Words: 68
Blocks: 35
Well,
this one was a complete clunker - I had about two-thirds done, ran out
of my allotted time, and had to red-letter solve the rest. I was
thinking that I have not been beaten up by a Saturday in a while, and as
soon as I saw Mr. Farmer's name, I knew that this was going to be the
one. I said the same thing on his two previous Sat puzzles - and the
irony is that the last one was on C.C.'s Birthday, and today is Boomer's
birthday~!!! Nothing terribly formidable, just things I don't know,
and the DOWNS were even worse; Four big entries:
19. Wearing one can block a mind reader, some believe : TIN FOIL HAT - uh, OK, I have seen this on some TV shows (Mythbusters, e.g.), but just not in tune with the idea today
25. Hotel amenity : FITNESS ROOM
- I had the "ROOM" part, but then I got the "S", too, and that led me
to start looking for a ---'S ROOM, so I was never going to get it
40. Unlikely place for his-and-hers towels : BACHELOR PAD
- probably my favorite clue for the day, but unfortunately, I did not
get it without help -- my bachelor pad has everything labeled HIS....
51. Centipede, e.g. : ARCADE GAME
- DAH~!!! I knew this was an ATARI game, but forgot it came out in the
'quarter-per-play' 80's - and there was an arcade around the corner
from me, too....must be me
Oh well, On ward....
ACROSS:
1. Visit : STOP AT - I had "IN", and "BY", and they were both "the 16A"
7. Cleaned, in a way : VACUUMED
15. Ronald Reagan's alma mater : EUREKA - complete unknown
16. "Guess again" : WRONG ONE
17. Windy : PROLIX - new word for me; I knew POLLUX was in the constellation Gemini, tho....
18. Voice of Buzz Lightyear : TIM ALLEN - hey~! I got one~!!!
21. Modest profession : I TRY
22. Four quarters, in Quito : ANO - one year, in Spanish
23. See 47-Down : REINER; 47. With 23-Across, actor/director/writer with nine Emmys : CARL - "Ocean's Eleven", among others - he was "Saul Bloom" playing "Lyman Zerga"
30. One often seen from behind? : ALPHA DOG - well, I get it, but I don't like it; I can think of better ways to clue this without 'giving it away'
34. Its GTS model can get 70 miles per gallon : VESPA - I started with TESLA, the sports car that runs on electricity; enough to get me started
35. Fate of some old ways : DISUSE - like 38A
36. Treats with malice : SPITES
37. Operation Crossroads event, 1946 : A-TEST - again, I had "N", and "H", but never heard of "A" - but I get it; A as in Atomic
38. Vintage player : TAPE DECK - I did want EIGHT TRACK, with the "-CK" in place; I still have a tape deck; used it to dub songs and my talking to make cassettes to send out to friends
43. Bench order : NO BAIL - I have been arrested three times, and I have gotten "R.O.R." all three times; I doubt it will happen again - all three were drink-related incidents
44. One often sleeping on the floor : PET - @#$%%~!!!! I had DOG, CAT, TOT....
47. Free of charge : COMP - like the hotel with the amenities; I got a room comp'ed at Atlantic City - they make all their money on the gambling floor, so they love to keep you overnight~!
54. "I Cain't Say No" singer : ADO ANNIE - didn't know this at all, here's the Wiki
56. 1805 musical premiere : EROICA - the Beethoven symphony, #3, in E-flat major - hey, I figured I didn't know its premiere date, either
57. It may include gas masks and shields : RIOT GEAR - hey~!! I got another~!
58. 2002 Best Original Song Oscar winner : EMINEM - a learning moment for me; from the movie "8-mile"; I like his Marshall Mathers LP - a little strong for the blog, unfortunately
