Saturday, Mar 21st, 2015, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 72 (missing F,K,Q,Y)

Blocks: 29

  Well, I am feeling better about myself with regard to Saturday puzzles after this one - I needed a successful solve, otherwise, I'd be on a month-long 'fail'.  My first-pass guesses - and quite a few throughout - turned out to be great choices, as my crossings seemed to agree; that doesn't happen very often.  Still, I was stuck on the final bottom three letters, but got my "Ta-DA~!", and breathed a sigh of relief.  Triple 11-letter Across corners, and nearly triple 10s in the Downs:

17a. Factor in cold waves : POLAR VORTEX - ugh - one more time with the white stuff last night....

12d. Like churches, as a rule : TAX EXEMPT - answer #2 with "X".  The "X"s from 'xer' & 'axle' and didn't look promising, until I got to this clue

64a. Outlet worker : ELECTRICIAN - here I thought this first, then said "no, can't be"

Here's one for the DF - warning~!

31. Meaning : SEMANTICS - I like playing 'semantics' with people

ARD~! Snow~!

ACROSS:

1. City on the South Saskatchewan River : MEDICINE HAT - not a clue, but then with some spotty perps, I recalled this odd name - birthplace of hockey player Trevor Linden - now a president with the Vancouver Canucks, and one-time NY Islander

12. It's about 5 mL : TSP

15. Over : ONE MORE TIME - like a mulligan in golf

16. Cut (into) : ATE - think acids

18. Boomer's offspring : X-ER

19. Put in : ELECT - didn't have enough letters for INject, and it took a minute for this one to dawn on me

20. Senseless : NUMB

21. Jazz duo? : ZEES - jaZZ - clever

22. Answered back : SASSED

24. Drivetrain component, perhaps : REAR AXLE - complete W.A.G. - and wow, it was correct~!  Go figure

26. Southwestern language : ZUNI

28. Brawn : SINEW

29. Sign of shock : GASP

33. Diamond shape : PEAR - I never considered the "shape" of an engagement ring - is there some rule of thumb
(or finger, as it were)~?

 I like the nail polish color

35. Star movers : LIMOS

37. Runs through : PIERCES - think swords; especially sitting atop 41a.

39. Take time to answer : SLEEP ON - like the song "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights"

41. Mail : ARMOR - this one always gets me - trying to think of synonyms for "send"

42. Save for later, in a way : TiVO

44. City southwest of Bayeux : St. LÔ

45. Woodstock performer before Sly : JANIS - For those who were too young to know, here's a list of the performers - there were three acts that I was unaware actually played the show

47. Ecua. rejoined it in 2007 : OPEC - sensible WAG, and an abbr to help

49. Hail Mary : LONG BOMB - I had LONG PASS - and that's 50%

51. Charges for rounds : BAR TAB

56. Newspaper section : ARTS - OK, I went with OPED

57. Goya's "La __ vestida" : MAJA - The "clothed" one; there was also the "La Maja Desnuda"

59. Washington portraitist : PEALE - more art I did not know - his Wiki

60. Star Wars letters : SDI - the "Strategic Defense Initiative", which, I have stated before, is an insult to Star Wars

61. December-to-May fruit : NAVEL ORANGE - I WAGed ALGAE at 54d., and that "G" was enough to get me the Orange part, but I had "TOO" instead of "NEW" at 61d., and that slowed me down

63. RBI producer, perhaps : SACrifice Fly - Baseball tactic

65. Stick-__ : ONS - I was thinking of this instead

66. 1623 Shakespeare work, with "The" : WINTERS TALE - if you don't know it, here's the "38d." on it

DOWN:

1. Blues : MOPES - if it helps, try "The" in front

2. "Waterworld" orphan girl : ENOLA - didn't see the movie; it was a dud.  All perps

3. Strikes out : DELES - this "struck out" my 'ENTER' for 19a.

4. Apple purchases : iMACS - did you hear Apple is coming out with a diet pill~?
It's designated the i8....

5. Mexico's Sea of __ : CORTEZ - nailed it

6. Journalist Kupcinet : IRV - perps

7. Krypton relative : NEON

8. Ancient Italian region : ETRURIA - dredged this up from the depths with '-RUR-' in place

9. Opposite of "stand" : "HIT ME~!" - Blackjack

10. They multiply by dividing : AMEBAS

11. Drive handle : TEX - cattle drive, that is.  Reminds me of this scene

13. Common abrasive : STEEL WOOL

14. Intrinsically : PER SE

21. The Marx Brothers, e.g. : ZANIES

23. Deceive : DUPE

25. Bug but good : RILE

27. Home in the woods : NEST - "home in the tree" would have been too easy for Saturday

29. Meas. of course performance : GPA - Grade Point Average.  Funny, but it was such a big deal when I was in high school - now it's meaningless - until I have kids of my own, I presume....

