Saturday, September 12, 2020, Peter Wentz

 Saturday Themeless by Peter Wentz

Pete Wentz, wife Alyx
with son Simon

Today's constructor is Pete Wentz. Here is his response to my request for information on him and this puzzle. 

This is a picture of me, my  lovely wife Alyx and the toddler asleep on my back is our son Simon. I'm an architect living in Raleigh, NC. Outside of crosswords, I'm an avid fan of podcasts, ultimate frisbee (whenever it's safe again), and walks around town.

It should be no surprise to anyone that this grid was seeded at 3-Down and continued on from there. I'm glad it found a home in the LA Times. I don't have much else to add on the puzzle itself, other than to highlight Daniel INOUYE. He's not as well-known as many long-serving senators of his era, but consistently being on the right side of history is perhaps of less interest to popular media. I'm hoping this helps undo that trend in some small way.

Congrats on a fun Labor Day! We spent most of the day in the state museum park ourselves. I go by both Peter & Pete, so it's whatever you prefer. 

Thanks everyone, and hope you enjoyed the solve!

I really enjoyed the solve and laughed hard at Pete's "seed entry". Goat cheese was new learning and  Pete's baseball mini theme was a very welcome feature. 

Let's see what our architect has drawn up for us today:

Across:

1. Gibberish: BABBLE - or Jibber Jabber

7. Out of breath: PUFFING.

14. Hawaiian senator in six decades: INOUYE - From 1963 - 2012. He was also a decorated WWII veteran who lost an arm in combat

15. Honeybunch: CUTIE PIE.

16. Revolting person?: RIOTER.

17. A rainout might be rescheduled on one: OPEN DATE - MLB games can remain uplayed if the results would have no affect on the season

18. Neutral areas, briefly: DMZS - Thousands take this tour to the Korean DMZ each year

19. Mad man's comment: I'M UPSET - not to be confused with the last clue 60. More than enthusiastic: MAD 

21. "Wayne's World" rejoinder: WAY

22. Jocund: MERRY - Have you ever dropped this word into conversation?

23. Flies high: SOARS.

Add caption

27. Dramatist Edward with three Pulitzers and three Tonys: ALBEE.

29. Parts of lunch combos: SIDES - Hmmm... I'm at the 36. Diner seating option: COUNTER and have to choose between French fries and broccoli

31. One often paid to talk: RAT.

32. Herd or host: THRONG - I love blogging here for a host of reasons

34. Sheltered area: COVE.

35. 2011 film set in Brazil: RIO

38. It's higher when it's colder: GAS BILL 

40. Caucasian native: HUN.

41. Truculent god: ARES - A god of war would probably be "eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant." I've never used this word in conversation either.

43. Goat cheese: CHEVRE.

44. Key used to stop: ESC.

45. Engendered: LED TO.

47. Situation for a sac bunt, maybe: ONE ON 

48. Try to get clean: REHAB.

50. Oil-free salad dressing property: NO FAT - LO FAT held up my solve

52. Pat: DAB.

53. Some near homers: FLY OUTS - Talk about getting robbed!

55. Mythical Spartan queen: LEDA - Here 'ya go

56. Family meal entrée: POT ROAST.

59. Former Sears Holdings holdings: K-MARTS - Only 95 total Sears and K-Mart stores still open

61. Greek courtier associated with a symbolic sword: DAMOCLES - Is COVID-19 a sword of DAMOCLES hanging over our heads?

62. Bespectacled friend of Peppermint Patty: MARCIE.

63. Checked legs for arms?: FRISKED - Gotta love this clue, Pete! Joe Friday FRISKED many a suspect to see if he was carrying any arms (weapons).

64. Whirlpools: EDDIES.

Down:

1. Cardinal fan, say?: BIRD WATCHER - My family has a HOST of St. Louis Cardinal baseball fans. At our house we just love to see them visit our feeders. Male and female always appear together. 

26. Lou Brock's 938: STOLEN BASES - A favorite among my family's St. Louis Cardinal fans. 

2. Delta Tau Chi, in a 1978 film title: ANIMAL HOUSE - It cost $3M to make and returned $160M

3. Spirited midday meal?: BOOZY BRUNCH - Pete's seed entry? 😉

4. Reservations: BUTS.

5. Cleaning chemical: LYE.

6. Like "Halloween" music: EERIE - 30 seconds of the one I always think of

7. Litter member: PUPPY DOG.

8. Salt Lake City players: UTES - JAZZ had to be put back on the bench 

9. Delicate chip, e.g.: FINESSE SHOT - The best I've ever seen!

10. Gave, as a script line: FED TO - "...or not to be"

11. Home brewer's creation: IPA and 42. Darker-than-amber brews: STOUTS.

12. Minor matter: NIT.

13. "Well, look at that!": GEE.

