Saturday, May 31st, 2014, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 70 (missing Q,Y)

Blocks: 26

  Ahh, such a joy to see a puzzle from Mr. Silk~!  I did not get off to a blinding start, and there were a few geographical proper names that slowed me down, but a few perps and WAGs, and it was done, and in pretty good time.  Low block count, and triple 10-letter pinwheel pattern, with nothing longer than 8 letters on the inside.  Some of the longer fill today;

1a. California/Arizona border reservoir : LAKE HAVASU - So we start with West Coast geography; I had to wait.  I was pretty sure it was "LAKE" something, or something "LAKE"

14d. Type of headlight : SEALED BEAM - pretty dated, now

28d. Winter soil phenomena : ICE NEEDLES

57. Number that's physically impossible to write out in standard form : GOOGOLPLEX- that's 10 to the 10 to the 100 - more here

Onward to the Stanley Cup~!!!
 

ACROSS:

11. Has yet to settle : OWES

15. "Let a new chapter begin" : I'VE MOVED ON

16. Salinger's "__ Stories" : NINE

17. Yellow sticky, often : NOTE TO SELF - I tore off the skin from the back of my fingernail on a cardboard box yesterday, and said out loud "note to self; don't do that again"

18. With 3-Down, Wingey Wallace's comic strip girlfriend : ETTA - coupled with 3d. See 18-Across : KETT

19. __'acte : ENTR - Crossword staple

20. Pkg. measures : WTs - I can't wait for UPS to go back to being a "parcel" company; this time of year in my center, it's all patio furniture, grills, mowers, A/C units, dehumidifyers, hammocks, trampolines, etc.

21. Wife of Jacob : RACHEL - educated WAG on my part, and I was pleased to see it was correct

23. Ominous time : IDES

25. Smiley creator : LE CARRÉ - spy novel character; more here

26. Treated with malice : SPITED

29. 57501 preceder, on envelopes : PIERRE, SD - Great fill; I knew we were looking for a geographical location;  I know that NY zips are 1----, CT is 06---, Jacksonville FL is 32---, and Cincinnati, OH is 45---; I'm looking to move to 98207.  Map here

30. Place : LOCUS

31. __ ball : MATZO

32. A little freedom? : LIBeration

33. Lea grazers : EWES

34. Star of the 1931 film "M" : LORRE - got with perps

35. Film : CINE

36. Yet, poetically : E'EN

37. Toon lead singer in a leopard-print leotard : JOSIE - ah, Josie and the Pussycats - nothing subliminal here....I did not know they made a movie, too - IMDb

38. Outlook : VISTA

39. Building and grounds : PREMISES - COMPOUND worked, too - but are we talking drug dealer estate?

41. Comprehend : FATHOM - Nice

42. Post-reaping sights : SHEAVES

43. Japanese sandal : ZŌRI - I was trying to find a pic of James BOnd in Japanese garb from "You Only Live Twice" that included these sandals

44. Bunches : OODLES

45. Thrice, in Rx's : TER - I tried T.I.D., which was almost there; the Latin is "ter in die"

46. Egyptian Christian : COPT - another crossword staple, but I had to wait on perps for a reminder

50. Nonexistent : NULL

51. Blew up : BOILED OVER

54. "Gotcha" : "I SEE"

55. Liven up : INVIGORATE

56. Experiment : TEST

DOWN:
  
1. __ drive : LINE - baseball for C.C. - Of course, I am keyed up for the NY Rangers hockey team, who are on their way to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in 20yrs - and that last time, they brought it home~!

