Saturday, Oct 26th, 2013, Ned White

Theme: None

Words: 70 (misssing J,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 30

   How's this for an early Halloween scare???  My first look at the triple triple-15-letter spanners and I immediately ran for the DOWNS.  And that didn't help much.  Too many abbrs., names and vagueness to be of any good - at first.  The key to solving this construction, for me, was to go with my 'crossword instinct', meaning that the long answers would most likely end with E, S, T, R, etc. - and then, with my smattering of DOWN fill, I literally worked my way from the bottom up.  I'll admit to one bad cell (*), and I cheated and went to my analog dictionary for the spelling of 1A.  

The Spanners:

1. Wedding reception fare : HOT HORS D'OEUVRES - I missed the "U", and jumbled my "R" and "V"

16. Hunter's accessory : AMMUNITION POUCH - I delivered a box of ammo to a guy today who was questioning why I required a signature; it had nothing to do with his 2nd Amendment rights, but UPS does require an adult to sign for explosives.  Period.

17. Fourth-generation relative : GREAT GRAND-NIECE

32. Certain cohabitant : DOMESTIC PARTNER - when I was in the Sober House, everyone would talk about their "S.O." - I thought it was a variation on a P.O. - parole officer.  Turned out to be their "significant other" - sounds pretty cold to me

37. Anglican leader : EPISCOPAL PRIEST

38. Beethoven work completed the same year as the "Moonlight" : PASTORALE SONATA - let's hear a little

53. Have a considerably negative effect on : MILITATE AGAINST - about the only one that is not a 'common phrase'

58. Recipe datum : PREPARATION TIME

59. Fitness specialist : STRENGTH TRAINER

O~N~W~A~R~D~!

ACROSS:

18. Wrong : SIN

19. 1980s pop duo with an exclamation point in their name : WHAM!

20. Stowe novel : DRED - more here

21. Chanel competitor : COTY - They used to make "IRON" cologne, and I loved it: I miss it, too - it really defined "me" - it's a Ferro-pheromone alloy....

22. Chihuahua chatter : ARFs - eh, not YIPs

25. Rent-__ : A-CAR

28. Jolly Roger crewman : SMEE

29. Desperate letters : S.O.S.

39. Cobb and others : TYs

40. Get up : RISE

41. Scrapes (out) : EKES

42. Moments : SECs

43. One may be zapped : TV AD - I zap every one of them, because I watch everything from my DVR - and there's no one else in the UPS truck to spoil a show for me~!

46. Deuce follower : AD IN - advantage in - when the server is one point up after deuce on his/her opponent, and could take the next one and win - the Wiki if you really want to get confused

49. Cup part : BRIM

50. One of Can.'s Maritime provinces : P.E.I. - Prince Edward Island - one of those crossword instinct answers that does NOT end in E, S, T, R.

DOWN:

1. Crones : HAGS - I put in PALS, but that's cronies.

2. "Dallas" actor Katz : OMRI - IMDb

3. Bootleggers' foes : T-MEN - I put in FEDS to start

4. '70s Chinese leader : HUA - I defer to our very own C.C. for more on this

5. Huddle directive : ON TWO....

6. In order : RIGHT - and an anti-clecho 27D. Not in order : AMISS

7. Cattle drive concern : STRAY - I tried DINGO, but the word I was meant to fill in was DOGIE

8. Spherical meas. : DIAMeter

9. Suffix with bass : OON - BassOON

10. Close : END - the verb

11. "Buffy" airer after The WB : UPN

12. Cancels : VOIDS

13. Penitent : RUER - The noun, in this case; I always think of the scene from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" when I hear penitent

