Saturday, November 1, 2025, Ryan Patrick Smith

 Themeless Saturday by Ryan Patrick Smith

Ryan Patrick Smith lives in Austin, TX and is a writer, editor, gamer and frequent moviegoer who has been constructing word puzzles for over a decade. His work has previously appeared in the NYT and other venues. He and I have been visiting via FaceBook messaging and he is a very nice guy.

I did tell Ryan I had a huge issue in the SE corner where, as the grid shows below, he had a stack of ten unique fills.😳 He replied, Thanks for the kind words, and for giving the puzzle a fair shake! I look forward to your blog post.

Across:

1. "For me? You shouldn't have!": AW HOW SWEET.

11. Froze (out): SHUT - An all too common event in a school lunchrooms and playgrounds 

15. I dropper: THE ROYAL WE - Queen Victoria may or may not have said this but it is usually attributed to her.

16. Antler point: TINE - Makes sense

17. Approximately: MORE OR LESS.

18. Derby, for one: RACE - The most famous one in America and in Britain where they pronounce Derby as Darby.

19. Org chart topper: CEO.

20. Soapstone, largely: TALC.

21. Product line?: SLOGAN.

23. Hardcore: AVID.

25. Red __: HOTS - Red HOTS candy is hot because of cinnamaldehyde, a chemical found in cinnamon bark. It's a skin irritant; when put on the tongue, that's perceived as "hot". It was a favorite in my misspent yute but "burns" my tongue too much now.

27. Youngest sister in the band Haim: ALANA - Taylor Swift considers herself the fourth sister in Haim. I'm sure you know which girl below is Taylor and ALANA is one of the other three.

28. Buy more Time: RENEW 😀

30. With 56-Down, piledriver or Polish hammer: WRESTLING and 56. See 30-Across: MOVE.

                   

Polish Hammer

Pile Driver

32. Milwaukee rival: DREMEL.

34. "Got it": I SEE.

35. "Auld Lang Syne" time, for short: NYE - It is sung on New Year's Eve

36. Plan for a night out?: STAR CHART 😀 Tonight's sky

39. Common thing to clasp behind one's back: BRA 😀 or unclasp

42. Chicken __: KIEV.

43. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" role: MARTHA - Elizabeth Taylor won her second Academy Award for portraying MARTHA. Martha to her husband: I hope that was an empty bottle, George! You can't afford to waste good liquor, not on YOUR salary!

47. Take courses in the evening?: EAT DINNER 😀

50. SoFi Stadium pro: LA RAM.

51. Pays for hand delivery: ANTES 😀

52. Word before or after what: THEN.

54. NOLA squad: PELS.

55. Self-evident observation: TRUISM.

57. Plays that create one-on-one scoring opportunities, in basketball shorthand: ISOS -  All members of the red team have moved to one side of the court so the one red player left is ISOLATED on one defender.

59. Block letters: ABC.

60. Animated musical film set in a theater: SING.

61. Radiohead album with the single "Paranoid Android": OK COMPUTER. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

64. Brand in some bathrooms: MOEN.

65. Phase when one stops being a pushover: VILLAIN ERA. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

66. Travel itinerary info: ETDS - When you are departing

67. Cartoon Network series about a trio of similarly named friends: ED EDD N EDDY ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Down:

1. Item that's easy to swipe: ATM CARD. 😀

2. "Anyone'll do": WHOEVER.

3. Captain Marvel, for one: HEROINE.

4. 31-Down material: ORE and 31. Underground band: SEAM.

5. Triumphant cry: WOOT.

6. Red choice: SYRAH.

7. Refuse to move on, say: WALLOW.

8. Quiet ride: ELECTRIC VEHICLE - A nice freebie grid spanner

9. Disgusted chorus: EWS.

10. Novelist Gerritsen: TESS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

11. Mosey: STROLL - I believe we have a poster here who is prone to sashay.

12. Follow-up start: HI AGAIN.

13. Preternatural: UNCANNY.

14. Adolescent: TEENAGE.

22. Rugby pass: LATERAL.

24. Hill side, for short: DEMS - DEMocratS are one side on Capital Hill

26. Meet: SESH - Slang for session

29. Smooch from a pooch: WET KISS - Awww...

33. Edward R. Robinson's "Hymn for Soldiers Who Have __ in the Snow":  Not a pleasant read

37. Number for a letter?: RENT - Let is a synonym for rent so a renter is also a letter

38. "It's a __!": TRAP.

