Saturday, Oct 31st, 2015, Julian Lim

Theme: Happy Halloween~!

Words: 70 (missing X )

Blocks: 27

  We last saw today's constructor on a Saturday way back in January; I mention this not only because it's true, but I had just returned from upstate NY where my friend Garry has his wind- and solar-powered cabins - and this weekend I move into his house in Flanders. As for the puzzle, I was hoping it would not be too much of a brain-drain.  Gave myself a pat on the back for getting thru most of the gird, but it was a WAGfest in the NW.  Triple 9's crossing triple 7's in the corners are make for one of the worst kinds of grid - it usually means proper names/two-word answers/extreme vagueness;

1. Reaction to a piece of cake : NO PROBLEM - I seriously considered "YUM YUM YUM" because I had the "M"; I also pondered "LET THEM", as in "eat cake"

29. Amazon visitor's need : WEB ACCESS - hmmm, which Amazon~? The River, or the "go-to" online site for shopping~?

46. "Sure, let's!" : "I'M UP FOR IT~!"

60. Attempt : HAVE A GO AT - user-friendly vowel/consonant grouping; have a "goat~?"

ONWARD~!

ACROSS:

10. Ustream offering : NET TV - oops, not VIDEO

15. Hyperlink feature : UNDERLINE - frequently seen in email addresses, between parts of names; john_doe@crossword.com

16. Missouri River city : OMAHA

17. Qatar-based broadcaster : AL JAZEERA - the Wiki

18. Equate : LIKEN

19. Org. concerned with pedagogy : NEA - $2 word for the method of teaching

20. Parliament : London :: Storting : __ : OSLO - sounded Scandinavian

21. "As if I care!" : "BITE ME~!"

22. Blending aid, briefly : CAMO - short for camouflage, Frawnche for "smoke in the face"

24. Not high : SOBER - 3,949 days and counting

26. Some univ. proctors : TAs

27. Balances (out) : EVENS

32. Make easier to eat, as fruit : DESEED

34. Noted source of rubies and sapphires : SRI LANKA

35. French vineyards : CRUS

37. Rank quality : ODOR - my first thought was about smell, but I ended going with ONE-A....bzzzt~!

38. Like some courses : REQUIRED

42. Cannonball consequence : SPLASH

48. Knighted conductor : SOLTI

49. "'I __ you liked your drink,' sez Gunga Din" : 'OPE

50. Confines : CAGES

52. Farm food : SLOP

53. Ford model : TAURUS

56. Senate minority leader : REID

58. Otolaryngologists, e.g.: Abbr. : DRs - long word for a short abbr.

59. Patronized, in a way : ATE AT

62. It's open at the end of the fall : CHUTE - ah, parachute - at least you hope it's open at the end....

63. Cattle site : OPEN RANGE

64. Works with keys : TYPES

65. Microbrewery product : WHEAT BEER - ooh, I was close with CRAFT beer

DOWN:

1. Far from clear-cut : NUANCED

2. Like some new mothers : ON LEAVE

3. "Death Comes to Pemberley" author : P.D. JAMES - utter WAG from mostly perps; a link to her website

4. "In Dreams" actor : REA - we saw him last week

5. Ingredient in some Italian wedding soup : ORZO - the little bits of pasta; I like the little bits of meatball; interesting fact about the soup's name origin here

