google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday

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Showing posts with label Saturday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saturday. Show all posts

Jun 20, 2020

Saturday, June 20, 2020, Sid Sivakumar

Themeless Saturday by Sid Sivakumar


Happy Summer Solstice! Today's constructor is Sid Sivakumar. Here is Sid's gracious reply to my request for info about him and this puzzle:

Hi Gary, 

I'm excited to make my LAT debut with a themeless puzzle! I'm an MD/PhD student based in St. Louis, MO and I've been constructing crossword puzzles for a couple of years. This was one of the first themeless grids I ever successfully built, though it went through several revisions before submission. I initially constructed this in the midst of the 2018-19 NFL season, so I started in the center with a football-shaped collection of black squares [NOW I SEE IT! hg] and the football-related entry CALLED AN AUDIBLE. After filling the center (anchored by the fun stack of READS PALMS / GREEN ROOF / MAKE IT RAIN), I tackled the NW/SE corners, and finally the NE/SW corners. I'm happy with the stack of K-CUP POD / BE ASSURED / RELAY RACES, although STOPPED in the opposite corner isn't quite as sparkly. 

I can definitely say that my themeless constructing philosophy has changed since when I made this puzzle, as evidenced by the themeless puzzles I've since published for free on my indie blog, Sid's Grids. Nowadays, I try to maximize the number of long slots (8+ letters) in my themeless grids, and find juicy entries for each of them, while keeping the short fill clean. This LAT grid has only twelve long slots, and many 7-letter slots with neutral entries like IMPINGE and RESEALS — I don't think I would submit it today. But I hope there is enough color in the longer entries here to make for an entertaining solve. (I'm at least glad that the short fill is reasonably smooth.)

Hope solvers enjoy the puzzle! 

- Sid

Okay, let's explore this Sid Grid which I definitely found entertaining:

Across:


1. Stress marks: ACCENTS - These ACCENT marks show to place the stress on the penultimate syllable 



8. Result of melted crust: MAGMA.




13. Kind of cable: COAXIAL - Our city is trenching everywhere to replace the old copper COAXIAL cable




14. Little one on a slide: AMOEBA.


16. Make an impression (on): IMPINGE - Flooding definitely did IMPINGE on my golfing last summer


17. Nephrology focus: KIDNEYS - My nephrologist friend Dr. Lund has established his practice on the ground floor of an historical house here in town. He and his family live in the fully remodeled upstairs




19. "Mind your own business": DON'T JUDGE - Walk a mile in their shoes


21. "Immediately!": STAT.


22. Poppycock: PAP.


23. Split between personalities: RIFT - A ten-year RIFT developed between Don and Phil and then they had a reunion concert in England in 1983




26. First woman to land a triple axel in competition: ITO - Regular and slo-mo with Japanese commentary


27. Super Mario __: BROS 


29. Back in: RETRO - These are the same shoes I wore when Eisenhower was president except girls wear them now




30. Sponge (up): SOP.


31. Shipbuilder's starting point: KEEL - Laying the KEEL for the Titanic in 1909 in Belfast, Ireland




32. Heckled: JEERED.


33. The Zugspitze, e.g.: ALP - Germany's highest mountain 


34. Changed plans at the last second: CALLED AN AUDIBLE - Sid's seed entry. Peyton Manning famously yelled OMAHA before he CALLED AN AUDIBLE




37. Ryder Cup team: USA Current players for 2020


38. Iberia hub: MADRID - Non-stops out of MADRID




39. Renaissance faire quaff: MEAD - The majority of its fermentable sugar comes from honey


40. "Gentleman" singer: PSY - Korean techno-pop song with a lot of tasteless pranks. Google if you must


41. "Challenge accepted!": IT'S ON.




