Words: 68
Blocks: 37
I do believe that this is Jeff Chen's first themeless (Saturday) puzzle - at least for the LA Times. In fact, we last saw Jeff with his Aug 8th "L.A." puzzle, and his well done "VW" women's initials puzzle in July - and this means he has "batted for the cycle", having a puzzle published every day of the week; S, M, T, W, T, F, and now S. Two grid spanners,
14A. Period, say : PUNCTUATION MARK - straight up definition, though the word has several meanings
47A. Tavern order : I'LL HAVE A COLD ONE - ah, the "old" days for me, but I never asked for a beer quite this way - someone will raise a glass for me tonight, tho it might not be 'cold'~!
and pyramid stacks of 11- and 13-letters, including:
12A. Source of a large reserve supply : NATIONAL GUARD - now I know we have several retired military members here at the blog, but are any of us part of this organization?
14A. Period, say : PUNCTUATION MARK - straight up definition, though the word has several meanings
47A. Tavern order : I'LL HAVE A COLD ONE - ah, the "old" days for me, but I never asked for a beer quite this way - someone will raise a glass for me tonight, tho it might not be 'cold'~!
and pyramid stacks of 11- and 13-letters, including:
12A. Source of a large reserve supply : NATIONAL GUARD - now I know we have several retired military members here at the blog, but are any of us part of this organization?
51A. Hybrid sport with seemingly incompatible components : CHESS BOXING - never heard of this; requires skill in both areas - chess and boxing, in alternating rounds....I'll bet the later rounds of chess get harder with each left hook you take....
On~ward Orthorunicans~!
ACROSS:
1. Bout with padded weapons : PILLOW FIGHT - can't say I have ever participated, and I was married to a woman with a young child, too; I would like it to be "all out" and have the feather stuffing strewn all over the place~!
16. Score direction: Abbr. : RITARDando - Gradual slowing of the tempo
17. Gull-like bird : TERN
18. Island food in a bowl : POI
19. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" composer : STYNE - a WAG, but the perps took care of 80% of the fill; I would have to say this one was a Natick for me, crossing nuiT, and a clecho with 9D - how's that for cramming in some CW blog phrases?
20. Some shooters, briefly : SLRs - Cameras, that is
21. Go on (one's way) : WEND
22. Certain hustler's tools : CUES
23. Setting for Ariadne : MAZE - Daughter of Minos - from the labyrinth myth
24. Observation after "Clean your room!" : IT'S A MESS~!!!
29. Pea family trees : CAROBS
31. Student's supper spot : COMMONS
32. "Oh no!" from Poirot : MON DIEU - French
33. Showed contempt for : SPAT AT
34. Where Daniel was thrown : LION'S DEN - First line here, from one of my favoritest bands Monster Magnet
35. Sellout signs : SROs - Standing Room Only
36. President under whom Texas was annexed : POLK - Hey, four letters and a president~! Another clecho, too; 43D. 34th pres. : DDE - Dwight David Eisenhower
37. "__ be in England ...": Browning : "OH TO"
38. Goggle : GAWK
39. Fragment : SHARD
44. Co-star with Betty, Rue and Estelle : BEA - 'Golden Girls' foursome
45. Bartlett relative : BOSC
46. Whistled at, perhaps : HAILED - oh, for a cab, not those legs.... see below
50. Characterized by extremes : FEAST OR FAMINE - seems that way in carpentry; now that I am involved in a large project, everyone seems to need some work done~! (BTW, I am not complaining~!)
DOWN:
1. __ hose : PANTY - ah, Jeff, pantyhose, the perfect clue/ans for me; have to restrain myself and pick just one image~!
2. "Txtng & Drivng ... __ Wait": AT&T ad tagline : "IT CAN" - pretty harsh commercials, but then again, what I see here on the roads of Long Island is far more terrifying....
3. BP unit : LITRE - British Petroleum, and the English spelling
4. Hard to look at, in a way : LOUD - like this outfit
5. Words with diet or dime : ON A
6. Turkey features : WATTLES - seen here
7. Circulars : FLIERS
8. Sikorsky and Stravinsky : IGORs - 'copters and composers
9. '50s-'60s title detective whose show's theme was composed by Mancini : GUNN - Earworm~!
10. Breakfast choice : HAM
11. Figure with two legs askew : TRAPEZOID
12. Matin preceder : NUIT - Ugh, morning & night
13. Queen's mate : DRONE BEE
14. Button on older phones : PRS - the other 'odd' one was WXY
15. Razz : KID
20. Figure (out), in slang : SUSS - Dah~! I left this one out of my little run at 19A~!
21. Districts : WARDS - Did any of you like the movie "District 9"~?
22. Lincoln's place? : CENT
23. Author of the novel "Doctor Faustus" : MANN
24. Suffix with robot : ICS - RobotICS
25. Of the best quality : TOP SHELF
26. "Everyone's a comedian" : SMART ALEC
27. Kid's retort : AM TOO
28. Extinct kiwi relatives : MOAs
29. One who's at home on the range? : COOK
30. Nearest star to Pluto : SUN - Duh~! I thought "hey, Alpha Centauri is no closer to Pluto than to Earth at 4.37 light years....oh wait....
32. Take advantage of : MILK
34. Like the Atkins diet : LOW CARB
36. Leisurely walks : PASEOs
37. "Memoirs of a Geisha" prop : OBI - our Crossword sash
38. State runners: Abbr. : GOV'TS
39. Highly seasoned pheasant stew : SALMI
40. Used for cover : HID IN - remember this hiding spot?
41. During : ALONG
42. Russo of "Tin Cup" : RENE
45. Supporting part : BASE
46. Fraud : HOAX
48. Cry of derision : HAH~!!!
49. Fiscal VIP : CFO - oops, not CPA
Splynter