6. Approve : BLESS

7. Hide : LIE LOW - oops, not LAY low

8. Covers up, in a way : ENROBES - I like when confectioners "enrobe" their treats in chocolate

9. Word of apology : MEA - we also saw this last week

10. __ me tangere : NOLI - Latin for "touch me not" - new to me - some history

11. Put out : EMIT

12. Stop for a bit : TAKE TEN

13. 1994 Jim Carrey film : THE MASK

14. Samuel Barber opera : VANESSA - WAG

21. Intertwines : BRAIDS - pondered SPOONS first

23. Like some hotel room coffeemakers : ONE CUP - I had one in my room when I stayed in Delaware

25. River from Cantabria to Catalonia : EBRO - ha-HA~! Nailed it from crossword experience~!

28. Finishing stroke : SERIF - TAP-IN (golf) fit, too, but it wasn't working for me

30. Old cobblestone road sounds : CLOPS

31. Mexican novelist Fuentes : CARLOS - WAG and perps

33. Large pigs : DUROCS - new to me; I only know this Durock

36. Shot contents : SERA - ah, the needle kind of shot

38. Babysitter's reading, at times : RIOT ACT - LULLABY and WANT ADS fit, too

39. Therapist's asset : EMPATHY - I pondered "GOOD EAR" to start

40. What waiters often do : QUEUE UP - those who wait; I spent 90mins in DMV to register my van yesterday - with no signal for my cel phone

41. The "rh" in "rhapsody," e.g. : DIGRAPH

43. Wrapping words? : "ALL DONE~!"

44. Cloud function : STORAGE - the web-based servers kind of cloud; RAINING did fit, tho

45. Cool cat : HIPSTER

47. Tube : TEE-VEE

51. Italian town with a biannual horse race : SIENA - perps

54. Give stars to, say : RATE - OK, how would you rate her~!?

55. Salt Lake City team : UTES

57. Dash : DART

60. wiki__: collection of online manuals : HOW

61. Jaw : GAB

Splynter

Saturday, Oct 24th, 2015, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 72  (pangram~!)

Blocks: 28

 Still recovering from last week's brutal offering, so I was very happy to see a Saturday Silkie today.  Not that it was any walk in the park, but I did manage to finish in my personal allotted time, tho I have to admit to one Google cheat, and several "type"-overs.  Still, it was very satisfying to get thru a puzzle without feeling totally beaten up.  Triple 10-letter across corners, triple 8-letter down corners, and a bunch of 7-letter fill, too.  

17. Threading tool : SCREW PLATE

37. Aptly named sleep aid : ZzzQUIL - I started with NyQuil, which was too short, so I Googled to see what their 'other' drug was; I loved taking NyQuil, but I'm "not allowed to" anymore

60. Sawdust producer : BELT SANDER - I found this, and thought it was pretty funny - and hey~!  oooh~!  I did not know they had races~!!!

  NWAR~!

(O--------D)

ACROSS:

1. Mystery novel cover-up? : DUST JACKET - the "?" gave it away - but I started with BOOK jacket for some reason

11. Window component : JAMB - ugh, like there's just one 4-letter window part; sash, sill, stop, rail, trim, lock, head....

15. Bad way to leave someone : IN THE LURCH

16. Harpsichordist Kipnis : IGOR - half perps, half WAG

18. Ax : FIRE - I figured it was the verb and not the noun

19. Gets really high : SOARS

20. Reverent : PIOUS

22. Sum (up) : TOT - this is more prevalent in British circles

23. Tahari of fashion : ELIE - I knew this name (and it was a background feature in a Law & Order episode)

24. Slurred pronoun : DAT - "who dat~?!"

25. Game invented at Harrow School around 1830 : SQUASH - and a cross-referenced 57. 25-Across starter : SERVE - my new house-mate Garry plays a game called "pickleball", which is tennis played on a smaller court with a wiffleball - it looks really fun, and you get more volleys going

27. Grandchild of Japanese immigrants : SANSEI - started with NISSEI, and that was enough to work from

29. Amble : SAUNTER - she has permission to saunter thru my new front door

30. Its website includes a Headache Center : ANACIN - Aleve and Advil were just too short; took a while to recall this brand name