14. Old Roman cry : ECCE~!  Behold~!

15. Discard : SHED - Not TOSS, going with my instinct

21. Peak : CREST - hey, nice peaks

22. Liberal : AMPLE - quite ample

23. Takes in : REAPS

24. Alloy prefix : FERRO - "Iron", like in these fine examples

25. Pro : ADEPT

26. Pharmacy figure : CO-PAY and a semi-clecho with;

28. Bygone pharmacy fixture : SCALE

29. Preview opener? : SNEAK - sneak preview

30. Montevideo-to-Buenos Aires dirección : OESTE - map

31. Sp. lasses : SRTAs

33. Tie, perhaps : SCORE - you bet your ASCOT I got this one~!

34. Like doughnuts : TORIC - OK, so I went with HOLEY - I had a very white grid....

35. "Not for me" : "I PASS"

36. Pointed, in a way : TINED

42. Marsh bird : SNIPE - STORK, EGRET~?

43. It may be inherited : TRAIT

44. Bounce : VIGOR - yes, she's got some 'vigor' to her....

45. Appliance maker once owned by Raytheon : AMANA

46. Intensifies, with "up" : AMPS

47. Skinny : DIRT - and the title of Mötley Crüe's biography

48*. Robert of "The Sopranos" : ILER - the "L" got me

49. Three-time LPGA Player of the Year Daniel : BETH

50. Nabokov novel : PNIN - pronounced P'neen

51. Edward's adoptive mother in the "Twilight" series : ESME - a WAG, since I have not, and do not care to see any of these movies - but it worked well with my E, S, T, R instinct

52. Anatomical passage : ITER - Latin for journey - I can see that

54. A spray might be used for one : TAN

55. Uru. neighbor : ARGentina, constructor Ned must like the area - see 30D.

56. Parlor work, briefly : TATtoo - and a chance for a music link

57. "Lord, is __?": Matthew : "IT I?"

Splynter

Saturday, Oct19th, 2013, Doug Peterson & Brad Wilber

Theme: DP&BW

Words: 72 (missing Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 30

   This one from our flip-flopping Saturday Duo was 50/50 for me.  I smoked through the top half, but then faltered in the bottom.  Ended up taking my usual solve time.  Two grid spanners:

17A. Irish folk song that was a Grammy-winning vehicle for Metallica :  

WHISKEY IN THE JAR - Nailed it - a music link must....the 'offical' video is more to the point, but it won't pass the "breakfast test"

but then....

53A. Woolf pack? : BLOOMSBURY GROUP - a complete unknown; learning moment

Six 10's:
1. Italian for "little ribbons" : FETTUCCINE

12. Asian aluminum exporter : TAJIKISTAN - Crossword constructors gotta love places with these names - map

15. High anxiety? : ACROPHOBIA - nailed it; I know my "fear of heights" $2 word

25. Late 1990s Nasdaq phenomenon : DOT COM BOOM - anyone here fall into this bust?

57. Iron Man and Captain America, e.g. : TITLE ROLES - I wanted "-- HEROES", or something like that

59. One who goes out regularly : STEADY DATE - I'm accepting applications today

And four 8's:

6. Subcompact that debuted in 1975 : CHEVETTE - My buddy Jeff owned one in high school, and he used to like to say he had a " 'Vette "

26A. Neurologist's concern : MIGRAINE

41A. Goldbricks : GOOF OFFS - I tried GOOSE (E)GGS, but it had only one "E"; definition

35. Seemed to own the runway, say : SASHAYED

ONWARD~!

ACROSS:

11. Site of the Delicate Arch : UTAH - not featured in Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade, tho

16. Cold caller's reward : SALE

19. Montréal label : NOM

20. Anxious times for some : EVES - Like kids at Christmas

21. One of the halogens : IODINE - I had "SODIUM" (BZZZT~!), which is the other half of the "salt" equation; alkali metals + halogen gas = salt; periodic chart

