Saturday, Jan 30th, 2016, Doug Peterson & Patti Varol

Theme: None (90° Turn~?)

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,X)

Blocks: 30

Phew~!  I feel I've not been doing so well lately with my regularly scheduled puzzles, and when my first pass through this one remained about as white as the ground around these parts last week, I figured I was in for another orthorunic beating.  Ironically, it was a Frawnche word (and a sports car) in the Down that helped me gain some traction, and despite a grid with one too many (OK, more like 7 too many) proper names*, I was able to wrap it up - alright, so I cheated on ONE....One 15-letter spanner crossing a 15-letter climber, and some brutal 8- and 6- letter corners - but I have to say, some clever non-fun-sponge cluing;

8. Acted insubordinately : TALKED OUT OF TURN - Once I filled the SE corner, I had enough to guess that the 'verb' was TALK - ED

37. Mating setting : CHESS TOURNAMENT - and since we had TURN and "TOURN", I imagine it could make for a "theme"

I found some fascinating chess sets when I went looking for this image; I have always wanted to build my own set, and something original - both indoors and OUT.

 ~!

ACROSS:

1. Entry level? : AGE LIMIT - OK, a little 'meh' on the first clue; I was looking for something a little more clever, like "Ground Floor"

9*. "Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges" co-author : SCALIA

15. Big picture : PANORAMA - I finally saw Star Wars VII - in IMAX 3-D, so that was my thought on 'big picture'

16. Fly-fishing gear : WADERS

17. Wet blanket : BUZZKILL

18. Surfaces : ARISES - dah~!  I was trying to think of a synonym for a horizontal plane, but we're talking verb here

19. Purplish fruit : SLOE

20*. Robert Southey, notably : LAKE POET - my one Google; I had LAKE----, and I suppose if I wasn't feeling a personal urge to get this puzzle solved, I could have put some thought in, and maybe even tried a WAG

22. Got comfy : NESTED

24. Outlying areas : 'BURBS - I was thinking "URBS", yet (su)BURBS did not pop into my mind

27. Juanita's pal : AMIGA - ah.  I had a final "O", but then again, I should have seen it was not Juan but his sister....

30. Leg up : EDGE - legs~?  See 43A.

32. Carrying a grudge : SORE

33. Some trainees : CADETS

35. Fodder bit : OAT

36*. "O Were My Love __ Lilac Fair": Burns : YON

41. Lisbon greeting : OLA - good guess on my part

42. Invoice abbr. : AMounT

43. Forward, in Firenze : AVANTI - oops, had a final "E", and this is why;

LevantE pantyhose

44. Dump, perhaps : SELL - the last time "dump" was in the clues, it messed me up

46*. Michelle of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" : YEOH - the "Y" was my last fill

48*. Zollverein Industrial Complex city : ESSEN - Saturday crossword cluing for a common crossword answer - and I should have WAGed it right away

49. Set of closely related notes : TRIAD - very familiar with this "chord" formation; OK, my guitar cronies, get out your axes and tell my what song this intro, predominantly triads, is from

51. Measure of concern for aerobatic pilots : G-FORCE - waiting for the day this is clued as the good guys from the cartoon "Battle of the Planets"

53. Starbucks order : SOY LATTE

55. Beyond gross : RANK

59. __ call : CATTLE

61*. "Respect for Acting" writer : UTA HAGEN - this one I did get with just --HAG--, but then again, the name makes enough crosswords....

63. Bro : PAISAN

64. Empathize with : RELATE TO

65. Get promoted : ASCEND - pondered something like "RISE UP", but the "P" was not user-friendly

66. Tops in malice : NASTIEST

DOWN:

1. BOLO equivalents : APBs - Be On the Look Out, All-Points Bulletin

2. Caesarean section? : GAUL - har-har

3*. Footwear designer Angiolini : ENZO

4. Pharmacy buys : LOZENGES

5. Exasperate : IRK

6. Submits : MAILS - and a clecho; 26D. Submitted : SENT IN

7. "Gotta run!" : "I'M LATE~!"

9. __ meet : SWAP

10. Evergreen with edible pods : CAROB - ah, similar to cocoa - did not know they were 'evergreens'; I was thinking "what can you eat on a pine, spruce, cedar or yew~?"

