Saturday, February 25, 2017

Saturday, Feb 25th, 2017, Julian Lim

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing Q)

Blocks: 29

I always cringe when I see Julian Lim as the constructor for Saturday's puzzles, and it was looking pretty bleak at the beginning.  I did manage to get some solid fill in all the corners, was able to work through this challenge with only a half-cheat (I have the periodic chart app on my phone, so I looked that one up) and then it was just a matter of some healthy Wild-Ass Guesses.  Just a few too many proper names in the puzzle for me, but then again, they all filled with the crossings.   Not a terribly intimidating grid, two 9-letter fills on the inside and 8-letter corners

16. One way to serve fowl : À L'ORANGE - We have a duck farm near my place, and it's a stop on my UPS "Q" truck ( the town is Aquebogue )


 39. Herbal beverage : ANISE TEA
65. Name on many bars : HERSHEY'S


 3. Pepper with punch : JALAPEÑO - D'oh~!! Spelled it with an "H" to start


 And there you have a four-course meal....

Vay-Cay-ShON-WARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Muslim veils : HIJABS

7. Curly's dad on "Sesame Street" : PAPA BEAR - I don't remember him


15. "For unto us a child is born" source : ISAIAH

17. "See?!" : "TOLD YA~!"

18. Counterbalanced, say : WEIGHTED - I had all but the first two letters, and tried "AR-ighted"....

19. Penn., for one : STA - I passed through Pennsylvania Station last weekend; came this close to staying for the Rangers/Capitals game in the Garden right above.  I love going in to New York City.

20. Thing to do with your fingers : SNAP - my first thought, but I hesitated

22. Attain, as great heights : SOAR TO

23. Brewmaster's need : HOPS

25. Plenty of horn? : KLAXON - got it off the "X", but went with a "C" and not a "K"

27. Payless box letters : EEE - Saturday cluing for a common fill

28. It often follows 12 : ONE PM - nailed it, tho I had AM, not PM


30. "Anthem for Doomed Youth" poet Wilfred __ : OWEN - the "W" was my last fill

31. Thirsts : YENS

32. Structure from the Arabic for "lighthouse" : MINARET - learning moment

34. Low bar? : DIVE - I was in one on Thursday to see a friend do her stand-up routine, but she went on too late - UPS comes early.  I did get to shoot some pool with a guy from one of the restaurants - man am I out of practice

36. Green machine : ECO-CAR - PRIUS did not fit

37. Some timeshares : VILLAS - I am friends with the nuns in my area, and they live at a "Villa"; there's usually a 12-step retreat there each spring and fall

41. Poet friend of author Ernest : EZRA - filled via perps

43. Point of view? : EYE LINE

44. Downtime? : FUNK

47. Like some ukuleles : OVAL

49. Many a group vacation photo, in slang : WEFIE - the expanded "Selfie"

50. 2008-'09 Japanese prime minister Taro __ : ASO - perps

51. __ chief : TRIBAL

53. Urquhart Castle's loch : NESS - four letters~? Good WAG

Hey, what's that in the lake~?

54. Created with : MADE OF

56. Ran : BLED

58. Cool : HEP

59. Rule broken by deities? : I BEFORE E - nailed it

61. Target of a whacking : PIÑATA

63. "Mad Men" actor John : SLATTERY - half perps, half WAG

64. Elicits : EDUCES

66. Acknowledge subtly : WINK AT
DOWN:

1. Strikes a chord : HITS HOME - ah, not a guitar clue; I love the chords of this song

And for the guitar players, a lesson

2. Kind of muscle contraction : ISOTONIC

4. First __ : AID

5. Canine sounds : BAYS - not ARFS

6. Osso buco cut : SHANK

7. Tree with green-skinned fruit : PAWPAW


8. Maugham's "Cakes and __" : ALE

9. Irritating growth : POISON IVY - oh, it's irritating alright

10. Chlorine's periodic table follower : ARGON - cheatcheatcheat

11. __ Men: one-hit wonders of 2000 : BAHA - vague recollection of this band

12. Carte part : ENTRÉE

13. Tatum O'Neal received her Oscar at it : AGE TEN - got it off ----EN

14. Overhauls : RE-DOES

21. Seas : A LOT

24. Best Actress after Field : SPACEK - made me change my AM to PM @28a.

26. Struck (out) : X-ed

29. "Yes!" singer Jason : MRAZ - another one up from the dredges

31. #3 on the 2016 Forbes "World's 100 Most Powerful Women" list : YELLEN - of the Federal Reserve - her Wiki.  There's a Ms. Yellen on one of my UPS trucks who gets at least a box a day; Hey - we're going drone~!

33. Like 100 on most tests : ERROR FREE

35. Mountaineer's expectation : VIEW

Hey now....

38. Productivity-increasing trick, in modern parlance : LIFE HACK

40. Overlooks, as a fault : SEES PAST

42. Prefix with fauna : AVI

43. Airline to Eilat : EL AL

44. Starve, to Shakespeare : FAMISH

45. Worth keeping : USABLE

46. Tender turndown : NO, DEAR

48. Some retreats : ABBEYS

51. Sweet __ : TOOTH

52. Toon pursuing l'amour : Le PEW


55. Small salamanders : EFTS

57. Conn of "Grease" : DIDI

60. Trick ending? : ERY - trickery

62. One in an order : NUN - and a villa~!

Splynter

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