Saturday, Jan 31st, 2015, Ned White

Theme: 

Words: 70 (missing Y,Z)

Blocks: 32

Phew~!  This one drained me mentally.  The proper names and biology just did me in ( I counted 17 in all ).  First I had to switch to red-letter, then Google, and finally to a straight up cheat.  Oh well.  Still, I enjoyed the challenge, and I was thrilled to get a "theme" on Saturday~! The last time I had Mr. White for a constructor, I was in the middle of the summer bench project (that's 41a.) - while I'm not interested in the hostess from there anymore, I'm still hopelessly in love with the blue-eyed hostess.  Anyway, one spanner crossing one climber:

36a. School hallway warning : USE INDOOR VOICES

8d. Highway warning : CLICK IT OR TICKET - The national highway traffic safety admin's campaign to get you to wear your seatbelt; I always do.  Some male driver humor here

And the "reveal";

62a. Things to obey, like 36-Across and 8-Down : THE RULES

ACROSS:

1*. Plant reproductive structure : SPORE SAC - I got the "C", which led me to "sac", and on from there

9. Sharpens : WHETS - D'oh~! Not HONES

14*. Lindbergh nickname : LONE EAGLE - name - His Wiki

16. Goat __: chaotic situation, in slang : RODEO - Never heard of this; around here, we call it a clusterf**k

17. European travel pass : INTERRAIL - One of their itineraries lets you stop at Neuschwanstein Castle

18. "You Must Love Me" musical : EVITA - Total WAG - but then again, a 5-letter musical....

19. NYC travel org. : MTA

20. Trig function : ARCSEC - Cosine worked, too, but the abbr. "trig" meant otherwise

22. West end? : ERN - Western

23*. Internal walls : SEPTA - Biological term - as a carpenter, I was baffled trying to figure out what interior walls are called ( as opposed to 'bearing' walls, i.e. )

26*. Lizard that can shed its tail : SKINK - OK, so I threw in GECKO to start - Bzzzt~!

27. Passing event? : FAD - Dah~! I had to cheat the "D", but that finally opened up the NE

28. Book ending : ISH - Bookish

30. Like 23 of Haydn's symphonies : IN D - I put the "IN" part down, then waited....

31. Standing losses? : LAPS - when you stand up, you lose your lap - that's a kindergarten joke

32. Signifies : ADDS UP TO

35. "What have we here?!" : "HELLO~?!"

38. Fingers : NAMES

39. Media section : PRESS BOX - Dah~!!! My mind was stuck in the library, trying to get "Children's" to fit

40. Anthologies : ANAS - I goofed and put in ADAs, but that was 75% correct

41. Project : JUT - the verb, not the art/construction/school kind

42. Number of single-syllable U.S. states : ONE - Which one?  I know the answer~!

43. Cosmo, for one : MAGazine

44*. One Direction singer Zayn __ : MALIK - name

46*. Kirkuk native : IRAQI - name

50. "Every Moment Counts" gp. : USO - I pondered "REM", the music group

51*. 1965 Nobel Peace Prize recipient : UNICEF - I thought it might be this man, who just passed away, but his Nobel Prize was 1964

53. Vow taker : NUN

54. 8-Down and others : SIGNS - I have to admit, I have not seen "click it or ticket" as a sign; just the TV spots

56. A carve turn may be taught in one : SKI LESSON - Dah~! Dah~! Dah~!  First, I read it as "Caught", and not Taught, so I was stuck in the mental rut of carving wood, thus I was trying to get "WOOD KNOT" to work - or something like that. 

59. Bring forth : EDUCE

60. S-shaped sofa : TÊTE À TÊTE - aww, a kissing bench

61. Company with antlers in its logo : DEERE

DOWN:       

1. Diets, with "down" : SLIMS - Ooops, went with TRims first

2. Bridge overseas : PONTE

3. Slated : ON TAP

4*. R&B artist Des'__ : REE

5. "As wicked dew as __ my mother brush'd": "The Tempest" : E'ER

6. 1979-'80 Fleetwood Mac hit : SARA

7. Food stabilizers : AGARS

9. Highway closer, perhaps : WRECK - yup, that'll do it

10. Highway lane, for short : H.O.V. - High Occupancy Vehicle; I think it's a colossal waste here on L.I.; a better solution would have been a zipper wall

11*. Four-time Emmy-winning actress : EDIE FALCO

12*. Four-stranded DNA structure : TETRAPLEX - uh, OK - the Wiki

13. Scoundrels : SO-AND-SOs - ugh; just wasn't coming to me

15. Where "Hamlet" opens : ELSINORE - there's a castle there, too - more here

21. Object : END - the noun, not the verb

24. Spruces (up) : TIDIES

25. Like-minded orgs. : ASSNs

29*. __ Bannon, Paul Newman role : HUD - I've heard of it, but never seen it - IMDb

31*. Jerry who wrote lyrics for many Presley songs : LEIBER - ugh, please

32. How a stage line might be spoken : AS AN ASIDE - I got this, and it gave me some hope in the SW

33. Rabble-rouser : DEMAGOGUE

34. Champion of the common man : POPULIST

35*. Successor to Anwar : HOSNI

36. Not laughing : UNAMUSED

37. Brandy designation : VSO - Very Superior Old

41. 31-day mo. : JAN - on the first pass with no perps, could have been MAR, JUL, AUG, OCT, & DEC as well

44. Beaux-arts venue : MUSÉE - Frawnche

45*. Sports commentator Olbermann : KEITH

47*. Adams who shot El Capitan : ANSEL - ah, but I know this guy~!

