Saturday, May 11th, 2013, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie

Words: 72 (missing G,J,Q,X)

Blocks: 30

  Some profoundly perplexing clues from Mr. Silk today, but I persevered, and got my "Ta-Da~!" at the end.  Let's hope you did as well~!  I think some of the answers were in my wheelhouse, which helped immensely, such as 36A - I consider myself to be on the 'fringe' of that group.  Triple 11's today, and a few answers of note:

17. Expanse seen from Point Barrow : ARCTIC OCEAN - I've circled it in red for you

36. Starfleet uniform wearers : TREKKIES - I don't have a Star Trek uniform, but I do have a metal Starfleet "communicator", made of brass

40. Actor honored with a memorial statue in Hong Kong : BRUCE LEE

62. Reason to make a stand? : REFRESHMENT - This is a classic Calvin & Hobbes

In-Word~!

ACROSS:

1. Jerk : KNUCKLEHEAD - OK, so which jerk are we talking about?  The person, or the motion?

12. Casting leader? : POD - Podcast, a 'neologism'

15. 1925 musical based on the play "My Lady Friends" : NO NO, NANETTE

16. Stumble : ERR

18. Draw : TIE

19. Check out : VET - literal definition

20. Shatner's "__War" : TEK

21. Snickers : TE-HEES - the laughs, not the candy bars

23. Cole Porter and Rudy Vallée, e.g. : ELIs - Students at Yale; completely baffling Saturday clue for a normally easy 3-letter fill

25. Thing to do in style : DINE

28. Hurts, in a way : BURNS

29. Glare : SCOWL

31. Connecting line : SEAM - q.v.14D

33. Make an example of : CITE

34. Food found in rings : ONION

38. Twerpz and Strawz candy brand : TWIZZLERS

43. Heavyweight : TITAN - not BOXER

46. Bill's first Supreme Court appointee : RUTH

47. Pencil holders? : EARS - Carpenter's must-have (the pencil, that is)

49. __ Hall : SETON - TOWN, CITY, no a specific one - a campus just outside of NYC

51. Hitched behind : IN TOW

53. 1924 Darrow client : LOEB

55. Value : RATE - and true clecho - 52D. Value : WORTH

56. Pitman users : STENOS - learning moment for me; did not know there was a 'type' of shorthand

58. DOJ part : DEA - Dept of Justice, Drug Enforcement Agency

60. Rebuffs : NOs

61. White wine apéritif : KIR - Knew this from crosswords

66. Subj. for an au pair : ESL

67. 1993 movie co-written by Quentin Tarantino : TRUE ROMANCE - I like Quentin, but not Christian

68. Commandment word : THY

69. Back-to-the-land movement practitioner : HOMESTEADER

DOWN:

1. Jacks : KNAVES - cards

2. Razor handle? : NORELCO - Har-Har~!  Brand name of electric razors

3. Balm : UNCTION

4. Where a guest may rest : COT - ah, not "INN"

5. Loop together : KNIT - semi-clecho to follow

6. Tied together : LACED

7. Japanese mushrooms : ENOKIs

8. Lawman Ramsey of '70s TV : HEC 

9. Haitian season : ETE - They speak French there, I'm WAGing

10. Rat-__ : A-TAT

11. Brightest star in Cygnus : DENEB

12. 18th-century teenage Russian emperor : PETER II - I thought I was smart by going with "PETR---"

13. Region of eastern Ecuador : ORIENTE - map, but it just says "Eastern region"

14. Clothing store hangers : DRESSES - I found one that claims to be "NILE GREEN" (q.v.35D.)

22. Peddler : HUCKSTER

24. Activate, in a way : SWITCH ON

26. Los Angeles-based ISP : NET-ZERO

27. Hall of Fame running back Campbell : EARL - all perps for me

30. "The West Wing" Emmy nominee : LOWE - Rob, but I never watched the show

32. Fulfill : MEET - as obligations

35. Shade of green : NILE - JADE wouldn't work, with "J" being at the end of 34A.; then it was LIME, then it was -ILE....BILE?  No, that's yellow

37. Songwriter Kristofferson : KRIS - I knew he was a composer/musician, but I know him better as the ruthless bad guy 'Bronson', in "Payback", with Mel Gibson

39. Fire : ZEAL - oh, that kind of 'fire'

40. Common entrée at 48-Down : BRISKET

41. Scrawny : RUNTISH

42. Altogether : UTTERLY - I had TOTALLY here, and when the grid was full and I did not get my fanfare, I went back and looked; um, yeah, no one named RUOH that I can think of (46A.)

44. Finished : AT AN END - Whoo, three-word phrase

45. Never : NOT ONCE - and a two-word phrase

48. Rituals including the Cup of Elijah : SEDERS

50. Bird, for one : NESTER - anyone else try "CELTIC" to start? - talkin' Larry Bird....

54. Inebriate : BESOT - This was self-inflicted, 100 months ago

57. Prefix with -tonin : SERO - Serotonin, found in tryptophan; I used to think it was in beer....

59. Words of lament : AH ME

63. Giant word : FUM - Fee Fi Fo Fum~!

                                  I smell the blood  of an Englishman 
                                  Be he live, or be he dead

                                  I grind his bones to make my bread~!

64. Lough __, second-largest lake on the River Shannon : REE - map, in the middle

65. Pasture plea : MAA - I had "BAA" to start

Splynter