33. Mr. Rochester's ward : ADELE - no clue; all perps - from Jane Eyre

34. John of England : LOO - the porcelain perch

39. Case, for example: Abbr. : SYNonym - case = example

40. "No way!" : IXNAY - Pig Latin; the "rules" are here

42. Comparable in quality : AS GOOD

44. Where the Irrawaddy flows : MYANMAR - again, no clue, but once I got "--MAR"....

46. High pitch : TREBLE

50. Netherlands river : AMSTEL

51. "V for Vendetta" actor : REA

53. Blow : TOOT - were you thinking horn, or 'nose candy'~!?

54. Professional runner : POLitician

55. Place to see a hit : SIDE A - music hit, that is

58. Proof word : ERAT - part of "Q.E.D"

62. First name in gossip : RONA - Barrett - her Wiki

63. Musician with the autobiography "My First 79 Years" : ISAAC STERN - I don't know how I knew this, but I got it after just a few crossings

64. "Once more __ the breach": Shak. : UNTO

65. Hunch source : SIXTH SENSE - great movie, too

DOWN:

1. Bad-mouths : DISSES

2. Beverage nickname introduced in 1967 : UNCOLA - 7-up; I liked their more recent promotion

3. Filter : STRAIN

4. Television personality Caputo : THERESA - all but the "A" were perps

5. Yeshiva students : JEWS

6. Sight from the Brenner Pass : ALP - WAG

7. Apology ender : CULPA - mea for starters

8. Venomous Asian snake : KRAIT - for those who are ophidiophobes, I will not post a picture, but offer a link instead

9. Prefix with plasm : ECTO - this made last week's puzzle, too

10. Springsteen's birthplace? : THE USA - sorry, not a big fan of the song, but here's one I do like

The Rising

11. Peter Pan rival : JIF - peanut butters

12. Shakes up : AGITATES

13. In a sullen manner : MOROSELY

14. Fellow members : BRETHREN - nice group of $2 words in this corner

21. Filth : SQUALOR

24. Seven-term Mexican president Porfirio __ : DIAZ - 50% perps, the rest seemed logical

26. Hamburger's link : UND - German "and"

28. Food processors : ENZYMES

29. New Orleans jazz club __ Harbor : SNUG - their website

31. Industry authority : CZAR

32. Brightness measures : IQs - intelligence brightness - I was stuck on lumens for awhile

34. Planned 2019 Pan American Games host : LIMA, PERU - I was reluctant to put UNTO" in at 64a. because of the "U", but then it made sense

35. Open secret, e.g. : OXYMORON - here's a really funny webpage; I consider traffic to be a one word oxymoron; by definition, it's "driving, stopped"

36. Inclined : ON A SLANT

38. Shred : IOTA - dah~! not TEAR

41. Social worker? : ANT

43. Thaw : DETENTE - not DEFROST, but it was enough to get started in this corner

45. Outs : ALIBIS

47. Dairy giant : BORDEN

48. Flames : LOVERS

49. Timeless, in verse : ETERNE

51. Chill : RELAX - ah, the "hip" definition

52. Bother : EAT AT

56. '50s sitcom name : DESI

57. Challenge for a babysitter : SASS

59. Eastern ideal : TAO

61. Auburn, for one: Abbr. : SCHool - took some thought, because I was stuck on hair color

Splynter

Saturday, Oct 17th, 2015, David Steinberg

Theme: 15 x 16

Words: 73 (missing Q)

Blocks: 30

  I was really excited to work on this puzzle, as I missed the 'extra' row from Mr. Steinberg's last Saturday contribution back on Feb 8th.  It was hard to miss the extra column this time, seeing that the top row is numbered 1-16....and, of course, there has to be triple spanner stacks in a grid from David on a Saturday.  Alas, the top stack refused to budge, and unlike that crossword from February, the 'shorter' crossings were of no help whatsoever for me today.  Blew up my personal time, and caved into Google for one of the longer answers, but that did not help get me any further along.  I also think that once I fried my brain trying to solve this beast, answers that should have been obvious were no longer clear.  Oh well.  Gotta take a beating once in a while to remind me that it's Saturday.  The spanners;

