Theme: Saturday Silkie~!
Words: 72 (missing J,Q)
Blocks: 30
Today's challenge from Mr. Silk took some intuitive thinking, as quite a
few clues gave me fits. With the chunky triple 7-letter corners, I find
this type of grid to be the most difficult, especially when you can't
get a foothold. In my case, I struggled a bit in the SW, and bad
WAGs made some other spots slow to solve - and I had one wrong letter. One grid-spanner, and let's hope that it's a thing of the past for the next 12 months~!
35. Winter forecast : FREEZING DRIZZLE - I got the DRIZZLE part from MAZDA, so I tried "--- AND DRIZZLE", but that didn't help
Aw, Dr. NO~!
ACROSS:
1. Instrument played with mallets : MARIMBA - BAM~! Nailed it, not that I'm saying much - but hey, XYLOPHONE wouldn't fit
8. Pitcher's coup : PICK-OFF - I
don't watch baseball, but this is one of those nifty little plays that
make the game interesting - along with the "hidden ball" trick
15. Mine carriers : ORE CARS - Funny, ORE CARTS didn't fit, so I skipped it the first time around - and I was 114% correct
16. Orwell superstate : OCEANIA
17. 1980s Hollywood sex symbol : BO DEREK - I was trying to think of a popular male, and when the "K" appeared, I was stumped - oh, her - still looking good
18. Hang : SUSPEND
19. Meas. seen on a tee : YDs - Argh~! My first thought was golf, but then I thought "nope, he's going with T-shirt here", and tried "XXL"
20. Beguile : TEMPT - not TEASE, not GET AT
22. Warthog features : TUSKS - made the "Top 10 List" for ugliest animal~!
23. Screened conversation? : VIDEO CHAT - I was thinking this could be "CONFESSION", but it's one letter too many
25. 28-Across natives, e.g. : ASIANS - circular clues -->
28. The Mekong flows along its border : LAOS
29. Fighter acronym : MiG - Mikoyan-Gurevich, the Russian military aircraft company
25. 28-Across natives, e.g. : ASIANS - circular clues -->
28. The Mekong flows along its border : LAOS
29. Fighter acronym : MiG - Mikoyan-Gurevich, the Russian military aircraft company
32. Going downhill : WORSE
33. "The __ Affair": Jasper Fforde novel : EYRE - never heard of it; Saturday cluing
34. Lighten : EASE - a burden, for example
38. Servers at affairs : URNS
39. Ballpark figs. : MGRs - Ah, the guy in the dugout, not ESTs
40. Needles : RIDES
41. Food-curing chemical : LYE - not MSG
42. "__ Mia": 1965 hit : CARA - I tried MAMA, and that's 50% right, but I knew the date was wrong
43. Give away : DONATE
44. Funk band instrument : SAXOPHONE - I think this is funky
46. When to see die Sterne : NACHT - 'the star(s)' in German, and 'night'; there's also a band by the same name, so I guess you could see them at night, too
49. Pasta bit : SHELL
50. Card quality : WIT - Card as in ham, clown, cut-up, etc.
53. Odorless fuels : ETHANES - all the light ones are pretty much odorless; the stink from propane is actually ethyl percaptan, which is added to warn you of a leak - it was a gas explosion that leveled the two buildings in Harlem NYC this week.
55. Tennessee neighbor : ALABAMA - GEORGIA fit, too; KENTUCKY, ARKANSAS, MISSOURI, and VIRGINIA are all 8-letters long
49. Pasta bit : SHELL
50. Card quality : WIT - Card as in ham, clown, cut-up, etc.
53. Odorless fuels : ETHANES - all the light ones are pretty much odorless; the stink from propane is actually ethyl percaptan, which is added to warn you of a leak - it was a gas explosion that leveled the two buildings in Harlem NYC this week.
55. Tennessee neighbor : ALABAMA - GEORGIA fit, too; KENTUCKY, ARKANSAS, MISSOURI, and VIRGINIA are all 8-letters long
57. Zip up : ANIMATE - I was in "winter clothing" mode on this one, so this answer was slow to show
58. Extreme : RADICAL
59. Surfing annoyance : POP-UP AD - tell me about it; I hate that little 'hiccup' you get from ads on computers and mobile devices that shifts everything down one line JUST as you tap to move to the next link
60. Ship maintenance site : DRY DOCK - my Dodge Stratus and Ford Van are in 'dry dock' right now; today will be the first warm, dry day with no snow on the ground, allowing me to finally take a look and see what's wrong
DOWN:
1. Colorado State's __ Arena : MOBY
2. MLB nickname in recent news : A-ROD
3. Cabs, e.g. : REDS - DAH~! Wines, not Taxis
4. Winter coat : ICE - I've seen enough
5. Two-time 1990s A.L. batting champ Edgar : MARTINEZ - C.C. has more
6. Procreates : BREEDS - Ah, not the Biblical BEGETS
7. Help desk sign : ASK ME
8. Deltiologist's collection : POSTCARDS - learning moment
9. Post-op area : ICU
10. Basque baskets : CESTAS
11. Shot : KAPUT
12. People : ONES - As in "the ones waiting for spring to arrive"
13. Rat : FINK
14. They come and go : FADS
21. Storyteller? : POLYGRAPH - TATTLE-TALE didn't fit
23. Arrangements may be made in them : VASES
24. Weed killer : HOER - my one missed letter; I had HOAR - hey, that could kill weeds, too - it kills the grass....
25. Horrific : AWFUL - not SCARY
26. Classic board game : SORRY!
27. Daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands : IRENE - Saturday cluing for a popular crossword name; this one goes back a bit, as Queen Juliana passed at 94 ten years ago
29. Tribute maker : MAZDA
30. Key : ISLET - ah, not iNSet
31. Inane ones : GEESE - "You silly gooses~!"
33. Absorbed : ENGROSSED - I did NOT try "---- UP" to start, as in "SOAKED"
34. Salon, for one : EZINE
36. Big name in movies? : IMAX - yep, that's a big screen
37. Nickname in 20th-century British leadership : IRON LADY - Margaret Thatcher - that's the second "Iron" to come out of Britain - I prefer Iron Maiden....
42. Short time out? : CAT-NAP
43. Word on a Canadian loonie : DOLLAR - no animals were tattooed in the making of this crossword
44. San Diego attraction : SHAMU - not ZOOOO....
45. Picked up : HEARD
46. Tide table term : NEAP
47. Words before time or point : AT NO
48. Wood __ : CHIP - ah, not SHED
50. City on the Brazos : WACO
51. Apple product : iMAC - It's going to be "i" something....
52. Converse : TALK
54. Touchdown info : ETA - airplanes, not football
56. Nod, at times : BID
58. Extreme : RADICAL
59. Surfing annoyance : POP-UP AD - tell me about it; I hate that little 'hiccup' you get from ads on computers and mobile devices that shifts everything down one line JUST as you tap to move to the next link
60. Ship maintenance site : DRY DOCK - my Dodge Stratus and Ford Van are in 'dry dock' right now; today will be the first warm, dry day with no snow on the ground, allowing me to finally take a look and see what's wrong
DOWN:
1. Colorado State's __ Arena : MOBY
2. MLB nickname in recent news : A-ROD
3. Cabs, e.g. : REDS - DAH~! Wines, not Taxis
4. Winter coat : ICE - I've seen enough
5. Two-time 1990s A.L. batting champ Edgar : MARTINEZ - C.C. has more
6. Procreates : BREEDS - Ah, not the Biblical BEGETS
7. Help desk sign : ASK ME
8. Deltiologist's collection : POSTCARDS - learning moment
9. Post-op area : ICU
10. Basque baskets : CESTAS
11. Shot : KAPUT
12. People : ONES - As in "the ones waiting for spring to arrive"
13. Rat : FINK
14. They come and go : FADS
21. Storyteller? : POLYGRAPH - TATTLE-TALE didn't fit
23. Arrangements may be made in them : VASES
24. Weed killer : HOER - my one missed letter; I had HOAR - hey, that could kill weeds, too - it kills the grass....
25. Horrific : AWFUL - not SCARY
26. Classic board game : SORRY!
29. Tribute maker : MAZDA
30. Key : ISLET - ah, not iNSet
31. Inane ones : GEESE - "You silly gooses~!"
33. Absorbed : ENGROSSED - I did NOT try "---- UP" to start, as in "SOAKED"
34. Salon, for one : EZINE
36. Big name in movies? : IMAX - yep, that's a big screen
37. Nickname in 20th-century British leadership : IRON LADY - Margaret Thatcher - that's the second "Iron" to come out of Britain - I prefer Iron Maiden....
42. Short time out? : CAT-NAP
43. Word on a Canadian loonie : DOLLAR - no animals were tattooed in the making of this crossword
44. San Diego attraction : SHAMU - not ZOOOO....
45. Picked up : HEARD
46. Tide table term : NEAP
47. Words before time or point : AT NO
48. Wood __ : CHIP - ah, not SHED
50. City on the Brazos : WACO
51. Apple product : iMAC - It's going to be "i" something....
52. Converse : TALK
54. Touchdown info : ETA - airplanes, not football
56. Nod, at times : BID
Splynter
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