Saturday, November 18, 2017

Saturday, Nov 18th, 2017, Ed Sessa

Theme: None

Words: 68 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 25

From no Saturdays this year to two months in a row for Mr. Sessa, again with a triple-axis symmetrical construction, and for the second week in a row, we have a hashtag pattern of 15-letter spanners and climbers crossing the grid.  I believe this might be the second hardest crossword grid to work; although there are plenty of words that connect the corners together, the chunky 7x7 corners are unforgiving if you have nothing to work with.  I was stumped in the North until I was able to solve the two climbers - which I had  an inkling about, but not enough to commit to filling them in.  The 4 big clues/answers;

17a. Evidential standard : REASONABLE DOUBT - hear it all the time on Law & Order

3d. Happy way to end : ON A POSITIVE NOTE

A positive note~? Is that a B+, or a B#~?

12d. More than just stabs : EDUCATED GUESSES - or in the crossword sense, educated WAGs

54a. Foil-wrapped treats : CHOCOLATE KISSES - started to put Klondike Ice Cream in, but it didn't fit
 




ACROSS:

1. Buy in quantity : STOCK UP - "shop at BJs/Costco" didn't fit

8. Places of rapid growth : HOTBEDS

15. Commiserate : CONDOLE - one cel from my "ta-DA~!" was the "L" here; I had condone, and I knew it was not working with6d.

16. One taking the prize : AWARDEE

19. Old Egyptian symbol of royalty : ASP

20. Former Defense secretary who wrote "Worthy Fights" : PANETTA - filled via perps

21. __ scan : CAT - CAT~? or PET~?; had to wait

22. Pronoun not heard as often as it should be : WHOM - for whom the bell tolls

24. 2016 presidential candidate : RUBIO - I thought it was rubiN, and that was close enough

25. British art house : TATE

26. Player over 21, perhaps : LOSER - cards, and blackjack; I took $135 at poker last week

28. Common base : TEN

29. __ Hebrides : OUTER

30. Large beer mugs : SEIDELS - this filled via perps, and I had to go to Google to see if it was right; oddly, it also led to a reference about an EYE TEST, also in the puzzle, below

32. Ones in their 40s, e.g. : GEN-XERS - guess that's me

34. Crime scene barrier : TAPE - huh; filled this in, and never noticed it was correct until now

35. Squeezed (out) : EKED

36. Greet warmly : SMILE AT

39. One convinced by a drive : PLEDGER - my first thought was cars, then it was golf, and then I got it; public broadcasting TV

42. Chekov's first name on "Star Trek" : PAVEL - I typed in ANTON, and knew that was not right - I kept recalling this scene from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (P.S., ironically, the "new" guy who plays Chekov is named Anton Yelchin, but I can't get into the new characters)

"...rank, Admiral" @ 1:45

43. #4 at Boston Garden : ORR - hockey great

45. "__ Got Mail" : YOU'VE

46. Said yes to : OK'ED

47. Monty Python product : SPOOF - I pondered SKITS, which could work with the singular/plural of 'product'

49. Trickle : SEEP

50. Kricfalusi cartoon canine : REN - I had no clue about the name, but three-letter cartoon dog is usually REN - the Wiki

51. Taking away : REMOVAL

53. Sign at a popular play : SRO

57. Winner of the Breaking News Reporting Pulitzer for 2016, briefly : LA TIMES - hey~!! A group shout-out~!

58. Most loaded : RICHEST - the owner of the winery might have the dollars, but not a lot of sense

59. Exam involving reading letters : EYE TEST - and for the second week in a row, we will hear from Zed in Men In Black


 60. Chicken requests : BREASTS

DOWN:

1. Hard-to-read words : SCRAWLS

2. Ballerina's footwear : TOE SHOE


4. IRA options : CDs

5. Surgeon general under Reagan : KOOP - I could picture the guy's face (you can't forget it, really), but it took the "-OO-" before I could recall his name - C. Everett

6. __ nerve : ULNAR

7. A toy piano is often seen in it : PEANUTS - Schroeder


8. Uncertain : HALTING

9. Have because of : OWE TO

10. Cry with a flourish : "Ta-DA"~! - I did not get my "ta-DA~!" once the grid filled

11. Main man : BRO - I tried C E O

13. Con, half the time : DEBATER - as opposed to "pro"

14. They may be Irish : SETTERS

18. Neuwirth of "Cheers" : BEBE - one of the only proper names I actually knew

23. Got the gold, say : MEDALED

25. Black-tie wear : TUXEDOS


27. Turn back : REPEL - like the bad guys in a James Bond movie

29. In tune : ON KEY

31. Pastoral expanse : LEA

33. Sea scavenger : EEL - did not know they were scavengers; three letters and one "E" was already there

36. Trivia quiz website : SPORCLE - never heard of it, and it looked funny in the grid; the website is here - I played the "mis-matched movies" game, and missed one - only because I got too itchy with the mouse finger

37. What some do while the sun shines? : MAKE HAY

38. Rigging support : TOPMAST

39. Words of wisdom : PROVERB

40. Hillary's conquest : EVEREST - not the politician aiming for the presidency

41. Announces again, in a way : REPOSTS - the 21st century way - although I am not on Facebook

44. Heart : ROOT

47. Two-time US Open winner : SELES - I had just the last "S", so it was not EVERT

48. Hindu ascetic : FAKIR - filled via perps

51. Cooking apple named for an Ohio township : ROME - oops, I had POME

52. Minute parasites : LICE

55. Op. __ : CIT - the period made this clear that it would not be "ART"; instead the Latin 'opere citato', the "work already cited", found in footnotes

56. Doo-wop syllable : SHA

Splynter

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