11. Parting words : ADIEUs - more Frawnche; see 39D.

12*. Berlioz opera based on the "Aeneid" : LES TROYENS - more more Frawnche; "The Trojans"

13. Land where hurling reportedly originated: Abbr. : IREland - oh, uh, this kind of hurling.  I'm more familiar with the drunken stupor kind....

14. Beast in some fables : ASS

21*. Catherine's husband in "Wuthering Heights" : EDGAR - I know this Edgar

23. "Good __": Alton Brown show : EATS

25*. "Wuthering Heights" author : BRONTË - oops, went with ALCOTT

27. Buttonhole : ACCOST

28*. Composer of an incomplete Tenth Symphony : MAHLER

29. Romantic : IDEALISTIC - ah, not the "intimate" kind of romantic; I was trying to find a link to associate the two clue terms, but it was a little more convoluted than I expected

31. Site of Vulcan's workshop : ETNA - makes sense, but I went looking for a specific reference - found one here

34. Order in the court : STAY

38. 007's watch since 1995 : OMEGA - I'm annoyed that I missed "Spectre" in theatres; gratuitous image for C.C.

39. With, on le menu : AVEC

40. Car with a trident emblem : MASERATI

45*. "Tao Te Ching" sage : LAO TSE

47. Spot in the afternoon : HOT TEA - I got the TEA part; the HOT part was not obvious

50*. Subject of the Robert Shelton biography "No Direction Home" : DYLAN

52. Rational and irrational numbers : REALS

54. Generate interest, in a way : LEND

56*. Miracle Mets star : AGEE - a good WAG

57. Has to spend : NETS - tough to grasp the clue's concept at first, but the answer ties it all in

58. Stomach trouble : KNOT - not ACHE - 100% 100% wrong

59. Pro with schedules : CPA

60. Wireless keyboard inserts : AAs

62. Outline in the Arby's logo : HAT

Splynter

Saturday, Jan 23rd, 2016, Martin Ashwood-Smith & George Barany

Theme: None (16 X 15)

Words: 69 (pangram)

Blocks: 38

I was glad when this one was over.  The quad stack was not the problem - everything else was.  Too bad, really.  Just some way-too-obscure fill - if you don't know it, it makes no difference how the clue reads.  A bit of a choppy grid, with 16 rows and the standard 15 columns.  Two 11-letter climbers, and the big 6; the quad stack and other two;

16. "A London Symphony" composer : VAUGHAN WILLIAMS - mostly perps and WAG

28. Minimal complications : LEAST RESISTANCE - the clue is a bet "eh"

36. Landscape brighteners : ORNAMENTAL TREES - my idea of ornamental;

Or how about this~?

37. "West Side Story" duet : ONE HAND, ONE HEART - I had one LOVE - can you tell I have no interest in musicals~?

38. Failed big-time : MET ONE'S WATERLOO - like this puzzle

54. Publication known for rankings : FORTUNE MAGAZINE - CONSUMER REPORTS fit, and that just did me in

ONWARD~

ACROSS:

1. Actor in four "Planet of the Apes" films : McDOWALL - did not help that I spelled his name with an "E", not an "A"

9. Antenna support : MAST

13. Traffic report source : CAR RADIO - I no longer listen to the "radio" of my car radio; I run Pandora on my phone thru the MP3 jack

14. Farm report? : BAA-BAA - I figured this was where we were headed....Moo-moo, etc.

18. Dutch banking giant : ING - their US portion was bought out by Capital One, and my retirement was there - and I despise Capital One.  The ING Wiki

19. It may be deviated : SEPTUM - There's a line in a Megadeth song that includes this phrase

20. London-born miler : COE - filled via perps, but I recall the name from crosswords

21. "That's a riot" : HA-HA-HA - I almost filled this in, but waited on perps

23. __ Werner, Best Actor nominee for "Ship of Fools" : OSKAR - a WAG on the "S", the rest was perps

25. Tokyo-based carrier : JAL - the "L" was not happening for me

26. Struggle with assessments? : LISP - cute

39. Whimper : MEWL - I was just not going to get this because of my LOVE over HAND; all the Down crossings were making no sense to me, and the domino effect....

