Saturday, October, 17, 2020, Sheryl Bartol

Saturday Themeless by Sheryl Bartol

Today's constructor is Sheryl Bartol from Evanston, IL who learned to construct from her sister Debbie Ellerin whose byline we see here also. This is a very attractive picture of the two sisters.

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

Across:

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

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

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.

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!!    

It was their schtick!

53. Ginger __: ALE.

55. Ring decision, briefly: TKO.

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