Saturday, May 1, 2021, Ryan McCarty

 Saturday Themeless Puzzle by Ryan McCarty

After only a month's wait we get another great entry from Ryan McCarty who is our senior federal consulting manager in D.C. BTW, I asked Ryan to tell me what his job entails but I would be lying if I told you I understood it! 😕 Here are Ryan's gracious comments on this entertaining puzzle:

Hi Gary,

Good to hear from you again!  Write-up is below:

I'd been eyeing this grid design for a while with its wide open center of intersecting quint stacks.  The middle 5x5 square is made up entirely of those stacked 9-letter words, which adds a solving challenge due to the lack of shorter entries nearby to use as toeholds to break in.  Because of that I tried to keep all of these center words pretty well-known and inferable.  As you might imagine, it took a lot of trial and error to get a viable middle, and then even more effort to get solid corners.  Using a number of common letters in the middle certainly helped. Overall I'm happy with this first attempt at the grid shape, and I've since played around some more with this design.

I also just recently launched my own indie puzzle blog McGrids!  I'm exploring crossword construction in several parallel series, including asymmetrical grids, vowelless, wide-open middles (like today's), and others. If you haven't yet checked out the wealth of indie crossword puzzles out there, I highly recommend it! They've been some of my favorite discoveries during the pandemic.

Thanks,

Ryan

Across:

1. Mess up: ERR.

4. Traveler's reference: MAP - I don't miss folding the old paper ones

7. Botanical garden adjective: LUSH - Omaha's LUSH conservatory at Lauritzen Gardens is an great example

11. Fetid: NOISOME - Derivation

13. Dental facade: VENEER - A VENEER is a thin cosmetic device that is bonded onto the front surface of a tooth unlike crowns or caps that go over the entire tooth

15. Shoddily attached, usually: TAPED ON.

16. Viagra alternative: LEVITRA and 44. Arouses: IGNITES 😏

17. Affair VIPs: EMCEES.

18. 1960s girl group named for its lead singer: RONETTES - VeRONica Bennett formed this group in 1957. Here they are lip synching a big hit of theirs on American Bandstand.

19. Opts for another tour: REUPS.

20. Like some romantic dinners: CANDLELIT 

21. Benedict Cumberbatch superhero role, casually: DR. STRANGE.

23. Sonic boom creator?: SEGA - I couldn't fit in Chuck Yeager

24. Inflatable emergency transports: LIFE RAFTS - This one is Coast Guard approved

26. Bobs and weaves: DOS - HairDOS not boxing moves

27. Like some serious accidents: NEAR FATAL.

29. __ vivant: BON - "A sociable person who has cultivated and refined tastes especially with respect to food and drink" Easy "Check For Understanding!" 😁

32. It was initially dubbed "Clinton's Big Ditch" by its critics: ERIE CANAL - Eight ways the ERIE CANAL changed America

34. Collectible Camaro: IROC - International Race Of Champions

36. Listen in: EAVESDROP.

38. Wood stove successors: GAS RANGES.

40. __ burger: BISON - Lean and great tasting!

42. Just below par: ONE UNDER - These guys shot ONE UNDER par and finished 18th at this year's Masters. In this chart you can also see their lowly earnings.

43. Jar: JOSTLE - A JOSTLE can be a prelude to getting your pocket picked

45. Result of a certain property payment delinquency: TAX SALE.

46. One getting checks for quarters: LESSOR - If you live in quarters you rent from me, I am the LESSOR who will take your check

47. Took part in an ugly campaign: SMEARED - If SMEARS didn't work, they would never be 48. Spotted: SEEN again.

49. Beneficiaries of exercises called Russian twists: ABS - My back muscles might not care for this if I take a 50. Crack: TRY at this.

Down:

1. Emerge from the wings: ENTER - Two brilliant comedians debate this word in a screenplay 6. Compose(d), perhaps: PENned by Neil Simon 

2. Racked up cellphone charges, perhaps: ROAMED - My wife/bookkeeper says we don't have ROAMING charges any more

3. Aptly named giant in surfing sportswear: RIP CURL - Not a lot of surfing on the Platte River

4. Amount that's sometimes larger than it sounds: MODEST FEE.

5. "A Sorta Fairytale" singer Tori: AMOS - A six minute concert version

7. Stabilize, with "off": LEVEL - An airplane's attitude indicator for LEVEL and not LEVEL flight

8. Associates: UNITES - The 5th definition at synonym.com 

9. Resolved, in a way: SETTLED.

10. "Wish me luck!": HERE I GO.

