Saturday, April 28, 2012

Saturday, April 28th, 2012, Julian Lim

Theme: None

Words: 70

Blocks 29

    What a bruiser~! Most definitely had to resort to red-letter today, but upon review, I probably could have avoided doing so if I had not been in a hurry. Lots of vague clues, misdirection, and obscurity make this offering from Mr. Lim truly difficult. 8- and 6-letter stacks top and bottom, with a stair-step middle of 6-, 7-, 8-, and these 11-letters;

26. Discount shopper's buy : NO-NAME BRAND

41. Book also known as Canticles : SONG OF SONGS - the Wiki

with 2 pairings of 9-letters in the DOWN;

11. Super-successful program, in high-tech slang : KILLER APP(lication) - like Angry Birds~?

12. They're in feet : METATARSI - plural of metatarsus


 

32. Coercing : LEANING ON

33. Opera glasses on a handle : LORGNETTE - new word for me; these glasses

So let's see where I dropped the ball - maybe you did better....

 Onward ~!

ACROSS:

1. One may be cut before a fight : ARMS DEAL - well, let's hope so....

9. Cowboy Hall of Famer : AIKMAN - Troy, and I had A---AN, so a semi-WAG

15. Examined : LOOKED AT

16. Lament : GRIEVE

17. Woman on your side, ideally : LADY LUCK - I am not going to Vegas to gamble; the trip itself is going to be my biggest gamble

18. Summer top : HALTER - part of my problem today was hesitating; I was going for this right away, then said "nah, not on a Saturday"....

19. Like Wile E. Coyote : INEPT

20. Spanish greeting : HOLA

22. It makes pie crusts flakier : LARD

23. Salinger title girl : ESME - crossword friendly answer

24. __ vu : DÉJÀ

25. Invite to call : BET - I had "SEE" first, but what's  SBGUNS~? (25D.)

30. "Cat __": Jane Fonda film : BALLOU - never heard of it - then again, I was 6 years off....

34. Hopper : KANGAROO - eh, my train brain was thinking of this hopper

35. Grand venue : OLE OPRY - again, I hesitated, not sure why

37. "Chow time!" : "SOUP'S ON~!"

38. More twinkly : STARRIER - my first thought, but just refused to accept this answer

40. Detaches, in a way : UNPINS

43. Bach's "Mass __ Minor" : IN B

44. Name associated with animal rescue : NOAH - not PETA, thank you



45. Speed : RACE

49. Troubling spots : ACNE

51. Asian soldiers : ROKs - Republic of Korea - Image

52. Old Turkish title : PASHA

53. Restrict : HOGTIE

55. "Not likely" : "I DOUBT IT"

57. Many : A LOT OF - I finally decided I better try SOME things, and this was one of them

58. Spy's aid : EARPIECE

59. Locum __: temporary substitute : TENENS - this is part of what comes up on a web search - job postings for metatarsi doctors~?

60. Fleet part : SQUADRON

DOWN:

1. "The Notebook" heroine : ALLIE - chick flick (IMHO) - haven't seen it

2. Cocker spaniel colors : ROANS - Image

3. Netizen's need : MODEM

4. Apple FaceTime alternative : SKYPE - I do neither, so....

5. Scapula neighbor, for short : DELToid, muscle

6. Bursar's address ending : EDU

7. German spa city : AACHEN - A place with "ACHE" in the name, and a Spa in the town? coincidence? Geography

8. Capt. McNeil's favorite underling : Lt. KOJAK

9. Muslim title : AGHA

10. Billionaire Rennert : IRA

13. Allege as fact : AVER

14. Oddball of a sort : NERD

21. Asian teachers : LAMAS

24. Brad of "Deadwood" : DOURIF - one of those names constructors are probably happy to discover

25. Red Ryders, e.g. : B.B. GUNS - "You'll shoot your eye out~!"

26. "Can do" : "NO PROB(lem)~!"

27. "Desist!" : ENOUGH~!

28. One preceder : NOON - agrh~! not ZERO

29. Family heads : DONS - not DADS, and not "EFFS" (yeah, no "?" at the end - but a good crossword clue, right?)

30. Head : BOSS

31. Toni Braxton, for one : ALTO - if you say so

36. Having no gray area : YES/NO

39. Green players : ROOKIES

42. Where to find EBAY : NASDAQ - I was pretty sure it was not ONLINE, since EBAY was all capitals - another good misdirection - and ending with "Q", to boot

45. Zealous : RABID

46. Oxeye relative : ASTER - flowers, not flow-ers

47. Sacramento Valley's "City of Roses" : CHICO - WAGed from the clue I had two puzzles ago

48. Off one's plate : EATEN - argh, not ENDED - there are some things I need to get off my plate

49. "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for __": Oliver Sacks book : A HAT - tried "A MAN" - hey now, it's early....

50. Fictional king : COLE

51. Fight controllers : REFS - Boxing matches

52. Insect stage : PUPA - just had this answer

54. __ Television : ION - Ch3 around here (Cablevision, Long Island)

56. Okla. campus with a Prayer Tower : ORU - Oral Roberts University, with a .EDU address

Splynter