Theme: None
Words: 68 (pangram~!)
Blocks: 27
This one looked like it was going to be brutal, but I must have been on
the Mr. Diehl's wavelength, because I ended up sailing through after
the first DOWN run. A lot of my success had to do with being
open-minded about two-word answers,
and there were a lot of those this week(*). Several answers were squarely
in my wheelhouse, too - like 50a. A crushing amount of 6-, 7-, and
8-letter answers - nothing longer - and a mere four 3-letter answers.
Here's some corner connector answers;
19. Former Haitian president : ARISTIDE - Unknown, filled via perps; his Wiki
47. Immortal Kiev-born pianist : HOROWITZ - LIBERACE fit, but Bzzzt
10*. D, P or S, on quarters : MINT MARK - I put in MINT CITY, which in retrospect seems odd, if not correct
ACROSS:
1. The punch in Planter's Punch : ETHANOL - I guess I must be getting sober-er, because ALCOHOL never crossed my mind, even if it was the wrong answer
8*. Set overly easy goals : AIM LOW
14. Disk problem : SCIATICA - my first thought was SCRATCH, like a Compact Disc, but it didn't fit, and so I switched mental gears and figured it referred to one's back
15. Curly-haired "Peanuts" character : FRIEDA - not a big fan of the strip, this filled via perps and a WAG
16. Foreshadows : PORTENDS
17. Like rattlers : FANGED - ah, the snake, not the baby toy
18*. Drawn : IN A TIE - ah, not sketched or saddened
21*. Policy at certain clubs : NO MEN
22. Display some guns : FLEX
- the "20-inch biceps" kind of guns; curiosity got the better of me, so
I measured my own - a little over 12 inches. Now you try doing it with
a standard metal tape measure....
23. "Wuthering Heights" setting : MOOR
24. Gulf States leader : EMIR
25. Taylor of "American Crime" : LILI
26. Wedding announcement : BANNS - I knew this from doing crosswords, and yet I was unsure of the origin, so I went looking for an answer - here - ironic that one outcome could be that the marriage is "BANNed"
27. It's in many poems : 'TIS
28. Sachet filler : LAVENDER - FRAGRANCE was too long
30*. Informal passing remark? : 'SCUSE ME
32*. Repository for spare or unused parts : JUNK BOX - more likely to be a junk DRAWER around here
36*. Cheerleading outfit? : PEP SQUAD - nailed it (and that helped a lot because I am familiar with 37d.)
38. Lummox : APE - oops, not OAF
39. Covered carriages : SHAYS
42. Reverse of a knit : PURL - the 'mechanics' of knitting, if you will
43. Selfish sort : USER
44. Be the first to say : COIN - I "coined" STOG two weeks ago, and Dennis gave us "clecho" long before I got here
45. Pâté base : FOIE
46. Month after diciembre : ENERO - good guess on my part
49. Company whose name appears in an odometer in its logo : CARFAX
50. Commonly seen brown vehicle : UPS VAN
- my UPS days are numbered, one way or another - I have come to the
conclusion that the benefits are not worth the aggravation, and the pay
is pitiful; I've already got an interview set up on Monday - it's at 9:30am, so I guess I'll
have to take the day from UPS....
51. Gross out : NAUSEATE
53. It may be rolled up on a farm : SLEEVE
54. Like the praying mantis : ONE-EARED
55. In Tupperware, say : SEALED - clever; I got it
56. Ready to ride : SADDLED - I just got "saddled" with a $60 "use tax" on my work van's registration; what, I need to pay more to USE my registration~?
DOWN:
1. Cost-effective : ECONOMIC
2. Dessert with a kick : TIRAMISU
3. Mad __ : HATTER
4*. Took courses at home : ATE IN - meals, not school courses
5. West Coast ZIP starter : NINE - the show "90210" (CA) helped here; goes all the way to Bellingham WA, 98229 and beyond
6. Neatnik's possible condition, briefly : OCD - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
7. Mississippi explorer : LaSALLE - perps
8. Tack on : AFFIX - I had ANNEX; 100% 40% correct
9. Line 32 items on 1040 forms : IRAs
11. Vast multitude : LEGION
12*. Had way too much of : ODed ON - life itself
Blue Öyster Cult
13. Angler's gear : WADERS
14. Grand children? : SPINETS - piano offspring~?
20. Pull over, say? : RE-INJURE - think 'pull a muscle', again
22*. Fin : FIVE SPOT - cash, moola, money
25. Lighter : LAMP - I don't associate lighter with lamp, but I guess I'll just have to....
26. Give a little : BEND
28. Wranglers alternative : LEES - jeans
29. Part of DINK : DUAL - Income, No Kids
33. Ride cost before taxes and such : BASE FARE
34. Ran : OPERATED
35. Ran off : XEROXED - Scrabbly
37. Subway alternative : QUIZNO'S - hero sandwich shops
39. Speed down a slope : SCHUSS
40. Rockers Mott the __ : HOOPLE
41*. Like some offshore rescues : AIR/SEA
43. "Are you kidding me?!" : UNREAL
45. Punished in court, in a way : FINED
46. Let up : EASED
48. Parade greeting : WAVE - my parents were born and raised in England, so....
49. Helped on stage : CUED
52. Literary assortment : ANA - learned from doing crosswords
Splynter
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