Words: 70 (missing Q,V,W,X,Z)
Blocks: 33
Nice - A Saturday solve from our blog host C.C.~! Of course, it would
not be a C.C. Saturday puzzle unless it had a theme, which I got right
away - but had one answer in the wrong position. Have to say, it was
looking pretty grim after the first pass; too many proper names, and
some properly vague clues made my grid very blank. I'll have to call
out a few "fun sponge" answers*. Triple 6- and 8-letter corners, two 10-letter climbers, and the 11-letter themes. Let's take a look at the theme answers:
27. Capital that starts with a month : JUNEAU ALASKA - June - oh. So cool how both answers had the same # of letters
45. Capital that starts with a month : AUGUSTA MAINE - August - a . Very proud for thinking of this one right away, but I put it in the 27a. spot. Oh well.
~!
ACROSS:
1. Caret-shaped letter : LAMBDA - ah, Greek letter
= ^
7. Entertainer whose name is Spanish for "churches" : IGLESIAS - I cheated; Helen at the restaurant helped me out with this, and 28d.
15. Film set in 2035 : I,ROBOT - I thought "I Am Legend", also with Will Smith, was better
16. Connected with : TRACED TO - I had "LEANEST" at 9d., which messed me up
17. Chinese discipline : TAI-CHI - not taOISM
18. Hood : GANGSTER - I was looking for the place, not the person
19. Duke collaborator : ELLA - Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald (p.s., Helen tells me "ella" is "she" in Spanish; I need to learn the language)
20. Sign of a spill : SLICK - Oil spills; think BP
22.* __ Chicago : EAST - fun sponge~! Not too vague....
23. Torments : MISERIES - the noun, in this case
26. Fast sports cars : GTs
31. Lacking heat? : UNARMED - har-har~! Gun = 'heat' in the gangster 'hood
32. 2009 MTV Generation Award winner : STILLER - Ben - I don't watch the MTV awards, so this was unknown
36. Carol kings : MAGI - I was thinking of the people who sing at your doorstep, not the subject of the song itself (oh, and har-har on your pun, C.C.)
15. Film set in 2035 : I,ROBOT - I thought "I Am Legend", also with Will Smith, was better
16. Connected with : TRACED TO - I had "LEANEST" at 9d., which messed me up
17. Chinese discipline : TAI-CHI - not taOISM
18. Hood : GANGSTER - I was looking for the place, not the person
19. Duke collaborator : ELLA - Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald (p.s., Helen tells me "ella" is "she" in Spanish; I need to learn the language)
20. Sign of a spill : SLICK - Oil spills; think BP
22.* __ Chicago : EAST - fun sponge~! Not too vague....
23. Torments : MISERIES - the noun, in this case
26. Fast sports cars : GTs
32. 2009 MTV Generation Award winner : STILLER - Ben - I don't watch the MTV awards, so this was unknown
36. Carol kings : MAGI - I was thinking of the people who sing at your doorstep, not the subject of the song itself (oh, and har-har on your pun, C.C.)
37. Stud site : LOBE - earring reference; not "wall"
38. Medium : PSYCHIC - we have a famous one, right here on L.I.
42. Desert : ABANDON - ah, the verb, not the place
38. Medium : PSYCHIC - we have a famous one, right here on L.I.
42. Desert : ABANDON - ah, the verb, not the place
47. Pay stub? : OLA - payola
50. Common knowledge : NO SECRET - it's common knowledge what image I am thinking of for 9d.
51. "__ again?" : COME
53. One of four Holy Roman emperors : OTTO I
54. "A Few Good Men" gp. : USMC - Did you hear what the toll collector's supervisor told him the day he got fired~? "You can't handle the booth~!"
58. Item required to be included on Nutrition Facts labels since 2006 : TRANSFAT - nailed it
60. Predicament : SCRAPE - I am still trying to solve my little "predicament"; C.C. knows why "Alexa" was only 55.5% correct in last week's puzzle
62. Walter White on "Breaking Bad," for one : ANTI-HERO - never watched, but I am told I need to - that and "Dexter"
63. Rode : TEASED
64. Placed a confident bet : LAID ODDS
65. Claim : ALLEGE
DOWN:
1. Like some salad dressing : LITE
2. Sea ruined by extensive irrigation projects : ARAL
3. Work like a dog : MOIL - not Toil; not to be confused with a Jewish 'mohel'
4. "Doctor Who" airer : BBC AMERICA - also carries Top Gear, but I am no longer watching due to the firing of Mr. Clarkson
5. "Am I an idiot!" : D'OH~!
2. Sea ruined by extensive irrigation projects : ARAL
3. Work like a dog : MOIL - not Toil; not to be confused with a Jewish 'mohel'
4. "Doctor Who" airer : BBC AMERICA - also carries Top Gear, but I am no longer watching due to the firing of Mr. Clarkson
5. "Am I an idiot!" : D'OH~!
