Sunday June 2, 2024 Sid Sivakumar

Theme: "Is There an Echo in Here?" - The last two words are homophones.

24. Gold, silver, or bronze?: OLYMPIC MEDAL METAL.

32. Candy heart, chocolate rose, or red velvet cupcake?: HONEYMOON SUITE SWEET.

61. Corn dog, blooming onion, or caramel apple?: COUNTY FAIR FARE.

68. Erratum, appendix, or reader testimonial?: SECOND EDITION ADDITION.

80. Crack, streak, or fingerprint?: WINDOW PANE PAIN.

106. Venmo balance, PayPal account, or Google Wallet funds?: ELECTRONIC CASH CACHE.

118. Crane, hard hat, or cement mixer?: BUILDING SITE SIGHT.

I pronounce "medal" and "metal" differently, how about you? The others are total homophones to me. Love the theme cluing style today.

So happy to see Sid's byline. This is only his second LAT, but he's a very accomplished constructor. He made the final puzzle for the ACPT this year. Here he is with the winner Paolo Pasco and Will Shortz.

Across:

1. Application fig.: GPA.

4. "Passing" actress Thompson: TESSA.

9. Hindi film star __ Rukh Khan: SHAH. Wikipedia shows he's huge in India.

13. Guitar clamps: CAPOS.

18. Rowboat propeller: OAR.

19. 2019 animated Christmas film: KLAUS.

20. Push to act: IMPEL.

22. Anti-inflammatory brand: ALEVE. 31. Under the weather: ILL.

23. "And whatnot" abbr.: ETC.

27. Snare: TRAP.

29. NBA great Curry: STEPH. Here with his brother Seth.

30. Viscous stuff: GOOP.

38. Tick away: ELAPSE.

39. Pledge in court: OATH.

40. White-water conveyances: RAFTS.

43. "Just in case" option: PLAN B.

46. Not street-smart: NAIVE.

49. Ermine in its summer coat: STOAT.

50. Philosopher Descartes: RENE.

53. Nobel-winning physicist Paul: DIRAC.

56. "River Spirit" author Aboulela: LEILA. Learning moment for me. She grew up in Sudan.

58. Address in a bar: URL.

59. At a distance: APART.

65. Thanks, in French: MERCI.

66. Bill of "Barry": HADER. He's dating Ali Wong. They're super cute together.

67. Middle-earth monster: ORC.

77. __ Speedwagon: REO.

78. Eucalyptus dweller: KOALA.

79. College softball airer: ESPNU.

86. Charmin rival: SCOTT.

87. Lass: GAL.

88. Kelly of "3 Body Problem": MARLO. Another learning moment.

89. Serpent: SNAKE.

91. Hullabaloos: ADOS.

92. Stayed still: IDLED.

95. "I aspire to that" hashtag: GOALS.

97. Theater array: SEATS.

99. High-speed internet connection: FIBER.

100. Berenstain Bear in a blue dress: MAMA.

102. Small handbag: CLUTCH.

113. U.K. mil. branch: RAF. David was with the Royal Air Force. Here he is with his grandma.

115. Home of the Himalayas: ASIA.

116. Poppycock: TRIPE.

117. Princess raised on Alderaan: LEIA.

124. Psychedelics study subj.: LSD.

125. Bellybutton type: INNIE.

126. Lasagna layer: SAUCE.

127. Activist's focus: CAUSE.

128. Novelist Harper: LEE.

129. Animal evoked by a chess knight: STEED.

130. Viewed: SEEN.

131. Without stopping: ON END.

132. Nikon choice, briefly: SLR.

Down:

1. "Faust" playwright: GOETHE.

2. See 69-Down: PATROL. 69. With 2-Down, DC Comics superhero team: DOOM.

3. Esoteric knowledge: ARCANA.

4. MMA ref's call: TKO.

5. Logical conclusion?: ELL.

6. Final word: SAY SO.

7. Reach, as a total: SUM TO.

8. Tree native to the Rockies: ASPEN.

9. Spicy Chinese cuisine: SICHUAN. Also 28. Berry in a mill: PEPPERCORN. Xi'an cuisine is spicy too. We're neighboring Sichuan.

10. [strokes beard]: HMM.

11. Tailless primate: APE.

12. Maze border, maybe: HEDGE.

13. People spending the night out?: CAMPERS.

14. Pub quaff: ALE.

15. Bite-size cake: PETIT FOUR.

16. Cameo shape: OVAL.

17. Promote: SELL.

21. Thailand neighbor: LAOS.

25. __ facto: IPSO.

26. Like a bass: LOW.

33. CC or LV competitor: YSL.

34. Viking drink: MEAD.

35. Birthplace of espresso: ITALY.

36. One taking things badly?: THIEF. And 37. Put away leftovers?: EAT. 50. Butters on a farm?: RAMS. 63. One side of a diner?: FRIES. Quite a few fun clues in this grid.

41. Scale button: TARE.

42. WashU's city: STL. Washington University in St. Louis. Sid's studying here.

44. Not wide-ranging: NICHE.

45. Wide-ranging: BROAD.

47. With a layover in: VIA.

48. Yale student: ELI.

51. Electric fencing equipment?: EPEE.

52. Snitch (on): NARC.

54. Automaker whose name means "listen" in Latin: AUDI.

55. Site to consult before buying new tech: CNET.

57. Former Yankee slugger, familiarly: A-ROD.

60. Like a fork: TINED.

62. Preschooler's wheels: TRIKE.

64. Plays it cool: ACTS CASUAL. And 81. "Don't worry about me": I'LL BE FINE. Love these two Downs.

70. "My b!": OOPS.

71. Flatbread made with maida: NAAN. Did not know the meaning of maida, super-refined wheat flour.

72. Username, perhaps: ALIAS.

73. Thanks, in German: DANKE.

74. Old earbuds hookup: IPOD.

75. Not deceived by: ONTO.

76. Bar bowlful: NUTS.

80. Desert valley: WADI.

82. Tail motion: WAG.

83. __ rata: PRO.

84. San Antonio landmark: ALAMO.

85. "Interstellar" director: NOLAN.

87. Emoji alternative: GIF.

90. "To __ their own": EACH.

93. Fish in baam machli ka salan: EEL. Not famliar with this dish. Not into curries.

94. Had a bad feeling about: DREADED.

96. Struck by Cupid's arrow: SMITTEN.

98. Extra special attention, for short: TLC.

101. Lot of farmland, maybe: ACRE.

103. Immune system constituents: T CELLS.

104. Sculptor's tool: CHISEL.

105. Soccer shot not taken with the feet: HEADER.

107. CBS forensic franchise: CSI.

108. Mint containers: TINS.

109. Much sitar music: RAGAS.

110. Tech giant whose logo depicts the Golden Gate Bridge: CISCO. Wow.  Never knew this.

111. All abuzz?: APIAN.

112. Transition: SEGUE.

113. Box score stat: RBIS.

114. Dad's sister: AUNT.

119. "Today's Wordle word is TRUE," e.g.: LIE.

120. Bring a suit: SUE.

121. Granita bits: ICE. Watermelon granita.

122. QVC sister channel: HSN.

123. AFC Richmond coach Lasso: TED.

C.C.

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?