Saturday, July 12, 2025 Kyle Dolan

  Saturday Themeless by Kyle Dolan

This is the 19th Saturday puzzle by Dr. Dolan I have blogged. My first one was on May 26, 2018 and every one of his constructions has been a delight. This one was no exception as even Thimmamma  Marrimanu in Anantapur was only a minor annoyance. 😀

As you can tell by the colorful graphic, Kyle had a great many unique or nearly unique fills!

Across:

1. "Hold on to that one": IT'S A KEEPER - This occurred to me right off the bat and I was so 16. Confident: SURE I immediately put it in.

11. Periods: ERAS.

15. Have a heart-to-heart exchange?: FALL IN LOVE - Awww...❤️

17. Healthy dessert option: FRUIT SALAD.

18. "Whatcha waitin' for?": CMON.

19. Purple __: YAM.

20. Magnate: TITAN.

21. Rodeo circuit?: LASSO 😀

22. Second-largest landlocked country in Africa: NIGER - Yup, Chad is the largest

23. Jay-Z or Cardi B: RAPPER.

24. Glossy fabric: SATEEN.

27. German car, informally: BEEMER.

29. Hybrid since 1997: PRIUS.

30. Sense of achievement: SELF PRIDE.

33. Slangy contraction: AIN'T - Top 11 songs with AIN'T in the title. Bill Wither's song is my fav.

34. Dockers fabric: KHAKI.

35. "Can do!": ON IT.

36. Weak six-packs?: NEAR BEERS - LITE BEERS fit first.

38. Forum garb: TOGAS.

39. Line dance movement: TOE TAP - We all did it, didn't we?

40. Numerous: SO MANY.

41. Verbal shrug: I DUNNO.

43. Secret spots: LAIRS.

45. Ancient seafaring people: NORSE - Seeing them on the horizon did not usually engender joy!

46. Zest: GUSTO.

47. Closest one, briefly: BFF.

50. Family member: AUNT - I had four AUNTS I never got to meet.

51. Thimmamma Marrimanu in Anantapur, notably: BANYAN TREE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

- Thimmamma Marrimanu is a BANYAN TREE in Anantapur, India. I filled it in and then looked it up.

53. Subject of a deal, say: PLEA.

54. Ad hoc groups of specialists: TIGER TEAMS - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ A tiger team is a specialized, cross-functional team brought together to solve or investigate a specific problem or critical issue.

55. Catherine who outlived Henry VIII: PARR.

56. Some ranch dressing: STETSON HAT 😀 Yes, I suppose someone dressing in ranch attire might wear a STETSON HAT.

Down:

1. Touch and go: IFFY.

2. Hill of __: historical site associated with the High Kings of Ireland: TARA More

3. Neglected area: SLUM.

4. Arabic name that means "elevated": ALI.

5. Pools: KITTIES - Every teacher's lounge I've ever been in has a game like this where you pay for a square and the money goes into the pool or KITTY. Winners below are determined by where the last number in the Colts score crosses the last number in the Bear's score.

6. Naval rank: ENSIGN.

7. Fill with joy: ELATE.

8. One way to break the ice?: POLAR BEAR PLUNGE - When a blizzard knocked out our power for three days in March, I couldn't even take a cold shower! 🥶

9. __ Rachel Wood of "Mildred Pierce": EVAN ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

10. Color of diamonds: RED - I overthought this for a while

11. Activities that require exit strategies?: ESCAPE ROOMS.

12. Amish rite of passage: RUMSPRINGA - Rumspringa is a rite of passage in some Amish communities where teenagers, typically around 16, experience a period of relative freedom from traditional Amish restrictions before committing to that life as an adult. 

13. Got up: AROSE.

14. Caballero title: SENOR.

21. Prize in "A Christmas Story": LAMP.

22. Supernova remnant: NEUTRON STAR.

23. APR adjustment: REFI - REFInancing a loan.

24. Go over: SPAN - After you...

25. Racer Luyendyk known as "The Flying Dutchman": ARIE.

26. Aunty Entity player in "Mad Max 3": TINA TURNER - TINA was 45 when she did this film in 1985.

28. Edmonton CFL team: ELKS.

30. __ butter: SHEA.

31. Primatologist Fossey: DIAN.

32. Creative outlet?: ETSY.

34. Atkins variant: KETO.

37. Nota __: BENE - or N.B. which means "note well"

38. City founded as York in 1793: TORONTO - Look closely and you can see York which has been incorporated into the greater TORONTO municipality

40. Instruments that date to the Mughal Empire: SITARS - The empire ran from 1525 - 1857.

41. Like some purchases made on a phone: IN APP.

42. Help for a new mother: DOULA - New to me

44. Still: AS YET.

46. Run, e.g.: GAIT.

47. "My guy!": BRAH.

48. Storm recovery org.: FEMA.

49. Big do: FEST.

51. J-Hope's K-pop band: BTS.

52. Carl Lewis's Olympic medal count: TEN.

Tuesday February 18, 2025 Kyle Dolan

The Doors:  The circles spell out the word Door.

16-Across. Student with twice the usual level of concentration?: DOUBLE MAJOR.

28-Across. Bridal shower planner, typically: MAID OF HONOR.

43-Across. "We need medical help here!": CALL A DOCTOR.

58-Across. Common minivan feature, or a "closing" feature of this puzzle?: SLIDING DOOR.  Notice how the letters "DO" slowly "Slide" towards the letters "OR" until the DOOR has Slid shut.

Here's the Grid showing the Sliding Door.

