Words: 70 (missing J,Q,Z)
Blocks: 28
This is my second Saturday puzzle from Gail - the last one dates back
over three years - Mar 3rd, 2012. I have seen many of her Saturday
constructions for my local paper - Newsday - and their "Stumper" is an accurate description. Today's offering for the LA Times
was much the same. Lots of cloudy cluing which led to a white-wash grid
over the first two passes, and while I got the proper names, it was the
NE corner that gave me fits, and I caved in to Google, then
red-letters. Oh well. Triple 9-letter down corners, triple 10-letter
across corners. Some of the longer fill;
16a. Dating term usually abbreviated : ANNO DOMINI - argh~! I was looking for something like "IN SEARCH OF", as on a dating SITE
30d. Passing legislation? : ESTATE LAW - My friend from Ohio, Ibby, the woman who got me onto the movie set back in 1997, lost her husband yesterday - Friday the 13th. I do not know the details, but he did have health issues
50a. Like some sirens : BEWITCHING - not the "SCREAMING" kind, but the female version of "siren"
3d. "Every Breath You Take" band : THE POLICE - they took reggae and made it commercial; this is my favorite pick from them
o-on-onw-onwa-onwar-onward~!
ACROSS:
1. D.C. sports group : NATS
- The Washington Naionals - NLE Champs last year - and I'm sure C.C. is
excited that baseball is back~! That means just one month left in
regular season hockey....
5. Hit the roof : BOILED OVER - I had "GO I---", tried "-NTO A RAGE", but needed a bigger grid
15. School acronym : ELHI - Elementary and High school
17. MSNBC anchor Wagner : ALEX - did I mention I love the name Alexandra~? Gail had Alexia in that first puzzle, but that's not as pretty
18. Specialty brokers : LAND AGENTS - ugh. Got the "AGENTS" part....
19. Head : TOP
20. The Whiffenpoofs of a cappella fame : ELIs - from Yale - and I did not know this
21. Finely contoured : SLEEK - Svelte did not fit
22. Only fair : TWO STAR - ah. Like a review. "The hotel food was only fair"
24. Sherry type : PALE DRY - ugh. I did not see this listed in any of the sites I checked. So it started as "PALE RED", and then I WAGed the "DRY" part
26. Swap magazines : RELOAD - I had RELOA-, and this just did not dawn on me. Until now. The clip of a machine gun - referred to as a magazine
27. Outback order : FILET - my only meh for the day
28. No-brainer? : IDIOT - like how I feel after a particularly rough crossword
29. Gifts for aficionados : BOXED SETS
33. VIP of the USAF : CIC - Commander in Chief
34. Chess grandmaster Spassky : BORIS - Once the "B" showed, it was WAG time
35. Span. title : SRA
36. Joint support : KNEE BRACE
39. Disastrous : FATAL
41. Come (from) : ARISE
42. They're assembled at bars : SALADS - oh, SALAD BAR. Guess I'm still not that far from a drink
43. Player in eight Super Bowls : PATRIOT - ah - not a proper name at all; the New England Patriots
46. Herbal beverage : MINT TEA
47. Then, in Rennes : ALORS - Frawnche
48. Boring, maybe : LONG
49. Punch line, say : END
53. Kyrgyzstan border range : ALAI - not URAL - that's too far north
54. "Block-Heads" co-star, 1938 : STAN LAUREL - a-ha~! Did not have to Google it~!
55. Temporary place to stay : CAMP - not INNS
56. Project planning datum : TARGET DATE
57. Crimp-haired critters : EWES
DOWN:
1. Bit of cleverness : NEAT TRICK
2. Admitted : ALLOWED IN
4. Pack leader? : SIX - Six-pack, got it
5. It's not a complex number : BALLAD - well, some rock ballads can be - for the guitar player; here's one 'Top 100' List; here's my idea of a tough ballad
6. Happy way to walk : ON AIR
7. Temporary places to stay : INNS - Ah - here it is.
8. City served by Ben-Gurion airport : LOD
5. Hit the roof : BOILED OVER - I had "GO I---", tried "-NTO A RAGE", but needed a bigger grid
15. School acronym : ELHI - Elementary and High school
17. MSNBC anchor Wagner : ALEX - did I mention I love the name Alexandra~? Gail had Alexia in that first puzzle, but that's not as pretty
