Saturday, Jul 23rd, 2016, Ed Sessa

Theme: None

Words: 68 (missing F,J,Q,X,Y)

Blocks: 28

     A little over a month since we had a puzzle from Mr. Sessa, and I reviewed that construction after I completed this one.  Similar solving experience, again, with getting a few of the long fills quick, but struggling with the proper names, again.  I did find some of the "definition" clues to be somewhat off-base, but I let them slide, and finished under my personal time.  Grids were very similar, too - triple 9's in the across, and paired 11- and 10-letter fills on the 'inside' downs.  The 11-letter answers;

11. Informal talk : BULL SESSION

22. Plane lane : AIR CORRIDOR - I learned there were "lanes" when I went flying with the architect I used to work for; we flew out of ISP (MacArthur airport, Islip, LI, NY) and being so close to JFK and LGA, you really had to stay in "your" lane....

Winona, MN -> Wales, AK -> Rincón de los Sauces, Argentina~!

ACROSS:

1. One not to upset? : APPLE CART - my first pass I read this as "too"; with some crossings filled in, I realized the difference

10. Title from the Aramaic for "father" : ABBOT - seen this before in crosswords, but it didn't come to me without some crossings first

15. Subject of the 2015 Erik Larson nonfiction bestseller "Dead Wake" : LUSITANIA

 

16. Hurricane peril : SURGE - thought there might be a slight deception with singular/plural, and pondered WINDS

17. Perilous situation : PRECIPICE

18. Water park attraction : SLIDE - Splish Splash is right around the corner from my place, and I have been, but only once

19. Saruman soldier in "The Lord of the Rings" : ORC - this or ENT, so I left it blank

20. Guttural utterance : CROAK - not GROAN; that shows up later at 40a.

21. Bygone : OLDEN - made me change my "ASSIGNS" to ASSORTS

22. Similar : AKIN

23. Goes downhill : WORSENS - I had LESSENS at first

25. Flat-bottomed boats : DORIES - this came to mind, but I hesitated to fill it in

28. 19th-century dancer Lola : MONTEZ - no clue; this middle right section had me baffled for too long

29. Still : INERT

30. Takeout order? : MINUS SIGN

33. Poolroom powder : TALC

34. Capital of South Africa : RANDS - OK, I cheated - I have a 'money' chart in my dictionary

35. Fizz flavoring : SLOE

36. Used in an undignified way : STOOPED TO - eh.  Around here, it's more like "behaved" than "used"

38. Test on the air : PILOT - always reminds me of the post-titles scene from Pulp Fiction

39. Hags : CRONES

40. Pained reactions : GROANS

41. Four-time Depp role : SPARROW - Captain Jack, of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films

43. Either 2010 "True Grit" director : COEN - didn't see the movie, but this was a good WAG

44. Musical instruction : "HIT IT~!"

45. Even slightly : AT ALL

47. Justice Fortas : ABE - filled via perps

50. Indicator of a private thought : ASIDE

51. Riddick portrayer : VIN DIESEL - Pitch Black was a great movie; the Chronicles not so much; did not see "Riddick" from 2013

53. __ house : MANOR - oops, not OPERA

54. They often precede garage sales : ESTIMATES - I threw in "CLEAN OUTS"; but this is the 'other' reason for emptying the garage - the future man-cave

55. Some RPI grads : ENGRs - a Spitz and Splynter shout-out

56. Fitting place for sneaks : SHOE STORE - there's a "friend of Bill W." I know who calls the last row of chairs at a 12-step meeting the "Shoe Store" - sneakers, loafers and slippers; I went on to add flip-flops

DOWN:

1. Maker of TBONZ treats : ALPO - oops, not IAMS

2. Run well : PURR

3. Minute part of a minute, for short : PSEC - I tried NSEC; a picosecond falls between a nanosecond and a femtosecond; billionth, trillionth and quadrillionth of a second

4. ID with a photo : LICense

5. iPhone movie purchase : eTICKET

6. Garb named for an island : CAPRIS - somewhere between short and pants, and now like this~!

Wolford Bella Capri

7. Cation's opposite : ANION - way too easy, so I filled it in and expected it to be wrong

8. Costa __ : RICA

9. Art form offering plenty of kicks? : TAEKWONDO - the Wiki

10. Puts into groups : ASSORTS

12. Wedding planner's nightmare : BRIDEZILLA

13. City near the Great Salt Lake : OGDEN

14. Many Beliebers : TEENS - Justin Bieber fans

24. Sisyphus' stone, e.g. : ONUS - a "pointless task" just came up in a conversation recently, and I was curious to know where the story originated - this is why I do crosswords~!  The Wiki

25. Morse "H" quartet : DITS

26. Go __ great length : ON AT

27. Changing places : RELOCATING

28. They may be thin : MINTS - red lines didn't fit

30. Stirred things up : MADE WAVES

31. "And?" : GO ON....

