Saturday, Apr 25th, 2015, Daniel Nierenberg

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing Q,Z)

Blocks: 30

  If I was feeling better about last week's Silkie, then this week's offering left me feeling downright blissful.  I liked getting an early 10-letter across fill with confidence, followed by an 11-letter down-er, and despite a few proper nouns which slowed me up, I was able to get through this one with little resistance, in about half my personal time.  Oh - and four four-letter gimme words today, too (*).  I hope your solve was just as enjoyable ( individual results may vary ).  Some of the longer fill:

15a. Video game that comes in a World Tour version : GUITAR HERO - call me ".22 caliber Splynter", because I nailed it ( I was driving nails into concrete today with my Ramset ).  I find the game harder to play than a real guitar

11. Freetown is its capital : SIERRA LEONE - I don't know why I put in Sierra Madre first

22. Dieter's brand : LEAN CUISINE - nailed it

O N W A R D ~! 

ACROSS:

 1. Breakfast spread : APRICOT JAM - really just too many choices to even start with WAGs

11. Attempt : STAB

16. Part of the Louisiana Purchase : IOWA - now this was a W.A.G.; I figured Ohio was already in the union, but now I see that it joined a mere 60 days before the U.S. spent $15mil for 828,000sq. miles

17. Meditation goal : INNER PEACE - I'm still looking for a piece of my inner peace

18. Vet : EX-GI

19. Allowed : OK'D

20. Bull or cow, perhaps : RHINO - popular this week

21. Pipe material : BRIER - lead, copper, plastic~? Oh, that kind of pipe

22*. One may be compulsive : LIAR

23. Imposed : FORCED

24. Patsy : PIGEON

27. Copernicus Science Centre site : WARSAW - a strange occurence; I had -ARSA-; just needed the "W"s

29. "Herbie: Fully Loaded" actress : LOHAN

30. Place to stretch one's legs : YOGA CLASS - yes~! yes~! stretch those legs~!

33. Like many a quote: Abbr. : ANON - and many a snarky commenter

34. Like some cereal : OATEN - dah, I was going to throw this in, but hesitated

35. What we have here, to Jorge : ESTA - in other words, 'this'

36. Sports demographic : NASCAR DAD - I am a "wannabe" hockey dad - I got the hockey part taken care of....the daddy part, not so much.  My NY Rangers eliminated the Penguins last night

38. Bach's "Jesu, meine Freude," e.g. : MOTET

39. Pisa native : TUSCAN - I am not familiar with specific locations of Italy - other than Rome - but once I had TU-C....as a builder and drafter, I feel the need to visit the Leaning Tower; I never had the chance to visit the World Trade Center, and I live 60mi away.

40. UTEP athletes : MINERS - popular on Saturday

41. Caroline portrayer in "Untamed Heart" : MARISA - Tomei; IMDb - you gotta read the summary

43. One may be recurring : ROLE

44. Important star group : A-LIST

45. "The Fountainhead" architect : ROARK - I am ashamed that I did not remember his name; it came to me once I had -O-RK.  Loved the book.

47. Hophni's father, in the Bible : ELI

50. Fictional knight : JEDI - Star Wars

51. Software for screenwriters : MOVIE MAGIC - Star Wars was movie magic; this is the software Wiki

53. Field laborers : OXEN

54. Secret discovered by a woodcutter : OPEN SESAME - ah, those woodcutters

55. Medium __ : RARE

56. Dating option : PERSONAL AD - SWM, 5'9", looking for SWF, never married, no kids; blue-eyed, dark-haired, about 5'4"; long legs preferred.  Contact me here at the blog

DOWN:  

1. Currency exchange fee : AGIO - I can never recall this

2. Kind of rock : PUNK

3. Zest source : RIND

4. Urban ending : ITE - urbanite

5. Buzzard attractor : CARRION
 

6. Bruce Wayne, e.g. : ORPHAN - all perps; didn't realize I got it til I came here

7. "The good is oft interred with __ bones": Shak. : THEIR - WAG

8. "Sleepy" woman in the song "Daydream Believer" : JEAN - odd; this was playing on the muzak at the restaurant this week

9. Violist's direction : ARCO - not pizzicato

10. Springfield bartender : MOE - more Simpsons this week

12. "Erin Brockovich" subject : TOXIC WASTE

13. "Rats!" : "AW GEE~!"

