Saturday, Sep 30th, 2017, Pawel Fludzinski

Theme: None

Words: 66 (missing J,K,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 34

Last puzzle of the month, and I expected it to be a rough one, and Mr Fludzinski did not disappoint.  Virtually blank on the first pass, both across and down, but I was able to break open the SE corner before I caved in to red-letters, and then Googled for one answer.  I refrained from STOG, but I needed some help in the NW - just too many proper names today.  Oh well.  Two 13-letter spanners and one 15-letter climber in a sort of pretzel-like grid;

30a. Wikipedia is an example of it : CROWDSOURCING

33a. Kind of response to mortal danger : FIGHT OR FLIGHT

7d. Reunion discovery : LONG LOST FRIENDS - or sometimes this old farm....

lyric @ 1:30

jOhNWARDenver~!

ACROSS:

1. MTV toon teen : BEAVIS - argh~! So ashamed I didn't recall this right away

7. Sings the blues : LAMENTS

14. Planned city in California's Orange County : IRVINE - I'm East coast - I hear "planned", and I think Levittown and Hicksville here on Long Island

15. Conquered : OVERCAME - I tried overTOOK, but this is like a more personal conquering; I overcame my anxiety this week when I interviewed well on Monday, then had to wait until yesterday to find out I got the job.  So I am "retiring" from UPS as of the end of next week.  Seven years.  That's a good run for me.

 

17. General courses : TRENDS

18. "Could be worse" : "NOT SO BAD."

19. __ talks : MONEY - I pondered PEACE first

20. Ones in a mess, briefly : GIs

21. Celestial body : ORB - crossword staple, poetic "planet"
 

22. Chug-__ : A-LUG

23. Persuaded : SOLD

25. Instrument dating to the Paleolithic age : FLUTE - ah, an actual instrument; I was thinking along the lines of knife/axe/spade "tool" kind of instrument

27. "Go ahead" : "PLEASE DO."

29. One determining 17-Across : POLLER

32. Like most capital costs : ONE-TIME

39. Brody who was the youngest Best Actor Oscar winner : ADRIEN - I spelled it with two "A"s first

40. Contingency plan : RECOURSE

43. Double-check : RE-ADD

44. Old Italian capital : LIRE - and again, spelled it with an "A"

45. "__ oui!" : MAIS - Frawnche - but I have to let on, I have had a new handyman client who is French, and he's pretty cool - a little hard to understand at times, but....

46. Provoke : FAN - as in fanning the flames

47. San Francisco's __ Valley : NOE - perps; more West coast geography

48. Presages : BODES

49. Symbolic attitude? : EMOTICON - 😀

52. Star close to Venus? : SERENA - the tennis stars, that is - didn't fool me, got me a start in this corner

53. Field of dreams? : LA-LA LAND

54. Pucker-inducing : LEMONY

55. Denies : NAYSAYS

56. Parks with games : ARENAS

DOWN:

1. Digital image format : BITMAP

2. Jazz virtuoso Garner : ERROLL - my Google for the day; his Wiki

3. Street in Manhattan's Alphabet City : AVENUE C - in hindsight, filling in "AVENUE" and then waiting seemed like a good idea for getting a toe-hold

4. Salad bar item : VINEGAR

5. __ 500 : INDY

6. His, to Henri : SES - oui

8. Bypass : AVOID - there was no avoiding traffic last weekend out here - a holiday weekend that had all three routes to the North Fork jammed up - I got in and got out before the chaos ensued.  Apple pickers.  >:-P 😝

9. Last team to play in the Polo Grounds : METS - and back to the East coast; more here

10. Sounds from the stumped : Ers....

11. Base fig. : NCO - dah~!  Army base; I was thinking EST, NTH, etc.

12. Bulgur salad : TABOULI - no clue, filled via perps - the Wiki

13. Spruce (up) : SMARTEN

16. Swedish tennis great : EDBERG - seeing how I screwed up SAM BERG a few weeks ago, I looked this up just to be sure it was not "ED BERG"

23. Like some patches : SEWN-ON - I had this one on the back of my denim jacket in high school

ah, the youth of 1985

24. Harder to explain : ODDER

25. Precede : FOREGO

26. Inc. kin : LLC - oops, not LTD

28. Blackened from combustion : SOOTED - meh.  I went with SEARED

29. Exfoliation material : PUMICE

31. NFL Titan, once : OILER - from Houston

33. Pasta pellets in Jewish cuisine : FARFEL

34. Thoughtful guy? : IDEA MAN

35. Breakfast bar : GRANOLA

36. Sought anonymity : HID

37. "Just play along, okay?" : "HUMOR ME."