48. Repeat exactly : QUOTE

49*. Novelist Hammond __ : INNES

52. Run : FLEE

55. Big name in bar code scanners : NCR

57. Tin __ : EAR

58*. Tommy Pickles' dad in "Rugrats" : STU

Splynter

Saturday, Jan 24th, 2015, Julian Lim

Theme: None

Words: 64 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 37

  I would have to say I did a 43a. on this puzzle - but I did actually finish, with just one cheat, and one bad cell.  I consider it a victory.  A rare grid structure, with a high block count and a pair of central staircases of 4,5,6,7,7,8-letter words, but the ambiguous and nebulous cluing made this one a real grind.  Always the case with Mr. Lim on Saturday.  Two climbers of 12 letters and two spanners of 13;

6d. One of an elite eatery trio : MICHELIN STAR - I did not get this until I read that there's only "three" stars given out; technically, you can actually get zero, but that's not very elite....

18d. Subject of a 1996 holiday craze : TICKLE ME ELMO - DAH~!!! the --MEEL--- in the middle just messed me up; I went to Google and typed in "1996 holiday craze" and he came up; I was taking shots at him upstate

22a. Run using water, as a plant : HYDRO-ELECTRIC - ah, that kind of plant; at first I was thinking of the "roots and leaves" kind, and yes, those do run, using water, but....

35a. Greeting words : NICE TO MEET YOU

ONWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Meg, to Jo : SIB - not a clue to start, but I surmised it would be "SIS" or something - a Little Women reference

4. Lighter : LAMP - ummm, meh

8. Fashion first name : COCO - Chanel; I was born one month after her death

12. Cathedral feature : CRUCIFIX - ummm, yeah, but I can find that in a local church, too - I was thinking more like PIPE ORGAN, which didn't fit

14. "Frère Jacques," e.g. : CANON - a muscial canon, referring to the "in a round" style of singing;   hey - two birds with one stone~!

Frère Jaques on Pipe Organ

15. Heartfelt class? : AEROBICS

16. Dismiss, in a way : WAVE AT - meh.  I would wave OFF to dismiss

17. Adopted : RAN WITH

18. Daughter of Oceanus : TELESTO - there's more about the Saturnian moon on the internet than the mythology

19. Monopoly acquisition : DEED

20. Installments : EPISODES

24. Unsettled items : I.O.U.s

25. Gets absorbed : SINKS IN

26. Lightweight boxer? : PUP - Har-har~! Boxer, the dog breed

27. Redcap's workplace: Abbr. : STN

28. "__ Down In Darkness": Styron novel : LIE - Perps, all perps

29. Little projectiles : BBs - we shot Elmo with a .22

32. Hardly keeps cool : SEES RED - I was seeing the red of his fur....or is that Stoat?

34. Rock __ : SALT

37. Like some pasta : HOME-MADE

38. Full of vitality : GO GO

39. Filing aid : DIVIDER

40. Call before a head-to-head contest : EN GARDE

43. Reacted to a sock : REELED - yep, this puzzle punched me in the gut

44. Fruit sometimes fried : PLANTAIN - I had the "P", but still stuggled to think of a fruit - then the V-8 can flew

45. City on the Rhone : ARLES - I threw in ESSEN, which was only 20% correct

46. Like some fancy stationery : EMBOSSED

47. Forest coat : MOSS

48. "Walkabout" director Nicolas : ROEG - just an 'ugly' clue/fill; more here

49. Many boomers: Abbr. : SRs - Baby-boomers, who are well on into Senior Citizen status now

DOWN:

1. Plastic surgeon's concern : SCAR - scaB?  The crossing didn't help

2. "Roger that" : "I READ YOU" - always reminds me of this scene - "Do you like movies with gladiators?"

3. Reduced to ashes : BURNED UP

4. Drive in the bedroom? : LIBIDO - cute

5. Words with throw or have : A FIT - ugh; throw yes, have, meh. Just MHO

7. Spots for private shoppers?: Abbr. : PXs - Private, Army style

8. Gave : CAVED IN

9. "Almost ready!" : "ONE SEC~!"

