Saturday, Apr 29th, 2017, Gail Grabowski

Theme: GG double double spanners

Words: 68 (missing J,K,Q,V,Z)

Blocks: 25 

 This one from Gail was a bear - and I am better off for the challenge. While I did find some of the clues to be a bit of a s-t-r-e-t-c-h, all in all, it was a healthy brain buster that took me over my personal allotted time and into red-letter cheating, but I did manage to stay away from Google.  Lowest block count I have ever seen, 26 being the previous low, and the structure of the puzzle lent itself to that most cruel feature of all crosswords, the "I can't get there from here" dilemma; I could not get into the mid-east section from "-FRIEND" to "REPOT" without some real Wild-Ass Guesses.  Two double-stack spanners;

15. Classic dessert : COCONUT CREAM PIE - I was looking to get ICE cream in there and then chocolate, since I am not a fan of coconut (don't like the texture) - but this is what fit

17. Childhood playmate, perhaps : IMAGINARY FRIEND - my first guess, but I can't say why I didn't fill it in

46. Find another way : ALTER ONE'S COURSE - I had LEAVE - -, which screwed that corner up until I went red-letter, and the SW lit up like we were on high alert

50. Least accessible areas : DEEPEST RECESSES - I had DARKEST - that's 4/7ths correct

Get it~?

ACROSS:

1. Chaotic : IN A MESS - tough way to start the puzzle, with a phrase, and one that just didn't quite 'click' for me with the clue

8. Wunderkinds : PHENOMS

18. Gave up : CEDED

19. Carnival follower : LENT - Mardi Gras and the religious period after - I did not know the celebration was referred to as a "carnival"

20. Long of "In Too Deep" : NIA - perps

21. Rested : LAIN - I had laiD

22. First AFL-CIO president : MEANY - had MEA--, tried MEADE

23. Beat : BEST

24. Projection in the sky, briefly : ETA - dah~! Not etS, as in aliens - I can't wait to see the new Alien movie, "Covenant", even though I think it's going to be nothing more than a "remake" of the 1979 classic

25. Contractual arrangement : LEASE

26. One of the Visayan Islands : LEYTE - filled via perps; the "Y" was my last fill

27. Fields with multiple "Ed Sullivan Show" appearances : TOTIE - figured it was not "SALLY", and the crossings took care of most of it; her Wiki

28. Sushi fish : SEA EEL - total WAG, and a total cringe moment

29. Household current : AC POWER - meh.  Never "called" it that.

32. Becomes unproductive : RUNS DRY

33. Body shop convenience : LOANER

34. Provide room for growth, in a way : REPOT - if you have to send another message over the telegraph, is that remorse~?

35. Vaulted alcoves : APSES - NOOKS~? bzzt.  NAVES~? bzzt.  Eventually....

36. Its site has tracking tools : FedEx - the "other" guys.  Self-promoting advertisement

In my case, UPS is usually the 'down' side....

37. "So there!" : HAH - DAH~!!  Not A-HA; is that 100% zero correct~?  I had the right letters....

40. Cons : NAYS - ah, the votes, not the artists

41. Families : CLANS

42. It was founded to build engines for The Bull Tractor Company : TORO - learning moment.  And then when I read it again, "duh."  Toro = bull....

43. Garage sale buys : LPs

44. Adriatic resort : LIDO

45. Express __ : TRAIN - too easy, I left it out the first few passes

51. Suit goal : DAMAGES

52. Minority legal filing : DISSENT 

DOWN:

    

