Saturday, May 17, 2025, Rich Feely

 Saturday Themeless by Rich Feely 

Rich's puzzle provided a real challenge which yielded to my "hunt and peck" strategy.

The fill in the NW had some fun learning (TOUCH GRASS) and cleverISH cluing that took some time.

The SW where I finished also took some effort with obscure-to-me names ATOP each other but it was very satisfying 😳 when I got the Congratulations message.

Across:

1. Toss: SCRAP - Modern slang of YEET was only four letters and PITCH didn't work.

6. "The Sound of Music" backdrop, briefly: WWII - ALPS joined PITCH from 1 Across as "close but no cigar".

Baron von Trapp shows
his feeling towards Nazis

10. Start and end of New Mexico's Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway: TAOS.

14. "Put your phone down": TOUCH GRASS - 😀 I had no idea but it made perfect sense when I filled in the last letters. It means "get off your devices and go out in the real world".

 

16. Side with?: ABUT.

17. Quarterfinalists: ELITE EIGHT - The winners of these games went to the Final Four. Rumor has it that EIGHT TEAMS would have worked too.

18. French head: TETE.

19. Chaps: MEN.

20. Folder's forfeit: ANTE - You paid to see the cards and if you fold your hand you forfeit that money.  This is statistically the worst starting cards in Texas Hold 'Em.

and 11. Payment guarantee?: A BET IS A BET.

21. Polite gesture: HAT TIP.

23. "Say no more": I SEE.

24. Lollygags: DALLIES

25. Some memory triggers: AROMAS - The pungent AROMA of alfalfa being dehydrated filled the summer air in my misspent youth. It still triggers great memories.

28. Feels for: PITIES.

29. Lightweight material: LINEN - Leonardo di Caprio looking cool in LINEN as Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby.

30. Unconscious __: BIAS.

31. "And there you have it": TADA.

34. Happy accident: A FEATURE NOT A BUG.

37. Connected by a common thread: SEWN 😀

38. Take into account: NOTE - Duly NOTED.

39. Two-time WNBA MVP __ Delle Donne: ELENA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

40. Time for curls: ARM DAY - It is recommended that you alternate

42. UNESCO City of Literature in Devon: EXETER - Exeter is a city in the county of Devon.

43. Multifaceted: LAYERED.

45. Sheep sounds: BAAS.

46. One vertex of the Summer Triangle: ALTAIR - A gimme for us astronomy peeps. Like the Big Dipper, it is an asterism not a constellation. 

47. Cobra or bridge surfaces: MATS.

48. Sign of success: SRO - Husker VB is the only women's NCAA sport to make a profit thanks to its string of 376 consecutive sellouts that feature Standing Room Only crowds.

51. Designer Lagerfeld: KARL - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

52. Uninterested in the party scene, perhaps: APOLITICAL.

55. Comedian Wakim who is the first Lebanese American cast member of "SNL": EMIL. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

56. Texter's "Hey, boo": GHOST EMOJI - 👻

57. Viscous: ROPY - In Earth Science we call this ROPY lava pahoehoe (pun hoy hoy) lava.

58. Chef Lewis who specialized in Southern cooking: EDNA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

59. City on the Nile north of Lake Nasser: ASWAN.

Down:

1. Cherry picker's target: STEM.

2. 2023 AL Cy Young winner Gerrit: COLE.

3. Demolish: RUIN.

4. Pretend: ACT.

5. Gallinaceous bird native to Eurasia: PHEASANT - Some Nebraska landowners open their ground to PHEASANT hunting when they are in season.

Tekamah, Nebraska

6. Dash off: WRITE - I try to dash off a reply as quick as I can when I get an email

7. Pay: WAGE.

8. "Plus or minus": ISH - My solve time for this puzzle was 30ISH minutes

9. Skeptical response: IS THAT SO.

10. Folks who tend to give things away: TATTLE TALES 

12. Navel type: OUTIE.

13. Tally on some trackers: STEPS.

On an Apple Watch

15. Small inheritance?: GENES.

22. Boxing legend: ALI.

23. "They cannot be serious": I MEAN REALLY.

24. Guerrero of "Doom Patrol": DIANE ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

25. Sigh of woe: ALAS.

26. Teeming (with): RIFE.

27. Journey in a relocation: ONE WAY TRIP 😀

28. Devotion: PIETY.

30. Overarching: BROAD - The overarching goals of athletic teams is to win a championship.

32. Timothée Chalamet epic set on a desert planet: DUNE - The star at top center ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

33. Petri dish gelatin: AGAR.

35. In the minority?: UNDER AGE 😀

36. Crude, slangily: TEXAS TEA - I sent these TV theme lyrics below to my 28-yr-old granddaughter and asked if she had ever heard them before. She quickly replied, "No". Sigh... The show is at the bottom of this write-up.*

Come and listen to my story
'Bout a man named Jed
A poor mountaineer,
Barely kept his family fed.
And then one day
He was shootin' at some food,
And up through the ground came a-bubblin' crude.
Oil that is, black gold, TEXAS TEA.