59. Chickens named for an Italian city : LEGHORNS - another learning moment; only familiar with this one
7. Cleaned, in a way : VACUUMED
15. Ronald Reagan's alma mater : EUREKA - complete unknown
16. "Guess again" : WRONG ONE
17. Windy : PROLIX - new word for me; I knew POLLUX was in the constellation Gemini, tho....
18. Voice of Buzz Lightyear : TIM ALLEN - hey~! I got one~!!!
21. Modest profession : I TRY
22. Four quarters, in Quito : ANO - one year, in Spanish
23. See 47-Down : REINER; 47. With 23-Across, actor/director/writer with nine Emmys : CARL - "Ocean's Eleven", among others - he was "Saul Bloom" playing "Lyman Zerga"
30. One often seen from behind? : ALPHA DOG - well, I get it, but I don't like it; I can think of better ways to clue this without 'giving it away'
34. Its GTS model can get 70 miles per gallon : VESPA - I started with TESLA, the sports car that runs on electricity; enough to get me started
35. Fate of some old ways : DISUSE - like 38A
36. Treats with malice : SPITES
37. Operation Crossroads event, 1946 : A-TEST - again, I had "N", and "H", but never heard of "A" - but I get it; A as in Atomic
38. Vintage player : TAPE DECK - I did want EIGHT TRACK, with the "-CK" in place; I still have a tape deck; used it to dub songs and my talking to make cassettes to send out to friends
43. Bench order : NO BAIL - I have been arrested three times, and I have gotten "R.O.R." all three times; I doubt it will happen again - all three were drink-related incidents
44. One often sleeping on the floor : PET - @#$%%~!!!! I had DOG, CAT, TOT....
47. Free of charge : COMP - like the hotel with the amenities; I got a room comp'ed at Atlantic City - they make all their money on the gambling floor, so they love to keep you overnight~!
54. "I Cain't Say No" singer : ADO ANNIE - didn't know this at all, here's the Wiki
56. 1805 musical premiere : EROICA - the Beethoven symphony, #3, in E-flat major - hey, I figured I didn't know its premiere date, either
57. It may include gas masks and shields : RIOT GEAR - hey~!! I got another~!
58. 2002 Best Original Song Oscar winner : EMINEM - a learning moment for me; from the movie "8-mile"; I like his Marshall Mathers LP - a little strong for the blog, unfortunately
59. Chickens named for an Italian city : LEGHORNS - another learning moment; only familiar with this one
60. Port on the Loire : NANTES - map
DOWN:
1. Anatomical walls : SEPTA - Bzzzt
2. 2006 Winter Olympics host : TURIN - cheated, Googled it; wasn't Tokyo
3. Eponymous chief of the Penobscot nation : ORONO - name
4. Crooked gains : PELF - seen this before in crosswords, but I forgot
5. Japanese magnate Morita : AKIO - name, and one of those vague clues that just don't help
6. Way across town : TAXI RIDE - ugh
7. 1970s military-style German import : VW THING - Volkswagen - yep, I remember this
8. Audrey's "Love in the Afternoon" role : ARIANE - name
9. Ancien Régime nobles : COMTES - Foreign
10. Señorita's "a" : UNA - Foreign
11. Hybrid edible : UGLI - sounds Foreign
12. Slough off : MOLT - hey, got one~!
13. Cabinet dept. formed in response to the 1973 oil crisis : ENERgy
14. Shoot down : DENY
20. Actor Jared : LETO - name
24. Offered regrets, perhaps : RSVP'ed
25. Fix : FASTEN - not REPAIR
26. "Criminal Minds" genius Dr. Spencer __ : REID - name
27. Bone: Pref. : OSTE
28. Org. that Angola joined in 2007 : OPEC
29. Pretense : MASK
30. Not much at all : A DAB
31. "Kiss Me Deadly" rocker Ford : LITA - Careful~! Maybe not an earworm, but the images...
32. Very brief time, briefly : PSEC - a picosecond, or one TRILLIONTH - HUP~!! you missed it
33. Quiet : HUSH
36. Stickball ball, familiarly : SPALDEEN - anyone play stickball as a kid? Growing up, we did hockey with sticks from the woods and a tennis ball
38. Radioisotopes used in medicine : TRACERS
39. Island capital near Robert Louis Stevenson's burial site : APIA - name
41. Repair shop offer : LOANER
42. "Master and Commander" novelist Patrick : O'BRIAN - I prefer Conan O'Brien
44. Body shop supply : PAINT - not BONDO
45. Function runner : EMCEE - oh, that kind of function
46. Sides : TEAMS
48. Comics dog : ODIE - Garfield comic strip
49. "Switched-On Bach" instrument : MOOG
50. Course : PATH
52. "Forever, __": 1996 humor collection : ERMA
53. Get past the bouncer : GO IN - meh, period
55. Vietnam's __ Dinh Diem : NGO - see, now, I thought this was a place, and it's a him
Happy B-day Boomer~!!! (if I am not mistaken)
Splynter
