Saturday, Oct 29th, Brad Wilber

Theme: None

Words: 68

Blocks: 33

Another Brad Wilber in the month of October (the 8th), this one with the lowest word count I think I have had for a Saturday, and four "cheater" squares, a term I am not thrilled about; it refers to the black squares in the two corners and the symmetrical ones below 26A, and above 43D. This grid, with its "plus" pattern has spawned some interesting non-Saturday themes - specifically, one where the theme tie-in was Plus Sign, and Positive - I just can't remember who it was - my guess is yesterday's constructor, John Lampkin. Anyway, Brad's puzzle was pretty smooth today, just a few changes and one or two learning moments - or maybe I am just getting better at Saturdays....

ONWARD ~!

ACROSS:

1. In secret : ON THE QT - nice - starting with a "Q" in an abbreviation, QT meaning "quiet", and discussed here

8. Picks up slowly : GLEANS

14. Staunch : TRUE BLUE

15. Tank top? : TURRET - didn't fool me

16. Divine dinner : AMBROSIA - had _ _ _ ROAST to start, but wasn't working

17. Bergman of film : INGMAR

18. Pricey order from a butcher : LOIN

19. Caldecott Medal winner __ Jack Keats : EZRA

21. Tropical cousin of the raccoon : COATI - Image

22. Capital of Lithuania? : ELL - Put this in right away, then thought it might be a reference to the "money" capital of the country, but nope, I was spot-on

23. 1971 Matthau film directed by Jack Lemmon : KOTCH - more here

25. "__War": Shatner series : TEK - never watched it; but I am a huge TREKKIE

26. One involved in litigation : SUER

28. Hard times : MISFORTUNE - meh, this doesn't quite fit, like "I fell on hard times, I fell on misfortune"....meh

30. Parenthetical passage : ASIDE - I like saying the word PA-ren-THEH-ti-cal

32. Sommelier, often : POURER - Sommelier, a wine specialist at a restaurant

33. Pitchman's pitches : SPIELS

35. Became less ardent : COOLED

36. Aesop character, usually : ANIMAL

37. Skunk cabbage and jack-in-the-pulpit, e.g. : ARUMs - I could not figure out exactly what the correlation of these words were; they are all plants, that much I know....

38. Much-devalued holding, in modern lingo : TOXIC ASSET - sub-prime mortgage homes are a pretty good example that I can think of....

40. Yorkshire river : AIRE - Map (boy was this HARD to find ~!)


44. Rule, in Rouen : LOI - Ah, French, my guess is it's "LAW"

45. Overpromoted : HYPED

46. Common URL finish : COM - as in "Dot Com"

47. Cub Scouts pack leader : AKELA - this was new to me

49. Stem-to-branch angle : AXIL

51. Radiohead frontman Yorke : THOM - Cool video

52. Eat one's words : RECANT

54. Pervasiveness : UBIQUITY - I like using "Ubiquitous", so this one came to me easy

56. '90s Seattle-born music style : GRUNGE - Not a fan of the style, but I did love Nirvana

57. Lively musical passages : ALLEGROs

58. Regard : ESTEEM

59. Plays for a fool : LEADS ON

DOWN:

1. Ornamental gilded bronze : ORMOLU - a WAG from knowing OROBLU, and this is what the clue is referring

2. Developed, in a way : NUBILE - oh, this is developed

3. Fork-tailed bird : TERN

4. Original network of "Fraggle Rock" : HBO - I remember when HBO was "exotic"

5. Unnamed alternative : ELSE

6. Radio game show with a panel of gifted children : QUIZ KIDS

7. Apricot-like shade : TEAROSE

8. Hatchback with a TSI engine : GTI

9. Home of counterculture? : LUNCHROOM

10. Logical term : ERGO

11. Sculptor's framework : ARMATURE - also in Stop-motion animation

12. Put in order : NEATENED

13. Person in a picket line : STRIKER

14. Raconteur's repertoire : TALES

20. Justice Dept. bureau : ATF - Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms

24. Lame excuse : COP OUT

27. "Spider-Man" director Sam : RAIMI

28. Female poet known to friends as "Vincent" : MILLAY

29. Oral Roberts University site : TULSA

31. Dramatic transformation : SEA CHANGE

33. Plays for a fool : SNOOKERS - I have yet to play a game of Snooker

34. Halle Berry's hairstyle : PIXIE CUT - not a fan of Halle, but this style does look good

35. Like a good witness : CREDIBLE

36. Not in custody : AT LARGE

37. Like some spore reproduction : ASEXUAL

39. Place for a rest cure : SPA

41. Suzuki of the Mariners : ICHIRO - I defer to our baseball expert, C.C.

42. Act the cheerleader : ROOT ON

43. Winged statuettes : EMMYs



48. Swim meet division : LANE

50. Reader's Digest co-founder Wallace : LILA

51. Harbor vessels : TUGS

53. President pro __ : TEM

55. Logical letters : QED - and wrapping it up with another "Q" abbreviation ~!

Answer grid.

Splynter

Saturday, Oct 22nd, Bruce Venzke & Stella Daily

Theme: None

Words: 72

Blocks: 34

      WOW~! Two Triple-stacks of Grid Spanners top and bottom makes for one intimidating puzzle when you're starting out, but the resulting seven 4's, four 5's and two 6's made for a solvable, rather unique-looking grid. Bruce and Stella have combined for several Saturday bears, including one from Apr. 2009, with EIGHT spanners, and a resulting 115 comments - but before my time.

Onward ~!

ACROSS:

1. Unexpected delivery : SURPRISE PACKAGE - I get 1100 packages every day, and "NOT A WHIT" of them is a surprise - oh wait, I work at UPS....

16. War novel that became a Gary Cooper film : A FAREWELL TO ARMS

17. Cypress and others : CONIFEROUS TREES - if it has leaves, it's deciduous, and a hard wood; if it has needles, it's a softwood, and coniferous - a good rule of thumb that I just learned in Inspection class.

18. '03 retirees : SSTs  - Super-Sonic Transports, like the Concorde, which I never had the chance to fly on - but living East of JFK airport, we could see one race overhead on its way to Europe on a morning or two....

19. Get ready to dry : RINSE - as in hair

20. Window shopper's buy? : PANE - good misdirection - we're not talking shoes here, just the piece of glass FOR a window

21. Nabisco trademark : OREO - this made me smile - it gave me my only Saturday "theme" puzzle a few weeks ago

23. Ring up? : HALO - ah, cute, I do like these 'punny' type clue/answers

25. Gem : STONE

28. The Oscars, e.g. : EVENT - I knew "AWARD" was the wrong word, but it made my first pass look LESS like a glass of milk in a snowstorm....see 3D

32. Start of a cheer : HIP - "Hip-hip, Hooray~!!!"

33. Numismatist's prize : MINT SET - coin collector, and their rare find

39. It has collars and stays : LAW - I had "TEE", as in shirt, even though dress shirt was a better fit; Collars as in arrests, and Stays as in executions....

40. Hoop spot : EAR - Went with "RIM", but a quick switch to EAR

41. Source of many tiny animals : ORIGAMI - because MENAGERIE didn't fit

42. Some bling : ICE - like 25A, diamonds are referred to in slang as "ice"; - combined with 40A, you get ( just "window shopping" )




43. Jazz __ : ERA

44. Fix the boundaries of : DELIMIT - Huh - I thought had "RE limit" to start, but reading my OWN blog I see that the proper word is DE limit

45. Cinnabar, vis-à-vis mercury : ORE - funny, a good friend of mine just used "vis-à-vis" on the phone yesterday, and I was mentally looking for a synonym while we were talking....

46. Western resort at 6,200 feet : TAHOE - I tried ASPEN to start

48. Suspensefully held in : BATED, like one's breath

50. Phil, for one : NLER - I was not on a baseball wavelength here, until I had NL_ _ for sure - then I realized we were talking the Phillies, and I am sure C.C. has more....

53. Annual employee review contributor : PEER - I so wanted to put BOSS in for this, but knew it was not right

55. AMA and ADA : ORGs - because ASSN was not plural

58. Chemist for whom a flask is named : DEWAR - this "W" was the last to fall, as I have never heard of 59D

60. Uses up one's minutes, and then some : GABS

64. Dissident's request : POLITICAL ASYLUM

67. Tons to do : A LOT ON ONES PLATE

68. Military priority : HOMELAND DEFENSE - SECURITY was one letter too many

DOWN:

1. Pollen is produced in them : SACS

2. Sci-fi vehicles : UFOs

3. Many a Lewis Black bit : RANT - here you go - (3:08) LANGUAGE

4. Break site : PRISON - another song for you~!

5. Whistling zebra? : REF - Got it, and loved it~! Works for hockey officials, too, tho they come with orange arm bands - watched eddyB's Sharks take one from the Devils here in the shoot-out - some nice goals there, and always a learning experience for this amateur goalie.

