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~?
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
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
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
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