Words: 70
Blocks: 28
Well, sure, we can start 2012 with a Saturday puzzle from Mr. Barry Silk, right??? This one looked awfully sparse after my first pass, with only WATT (wrong) and TAE for my across answers. But then Ricky Nelson showed up, and I literally stagger-stepped my way back up the grid to Soft Pretzel, my last fill - sort of like that moment in a game of checkers when you see a path open up for your last man, and jump all the way to being kinged in your opponent's last row....
So we had a great looking pinwheel of 11's and 9's, with a very neat pair of diagonal blocks in the middle. Two Z's but no J,Q, or X, lots of acronyms. I finished in my personal time, and I did not have to sneak a peek at Google this week - but I did have to review my completed puzzle for my two letters that were wrong - I found them without the red-letter assistance.
On to the first Saturday, and Silkie, of 2012 ~!
Across:
1. Street vendor's offering : SOFT PRETZEL - Very good in NYC - I try to stop and get one from a street vendor, or at least one in MSG when I go to a Ranger Game; my last "fill"
12. Oldie syllable : SHA - Oh yeah, I had this on my first pass, too
15. Later : AFTER A WHILE
16. Internet company with a 2009 IPO : AOL - America On-Line was my first ISP, back in the mid-nineties; seems like a long time for the company to get to Wall Street; their Initial Public Offering.
17. Dark brown raptor : GOLDEN EAGLE - beautiful Image
18. Big fan : NUT - Did a little over-thinking, and considered "JET" for the answer - hey, it really is just a big fan
19. Draft, maybe : ALE - fresh answer for the age-old ale
20. Electrical unit : VOLT - 50/50 on WATT or VOLT, and I am sure there are other electrical units out there of 4-letters, too
21. Poker challenge : I RAISE - I had this on the first pass, too, but was not so confident about it
23. The Blue Demons of the NCAA : DePAUL - pretty cool logo
25. Sneaky pitch : SPITTER - and a little baseball for our host; I will again defer to her for the details of the pitch - hey, I know it involves spit....
26. Meet : SIT - Like government
27. Suffer disgrace : LOSE FACE
28. Virus spreader, at times : EMAIL - Ah, yes, very good clue/ans
31. Worse : DIRER - i know it's a word, but it sounds ugly
32. Low-quality paper : RAG
33. Tops : LIDS - not the verb Tops, in this case
34. Fictional alien adopters : KENTS - never think of Superman as an "alien" - not the Tanners (ALF), not the Smiths (American Dad) and not McConnell (Mork & Mindy)
35. Reporter in the comic strip "Bloom County" : MILO - I thought it was OPUS, the penguin
36. Amer. Airlines Center player : MAVericks, just had to wait on the perps; Dallas
37. Common woes : COLDS
38. Australian exports : OPALS - I did not know this - Link
39. Blockbuster : SMASH HIT - this was a second pass WAG, and I almost changed it when I considered "CAFES" for 31D.
41. Paternity suit evidence : DNA - uh, evidence?? I would have used "test" here
42. Adorns, as a tree : TINSELS
43. Turkey choice : BREAST - Dennis? lois? I don't go for turkey in this... - oh, lunch meat
46. Like "Rambo" : RATED R & 35D. Movie-rating org. : MPAA - Motion Picture Association of America
47. Fire : ZEAL - when I had the grid filled, I was left with "KEEL" here - and I was thinking in pirate's talk, this would be OK
48. Weed killer : HOE
50. Cy Young Award factor : ERA - again, baseball; this I know - it's Earned Run Average
51. "Blankman" co-star : DAMON WAYANS
54. Head lines? : EEG - Har Har, a regular joke here at the CW Corner
55. Shout before a hurried departure : ABANDON SHIP~!!!! - Funny
56. Inventor's monogram : TAE - Thomas Alva Edison, a regular in grids, too
57. Early rock 'n' roll idol : RICKY NELSON - before my time; go ahead and link away ~!
Down
1. Major account : SAGA - I had the two A's; the "story" account
2. Bygone : OF OLD
3. Va. site of the U.S. Army Women's Museum : Ft. LEE
4. Former British Poet Laureate Hughes : TED
5. Triumph : PREVAIL
6. Expired : RAN OUT
7. "The Seven Year Itch" actor : EWELL
8. Pointer's reference : THAT
9. Slalom move : ZIG - not "ESS"
10. Quote shorteners : ELLIPSES - This .... series of dots; "Frankly my dear..."
11. More wary : LEERIER
12. Health resorts : SANITARIA - plural of Sanitarium - one for ant, perhaps?
13. Rare medical service : HOUSE CALL - or a ring-up from Hugh Laurie??
14. Very close friends : ALTER EGOS - oh so very cute; these friends don't get any "closer"
22. Brady Bill enforcement org. : ATF - Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms; they have no idea I exist - I quit drinking, I quit smoking, and never bought a gun (this might be considered sad)
24. Trident-shaped letters : PSIs - Greek
25. Separates : SORTS - I had PARTS here, like the Red Sea; left me enough to work with
27. Big name in chocolate : LINDT
28. One of more than 5,000 in the United States, per the Census Bureau : ELM STREET
29. Hollywood is in it : MIAMI AREA - Link to a website; we have a few Floridians here at the Corner; tell us more.
30. Head start, say : ADVANTAGE
31. Lunchtime destinations : DELIs
34. Turnip cabbage : KOHLRABI - love this word, but never had the food
37. Cheese originally from Somerset, England : CHEDDAR
38. Like some rural bridges : ONE LANE - Pic #1, Pic #2, and Pic #3
40. Pilot's hdg. : SSE
41. Utilize, as sources : DRAW ON - I changed to drEw on, and had to switch back
43. Type of straw : BENDY - oh, of course, a bendy straw - this thingy
44. Persian sovereigns : SHAHs
45. "Pagliacci" role : TONIO
47. Doze, with "out" : ZONK - I had KONK to start, which gave me my KEEL
49. "Monday Night Football" channel : ESPN
52. Pal : MAC
53. Initials on Elle perfume : YSL - Yves St. Laurent - a Link
Splynter
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