Saturday, May 7th, Peter A. Collins

Saturday,

Theme: None

Words: 72

Blocks: 30

I took a look and found the last Peter A. Collins puzzle on Wed., June 3rd, 2009 - before my time here at the blog. This one took longer than I planned, lots of names and places, but it had those "gettable" moments, and one central grid climber -

8. "It seems unreal to me!" : I CAN ONLY IMAGINE

And away we GO ~!

ACROSS:

1. Peace offering? : NOBEL PRIZE - good start; I didn't get it until the Z from ZAG came

11. __ jure : IPSO - Latin, "by operation of law" - Lemonade knows more

15. Subversive : UN-AMERICAN - eh, I suppose

16. Orthodontic challenges : GAPS - I had braces as a teenager, just as they were becoming "acceptable" - my teeth were mis-aligned, but no "gaps"

17. Modern era : DIGITAL AGE - knew it was "- AGE", but computer didn't fit....

18. The Sakmara flows into it : URAL - map #1

19. Party follower? : GOER

20. The Musketeers, e.g. : MEN - long clue, short answer

21. Venetian marketplace : RIALTO

23. Big name in China : Zhou ENLAI - first premier of the People's Republic of China - I defer to C.C. on this

25. Cotton-pickin' : DOGGONE - thought it was Southern drawl, but it's in the dictionary as is - Damn "lite", so to speak

27. "Dracula" director Browning : TOD - never heard of him

29. Contrarian : NAYSAYER - a person who habitually expresses pessimisitc feelings...ooh

32. Eco-friendly border : GREENBELT - at first I thought "huh?", but here's the skinny

36. Produce : SIRE - I don't think of being a father as "producing" kids, but....

37. "The Professor and the Madman" subj. : OED "A tale of murder, mystery, and the making of the Oxford-English Dictionary" - never heard of it

38. Not seasonal : ALL YEAR

41. "Collages" novelist : NIN - Anais

42. Oscar-winning Whitaker role : AMIN - Idi

44. Read the wrong way : MISJUDGED

46. Ledger entry : LINE ITEM

49. Grooved whale : SEI - new to me; here's a pic

50. Small Australian omnivore : BUSHRAT - also new to me; pic #2

52. Place for boarders : DEPOT - meh on this, too

56. 1998 NFL Comeback Player of the Year : FLUTIE - Doug, from the NFL (and CFL) when he was with the Buffalo Bills

58. Prattle : GAB

60. Heavy wind : TUBA - D'oh~! - I had gale, gust, etc. - we're talking orchestra

61. Infrequently spotted : RARE

62. Official report : WHITEPAPER

65. GM worker : ENGR - engineer

66. Apple that's Minnesota's state fruit : HONEYCRISP - according to Wiki, it was 'developed'

67. Morse morsels : DAHS

68. Teases too much, maybe : OVER-STYLES - as in hair, like this....

DOWN:

1. Jog : NUDGE - as in the brain, when you're short on crossword answers....

2. With 3-Down, deli order : ONION, and

3. See 2-Down : BAGEL - I prefer 'everything', personally

4. Qatar, for example : EMIRATE

5. Umpire's cry : LET - Tennis, not baseball - I, of course, had "OUT~!~"

6. London pusher's vehicle : PRAM - baby, not drugs - that would be a Jag with "bling"

7. Worked (up) : RILED

9. Bit of evasion : ZAG - it's Zig in the other direction

10. What some bars supply : ENERGY - ugh, I get it, as in protein bar

11. Dewlapped reptiles : IGUANAS - I miss my good buddy Zeus

12. Negotiating during a truce : PARLEYING - love this

13. Gaiter relative : SPAT - oh, these "things"

14. Vigeland Park city : OSLO - had the S, WAGed it

22. Cyclades island : IOS - map #2

24. New York college whose team is the Gaels : IONA

26. Bill for software? : GATES - as in Microsoft

28. Hotel rm. option : DBL - double, the room/bed size

30. Presque Isle State Park's lake : ERIE - had the - - IE, WAGed it, too

31. Tear : REND

32. SportsCenter highlight : GOAL

33. Do __ ... : RE MI, musical notes

34. City nicknamed "Auld Reekie" : EDINBURGH - here's the castle; love 'em

35. Dramatist Rice : ELMER

39. Foyt and Cronin : AJs

40. Felt remorse for : RUED

43. Fixes : NEUTERS - ouch ~!

45. Regarding what's taken in : DIETARY

47. Grammar best-seller "Woe __" : IS I

48. "Tommy" rockers : THE WHO - not a big fan; I prefer Led Zeppelin & Blue Oyster Cult

51. What tots might go after? : TATER-tots, those little potato nuggets

53. Learner : PUPIL - I tried too hard with TUTEE

54. Like some with sedentary lifestyles : OBESE - if you don't watch your DIETARY intake....

55. Painters' protection : TARPS - diamonds, too

56. "High Noon" director Zinnemann : FRED

57. Lang of Smallville : LANA - Superman's story, as a teenager, and his GF

59. Ottoman governors : BEYS

63. __ lane : HOV - High Occupancy Vehicle - a long way to go for "car pool" - I miss the days before "PC" euphemisms

64. Agt.'s cut : PCT - Agents, and percentage


What?  No FRENCH ~? Oh, wait, Parley....

Splynter