Saturday, March 19, 2016

Saturday, Mar 19th, 2016, Gail Grabowski

Theme: GG

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

Blocks: 28

An enjoyable puzzle from Mrs. Grabowski, though it might have had a few too many proper names for some - I would have been included, except I knew enough of them to get a foot hold, and the rest were helped along nicely by perps.  One or two WAGs, and nary a Google search nor red-letter exposed.  Nothing intimidating about the grid, with triple 10- and 9-letter corners, and two more 9-letter entries in the middle across;

15a. Meteorological record : ALL-TIME LOW - my personal all-time low here on Long Island was going to work overnight at Roadway Express when it was -4° and snowing inside the covered dock

13d. It's beside the point : ONES PLACE - clever; number 'locations'  _ _ . _ _

67a. 1998 National Toy Hall of Fame inductee : ERECTOR SET - once I had the "-S-T" at the end, I got it, though I never actually had an Erector Set - it was all Lego when I grew up

35d. Church music source : ORGAN LOFT














ONWARDski~!

ACROSS:

1. Some kids' parties : SLEEPOVERS - I once had a two-friend sleepover for my B-day in February, about 1980; it snowed, and I was depressed because I figured it was all off, but the moms of the two kids made it to my house ( I'm guessing they wanted some peace and quiet themselves in their houses~!)

11. Tag word : FROM

16. Driving area : LANE - I suppose that's how you'd describe it....

17. Can't imagine : HAVE NO IDEA

18. Available : OPEN - tried FREE, had one "E" correct

19. Longtime Parlophone record label owner : EMI - RCA, RKO~?; I waited

20. Edge : HONE - think verb, and it works

21. Document preparer : TYPIST

23. Roundup line : LASSO - good guess; could have been RIATA

25. Chicago mayor after Richard : RAHM

27. Start to cure? : EPI - epicure

28. Minnesota's St. __ College : OLAF - close by, C.C.~?

31. "The Munsters" actress Yvonne : DE CARLO - I thought it was spelled with an "I"; her Wiki; had it been clued with a different role, I would not have known.

33. Supplies site : STOREROOM

37. City in southern Egypt : ASWAN - The Nile makes two appearances today


38. Catnip, e.g. : HERB - good WAG for me, but then again....

39. Spam, perhaps : EMAIL - all my SPAM is in email form

41. They sit on pads : MICE - whoops, I had Rice, and well, uh, that is technically correct

42. Flowed furiously : RAGED

44. Tossed out a number : ESTIMATED - hah~! Nailed it

46. High spirits : ELATION

48. Provoke : SPUR

49. __ mother : DEN

50. They might be hard to crack : NUTS - I put in SAFE, tho the pluralizing didn't match

52. Awestruck sort : GAPER

56. Stars home : DALLAS - NHL - hockey.  We're closing in on the playoffs


58. Caps, say : TOPS

61. Satisfied sigh : AAH - I put in the first "A", then I waited to see if it was AAH or AHH

62. Cooking staple, to Rachael Ray : EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil - learned from crosswords

63. City on the Wabash : TERRE HAUTE

66. Money-raising option, briefly : RE-FI - it is time to refinance my mother's house, and start the process of fixing it up; it's in a bad way

68. Old Atl. crossers : SSTs - you know it's been so long since I've seen this answer in a crossword that I had to look up what it was~?  Granted, I was thinking boats, not planes, and I don't get the chance to do many puzzles in the week; editor Rich has probably tried to avoid it. Super-Sonic Transport, like the Concorde

69. Section : DEPARTMENT

DOWN:

1. Saharan region : SAHEL - all perps

2. Wool source : LLAMA - WAG, and it stuck

3. Newsworthy inductee of March 24, 1958 : ELVIS - US Army induction - there's a dedicated Wiki page; before my time, and I am now older than the age at which he died

4. Évry summer : ÉTÉ - Frawnche

5. Elementary camera feature : PINHOLE











6. 1847 work with the chapter "Life at Loohooloo" : OMOO - Once the last "O" appeared, this was crosswordese

7. Marble characteristic : VEIN


8. Tribal leader : ELDER

9. Eggs sometimes served with grits : ROE - didn't know this, but it did fit

10. Wrap up : SWATHE

11. Probably not a really good show : FLOP

12. Joan Rivers' asset : RAPIER WIT

14. Touched on : MENTIONED - it's been "mentioned" that I like legs pics

it's art....get it~?

22. Interactive party song : YMCA - did my fair share of this drunken dance

24. Frozen dessert : SORBET

26. Doesn't turn away : ADMITS  - think bouncers

29. Lionel Richie's "You __" : ARE

30. Inflame : FOMENT

32. Capital east of Khartoum : ASMARA - Eritrea


33. Tracks-covering vehicles : SHREDDERS - I understand the need for a little deception on a Saturday, but shredder as a "vehicle" is a bit of a s-t-r-e-t-c-h

34. Reading material? : TEA LEAVES

36. Western alliance: Abbr. : OAS

40. Edge : LIP - dah~! Not RIM

43. Manzo of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" : DINA - no desire to watch

45. It's usually not a pretty picture : MUGSHOT

Mr. Larry King, in the year I was born

47. Sent packing : OUSTED

51. __ throat : STREP

53. Breathing spell : PAUSE

54. All gone : EATEN

55. "Never, at any crisis of your life, have I known you to have a handkerchief" speaker : RHETT

57. "The Giver" author Lowry : LOIS - perps

59. Subject of the 2013 documentary "Blackfish" : ORCA - never heard of the film, but the title makes sense, now

60. '80s-'90s tennis star Korda : PETR

64. Poetic preposition : ERE

65. Coat part : ARM

Splynter

No comments:

Post a Comment