22. Pressure source : PEER - "everybody's doing it; you're nobody if you don't~!"

23. Criticize : KNOCK

24. Make some concessions : ADAPT

29. "Get real!" : C'MON

30. Old autocrat : TSAR

32. Problematic lighting? : ARSON - firebug crime

34. Cranky : PECKISH

36. Be a burden to : TRY - "You're peckishness is TRYing my patience~!"

37. Come about : OCCUR

39. Cave-dwelling princess in Donald Duck comics : OONA

40. Mariner's org. : NASA - Dang it~! Fooled me again - not sports related; Husker got it, I'm sure

43. Rise to the top : SHINE

45. Unifying idea : MOTIF

46. Great Lakes catch : CHUB - I had SOLE, then CRAB, then CRUB....which doesn't sound any less appetizing than the actual answer

47. "Epitaph for a Spy" novelist : AMBLER - Eric, and the Wiki

49. "The Godfather" Oscar nominee : CAAN - I tried PUZO; I was 'right' - list of awards

50. Union busters of the 19th cen. : CSA - the Union of the North, and the Confederate States of America

56. Venting venue : BLOG - No one vents on OUR blog....

58. __ Martin: cognac brand : RÉMY - another potable NEVER over ice

DOWN:

1. Play the sycophant to, with "over" : FAWN

2. Agree by repeating : ECHO - like sycophants - "oh, yes, yes, sir~!"

3. Barber shop request : TRIM

4. Set-__: rows : TOS - a Set-to is a fight; a rOW, not rOE

5. Homeowner's concern : UPKEEP - Now that I am working as a driver 7am to 6, 7, 8, 9pm, my UPKEEP is a lot harder

7. Not as forthcoming : COYER

8. Winged University of Miami mascot : IBIS

9. Writer who said "What I cannot love, I overlook" : NIN - Anais

10. Busy with courses : EATING - Those courses

11. With 33-Across, Saturn or Mercury site : USED CAR and 33A. See 11-Down : LOT

13. Freed from radio music : ALAN - Perhaps could have used a "?", since this is a proper name here; Alan Freed - his Wiki

14. Present : HERE

18. Shout of triumph : HOORAH - DAH~!!!  I had hooraY, and that just messed me up

22. One-star write-up : PAN


23. Heineken distributor in Japan : KIRIN

24. Standard Oil offshoot : AMOCO

26. Sharks whose teeth were used in Maori jewelry : MAKOs

27. Old tongue that gave us "rotten" and "egg" : NORSE

28. Gaelic music star : ENYA

29. Thick-soled shoe : CLOG

31. Speak derisively : SCOFF

34. For now : PRO TEM - Latin, pro tempore

38. Focus of an annual festival in New Mexico : UFOLOGY - Once I put the "U" and New Mexico together, this became an 'educated' WAG - Roswell; a "great place to crash~!"

40. Penpoint : NIB

42. Ones for the record book : FIRSTS

44. Strongly motivated : HUNGRY

46. "Cheers" role : CARLA - Coach, Cliff, Diane and Woody fit, too

47. 48-Down, e.g. : ABBReviation

48. M.'s counterpart : MademoiseLLE

49. Clever : CUTE - this stymied me for a long time

50. It gets flat over time : COLA - or SODA....

51. Steak-and-kidney-pudding ingredient : SUET - Eww

52. Abbey nook : APSE - or NAVE....

54. Was taken in : BIT - I had "FIT", like clothing taken in; this is like the people taken in, or 'bit', but the DOT COM BOOM

55. Fly __ : ROD


Splynter

Saturday, Oct 12th, 2013, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie

Words: 70 (missing X)

Blocks: 27

 OH, the deception~!  I had so many good answers that were wrong, and at one point, I thought for sure I was going to have to go Googling, but just a few minor tweaks and I was almost perfect; one bad cell - at two crossing names - a WAG that ZAGged and did not ZIG.  Oh well.  We did not have any spanners or climbers, but a pretty pinwheel gave us two 9's and fourteen 8's:

1. Monument on the Yamuna River : TAJ MAHAL - beautiful - a visit is on my 'to-do' list

18A. The Joker or The Penguin : EVIL-DOER - I know who they are - BAT FOES? nah. 