2. "The company for women" company : AVON

4. Honored retiree : EMERITUS - nailed it

5. Selling fast : HOT

6. Swore : AVOWED

7. Sleeveless garments : VESTS

8. Summer quaffs : ADES

9. Nuevo __: Peruvian currency : SOL - the only letter I got wrong was the "S"; I went with "N" to start

10. Remove restrictions from : UNFREEZE

11. Like many a garage : ONE-CAR

12. Enthusiastically : WITH RELISH

13. Signs, as an agreement : ENTERS INTO

22. Start to bat? : ACRO - ACRObat

24. __ Arc, Arkansas : DES - another geographical

25. Petrol purchase : LITRE - I watch my BBC Top Gear, so I know that gasoline is "petrol" across the pond, and bought by the litre - in fact, there was a Fiskers Karma in the Riverhead Home Depot parking lot yesterday, and I knew it right away

26. Weighs options : SLEEPS ON IT

27. Dominant team : POWERHOUSE - The Chicago Blackhawks tied their NHL series with the LA Kings last night, so we still have one last game to decide who we are playing next Wednesday

29. Trojan War figure : PARIS

31. Law recipient : MOSES - Ah, THOSE  Laws

34. Takes a bath : LOSES BIG

35. It merged with Travelers in 1998 : CITICORP - I remember the name because of this NYC skycraper, and here's a little story on why it was built on stilts

37. Tease, in slang : JIVE

38. Irreg. spelling : VARiation

40. Xylophonist's tool : MALLET

41. Antecede : FOREGO

43. 1983 Woody Allen title role : ZELIG

45. TV watcher's convenience : TIVO

47. Like zero : OVAL

48. Best of the Beatles : PETE - Pete Best was the original drummer

49. Big natural history museum attraction : T-REX

52. Bride in 1969 news : ONO - More Bealtes

53. N.Z. currency : DOLLar

Splynter

Saturday, May 24th, 2014, Alan Olschwang

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing F,G,J,K,X)

Blocks: 28

    I was pretty sure this one was not only going to beat me up and take my lunch money, but it was planning on giving me a wedgie and stuffing me in my locker, too.  The whole grid remained blank after a full across and downs pass, save for one or two, and after the second run, it didn't get much better.  My break through was at 26a, because I "knew" who it referred to, but couldn't recall the name.  After that, it was only the PNW ( for shame, I like that part of the world ) that refused to budge until I changed one letter in 25a.   Triple 9-letter corners, one grid spanner; 

 39a. '60s pro-war words : LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT

32a. Ram : CRASH INTO - I like getting 9-letter fill from only two crossings; this one I got from just the "C" and the "H"

42a. Northwestern legend : SASQUATCH - Nailed it~!  Big Foot - can you spot him in the blog today?

Ah-ah-ah-aaaaaahnward~!

ACROSS:

1. Chewed the fat : SCHMOOZED - ooh, such a great word~!  Although around here, it's not so much chewing the fat as stroking someone's ego with words

10. Aristophanes satire, with "The" : WASPS

15. Obligatory joke response : WHO'S THERE - Knock knock

16. Buddhist who has attained Nirvana : ARHAT - one of two 5-letter "A-r" words I did not know

17. Pellet shooter : AIR PISTOL

18. Informal qualifier : SORTA - It's kinda slangy

19. ER needs : IVs

20. Bowls, e.g. : STADIA - Ah, those kinds of bowls; I was thinking 'games', but not arenas

22. Boglike : MIRY - the "meh" fill for the day

23. Start to do well? : NE'ER - Ne'er do well

25. Suffix with malt : OSE - DAH~! Went with "E"SE first

26. One of a fictional trio : ARAMIS - Here's my cheat point; Knew we might be talking about the Three Musketeers, but I can never recall these names

28. Road Runner, e.g.: Abbr. : ISP - Internet Service Provider

30. Beantown tower, with "the" : PRU - not from 'BAHston', but this sounded familar - The Prudential Center - they have a place called the "5-Napkin Burger"~?  Sounds like something I need to try

31. Fight sound : POW - Batman taught me all I need to know

37. "La Strada" co-producer : PONTI - All perps

41. Idaho's Coeur d'__ River : ALENE - Got this based on last week's puzzle

43. Divinity sch. : SEMinary - I tried ORU to start

44. Follow : SEE - Stared at this way too long;

 'Do you follow what I'm saying?"  "Do you SEE what I'm saying?"

