Saturday, Aug 30th, 2014, Martin Ashwood-Smith

Theme: "Quad Stack 16x15"

Words: 69 (missing F,J,Q,U,Z)

Blocks: 36

  I did notice that today's grid was slightly larger than our normal fare, which I have missed in the past - Mr. Ashwood-Smith had a similar Saturday grid with a Quad Stack back in Nov 2012.  Mostly blank through my first pass, just a couple of three-letter fills, but I did know 57a.  Looking back, there really was not too much in the way of vagueness, nor obscurity, IMHO.  Ten-letter corners, two 12-letter spanners, and two 10-letter climbers, one of which I nailed (*).  The Quad Stack:

30. Give an essentials-only account : SPARE THE DETAILS - I had LEAVE OUT DETAILS

39. Exercises in futility : WILD GOOSE CHASES - ugh, took too long for me to get this one, especially having "-CHASES" filled in

40. Mortgagee's calculation : INTEREST PAYMENT - Started with MONTHLY PAYMENTS

41. Group project feedback : PEER ASSESSMENTS - I'd like your assessment on my solo project - here's the finished benches

Carry ONward~!

ACROSS:

1. W. Coast force : LAPD - Police Force, Los Angeles

5. Trailer : MOBILE HOME - Dah~!  I had "MOVIE -----", and that was working for a while

15. "Superman" (1978) co-producer Salkind : ILYA

16. Guacamole maker's discard : AVOCADO PIT

17. Active : SPRY

18. Struggle for a 23-Across : SENATE RACE - circular references in Saturday puzzles are the bane of some here on the blog; 23a. Goal in an 18-Across : SEAT

19. Historic Greenwich Village club : THE BITTER END - I have 'heard' of it, but that's all; their website

21. Ivanhoe, e.g. : SAXON

22. Lao-__ : TSE

26. Volume One words, perhaps : A TO - A to Amer., e.g.

28. Blame : RAP

42. Singer's asset : EAR

43. Waste no time : HIE

44. Half-day exam given four times a yr. : LSAT

47. Welcome words : "HI's~!"

50. Mil. trial : N-TEST

54. One at the end of the line : WIDE RECEIVER - Football line

57. Band with the 1986 #1 hit "Venus" : BANANARAMA

60. Marquee time : NITE - "shorthand" for NIGHT: uses less tiles/letters and space - I had to change the marquee at a "NITE" club called Casanova's, so many years ago; see 38d.

61. Help in a stock exchange? : BROKER'S TIP

62. Old 442 rivals : GTOs

63. Fast-moving game : SPEED CHESS - not for me; I have to think about my moves

64. Lacking : SANS

DOWN:

1. Joggers of a sort : LISTS - I keep mine in the cel phone now

2. Top dog : ALPHA

3. Brand introduced by Corning in 1915 : PYREX

4. Certain prep schooler : DAY BOARDER

5. Caravel feature : MAST - Our constructor had a ship clue/answer in the Nov '12 puzzle, too

6. British miler Steve : OVETT

7. Crams, with "up" : BONES - put it in, took it out

8. Comforting comment : "I CARE"

9. Up-to-the-minute : LATE

10. Wonderlands : EDENS

11. Multitude : HORDE

12. WWII cost-stabilizing agcy. : OPA - Office of Price Administraion - the Wiki

13. Jack letters : MIC - DAH~! I shoulda known this kind of jack - music; usually a different ohm rating than say, "guitar".  I went with LBS, as in spare tire car jack

14. Time for les vacances : ETE - Frawnche - haven't seen much in a long, long time

20. Former Acura model : INTEGRA

24. Gotten up : ARISEN

25. Local __ : TALENT

27. Chiwere speakers : OTOEs

29. Attention getters : PSSTs

30. Take the wrong way? : SWIPE - dah~! Went with STEAL

31. __ gland: organ that secretes melatonin : PINEAL

32. Lets out, say : ALTERS - I bought me a suit this week - my first tailored get up, and it felt good - I've lost 30lbs this summer

33. Old West transport, in dialect : HOSS - Oater-speak for "horse" - I linked genuine frontier gibberish two weeks ago

34. Historic Padua neighbor : ESTE

35. Passbook amts. : DEPs - Deposits; don't hear much about passbooks anymore; I do all my banking with direct deposit, online transactions and mobile app functions

