Saturday, May 23, 2020, Sheryl Bartol

Saturday Themeless by Sheryl Bartol

Debbie Ellerin                  Sheryl Bartol

Today's constructor is Sheryl Bartol and in my search to contact her, I ran across the fact that she had co-authored a puzzle with Debbie Ellerin who is a frequent LA Times Saturday constructor. So I contacted Debbie and got the wonderful reply that SHERYL IS DEBBIE'S SISTER! Here is Sheryl's response to my note:

Hi Gary,

   Thanks for reaching out.  By way of background on me, I live in Evanston, IL and learned to construct puzzles from my sister (and sometimes co-constructor) Debbie Ellerin.  In retirement, in addition to constructing an occasional puzzle, I spend my time working with a homeless agency in my community “to end homelessness, one person at a time”. I also love traveling with my husband and three kids (and look forward to getting back to it post-pandemic), and competing in my family’s fantasy football league. 

I am excited about my debut LA Times puzzle and my first themeless puzzle.  I started the puzzle with the entry PROMPOSAL after being intrigued by the elaborate prom invitations devised by my children’s high school classmates. Other early longer entries were FORCEQUIT and MANOAMANO, which I thought were unique phrases. As I completed the fill, I was drawn to some words with personal connections. I am not sure if these clues survived the editing process, but I associate UPPER with the area of Michigan, that was home to my husband’s family. CREPE and EDAM were related to some of my travels, and I clued DESPERADO and HER with references to favorite Eagles and Beatles songs. The clue for APU came from my son Andrew who is a big Simpsons fan! All those hours of Simpsons watching finally paid off :)

Take care,

Sheryl

Now let's explore what the other of these two lovely sisters has to offer today with her LA Times and themeless debut:

Across:

1. Program shutdown of last resort: FORCE QUIT - If I push Command + Option + Esc, I get this window that allows me to FORCE any open program to QUIT if I choose it and hit Return

10. Like hair needing more rinsing: SUDSY - Not SOAPY it turns out

15. Shares secrets with: OPENS UP TO - Kids who do this to teachers can put the teacher in a difficult position 

16. Champs-Élysées lunch choice: CREPE - Shown below is the Crêpe salée chèvre miel et crêpes sucrées Nutella et spécialité banane (Savory Crêpe with goat cheese and honey and a sweet specialty Nutella and banana Crêpe) from the Creperie Framboise Champs-Elysees (White circle on map just off the Champs-Elsysse)

The CREPE dish mentioned above          The restaurant very near the Champs-Élysées

17. Spring roll wrapping: RICE PAPER - The steps showing the ingredients placed on RICE PAPER and rolled up with the finished product at the top

18. "The Tetons and the Snake River" photographer Adams: ANSEL - The master of b/w photography

19. Hardware item: T-NUT - 65 of them at Menards

20. "The Office" actress Ellie: KEMPER - Her IMDB

22. Zip in your step: PEP.

23. "__ Majesty": "Abbey Road" track: HER - A 23-second "throwaway" song that was "hidden" 14 seconds after the last track on Abbey Road. 

24. Hung in there: PERSEVERED.

26. Cool: RAD - The verb synonym  FAN didn't cut it

27. Rewards: DESERTS - Get what you deserve as "just DESERTS"

29. Pan flying: PETER - I was watching this at Grandma Opal's house the night my youngest sister was born

32. Aquatic diver: LOON.

34. Hawaiian staple: TARO.

35. Iowa college town: AMES - A 3-hr drive from my home to AMES for a Husker FB game (Huskers are 86 - 17 -2 against the Cyclones)

36. Hills complement: DALES - For me the Army Song will always start, "Over hill, Over DALE" but I'm not sure any more.

37. Cylindrical cheese: EDAM.

38. Word on a door: PUSH - Don't you all know the classic Far Side cartoon about this?

39. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" singer: IVES - Can you OD on a song? 