42. Proving field?: MATH - What we MATH peeps did to get degrees


43. Brita competitor: PUR 


44. Defaulter's risk: REPO.


45. A, in the key of D: SOL - Here 'ya go, sing it with me: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, SOL, La, Ti, Do




46. Kind of will: ORAL - It's better in writing


48. Subject in the film "Ghost": AFTER LIFE - A fun movie speculating about the AFTER LIFE




53. Sound measure: DECIBEL - Some claim K.C. Arrowhead Stadium is the loudest NFL stadium at 142.2 DECIBELS




56. Sun-on-skin concern: AGE SPOT - Last Saturday, Michael Wiesenberg had "
50. Too much sun, they say: AGER"


57. Warp, e.g.: DEFORM.


58. Zips again, as a Ziploc bag: RESEALS - I prefer the ones with a slide


59. Night lights: STARS.


60. Foe of Stalin: TROTSKY - Stalin's simple solution was to send a member of his secret police to kill TROTSKY who was in exile in Mexico



Down:



Sid's mini-theme: ROCK

1. __ rock: ACID.


45. "Like a Rock" rocker: SEGER  - Chevy Truck's  anthem




51. __ rock: FOLK - A prime purveyor this genre is next:


8. Repeated phrase in the coda of James Taylor's "Shower the People": MAKE IT RAIN.




2. Perry with five Emmys: COMO - Mellow, non-rocker Perry COMO won five in the late 50's



3. Commander in brief?: CAP'N.


4. It's taken on the way out: EXIT POLL 


5. Deadly agents: NINJAS.


6. Prepare to go after a fly: TAG UP - You can TAG UP and try to go after a fly ball is caught but don't do it on Bo Jackson! Bo wags his finger at the guy who tried it!




7. Downhill traveler: SLED.


9. "What __ missing?": AM I.


10. Krishna, e.g.: GOD All you need to know


11. __ room: MEN'S 




12. "We did wager, didn't we?": A BET IS A BET - Derek Jeter paid off a $100 lost bet in pennies


15. Islamic leader: AYATOLLAH Khomeni Some say his hostage taking 
18. Prevented: STOPPED Jimmy Carter from being reelected 


20. Eco-friendly housetop: GREEN ROOF - University of Nebraska professor Richard Sutton tending his GREEN ROOF in Lincoln




24. Neurologist who redefined "libido" to fit his theories: FREUD Here 'ya go!


25. Broadway barber: TODD - Sweeney TODD


27. "I promise you ... ": BE ASSURED - "You will not have lunchroom duty for more than one year." Yeah, right!


28. Contests with four legs: RELAY RACES - When you're handing off to Usain Bolt for the last leg, you're in pretty good shape



29. What a chiromancer does: READS PALMS - New word for me




31. Single-serve coffee container: K-CUP POD.


32. Singles network logo with a partly outlined Star of David: JDATE - Mazel Tov

35. Islamic leader: EMIR


36. "Ready!": I'M ALL SET


42. Beyond that: MORE SO.


47. Raise: LIFT.


49. Sharp-tasting: TART.




50. Pub orders: IPAS.


52. E-tailer with a "Vintage" category: ETSY Here 'ya go


54. Feathers on a runway: BOA.



Comments for Sid?



Jun 13, 2020

Saturday, June 13, 2020, Michael Wiesenberg

Saturday Themeless by Michael Wiesenberg


Another fine themeless puzzle from our professional gambler/author and crossword constructor from Calgary.

Here is the Amazon link to buy Michael's latest book which you see below. I think it might be a Father's Day request!




Michael was very generous in sharing his construction techniques and I have included it at the end of the write-up above the grid. It is very informative and fascinating


Everybody ante-up as Michael has dealt us all a winning hand:


Across:

1. Top of the slopes: SKI HAT 

7. Recuperation area: POST-OP.


13. Pokémon species with lightning bolt-shaped tails: PIKACHU crossing 3. Ford subcompact: IKON seemed strange and ICON more logical but the K of PIKACHU stuck with me. This IKON is sold in Mexico and is  made in India where it is called the Ford Figo.