40. __ de veau: sweetbread : RIS - eeeew~!  Not what I thought it was, and this marks the return of Frawnche after a very long absence....c'est la vie

41. Turning points : AXLES - meh.  period.  meh.  Axles are shafts, not points

44. Stein's "The Autobiography of __ Toklas" : ALICE B. - her Wiki

48. Word that sounds like its last letter : WHY - I C Y, D U?

49. Saudi neighbor : QATARI - the "Q" was a WAG, and that helped

51. Remove : LOP - think ornamental trees

58. Early online forum : USENET

59. Turkey, mostly : ANATOLIA - and I gotta link the "Istanbul (not Constantinople)" song

60. Wear well : LAST - this was like my first, and only, across fill on pass #1

61. Cuts from the back : SIRLOINS - ah.  I was thinking someone who "cuts" in line

DOWN:

1. Year in the reign of England's Henry I : MCVI - we had an English history lesson last week

2. Scott of "Hawaii Five-0" : CAAN - I like his acting style, so I liked this version of "Five-O" as much as the original; he plays Turk in the Ocean's movies, too

3. Tranquilize : DRUG

4. URL ending : .org

5. Distressed cry : WAH - pretty cool guitar effect, too

6. Recipe phrase : A DASH - "A" clue

7. Form opener : LINE A - clue "A"

8. Acidic : LOW pH - nice

9. Printemps period : MAI - more Frawnche

10. Taken __ : ABACK  - tsszzz - one too many "A" answers~?

11. Its capital is Apia : SAMOA - HA~! Nailed it

12. Law enforcement tool : TASER

14. __-ray Disc : BLU

15. "It won't be long now" : ALMOST THERE

17. Repubblica __: European country : ITALIANA - um, OK.  Perps.

21. Lives : HAS A HOME - gee, I think I liked the original version - see the interview

22. In the style of the 1975 film "Nashville," say : ALTMANESQUE - never heard the phrase, and in the 'down', was not going to fill for me - but a learning experience after the fact - his Wiki

24. Barbecue fare : SPARE RIB - PORK RIBS~? SHORT RIB~? I tried too many, and missed the obvious

25. One of the Jacksons : JANET

27. Minor key? : ISLET - since I got burned a few weeks ago, I did not fall for this again

28. Device with shuttles and treadles : LOOM

29. Shore raptor : ERNE

30. Freshen : RENEW

31. Runs over : ENDS LATE - my landlord is in Florida, and we're expecting to get hammered with a blizzard today.  High winds combined with the high tide/full moon, he's worried the property will flood - it's on Peconic Bay; that's the kind of "runs over" that was on my mind....

32. Put away : STOW

33. Actress Patricia and drummer Jeff : NEALS - I knew neither person - and I know a few drummers, as I play myself; she was before my time.  His Wiki / Her Wiki

34. Dos minus dos : CERO

35. __ perpetua: Idaho's motto : ESTO

41. Very bad : AWFUL - like the next clue/answer

42. Bantu language : XHOSA

43. Strummed instruments : LYRES

45. Dharma teachers : LAMAS

46. Mashhad native : IRANI

47. Symbol of victory for immortal Celtics coach Red Auerbach : CIGAR

50. Formic acid source : ANT

51. Actress Taylor : LILI

52. From here __: henceforth : ON IN - 'round here, it's "on OUT", so I tried "UP".  Bzzzt

53. Mendel research subject : PEAS - at first, I didn't understand, but then I realized I had this man confused with this man, so I had tried "ATOM"

55. It may be activated by a plunger : TNT

56. View from Kennebunkport, Me. : ATLantic - I tried PEI - Prince Edward Island, but Nova Scotia is in the way....

57. Confusing scene : ZOO

Splynter

Saturday, Jan 16th, 2016, Alan Olschwang

Theme: None (1/16/16)

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

Blocks: 28

  I didn't like the look of this grid right away, and my first pass revealed very little in the way of answers, and even then half of them were not correct.  However, on the DOWN pass, ZZ Top was the breakout point for me, and then POPE MOBILE was a huge help as well.  Still got bogged down in the SE, and ultimately caved in to red-letters.  Oh well, that's the thing with Mr. Olschwang - I looked over his previous Saturday offerings, and I see that I did not fare well with any of them.  Triple 10's in a pinwheel pattern, and even though that leaves a lot of 4-letter words, I had some 4-letter words of my own....

15. Last Tudor monarch : ELIZABETH I - completely forgot about the possibility of a queen; I filled in EDWARD VIII, but that's 20th century and the House of Windsor; my English parents would not be happy....