14. John Logie __, inventor of the first mechanical TV : BAIRD - there was a science program that discussed this invention, and I was fascinated; more here

21. Anjou cousin : BOSC - pairs of pears

23. Drescher of "The Nanny" : FRAN - liked her more as Bobbi Fleckman - what movie am I referring to~??  No cheating~!

24. Design : PLAN

25. Hebrides isle : IONA - I'm getting better with this clue/answer

26. 2007 Nicolas Cage title role : GHOST RIDER - seen some of the movie, but not intentionally

27. Odin's Germanic counterpart : WOTAN - perps and WAGs

28*. Like fine port : AGED

30. "Blah ..." : YADA

31. Dump closing? : STER dumpster; I need to rent one in June

32. Coll. acceptance factors : SATs

34*. Sea predator : ORCA

37. __ mgr. : ASST

38. Old calcium source? : MILKMEN - har-har

40. To a greater extent : MORE SO

41. Academic declaration : MAJOR - I declare that my only major in college was alcohol consumption, and I only "graduated" 10yrs ago

42. "Spy Kids" actress Vega : ALEXA - her first name is 55.5% of the way there

43. Comes down : RAINS - not ALITS

45. Partition, with "off" : ROPE

46*. Done : OVER

47. Alike, in Arles : EGAL - Frawnche

48. It was founded as Ciudad de los Reyes in 1535 : LIMA

49. Decorated, in a way : ICED

51. Cleanup aid : MOP

52. "__ result ..." : AS A - this is the last clue; as a result, I am signing off

Splynter

Saturday, Apr 18th, 2015, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

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

Blocks: 27

  I have to say, I was much in the mood for a Silkie today, having been roughed up over the past few weeks.  Was really looking forward to finishing without a cheat, but alas, it was not to be - again.  Just one, and a proper name, and it cleared up the otherwise locked-up, poorly WAGed NW corner.  There's always next Saturday....Bit of a change in our usual grid, having triple 7-letter stacks in the down to start, and the longer, triple 9-letter acrosses over to the right.  Always seems "easier" when the first clue is not a huge span of white.  Some 8-letter circumreferential fills in the center, too;

29. Citizens Bank Park team : PHILLIES - I had the --LIES, and that was enough, considering I am not a big baseball fan.  I was over my buddy Mike's house last night, and he tuned into the Yankee game; sorry, C.C., it just doesn't hold my attention....  :7(  The Rangers are up 1-0 in their series against another Pennsylvania team, the hated Penguins; the Islanders are tied 1-1 with the Washington Capitals.  I plan to play hockey this coming week; the head feels better

37. Youthful nickname for the 1950 29-Across : WHIZ KIDS - before my time

onward~!

ACROSS:

1. Chaps : LADS - I sensed this was a 'male buddy' clue, not the leather pants type; went with GUYS, as I was trying some GUN fills for 1d.

5. Measure up : PASS MUSTER

15. "My Country" author : EBAN - dah~!  dah~!! DAH~!!!  Had to look this up; should have rung a bell, it's been a standard crossword clue for some time

16. Busy, in a way : ON THE PHONE - but you don't get a "busy" signal much these days

17. Stellar phenomenon : NOVA

18. Wheel of Fortune and others : TAROT CARDS - I was going to put this in, and thought, no, it's a TV game show thing.  Dang~!  I own a deck of tarot cards; keep them wrapped in silk ( hi, there, constructor~! ) per the book I bought on how to maintain and read the cards

19. Error : SLIP - had FLUB.  That's an error.

20. Oil sources : OLIVES - had O----ES, so it was not "SHALES"

21. Airport NW of PIT : CLEveland

22. 1975-'76 World Series champs, on scoreboards : CINcinnati; I lived there from '97 to 2000; worked on my first movie set there - as for the baseball team, I recall the Big Red Machine, and I went and looked for my old baseball sticker album - I hope I can redeem myself, C.C.