41. CT scan kin: MRI.

42. Fail big-time: EAT IT.

43. Former Minneapolis NBA player: LAKER - I am old enough to remember when the LAKERS played in Minneapolis in the 50's and their star was George Mikan who is seen below at the right with Kareem and Shaq. In 1960, the LAKERS took the team and the nickname westward although LA is not known for any significant lakes.

44. Site of Crockett's last stand: ALAMO - A silent movie version. I remember Fess Parker and John Wayne playing that role later.

45. Material for crafts and rafts: BALSA.

47. New __: MOON - Ten days from now, the Moon will "rise" with the Sun and will not be able to be seen all day. As I have told thousands of students, the MOON is not in the evening sky every night.

48. Garbage barge: SCOW.

49. Indian royal: RAJA can be RANA also

50. Actor/director Ken: OLIN - I remember him as Det. Harry Garibaldi (far right) in the fabulous Hill Street Blues.

53. High deg.: PHD.

54. Uses Kik, say: IMS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

* Jed Clampett and family after they discovered and cashed in on their TEXAS TEA.

Friday, May 16, 2025, Lewis Rothlein

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with a recap of a Friday puzzle constructed by Lewis Rothlein.  Per the NYT a couple of years ago, Lewis Rothlein is a yoga instructor and jazz piano enthusiast in Asheville, N.C.  He has had puzzles previously published in both the NYT and the LAT.

This solver found today's offering to be challenging and enjoyable.  A number of the clue / answer combinations required some cogitation - not because they were obscure but because one had to dig a bit deeper than usual into the cranial data base.

There is no reveal/unifier in today's puzzle.  At four places within the grid Lewis breaks common words into two pieces and this "division" is incorporated into the manner in which the clue must be interpreted in order to conjure up the correct response.  Here are the four themed clues and answers:

17 Across:  Pa ss: SPLIT TICKET.  Neither pass as in a gap in the mountains nor pass as in to do well on a school exam.  As used in the clue, Pass means a way to get into a concert or a sporting event.  SPLIT TICKET voting is when a voter votes for candidates from different parties in the same election, as opposed to straight-ticket voting.  Here, though, the Ticket has been literally been split.

25 Across:  Fi rm: PARTED COMPANY.  Not firm as in solidified.  In the clue it is used in the sense of a business entity. . . and in this instance the entity has been PARTED like the Red Sea.  PARTING COMPANY, of course, most often is used in a different context.

43 Across:  Shis hito: CRACKED PEPPER.  Shishito is a type of pepper although it is not the type of pepper that is commonly CRACKED.  In the clue, the pepper has been cracked in half.

56 Across:  Bo nds: SEVERED TIES.  Not bonds as in financial instruments.  Bonds as in the ties that bind.  SEVERED TIES is quite similar to PARTED COMPANY, above, but is most often used in reference to a business relationship.

This is how it all looks in the grid:

. . . and here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Creature of Jewish folklore: GOLEM.  In Jewish folklore, a GOLEM is an artificial humanoid made of clay, soil, or dust brought to life by a series of rituals and magical formulas. According to legend, GOLEMs could only be created by a powerful rabbi.

6. Verb with thou: SAYST.  A variation of SAYEST.  A hand up here for first trying SHALT.

11. __ bar: FIG.  SAND was too long, as was OYSTER.

14. Slightly in front: UP ONE.  Not physically ahead of the pack.  UP ONE as in a sports score.  Not to be confused with One Up as in to overshadow.

15. Intercontinental range: URALS.  Demarcation line for Europe and Asia.

16. Soundless messaging syst.: ASL.

19. Dark site of the moon?: SEA.   SEAS, or mares, on the moon are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon, formed by lava flowing into ancient impact basins. They were dubbed maria (Latin for 'seas') by early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas.

20. Members of a sub group: HOAGIES.  Not a reference to religious sects or to underwater vessels.  A sandwich reference.

21. Like overripe bananas: SPOTTED.  Not in the optical sense.  More like a leopard.

23. "Embrace the glorious __ that you are": Elizabeth Gilbert: MESS.  Elizabeth Gilbert is 

an American journalist and author. She is best known for her 2006 memoir Eat, Pray, Love

24. Dressage pace: TROT.   From Wikipedia, Dressage is a form of horse riding and an equestrian sport that aims to develop the horse's natural athletic ability and willingness to perform.

30. Formal, in a way: DRESSY.  Interesting with DRESSY following Dressage.

32. Sought office: RAN.

33. Fruit in some gin: SLOE.  

34. Overlord of the rings, for short?: IOC.  Not a LOTR reference.  The Olympic Rings.

35. "That's gonna leave a mark!": OOF.  Punt!