Ford Ikon

15. Jane Eyre, for one: HEROINE 49. What "T" may mean: TRUE 5 TRUE/False Jane Eyre Questions


16. Like many store-bought juices: FROM CONCENTRATE - Reduces shipping weight and promotes shelf life


18. They might result from omission: SINS.




19. Muscat money: RIAL - I assume this is after Ramadan is over




20. Badly damaged Asian sea: ARAL.


21. Like BOS and ATL: INTL - Airports


22. Golf bag features: STRAPS - Tiger Woods caddying for his son Charlie




24. Big name in Argentine politics: PERON.


28. Extensive, themed tattoo: SLEEVE - Howard and Raj show their SLEEVE tattoos were fake (2:21)


30. Filmmaker's __ light: KLIEG - Or for TV game shows



31. Digitizes, in a way: SCANS.


32. Bit of physics: ION.


35. Placement question: WHERE DOES THIS GO? 


38. Yang partner: YIN Here 'ya go


39. "A Gallery of Children" author: MILNE - Here's a used first edition for $200 which predates his Winnie The Pooh series


40. Yellowish color: OCHRE.




41. Personally give: HAND TO.


42. Fifth __: WHEEL - An unwanted person or a  luxurious road home




43. Really fancy: DESIRE - "Do you fancy a game of golf?" is more likely to be heard in Britain


46. Reasons for repeating courses: EFFS 


48. Bakery finisher: ICER.


50. Bedazzles: AWES.


54. Insomniacs have them: SLEEPLESS NIGHTS - People my age Tossin' and Turnin' with Bobby Lewis!


58. Bundt, e.g.: CAKE TIN.


59. Squeak by: EDGE OUT.


60. "That's a shame": IT'S SAD.


61. Legendary Manhattan eatery: SARDIS - Also famous for its wall of caricatures. Can you guess the names of the three below? *Answer at the bottom of the write-up





Down:


1. Tanning nos.: SPFS - Sun Protection Factor and 
50. Too much sun, they say: AGER 

2. Te Kanawa of opera: KIRI - New Zealander Dame KIRI Te Kanawa portrayed Australian Dame Nellie Melba on a Downton Abbey episode set in 1920's

4. Challenges for directors: HAMS.


5. Notre Dame is in it, oddly: Abbr.: ACC - The Irish are no where near the Atlantic Coast 


6. Side issue?: THORN - Frank Lary was a "good old boy" from Alabama and a THORN in the side of the N.Y. Yankees from 1955 - 1961. He was 27 - 10 against them in the years they won six World Series. I wonder if Boomer and C.C. have this card.




7. Fenced-in area: PEN.


8. Food scrap: ORT - A cwd staple


9. Title words after "ours is a love," in a Jimmy Dorsey classic: SO RARE A favorite of my mom's


10. Queen topper: TIARA 


11. At hand: ON TAP - This seems like a lot




12. Skins: PEELS - The act or the results


14. Restocking criterion: UNITS SOLD Six ways to increase sales of slow-moving stock


15. Daughter of Loki: HEL - She, uh, got around! No judgement here!



17. Where many orders are taken: CALL CENTERS 


21. 1959-'60 heavyweight champ Johansson: INGEMAR - 19-year-old Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) was in Miami and asked to spar with INGEMAR in 1959. The Swede got angry when he couldn't lay a glove on him.




22. Emitted, with "out": SENT.


23. "L.A. Law" and "Law & Order": TV SHOWS - The latter show was much "grittier"


24. Garden State, e.g.: Abbr.: PKWY - It'll cost you $8.25 to go from the southern tip of N.J. to the N.Y. state line on this longest highway in N.J.