36. Net funds : eCASH - Dah~! Went with "GROSS"

37. DNA compound : THYMINE

38*. Sessions involving steps : A.A. MEETINGS - I did a second "Fourth Step" with a new sponsor this summer; still have NOT followed up on his suggestion....terrifying

45. Up : AWAKE

46. Like a rake : TINED

47. Pulitzer journalist Seymour : HERSH

48. Hot : IRATE

49. They occur before finals : SEMIs

51. "You Must Love Me" musical : EVITA

52. Place atop : SET ON

53. Bobby pin target : TRESS

55. Jeanne __ : D'ARC

56. Means of emphasis : CAPS - I REALLY DON'T LIKE READING TEXTS LIKE THIS

57. Hardly big shots? : BBs - Cute

58. Klee contemporary : ARP

59. __ Valley: San Francisco area : NOE - map

I have one more surprise for my buddy Adam; his logo as a plaque to go opposite the benches on the bar wall of his restaurant;

Splynter

Saturday, Aug 23rd, 2014, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 72 (missing J,Q,V,W)

Blocks: 32

   Well, I have to say I just smoked through this Silkie~!  The cluing was relatively unobscure, and there weren't too many cryptic answers, either.  It could be argued that I was on Mr. Silk's wavelength today....Triple 10-letter corners, with two 12-letter climbers on the inside today;

10. Significant butter component : SATURATED FAT - fairly certain it was going to end with "FAT"

20. 2005 National Toy Hall of Fame inductee : CARDBOARD BOX - it's a prize for some kids, and cats....link away~!

on-(Back?)-ward ~

ACROSS:

1. Pitcher's goal : SALE - Good start for me; I did not go with the baseball version

5. Natural wisdom : HORSE SENSE - Too bad there's little COMMON sense around these days

15. Pearl Buck heroine : OLAN - Forced readng in Junior High, and a crossword staple

16. Agents : EMISSARIES

17. Key not used alone : CTRL - on your computer

18. Great Pyramid of Giza material : LIMESTONES - eh, I wanted LIMESTONE, and it was too short - and this is not LIME STONES - those would be called 'seeds'

19. Tapped item : KEG - ah, not ALE

20. Gary, e.g. : CITY - In Indiana, e.g.

21. "I'm here to help" : "USE ME"

22. Like gross wages, e.g. : PRE-TAX

24. Plot component : ACRE - Oh, very good - I was thinking story plot, and the "R" filled via perps

26. Racing family name : UNSER

27. Ottoman officer : PASHA

29. Tripe : ROT - my first thought, but I did not fill it in

32. Measured roughly : PACED - HA~!  I "PACED" off the area for the benches, and came up with 39 feet; fortunately, I have a survey tape ( bought at a garage sale for $1 ), and I used that to verify - only 36' 6" of space.  The finished unit comes in at 36' 5" - HA~!

33. Surprise of a sort : UPSET - in sporting events usually

34. First name in Notre Dame football history : ARA

35. Collaborative educ. group : PTA - Saturday cluing

36. Initiate by purifying : BAPTIZE - Nailed it

38. Ringo Starr's drummer son : ZAK - I have linked him before - plays for A.S.a.P. - the side project of Adrian Smith, the guitarist from Iron Maiden

39. Fish with no pelvic fin : EEL - I went with "GAR"

40. Final notices : OBITs - Obituaries; I guess this is so common now that 'abbr.' is not needed

41. Buzz : DRONE

43. "Four Quartets" poet's monogram : TSE - T.S. Eliot

44. Appropriate : ALLOT - the verb, not the adjective

45. Seat of Cass County, North Dakota : FARGO

46. Mil. field rations : MREs - Meals, Ready-to-Eat

47. Slight arch : CAMBER - the only CAMBER I know is the automotive tire alignment version

 48. Use as an excuse : PLEAD

51. Coll. senior's exam : GMAT

53. Old Ford : LTD

54. Wedding figure : RING BEARER - there was a bridal shower at the restaurant Thursday night - skirts, legs and heels overload for me - sweated more watching them parade in than I did building the benches

57. Diet : FARE

58. Reasonably soon : IN GOOD TIME - Great fill

59. River to the Baltic : ODER - perps and a crossword regular

60. Certain copier supply : XEROX TONER - the second "X" was there from "...BOX", and once I put "PRIX" in, this was a gimme

61. Queen's subjects : BEES - not the one in England - er, well, there could be a queen bee there, too....

DOWN:
       