10. Covers : COATS - like paint

11. More than not sure about : ONTO - implying some sort of shadiness

13. Quails : COWERS - ah, the verb, not the bird

14. Nutritionist's unit : CALORIE

16. Lincoln Center locale : WEST SIDE - I had ----S-D-, and it kinda came to me; had to guess EAST or WEST

21. Sword's superior? : PEN - "The PEN is mightier than the SWORD~!"

22. Not square : HIP - your social quality

23. Venerable : ESTEEMED

27. Forms a new state : SECEDES - had it, spelled it with two "C"s, took it out, put it back in

29. Aquatic plant that reduces erosion : BAY GRASS - Total WAG from "B------SS"; in fact, it was not until the write-up that I actually noticed it did not change

30. More rare, in a way : BLOODIER - ah, like your steak

31. __ Redman, Gary Sinise's role in Stephen King's "The Stand" : STU - I thought it was SYD, but then "nice to meet you" had to be correct

32. Like expressions? : SIMILES - an expression using the word "like"; 'her eyes are like pools of water'

33. Fuel __: reactor component : ROD - nuclear reactors

34. Rabbit predators : STOATS - new clue for the old "ermine/mink kin" answer.  I found this video of a stoat hypnotizing a rabbit

35. They have plots : NOVELS - yes, they do

36. Traditional beverage : EGG NOG

37. Prefix meaning "sacred" : HIERO - so, Hieroglyphs are sacred carvings, eh?

39. Scotch serving : DRAM - thank God it was not three letters~!

41. Local theater, informally : NABE - short for "neighborhood" (ney-bər-hoo d)

42. Purposes : ENDS

44. __ se : PER - Latin, "in itself"

Splynter

Saturday, Jan 17th, 2015, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 70 (missing J,Q)

Blocks: 26

  Welcome to another edition of Splynter 'splains Saturday's Silkie~!  This one was a bear, at least on the first pass - then, little by slowly, with a few sensible W.A.G.s, followed by a dredging of the depths of the dark corners of my mind, I finished - and within my personal time, too.  Quite a satisfying solve.  Intimidating triple 10-letter corners tied together with crossing 8's - add to that a boat-load of proper names and some uncommon items and you get what we have today.  Some of the longer answers;

1a. One is featured in the 1962 Ventures instrumental "The 2,000 Pound Bee" : FUZZ GUITAR - I am a huge fan of the guitar, and I am familiar with Jimmy Page's use of the "fuzz" sound.

13d. Sandusky locale : ERIE COUNTY - knew it was in PA, but didn't get it 'til I had ---UNTY

57a. South side : TEXAS TOAST - clever; I was trying to squeeze "CONFEDERATES" in

26d. Power source : SOLAR PANEL - Two weekends ago I was up in a little, and I mean little, place called South Otselic - it's east of Cortland, NY, and the little cabin we stayed in was totally powered by a wind turbine and solar panels.  My friend Garry owns the land, and did the work; in fact, he owned "Go Solar" down here on L.I., and that's how we met.  Here's pics of the cabin, the wind turbine, and me standing in one of the blades that are part of the real wind turbines up at the Fenner Wind Farm; 80 feet long~!

 

ONWIND~!

ACROSS:

11. Bass output : ALES - Bass - the beer brand; toyed with "LOWS" at first

15. He played the bandit Calvera in "The Magnificent Seven" : ELI WALLACH

16. __ Maar, mistress of Picasso : DORA - all perps

17. Qualified for : ENTITLED TO

18. "The Enemy Below" setting, briefly : WW II - Waaaay before my time; IMDb

19. Zap : LASE

20. Kid's cry : Maa~!

21. Overpower with noise : DEAFEN

23. Airline created by an Act of Parliament : BOAC - British Overseas Airways Corporation

25. Take away : DETRACT - I went with DEPRIVE to start; only 42.8% correct

26. "The Love Machine" author : SUSANN - Since I do not know this person, I was curious about whether this was a first/last name - her Wiki

29. Place to stretch : REST STOP - They're called REST AREAS around here, but I was pretty sure about that second "S" from 11d.

30. In abeyance : ON ICE

31. "Michael" co-screenwriter Ephron : DELIA - I put in NORAH - Bzzzt~! (spelled wrong, to boot); her movie bio page

32. Expected : DUE

33. Tie : LINK - Dah~!  My only bad cell; I had LINE, and since it crossed a "foreign" word....

34. "Hot House" Grammy-winning pianist : COREA - Did not think of Chuck until I had C-R-A in place

35. Philadelphia tourist attraction : MINT - ah, not BELL; look for the "P" on dimes, etc.

36. DJIA part: Abbr. : AVG - I thought "DOW" was too simple, but it's what I went with until SOLAR PANEL 'enlightened' me

37. Massenet opera : THAÏS - the Wiki

38. Heraklion's island : CRETE - the clue looked Greek, turned out to be Greek -ish

39. Chimney repair job : RELINING - REPOINTING did not fit

41. 14-Down, for one : MARTYR - I did not know this about St. Pete

42. Some property safeguards : PRE-NUPS

43. "Alice in Wonderland" bird : DO-DO

44. They may be frozen or liquid : ASSETS - this was, like, one of my only fills on the first pass (OK, I had MAA & TASE to start, and that was wrong)

45. Ideal figure : TEN - Mr. Silk is probably referring to Olympic scoring; a woman's figure is ideal if she were, say, a "two" - IMHO

46. School with the mascot Big Al : 'BAMA - mostly perps, but makes sense - my mom loves elephants

50. Quill parts : NIBS

51. Food chain group : HERBIVORES - anyone else think something like "IHOP" first?

54. Greek letters : ETAs

55. Gourmands : OVER-EATERS

56. Erato's instrument : LYRE

DOWN:       

