Saturday, May 6th, 2016, Kyle Mahowald

Theme: Debut Too~!!

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

Blocks: 31

  So another new constructor for our Saturday struggle~!  I did not see Kyle's name on the list of authors for the LA Times, and I am not a regular solver of the NYT.  Whenever I see a new name, I realize that I have no experience with their puzzles, and this cuts both ways - is this going to be brutal, or a breeze~!?  Nothing terribly intimidating about the grid - triple 8x5s and 9x6s constitute the longest answers. A little heavy on the proper names again, but I did get through without a look up or red letters. One from each corner;

17a. Criminology concerns : PATTERNS

14d. "Piece of cake" : EASY PEASY - ah, not "AS PIE"

 65a. French for "stick" : BAGUETTE

32d. The Na'vi in "Avatar," for one : ALIEN RACE

OlgaWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. "You're kidding, right?" : "WAIT, WHAT~?"

9. Will matter : ESTATE - First thought, but late fill

15. "I give up" : IT'S NO USE - took a moment to parse this, having "NOUS" in the middle

16. Onomatopoeic dance : CHA-CHA - there was a time when I knew how to do this dance

18. Weapons used on mounts : LANCES - big help in the NE

19. "Out of the Blue" band : ELO - total WAG, but then again, three-letter bands....

20. Beyond harmful : LETHAL

22*. Pabst brand originally brewed in Washington, familiarly : OLY - not a brand I am familiar with; filled via perps

23. They're slow to pick things up : SLOBS - I prefer neat and tidy, unless I am in the middle of a project; then it gets a bit cluttered; my bathroom project just had a deadline added - but a good one if there ever was such a thing

26. Weaken : ABATE

27. Runner's distance : LAP

28. Fall deliveries? : LIBRAS - fresh way to clue astrological signs

30. Play or school follower : MATE - playmate, schoolmate

31*. Alouette 1 satellite launcher : CANADA - Sounded Frawnche, so I put FRANCE in; Canada is "half" French, so I was close....

34. Catch : NAB - waffled in the middle here, had SPY, then GET

36. "Good __!" : IDEA - not LUCK

37*. Oakland's county : ALAMEDA - guessed from A --- A

39. Like some beaches : TOPLESS - all beaches are topless, for guys....

41. Gimlet flavor : LIME - I tried MINT; thinking Julep - must be a Kentucky Derby thing....

42*. 2011 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee : ELS - about the only three-letter golfing name I know

44. By the fire, say : TOASTY - I might be getting toasty by the fake fireplace in less than two weeks - I'll keep you posted~!

45. Sediment : LEES - familiar with this because I made my own beer in college - potent stuff

46. Programming language named for a comedy group : PYTHON - don't know the language, but I do know the comedy

I move...for no man

48*. "The world's an __": Dryden : INN - perps

49*. Mexican painter Frida : KAHLO

51*. Teamsters president James : HOFFA - ah.  Clued as "Jimmy", I would've known

55. Gp. with carriers : NRA - gun club - packing heat

56. Like old timers? : ANALOG - got it

look closely....

58. Word in many Mexican place names : LAS - tried SAN - that was 100% 33.3% correct; or, 67% correct 33.3% - you tell me, D-otto

59. Egg, perhaps : GAMETE

61. More than one can handle : A BIT MUCH

64. Stuck at a chalet, maybe : ICED IN

66. Fit one within another : NESTED

67. "There was a point here somewhere" : "I DIGRESS."

DOWN:

1. Babies"R"Us buys : WIPES

2. Even a little : AT ALL

3. Half a playground exchange : IS TOO~!

4. Stuff that goes kablooey : TNT

5. Trouble : WOE

6. Give a good toss : HURL

7. Equally close : AS NEAR - on the UK show Top Gear, Jeremy would frequently say "as near as makes no difference..." referring to a car's 200mph, 700hp, etc.

8. 1996 treaty subject : TEST BAN

9. Panache : ECLAT

10. Fissile rock : SHALE

11. Light shade ... or avoid the shade? : TAN - the adjective and the verb; here's the noun                         ;7))

12. Praise : ACCOLADES

13. Gossip's stock-in-trade : THE LATEST

21. Goes after : HAS AT - see above, 46a, @ 4:05 for an example

24. Holds accountable : BLAMES

25. Perspective : SIDE

29. Ordered : BADE

30. Pepperidge Farm treat : MILANO

31. Joining the radio show : CALLING IN - I went with PHONING in, and that messed up the whole SW corner

33. Rat : NAME NAMES - the verb in this instance

35. "Ice cream or cake?" response, perhaps : BOTH

38. Highest-ranking : ALPHA

40. Bear with a "thotful spot" : POOH

43. Educational outlines : SYLLABI

47. "Poor baby!" : "TOO BAD~!"

49*. Holmes of "Touched With Fire" : KATIE

50. Words spoken after coming to? : AN END - today's write-up is "coming to an end"

52. High wind? : FLUTE - not fooled, knew we were looking for an orchestra instrument

53. They can be hard to face : FACTS

54. Grill leftovers : ASHES - eh.  More like fire leftovers; grill to me implies food

57*. 1951 title role for Audrey : GIGI

60. Abbr. on a Miami itinerary : EDT - I am anticipating an airport arrival soon, and they, too, will have Eastern Daylight Time stamped on their paperwork

62. Pull : TUG

63. Marseille sight : MER - and we come to an end with more Frawnche

Splynter