C CCC CC C
(rough "C"s)
Happy New Year~! - Ah, circles - nothing like starting 2025 off with a familiar constructor, but the same old, same old . . . . nine or more names, depending on how you count, twenty more 4LW than TLW, and a reveal that explains how the WATER words are "chopped up". The themers;
20. *Occasion to stay up late: SLUMBER PARTY - I recall playing Atari 2600 all night for my B-day sleep-over in 5th grade - and BAY
29. *Hard wear with links: CHAIN MAIL - I wore chain-mail at my "medieval" wedding - and CANAL
Yes - if you look closely, we had coconuts . . .
38. *Team whose stadium is at the highest elevation in the majors: COLORADO ROCKIES - the NHL's Colorado Rockies became the New Jersey Devils in 1982 - and LAKE
Barry went on to become a NY Ranger
45. *Ford Mustang, for one: MUSCLE CAR - I like the Mustang, but I'm partial to the '67 Cougar - and SEA
I actually had two, but '69s
53. Rough sailing, and what can be found in the answers to the starred clues: CHOPPY WATERS
And Away We Go~!
ACROSS:
1. "Hurry!" letters: ASAP - I believe most Cornerites are OK with "hurry" to define 'As Soon As Possible' - STAT, not so much
5. Post-marathon feelings: ACHES - post-beach hike, too; sloped sand is a tough surface for walking
I prefer the beach when it's Christmas Day - and the Atlantic was not CHOPPY
Splynter with Cooper - there's SNOW on the sand~!
10. 88 Earth days on Mercury: YEAR - the planet "Spirographs" in its orbit
14. Ricky Martin's "Livin' la Vida __": LOCA - not really my thing, but there are some cool guitar licks
Co-written by Desmond Child - who has a long list of hits across several genres
15. Where the heart is: CHEST - Dah~! We had TORSO last week, so I tried it again - Bzzzt~!
16. Like a literary duckling: UGLY
17. Gelcap, e.g.: PILL
18. Rodeo rope: RIATA
19. Spy: MOLE - I am reading the Lance Spector books by Saul Herzog, and guess what~? Book #5 is called - The Spl(y)nter~!
The previous book, "The Sleeper", was a real page-turner
23. Anna's "Frozen" sister: ELSA - name #1
24. Cry of pain: "OUCH~!"
27. Protein source in Greek salad: FETA - AND - 68A. Second Greek letter: BETA; see 48D., too
34. "My gosh, you're right!": "SO IT IS~!"
36. Acr. from: OPP - 'across' , 'opposite' - a bit Meh.
37. Mrs. in Mexico: SRA - abbr.s
43. Head-slapping cry: "D'OH~!"
44. Glistens: SHINES - I guess; I think of it more as "sparkles"
49. Lovers' vows: "I DOs"
50. Branch of Islam: SHIA - name(ish) - and a note to the Noobs
51. Storyteller __ Christian Andersen: HANS - name #3
60. Mexican peninsula, informally: BAJA
63. Alpaca kin: LLAMA
Classic
64. Off-white shade: OPAL
65. Treated, as a sprain: ICED
66. Bamboozles: DUPES
67. Mythical cousin of Bigfoot: YETI
69. Big Broadway hit: SMASH
70. Come off as: SEEM
DOWN:
1. Much of Switzerland: ALPS
2. Gardener's purchase: SOIL - I had SEED, only 25% correct
3. RBG employer in the 1970s: ACLU - RBG = Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the American Civil Liberties Union - I knew who the "notorious RBG" was, but not her history - the Wiki
4. South Carolina's state tree: PALMETTO
That's the state "shape" and its "flag", with the palmetto tree
5. Tracts of land: ACRES - whenever I hear "tracts of land", it reminds me of this scene
Monty Python @ 1:02 - "huge tracts of land"
6. Former French president Jacques: CHIRAC - no clue; Frawnche name #4
7. Haphazard pile: HEAP
8. "¿Cómo __ usted?": ESTA - Spanish lesson; "How are you~?"
9. People person?: STAR - People, the magazine, that is
10. Syllables said while rubbing one's tummy: YUM-YUM
11. Sense of self: EGO
12. Everyone: ALL
13. Sandwich bread: RYE
21. Serena's frenemy on "Gossip Girl": BLAIR - no clue, again; name #5
Methinks I should start watching, tho
22. Cargo weight: TON
25. Reno venue: CASINO - a casino in reno - I'm a poet - and I know it
26. New staff members: HIREES - a good WAG on my part
but I've never watched
28. "Bad Guy" singer Billie: EILISH - I have heard of her; name #6
30. Hullabaloo: HOO-HA
31. Busy IRS mo.: APRil - I am still waiting for the Internal Revenue Service to resolve a dispute from 2022 . . . April 15th is a Tuesday - there will be no extensions
32. Wall St. debuts: IPOs - Initial Public Offering
33. Girl: LASS - I tried LADY - that's 50% correct
Check out this bagpipe LASS
34. Bogus deal: SCAM
35. "Smooth Operator" singer: SADE - "Smooth Sailing"; name #7
there's a great little guitar solo before the sax solo
39. "What's up, __?": DOC - Bugs Bunny to me - I did not know it was also a movie (BTW, Splynter was born a mere year before its release)
40. Fine dishes: CHINA
41. Playroom detritus: KIDS TOYS
46. Noisy summer bug: CICADA - I'm not a fan of summer, sun, sand, sweating and insects
47. "Well, __-di-dah!": LAH
48. Jay, Kay, and May, say: RHYMES - Ah, clever - the constructor's name is in there, but NAMES didn't fit - he even snuck "say" in there, as well
52. Inundated (with): AWASH
54. Poet Sharon: OLDS - never heard of her, and a departure from the 'car maker'; name #8
55. Purple fruit: PLUM - or sloe~?
56. Smurf with a white beard: PAPA - I guess it's a name, too - #9
He's the one with the, uh, beard . . .
57. Olympian's weapon: ÉPÉE
I just learned there are specific "targets" in fencing
58. Hourly charge: RATE
59. Svelte: SLIM
60. High chair garb: BIB
There are times when I feel like I missed out, not having kids . . . .
61. Opening day pitcher, typically: ACE
62. Jacuzzi feature: JET - I plan to replace my "plain" tub with a Jacuzzi
Now that's choppy water
Splynter
HAVE A BLESSED NEW YEAR~!
( DID YOU WATCH THE WINTER CLASSIC~? )
