Saturday Themeless by Debbie Ellerin
Debbie is our retired computer programmer who moved to L.A. from Boston. This is the eighth themeless I have blogged for her and it was a real challenge. I had plenty of head slaps in the NW corner but eventually got it all together. I am so embarrassed that I struggled with the three long across fills before getting them! Here are her comments:Hi Gary,
I wrote this puzzle in January of 2021, soon after the presidential inauguration, and AMANDA GORMAN was one of my seed entries. I liked learning that most states have a state fossil, and Utah's is the ALLOSAURUS. I like the improved clue for 4-D ARE, I won't use it but you will. Hope you all enjoy!
1. Alaska's flag includes the best-known part of it: URSA MAJOR - The Big Dipper is only part of the constellation URSA MAJOR (the Big Bear)
10. Stop orders: HALTS.
15. 2002 Emmy winner for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: RAY ROMANO.
16. Caribbean sorcery: OBEAH.
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| All you'd ever want to know |
17. Bagel-shaped confection: LIFE SAVER - Duh!
18. First Japanese tennis player with a WTA #1 ranking: OSAKA - A Haitian father and a Japanese mother19. Cute: SLY.
20. Shrink: ANALYST - Oh, a head shrinker!
22. Get it, in slang: DIG - Lyrics to a 1968 hit Grazing In The Grass: "I can DIG it, he can DIG it, She can DIG it, we can DIG it. They can DIG it, you can DIG it. Oh, let's DIG it. Can you DIG it, baby?:
23. Blinking aids: LIDS.
24. Fugu danger: TOXIN - Eat at your own peril. A puffer fish's TOXIN is more lethal than cyanide.
26. Ars __: chiromancy, e.g.: MAGICA - Palm reading is considered part of Ars MAGICA - Magic Arts. (Debbie told me that chiromancy is a word Rich added)
29. Feline defense: CLAWING.
31. Jewish month after Av: ELUL - My September 11th birthday this year is 15 ELUL 5782 on the Jewish calendar
32. Go-ahead: GREEN LIGHT.
35. Clay, beginning in 1964: ALI.
36. Thingamabobs: DOODADS.
37. Verbal shrug: MEH.
38. Means of filling up for less?: DOLLAR MENU - Not available in Russia anymore
37. Verbal shrug: MEH.
38. Means of filling up for less?: DOLLAR MENU - Not available in Russia anymore
40. Swain: BEAU - In one episode, Thelma Lou tried to convince Barney he wasn't her only BEAU
41. Attacked en masse: STORMED.
42. Puts on a coat: PAINTS - Seinfeld: Well, I painted my apartment again. I've been living in this apartment for years and years, and every time I paint it, it kinda gets me down. I look around, and I think, well, it's a little bit smaller now. You know, I realize it's just the thickness of the paint, but I'm aware of it. It keeps coming in and coming in.
44. Dazed: AT SEA.
45. Guaranteed, as a victory: ICED - Field goal kickers did this in almost all NFL games this past playoff season
46. Surly sort: CUR.
47. Like Oz, but not Kansas: IN COLOR.
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| The scene where The Wizard Of Oz went from B/W to Technicolor |
50. Banana Boat no.: SPF - SPF = 8 here
53. Ram among the stars: ARIES.
55. Its formal name includes "Patient Protection," informally: OBAMA CARE.
57. Sanjay of CNN: GUPTA.
55. Its formal name includes "Patient Protection," informally: OBAMA CARE.
57. Sanjay of CNN: GUPTA.
58. Kept track of: MONITORED.
59. Literary work that sounds like two of its letters: ESSAY.
60. Doves: PEACENIKS.
59. Literary work that sounds like two of its letters: ESSAY.
60. Doves: PEACENIKS.
Down:
1. Bing results: URLS - Bing is a search engine where you can find URL'S. Go there
2. Something to travel by: RAIL.
3. "Resident Alien" network: SYFY.
4. I won't use it, but you will: ARE - Debbie said she really liked Rich's cluing here. I ARE? Nope. You ARE? Fine
5. Assembled artwork: MOSAIC.
6. "The Hill We Climb" poet: AMANDA GORMAN - I was happy to learn of AMANDA who read her poem at the 2021 Inauguration.
5. Assembled artwork: MOSAIC.
6. "The Hill We Climb" poet: AMANDA GORMAN - I was happy to learn of AMANDA who read her poem at the 2021 Inauguration.
7. Diner cupfuls: JAVAS
8. Torts taker: ONE-L - First year law students are called ONE-L's and they do take a course called Torts.
9. "Gilmore Girls" girl: RORY - The evolution of the character RORY's hair
10. Birds named for their sounds: HOOT OWLS.
11. Six-pack makeup: ABS.
12. Phoenix and Washington, e.g.: LEADING MEN - River Phoenix and Denzel Washington and 21. Rock or Rivers: STAND UP COMIC - Chris Rock and Joan Rivers
13. Subjected to flak: TAKING HEAT.
14. Uneven do: SHAG.
23. Word in some rap handles: LIL.
25. Letters atop a face: XII.
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| A little after 9 a.m. on this one |
26. Lake formed by the Hoover Dam: MEAD.
27. Utah's state fossil: ALLOSAURUS.
28. Unpleasant journeys: GUILT TRIPS
29. Turned over: CEDED - What Mexico CEDED to America in 1848
33. Sports radio host Jim: ROME - Here ya go
34. Conclusion beginning: THUS - The alternative first word in this fabulous movie introduction.
36. "IMHO ... ": DARE I SAY.
39. LAPD unit?: LOS - LOS Angeles Police Department
40. Nod, at times: BID.
43. Deal with lawn thatch: AERATE.
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| Even really big lawns |
45. Glazer of "Broad City": ILANA - Agnes and C.C. used the ABBI part of this duo last Saturday. ILANA perped itself today.
46. Batting practice setting: CAGE - MLB just settled their strike
48. Freebie: COMP.
49. The duck, in "Peter and the Wolf": OBOE - I learned the instruments of the orchestra from the this Prokofiev work
51. Head Start class: PRE-K.
52. DEA agents: FEDS.
54. Flight board abbr.: ETA.
56. Scam: CON.