15. Longtime "Today" co-anchor: COURIC - Her first day

20. Title less common nowadays: MRS - My granddaughter is getting married in two weeks. I wonder if she will stay Emma Craig or become MRS. Colten White.

22. Creation hurdle: MENTAL BLOCK - O.K., she follows the yellow brick road to Oz and now what?

24. Overseas "Later!": ARRIVEDERCI - Literally means "until we meet again" The song  ARRIVEDERCI Roma was inspired by the legend that tossing a coin into the Trevi Fountain means you will return to Rome. I did. I haven't.

25. Track support: RAILROAD TIE - Buster Keaton solves a RAILROAD TIE problem 

28. Long division?: EON - Oh, division of time

30. Fire chief's concern, briefly: EVACuation of a building

33. "Unfaithful" actor: GERE.

 
37. Facial description in a classic holiday song: RED NOSED - An old pun about a communist weather forecaster has the punchline, "Rudolph The Red knows rain dear"

39. Golfer Crenshaw: BEN.

46. Bard's "frequently": OFT - I had to memorize Mark Antony's speech in 1963 and I still remember pieces of it

49. Locks that are picked: AFROS.

51. Tour guide's badge words: ASK ME.

54. Maya Lin's alma mater: YALE.

55. Hog product: LARD - This is what set my MIL's apple pies off from any others I have ever eaten

56. Adobe doc suffix: PDF - Here ya go

57. Silently propel: OAR - Oar, Oar Oar your boat, gently down the stream

58. Sarcastic "Thanks for sharing": TMI - "Wow, those are great pictures from your colonoscopy!", said no one ever.

Comments welcome:

 

Note from C.C.:

  

Happy 61st birthday to dear Steve, our faithful guide for so many years. He's also an amazing foodie. Last time I mentioned my discovery of shio koji, which is already a fixture in Steve's cooking.

 

Steve and Jill, June 12, 2016

Tea at The Queen Mary

 

Saturday, December 16, 2017, Peter Wentz

Themeless Saturday Puzzle

Hello, my puzzling friends, this is Husker Gary about to 40. Sail : GO TO SEA on the S.S. LA Crossword - Saturday edition. After years of devoted effort, Splynter has retired from the helm and I hope my blog 34. Causes to be : RENDERS a useful service to you in the enjoyment of our weekend challenges.

So let's cast off lines, weigh anchor and shove off. 

We'll miss Splynter's style but to quote my second favorite Sammy Davis Jr. Song, I've Gotta Be Me! 

Let's set sail and... (Hey, enough of the nautical metaphors already!) 

Across

1. Overwhelming place for many country folk : THE BIG CITY

11. Once-a-week mantra : TGIF - Everyday is Friday when you're retired!

15. Early second-millennium style : ROMANESQUE - Architecture characterized by Roman Arches. Ground was broken in 1063 for this fabulous example: The Dumo di Pisa. Hey, isn't the building in the background famous too?

16. Modern-day carpe diem : YOLO - According to Ian Fleming's 007 book and his buddy Roald Dahl's screenplay, You Only Live Twice (not Once)

17. '80s scandal : IRAN CONTRA - Every president seems to have at least one scandal

18. Pro shop purchase : POLO - My golf shirts tend to be "Whatever's on sale at Kohl's"

19. Remove fluff from, perhaps : EDIT - and 22. Dispatch to the cutting room floor : DELETE. He'd be great at it!

20. Blond, in many cases : DYED

21. Moved to another table : RESAT 

24. Easy money, in theory : SURE BETS - Sonny Liston was an 8 - 1 SURE BET against Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) in 1964. Uh, not so  much.

26. Some retirement purchases : RVS - We love to walk through Recreational Vehicles but don't know if our marriage could survive living/traveling in one

27. Pinkberry competitor : TCBY

28. Hardened, as concrete : SET - Like the Hollywood "Walk Of Fame"


29. Layers : PLIES - Baltic Birch plywood in different PLIES

32. Make a mild romantic overture to : ASK IN - Said the spider to the fly

33. Eastern way : TAO

36. Anka hit with a Spanish influence : ESO BESO - "Ooh, THAT KISS!"

38. Iron-__ : ONS

39. Era, perhaps : REIGN - The Victorian Era during the 64-year REIGN of Queen Victoria wasn't a real hoot for most 

41. Place for a pin : LAPEL

42. Opening : GAP - This very famous one through the Appalachians helped open up the West

43. Facts and figures : INFO - Not DATA as it turns out

44. Physical pros : MDS - "Turn your head and cough!" 45. "Right, understood" : OH I GET IT - "I know what you're checking."