1. Shari Lewis creation : SOCK PUPPET - the Wiki on "Lamb Chop"

2. Subs : ALTERNATES - Substitutes, that is

3. Epic : LARGE SCALE

4. Like mil. volunteers : ENListed

5. Spring, perhaps : HELIX

6. Skip : OMIT - WAG

7. Frosted : RIMY - Wow; an extreme WAG that stayed

8. Weather report spec. : SSE - nice "ALTERNATIVE" for 'wind direction'

9. Slalom path segment : ESS - Ah; went with "LEG"

11. Jagged : EROSE

12. The digits in all but one of its two-digit multiples add up to it : NINE - OK, I got this, but I am not sure of the "one"; 18 (1+8), 27(2+7), 36(3+6)....so are we talking about 90(9+0)? - or 09?  Even three-digits, 108 = 1+0+8 = 9, etc.

13. Appear : SEEM

14. __ quam videri: North Carolina motto : ESSE

23. Basic top : TEE

24. It's worth one point in hockey statistics : ASSIST - God, only 6 weeks to go....

25. Bistro awning word : CHEZ

27. Ones who have class? : PUPILS - Har-Har

28. Is __: likely will : APT TO

29. It may be disposable : RAZOR BLADE - Nailed it - OK, the "Z" was there already

30. Grove grower : ORANGE TREE - the thing, not the farmer

31. Wait at the diner, perhaps : TAKE ORDERS - the staff that waits, not the customer

37. Fit : ABLE

42. Butter on a farm? : RAM - Butt-er

46. 1997 Nielsen title role : MAGOO - IMDb

47. Sympathetic sort : CARER

48. Grand __ : PRIX

49. Short note : LINE

50. Software pro, in want ads : ENGR - eh, OK.  ENGineeR

51. Beam : GRIN

52. Hand raiser's cry : "ME~! ME~!"

55. Va. summer setting : EDT

56. From __ Z : A TO

57. Watch chain : FOB

Splynter

Saturday, Aug 16th, 2014, Ned White

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 28

  Mr. White's last puzzle was a Saturday also, Oct. last year - with its triple-triple grid spanners.  The relatively 'easy' triple-7 corners of today's grid made this one look less of a challenge, but there were plenty of vague clues and proper names to slow me down, plus a fair amount of multi-word answers, too.  Had to admit to one bad letter - happened in that Oct. puzzle, too - but in reviewing that crossword, I treated myself to the Van Halen link I posted~!  Just the two 11-letter spanners to round out today's longer fill;

20a. Like one claiming to be short, maybe : TIGHT-FISTED

57a. Source of wisdom : TRIBAL ELDER

Oh, so close, but On...(ugh)...ward

ACROSS:

1. Like fairies : MAGICAL - oh, uh, that kind of fairie

8. Avocation, slangily : BAG - custom carpentry is "my bag"

11. Plant activity: Abbr. : MFG - first fill, and it felt iffy

14. "Almost done" : ONE TO GO...

15. Mostly : AS A RULE

17. Experienced : VETERAN - the adjective, here

18. Attacks with gusto : DIVES IN

19. "Rescue 911" fig. : EMT

22. Persian Gulf capital : DOHA - Shout out to Doc~!

24. One in charge of many couples : NOAH - Dah~! This nearly got me for the second time in two weeks

25. White __ : NOISE - I threw in HOUSE - BzzzT~!

26. Yards, e.g. : UNITS - ah, that's the word I couldn't think of...

28. Colorado __, Colo. : SPRS - my "meh" answer for the day; SPRINGS abbr. (?!)

30. Common result of use : WEAR

31. Grinder : PESTLE - I went with HOAGIE, the sa'mich Grinder/Sub/Hero, but we're looking for the implement here

33. A little, in music : POCO

35. Some NFL blockers : RTs - Right Tackles

36. Cleese antic in a Monty Python sketch : SILLY WALK

39. Ring gp. : WBA - World Boxing Association, that kind of 'ring'

42. Per __ : DIEM

43. Dominions : REALMS

47. Flavor enhancer : HERB - Tried SALT

49. Stop : STEM

51. "Paper Moon" Oscar winner : O'NEAL

52. 19th-century presidential middle name : ABRAM - James Abram Garfield, whose term lasted the second shortest in Presidential history - Wiki