38. Exploit : TRADE ON

41. "Burnt" crayon color : SIENNA

 

42. Prose pieces : ESSAYS

44. More than a little foolish : LOONY

47. BCS org. : NCAA - Bowl Championship Series of the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc.

48. It's often tapped out : BEER

50. North Sea feeder : TAY - the longest river up in Scotland

51. They, in Tours : ILS - oui oui~!

52. Radical '70s org. : SLA

Splynter

Saturday, Sep 23rd, 2017, Mark Diehl

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

 31*. Fleming work : SPY NOVEL - gratuitous Daniel Craig as James Bond image for C.C.

 

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....

Aye up, me duck~!

49. Helped on stage : CUED

52. Literary assortment : ANA - learned from doing crosswords

Splynter

Saturday, Sep 16th, 2017, Erik Agard

Theme: None

Words: 68 (missing J,X)

Blocks: 38

 OK, that's better - after two rough weeks, this puzzle was almost a breeze to finish - in about half my personal allotted time.  Mr. Agard was on a three-month roll, missed August, but he's back for September.  Hourglass grid with a triple 11-letter staggered stack in the center and a 15-letter climber;

31a. Event with a caller : SQUARE DANCE - oops; I put in "-AUCTION" at the end; Bzzzt

34a. Fruit on a veggie pizza : BLACK OLIVES - ah.  I buy the 'supreme' frozen pizzas, and always pull off the black olives, but sprinkle on some bacon bits.  I got me a Pizzazz pizza wheel which fits nicely in my kitchenette

35a. Justin case? : BIEBER FEVER - har-har

7d. Standard procedure : A MATTER OF COURSE

2d.~!

ACROSS:

1. Directions home : MAP

4. Slow : DELAY

9. Key of Elgar's "Symphony No. 1" : A FLAT - filled in the "FLAT" part and waited

14. San Antonio Spurs' 1993-2002 home : ALAMO DOME

16. Employer of a lizard and a pig : GEICO - the gecko, and the hog who goes "wee~!"

17. Author of the 2011 memoir "My Father at 100" : RON REAGAN

18. Greek leader? : ALPHA - beta, gamma, etc.

19. "I __ it!" : KNEW - I tried WANT first

20. National League athlete : MET - from the NY Met(ropolitan)s, to be precise - the irony here is that this was one of my clues nixed by the editors for being too difficult for a Wed. puzzle

21. Equilibrium : STASIS

22. Dale relative : GLEN - not CHIP - we had CHIP N' DALE last week - this is the the valley definition

24. Weapon in some supernatural movies : STAKE - Vampires~!

26. Thus far : YET

27. Ship mover : SAIL

29. Joseph of ice cream fame : EDY

30. One of the deadly sins : ENVY - LUST would have fit as well

36. Undesirable descriptor for makeup : CAKY

37. ___-A-Fella Records : ROC - cute.  I thought it might be roK

38. Thus : ERGO

40. "Correct, cap'n" : "AYE."

41. Currently airing : ON NOW - I would recommend watching "Garage Rehab" because my good friend Russell is "the muscle" on the show

The "other" guy is Richard from Gas Monkey Garage 

43. Hamilton notes : TENS - dollar bills

45. Fight like sticks figures? : RASSLE - Wrestle in the boondocks, the "sticks"

47. Sch. with a Providence campus : URI - dah~!  I put in RIU to start

49. __ Vogue : TEEN

51. Thins, e.g. : OREOs

52. Three-book Newton work : PRINCIPIA - the Wiki

54. Paper for a letter? : LEASE - think let-ter, one who 'lets'

55. Shun : OSTRACIZE

56. Tried to contain : SAT ON

57. Zero out : RESET

58. 1980s gaming release : NES - Nintendo Entertainment System

DOWN:

1. Annotate : MARK

2. Onward : ALONG - a shout-out~!!

3. Symposium groups : PANELS

4. Big name in anonymity : DOE - John or Jane, not the local trolls

5. Cheese town : EDAM

6. Upscale tiers : LOGES

8. Japanese cabbage? : YEN

9. Quartz type : AGATE

10. Afrobeat star __ Kuti : FELA - filled via perps - never heard of him - his Wiki

11. Mouths : LIP SYNCS

12. Realize : ACHIEVE

13. Pleasantly warm : TOASTY

15. "Harry Potter" father figure : Mr. WEASLEY - the Harry Potter Wiki

 

With daughter Ginny, the future Mrs. Potter

21. Parachute : SKYDIVE

23. Arabian Peninsula veil : NIQAB

25. "Hello" singer : ADELE

28. City in central Switzerland : LUCERNE

30. Alive : ENERGETIC

32. LeBron's birth city : AKRON - basketball is not my thing.  His Wiki; interesting how his first playoff run ended in a loss to the team at 14a.

33. Turn away : AVERT

34. Schwinn component : BIKE SEAT

35. Redwood City locale : BAY AREA

36. Door-to-door offerings : CAROLS - VACUUMS didn't fit

39. First to fall in most strikes : ONE PIN - nobody leaves the FIVE pin

41. Elizabeth who plays the Scarlet Witch in Marvel movies : OLSEN - filled via perps

42. Legal orders : WRITS

44. Wrest : SEIZE

46. "Meh" : SO SO - crosswordese

48. Concerning : IN RE

50. Turndowns from the tartan-clad : NAEs

52. Iberian land, to the IOC : PORtugal, according to the International Olympic Committee

53. Batter of balls? : CAT - sorry, C.C., no baseball here....

Splynter

Saturday, Sep 9th, 2017, C.C. Burnikel

Theme: C.C.C.W~!

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

Blocks: 31

Does it seem like the puzzles get harder as the year moves along the same as the week goes~?  This was the second Saturday puzzle in a row that beat me up, and this one feels a little harsher, like being attacked by friendly fire, coming from our hostess C.C.  In fact, I've gone so far as to coin a new term; STOG.  That is, I went Straight TO Google for several answers, as the cluing today was, at least for me, rather vague.   Oh well.  Red-letters, too.  C.C.'s last LA Times Saturday construction, back in June, was doable, at least.  Nothing intimidating about the grid, with two 11-letter spanners and two 15-letter climbers;

7. "Way to go!" : "NOW YOU'RE COOKING~!" - Quite a few "quote"(*) clues in today's grid, too

8. Dancers seen in strips? : THE CHIPPENDALES - har-har~!

for the ladies

take it all Off WARD~!

ACROSS:

1. End with force : STAMP ON - RAID kills bugs dead, too

8. Percussion instrument : TIMPANI - instrument heard here in a John Bonham drum solo from Led Zeppelin's CODA album; the pedal timpani is a tune-able drum

starts @ 0:42

15. Contemporary of Plácido : LUCIANO - Domingo, and Pavarotti, two-thirds of The Three Tenors; I can never remember the third guy....him

16. Went deep : HOMERED - no C.C. crossword is complete without a baseball reference

17. Agitated : IN A STEW - my NW was blank, so I tried "-ED" at the end.  Bzzzt.

18. Like the flame at Graceland : ETERNAL

19. Singing voice, informally : PIPES - I exercised my pipes at karaoke two weeks ago

20. Workout spot : YMCA - gritted teeth.  I really hoped this was not going to be "YOGA", as I had the Y--A, but when it filled I thought we needed an abbr. somewhere for Y.M.C.A

22. Ax : FIRE

23. Quick-footed : SPRY

24*. "I'm amazed!" : "OOH~!" - not "WOW~!"

