Words: 70
Blocks: 33
Our
"other" dynamic duo does it again with a do-able themeless thrasher. A
rather odd grid having a block (6 cheater squares) in the 1 across and 1 down position, but
with the highest freshness factor I have seen, and no fill longer
than 9 letters. Some answers that will grab this group's attention;
18A. Lady Violet in "Downton Abbey," e.g. : DOWAGER - I do not watch, but I have lurked here on those days when *Spoiler Alert~!*
would have been appreciated....so SHH~!!! And - symmetrically, the
other 7-letter fill in the lower spot starts with D-O-W-, too;
45A. Command to Fido : DOWN BOY
29A. Familiar title of Beethoven's "Bagatelle No. 25" : FÜR ELISE - It's so recognizable, but I thought I would link a version for those of us who "fret" rather than tickle the ivories
48A. Anteater's slurp in the comic "B.C." : ZOT
36D. Over-90 day, say : SIZZLER
- Over 90°, that is - and I am sure there are those in the upstate NY
and the New England area that can't wait for those days to return; me, I
spent my Birthday weekend digging out, and I don't mind; I'm a winter
baby
Onward~!!
ACROSS:
1. Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, familiarly—he holds the NCAA Division I men's basketball record for most wins : COACH K - not a Basketball kind of guy, but once I had "C-O-A-", I guessed the rest
7. Gets stuffed : FEASTS
13. Mawkish : MAUDLIN - sometimes I think this word seems like it's missing a final "G"
14. Many Civil War mess kits : TINWARE
15. Gallery event : ART SALE - ack~!, not ART SHOW
16. Arab League member since 1962 : ALGERIA
17. Pulled off : DID
20. GI assignments : KPs - Kitchen Patrol, working in the mess unit
21. Nash's "ill wind that no one blows good" : OBOE
23. Run together : BLUR - ack~!, not BLED
24. Hershey's candy : ROLO - ack~!, not KISS
25. Karate takedown maneuver : FOOT SWEEP
28. Bagel order, maybe : DOZEN
30. 2003-'04 OutKast chart-topper : HEY YA
31. Monopoly deed word : RENT - filled it, thought it was "too easy", took it out - and then it was back in again
32. Vitamin starter? : MEGA - mega-vitamin
33. Got the lead out? : MINED - or the ore of any metal, for that matter
35. WWII Pacific Theater battle site : CORAL SEA
39. Without any aptitude for : BAD AT - I'm BAD AT witty lines; I always think of the perfect one about 10 minutes after the cutie I was talking to is long gone....
40. Emotional one-eighty : MOOD SWING - crossing MOON BASE
41. Turgenev's birthplace : OREL - Ivan the Turgenev, playwright, born in Oryol, according to Wiki
42. Bingo call : B TEN - let's see; it could be B-one and B-two as well; the numbers associated with BINGO cards are astounding
43. Fitch who partnered with Abercrombie : EZRA
44. Broadway legend Hagen : UTA - learned from doing crosswords, and one of my first pass fills which meant it was not a complete white-wash
49. The "G" in G.K. Chesterton : GILBERT - mostly perps, and sensible WAGs for the other couple of letters
51. Ethel Waters title line following "Now he's gone, and we're through" : "AM I BLUE?"
53. Latte option : HALF-CAF - I only "do" my own coffee, and maybe 7-11 or Dunkin' Donuts; and it's coffee-flavored coffee with "fake sugar" and creamer
54. Lucky groups? : SEPTETS - C.C. said my lucky numbers are 2, 5, and 8
55. Schemer : SLY FOX
56. Sew up : ENSURE - HA~! Not STITCH, which fit, and SUTURE, too
DOWN:
1. Arctic game : CARIBOU - oh, DUH - that kind of "game"
2. Unprotected, in a way : OUTDOOR
3. Much spam : ADvertisementS
4. Decent, so to speak : CLAD - She's clad, but is she decent? What about him?
5. American port below the 20th parallel : HILO - Considered "GUAM", but waited to see what crossed; Hawaiian port
6. Emulated a '50s TV father? : KNEW BEST - before my time
7. One doing cabinet work? : FILER - one who FILES, in that kind of cabinet; I prefer the wood-working version....
8. IBM hire, maybe : ENGR - eh, not TECH
9. Floor : AWE - it was in, then ECUADOR fit @ 16A, messed me up
10. Chirac's successor : SARKOZY - ah, French presidents; I didn't even know they HAD one; I thought it was some sort of "prime minister"
11. Like the least risky bonds : TRIPLE A - Market references in a puzzle containing MADOFF might get some people's blood in a boil
12. __ pass : SEASON - I was looking for CARSON, DODSON, etc., not the "admission ticket" to an amusement park; we have "Splish-Splash" in Riverhead, they offer a season pass
13. Bernie __, subject of the 2011 book "The Wizard of Lies" : MADOFF
- Yeah, he "MADE OFF" with a lot of people's money; if you ask me,
prison was too easy; he needed to be put to work at UPS for $8/hr, and
forced to earn a living like most of us have/had to
14. Run after a fly? : TAG UP - hey, baseball - what, about 7 weeks away, C.C.?
19. Not being buffeted as much : ALEE - healthy Saturday cluing for "away from the wind"
22. Enduring : ETERNAL
24. Majestic euphemism : ROYAL WE
26. Nasty fall : SLEET
27. Empty talk : WIND
28. "Fin d'Arabesque" painter : DEGAS
32. Sci-fi destination : MOON BASE - If you're a Sci-Fi kind of person, check out this movie; essentially a one-man cast, and really fascinating; more at IMDb
33. __ arts : MARTIAL
34. "If everything works out ..." : IDEALLY
35. Either "A Serious Man" director : COEN - Joel and Ethan, who have given us some great movies; here's the clued one; sounds like "Falling Down"
37. Getting there : EN ROUTE
38. Striped marbles : AGATES - Learned this one from crosswords, too
39. Large branches : BOUGHS
40. Appt. book sequence : MTWTF - the days of the week in an appointment book; I love this fill - very cool
42. Cleansing agent : BORAX - nailed it
45. Geometric art style : DECO - Art Deco, like the Chrysler Building; I happen to like the style, but then again, I am fond of straight lines (in art, that is - I like curves, too - see 4D) more here
46. Augur's reading : OMEN - Pondered PALM, but glad I waited
47. Litter sounds : YIPS - ack~!, not MEWS
50. Texter's soul mate : BFF - Best Friend Forever - I don't have one :7(
52. HVAC measure : BTU - British Thermal Unit
Splynter
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