1. Sense : FEEL

2. Radius neighbor : ULNA - 'dem bones

3. Unpopular spots : ZITS - I knew ACNE was what we were looking for, but I had TASE and felt pretty confident about the "S"

4. Literally, "twice-baked" : ZWIEBACK - I thought it was a cookie (and the last name of a kid I went to high school with); after reading up on it, I prefer Biscotti

5. Rod : GAT - gangsta talk for a gun

6. "Tracey Takes On" author : ULLMAN - and her TV show spawned "The Simpsons"; first airing was Dec 17th, 1989, and has since surpassed all other TV shows for longevity

7. Intestinal : ILEAC - DaH~! Spelled it with two "I"s

8. Cry of achievement : "Ta-DA~!"

9. Routine : ACT - ah, that kind of routine; I guess UPS has got me thinking "RUT"

10. Botswana neighbor, formerly : RHODESIA - a WAG with half the letters via perps

11. Some October campaigns : AD WARS - we're getting close to another "AD" high point - the Superbowl

12. Fare reduction option : LOW-FAT DIET

14. Keys holder in a Rubens portrait : SAINT PETER - Total WAG with only the two "E"s in place; I'm proud of myself~!

22. Singer James : ETTA

24. Person : ONE

25. Strikes out : DELES - DAH~! Was in baseball, not editing, mode

27. Brown, e.g. : UNIVERSITY

28. Business where lines are short? : SINGLES BAR

29. Equip anew : RERIG

31. Pain relief pill brand : DOAN'S

34. Greenside stroke : CHIP SHOT - then there's the stroke below the belt - that's a chEAp shot

35. 1983 Styx hit that begins in Japanese : Mr. ROBOTO - I liked it when it first came out; now, not so much

37. Flanged fastener : T-NUT

38. Rogue : CAD

40. Existing: Lat. : IN ESSE

41. Francs and beans? : MONIES - Plural of money; clever - loved the clue

43. Winger of "Black Widow" : DEBRA

45. Cretaceous giant : T-REX

47. Stretch : AREA - I get it, but this was the 's-t-r-e-t-c-h' clue for the day

48. Seas overseas : MERS

49. Part of PDA: Abbr. : ASST - Personal Data Assistant, now referred to as a Smartphone

52. Certain threshold : EVE - the next "eve" on my calendar is Feb 8th

53. Brewery sight : VAT

Splynter

Saturday, Jan 10th, 2015, Alan DerKazarian

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing Q, Z)

Blocks: 34

 I have not seen this constructor before, but I have seen a grid like this before - and typically not on Saturday.  Very few long-letter fills and simple corners, but a complex array of answers and clues that needed to be mined for hints made this one a healthy challenge.  Have to admit to two bad cells, both relating to "country" music - oh well.  We have two 9-letter crossings, and two 10's crossing 12-letter spanners;

21. Quantum theory pioneer : MAX PLANCK

10. Disaster : CATACLYSM

6. "... forswear thin potations and to addict __ to sack": Falstaff : THEMSELVES - that's a long way to go for a personal pronoun

32. Facetious Appalachian portmanteau : PENNSYLTUCKY - I am familiar with this type of slanderous nick-name; I lived just north of Cincinnati, near a town called Hamilton; the local yokels were said to be from "Hamiltucky"

30. Safari coverings : SUN HELMETS - see here
41. Smart alecks : WISENHEIMERS - learned from watching cartoons

33. Kind of telescope : NEWTONIAN - see here

53. Rare pro golf feat : GRAND SLAM - there's some ambiguity on this one; the Wiki

So, what do 10 and 12 have in common, but skips 11~?

ONWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Handhold : CLASP - don't like that we start with a 'meh'; I think of a CLasp as the little thingy that closes a necklace; a handhold is more of a GRasp

6. Part of a comparison : THAN

10. Montreal Protocol concerns : CFCs - here's a little from the UN environment programme

14. "Men in Trees" star : HECHE - Ann; did not know of this TV series

15. Roadside chain, for short : HO JO - Howard Johnson's - they've vanished out my way

16. Take __ at: try to wallop : A RIP - tried "A RUN" - 50% correct

17. Sean who played Samwise Gamgee : ASTIN - that would be the character from "Lord of the Rings", which sadly I could not get in to

18. Dash : ELAN - this could also be "A RUN"

19. Arum family tuber : TARO - a crossword educated WAG

20. Egyptian menace : ASP

23. Glides : SASHAYS

26. Heart part? : COCKLE - I am still looking for the girl who will "warm the cockles of my heart"

27. Texter's "... but that may just be me" : IMO - In My Opinion

28. Fertile deposit : LOESS - WAGed

31. Elizabeth of "Martha Marcy May Marlene" : OLSEN

35. Old blade : SNEE - had this last week

36. Like some grazers : OVINE - I went with VEGAN first, and I like it better

37. Span. girl : SRTA

44. Complexity : DEPTH

47. Inscribed marker : STELA - dah~! I had an "E" at the end first

48. High-tech worker : 'BOT - Robot

49. Taken out, in a way : ON LOAN

51. Back in the day : LONG AGO

56. Daughter of Loki : HEL - unknown to me, hence one bad cell....

57. "We Three Kings" kings : MAGI

58. Joining device : YOKE

59. Ring material : ONION - semi-fooled me, but once the "---ON" was in place

62. Desierto's lack : AGUA - once I figured out this was not a presonal name, but Spanish for desert....

63. Ravel's "Gaspard de la __" : NUIT - considered to be one of the most complex solo piano pieces - watch here at about 16:30 to see how he crosses his hands back and forth