25. Springfield bar : MOE'S - 'Simpsons' clue. 

26. Traditional March 14 servings : PIES - totally stumped me at first; it's not the Ides - the 15th, and not St. Pat's - the 17th.  It was only when I mentally pictured the date as 3.14 that "Pi" hit me like the V-8 can

27. Venus, when appearing as the morning star : LUCIFER - learning moment.  I did not know this was a translation of a Biblical reference, here

 

Venus is part of a planetary alignment 23 sep 2017

29. Paradise in "On the Road" : SAL - Jack Kerouac

30. Minor employment needs, in some places : WORK PERMITS - I had to get a work card at 16yrs old to go to work at the now defunct Grossman's lumber company

34. Longtime NBC hit : SNL - I'd like to thank everyone who enjoyed picking up on my mistake regarding last week's "SNL" clue

35. Blow away : AWE

36. Pittsburgh's __ Park : PNC

37. Thanksgiving, e.g.: Abbr. : THUrsday - yup.  I figured HOLiday was not good enough today

38. Helpful program for frequent fliers : TSA PRE-CHECK

41. Give under pressure : SAG - I pondered BOW

42. Joan of Arc, for one : HEROINE - I filled in HERETIC for some reason

43. Fill up : SATE

44. Close buds : BROS - not PALS

46. Hardly fresh : OLD

47. Father's ceremony : MASS - that kind of father

48. The first "A" in A.A. Milne : ALAN - Alexander is the second "A"

49. Great Plains st. : OKLAhoma

50. Maestro Doráti : ANTAL - first totally STOG clue

52. Trattoria staple : RAVIOLI

54. Theater originally lit with oil lamps : La SCALA

56. Enter covertly : CREEP IN - I had SNEAK to start

57. Self-gratifying pursuit : EGO TRIP - had EGOTISM to start - that's 5/7ths 4/7ths correct....phew

58. Picking up : SENSING - I'm sensing it's time for a pic for the guys

59. Law groups : SENATES

DOWN:

1. Space for a ship : SLIP - I could not get BERTH out of my head; PIER and DOCK seemed off

2. They started the Arab Spring : TUNISIANS - More recent than I realized

3. Like Pentatonix performances : A CAPPELLA - totally STOG.  I know what pentatoniC means, but I had to look up this group

4. Unlikely GoFundMe supporters : MISERS

5. One taking a fall : PATSY

6. Table for __ : ONE - I of course, went with TWO.  God help me, the blue-eyed girl has come back into my life, once again....WC might understand my dilemma

9. Little bit : IOTA

10. Fr. title : MME

11. Put on : PERFORM

12. Jack's links rival : ARNIE - golfers.  I have not gotten out since the one time I played on vacation in three weeks - and it showed

13. Almost reaches : NEARS

14. Like some chatter : IDLE

21. Ridicule : MOCK

25. Pharmaceutical giant : MERCK

26*. Whisper from a cheater, maybe : "PSST~!"

27. Decrease : LOWER

28. Place for the undecided? : FENCE - clever.  I went with LIMBO.  Really.

30. Hawked stuff : WARES

31*. "Good first step" : "IT'S A START."

32*. "Not true!" : "THAT'S A LIE~!"

33. Knight who co-founded Death Row Records : SUGE - totally STOG, but it filled via perps

39. Impostors : PHONIES

40. Barrier for Sisyphus : HILL - the name to me always implies a female, though I know the -US ending in Latin is masculine.  Ergo, I did not recall this classic myth

43. Safe havens : SANCTA - dah~! Another ending that was not the typical plural "S", which fooled me

44. Play loudly : BLARE

45. "Ungainly fowl" of poetry : RAVEN

47. __ jar : MASON - dah~!  Not SWEAR, not JELLY

48. Lob paths : ARCS - made me change my SNEAK IN at 56a.

49. Lena of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" : OLIN

51. Napkin holders? : LAPS - cute

53. Coty subsidiary that makes nail polish : OPI - never heard of this; another STOG had it not filled via perps

55. Brandy statistic : AGE

Splynter

Saturday, Sep 2nd, 2017, David C. Duncan Dekker

Theme: DCDD

Words: 72 (pangram~!)

Blocks: 29

This is number four for DCDD - and I didn't even look at the constructor's name at first; when I did I remembered that three of those Saturday puzzles have been pangrams, so I expected the same today - and that helped tremendously in the NW, because I was blank up there to start.  Today we had one of those grids where one word could keep you from getting into the individual corners without something to work with - and I got slowed down by SMOTHERS and SPHERES, which was why my NW was empty - until I figured the "Q" had to be in there somewhere.  Ah, logic.  Caved into red-letters early - hey, I'm on vacation; I'm not working on the puzzle, either....Anyway, chunky 8x7 and 6x7 corners made up the long answers;

1. Most massive of all known elementary particles : TOP QUARK - I'd really like to learn more about elementary particles and quantum theory; a quark is a sub-particle that makes up hadrons, which then make up protons and neutrons.  A top quark is as massive as an atom of tungsten; how then can it be in the nucleus~?  The more I delve into the subject, the more my brain hurts

14. Unsteady : REELING - reminds me of Steely Dan's song

Reelin' in the Years - check out who the show host is~!

