Friday, May 24, 2013

Saturday, May 25th, 2013, Steven J. St. John

Theme: SJSJ

Words: 70 (missing B,K,Q)

Blocks: 28

  My last SJSJ puzzle was back in January - and today's looked deceptively simple, starting with a 3-letter word, which I got, but then I stared at a wash of white for the longest time; I got a break "spang" in the center with 33A., and it all filled in from there - save ONE letter.  Oh well.  We had crossing 10-letter entries today:

31. Not likely to fall : SURE-FOOTED

8. Intensified : HEIGHTENED

35. Road hog? : GAS-GUZZLER

27. Ponder : PUZZLE OVER - so true~!

O         N         W         A         R         D         ~         !

ACROSS:

1. Bug spray target : ANT - I don't mind ants and spiders; every other insect and arachnid creeps me out

4. Hospital bug : STAPH - I had STREP, and I knew that wasn't quite right

9. They're usually password-protected: Abbr. : ACCTs

14. Where the buck stops? : DOE - I am still looking for the doe that stops me; I don't usually go for blondes, but....mini-story @ 11D.

15. Opening of a memorable walrus song : I AM HE - "I am the Walrus", The Beatles

16. F follower in vintage TV : TROOP - F-Troop, which I watched in re-runs as a kid

 
 
17. Pius XII's successor : JOHN XXIII - listed as "blessed", crossing;  4D. One of five popes, ironically : SIXTUS - #5 1585-90; here's the list of them all

19. Totaled : RAN TO

20. Trailer caution : UNRATED - Motion Picture trailers, that is

21. Breaks down slowly : GNAWS AT - meh, yeah, I guess

23. "Beowulf" translator Heaney : SEAMUS

24. John of "Harold & Kumar" movies : CHO

25. Confused : LOST - ah, not ASEA

26. Firms : TONES - as one's body

27. __ melt : PATTY - not BACON....

29. USPS assignment : RTE - U P S, too; I was out with my buddy Jim tonight - he has a postal route

30. Huff : SNIT

33. Mesa natives : ARIZONANS - I read this as "relatives" first, so I was thinking "BUTTE"

38. Magic power : MOJO - reminds me of Austin Powers - "yeah, baby, yeah~!"

42. Material flaw : RIP - Fabric

43. Laid the groundwork for? : TILED - I did some tiling in the rental apartment at mom's house; I really need to update my blog

44. Didn't quite expect : HOPED

45. God that leaves one smitten : EROS

47. Insurance salesman Ryerson in "Groundhog Day" : NED

48. Stephen King classic : MISERY - Not "CARRIE"

49. In a single effort : AT ONE GO - I had IN one go to start; missed the "in" in the clue

51. Lore components : SAYINGS

52. Capital near the Red Sea : SANA'A - map

53. Celebrity perks : V.I.P. PASSES - makes me think of another music link

55. Employ with vigor : EXERT

56. Dr. Dean __ of talk radio : EDELL

57. Somme one : UNE - Frawnch

58. They might be hitched : RIDES

59. Spur part : ROWEL - new word for me; I had RODEL; see 51D.

60. Humanities dept. : PSYchology

DOWN:

1. Fiddles with : ADJUSTS

2. Situation when the first pitch is thrown : NO ONE ON - Baseball for C.C.; I wanted "opening day", then I stared at NOON -ON for a long time

3. Like many "Argo" militants : TEHRANI - those in Tehran, Iran

5. Mortgage payment component : TAXES - not here on Long Island; the tax bill comes separately twice a year

6. "__ the Falling Snow": Enya song : AMID

7. Golden ratio symbol : PHI - I know what this means, but I have a hard time describing it to others; Wiki does a pretty good job

9. Blade brand : ATRA

10. __ space : CRAWL - NYS cashed my check for filing to be a Home Inspector; going to be seeing my share of crawl spaces soon, I hope

11. Hang out (with) : CONSORT - SO - I was consorting with George, Jim, Bob, Kev, Mark, Jack and Chris tonight, downtown Patchogue....

12. Cookbook phrase : TO TASTE - ...speaking of which, there were some ladies....

13. Laid eyes on : SPOTTED - I "laid eyes" on a cute blonde at the club tonight; reminded me of Taylor Swift....

18. Ice-breaking aid : NAME TAG - ...the blonde did not have one....

22. Over the hill, say : NOT FAR - distance, not age - which is how we felt in the club tonight....

24. Saw your breath while singing, maybe : CAROLED - ...her name could have been Carol....

28. Quaint pointing word : YON - ...YON blonde....

31. Giving a once-over, with "up" : SIZING - and yes, I was sizing her up~!

32. Subtle absorption : OSMOSIS

34. Symbol of tiredness : RUT - I tried ZZZ first, since I considered there may be "ZZ" with SiZing - I was one square off

35. Pompadour sporter : GREASER - This guy?

36. One way to Martha's Vineyard : AIR TAXI

37. Showed affection for, in a way : SPOONED

39. Begins to share : OPENS UP - in a counseling session

40. Maker of Natural Glow lotions : JERGENS - um, don't go there....

 

41. Meandering journey : ODYSSEY

44. Georgian greeting : HI, Y'ALL - I lived in Jacksonville, Fla - they speak Georgian there, too~!

46. Catch : SNARE

48. Butcher block wood : MAPLE - I knew this, made me change my "Carrie"

50. Vittles : EATS

51. Jet : SPEW - Got me; I had SPED first

54. Swear words : I DO

Splynter

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