40. Wed on the sly: ELOPE.

41. Home of the Curve, the Pirates' Double-A team: ALTOONA 

43. Milk purch.: GAL.

44. "Bye!": SEE YA LATER - Yeah, we all know the next word in the Bill Haley and The Comets' song

47. Clean Water Act org.: EPA.

50. Support: AID.

51. Ill-__: like a poor clay model: SHAPEN.

52. Cultivated: GREW.

53. Ruler's domain?: ROOST - I know who rules the ROOST here!

55. In direct competition: MANO A MANO - Below #94 is going MANO A MANO with #79 which will 3. Come again: RECUR  all game long

57. Get used (to): INURE - How do you INURE yourself to this violence?

58. Senior's elaborate ask: PROMPOSAL - Last week it was 21. Down in Erik and Leslie's puzzle

 School dance invite portmanteau: PROMPOSAL - It appears Brooke said Yes

59. Notable Titanic casualty: ASTOR - John Jacob ASTOR was the richest passenger aboard the RMS Titanic and was thought to be among the richest people in the world at that time with a net worth of roughly $87 million when he died (equivalent to $2.3 billion in 2019).

60. Crumbly toppings: STREUSELS - Cinnamon coffee cake with STREUSEL topping!

Down: 

1. Tenth word of the Gettysburg Address: FORTH - Yeah, I had to figure out if Fourscore is one word or two

2. Speak up: OPINE.

4. Tech review site: CNET - CNET's best products for 2020

5. Medium claim: ESP - A medium with true ESP would be, uh, rare

6. Shook: QUAKED - The building on flexible pads doesn't SHAKE/QUAKE as much

7. Michigan's __ Peninsula: UPPER - You take the 5-mile long Mackinac Bridge, as seen here from the International Space Station, to get there from the lower Michigan peninsula 

8. They may follow bullets: ITEMS - This is an actual Power Point slide with bullet ITEMS that appeared sequentially (with sound of course) as I talked on planets with 7th graders. 

9. Undermines: TORPEDOES - A principal that didn't like me TORPEDOED a proposal I was making to the school board at the last minute. It passed anyway.

10. Close ones: SCARES - Wow!

11. Item near a sugar bowl, perhaps: URN.

12. Eagles title antihero: DESPERADO - Elaine's boyfriend was a huge fan of this song

13. Cop's surprise: SPEED TRAP - Hey, you were warned!

14. Site with many pans: YELP.

21. Ties up: EVENS - Carlton Fisk would not have gotten to hit his historic, game-winning home run in the 12th inning of Game 6 in the 1975 World Series if pinch-hitter Bernie Carbo had not hit a 3-run home run to EVEN the score in the 8th 

24. Putt-putt standard: PAR - PAR is 2 on every Putt-Putt® golf hole

25. Share around the campfire, say: RETELL.

26. Work on hooves: RESHOE - My farrier friend also works on giraffe hooves

28. "Have __": SOME.

29. Tevye, to Tzeitel: PAPA - She and her sisters don't want PAPA or Yente to make a match for them

30. Mayonnaise and salad dressing: EMULSIONS - A definition and a picture of EMULSIONS

31. Tried: TESTED OUT.

32. Illumination with a blob: LAVA LAMPS - They do a great job of showing how the heat inside the Earth melts rock to a liquid or LAVA which makes the LAVA rise to the surface and erupt. Plus the kids think they are cool!

33. Bullfight holler: OLE.

36. "Empty Nest" actress Manoff: DINAH  Her IMDB

40. Cup handle: EAR.

42. World metaphor, in Shakespeare: OYSTER - I doff my hat if you know the play and the speaker of this line: "Why then the world's mine oyster, Which I with sword will open" (*answer below the grid)

43. Mapping subject: GENOME - Here 'ya go!

45. Disassembled: APART.

46. Domingo, e.g.: TENOR - A wonderful three minutes of the Three TENORS singing Nessum Dorma (A wonderful 50. Bizet's "Habanera," for one: ARIA from Puccini's Turandot). Left to right - Placido, Jose and Luciano.

47. Remove entirely: ERASE.

48. Correctional: PENAL.

49. Some mil. absentees: AWOLS.

52. Scientifically engineered crops, for short: GMOS - A good cartoon explanation 

54. "Sold out" sign: SRO - The Husker VB sellout streak is at 268 at the 8,000+ seat Devaney Coliseum and the Standing Room Only tix ain't cheap!

56. Toon shopkeeper who once worked a 96-hour shift: APU - Apu Nahasapeemapetilon - The Kwik-E-Mart proprietor in The Simpsons.