12. Head out on the trail : MOSEY ALONG - got it because I frequently use the word "mosey"

25. St. Peter's Square wheels : POPEMOBILE - the Wiki

61. Screen holders : STORM DOORS - makes me think of this album cover; very pretty

ONWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Showy display : RAZZMATAZZ - Z Z Z Z s

11. 2010 CFDA Fashion Icon Award recipient : IMAN - I had I--N, so it was a good WAG; ironic to see her name in a puzzle after the passing of David Bowie; they had a 'miracle baby' Alexandria

16. Chess action : MOVE - dah~!  Not MatE, but that was 100% 50% correct

17. Wine seller : BOTTLE SHOP - sommelier was too short

18. "__ Death": Grieg work : ASE'S - the music of Peer Gynt

19. One standing at a counter : STOOL - clever, I like it

20. Assisting in the kitchen? : SOUS - Dah~! My first thought, but then I hesitated

21. Fröbe of "Goldfinger" : GERT - one of the better lines from James Bond

"No, Mr. Bond..."

22. Trepidation cause : PERIL - makes me think of the peril being "too perilous" from Monty Python

24. Qatari currency : RIYAL

25. Influential D.C. group : PAC - thought it, hesitated

28. Even : TIE - think verb, not adjective; the Rangers are looking to "TIE" the score

29. Cargo capacity : TONNAGE

31. Player in a pit : OBOIST - again, I hesitated

33. Walking on the beach, maybe : SANDALED - meh.  I get it, but meh.

34. Showy display : POMP

35. '70s-'90s Angola neighbor : ZAIRE

37. Color in a Spanish sunset : ROJO - that would be "red" in an English one

38. Delegates : EMPOWERS

40. "Wait just a darn minute!" : "HEY NOW~!"

42. Most temperate : MILDEST

43. Angle: Abbr. : P.O.V. - again, clever.  Point Of View

44. Mil. title : GENeral

45. Cat-tails bridge? : O' NINE - cat o' nine tails

46. Surprise at the door : POP IN

48. B'way Joe's alma mater : 'BAMA - I prefer women in pantyhose (here's the classic Joe Namath pantyhose spot)

49. Old apple spray : ALAR

51. One of two for Linus Pauling : NOBEL - OK, I cheated; I remembered the name, but not what for; and even when I looked, I don't recall why I knew the name - his Wiki

55. The Santa Monica Fwy. is part of it : I-TEN - got it, tho it was "I-ONE" first, and technically, it's US-1

56. Trading category : MOST ACTIVE - most - ly perps

58. Paar's successor's successor : LENO - one of the few I nailed

59. Borders : OUTER EDGES - I tried PAPer edges first - Bzzzzt

60. Arrival times, usually: Abbr. : ESTs

DOWN:

1. Stonewallers? : REBS - Rebels, the South in the Civil War - didn't get it; I just noticed the answer appeared thru perps while writing up the blog

2. Plenty : A LOT

3. 2002 A.L. Cy Young Award winner Barry : ZITO - C.C. might know more

4. Band with the Diamond album "Eliminator" : ZZ TOP - a blues trio at heart, this album, with the addition of some synthesizers - and some racy MTV clips - put them in the popular spotlight

5. Croquet clubs : MALLETS

6. Japanese prime minister since 2012 : ABE - Shinzō - the Wiki

7. Singer/actress O'Shea : TESSIE - perps and WAG

8. Dramatist Fugard : ATHOL - perps and WAG

9. Mao contemporary : ZHOU - hey, perps and WAG~!

10. Compresses, in a way : ZIPS - computer compression, zip files

11. Unreal : IMAGINARY - I had IMATERIAL, and yes, because it was in the down, I missed the missing "M"

13. Man on the street : AVERAGE JOE - very proud of trying this WAG out

14. Get cozy at bedtime : NESTLE DOWN - weak; I can think of a better way to clue it, even on a Saturday

23. Classes (up) : RITZES

24. Bout div. : RND - round.  eh.

26. Much more than dislikes : ABOMINATES

27. Paid item : COMPLIMENT

29. Apron covering : TAR - my drafting/construction background led me to guess that this was the curb apron, or 'easement', and I've rarely seen them paved in asphalt

