Saturday, June 18, 2011

Saturday, June 18th, Peter A. Collins

Theme: None

Words: 70

Blocks: 28


A tough offering from one of our regular constructors - I went with the Downs first, and so I didn't nail the first grid spanner right away -

17. Top 10 single on the 1970 album "Abraxas" : BLACK MAGIC WOMAN - Santana

...had me a grid that was predominately blank for most of the time, until I hit on

29. They're not near the action : CHEAP SEATS

... which broke it open for me; before that, I was considering throwing in the towel -

and the other spanner

54. Didn't just go : ASKED PERMISSION - a simple, yet thoughtful fill

Splynter, here with another Saturday offering for your perusal

Across:

1. Old Eurasian letters : USSR - did anyone else start with CCCP, the Cyrillic version?

5. Bean counter : NUMBERS GUY - stared at "_u_bers guy" for a long time...

15. Home of H. Rousseau's "The Sleeping Gypsy" : MOMA - TATE? had to be a museum or art gallery, I figured

16. How travelers' bags are screened : ONE AT A TIME - I have not traveled by air for 8 years, was thinking "IN AN XRAY _ _"

19. Old-style street show : RAREE - I have heard of this

20. Tub contents : BATH - I had oleo to start

21. Depend : REST - I had RELY to start

22. Affected : ARTSY

23. A, B or C, perhaps: Abbr. : ANS - thought KEY, GRADE, etc.

24. Like an alias : FALSE - I usually hear "FALSE ALIBI", not FALSE ALIAS

25. Writ word : HABEAS - we have legal experts on the blog who can step in here

27. Wane : SAG - I had EBB to start

28. 1992 gold medal-winning Dream Team coach Chuck : DALY - I don't do basketball - personally, a waste of time and good hardwood....

35. Some six-pack contents : ALE - Felt good about my "ABS" here

36. Six-pack alternative? : BEER GUT - great answer, I had BEER KEG

37. It's best if it's well-seasoned : WOK - cast iron pans, too

38. Party stipulation : NO CHILDREN - I agree

40. Gentle way to go : EASY

41. Picker-upper's concern: Abbr. : ETA - Did anyone else think "Bounty", the paper towel?

42. Shuts out, in slang : SKUNKS - Both the Bruins and Canucks got shut out twice in the Stanley Cup finals; Vancouver in game 7, at home - they just plain "STUNK" in the series.  My brother drove up to Boston for the parade

44. Takes it slow : LOLLS

47. Eastern way : TAO - getting to be a crossword standard

49. '70s toothpaste with "green sparkles" : GLEEM

51. Call, in a way : HAIL - as a cab

52. Pot user : CHEF - uh, not my first thought....

53. Language that gives us "shampoo" : HINDI

57. Very loud : STENTORIAN - A STRAIGHT UP ADJECTIVE I HAVE NEVER HEARD BEFORE - BUT TYPING IN CAPITALS TENDS TO IMPLY SHOUTING; DOES IT BOTHER YOU ????

58. Wood fastener : T-NUT - this do-dad

59. Certain tax determinant : ASSESSMENT

60. They may be first class: Abbr. : SGTS

Down:


1. Sunspot center : UMBRA - Latin for shadow; in this case, it's actually a "cool" spot on the sun's surface, relatively speaking

2. Phenomenon caused by ice crystals between the Earth and sun : SOLAR HALO - I don't think I have witnessed this; I have seen something similar, at night with the moon, so I thought "LUNAR" at first - I did have the HALO part....and two Astrological clues in a row....

3. One making cracks : SMART ALEC

4. Happens quickly : RACES BY

5. Camus, for one : NOM - see 43D - Albert Camus was "French", hence his "name" in French

6. Brazen : UNABASHED

7. Kid-lit Judy Moody series author McDonald : MEGAN - new movie coming out based on this popular character when I was a kid - but I was a boy, I didn't read about 'girls', with their cooties....

8. Entices : BAITS

9. Permanently mark : ETCH

10. Word with deal or nerves : RAW - First fill for me

11. Possible reason for folding : STORAGE

12. Letter on a dreidel : GIMEL  - I am not up on my Hebrew alphabet

13. Sch. with a Lowell campus : UMASS - so here's a map, just because there isn't much to link today

14. "Fiddler on the Roof" matchmaker : YENTE - Did consider YENTA to start

18. __ Luke of Charlie Chan films : KEYE

24. Ritual abstinence : FAST

26. Rapid Northeast train : ACELA - AMTRAK

27. Moxie : SPUNK

28. Castellaneta who voices Homer Simpson : DAN - the man who improvised "D'oh", which is now in the dictionary

30. Transpose digits, say : ERR

31. Golden, Silver, Bronze and Iron, to Ovid : AGES OF MAN - tried "precious" here

32. One may be rude : AWAKENING

33. Ejected : TOSSED OUT

34. Diving milieu : SKY - had SEA first

36. Smithereens : BITS

39. Athens native : HELLENE - Tried GRECIAN early on

40. Volunteers : ENLISTS

43. Disgusted chorus : UGHs - like seeing French in my crosswords....

44. High capital : LHASA - DENV'R didn't fit

45. Hops driers : OASTS

46. Fancies : LIKES

47. 100,000 BTU : THERM - Learning moment for me

48. John Denver album with an eagle's silhouette on the cover : AERIE - I am a HUGE fan, but this one I did not know - came out when I was 9 months old....

50. Cashier's counter bowlful : MINTS - the progress was PENNY, COINS, CENTS, MINTS

52. Naval noncoms : CPOs - Chief Petty Officer

55. AA issue : DTs - Delirium Tremens, more of a medical issue - THEN they suggest you start going to meetings....trust me, I have been there, and I am still there - see "Leaving Las Vegas" for a good example

56. QB's miscue : INT-erception, that is, passing it to the other team

Splynter

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