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"
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 "
41A. Goldbricks : GOOF OFFS - I tried GOOSE (E)GGS, but it had only one "E"; definition
35. Seemed to own the runway, say : SASHAYED
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
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
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