1. Frozen formation : ICICLE - ugh, I put in ice CAP

2. Dietary restriction : NO MEAT

3. National park SE of Bangor : ACADIA

4. Jewish star : MOGEN - I knew it as the Star of David; more from Wiki

5. City near Vance Air Force Base : ENID - a WAG

6. Word with block or screen : SUN - sunblock, sunscreen

7. Result of poor ventilation : STALE AIR

8. Hawthorne heroine : PRYNNE - dammit - I went with HESTER, and was right, but totally wrong

9. Substantial : HEFTY

10. Stirrup site : EAR - the little bones....

11. Feature of a two-ltr. monogram : NMI - No Middle Initial

12. Alert : OPEN-EYED - ah.  Not sure if it was the noun, or the verb - turned out to be the adjective

13. Service provider : MINISTER - ah.  That kind of service

14. With equanimity : SEDATELY

16. Pleat feature : CREASE

22. Monthly reading : METER

23. Brute : BEAST

25. The Home Depot rival : LOWES - I avoid shopping there at all costs - I'm a Home Depot guy

26. Service provider? : LENOX - got me.  That kind of service

27. Shades : TONES

28. Some caretakers, for short : SUPES - like building superintendents

29. "Two Years Before the Mast" star : ALAN LADD - oh man....I tried ALAN ALDA, and was again so right, with all the letters in the wrong places....

30. Get off easy, perhaps : COP A PLEA

31. Message medium : P.A. SYSTEM - I so could not parse this in the down - I had PA-T ST--, and could not make anything out of it

32. Descriptor akin to shiny, in song : RED-NOSED - that reindeer with the shiny nose

34. One involved in a plot? : READER - my latest book is 'Prague Fatale' from Philip Kerr; I found him through a book called "The Grid", which had a totally different writing style and feel

36. Spark producers : FLINTS

37. Husky : HOARSE

38. Off one's rocker? : ARISEN - har-har

39. Frank : HONEST

41. Confined, as quarters : CLOSE

42. Bind : TRUSS

45. Ring sites : TOES

47. Org. concerned with climate change : EPA

48. Short rule? : REGency - I learned more here

49. LXVII x III : CCI - Roman 67 x 3 = 201

Splynter

Saturday, Apr 22nd, 2017, Debbie Ellerin

Theme: None

Words 72 (missing J,Q,W,Z)

Blocks: 33

A friendly looking grid today from Ms Ellerin, which was how I described her last Saturday offering as well.  Lots of my first Across guesses were so wrong they worked out just right for the Down crossings, strangely, and the rest of my answers turned out to be spot-on correct.  Alas, I did not get my "ta-DA~!" because I guessed at the end of the second longest Across fill, and "BAILed" to correct it - and so I had a sloppy Down answer with an 'I don't know for sure' Across perpendicular.  Oh well.  Red-letters it is.  Two 8's, two 10's, and two 12-letter spanners;

22. Rotten Tomatoes caution : SPOILER ALERT 

 Or this one~?

9. Stud venue : CARD ROOM - because of the horse race clue, I was thinking about that kind of stud.  Our weekly card game is held in a friend's dining room - I need to bring some felt to cover the table top tonight

27. Oktoberfest setting : BEER GARDEN - aw, I waited, since I got "BIER" wrong last week

45. 2008 financial crisis mantra : TOO BIG TO FAIL - even UPS tried to get in on the "free" money

36. Problem addressed by counters : INSOMNIA - ah, the sheep count-ers.  Here's Megadeth's take on the disorder

 

3. One who shuns shaking : GERMOPHOBE - I still did not get this until I was writing the blog - HAND shaking, oh....

ACROSS:

1. Some conversion targets : PAGANS - my first read was conversATion, so I waited

7. Time to "Run for the Roses" : RACE DAY - we're at the start of the Triple Crown season

14. Blissful : EDENIC - ah, not ELATED

15. Bar talk? : LEGALESE - Nailed it

16. Shout from Speedy : ARRIBA - not ÁNDALE

17. Devils' playgrounds? : ICE RINKS - Well, I was in the NHL New Jersey Devils frame of mind, but this did not jump out at me

18. "Losing My Religion" group : REM

19. "Kiss of the Spider Woman" star Sonia : BRAGA

21. ... : DOTS - I thought maybe we had some sort of theme going on today, but this just turned out to be exactly what you see....dots

25. Teen introduction? : PRE - ugh.  I tried SIX

26. Canonized pope who persuaded Attila not to attack Rome : St. LEO

27. Accessory for Miss Piggy : BOA

30. Half a luau serving? : MAHI - the other half tastes better

32. Usher's creator : POE - filled via perps

33. Revolted : ROSE UP - the revolution type of revolt, not the "I'm offended" one

35. Thatcher or Blair, e.g. : OXONIAN - tried ETonian.  This is one from Oxford, or relating to

37. Smirks : SIMPERS - I thought this meant to weep, not smile

38. Capital since 1797 : ALBANY - bam, nailed it - but maybe it doesn't count because I lived there, so it might have been a subconscious remnant of those days

