Saturday, Feb 20th, 2016, C.C. Burnikel

Theme: C.C.C.W.~!

Words: 72 (missing J,K,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 31

So nice to see our own blog host as the constructor of the 'Saturday Struggle'.  I was a little miffed by the SE corner, with just a few too many proper names, but a WAG here and there and I prevailed - within my personal allotted time AND without Google or red-letter help, no less~!  Yay~!  Triple 9x6 corners, almost triple 8-letter corners in the Down, and two 8-letter fills round out today's long answers;

32. Chain with day care : PETSMART  - I take it they have a pet-sitting service.  Also, we have a referential clue at 42a. Brand at 32-Across : IAMS

38. Refreshing ice cream with blended cookies : MINT OREO

 58. Step out : GO ON A DATE - this phrase is rather unfamiliar to me....  :7((

 63. Tom Jones hit written by Paul Anka : SHE'S A LADY - I am a huge fan of Tom Jones; I grew up listening to his records because my parents are from England.  I bought his "Rescue Me" album, long out of date, on CD from a guy in Russia through eBay - imagine that

Never Had a Lady Before (1979)

DiscO-NWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Siri counterpart : GOOGLE NOW - I have an Android cel phone, but not this feature/ app.  I do know about Siri, as a friend of mine was telling us how her kids were able to get "her" to find "your momma" jokes

10. Inst. with a weekly "Big Picture Science" radio program : SETI - seemed like a good WAG, but I had to have the "S" first

14. Short-term hospital service : ACUTE CARE

15. Demonym that may have a second "a" : UTAHN - strangely, I did not know exactly what "demonym" meant (tho I knew "-nym" meant 'name'); then it showed up on Dictionary.com

16. Ignores : LETS SLIDE

17. Wise guys : SAGES

18. One of the Noldor, in Tolkien : ELF - ooops, not ENT

19. Pitcher's goal : SALE - about as close as we got to baseball today; that's a different kind of pitcher

20. Kind of red : MERLOT - not GARNET - but that's 33.3% correct 100%ly

21. Dark genre : NOIR - seemed to easy, so I left it blank at first

23. Holy __ : TERROR

25. Child expert LeShan : EDA

26. When many take breaks : AT TEN - I had TEN AM to start - right idea, wrong order

28. Work with a partner : DUET

29. Dropbox's blue box, for one : ICON

30. More, to Nadal : MAS

34. Lollygag : LOITER

37. Stay in the cooler : DO TIME - I knew this was jail related, but "sentence" didn't fit

40. Mattress problem : SAG

41. First name in couture : YVES

44. "Pipe down!" : SHUSH - I tried QUIET, but the "Q" was just not going to work

48. Child support org. : PTA

49. Road safety feature : MEDIAN - unless, of course, you drive over it; I have seen and heard people do so

51. Family __ : TREE

52. Schools abroad : LYCEES - oops, not ECOLES; that's Frawnche for school; this word translates to High School

54. Genre of the late David Bowie : GLAM - R.I.P. Ziggy Stardust

56. Dove shape : BAR - the soap, not the bird; I was onto the clue, but I was trying "EGG" or "OVA" to describe the shape of the soap bar....

57. "Iron Chef America" host Brown : ALTON

60. Hunger Games competitors : TEENS - I am in the middle of reading "Catching Fire", book 2; I have the third one waiting....and I am not going to see the movie until I am done

61. "We don't promise you a rose garden" sloganeer : U.S. MARINES

62. Transposes letters, say : ERRS

ODWN:

1. Lead source : GALENA - Galena is the ore that lead is derived from; Galina is the Russian name for "Helen"; I knew one when I lived in Jacksonville, FL

2. Spotted cat : OCELOT

3. Company : OUTFIT - There's a running joke in the movie "Payback" (starring Mel Gibson) about the criminal organization's name the "syndicate" being changed to the "outfit"

4. Alfa Romeo sports cars : GTs

5. More, to minimalists : LESS

6. Flash : ECLAT - and a clecho at; 13a. Flash : INSTANT - two different definitions

7. Got down pat : NAILED - C.C.'s turn of phrase when getting a longer fill in a crossword puzzle with no crossings is "Nailed It", and I like to use it, too

8. Diner kitchen shout : "ORDER UP~!"

9. Minute : WEE - now that's a "wee" mini-skirt~!

10. Heineken logo feature : STAR

11. It's trained on a nest : EAGLE-CAM

12. Name meaning "God's gift" : THEODORE

15. Tweeter, say : USER

20. Phrases on seals : MOTTOS

22. Sends in : REMITS

24. Musical piece : REED - dah~! Not reST

27. Icel. is its only member without a standing army : NATO

29. "Perhaps" : "I MIGHT."

31. Soap, for example : SERIES

33. Short stops? : STAs - StaTIONs

34. She played Arwen Undómiel in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy : LIV TYLER

35. Albee's "The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?," e.g. : ONE-ACTER

36. Enjoy The Atlantic : READ - Argh~!  Not SAIL - as in the Atlantic, not THE Atlantic

Ghostbusters (1984)

38. Government nutrition guide : MY PLATE - the website

39. "Holy cow!" : "OMIGOSH~!" - interesting fill

43. Wilde tragedy : SALOME - here's where I started running into trouble

45. Roger Ebert's Illinois birthplace : URBANA - proper name #2

46. Ready for dinner : SEATED

47. Reason for Luther's excommunication : HERESY

49. Target section : MEN'S

50. Family matriarchs : NANAs

53. Ages : EONS

55. "The Social Network" actress Rooney __ : MARA - #3

58. Gloomy one : GUS - "Gloomy Gus"

59. Pickles on "Rugrats" : DIL- #4

Splynter