Saturday Themeless by Kyle Dolan
I have no triskaidekaphobia so my thirteenth blogging of a themeless Saturday puzzle for Dr. Dolan did not fill me with any dread. Seeing "Works" as a verb (7. Works for literati: HIGH ART) instead of a noun really hung me up in the NE. Each section of this fun puzzle took one key word/phrase to unlock.
Across:
1. Stock option in a seafood business?: BISQUE - Traditionally, lobster bisque is made with a stock that 5. Exploits: USES whole lobster shells. Recipe for lobster stock.
7. Works for literati: HIGH ART - Works of art, not art workers
14. Rather dense: OBTUSE - This remark to the warden in Shawshank Redemption got Andy Dufresne thrown into solitary confinement
16. Knesset country: ISRAEL - The Israeli lawmaking body and 51. Ancient Roman province now part of modern 16-Across: JUDAEA - An alternate spelling of Judea
17. Digits in parentheses: AREA CODE.
18. Isn't quite neutral: LEANS - All of us can think of a news outlet that LEANS in one political direction or the other
19. Signer of the first of the Oslo Accords: ABBAS - Mahmoud ABBAS was the Palestinian negotiator and is standing on the far right in this signing ceremony.
20. Pad kee mao pan: WOK - Why this is called "Drunken Noodles"
21. Huff: SNIT.
22. One of many on Massachusetts Avenue in D.C.: EMBASSY - A clickable map
24. __ machine: GUMBALL - The GUMBALL machine took a penny and the pinball machine took a nickel in my misspent youth.
26. Dappled horses: ROANS.
30. Chat: SCHMOOZE.
32. Washington's Grand __ Dam: COULEE - On the mighty Columbia River in Washington state.
33. Webinar's first slide, often: OUTLINE - 1) Tell them what you are going to say, 2) Tell them, 3) Tell them what you just told them.
34. Treat traditionally paired with RC Cola in the South: MOON-PIE.
35. Like Robert Johnson's music: BLUESY - The Gateway To The Blues Museum in Tunica, MS. has this display of Robert Johnson memorabilia. I wonder if you can get an RC and Moon-Pie there.
36. Styling combs: RATTAILS.
37. Fifth-century bishop in Ire.: ST. PATrick
38. Tempts: LURES IN.
39. Grammar police, e.g.: PURISTS.
41. Took off: LEFT.
44. Help for a broken-hearted BFF: TLC.
47. Some IRAs: ROTHS - Retirement withdrawals are tax-free
48. Bass kin: CELLO - Not a fish, shoe or singing voice
49. "OK, sure": YEAH I BET - "If elected, I will..."
52. Diet option in black cans: COKE ZERO.
54. Zen harmony: ONENESS.
55. Can't stand: DETEST.
Down:
1. Sanitizes, perhaps: BOILS.
2. Playwright called "The Father of Realism": IBSEN - "He turned the European stage away from what it had become – a plaything and distraction for the bored – and introduced a new order of moral analysis." You're welcome.
3. Truthfully: STRAIGHT UP - "Don't sugar coat it, tell me STRAIGHT UP!"
4. Dramatic advance: QUANTUM LEAP - Technology made a QUANTUM LEAP with the discovery of transistors
6. London's __ Pie Island: EEL - Probably named for the EEL pies that used to be served there at an inn in the 1800's
7. Ancient physician's reference book: HERBAL - A page from one
8. Bean sprouts?: IDEAS - Bean is a euphemism for head, so...
9. Bottom-up, in a way: GRASS ROOTS.
10. "__ sunt dracones": line on an ancient globe: HIC - That area is unknown, so "Here be dragons"
11. Profess: AVOW.
12. Take from the top: REDO - Director/Star Charlie Chaplin did 62 takes of this scene of him eating a shoe (it was actually made of licorice)
13. Long haul: TREK - The start of the Appalachian Trail that ends 2190 miles north at Mt. Katahdin, Maine. That is quite a TREK.
15. Raucous crowd: RABBLE.
19. Floor: AMAZE.
22. Magazine whose archive was purchased by a consortium that includes the Smithsonian: EBONY.
23. "Bingo": YOU NAILED IT.
25. Keep from cracking, perhaps: MOISTURIZE.
27. Yellowstone, for one: ALPINE LAKE - An ALPINE LAKE occurs at high elevations and Yellowstone Lake is almost 8,000' above sea level.
28. Good name for a knight?: NEIL - NEIL Armstrong did meet Queen Elizabeth but did not kneel before the queen to become a knight
29. Dates: SEES.
30. Breaks down: SOBS.
31. Unorthodox sect: CULT.
32. Pigeon holes: COTES - The pigeons in Terry Malloy's (Marlin Brando) rooftop COTE in On The Waterfront were symbols of innocence in his rough world
34. Trading places: MARTS - Where you trade cash for merchandise
36. Try and reach quickly: RUSH TO.
38. Shampoo buys: LITERS - My Head and Shoulders comes in a 700 ml or .7 LITER size
40. Spa wear: ROBES.
42. Hurries toward safety: FLEES.
43. Brown bread: TOAST - A toaster can brown bread after which you have brown bread
 |
| Revolution Toaster - $349.00 |
45. "Sex on Fire" Grammy winners Kings of __: LEON - Gee, Gary, I'd like to hear that tune
 |
| Three brothers and a cousin that named their band after their grandfather LEON |
46. Candle holder: CAKE - My next one will hold 76 candles
48. Pyrite crystal, at times: CUBE - A pyrite crystal mounted on a piece of basalt
50. Female lobster: HEN.
51. Abbey's husband on "The West Wing": JED.
We certainly welcome Kyle to stop by and make a comment below.