6. "If Only __ a Butterfly": Imogen Heap song : "I WERE" - WAG, but a sensible one

7. Comic intro? : SERIO - Did not know; so here we go

8. Carolina university : ELON

9. Luxurious : PLUSH

10. In a fog : ATSEA - tried "DAZED" at first

11. Simple place to rest : COT - BED, too, not as simple as COT - maybe MAT?

12. Chess champ after Fischer : KARPOV - This guy

13. __ 51 : AREA - This group, and I have linked this one before

14. Original name of the radio show "Gang Busters" : G-MEN - I am going to guess a radio show from some of our regular's childhoods, but certainly not from mine

15. Brutus's being : ESSE - Latin, "To Be"

22. Increase one's home's value, in a way : REMODEL - God, I could use more people doing this right now....

24. McCartney song inspired by a dream : LET IT BE - I love to read about the inspiration and development of individual songs, and artists like the Beatles get a lot of ink regarding their craft; for example, Paul had Scrambled Eggs for a working title to his song "Yesterday"

25. Baking aid : SHEET

26. Bride's accessory : TIARA

27. Star known by her first name : OPRAH

29. Al's nemesis : ELIOT - Ah, Al Capone, and Eliot Ness, prohibition ERA

30. Shiny shell lining : NACRE

31. Rough cloth : TWEED - ooh~! a good WAG here

34. Rage : IRE

35. Not a whit : NIL

36. __ Friday's : TGI - as in the restaurant chain with the red and white stripes

37. Filmmaker Peckinpah : SAM

38. Recording giant : EMI

47. Like some inspections : ON-SITE - and hopefully in just a few months, I will be preforming these inspections

49. Knitter's pattern : ARGYLE - and a shout-out to Santa, our Monday/Tuesday man~!

51. Minneapolis suburb : EDINA

52. Behind-the-lines job : RECON-naissance, as in enemy lines....

53. Reacted to bad news, maybe : PALED

54. Remove : ERASE

55. Shimmering swimmer : OPAH - OPRAH and OPAH in the same grid

56. Caramel-in-chocolate brand : ROLO

57. Latch (onto) : GLOM - this was my mom's word for eating too fast

59. "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" prop : WAND - I am a Harry Potter fan; did not know this was from Cinderella

61. Film composer Menken with eight Oscars : ALAN

62. Protests : BUTS

63. Hook's right hand : SMEE - nice misdirection here, with a reference to one's first mate or gal Friday - one's assistant

65. "My mama done __ me ..." : TOL' - I recall Bugs Bunny singing this in the bathtub, in my childhood - no, it was this clip @ :52

66. Letters on the beach : SPF - I had SOS to start, and then S_F, which had me baffled for a long time - I require Sun Protection Factor 100 for my pale English skin....


Splynter

Saturday, Oct 15th, Barry C. Silk

Theme: None

Words: 70

Blocks: 30

Huh~! I thought I had the wrong puzzle, since I thought I just did a Barry Silk - then I practically ran through this one, and was really sure I had already done this - but no, our second Silkie in the last three Saturdays....a cool-looking grid with two crosses and a staircase, and missing only a "B" in the outcome. Triple stacks of tens and nines in a pinwheel fashion, and I must admit, the only red-letter I needed was the "Z" in LINZ - too "lay - Z" to look it up.

Onward~!

ACROSS:

1. Nightly news graphic : WEATHER MAP - switched to DOWN, did a "33A" on 'WASTES', came back to this with a WAG off the "W"

11. Dweeb : TWIT - my mother's favorite insult

15. Mechanic's supply : AXLE GREASE

16. Memorable word from Pilate : ECCE - Painting "Ecce Homo!" with Pilate offering Jesus

17. Memory aids : SMART DRUGS - new to me, came from the perps; a little research here

18. Beyond the horizon : AFAR

19. Vacation souvenir : TAN - if I go on vacation, I come home with a T-shirt - otherwise, my color is usually 'red'

20. Practice with dolls : VOODOO - oh, the religious practice - DF this early in the AM?

21. Austrian city on the Danube : LINZ - NOW I look at Google maps

22. It was founded by Henry VI : ETON - had the "E", guessed from there - what else can you 'found' when you're the King ???