46. Final: Abbr. : ULTimate

47. Common sense : SMARTS - I'm writing a satirical book about Common Sense, and how it's not that common anymore

49. Pujols' team, on scoreboards : LAA - L.A. Angels - C.C. has more on this guy

51. Holliday companion : EARP - Ah-HA~! DOC Holliday, that is....I missed the second "L" in there.  A friend at UPS just got me interested in this group - Love this song~! (yes, spelled wrong)

55. Seconds : MORE - "Please, sir, may I have some seconds?"

56. Silicon mineral : QUARTZ - I figured why not, it fit, and it stayed

59. Long, on Lanai : LOA - Hawaiian

60. Hillside entrances : ADITS - BANG~!  I threw this in, and it was right; learned from doing crosswords, though during the week it's usually "Mine entrances"

62. Convinced of : SURE ABOUT

64. Sad : TEARY

65. Bronson film with four sequels : DEATH WISH - Never saw any of them - IMDb

66. Spanish heater? : EL SOL - Total WAG that totally stayed - didn't realize it til I started on the write-up

67. Illegal heaters? : ARSONISTS - Ah. Clever.

DOWN:

1. Beau : SWAIN - straight up definitions....uh, pun intended~?

2. Leek relative : CHIVE - Anyone go with ONION to start?

3. Game sometimes played near a garage : HORSE - I've played this before, but basketball is just not my thing; the first person to spell HORSE loses

4. Twin Cities airport, on luggage tags : MSP - Gah~! C.C. will be so disappointed - I knew where we were talking about, but I didn't know the three-letter airport & Amtrak code for Minneapolis/St. Paul

5. Milo's pug pal, in a 1989 film : OTIS

6. "Enough already!" : "OH, STOP IT" - Yesterday I rolled a BBQ off a pallet at the Home Depot and the asst. store manager said "don't break it before you build it~!";  I responded "Oh, stop it~!", which was pretty bold - I wouldn't have said that a month ago

7. Frat letters : ZETAs

8. Diminish, in a way : ERODE - I tried ABATE

9. Sub base? : DELI - Good one

10. Common word in history texts : WAS - I tried ERA; this was my last fill, crossing Buddhist and Aristophanes - and an educated WAG

11. Food court lure : AROMA

12. Gulf Coast trawler's gear : SHRIMP NET - Pretty sure we were looking for a "net"

13. Like some anthems : PATRIOTIC

14. Doesn't give up on : STAYS WITH

21. Lake Thun feeder : AAR

24. Taken off : RISEN - ah, like airplanes

27. "You can call me he. You can call me she" speaker : RU PAUL - More here

29. Least extroverted : SHIEST

30. Campaign pros : POLS - Polititians

32. Yearbook signer : CLASSMATE - another 9-letter fill I got from just the two "A"s

33. Great teacher, often : ROLE MODEL

34. Some prayers : AVE MARIAS

35. Barely beat, with "out" : NOSE

36. Lilted sound : TRA - Um, OK

38. Like aspen leaves : OVATE

40. Be virtually the same as : EQUATE TO

45. Office suite door abbr. : ESQuire

48. Derivative of the past : RETRO

49. '80s "PM Magazine" host : LAUER - Matt

50. "Behind the __ I'll convey myself": Polonius : ARRAS - Learning moment; The other "A-r" - I did not know this was a 'tapestry'

52. Schwarzenegger's middle name : ALOIS - I liked him best in "Predator"

"If it bleeds, we can kill it."

53. Get up : ROUST - Tried ARISE, AROSE, etc

54. They may be winding : PATHS - sounds romantic

57. Approval letters : USDA - USDA approved for your consumption

58. 1984 Hugo Award winner Timothy : ZAHN

61. One has one: Abbr. : SYLlable

63. The Bahamas were once part of it: Abbr. : BWI - British West Indies

Splynter

Saturday, May 17th, 2014, Mark Bickham

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing J,Q,V)

Blocks: 28

  Today's puzzle from Mark had lots of clues that were right up my alley, and I thought I was going to cruise to a quick end - but then the SE corner just wouldn't fill in - and I had to switch to red-letter to see what mistakes I made.  When I did, I was disappointed with myself for not giving it more time....oh well.  Triple-9 pinwheel design with a couple of 10's on the inside, and one grid climber;

8. Inducing a nod, perhaps : DULL AS DISHWATER

and some of the other long fill;

29. Heavy metal band with the album "The Final Frontier" : IRON MAIDEN - One of the first (and best) bands I ever got into; even more interesting is that my favorite guitar player in the band, Adrian Smith, did a solo project, "Adrian Smith & Project", which featured:

38. __ Starkey, longtime drummer for The Who : ZAK - Ringo Starr's son, who appeared on the A.S.a.P. album "Silver & Gold"

38. BOLO clarification, perhaps : Z AS IN ZEBRA - Great fill; two non-connected "Z"s; Police term for "Be On the Look-Out"

Ugh, guess I have to move onward :>( ....

