Saturday Themeless by Doug Peterson and Samuel A. Donaldson
I had a collaborative puzzle by these two veterans a year ago. This one was just as much fun as that one. This beautiful grid only had 29 blocks amid the 98 open squares comprising a lot of white space. Symmetric grid spanners adds to the puzzles skill level. I got a hard-earned a "got 'er done"  |
| Sam Donaldson |
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| Doug Peterson |
Across
1. Technique employed by funk artists: SLAP BASS.
9. Many group chat texts: MEMES
14. Garbage genre: ALTERNATIVE ROCK - Garbage is an alternative rock band. Their incorporates elements of electronic rock, electropop, trip hop, post-grunge and industrial rock. ¯\_(γ)_/¯
17. "What are you even saying?": MAKE IT MAKE SENSE - What I would say about the description of the music played by the group above.
18. On Signal, say: IMING - Internet MessagING on a private messaging service known as Signal
19. Ketanji colleague: ELENA and 28. Ketanji colleague: SONIA - Amy Coney Barrett, SONIA Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown and ELENA Kagan,
20. Processed food: ATE.
21. Salon offerings: TANS.
22. Google crossword clues, some say: CHEAT - If you Google (verb) a crossword clue, it is not a CHEATING, it is learning. Constructor Malaika Handa said, "Also, when you’re solving, look up entries that you don’t know! It’s a game, not a test."
23. Gazebo board: SLAT.
24. Count ender?: ESS.
21. Salon offerings: TANS.
22. Google crossword clues, some say: CHEAT - If you Google (verb) a crossword clue, it is not a CHEATING, it is learning. Constructor Malaika Handa said, "Also, when you’re solving, look up entries that you don’t know! It’s a game, not a test."
23. Gazebo board: SLAT.
24. Count ender?: ESS.
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| Violet Crawley the Dowager COUNTESS of Grantham |
25. 25-Down, in Toledo: TRES 25. 25-Across, in Toledo: THREE The first one applies in Toledo, Spain. The second one is in Toledo, Ohio. π
26. Like most Iraqis: SHIITE.
28. Wiring problem: SHORT - An electrical SHORT in the Service Module provided the spark for the explosion on Apollo 13.
29. Norse pantheon: AESIR.
30. Launch-related stress: G-FORCE - Jet pilots launched off an aircraft carrier go from 0 - 140 mph to two seconds and feel 3-4 G's of FORCE.
32. Tool used to go suck a lemon?: CARVAC π I use a CARVAC in my non-lemon car ! My last fill!
34. Queeg's ship: CAINE - Was Queeg mentally ill?
35. County, across the pond: SHIRE - Robin Hood "lived" in NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
36. Jumps on board?: OLLIES.
38. Hard to grab hold of: EELY.
39. Lotion letters: SPF.
42. Jessica of "Sin City": ALBA.
43. Coward's offerings: PLAYS π
45. 2020 Pixar film: SOUL.
46. Act excused with crossed fingers: LIE.
47. Working stiff: PROLE.
48. Atlantic capital: ACCRA.
49. Negotiation assets: BARGAINING CHIPS - One mom's opinion
52. Free pass from a manager: INTENTIONAL WALK - The pitcher no longer has to throw four balls. The manager can just choose to put a batter on base via an INTENTIONAL WALK
53. They may get thumbed: NOSES π
54. Royalty figure: NET SALES - Noel Coward accumulated millions in royalties on NET SALES of his work before his death in 1973 and his foundation administers that income now.
Down:
1. Silky fabric that dates to the Middle Ages: SAMITE.
2. Characters in Anna Dewdney books: LLAMAS ¯\_(γ)_/¯
3. Big name in middle management?: ATKINS π
4. Hammer heads?: PEENS.
5. Ocean cooler: BRIG - π I finally saw that cooler was another word for jail which on a boat on the ocean it is called a BRIG.
6. Colony toiler: ANT - The city name of Accra comes from Akan word Nkran meaning ant because of all the ant hills in Ghana.
7. "Ditto": SAME HERE.
8. Most like a chestnut: STALEST.
9. Home of Arizona's idea Museum: MESA.
11. Work in the Louvre's Salle des Γtats: MONA LISA π - I loved this clue/fill once it became obvious. The MONA LISA is in the Louvre's "States Room"
12. Stoked: ECSTATIC.
13. Pesky little sucker: SKEETER - I had some on the course recently and I put on my Absorbing Jr and they were gone.
15. Shopper's "maze with meatballs": IKEA.
16. Lets off steam: VENTS.
22. Gator kin: CROC.
23. Mesh in the kitchen: SIEVE.
27. Styles with many cuts: HARRY - The old common/proper noun switch for the many coifs of singer HARRY Styles
30. Vanilla liqueur: GALLIANO.
31. Hazelnuts: FILBERTS.
33. Feels off: AILS.
34. Container for seamy material?: COAL BIN π Coal is found in seams in the Earth
35. Beach barker: SEA LION.
37. Mast attachment: SPRIT.
39. Phishing target, informally: SOCIAL.
40. Crayola's wild orchid, e.g.: PURPLE.
41. Glassware in labs: FLASKS.
44. "The Real" co-host Love: LONI - Second from the left
45. Either side of Alaska?: SCHWA π Ζ las kΙ
47. Parts of a balance scale: PANS - The most famous ones are held by a lady with a blindfold.
48. Bands that may be strained on courts, briefly: ACLS.
50. [low whistle]: GEE.
51. Noir piece: GAT - The man below in this film noir scene is wielding a GAT or rod
