Words: 64 (missing F,K,Q,Z)
Blocks: 33
I
saw Jeff's name, and cringed - I ususally suffer an epic fail when he's
the constructor, but I am pleased to announce that I was, in fact, able
to beat this one, with a mere 3 seconds to spare on my personal time
clock. Yay~!! I can feel my brain cells tingling. I loved the look of
this puzzle, a true pinwheel of backwards "block C's", connected via
four 10-letter fills, though it does make for a low word/high
block count. The longer fill:
24. Superstitious admonition : DON'T JINX IT - Great fill
9. Court groups : LEGAL TEAMS - Because TENNIS teams was too long
39. Undeveloped areas : OPEN SPACES
26. Ones who are retiring : INTROVERTS - I consider myself an introvert, but I am about 20yrs from retiring - har-har~!
OOO N N W W A RRR DDD ~!
O O NN N W W W A A R R D D ~!
O O N NN W W W A A A R R D D ~!
OOO N N W W A A R R D ~!
O O N NN W W W A A A R R D D ~!
OOO N N W W A A R R D ~!
ACROSS:
1. It's a bluff : SCARP - geological jargon
6. Let it all out, perhaps : BAWL
10. "Yeah, what-evs" : "I BET"
14. Kit and kaboodle : TOTAL
15. She plays Jackie on "Nurse Jackie" : EDIE
16. "99 Luftballons" band : NENA
17. Taqueria adjective : ASADA
18. Tongue specialists? : LINGUISTS - I knew where this was going, but "OLE" at 19d was messing me up; the "O" was making me try to get LEXICOLOGIST to fit
20. Six-Day War setting : SINAI - I knew it involved Israel, but it took a moment for this broader geographical area to occur to me
21. Target, say : MEGA-STORE - does anyone else pronounce it "tar - ZHAY" to make it sound more upscale~?
22. Prince Valiant's heir apparent : ARN - knew from doing crosswords
23. Beat on "Survivor" : OUTLASTED - outwit, outplay - outwitted worked, too
27. Laborer on the move : MIGRANT
28. Crushed, as a spice : PESTLED
34. Obliquely : ASLANT and a straight up clecho; 3d. Obliquely : AT AN ANGLE
35. Without serious consideration : AIRILY
36. "Yikes!" : "JEEPERS~!"
38. Considerable : IMMENSE
41. Title bout, say : MAIN EVENT - nailed it, which gave me the first letters of the corresponding DOWNS, and that always helps
46. Reminder of an old flame? : ASH
47. Purity : INNOCENCE
48. First name in rap : TUPAC - Shakur, gunned down in Las Vegas, Nevada
51. "Sleepy Hollow" director : TIM BURTON - nailed it. Does anyone watch the TV series~? I am enjoying the new "Constantine" on NBC
52. One of Chekhov's "Three Sisters" : IRINA - I toyed with ELENA, IRENE, and was not too far off
53. Abbr. for the nameless? : et al. - Latin for "and others"
54. Rocky heights : TORS - more geological jargon
55. Small change : CENTS - I tried DIMES first
56. Judicious : SANE
57. Weapon of yore : SNEE
58. "Grumpy Old Men" actor Davis : OSSIE
DOWN:
1. King's Cross and others: Abbr. : STAs - London train stop
2. Mozart title starter : COSI - fan tutti, an opera by Wolfgang
4. Gun site : RADAR TRAP - Clever; it took a long time for me to tie "gun" to "trap", which I had via perps; I was trying so hard to get BATTLESHIP to fit, or maybe "---DECK"; what's the name for the ship's armament level, Spitz?
5. Easy-to-miss miss : PLAIN JANE - sometimes, it's the plain Janes that are the most attractive when they dress up, IMHO
6. Last of an annual trio : BELMONT - Dah~!! Took way too long for me to get this; the Triple Crown of horse racing - The Kentucky Derby and The Preakness Stakes are the other two - in the U.S.