64. Nice book : LIVRE - ugh, enough with the  foreign stuff, OK~?

65. Treated : SEEN - like doctors; I was thinking "ON ME"

66. Mdse. containers : CTNs - I C a lt f ctns @ UPS

67. Pool events : MEETS

DOWN:       

1. Chinese tea : CHA

2. Nessman of WKRP : LES

3. Be a team : ACT AS ONE

4. Turkish skewer : SHISH - kebabs~!

5. Friends you may never see : PEN-PALS - I saw that this was part of a popular discussion this week

7. Havana "How do" : HOLA

8. Trojan War hero : AJAX

9. Like some rude jokes, briefly : NON-PC

11. Cookout fare : FRANKS

12. Wait to land, perhaps : CIRCLE

13. Reserved, with "for" : SPOKEN

22. Style : LOOK - here's where I twas thinking "ELAN" first

23. Takes it slow, in a way : SIPS - I don't take it at all - Jan 8th was my 10-yr AA anniversary

24. "Yes!" : AMEN - huh; I had the "M" and "N", so I went with "I'm In"

25. Chuckleheads : YO-YOs

29. Hitch : STINT - Got it this time

34. Songwriter Green : CeeLo - had a huge hit with "F*** You"

38. 1991 "Favorite Album - Country" American Music Award winner : REBA LIVE - Reba TIME~!? Nope.  Reba VIBE~!?  Uh-uh.  Dang. 

39. 1970 sci-fi film starring Joan Crawford in her last big-screen performance : TROG - Never heard of it - IMDb Blue Oyster Cult had fun with her, tho ( more piano, too~! )

40. Regarding : AS TO

42. Start of a favorite-meal reminiscence : I HAD

43. 1998 "King Lear" Olivier Award winner : IAN HOLM - I know him from "Alien"

44. Doctrines : DOGMAS

45. Anger : ENRAGE

46. Harass : PLAGUE

50. "This I Promise You" band : *NSYNC - not that I heard the song, but with the "C" in place....

52. Bottled-up type? : GENIE - har-har

54. Boor : LOUT

55. Similar : AKIN

60. Scrap for Fido : ORT

61. Video game letters : NES - Nintendo Entertainment System

Splynter

Saturday, Jan 3rd, 2015, Brad Wilber

Theme: BW

Words: 70 (missing J,K,V,Z)

Blocks: 30

 Welcome to another year of Saturday setbacks~!  I was so pleased to be able to fill in the first four across answers, sensing I might be on Brad's wavelength, only to crash and burn at the longer fills and caving in to red-letter help in the bottom half. [sigh] Oh well....Still, a great challenge, a little heavy on the proper nouns(*), and some clever misdirection, but all in all, a fun puzzle.  6x8 triple-word corners, two 11-letter, and one 13-letter spanners;

33. Carolina bisque tinted orange by roe : SHE-CRAB SOUP - Once the "--SOUP" part appeared, it was only a matter of time before I remembered this - the Wiki

36. Popular news group : MEDIA DARLINGS

39. It can be used to make gin : DISCARD PILE - Clever; alternative version of "gin", this time the card game; the clecho at 32a. "It can be used to make gin : SLOE" refers to the fruit used in drinks such as "Sloe Gin Fizz"

 ~!

ACROSS:

1.* Its construction created Lake Nasser : ASWAN DAM - nailed it; always good to start off with the correct fill at 1a.~!

9. Certify : ATTEST - and again....

15.* "Wuthering Heights" backdrop : THE MOORS - and then "fail" - went with "CIVIL WAR", since I have no clue when, where or what this book is about

16. Want : DEARTH - "fail" - went with DESIRE - but was 28.5% correct

17. Word not usable with an indefinite article, such as "magic" or "dust" : MASS NOUN - I had the two "N"s, and that led to --NOUN, and from there it was an educated WAG; you don't vacuum up "a" dust, or use "a" magic ( but you might have 'a' magic wand - but now it's changed to an adjective.)

18. Made up : UNTRUE - ah, not UNITED - this is the pretend, 'fake' made up, not the end-of-a-tiff made up

19. Heave-hos : OUSTERS - meh

20. Word with level or devil : SEA - I started with "SUB", which half worked

21. Bizarre : ODD

22. Snicker follower : SNEE - snickersnee - a large knife; unrelated to the next clue

23. [snicker] : HEH - which is a mini-laugh

25.* Skyler's sister on "Breaking Bad" : MARIE - if you say so; all perps

27. CPA's concern : TAX LAW

30. Darn things : SEW - cute

40.* Bobby Darin record label : ATCO

41. "Shame on thee!" : "FIE~!" - whoops, went with "TSK~!"

42. Weightlifting technique : SNATCH - clean and jerk did not fit; I have to admit to a little "snicker" at this answer - such a DF mind....