39. [Shrug]: BEATS ME - A symbol I use a lot: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

40. Went berserk: RAN RIOT - Yeah, I put RAN AMOK first too

41. Listening carefully (to): ATTUNED.

44. Got a round, say: TREATED.

45. Renaissance weapon: HALBERD - They all have one

46. "Go jump in a lake!": AMSCRAY - I haven't heard Pig Latin in a long time

48. Condescends: DEIGNS.

49. Like many concert tickets: RESOLD - If you buy a ticket on the secondary market, you are at the mercy of "supply and demand". Some Taylor Swift tickets for her Era Tour went for $14,000.

53. Itinerant: NOMAD.

58. Get around?: SPIN - Very different from "Get a round".

62. Tyke: KID.

63. Article indéfini: UNE - Je conduis UNE Buick (I drive a Buick).

Friday March 1, 2024 - Ryan Patrick Smith

Theme: Friday night at the movies

Check out the link in the theme title to see movie trailers and short video movie clips. I may want to bookmark this for finding future links for my blog ...

Friday night "date night"

Puzzling thoughts:

I don't know about you, but Friday night has become sort of  a "date night" at the Chairman's house ... dinner is almost always pizza and salad, and afterward we watch a movie; either on DVD or on one of the streaming sites. It's quite fitting that Ryan Patrick Smith chose this play-on-words clued movie theme for today's puzzle; five entries and no reveal, with the themers being placed in a pinwheel display. Lots to digest so let's get started, OK?

20-across. Movie with lots of pan shots?: RATATOUILLE. First thing to digest with these entries is that all of the parodied clues "focus" on an element of filming a movie. For example, in the entry RATATOUILLE the clue "... pan shots" refer to the scenes shot in a kitchen (pots and pans) as opposed to a filming technique that involves horizontally moving the camera from a fixed position. The camera pivots either to the left or right, capturing a panoramic view (see image and video below)

There's got to be a pan in there, somewhere

41-across. Movie with an iconic long shot?: ROCKY.  Lots to like here, too.  In this case, the clue refers to ROCKY being a "long shot" (underdog) to win the bout, as opposed to the movie filming technique of a long shot (see examples below)

The Chairman ran up these same steps many moons ago

58-across. Movie with lots of reaction shots?: OPPENHEIMER. How cool to find a current movie title that allows for this play-on-words clue?! In film production, cinematography and video production, a reaction shot is a shot which cuts away from the main scene in order to show the reaction of a character to it.  The reaction shot is a basic unit of film grammar.  The "reaction shots" in OPPENHEIMER are featured below, as well as another type of reaction shot that this clue/answer ISN'T about ...

A literal reaction to a shot

 

11-down. Movie with lots of zoom shots?: SPEED RACER. So, by now, I hope y'all have figured out the connection between the clues, the movie references, et al. The video below shows an old commercial (Zoom, Zoom) with a zoom shot or two ... 

BTW, didn't we have "SPEED RACER" in a puzzle earlier this week?

Last, but not least, 29-down. Movie with lots of dolly shots?: CHILD'S PLAY. See images below:

Chucky doll

A film dolly

A mid-blog recap:

    1) "Pan shot", as in a photo of a pan used by a chef or a film-making term that shows lateral                     movement of the camera (RATATOUILLE)

    2) "Long shot", as in an underdog or a film-making term that shows multi-layers of detail in a scene        (ROCKY)

    3) "Reaction shot", as in picture of a nuclear reaction or a film-making term that show a character's          expression about an off-camera event (OPPENHEIMER)

    4) "Zoom shot", as in a sound made by a racecar or a film-making term that shows a closeup of an          image or character (SPEED RACER)

    5) "Dolly shot", as in a picture of a doll (child's toy) or a film-making term that is taken from a                "vehicle" known as a "dolly" (CHILD'S PLAY)

The grid (sorry, forgot to highlight "ROCKY")

On to the rest of the clues/words/phrases ...

Across:
1. Curly's replacement in the Three Stooges: SHEMP.  This one caught Chairman Moe's attention 😀

6. Canal spot: EAR.  Panama / Erie / Suez did not fit

9. Files that can't be opened: RASPS.  Cute Friday clue; a RASP is a type of file

14. Bar mitzvah scroll: TORAH.  Ryan could've clued it as "Bat mitzvah scroll" and had the same answer

15. Name of the T. rex at Chicago's Field Museum: SUE.  Sue, the T. rex

16. Short exile?: EXPAT.  As in "EXPATriate".  "An expatriate 

is a person who resides outside his or her country of citizenship. The term often refers to a professional or skilled worker who intends to return to their country of origin

 ..." [Wikipedia]