54. Hat tipper's word : MA'AM - Pondered "G'Day"

56. Kerfuffle : TO-DO

60. Identify : PEG - I had her 'pegged' as being about 21....see 63d.

61. Hogan dwellers : NAVAHOS - my one bad letter - went with "J" and not "H", plus it worked in "MAJAL", too - at least, in my head

62. Evil laugh : "MWA-HA-HA~!!!"

64. Excess : OVERAGE

65. One that didn't show? : ALSO-RAN

66. JFK speechwriter Sorensen : TED - a WAG with "D" in place; I figured it was not a self-gratuitous "NED"

67. Burn cause, perhaps : LYE - Tried "SUN"

68. Unknowns to figure out : X's AND Y's - Brilliant bottom line fill; good thing I know who Mad Max is

DOWN:

1. Advanced : MOVED UP

2. Clematis relative : ANEMONE

3. Rumor starter? : GET THIS...

4. Brooklyn closer : ITE - BrooklynITE

5. Actor Bud of "Harold and Maude" : CORT

6. "Not __!" : AGAIN

7. Solo couple? : LONG Os - Following the "Hard C"s of yesterday's puzzle, S-ō-L-ō

8. It may be over one's head at first : BAD THROW - I watched some Little League World Series at the restaurant where the bench project is going on - blow out in the first inning, 13-0

9. "Oh, sure" : AS IF - "Sha, as if"

10. MacLeod of "The Love Boat" : GAVIN

11. More like the typical attic : MUSTIER

12. Attacks : FLIES AT

13. Bases for some roles : GENDERS

16. Plant anew : RESOW

21. McDonald's offering : HAPPY MEAL

23. Court workers: Abbr. : ATTorneys

27. Dropped : SLID - like the price of gas around here since July 4th - not complaining~!

29. Traumatize : SCAR

32. Clinton and both Bushes, but not Obama : ELIs - Yale attendees

34. Stick in a dish : OLEO

37. "Hmm ..." : "LET ME SEE..."

38. "The Metaphysics of Morals" writer : KANT

39. More of the same : WHATNOT

40. Encouraging words : BE BRAVE - Had the first "B" and last "E" - total WAG on this one

41. Got in : ARRIVED

44. Impala predator : LEOPARD - the hostess at the restaurant had a leopard print dress on last Friday; the one she wore Tuesday? - ha-muna-ha-muna

45. Seized the opportunity : MADE HAY - Progessing nicely with the bench project; did not waste anything but scrap in getting the corner backrest angles correct~!

 46. Spot finishers, often : SLOGANS - Commercial Advertisement "spots"

48. "Histoire de __": French children's book : BABAR - filled via perps

50. Mel Gibson persona : MAD MAX - there's a new one in the works

53. Urdu for "palace" : MAHAL - and "Taj" means 'crown'

55. Whimpers : MEWLS

58. Hardly energetic : LOGY - Pondered LAZY, but the "Z" wouldn't work

59. Tabula __ : RASA

63. Doll : HON - and yes, the hostess is a doll - looks like Taylor Swift; I was "\ /" this close to asking her out today when I found out how old she was; don't ask....

Splynter

Saturday, Aug 2nd, 2014, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 70 (missing F,Q,V,X)

Blocks: 26

  YES~!  This week's offering from Mr. Silk was probably one of the toughest puzzles he's given us in a long time - IMHO.  The low block count, triple 11- and 10-letter corners and  inner pinwheel stacks left little wiggle room.  Not to mention the utter vagueness of the clues and the clever misdirections - oh, wait, I just did.... There were two breakthrough answers (*) that got me to the finish - but with a mere 57 seconds left on the clock of my personal time limit.  Some of the longer fill:

15a. Riverbend Festival city : CHATTANOOGA - that's odd; Boston in Tennessee?

55a. Egyptian expanse : SINAI DESERT - SAHARA was a tad too long

25. African Union Commission headquarters : ADDIS ABABA - Africa is popular today

14. Part of Larry King's legacy : SUSPENDERS

 

On(e more week) ward~!!!

ACROSS:

1. Travelocity offering : PACKAGE DEAL* - 11-letter start, and I'm thinking HOTEL---, PLANE---, etc., and it wasn't until the third or fourth pass, with a smattering of letters in place that I finally realized this was a 'general' term

12. Bit of texting tact : PLS - ah, so the "new" language is making its way into crosswordese; PLeaSe

16. Note : I.O.U. - the vagueness; no 'debt' reference

17. Private collectibles? : TOY SOLDIERS - I had the second "O" in place, and PHOTO--- was looking promising, as in Private Detective....

