Theme: O - R - E - O
Words: 72
Blocks: 38
It's a Saturday Puzzle with a "theme" - Gareth Bain 'treats' me to a grid with three across clues relating to the unifier and ubiquitous crossword cookie -
50D. Food associated with the starts of 16-, 36- and 56-Across : OREO
and the theme 'creme' fills;
16. Common closer : TWIST-TIE
36. Superficial, uncaring effort : LICK AND A PROMISE
56. Carnival game in which a suit is worn : DUNK TANK
Twist, lick and dunk, like they do here
I did think the grid looked less intimidating than our usual Saturdays, but definitely a tad more difficult than a Friday level; and imagine my surprise when I got to the SW corner ~!
Thanks Gareth ~!
Onward ~!
ACROSS:
1. Aleutian island : ATTU - switched to DOWN, came back later
5. Upheaval : ADO
8. "Superbad" co-screenwriter Seth : ROGEN - didn't see it, no desire to either
13. In a bind? : CORSETED - like her, oh baby ~!
15. Prison break? : PAROLE - nailed it; there's only a "break" if you violate, and go back to prison
17. "Yea, verily" : IT IS SO
18. Rash : SPATE - as in a rash of car thefts
19. Calms : REPOSES - sounds soothing
20. Nuttiness : LUNACY
23. Folkie DiFranco : ANI
24. Training gear? : BRA - Ah
26. Art able to : CANST - Cute clue/answer
28. Troopers' gps. : PDs - I believe this is Police Departments; here on Long Island, we have PDs, but the Troopers are State Police, and only patrol the Interstate, the L.I.E., US 495
31. Goalpost component : CROSSBAR - Yes in football, no in hockey - totally separate piece of iron - at least in my goalie mind....
34. Its state fish is the chinook salmon : OREGON - I had _R_G__, so....
38. City known for wool : ANKARA - Tried Merino first
39. "Go ahead" : FEEL FREE
40. Tiny part of a hard drive : MEG - We're into Gigs and Teras now
41. Pulitzer-winning poet Conrad __ : AIKEN
43. Aged : OLD
44. Wee hrs. : AMs - Like the 4am I have to get up for again next week....oh well
46. Name meaning "gift of Isis" : ISADOR - Tried Osiris first; more here
49. Verdict readers : FOREMEN - Just watched "The Juror" yesterday
52. Brewery equipment : OASTS
55. Give holy orders to : ORDAIN - I thought this meant "inducted" into the church; I guess that's the sense of "orders" here.
59. Tease : NEEDLE
60. Informal essay : CAUSERIE - new word for me; from French, 'coh - zuh - REE'
61. Gifted one? : DONEE - we just had this Friday
62. Spot checker? : VET - Nailed it, but it is a "WAG" clue, too - as in Spot the dog, his tail, and his doctor the Veterinarian
63. Forming strands : ROPY
DOWN:
1. Spiel, e.g. : ACT
2. Helps to water-ski : TOWS - well, uh, kinda hard to do it without this, really
3. "See you next fall!" elicitor : TRIP - I know this quaint little phrase, but I was looking for the actual person who elicits, like EYER...
4. WWII battlecruiser in the Pacific : U.S.S. ALASKA - Pictured here
5. Where unison countdowns usually begin : AT TEN...nine!, eight!, seven!...
6. Agnus __ : DEI - Opus DEI, Susan DEY, break of DAY
7. Lofty lines : ODE - Poetic praise
8. With "The," 1960s series set in the North African desert during WWII : RAT PATROL
9. Hunter killed by Artemis, in some accounts : ORION - If I have a son, this will be his name. Metallica instrumental
10. TV drama narrated by a teen blogger : GOSSIP GIRL - I had GOS_ to start, and knew of the show, but never watched
11. If not : ELSE
12. Revivalists : NEOS - WAG
14. Words indicating betrayal : ET TU -, Brute? Caesar, from the island of ATTU (right?)
15. Trivial Pursuit symbol : PIE - eh, more like player piece, really
19. Rembrandt van __ : RYN
21. Phillips, e.g.: Abbr. : ACAD.emy - Andover
22. Wine orders : CARAFES
24. Tuna preserver : BRINE
25. Common Zen temple feature : ROCK GARDEN - funny, I missed the word "feature" the first time through - what the heck is a 'common Zen temple' ???
27. Nursing a grudge : SORE
29. Gave two tablets to, say : DOSED
30. "The Mikado" weapon, briefly : SNEE - a knife used as a sword, a little here
31. Smackeroo : CLAM - Double meaning; right in the mouth, the clam, the smackeroo; and the slang for a dollars - clams and smackeroos
32. Hall & Oates's first Top 10 hit : SARA SMILE - if you get the chance, watch the "Behind the Music" on this duo - very interesting. My favorite from them was " I can't go for that ", which got sampled under this tune, which is pretty good, too
33. __ B'rith : BNAI
35. "Howards End" author : E.M. FORSTER - I had to know more; the Wiki
37. Transportation secretary under Clinton : PEÑA - Federico
42. Cousin, for one : KIN
45. Gettysburg general : MEADE - and the winner, too
47. Sweet ring : DONUT
48. Cork sources : OAKS
49. Attracted to, with "of" : FOND
51. Hydrocarbon suffix : ENE - double bond Carbons create PropENE, ButENE, octENE
53. South Seas staple : TARO
54. Tonsorial sound : SNIP - oh, the haircut, right
56. V x XI x XI : DCV - lazy, resorted to the desktop calculator to do the math; Roman 5 x 11 x 11 = 605
57. Country that incl. Sharjah : UAE - United Arab Emirates; map
58. Map feature : KEY - the window at the bottom for figuring out symbols, like this
Splynter, down to two days of vacation - but it's been a rough week, so....
