Saturday, January 4, 2025, Rafael Musa

 Saturday Themeless by Rafael Muse

This is my third Saturday themeless by Rafael which have all been in early winter ('23, '24 and '25)

I made great time through Rafael's puzzle because the fill was very "gettable" or had sufficient perp help.

Across:

1. Take credit?: OWE.

4. Kevin's "Bull Durham" role: CRASH.

         

9. Up: ASTIR.

14. Autoreply sender: BOT.

15. Prefix with -centric: HELIO - Ptolemy's geocentric (Earth-centered) theory was believed to be right for 1,500 years

16. Pressure: FORCE.

17. Device used in some medical and military training, informally: VR HEADSET.

19. Sooty passages: FLUES.

20. Closing statement?: I'M ALL DONE.

21. Mid day?: IDES 😀 It's the mid day of a month

22. Reptile that dominates Taylor Swift's "Reputation" era imagery: SNAKE - Daughter and granddaughters knew this instantly when I sent the clue to them. I, uh, had to wait for the crossings.

23. Punk, grunge, emo, et al.: ALT ROCK.

25. Camper's protection: TARP - Yeah, I put TENT first too.

27. Important figures of preindustrial Japan: SAMURAI.

29. Oktoberfest order: BIER 

31. Border: ABUT.

33. Highly intelligent songbirds: TITS - When I searched for a picture of this pretty little bird, I got a lot of NSFW images.

34. All of the Barenaked Ladies, actually: MEN - Their frontman Ed Robertson (far right below) wrote the theme song for The Big Bang Theory in the shower in 15 minutes. The band recorded it and made big bucks.

35. Crème de la crème: TOP TIER.

38. Not amazing: MEH.

39. Suggestions, informally: RECS.

41. Confer, as authority: VEST.

42. Busy travel days: EVES.

44. Baby, in Irish slang: SNAPPER.

46. Allay: EASE.

48. People with no class?: TRUANTS.

...and FWIW

Wednesday's Rose Parade had a float with
scenes from moviedom's most famous TRUANT

50. Apple Watch stat: STEPS.

53. Some beachfront dwellings: HUTS.
 
54. "I've heard quite enough": OH SPARE ME 

57. Deceptive move: FEINT - Gotta love this one! (Explanation at bottom if you don't see it)

58. Follows a boat, in a way: WATER SKIS.

59. Bert's bestie: ERNIE.

60. Put up: ERECT.

61. Furniture wood: ELM.

62. Standing __: DESKS.

63. Some jabs: LEFTS 😀

64. "Called it": SEE.

Down:

1. Curt "Clearly": OBVI.

2. Nematodes, e.g.: WORMS.

3. Hunt in action movies: ETHAN.

4. Works outside?: CHALK ART.

5. More ripe, perhaps: REDDER.

6. To boot: ALSO.

7. Tuscan city that hosts the Palio horse races twice a year: SIENA.

8. Rooms together?: HOTEL SUITE 😀 Rooms as noun not a verb

9. Emotionally encourage: AFFIRM.

10. Was wildly popular, say: SOLD OUT.

11. "Serial" genre: TRUE CRIME.

12. Cutting-edge footwear?: ICE SKATES 😀

13. Hi or low follower: RES.

18. Tickle pink: ELATE.

24. Sugar magnate who established a network of British art galleries: TATE.

 

26. Over-the-counter option after an accident?: PAPER TOWEL 😀

28. "Sorta": ISH.

29. "Relatable": BEEN THERE.

30. Many tourist sites in Peru: INCA RUINS.

32. Group formed in Seoul in 2010: BTS.

34. __ Puff: SpongeBob's driving teacher: MRS.

36. Oast, for one: OVEN.

37. Takes it from the top: RESTARTS.

40. First artificial satellite: SPUTNIK - As a NASA guy, I would have had to turn in my Official Space Decoder Ring if I missed this one.

43. Swerves: VEERS.

45. Follows up on copying: PASTES.

47. __ ratio: ASPECT.