*Pistol speaks the line to Falstaff in The Merry Wives Of Windsor

Saturday, May, 16, 2020, Erik Agard & Leslie Rogers

Themeless Saturday by Erik Agard and Leslie Rogers

Here's what Erik and Leslie told me about this great puzzle:

LESLIE: Erik sent me the grid skeleton and asked for some 8-11 letter seed ideas.  I sent him a list including PROMPOSAL and I DONT FOLLOW, which he used to seed the SW.  I then wrote the NE, he wrote the NW, and then I finished with the SE.  This was my first time collaborating on a themeless and I learned a lot from Erik, both in terms of technical tips for filling tricky areas and general philosophies about what makes good fill.

I’ve been relying on the PELOTON app for no-equipment workouts a lot while sheltering in place.  Sorry to all the seniors who are missing out on the PROMPOSAL experience this year - that entry is more bittersweet now than when we originally wrote this grid.  This is being published on my mom's birthday, so happy birthday, Mom! Thanks to the LA Times for publishing this and I hope everyone found something to enjoy in the puzzle!

ERIK: I also found this collaboration very edifying in terms of fill standards and cluing approaches - Leslie has a brilliant crossword mind and I'm grateful for the opportunity to work with her. Hope you liked the puzzle!

Let's review this fine collaboration on Leslie's mother's birthday:

Across:

1. Silver, in heraldry: ARGENT - This is definitely out of my area of expertise but ARGENT is shown as silver or white

7. Works with small bricks: LEGO ART - I'd love to do this LEGO ART

14. Legal opposite of negligence: DUE CARE - This is what we are all supposed to be exercising these days

16. Leaving exposed nails: OPEN TOE - Clever 

                                                 
17. Material: ON TOPIC.

18. Houston, for one: OIL TOWN - I went from SEA PORT to OIL PORT to OIL TOWN

19. Microscopic messenger: RNA.

20. Enjoys a lakeside diversion: SKIPS STONES.

22. Makes a plea: BEGS.

24. One with a Florida nest egg: EGRET - Not a retiree it turns out 

25. Reduce: PARE.

26. Word before steak or after chicken: STRIP.

28. Single: ONE.

29. '60s hallucinogen: LSD.

30. Soprano's note: HIGH B - 

32. Gran's daughter, humorously: MUMSY - I never called Grandma Gran nor Mom MUMSY!

35. 1521 Magellan landing site: PHILIPPINES - One of Magellan's five ships with eighteen survivors made the first circumnavigation of the Earth but Magellan died from a poison arrow in the PHILIPPINES. 

38. Like some sports highlights: SLO-MO - A SLO-MO simulation. Ya gotta love it!

39. Checked out ahead of time: CASED.

41. "All the Stars" one-named singer with Kendrick Lamar: SZA - Pronounced "sizz UH". Her story

44. Is in the past?: WAS.

45. Crisp fruit, maybe: PEARS - This lovely PEAR Crisp with ice cream looks delicious 

47. Like crossword clues about crossword clues, say: META - 

MET·A

/ˈmedə/

noun

noun: meta; plural noun: metas

adjective

US

adjective: meta

1. (of a creative work) referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre; self-referential.

49. Audibly stunned: AGASP.

52. Proof word: STET.

53. "You lost me": I DON'T FOLLOW 

56. Astronaut Jemison: MAE - Here's MAE being weightless on the International Space Station

57. Sign of Broadway success: LONG RUN  - The five Broadway plays with the LONGest RUNs

58. Crane producer?: ORIGAMI - How is that done?

60. Wrap: ENCLOSE.

61. Equipment company named for a cycling group: PELOTON - The people in their ads seem to be in great shape already!

62. __ syndrome: allergic reaction to insect bites: SKEETER - A less technical phrase for "papular urticaria". Google if you must...

63. Craps naturals: SEVENS - A SEVEN (or eleven) on your first roll of the dice is called a natural and makes you a winner!


Down:

1. Totes presh: ADORBS - Something that is "Totes (Totally) Presh (Precious)" can also be called ADORBS (Adorable) in the Valley Girl lexicon.

