Saturday, May 1, 2021, Ryan McCarty

 Saturday Themeless Puzzle by Ryan McCarty

After only a month's wait we get another great entry from Ryan McCarty who is our senior federal consulting manager in D.C. BTW, I asked Ryan to tell me what his job entails but I would be lying if I told you I understood it! 😕 Here are Ryan's gracious comments on this entertaining puzzle:

Hi Gary,

Good to hear from you again!  Write-up is below:

I'd been eyeing this grid design for a while with its wide open center of intersecting quint stacks.  The middle 5x5 square is made up entirely of those stacked 9-letter words, which adds a solving challenge due to the lack of shorter entries nearby to use as toeholds to break in.  Because of that I tried to keep all of these center words pretty well-known and inferable.  As you might imagine, it took a lot of trial and error to get a viable middle, and then even more effort to get solid corners.  Using a number of common letters in the middle certainly helped. Overall I'm happy with this first attempt at the grid shape, and I've since played around some more with this design.

I also just recently launched my own indie puzzle blog McGrids!  I'm exploring crossword construction in several parallel series, including asymmetrical grids, vowelless, wide-open middles (like today's), and others. If you haven't yet checked out the wealth of indie crossword puzzles out there, I highly recommend it! They've been some of my favorite discoveries during the pandemic.

Thanks,

Ryan

Across:

1. Mess up: ERR.

4. Traveler's reference: MAP - I don't miss folding the old paper ones

7. Botanical garden adjective: LUSH - Omaha's LUSH conservatory at Lauritzen Gardens is an great example

11. Fetid: NOISOME - Derivation

13. Dental facade: VENEER - A VENEER is a thin cosmetic device that is bonded onto the front surface of a tooth unlike crowns or caps that go over the entire tooth

15. Shoddily attached, usually: TAPED ON.

16. Viagra alternative: LEVITRA and 44. Arouses: IGNITES 😏

17. Affair VIPs: EMCEES.

18. 1960s girl group named for its lead singer: RONETTES - VeRONica Bennett formed this group in 1957. Here they are lip synching a big hit of theirs on American Bandstand.

19. Opts for another tour: REUPS.

20. Like some romantic dinners: CANDLELIT 

21. Benedict Cumberbatch superhero role, casually: DR. STRANGE.

23. Sonic boom creator?: SEGA - I couldn't fit in Chuck Yeager

24. Inflatable emergency transports: LIFE RAFTS - This one is Coast Guard approved

26. Bobs and weaves: DOS - HairDOS not boxing moves

27. Like some serious accidents: NEAR FATAL.

29. __ vivant: BON - "A sociable person who has cultivated and refined tastes especially with respect to food and drink" Easy "Check For Understanding!" 😁

32. It was initially dubbed "Clinton's Big Ditch" by its critics: ERIE CANAL - Eight ways the ERIE CANAL changed America

34. Collectible Camaro: IROC - International Race Of Champions

36. Listen in: EAVESDROP.

38. Wood stove successors: GAS RANGES.

40. __ burger: BISON - Lean and great tasting!

42. Just below par: ONE UNDER - These guys shot ONE UNDER par and finished 18th at this year's Masters. In this chart you can also see their lowly earnings.

43. Jar: JOSTLE - A JOSTLE can be a prelude to getting your pocket picked

45. Result of a certain property payment delinquency: TAX SALE.

46. One getting checks for quarters: LESSOR - If you live in quarters you rent from me, I am the LESSOR who will take your check

47. Took part in an ugly campaign: SMEARED - If SMEARS didn't work, they would never be 48. Spotted: SEEN again.

49. Beneficiaries of exercises called Russian twists: ABS - My back muscles might not care for this if I take a 50. Crack: TRY at this.

Down:

1. Emerge from the wings: ENTER - Two brilliant comedians debate this word in a screenplay 6. Compose(d), perhaps: PENned by Neil Simon 

2. Racked up cellphone charges, perhaps: ROAMED - My wife/bookkeeper says we don't have ROAMING charges any more

3. Aptly named giant in surfing sportswear: RIP CURL - Not a lot of surfing on the Platte River

4. Amount that's sometimes larger than it sounds: MODEST FEE.

5. "A Sorta Fairytale" singer Tori: AMOS - A six minute concert version

7. Stabilize, with "off": LEVEL - An airplane's attitude indicator for LEVEL and not LEVEL flight

8. Associates: UNITES - The 5th definition at synonym.com 

9. Resolved, in a way: SETTLED.

10. "Wish me luck!": HERE I GO.

12. Slowly comes through: SEEPS IN.

13. Family feuds: VENDETTAS - The Hatfield ( below) and McCoy feud started in 1878 over a stolen pig. 

14. Jah worshipers: RASTAS - Here ya go

16. Gloomy looks: LONG FACES - I am not telling that horse joke!

18. Broke 100, maybe: RAN A FEVER - Some golfers celebrate when they break 100 (score less than) as do some beginner bowlers (score more than). If you RAN A FEVER today, it can keep you from entering a building.

20. Fairy tale ball arrivals: CARRIAGES - I had C A _ R _ _ _ _ _ and snuggly entered CABRIOLET which fit too (yeah I know it's singular).

22. Possible result of not knowing when to stop?: REAR ENDER - The answer is almost always yes

25. Places to see small, colorful trucks: SANDBOXES - Cute!

28. __ Kelly, woman with the most lifetime "Jeopardy!" winnings: LARISSA - She won nearly a quarter of a million dollars. 

Yes, you know the question to this Final Jeopardy answer LARISSA is facing. I'll put that question below* BONUS - What movie made this piece famous? Hint: One of the stars of that movie is in the picture for 39 Down.

29. Group that includes Chevron and BP: BIG OIL.

30. Florida harvest: ORANGES.

31. What poor instructions make: NO SENSE - Lego instructions make sense to me

33. Writing letters, some say: LOST ART - Actually writing letters is a LOST ART for me but I communicate more than ever using electronic means.

35. Carnival offering: CRUISE - Can they make a comeback?

37. Worker with many questions: POLLER - I don't mind POLLERS but get upset when they become a push POLLER

39. Composer Bruckner: ANTON - I don't know this clued composer but I do remember Susan ANTON who is seen below with boyfriend Dudley Moore who is mentioned in 28 Down

41. Poor: NEEDY.

43. Framing piece: JAMB - Door part

45. Org. with Behavior Detection Officers: TSA - The ACLU has real issues with these general criteria 

*Final Jeopardy Question - What is Bolero? BONUS: The movie 10 made this piece famous again in 1979 and starred Dudley Moore and Bo Derek