17. State known for huckleberries: IDAHO.  Moe-ku:

    IDAHO dog breed

    Can sniff out certain fruits; they're

    Huckleberry Hounds

Huckleberry was around in my childhood days 

    

18. Canine care org.?: ADA.  American Dog Association?? Oh, the other canine ... or in the case of the inage below, a canine's canine ... would the American Dental Association approve of these choppers? I'D BET they would

Pretty clean looking, for a dog; it must floss

19. Actress Witherspoon: REESE. Have we established that she only likes peanut butter cups?

23. Language suffix: ESE. Chinese Japanese Portuguese ...

24. Actor Chaney: LON. 

25. Ramble: MEANDER.  As opposed to "serpentine":

27. Missing criminal who inspired James M. Cain's "Rainbow's End": D.B. COOPER. Read all about it

32. Limburger feature: ODOR. Limburger cheese is pretty stinky

33. "Wowzers!": OOH. I think I've seen the exclamation "wowzers!" used here by another blogger, perhaps?

34. Trojan War figure: PARIS.  Learning moe-ment: "Paris (Ancient Greek: Πάρις), also known as Alexander (Ἀλέξανδρος, Aléxandros), is a mythological figure in the story of the Trojan War. He appears in numerous Greek legends and works of Ancient Greek literature such as the Iliad. In myth, he is prince of Troy, son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, and younger brother of Prince Hector" [Wikipedia]

36. Pathway stone: SLATE.  Hand up for having "PAVER" as the first word chosen for this spot?

39. Dip: SWIM.  As in taking a dip in the pool; or as in skinny-dip ... but not as in taking a dip from a tin of Skoal

43. Antioxidant-rich sorbet base: ACAI. A 21st century example of crossword-ese

44. Measure out: ALLOT. 

46. Berlin's "Blue __": SKIES. The Willie Nelson version (with lyrics)

48. Goof: ERR. Something the Chairman does often when he tries to solves an xword puzzle

49. Capital on the Persian Gulf: DOHA. I've seen this clue/word before

51. Orange garnish for sushi: SMELT ROE. aka "Masago" (a type of fish egg or fish roe. Masago is a very popular ingredient throughout Asia, particularly in Japanese cuisine), or the stuff shown in the image below

53. Some Cassatt works: PASTELS. OILS and WATER COLORS didn't fit. Here's a Cassatt for you to gaze upon

56. Ryan's "La La Land" role: SEB. All by perps. Never saw "La La Land" so this did not resonate

57. Little dickens: IMP. Could TINY TIM be clued as "A little Dickens'?"

64. Not as flushed: PALER. Flushed, as in "red-in-the-face"; not flushed, as in "partially-filled commode"

66. Regret: RUE.

67. River that feeds Utah Lake: PROVO. Never knew the city name PROVO was also the name of a river. The Provo River (Ute: Timpanoquint, “Rock River) is located in Utah County and Wasatch County, Utah, in the United States. It rises in the Uinta Mountains at Wall Lake and flows about 71 miles (114 km) southwest to Utah Lake at the city of Provo, Utah [Wikipedia] (see image)

 

 

68. Stage: PHASE.

69. Spleen: IRE. ORGAN didn't fit

70. "Yeah, sounds like": "I'D BET!".

71. Affectionate letters: ILYSM.  I had not seen this text abbr. before today.  Thanks to Margaret's younger son, he correctly identified the acronym as: I Love You So Much😍

72. 30-Down, for one: GOD. (30-down. Mythical archer): EROS.

73. "It's Gonna Be Me" band: NSYNC.  Margaret's younger son helped here, too

Down:
1. Shift slightly: STIR. [crossword tracker dot com] is a very useful data site for crossword puzzle constructors as well as solvers.  When I checked, this is a first use for this clue and answer:

Results

Sorry, no matches were found. If you think this is in error, please send us an email with what you were searching for and someone will take a look.

Tip: Try changing the clue to just a keyword (for example, if the clue is "Measurement with square units" try entering just "measurement") and supplying what you know of the answer so we can look for answers that are the right length. Even if you don't know any of the letters, just knowing the length of the answer can help the search engine immensely.