2. Biblical flows?: RUNNETH - My cup RUNNETH over is most familiarly from the 23rd Psalm. Ed Ames sang this lovely song adapted from that line in the Broadway play The Fantasticks

3. Keep it together, so to speak: GET A GRIP.

4. Lead-in to "lodge" or "logy": ECO.

5. Short rests: NAPS.

6. Minor cycle: TRIKE - Here's a senior TRIKE 

7. Stretch, say: LOOSEN UP.

8. Relating to knowledge: EPISTEMIC - Of or relating to knowledge or knowing. I'd be more likely to use it than MUMSY 

9. Hannukah reward: GELT - Hebrew for money. Cash has been replaced in some celebrations with chocolate "coins"

10. Leading: ON TOP and 12. Subjects of "The Boys in the Boat": ROWERS. This picture shows that ROWERS from Washington University came out ON TOP by pulling an incredible upset in this 8-oar race from the 1936 Olympics.

11. Not exactly hummable: ATONAL.

13. Got edgy: TENSED.

15. Vaper's need, informally: E-CIG 

21. School dance invite portmanteau: PROMPOSAL - It appears Brooke said YES!

23. Venetian bridge composition?: SIGHS -This bridge was used to lead prisoners from the examining rooms to their cells in the Prigioni. Legend has it that prisoners who crossed the bridge on the way from the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace to their prison cells or the execution chamber would SIGH as they caught their last glimpses of Venice through the tiny windows.

27. TV Dr.: PHIL.

31. Fly off the handle: BLOW A FUSE 33. Fly off the handle: SNAP - After crossing the Bridge Of Sighs?

34. Committed replies: YESES.

36. Toast words?: I'M A GONER - "You're toast, Man!"

37. Flying companion, say: SEAT MATE.

40. Two-word phrase that's synonymous with its second word backwards: DREAM ON - I told Erik and Leslie that this was my favorite clue

41. Close parentheses, at times: SMILES - The close (as opposed to open) parentheses are are at the end of emoticon SMILES :-). 

42. Striped equine hybrid: ZEDONK - ZEDONK and mother. I have it on good information that the father was an ass.

43. Instantly: AT ONCE.

46. Draft holders: STEINS - I wish I had bought this when I was at KSC

48. Theta, in geometry: ANGLE - Sin 𝛳= Opposite/Hypotenuse 

50. Unappealing food: SLOP.

51. Skin features: PORES.

54. More than walk: TROT.

55. "Looney Tunes" first name: WILE - WILE Coyote really  wanted that roadrunner! Meep, meep!

59. URL ending: GOV.

Comment at will or Erik and Leslie 

Saturday, May 9, 2020, Christopher Adams

Themeless Saturday Puzzle by Christopher Adams

Chris got his Masters at Iowa and is now sitting out before tackling his Phd. He is still in Iowa City as a "townie"and is working in test scoring for The Pearson Education Company there although that is "iffy" these days.

Chris's response to my gmail was very interesting and detailed and I have posted it in full at the bottom of this write-up because you should have an opportunity to read it in its entirety. Highlights:  Most of [my] puzzles are originals for [my] site, though some are just puzzles that didn't find a home elsewhere. In fact, this puzzle was almost one of those, until I realized while looking through my files that I hadn't actually sent this to the LA Times like I thought I had. Definitely thought Rich and Patti would like this puzzle, and that it was worth publishing, and I'm glad they agreed with me on that. I think this is my seventh LA Times puzzle (and fourth freestyle), and it might be my favorite of the freestyles (although this October 4th puzzle was pretty much built as a freestyle, and was originally scheduled as a "themed themeless").

This puzzle dates back to at least 2018, if not earlier; at the very least, it's definitely an older freestyle, and people that have been solving my puzzles for awhile can probably spot that. The puzzle was built around the intersecting pair of THIS IS JUST TO SAY and ETIQUETTE, which I had clued as "Not eating somebody else's plums that were in the icebox and which they were probably saving for breakfast, for example". That's the sort of clue that I wrote because I could; I don't mind writing longer clues, and still do that for my site, although I've gotten better at writing shorter clues for puzzles I send to mainstream outlets.

Let's see how you would score this puzzle and be sure to read Chris's full, insightful remarks at the bottom!