47. Academic administrators : DEANS

49. Lofty letterhead abbr. : ESQuire

51. Tolerated : BORE

52. LAX posting : ARRival - duped; went with ETA

53. Smidge : TAD

55. Business, informally : BEE'S WAX - As in the phrase "Mind your own ---"

58. Chemical relative : ISOMER - isoTOPE did not fit, and it took waaay too long to remember this word

60. Act out, say : RE-CREATE - I always get a laugh out of shows like "UFO files" that always include a "dramatic re-creation" of the events occurring on 'that night'

61. Deferential bow : SALAAM

62. Ravel, vis-à-vis "Pictures at an Exhibition" : ARRANGER - here's the Wiki; if you play the "promenade", you'll recognize it

63. Like Miss Marple's attire : TWEEDY - uh, OK

64. Speech disruptions : STUTTERS - Dah~!  I had this, changed it to stAMMers

DOWN:   
1. No greater than : AT MOST

2.* "Entourage" publicist played by Debi Mazar : SHAUNA - I watched the show - liked it - but it never seemed to get 'dramatic'; this character I don't recall - but when I saw her pic, I remembered her from "Goodfellas" - IMDb

3.* "Far From the Madding Crowd" region : WESSEX - this is where the puzzle started to bog down on me with the proper nouns, and that sucks the life out of it when you don't have a clue

4.* Brewery bought out by Heineken : AMSTEL - a WAG from the "A"

5. Zilch : NONE - not NADA

6. Access point : DOOR

7. Frantic, perhaps, with "in" : A RUSH - "in a rush"

8. ISP with a butterfly logo : MSN

9. In tandem, musically : A DUE

10. Brunch hr. : TEN A.M.

11. Pic on a pec : TATtoo

12. Computer self-diagnostics list : ERROR LOG

13. Bookish : STUDIOUS

14.* Benchley novel : THE DEEP

20.* Shepherd of "The View" : SHERRI - mostly perps

24. Joint risks? : ESCAPES - ah - the "joint" here being jail; I had knees in mind first, then I thought this was a reference to eloping - that kind of joint 'escape'

26. LPGA part: Abbr. : ASSN - Ladies Professional Golfing Association

28. One side of the Bering Strait : ASIA - I threw in USSR, but that's kinda dated now

29. Berth place : WHARF

31. Squash court features : WALLS

34. Whirled : EDDIED

35. __-aimé: beloved, in French : BIEN - can't get away from the Frawnche

36. Tool for making precise crosscuts : MITER SAW - yeah, true, but I tend to associate a 'miter' with 'angle' cuts; my Sliding Compound Miter Saw

37. Salad green : ESCAROLE - whoops - I put in CURTSY for deferential bow, and forgot to change it, so the "R" was blocking my "L" ( and be careful when spelling curTSy )

38. No View, No Touch Trap maker : D-CON - becoming a crossword staple

39.* Max Ernst, for one : DADAIST

43. Without : ABSENT

44. Tugboat's fee : TOWAGE

45. Evidence of major impact? : CRATER

46. Bewitching types : HEXERS - ah, just the spell-casters, not the "hot girl" kind

48. Farm addition? : STEAD - Dah~! Went with STAND (60% correct) - more popular, and aggravating, down here on L.I. - I'll be upstate in Spitboov country today

50. Pyramid hopper in a 1980s arcade game : Q*BERT

54. Multitude : ARMY

56. Almond relative : ECRU - ah, the color, and usually associated with my favorite gratuitous image

 ecru pantyhose

57. Sum, in a different form : ERAT - remember your Latin; Sum, Esse (which I went with first), Fui, Futurus - "state of being" - I am so pleased I recalled that this is known as "declension"

59.* Novelist Rita __ Brown : MAE

60. Univ. peer leaders : RAs - Resident Assistants

Splynter

Saturday, Dec 27th, 2014, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 70 (missing J,K,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 32

  I figured we would be finishing up a year of Saturdays with a Silkie, and I expected it to be difficult at that - well, I was spot-on.  There was little to be had in the first pass of across and downs, but I managed to get a foothold in the SE, then crept my way up and left from there.  However, the top right was just not going to budge, and I am kicking myself for missing 7a. - oh well.  Yes, Red-Letter help today, and some of my fool-proof solving methods proved me a fool.  One 13-letter climber is all we have in lengthy fill:

15d. Group label further popularized by a 1991 self-named documentary : MTV GENERATION - I'm of the MTV Generation, but I did not actually have MTV growing up - we did not have cable, so I used to soak it up when I was at my friends' houses; one of the first videos I ever saw;

Men At Work

O - N - 2 - W - 0 - A - 1 - R - 5 - D~!