18. Sporty cars : GTs - dah~! Not MGs

19. Mac OS part: Abbr. : SYStem - I'm PC.  'nuf  said.

20. Ghostly sound : MOAN

21. Relax : EASE UP

23. Tabloid fodder : DIRT - not ITEM

24. "__ Place" : MELROSE - ARCHIE'S, MILLER'S....strange - Miller Place is right next to Mount Sinai here on Long Island (55a.)

25. Torrid : ABLAZE - Dah~!  The "Z" was in place, so I considered SLEAZY - the "Y" led me to PLENTY at 6d., and that just messed up the NW

28. It may be fit for a king : BED LINEN - Har-har~! king-sized bed, that is

29. Mideast monotheistic sect : DRUZE - the Wiki

30. Ramble on : PRATE

31. Taken : HAD - "I've been ___~!"

32. Monopoly needs : DICE - Ugh, really, Mr. Silk~??? The plural vagueness got me

33. "Cool!" : "NEATO~!"

34. Thoughtless procedure? : ROTE - Clever

35. Gross remark? : ICK - not UGH, not ACK ( my last correction before time expired )

36. Difficult : MESSY - like, say, d-i-v-o-r-c-e

37. More sound : HALER - not sAnER - that's 60%, D-Otto~!

38. Vietnam War attack aircraft : SKYHAWKS

40. They're history : GONERS

41. Ed O'Neill sitcom role : AL BUNDY - "Married, with Children" - could only watch so much of it

42. Bottled (up) : PENT

43. Cultural icon making her debut in 1959 : BARBIE - I only saw this upon doing the review; she looks good for 55....

44. Prefix with nautical : AERO - aeronautical

45. Poke : JAB

48. Call for passage : AYE

49. Each of the two longest ones lasted 15 innings : ALL-STAR GAME - they take it way too seriously, then

52. Emmy winner Arthur : BEA

53. Split personality? : CHEERLEADER* - ah, that kind of split

54. Vessel measured in cubits : ARK - three-letter vessel? All I could think of was URN - DAH~!! THAT kind of vessel

DOWN:

1. Election figs. : PCTs - Percentages

2. Gob stopper? : AHOY - Gob being a term for a sailor in this instance

3. Small islands : CAYS - not KEYS, AITS....

4. Board jumpers: Abbr. : KTs - Knights, on Chess boards - the only piece that can 'jump'; makes this today's uber-vagueness winner~!

5. Reduce to mist : ATOMIZE - one of my very few first pass answers

6. In abundance : GALORE

7. Proceed until : END AT

8. "Whatcha __?" : "DOIN'?"

9. Job listing letters : EOE

10. Accepted : AGREED TO

11. The Explorers of the Atlantic 10 Conf. : LaSALLE

12. Catalog : PIGEONHOLE

13. Mythological daydreamer : LOTUS EATER - more here

22. Indian honorific : SRI

23. Floor : DAZE - the verb, not the noun

24. Substantive : MEATY

26. Construction worker : BRICKLAYER - got a new wood working project to do at a restaurant on the east end of L.I. called "A Lure", so this wash-out weekend will be spent doing CAD work; the Rook Table is on hold

27. Sore loser's comment : LUCKY BREAK

28. Source of many orders : BRASS - I threw in "SARGE" - that's 0%, D-Otto

30. Irksome : PESKY

33. One of the Nehru Planetarium cities : NEW DELHI

34. Carry on : RANT

36. More than just zealots : MANIACS - fanatics was one too many

37. Award winner : HONOREE

39. Where some routes meet : HUB - ALL of Suffolk County's Eastern UPS routes meet at our HUB, which is more of a TERMINAL, actually

40. Predecessor of Nelson : GERALD - Vice Presidents, Gerald Ford, Nelson Rockefeller

42. __ dish : PETRI - Hey~! I got one~!

44. Perplexed : ASEA

45. Alaska's state gem : JADE

46. From Hawaii, say: Abbr. : AMERican - argh~!!! Yes, anything from Hawaii is STILL American

47. Hall of Fame pitcher Blyleven : BERT - I'll have to dig out my old baseball sticker albums - I actually KNEW this one, C.C.~!

50. Novelist Deighton : LEN

51. Energy : GAS

Splynter