Saturday, March 2nd, 2013, Julian Lim

Theme: None

Words: 68 (missing J,Q)

Blocks: 32

 Julian Lim's Saturday grids usually intimidate me, and this one looked to be no different.  But there were just enough solvable short answers, and I surprised myself with how fast I finished.  Big blocks of white in every corner, triple 8's and 6's, with one grid spanner;

37A. "Whatever" : I DON'T REALLY CARE - You know she's not happy with you if all she has to say is "whatever"....

Also - 10D. "It's hard to tell" : I CAN'T SAY, and 53D. Answer from the unwilling : NOT I

And some other long answers of note;

11. Long-haired pet : PERSIAN CAT - my brother has one, not this cute, named Sherlock

 

27. "Straight Outta Compton" genre : GANGSTA RAP - N.W.A., Ice Cube's original act, so you can pretty much figure out what N.W.A. stands for....here's a link to something less gangsta, but still rap - "ain't outta Compton..." @3:24 - WARNING: strong lyrical content~!

O   N   W   A   R   D   ~   !   !   !

ACROSS:

1. Installment in a modern series : WEBISODE - Episode didn't fit, but once the "W" was there, 'modern' now made sense

9. Thing to be cracked : CIPHER

15. Loge : OPERA BOX

16. Purchase provider : ICE AXE - ah, that kind of purchase; the one with 'grip'

17. Olympic winner : MEDALIST - first long fill for me

18. Hero with a memorable yell : TARZAN - This was my first thought, but I wouldn't necessarily call him a "hero" per se

19. Bird that dines on stingers : BEE-EATER - well, it makes sense, and followed by:

20. Bug : INSECT

21. PC debut of 1981 : MS-DOS

23. Leans : TILTS

24. Truffles, e.g. : FUNGI

28. Unit in una zona residencial : CASA - I am guessing Spanish, for a "house" in the residential zone; I went bar-hopping with the guys tonight (I was the Designated Driver, so my sodas were "free"), and my buddy Bob has the last name Casa

30. Most suitable for service : ONE-A

31. In danger of snapping : UNBALANCED

39. 1959 Cornelius Ryan best-seller about the Normandy invasion, with "The" : LONGEST DAY

41. Keister : SEAT

42. Prepare for a game, as Jenga blocks : STACK

43. They may generate interest: Abbr. : ACCounTS

50. "Hysterical" : HA-HA-HA - HEY~!!! That's MY line~! (OK, HAR-HAR is mine )

52. On balance : ALL IN ALL - great fill

57. God wed to his sister : OSIRIS - a little Egyptian history, for those who care

58. Rather wicked : DIABOLIC - DEMONIC was too short

59. Say : REMARK - UTTER was too short

60. Not barred : ADMITTED - ALLOWED was too short

61. Good guys? : ADEPTS - AD-epts, the noun

62. Many characters on "The L Word" : LESBIANS - I didn't think this word would fit; not sure why.  Never seen the show, but I knew what the "L" stood for

DOWN:

1. Place of development : WOMB

2. It has about a 35-inch blade : EPEE

3. Saint who wrote the earliest history of England : BEDE

4. Requiem Mass hymn word : IRAE

5. Sub base? : SALAMI - Sub, Hero, Hoagie

6. Bye lines? : OBITS - I said "bye" to my dad Jan 12th; we did not publish an obituary

7. Did a nurse's job : DOSED

8. Version's beginning? : EXTRO - In psychology, extroversion is focusing one's attention on things outside the self; I am a Type 5 (with a 4 wing) thinker with INtroversion tendencies

9. One of U.S. banking's Big Four : CITI - Citigroup, along with JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo; they hold 39% of customer deposits in 2009 per Wiki; My money is with Chase, and I have WF stock.

12. Nut-producing tree : HAZEL - PECAN would fit, but I had the "L" from TILTS already

13. Like some change : EXACT - not LOOSE

14. Uses Zipcar, say : RENTS - never heard of them but I have heard of: 40A. Its Nasdaq symbol is CAR : AVIS

22. Milan's La __ : SCALA

24. Keep from happening : FOIL - another word for EPEE, too

25. Wreck : UNDO

26. Light element : NEON

29. She has your back : ALLY

31. __ Major : URSA

32. Modern entertainment : NET TV - I am investing in NETFLIX this weekend, I believe

33. Maleficent : BAD

34. Vena __ : CAVA - : any of the large veins by which in air-breathing vertebrates the blood is returned to the right atrium of the heart; Merriam Webster

35. "Fast Food Nation" author Schlosser : ERIC - had the "C", seemed like a perfectly good Wild-Ass Guess to me

36. Work area : DESK - mine is the back ends of four brown trucks....

38. Top choice : TEE SHIRT - and 46. 38-Down option : V-NECK

42. Apparel for the slopes : SKI BIB - Marti, got one or two?  Do they match the Jimmy Choos?  I like ski bunnies - so cute in their tight little outfits

43. Now, in Nogales : AHORA

44. Checked out badly? : CASED - Like watching the bank before the heist

45. Ring : CHIME

47. Seven-time French Open winner : NADAL - LENDL fit, too, bit I have no clue who has won what in tennis....

48. Fail to say : ELIDE - consonants, that is

49. Simoleons : CLAMS - Had MOOLA to start; money slang

51. Petitions : ASKS

54. Medicine Hat's prov. : ALTA - Map

55. Homeowner's burden : LIEN - Well, so is the LAWN

56. Some TV screens : LCDs - Liquid Crystal Displays

Splynter