Saturday, May 2, 2020, Trent H. Evans

Themeless Saturday by Trent H. Evans

Today we have an LA Times first-time constructor Dr. Trent H. Evans, PhD, who is a psychologist after graduating from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and has been practicing for 19 years. Today he is in Catonsville, Maryland. 

Here we see him pictured with his good friend Donut and below is part of his generous response to my email:

As far as the puzzle goes, I constructed this one in May of 2019 when I had not yet done very much themeless constructing [Husker note: My note to him was the first he knew that the puzzle was going to run today]. I don’t recall very much about the process. I know I slapped down PEDAL TO THE MEDAL to start with and after roughing out a grid, the next thing I put down was FRED SANFORD. Sanford and Son was one of my favorites as a kid, and my high school band director seemed to have an anecdote from a specific episode of Sanford and Son to cover almost any life lesson he wished to impart. By the way, if you haven’t seen the YouTube clip of Fred wearing a mask and trying to socially distance from a sick Lamont, it’s worth your time [Husker note: Picture is in the write-up]. See, I told you there’s a Sanford and Son episode for all situations!

Since I made this puzzle, I started a crossword blog at gridtherapy.com and among the puzzles on the site are 15 themelesses as of now. I call them ‘Free Association’ puzzles in keeping with the ‘therapy’ motif (I am a psychologist as you said). Looking back on this LA Times puzzle, I’m still fairly pleased with it, but I hope I’ve improved with more practice. As of this writing, the most recent puzzle on Grid Therapy is titled “Addled” which coincidentally enough makes an appearance at 9-down in this LA Times puzzle. 

I hope you and yours are as well as can be expected during these difficult days. Me, my wife Beth, and our four (!) teenagers have refrained from any acts of violence against each other over the course of our six or so weeks in lockdown, which I am going to call a win!  

Take care Gary. 

Trent 

Now let's do some "Free Association" with the good doctor on this first Saturday in May

Across:

1. Groom like a groom, maybe: MANSCAPE - Everything below my neck remains, uh, ungroomed. TMI?

9. Is in store: AWAITS.

15. Green getaway: ECO HOTEL - This one is in South Africa

16. "Crud!": DARN IT.

17. Beneficiaries of preferential admission: LEGACIES - Youngest daughter followed oldest one into this Pi Beta Phi house on 16th Street at UNL

18. Delightful: DREAMY.

19. Texas congressman who ran for president as a Libertarian in 1988: RON PAUL - He got  about 1/2 of the green section here:

21. Nice refusal?: NON - A Nice, en France, je dirais NON à manger des escargots (In Nice, France, I would say NO to eating snails)
22. When things just don't click: OFF DAY 

25. Aide-__: mnemonic device: MEMOIRE - An easy to understand French loanword. I taught ROY G BIV for decades as a mnemonic device.

28. White wine cocktails: KIRS - made with Creme de Cassis and named after Félix Kir (1876–1968), mayor of Dijon in Burgundy. If champagne is the chosen wine, the cocktail is called Kir Royale

29. Gets stuck: BOGS DOWN.

32. Let go: AXE and 33. Let go: FIRE - Somebody's losing their job here.

34. Air freshener deliveries: MISTS.

37. High-speed metaphor: PEDAL TO THE METAL - Trent's seed entry. I remember it as CB lingo.

41. Give out: ISSUE.

42. Colorado tributary: GILA.

43. "So you admit it!": AHA.

44. "Star Wars" film subtitle: A NEW HOPE - I really liked the first Star Wars movie, went to sleep in the second one and have not returned.

47. Classist type: SNOB.

48. Breath-freshening brew: MINT TEA.

50. Board game conduits: CHUTES - A guy is offering this complete original game for $50 on eBay

52. Storied shelf occupant: ELF.

53. Lawmaker: ENACTOR - Not lately

56. Barked: WOOFED.

59. Pregame party site: TAILGATE - Husker pre-game activities have graduated from the TAILGATE of pickups to elaborate affairs that are noted for inviting fans of opposing teams to join in

63. Tee off: ENRAGE.

64. Pavarotti classic: O SOLE MIO - Sherrill Nielsen with O SOLE MIO and then The King follows with It's Now Or Never

65. Father figure?: DAD BOD - Uh, DAD, you're not 18 any more, how 'bout at least wearing a t-shirt?

66. Broad Eastern cuisine category: PAN-ASIAN - A extensive PANASIAN menu 


Down:


1. Harris of "thirtysomething": MEL - Then (1987) and now for "MEL" - Mary Ellen Harris 

2. Flying phenom: ACE.

3. Eggy drink: NOG.

4. Fragments: SHARDS.

5. __ butter: COCOA.