49. Portion: SHARE.

51. Some toys, for short: PEKES 😀

52. Upside-down frown: SMILE.

55. Australian actress Dawson: STEF 

56. Bianco of "The Magicians": ESME - Signing autographs at Comic Con

57. Stoked: FED.

Baseball feint explained: There was a runner on first and the hitter hit a ball out to the center fielder. The shortstop pretended he caught the ball on the fly and the runner thought he would be easily doubled off first base, just gave up and returned to the dugout. The center fielder then fired the ball to the shortstop and the runner was tagged out. 😀

Wednesday, Aug 28th, 2024, Rebecca Goldstein & Rafael Musa

 CHECK MARK✔

Theme from the Sting (The Entertainer) on Vibraphone

Hump Day~! Another Rebecca Goldstein puzzle - this time she's partnered with Rafael Musa, whose latest LA Times constructions were themeless Saturdays blogged by HuskerG.  A 'normal' 15 x15 grid, and what is becoming a "normal" ( for me ) Wednesday occurrence, circles.  Today's circles are in a pattern reminiscent of the way a chess knight moves, but skewed 45°, and all four examples use the letters V, I, B & E - The result; a CHECK mark, and a graphic representation of the theme of the puzzle;

57. "How's everybody feeling?," e.g., and an apt description of this puzzle's circled letters: VIBE CHECK - ✔

I have not heard or used this phrase; I guess I am just "OLD".  It does sound Millennial, or GenZ, so I'm not surprised.  On the flip side, we did have three other solid, nine-letter fills, so I am going to add those at the top of the write-up here, for Cornerites who care to "cheat" ( I used to 'peek' at the Saturday write-up for a little "assistance ).  I did not get my "ta-DA~!" after the puzzle was filled; turns out I had a "U" in the cell where the "I" is, highlighted in the solution above, and it was the theme that helped me see my mistake....

16A. "That's my cue to leave": "I BETTER GO." - reminds me of the closing scene from Pulp Fiction - ✔

 Vincent and Jules, dressed in T-shirts and shorts, "think they should be leaving now"

3D. Story connectors: ELEVATORS - Dah~!  I got caught up thinking story as in tales, novels, movies, etc.

32D. Smarts: INTELLECT

 And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Swerve: VEER

5. Person in a toque: CHEF

9. Explicit content warning letters: NSFW - Not Suitable For Work

13. Vogue rival: ELLE

14. Short video on Instagram: REEL - new clue for this answer; I don't Instagram - filled via perps

15. "Cloud Atlas" star Berry: HALLE - never saw this movie - sounds intriguing, so I borrowed the book and started reading it this week - name #1

18. Instruments with bell-shaped bottoms: OBOES

19. Field near a volcano: LAVA BED

National Park, California

20. Race in place: REV

22. Go all in, maybe: BET - meh.  It's not really a bet so much as a bluff, or desperation call

23. Help: AID

24. Person who doesn't sugarcoat things: REALIST - I consider myself a realist

26. Envelope abbr.: ATTN - ATTENTION - see 35A.

28. Fed a friend's iguana, say: PET SAT - I found another picture of my iguana Zeus - ✔

29. Heckles a performance: BOOS

30. Cranberry farm: BOG

31. Finale: ENDING

35. Microwave aluminum foil, say: ERR - I actually made this error a week ago - I just wanted to take the chill off a protein bar, never noticing the foil package - but the sparks in the zapper got my ATTENTION - ✔

36. Endearing: LOVABLE

38. Word between last names: NÉE - Frawnche

39. "__ learned!": LESSON - I had to learn how to solder a windline joint last week - we are installing the windlines for the new pipe organ at St. Peter's Harwich, MA, this week.  Here's a picture of a reed rank laid out so we can modify its wind chest for the Washington National Cathedral - ✔

16' Fagotto (Bassoon) - YouTube

41. Apple platform: iOS - I'm a PC

42. __-Alt-Del: CTRL - and this is how you FIX PCs

43. Endorses digitally: eSIGNS - Living in CT, I did a lot of eSigning for documents related to NY accounts - I wonder about the legality sometimes, when you take into consideration hackers

45. Weight: HEFT

46. Takes a nosedive: CRATERS - There have been numerous episodes of Air Disasters where a mechanical failure led to a plane taking a nosedive, resulting in a crater. 