23. Called, nowadays : SKYPED - my other buddy Mike regularly Skypes with China as he continues to do well with his game company; I present mine to him tonight

24. Not abundant : THIN - (sigh) like my hair

25. Recording acronym : ASCAP

27. Piece of Plymouth pizza? : ZED - P-I-Zed-Zed-A

28. Former National Security Advisor Scowcroft : BRENT - I WAGed tRENT

31. Picks up : RAISES

32. Alley group : PINS - Bowling
 

33. Barber's supply : TALC - Nailed it, but that's not saying much

34. Emotional : MOVING

41. Opposite of après : AVANT - Frawnche after and before

42. Monopoly item : DIE - not HAT; I always played the wheelbarrow, so I had something to carry my "cash" around

43. '30s-'40s Kildare portrayer : AYRES

44. Canada goose relative : NENE
 

45. Kind of acid in red wine : TANNIC - Ha~! I knew this one

47. Canadian sign letters : KPH - Kilometres/hour

48. Indian address : SRI

49. Cleaned up : DUSTED

50. Symbolic dance : HULA - or HORA~? I guessed wrong

51. Jackson 5 song covered by Mariah Carey : "I'LL BE THERE"

53. Sch. whose mascot is Paydirt Pete : UTEP - got this one, too - I can remember some past clues

54. Canadian asset : OIL RESERVE

55. Town near Padua : ESTE

56. Some lucky breaks : NEAR MISSES

57. Slate, briefly : SKED - quick way to schedule

DOWN:   

1. Shooter's protection : LENS CAP - got me; not thinking photography

2. Wipe out : ABOLISH

3. Fictional code name : Da VINCI - I liked the book and the movie

4. Piece of cake : SNAP - Dah~!  SLAB worked with my FLUB

5. "The Chosen" author : POTOK - I knew this one, too, because my friend Ibby gave me the book

6. Breaks down : ANALYZES

7. Road markings : STRIPES - I noticed yesterday that one of the local roads had fresh stripes painted - you'd think the potholes would have been the priority....

8. Left, with "off" : SHOVED

9. Doled (out) : METED

10. Bar IDs : UPCs

11. Oldies syllable : SHA

12. Flashlights, across the pond : TORCHES - parents are English, knew this

13. Court boundary : END LINE

14. Is in high dudgeon : RESENTS - this is the "#1 killer" of AA members; I harbor some resentments, still, even after a decade

23. Support piece : SPLINT(er) - almost a gratuitous self shout-out

24. Requiring delicate handling : TRICKY

26. Skiing category : ALPINE

28. "The Human Comedy" author : BALZAC - the Wiki

30. Big initials in banking : ING - my IRA started out in ING; it's now Capital One 360

31. Italian counterpart of the BBC : RAI

33. Offended outburst : "THE NERVE~!"

34. Kennedy Compound component : MANSION

35. Blanket : OVERLIE

36. Plain-__ : VANILLA

37. Mearth portrayer in "Mork & Mindy" : WINTERS

38. Siberian metropolis : IRKUTSK - got it because I played a lot of RISK when I was a kid

39. Exhaust : DEPLETE

40. Like some curves : S-SHAPED - nice fill
 

42. Causes for pauses : DASHES

45. Rwandan ethnic group : TUTSI - all perps

46. Inventeur's notes : IDEES - more Frawnche; ideas

49. Judge : DEEM

50. Shades : HUES - I read your warning, Argyle, but couldn't resist; thankfully, HEartRx did not actually post a "hosiery" pic; I was going to go with a hunky guy for the ladies this week, but I have to make up for Thursday's 'tragedy'

52. Hardly a warm reaction : Brr - I officially put my gloves, car window scraper and winter coats to rest for the season

Splynter

Saturday, Apr 11th, 2015, David C. Duncan Dekker

Theme: None

Words: 72 (pangram~!)