12. Slowly comes through: SEEPS IN.

13. Family feuds: VENDETTAS - The Hatfield ( below) and McCoy feud started in 1878 over a stolen pig. 

14. Jah worshipers: RASTAS - Here ya go

16. Gloomy looks: LONG FACES - I am not telling that horse joke!

18. Broke 100, maybe: RAN A FEVER - Some golfers celebrate when they break 100 (score less than) as do some beginner bowlers (score more than). If you RAN A FEVER today, it can keep you from entering a building.

20. Fairy tale ball arrivals: CARRIAGES - I had C A _ R _ _ _ _ _ and snuggly entered CABRIOLET which fit too (yeah I know it's singular).

22. Possible result of not knowing when to stop?: REAR ENDER - The answer is almost always yes

25. Places to see small, colorful trucks: SANDBOXES - Cute!

28. __ Kelly, woman with the most lifetime "Jeopardy!" winnings: LARISSA - She won nearly a quarter of a million dollars. 

Yes, you know the question to this Final Jeopardy answer LARISSA is facing. I'll put that question below* BONUS - What movie made this piece famous? Hint: One of the stars of that movie is in the picture for 39 Down.

29. Group that includes Chevron and BP: BIG OIL.

30. Florida harvest: ORANGES.

31. What poor instructions make: NO SENSE - Lego instructions make sense to me

33. Writing letters, some say: LOST ART - Actually writing letters is a LOST ART for me but I communicate more than ever using electronic means.

35. Carnival offering: CRUISE - Can they make a comeback?

37. Worker with many questions: POLLER - I don't mind POLLERS but get upset when they become a push POLLER

39. Composer Bruckner: ANTON - I don't know this clued composer but I do remember Susan ANTON who is seen below with boyfriend Dudley Moore who is mentioned in 28 Down

41. Poor: NEEDY.

43. Framing piece: JAMB - Door part

45. Org. with Behavior Detection Officers: TSA - The ACLU has real issues with these general criteria 

*Final Jeopardy Question - What is Bolero? BONUS: The movie 10 made this piece famous again in 1979 and starred Dudley Moore and Bo Derek 

Saturday, April 3, 2021 Ryan McCarty

 Saturday Themeless by Ryan McCarty

Today I am happy to blog my third Saturday puzzle by 2014 Princeton grad, Ryan McCarty who is currently a senior federal consulting manager in D.C. He supplies us a real challenge with quad stacks that he references in his gracious note:

Hi Gary,

Thanks for reaching out! My write-up below 

Ryan

I was interested in making a grid design with quad stacks that were very connected to the rest of the grid, as often they are relegated to more closed-off corners.  I got the NE stack first, and then spent a very long time trying to find a corresponding SW stack that would work with it. I'm used to working with open middles, but I find open corners even harder because you have to find a matching pair for the other side.

After a lot of iterating I came up with the SW stack you see here, which I actually like better than my initial stack.  From there I filled in the SE and NW.  I'm happy to be able to feature some colorful entries despite the inherent challenges in the grid design, and thanks to the editing team for their work here. Hope you enjoy!

P.S. - I recently launched my indie puzzle blog McGrids if you are interested in seeing more of my puzzles

Across:

1. One may be planted on a cheek: PECK - A euphemism for my first entry of KISS

5. One who gets famous just for kicks?: SOCCER STAR - Lots of dekes below.

15. Volunteer's words: I CAN.

16. Use sound to get around: ECHO LOCATE.

17. Large volume: TOME.

18. Reaction that can be grateful or sarcastic: THANKS A LOT.

19. Call from a brooder: CHEEP - A staple of my grade school classroom once a year

21. Getting better: ON THE MEND

22. Arrive by car, say: ROLL UP - Can you spot "the crappy blue Chevy Nova" Axel Foley used to ROLL UP to "The Beverly Palms Hotel"? Bonus: Name that movie.