ACROSS:

1. 2014 high-tech release using the slogan "Bigger than bigger" : iPHONE - I am not an Apple person, though I did hear they're coming out with a fan to compete with the Dyson bladeless - it's called the iBLOW

7. 1987 sci-fi film : ROBO-COP - Dah~! I am SO disappointed with myself for not nailing this one - and I have not seen the remake yet, to boot

14. Pointer, perhaps : BLAMER - I was in a 'dog' frame of mind

15. Soften : MODULATE

16. Feeding trough : MANGER - yeah, this time of year, you tend to forget what its original purpose was for

17. Opinion : TWO CENTS - ugh - took too long to dawn on me, but clever - and a**hole was not long enough - because everybody has one

18. Qantas' main hub, in itineraries : SYDney - I knew what we were looking for, but I was not 100% sure it was that straight-up; for example, the code for MacArthur airport around the corner from me is ISP - because it's located in the town of Islip

19. Winner of the 1997 and 1998 Super Bowls : DENVER - I like that there are a limited number of answers for this type of clue, but I was a bit irked because it was not the team, like RAIDER or NINERS, but the city

21. Little shaver : TOT - dah~!! - I went with TAD first

22. DJ Alan Freed's nickname : MOONDOG - perps and WAGs

24. Seething : ABOIL

26. 14-Across' concern : FAULT

27. 1959 Bobby Rydell hit : WE GOT LOVE

30. Luncheon follower? : ETTE - LuncheonETTE

31. Concede : OWN UP TO

32. Pickle : MESS - the dilemma, not the dill

33. Meeting focus : THEME - Agenda wouldn't fit

34. Big name in lingerie : OLGA - new to me, I gotta go check out the website

38. Knight wear : TABARDS - I knew this because I want to add another "B" to the spelling; here I am wearing mine for a wedding

40. Hunny lover : POOH - the spelling here was a give-away; Winnie the honey-eating bear

41. Body exhibiting sudden increases in brightness : FLARE STAR - dah!! - I tried SUPERNOVA, which is "technically" correct. I was left with the "key" clue ( see below ) and a WAG at Blare, Glare, and Flare; guess which one I did not pick first....

44. Monterrey jack? : PESOS - Mexican "money"

45. Navigation acronym : SONAR - Once the ---AR was there, I filled in the rest - and then my clever 'solving short-cut' betrayed me; see below

46. Rose in a big way : TOWERED

48. O, at times : HUG - X O X O in cards; one of these days....

49. 1944 Pacific island battle site : SAIPAN - dah~!!! Anyone else put in TAIPAN, or am I the only one who is confused = q.v.

51. __-eared : LOP - DAH~! Who else went with "DOG"~?

53. Against : AVERSE TO

56. Cuddles : SPOONS - one of these days....

58. Trusts : RELIES ON

59. Features of many impromptu speeches : PAUSES

60. "Something wrong?" : "PROBLEM~?"

61. Least honest : SLIEST

DOWN:

1. Some old notebooks : IBMs

2. Kid's bud : PLAYMATE - My buddy Adam, who owns the restaurant,  is a daddy again - Pearl Snow, 7lbs-7ozs, born Dec 7th, 2014 - and they had picked Pearl as a name before the anniversary

3. Fliers, maybe : HAND-OUTS

4. Shocked letters : OMG - Text-speak for "Oh My God"

5. "You __ bother" : NEEDN'T - I read this as bRother my first pass

6. Fumbled, say : ERRED

7. "Lady Jane Grey" dramatist : ROWE - I would have preferred "Mike from Dirty Jobs" for a clue

8. Sign of something gone bad : ODOR

9. Raymond James Stadium NFLer : BUC - Rrrr....I went with RAM, and should have paid attention to the abbr. in the clue

10. Encouraging word : OLÉ

11. Playground retort : CAN TOO - I tried YOU too & ARE too

12. Holy Roman emperor, 1209-'15 : OTTO IV

13. Grinder : PESTLE - argh~! I keep missing this one, as well

20. Exasperated words : "NOW WHAT~!?!?"

23. Fat substitute : OLESTRA - I remember seeing this on "healthy" potato chips

24. Brief creator: Abbr. : ATTorney - because Fruit of the Loom did not fit

25. Goof : BLOOPER

26. Like La Niña, e.g.: Abbr. : FEMinine

28. Gingerbread house adornment : GUM DROP - some day I hope to build a gingerbread house in the style of a castle with kids of my own

29. Reveals, poetically : OPES

31. Some parlors, briefly : OTBs - Off-Track Betting

35. Hopeless : LOSE - LOSE

36. Joker's array : GOOD ONES - got stuck thinking of the jokers found in a deck of cards

37. Relaxed responses : AHs

39. __ Lingus : AER

41. Key of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 24 : F SHARP - OK, so I proudly filled in -M--OR, then waited....and got duped - not A MINOR, not D MAJOR, etc. - I think Mr. Silk checks in and tries to out-wit us

42. Vent part : LOUVER - ARGH~~!!  Took way too long to come to me

43. "Measure for Measure" deputy : ANGELO - Learning moment for me - did not know this was Shakespeare - the Wiki

44. Prison buddy? : PEN-PAL

47. Small flying predators : WASPS

49. Zaire's Mobutu __ Seko : SESE

50. Quark locale : ATOM

52. "Hey!" relative : psst~!