Answer

Tip: Use ? for unknown answer letters, ex: UNKNO?N You use the spacebar to enter question marks quickly

Clue

2. TV host Kotb: HODA.  She shows up every now and again

3. Proof word: ERAT.  If ACAI is 21st Century Crossword-ese, ERAT is a 20th Century example

4. Island "thank you": MAHALO.

5. Camera setting?: PHOTO OP.  Not an F-STOP - wouldn't fit and wasn't punny 

6. Genesis twin: ESAU.  Like OREO, ERIE, EIRE, and scores of other words that have 3 vowels and 1 consonant ... very useful to xword constructors

7. Bavaria-based automaker: AUDI.  I owned two of these in my lifetime; great cars.  Another 4-letter word with three vowels and one consonant

8. Sphere: REALM.

9. Enjoys a favorite novel, say: RE-READS.  I am happy when I read a novel, let alone RE-read it

10. Felling tool: AXE. 

12. So five minutes ago: PASSE.  RETRO also fits, but I don't think anything five minutes old should be considered passe
 
13. Use a wheelchair's joystick, say: STEER.  In the assisted living care community where my mom lives they refer to these vehicles as "scooters"

21. Commensurate (with): ON PAR.  A slight CSO to HuskerGary who more often scores a PAR when playing golf ... though the phrase ON PAR has nothing to do with golf

22. Zodiac lion: LEO.  Folks born under the sign "LEO", and who want to know their 2024 "forecast", it is described here

26. Home of the NBA's Pels: NOLA.  CSO to all those from the Pelican State, and specifically New Orleans

27. Pancake served with chutney: DOSA.  I checked the word out @ [crossword tracker dot com] to see its usage.  This is an "archaic" word (crossword-wise) that's making a big comeback, post-pandemic:

Recent usage in crossword puzzles:

• Universal Crossword - Dec. 24, 2023
• Universal Crossword - Sept. 14, 2023
• USA Today - March 14, 2023
• LA Times - Aug. 16, 2022
• USA Today - May 2, 2022
• USA Today - March 14, 2022
• USA Today - April 6, 2021
• USA Today - Jan. 26, 2021
• USA Today - Jan. 19, 2021
• USA Today - Sept. 7, 2020
• New York Times - April 1, 1987
• New York Times - Feb. 14, 1970

28. Cereal dish: BOWL.

31. "Casablanca" cafe: RICK'S.

35. Hardly pore over: SKIM.  As in "read briefly"

37. Staple in African cuisine: TARO.  

38. Country led by the Taoiseach: EIRE.  As a lover of whiskies (Irish and Scotch) the ending "ach" is often used on the labels. I'm guessing it's Gaelic. The word EIRE filled in after I got the E, I, and R

40. Academic: MOOT.  Moot as in "boot"; not moot as in "mute" (although I do sometimes hear it pronounced this way)

42. "Gimme a break!": YEESH.  Earlier in the week a few of you were discussing the proper spelling of "tush" ... "YEESH" and "Yees" are sometimes used interchangeably, and are just a letter off of each other: Yeesh versus Yees 

45. Math proposition: THEOREM. We haven't seen this word @ an LA Times puzzle since 2018
 
47. Wake up late: SLEEP IN.  Something Margaret and I do often ... retirement is fun ... we try to schedule no appointment(s) before 10:30 am

50. Swiss peak: ALP.

52. Sporty Fords: T-BIRDS.  "... and we'll have fun, fun, fun 'til my daddy took the T-Bird away"

53. Longstocking of chapter books: PIPPI.

54. "__ and the Night Visitors": AMAHL.  An old joke:

A woman gave birth to twins and gave them up for adoption. One of them went to a family in Egypt and was named “AMAHL” 

The other son went to a family in Spain; they named him “Juan.”

Years later Juan tracks down his birth mother and sent a picture of himself to his Mom.

Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband she wishes she also had a picture of Amahl.

Her husband responded, "if you’ve seen Juan, you’ve seen Amahl"

55. Thyme piece: SPRIG.  Ya know, if this word was spelled "SBRIG" it would be pronounced the same.  Try it ...

59. Vision prefix: EURO.  This:  Eurovision Song Contest

60. Shortage: NEED.  Good clue

61. Stage name of electronic musician Richard Melville Hall: MOBY.  Another clue/answer that Margaret's son offered when I asked.  I guess "___ -Dick" would've been too easy ... but it's interesting that Richard MELVILLE Hall shares his middle name with the author (HERMAN Melville) of the book, "MOBY-Dick"

62. Not odd: EVEN.  Anyone care to guess at the smallest EVEN number that is also a prime number?

63. VMI program: ROTC. Virginia Military Institute is the school (VMI); naturally they have a ROTC program

65. Self starter?: ESS. The letter "S" (pronounced "ESS") starts the word "self" ... it also starts the word "starter"

And once again we reach the end of the blog.  Thanks to Ryan for the fun solve.  Please feel free to comment below ...