ACROSS:

1. Outlaw : DESPERADO

10. City on the Shatt al-Arab river : BASRA - Educated WAG with a couple of letters in place

15. Lady of the Lake's gift : EXCALIBUR - NAILED it - love this Monty Python scene (@ 1:05)

16. Web-footed animal : OTTER - Tried GOOSE first

17. Term popularized by physicist John Wheeler : BLACK HOLE

18. Spring sound : BOING - A WAG that stayed

19. Fully prepared : RIPE

20. Alice's chronicler : ARLO - The Alice of the 'restaurant', not 'Through the Looking Glass' - Arlo Guthrie

21. Italian nobleman : CONTE

22. Presidential nickname : ABE - Went with "IKE" first

23. Member of a bygone empire : INCA

24. 23-Down competitor : KAL-KAN - X-ref with; 23d. "Home 4 the Holidays" adoption sponsor : IAMS - Dog foods

25. Scottish John : IAN - John, Sean, Ian, Jan, Yanni

26. Sketch : SKIT - anyone else throw in "DRAW"?  Too easy for Saturday

28. Club alternative : BLT - The club sandwich, that is

33. Convergence points : FOCI

34. Some iPods : NANOs - I have a 30GB that I use every morning at UPS

35. It fell in 2001 : MIR - Russian space station

36. Heifetz contemporary : ELMAN - Violinists; more here

37. Old school : ETON - ah, an actual school, not a decription of how one "does things"

40. A, in Austria : EIN

41. Mass producer : BACH - Nice misdirection; mass as in church, not a production company

42. 16-symbol system, for short : HEX - Had no idea; 0-9 + a-f; the Wiki

43. Gets a C, say : DOES OK

45. TV musical host in four decades : WELK - Lawrence~!

47. Like a slim chance, oddly : FAT - Yes, how ironic

50. Egyptian signs of life : ANKHs

51. Latvian, for one : BALT - a bit meh for me

52. Unite by treaty : ALLY

53. Family nicknames : NANAs - I WAG-ed MAMAS, and was 60% right

54. Old Bethlehem sight : STEEL MILL - Ah, Bethlehem PA, that is

56. Coeur d'__ : ALENE - Idaho

57. Where the wild things are : MENAGERIE

58. Forbidden looks : PEEKS - Tried LEERS

59. Gestation period : TRIMESTER

DOWN:

1. "Everybody Loves Raymond" wife : DEBRA - Ray's wife

2. Book inscription abbr. : EX LIB - Latin, Ex Libris - "From the books of..."

3. Dream follower : SCAPE - Not "ALARM"....I am pretty good at recalling my dreams

4. Duel unit : PACE

5. Order member : ELK

6. "Take a Bow" R&B singer : RIHANNA

7. Test options, at times : A, B, OR C - Another great fill

9. Breyers __ Cookies & Cream : OREO

10. Beginning Cub Scout : BOBCAT - Everything you need to know, here;   I was not a Boy Scout, Cub Scout or Bobcat

11. "Tragedy is __ for the living to gain wisdom": RFK : A TOOL

12. Smelly prank : STINK BOMB

13. Airport pickup : RENTAL CAR

14. San Martín was its liberator : ARGENTINA - half perps, half WAG

24. People : KIN

25. Advised of : IN ON

27. Skin lotion brand : KERI - I once dated a Kerry, and I was mocking her with this brand's slogan, which went "Keri, is so very..." and ironically, she threw the next phrase at me, which is "Rich, in emollients" - and Rich is MY name

29. New parent's complaint : I NEED A NAP

30. Thinking : RATIONALE

31. Making a proposal, perhaps : ON ONE KNEE - not any time soon

32. Non-PC purchase : iMAC - I am PC

33. Show off, in a way : FLEX

36. O.T. book before Daniel : EZEKiel


39. Blues or Blue Jackets : NHL TEAM - All me~!  I was hoping the Blue Jackets of Columbus OH would defeat the Penguins, but it didn't matter - my Rangers took care of a second PA team in 7 games.  Montreal next.  LET'S GO RANGERS~!!!