32. Realizes : NETS - another "eh" - I prefer GETS or SEES; 'realizes' was a s-t-r-e-t-c-h in another recent puzzle

34. First female attorney general : RENO - WAG, had the "O"

37. Pub orders : PORTERS - semi-referential to; 48d. 37-Down, e.g. : BEER

38. Minor matches : PRELIMS - funny - I switched "CLEAN OUTS" to "ESTATE---", which left the "T" at the end of this answer - and I thought a prelit match was sort of dangerous....

oh, that kind of match....

40. Best Supporting Actress two years before Cloris : GOLDIE - clues phrased like this, which are great if you know the answers, are useless if you don't - like I was.  The movie was Cactus Flower from 1969 - I'm from 1971.  IMDb

41. Disgrace : SHAME

42. Fibonacci or Galileo : PISAN - from this city....

43. Poem division : CANTO

46. Mrs. Addams, to Gomez : 'TISH - Morticia

Tish, that's Frawnche~!

47. Concerning : AS TO

49. Besides that : ELSE

52. Parental encouragement : "EAT~!!!"

Splynter

Saturday, Jul 16th, 2016, Steven J. St, John

Theme: SJSJ

Words: 70 (missing J,V,X,Z)

Blocks: 26

 SJSJ returns 7 weeks later with another Saturday puzzle, and with an identical grid, no less.  Again a crossing spanner and climber, with the triple 10- and triple 8-letter corners.  Did not try the first batch of 10-letter across answers, two of them having "?" clues, but some of the smaller fill that followed I correctly guessed, and that opened up the top quickly.  The last to fall was the lower triple stack, and that was due to a proper name that could have gone any which way.  The 15-letter center;

35a. Appeal for backup? : "CAN I GET A WITNESS~?" - witness my landlord/housemate as he sailed his solar-powered boat from Florida to LI, NY

The article is here

8d. Nearly weightless : LIGHT AS A FEATHER - nailed it with maybe 4 or 5 crossings

ON past 90° WARD~ :7P

ACROSS:

1. Highly charged individual? : SHOP-A-HOLIC

11. Castmate of Alda and Swit : FARR - M*A*S*H

15. Mass transportation? : POPEMOBILE

This one is even funnier - but just my opinion

16. Problem solver, at times : IDEA

17. One dealing in signs : ASTROLOGER - I was an Aquarius all my life, but now it seems that there is a 13th astological sign, Ophiuchus, which shifts me to Capricorn - guess I'll have to go back and check to see where it all went wrong

18. Not opt. : REQ'D - really good WAG on my part; optional or standard~?  But - "STD" didn't fit, so then I thought about college courses, and the 'a-ha' moment was upon me

19. Complicated : STICKY

20. " ... __ no fury ... " : HATH

22. Québec journalist's question : QUI - Frawnche for "who?"

23. Speed unit : MACH

24. Intersected : MET - like 35a and 8d.

26. Conversational skills : SEGUES

28. Leaking sound : SSSsss - like the sound from my front tire when the control arm broke free from the ball joint and busted the bead

29. Traditions seen in some circles : HORAS - another healthy guess after getting the consonants

31. Sudden and brief : FLASH - the clue/answer doesn't quite mesh for me....

32. Waters near the South Pole : ROSS SEA - more SSSss's

34. Towel ending : ETTE - Towelette

39. Natural salve : ALOE - gimme

40. Savanna outings : SAFARIs

41. Like snakes but not worms : SCALY

43. Skin product prefix : DERMA - I threw in DERM- and waited

44. Put down roots? : SOD - tried POT - that's 100% 33.3% correct

47. Old London ride : HANSOM

49. Nabokov novel : ADA - I tried ANA, and that's 100% 66.7% correct

50. "Crucifixion of St. Peter" painter Guido : RENI - the "R" was a WAG; the rest was perps - his Wiki, and the painting

51. Four-song discs, briefly : EPs

52. With 46-Down, world creator? : WALT - circumreferential to; 46. See 52-Across : DISNEY - Walt Disney World - never been there

54. Open-flame treat : S'MOREs - standard fare at our fire nights

56. One in a football quartet : DOWN - strangely, I tried "BACK", but there's only three of those, either defense or offense, according to this diagram