1. Really frighten : SCARE THE PANTS OFF

17. 2010 Eminem/Rihanna #1 hit with the lyric "Just gonna stand there and hear me cry" : LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE - this was my Google; I like Eminem, but not all his stuff, and this one was not in my wheelhouse

18. "Despicable Me 2" company : UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

61. Elgar work with an as yet unsolved musical theme : ENIGMA VARIATIONS - never heard of it, but there were enough crossings to make this one plausible

65. Threat in Season 3 of "24" : BIOLOGICAL WEAPON - dah~!  I got the first word, but weapon was not forthcoming; got brain-locked on TOXIN and POISON

66. Ways to get high : EXTENSION LADDERS - this one, I got

      
               !
            ~    
          D       
        R            
      A                
   W                    
  N                        
O                            

ACROSS:

19. Something to grab : RIDE

20. Eponymous magazine founder Eric : UTNE - ugh - one of those answers I "knew", but it was not coming to me after the brain cells got tired

21. Ruler's domain? : ROOST - the "?" made me think tape measure ruler; again, getting caught up in a singular definition caused me all sorts of grief

22. Barred furniture : CRIBS - I am moving into a new "crib" this weekend; sharing a house with Gary, a buddy of mine.  The house is on the water in a 'suburb' of Riverhead called Flanders - half way between UPS and the restaurants...I'm so excited

24. Finely contoured : SLEEK - the Porsche has some smooth curves, too
 

27. God, in a midrash : ELOHIM - total unknown - in fact, I have never heard of a midrash

30. Pickup spots? : SCRUFFS - again, I got slowed down thinking this was the truck definition of pick-up; this time, it's the neck of your pet, the 'optimum' place to pick them up

34. City with a Pumpkin Run classic car show : OCALA

36. Baguette surfaces : FACETS - argh~!  CRUSTS fit, since this is the definition I was stuck on; instead it's the diamond cut 

38. Angry Birds sequel setting : RIO - no clue here, either - don't have, don't play

39. Valuable deposit : LODE

40. From square one, to Severus : DE NOVO - this week, my Latin failed me

41. Shock : JOLT - ugh, I had BOLT, and did not get the ta-DA~!

42. One may be blonde : ALE

43. Hard : SEVERE

44. Fortune's 2012 Businessperson of the Year : BEZOS - the man behind Amazon

45. Badly deteriorated : FAR GONE

47. Complete : ENTIRE

49. Uber : ULTRA

51. Means : AGENT - meh

53. Grand Canyon ride : BURRO - because ASS, MULE and DONKEY didn't fit

56. Quantum theory pioneer : BOHR

59. GI chow : MREs

DOWN:

1. Musical connector : SLUR

2. Like certain parlor containers : CONIC - ugh.  I believe this is a vague hint at a funeral parlor's urn shape

3. Real page-turner? : AVID READER - I had "BOOK" for AVID, thinking "real", as opposed to an eReader

4. Wake-up call : REVEILLE

5. Nice time for toasting : ETE - I went with EVE, but I figured it was the Frawnche city of Nice

6. Robin's family : THRUSH

7. "I have broke your __ to say so!": "The Tempest" : HEST - ugh.

8. Obi-Wan portrayer : EWAN - ARGH~!  I went with ALEC (Guiness), and not Mr. McGregor

9. Doesn't measure up : PALES

10. Shakespearean cries : AYs - "I" got this via perps

11. News initials since 1851 : NYT - blasphemy being in the LAT puzzle

12. British classic cars : TOURERS - JAGUARS fit, but didn't jibe with my Googled answer; this word is just a straight fun-sponge

13. Typically 81-digit diversion : SUDOKU - Once I considered 9x9, this came to me

14. Omnium-gatherum : OLIO - a blend of real and fake Latin, meaning a miscellaneous collection.  I just discovered there's a heavy metal band of the same name