39. Fidget __ : SPINNER - they're everywhere now; the Wiki

59. Oscillating curve : SINE WAVE

Sign Wave - get it~?

PuNWARD~!

ACROSS:

9. Storage spot : CELLAR

15. Place frequented by John Jasper in Dickens' "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" : OPIUM DEN

16. Bird of baseball : ORIOLE - not a player's name, but a team's

17. Aptly named heavy-footed bird : MEGAPODE - the Wiki

18. Wow : DAZZLE

19. High school gp. : JRs - ah, not PTA

20. Areas of interest : SPHERES - the three consonants S,P,H slowed me down

22. Night sch. staple : ESL

23. Twelve __: neighbor of Tara : OAKS - I knew what Tara was, but did not know the Wilkes lived next door at this plantation in Gone with the Wind

25. Pre-fax communication : TELEX

26. One who isn't a pro : ANTI

27. Repeated phrase in Ecclesiastes : A TIME - ah; did not know this was a Biblical reference - I know it from Turn Turn Turn, the 60's song from Tthe Byrds

29. Nile reptile : ASP - rhymes

30. Body part : ORGAN

31. Stood for : DENOTED

33. 2000s "SNL" alum : SAM BERG - no clue, all perps

35. Eastern way : TAO

36. Game console with a Mini version : Wii

37. Where many have gone on vacation : FISHING - I put in NO WHERE, since I am on vacation and this time I am not going down to see Mike in Delaware

41. __ zoo : PETTING

45. Get going : IMPEL

46. Pickup hr. : ETA - had me baffled for a long time - good way to clue this answer on a Saturday

48. Mexican title : SEÑOR

49. Animal house : LAIR

50. Polynesian people : MAORI

52. Value : RATE

53. Take responsibility for : OWN - clecho with; 6d. Take responsibility for : ADOPT

54. California city mentioned after Kingman in the song "Route 66" : BARSTOW

56. "Yo!" : "HEY~!"

57. Aficionados' creations that may infringe on copyrights, for short : FANFIC - I had everything but the second "F", and I knew it had to be "F" by the crossing, but this answer just made me cringe


61. Cactus spine source : AREOLE - our classic image is no longer available, so here's the scientific version of the cactus variety

I did, however, find this; all I can say is "OUCH~!"
 

62. Takes advantage of : UTILIZES

63. Persian king : XERXES

64. Hiker's shelter : PACK TENT - seems a bit over-described

DOWN:

1. Steinbeck protagonist : TOM JOAD - could not recall this name from The Grapes of Wrath

2. Run : OPERATE - my PTA kept this from appearing

3. Game item made of cow leather, actually : PIGSKIN - funny

4. In the capacity of : QUA - I know this from the Latin "sine qua non", but did not realize it was an English word, straight up

5. Ballpark figures : UMPS - dah~! Not ESTS., which I know would have been clued "figs."

7. Lucille Ball, e.g. : REDHEAD

8. Gets down, in a way : KNEELS

9. Scrolls successor : CODEX - Wiki learning moment for me

10. Prominent periods : ERAS

11. Tina's "30 Rock" role : LIZ - never watched it

12. Cough syrup alternative : LOZENGE

13. Home Run Derby competitor : ALL*STAR

21. Counts while working out : REPS

24. Overwhelm : SMOTHER

26. Decision maker : ARBITER

28. Online biz : eTAIL

30. Skips : OMITS

32. Extended period : EON

34. Amaze : AWE

37. U.K.-based personal organizer brand : FILOFAX - no hyphens as I had thought there might be

38. "That comes as no surprise" : "I'M AWARE" - I'm aware that the puzzle beat me up this week

40. First or second, say : GEAR - I prefer Top Gear

41. Bach work : PARTITA

J. S. Bach: Partita in d minor, 4. (Itzhak Perlman)

42. Confused : IN A HAZE

43. "Nice try!" :"NOT EVEN~!" - think sarcastic

44. Most dreary, in Dublin : GREYEST

47. Anybody's guess : TOSS UP

50. Medieval clubs : MACES

51. Like the Jefferson Memorial's columns : IONIC - good way to clue this answer for a Saturday

54. Nastiness : BILE

55. Old TV host with an accordion : WELK

58. Kit maker : FOX -  the word for fox young is "kit"; I thought it was the group name, but that turns out to be skulk, leash or earth - huh. 

