Saturday Themeless by Enrique Henestroza Anguiano and Erik Agard
Enrique and Erik presented a real big boy puzzle with occasional obscure-to-me fill and insidious cluing. The northeast corner provided me with too many alternate fills, the worst of which was XOXO replacing TATA. Arrrggghhh. A bad cell cost me a 100% but once I got what the guys were after in a section, everything cascaded to completion. Somewhere, Enrique and Erik have to be snickering about the cluing for BURSAR and PADS.
Across:
1. Activist Lee known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth": OPAL ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
5. Fakémon images, e.g.: FAN ART - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Fakémon are fan-designed fictional creatures based on the Pokémon franchise, ofter created as FAN ART or to be mistaken for real Pokémon. Google at your pleasure.
11. "What's __ deal?": HIS.
14. Pitcher's start: HERE'S AN IDEA - I went to ad pitcher's right away. Uh, some are not so great.
16. [raises index finger]: ONE.
17. Boundary-breaking home concept: OPEN KITCHEN.
18. Pithier version of lorem ipsum text: TBA - 😀 Lorem Epsom is a standard place holder in a graphic design until the text To Be Announced is inserted.
19. __ and gentler: KINDER.
20. Sonic, notably: HEDGE HOG - The Drive-In restaurant possibility kept me guessing.
22. Even a skosh: AT ALL.
23. Canadian conservative: TORY.
24. Repetitive email sign-off: XOXO - As I mentioned, TATA was repetitive but not correct and overstayed its welcome.
25. "__ queen!": YAS - A phrase that might be heard at a 51. Fierce competition: DRAG PAGEANT.
26. Send a return over the net: E-FILE - 😀 Turbo Tax does it for me every year
28. Made less sharp: TUNED 😀
29. Signs of safe traffic flow: STOPS 😀 Our recent blizzard/blackout made every traffic light intersection into four-way STOP SIGNS.
30. Oaxacan sauces that can have more than 30 ingredients: MOLES - We've had this a couple of times recently but it still took me time.
31. Set available at thenounproject.com: ICONS - See for yourself
32. Two score: FORTY - Abe used "four score and seven" (80 +7) so...
33. Rep: AGENT.
34. Mutual aid groups: BLOCS
 |
| Europe 1914 |
35. Gets hot under the collar, say: IRONS 😀
36. Ken's job, in "Barbie": BEACH - Coach and teach were briefly in Ken's CV
37. Fun time: GAS.
40. Dish (out): METE.
41. Remove from a 46-Down: OUST and 46. Headquarters: SEAT. You're fired!
42. Struck down: SMOTE - There's a lot of SMOTING in the Bible.
44. Deep-fried South Asian street food: PANIPURI ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
46. Calm: SOOTHE - Serene, the six-letter adjective was replaced by the six-letter verb
47. "And you __?": ARE.
48. Ugly duckling anthem of 1975: AT SEVENTEEN - I've been around teens my entire adult life and I have never had a song reach out and touch me like this Janis Ian's.
50. Unit of illuminance: LUX.
52. Competition with a Golden Buzzer, to fans: AGT.
53. Supremely miffed: SOREST 😖
54. "i cant w/ u": LMAO - The phrase "I can't with you" is a casual way of expressing exasperation or frustration with someone's behavior or actions suggesting the speaker finds them overwhelming or intolerable. Therefore, its absurdity might drive one to Laugh My Ass off.
Down:
1. "If you say so": OH, OKAY.
2. Seed in some 30-Across: PEPITA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
3. Where to see the stars: ARENAS - In this case, athletic stars
4. 1980s US Open three-peater: LENDL.
5. Word with job or craft: FAIR.
6. Formicarium dweller: ANT.
7. Uhura player: NICHOLS - I knew the character instantly but not her real name
8. Stick: ADHERE.
9. Like some voices and wetlands: REEDY - Abe Lincoln's voice was said to be REEDY and we have all heard the REEDY voice of Barney Fife.
10. Sharp flavor: TANG.
11. Sweet, chili-infused condiment: HOT HONEY.
12. What highly motivated people may have zero goals for?: IN-BOXES 😀
13. One making waves: SEA GOD 😀
15. Zoology class figures: SKELETONS - SPECIMENS hung around a long time
21. Does a happy dance: EXULTS - ELATES hung around a long time
23. Bill-collecting label: TIPS 😳 I was really taken aback the first time I had to make a decision on a TIP while the wait person was holding the iPad.
27. Nunito sans, for one: FONT ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - Word on my computer has a ton of FONTS but not his one.
 |
| Not on my computer! |
28. Lyrical story of unrequited love: TORCH SONG - There are so many good ones but nobody does it like Frank.
29. Act opener: SCENE I - Name the musical that had its opening scene on a train. (Answer below*)
30. Class offered by MITx, e.g.: MOOC - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ MITx is MIT online
31. Court call: I GOT NEXT - What you'd say to challenge the winner for a one-on-one game. Name this movie (Answer below **) No more movie quizzes, I promise.
32. Lacking sparkle: FLAT.
33. Under-the-table purchase: AREA RUG 😀
34. Overwhelm: BESIEGE.
35. Animal also known as a rooibok: IMPALA.
36. Brown bread specialist: BURSAR - 😳 Wow, talk about an all-time twisted clue! Bread is of course slang for money and the specialist for collecting money at Brown University is the BURSAR Michael C. White.
37. "We did good!": GO TEAM - Yay us!
38. Angela Bassett's "9-1-1" role: ATHENA ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
39. Taken care of: SEEN TO - I have SEEN TO blogging this fun puzzle.
41. Album ender: OUTRO - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ An "outro" (a blend of "out" and "intro") refers to the concluding track of an album, or an instrumental solo played as the song fades out.
43. Rest stop along a highway: MOTEL.
45. Some legal places to make records: PADS - 😀 This is the runner-up to the cluing for BURSAR.
49. Some execs: VPS.
*That is the opening scene from The Music Man. The entire scene
** Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes are going one-on-one in White Men Can't Jump
Notes from C.C.:
Happy 84th Birthday to dear Irish Miss (Agnes), my creative puzzle
collaborator and close friend, who has guided me through so many life
issues. So grateful to have her in my life.