39. Expected : DUE

40. Ballpark phrase : OR SO - ah, the ballpark estimate, not the baseball park

41. Provider of a small raise : TEE - clever

42. "It Don't Come Easy" singer : STARR - Ringo, in his solo career

44. "Star Trek" record : LOG - totally missed this one, so when I had L-G, it took the V-8 can to get it.  I've been keeping a journal of my daily events for the last 12 years, and that includes my punch times for UPS; when I went in to dispute my hours this week, my boss to a dig at me and told me to "check my diary".

"It's a log, dude."

49. Dixie elision : MA'AM - dah~!  I went with Y'ALL, and I am sure so did everyone else

51. Plain to see : OVERT

52. Cellular messenger : RNA - ah, the genetic, not phone-callian type of cellular

53. Soaking solution : MARINADE - got stuck on "DYE", so it took a while for this to appear

55. Feuding (with) : AT ODDS

57. Fashion item used for protection in ancient Egypt : EYELINER - learning moment; CODPIECE fit, but I was sure the garment was not called that. In fact, the 'kilt' is called a shendyt, but the long belt I was thinking about is just called a belt.  More here; there's a mention of eyeliner under cosmetics

58. "I'm a fan" : LOVE IT

59. Leafs, e.g. : NISSANS - again, I was in hockey mode, so I was thinking of the Toronto Maple LEAFs, or some sort of Canadian reference

60. Yoga class regimen : ASANAS

DOWN:

1. Still-life subjects : PEARS - which worked with my first two Across fills, but when the rest didn't, out it came

Nice pear....

2. "Mad Men" extra : AD REP

4. "The Phantom Menace" boy : ANI - short for Anakin, the Skywalker who gave us Luke and Leia

5. Angler's hope : NIBBLE

6. Close one : SCARE

7. Automaker's bane : RECALL

8. Preceder of beauty? : AGE - AGE before Beauty

10. Prufrock's creator : ELIOT - filled via perps

11. Bump souvenir : DENT - I figured this was one on the head, so I went with WELT - that's 50% correct - and 100% at that, right D-O~?

12. Requires : ASKS

13. "Roundabout" rock group : YES - I was never able to appreciate their progressive rock style, but half the original members formed ASIA, and their debut album is still one of my favorites of all time - more on ASIA here
 

15. Tie up in surgery : LIGATE

20. Bad lighting? : ARSON - took half a beat for me to remember this clever cluing for that kind of lighting

23. Youngest of Chekhov's "Three Sisters" : IRINA - filled via perps

24. Like many 32-Across works : EERIE - not PROSE, not VERSE - which was 100% 60% correct~!

28. Shared between us : OURS - the literal definition

29. Lhasa __ : APSO

30. Safety feature for zoo visitors : MOAT - there's a moat around my dream home

31. Drive shaft component : AXLE

32. Check phrase : PAY TO

34. Make fun of : SPOOF - my crossings gave me SMOOB, so I was going to check and see if maybe it was a word....it is; check the 'Urban' Dictionary

37. Power concern : SURGE - I had -U--E, which led me to ponder JUICE

39. Club at a club : DRIVER - more golfing

43. They may be humble : ABODES - I prefer to refer to my humble abode as the awesome man-cave - my whole studio apartment, not just the entertainment room

44. Powerball and others : LOTTOS

45. Word in pregame instructions : TAILS - or you could choose HEADS

46. Refrain part : TRA-LA

47. Setting for "Slumdog Millionaire" : INDIA - filled via perps; did not see the movie

48. Has legs, so to speak : LASTS - yes - and she has legs, too

49. "Allow me" : "MAY I~?"

