Words: 72 (missing Q,X)
Blocks: 34
This
was a tough one, with a lot of proper names that threatened to undo me,
but then some common sense crept in. With a few changes to early
WAGs that threw me off-course to begin with, I was able to get through
this Silkie....but just over my personal allotted time....oh well. How
did you all do? A rare "spotty" grid from Mr. Silk, without the usual
chunky corners, and two cheater squares. One grid-spanner:
35A. Former name of the bonobo : PYGMY CHIMPANZEE
- Did myself in by pre-filling the last three squares with "-APE",
figured I was being smart....there's also a DJ/musical act called Bonobo
- check this out, gang~!!
And some other unique fill:
3D. Structure damaged in a 1989 earthquake : BAY BRIDGE
- I watched "Strip the City" on Science Channel, San Fransisco (they
also did Sydney, London, Toronto, and are finishing up with Rome and
Dubai); there was a a clip of this bridge's upper section that collapsed
onto the lower; now they are in the process of building a new bridge right next to the original
32D. Fair color? : AZURE BLUE - Fair skies, that is; I love these eyes, too
14A. Score in a rare way : STEAL HOME - first time in a published crossword; can you remember a televised home stealing event, C.C.? - also - 50D. 2005 World Series player (his team's only appearance, and they lost) : ASTRO
ONWRAD~!!!
ACROSS:
1. Infect : IMBUE
6. Downs : EATS
10. Derisive exclamation : HAH~!!!
13. Should have said : MEANT
17. "I totally had you going!" : PSYCH
- I had PS---, thought my MESA was wrong; then I had PS-CH, and figured
I was totally wrong, then the V-8 can came flying....my last letter
18. Drum, say : CONTAINER - ARGH~!!! When you're a drum-MER, then you get caught up in BEAT TIMER, and all sorts of phrases that have nothing to do with container drums....
19. Luxury garb : SABLES
21. Johnny Friendly portrayer in "On the Waterfront" : LEE J. COBB - I had LEE- COBB, couldn't think of a FOUR-letter first name; crossing the CA city didn't help; I'm on the wrong coast
22. It hasn't released a U.S. model since 1987 : RENAULT - Stylish~!!! Yes, I remember the Renault Alliance, which was probably the last to been seen in America.
24. Edible pods : OKRAS
25. Make two cuts in, maybe : TRISECT - Nailed it
27. Literary monogram : RLS - Robert Louis Stevenson
28. Said three times, a story shortener : YADA - Seinfeld
29. Benefit : AVAIL
32. "Head and Shell" artist : ARP - Jean, and the piece seen here
39. Nationality suffix : ESE - Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese
40. Night time : TEN P.M.
41. Anise-flavored apéritif : OUZO - it was in, it was out; TEEN for PEON made me change it early
42. Some PD officers : LTs
43. Low-cost carrier owned by Southwest : AIR-TRAN - didn't we just have this clued as a Florida-based carrier?
46. Inflexibility : RIGOR
49. Irish omen of death : BANSHEE - nice; I just thought they were screaming ghosts
51. Hunks : ADONISES - also unique fill
53. Eponymous astronomer : HUBBLE - Edwin Hubble, and the orbiting telescope that bears his name
56. Foreman's dramatic phrase : NOT GUILTY
- This took a while to come to me; I got thrown by the capital "F" of
Foreman, thinking it was a proper name, not the jury foreman who stands
and reads the verdict.
58. Place for a crown : MOLAR - ah,
the tooth; don't have one (crown, that is; I did lose a molar to a
cyst, tho....or is that a 20A. SAC?), so it didn't immediately come to mind
59. Common reimbursement requirement : CLAIM FORM - also unique fill
60. Fights : BOUTS
61. Korean War pres. : HST - Harry S Truman
62. Old draft category : TWO A - Well, we always see ONE A, so I suppose there is a TWO A; is there a NINE Z~???
63. Game with a disk operating system? : SKEET - Hmmm, hockey didn't fit, nor shuffleboard - AH~!!!
DOWN:
1. Rascals : IMPS
2. Flat formation : MESA
4. Guy giving you a pointer? : UNCLE SAM - He wants YOU to go blue on the blog....
5. Fruit-ripening gas : ETHENE - Um, OK, all perps, sounds good
6. Key for backups? : ESCape - the top left key that works in AutoCAD, but not Photoshop; can I tell you how annoying it is to switch between programs? - also - 25D. Use keys : TYPE
7. Eniwetok, for one : ATOLL - I had the "A" early; tried ALEUT; screwed myself
8. Holding : TENET
9. Quench : SATE
10. Word in many oaths : HONOR - I had "NOT~!" for the Derisive exclamation, so I tried NEVER here
11. Lab subject : AMEBA
12. "Scarborough Fair" quartet : HERBS - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme - Marti linked the Beastie Boys for me, so here's the Beatnik Boys
15. Home to California's Torrey Pines Golf Course : LA JOLLA
20. Fluid holder : SAC
23. Many a Mormon : UTAHN - one from UTAH - let it go....
26. Beams : RAYS
27. Tear : RIP
30. Skybox guest : VIP
31. Mideast capital once called Philadelphia : AMMAN - An Egyptian name for this Jordan city - Wiki
33. Iran's Shah Mohammad __ Pahlavi : REZA
34. McJob holder : PEON - not TEEN
36. Element no. 39 : YTTRIUM - I cheated, I cheated~! I have a periodic table app on my Android - OK, you can read that "nerd", but hey, it's fascinating
37. French "these" : CES
38. Student's purchase : NOTEBOOK
42. Night sound? : LONG I - the sound in the word Night, Niiiiiite
44. Nationality suffix : ISH - English, Irish, Spanish, um, French
45. Compass points : RHUMBS - a loxodrome; it's....well....it's technical - here
46. Spread with hands : RANCH - DAR~!!! I got this, but stared at it for a bit; oh, THAT kind of spread, and those guys called "hands"
47. Fan faves : IDOLS
48. Insinuated : GOT AT
49. Under : BELOW
52. Smooth out lumps, in a way : SIFT
54. __ fee : LATE
55. While opening : ERST - erstwhile
57. Vocalist Sumac : YMA - crossword standard
Splynter
