. "Golda" subject: MEIR.
16. Links target: PAR.
17. Heckles: BOOS AT.
18. Taylor Swift hit that begins, "I have this thing where I get older, but just never wiser": ANTI HERO.
20. Take revenge: SETTLE OLD SCORES - Do politicians really do this? 🤔
22. Base runner's assertion: I'M SAFE - Shohei Ohtani pleads his case
23. Whac-A-Mole move: BASH.
24. First name in boxing: LAILA.
27. Penalty area in rugby, familiarly: SIN BIN.
30. Mantra sounds: OMS.
31. Sleeve element, for short: TAT - Howard and Raj got fake, slip-on TATS on Big Bang Theory to attract goth girls
33. Mexican-inspired casserole: TACO PIE - or a Frito Pie
37. Tusked pinniped: WALRUS.
39. Full-bodied: ROBUST.
40. "Ta-ta!": CHEERIO.
42. Disco guy on "The Simpsons": STU.
43. Univ. that sends acceptances on Pi Day: MIT ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but interesting
44. Turn down: REFUSE - Henry turned down a famous role that went to John
46. Tibet's capital: LHASA - McDonalds took its business to new heights at this restaurant in LHASA at an elevation of 12,123'
48. Title fellow in a 1922 Broadway hit: ABIE.
51. Spanish store: TIENDA.
"I want a bag "What color?"
53. Competition for queens: RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE.
59. Wade Wilson's alter ego: DEADPOOL ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
60. "Shaun of the Dead" genre: ZOM COM - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ A zombie comedy
61. Terminate: END.
62. Hill partner: DALE - Before the U.S. Army used the phrase...
63. "Take a chill pill!": COOL IT -
64. Figs.: NOS.
65. FanDuel list: ODDS - Here's how FanDuel sees the betting on today's Pinstripe Bowl. The Huskers are a 2.5 pt. favorite. On the Moneyline, you have to bet $132 straight up to win $100.
66. Makes invalid: ANNULS - Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman had their Las Vegas post-partying marriage ANNULLED nine days later
Down:
1. Window openings: TABS 😀 I always have too many open
2. Blackthorn: SLOE.
3. Lazy answer to "How many stars are in the sky?": A LOT.
4. Ovary plus stigma plus style: PISTIL.
5. Response to a puerile joke: REAL MATURE.
6. Newbery Medal winner Eleanor: ESTES ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
7. Coastal town at the foot of Monte Cerreto: AMALFI.
8. Suspended: PENDENT.
9. Gets ready to drive: SITS.
10. NFL Hall of Fame running back Dickerson: ERIC.
$550
11. Work traditionally performed without microphones: OPERA 😊
12. Uber passengers: FARES.
13. Ninth grader: FROSH.
19. Mix (with): HOBNOB.
21. Brewery kiln: OAST.
24. Note played by covering every hole on a recorder: LOW C - We called them tonettes when I was in school
25. Eastern nanny: AMAH.
26. __ of Man: ISLE.
28. Syst. that connects to Caltrain: BART - Bay Area Rapid Transit connects at Millbrae, CA.
29. "Do you need more reasons?": I COULD GO ON.
32. "Please.": AS IF.
34. Big cat: PUMA.
35. Goddess of the Pyramid Texts: ISIS - Four letter goddess and pyramids, hmmm...
I really liked this puzzle. Today's constructors, Brent Sverdloff and Katie Hale, remind us that music is literally a universal language, a "force of eternity", recognized and appreciated not only here on Earth, but all over the Universe. They demonstrate this with three theme clues filled with songs from different genres, each ending with the name of an extra-terrestrial body ...
16. *Frank Sinatra song: FLY ME TO THE MOON. A jazz standard written in 1954 by Bart Howard ...
29. *Beatles song: HERE COMES THE SUN. A classic rock song written by Beatle George Harrison ...
Our constructors bring it all together with their reveal ...
61. Heavenly sounds, and what the answers to the starred clues could be called: CELESTIAL MUSIC.
... this is also a particularly apt description of the music by the Medieval mystic Hildegard von Bingen that introduced this review.
Here's the grid ...
Here's the rest ...