Blocks: 27

  I can't believe I finished the whole thing - OK, I looked up two proper names - but I'm claiming victory, considering the clever and vague cluing.  I did not see Mr. Duncan Dekker's name in the blog list, so I have to assume this is his first publication for the LA Times; he maybe a regular for the NYT, but I wouldn't know - I am lucky to have had the time to work last Sunday's crossword in my local paper, Newsday ( BTW, Gail Grabowski).  Anyway, this grid started off very white, with big chunky corners and a staircase of answers up the middle.  Some of the longer fill;

17a. Tiny cylindrical structure : NANOTUBE - I had nanoDUCT, which was not working with my ideas for the crossings

12d. Scaly reproductive organ : PINE CONE - phew~! glad we're not talking about such an organ in the animalia taxonomy

53a. Title I of the Agricultural Act of 1956 : SOIL BANK - The Wiki

31d. Seat of Peru's Constitutional Court : AREQUIPA - Cheat #2 - I punched in "major cities of Peru" and this came up after Lima - and it meshed with my perps

 

 

Adelante~!

ACROSS:

1. Staples Center team : L.A. LAKERS - good start, as I know the LA Kings play there - but not this spring~!!  The Stanley Cup champions are out this year; the NY Rangers take the President's Trophy for the best record in the NHL; usually not a good sign for winning the whole thing

9. Not flat : SLOPED - SHARP was not long enough

15. Minor issue? : AGE LIMIT

16. Brazilian ballroom dance : MAXIXE - new word/dance for me; two "X"s, nice - I got them via the perps

18. Without a key : ATONAL

19. B's 5 and C's 6 : At. NoS - dah - got me this time - I did not think of Atomic Numbers when I read this clue; B = Boron, C = Carbon

20. Home entertainment option : CABLE - I was thinking SONOS

22. Label for the Poison album "Poison'd!" : EMI - WAGed MCA, was 100% wrong

23. Links acronym : IHOP - ah - not a golf links reference, but a sausage links one - International House of Pancakes

24. Crawford of the NBA's Clippers : JAMAL - looked him up; don't know from basketball - makes this clue a "fun sponge"

25. 40% of DX : CCIV - bust out Husker Gary's Roman calculator; 510 * .4 = 204

26. Common doo-wop soloist : SAX - ah, the instrument, not the player

27. Radar screen blip : BOGEY - yeah, PLANE seemed too easy

28. It has a ring to it : PHONE - BA dum tisss~!

29. Shoe attachment? : MAKER - I tried shoeLACES - Bzzzt~!

30. Clubby type : JOINER - dictionary.com says a "clubby" person joins in with members, but not so much outsiders; sounds a bit like me....

31. Works up : AROUSES
 
34. Places to see arrows : QUIVERS

35. Sat for a bit : RESTED - a WAG that lasted

36. Semblance : GUISE

37. Kitchen additions? : ETTES - kitchenETTEs

38. Prepare for winter flight, in a way : DE-ICE

39. Energy Reorg. Act of 1974 creation : NRC - Nuclear Regulatory Commission

42. Pounds : QUID - Oh, I am so disappointed with myself - parents born and raised in England, regular viewer of Top Gear, and I forgot about this definition of pounds - the colloquial name for the currency in Great Britain ( and elsewhere )

43. Elegant : RITZY

44. Krombacher output : BIER - sounded German, WAGed 'beer'

45. Keats' "Sylvan historian" : URN - "Ode on a Grecian" to be exact

46. Farm deliveries : FOALS - I had GRAIN at first - this is the birthing kind of delivery

47. "Taxi" actor : DANZA - Tony, who played Tony

48. "Soon" : IN A FEW

50. "You've got to be kidding me!" : "OH COME ON~!"