58. Pacific swimmer : COHO SALMON - the salmon part I got, and it took a moment for the rest to rise up from the depths of my brain

60. California's Mission Santa __ : INES - I would have gone with "Z" at the end, but it wouldn't jibe with the down answer "NZF"

61. Furtive question : "ARE WE ALONE~?"

62. Football that won't deflate : NERF - too bad the Patriots can't play with them....

63. Pays, old-style : WIRES MONEY

DOWN:

1. Twinges : SPASMS

2. Shade-loving landscape plants : HOSTAs - I am familiar with this plant

3. Public perceptions, as of politics or sports : OPTICS - meh clue for me

4. Lake catch : PERCH - another good WAG

5. Uninhibitedly : AMOK - did not see this until I started writing the blog

6. "Wow!" : HOLY MOSES - we have holEy Moses Cheesecake right here on Long Island - and not that far from my place

7. "... and that price is negotiable," in classifieds : OBO - 'or best offer' - and I am thinking about selling my Dodge on Craigslist for parts; $500 OBO

9. Intestinal parts : ILEA - nailed it, but spelled it with a second "I" initially

10. Altoids competitor : CERTS

11. Fragrant tree : FIR - similar to cedar, same family

12. Acceptable : ADEQUATE - the "Q"s in this corner made for a smooth solve

13. Numbers from the audience : REQUESTS - since I selected her for the last SJSJ puzzle  "by request" for a big-legged girl....

Charlotte~!

14. Salad roots : RADISHES

21. Lover of Bunnies, familiarly : HEFner, the Playboy Bunnies

25. '90s-'00s Angels outfielder Darin with three Gold Gloves : ERSTAD - C.C. may have more

27. Lowlands : GLENS

29. Monopolize : HOG

30. Town with the motto "Alaska Starts Here!" : SEWARD - looks to me like Alaska starts somewhere around Ketchikan, or at least Unalaska

32. Cambodian currency : RIELs - Just finished reading DeMille's 'Up Country', which I think mentions this form of currency

33. Fronts separate them : AIR MASSES

35. Got dough for : CASHED IN

36. 1959 Rod Steiger title role : AL CAPONE - mostly perps

37. Rarity in the voicemail age : NO ANSWER

38. Spanish aunt : TIA

42. "I just stubbed my toe!" : "YOW~!!!" - not the expletive that I usually use....

44. Fatherly advice? : SERMON

45. Score often requiring overtime : ONE-ONE - often in hockey, not soccer

48. Colorful flier : MACAW - had it, took it out, put it back in

50. Rich kid in "Nancy" comics : ROLLO - again, mostly perps

53. Actress Loughlin : LORI - oh, yes, now I remember - "Full House"; I threw in LARA first, and got no "ta-DA~!"

55. Respectful address : MA'AM

57. "Where Discoveries Begin" govt. agency : NSF - the website

59. Come up short : OWE 

Splynter

Saturday, Jul 9th, 2016, Pawel Fludzinski

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,W,X,Z)

Blocks: 28

Our last Saturday puzzle from Mr. Fludzinski was over a year ago, though he did drop in with a couple of Wednesday grids for the LA Times in between.  I filled in 1-across straight away ( wrongly, I might add ), and thought we might do alright today - especially when some of the longer fill went right in.  Sort of a strange solving style for me today; I seemed to switch back and forth between across and down; one letter giving me enough to work with 'orthogonally'.  This one moved along at a brisk pace, so when I got stumped in the NW, I didn't hesitate and just cheated - ah, Wisconsin.  10-letter fill all over the place;

33a. 1996 Richard Gere thriller : PRIMAL FEAR - I managed to see the last 5mins of the movie, so I pretty much failed my own 19across....

38a. Premium Scotch choice : SINGLE MALT 

 

6d. Percussion staples : SNARE DRUMS - I have one, it's steel, and I'd like a wood one

29d. Detect vulnerability : SMELL BLOOD

 ON

    NW

       WA

           AR

              RD

                 D~!