Across:
1. Bypasses: OMITS.
6. Out of alignment: BENT.
10. Pilot's fig.: ALT. ALTITUDE.
13. One of 70 on a radiant-cut diamond: FACET.
Radiant-cut Diamond
14. Actor Sy of "Lupin": OMAR. Lupin is a French mystery thriller television series about professional thief Assane Diop, the only son of an immigrant from Senegal who had come to France to seek a better life for himself and his child. Assane's father is framed for the theft of an expensive diamond necklace by his employer and dies in his prison cell, leaving the fourteen-year-old Assane to fend for himself on the streets of Paris. Twenty-five years later, inspired by a book about gentleman thief Arsène Lupin his father had given him on his birthday, Assane sets out to get revenge on the Pellegrini family ...
15. Class before chem, often: BIO.
16. [Theme clue]
19. Kitten's call: MEW.
Kitten mewing
20. Nursery sch.: PRE K. PRE Kindergarten.
21. Brickmaker's need: KILN. I filled CLAY first. In researching this clue I stumbled upon this interesting short video about the history of brickmaking in Baltimore (interesting to Baltimorons anyway 😀) ... 22. Many a North African: ARAB.
24. Like a ghost story: EERIE. Like a really spooky lake?
27. Loaded, in Lima: RICO. Today's Spanish lesson: RICH.
34. "The Penguin" network: HBO. The Penguin is an American crime drama television miniseries developed by Lauren LeFranc. Based on the DC Comics character of the same name, it is a sequel spin-off from The Batman, a 2022 film. The series follows Oz Cobb's rise to power in Gotham City's criminal underworld. Definitely not a family series. Here's the first season trailer 35. Nothing: NADA. More Spanish: NADA = "Nothing".
38. Bath bubbles: SUDS.
40. Sci-fi invaders: ETS. They've been in the news since July 8, 1947 (two days after I was born😯) and are still in the news today -- here and here.
43. "Peter Pan" pooch: NANA. NANA appears in the story's opening scene. She is the Darling children's nursemaid ...
45. Do a double take, say: REACT.
49. [Theme clue]
53. Bellagio's lake: COMO. Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 square kilometres (56 sq mi), making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over 400 metres (1,300 ft) deep, it is the fifth-deepest lake in Europe and the deepest outside Norway; the bottom of the lake is 227 metres (745 ft) below sea level. One notable characteristic is its distinctive "Y" shape ...
Lake Como
54. Colander cousin: SIEVE.
55. Supergirl, for one: HERO. Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Here's a preview of coming attractions for one of the upcoming spinoffs starring Australian actress Milly Alcock. ...
56. "Pick one" hand position: FIST.
58. Lumber mill array: SAWS. Lumber mills do indeed have arrays of SAWS, but in researching this clue I encountered many more arrays of lumber mills.
60. Planner page: DAY.
61. [Theme reveal]
65. Red state: IRE. The red states are not in a red state these days. 😀
66. Hong __: KONG. My son, new grandson, and I ate lunch in Hong Kong during a one hour stopover from China to bring my grandson home.
67. "Peter Grimes," for one: OPERA. Peter Grimes is a tragic opera in 3 acts written by English composer Benjamin Britten in 1945. It is a dark, brooding story, set in a small fishing village on the East coast of England. Peter Grimes is a fisherman, a loner, estranged from the villagers and is accused of the deaths of his two young apprentices. The ending is ambiguous and we never really know if the accusations are true. In the last scene Grimes rows out to sea and drowns himself by scuttling his boat. It's not an opera I would recommend to those unacquainted with the genre.
The overall mood of the work is perhaps best expressed by a haunting, standalone instrumental work which is often performed as a concert piece -- The Four Sea Interludes that separate the acts. Here Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo leads the orchestra ...68. Donkey: ASS.
69. No great shakes: SO SO.
70. "We have the __!": Arby's slogan: MEATS.
Down:
1. Put up for sale: OFFERED.
2. Risk of spreading spam: MALWARE. Malware (a portmanteau of malicious software) is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, deprive access to information, or which unknowingly interferes with the user's computer security and privacy.
3. Like a hostile greeting: ICY.
4. Office part-timer: TEMP.
5. Start to type?: STEREO.
6. Goodreads suggestion, briefly: BOOK REC. Helping you decide what to read next ...
7. CPR expert: EMT. An Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) is an expert in Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The first step in helping someone who has had a heart attack and who has no pulse (their heart has stopped) is to call 911. Leave your phone on for instructions from the dispatcher and begin CPR immediately ... 8. Casual pass: NAH. "Not interested".
9. Long journey: TREK.
10. Put an end to: ABOLISH.
11. Simba, when lifted up by Rafiki: LION CUB. Rafiki is a baboon who knows a secret about Simba's father ... 12. Two thousand pounds: TON.