52. Debussy's "__ Suite" : PETITE

54. Dug : ADORED

55. Betrays : TWO-TIMES

DOWN:

1. Outdoor sitting areas : LANAIs - Bam~! right off the "L" in 1a.

2. Dame of mystery : AGATHA - Bam~! right off the "A" in 1a.

3. Former heavyweight champ __ Lewis : LENNOX - BAM~!  That's a powerful punch

4. Knock for __ : A LOOP - like, say, being in the ring with Lennox

5. Little beavers : KITS - had kiDs, which slowed me down

6. Cassowary cousin : EMU

7. Trunk structures : RIB CAGES - had it, took it out, put it back in, took it out....do the hokey-pokey....and a semi-clecho with the next;

8. __ trunk : STEAMER - argh~!  I tried STORAGE

9. Insignificant : SMALL

10. How some busy people run : LATE

11. Maker of SteeL kitchen products : OXO - three-letters and kitchen utensils~? Try OXO

13. Free West Coast daily : EXAMINER - pondered a Spanish named paper - but couldn't think of one

14. Gets the job done : DELIVERS

21. Pound sound : BAY - this time, it's the "dog" type of pound

24. Wasn't serious : JOKED

25. Leek relative : CHIVE

27. Sacks of diamonds? : BASES - har-har

28. Presence : POISE

29. Soft : MUTED

30. Risqué : JUICY - minis, yes, Lemonade, fishnets, no - I am strictly pantyhose - but thanks for the images~!

32. Made a comeback? : RETURNED

33. Repeated musical pattern : OSTINATO - the Wiki

34. 1994 film about a scandal : QUIZ SHOW - IMDb

36. Demand to split : "GET LOST" - not D-I-V-O-R-C-E

38. Calendario entry : DIA - I took a Wild-Ass Adivinar

39. Time to flip the sign, perhaps : NINE A.M. - I went with "P.M.", but that was close enough

40. Change in boundaries : RE-ZONE

41. Stimulates, with "up" : CRANKS

43. Like many boats on lakes : ROWED

44. Tale of a whitetail : BAMBI - original way to phrase it

46. Big affair : FÊTE

47. Birdbrain : DOLT - ooops, not DODO, but 50% correct

49. Douglas __ : FIR

51. Labor gp. that initially supported FDR : CIO

Splynter

Saturday, Apr 4th, 2015, John Lieb

Theme: None

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

Blocks: 27

   I have done well with Mr. Lieb's puzzles in the past, but today it was looking pretty bleak.  The first across pass yielded only about 5 answers, and then on the down run, little more.  Caught a break with a few well-placed W.A.G.s, and I happened to know a few of the proper names, too.  Alas, I did cheat - one look-up, and one verification - so I have to admit to a DNF.  Drat.  Two spanners, two 10-letter movie reference* climbers, and triple 9-letter corners made up the long fill;

17a. Donkey in "Shrek" et al. : ANIMAL SIDEKICKS - when one "ponders" other animal sidekicks, one might recall a TV show from '79-'81;

54a. "Been there, done that" : "NOT MY FIRST RODEO" - I found a little history here

13d. 2014 A.L. MVP : MIKE TROUT

28d. Wet blanket, in modern lingo : FUN SPONGE - new phrase to me, but I do like it - I'll use it to describe the way vague circumreferential Saturday clues suck the joy out of some puzzles

Down-ar~!

ACROSS:

1. Franchise spawned in the '60s : STAR TREK - my personal favorite of the show's variations was "The Next Generation", which was my generation's version; the original was a bit too dry for me, and the latest version of the franchise, the "young" original crew, just doesn't do it justice, IMHO

9. Away for the summer, maybe : AT CAMP - nailed it; felt like I was off to a good start

15. White Sox nickname, with "the" : PALE HOSE - I thought this might be a specific person, but it's a reference to their uniform - white socks = pale hose