Across:

1. Pureed condiment: FISH PASTE - C.C. told me that she has used anchovy paste and that this condiment is more common in Southeast Asia

10. Boot: EXPEL - I had to EXPEL evict, egest and eject

15. "Gracie's Choice" Emmy nominee: ANNE HECHE - Anne Heche was previously married to Coleman 'Coley' Laffoon (2001 - 2009). She has been in relationships with Liz Brixius (2018 - 2019), James Tupper (2007 - 2018), Ellen DeGeneres (1997 - 2000), Neal H. Moritz (1996 - 1997), Steve Martin (1994 - 1997) and Lindsey Buckingham.

16. Inner determination: DRIVE 

17. Dangerous bar: THIRD RAIL - High voltage bar to drive subway. Don't touch!

18. Selected: TAKEN - College players TAKEN in the first round of the NFL draft will make big bucks

19. Jersey chew: CUD - Not HAY

20. Virtual citizens in a video game: SIMS - A SIM hospital for your SIMS

21. Cristina __, Sandra Oh's "Grey's Anatomy" role: YANG - Beautiful, talented and arrogant 

22. Iowa Department of Transportation city: AMES - Home of the arch rival of Iowa U

24. Kurosawa's "Ran," for one: EPIC - A retelling of King Lear. Ran is Japanese for Chaos

C'mon Dover, move your bloomin' arse!

26. Cravat cousin: ASCOT - Freddie wears an ASCOT at the ASCOT races but non-pretentious 'enry 'iggins  opted for another cravat cousin - a tie

27. Campfire exchange: TALES.

29. Five Pillars faith: ISLAM.

31. "Come again?": HUH.

32. Esther who co-founded In-N-Out Burger: SNYDER - Harry and Esther in 1948 founding

34. Court service: JURY DUTY - I once reported for JURY DUTY at 8 am on the 9th when it was supposed to be there at 9 am on the 8th. I got away with it.

36. Proprieties: ETIQUETTE and 47. Polite gesture: HAT TIP.

38. Breaks up: DISRUPTS.

41. Best of the bets: SAFEST.

45. __ Energy: PepsiCo drink: AMP - Over 2x the caffeine in my coffee

46. Australian city named for a Scottish city: PERTH.

48. Muslim face veil: NIQAB - Perfectly legal but not on Driver's licenses 

49. Beaufort scale listings: GALES - Wind velocity scale 

51. Shot: STAB.

53. Robin portrayer Ward: BURT - Holy Sidekick, Batman!

54. "Midnight in Paris" actor Wilson: OWEN.

55. Chica's "other": OTRA - Por OTRA lado (On the other hand)

57. Get better, perhaps: AGE.

58. Exchange, as words: BANDY - We do BANDY back and forth here 

60. Winter : hibernates :: summer : __: ESTIVATES - When animals slow their activity for the hot, dry summer months. 

62. Intensity: ARDOR.

63. Title bout, say: MAIN EVENT - Whatever happened to that Clay kid?

64. Gets wind of: HEARS.

65. Gives a fitting role: TYPECASTS - 23 TYPECAST actors


Down:

1. Wealthy donors: FAT CATS - Pols decry them but cash their checks

2. Barbaric: INHUMAN.

3. Dudley's nemesis, in toons: SNIDELY.

4. Part of HRH: HER - Elizabeth II has been a dignified "HER Royal Majesty". Her kids...

5. Advanced degs.: PHDS - Many are crossword constructors and Chris will get his too

6. Aptly named American Eagle store: AERIE.

7. Seafood order: SCAMPI.

8. "I'm writing so you'll know ... ": THIS IS JUST TO SAY - uh, that job didn't come through

9. Sushi order: EEL.

10. Fort Sumter summer hrs.: EDT - The South Carolina Militia (there was no Confederate Army or Daylight Savings Time yet) starting firing on Fort Sumter at 4:30 am EST on 4/12/65.

11. Diagnostic tests: X-RAYS.

12. Title 2019 Pokémon film detective: PIKACHU.

13. Balance: EVEN OUT and 42. Represents as identical: EQUATES.

14. Protracted: LENGTHY - I'm more of a "cut to the chase" kind of guy

23. Ritual in the month of Nisan: SEDER - A ritual Jewish feast celebrated on the eve of the 15th of Nisan

25. Footprint, maybe: CLUE.

26. "The Kitchen God's Wife" novelist: AMY TAN - Want a signed first edition?

