Saturday, Dec 3rd, Brad Wilber

Theme: None

Words: 64

Blocks: 38

Another brain-buster from Brad ~! This one got me, in the sense that I had to check some of my WAGs with Red-letter help....oh well, I like to get stumped every now and then ~! This is the least number of words in a puzzle I have blogged - most Saturdays are 70 or 72, Brad's puzzles have come in at 66 and 68 - I attribute this to his unique grid patterns.  Today's grid is nearly circular in appearance, with a circular center, and if you ran into trouble there, maybe you couldn't get a foothold on the top or bottom sections.  I did OK on top, but too many names slowed me down in the lower half.

Two grid-spanners;

14. Poster-mounting aid : DOUBLE-SIDED TAPE - yeah, OK, this was a good one - I kept thinking of that gummy putty that you use to keep from marring the walls....

45. 2006 Cate Blanchett film : NOTES ON A SCANDAL - never saw it; here's IMDB's take - anyone have a crush on a high school teacher?  Mine was my 10th and 11th grade math teacher...ah, was she a doll...

Yes, No, Maybe, Not ??

Onward ~!

mostly ACROSS:

1. Auctions : PUBLIC SALES - no guess to start, got the -IC SALES part, had to wait

12. Counterproductive "Get Smart" apparatus : CONE OF SILENCE - Here's the unit functioning, as it would, in a comedy

16. White and black pawns, e.g. : OCTETS - ah, over-thinking this one; two sets of eight

17. "The Da Vinci Code" monk : SILAS - Paul Bettany, I like him as an actor, seen here

18. Filet mignon sources : LOINS - ooh~! a WAG I didn't realize was a good one ~!

19. Zoo feature : MOAT - oh, I would have preferred a Castle clue for this one - love castles

23. Some peculiarities : TICS

24. [More on next pg.] : CONT.'d

25. Tierney of "E.R." : MAURA - also Kelly on Rescue Me, right Ferm ???

26. Mother of divine twins, in Greek myth : LETO - the Wiki on this woman

27. Twin who adopted the surname Bunker : ENG - Chang and Eng, the conjoined twins - and one died before the other - creepy

28. Student employees, usually : PART-TIMERS - like me, but not right now - full time at UPS - all your Christmas presents pass thru my hands....

30. Ruby or tawny drinks : PORT WINES

31. Where some washers are kept : TOOL CHESTS - did not know which washer we wanted - the machine, of that part within; in this case, it's the part

32.DOWN  - With 33-Across, common tourist transport : OPEN-TOP
33. See 32-Down : BUS - Image

36. Dogpatch creator : CAPP

37. Conical brewing equipment : OASTS - a crossword staple, and I did not know it was conical in shape

38. Tendency : WONT - As in "Splynter was wont to stretch before hockey games"

39. Fivers : ABES - yeeacht ~!!  I have seen FINS, but ABES ?? I get it, but....

40. Retired boomers : SSTs - Super-Sonic Transports; the Concorde

41. One who's been rubbed out? : GENIE - oh, yes, fools me every time

42. Nebraska tribe : PONCA

44. French enforcement unit : SURETE - I haven't had me some French in a while

50. Classic 1913 novel called "the tragedy of thousands of young men in England" by its author : SONS AND LOVERS - the author, D.H. Lawrence, and not in my wheelhouse

51. 1983 best-seller with a misspelled title word : PET SEMATARY - the author, Stephen King, and his stuff IS in my wheelhouse - although this one creeped me out a little too much; I did have a '74 Cutlass that had the adopted name of Christine - today, my car's name is Erin - and the van is Bert.  What's the name of your car ?


DOWN:

1. Looking grumpy : POUTING

2. Straightened : UNBENT

3. Shots taken quickly : BELTS

4. '50s Dodger pitcher Billy : LOES - and to you, my baseball fan host....

5. Hypotheticals : IFs

6. CBS ratings giant : CSI - Crime Scene Investigation, which I do like

7. Rocker Vicious : SID - of the Sex Pistols, not the Syd of Pink Floyd fame

8. One might be blonde : ALE - I gave up on the ALE, but not yet on the blondes...

9. Watch readouts, briefly : LEDs - I think L C D when I think of watches

10. Qualifies : ENTITLES

11. More reptilian, in a way : SCALIER

12. Silkworm's protection : COCOON
 
13. Solar year/lunar year differentials : EPACTS - great learning moment for me - the difference between the two, which I knew, but not this term, for determining Easter - and it gets complicated


14. Sweetly, in some suites : DOLCE

15. Brand with a tiger mascot, once : ESSO

19. __ Vineyard : MARTHA'S - Map Image


20. Where many homesteaders headed : OUT WEST

21. Museum VIPs : ARTISTS

22. Besmirches : TAINTS - there's another definition for this word ???

25. Aquino's predecessor : MARCOS - The Philippines leader, here

28. Race competitor : POLitician

29. Marzo, por ejemplo : MES - uh, I believe this is Spanish, March, the month

30. Billboard magazine's milieu : POP SCENE - I had HIT SONGS, POP SONGS, POP STYLE to start

31. Things to avoid : TABOOS

33. Drought-stricken : BONE-DRY - are bones really dry~? The ones I can feel are wet

34. Baltimore NFLer called "The Golden Arm" : UNITAS - Johnny, and more Wiki for those who wont want more

35. Mill output : STEEL - ah, which mill?  The Flour, the Fabric, the Gin....

36. Abridgment on the bridge? : CAP'N - over-thinking again - looking for a sign on a road bridge that said Caution, or SLO, or something like that - nope, just your slang Captain

38. German director Herzog : WERNER

41. Tropical fruit : GUAVA - not Mango

43. Part of PDA: Abbr. : ASST - Personal Data Assistant, mostly your Smart Phone these days - I desperately want to replace my I - P - O - S

44. Macbeth, for one : SCOT

46. Treaty gp. that admitted Belize in 1991 : OAS

47. Denver-to-Bismarck dir. : NNE

48. Fleet VIP : ADMiral

49. Radical org. in 1974 headlines : SLA - I can never remember which one this is; the SAS, the SDS, the SDA, nope the Symbionese Liberation Army

One week down, three to go - work weeks to Christmas, that is....

PHEW ~!

Splynter