30. Like many an easy grounder : ONE-HOP - baseball

32. Gadgets originally available only in black or white : iPOD NANOS - an answer last Sunday, too, in the singular

33. Household nickname : SIS - mom, dad, sis, bro....?

36. __ nouveau : ART

39. Little piggy's word : WEE - not gonna go with the Geico commercial

41. Made manifest : EVINCED - dah~!  Not EMERGED

43. Stout relative : PORTER

46. Milano meal : PASTO - got caught up thinking MANGIA, which wouldn't fit

47. Skip : NOT DO - clever; e.g.   I would like to "not do" this step

49. Isaiah contemporary : AMOS - no clue; I thought maybe this was referring to basketball stars, but in fact they're prophets - and it seems like things don't change; here's the Wiki on AMOS, and I see he had similar issues in his time (yes, I didn't win the Poweball)

50. Awkward sort : LOUT

52. North American tire franchise : BIG O - not in my area

53. In any case : EVER

54. What to eat to lose weight? : LESS - I tried LITE first

57. Slots feature : ARM - dang~!  Not BAR

Splynter

Saturday, Jan 9th, 2016, Mary Lou Guizzo & Jeff Chen

Theme: None

Word: 70 (missing Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 34

Wow, this one was a brain-drain, and just about the longest WAG-fest I have ever had the pleasure (or pain~?) of solving.  My first time with a Mary Lou consturction, though I see she was prolific last year with her LATimes puzzles.  Jeff, on the other hand, has beaten me up on several occasions, so I have a feeling this is "all his fault"....had a vaguely Dan Naddor feel to it, IMHO, consisting of several two-word answers.  Pretty atypical Saturday grid, no chunky corners, but three spanners and a 13-letter climber;

16. Strength in numbers? : PREDICTIVE POWER - I thought we might be looking at a "numb-ers" kind of misdirection, then a numerology kind of thing, but it has a scientific application - the best example was the prediction of the discovery of the planet Neptune (which threw me at 62a.) by scientists observing its gravitational effects of the other planets

34. Beats the rap : GETS OFF SCOT-FREE - I have English parents, so this phrase was heard around my house a lot; here's the etymology

58. Best Actress the year before Kate Winslet : MARION COTILLARD - I thought this was a 1997/98 reference to Kate's Titanic role, but no; she won for the The Reader in 2008; Marion won for La môme - never heard of it, but I do recall her as "Mal" from Inception, which was a great movie

15. Really enlightened : WISE AS SOLOMON - at one point, I had "WISE-ASS-----"

 

ACROSS:

1. Directive to a dealer : HIT ME - I am reading Slash's biography, and so the 'dealer' I had in mind was like the one he scored heroin from

6. Adds liberally : HEAPS ON

13. Sustain : UPHOLD

15. Apple bug? : WORMHOLE - no "i-Computer" misdirection here.   I am attempting to write a book of my own, and part of the plot involves the other, 'travel-through-space-and-time' kind of wormhole

18. Blubber : SOB - dah~! Not FAT

19. What "this love is," in a Taylor Swift title : OURS

20. Shades go-with : SUN HAT - not sure if this was sunglasses or curtains shades

21. Shepherd's dishes? : MEAT PIES - of the first 10 answers, 6 have two-word elements

24. Fruit trees : PEARS

25. __ cut: fabric design technique : BIAS

26. Birch of Indiana : BAYH - one of many proper noun clues that I just had no clue on, and it's Birch Bayh, Senator from '63-'81

28. Unkempt abode : STY

29. Umbrian tourist town : ASSISI - mostly perps

32. Salisbury smooch : SNOG - British kiss; think Harry Potter

40. __ Accords: Israel/PLO agreements : OSLO

41. Acorn bearer : PIN OAK - OK, I cheated on the "N", since RED was not working, and I forgot about this kind of oak tree

42. Ad follower : HOC - ad hoc, Latin "for this"

45. Some 55-Across works : OILS - dah~! since I did not know who "Joan" was, I tried ODES; a 100% 50% correct WAG

47. Smidge : MITE - not IOTA

48. Mocks : JAPES

50. Blockers' targets : POP-UP ADS - now we are talking about computers, and I was thinking football

53. Dodges : AVERTS - AVOIDS, EVADES, tried 'em both

55. Joan of art : MIRÓ - oh, it's a dude

56. __ Dome: Lucas Oil Stadium predecessor : RCA

61. Dizzy with delight : IN A SWOON

62. Neptune, e.g. : SEA GOD - DAH~! not PLANET

63. Gently passes : EASES BY

64. Simmers : STEWS

DOWN:

1. Drill cadence syllables : HUPS

2. Swear words : I PROMISE

3. "If I Can't Love Her" singer, in a 1994 musical : THE BEAST - I was trying to think of a band called "The -----S", and then I realized it was a character from "Beauty and..."

