Saturday, March 9, 2024, Jamey Smith (2024)

Saturday Themeless by Jamey Smith

Jamie knew I would be blogging his puzzle and so he sent me this note:Not that you asked for one, but here’s an updated photo of yours truly. The real star of the shot, I’m sure you’ll agree, is a certain five-letter landmark that makes regular appearances in the cross-world. Thought your readers might appreciate seeing it freed from the grid for a change.Looking forward to your full CC post.

This is my ninth Saturday Themeless Puzzle of Jamey's I haveblogged. He is a former Texas University employe and always supplies a puzzle full of charm and learning but today he has no sympathy for me for 27 Down as you will see.

Across:

1. Opportunity to work from home?:AT BAT- How's that for a cute start?

Saturday, March 9, 2024, Jamey Smith (3)

Harmon Killebrew
One of C.C.'s favs

6. News agency that covered Sputnik:TASS.

10. __-town:CHI.

13. Welcome addition:CHERRY ON TOP 😀

16. Kicked things off:LED.

17. Relic:MUSEUM PIECE- PIECES from the Apple MUSEUM all of which were "state of the art" items I owned at one time. 🤔

18. Cinnabar, e.g.:ORE- Cinnabar ORE and mercury refined from such ORE

19. Italian pronoun:ESSA.

20. Endorheic basin between Europe and Asia:CASPIAN SEA-An endorheic basin is defined as aregion inwhich the river network is completely isolated from the world's oceans:the water flowing in the rivers never reaches the sea. Yeah, I knew that! 😀

22. "I'm Yours" singer:MRAZ-A fun listen.

24. Onetime Dodge:ARIES- The K cars were cheap, reasonably reliable and provided cheap transportation. They brought the Chrysler Corporation back from the brink of bankruptcy.

25. Short getaways?:VACAYS- It would be totes adorbs to take your bae with you on a VACAY 😫

28. Source of stability:BALLAST- Loading BALLAST in the bottom of a Viking Longboat for stability

30. Run into a hitch?:ELOPE 😀

31. South Asians living abroad:DESIS.

32. On a roll:HOT.

34. Karate levels:DANS.

35. Langley, Va., campus:CIA HQ.

36. Kellerman who writes Rina Lazarus mystery novels:FAYE -“My series characters are like family to me. They actually talk to me, telling me what to write and what not to write. And when they talk, I always listen”―Faye Kellerman

37. Pomeranian pick-me-up?:ARF 😀

38. Fair:SUNNY.

39. Delight in:SAVOR.

40. Sequence depicting the passage of time, e.g.:MONTAGE- This is a great one whose ending has become a symbol of a city.

42. Cram:BONE UP- This weekend I have to BONE UP on finding surface areas of geometric solids so I can teach it on Monday.Derivation of the phrase

43. Former:PRIOR.

44. Orange stuff:PULPand

44. Orange stuff:PEELS. How fun!!

45. Expert in creature comforts?:GAME KEEPER 😀

48. __ Voyage: concert residency featuring avatars of a Swedish pop group:ABBA.These concerts feature virtual avatars(dubbed 'ABBAtars'), depicting the group as they appeared in 1979, and utilize the songs' re-recorded vocals from the group themselves in a studio in Sweden specifically for this show. Ticketsstart at £55 for this amazing experience.

52. Quarter of tetra-:UNI- 1/4 of four is one

53. Möbius strip, for one:ENDLESS LOOP- I loved making these with kids. We traced with a pencil and wound up right backwhere we started with a line on both sides of the strip without lifting the pencil.

55. With 57-Across, unleash:LET57. See 55-Across:FLY.

56. Secretive state:STEALTH MODE.

58. Hill workers:ANTS.

59. County south of Suffolk:ESSEX.

InMassachusettsit is the other way around:

Down:

1. Do-It Yourself Tornado Kit company:ACME.

2. "It follows ... ":THUS.

3. White House resident between Eleanor and Mamie:BESS- Mrs. Truman

4. Tour guides?:AREA MAPS.

5. "Ur so right":TRU.K

6. Utah's state gem:TOPAZ- TOPAZ Mountain in western Utah

7. French cordial flavoring:ANIS.

8. Flight segment:STEP 😀

9. Ability to read the room, say:SOCIAL IQ.

10. Narrow escape:CLOSE SHAVE.

11. "I raise my glass":HERE'S TO YOU.

12. Inkling:IDEA.

14. Places that might have pool queues:YMCAS 😀

15. Cultured set:PEARLS.

Saturday, March 9, 2024, Jamey Smith (28)

Real PEARLS feel slightly rough
fake ones feel very smooth

21. Director DaCosta:NIA.

23. Barley kin:RYE.

25. Rig __: Sanskrit text with more than 1,000 hymns:VEDA-More info

26. Security hub:ALARM PANEL.

27. Sheepishness?:CONFORMITY- Wow, Jamey, this is off the charts for trickery! 😳 I told him that and he replied,

As for 27-D, all I will say is … baa!

28. "Moneyball" figure Billy:BEANE- Billy BEANE was a radical general manager of the Oakland A's and Brad Pitt played him in this great "inside baseball" movie.

29. Wan:ASHY.

31. [That's right!]:DING 😀

33. U. of Maryland player:TERP- Short for terrapin

35. Ocho x cinco:CUARENTA - Si trabaja ocho horas a cinco dólares la hora, ganará CUARENTA dólares (If you work eight hours for five dollar per hour, you will make forty dollars)

36. Trees with pinwheel-like leaves:FAN PALMS.