15. Verizon bundle : FiOS - filled this right in - and then took it out....

16. Film follower? : FEST - FilmFEST

23. Zookeeper's main squeeze? : BOA - har-har

25. Square, in '50s slang, as shown by a four-fingered gesture : L SEVEN

26. __-1: "Ghostbusters" car : ECTO - just about the only clue I was sure of

28. Should it happen that : IF EVER - or is this the new disease from Apple, the iFever~?

29. Locks in a paddock : MANE - ARGHHH~!  The hair kind of lock

31. Hard-hit liner, in baseball lingo : FROZEN ROPE - Put in TURF BURNER, and that was just a cluster***k of wrong letters

32. Spanakopita dough : FILO

33. They're often lit : SOTS - I knew this one

34. Norwegian saint : OLAF - i got the OLA- part, but had to wait to see if it was "V" or "F"

35. Fountain output : COLA - ice cream parlor this time

37. Fruit remnant : CORE

40. Depressed area? : DENT

41. Prolonged lament : JEREMIAD - seen this before in crosswords, but it was not coming to me

43. Builder of Jerusalem's First Temple : SOLOMON - total WAG

44. Worth writing home about : BIG

46. Fountain output : GURGLE - think water fountain

48. 1943 Pacific island battle site : TARAWA - new one here, too; you can see it just below the Marshall Islands on this map

50. The Bahamas' __ Islands : ABACO - also new to me; this one's at the top of this map

52. Barbershop part : TENOR

53. Actress Neuwirth : BEBE

54. OS X basis : UNIX

55. Shields may be used in one : RIOT

57. Operation Torch target : ORAN - DAH~!  Not Iran; the Wiki, which includes a map

58. Way up : HILL - meh, part II

60. Phishers' fodder: Abbr. : SSNs

62. DOJ pooh-bahs : AGs - Attorneys General at the Department of Justice

63. 180 degrees from I : VII - like this;

64. 2012 film bear : TED - I've been told to "see it"

Splynter

Saturday, Oct 10th, 2015, Bruce Venzke

Theme: None

Words: 68 (missing Q,V,X,Z)

Blocks: 30

 My experience with Mr. Venzke's puzzles has been tough, but do-able.  Today, however, I smoked through his construction in half my personal allotted time. Lots of "definitions" which helps avoid the names of people and places.  Triple 9-letter corners, two 10-letter climbers, and one spanner;

38a. House adjustment : REAPPORTIONMENT - The US House of Representatives; more here

16a. Calculated : TOTALED UP - straight up

36d. Pleasant : ENJOYABLE

55a. Nebraska tribe : WINNEBAGO

  

3d. Eroded : ATE AWAY AT

On(e)wa Rd ~!

ACROSS:

1. Ray in the water : SKATE - oops, not MANTA

6. Lasting consideration : SHELF LIFE - I find it peculiar that my bottled water has a shelf life....

15. Times in ads : NITES - this had to be right, so it made me take out MANTA

17. On one's toes : ALERT

18. Periodic synchronizations : LEAP YEARS

19. Key ingredient in a Bloody Caesar : CLAMATO - I vaguely remembered this, but where it comes from is new to me - the Wiki

 

21. High-fashion shoemaker Jimmy : CHOO - HeartRx is all too familiar with this brand

22. Royal Botanic Gardens locale : KEW

23. Chef's introduction? : SOUS - working in the restaurants, this was easy for me

25. Do a farm vet's job : DEHORN

27. Frank's cousin : BRAT - oh, that frank(furter)

29. Cried from a shelter : YIPPED

31. 1989 James Cameron film, with "The" : ABYSS - I did see it, but didn't recall it right off the bat

33. Discontinues : SURCEASES - my Latin helped me here

40. Initiates detailed plans : SETS A DATE - think wedding

41. 1932 Lake Placid gold medalist : SONJA - one of the few proper nouns in today's puzzle, this one was mostly perps