18. Specialty brokers : LAND AGENTS - ugh. Got the "AGENTS" part....
19. Head : TOP
20. The Whiffenpoofs of a cappella fame : ELIs - from Yale - and I did not know this
21. Finely contoured : SLEEK - Svelte did not fit
22. Only fair : TWO STAR - ah. Like a review. "The hotel food was only fair"
24. Sherry type : PALE DRY - ugh. I did not see this listed in any of the sites I checked. So it started as "PALE RED", and then I WAGed the "DRY" part
26. Swap magazines : RELOAD - I had RELOA-, and this just did not dawn on me. Until now. The clip of a machine gun - referred to as a magazine
27. Outback order : FILET - my only meh for the day
28. No-brainer? : IDIOT - like how I feel after a particularly rough crossword
29. Gifts for aficionados : BOXED SETS
33. VIP of the USAF : CIC - Commander in Chief
34. Chess grandmaster Spassky : BORIS - Once the "B" showed, it was WAG time
35. Span. title : SRA
36. Joint support : KNEE BRACE
39. Disastrous : FATAL
41. Come (from) : ARISE
42. They're assembled at bars : SALADS - oh, SALAD BAR. Guess I'm still not that far from a drink
43. Player in eight Super Bowls : PATRIOT - ah - not a proper name at all; the New England Patriots
46. Herbal beverage : MINT TEA
47. Then, in Rennes : ALORS - Frawnche
48. Boring, maybe : LONG
49. Punch line, say : END
53. Kyrgyzstan border range : ALAI - not URAL - that's too far north
54. "Block-Heads" co-star, 1938 : STAN LAUREL - a-ha~! Did not have to Google it~!
55. Temporary place to stay : CAMP - not INNS
56. Project planning datum : TARGET DATE
57. Crimp-haired critters : EWES
DOWN:
1. Bit of cleverness : NEAT TRICK
2. Admitted : ALLOWED IN
4. Pack leader? : SIX - Six-pack, got it
5. It's not a complex number : BALLAD - well, some rock ballads can be - for the guitar player; here's one 'Top 100' List; here's my idea of a tough ballad
When Children Cry - White Lion
7. Temporary places to stay : INNS - Ah - here it is.
8. City served by Ben-Gurion airport : LOD
9. Author LeShan : EDA - perps
10. Husky follower : DOGSLED
11. They're filled and folded : OMELETS - I figured it was either a Spanish/Mexican dish, or um, that, er, whatsitcalled Italian thingy - Calzone~! I just could not think of the word, and it was wrong anyway
12. Like some brick walls : VINED - Like, say, Wrigley Field
10. Husky follower : DOGSLED
11. They're filled and folded : OMELETS - I figured it was either a Spanish/Mexican dish, or um, that, er, whatsitcalled Italian thingy - Calzone~! I just could not think of the word, and it was wrong anyway
12. Like some brick walls : VINED - Like, say, Wrigley Field
13. Join : ENTER - Dah~!! Not UNITE
14. Touch-and-go : RISKY - OK, I think of this phrase as more 'delicate' or 'sensitive'
20. Dakota du Sud, e.g. : ETAT - More Frawnche - that's Dakota of the South, of the United States
23. __ Canals : SOO
24. "Angry" adversary in Enid Blyton's "Faraway Tree" series : PIXIE - OK, I cheated. I had to look this one up, even with "--XIE" - shoulda guessed
25. Dogfish Head products : ALES - sounded like a beer name to me - the Wiki
27. Pressure : FORCE
29. Sound off : BOAST
31. Business identifier : TRADE NAME - I thought it might end with "CARD" at first
32. They go with chips : SALSA DIPS - messed my 'INNS' up
34. Vivacity : BRIO
37. Hoop, for one : EARRING
38. Take offense : BRISTLE
39. Venom source : FANG - ah, not ASPS
40. Flying fig. : ALT - altitude - not ETA, ETD, or ARR.
42. Unattached : SINGLE - like me~! :7(
43. L.A.-based brewery : PABST - did not know this
44. Prince Valiant's bride : ALETA - mostly perps
45. "Path __": 2002 LBJ biopic : TO WAR
46. "Woman With a Parasol" painter : MONET
48. Pre-euro currency : LIRA
51. Monopoly token that replaced the iron : CAT - I remember the iron, but did not know it was replaced with a CAT
53. One on the links : ACE - I pondered TEE, PAR, and PIN before realizing we are talking about a score of ONE
Splynter
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