ACROSS:

1. Splitting target : ATOM - Well, OK then, it's not "HAIR"; semi-clecho with 14a.

5. Taqueria adjective : ASADA

10. Heavy wind? : TUBA - I sensed the misdirection, but "BASSOON" was all I could think of; also semi-clecho with; 49d. High wind? : OBOE

14. Splitting : BREAKING UP

16. Author Blyton : ENID - I knew this proper name

17. Degree seekers : CANDIDATES

18. Hendrix hairdo : AFRO - I'm a lefty guitar player - four of mine are still upside down righties

19. Alert follower, perhaps : SPOILER

20. They may be spilled : SECRETS - BEANS and GUTS weren't long enough

22. Reason for many a school absence : STREP

24. "In __, I know not why I am so sad": "The Merchant of Venice" : SOOTH

25. '90s Philippine president Fidel : RAMOS - WAGed the vowels

28. JAMA subscribers : DRs

30. It merged with SAG in 2012 : AFTRA - I knew this one, too

32. Cal's "East of Eden" brother : ARON

35. Nigerian native : IBO - the Wiki

36. Some vents : LOUVERS

37. GPS suggestion : RTE

40. Enthusiastic : KEEN - ah, not AVID - but I am keen on this

I'm an "avid" reader, too~!

41. Flummoxed : AT SEA

42. Blues with sticks: Abbr. : STL - hockey reference; the St. Louis Blues

43. Performed, in Shakespeare : DIDST

44. __ scheme : RHYME - dah~! Not PONZI

46. "The Other Side of Oz" autobiographer : EBSEN

48. Buddy : PAISANO

50. Sticks around : LINGERS - not REMAINS

54. Eclectic magazine : UTNE

55. Hardly a light six-pack? : ABS OF STEEL

57. Staple in 48-Down : BEER - circumreferential to; 48d. 57-Across sellers : PUBS

58. NYC saloon featured in a 2000 film : COYOTE UGLY

59. The Stans were among them: Abbr. : SSRs

 

60. Ministers : TENDS

61. Chinese menu possessive : TSO'S

DOWN:

1. Essentials : ABCs

2. Corner : TRAP

3. Santa Ynez Valley prefix : OENO - "wine"; we have a burgeoning wine country on the North Fork of LI, too

4. Badger State city : MADISON - here's why the state got the nickname

5. Help, in Le Havre : AIDER - Frawnche

7. G-man : AGT - dah~! Not FED

8. Union requirement : DUES - I know this firsthand

9. Church areas : APSES

10. Detach, in a way : TEAR OFF

11. Free : UNFETTERED - nailed it

12. Demographers' concerns : BIRTH RATES

13. Flaps : ADOS

15. Highland attire : KILTS

 There can be only one

21. Barbecue supply : COALS - dah~!  Not SAUCE, MEATS, or CLAMS

23. Like much property : PRIVATE

25. Mrs. Gorbachev : RAISA

26. Resolves, as a contract dispute : ARBITRATES

27. Still runner : MOONSHINER

31. Isn't for you? : AREN'T

33. Baltimore bard : POE

34. Wall adornment : ART - I have this print - I think it's awesome

Gargoyles - Michael Parkes

36. Beast of burden : LLAMA

39. Springs with steam : GEYSERS

40. 18th-dynasty Egyptian pharaoh : KING TUT

43. Crowded : DENSE

45. Make official : ENACT

47. Goes through carefully : SIFTS

51. Lines of thought? : EEGs - har-har

52. Pull up stakes, informally : RELOcate

53. Stone and others : SLYs

56. Preserves, for keeps: Abbr. : SYNonym

Splynter

Saturday, July 2nd, 2016, Gail Grabowski

Theme: GG

Words: 70 (missing G,J,Q,V,W,Z)

Blocks: 28

 This was a truly enjoyable solve - I was talking to the same customer at each of the restaurants twice this week, as he was attempting to do a crossword in the newspaper.  I mentioned that I blogged the Saturday puzzle for the LA Times; he claimed that he drew the line at Thursday, finding every paper's puzzle to be too difficult on Friday and Saturday.  Today's construction had what felt like a lot of vague cluing, but in the end, with just a few tweaks I got the ta-DA~!   No Google, no red-letter, no cheating; I might have done better for knowing some answers straight up, but in the end, no sponges in this fun~!  Triple 9's all around;

6a. Where many leading males may be seen? : BALLROOMS - my one big gaffe was putting in "ACRES" for "BALES"; which led me to look for ACTOR - something here

54a. Russian Orthodox church feature : ONION DOME - how to build one, here

 

1d. Courses around courses : CART PATHS - misread this on the first pass as "courses AND courses"

31d. Bag lady? : KATE SPADE - I knew where this "?" clue was going, but the only expensive bags I could think of were Prada and Gucci

GonGward~!

(How did GG NOT have any G's in the puzzle~?)