6. Not very much: A TINY BIT.

7. Single animal-shaped candy?: PEEP - More than A TINY BIT of sugar!

8. "Let It Go" singer in "Frozen": ELSA.

9. Mystified: ADDLED.

10. Serious declaration: WAR.

12. Before you know it: IN AN INSTANT - How the WAR declarations above seemed to occur in 1914

11. Is for many: ARE - Groucho is funny, the Marx Brothers ARE hilarious 

13. Divided island north of Australia: TIMOR - The west end of the island is Indonesia that is also known as West TIMOR

14. "Don't Rain on My Parade" composer: STYNE - I'll bet most of you know 1) What musical had this song and 2) Who belted out this Jule STYNE anthem 

20. Speaker's pauses: UMS.

22. Beast known as the zebra giraffe: OKAPI - The only members of this family

23. Rigs: FIXES - Some think pro rasslin' matches are FIXED. 🤯

24. Junk dealer in a '70s sitcom: FRED SANFORD - Here's a picture from the Sanford and Son episode Trent mentioned

26. Family nickname: MOMMA.

27. Tot's scrape: OWIE.

30. Peru panning target: ORO - The tragic story of mining gold in Peru (11:00)

31. Outset: GET GO - I liked Trent's puzzle from the GET GO

33. Speedy: FLEET.

35. Nevada tourist mecca: TAHOE - Michael and Fredo had a conversation in Michael's home on Lake TAHOE before Fredo went on a fatal fishing trip

36. Foundation pieces: SLABS - A cool, dry basement is very desirable in Arizona but most houses are build on concrete slabs because the rock hard caliche (kuh LEE chee) soil, made up of calcium carbonate and granite, means digging a basement can add thousands to the cost of a house

38. Bee or Em: AUNT - Opie Taylor's and Dorothy Gale's

39. With it: HIP.

40. Choice event: ELECTION 

45. Prepared a bed, maybe: WEEDED - SEEDED got, uh, WEEDED out

46. Solo pilot?: HAN - HAN Solo and Princess Leia are frequent visitors in our crossword universe 

47. Swells: SURGES.

48. Spoke Burmese?: MEWED - Our Lily prefers Siamese

49. Actress Massey: ILONA - Here she plays the Baroness Frankenstein in 1943's Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman

51. Casual greeting: HOLLA - "Hey dude, give me a HOLLA when you get home"

54. Perched on: ATOP.

55. 61-Down's dwelling: CASA and 61. Familia member: TIA - Nos encanta que TÍA Rosa visite nuestra casa (We love to have Aunt Rosa visit our home)
57. __ Four: FAB - The name of this tribute band

58. One may be bruised: EGO.

60. Challenging retort: AM I? - "Gary, you're going to eat that liver!"

62. Word that's sometimes an exaggeration: EON - I haven't seen my California cousins for EONS!


I also found this picture of Trent who  plays trumpet in an Alumni Jazz Band that just recently toured Europe. I'll leave it to you to find Trent with his trumpet in hand. He's a real renaissance man!

Any comments for Trent?

Saturday, April 25, 2020, C.C. Burnikel

Themeless Saturday by C.C. Burnikel

Our dear blogmistress C.C. has given us a real Saturday challenge today. Her multicultural knowledge never fails to amaze! This is her comment about the puzzle:

"I sent in this puzzle on June 17, 2019 and it was accepted on August 26, 2019. Just a standard 72-word grid with triple stacks on each corner. " [Husker comment: "Yeah right!]

I only do Saturday puzzles online because I want to do them in advance to better blog them. I was shocked when I put in the A to complete DAE and TEASEL, as you see below, which were unknown to me and as you see, I got the Congratulations message! Patience and educated guesses won the day for me as I got my first real 14. Initial access points: TOEHOLDS at the bottom.

C.C. and me                                                 Final screen image 
                                                                        after successful solve

Now let's take a look at what C.C. calls "just a standard 72-word grid with triple stacks in the corners" 

Across:

1. "Stop kidding yourself": LET'S BE REAL - My response when C.C. said, "Gary you can construct puzzles like I do"

11. Hits or runs: STAT.

15. The Canadian film "Away From Her" is based on one of her short stories: ALICE MUNRO - Alice's The Bear Came Over The Mountain was the basis for this powerful film about Alzheimer's disease. 