17. Abound (with): TEEM.
18. Mucky spot: MIRE.
19. Hawaiian catch, on menus: MAHI. Here's a recipe for pan fried MAHI-MAHI ...
Mahi-Mahi
23. Kidney __: BEAN.
25. Egyptian goddess of healing: ISIS. Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Her maternal aid was invoked in healing spells to benefit ordinary people. She was usually portrayed in art as a human woman wearing a throne-like hieroglyph on her head.
Isis
26. Shakespearean rebuke: ET TU. Today's Latin lesson: "AND YOU ... (Brutus!)".
28. Artist Yoko: ONO. Yoko Ono (born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Yoko and John Lennon when they married in 1969
30. "The Trolley Song" sound: CLANG. The Trolley Song is a song written by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin and made famous by Judy Garland in the 1944 film Meet Me in St. Louis ...
31. Many-headed mythical monster: HYDRA. The Hydra was a serpentine lake monster with 9 heads in Greek and Roman mythology. Its lair was the lake of Lerna, reputed to be an entrance to the Underworld. In the canonical Hydra myth, the monster is killed by Heracles (Hercules) as the second of his Twelve Labors.
Heracles battling the Hydra
36. Keynote's spot: DAIS.
37. MMXXIII, MMXXIV, etc.: ANNI. Today's Latin lesson: "Years".
39. Informal gathering: SESH.
40. Key hit in panic: ESC.
41. Groupon deals, perhaps: TWO FERS. Groupon, Inc. is an American global e-commerce marketplace connecting subscribers with local merchants by offering discounted activities, travel, goods and services in 13 countries. Groupon was launched in November 2008, its name being a portmanteau of "group" and "coupon". Groupon's first deal was a two-pizzas-for-the-price-of-one offer at the Motel Bar, a restaurant on the first floor of the company's building in Chicago. By the end of March 2015, Groupon served more than 500 cities worldwide, nearly 48.1 million active customers and featured more than 425,000 active deals globally in 48 countries.
42. "Fit as a fiddle" and "free as a bird": SIMILES. A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two things using words such as "like a", "as a". Similes are often confused with metaphors which are rhetorical comparisons of two things without any connectors. They may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas.
44. "It used to be that ... ": AGES AGO. LONG AGO fit, but didn't perp.
46. Was taken down quite a few notches: ATE DIRT. An evocative metaphor ...
48. Former quarterback Aikman: TROY. Troy Kenneth Aikman (born November 21, 1966) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. Aikman was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
Troy Aikman
50. Snout: NOSE.
51. Track shape: OVAL.
52. One taking maternity leave: NEW MOM.
57. Disapproving sounds: TSKS.
59. Tenant's contact, briefly: SUPE. Superintendent. I've heard "super" before, but never "supe". . 61. Org. in "Argo": CIA. Argo is a 2012 American biographical historical drama thriller film based on real events, directed, produced by, and starring Ben Affleck. The screenplay was adapted from the 1999 memoir The Master of Disguise by U.S. C.I.A. operative Tony Mendez and the 2007 Wired article The Great Escape: How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran. Here's a trailer ... 62. Moreover: TOO.
63. Helpful connections: INS.
64. Dog or wolf preceder: SEA. There were many references for both Sea Dog and Sea Wolf, but here are two I found interesting ...
The Sea Dogs were a group of English privateers and explorers authorized by Queen Elizabeth I to raid England's enemies, whether they were formally at war with them or not. Active from 1560 until Elizabeth's death in 1603, the Sea Dogs primarily attacked Spanish targets both on land and at sea, particularly during the Anglo-Spanish War. Probably the most famous of these was Sir Francis Drake, who lead the British navy in their defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. The defeat is commemorated in a poem called Drake's Drum by Sir Henry Newbolt and set to music by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. My favorite recording of Drake's Drum is a stirring rendition by Sir John Shirley-Quirk, which sadly is no longer available on Youtube. Here is an MP3 file of Sir John singing Drake's Drum, copied from one of my old CD's:
The Sea-Wolf is a 1941 film starring Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, and John Garfield, based on a 1904 novel by Jack London, It begins when fiction writer Humphrey Van Weyden and escaped convict Ruth Webster are rescued when a ferry they are traveling on collides with another vessel and sinks. They are rescued from drowning by the Ghost, a seal-hunting ship. The Ghost's captain is Wolf Larsen, who delights in abusing his crew ...
Cheers, and a Happy Thanksgiving and blessings to you and your loved ones!
Bill
And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.
