Saturday, May 27, 2017

Saturday, May 27th, 2017, Jeff Chen

Theme: None

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

Blocks: 34

It's been almost 3 years since we have seen Jeff solo on a Saturday.  This one was looking pretty grim for a while, and then one or two words broke it open for me.  Triple spanner stacks today, with two 9- and 10-letter climbers crossing - not the usual short 3- and 4-letter words to help out - and convenient tie-ins, corner to corner.  Last to fill was the NE, and I was able to finish well within my personal allotted time - but I will own up to turning on red-letters for just one cel, a crossing of a personal name and a clue that I just did not get.  Figures.  The spanners;

35. Make trouble : CREATE A NUISANCE - not exactly in the 'vernacular' I would say, so a bit of a stretch for me

38. 1997 Emmy winner for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series : GILLIAN ANDERSON - for her role as Agent Dana Scully from the X-files, one of my favorite shows of all time


39. It might cause quite a shock : ELECTRIC CURRENT -  I threw in the first word , and waited to see what the second half of the answer would be

ONWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Crisis advice : DON'T PANIC - ah, Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide advice


10. Military clipping? : BUZZ

14. "Fish" star : ABE VIGODA - got it, but then again, I know no one else from that show

15. It's often transported upside-down : CANOE - got it from the "C", and the clue had me intrigued - I was thinking larger, like something on a flat-bed

16. Parts of many place settings : TEASPOONS - SALAD FORK~?  SOUP SPOON~? Had to wait

17. "Loot" playwright : ORTON - the "T" was a Natick - I tried "S" and "D"

18. Fictional 1847 autobiographer : EYRE - I tried "FINN" first

19. Physics model using an analogy to the solar system : BOHR ATOM


21. Adulterer follower, in slang : TEC - deTECtive, tho I did not get the clue at first because I was thinking "adulterer" was some sort of X-rated reference; I suppose it is, in a way

24. They're framed : CELS

25. British racing cars : MGs


28. Trees whose bark contains the anti-inflammatory salicin : ALDERS - Pondered POPLAR and WALNUT before I saw the plural "S" in treeS

31. Real piece of work : TASK

40. Coder's conditional : ELSE - why 'coder's'~?

41. Bible-toting aunt on "Sanford and Son" : ESTHER - had the "E", seemed Biblically appropriate; semi-clecho with 54d. "Sanford and Son" first name : REDD - the actor, FOXX, whose real name was Sanford

42. The French? : LES - Frawnche for "The"

43. Bite : NOSH

45. Muppets chimp __ Minella : SAL - har-har
                                                                                           ..
47. Made bank : HIT IT BIG - like the second verse from this Spinal Tap song

@ 1:20

51. Thickening agent : AGAR

55. Nugget of wisdom : PEARL

56. "Pick it up!" : "LOOK ALIVE~!"

59. The "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" : SAGAS - I had EPICS; this one could not be clued as "palidromic", since that appears at 27d.

60. Like bears and koala bears : UNRELATED - clever

61. False __ : IDOL - I thought of so many other "falses"

62. Best Upset, e.g. : ESPY AWARD

DOWN:

1. Tinder meeting : DATE

2. Follow : OBEY

3. Around : NEAR

4. Boob tube : TV SET - I mentioned this last week

5. Dimple on a die : PIP - I just discovered there is such a thing as "back dimples"

some have gone so far as to get them pierced....
6. Earlier : AGO

7. Neophyte, briefly : NOOB

8. SSN, e.g. : ID No.

9. Problem caused by fallen dough? : CASH CRUNCH

10. MVP of Super Bowls I and II : BART STARR

11. Word that sometimes precedes itself : UNTO - unto unto~? Must be before my time

12. Shooter's piece : ZOOM - photo shooter, that is; I was in gangster "gat" mode

13. Peaceful : ZEN - first thought, but hesitated to fill it in

15. Shade of black : COAL - dah~!  Not EBON

20. Distillery leftovers : RESIDUES

22. Wipe out, in snowboarding slang : EAT IT

23. Least obfuscatory : CLEAREST - good $2 word in there; and when you use it, most people are obfuscated

25. Bobby in a '70s chart-topper : McGEE

26. Give the third degree : GRILL

27. Palindromic court star : SELES

29. Cheese with PGI status (protected geographical indication) : DANISH BLUE - uh, sounds like cheese....

30. Pass : ENACT

32. First name in landscape photography : ANSEL

33. Clotted cream may be put on one : SCONE - ugh - just the name makes me cringe - and my parents are English

34. Superman's kin : KENTS - here on Earth

36. Indians' habitat?: Abbr. : AL CENTRAL - I figured it was Cleveland, but did not know their specific baseball division

37. Brazilian mountain chain : SERRA

44. Essential __ : OILS

46. Bochco drama : L.A. LAW

47. Big enchilada : HEAD

48. Manipulator of the Moor : IAGO

49. They carry charges : IONS

50. It's also called scroggin or schmogle : GORP - learned here at the blog that it stands for "Good Old Raisins and Peanuts"

52. Sanskrit scripture, with "the" : GITA - Got it, since I like the TV show "Ancient Aliens"; it refers to this writing in several episodes

53. Swear to be true : AVER - or AVOW~?  Had to wait.  It's been a while.

55. Chi follower : PSI - made me change my EPICS to SAGAS

57. Instrumental : KEY

58. Styled after : Á LA

Splynter

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