Saturday Themeless by Bettina Elias Siegel & Dan Elias
This is a puzzle where I had to struggle. The cluing was too clever by half in some places but I persevered. I use Across Lite to solve these puzzles in advance and in this one I used the Check Word function a few times and every time, it said the word or partial word was correct and so I soldiered on.
I got SIDE HUSTLES right away and I fought CAREER COACH's cluing and was told AMUSE BOUCHE ¯\_(γ)_/¯ was right as I slowly filled in the crossers there. ECHOLESS and SHE GOAT were, uh, "out there"! I'll point some out some other head scratchers as we progress through the grid. The pinwheel 11-letter triple stacks are noteworthy.
1. Extra work: SIDE HUSTLES - Like most other starting teachers, I had several of these - Bricklayer, landscaper, retail salesperson, train brakeman and anything else I could do to bring in some cash.
12. Historic period: AGE - Erasing ERA and starting over opened up this entire corner.
15. Path finder: CAREER COACH.
16. Aloha nui __: affectionate Hawaiian phrase: LOA - "All my love:\"
17. Special bite: AMUSE BOUCHE - An AMUSE BOUCHE (amuses the mouth in French) is a single, bite-sized hors d'Εuvre. Once again ¯\_(γ)_/¯
18. D.C. United's org.: MLS.
19. Enhancer of soups or venue for hoops: MSG π
20. Bar fly-er?: DART - Saturday cluing!
21. Gail of "NYPD Blue": O'GRADY ¯\_(γ)_/¯
23. Eat: DINE.
24. 19th century women's rights advocate Amelia: BLOOMER - Yup, that's where that item of apparel originated.
25. Much-feared natural disaster: BIG ONE.
28. Wildflower once thought to repel pests: FLEABANE - Those words make sense
29. Strip, as a ship: UNRIG - DERIG had the same sense but didn't work
30. Super time: BLAST.
31. Singing syllable: TRA.
32. John Swinney, for one: SCOT.
33. Nudges: PRODS.
34. Enduring dispute: FEUD - Joan and Betty had a famous one
35. Go off course: YAW - I have said many times in this forum that a plane can YAW (crab) and stay on course.
37. "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" writer/illustrator: CARLE - The "C" at CARLE/CASSAT ws my last fill.
40. One who may be sacked: PASSER π Even Patrick Mahomes
41. Diplomatic mission: EMBASSY - Here are some of the 177 in D.C.
42. Old book collection?: DUST π
43. Tops: APEXES.
44. Cooks (up): GINS Etymology I was always amused at excuses kids can GIN UP to explain whey they don't have an assignment done.
45. Wit: WAG.
48. "Chandelier" singer: SIA - Entertainers are always looking for a way to stand out from the crowd.
49. Adapt quickly: TURN ON A DIME - Oh did I say "against"? I meant "for".
52. "Catch-22" pilot played by Bob Balaban: ORR - Bob played ORR in the 1970 movie but is probably better remembered for playing Russell Dalrymple in Seinfeld 19 years later
52. "Catch-22" pilot played by Bob Balaban: ORR - Bob played ORR in the 1970 movie but is probably better remembered for playing Russell Dalrymple in Seinfeld 19 years later
54. Connecticut governor Lamont: NED.
55. Spine-opening yoga pose: SEATED TWIST.
Down:
1. Phishing hook: SCAM - My "grandson" has called me three times for cash bail money. Uh, I was born at night, but not last night!
2. Animal nutritionist who founded a pet food company in 1946: IAMS - Paul IAMS invented his dog food in 1950 and called it 999.
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| An 1868 edition |
4. Some MIT grads: EES.
5. Following: HEEDING - I know who I need to be HEEDING in this house π
6. Suave: URBANE.
7. Williams work: SCORE - Nobody does it better than John
8. Promote: TOUT.
9. Switzerland's __ LΓ©man: LAC.
10. Still waiting for a callback?: ECHOLESS- π Okay...
11. Picasso sculpture subject: SHE GOAT - 70-yr-old Pablo made this in 1950, the same year Paul Iams made his dog food.
12. School songs: ALMA MATERS - A touching scene from Grey's Anatomy as college kids gather and sing their ALMA MATER outside the hospital after a mass shooting at their school.
13. Words to live by: GOLDEN RULE.
14. Beginner's book: EASY READER - Did anyone else read about Dick, Jane and Spot?
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| My EASY READER |
22. Comedian Delaney: ROB.
23. "Yes!": DO IT.
24. Propeller part: BLADE.
25. Summer on Cape Cod, e.g.: BUSY SEASON.
26. South American domain name: INCA EMPIRE.
27. Election advice from young Grace Bedell to Mr. Lincoln: GROW A BEARD - On his way to his inauguration, Abe stopped in Grace's hometown of Westfield to thank her personally. A statue is there now to commemorate that meeting.
28. Fairy __: cotton candy, in Australia: FLOSS.
30. "The Pianist" Oscar winner: BRODY.
33. Word with blood or water: PRESSURE π
34. Firmly fixed: FAST.
36. Pre-euro Spanish coins: PESETAS.
37. Impressionist painter born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania: CASSATT.
39. Surfer's need: WAX - We're WAXIN' down our surf boards, Can't wait 'til June...
40. Was fully groan?: PUNNED π
42. Electronics component: DIODE - When I got my physics training, solid state DIODES were just starting to replace vacuum tubes.
44. Swarming pest: GNAT.
45. Site that may host an edit war: WIKI.
46. Iowa college town: AMES.
47. Chap: GENT.
50. TV pioneer: RCA.
51. DJIA part: DOW.