35. Hwange National Park setting : ZIMBABWE - I did have ----BWE, which pretty much narrowed my choices down

54. How World Series winners celebrate : ELATEDLY - don't ALL winners celebrate in such a fashion?  I think Mr. Silk put this one in just for C.C.~!

ACROSS:

1. Home to Iran's Iron Age Museum : TABRIZ - Early on, I tried TEHRAN, TIGRIS, and finally TABRIJ - because JOE sounded like a Muppet - maybe not a ballet Muppet....

7. Like some closet findings? : SKELETAL - nice twist; SKELETON was just not going to work

15. Time's 1986 Woman of the Year : AQUINO - the only news I could recall from 1986 was the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster - now a TV movie; Corazon Aquino was the first woman president of The Philippines

16. Float, in a way : LEVITATE - had to wait on perps

17. Mix up : JUMBLE - jOSTle was not getting me closer to done; does your paper carry the "JUMBLE" puzzle?


19. Steep-angle shot : MASSE - my first fill; a billiards shot struck down on the cue ball

20. Kuala Lumpur native : MALAYSIAN - DAH~!  Not TAIWANESE

21. Sailor's direction : AFT

22. Hero who first appeared in 1912 : TARZAN - oh, right

24. Needle point? : SSE - C.C. got me with this one in her puzzle - the needle of a compass, that is

25. Hustles : HIES

27. Card, e.g. : NLer - Ugh, more deception; a Cardinal, in the N.L. Central division - apparently, they are still playing in October - sorry, C.C., hockey is on....

28. Shorten, maybe : ALTER

30. Jellyfish relatives : ANEMONES

32. Year in Nero's reign : LVI - 56 in Roman times

33. University of Wyoming city : LARAMIE - Argh~! Not Cheyene ( OK, so I was missing an N )

34. Guatemalan currency, or the colorful bird it's named for : QUETZAL

38. Capital of 35-Down : ZEE - D'oh~!  I was so sure that this was money 'capital' that I never looked twice

39. Ratatouille ingredient : ZUCCHINI - #$%^~!  Not RED BEETS - I don't cook, OK?

40. Quaker in the woods : ASPEN - the tree, because PENN did not fit

43. Next in line : HEIR - I had to send up a V-8 can alert....England now has the top three; Charles, William, and now George - hey, I'm 100% English, so I might be on this list somewhere....

44. Revival figs. : EMTs - oh, for the love of....THAT kind of revival - the ones that don't end up as "skeletons" - Emergency Medical Technicians

45. STARZ competitor : SHO - premium TV channels; Google has just made internet viewing on your HDTV easier

46. Tapped trees : MAPLES - had it, then tossed it for "HONEY" (q.v. 34D.)

48. Risk : BET

49. Waits : SITS TIGHT - I heard this a lot growing up

52. Bit of wisdom : PEARL

55. Jazz pianist Hancock : HERBIE - I first heard him (and the art of record 'scratching') on this tune

56. Not anymore : NO LONGER

57. Like some biblical boarders : IN TWOS - Rrrr - I put in PAIRED

58. Play areas : THEATERS

59. Directs : STEERS - Wow - this and bum STEER in the same grid....


DOWN:

2. Maker of FlavorSplash beverages : AQUAFINA - Pepsi's bottled water

3. Piece of crummy advice : BUM STEER

4. Kids : RIBS - Nope, not TOTS

5. Sound, maybe : INLET - Aw, man, I live on a SOUND, so I don't think of it as an INLET - but it does have a lot if inlets in it


