Saturday, Dec 26th, 2015, Ed Sessa

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 34

  Mr. Sessa's name in the constructor's space usually means "fail" in my space, but today was a break from the norm.  It was a long December at UPS - I was in a new position, and we had a poorly managed peak season, but I got thru it, with just three more days to go before it becomes a ghost town thru April.  But I digress.  The grid did not seem intimidating, though I did think there were a tad too many proper names - all of which filled in with a few perps, so not that many WAGs.  Two spanners and a 13-letter central fill, all of them not in my wheelhouse, at least as clued;

17. Condition resulting from oversharing : FACEBOOK FATIGUE - I am not on Facebook; however, I did karaoke at the restaurant's annual party on Wednesday; got a lot of gaping stares - guess they didn't think the mechanic could sing~!  I know someone's phone camera was recording; might go viral on YouTube....not

32. Noodles and beans dish : PASTA e FAGIOLI - isn't this the classic 'slander' for Italians and the language~?

 

52. Little Johnny Jones, in a George M. Cohan song : YANKEE DOODLE BOY

ONWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Hero married to Jimena Díaz : EL CID - learning moment

6. Lip : SASS - seemed too easy for Saturday

10. Quarter moons, e.g. : ARCS

14. Sierra __ : LEONE

15. Coaster section : LOOP - guess on my part, but then again, what else in 4 letters~?

16. Gun barrel measure : BORE

20. Florida horse country city : OCALA

21. SEAL insignia : TRIDENT

22. Discipline : CHASTEN

24. Grouse or carp : KVETCH - pondered a single word for "fowl and fish"

25. Dull finishes : MATTES

26. Commercial prize : CLIO

28. Word for a lady : SHE

29. Space : AREA

30. Graceful : GAINLY - 'Tis the season~! - and in this season of sharing, I found one for the ladies - oh, and I found this, too

37. Cat, at times : YOWLER - I tried PURRER

38. Road warning : HONK - I was thinking "SIGN"

40. Dinner hrs. : PMs -

43. A&W rival : DAD'S - did not immediately come to mind

44. 44-Down model : FIESTA - pleased with myself for getting this and it's cross-reference from just the "S"; 44d. 44-Across maker : FORD

46. May 1 Hawaiian celebration : LEI DAY

48. Across the board : TOTALLY - I did consider this, but hesitated

49. First name in '60s beach party films : ANNETTE - Funicello,  and I got it, but the whole beach party thing was before before my time

51. Met approval : BRAVO - clever - the Met, as in the opera

56. Miracle Mets star Tommie : AGEE - I tried "JOHN", but he was TommY, and a Yankee - not a fan of that team, being from L.I.

57. City SSE of Sana'a : ADEN - I knew the city was in the Middle East....

58. "Fingers crossed" : I HOPE - and an IHOP clue at 36d.

59. Koppel and Knight : TEDs

60. Org. whose logo includes a cocktail and a car key : MADD

61. Spanish seashore : COSTA - my good friend Gerry just popped down there Dec 7th for a 3 month stay; last year he was going to "write his memoirs"; I wonder if he plans to work on them again

DOWN:

1. St. Nicholas, in the poem : ELF - "a right jolly old..." - there are verses I did not know about

2. Verdant stretch : LEA

3. Reggae singer whose name sounds like a beverage : COCOA TEA - according to my search, it IS a beverage

4. Blissful : IN ECSTASY - I can think of a few things that would get me there

5. It has its pros and cons : DEBATE - with the two "E"s in place, I went with SeNATe

6. "Wake of the Ferry" painter : SLOAN - all perps

7. Thumbs-up : A-OK

8. "Wait a moment," to Romeo : SOFT - I had the "S" and "O"; the rest was perps - took a moment to understand where the clue was coming from

9. Like some live wires : SPARKING - sorry, can't resist - one of my favorite songs to play on the drums, especially with the cymbal chokes at the end - and Nikki Sixx on fire....

Mötley Crüe - Live Wire

10. Put up with : ABIDE

11. Webster's cousin? : ROGET'S - and his Thesaurus

12. Nestlé chocolate bar : CRUNCH

13. Bristle : SEETHE

18. Fútbol cheers : OLÉs

19. Copenhagen's __ Gardens : TIVOLI

22. Awards co-hosted by Brad Paisley: Abbr. : CMA - country music awards - not my thing - see above

23. Instrument featured in the opening of "Waltz of the Flowers" : HARP - and strangely, when it comes to music, I always love to hear The Nutcracker Suite on my Christmas station

26. Some Wi-Fi providers : CAFÉS

27. Storyteller : LIAR

30. Neuter, as a horse : GELD

31. "Song of the Volga Boatmen" refrain : YO HEAVE HO - didn't know it, but it fit with some perps

33. Until now : TO DATE

34. One getting more boos than cheers : AWAY TEAM

35. "La Bamba" band : LOS LOBOS - about the only reference I knew

36. IHOP section?: Abbr. : INT'L - House Of Pancakes

39. Michael's wife in "The Godfather" films : KAY

40. Not be serious about : PLAY AT

41. Household : MENAGE - can't think of this as "stand alone", especially with the clue that follows:

42. Transgressed : SINNED

45. Stressed, in a way : ITALIC

47. Hockey maneuvers : DEKES - have not played hockey in weeks

48. Govt. debt instrument : T-BOND

50. Icelandic literary work : EDDA - knew from doing crosswords

53. Ref. section staple : OED - Oxford English Dictionary

54. Go (for) : OPT

55. Vote for : YEA

Splynter

Saturday, Dec 19th, 2015, Julian Lim

Theme: None

Words: 68 (missing J,Q,X,Y)

Blocks: 32

Ugh - I'm sorry, but I just don't like Mr. Lim's puzzles :7((  Every time I get one on a Saturday, I cringe.  Today was no exception.  I had the right fills, and yet could not finish up the NE and SW corners - not without red letters, one Google cheat, and a hail Mary WAG.  Still not sure what some of the answers mean.  Might have to do with excessive 'cardboard box syndrome' I'm suffering from, and a head cold, to boot.  Quadruple corners of 9-letters, with two inner 10's crossing two more inner 9's;

30. Supplanting : PRE-EMPTING - like football and '60 minutes' on Sunday nights, or the president's TV address

31. Goodyear variety : TIRE SIZES - I need tires on the Dodge - also a new ignition switch, but I'm so close to 300,000 on the odo that I will invest the money to cross that milestone

7. It's hard to put down : PAGE TURNER - I have yet to put my TV up in my room, going on 7 weeks now.  That's how busy I've been.  However, it has led me to reading nearly everything on my room-mates shelves - I've read "The Lost Symbol", half the 'Alex Cross' books, and "The Litigators", a book I was reluctant to read because I sensed that all of Grisham's books were about lawyers, and here was no exception - but this one was really good

38. It may be green : CHINESE TEA

ON Sela WARD~!

ACROSS:

1. High-end beer-serving eatery : GASTROPUB - what~? it's not HOOTERS~?  I'm shocked~!

"I'll have the third from the left"

10. First husband of Bathsheba : URIAH - half perps/half WAG

15. Drink with Campari and sweet vermouth : AMERICANO - I think this has been in crosswords before - Mr. Lim left out the club soda

16. San Francisco : BART :: Philadelphia : __ : SEPTA - I tried METRO, which is, uh, 20% right~? Or is that 40%~?  Anyway, my buddy Mike is from Philly, so I could have called him to find out what the scheduling is down there

17. Islands visited by Darwin : GALAPAGOS - a good, solid fill that had me wondering if I could be wrong

18. Bill toppers : STARS - It takes me too long to remember that "bill" in this sense is the playbill

19. Like some plugs : SHAMELESS

20. Got hot for a while : WAS IN - I really don't know, but I think this is a poker/cards reference; I got hot, so "I'm in"

21. H.S. exam : PSAT

22. Distresses : NAGS AT - yeah, some of the cluing NAGS AT me

23. Silver fish : SMELT - I put in sPelt - that is totally 80% correct

26. Driving forces : URGES

29. __ ale : PALE - again, I got caught thinking "nah, too easy"

35. Wave back? : ECHO - tried EDDY

36. Pointless : INANE

37. Word after big or bright : IDEA - again, too easy~?

40. Holds up : ROBS - ah, that kind of holds up - not LASTS, ENDURES, etc.

41. Stone measure : CARAT - gaffed the "C" with a "K"

42. Storyteller from Thrace : AESOP

43. "Awesome, bro!" : "ROCK ON~!"

Van Halen - Stay Frosty

47. ThinkPads, e.g. : IBMs

49. ooVoo alternative : iCHAT - had zilch on this one; my Google, and having -C-AT, WAGed the rest

50. Dish cooked in seasoned broth : RICE PILAF - healthy fill (pun intended) after a few perps - wanna be a monk~? see 43a. above

55. Left-hand page : VERSO - opposite the RECTO

56. Childhood friend of Paul Cézanne : EMILE ZOLA

57. Secretary of war under Teddy : ELIHU - perps and WAG

58. Defame : DISCREDIT

59. Deferential denial : NO, SIR

60. How fries are usually served : ON THE SIDE

DOWN:

1. Stifles : GAGS

2. Asian nurse : AMAH

3. Ward of "Gone Girl" : SELA - also starred in "The Fugitive" movie, and season two of "House, M.D."

4. Treat cruelly, as another's feelings : TRAMPLE ON

5. Most developed : RIPEST

6. College of Central Florida city : OCALA

8. Some, in Seville : UNOS

9. Order giver : BOSS

10. Naval recovery ship for some Gemini missions : USS WASP

 

 

I seem to recall something about Frank Sinatra last week

11. Change the price of : RETAG - meh

12. "Not for me" : I PASS - another Juliam Lim puzzle~?  12d.

13. Ventricle neighbors : ATRIA

14. Is without : HASN'T - dah~! I thought NEEDS, LACKS, so the "S" went in, and messed me up

22. Site of ancient Greek games : NEMEA

23. What some write on : SPEC - all this reading is helping me with my own fiction novel idea

24. Eponymous physicist Ernst __ : MACH

25. K thru 12 : ELHI

27. Calf snagger : REATA - one of those "variant" spellings; I am sure it's legit, but "meh"

28. James Watson, notably : GENETICIST - notably, I did not know this

30. Resident on the Arno : PISAN

32. Partnership-forming words : I DOs

33. Mount from which Moses saw the Promised Land : NEBO - and then he brought forth the 15, oy, 10, 10 commandments~!

34. Sound of surprise : GASP

39. Outing led by a naturalist : ECO-TOUR

42. Unit in Ohm's Law : AMPERE - I = V/R, where I = current in amperes, V = volts, and the resistance, "R"

43. Torn asunder : RIVEN - I mentioned a different RIVEN last week....or is it the same~?

44. 3M sponge brand : O-CEL-O

 

45. Ruth's __ Steak House : CHRIS - never heard of it

46. GOLEAN cereal maker : KASHI - I have heard of this, from commercials

48. Gush forth : BELCH

50. Second take : RE-DO

51. "Let's go!" : "I'M IN~!"

52. Lombardy city : LODI

53. "Put __ on it!" : A LID

54. What "All are architects of," per Longfellow : FATE

Splynter

Saturday, Dec 12th, 2015, Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: "Ol' Blue Eyes"

Words: 71 (missing J,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 32

  Well, our Mr. Friday puzzle-constructor makes a rare appearance on Saturday, and carries on with a theme, too~!  A left-right symmetrical grid, with triple 7-letter corners and two "spanners" of 9-letters that are part of the theme.  I wonder if Jeffrey originally tried to work "blue eyes" into the lower left corner at 64a....A few proper names slowed me down, and some misdirection had me off to a slow start, but I did get the "ta-DA~!" - only after I went back and corrected one bad cell.  So, the theme answers;

1. 8-Across member born 12/12/1915 : SINATRA - Frank - his Wiki - I was born in NJ, too~!

Frankie calls the shots

8. Group formed in the '50s : RAT PACK

26. 1-Across hit : THAT'S LIFE

52. 1-Across hit : HIGH HOPES
 

Carry - on - ward ~!

ACROSS:

15. Threatening : OMINOUS

16. Friendly : AMIABLE

17. Super Bowl XXXIII team : FALCONS - I can never remember, and the Roman numerals don't help; waited on perps - I can hardly remember who played in last year's Stanley Cup, once the Rangers were eliminated....

18. New Amsterdam landowner : PATROON - ah, like those who once owned a part of upstate NY that Spitz and I know well....

19. 1958 Pulitzer-winning author : AGEE

20. Moves slowly : SEEPS - or OOZES~?  Had to wait, but the last "S" went in

22. Youngest of the musical Gibb brothers : ANDY - WAG; the others are Barry, Robin and Maurice - these three known together as the "Bee Gees" - the Wiki

23. Antarctica's __ Sea : ROSS - I knew this, but it took R--S for it to come to me

24. Popular side : FRIES - ah, side dish, got it

25. Road Runner cartoon background element : MESA

29. Keep down : OPPRESS - dah~!  Not SUpress or REpress

32. Show of condescension : SNICKER

36. Longtime CBS journalist Charles : KURALT - my one bad cell; don't know how I thought OCAY was OKAY

37. Lament : GRIEVE

38. Part of the Maldives : ATOLL - um, yeah, part....

39. AAA TripTik alternative : GPS - I don't care which one you use, just try not to be "lost" in front of me when driving....

42. Ameliorates : EASES

43. Diner's exclamation : YUM - had no clue at first; then I tried M M M - that's a mere 33%

44. Quick drink : SHOOTER - she didn't bartend where I used to drink....

47. "I feel thee __ I see thy face": Keats : ERE

48. Notice : SPOT

50. Vent emanations : ODORS - not GASES

51. Game in which the player is called the Stranger : MYST - I made it through some of the first game, but it takes a lot of mental concentration to figure it out - there's also a sequel, Riven

55. Woman's name meaning "heavenly" : CELESTE - pretty; I have three names I'd like to give my girls - if I ever have kids....

58. "Garbage in, garbage out" subject : BAD DATA

62. Rainy U.S. capital : OLYMPIA - Washington state - and a place I'd like to live, because it rains a lot

63. Equipped : ENDOWED

64. Innocent-looking : DOE-EYED

65. Dusk : DAYS END - not EVENING....and not DAY SEND, as I first read it

DOWN:

1. Until now : SO FAR - argh~! Not AS YET

2. Insect stage : IMAGO - DaH~! Not LARVA

3. Longtime radio/TV announcer Wendell __ : NILES - perps and WAG

4. Inherited, perhaps : ANCESTRAL

5. Overly : TOO

6. Malfunctions, as a watch : RUNS FAST - I had GOES FAST, but I was fairly certain the theme was SINATRA

7. Makes a case for : ASSERTS

8. Alpine rescue maneuvers : RAPPELS

9. Getting together : AMASSING

10. Small songbird : TIT

11. Slide subjects : PARAMECIA

12. Have __ to pick : A BONE

13. Oafs : CLODS

14. One of its official languages is Swahili : KENYA

21. Bordeaux : glace :: Berlin : __ : EIS :: London : ice  (look away Tin~!)

27. "__ Kitchen": Gordon Ramsay show : HELL'S - I did watch it for the first season or two

28. Personnel manager, at times : FIRER

29. Approves of : OKAYS

30. Something to do with dukes? : PUT UP - "put up yer dukes~!"

31. PSA, say : PROMO

33. Nurse Ratched creator : KESEY - One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - which swept the "big five" Oscars - there were only two other movies to do so, and I was shocked to find out about the 1991 winner

34. Activist Medgar : EVERS - perps and WAG

35. Go back to zero : RESET

39. Divinity : GODHEAD

40. "Oh, bother" speaker : POOH

41. Pulsed, as light show effects : STROBED

45. Restrict : HOGTIE

46. Miró's birthplace, to Miró : ESPAÑA - Spain, to us locals....is it me, or has the Frawnche dropped off~?

49. Motif : THEME - rarely found in a Saturday puzzle

51. Early PC system : MS-DOS

53. Traveling game : I SPY

54. Rapids feature : EDDY

55. Marine oil source : COD

56. Symphonic rock gp. : ELO

57. Pipe cleaner : LYE

59. Knock the socks off : AWE - this style knocks MY socks off

60. X, sometimes : TEN

61. Say further : ADD

Spot on yesterday, Lemonade - my condolences to you as well

Splynter

Saturday, Dec 5th, 2015, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 70 (missing G,Q,Z)

Blocks: 31

  I fi-ured we'd be -etting a Silkie, and happy to see that I was correct.  However, I seem to have -otten into a 'comfort zone' with Mr. Silk, expectin- to sail throu-h without a lot of trouble.  Today's puzzle was just enou-h of a challen-e, leavin- me with mere seconds of my personal allotted time left.  Some proper names slowed me down, and one or two bad -uesses; I did actually have a couple of -uesses that were astoundin-ly correct - but I hesitated to fill them in.  Triple 10-letter corners, and a two pairs of inner climbers, 10- and 11-letters;

6. Demon : EVIL SPIRIT

12. "The American Crisis" author : THOMAS PAINE

24. Blather : IDLE CHATTER

31. Oregon Treaty president : JAMES K. POLK

[ is there a mini-theme here~!  ;7)  ]

OgNgWgAgRgD~!

ACROSS:

1. Fulfilled : CARRIED OUT - I tried 'SATISFIED', but it didn't satisfy the number of letters required

11. Powerful engine : V-TEN - like the one found in this car

Even looks like a snake

15. Prior name of Burkina Faso : UPPER VOLTA - I was thinking we were looking for a someONE, not a somePLACE....

16. Understanding words : "AH SO"

17. Raises may be tied to one : PRICE INDEX - here I thought we needed something like 'work review'.  I get reviewed at UPS, but it does not affect my yearly raise.  I was going to link a definition for price index, but despite being a relatively simple concept, it just seemed too complicated, even for me

18. Opinion piece : POST - as found here daily

19. First name in 1950s politics : ADLAI - one of those clues where I was going to throw this right in, then thought "eh, maybe we're getting misdirected here...."

20. Chemical relative : ISOMER - seen this in crosswords, so I did fill it in

22. Key with one flat: Abbr. : Dmin - slightly more complicated than just putting in "-M--OR" for any other "key of ---" clue; this one relates to the circle of keys, and I can never remember them - so I went with Fmin, and look how close I was

25. Slumgullion, for one : STEW

27. Remove : ERASE - second time in as many Silkie puzzles with a 'meh' clue for ERASE

28. Washington's forte? : RED TAPE

30. "I Love Music" group, with "The" : O'JAYS - got my apostrophes in their proper places this week....

32. Grandpa Munster portrayer : AL LEWIS - he drove the coffin car, which reminds me of this song

 

33. Big ape : OAF

34. Ltr. extender : P.P.S.

37. Birdwatcher's lure : FEEDER

38. Point in the wrong direction : MISAIM

40. Sam Spade, e.g. : TEC - deTECtive

41. Wrong : SIN

43. Fawning : SERVILE

44. Night calls : HOOTS - put it in, took it out, put it back in

46. Understanding words : I SEE NOW - which screwed up my "I SEE" at 16a.

 
47. Gushing flattery : SMARM - ah, not CHarm - but that's all of 60% correct

49. 1994 Polka Music Hall of Fame inductee : WELK

51. Eastern holidays : TETS

52. Feels sorry for : PITIES

54. Landlocked Asian country : NEPAL - or TIBET~?

56. Arbitrary stake : ANTE

57. Pine Tree State college town : ORONO, MAINE - one of those that I knew, but hesitated to fill in - and I knew it fit, as well

62. One still maturing : TEEN

63. Most common dolphin : BOTTLENOSE

64. Clarify, with "out" : SORT

65. A.1., for one : STEAK SAUCE

 

DOWN:

1. Sports prize : CUP - personally, the ONLY one worth fighting for~!!!

2. Patriots' Day mo. : APR - oops, not PATRIOT day

3. Home of the NCAA Engineers : RPI - been there....

4. Took back : RECANTED

5. Hot : IRED

7. Gives : DONATES

8. Number from the past : OLDIE

9. Off-road traveler, for short : UTE - dah~!  Not ATV

10. Sitcom set in a garage : TAXI

11. Misty : VAPORY

13. Assistance trio? : ESSES - aSSiStance

14. Hugo title word : NOTRE - as in the Hunch Back of....

21. Marine bioluminescence : SEA FIRE - you get all sorts of fighter planes, boat extinguishers and restaurants if you do a search

22. First try : DRAFT

23. Free-for-all : MELEE

26. Romance : WOO

29. Way more than cool : AWESOME - I have to redeem myself for last week with a tasteful image

35. Experimental : PILOT - always makes me think of the opening scenes from Pulp Fiction; "she starred in one of the ones that became nothin'"

36. Diving ducks : SMEWS

39. Ballerina Zakharova : SVETLANA

42. Sydney's state: Abbr. : NSW - New South Wales

43. Team characteristic? : SILENT A - and still no "I", either

45. Familiarize : ORIENT

47. Fancy footwear : SPATS - I did not know this was a shortening of spatterdashes

48. "Exodus" actor : MINEO

50. Online reminder : eNOTE

53. Bad news reactions : SOBS

55. Skunk River city : AMES

58. Spoil : ROT

59. Obligatory letters : I.O.U.

60. White House advisory gp. : NSC - the National Security Council

61. Wide size : EEE

No Gs~?

Splynter

Saturday, Nov 28th, 2015, Greg Johnson

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 32

Upon review of the years gone by, I see that Mr. Johnson has been a consistent Tuesday contributor to the LA Times crosswords - but today he's given us a great challenge for a Saturday.  Non-standard grid, nicely symmetrical, with triple 7-letter corners.  I picked my way through this one clue by clue, and I eventually got a foothold in some places, and that allowed me to WAG a few.  Alas, I ran into one cell that just wouldn't fill in, and that was because of "spelling" mistakes on my part - so I went red-letter to see where I went astray.  Anyway, we had two spanners, and one 11-letter climber;

17a. Remote setting : MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

58a. Spanish-style home decor : TERRACOTTA TILES

18d. 1995 film in which Sean Connery played King Arthur : FIRST KNIGHT - good movie - and Julia Ormond is beautiful

'Tis the seas-on-ward~!

ACROSS:

1. Furniture support : SOFA LEG - like this....no, wait, he means this kind of leg....

8. Hard-to-find hardware? : SPY-CAMS

15. Learned : ERUDITE - the adjective, not the verb

16. Side trip guide : AREA MAP

19. __-Pak subcontinent: Asian region : INDO

20. Homework initials? : DIY - Do It Yourself; Home Depot has Do-It-HERself classes; we are about one day away from finishing up the house project - did the siding today

21. Like some backup files : ON CD

22. Top dog : NUMERO UNO

27. Cutesy plea for affection : KISS, KISS

30. Eye site : POTATO

34. Bird that will swim but not fly : EMU

35. Pound, e.g. : UNIT - dah~!  Not POET - 25% correct

36. Upset state : DISMAY

37. Letters associated with z's? : REM - Rapid Eye Movement sleep; I had a full-on sensory dream of a cat pawing me and then lying down on my back one afternoon while I napped; I asked my room-mate, and he said there was never a cat in the house - I looked it up on the dream interpretations site, and it's associated with feminine sexuality - damn, I hope so~!

38. Tetanus symptom : LOCKJAW

40. Former "NFL Today" sportscaster Cross : IRV

41. Train for firefighting : RAPPEL

43. 2014 Wales summit host : NATO

44. Iowa campus : COE

45. Refusal of hospitality, often : INSULT

46. Thief's target : IDENTITY

48. Literary legionnaire : BEAU GESTE - frequently in crosswords, but I did not know much more about the story until today - more here

50. Salinger heroine : ESME - Nailed it - but again, seen in a lot of crosswords

53. Golden ratio symbol : PHI - ah, like "Pi" for, well, 3.14159....in this case, it's 1.61803 - more here

54. It may be crunched : DATA - my one corner that messed me up

63. Treaty topic : TEST BAN

64. Dress uniform adornment : EPAULET

65. Reuse productively, as trash : UPCYCLE - new word for me - and my spell-check; the word "repurposed" has gained some traction around here

66. Dish from the Italian for "foam" : SPUMONI - Dah~!!  I put in spumATi, so I was all screwed up down here

DOWN:   

1. Trailer leader : SEMI - the tractor part

2. "Out __?" : OR IN

3. Hunter with a distinctive laugh : FUDD - Elmer, that is

4. Supplements : ADD-ONS

5. Small in a small way : L'IL 

6. Juillet's time : ÉTÉ - Frawnche

7. Like the Spaceship Earth sphere : GEODESIC

8. Panasonic subsidiary : SANYO

9. Supporting : PRO

10. "Dismal" tree in Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus" : YEW

11. Partnership : CAHOOTS

12. "You said it!" : "AMEN~!"

13. Standup comic Maron : MARC

14. Earned a citation? : SPED - har-har

23. Lute family member : UKULELE

24. Company that merged with Konica : MINOLTA

25. Screen alert subjects : UPDATES - always seems to be Adobe Flash Player

26. Firm denial : NO, I WON'T

27. Gymnast Strug : KERRI

28. "Let me explain ..." : "I MEAN..."

29. Collection areas : SUMPS - oops, not Dumps - but that was 80% correct

31. Firenze friends : AMICI

32. Typically 78-card deck : TAROT - I have a deck, but have not looked at it in years

33. Exasperated cry : "OY VEY~!"

39. Burmese gems : JADEITES

42. Time for significant changes : PUBERTY

47. Yawn inducer : TEDIUM

49. Barely ahead : UP ONE - oops, not ONE UP

50. Incredulous accusation : ET TU - Brute~?

51. Flow slowly : SEEP

52. Richie's mom, to Fonzie : Mrs. C

55. Téléphone greeting : 'ALLO

56. Mock election voter : TEEN

57. Product of white Muscat grapes : ASTI

59. Easy as __ : ABC - oops, not PIE

60. "East of Eden" son : CAL

61. Galaxy download : APP - Galaxy, the Samsung Smart Phone (or tablet; I have one)

62. Two before 53-Across : TAU

Thanks to all who comment, especially for those who comment on my Saturday postings.  Thank you, too, to C.C. for the opportunity to be able to blog here in the first place~!!!

Splynter

Saturday, Nov 21st, 2015, Bruce Venzke

Theme: None

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

Blocks: 36

 Second time in 6 weeks for a Bruce Venzke puzzle - and another relatively quick solve for me - lots of "gimme" clues and answers for a Saturday.  Unlike that last puzzle, however, this one had several proper names, and those fills were the only ones that left me stumped; and since they crossed in two places, I had to cave in to red-letters for ONE lousy cell.  Oh well.  Two triple spanner stacks and a very cool looking grid;

1. Amuse to the hilt : LEAVE IN STITCHES

16. Goth is a subgenre of it : ALTERNATIVE ROCK - I prefer the "goth" at 8d.

17. Tax inequity : MARRIAGE PENALTY - seems like a redundant phrase - but I am biased from my short-lived 2yr marriage

58. Slide rules, for example : ANALOG COMPUTERS - the abacus is another

64. Borrower's protection : INTEREST RATE CAP

65. Some emcees : TOAST MISTRESSES - new to me, but it seemed logical

ONW

A   R
D ~ !

ACROSS:

18. Blotter name : ALIAS - oops, not aliBI - but I was 100% 60% correct

19. These, overseas : ESTOS - threw in estAs, and that was close enough; and on this I'm 100% 80% correct

20. Film lioness : NALA

23. Financial shellacking : BATH

25. T-__ : BIRD - not BONE, and not BILL; I had an '86 4spd 4cyl turbo coupe - nice

in this color, no less

28. Where surfers look for bargains : eMALL - internet surfing

30. With 34-Across, China's locale : EAST

34. See 35-Across : ASIA

35. Logician friend of Einstein : GÖDEL - did not know this one, but I was vaguley familiar with the crossing ADLER; more on Kurt here

36. Give (out) : DOLE

37. Chinese dish eponym : TSO - one of my favorite dishes, General Tso's Chicken

38. Swansea-born : WELSH - bottom left, not far from Cardiff

39. Got used up, with "out" : RAN

40. Scary St. Bernard of fiction : CUJO - one of the first books I ever read

42. Beyond chunky : OBESE

43. Dough dispensers : ATMs

44. Try : HEAR - as in court

45. Not seen as frequently : RARER

46. Amphora, e.g. : VASE - I like the sound of "amphora"

47. Requires : ASKS

49. Dino, __ & Billy: '60s band that included sons of two musical celebs : DESI - a healthy WAG after I had the D--I; more here

51. Sentry's stint : WATCH

54. Is charismatic : HAS IT - I am lacking in the "charisma" department, but I "has it" in other areas; I had to wire a series of cabinet lights at my friend's new house, but I cannot run extension cords in the wall - so I came up with this clever solution

DOWN:

1. Monastery figure : LAMA

2. It has blue-striped jets : EL AL

3. Abruzzi bell town : ATRI - poetic; more here

4. Tara feature : VERANDA - Gone With the Wind

5. 1974 pension plan legislation : ERISA - seen this B4 in crosswords, but it filled via perps today

6. Words with stew and pickle : IN A

7. Bug : NAG

8. __-Chapelle: historic Paris church : STE - spectacular; I love Gothic Cathedral architecture; if you have the time, here's a link to a great show about the building achievements of the time - I like the demonstration at 24:30

9. Track advantage : TIP

10. "__ Got a Secret" : I'VE

11. Belief : TENET

12. Surprised at the party : CRASHED

13. "Dateline NBC" anchor Lester : HOLT

14. Prefix with -plasm : ECTO

15. "The __ the limit!" : SKY'S

21. Investigator's data gathering : LEGWORK - this kind of investigator

22. Low life : AMOEBAS

23. Consecrated : BLESSED

24. Attendant to a man : ALL HERE

25. Baker's quantity : BATCH

26. Send forth : ISSUE

27. Spanish wine region : RIOJA - filled via perps

29. Freud contemporary : ADLER - as I have said here before, there's a book on personality types that I frequently use to understand why people behave as they do

31. Inner tube? : AORTA - har-har

32. Verbal attacks : SLAMS

33. It may be perfect : TENSE

41. Forecasters : ORACLES

43. Flies : AVIATES

48. Insufficient : SHORT

50. "On the Beach" novelist : SHUTE - the "S" was a WAG

51. What early arrivals often have to do : WAIT

52. Cornerstone word : ANNO

53. "So long!" : "TA-TA~!"

55. Moments : SECS

56. "Dies __" : IRAE

57. Recipe abbr. : TSPS

59. Special someone : GEM - here's my "gem" for the week

60. Show with many spin-offs : CSI

61. USAF commissioning prog. : OTS - Officer Training School

62. He played Clubber Lang in "Rocky III" : Mr. T - I pity the fool....

63. Links figure : PAR

Splynter

Saturday, Nov 14th, 2015, Barry C.Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,V,Z)

Blocks: 32

I blew through this Silkie in less than half my personal time - and did not have a whole bunch to work with after my first across pass.  There were some crossings that indicated my original ideas might hold water (e.g. 15a.), and then there were plenty of clues that were in my "wheelhouse", as we say.  Triple 10-letter corners in the across, triple 9-letter corners in the downs, and two more 10's inside;

10. Predator known for its piercing call : SCREECH OWL - intimidating

27. Florida surfing mecca : COCOA BEACH - I only got as far south as Jacksonville

half a league ONWARD~! (thx Steve~!)

ACROSS:

1. Musical group founded by a Civil War vet : BOSTON POPS - not that I knew this, but I was fairly sure it was not "Aerosmith" of the '70s - you can read more about the vet here

11. Some email attachments : PDFs - dah~!  Not PICS, and then not GIFs

15. Symbol for the NFL's Bears : UPPER CASE C - I knew what the logo on the helmet was, just had to wait to see how Mr. Silk was going to phrase/parse "capital C"

16. 1970 Kinks hit : LOLA 

17. School uniform part dating to the 1800s : ETON COLLAR

 

18. Presently : ANON - think  Shakespeare

19. Strip lighting : NEON - the strip in Las Vegas, e.g.

20. Partly roasted treat : S'MORE

21. Consequences of too many blows : TKOs - Boxing

22. Wing it : AD LIB

24. Larger-than-life types : LEGENDS

26. Big name in investment banking : SACHS - Goldman-Sachs, which is a company that was a client of the architects I once worked for

30. King of pop : CAROLE - not fooled; waited on perps, which helped me remember Carole; I was stuck on Ben E.

31. IRA components : CDs - certificates of deposit - one way your individual retirement account can save money

34. Complex pipes : HOOKAHS - so as a carpenter I was thinking about sink traps, etc.

36. Pitch : TAR

37. Civil Rights Memorial architect : LIN - same artist as the Vietnam Memorial - more on the piece here

 

38. Tahrir Square city : CAIRO - half perps

39. 1979 Pa. newsmaker : TMI - not "Too Much Information" - this refers to Three Mile Island, the nuclear plant that had a "malfunction" - I recall it being a major news event, but I was 8 and did not understand the implications

40. Altar on high : ARA - the constellation

41. "Happening Now" airer : FOX NEWS - don't care for watching the news in general; I can generate enough of my own bad fortune

43. Lotion letters : SPF - sun protection factor - more here - I see that nylon stockings give an SPF of 2; so protect yourselves, ladies~!

44. Italian road : STRADA - straight translation; need to keep your Italian supercars off the streets of NYC~!

46. Peabody Essex Museum city : SALEM - again, perps

48. Course outlines : SYLLABI - now this one I did know - I had to review the syllabus for my Adult Education AutoCAD class back in 2008 when I was an adjunct at NYU

50. Seat of Greene County, Ohio : XENIA - the "X" was my last letter - how did I miss 42d.~?

54. Long haul : TREK

55. Do away with : ERASE - about the only clue I would define as "weak"

59. Low spots : RUTS

60. Taunt : RIDE

61. Like emus : AUSTRALIAN - LONG-NECKED fit, too....

63. Positive assertion : "I CAN"

64. Ownership issue : CLEAR TITLE - the owner of the restaurants I work at went to closing on his first house yesterday - now it's my turn; I have to close up a window, paint the interior, and strip/poly all the floors

65. Red Rose : PETE - DAH~!!  i am so disappointed I missed this one.  Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds; I am sure C.C. nailed it - are you having baseball withdrawal symptoms~?

66. Home safety feature : HEAT SENSOR - along with motion, what typically triggers your....

13D. Outdoor security item : FLOOD LAMP

DOWN:

1. Lake __ Vista : BUENA

2. Didn't sit around : OPTED

3. String holder : SPOOL

4. __ elbow : TENNIS - I have "high volume" elbow from working at UPS - same condition - see the pic in the 'causes' section; this is what I do for 4-5hrs every morning

5. Tolkien monster : ORC - monster meant it was not "ENT"

6. Base figs. : NCOs - military bases, that is; I went with the carpenter's ESTs

7. Where to get a date : PALM - anyone know where to get the "other" kind of date~?

8. Vigeland Museum city : OSLO - again, perps; Mr. Silk does come up with some unique alternatives to the standard clues

9. Bit of wisdom : PEARL - the same restaurant owner's daughter will be 1yr old on Dec 7th - and her name is Pearl

11. Certain metalworker : PLATER - I've seen enough "How It's Made" episodes on this operation

12. Five-time 1960s Emmy-winning actor : DON KNOTTS

14. Literally, "without lines" : SANS SERIF

23. Crotchety remark : "BAH~!"

25. Atmosphere makeup : GAS

28. Fake : HOAX

29. Potato __ : SKINS - oooh, CHIPS was so close - 20%, but 100% in the right places

31. Museum visit, perhaps : CLASS TRIP

32. Traditional Cajun dish : DIRTY RICE

33. Warned, in a way : SNARLED AT

35. Neighborhood : AREA

41. Rx overseer : FDA

42. "I can remember when the air was clean and __ was dirty": George Burns : SEX

45. Ethylene, for one : ALKENE

47. Legendary speller? : MERLIN - casting spells, that is

49. Cry of domination : "I RULE~!" - huh - I thought this was Apple's new digital tape measure....

51. Dark times abroad : NUITS

52. Novelist Calvino : ITALO - again, perps and one WAG

53. Longtime Moore co-star : ASNER

56. Completely lost : ASEA

57. Fantasy player's concern : STAT

58. Stumbles, say : ERRS

62. Bolted down : ATE

Splynter

Saturday, Nov 7th, 2015, Ed Sessa

Theme - What cracker~?

Words: 70 (missing Q)

Blocks: 27

UGH~! - I was so pleased with myself for getting 80% of this beast solved without any cheating - no Google, no red-letter, despite some very clever cluing that did NOT get past me.  I was plugging away, one cel at a time, and making my way from the bottom up - but the NW corner was just not giving in, and once I caved and checked my 1a. answer, I realized it was never going to work out.  Oh well.  Big chunky 9x6 corners, and triple 8's in the down;

1. Four Corners collectible : NAVAJO RUG - *%$&^#@~!  I was so, so pleased I came up with NEVADA FLAG, as the Four Corners consist of the four US States that meet at a single point; however, NEVADA is not among Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado - duh.

57. Strips at a party : STREAMERS - oh, uh, the um, noun, not the verb. Right.  Maybe the anons are right about me....

13. 1964 World's Fair giant tire Ferris wheel creator : UNIROYAL - a major flub as far as I am concerned - at the fair  in Queens, NY, the one with the Unisphere, the wheel was U.S. Royal; maybe all the same company, but it doesn't jibe with me

32. Colorful fall tree : RED MAPLE

ON
WA
RD!

ACROSS:

10. Edit, as a soundtrack : RE-DUB

15. "Be right there" : ONE MINUTE - I considered this, but because I had FLAG, I put in FAIR for "Just" @ 6d.

16. Dior style : A-LINE - dress style; at least Mr. Sessa was on my "fashion wavelength" today

17. Window-adjusting tool : SCROLL BAR - the doohickey on the side of your screen;

18. Sheep or goat : BOVID - Someone correct me - this is totally wrong; I thought this category of animals was O-vine; BO-vine is cattle; cows, bison, buffalo, etc.

19. Two after love? : THIRTY - I knew this was going to be tennis scoring;  0-30 or 30-0 is two points scored after the opening of a game

20. Aria from "Carmen" : HABANERA - perps and a WAG

22. Some drills : ROTES - meh.  period.

23. Champagne toast : SALUT - I had saluD; close enough, and 100% 80% correct

24. English lit pseudonym : BOZ - perps - learning moment for me; the Wiki

25. Father of Phobos : ARES

26. Bounty maker, briefly : P AND G - think "P&G" - Proctor and Gamble, the makers of the paper towel

27. R&B's __ II Men : BOYZ - they were popular when I was in school - but not with me

28. Murky milieus : FENS - Ugh.  SEAS was my thought

29. __ cracker : ANIMAL - # 1

31. Facing dauntlessly : BRAVING

35. Like sparkling wine : ABUBBLE - crossed with another "A-" clue

36. Real estate pioneer with a Long Island town named for him : LEVITT - Nailed it - but that's not saying much - I live on Long Island

37. Clan member : SCOT - dah~!  Not CELT

38. Ruler of Asgard : ODIN

39. American Leaguer since 2013 : ASTRO - I thought this was wrong, too - but then I remembered that they were once a National League team

41. Ray : BEAM

45. 1975 ABC debut, for short : GMA - Good Morning America

46. Like music to one's ears? : ON KEY

47. Skater Harding : TONYA

48. Best ever : CAT'S MEOW - the Bee's Knees

50. Evil : ROTTEN

51. Splatter catcher : APRON - catcher~? deflector or collector maybe

52. will.i.am, for one : RAP ARTIST - from the Black-eyed Peas.  Sorry, but I think their stuff is at best amateur

54. Baggage carousel feeder : SLIDE - we have lots of slides at UPS - here's a pic of my "office"

55. Eatery serving 47-Downs : TRATTORIA - this  week is "restaurant week", and the Italian one I work at, aMano, was jimm-jamming on the frim-fram last night

56. State with a red, white and blue flag : TEXAS

DOWN:

1. Pisan possessive : NOSTRA - I WAGed from my understanding of "Cosa Nostra"

2. It's dropped on purpose : ANCHOR

3. Cinema __ : VERITE - dredged up from somewhere deep in my brain; "truth in cinema", or documentary style - I found a great list on IMDb - some titles you have heard

4. Ovid work : AMORES - written in 16BC; love stories are eternal

5. Dumps : JILTS - with my "NEVADA", DIVES worked here.  Talk about a cluster***k

6. Just : ONLY - not FAIR, nor EVEN; this is the "I was just going to eat one piece of candy"

7. Prepare for a grilling : RUB - BBQ related

8. Jazz followers : UTAHANS - gave myself a big pat on the back for NOT confusing this basketball team Jazz with musical jazz

9. Memorable '70s Ford : GERALD - ha HA~! - not TORINO; in fact not even a car....

10. Capital SSW of Tangier : RABAT

11. Tar Heel State campus : ELON - half perps; a little misdirection here, as the Tar Heels of UNC are sports foes of the college at Elon

12. Attack from above : DIVE BOMB

14. Enchant : BEDAZZLE

21. Cause of worry : BUGABOO - think "boogeyman"; there's also a stroller of the same name - sort of paradoxical, if you think about it

23. Blabbed : SANG

26. Compound with five carbon atoms : PENTANE - formula C₅H₁₂ ; C₅H₁₀ is pentEne

27. Crab house accessory : BIB

28. In good shape : FIT

30. Fruit served with a cracker? : NUT - # 2

31. Online clip : BLOGCAST - I filled in BLOG----, the rest was perps; is this post a blogcast, or just a blog~?

33. Anne Morrow Lindbergh, but not Charles : AVIATRIX - clever; only women can be the -TRIXes

34. Café quaff : VIN

35. "__ in the Dark": 1988 Neill/Streep film : A CRY

37. Noah's predecessor : STEWART - not a clue; turns out, Trevor Noah replaced Jon Steward on the Daily Show

40. Hybrid apparel : SKORTS - I love them; the looks of a skirt, the fit of shorts - and followed up with 41d.~?  Mr. Sessa, you're the man~!

41. Rear end : BOTTOM

42. Complete : ENTIRE

43. Bos'n's response : AYE, SIR - sailing term; a boatswain is a crewman

44. Large rays : MANTAS - this time, MANTA was correct

46. Exeunt __: all go out : OMNES - straight Latin

47. 55-Across dessert : TORTA

49. __ cracker : SODA - # 3

50. Assign value to : RATE

53. Four on Augusta's fifth : PAR - the golf course, and it's 'Magnolia' hole

Splynter - # 4, former "cracker" from Jacksonville, FL