Words: 72
Blocks: 31
Well this was just brutal - too many names, quotes, stuff before my time; then John sprinkles in a little vagueness*, and I am left with a snowy white grid of disappointment - almost the exact the same thing I said when I blogged his last puzzle, on St Patrick's Day. Not a terribly intimidating layout, with two 11's -
19A. Ones whose business is going down? : SCUBA DIVERS - My first thought was plumbers, but I was short some letters
52A. What excessive volume might do, facetiously : WAKE THE DEAD - clued as "line from a Quiet Riot" song, ( 3:30 ) and I would have gotten this one sooner
And two 10-letter climbers:
11D. Debunked claims that don't go away : ZOMBIE LIES - Never heard this phrase - anyone?
26D. "You Learn" singer : MORISSETTE - Alanis; this track is from her "Jagged Little Pill" album, a huge success; Guitar Center featured her "sessions" last night.
Now, I am not looking for a handout, Mr. Farmer, just a fighting chance ~!
onward....
ACROSS:
1. "__ & Son": "The Bullwinkle Show" feature involving morality tales* : AESOP - Never seen the Bullwinkle Show; I just know it was TV at one time....
6. Common 99-cent buy : APP - DAH~!! Stuck on "PEN", for some reason, totally out of the digital age; I do have an Android, but only 6 or 8 APP(lications)
9. Rubbernecked : GAZED - Had gaPed to start; did not help with the Zombies at all
14. Brand pitched by Bucky Beaver : IPANA - I do not know where I dredged this up from, but I did get it; toothpaste/beaver teeth, I can see that
15. Musical flourish : GRACE NOTE - JazzB probably knew this; I have seen it in some tabs
17. Printing error? : LIBEL
18. "Simply a patient wolf": Lana Turner* : GENTLEMAN - Very cute; I am a gentleman by this definition....
21. Crisper, e.g. : BIN - like in your fridge
22. Unlikely remedy : CURE-ALL
23. Utah's state flower, e.g. : LILY
24. Farm male : TOM
27. Craigslist condition : AS IS - not USED, not MINT
28. Unfriend? : FOE - I am not on Facebook; I thought this was a way to "take somebody off" your page....anyway....
29. Hit the roof : BLOW UP
32. Hot stream : LAVA FLOW
36. '40s-'50s Cleveland Indians slugger : AL ROSEN - C.C., our host and baseball aficionado, if you would, please
38. Setting for some History Channel programs : WARTIME
39. One coming down : RAINDROP - not gonna get DF, but my mind was....not on rain
41. Like some airport parking : NOSE-IN - Tried "BY HOUR" - Bzzzzt~!!!
42. Caribbean music : SKA - HEY~! I got one~!
43. Novelist Hoag : TAMI - if Mr. Farmer says so - this author - anyone read some? Tell me more
46. Balkan Peninsula peak : OSSA
48. Game played with two decks : CANASTA - never played; I know Blackjack uses multiple decks, and we used to play WAR with more than one.
51. All-around vehicle, briefly : UTE - not ATV, SUV, CUV
56. Couple's interaction : TÊTE À TÊTE - Head to Head, in Frawnch - not really synonymous to me; I think of it as couples "banging" heads - but then again, I am divorced, so....
58. Restaurant seating option, perhaps : PATIO - not BOOTH
59. 1995 film based on an Elmore Leonard novel* : GET SHORTY - Great movie; had NO clue who wrote the book it was base on, of course.
61. 1970s-'80s Mantas, e.g. : OPELS
62. First airline to operate a transpolar route : SAS - well they live there; you'd think that's how they wanted to go~!
63. Slow on the uptake : DENSE - Yep, it's how I feel about my solving experience today....
DOWN:
1. Bugs : AILS - couldn't decide if this was the "IRKS" or "ANTS" variety - missed on both accounts
2. "Spartacus," for one : EPIC
3. "Black Narcissus" actor* : SABU - This guy; never heard of him, or the movie
4. Prelude to a historic turning point* : ONE B.C. - uh, well I would say so, since we are now living in A.D. 2012
5. Pacific island nation : PALAU - Survivor setting, 2005, and the winner was Fireman Tom Westman, from right here on Long Island~!
6. Team from College Station, Texas* : AGGIES - at this point, with two passes through the clues and nearly nothing filled other than the SW, I went to Google for this one
7. Finish on top : PREVAIL
8. Plywood cutter : PANEL SAW - ever gotten your CDX sheets cut to fit your car at Home Depot? That's a panel saw
9. Some nail applications : GELS - maybe the ladies got this one easier than I did
10. Hydrocarbon suffix : ANE - propANE, butANE, octANE
12. Big chunk of Christmas sales nowadays : E-TAIL - and great for my UPS Overtime, too~!!!
13. 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year Hamlin : DENNY - can't talk about him; he drives for that OTHER E-tail company
16. Key not used alone : CTRL - yeah, OK, but shouldn't it have some clue as an abbr.?? - it does stand for CONTROL....maybe I'm just grouchy now
20. Hamm's "Mad Men" role : DRAPER - Don't watch the show; do like him when he visits Conan (see the video clip; it's cute)
23. Some galleries : LOFTS
24. Way up a slope : T-BAR
25. It's a crock : OLLA
28. Game named for a king : FARO - oh, as in Pharaoh; still, it's French - the Wiki
30. Dahl entrepreneur : WONKA - Willy and his Chocolate Factory
31. Food stamp : U.S.Department of Agriculture
33. Get lost : VANISH
34. Neglect : OMIT
35. Proceed : WEND
37. Fate of a bad offer : NO TAKERS
40. Defense secretary after Gates : PANETTA - proper political names just kill me
44. Jolly Roger fliers : MATEYS - Arrrr~!!! me knews it was pirates, the Skull & Crossbones, but I needed ---EYS to get it....Tinbeni, pass the grog~!
46. Expenditure* : OUTGO - Outgo?? Really?? Ugh.
47. Be in hot water : STEEP - Like a tea bag
48. Opponent of Caesar : CATO
49. Halfhearted : TEPID
50. Bewildered, after "in" : A DAZE
52. Crib cries : WAHs
53. __ blue: color named for a school : ETON
54. Boosts : AIDS
55. Teaspoon, say : DOSE
57. Night sch. staple : ESL - English as a Second Language - the way this puzzle went, I think I better sign up for English as my FIRST language~!!!
Splynter