60. Quick thinking : WIT - I can think, but not quick enough to be "witty"

Splynter

Saturday, Aug 26th, 2017, Mike Buckley

Theme: "Crossword and see me sometime"

Words: 72 (missing J,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 30

Mike Buckley's last Saturday puzzle was back in April, with his clever spiral galaxy theme and grid design.  Today it's a quotation/speaker theme, and I blew right through this one, in record time.  Did not look promising with a lot of blanks on the first pass, and when I saw the circumreferential clues, thought we were in for a long one.  But then the Down clues were practically gimmes, and that gave me so many perpendiculars that I had no trouble on the second Across pass.  Just to be clear, I know the 'theme' title is a play on a famous quote, which is famously misquoted; see here.  The irony of a sex symbol crossword this week, following some of the comments last week is not lost on me, either. The theme fills;

19. See 38-Across : LOOKED OVER

38. She said, "It's better to be 19-Across than 55-Across" : MAE WEST

I like this one, as well

55. See 38-Across : OVERLOOKED

12.9 billion miles ONWARD~!

(see 22a.)

ACROSS:

1. One who's often over a barrel? : COOPER - the technical term for one who makes barrels

7. Band member with a vihuela : MARIACHI - I have never heard of a vihuela, so I went to Wiki for more.  Mariachi can be found on the golden record of Voyager - see below

15. Use a combine : THRESH

16. Tiny orbiter : ELECTRON

17. Not shrink from : RISE TO

18. Maintain control : RIDE HERD - since we had this in a Saturday puzzle this year, it has become crosswordese for me

21. "The Owl and the Pussycat" poet : LEAR

22. Watched : SEEN  - I watched a show on the Voyager spacecraft Thursday night - fascinating stuff.  Some facts: both missions were launched 40yrs ago; as of Aug 2012, the Voyager I officially left our solar system and became the first man-made object to reach interstellar space; it is traveling at 38,000mph; more here

23. Chocolate-flavored spread : NUTELLA - hey, I knew this one~!

25. Gets misty : STEAMS UP - ah, reminds me of a line from a Tom Jones remake;

@ 0:48

29. Welcome item? : MAT

30. Online shopping offer : CHAT - yeah it pops up, I knock it down, but the little button lingers there on the side....annoying

31. Testimony opener : I SAW

33. Glitterati member : CELEB

37. IV sites : ORs

40. Bedazzlement : AWE

41. Rwandan ethnic group : TUTSI - had to 'guess' just the "S"

43. One of Pop's partners : SNAP - Snap, Crackle & Pop, Rice Krispies

44. "Roast beast"-eating people : WHOS - of Whoville

45. Adobe file format : PDF

47. Shelley dedicated an ode to one of them : SKYLARKS - what, to a Buick~?

49. Musical star who received a 1949 Honorary Award Oscar : ASTAIRE

53. Big heads? : EGOS

54. Split hairs? : PART - I used to part my hair; now I go for the Giorgio Tsoukalos look

60. Blathered : PRATTLED

62. Current quantity : AMPERE

63. Antlion relative : LACEWING - didn't know what an antlion was, but once the answer filled, I sensed it was some sort of dragonfly-type insect; the antlion larva is vicious - a video here

64. Squanders, perhaps : SPENDS

65. Dramatic break : ENT'R ACTE

66. American of Japanese descent : SANSEI - I had NISsei, which is 100% 50% correct

DOWN:

1. PC key : CTRL

2. Its state quarter displays the Wright Flyer : OHIO

3. "... __ it seems" : OR SO

4. Gives a sidelong glance : PEEKS AT - OGLES did not work, but the ----S AT part I left

5. Respect : ESTEEM

6. Onetime Botswana neighbor : RHODESIA - now Zimbabwe

7. "Jeopardy!" first name : MERV - dah~! NOT Alex, not Jack; Merv Griffin, the creator.  I'd like to see a real version of the original concept - that is, one word answers in a category, and you have to come up with the question.  e.g.; Category US state capitals: answer; $200 Oklahoma City - - - - $1000 Albany

