Saturday, April 4, 2020, Brian E Paquin

Themeless Saturday by Brian E. Paquin

Brian E. Paquin is the author of today's puzzle. He is our retired computer systems developer, and now crossword constructor from Kingston, Ontario. He and I were of very like mind today as I polished this puzzle off very quickly (I have sworn off  saying my solving times here).

On Brian's last themeless Saturday he included actress Anna Paquin as fill and said she might be some distant relative as she was born in Winnipeg, Ontario.

Here was Brian's gracious reply to my inquiry about this puzzle:

Hi Gary,

Not a lot to say about it...I liked the way it turned out, except maybe for the S/E corner.   41A ESSE, 41D EKEOUT and 54D SST are all tiresome entries to me.  But if there is to be a weak area, then the S/E is my choice.  Solvers will have enjoyed the better parts by the time they get there.

Brian

Let's see what Brian has developed for us today from north of the border:

Across:

1. One of the partying elite: A-LISTER.

8. Dessert option: A LA MODE 

15. Emphasize strongly: RAM HOME - Every government agency is trying to RAM HOME wha we must do be safe(r)

16. Online group study: WEBINAR - When I think of all those trips to The University of Nebraska at Omaha I made to get my Masters...

17. Visiting the Louvre, say: IN PARIS - What Rick and Isla will always have

18. Namesake of brunch sauce: HOLLAND - HOLLANDAISE sauce originated in Normandy, France in 1651 as Sauce Isigny not HOLLAND. [Side note - French fries are said to have originated in Belgium and Crab Rangoon in San Francisco] 

19. Sweet after-dinner drink: PORT WINE - On the subject of name derivations, PORT WINE came from the Portuguese city of Oporto

21. Cpl., for one: NCO - Non Commissioned Officer

22. Some street performers: MIMES - Wait a minute... 

25. __ learning: ROTE 

26. Conks out: DIES.

27. "The Cookie Never Crumbles" co-author Wally: AMOS - Famous AMOS

28. Stick: MIRE.

29. Apollo unit, briefly: LEM - Here's the ascent stage of the Lunar Excursion Module taking off from the Moon to reunite with the Command Module that was still orbiting the Moon so the three astronauts could return to Earth. 

30. Flour bag abbr.: LBS.

31. Enthusiastic well-wisher: BACKSLAPPER - Gone with hand shaking for now

35. Retire: PUT OUT TO PASTURE - Subbing keeps at least one foot out of the pasture

37. Took over in a supervisor's absence: HELD THE FORT - After President Reagan was shot, Alexander Haig strode into the West Wing and said he was in charge, i.e. HOLDING (DOWN) THE FORT. Some thought, "Well, 38. __-di-dah: LAH"

40. __ web: DARK - Here 'ya go

41. To be, in Latin: ESSE - "ESSE aut non ESSE illud est quaestio" - Hamlet's musing

42. Hardy title teenager: TESS - TESS of the d"Ubervilles 

44. Small store: MART.

45. 12-time NBA All-Star Olajuwon, as originally spelled: AKEEM - Alt. spelling on this card

46. Big bird: EMU - If commercials are supposed to be annoying to stick in your mind, the poor EMU and his witless handler are successful

47. Dessert made with Oreos: DIRTCAKE - How 'bout adding some (Gummy) worms?

49. Fell behind: RAN LATE.


51. Baseball's Browns, since 1954: ORIOLES - They started as Milwaukee Brewers in 1881 but moved to St. Louis in 1901 as the Browns where they played for 52 years and then became the Baltimore Orioles in 1954 which they still are 39. So far: YET.

1891 Milwaukee Brewers

55. Camera maker that merged with Konica: MINOLTA.

56. What financial projections are compared with: ACTUALS - Everybody's 2020 financial projections are pretty much trash now

57. Guile: SLYNESS.

58. "We're done": THAT'S IT - Going to Husker games?


Down:

1. Bush press secretary Fleischer: ARI.

2. PC linkup: LAN - Local Area Network

3. Little rascal: IMP.

4. Pentagon and others: SHAPES - Those pentagonal home plates are still in storage

5. Corrida chargers: TOROS - Corrida is a word meaning bullfight

6. Muslim noble: EMIR 23. Permeate: IMBUE - IMBUE used in The Call an EMIR might say

7. They're not for everyone: RESTRICTED AREAS - It'd be about a 20 hr drive for me to get to this famous RESTRICTED AREA

8. 1957 Marty Robbins hit: A WHITE SPORT COAT to wear to the 13. Prom, say: DANCE. - This avid Marty Robbins fan first put his less famous song A BIG IRON ON HIS HIP which fit but the title is only BIG IRON and, uh, wrong!

9. Spaghetti Western director Sergio: LEONE - The Danish National Symphony performs the haunting theme from the spaghetti western The Good, The Bad and The Ugly with plenty of voices but not one discernible word. [A Danish orchestra directed by a Japanese-American woman that is the theme for an American-Style western directed by an non-English speaking Italian man shot mostly in Spain]

10. Up to it: ABLE.

11. Wire measure: MIL - 1 MIL wire is .001" thick

12. Without thinking: ON AN IMPULSE - Last week I showed my prized Superman shirt of my misspent yute. ON AN IMPULSE I thought I could fly and took a leap. I told mom and the doctor I was pushed.

14. Hungarian mathematician Paul: ERDOS - The one unknown for me but if you're interested

20. Museum piece: WORK OF ART.

22. "Happy Days" character Ralph: MALPH - If you really care, you'll know which one he is in this picture

24. Promising forecast: MOSTLY SUNNY - Is the same as partly cloudy?

26. Commerce, e.g.: Abbr.: DEPT 

28. "Do the __!": MATH - Can I afford this Ferrari on a retired teacher's income? 

29. Stand the test of time: LAST.

31. Target: BUTT - Being the BUTT of the joke is misery for some and a 32. Playful prank: LARK to others


33. Scrub away: ERASE - 44 sec. video of amazing 3D art and ERASING it

34. Alter, as a skirt: REHEM - This dress has had some significant REHEMMING

36. Poems of honor: ODES.

41. Just manage: EKE OUT.

42. Contract listing: TERMS - Selling my MIL's house contained TERMS where she had to pay for a new roof

43. Text alternative: E-MAIL 

44. Catchers' catchers: MITTS - The first catcher to use one was thought of as a sissy

45. Curly-tailed dog: AKITA - Can't we all use a cute picture today?

47. Valley: DALE.

48. Bridge structure: ARCH - For some reason, the General W.K. Wilson Bridge is called the Dolly Parton Bridge. 

50. Actor Chaney: LON.

52. Scale notes: LAS - A note to follow SO(L)

53. Skull and Bones member: ELI - These three members of this secret society at Yale later became presidents. The Video Daily Double Jeopardy question for the far left man is, "Who is the only president to later become Chief Justice Of The Supreme Court?"

54. Old boomer: SST.

I add for no apparent reason: If Brian drove from his home in Kingston, Ontario to Buffalo, N.Y. he would travel from  the east end of Lake Ontario to the east end of Lake Erie. 

Note from C.C.:

Constructor Todd Gross created a series of YouTube videos on themed crosswords. Click here for his latest "For the Birds". I would not have seen the extra layers without his explanations.