L.A.Times Crossword Corner

Oct 21, 2023

Saturday, October 21, 2023, Matthew Stock

Themeless Saturday by Matthew Stock

Our Gainesville, FL constructor who is a teacher that is now taking time to get a Masters gives us a puzzle that was very challenging for this humble solver. My delete key got a real workout in areas where I had confidently put down what turned out to be bad fills.

Across:

1. Hot: AFIRE.

6. III's nickname: TRE - TRE (tray) is a common nickname for someone who has III appended to their name.

9. Nintendo console with a GamePad: WIIU.

13. Waits: BIDES - My first thought was of Irish Miss and this wonderful song:

Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling

From glen to glen, and down the mountain side.

The summer's gone, and all the roses falling,
It's you, it's you must go and I must BIDE.

14. Huevos __: RANCHEROS - You probably all know huevos is Spanish for eggs

17. Neural transmitters: AXONS.

18. "Both seem fine": EITHER ONE - Tuh MAY tow/Tuh MAH to

19. Lectures featured on NPR's "Radio Hour" podcast: TED TALKS.

21. Some WrestleMania venues: ARENAS - The wrestling is fake but the injuries are real. Google images at your leisure .

22. Afore: ERE.

23. Japanese stir-fried noodles: YAKISOBA.

25. "__ is life": SUCH or

27. Joins the chorus: SINGS.

28. Org. that might need to resolve wedge issues?: 😀 LPGA - Big clubs are important but wedges and putters determine championships.

32. Take turns before everyone else?: PLAYTEST - A new word for me that filled itself. Companies let gamers play new games and report bugs before the release.

34. Koteas of "Chicago P.D.": ELIAS - His IMDB, but I know this better as a middle name

35. Slots: SPACES.

36. Pore (over): OBSESS - Okay, I might do this on these write-ups... 😙

37. Cheers (up): PERKS - One look at our kitty does it for me

38. Some bunk mates: TWIN BEDS 😀

41. Bite one's nails, say: FRET.

42. Designer of Uma Thurman's iconic 1995 lavender chiffon Oscar gown: PRADA.

43. Bye line: TA TA.

45. "You could not be more right!": IT SURE IS and in modern slang: 38. "u right": TRU -Omitting the "E" is a shortcut? and 33. "Right on": YES - Slang of my college years unlike today's "u right".

48. Feature that may be opened with Ctrl+T: TAB - Last Saturday, we had 44. Paragraph opener: TAB.

49. Home of Venta Rapid, Europe's widest waterfall: LATVIA.

52. Mythical birds without feet that fly continuously from birth until death: MARTLETS - Yeah, I knew that. 😙

MARTLET

Heraldic brisure

Description

A martlet in English heraldry is a mythical bird without feet that never roosts from the moment of its drop-birth until its death fall; martlets are proposed to be continuously on the wing.

54. Marketing group: E-MAIL LIST.

56. Eaglet home: AERIE.

57. Right hand: FIRST MATE - If you're a crossword devotee, you know Captain Hook's FIRST MATE

58. Magnate: BARON.

59. Crew: TEAM.

60. Short change?: MOD - MODify

61. In need of recharging: SPENT - My iPhone got to that status too fast and so I got a new battery two weeks ago.

Down:

1. Tapers off: ABATES.

2. Work in progress: FIXER UPPER.

3. "Well, paint me green and call me a pickle!": I DO DECLARE 😀 I love this!

4. Flat fee: RENT - An apartment in Britain that I'm sure comes with a loo and might have a lift to get to that floor.

5. Piece of one's mind?: ESSAY. 😀

6. "Live long and prosper" speaker, perhaps: TREKKIE - An homage to this character. MR SPOCK also fit.

7. Oatmeal topping, perhaps: RAISINS - Now if you want to talk cookies, Joann makes the very best oatmeal RAISIN variety.

8. Larynx-examining doc: ENT- He makes frequent house calls here

9. "Nothing more to do here": WE'RE ALL SET - Lady Mary and Countess Violet probably did not help much here.

10. Hotel room amenity: IRON - Recently this was clued as an original monopoly piece that has been eliminated.

11. Home of the NCAA's Gaels: IONA - A 22 minute drive NE of Yankee Stadium

12. Applications: USES.

15. __ theory: CHAOS - A famous explanation

16. Catnip, e.g.: HERB.

20. Stands the test of time: LASTS.

24. Mil. rank: SGT.

26. Computer-based civil disobedience: HACKTIVISM.

29. Crash pad?: PIED-A-TERRE -Definition Walt Disney had his own PIED-A-TERRE above the Fire Station in Disneyland. He and his family could "crash" there when they were in the park.

30. Place to get some air: GAS STATION 😀 It isn't always free.

31. Donkey: ASS.

34. Motion of the ocean: EBB.

35. Coverage plan abbr.: SPF.

36. For all to hear: ON AIR - ALOUD? Not so much.

39. Comes around on: WARMS TO - Our kitty will welcome you to pet her if she WARMS TO you.

40. Cooked up: IDEATED - A familiar cwd entry I have never heard/used.

42. Mass number: PSALM - CHANT? Not so much.

44. Neither here nor there: ABSENT.