Across:

1. Adoptathon adoptees: PETS.

5. Makes less wild: TAMES.

10. Contented sigh: AHH!

13. Taj Mahal city: AGRA.  Agra is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

14. Find: LOCATE.

15. Fish eggs: ROE.

18. Mo. after Mar.: APR.

19. Metal marble: STEELIE.

20. Pestered: NAGGED.

22. Farm vehicle: TRACTOR.

25. Counterpart of poetry: PROSE.

26. Powdery residue from a volcanic eruption: ASH.

30. Gala headpiece: TIARA.  In British royalty, there are very specific rules about who can wear a tiara, and when it can be worn.

32. Small-time celebs: D-LIST.

33. "G'day, __!": MATE.

34. Tree used in traditional Native American medicine: ALDER.  The Alder tree has many medicinal usages.

36. Quaint contraction: 'TWAS.  This makes me think of Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll.

40. Parting word: ADIEU.

42. One may begin, "Who's got two thumbs and ... ": BOAST.

48. Shakespearean denial: NAY.

49. Crush an exam: ACE IT.

50. Way up a snowy mountain: SKI LIFT.

52. Hot fudge dish: SUNDAE.  Yummers!

54. 29-Down goo: PINE SAP.  //  And 29-Down:  29. Evergreen tree: FIR.

57. Qty.: AMT.  Quantity vs Amount

61. Floral garland: LEI.

62. Julia's "Seinfeld" role: ELAINE.  Elaine Benes was the fictional character from Seinfeld portrayed by  Julia Louis-Dreyfus (b. Jan. 13, 1961).

63. "Yeah, I'll pass": UM, NO.

64. Comedy show with Michael Che and Colin Jost, for short: SNL.  Saturday Night Live makes frequent appearances in the puzzles.  This show just celebrated its 50th Anniversary!

65. Short-term employees: TEMPS.

66. Barnyard baby's sound: PEEP.

Down:

1. Goalie's protective gear: PADS.

2. Award quartet first completed by Richard Rodgers: EGOT.  The Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony is becoming a crossword staple.  We saw it just last Tuesday (See 50-Down).

3. "No argument here!": TRUE THAT!

4. Civil War sword: SABER.

5. Black Lives Matter co-founder Ayo __: TOMETI.  Black Lives Matter was formed in 2013 by several woman including Ayọ Tometi (born August 15, 1984), who was known then as Opal Tometi.

6. Fed. health law: ACA.  As in the Affordable Care Act.

7. Min. opposite: MAJ.  Major and Minor.

8. School founded by Henry VI: ETON.  Eton College was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as “Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore”.  Henry wanted his subjects to have the opportunities of gaining knowledge that he had enjoyed, and he made provision for 70 poor boys, known as King's Scholars, to be housed and educated at Eton free of charge.  Prince William (b. June 21, 1982) and Eddie Redmayne (b. Jan. 6, 1982) are both alums of Eton.

9. High-ranking angels: SERAPHS.  Hierarchy of Angels.

10. Catherine of __: first wife of Henry VIII: ARAGON.  The musical Six is about the six wives of King Henry VIII in their own voices.  Divorced (Catherine of Aragon), beheaded (Anne Boleyn), died (Jane Seymour), divorced (Anne of Cleves), beheaded (Catherine Howard), survived (Catherine Parr).

11. "Fingers crossed": HOPE SO!

12. Border collie, e.g.: HERDER.

14. German camera brand: LEICA.  The Leica company has been around since the mid-1800s.  It began as an optical company and manufactured lenses and microscopes.  Ernst Leitz (1843 ~ 1920) joined the company in the 1860s.  The camera got its name from the first three letters of Leitz, and the first two letters of the word Camera.

17. Andes pack animal: LLAMA.

21. Underground recess: GROTTO.

23. Quirky one: ODD DUCK.

24. Auditioner's aim: ROLE.

26. Drive-thru convenience: ATM.  The Automatic Teller Machine used to be a crossword staple.  We haven't seen it in a while.

27. "Cheap Thrills" singer: SIA.  Sia, whose given name is Sia Kate Isobelle Furler (b. Dec. 18, 1975), is an Australian singer and songwriter.  She is known for not showing her face during her performances, instead hiding behind big bows or wigs.  As we learned from yesterday (24-Across), she is also the One-named Chandelier singer.

31. Req. for domestic air travel starting in 2025: REAL ID.  The deadline to use a non-REAL ID to board domestic flights and access federal facilities is May 7, 2025.  I have had a Real ID since 2016.

34. Help: AID.

35. Some July babies: LEOs.

37. Sharer's offer: WANT SOME?

38. Cool __ cucumber: AS A.

39. Pigpen: STY.

41. Collection of numbers for crunching: DATA SET.

42. "__ it on!": bold challenge: BRING.

43. Cellist Pablo: CASALS.  Pabla Casals (né Pau Casals i Defilló; Dec. 29, 1876 ~ Oct. 22, 1973), was a Spanish and Puerto Rican cellist, composer, and conductor.

44. Keen insight: ACUMEN.

45. Dal legume: LENTIL.  Dal is an Indian dish of lentils, that's often served with rice. The word "dal" refers to the dried, split seeds of legumes, which are a rich source of protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

46. Baskets scored off rebounds: TIP INS.

47. QB-protecting gp.: O-LINE.  Football season is over.  The offensive line (O-line) in football is a group of five players who block the opposing defensive line and create openings for the running back.

51. Out of patience: FED UP.

53. Fashion monthly: ELLE.

55. First-rate: A-ONE.

56. Stage accessory: PROP.  The playwright Anton Chekhov (Jan. 29, 1860 ~ July 15, 1904) is credited with the quote, "If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired.  Otherwise don't put it there". 

59. Billie Eilish's "Therefore __": I AM.

60. Quick swim: DIP.

That's all for this Tuesday.  Enjoy the rest of your week.

חתולה