8. Sci-fi staple : ALIEN

9. Shining example of mirror-writing? : REDRUM - ah, the Shining - Stephen King's novel, Jack Nicholson's "Here's Johnny", and the word 'murder' written on a door

10. Curling surface : ICE - curling has been popular on Saturday lately

11. Shoe endorser : ATHLETE

12. Angler's wicker basket : CREEL

13. Every 60 minutes : HORAL

14. Hindu weather deity : INDRA

20. Responsibilities : ONUSES

24. Diplomatic asset : TACT

25. Kilt wearer : SCOT - it was brought to my attention that I have neglected my women commenters, so I will post a picture of a man in a skirt this week

26. No __ traffic : THRU

27. Right in the atlas? : EAST - we had "point in the right direction?" two weeks ago

28. Potential queens : PAWNS - ah.  I forgot about this chess rule, known as promotion - a pawn that reaches the eighth rank ( the far end of the board ) can be 'promoted' to one of the more powerful pieces.  I do not have an equivalent rule in my game, and thus I will have to consider adding it in.  I am on vacation this week, and it is one of my goals to have the board game completely ready for play by four people by Labor Day weekend

32. Not so potent : WEAKER

34. Memorable big cat portrayer : LAHR - the cowardly (ant)lion~?!?

35. Furry Endor native : EWOK - such a gimme for a Star Wars nerd like me

36. Catfish Row heroine of opera : BESS - only had to guess the last "S"

38. Modest skirt : MIDI - and now for the woman in skirt

39. Pirate's viewing aid : SPYGLASS - such a cool word, and the name of a street in my old neighborhood - Spyglass Lane

42. "CSI" evidence : SPATTER - well, not so much evidence as a place to collect it, so to speak

44. Showed willingness to listen (to) : WAS OPEN

46. Cavort : FROLIC

48. Oompa-__: Wonka worker : LOOMPA - not much leeway in cluing for a word like this

49. Big __ : APPLE - I left it blank - and yet probably should have been my first answer, being that I live in New York

50. Leftovers cover : SARAN

51. Political essay : TRACT

52. Ceremony, e.g. : EVENT

56. Border : EDGE

57. Guy dolls : KENS - been keeping in shape~!

and TWO hunks this week~!

58. Mahler's earth : ERDE - I had no idea, so I went and looked it up after it filled via perps - the Wiki

59. '50s sitcom name : DESI

61. Longtime Howard Hughes asset : TWA - I didn't know; so again, the Wiki

Splynter

Saturday, Aug 19th, 2017, Matthew Sewell

Theme: None

Words: 68 (Pangram~!)

Blocks: 39

There is one other LA Times puzzle from Matthew, from Thursday March 23rd of this year.  Today's offering was a really pleasant solve, with very few proper names or abbreviations and plenty of clever clues to make it tough, but do-able.  I admit to not getting my "ta-DA~!" because of one cel, and I just switched to red-letter to find it; more below, and it's quite funny in retrospect.  Big block count today, a friendly grid, and just a pair of 11-letter spanners in the across and few 8-letter answers throughout;

33. Look for business? : WORK CLOTHES

Or how 'bout her~?

She definitely does not work at my terminal....

38. Peruse, as a catalog : LOOK THROUGH - I filled in "THROUGH" and waited on either LOOK or SCAN

brOwNWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Bass-baritone role in an 1885 Savoy Theatre premiere : MIKADO - never a good start when you have no clue - or is that answer~?

7. King Features Syndicate parent : HEARST

13. Brown world? : ACADEME - Funny, I wonder if Mr. Sewell knew I would be doing the blog, because half my world IS Brown - UPS brown, that is.  Since UPS did not fit, I wondered if it was a reference to Charlie [Brown], but no, it's about an ivy league school

15. "I have a bad feeling about this" : "OH DEAR...." - and a line from Han Solo - four times

16. Strike a chord : RESONATE - my first thought was guitar related

18. There's one right in front of you : PUZZLE - ah.  Yes.  I had Muzzle, which is technically correct, and hoMe before 'against' made sense, but not after as well

19. MSN, for one : ISP - Internet Service Provider

20. Wore with jaunty confidence : ROCKED - I like rocking my plus-fours on the golf course.  Not.

and Argyle socks~!

