Saturday Themeless by Annemarie Brethauer and Katie Hale.
A previous collaboration on a Saturday (7/1/23) themeless I blogged from Annemarie and Katie. I flew through the top of this puzzle with just a few missing cells and then the work began.
The two red cells show Naticks for me that appeared when simple fill, STEAM and SIRI, were replaced by obscure cluing.
Across:
1. Start of communications with NATO: ALFA
5. Building blocks: ABCS.
9. Seacrest vehicle, familiarly: IDOL.
13. Baby hippo: CALF.
14. Studio Ghibli's animated fuzz ball: SOOT SPRITE - Okay...
17. Rhyming song that's acted out: I'M A LITTLE TEAPOT - We've all done this one!
19. Fanning of "Coraline": DAKOTA.
20. Uber CEO Khosrowshahi: DARA - I got the first "A" in DARA out of nowhere without reasonable cluing for STEAM.
21. Article in a French periodical: LES - Yeah, I thought of La Monde first.
22. In: AMID.
24. Some shortcuts: MACROS - A set of keystrokes you define and use to do a bigger task
24. Some shortcuts: MACROS - A set of keystrokes you define and use to do a bigger task
26. "I'm late!": GOTTA RUN.
30. Overflow (with): TEEM.
31. "Ew, no": UGH.
32. Doner __: Turkish dish: KEBAB.
34. Gems formed by silica deposits: OPALS.
37. Get up: ARISE.
39. Valuable diamond, say: ACE 😀 Yes, I have heard of a diamond being called ICE, but...
37. Get up: ARISE.
39. Valuable diamond, say: ACE 😀 Yes, I have heard of a diamond being called ICE, but...
40. "Ask anyone else": NOT IT - I struggled with this and asked a few peeps including Irish Miss but I came back to my original idea. This fun clip seems to reenforce the idea of how every game of "Tag" I've ever played started.
41. Change: CENTS - I never seem to have any coins with me any more
42. Fuming: IRATE - The Detroit Lions coach after the referees disallowed a play that would have won the game.
42. Fuming: IRATE - The Detroit Lions coach after the referees disallowed a play that would have won the game.
44. Shiba __: INU - New to me but a beautiful looking dog
45. Meet face-to-face?: KISS. 😗
47. Magnified: ENHANCED - Sorry ENLARGED, not today
49. Pro who worked with Magic: KAREEM.
47. Magnified: ENHANCED - Sorry ENLARGED, not today
49. Pro who worked with Magic: KAREEM.
 |
| Magic Johnson KAREEM Abdul Jabar |
51. "Memories of the Future" author Hustvedt: SIRI crossing 33. Part of a full English breakfast: BEANS. Saturday cluing for common fill.
52. Cribbage piece: PEG - My dad and his brothers could never find the PEGS that went with their very old Cribbage board and so they used matchsticks.
53. Just so: NEAT - Major Frank Burns took great pride in using a string to line up the condiments on the mess hall tables.
53. Just so: NEAT - Major Frank Burns took great pride in using a string to line up the condiments on the mess hall tables.
55. Figure in a Clement Clarke Moore poem: ST NICK.
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be ST. NICK
59. First play written by a Black woman to be produced on Broadway: A RAISIN IN THE SUN.
62. Many a Gillian Flynn work: CRIME NOVEL.
63. Gladys Knight, for one: ALTO - I can't pick a favorite but Midnight Train To Georgia is right up there.
65. Used cars?: RODE - Used is a verb here.
66. With 57-Down, rom-com trope: MEET and 57. See 66-Across: CUTE - Name the wonderful 90-yr-old rom-com with this CUTE MEET: Runaway heiress is forced to share a bus seat with an unemployed journalist. (*answer below)
Down:
1. Rock type: ACID.
2. Dharma teacher: LAMA - What is Dharma?
3. Barrage of criticism: FLAK - If you want a barrage of FLAK, run for public office
4. Solvent: AFLOAT.
5. "Easter Parade" star: ASTAIRE - Fred and sister Adele's birth home in South Omaha.
6. Spam maker: BOT - They can fill up your computer in a hurry
7. Dispassionate: COLD.
8. Video game distribution platform: STEAM - There is common and even clever cluing for STEAM but this was "off the rails" obscure for me when I needed it for SOOT SPRITE and DARA.
9. A Gershwin: IRA - 'S wonderful, 'S marvelous that IRA set wonderful lyrics to brother George's music. BTW, I can understand if you don't get the odd words in the previous sentence.😀
10. Strategically polite: DIPLOMATIC.
11. Chiwere speakers: OTOES.
12. "I'm down": LET'S.
15. Classic Fender, for short: STRAT - A Fender STRATocaster
16. Message on some holiday cards: PEACE ON EARTH.
18. "That tracks": IT MAKES SENSE.
23. Home of the Museum of the Future: DUBAI.
25. Default action, informally: REPO
26. Quick dip?: GUAC.
27. Princess Fiona, after sunset: OGRE.
28. "Nope": THINK AGAIN.
29. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE.
29. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE.
35. Stick figure's torso: LINE
38. Mix: STIR.
43. Symbol of Scotland: THISTLE.
46. Receive: SEE IN - Remember movie ushers?
48. Starting hr. for some: NINE AM - School always started before EIGHT AM and I was always there before 7 AM.
49. Gymnast Strug: KERRI - KERRI supplied one of the guttiest performances I have ever seen in the 1994 Olympics!
50. Estate: MANOR.
52. Accord: PACT.
54. Late show broadcaster?: TIVO - Before we had our own recorders.
56. "__ of Dogs": Wes Anderson film: ISLE.
58. Bedhead problem: KNOT - Yikes!
60. Cyberchats: IMS - Internet Messages - I like how they give you time to consider an answer.
61. Composer Rorem: NED - NED Flanders from The Simpsons gets the day off
*The classic movie with the rom-com CUTE MEET on the bus that I mentioned above