6. Debatable : AT ISSUE
7. Certain media darling : "IT" GIRL
8. Word of thanks : GRACIAS - and yet more Spanish
9. Most long and slender : LANKEST - I don't associate "lank" with sexy, so I'm gonna pass on a gratuitous legs image
10. Hosp. readout : ECG
11. Zaire's Mobutu __ Seko : SESE - Popular in crosswords, but it took me a minute to commit to "Sese"; didn't seem right
12. Security aid : ID TAG
13. Blast from the past : A-TEST - nuclear blast, that is
14. Thing that's no fun to be out of : SORTS - toyed with "Synch"; out of sorts, out of sync(h)
21. Pet controller : LEAD - I think this is more British than America's "leash"
24. Sum, to Claudius : I AM - not the adding 'sum', just straight up Latin
25*. Footwear item for Bode Miller : SKI
27. __ shot : JUMP - Could have been "LONG", too. The third verse in this song mentions 'jump shot'
28. Article in El Sol : UNAS - Helen tells me it's "some"; ergo a part of speech found in the local Latino paper
29. '90s Cleveland Indians pitching standout Charles : NAGY - no C.C. crossword would be complete without a baseball clue. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, my NY Rangers blew their first game against Washington; better hope they pull back tonight
30. Label on some whole foods : ALL NATURAL
33. California's self-proclaimed "Zinfandel Capital of the World" : LODI - toyed with Napa, but that's the valley; both are towards the top of CA
34. "... crafty seer, with __ wand": Pope : EBON - Alexander Pope, poet
35. Kevin's "Tin Cup" co-star : RENE - I loved her in this movie; great, great story
39. Horde member : HUN - not "ORC"
40. Embarrassed admission : "I GOOFED"
41. Tart filling : CUSTARD
42. Early Bee Gees label : ATCO - 50% perps, 50% WAG
43. Bean expert : BARISTA - coffee bean, and I was not fooled
44. Soul, to Sartre : ÂME - Frawnche; in Latin, we have Sum, Esse ( Fui, Futurus ) - "to be"
46. Dustups : SET TOs
47. In base eight : OCTAL
48. Daughter of Lady Dugal, as it turns out, in an 1869 novel : LORNA - perps
49. Violin pioneer : AMATI
52*. Two-part poem in "Idylls of the King" : ENID - the Wiki
55. Convenient encl. : S.A.S.E.- self-addressed, stamped envelope
56. Video file format : MPEG
57. Turn over : CEDE
59. "Homeland" sta. : SHO
61. Dopey picture? : CEL - Dopey, the dwarf, from the animated movie "Snow White"
7. Certain media darling : "IT" GIRL
8. Word of thanks : GRACIAS - and yet more Spanish
9. Most long and slender : LANKEST - I don't associate "lank" with sexy, so I'm gonna pass on a gratuitous legs image
10. Hosp. readout : ECG
11. Zaire's Mobutu __ Seko : SESE - Popular in crosswords, but it took me a minute to commit to "Sese"; didn't seem right
12. Security aid : ID TAG
13. Blast from the past : A-TEST - nuclear blast, that is
14. Thing that's no fun to be out of : SORTS - toyed with "Synch"; out of sorts, out of sync(h)
21. Pet controller : LEAD - I think this is more British than America's "leash"
24. Sum, to Claudius : I AM - not the adding 'sum', just straight up Latin
25*. Footwear item for Bode Miller : SKI
27. __ shot : JUMP - Could have been "LONG", too. The third verse in this song mentions 'jump shot'
Paul Simon - Boy in the Bubble
29. '90s Cleveland Indians pitching standout Charles : NAGY - no C.C. crossword would be complete without a baseball clue. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, my NY Rangers blew their first game against Washington; better hope they pull back tonight
30. Label on some whole foods : ALL NATURAL
33. California's self-proclaimed "Zinfandel Capital of the World" : LODI - toyed with Napa, but that's the valley; both are towards the top of CA
34. "... crafty seer, with __ wand": Pope : EBON - Alexander Pope, poet
35. Kevin's "Tin Cup" co-star : RENE - I loved her in this movie; great, great story
39. Horde member : HUN - not "ORC"
40. Embarrassed admission : "I GOOFED"
41. Tart filling : CUSTARD
42. Early Bee Gees label : ATCO - 50% perps, 50% WAG
43. Bean expert : BARISTA - coffee bean, and I was not fooled
44. Soul, to Sartre : ÂME - Frawnche; in Latin, we have Sum, Esse ( Fui, Futurus ) - "to be"
46. Dustups : SET TOs
47. In base eight : OCTAL
48. Daughter of Lady Dugal, as it turns out, in an 1869 novel : LORNA - perps
49. Violin pioneer : AMATI
52*. Two-part poem in "Idylls of the King" : ENID - the Wiki
55. Convenient encl. : S.A.S.E.- self-addressed, stamped envelope
56. Video file format : MPEG
57. Turn over : CEDE
59. "Homeland" sta. : SHO
61. Dopey picture? : CEL - Dopey, the dwarf, from the animated movie "Snow White"
Splynter
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