24. Perception: GRASP.

25. Make a typo ... or miss one: ERR - D-Otto always calls them misteaks.

26. Surprising sound: BOO.

28. Setting of van Gogh's "Café Terrace at Night" - ARLES - Here's the picture and the actual cafe today in ARLES, France.

30. Stop shooting: WRAP - Humphrey Bogart, "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Michael Curtiz (who 45. Directed: RAN Casablanca), "That's a WRAP."

32. Let the air out of: PUNCTURED.

35. Area where skateboarding likely originated, briefly: SO CAL - SOuthern CALifornia

37. Activity cube user: TOT.

38. One may get rubbed out: GENIE - Not the Barbra Eden Jeannie

40. Failed to uphold: RENEGED ON - Lenten promises?

43. Gorilla researcher Fossey: DIAN - Dian and the gang

44. Turning part: ROTOR - Part of car brakes

47. With 42-Down, unlikely racetrack pick: OLD 42. See 47-Across: NAG.

48. Milwaukee draft pick?: PABST.

50. One obsessed with guns?: GYM RAT - Oh, those guns.

52. Utensil in Valencian cooking: PAELLA PAN.

56. Isle off the Sorrento Peninsula: CAPRI - The ferry we took takes about 50 minutes between Sorrento and Capri and costs about $20 each way

57. Captured soundly?: AUDIO TAPED.

59. Hardly promising: GRIM - Husker FB prospects for this fall

60. Walk-in clinic focus: URGENT CARE - If you're in my town and need help...

61. Fashion: MODE.

62. Espies: LAYS EYES ON.

63. City on the Skunk: AMES - 1911

Down:

1. Retiring groups?: PIT CREWS - Cute re-tire clue!

2. Film genre for Shyamalan's "The Happening": ECO HORROR - Looks like it was a HORROR on an artistic level as well

3. Competitor who's over the hump?: CAMEL RACER - Humans riders have mostly been outlawed and now the jockeys are usually robots manipulated by remote control.

4. Prepare to talk to a tyke, maybe: KNEEL.

5. Prepared: SET.

6. Figure eight, in tango parlance: OCHO - How do you do that, Gary?

7. Harry Potter love interest Cho __: CHANG - If you're going for a partial, how 'bout P.F.___

8. Independent __: CONTRACTOR 

9. South Bend suburb: ELKHART - Just upstream on the St. Joseph River as it flows to Lake Michigan.

10. Larva that attacks Valentine's Day plants: ROSE SLUG - Cause and effect

11. Ran playfully: SCAMPERED.

12. Fabulist's work: TALE.

13. Buckets or barrels: A TON.

14. Out of a job, perhaps?: Abbr.: RETD - Me - B.S., M.S., RETD.

20. Trivia site: PUB - Playing Trivia at Clancy's PUB in Omaha

23. __ fly: POP - Oops!

27. Arena for the stars: OUTER SPACE.

29. Annual coronation event: SENIOR PROM - Our hometown is having one this year no matter what. Okay, it's going to be outside but still...

31. Impressive displays: PANOPLIES - Historically a PANOPLY is a complete set of armor but now can refer to any collection or display

33. Rest for a bit: NOD.

34. Transport service for the disabled: DIAL-A-RIDE.

36. Much less: LET ALONE 

39. Armageddons: END TIMES.

41. Lose it: GO BATTY.

46. Site of the HQ of five major sports: NYC - The NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB and WNBA

49. Croquetas or caracoles: TAPAS - This clue from editor Rich generated a nice conversation between me, Kathy (YR), Lucina and Ryan. Croquetas can be made with snails as Croqueta de Caracole or as stand alone TAPAS like you see below.

51. It forms igneous rock: MAGMA - Once that MAGMA emerges onto the surface it becomes lava and forms igneous rocks upon cooling where brave/stupid tourists can walk

52. Microsoft co-founder Allen: PAUL - Bill Gates' regrets about PAUL Allen

53. Intangible quality: AURA.

54. Norm-challenging: EDGY - You know you've aged when you hear the EDGY music of your ute playing on the elevator.

55. Role in the Monteverdi opera "The Coronation of Poppaea": NERO - Talk about yer Saturday cluing for NERO! Poppaea Sabina was NERO's second wife and she led an intrigue-filled life

Can you make out her name?

58. Big-screen TV site: DEN.