36. Family: KIN.  When asked if he had family in Salt Lake City, Robert de Niro replied,"Utah kin to me?"

37. Egg pouches: SACS.

39. Co-worker of Jamie, Alan, and Mara, in Progressive ads: FLO.  This solver thought that is was kind of the constructor/editor to choose the most-well-know of the group for the answer.  Had it been clued as, for example Co-worker of Jamie, Alan, and Flo this solver would have been at sea, as they say in some of our puzzles.  What did you think?

40. Planters: SOWERS.  As ye SOW so shall ye reap.

46. Blasted: DARN.  Not a reference to an explosion.  As slangy clue with a slangy answer.

47. __ bene: NOTA.  NOTA bene is a Latin phrase meaning "mark well" or "note well".  It is used to call attention to something important in a text or speech.

48. Skating hazard: THIN ICE.  Literally.  The expression is more often seen as an idiom.

51. Comic-con attendee with pointy ears, maybe: TREKKIE.  A Star Trek reference

55. Feel sick: AIL.  What does one say upon seeing a sick redhead?  Ginger ail.

58. Org. with Kings and Knights: NHL.

59. Switch: TRADE.  As in:

60. Aquarium fish: TETRA.  A frequent visitor to our tank.

61. Slime: GOO.  Punt-ish.

62. Campaign topic: ISSUE.  I told my boss, “Sorry I’m late. I was having computer ISSUEs. Boss: Hard drive?  Me: No, the commute was fine. It’s my laptop.

63. Caravan rest stops: OASES.

Down:

1. Rhapsodize: GUSH.

2. Intel collected during a race: OPPO.  Truncated clue, truncated answer.  A political race.  OPPO is damaging information about a political candidate that is gathered and used or made public usually by an opponent's camp.

3. "Copacabana" showgirl: LOLA.  Okay.  If we're headed down this road we might as well go with the over-the-top version.

4. Hard-to-read people: ENIGMAS.

5. Fortes: METIERS.

6. Word on some European notes: SUISSE.  Seen on Euro notes that feature Switzerland.

7. Shape made with a pencil and string: ARC.  A rudimentary compass.

8. Jaws: YAKS.  Not a reference to mandibles.  Idioms for talking too much.  Not a reference to these:

9. Didn't answer immediately: SLEPT ON.  As in the colloquialism to "sleep on it".

10. Brief weather event?: T-STORM.  "Brief" in the clue tips us off that the answer will be a-brief-iated.

11. Slick one: FAST TALKER.  The meaning of FAST-TALK is to influence or persuade by fluent, facile, and usually deceptive or tricky talk. 

12. Words of understanding: I SEE.

13. Willing (to): GLAD.  As in "I'd be GLAD to help you with that."

18. Petulant: TESTY.

22. Best or bests: TOPS.  The first word of the clue is an adjective.  The second is a verb.

25. Minor offense: PECCADILLO.  Anyone recall previously seeing PECCADILLO in a puzzle?

26. Wilt: DROOP.

27. Half-__: latte spec: CAF.

28. Cain genre: NOIR.  A reference to James M. Cain.  Perhaps best known for the novels Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice.

29. Urges: YENS.  Not used as a verb as in to pressure someone to do something.  The urges, themselves.

 

30. __ jockey: DISC.

31. Laugh good and hard: ROAR.

35. Word with hand or saw: OLD.  Precedes either/both.

38. Get the drift, perhaps: SCAN.  A bit of a stretch.  Apparently used as in to quickly peruse.

39. Folks who might say, "Curses! Foiled again!"?: FENCERS.  Not FENCERS as in those enclosing a yard.  A sword fighting reference.  A foil is a type of sword.

40. Botanical reproductive unit: SPORE.  How mushroom does a SPORE need?

41. Decided in favor of: OPTED TO.

42. Underwhelming argument: WEAK TEA.  Idiomatic.

44. Skating great Yamaguchi: KRISTI.  The name was known.  The spelling was aided by the perps.

45. Menu selection: ENTREE.  I recently made a delicious European breakfast entree, but when I finished eating it I had a stomach ache.  It was a Belchin Waffle.

48. Kick: TANG.   Spicy.  As in "this salsa has quite a kick to it."

49. Chipper greeting: HI HO.

50. Some NASA missions: EVAS. ExtraVehicular ActivitieS  What we used to call spacewalks.

52. Many Ikea purchases, essentially: KITS.  Put it together yourself.

53. French noun suffix: IERE.   French terms suffixed with -iere

54. Those, in Spanish: ESAS.

57. Gettysburg address feature?: EDU.  At first this solver thought that this was just plain wrong.  Got the web address part of it but every Gettysburg-related site I dug out ended with EDU or GOV.  Then Gettysburg College in, of course, Gettysburg, PA was "discovered".

and on that humbling note,

__________________________________