7. Ciao relatives : ADIEUX - I was so pleased to put in ADIEUS, but I needed the Frawnche version to be right
8. Certain brogue : WINGTIP - ah, the shoe, not the accent
11. Inebriate : BESOT - the verb, not the noun
12. Between, to Berlioz : ENTRE
13. Extremely shocked? : TASED - yep, that's getting extremely shocked
19. World Cup chant : "USA~!" - and a referential clue at 10d. 19-Down, e.g.: Abbr. : INITs
24. Key of Pachelbel's Canon: Abbr. : D maj - Ah~! The "A" was there, so I had 75% of this one taken care of
25. River through northern France : OISE
29. Like-minded : SIMPATICO - SYMPATHETIC did not fit; nor did COMPASSIONATE
30. Cherishes : TREASURES
31. Vital components : LINCH PINS - Don't know why I spelled Linch with a "Y", maybe this connection
32. Conditional word : ELSE
33. Turns red, perhaps : DYES
37. Used to buy : SPENT ON - I get it, but the tense/usage doesn't quite jibe with me
38. Pungent, for example : INTENSE
40. Request for more : ENCORE
41. Pittances : MITES - meh. I think mOtes is a better fit
42. Jazz singer O'Day : ANITA
43. "Cold Mountain" hero : INMAN
44. Lofty : NOBLE
45. Coin first minted under Louis IX : ECU - learned by doing crosswords
49. Against : ANTI
50. Court event : CASE
6. Let it all out, perhaps : BAWL
10. "Yeah, what-evs" : "I BET"
14. Kit and kaboodle : TOTAL
15. She plays Jackie on "Nurse Jackie" : EDIE
16. "99 Luftballons" band : NENA
17. Taqueria adjective : ASADA
18. Tongue specialists? : LINGUISTS - I knew where this was going, but "OLE" at 19d was messing me up; the "O" was making me try to get LEXICOLOGIST to fit
20. Six-Day War setting : SINAI - I knew it involved Israel, but it took a moment for this broader geographical area to occur to me
21. Target, say : MEGA-STORE - does anyone else pronounce it "tar - ZHAY" to make it sound more upscale~?
22. Prince Valiant's heir apparent : ARN - knew from doing crosswords
23. Beat on "Survivor" : OUTLASTED - outwit, outplay - outwitted worked, too
28. Crushed, as a spice : PESTLED
34. Obliquely : ASLANT and a straight up clecho; 3d. Obliquely : AT AN ANGLE
35. Without serious consideration : AIRILY
36. "Yikes!" : "JEEPERS~!"
38. Considerable : IMMENSE
41. Title bout, say : MAIN EVENT - nailed it, which gave me the first letters of the corresponding DOWNS, and that always helps
46. Reminder of an old flame? : ASH
47. Purity : INNOCENCE
48. First name in rap : TUPAC - Shakur, gunned down in Las Vegas, Nevada
51. "Sleepy Hollow" director : TIM BURTON - nailed it. Does anyone watch the TV series~? I am enjoying the new "Constantine" on NBC
52. One of Chekhov's "Three Sisters" : IRINA - I toyed with ELENA, IRENE, and was not too far off
53. Abbr. for the nameless? : et al. - Latin for "and others"
54. Rocky heights : TORS - more geological jargon
55. Small change : CENTS - I tried DIMES first
56. Judicious : SANE
57. Weapon of yore : SNEE
58. "Grumpy Old Men" actor Davis : OSSIE
DOWN:
1. King's Cross and others: Abbr. : STAs - London train stop
2. Mozart title starter : COSI - fan tutti, an opera by Wolfgang
4. Gun site : RADAR TRAP - Clever; it took a long time for me to tie "gun" to "trap", which I had via perps; I was trying so hard to get BATTLESHIP to fit, or maybe "---DECK"; what's the name for the ship's armament level, Spitz?
5. Easy-to-miss miss : PLAIN JANE - sometimes, it's the plain Janes that are the most attractive when they dress up, IMHO
6. Last of an annual trio : BELMONT - Dah~!! Took way too long for me to get this; the Triple Crown of horse racing - The Kentucky Derby and The Preakness Stakes are the other two - in the U.S.
7. Ciao relatives : ADIEUX - I was so pleased to put in ADIEUS, but I needed the Frawnche version to be right
8. Certain brogue : WINGTIP - ah, the shoe, not the accent
11. Inebriate : BESOT - the verb, not the noun
12. Between, to Berlioz : ENTRE
13. Extremely shocked? : TASED - yep, that's getting extremely shocked
19. World Cup chant : "USA~!" - and a referential clue at 10d. 19-Down, e.g.: Abbr. : INITs
24. Key of Pachelbel's Canon: Abbr. : D maj - Ah~! The "A" was there, so I had 75% of this one taken care of
25. River through northern France : OISE
29. Like-minded : SIMPATICO - SYMPATHETIC did not fit; nor did COMPASSIONATE
30. Cherishes : TREASURES
31. Vital components : LINCH PINS - Don't know why I spelled Linch with a "Y", maybe this connection
32. Conditional word : ELSE
33. Turns red, perhaps : DYES
37. Used to buy : SPENT ON - I get it, but the tense/usage doesn't quite jibe with me
38. Pungent, for example : INTENSE
40. Request for more : ENCORE
41. Pittances : MITES - meh. I think mOtes is a better fit
42. Jazz singer O'Day : ANITA
43. "Cold Mountain" hero : INMAN
44. Lofty : NOBLE
45. Coin first minted under Louis IX : ECU - learned by doing crosswords
49. Against : ANTI
50. Court event : CASE
Splynter
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