Saturday Themeless by Evan Kalish
Today's constructor is our much-travelled "10-K post office"
aficionado Evan Kalish (he has visited and photographed over 10,000
post offices). Here is Evan's reflections on this puzzle
Hi Gary,
This puzzle took shape at 4 a.m. one night in July 2018, though I
would revise the SW corner a few months later (during daylight hours).
My goal was to start off the puzzle with a bang: three modern spoken /
colloquial phrases, and the grid flowed from there.
I was glad that Rich kept some of my favorite clues: AURORA (12-D);
INUIT (16-A, a place I’d always thought would be fun to visit); and
AMPS (49-A). It is also worth noting that the clue for
44-A—YALELAW: Alma mater of about half the Supreme Court, is in
need of an update; it is presently exactly half the Supreme Court.
Your memory is a blessing, Justice Ginsburg.
Oddly enough I’d considered visiting both 30-A (the DAKOTAs) and 50-D
(American SAMOA) this year before, well, 2020 "happened.” American
Samoa is home to the only U.S. Post Office south of the Equator! At
the end of January I visited my 10,000th post office: the 1940 Century
Station post office in Culver City, California. This photo was taken
at that time, a.k.a. five years ago.
Since March I, like many others, have spent a lot of time constructing
crosswords. This velvety boy was kind enough to lend me some inspiration
a couple of months back.
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night will stay me from the swift
completion of my appointed blog:
1. Handle the roasting: TAKE A JOKE - The good natured Dean Martin roasts devolved into the mean-spirited and profane Comedy Central Roasts
10. Large amounts: LOADS.
15. Words of exasperation: I CAN'T EVEN.
16. Like most residents of Nunavut: INUIT
17. Ironic lead-in to stating the obvious: NEWSFLASH -
Here's a real NEWSFLASH: Husker fans are glad to see football and volleyball
are coming back
18. Slowly consume: NURSE unless you say 20. Request while extending a glass: I'LL HAVE SOME
19. Org. created in 2001: TSA - All-in-all the Transportation Security Agency has done a good job
22. Light-footed: SPRY - She's 91
24. Disney princess voiced by Kristen Bell: ANNA.
25. Genre in a battle, perhaps: RAP - Yes "Battle RAP" is a real thing where contestants compete to see who can say the most vicious and insulting things to the other. What could possibly go wrong? 26. Pandemonium: CHAOS.
28. Flakes in boxes: CEREALS.
30. Territory from 1861 to 1889: DAKOTA
32. Branches: SECTS - Some SECTS have broken away because of their views on sex
33. Dove headfirst, maybe: SLID.
34. Surreptitious sip source: FLASK - Prohibition was the mother of invention
36. __ hammer: CLAW.
40. "Quo Vadis" director Mervyn __: LEROY - His IMDB
42. Area of influence: SPHERE.
44. Alma mater of about half the Supreme Court: YALE LAW - Alito, Sotomayor, Thomas and Kavanaugh. (See Evan's note above)
47. On the level: LEGIT.
48. Long beginning?: ERE - George M Cohan lyric: "Give my regards to Old Broadway
And say that I'll be there, ''ERE long"
49. Measures of current events?: AMPS - Electric current
51. Nepali wrap: SARI.
52. Briskly depart: SCAMPER AWAY
55. Hogwash: ROT.
58. Nets: MAKES - After deductions
59. Lecturer's "My bad": I MISSPOKE - It's 64. Obvious: EASY TO SEE I didn't mean that or didn't think it through
61. "Skyfall" singer: ADELE - A James Bond themer
62. "Dang!": CONSARN IT.
63. Ones who rarely skip class: NERDS.
Down:
1. Add some contrast to: TINT.
2. High pair: ACES - In Texas Hold 'Em they're called pocket rockets
3. Jet Ski maker: KAWASAKI.
4. Two for dinner?: ENS - diNNer
5. Before digging deeper: AT FIRST - Constructing crosswords seems easy AT FIRST glance
6. Kids' sandwich ingredient: JELLY - Hey, this kid's 74 and loves a PB&J
7. Like zeroes: OVAL - Sometimes a zero is written Ø to eliminate any confusion
8. "Die Young" singer: KESHA - Google her sexual anthem at will
9. Increases in desirability: ENHANCES - If ENHANCING something makes you feel better, go for it
10. Illustrations without shades and hues: LINE ART.
11. Heavy weight: ONUS.
12. Highlights?: AURORA - The Kirknese Snowhotel in Norway offers beautiful access to the AURORA Borealis
13. Really bad: DISMAL - My poor KC Royals have become DISMAL after a World Series win in 2015. They couldn't afford to keep everyone.
14. Soaks: STEEPS - STEEP times
21. Tee choices: V-NECKS.
23. Toy with curly hair: POODLE - Ah, our toy dogs reappear
26. Media with narrow tracks: CDS - About 1.6 microns or .0000016 meter
27. Movie villain that reads lips: HAL.
29. "Relativity" artist: ESCHER.
31. Slopeside sight: A-FRAME.
32. "... to name one": SAY - "SAY I give you a raise in your allowance, what will you do?"
35. Ad come-on: LOW PRICE.
37. "Cool Hand Luke" restraints: LEG IRONS.
39. __ paint: WET.
41. Goes by: ELAPSES - Get all six before time ELAPSES and you win big bucks. Here's the first category:
44. Boss-pleasing guy: YES MAN.
45. "The Suburbs" Grammy-winning indie rock band __ Fire: ARCADE - Here ya go
46. Secret source: LEAKER - Watergate's was called Deep Throat
50. American __: SAMOA - It is about 76 miles from Apia, the capital of Samoa, and Pago Pago, the capital of American SAMOA. (We had Apia, Samoa in Jeff Stillman's Wednesday puzzle)
51. Showing 'tude: SASSY.
53. Merge: MELD - Nebraska Volleyball has been able to MELD girls from Nebraska and all over the county into national championship teams.
54. Standings column: WINS - Those MELDED Husker Volleyballers have more WINS than any other Division I team
56. Arkansan's neighbor: OKIE - Arky Vaughn was a Hall-Of-Fame baseball player mostly for the Pirates and was born in Clifty, Arkansas.
60. Behind: PRO - Not Anti
Does Evan's puzzle get your stamp of approval? Comment below.