41. Big shots : BOSSES

44. Beef cut : SHANK

46. 1985 Malkovich movie : ELENI - never saw it; IMDb

47. Trifle (with), as an idea : FLIRT - I flirted with an idea for three weeks, and it turned out to be a mistake

48. '80s sitcom title woman : ALLIE - I put in "MAUDE", which ended in '78....oops.  "Kate and Allie", never watched the show

49. Seat of Texas' Smith County : TYLER

51. Realty ad abbr. : BSMT - I require a 'basement' as I carry on my search for my own house - need a place to play the drums

52. City near Des Moines : AMES - Name two cities in Iowa....

55. T size : LGE - T-shirt

Splynter

Saturday, May 10th, 2014, Mitch Komro

Theme: None

Words: 64 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 25

 YES~!!!  This one looked daunting, to say the least, but I did manage to solve it - though I have to admit to two red-letter checks. :>(  I did some research, and it looks like Mitch is new to the LAT scene - he has had 6 NYT puzzles, the last one dating back to 2004.  His grid today has a truly symmetrical pinwheel design which boasts the lowest block count I can recall, and I think the fewest words, too.  This led to monster 8 X 6 chunks in the corners, plus 4 crossing 11-letter words on the inside;

24a. Opportunity seeker's words : GIVE ME A SHOT - that's all I'm asking....

42a. Began chastising : STARTED IN ON

22d. Gulf War code name : DESERT STORM

9d. Visibly awestruck : OPEN-MOUTHED - if certain events played out smoothly last night, I invited someone to stop here at the blog and take a peek at what I do; I am 'visibly awestruck' when I see her....

ONWAAARD~!!!
 

ACROSS:

 1. Name : ACCUSE - Dah~!! Went with HANDLE first - I did know the "E" was correct

7. On-again, off-again : SPORADIC

15. Allure maker : CHANEL - ah, I was thinking cars; so, Toyota does not make the Allure....my friend Adam owns a restaurant out here on L.I. called "A lure", which is a pretty clever name for its location on the Sound and the Bay

16. First of August? : CAPITAL A - It's the first letter of a name, too....I knew that the last letter of the answer would be an "A" from the question mark, but I wondered if there was another word to describe double vowels because "diphthong" wouldn't fit

17. Soup choice : TOMATO - Dah~! I had the "O", but stared at this one way too long

18. Metal seeker : ORE MINER - DETECTOR fit, too

19. 1936 Olympics standout : OWENS - had to wait on a few perps to recall this name
                                                                                                         ..
20. Band with an umlaut on the "n" in its name : SPINAL TAP - Oh, I am all over this clue - so many umlauts to choose from....

21. Aggressively promote : FLOG

22. It's all in your head : DREAM - technically speaking, so is your BRAIN

23. "Jabberwocky" creature : TOVE - complete W.A.G. - the Wiki on the poem

27. Lifesaver, at times : NET

28. Not quite as many : ONE LESS - How ironic that I had "CALAMITY" at 1d, and so I tried TWO LESS at first, and thought "there's no way that got in the puzzle"

29. "You betcha!" : "SURE~!"

31. Sneer at : DERIDE

32. Conducted a trial : TESTED

36. Like some U.S. mail : CERTified - the only thing certified at UPS is the insanity

38. With a quiver : SHAKILY - because 'crossbow' didn't fit (Har-har~!)

39. Taft became its president after his term as U.S. president : ABA

44. __ salad : COBB

46. Scandinavian bard of yore : SKALD - the straight up word for "poet" in the language

47. __ Harker, heroine in Stoker's "Dracula" : MINA - I just saw this for the first time about a month ago - not that great, seemed to drag on a bit, but - Gary Oldman is one of my favorite actors; Commissioner Gordon, Sirius Black, and "Zorg"; what movie is this last character from?

48. Heading for : EN ROUTE TO

50. Big Ben sounds : BONGS

51. It's unpleasant to end on one : SOUR NOTE - This clip contains one of the best sour notes I can recall - and it set the tone for the movie

52. Word often seen after rinse : REPEAT- and preceded by "Lather" on your shampoo bottle

53. Not 100 per cent : IMPAIRED

54. She beat Midori for the 1992 Olympic gold medal : KRISTI - Yamaguchi

55. Without holding back : TO THE MAX

56. "Wait a minute" : "ONE SEC"

DOWN:

1. Unforeseeable event : ACT OF GOD - the one NOT covered by your insurance

2. Order at a mess : CHOW LINE

3. Dropped by : CAME OVER

4. Devilish : UNANGELIC - I had the "U", "A" and "L", so this was a complete W.A.G. - it's only when I came to do the write-up that I said "Hey, that was right?!?"

5. Gig arrangements : SETS - Musical gigs, and what the band plays in between drinking binges

6. "Don't Bring Me Down" gp. : ELO

7. Checks (out) : SCOPES

8. Outcasts : PARIAHS

10. Device for un poeta : RIMA - I'm guessing this is Spanish for poetry and rhyme

11. Leaning : ATILT

12. Robespierre foe : DANTON - Notables from the Frawnche Revolution

13. Start of a bequest : I LEAVE - "to my son, I LEAVE the Porsche 918..."

14. Shag, e.g. : CARPET - Yeah, baby, Yeah~!

20. Mmes., in Mexico : SRAs

25. Ancient Iranians : MEDEs

26. __ water : TREAD

30. Treat once known as an I-Scream Bar : ESKIMO PIE - Nailed it

33. Lilliputian quality : TININESS

34. String out : ELONGATE - a bit 'meh' for me; I wouldn't say addicts get "elongated"....

35. Like the New York Yankees, historically : DYNASTIC - Screw the Yankees - and I'm from NY

37. Break, in Bath : TAKE TEA - Bath, the city in England

38. WWII battle site : St.LO - more Frawnche

39. Nails the exam : ACES IT

40. Turkish Taffy maker : BONOMO - the "B" was my last fill, and it was a W.A.G.

41. Short : ABRUPT

43. Like "Midnight Cowboy," originally : RATED X - I remembered this, and went with "X-RATED" first, but the letter combinations weren't working

45. __ Peak, highest mountain in Idaho : BORAH

49. Combined, in Chartres : UNIE -  more Frawnche

50. Swiss capital : BERN

52. "The Body Snatcher" studio : RKO - Here's the Wiki on this one; not to be confused with "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", which terrorized me as a child....I didn't sleep comfortably for a year - that's when they come and GET you~!

Splynter

Saturday, May 3rd, 2014, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,X)

Blocks: 33

    A great puzzle from our Saturday Stalwart, Sr. Silk - we had to wait a bit since his last (Apr 5th; almost a month~!)  I liked this puzzle because I cheated, W.A.G.ed and actually knew some things, too - and that means I learned something.  Nifty little pinwheel design with double-word-only stacks in a spiral pattern, plus a couple more 9- and 10-letter words on the inside as well.  The "it looks easy" 4-4-5 across the top was deceiving, to say the least; some of the longer fill:

18a. Bonobo, e.g. : CHIMPANZEE - Also a musician

28d. Australian red formerly called Hermitage : SHIRAZ WINE - a guide for those who can partake of the alcoholic grape

47a. It needs to be refined : CRUDE METAL - Because CRUDE OIL was not enough - how about some crude metal hair band music?

3d. Out of order : ON THE BLINK - When I was growing up, it was usually the TV that suffered this malady

Alexandra

ACROSS:

1. Trudge : PLOD - Um, OK, so, TREK, WALK, STEP....

5. Sonoma County seat Santa __ : ROSA - A WAG off the "O"

9. Square : PLAZA - anyone else in "dweeb" mode here?  Oh, that kind of square

14. Late great? : LENO - Ah, the V-8 can - DUCK~!

15. Sci. subject : ASTRonomy - For some reason, I was pre-qualifying this as a "high school" subject, and not Science in general

16. Eponymous golf promoter Samuel : RYDER - His famous Ryder Cup is the prize for the winning team of USA vs. Europe players

17. FYI relative : ATTN.

20. Brief disclaimer : IMHO - Seen frequently here at the Blog, "In My Humble Opinion"

21. Provider of sound testimony? : EAR-WITNESS

22. Saw things : TEETH - Nailed it - did not fool me with "seeing"

24. Priceless? : FREE - Yup

25. Crayola color since 1949 : BRICK RED

28. Diving duck : SMEW - I tried TEAL

32. Uses a management training technique : ROLE PLAYS

34. Title imaginary friend in a Neil Diamond hit : SHILO - I have spent my music links

35. Fast ship : CLIPPER - "Fast ship? You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?"

36. DVD staple : TRAILER - Annoying, actually - and I do not have Star Wars on DVD - just VHS ( for shame )

38. Silicon Valley college : MENLO - all perps

39. Tempo notation : ALLA BREVE

41. Slow : POKY

42. Liver delicacy : FOIE GRAS

43. "The Wizard of Oz" farmhand : ZEKE

44. San Diego State athlete : AZTEC - Total cheat on my part - Googled it

53. Policy pro : WONK - New word for me; messed up the whole SE

54. Transcends : RISES ABOVE

55. Prefix with Aryan : INDO

56. Free __ : AGENT

57. "The Last King of Scotland" tyrant : AMIN

58. Caution to a German shepherd, say : NEIN - Ah, not "HEEL" - that would be a German Shepherd - ah, you deceiver, Barry Silk~!

59. Longtime NFL coach Schottenheimer : MARTY - WAG/perp for me

60. Stop : REST

61. Uruguay's Punta del __ : ESTE

DOWN:

1. Braid : PLAIT

2. "I can do it" : LET ME

4. Phrase in much computer-generated mail : DO NOT REPLY

5. Speed : RACE - RUSH was my first try

6. Federal inspection org. : OSHA

7. Cook quickly : STIR FRY

8. Compete in a strength contest : ARM WRESTLE

9. Jabber : PRATE

10. "Coal Miner's Daughter" subject : LYNN - Loretta

11. Shop shaper : ADZE - LATHE was too long, so I pondered RASP and FILE

12. You might catch a few : ZEES - Had it, removed it, put it back in

13. Father of Deimos : ARES - Greek Gods

19. Patchy : PIED - when this filled, I had to duck again

23. Semiaquatic heavyweight : HIPPO

26. Largest OH airport : CLEveland - Cincinnati's airport is actually in Covington, KY

27. Place to enjoy a sharp drinker? : KARAOKE BAR - musically "sharp", but most of the time, 'atonal' is a better way to describe it

29. Noteworthy events : MILESTONES

30. Abbr. on some city limit signs : ELEVation

31. Had on : WORE

32. Ottawa-based law gp. : RCMP - One of those "ooh, I know this one~!" answers

33. Stick on a fridge door : OLEO - another bit of misdirection that did not get past me - a stick of margarine, not a magnet

34. Tel Aviv native : SABRA

37. Syncopated piece : RAG

40. 1962 hit with the lyrics "the truth could mean I'd lose you" : LIE TO ME

42. Disaster relief org. : FEMA

43. Piquant : ZESTY

45. Split up : END IT

46. Designer fragrance : ck ONE

47. Squeeze : CRAM

48. Baltic seaport : RIGA - No more maps for you~!


49. End __ : USER

50. Noticeable progress : DENT - I am making a dent in my list of things to get done around here, and it feels good, too.  The rental apartment at mom's house is vacant again, so that needs to be cleaned up, I just replaced the valve cover gasket on my car, and changed the plugs; today I tackle the thermostat.  Now the battery idiot light came on in the other car -  the list never seems to get shorter....

51. Dollar alternative : AVIS - Rental car places

52. Nearly six-week period : LENT - An educated WAG

Splynter