24. Chance to shine : SOLO - ah, like with a guitar

25. Stamp closer? : EDE - Stampede - anyone remember this??? (cheats even back in those days)

26. Cuban title : SENOR

28. Name from the Latin for "I trust" : FIDO - I tried LIDO to start, then DIDO

30. Prepare for a coup : PLOT

31. One of two in Dickens's "Martin Chuzzlewit" : ZED

33. "Perfect!" : NAILED IT~! - a blog staple, for knowing an answer, and it's much more pleasing as the length of the word increases; 10-letter WEATHER MAP was pretty good for me

35. Seller of torpedoes and bullets : QUIZNO'S - sandwich shop, we have them here on Long Island - very similar to what I used to see in Ohio, called Grinders - toasted heroes

39. Gets one's act together : SNAPS TO

40. "The Beverly Hillbillies" sobriquet : UNCLE JED - Earworm - just had Flatt and Scruggs, too

42. Keystone figure : KOP

43. Downwind : ALEE

44. Warning : OMEN

46. 1965 protest site : SELMA

50. Basic, in coll. : REQ - uired, as in Manual Drafting before you can take AutoCAD

51. "No kidding?" : IT IS?

53. Outcry : ROAR

54. Playless? : TAUT - ah, as in a tarp

56. Bargains : STEALS

58. Old TV component : CRT - Cathode Ray Tube

59. Adman's start : IDEA - any one's start, really

60. Mollify : CONCILIATE

62. Look like a satyr : LEER - I had DEER, which sort of fit - Image

63. Particle physics subject : ANTI-MATTER

64. Actress Best : EDNA - Her Wiki

65. Minuscule : TEENY-WEENY - I had ACID jazz to start, and tried this, changed it, then went back

DOWN:

1. Squanders : WASTES

2. Subject of an awkward meeting, perhaps : EX-MATE

3. Program with steps : AL-ANON - AA, too, along with OA, GA, NA, and any other self-help group with these 12 steps


4. Rx instruction : TER - three times a day, I think


5. "Designed to Sell" network : HGTV - one of my favorite networks, I watch all the "Crashers" shows on Saturday mornings

6. Hungarian mathematician Paul : ERDOS - This guy

7. Deal with leaks in, perhaps : REROOF - this took too long for me - I had RE-SEAL for the longest time

8. Schmaltzy : MAUDLIN

9. On a par with : AS GOOD AS

10. Cozumel coin : PESO

11. Color akin to pine green : TEAL

12. "A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her" speaker : W.C. FIELDS

13. Volunteer's assurance : I CAN DO IT

14. Dvorák piece for two violins and viola : TERZETTO

23. Hose projection : NOZZLE

27. '70s-'80s Quebec premier Lévesque : RENE

29. Pen emanation : OINK - The pig pen, that is

30. Besiege (with), as questions : PEPPER

32. Zen meditation hall : DOJO

34. The Mekong flows along its border : LAOS

35. Statistical dividing point in a four-group data set : QUARTILE

36. On-road vehicle requirement since 1996 : UNLEADED

37. Haughty, unemotional woman : ICE QUEEN -  Liz, the "ice queen" at SUNY once asked me to dinner - I was so shocked, I missed my chance....

38. Musical half step : SEMITONE - Right, JazzB?

41. Global warming? : DETENTE - Cute

45. Vitamin in liver : NIACIN

47. Spot : LOCATE - The verb here

48. Mink relative : MARTEN - This - uh, no, not minx, this (OK, to be fair, here's one for the ladies)

49. Major route : ARTERY - this one doesn't fool me anymore


52. Like guck : SLIMY

55. Skater Lipinski : TARA

56. Jazz style : SCAT - not ACID, like these guys

57. Side with a hero : SLAW

61. Suburban suffix : ITE - SuburbanITE - that's me, now - I plan to be a country recluse in retirement


Splynter