54. Needle : RIB

55. Pierre's pinch? : SEL - Frawnche "salt"

57. Pierre's permission : OUI - more Frawnche, this time "yes"

Splynter

Saturday, Dec 20th, 2014, John Lieb

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing F,J,Q,X,Y,Z)

Blocks: 29

  We have seen John before, this year, and I thought I was going to sail to a quick finish - I was racing through some of the long fill - but then the NE did me in for too long....oh well.  Oh, and I was totally off-point in a minor area of the SE, too.  Long line of unused letters today, but we have had seven on a Saturday.  Triple 9-letter across corners, triple 8-letter downs, and two 12-letter spanners;

32. 1970 Top 40 song with the lyric "And I'm lucky that you're mine" : RUBBER DUCKIE - I think I've heard it - link away~!

38. Nickname for the NFL draft's last pick : Mr. IRRELEVANT - half perps, half educated guess - but it makes sense; the Wiki

ACROSS:

1. Go figure? : DO THE MATH - I have been looking for funny T-shirts for Christmas - I liked this one

10. Scented candle option : LILAC - Once I filled AVE MARIA, and WAGed CAROUSED, the ---AC made me realize this was not "TAPER"

15. One may become an exurb : RURAL AREA

16. Carew's Twins roommate : OLIVA - Oh, I know C.C. nailed this one~!

17. Monopoly duo : UTILITIES - I started putting in RAILROADS, which fit - but there's FOUR of those.  Duh. 

18. Inspiration for some Yahtzee categories : POKER - Had it, took it out, ended up trying it again

19. Reasons for handshakes : DEALS

20. Large volume : TOME

22. Alt-rock subgenre : EMO

23. Material for Caesar : GAGS - Ah, Sid Caesar

24. Russian crepes : BLINI

26. Egyptian __: cat breed : MAU - once I saw it, the V-8 can flew

27. Warm time for Nancy? : ETE - Is Nancy Frawnche~? I guess....

28. Nursery nourishment : LOAM - Good WAG on my part - I was in that nursery, not the kiddies

29. Slinky ad feature : STAIRS - oh, THAT Slinky - you know my mind was here - and see, Nancy is American, I'm sure

34. Restraining device : MANACLE

37. Numskull : AIRHEAD

40. High regard : ESTEEM

41. Alice's workplace : MEL'S - the Alice of TV fame

42. 1956 milestone for Ford: Abbr. : IPO - I put in LBO - which is, um, totally wrong

45. __ anglais: English horn : COR

46. Actor Ken and others : OLINS

48. Hitch : TOUR - the 'meh' clue for the day

49. Its Batman version contains a Joker : UNO

50. Like some annoying blog posts: Abbr. : ANON - let's see who pops in today~!

51. Coming-out party? : BELLE - har-har

52. Quality of a good math proof : RIGOR - still no algebra


54. Zen-like "Caddyshack" mantra : BE THE BALL - I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of this movie

57. Grenoble's river : ISERE

58. Hoops matchups : ONE-ON-ONES - basketball, not earrings

59. Former lab heaters : ETNAS - outdone by Bunsen

60. Like many lotteries : STATEWIDE

DOWN:   

1. Lowly worker : DRUDGE

2. Best in a mess : OUT-EAT - I had OUT--T, and this just wouldn't come to me

3. ER protocol : TRIAGE

4. "Vapor Action" brand : HALLS

5. 2013 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey champs : ELIs - another WAG

6. Place to wrestle : MAT

7. George W.'s first press secretary : ARI - perps

8. Driver's appointment? : TEE TIME - nailed it

9. Sports : HAS ON - I had the "---ON" part, so no misdirection for me

10. Make big strides : LOPE

11. U.N. workers' gp. : ILO

12. 2002 Lil' Bow Wow film : LIKE MIKE - I had '--KE--KE', and a vague recollection crept into my mind - IMDb

13. Prayer sung by Desdemona in "Otello" : AVE MARIA

14. Carried on : CAROUSED

21. Makes bad calls? : MIS-DIALS

24. Hall of Fame pitcher who managed the Yankees to a 1978 title : BOB LEMON - more baseball for C.C.

25. Tag : LABEL

28. Ill-gotten loot : LUCRE

30. Chances : TURNS

31. Vier times zwei : ACHT - German 4 X 2 = 8 - still no algebra

32. Special : RARE

33. Poetic rapper : RAVEN - ah, that kind of rapper - as on a door....

34. Only woman with two Nobel prizes, formally : Mme CURIE - Oddly, I filled this in with only the -CU- in place; and she WAS French, technically - the Wiki

35. Insurance fraud perpetrator, perhaps : ARSONIST

36. Ammonia component : NITROGEN

39. Distinguished : EMINENT - I think the "arsonist" clue made me read this as "extinguished" first

42. Historic island palace : IOLANI - I'm a big fan of Hawaii Five-O, both the old and the new - some trivia, including the palace

43. __ pork : PULLED - I, um, had BALLed pork to start - my palace was LElani, and, well, cut me some slack - it's been a long month

44. Uncreative threat : OR ELSE

47. Latin rock group Los __ : LOBOS

48. First sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy : TEBOW

50. "Iliad" war god : ARES

51. Factor opening : BENE - benefactor

53. Mouths, anatomically : ORA

55. See 56-Down : TEA - circumreferential, I got all the letters via perps

56. With 55-Down, sore throat soother : HOT

Splynter