Saturday Themeless by Sheryl Bartol
This was Sheryl's lovely response when I asked her about this puzzle:
Hi Gary,
Nice to hear from you again. This puzzle went through a lot of iterations and rework. In the end, it was quite different from where I started, as I discovered new word combinations along the way. Here are a few comments on some of the entries:
One of my favorite words is EMOTICON which I often use in my emails ;)
We play a lot of board games in my house, especially during a pandemic, which inspired my CARTEL clue.
I am also a big Indian food fan, hence the way I clued LENTIL.
Lastly, I love the change that our dear editors made to my clue for POET, which was not nearly as clever.
I hope everyone enjoys solving it!
Thanks,
Sheryl
1. They clean up: JANITORS - They are a great asset to any school or business especially these days.
9. Menu category including shells: PASTA - Conchiglia is Italian for conch shell
14. Park, for one: OPEN AREA.
15. Monopoly player?: CARTEL - OPEC used to be one
16. Sign in many restaurant windows: UBER EATS which can lead to this delivery service
15. Monopoly player?: CARTEL - OPEC used to be one
16. Sign in many restaurant windows: UBER EATS which can lead to this delivery service
17. Emblem on a dollar bill: US SEAL.
18. For or against: SIDE - You might have to 57. Retreat from, as a previous statement: WALK BACK - Wait, that's not what I meant
19. Parisian street food: CREPES - Parfait in French means perfect. Oh, but you already knew that.
21. CPR group: EMS The difference between EMS and EMT
22. "__ Story": TOY.
23. Reasons for sighs: CLOSE CALLS - Put down that cell phone!
25. Female rabbit: DOE.
26. Like "Home Alone": RATED PG.
28. City NNW of Park City: OGDEN.
31. Many glasses are sold as one: PAIR - I got my first PAIR at 15. You?
33. Queen dowager of Jordan: NOOR - A Jordanian Queen born in Washington D.C.
34. Browning but not cooking: POET - A clue change Sheryl admired for Elizabeth Barrett Browning
35. Have the ability to: COULD.
36. Ripped: TORE.
37. Barbecue tool feature: TINE.
38. Fireside sight: LOGS.
39. Like some tricks: DIRTY.
40. Showed scorn: SNORTED - Yeah, I'm the only one who first put SNEERED
42. "Erie Canal" mule: SAL - I’ve got an old mule and her name is Sal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal. She’s a good old worker and a good old pal, Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
43. App update messages, say: PUSH ALERTS - It's up to you whether to get 'em or not
46. Award show VIPs: MCS.
49. Egg dropper: HEN - I conducted thousands of these over the years sans any HENS
50. Plane, for one: EVENER - After a trip through the PLANER
51. "What can I help you with?" speaker: SIRI.
52. Clear out: VACATE.
54. It often includes a colon: EMOTICON - Sheryl says she really enjoys these like :-) I have found Bitmojis which are pretty cool!
56. Amtrak speedsters: ACELAS.
58. Gives up: CEDES - There are several below
58. Gives up: CEDES - There are several below
59. Clomps (through), as a puddle: SPLOSHES - Yeah, I'm the only one who put SPLASHES. Even GALOSHES made more sense instead of this word that is foreign to me (and my spellchecker)
Down:
1. Renaissance faire contest: JOUST.
2. Challenging H.S. science class: AP BIO - A page on Speciation from an Advanced Placement Biology book
3. Clingy, say: NEEDY.
4. Memo intro: IN RE.
5. Menlo Park, N.J., notable: TAE - Edison and his staff are said to have comprised the first R & D facility
6. Pythia of the Temple of Apollo, for one: ORACLE - This ORACLE was always a woman and was said to have made her prophecies after inhaling fumes (hallucinogenic?) that rose from cracks in the Earth in the temple at Delphi.
7. Vintage: RETRO - Acme dinettes are still in production 70 years later
8. MS enclosures: SASES - Self Addressed Stamped Envelopes ("en vuh lopes" or "awn vuh lopes?")
9. Volkswagen sedan: PASSAT - In German, PASSAT means "trade wind"
10. MGM motto word: ARS.
9. Volkswagen sedan: PASSAT - In German, PASSAT means "trade wind"
10. MGM motto word: ARS.
11. Safe room barrier: STEEL DOOR - This safe room from the Atlas Company might interest you if you live in Oklahoma's "Tornado Alley"
12. Baseball or soccer: TEAM SPORT.
13. Start of a Shakespeare title: ALL'S -Well That Ends Well - "Love all, trust a few. Do wrong to no one." Act I scene i.
15. Its lines have lines: CUE CARD.
20. Hazards: PERILS.
23. Sting: CON - I'd pay to see it again - A 2019 version?
24. Ingredient in the Indian dish dal: LENTIL - Indian LENTIL curry with spinach
25. Discourages: DETERS.
27. Like a cloudy London day: GREY - How that "colour" is spelled where you might be able to see only a few "metres"
28. Goes (for): OPTS.
29. Gentle parting sentiment: GO IN PEACE.
30. Criticized publicly: DENOUNCED - Election day can't get here fast enough
31. Charley, in Steinbeck's "Travels With Charley": POODLE.
32. National Mustard Day mo.: AUG.
35. Adheres ... or separates: CLEAVES - A poetic expression of the less common definition
39. "__ Kapital": DAS - Karl Marx's work on the eventual collapse of capitalism
41. Angle symbols: THETAS.
42. Boardwalk activity: STROLL.
44. Online show offering Hollywood info: E-NEWS.
45. Update after a new survey, maybe: REMAP - After Lewis and Clark's survey
46. Biblical prophet: MICAH
47. "Time in a Bottle" singer: CROCE - The song and scenes tug at my heart
48. Some islands have them: SINKS.
49. Temperature control syst.: HVAC - Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
51. They're often rivals: SIBS - I'm sure there was none of that with Sheryl and Debbie!!
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| It was their schtick! |
55. Ring decision, briefly: TKO.
Comment below:
