Theme:
Words: 70 (missing Y,Z)
Blocks: 32
Phew~!
This one drained me mentally. The proper names and biology just did me
in ( I counted 17 in all ). First I had to switch to red-letter, then
Google, and finally to a straight up cheat. Oh well. Still, I enjoyed the
challenge, and I was thrilled to get a "theme" on Saturday~! The last
time I had Mr. White for a constructor, I was in the middle of the summer bench
project (that's 41a.) - while I'm not interested in the hostess from there anymore,
I'm still hopelessly in love with the blue-eyed hostess. Anyway, one
spanner crossing one climber:
36a. School hallway warning : USE INDOOR VOICES
8d. Highway warning : CLICK IT OR TICKET - The national highway traffic safety admin's campaign to get you to wear your seatbelt; I always do. Some male driver humor here
And the "reveal";
62a. Things to obey, like 36-Across and 8-Down : THE RULES
1*. Plant reproductive structure : SPORE SAC - I got the "C", which led me to "sac", and on from there
9. Sharpens : WHETS - D'oh~! Not HONES
14*. Lindbergh nickname : LONE EAGLE - name - His Wiki
16. Goat __: chaotic situation, in slang : RODEO - Never heard of this; around here, we call it a clusterf**k
17. European travel pass : INTERRAIL - One of their itineraries lets you stop at Neuschwanstein Castle
18. "You Must Love Me" musical : EVITA - Total WAG - but then again, a 5-letter musical....
9. Sharpens : WHETS - D'oh~! Not HONES
14*. Lindbergh nickname : LONE EAGLE - name - His Wiki
16. Goat __: chaotic situation, in slang : RODEO - Never heard of this; around here, we call it a clusterf**k
17. European travel pass : INTERRAIL - One of their itineraries lets you stop at Neuschwanstein Castle
18. "You Must Love Me" musical : EVITA - Total WAG - but then again, a 5-letter musical....
19. NYC travel org. : MTA
20. Trig function : ARCSEC - Cosine worked, too, but the abbr. "trig" meant otherwise
22. West end? : ERN - Western
23*. Internal walls : SEPTA - Biological term - as a carpenter, I was baffled trying to figure out what interior walls are called ( as opposed to 'bearing' walls, i.e. )
26*. Lizard that can shed its tail : SKINK - OK, so I threw in GECKO to start - Bzzzt~!
27. Passing event? : FAD - Dah~! I had to cheat the "D", but that finally opened up the NE
28. Book ending : ISH - Bookish
30. Like 23 of Haydn's symphonies : IN D - I put the "IN" part down, then waited....
31. Standing losses? : LAPS - when you stand up, you lose your lap - that's a kindergarten joke
32. Signifies : ADDS UP TO
35. "What have we here?!" : "HELLO~?!"
38. Fingers : NAMES
39. Media section : PRESS BOX - Dah~!!! My mind was stuck in the library, trying to get "Children's" to fit
40. Anthologies : ANAS - I goofed and put in ADAs, but that was 75% correct
41. Project : JUT - the verb, not the art/construction/school kind
42. Number of single-syllable U.S. states : ONE - Which one? I know the answer~!
43. Cosmo, for one : MAGazine
44*. One Direction singer Zayn __ : MALIK - name
46*. Kirkuk native : IRAQI - name
50. "Every Moment Counts" gp. : USO - I pondered "REM", the music group
51*. 1965 Nobel Peace Prize recipient : UNICEF - I thought it might be this man, who just passed away, but his Nobel Prize was 1964
53. Vow taker : NUN
54. 8-Down and others : SIGNS - I have to admit, I have not seen "click it or ticket" as a sign; just the TV spots
56. A carve turn may be taught in one : SKI LESSON - Dah~! Dah~! Dah~! First, I read it as "Caught", and not Taught, so I was stuck in the mental rut of carving wood, thus I was trying to get "WOOD KNOT" to work - or something like that.
59. Bring forth : EDUCE
60. S-shaped sofa : TÊTE À TÊTE - aww, a kissing bench
1. Diets, with "down" : SLIMS - Ooops, went with TRims first
2. Bridge overseas : PONTE
3. Slated : ON TAP
4*. R&B artist Des'__ : REE
5. "As wicked dew as __ my mother brush'd": "The Tempest" : E'ER
6. 1979-'80 Fleetwood Mac hit : SARA
7. Food stabilizers : AGARS
9. Highway closer, perhaps : WRECK - yup, that'll do it
10. Highway lane, for short : H.O.V. - High Occupancy Vehicle; I think it's a colossal waste here on L.I.; a better solution would have been a zipper wall
11*. Four-time Emmy-winning actress : EDIE FALCO
12*. Four-stranded DNA structure : TETRAPLEX - uh, OK - the Wiki
13. Scoundrels : SO-AND-SOs - ugh; just wasn't coming to me
15. Where "Hamlet" opens : ELSINORE - there's a castle there, too - more here
24. Spruces (up) : TIDIES
25. Like-minded orgs. : ASSNs
29*. __ Bannon, Paul Newman role : HUD - I've heard of it, but never seen it - IMDb
31*. Jerry who wrote lyrics for many Presley songs : LEIBER - ugh, please
32. How a stage line might be spoken : AS AN ASIDE - I got this, and it gave me some hope in the SW
33. Rabble-rouser : DEMAGOGUE
34. Champion of the common man : POPULIST
35*. Successor to Anwar : HOSNI
36. Not laughing : UNAMUSED
37. Brandy designation : VSO - Very Superior Old
41. 31-day mo. : JAN - on the first pass with no perps, could have been MAR, JUL, AUG, OCT, & DEC as well
44. Beaux-arts venue : MUSÉE - Frawnche
45*. Sports commentator Olbermann : KEITH
47*. Adams who shot El Capitan : ANSEL - ah, but I know this guy~!
49*. Novelist Hammond __ : INNES
52. Run : FLEE
55. Big name in bar code scanners : NCR
57. Tin __ : EAR
58*. Tommy Pickles' dad in "Rugrats" : STU
Splynter