4. Hip : MOD

5. Literature Nobelist who won two posthumous Tony Awards : ELIOT - perps and WAG

6. __ lane : HOV - I complain about this every time it's in a crossword; we have one here, part of the Long Island Expressway, and I think it's a colossal waste of black top

7. Spanish 101 word : ERES

8. Vitalize : AMP UP

9. Calls or cells : PHONES - got it, but thought "that can't be right"

10. "Like I care" : "SO WHAT~?"

11. Kevin of "Shark Tank" : O'LEARY - I had him confused with Mark Cuban in my mind; my buddy Mike, with the backyard games company, met Mark, I think

12. "Drat!" : NERTS

14. Support spec of a sort : D-CUP - ah, Dennis could appreciate this one

17. Salt Lake daily : TRIB - does leaving out "City" make for an abbr.~?

22. Sale warning : AS IS

23. Harmonize : SYNC - oops, not SING; that's another 50% correct in all places

25. Snare : BAG - not NAB

27. Shooter's target : HOOP - basketball~? I wasn't going to get it

30. Jack of "Barney Miller" : SOO

31. Logician's words : IF SO

33. Sporty VW : GTI

35. Cheeky : FLIP

36. From 2009 through Sep. 2015, it paid $143 billion in dividends to the U.S. Treasury : FNMA - stumped.  Federal National Mortgage Association, or Fannie Mae - the Wiki

37. Concern for some bodybuilders : 'ROID RAGE - my first thought, but I did not consider an abbreviation

38. Issues a mea culpa : EATS CROW

39. Squeak (out) : EKE

42. Museo de la Revolución city : HAVANA

43. "Ring Cycle" quartet : OPERAS

44. Color similar to crimson : CERISE - sounds blue, but that's cerulean; the word comes from "cherry", and I was going to link a pie pic, but I found this much more fascinating

46. Narrow shore point : SPIT

48. Portrayer of Django and Ray : JAMIE - took me forever to remember Mr. Foxx's name

49. Throws below : STOWS - oops, not SINKS

51. "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" screenwriter : URIS

52. Spherical extremities : POLES

54. Snoot : SNOB

57. Tosses in : ADDS

59. Playing hard to get : COY

60. Pull-up beneficiary, briefly : LAT - the muscle of the back; I have been over at my friend Adam's house, where his 2yr old has moved on to pull-ups, so I was in that frame of mind....who benefits from those~?

Splynter

Saturday, Jan 2nd, 2016, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 70 (missing J)

Blocks: 27

A tragic start to the New Year, in terms of crossword solving for this blogger.  Too many proper names turned this into a fun sponge for me (*, I count 16).  I skipped red-letters and went straight to Google for one-off answers in an effort to solve the NE and SW corners, but even then I struggled up top.  I blame brain-lock, and doing the puzzle much too late to stay open- minded.  Can't even blame UPS - that's all over now, and I'm on a 3-day weekend....Triple 9-letter corners in the 'recto', triple 7's in the down on the 'verso' (trying to use what I have learned doing crosswords, uh, sort of), and two 10-letter spanners;

23. eBay feature : UPPER CASE B - and I got this one, but it was in a corner I solved

46. Silk Road component : KHYBER PASS - did not know the exact spelling

O       N      W    A   R  D~!

ACROSS:

1. Diamond surprise : UPSET - yeah, and just about any sport, really

6. Change keys often? : ISLAND-HOP - I was just plain stuck in a musical frame of mind - USE A CAPO was clever, but too short.  Florida Keys never crossed my mind

15.* "You've got me on my knees" woman in a 1971 hit : LAYLA - I 51-acrossed this one; I happen to prefer the acoustic version to the original

16. Competition covering many miles : SPACE RACE - again, stuck in a sporting frame of mind, so TRIATHLON, IDITAROD (too short), etc.