6. Ballet-dancing Muppet : ZOE - JOE, MOE, I took a guess

7. Lowlifes : SLEAZES

8. Defensive fiber : KEVLAR

9. 2-Down alternative : EVIAN

10. Water __ : LILY - Not gonna say a word

11. LAX listings : ETDs - departures, not arrivals this time

12. One seeking the way? : TAOIST

13. Not tense : AT EASE

14. "Camelot" lyricist : LERNER - filled in via perps


20. 1957 R&B chart-topper inspired by a schoolteacher : MR. LEE - The Bobbettes

23. Hall of fame : ANNIE - Annie Hall - movie from the same year as Star Wars; I tried Monty Hall, of Let's Make a Deal

26. Urban air problem : SMAZE - Smoke and Haze

28. Paris preposition : AVEC - "with" in Frawnch

29. Graceful : LITHE

31. It might be a warning : OMEN

32. Money : LUCRE

34. Bee output : QUILT - Geez, a quilting bee

36. Preceding : ANTERIOR - I hear this in a mostly in a medical sense, meaning "in front of"

37. Dragging : LISTLESS

39. Gentle breezes : ZEPHYRS

40. Agreement : ASSENT

41. 1862 battle site : SHILOH

42. Distillery waste : POT ALE - used for animal feed

43. 1980s middleweight champ : HAGLER - "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler - the Wiki

46. One in a humming swarm : MIDGE

47. Beat : SPENT

50. Column-lined walkway : STOA - it's all Greek to me

51. Fair sight : TENT

53. Deco pseudonym : ERTE - I like Art Deco, like the Chrysler Building; some other details of that era

55. Presley's "__ Latest Flame" : HIS - There's one guy who calls me "Elvis" at UPS - and I had to trim my sideburns down a LOT to become a driver.  

 Splynter

Saturday, Oct 5th, 2013, Mark Bickham

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing Q,V)

Blocks: 32

   This was one of those puzzles where perserverance wins the day.  Many proper names had me stumped for a while, with that creeping feeling that I was gonna give in to Google - BUT - a few Wild-Ass Guesses (WAGs) and some slight changes to my first guesses, and Ta-Da~!!  We had us a grrreat grid spanner today, with a little mis-direction:

35A. At sea : DISCOMBOBULATED - I so wanted "ON THE BOUNDING MAIN", but I needed two more spaces; I like this word; I have not gotten discombobulated on my first UPS driving route - but wait til they move me to a different one for Christmas, when I'm looking for house numbers in the dark....

And some tricky triple 10-letter corners;

5A. Site of many rolls : CRAPS TABLE - bakery? fat farm? oh, got it

16A. One of Sophocles' Theban plays : OEDIPUS REX

57. Showmanship : RAZZMATAZZ - ZZ's~!!!

61. Trooper relative : ISUZU RODEO - not a state trooper; we've had this automotive ruse before....note the License Plate~!

ON WAAG~!

ACROSS:

1. "The Matrix Reloaded" actress Pinkett Smith : JADA - even though I have not seen the movie, there's not too many "Pinkett Smiths" that I know of....

15. Asian sea : ARAL - crossword staple

17. Brought up : BRED - I was stuck on REARED, SIRED, and then tried BORE

18. "Been there" : "I CAN RELATE"

19. Walked to the gangplank, say : SAW OFF - past tense of SEE off - and if you're on the gangplank, I hope it doesn't get SAWN OFF

21. One in a rack, maybe : SKI - um, yeah, one of these can be found in a rack, too....

22. Edible Andean tubers : OCAs

23. Cindy Bear's boyfriend : YOGI - DAH~!  I did not know this

24. It may be thrown in : THE TOWEL

26. Less enthused : SOURER

28. Strauss' "__ Rosenkavalier" : DER

29. Toss up : LOB

31. Duke Frederick's daughter in "As You Like It" : CELIA - OK then

33. Bowl, e.g. : ARENA

40. Nerdy : UNHIP - ah, not WEIRD

41. 1978 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year : LOPEZ - Nancy Lopez, once married to baseballer Ray Knight

42. Ristorante suffix : INI - RotINI, LinguINI, etc.

43. N.C. State is in it : ACC - the Atlantic Coast Conference - sports

46. Former Prussian province : SAXONY

49. "Give me a break!" : "OH PLEASE~!"