22. Scuttle : NIX

23. Most of a pool cue : SHAFT - like 99.5%

26. 11, at times: Abbr. : NOVember - I always get duped by this, especially since "11" to me is usually a guitar amplifier reference

27. Cooked : DONE

28. Vital vessels : AORTAS

30. W-9 filers : NEW HIRES

35. Panasonic flat-screen : VIERA

36. Welsh herder : CORGI

41. Majesty : SPLENDOR

44. Four-time WWE World Champion Brock __ : LESNAR - all perps

46. Wharf : QUAY - dah~! not DOCK

47. Dressy accessory : TIE - I went with BOA - 100% wrong

49. Curling piece : STONE

50. Audible pauses : UMs  - I had UHs to start

51. How cherries jubilee is served : FLAMBÉ

54. Dungeons & Dragons bird : ROC - I'm such a nerd.  I got this.  But hey~! I think I might have a cool name for my board game~!

55. Shout on arrival : I'M HERE

57. 1984 Winter Olympics city : SARAJEVO - didn't come to me right away - I got it after I had the "S" and "O"

60. Strongly suggest : REEK OF - the word 'reek' always reminds me of a band that played the night club I managed; they called themselves REEKING HAVOC - not WREAKING

61. Alito and Thomas : YALE MEN - I thought we were looking for two guys named the same, so I threw an "S" in at the end.  Bzzzt.

62. Danny, vis-à-vis the "Bloodline" siblings : ELDEST - no clue, via perps

63. Sharp weapons : SABERS - Dah~!  not SPEARS - that's 83.3% at 50% correct

DOWN:

1. Best Supporting Actress two years after Whoopi : MARISA - Ms. Tomei, for My Cousin Vinny, and Ms. Goldberg for Ghost

2. Exhibition with blades : ICE SHOW - Good clue.  Hockey games, too

3. '90s loser to Deep Blue : KASPAROV - I didn't know this.  More chess, too~! The Wiki

4. Flap : ADO - so what's a MIK   ADO~?  (nyuk nyuk nyuk)

5. Forest digs : DEN

6. "Rubáiyát" poet : OMAR

7. Word before and after against : HOPE - hope against hope - ah, that makes sense

8. Israel's Olmert : EHUD - perps and a WAG

9. Sharp-edged tool : ADZ

10. Nine Inch Nails founder Trent : REZNOR - the one proper name I did know - I'd link a song, but most of the popular stuff is a bit raunchy - if you must, check out "Closer".  On the flip side, Hurt was covered by Johnny Cash

11. Briny : SALINE - ah.  SALTY was too short

12. Natural history museum attractions, briefly : T-REXES

14. School with trimesters called halves : ETON

17. Cheap opening : ECONO-

21. Bellyache : KVETCH

24. Kan. Army installation : Ft. RILEY - I was pretty confident of my ACROSS answers, so the FTR--- to start helped a lot

25. Go up against : TAKE ON

27. Turn off and then some : DISGUST

29. Cape Cod catch : SCROD

31. Forensics ridge : WHORL - fingerprints

32. Stallone roles, e.g. : HEROES

34. Sitting Bull's people : LAKOTA

37. "Forget I said anything" : "IGNORE ME."

39. Downsizes : TRIMS

40. German royal house, 1714-1901 : HANOVER

41. Knight aide : SQUIRE

42. Buffet : PUMMEL - I didn't know if it was BUH-fet, or buh-FAY

43. Tied up : LASHED

45. Scouting ops : RECONS

48. Weird Al song that wonders, "Tell me why I bid on Shatner's old toupee" : eBAY - man that's funny; I DID buy a golf cart on eBay - and I found a rare Tom Jones CD, Rescue Me, sold by a guy in Russia....

The Wiki on the song

51. Picked dos : 'FROS

52. Took off : LEFT

53. Noteworthy times : ERAS

56. Stretch (out) : EKE

58. Like : Á LA 

59. Politico with a father, brother and son named George : JEB - the Bushes

Splynter

P.S.> I was shocked to see that my name now appears in the "labels" settings~!