Saturday December 31, 2022, Evan Mulvihill

 Saturday Themeless by Evan Mulvihil

This is Evan's first solo Saturday puzzle for me. He and Adam Simpson co-authored one on November 5 of this year. I told Evan we must be of similar minds because I got this one done in 17 minutes and had fun in the process!

Evan told me, "I am a­ clinical pharmacist at Zuckerberg, San Francisco General, a crossword constructor and lover or all things word-play related."

Across:

1. Accessory that may be paired with a smoking jacket: ASCOT.

6. "Euphoria" network: HBO.

9. Okra or orca unit: POD - Orca/Okra similarity did not get me

12. Like pins and needles: PLURAL.

14. "I cleaned my plate!": ALL DONE.

16. Largest moon of Uranus: TITANIA.

18. Many of the "GoodFellas" main characters: MADE MEN - In the American and Sicilian Mafia, a MADE MAN is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. To become "made", an associate first must be Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by another made man. An inductee will be required to take the oath of omertà, the Mafia code of silence and code of honor. 

19. Behavioral psychologist's concern: PATTERN.

21. Squash: STEP ON.

22. Account statement?: SWORN TESTIMONY - Your account of what happened while under oath is SWORN TESTIMONY but still...

24. Maureen presented with an Honorary Academy Award in 2014: O'HARA - Presented by Clint Eastwood and Liam Neeson

25. Buff: FAN - I am a Husker buff. 

26. Kermit sipping tea and Keanu playing with puppies: MEMES.

27. Clothing store department: BOYS.

28. Turn in: GO TO BED.

30. Psyche segments: IDS.

31. Border dispute: TURF WAR - The most famous one in the movies was the Sharks vs Jets

32. Corp. execs: VPS.

35. Puzzle that uses every letter: PANGRAM.

36. Athlete who wrote the memoir "My Life and the Beautiful Game": PELE.

37. Drained of color: ASHEN.

40. Poetic dusk: EEN.

41. "Being the Ricardos" role: ARNAZ - The actual 1940 marriage license for Desiderio Alberto ARNAZ and Lucille Desiree Ball

42. Robin DiAngelo book about race relations: WHITE FRAGILITY.

45. "Very funny": HA HA HA.

46. Shut up: KEPT MUM - A requirement of all who worked on The Manhattan Project

47. "Did not expect to survive that": I'M ALIVE.

49. Like some passes: LATERAL - Here is a forward pass and two LATERAL passes (passes that do not travel toward the opponent's goal line)

51. "Hm ... ": LET'S SEE.

52. Have the gumption: DARE TO.

53. Mag wheels?: EDS - EDitorS are big wheels at MAGazines 

54. Archipelago part: Abbr.: ISL - Here in The Marianas Archipelago you will find the ISLand of Tinian from which the Enola Gay took off on August 6, 1945

55. Portends: BODES.

Down:

1. Apropos: APT.

2. Careless: SLIPSHOD.

3. Film flashbacks, essentially: CUTAWAYS - Titanic starts with Rose in modern times with the crew searching for the diamond called The Heart Of The Ocean. The bulk of the movie is a flashback to her time on the doomed ocean liner.

4. Figures of speech: ORATORS.

5. Mystical text in Sanskrit: TANTRA - Here ya go

6. Scenery chewer: HAM - I nominate Jim Carrey 

7. Heck of a party: BLAST.

8. Honoree who might wear a vintage uniform: OLD TIMER - Do you know these old Yankees? (* Answer at the bottom of the write-up)

9. Santa hat feature: POM POM.

10. Impossible NFL score: ONE ONE.

11. Chain with "all day diner deals": DENNYS.

13. Property claim for outstanding debt: LIEN.

15. Held: DEEMED.

17. Master of disguise?: ART FORGER - I'd bet our art curator/puzzle constructor, Jeffrey Wechsler, could spot the work of this person

20. One whose priorities are in order?: NEAT FREAK.

23. Winter figure: SNOW ANGEL.

24. Sash tied with a butterfly knot: OBI.

28. Staple __: GUN.

29. "Just like that!": BAM.

31. "Between the World and Me" writer Coates: TANEHISI.

32. Hazarded, as a guess: VENTURED.

33. Schoolyard friend: PLAYMATE.

34. "__ who?": SEZ - Mike wrote thousands of columns for the Chicago Tribune and always wrote exactly what he thought.

35. Potpourri pieces: PETALS.

36. First, in Spanish: PRIMERO - PRIMERO, segundo y tercero (First, second and third. masc.)

37. For a spell: AWHILE.

38. Brought low: SHAMED.

39. Kit parts with pedals: HIHATS - I'll bet you can pick out this part

41. Window-switching shortcut: ALT TAB.

43. Top picks, slangily: FAVES.

44. Apple TV+ device: IPAD.

48. Unadon fish: EEL.

50. "__ Espookys": 6-Across comedy series: LOS - Variety confirmed that on December 2, HBO canceled Los Espookys, the spookiest, weirdest, and most original comedy on television. Here is the weirdest 2 minute trailer you will ever see.

* Those Old Timer Yankees are Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Joe DiMaggio and Casey Stengel.