16. Lima locale: OHIO - C.C.! Okay, Peru would be too easy on Saturday 

17. Turn sometimes prohibited: RIGHT ON RED 

18. Take risks: DARE.

19. Historian Yuval Noah Harari's country: Abbr.: ISR - The website for this Israeli-born historian

20. Target for a hook: HOOP - Clever, C.C., not a CHIN! Kareem called this shot his Sky Hook and here Dave Cowens is finding it impossible to block

21. Hidden difficulty: CATCH 

22. Fish in a poke bowl: AHI - Poke is Hawaiian for slice. This is typically Ahi or Yellowfin tuna, that's cubed and layered up with a satisfying serving of sticky rice and power-packed pickles

23. "Are you comin'?": WANNA GO? - I have developed an ear as to whether my wife really means, "I want you to go along, Gary"

25. "Patrick Melrose" network, briefly: SHO - Starring Benedict Cumberbatch on SHOwtime

26. "Take a bite!": TASTE IT - Let's get Mikey to try it

28. Awaiting trial, maybe: ON BAIL - Usually one hears "OUT ON BAIL"

30. Chutney fruit: APRICOT - Recipe

33. "Elusive Butterfly" singer Bob: LIND - A one hit wonder that dredges up memories of my college days

34. Zero hour: START -  Zero Hour (1957), the movie that the Zuckers turned into Airplane (1980), the funniest movie I've ever seen.

37. "Not a huge fan": MEH.

38. Traitor: JUDAS 

39. __ stick: POGO.

40. Get the job done: DELIVER.

42. "And here I thought I was the only one": YOU TOO? - My reply to, "I had trouble with TA-NEHISI in Debbie Ellerin's puzzle two weeks ago."

44. Ionic and Versa: FITBITS - Didn't know/had to be

48. __ run: SKI.

49. Internet security company acquired by Carbonite in 2019: WEBROOT.

52. Bug snare: NET.

53. Berry on-screen: HALLE - My fav Cat Woman

55. Count equivalent: EARL - Yes this sandwich chain was founded by John Montagu, the 11th Earl of Sandwich

56. "The Good Doctor" actor Daniel __ Kim: DAE - I knew him from here

57. Conform to: OBEY.

58. Most prevalent grape in Chianti: SANGIOVESE - No chance for me but it filled itself in

61. Snapper rival: TORO - I've had both but I went battery power this time and love it so far

62. Longtime clothing tag: UNION LABEL - Look for the UNION LABEL

63. Symbol of grace: SWAN.

64. "You deserve better": DON'T SETTLE 


Down:

1. It's thrown at rodeos: LARIAT.

2. Cuthbert of "24": ELISHA - It appears ELISHA is not a male

3. River through Iraq: TIGRIS.

4. MIT, for one: SCH.

5. Ante matter?: BET - Cute again. File POT under "Right Idea, Wrong Word"

6. Style characterized by long bangs brushed to one side: EMO HAIR - Okay...

7. Arrive as scheduled: RUN ON TIME - Mussolini's train claim

8. 2001 scandal subject: ENRON - It cost my uncle his dignity and his pension

9. Colombian cornmeal cake: AREPA - An AREPA cheese sandwich

10. City served by Ben-Gurion airport: LOD - A 14 minute Uber ride

11. Common mixer: SODA.

12. "However ... ": THAT SAID.

13. Carrier with a Chengdu hub: AIR CHINA - Speaking of air travel, it takes over a day to fly from Chengdu to Ben Gurion airport via AIR CHINA with stops in Shanghai and Addis Ababa 

21. Mexican menu preposition: CON - I like my chili CON carne

23. Turned blue?: WEPT and 24. Understood: GOT - John WEPT when he GOT this

27. Card worth a fortune?: TAROT.

29. Dust jacket promo: BLURB Here's the BLURB for this book 47. "Fifty Shades of Grey" heroine Ana __: STEELE 

31. Collectible frame: CEL.

32. "Oops, slipped my mind": OH I FORGOT

34. Unauthorized photos of yet-to-be-released cars: SPY SHOTS - It's a thing! Motor1.com's best SPY SHOTS

35. Acknowledged applause: TOOK A BOW - "I'll bet you made the cutest BOW"

36. "Beautiful" singer: AGUILERA - Christina

38. "I Love Rock 'n Roll" singer: JETT - Ya gotta love it!

40. Generic surname: DOE.

41. String section: VIOLINS

43. Be shy: OWE and 45. Seeing red?: IN DEBT - You've gotta have some miles on your tires to know who is saying this (Answer at the bottom *).

46. Plant with prickly leaves: TEASEL - A Eurasian plant that has never crossed my path

50. Bingo relative: BEANO - Parker Brothers said you could call it either one

51. Took to the cooler: RAN IN - That was Danno's job

54. City north of Marseille: LYON - Marseille est presque au SUD de LYON

59. Spirited cheer: OLE 

60. Winery vessel: VAT - What Lucy looked like (in color) after the famous VAT scene

*That indebted hamburger consumer is Popeye's friend Wimpy (late addition)

Comments for C.C.?

Notes from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Kazie (Kay), who started contributing to our blog a few months after I started. I've benefited greatly from her knowledge of German & French.

Kay and her husband Barry on Tamborine Mountain, overlooking Brisbane