50. Father of Phobos and Deimos : ARES

53. Valets, e.g. : MEN - meh

54. Rockport's cape : ANN - not sure where Rockport is, so take your three-letter pick; COD, MAY, or ANN - two of them in Massachusetts

56. Eggs : OVA

Splynter

Saturday, Apr 15th, 2017, Roland Huget

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing V,W,X)

Blocks: 27

Second Saturday from today's constructor this year, and looking over that puzzle, I noted that I had one cheat - well, there was none of that today. I did have a slow start and some vague cluing which was not that vague once I realized my first thought was the right answer.  The NW corner was last to fill in, and I had just enough in my wheelhouse to make this a challenge, but doable.  Quad 9's and triple 7's in the corners of this grid;  I am working from my desktop "tower" computer for the first time this week, and it takes some getting used to with the much wider monitor - 25 whole inches - and the "big buttons" keyboard.  My laptop has Windows XL, which Firefox no longer supports, so the internet was crashing too often.  The technological turnover in devices these days is sometimes too fast....anyway, some of the longer answers;

19. Asylum seeker : IMMIGRANT - we'll open with a musical refernce

The Immigrant Song

14. Candidate for Photoshop : EYESORE - forget the fact that this is also a courthouse, but to me, a real eyesore....

57. Carousel riders : SUITCASES -got it because I was not thinking of little kids on a carousel - it was because Airplane~! was on TV yesterday;

37. Water or gas : UTILITY - makes me think of Monopoly

or this one - warning~!

ACROSS:

1. Nevada's state flower : SAGEBRUSH - guess there's not a lot to choose from in plants out there

10. Yippie Hoffman : ABBIE

15. Silver tongue : ELOQUENCE

16. Like some winds : REEDY - my first thought, but thought it was too seedy

17. Becomes ripe : MATURATES

18. "Joyful, __ nations, rise": carol lyric : ALL YE

20. Walk quartet : BALLS - drew a complete blank, even after I finished, but then I finally got the V-8 can moment and figured out it's a baseball reference; see 11d.

21. Rathskeller turndown : NEIN - I spelled it 'backwards', which didn't help - we have a running gag at the poker table that there's a German playing when a "nine" comes out - get it~?

22. In silence : MUTELY

24. Half of Bennifer : JLo - Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck

25. "Inferiority complex" coiner : ADLER - pondered FREUD

27. "Unfaithful" co-star : GERE

28. Hold 'em holding : PAIR - I tanked in last week's game - and we're not playing tonight

29. Calif. NHL team, on scoreboards : LA Kings - who did not make the playoffs this year, but beat the NY Rangers for the Stanley Cup in 2014.  The Rangers gave it away last night to the Canadiens

30. How many TV shows are aired : IN HD

32. Liftoff sensation : G-FORCE

34. Record flaw : BLOT - ah, a 'criminal' record, not an LP

35. Moonraker, for one : SAIL - got stuck in James Bond mode

36. "You kiss by the book" speaker : JULIET - got it from -U--ET

39. Solar __ : CELL - not WIND

40. Word heard before a pistol fires : SET - ready, set, go~!

43. Heavy traffic may affect them, briefly : ETAs

44. Buddy : CHUM

46. Seriously hurts : MAIMS - had it in, took it out, put it back

48. First date concern : ZIT - first dates these days don't concern zits - compatibility seems to be the big issue at my age

49. Civil War battle site : SHILOH

51. Tahari of fashion : ELIE

52. Young would-be 19-Across in 2000 news : ELIAN

54. River across Quebec, in Quebec : St. LAURENT

56. Overindulgence : BINGE

58. Business that requires browsing : eTAIL

59. Lily's "Laugh-In" operator : ERNESTINE

60. Janitor's supply : LYSOL - oops, I threw in an "S" at the end thinking it would be plural

61. Collector's targets : DEADBEATS - I tried "WHOLE SETS", which fit, but seemed awkward

DOWN:

1. Pioneering : SEMINAL

2. Oakland's county : ALAMEDA - pretty good WAG from some crossings

3. Dairy line? : GOT MILK~?

4. Like some mounts : EQUINE

5. Hamlet : BURG - not TOWN

6. Prepare for a new assault : REARM

7. Innate : UNTAUGHT

8. Like many candles : SCENTED

did you see the candles~?

9. Hawthorne's Prynne : HESTER - forced high school reading - The Scarlet Letter

10. Sheikdom of song : ARABY

11. Coach of Nadia and Mary Lou : BELA - the "A" was my last fill, and I guessed

12. Protective display cover : BELL JAR

13. Charmingly rustic : IDYLLIC

23. By the book : LEGAL

26. Get to : RILE

28. Campaign pro : POLitician

31. V-shaped cut : NOTCH - I have finally gotten around to building my entertainment center after months of planning - the unit divides my space into "living room" and "bedroom"; I mounted the TV and the fake fireplace on a swivel, can see both from either room now

33. Thin coat : FILM

34. Grafton's "__ for Burglar" : B IS

35. Pasta ingredient : SEMOLINA - my first thought, but was not jibing with my crossings

36. Biblical wife of Ahab : JEZEBEL - good WAG from the "J" and the "L"

38. Selena and others : LATINAS

39. Lab dish subject : CULTURE

40. Historical Oder River region : SILESIA - filled via perps

41. Distinguished : EMINENT

42. Flies over Africa? : TSE-TSES

45. Sounded displeased : HISSED

47. Make bubbly : AERATE

49. Fishhook connector : SNELL

50. More than a little unpopular : HATED

53. Currency exchange fee : AGIO - hah~!  I knew this~!

55. Sch. in the same system as Berkeley : UCSB - somehow I managed to try U CAL, but it helped

Splynter

Saturday, Apr 8th, 2017, Mike Buckley

Theme: Spiral Galaxies

Words 66 (missing F,J,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 36

I did not recognize the name of the constructor, but I did see the unique grid, and my first thought was that it was one of those layouts that make it impossible to move from one corner to another because a lack of word connections - but then I got to 4a, 34a, etc, and realized we had ourselves a "theme". One I picked up on right away, because I am a nerd, and I love watching shows on astronomy, so I knew the "local group", and the reveal at 56a.  A nifty spiral shaped pattern to go along with the theme, with triple 9-letter corners and 8-letter tie-ins between them.

4a. Largest galaxy in the Local Group : ANDROMEDA

34a. With 35- and 36-Across, second-largest galaxy in the Local Group : THE

35a. See 34-Across : MILKY

36a. See 34-Across : WAY

56. By some calculations, projected fate of 4-Across and 34-/35-/36-Across in three to four billion years : COLLISION

 More Here

 O                       ~!

      N               D

          W  a   R

            w A r

         W   a    R

     N                D

O                         ~! 

ACROSS:

 1. Mirthful sounds : HAs

13. Stop : AVERT - I tried CEASE

16. Strains at the balcony : SERENADES

17. "Birth of the Cool" trumpeter : DAVIS - a WAG, but today's difficulty level seemed lower, probably due to the cool theme

18. Protesters, in '60s slang : PEACENIKS

19. Talmud letters : ALEPHs

21. Cheerleaders may raise it : MORALE - and a few other things, too

22. Crashing and burning : TANKING

24. Urban legends website : SNOPES

25. Lobby, often : ANTEROOM

27. Saturn SUV : VUE

28. Trail for a hound : SCENT

29. Zaps : TASES - I had LASES first

31. Ne'ertheless : THO

37. Poetic twilight : E'EN

38. Japanese box lunch : BENTO - filled via perps; did not know this 

39. Elemental makeup : ATOMS

41. With 14-Down, "Iron Man" of sports : CAL - with 14. See 41-Across : RIPKEN - Junior, who played 2,632 consecutive MLB games for the Baltimore Orioles - the Wiki

42. Is demanding : ASKS A LOT

44. Friday revelation? : I'M A COP - "Just the facts, ma'am" - but never spoken in the show

47. Had some impact : HIT HOME

48. Treat with scorn : DERIDE

49. Something hit on a range : DRIVER - oops, not TARGET

50. News dispatch lead-ins : DATELINES

53. Deli qty. : ONE lb

54. Test : CHALLENGE

55. Intensifying exclamation ending : SIREE - yes----

57. SOP part: Abbr. : STD - Standard Operating Procedure

DOWN:

1. Sampled some : HAD A TASTE

2. Serious downfall : AVALANCHE

3. Whitney Houston appeared on its cover in 1981 : SEVENTEEN

4. Critter in Egyptian art : ASP

5. Born identity intro : NÉE

6. Wee nips : DRAMS

7. Carry on? : RECONVEY

8. Weighty : ONEROUS - oops, not OMINOUS

9. Marvel Comics hybrid supervillain : MAN-APE - never heard of  'him'

10. Roman magistrate : EDILE

11. Fakes on the ice : DEKES - oh we are there~!  The Stanley Cup playoffs begin~!

 Top Ten Shootout Dekes

#3 is unbelievable

12. Pack animal : ASS

15. Brando wore one in "Streetcar" : T-SHIRT

20. __-cone : SNO

23. Finally became a member : GOT IN

26. Valletta is its capital : MALTA

30. Trifling amount : SKOSH

31. 2008 Phoenix/Paltrow romantic drama : TWO LOVERS

32. Brunch order : HAM OMELET

33. Precious gem source : OYSTER BED - and featured in the lyrics of a Blue Oyster Cult song, aptly titled "Blue Oyster Cult" on their 1988 concept album Imaginos

@0:55

35. Earworms, say : MELODIES - I read this as EARTHworms, even after I solved it and thought, is that a typo~?

38. Rod-shaped bacteria : BACILLI

39. Minute Maid Park team : ASTROs

40. Sesame seed paste : TAHINI - I was stuck on HUMMUS, which is chick peas

41. "The Office" star : CARELL - spelled it wrong; CARREL

43. Rib : KID

44. State with a 45-mile Canadian border : IDAHO - I took a train ride from Ronkonkoma LI through Chicago all the way to Seattle back in 2003, and sadly I fell asleep for that 45 mile part of the journey, so I "missed" Idaho; I did pass through Minnesota, C.C.

45. Calcium, e.g. : METAL

46. Former Finnish coin : PENNI

50. XX x XXXV : DCC - Roman math, 20 x 35 = 700

51. Id controller : EGO

52. Sanders or Cruz: Abbr. : SENator

Splynter

Saturday, Apr 1st, 2017, Brad Wilber

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,Y)

Blocks: 32

  We have not seen a solo Saturday from Brad since 2015; he contributed on two Saturdays last year.  I struggled with this one from Mr. Wilber, mostly by filling in the wrong answers on my first pass, and unwilling to let  them go.  Lots of one-word clues which can run into ambivalence and vagueness very quickly.  One 13-letter and two 11-letter spanners, chunky 8x6 corners in the NW and SE, and almost triple 8s in the opposing down corners.  Separation of the corners from the rest of the puzzle made it difficult to move from one area to another, too.  Some of the longer fill;

35a. Chart-topping instrumental of '76: THEME FROM SWAT

32a. Headed for a stall, quite possibly: OVERHEATING

38a. Time's Best Comedy Sketch of the 20th Century: WHO'S ON FIRST

19d. Fish with a prehensile tail: SEAHORSE

23d. Essentially:  IN EFFECT

24d. 1992 Nestle acquisition: PERRIER

O

   N
     W
        A
           R
              D~!

April FOOLs~!

And now for the real puzzle....

Saturday, April 1st, 2017, Bruce Haight

Theme: Gotcha~!!!

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

Blocks: 29

Sorry, I couldn't resist~!  Three out of four weeks with a Bruce for a constructor - isn't that the nick-name for any guy from Australia~?  Anyway, a slightly themed puzzle for today, with a clever visual in the grid depicting something akin to the last Across clue featuring escalator; S T A I R S.  As for the rest of the challenge, it was looking grim on the first pass, but again, I did better with my first Down pass, which gave me something to work with on my second go.  Finished within my personal time, and nary a cheat or Google.  Chunky 8x8 and 6x6 corners with an ascending trio of "escalators" in the center.  Some of the longer fill;

15a. Slender smoke : PANATELA - I am making my way through Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware novels, and his detective, Milo Sturgis, occasionally smokes a panatela

11d. Concert tix flashed at a singles bar, say : DATE BAIT - never heard the phrase; if they're offering Rangers tickets, I'm in - I hope she would be, too....

32d. It could involve a disappearance : MAGIC ACT

57. Like an escalator, and, aptly, like the six-letter word that begins where 40-Across ends : AT A SLANT

                            !

                         ~

                    D

                R

            A

        W

    N

O

ACROSS:

1. Shuttle facility : SPACE LAB

9. Auto shop purchase : RADIAL - I suppose "tire shop" would have been too easy for Saturday

16. Thorny shrub : ACACIA

17. Emotionally withdrawn : IN A SHELL

18. Buries : INTERS - I tried EMBEDS

19. Little laughter : TITTER

20. In a pinch : IF NEED BE

22. Autumn shade : OCHER - oops, not OCHRE

23. Many profs : PHDs

24. Oktoberfest supply : BIER

25. Transportation option : UBER

26. Whopper inventor : LIAR - ah, that kind of whopper....

27. Unites for a purpose : BANDS - usually with "together"

28. Jaunty topper : TAM
 

Jaunty

29. __ golf : MINI - oh, I would have gone with SKIRT; at least it could be answered MAXI, too

30. Ja, across the border : OUI - Yes, in German and Frawnche

31. Beezus' little sister, in Cleary books : RAMONA - learned from doing crosswords

33. Perfect : SPOT ON - I had SUPERB first, but then wondered if it was the verb perfect, and not the adjective perfect

36. Proper : APT

37. Delight at the comedy club : SLAY

38. Super __ : PAC - ugh, I had no clue

40. Hitches : SNAGS

43. Punxsutawney headliner : PHIL - the groundhog winter/spring weather forecaster for all of us, located in PA

44. Default result : REPO - default on payments

45. Doughnuts, geometrically : TORI - Latin plural of torus

46. "Growing Up in New Guinea" author : MEAD - just had to guess the "A"

47. Joint component : TENON - partnered with Mortise.  I am buying a biscuit joiner this weekend for two projects - fixing a split table, and building a new side station top

48. Hatchling from a green egg : EMU CHICK

50. Art incorporating architectural elements : MURALS - I considered this, and then it filled via perps

51. Judge's declaration : NO BAIL

52. Rule with many exceptions : I BEFORE E - seen this recently, too

54. Software giant : ORACLE

55. Yak, yak, yak : RATTLE ON

56. One way to break the news : GENTLY

DOWN:

1. Say scornfully : SPIT OUT

2. Emergency exit device : PANIC BAR

FAIL

3. Something detested : ANATHEMA

4. Furniture mover : CASTER

5. Heavens : ETHER

6. Creepy look : LEER

7. Entirely : ALL

8. Its sung in the same act as "Some Enchanted Evening" : BALI HA'I

9. Comes down : RAINS - yesterday and today, in my neck of the woods

10. Unpopular spots : ACNE

12. Stuck at the ski lodge, maybe : ICED IN - run away Tin~!

13. Sack for company? : AIRBED

14. Surgical tools : LASERS

21. Wartime prez : FDR

23. Fruity cocktail word : PIÑA

26. Fuzz : LINT

27. Lift : BUOY - good WAG on my part from the "Y"

29. Challenging locks : MOPS

30. Colorful ring tone producer? : OPAL - I watched this cool NOVA episode on gems while I was in Delaware

33. Arrived home evasively : SLID

34. Clearing : OPEN AREA

35. Layered dessert : NAPOLEON

37. Colombian singer formerly a coach on "The Voice" : SHAKIRA

39. Agree : CONSENT

40. Hearing aid, briefly? : STENOGrapher - a bit meh, but the clue sort of salvages the "non-word" fill

41. "That's it for me" : NO MORE - "NO MORE  for me thanks, I'm drivin'"

Daffy Duck

42. Oranjestad native : ARUBAN

43. Pumping target, for short : PECtoral

44. Casino table do-over : RE-ROLL - I had REDEAL to start, slowed down the SE corner

46. Daughter of Billy Ray : MILEY

47. Medford school with a Boston campus : TUFTS - perps.  I work at UPS in Medford, LI - but it's not the same place....

49. Tobogganing spot : HILL

50. Prefix with carpal : META

53. Swing in a box : BAT - Baseball reference; I am sure C.C. is all keyed up for the new season

Splynter