25. Pre-coll. catchall: ELHI - This 50-yr. educator has never heard this word except here


26. French nada: RIEN - Even I can translate this song title sung by our frequent cwd chanteuse (How 'bout dat word?). In German it would be: Nein, [37. German pronoun:] ICH bereue nichts
27. "... __ a perfum'd sea": Poe's "To Helen": OER - Poe's tribute to the woman whose "Face launched a thousand ships"

29. App tester's concern: EASE OF USE - I didn't write apps, but I wrote lab instructions for 13-yr-olds for over 40 years

32. "__ kidding?": IS HE 

33. Fiona, for one: OGRE - A curse turns her into an OGRE at night

34. Caroling unit: NOEL.


36. Patronize, with "at": DINE - We did DINE out the other night and I left a huge tip


41. Holiday season additions: HIREES - Santas and Easter Bunnies e.g.


43. First of a box set: DISC I.


44. __ de rire: burst of laughter: ECLAT - More Française




45. Personals verb: SEEKS - I know our literary types here could write a fictional personal ad for Jane Eyer


47. Provides (for oneself): FENDS 


49. Common face card value: TEN - Working tools for our constructor Michael



51. "__ you think it was?": WHO'D.


52. Sewing shop buy: ETUI - Another cwd staple, er, word


53. Bygone boomers: SST'S America's SST never flew despiser JFK's efforts




55. School support gp.: PTA.


56. Metaphor for a cover-up: LID - Every mall seems to have this store




57. Whole Foods Market competitor: IGA - A vintage ad from an IGA store in Auckland, N.Z.


Now, as promised, is a fascinating look at Michael's constructing process and his publications: 


For themeless puzzles I start with a grid that will present some  challenges. In this case that was three 15-letter entries crossed by  three vertical entries, two of each of these crossing two of the long entries. First, I put entries in at 14D, 17D, and 26D. I then found 
three 15-letter entries to fit.

I have a word list that consists of "good" words and expressions that  I have been collecting for years. Many of these entries have never appeared in published crossword puzzles and I try to fit in as many of these as I can. (For example, FROM CONCENTRATE has not appeared anywhere -- till now.) Meanwhile, my main word list contains over a million entries, graded such that the best (in my estimation) entries have higher scores and I use those (that fit!) with the highest scores. When constructing a puzzle, after I have the "bare bones" entries in place, I isolate sections and fill each separately. For example, I first worked on the NE corner (7D to 22A). When I had what looked like a good fill, I did a screen capture of the grid, deleted the words I had just added, and started again. I did several fills in that section. I chose the best one of those, and saved the grid. I then went through the process again, this time the NW corner. 


Meanwhile, the NE corner was still in place. If the fill I choose for any section doesn't allow for good fills in the rest of the puzzle, I can always go back and insert one of the saved screen captures. By the time I'm done, my screen capture file might have as many as 50 
partial fills, any of which I can return to. By saving these partial fills as I go I don't have to start from scratch any time I come to a dead end.

When I have what looks like a good complete grid, I then check the puzzle stats for duplicates. I try not to use the same three-letter combination more than once. For example, having FROM CONCENTRATE dictates not having any other FROM (like WHEREFROM). Also, having POSTOP, I couldn't also have PREOP. I keep weeding what many call 
crosswordese from my word lists. (For example, I have eliminated virtually all Roman numerals. I don't consider MMLXV to be a "word.")

I constructed this puzzle in August, 2019. It was accepted six months later, and scheduled for publication four months after that.

My area (Alberta) is beginning to open up. Until this week I had not been out of the house for over two months. The downtime provided a good opportunity to work on my next book, the second collection of Canadian Crossword Puzzles. (The first is at 
https://www.amazon.com/Canadian-Crosswords/dp/1985099799 and 
https://www.amazon.ca/Canadian-Crosswords/dp/1985099799.) The new 
book will have more puzzles (125) than the first and be priced lower. 


I also constructed a collection of poker-themed crosswords 
(https://www.amazon.com/PokerXwds/dp/B086PLV4WK). I have written several books on gambling in general, poker in specific, and computers, all of which are available on Amazon.


*Sardis' caricatures are Barry Manilow, Tom Hanks and Ed Asner