47. Fig. at the state's courtroom table : ASST DA - Law And Order had some hot ASSistanT District Attorneys

51. "Odyssey" fruit : LOTUS - When Odyessus' ship got blown off course to the land of the Lotus Eaters, his men partook of the local LOUTS food/narcotic and had to be dragged back to the ships

52. They have small roles : COGS - We are all vital COGS at this blog

54. Unlike narrators, usually : SEEN - Peter Coyote was "heard but not SEEN" narrating six Ken Burns' documentaries 

55. Duty-__ : FREE

56. Could conceivably get : HAS A SHOT AT - Nebraska HAS A SHOT AT yet another VB national championship tonight like this one in 2015 (and five others)

58. Hazzard County deputy : ENOS

59. "Is it safe to talk?" : ARE WE ALONE

60. Calls the game : REFS - Some cheat while calling the game

61. Plot markers : HEADSTONES


Down

1. Strained, e.g. : TRIED - Wonderful Paul Robeson sang: "You an' me, we sweat an' STRAIN, Body all achin'' and' racked wit pain" 

2. Large mass : HORDE - Here's the Khanate of the Golden HORDE below

3. Modern box filler : EMAIL

4. Went back and forth : BANTERED

5. Business issue : INC

6. Natural history museum objects : GEODES - A huge GEODE at the Harvard Museum of Natural History

7. "Ohio" group, initially : CSNY - The initials of the group!

8. Educational placement aids : IQ TESTS 

9. Double-stuffed holiday dish : TURDUCKEN - Yes, it's a TURkey stuffed with a deboned DUCK and a deboned chickEN. Voila, you have this portmanteau 

10. Pro's call : YEA - As opposed to the anti's call of nay 

11. Generally unstressed : TYPE-B - Working for a TYPE-A person can make you 13. Twitchy : ILL AT EASE

12. Stiff-legged stride : GOOSE STEP - Ahhh...

14. Chair accessory : FOOT STOOL

21. Big name in aluminum history : REYNOLDS

23. Pilot's ideal outcome? : TV SERIES - Despite a lousy pilot that simply copied the British version, this show adapted and became a great TV SERIES. Clever clue!

25. MLB stats : RBIS

29. FedExCup seeker : PRO GOLFER

30. Subject of the biography "Stormy Weather" : LENA HORNE - Her biography was named for her signature song

31. Notwithstanding : IN SPITE OF

32. "Big deal" : AS IF I CARE - One must judge if this phrase is bantering or bullying

35. Let out for a time : RENT - My friend LETS out his winter Texas home in the summer

37. Jazz club highlight : BASS SOLO

44. Ordinary people : MASSES - I needed two more letters for HOI POLLI 

46. One may be educated : GUESS

48. Western Wyoming county : TETON


49. Revolutionary diplomat Silas : DEANE - He was a hero for negotiating an armament deal with France and then was disgraced by accusations he profiteered

50. Opening stakes : ANTES

53. "Oh mah __!" : GAWD - A Valley Girl term of amazement

56. "Unlikely!" : HAH

57. Banded Wonderland wear : HAT - The numbers on the Mad Hatter's hat indicated it cost 10 shillings and 6 pence

Ok, lower the gangplank and transfer over to the comment area!

DA GRID

Saturday, Oct 29th, 2016, Peter Wentz

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 28

We have not seen Mr. Wentz since I last blogged his Saturday contribution back in Jan of 2012.  Today's grid is different from that puzzle, having the two 15-letter entries crossing in the center, with triple 8's and almost triple 10's in the corners.  Looked bleak at the beginning for me, but then a few answers fell into place, with some beneficial WAGs, and only one instance of cheating - I red-lettered to see why the SW corner was not working out.  Oh well.  Still, a fun solve.  The long answers;

35. "Pretty much goes without saying" : IT'S ALMOST A GIVEN

8. Hotel dining room option : BREAKFAST BUFFET - dah~!  I had -- -- BOOTHS, and it was good for a while....

'OlloweeNWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Lie quietly? : PLAY DUMB