17. Wing : ANNEX

18. Unix guru, e.g. : POWER USER - I just don't get this; are we talking "power" user as in a computer maven, sort of like wearing a "power" tie to the big business meeting~?

19. Biblical miracle component : LOAVES - the other part being fishes, specifically 5 barley loaves and two "small" fish - the Wiki

21.* ''Wedding Bell Blues'' songwriter : NYRO - no clue

22. Last Hebrew letter : TAV - no clue

25.* Designer Ricci : NINA - no clue

26. D.C. United's org. : MLS - I did know this was soccer

27. King ratsnake's defense : ODOR - I tried FANG to start - that's 0.0% any way you slice it

28. Arctic : GELID - and strangely, I 51-acrossed this one

29. Pencil contents, perhaps : EYELINER

 

32.* "Particularly small and particularly wicked-looking" villain : Mr. HYDE - I had MRH---, which led me to parse it as "Mr.----", and that helped.  Reminds me of a song I just downloaded;

Men At Work

33. Fateful day : IDES

34. Pick up : HEAR

35. Neighbors of Frauen : FEMMES - German & Frawnche women

38.* "The Roosevelts" documentarian : KEN BURNS - total perp and WAG

42.* Jordan's only port : AQABA - Google #1 - the "Q" was not happening

43. Benefit from work : PERK

44. Classified initials : EOE

45.* Tamblyn of "West Side Story" : RUSS - not AMBER, seen here in House, M.D.

 

I liked the way her character dressed....

49. Down : EAT - dah~! Not SAD

50. Bug : FLAW

51. Ace the test : NAIL IT

52. Dogfish Head sellers : ALE HOUSES

55.* Mobutu's land : ZAIRE

56. Most unforgiving : STRICTEST

57. Inception : ONSET

58. Slinky spots : TOY CHESTS - I figured this was the toy, and not the gentleman's club

59. Learning methods : ROTES

DOWN:
1.* Poe title answer to " ... 'What is written ... / On the door of this legended tomb?'" : ULALUME - got it via perps, but had to look this up to see if it was one word/name, so here's the Wiki

2. Impressive array : PANOPLY - again, I 51-acrossed it

3. Neural junction : SYNAPSE

4. Professeur's charge : ELEVE

5. Government, often : TAXER

6.* Juno, e.g.: Abbr. : ISP - Internet Service Provider; I was stuck on Roman God/2007 movie

7. Back : SPONSOR - ugh, my sponsor will never forgive me for missing this one

8. Many a president : LAWYER

9. Having a bite : ACERB

10.* 50s-60s emperor : NERO - ugh - literally, from the years 54 - 68

11.* R&B group __ Hill : DRU - no clue

12. With urgency : HASTILY

13. Mythological sea nymph : OCEANID - all I knew was that it most likely ended with "-ID"

14. Fill : PERVADE - such as conversation in crowded restaurant

20. Tea cart items : SCONES

24. Vitamin C sources : ADES - oh, I didn't know you were a source of vitamin C, LemonADE....

25.* Prime minister sworn in by Mountbatten : NEHRU

28. Land __ : GRAB - I'd heard the term, but wanted to read more

30. An arm and a leg : LIMBS - har-har

31. Bean product? : IDEA

32.* "The Little Mermaid" composer Alan : MENKEN - more no clue

34. Wormwood, e.g. : HERB

35. China setting : FAR EAST

36. On a par with : EQUAL TO

37. Domination : MASTERY

38. Site of Truman's winter White House : KEY WEST - semi-clecho~???

39. Dreamer's opposite : REALIST - if I said this is my girlfriend - am I a dreamer or realist~?

Yep, her name is Gabriella, er, I mean Cora

40. "Ain't happening!" : "NO SIREE~!" - right, the clue just after my posted pic

41. Sonnet parts : SESTETS - I had SEPTETS, and 46a. ending in "-SP" seemed unlikely

43. Stages : PHASES

46.* 1971 title detective : KLUTE - heard of it, but never saw it

47. Carry-on no-no : RAZOR

48. Schroeder's love : PIANO - no clue - not a "Peanuts" fan at all

50.* WWI French marshal : FOCH - les Frawnche

53. It's heard at 52-Across : [hic]

54. D and C, in D.C. : STs

Splynter