48. Khan Academy founder Khan: SAL - name #2, no clue, filled via perps - his Wiki

49. Election Day mo.: NOVember, and fast approaching 

50. Jockey item with straps?: BRA - Jockey, the brand name

51. Prophets: ORACLES

55. Cravalho who voices Moana: AULI'I - name #3, did not see the movie, had no clue; her IMDb

59. Plug protrusion: PRONG

The orange snake from hell

60. Actor Bana: ERIC - name #4

61. Hurt: ACHE

62. Jazz legend James: ETTA - name #5, crossword staple

63. Allows: LETS

64. Stash, as a carry-on: STOW


DOWN:

1. Accessory for some brides: VEIL - I was "today years old" when I saw this video - NOT Weird Al's version....

The Greg Kihn Band - Jeopardy

2. Brazilian singer-songwriter Ramalho: ELBA - name #6, no clue, filled via perps

4. Keeps: RETAINS - AND rhyming - 24. Wins back: REGAINS

5. First Nations people: CREE - I WAGed OTOE.  Bzzzt~!

6. Bison bunch: HERD

7. Neuro letters: EEG - abbr. for neurology, etc., ergo abbr for ElectroEncephaloGram

8. Cauliflower cut: FLORET - ah.  I missed this on the first pass - broccoli would have clued me in

Spicy Roasted Cauliflower Florets - looks quite tasty

9. Catch in the act: NAB

10. Mess-makers: SLOBS

11. Group of ships: FLEET - ARMADA didn't fit

12. "__ Coast best coast": WEST - WAG for the rhyme

15. Freeway section marked with diamonds: HOV LANE 

Not effective, in my experience on Long Island - a Zipper lane would be the way to go

17. "More info soon": TBD

21. Studio supports: EASELS - Artist's studios, that is

25. "__ be amazing if ... ": IT'D - meh, but necessary

26. Cain's brother: ABEL - name #7

27. Ripped: TORE

A tragedy - ✔

28. Perspective, for short: POV - Point of View - there's a GUN for that; doesn't work on women

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - ✔

30. Less meaty: BONIER - like most fashion models

33. Make less powerful, in gamer slang: NERF - filled via perps, but it sorta makes sense

34. Coins in a game of dreidel: GELT

36. Got blown out: LOST BIG - especially if you went 'All In'

37. Code for the busiest airport in Massachusetts: BOS - Boston Airport didn't sound right, until I recalled that it's called "Logan" Airport

Looks confusing

40. Black __: SEA - I threw in "TIE"

42. Does a fast-paced Latin dance: CHA-CHAs

44. Colorful stones at the bottom of an aquarium: GRAVEL - uh, well, I guess it is gravel; I had more than one aquarium as a kid - I am thinking about doing another - I can be on the road without worrying about my fish.

46. Pickleball venue: COURT

47. Airstream stopover, for short: RV LOT - meh. RV Park is a more common 'phrase', and based on a website during my search, an RV LOT is a permanent (so to speak) rental spot to park your RV - not really a "stopover"

48. Cul-de-__: SAC - Frawnche

49. Back of the neck: NAPE

51. Notice in passing?: OBITuary

52. Suggestions, for short: RECS - meh.  I am guessing "recommendations", but this is something I do not typically use, or hear, in my daily travels

53. Reverberation: ECHO

54. Distort: SKEW - Dah~! Not WARP

56. Cookbook writer Garten: INA - Dah~!  I filled in UTA - the "other" three-letter name I always get wrong; Uta is the German actress who frequently appears in crossword puzzles, too

58. Intense anger: IRE

Splynter - ✔