9. 1996 gold medalist in men's singles : AGASSI

15. Chipped in from off the green, perhaps : SAVED PAR - I filled in MADE PAR, and it wasn't long enough

16. Picture appropriate for Valentine's Day : ROM-COM - my personal favorite - also the only one I own; Rotten Tomatoes has a better summary than IMDb

17. "You can trust me" : I DON'T LIE

18. Nursery purchase : MANURE

19. Closes a hole, say : SEWS

20. Snowman in "Frozen" : OLAF - saw this movie not long ago on regular TV

22. Like most ears : LOBED

23. Marx work : DAS KAPITAL

25. What adults with youthful faces often get : CARDED

29. Something on a disk : FILE

30. Symbol that increases a musical note's duration : DOT - nailed it, since I play guitar

32. In conflict with, with "of" : AFOUL 

33. Nape covering : MANE - dah~! Not HAIR; 100% 25% correct

34. Sage : WISE - oops, the adjective, not the noun; I had GURU to start

38. Hose holder : REEL - my preferred "hose holder"

39. Leavers of pheromone trails : ANTS

40. Bowl sections : TIERS - not fooled, I knew this was the sporting arena

41. Star, in verse : ORB - I thought it was just planets that got the poetic 'orb'

42. Roman commoner : PLEB - got it; short form of plebeian

43. Series of classes : COURSE - my first thought, but I hesitated

44. Marked by uproar : TUMULTUOUS

47. Ristorante herb : BASIL - filled via perps

48. "Murder in the First" gp. : SFPD - not familiar with this show, on TNT, and I see it was just canceled

49. Home of A. Wyeth's "Christina's World" : MoMA - The Museum of Modern Art; I did not know this was a painting, so the answer was not forthcoming; I have to say, I am moved by this artwork; can't say why, and I guess that's why it's considered "art"

53. Yoga command : EXHALE

55. Couldn't remain still : FIDGETED

57. Wobble : TEETER

58. Volunteered : ENLISTED

59. Tests : ASSAYS

60. Drives : TEE SHOTS - more golf, but my parse was TEES ---, and I was not making the connection; this is the noun, not the verb

DOWN:

1. Penultimate Greek letters : PSIs - those last three three-letter letters always get me; PHI, CHI, PSI - but I guessed correctly this time - I should remember "fee-cheap-sigh"

2. Prepare for a crossing, perhaps : LADE - dah~!  I tried PACK, but I was 100% 25% correct

3. Put out in the open : AVOW

4. Hungers : YENS

5. Banned pesticide : DDT

6. Send to the cloud : UPLOAD - the internet cloud, and I do not store anything there - it's not part of my daily routine for the kind of work I do, nor do I care to have my personal items out in the open, so to speak

7. Posts : MAILS

9. Quarterback's asset : ARM

10. Shot stopper : GOALIE - KEVLAR was not working; I shoulda known this one....

11. Childish rebuttal : AM NOT - ARE SO~?  AM TOO~?  bzzt.

12. Certain explorer : SCUBA DIVER

13. They may be upset about being upset : SORE LOSERS

14. Chatted with, briefly : IMed

21. Blacks out : FAINTS - oh, that kind of black out; I was familiar with the non-sober kind

23. Texas-based tech giant : DELL

24. Urgent call : PLEA - oops, not NEED (I had the "E")

25. 2011 revolution locale : CAIRO

26. Net : AFTER TAXES - I figured it was something like "TAKE HOME" and pay-related

27. Sight from the Oval Office : ROSE BUSHES - I put in GARDEN, and which made all the sense in the world, but did not get me anywhere with the crossings

28. __ citizenship : DUAL - both my parents had DUAL citizenship, here and the United Kingdom, their birthplace

31. Future, e.g. : TENSE

33. Musée de l'Orangerie collection : MONETS - or MANETS~?  I'm never sure - a quote from the remake of Ocean's Eleven

34. 2012 Nintendo debut : WII U - one of those fills which would never stand a chance in a crossword were it not for the way technology moves forward - the Wiki

36. Place to see Santa : MALL

37. Cutlass competitors : GTOs - muscle cars - I am going to pick up my new minivan today~!

42. Weight machine feature : PULLEY - not PLATES, which contributed to my mess in the corner

 43. Get very close : CUDDLE - tried NESTLE first

45. Mazda sports car : MIATA

46. Put forward : OPINE

47. __ testing : BETA

49. Open-textured fabric : MESH - oops, not LACE

50. One of the Ringling brothers : OTTO

51. Conform to : MEET

52. Goes on to say : ADDS

54. Stumbling sounds : ers....

56. Company makeup, largely : GIs - Ah, the military type of company

Splynter