52. Buck back? : AROO - BuckAROO

53. When Annie sings "Maybe" : ACT I - Put in "ACT", and wait; in truth, it can really only be "I" - maybe "V"; ever seen "X"?

54. Skit site, for short : SNL - I put this in, then took it out; my last fill via perps

55. Saturate : IMBRUE

60. "__ girl!" : ATTA

62. Common subject in "The Far Side" : COWS - here's one, and a link to more

63. Bit of bun flavoring : SESAME SEED

64. Granny __ : KNOT - Dah~!  I was stuck on "SMITH"

DOWN:

1. Short blows : JABS

2. Decks out : ARRAYS - I put in ARORNS, not realizing that this is NOT how you spell ADORNS

3. Dismantled Korean automaker : DAEWOO - every now and then I see this logo on cars; some Wiki on the company

4. Older brother of designers Vasco and Rodolfo : ALDO GUCCI - Once I had ALDO ---CI, the V-8 can flew

5. Lock arrangement : COIF - Hair locks; didn't fool me, but I tried UPDO to start

6. Cam button : RECord - on your camcorder

7. Recipe phrase : A DASH - DAR~! an "A" phrase; I was looking for BLEND, SAUTÉ, etc.

8. Edged with shears, as cloth : PINKED - Nailed it - mom is a seamstress, and owns PINKING shears

9. Elf : SPRITE

10. Calendar abbr. : TUEsday - take your pic; seven days, twelve months; or wait for perps; when the "E" showed, that narrowed it down a LOT

11. Comparatively base : AS LOW

12. Place for an allergy alert : BRACELET - ah, and a good one, as well

13. Not to mention : LET ALONE

14. They used to be together : EXES

20. Warm-colored gem : FIRE OPAL

24. Oakland paper, familiarly : TRIBune - a WAG

25. Degree hurdle : ORAL EXAM

27. Titular Wes Craven street : ELM - The TITLE "A Nightmare on Elm Street"; titular had me thinking about "racks" again

30. Harmful : BAD

32. 2011 Huffington Post acquirer : AOL - America OnLine, once part of Time Warner - more here

34. Fayetteville athlete : RAZORBACK - Arkansas

35. SADD focus : DUI - not DWI - not "while intoxicated", but "under the influence"

36. Never : IN NO CASE

37. Noble pets of imperial China : SHIH TZUs - looks funny in the DOWN

38. Admired speaker : BOSE - I thought this might be a mis-direction; not an orator, but a woofer/tweeter; could have been POLK, too

39. __ tree : UP A

44. Brother of Lucrezia Borgia : CESARE

45. Epic poem divisions : CANTOS

47. Antiviral brand : NORTON - Computer virus software

48. Couple's address : YOU TWO - "Oh, you two, get a room~!"

50. Pie not served for dessert : PIZZA - dinner last night

51. Noddy Holder's rock group : SLADE

53. Onassis et al. : ARIs

55. __ Center: former N.J. Nets home : IZOD

56. Word with Side or End : EAST - EAST side, EAST end

58. Ornamental flower : MUM - I thought this might be the answer, but it filled via perps anyway

59. Series finale : ZEE - EX, WYE, ZEE - what a great way to finish~!

Splynter

  For those who are wondering, I did three days of UPS driver training with a supervisor last week, and then this week my first day was TUEsday - and they sent me out, alone, with 162 stops.  Most seasoned guys go out with that many this time of year.  Not a good day.  But the rest of the week the stops came down, and I got better with the names and numbers.  However, there was an 'incident' about 4 stops from the end of today's run; a woman mowing her grass next to the stop sign I was at chipped up a rock, and it shattered the glass of the open door on the right side of the truck - four inches to the right and it could have beaned me; had to drive back to the center with a thousand shards of safety glass falling to the floor.