16. Longtime Ottoman Empire territory : BOSNIA

19. Dedicate : DEVOTE

20. Lug : TOTE

21. Worked (up) : HET

22. They're just looking : EYERS - oh, those 'socket sets'

23. Cries for attention : "HEYS~!"

24. NFLer Ronnie for whom a defensive award is named : LOTT - the Wiki

25. Remote power source : AA CELL - almost got me thinking "distant", and not TV/DVR

27. Land overseas : TERRE - I had terrA to start; good enough for me

28. Univ. staff : FACulty - not TAs; made the SW very slow in solving

31. Prevent from going to seed : MOW

32. Organization level : ECHELON

34. Sam Samudio's spoken opening in "Wooly Bully" : UNO DOS - link away~!

36. Sea-dwelling Greek god : NEREUS - Poseidon didn't fit; neither did NEPTUNE, the Roman version

37. Most populous OPEC nation : NIGERIA - OK, I cheated - sort of....I went and found a list of OPEC nations, because I had ---ERIA; ALGeria would have worked, too, but only 23% the population

39. Ask to be excused, with "off" : BEG

40. It merged with Sprint in 1983 : GTE

41. Command before a click : SMILE - dah~! Stuck in computer, not camera mode

42. Treated for traction, in a way : SALTED - Did anyone else think of this traction~?

45. Cocktail party fare : PÂTÉ - ya know, I have always heard this word in jokes, on TV, etc., but never actually knew what it was

46. Securely : FAST - as in "the bolt held the door fast"; there's quite a few homographs for 'fast'

47. Overseas denials : NEINS - Ach~! German~!

51. Taxonomic suffix : OTA - what I found was that this guy is of the subclass "pterygota"

52. "The Secret of __": 1982 animated movie : NIMH - I remembered the name, but not the movie - IMDb trivia

53. "Working Class Hero" songwriter : LENNON

57. "Brighton Rock" author : GREENE - I was missing the first letter, and "G" seemed to make the most sense, but I did Google to check

58. Doing a lawn job : AERATING

59. Lamb treats : ESSAYS - oh, so crafty - Charles Lamb, not "KEBABS" as I first tried

60. Hoodwinks : MISLEADS

DOWN:

1. Garden aid : SPADE - I tried "STAKE" off the "S" in Star Trek

2. Second-longest-serving Chief Justice : TANEY - perps

3. Not out of the game : ALIVE

4. Suckerfish : REMORA

5*. Song featured in "Moonstruck" : THAT'S AMORE

6. Break for a certain wannabe : ROLE - ah.  Crossing the "Sox" clue, this was way too vague for me; now I get it - an actor wannabe

7. Mariner cap insignia : ESS

8. "Reservoir Dogs" actor : KEITEL - and a lot of other Tarantino movies, too

9. Disables the alarm, say : ABETS - cute

10. Tip in Vegas : TOKE - seen this in crosswords before; not the 'toke' I grew up with

11. TV franchise since 2000 : CSI

12. Relay part : ANCHOR LEG

14. Acceptable form of back talk? : PAST TENSE - Har-har~!

18. His epitaph includes "knight" and "man of letters" : DOYLE - Sir Arthur Conan

23. Fell : HEW

24. Creepy look : LEER

26. Mozart title starter : COSI

27*. 1927 Buster Keaton film : THE GENERAL - totally not my generation - IMDb

29. Some film artists : ANIMATORS - q.v. 52a

30. Ponders : COGITATES

33. "For a life gone digital" news source : CNET

35. Editor's mark : DELE - or STET~? I can't tell with these crossings~!

38. "Same here" : "AS AM I"

39. Deli order : BLT

43. Hindu community : ASHRAM - dredged this one up from the depths

44. Represent : DENOTE

46. High winds : FIFES - ah, not like "zephyr", but high-pitched musical instruments

48. Bhopal locale : INDIA - well, the spelling should have clued me into a 'general' idea of where to find it

49. Continuously : NO END

50. Makes out, across the Pond : SNOGS - learned from "Harry Potter"

52. Part of a Fifth Ave. address : NY, NY - I'm here in LI, NY

53. A and P, e.g.: Abbr. : LTRS - More deceptive if it had been clued A & P - as in the mrkt

55. Apology opener : MEA - culpa

56. Dante's half-dozen : SEI - Italian "six"

Splynter