ACROSS:

1. Prepares to strike, in a way : COILS - I have mentioned this before; once had a Ball Python that ate live mice - and it would stealthily coil up before striking; fascinating example of nature

15. Nocturnal problem, usually : APNEA

16. Source of some sauce : APPLE TREE - oh applesauce~! ACRES did me in here, too

17. Lets : RENTS

18. Help : LEND A HAND

19. Chic modifier : TRÉS

20. Advertisers say it sells : SEX - love those classic Hanes ads

21. Mother of Huey, Dewey and Louie : DELLA - all perps and one WAG

22. Service providers : PARSONS - Sunday service, that is

24. Hall of Fame NHL coach Roger : NEILSON - I knew this one, as he was once a NY Rangers coach - just didn't know the correct spelling at the start

26. Small power source : AA CELL

27. Paragon : MODEL - sometimes words I read in books make sense in the context, but stand-alone in a crossword, and I'm stumped; this is one of those words.  I went with MORAL first

28. Took a shot at : TRIED

29. Sticks : BOONDOCKS - ah, to be out in the sticks, which you could say of my present living situation, and I happen to like it - great water view

33. Google goal : HIT

34. "Semper Fidelis" composer : SOUSA - total WAG on my first pass, and it fit

35. "I like that!" : AAH

36. Encouragement before a shot : "SAY CHEESE~!"

39. Millions can play it at once : LOTTO

41. Frequent Greenstreet co-star : LORRE - Sydney Greenstreet, before my time; it's good to read that he got his start in films at age 62

42. Olympics competitor since 1896 : FENCER - France fit, too; 1896 was the year of the first "modern" Olympic games

43. To the extent that : AS FAR AS

46. Quaint inn room upright : BEDPOST - I went with SPINNET, but was pretty sure I had too many "N"s

47. Adjust one's sights : RE-AIM

48. Get even with : TIE

49. Pic Sans Nom, par exemple : ALPE - ah. "pic" here is Frawnche for "peak", and the translation is "nameless peak"; I considered "ANON", but since the whole clue was foreign....

50. Pet identification aid : MICROCHIP

53. Come up with __ : A PLAN

55. "Christie Johnstone" novelist : READE - again, all perps and one WAG

56. Got back to one's office? : RE-ELECTED

57. Threw wide, say : ERRED

DOWN:

2. Bellini's "Casta diva," for one : OPERA ARIA

3. Metropolitan area : INNER CITY

4. Muser's words : LET'S SEE

5. Nordic carrier : SAS

6. Agricultural units : BALES - dah~! Not ACRES, as I had ---ES to start

7. Culmination : APEX - ACRES led me to try CRUX here, which seemed to make sense

8. MD's employee : LPN

9. George Washington received an honorary one from Harvard U. : LL.D.

10. Prepared : READIED

11. Play that inspired an opera : OTHELLO - and the opera inspired the game~?

12. Grueling grillings : ORALS

13. __ Park, Calif. : MENLO - I spelled Neilson as Neilsen, so I couldn't make this correct answer fit

14. Impala, e.g. : SEDAN - Chevrolet model of a four-door car; still searching for my used silver Dodge Grand Caravan

20. Subj. of some "Bossypants" chapters : SNL - Tina Fey's biography, and Saturday Night Live - great fresh clue for a common crossword answer

23. Like some timers? : OLD

24. Ominous oater symbol : NOOSE

25. "Hairspray" mom : EDNA - I had IRMA to start, and it didn't sound right

27. Logitech product : MOUSE - Nailed it, but then again, my mouse IS  a Logitech

29. Transvaal settlers : BOERS

30. It may have a bell on it : CAT COLLAR

32. Cut : SHORTENED - made me think of editing a film

34. Shot contents : SERA

37. Maker of AgeDefy products : CLAIROL - again, I knew we were looking for some sort of "beauty" company, but it turns out to be hair color - I was close....

38. Insulin, for one : HORMONE - learning moment; most often when I hear insulin, I think 34D. and Diabetes

39. Preceded : LED

40. Theoretically : ON PAPER - I remember there being this 'clever' idea on a Pontiac Gran-Am of the 90s that used the inside of the glove compartment door as a cup holder - and it worked great until you started driving; looked good ON PAPER, I am sure....

42. Lawyer's charge : FEE

43. Defensive covering : ARMOR

44. It flows through Troyes and Melun : SEINE - a sensible Frawnche WAG

45. Prima __: self-evident : FACIE - I hear this all the time on "Law & Order"

46. Ostrich, for example : BIPED - Two feet, though not necessarily two LEFT feet

48. iPhone display : TIME - I had the "T", but hesitated; too easy~?

51. Agcy. concerned with drug-resistant bacteria : CDC

52. In : HOT

53. Equals : ARE - twelve items are/equals a dozen

Splynter