Saturday, November 19, 2011

Saturday, Nov 19th, Bruce Venzke

Theme: None

Words: 68

Blocks: 37

Well, I have to say, yesterday's puzzle took longer than today's - two Bruce constructors in a row, and I guess I was on Bruce Venzke's wavelength, even at this hour of the morning. Truly, my only hang ups were at a couple of DOWN clues. I hope your Saturday solve was just as inspiring, and for those persons who dared try a Saturday for the first time, this grid was a good jumping off point~!

Double symmetry, which I don't often see, with corners of triple sevens, and;

Two grid spanners -

29. First of an old film septet : ROAD TO SINGAPORE - A comedy series that included six other locations, and three main stars - Bing Crosby (who will be crooning in my parent's house for the holidays), Dorothy Lamour (who I don't know), and Bob Hope, who was more a comedian for me than a movie star - never saw any of his films

38. Hold back : KEEP AT A DISTANCE

and two of 13-letters -

19. Obviously fearful : WHITE AS A SHEET - not that I had GHOST to start, but I did the DOWN clues to begin, which gave me "H" from ROTHS at 10D - but I also had the "E" from ULEES at 11D.

51. Howls skyward : BAYS AT THE MOON - which makes me think of this classic song from Ozzy Osbourne, and the number of letters is the same, but...."Listen in awe, and you'll hear him - link to the song"

Half a dozen abbreviations in the three-letter answers, and quite a bit of musical variety, as well

Yes, No, Maybe, Not ???

ACROSS:

1. Quinine target : MALARIA - well, I wanted "LEG ache" or something like that, since we had this in the Jeff Chen "Q" puzzle from Sunday....

8. Smartened (up) : SPRUCED - right before your date gets to the door, one would "spruce up" the place - I haven't had to do much sprucing, lately....

15. Hard to nail down : EVASIVE

16. When parents don't want a teen to be home? : TOO LATE

17. Equity complaint : "NOT FAIR~!"

18. "Don't Wanna Lose You" singer : ESTEFAN - Gloria, and I will link this one to offset my Ozzy indulgence

21. Like some jokes : TASTELESS - I just used this word in last Saturday's blog

22. Red Ryder ammo : BBs - oh, we are getting close to that classic seasonal movie (clip) - always brings a smile~!! Also - 35D. Shooter insert : PEA

25. Richard Marx label : EMI

26. Crude amt. : BBL - short for Barrel, and I know this corner has had a long discussion on why this is so in the past

36. Drawer : ARTIST - nice misdirection, but I has some letters from the DOWN clues, including the ending -ST, so I was not fooled.

37. Freezes over : ICES UP

42. "Merv Griffin's Crosswords" announcer Hall : EDD

43. Spring sign : BUD - Not LEO,




that's a summer sign, but a flower bud - got me for a second; over-thinking on Saturday is usually the norm (and I just learned that

44. Do some needling : SEW

45. Doughnut-shaped treat : LIFESAVER - candy, and a corporate plug - not that I like them

55. Rolling service station? : TEA CART

56. They were the Browns before they moved from St. Louis : ORIOLES - this was once my favorite baseball team, because I liked their old logo

58. High-speed contest : AIR-RACE - tragic incident in Reno on Sept. 16th

59. More restless : ANTSIER

60. Crept : SNEAKED, and 8D. Enter stealthily : STEAL IN

61. Sages : NESTORS - a reference to the wisest Greek of the Trojan War


DOWN:


1. "So many __, so little time": Mae West : MEN

2. Declare : AVOW - start with AV_ _, wait on the perps

3. Stucco strip : LATH

4. Comparable to a fiddle : "AS FIT as a fiddle"

5. Gaucho gear : RIATA

6. Wrigley Field features : IVIES - Baseball

7. Does some lawn maintenance : AERATES

9. Western group : POSSE

10. Some IRAs : ROTHS

11. "__ Gold": 1997 film : ULEE'S - becoming a crossword staple

12. Bookstore area, often : CAFE

13. French political division : ETAT - French for state - Lemonade is Mr. French around here

14. Outdoor shelter : DEN - I had HUT, thinking of this crew

20. Event before finals : SEMI - meh, it's a bit off for me

22. Gas neighbor : BRAKE - ah, the pedals on the floor of your car, truck, van, etc. - again, I was over-thinking it

23. Made holes : BORED

24. Full : SATED

26. Some crew members, casually : BO'S'NS - nautical term Boatswains

27. Giants manager Bochy : BRUCE - More baseball, and a self-shout-out for Mr. Venzke - hey, I try and do the same in every puzzle I have constructed....SPY and RICH work so well

28. Romantic toon mammal : LEPEW - doesn't this clue sound like it's asking for "SKUNK" ???

30. Roller coaster element : DIP - not CAR

31. Defense agency since Nov. 2001 : TSA - I am sure they're hiring for the holiday season

32. Baseball's Little Giant : OTT - and yet more baseball - do we long for April already ???

33. They're often in a mess : GIs - General Infantry - OOPS, totally wrong my whole life - the soldiers that eat in the mess tent

34. Patriot __ : ACT

39. Looked out for? : ABETTED - the "lookout" is charged with aiding and abetting during a crime

40. Attic collection : DUST - no need to over-think again

41. Gem State native : IDAHOAN - The Gem State - good site to know for future puzzles - bookmark the link now ~!

45. Wet suit material : LYCRA

46. "Wicked Game" singer Chris : ISAAK - and another musical link, this one is raunchy - at least it was when it came out

47. Burlesque : FARCE

48. Sci-fi pioneer : VERNE - Jules, who some believe had visions of the future, and could see the things he wrote about long before they were invented - or did he just inspire them?

49. Gives forth : EMITS

50. Nocturnal resting spot : ROOST

51. "__ Green": Kermit's song : BEIN' - OK, here's Kermit, but this one is my favorite

52. Bern's river : AARE - map

53. Variety : OLIO

54. Start to do well? : NE'ER-Do-Well

55. Jobs for grad students : TAs - Teaching Assistants

57. Many SAT takers : SRs - Seniors


Movin' Right Along ~!!

Splynter

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