42. Least exciting : TAMEST - did not get my ta-DA~! because I had Lamest first

44. Rapper __ Moe Dee : KOOL - I went with Cool first, and knew it was wrong

45. Malting material : BARLEY - think beer

49. Itinerary elements: Abbr. : RTEs

51. Sometime substitute for 45-Across : RYE

52. Spread on the table : OLEO

53. Native whose land has an Atlantic and Caribbean coastline : HAITIAN

60. Don't disturb : LET BE

61. Sign, as an agreement : ENTER INTO

62. Challenge for a future doctor : ORALS - I threw in MSATS

63. Hit from behind : REAR-ENDED - happened to me in 1989; took 4 years to recover the money from the other insurance company

64. Items in a slush pile: Abbr. : SASEs - the envelopes included with the manuscripts

DOWN:

1. Bite sites : SNACK BARS

2. First recurring "SNL" character : KILLER BEE

4. Insurance policy datum : TERM

5. Spanish pronoun : ESTAS

6. Edward Jones Dome athlete : St. LOUIS RAM - mostly perps; glad to see we had a hockey-themed puzzle for the opening of the season this week.  Not so much the football season

7. Masonry tool : HOE

8. Seventh of 24 : ETA - Greek letters

9. Once around : LAP

10. 1986 Jeff Goldblum film, with "The" : FLY - the more graphic version - IMDb

11. It's hard to get rid of one : LEECH

12. Wyoming neighbor : IDAHO

13. Hubbub : FUROR

14. Big name in printers : EPSON - since I had the "O", XEROX seemed likely

20. Bichon Frise, e.g. : TOY - dogs, learned from doing crosswords

24. Sound flustered : SPUTTER - oooh, so close, I had sTutter

25. Chrysler Building style : DECO - Art Deco, and my favorite building of the NYC skyline - and here combined with one of my other favorites

26. Heavens : EDENS

28. Rx amts. : TSPS

30. Group of fathers : PRIESTHOOD

32. Sudden rush : SPATE - yeah, um spaLe was, uh, wrong....

34. Frenzily : AMOK

35. Misses at many bullfights : SENORITAS - the ladies, not the "close calls"; need to call in the Farm Vet from 25a.

37. Lack of originality : STALENESS

39. Jazz singer Anita : O'DAY - dredged from the nether regions of the mind

43. Word with caddy or ball : TEA - tea caddy I get, but a tea ball is new to me

45. Shaded recess : BOWER - reminds me of this Led Zeppelin song

Gallows Pole - lyric @ 2:18

46. Flared dress shape : A LINE

47. __-Wreck : RENT-A

48. Hardly an extrovert : LONER

50. Storage areas : SILOS - semi-clecho at 57d.

54. Prefix with hertz : TERA - went with MEGA - that's 50%, 100% correct

56. Poetic preposition : ERE

57. Storage place : BIN

58. Word between two ages : AND - ummm....

59. Onetime Bell Atlantic rival : GTE

Splynter

Saturday, Oct 3rd, 2015, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 72 (missing Q,Z)

Blocks: 28

  A very do-able puzzle from Mr. Silk to start October - for first time puzzlers tackling a daunting themeless Saturday, this one could very well be the inspiration to try again next week.  Not too many proper names, and for me, some easy-to-guess long answers - and nothing longer than 10-letters.  No Googling, no dictionary peeks, and I refrained from red-letters even when I did not get my "ta-DA~!" - twice.  My two 1-letter goofs are highlighted below.  Triple 10's in the across and triple 8's in the down;

1a. World War II code name : OMAHA BEACH - Saving Private Ryan was on this week; I stayed with the opening scenes showing the allied forces storming the beach; very real and terrifying - and I was not there

12d. "Sharknado" actress : TARA REID - yes, sharks in a waterspout

65a. WorkCentre cartridge filler : XEROX TONER

34. Vegetable oil source : FLAX SEED

OctoberNWARD~!

