Saturday, August 6, 2011

Saturday, Aug 6th, Brad Wilbur

Theme: None


Words: 66


Blocks: 36

Brad's last LAT offering was March 27th, last year, when JazzB did the honors. I like these puzzles where nothing is so obscure that you can't suss out an answer with a WAG or two, after getting some perps. A cool looking, "Space Invaders" layout with 11-, 13-, and 15-letter grid spanners top and bottom, including one of my favorites;

52. 1984 Rob Reiner rock music satire : THIS IS SPINAL TAP,
 where it's "one louder"....

 Splynter here to show how each letter "PLOPS" into place...

ACROSS:

1. It may be caged or staked : TOMATO PLANT - Very cool start, had to wait for the 'O' in Octad to get it

12. Lace alternative, perhaps : VELCRO CLOSURE

14. Learns cold : COMMITS TO MEMORY

16. Out of the teeth of the gale : ALEE

17. Suffix with city : SCAPE - CitySCAPE, like this

18. Supply next to the grill : BUNS - hot dog and hamburger

19. First name in travel : MARCO - I liked this; I was thinking Expedia, etc., and had VASCO to start - Mr. Da Gama

21. Circular contents : ADS

22. Fix, as a bow : RETIE

23. Exile, perhaps : ENISLE - looks odd, but we've seen it before

25. Less inclined to ramble : TERSER

26. First National Leaguer to hit 500 homers : OTT - Mel, I believe - tell us more, C.C.

27. Pre-makeover condition : DRABNESS - people and houses

31. Leprechaun-like : FEY - not what I thought it meant

32. Epoch in which grazing mammals became widespread : MIOCENE - a chart for you to 14A for the future

33. Mg. and oz. : WTs - Milligrams and ounces

36. Included as a postscript : TACKED ON

37. Humble abode : HUT

38. God often depicted with green skin : OSIRIS - him

41. Arlington, Va., post : FT. MYER

43. Like many Edwardian era collars : BONED - OK, I know who's going DF here....

44. Screwdriver parts, for short : OJs - The screwdriver mixed drink, Orange Juice and Vodka

47. Perceive : SENSE

48. __ dixit : IPSE - Latin, "he says it himself" - from Wiki
 
49. Exams given by committee : ORALS

51. Was a passenger : RODE

55. Federal Reserve goal : STABLE ECONOMY - IMO, I think it's an "unrealistic" goal; I am grateful to have my foot in the door at UPS

56. Far from settled : UP FOR DEBATE - took me a minute, since i had the IBO, not the IBF

DOWN:

1. Boldness : TEMERITY

2. Pre-Columbian Mexicans : OLMECS - had AZTECS to start, was enough for a toehold

3. Co. with a '90s "Friends & Family" program : MCI - tried AT(&)T first, knew it wasn't right

4. Conservatory pursuits : ARTS

5. "Vissi d'arte" singer : TOSCA - I know of the electronica group TOSCA, not this

6. Square dance quorum : OCTAD - and I had EIGHT to start, too....

7. Falls heavily : PLOPS

8. Capital on the Gulf of Guinea : LOMÉ - a map for you - I WAGed ROME, since there is a "link" between Italians and uh, Guinea, but it's not the same

9. Polymer ending : ASE - as in "plastic bASE"  er, I mean the scientific naming of enzymes, like oxidase

10. Book covering the Hebrews' 40-year wilderness exile : NUMBERS

11. Rainbow and Dolly Varden : TROUTS - did not know this

12. Lightly and quickly, in music : VOLANTE - Italian

13. Muppet wearing horizontal stripes : ERNIE - Here he is

14. Resulted from : CAME OF

15. River of Flanders : YSER

20. Game for young matchmakers : OLD MAID - never played, so here's what I found - a game of 'pairing', with one odd card in the deck, the "OLD MAID"

22. Is put out by : RESENTS - "friends of Bill W." make this a noun - "a" resentment

24. Idle and more? : ERICs - of Monty Python fame

25. :50, put another way : TEN OF - Over-thought this one; knew it was 'of the hour', but didn't make the connection until _ _ N  OF

28. Peachy : A-OK

29. Letters used in dating : BCE - we've seen this before, "Common Era"

30. Animated Flanders : NED - the 'Hi-Diddly Ho ~!!' Simpson's neighbor

33. 1984 #1 country hit by the Judds : WHY NOT ME - I defer to our country fans on the blog for this one

34. Common voting occasion : TUESDAY - Election day is the Tuesday AFTER the first Monday of November; in other words, November 1st cannot be Election Day

35. "Out of Africa" star : STREEP - Meryl, here

36. Food for leafhoppers : TREE SAP - blecht~!  I do not like bugs

38. Passing news item? : OBITuary

39. Some campus returnees : SOPHs - for their second year - had ALUMS to start

40. Undisturbed : IN SITU - Latin again, "In position"

42. Red wine grape : MERLOT

44. Calgary Olympics skating silver medalist : ORSER - Calgary, 1988, a look back, but not what I think guys should be skating for....

45. Ribbed : JAPED - to joke; I thought this was a condom thing....DF

46. Links bugaboo : SLICE - and it's opposite, the hook

49. Site of 1993 Arab-Israeli accords : OSLO

50. Kitsch deplorer : SNOB - I like some tawdry stuff

53. Org. with a pair of gloves in its logo : IBF - Here's the website & logo, top left corner

54. Ortiz of "Ugly Betty" : ANA - Image

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