Saturday Themeless Puzzle by Lewis Rothlein
Lewis Rothlein lives in Asheville, North Carolina, where he teaches yoga. His work life has taken a winding course, from being a journalist, to a syndicated newspaper columnist, to teaching elementary school, to owning a yoga studio. He began solving crosswords after seeing the movie WordPlay and several years later, he began making puzzles, where his favorite part is coming up with clues that make him go "Yes!"Across:
1. "Growing Up in New Guinea" author: MEAD - Some say she is the world's most famous anthropologist
5. Softball club: BAT.
8. Retirement option: SERTA - The surface to which we retire every night
13. Semi bar: AXLE - Here's a hometown semi with multiple AXLES
14. Sage: GURU. Surely a GURU would be 9. Sage: ERUDITE.
15. Place to get bike wear: TREAD.
16. Screen symbol: ICON.
17. Lollapalooza: ONER - Okay...
18. Cost as much as: RUN TO - A simple oil change these day can RUN TO over $50
19. "Whatever you're thinking, no": DON'T GET ANY IDEAS with your 47. Drives: URGES. - A good pre-date declaration
22. Bit parts?: REINS - Hi Yo Silver!
23. Less sound: SHAKIER.
24. Gets out of a slump?: SITS UP.
26. "Hold on": WAIT.
27. Baltic port: RIGA - RIGA, Latvia on the, uh, Gulf of RIGA
34. Outer bank?: ATM - Fun clue!
35. Frank exchange?: TOFU DOG - Would I exchange a Fairbury Husker Dog for a TOFU DOG? Frankly, no!
38. Pet __: PEEVE.
40. Italian pronoun: ESSA - ESSA is Italian for "it" but I read it is rarely used any more
41. Free of lumps: SIFT and 57. Free of lumps: EVEN.
42. Bluegrass legend Scruggs: EARL - The breakthrough song for Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt
44. Small cutters: XACTOS.
46. CrossFit set: BURPEES.
49. Ohno who won "Dancing With the Stars" in 2007: APOLO - One fewer L than the moonshot
50. Cake that traditionally has coconut-pecan icing: GERMAN CHOCOLATE.
53. Severity: RIGOR - The word for RIGOR in RIGA is Stingrība
54. Patatas bravas, por ejemplo: TAPA - "Spicy Potatoes" in a TAPA bar
55. Go very slow, or very fast: DRAG - In a tractor pull a sled is DRAGGED slowly. In a DRAG race the vehicles go very fast
56. Deal-maker: AGENT - MLB star Juan Soto's AGENT thinks he can get him a $500M contract
58. Breakfast brand: EGGO.
59. Like salsa: ZESTY.
60. Convertible's spot: DEN.
58. Breakfast brand: EGGO.
59. Like salsa: ZESTY.
60. Convertible's spot: DEN.
61. Off! ingredient: DEET - Here ya go
Down:
1. Part of the inn crowd: MAID.
2. Condemn harshly: EXCORIATE and the more familiar 41. Took to task: SCOLDED.
3. Recharging period: ALONE TIME.
4. Bridge inspector?: DENTIST.
5. Hit close to home?: BUNT - What every hitter should do when the third baseman is shifted way over toward second.
6. Products helpful when buying flooring: AREAS - Rectangular AREAS are a product of length times width
7. Attract attention: TURN HEADS.
8. Attracting attention: STRIKING - See previous clue
10. "Hamilton" Tony winner __ Elise Goldsberry: RENEE.
11. Volga region native: TATAR.
14. Makes a major decision?: GOES PRO - ~0.5% of high school baseball players get offered a pro contract
20. Masai Mara migrant: GNU - Here's a group of GNUS moving through Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve
21. Vegetable related to lilies: YAM.
24. Even trade: SWAP.
28. Words from a runner: IF ELECTED - Broken presidential promises
29. Giancarlo's "Better Call Saul" role: GUS - Giancarlo Esposito played the passive-aggressive and ruthless GUS Fring.
31. Magnified: WRIT LARGE - Meaning: "Very obvious." The success of a candidate is usually WRIT LARGE by their amount of campaign money.
32. Some coverage: TV FOOTAGE.
33. Old boomers: SSTS.
35. Social event where Alice is asked, "Why is a raven like a writing desk?": TEA PARTY - Lewis Carrol wrote that he never intended for there to be answer.
36. Many a Zapotec: OAXACAN - (Waa Haa Cun). Zapotecs are a group indigenous to this area of southern Mexico.
39. State whose capital is named for a French city: VERMONT.
43. Driver's "Star Wars" role: REN - This character is Kylo REN. In Footloose, Kevin Bacon played REN McCormack.
45. PFC's address: APO - Army or Air Force Post Office. FPO is the Navy's Fleet Post Office.
46. Color whose name comes from Old French for "natural wool": BEIGE - Derivation with a BEIGE background!
48. Prepare cheese, in a way: SHAVE.
50. Austrian city on the eastern edge of the Alps: GRAZ - A little over 2hr SSW of Vienna
51. Transparent: OPEN.
52. Awards acronym: EGOT - Mike Nichols and Rita Moreno have won the PEGOT - Peabody plus the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. Richard Rodgers and Marvin Hamlisch have one as well when you substitute Pulitzer for Peabody.