ACROSS:

11. Small matter? : ATOM - one Saturday, this will be "A to M" - half the OED

15*. For instance, in Cannes : PAR EXEMPLE - well, you all know how I feel about the Frawnche - so I had "A" and not "E" after the "X"

16. Early word : MAMA

17. Diamond rarity : TRIPLE PLAY - which diamond~? - not the stone, the baseball reference

18. First name in '80s-'90s Dodgers history : OREL - and speaking of baseball....

19. Clean __ : SLATE

20. One may be tucked : TUMMY

22. Emulating : À LA

23. Talking Heads bassist Weymouth : TINA

24. Part of CBS: Abbr. : SYStem - the other parts being Columbia and Broadcasting

25. Co-star of Humphrey in the 1954 film "Sabrina" : AUDREY - IMDb

27. Tense : ON EDGE

29*. Epson products : INKJETS - printers, that is.  I stared at INK-ETS for wa-a-a-y too long

30. In a lather, with "up"? : SOAPED - har-har

33. Last Supper question : "IS IT I~?"

34. Asian __ : FLU - I had MAU, and pondered SEA - but then that was at 54a.

37. Heading for old wagons : DUE WEST - ah - not OUT west

39. Traffic cops?: Abbr. : DEA - Drug Enforcement Administration - "smuggling" traffic

40. Fat, e.g. : LIPID

42. Element used in atomic clocks : CESIUM - I threw in CARBON, because it fit.  Only the "C" was right - so that's 16% @ 100%, right~?

44. Hindu retreats : ASHRAMS

46. Lacking radiating processes, as nerve cells : APOLAR - 83.3% perps

50. Nissan SUV introduced in 1999 : XTERRA - and to be dropped in the US at the end of this year - this fact was brought to you by a clue from a previous puzzle

51. Being in a life-imitating computer game : SIM - I am a big fan of Sim City - here's my crop circles from the UFO invasion that occurred in one of my games

53. Cowboys quarterback Tony : ROMO

54. Black __ : SEA

55. Six-Day War hero : DAYAN - learning moment for me - the Wiki

57. Railroad turnarounds : LOOPS

58. Green state? : ENVY

60. Ski area purchase : LIFT TICKET

62. Landing nos. : ETAs - I pondered FLRs, too - for staircase landings

63. Music with vocal parts : OPERA SCORE

64. 16-Across speaker : DOLL

DOWN:

1. Decides one will : OPTS TO

2. Game fish : MARLIN

3. French satellite launcher : ARIANE - mostly perps - another learning moment

4. Deadly sins and others : HEPTADS - group of seven

5. Ferris wheel component : AXLE

6. Fresno daily : BEE

7. Item sometimes redeemed : EMPTY

8. Outstanding : A PLUS

9. Secretive sort : CLAM - as in "clammed up"

10. "Yo!" : "HEY MAN~!"

11. Latin 101 word : AMO

13. Café order : OMELETTE

14. Two-part country : MALAYSIA

21. Clown around : YUK IT UP

24. 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee : SEAU - Junior - I did not know about him

26. CD players : DJs - dah~! this should have come easier than it did

28. "The Great Dictator" co-star Paulette : GODDARD - half perps/half WAG

29. 7/15, e.g. : IDES - this 'par exemple' is the ides of July

31. Muscle beach display : PECS

32. Field grazer : EWE

35. Mind : LISTEN TO

36. Turmoil : UPHEAVAL

38. Musical king's land : SIAM

41. Discount abbr. : IRRegular

43. Marrakesh setting : MOROCCO

45. Antacid brand : MAALOX - the name I recalled, the spelling, not so much

47. Spectate : LOOK ON - my spectator sport;

48. Current unit : AMPERE

49. Roll : ROSTER

51. More cautious : SAFER

52. Emcee's job : INTRO

56. "Good grief!" : "YIPE~!"

57. Place for tick marks : LIST

59. Initials on L'Homme fragrance : YSL

61. Burden : TAX

Splynter