28. Stings: SETUPS - The coup de grâce in moviedom's most famous Sting

30. Liberal group?: ARTS.

33. Fully developed: RIPE.

35. Emergency treatment, for short: DEFIB here's an 60. CPR specialist: EMT using an Automatic External DEFIBRILLATOR in the field

37. NBA periods: QTRS.

38. Swampy "Star Wars" planet: DAGOBAH  and 50. Home of the Ewoks: ENDOR. You either know these Star Wars locales or you don't. I'm in the latter group but fill was easy 

39. "You don't need to tell me": I'M AWARE.

40. Low-calorie sweetener: SPLENDA.

43. Portraitist John Singer __: SARGENT - All you need to know

44. Certain intradermal exams, for short: TB TESTS - I've got a scar on my upper arm from this

52. Pickle juice: BRINE - or for this purpose

56. "__ plaisir!": AVEC - You're on your own

59. Jr. and sr.: YRS - 2020 srs. got cheated out of a lot

61. "Queen Sugar" creator DuVernay: AVA - If you closely examine this info, you will see a very well known co-creator of this series

Here's the full text of Chris's note

What actually is, though, is that I've been in Iowa City since 2015, and have been making puzzles for pretty much the entire time I've been here. I've had my site since 2017, and have somehow managed to put out a puzzle per week (more or less) since then. Most of those puzzles are originals for the site, though some are just puzzles that didn't find a home elsewhere. In fact, this puzzle was almost one of those, until I realized while looking through my files that I hadn't actually sent this to the LA Times like I thought I had. Definitely thought Rich and Patti would like this puzzle, and that it was worth publishing, and I'm glad they agreed with me on that. I think this is my seventh LA Times puzzle (and fourth freestyle), and it might be my favorite of the freestyles (although this puzzle was pretty much built as a freestyle, and was originally scheduled as a "themed themeless").

This puzzle dates back to at least 2018, if not earlier; at the very least, it's definitely an older freestyle, and people that have been solving my puzzles for awhile can probably spot that. The puzzle was built around the intersecting pair of THIS IS JUST TO SAY and ETIQUETTE, which I had clued as "Not eating somebody else's plums that were in the icebox and which they were probably saving for breakfast, for example". That's the sort of clue that I wrote because I could; I don't mind writing longer clues, and still do that for my site, although I've gotten better at writing shorter clues for puzzles I send to mainstream outlets.

Anyway, the layout is a pretty typical one; turning the corners from triple nines to triple sevens is a little tricky, but not too difficult. I started with the upper corner and mostly felt good about the answers; that said, if I made this today, I'd probably either clue INHUMAN with a reference to the upcoming Marvel film or just not include it at all. The bottom stack was a little trickier, as was connecting it to the middle, where I already had two entries in place. Stuff like QTRS OTRA AVEC isn't the worst, but isn't the best; that part is probably the most obvious thing that hints at this being an older puzzle, and is something I'd like to improve on today.

I'd also like to improve on the lower left; YRS isn't great (especially with QTRS, EDT, EMT already meeting the abbreviation quota for this puzzle) but I couldn't resist including two Star Wars references in that corner. Honestly, I kinda expected ENDOR to get switched to AND/OR to make things easier; I realize all the crosses on ENDOR and DAGOBAH are fair, but if you don't know them, you're missing a lot of letters from the across entries (including the pivotal first letters) and that'll make it hard for some solvers. That said, I wouldn't think twice about this corner if it was running on my site, where it definitely fits the voice / intended audience better.

On the other hand, I like the NE corner a lot more: everything's fairly crossed and well-known, and it works in some interesting letters without hurting the fill. The SE corner kinda does that too; TB TESTS isn't the greatest answer, but I thought it was worth it to get DEFIB and NIQAB in there. Overall, as noted above, I think this is one of my favorite LAT puzzles to date, even if there's some things I'd try to change if I was making it again today. But that's just part of who I am as a constructor, always trying to get better, and always trying to make the fill as clean as possible.