30. Brand with a Jumpman logo : AIR JORDAN - I knew this was Michael Jordan, but it took a moment; my OPED didn't help

32. Fine points : PRONGS - Har-Har~!

34. Letters sometimes seen before a phone no. : RSVP

36. Nestlé's __-Caps : SNO

38. Cheat : CRIB

40. 1924 co-defendant : LOEB - could not recall if it was loeW or loeB

43. Court complaint : "I OBJECT~!"

46. Horn of Africa native : SOMALI

48. Cousins of clam diggers : CAPRIs

49. Western ring : LASSO - ah, Western as in the movie genre

50. Expert : MAVEN

52. Jerk, say : REACT

53. Patty Hearst alias : TANIA

54. __ bloom: pond vegetation : ALGAL

55. __ Bag: eponymous '70s designer label : BEENE

 

58. Old, in Oldenburg : ALTE - not AULD; I knew that was wrong

61. Additional : NEW

62. Legend on ice : ORR - first clue, NHL; last clue, NHL....I like it, Mr. Silk~!

Splynter

Saturday, Mar 14th, 2015, Gail Grabowski

Theme: GG~!

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 28

  This is my second Saturday puzzle from Gail - the last one dates back over three years - Mar 3rd, 2012.   I have seen many of her Saturday constructions for my local paper - Newsday - and their "Stumper" is an accurate description.  Today's offering for the LA Times was much the same.  Lots of cloudy cluing which led to a white-wash grid over the first two passes, and while I got the proper names, it was the NE corner that gave me fits, and I caved in to Google, then red-letters.  Oh well.  Triple 9-letter down corners, triple 10-letter across corners.  Some of the longer fill;

16a. Dating term usually abbreviated : ANNO DOMINI - argh~!  I was looking for something like "IN SEARCH OF", as on a dating SITE

30d. Passing legislation? : ESTATE LAW - My friend from Ohio, Ibby, the woman who got me onto the movie set back in 1997, lost her husband yesterday - Friday the 13th.  I do not know the details, but he did have health issues

50a. Like some sirens : BEWITCHING - not the "SCREAMING" kind, but the female version of "siren"

3d. "Every Breath You Take" band : THE POLICE - they took reggae and made it commercial; this is my favorite pick from them

o-on-onw-onwa-onwar-onward~!

ACROSS:

1. D.C. sports group : NATS - The Washington Naionals - NLE Champs last year - and I'm sure C.C. is excited that baseball is back~!  That means just one month left in regular season hockey....

5. Hit the roof : BOILED OVER - I had "GO I---", tried "-NTO A RAGE", but needed a bigger grid

15. School acronym : ELHI - Elementary and High school

17. MSNBC anchor Wagner : ALEX - did I mention I love the name Alexandra~?  Gail had Alexia in that first puzzle, but that's not as pretty

18. Specialty brokers : LAND AGENTS - ugh.  Got the "AGENTS" part....

19. Head : TOP

20. The Whiffenpoofs of a cappella fame : ELIs - from Yale - and I did not know this

21. Finely contoured : SLEEK - Svelte did not fit

22. Only fair : TWO STAR - ah.  Like a review.  "The hotel food was only fair"

24. Sherry type : PALE DRY - ugh.  I did not see this listed in any of the sites I checked.  So it started as "PALE RED", and then I WAGed the "DRY" part

26. Swap magazines : RELOAD - I had RELOA-, and this just did not dawn on me.  Until now.  The clip of a machine gun - referred to as a magazine

27. Outback order : FILET - my only meh for the day

28. No-brainer? : IDIOT - like how I feel after a particularly rough crossword

29. Gifts for aficionados : BOXED SETS

33. VIP of the USAF : CIC - Commander in Chief

34. Chess grandmaster Spassky : BORIS - Once the "B" showed, it was WAG time

35. Span. title : SRA

36. Joint support : KNEE BRACE

39. Disastrous : FATAL

41. Come (from) : ARISE

42. They're assembled at bars : SALADS - oh, SALAD BAR.  Guess I'm still not that far from a drink

43. Player in eight Super Bowls : PATRIOT - ah - not a proper name at all; the New England Patriots

46. Herbal beverage : MINT TEA

47. Then, in Rennes : ALORS - Frawnche

48. Boring, maybe : LONG

49. Punch line, say : END

53. Kyrgyzstan border range : ALAI - not URAL - that's too far north

54. "Block-Heads" co-star, 1938 : STAN LAUREL - a-ha~! Did not have to Google it~!

55. Temporary place to stay : CAMP - not INNS

56. Project planning datum : TARGET DATE

57. Crimp-haired critters : EWES

DOWN:

1. Bit of cleverness : NEAT TRICK

2. Admitted : ALLOWED IN

4. Pack leader? : SIX - Six-pack, got it

5. It's not a complex number : BALLAD - well, some rock ballads can be - for the guitar player; here's one 'Top 100' List; here's my idea of a tough ballad

When Children Cry - White Lion

6. Happy way to walk : ON AIR

7. Temporary places to stay : INNS - Ah - here it is.

8. City served by Ben-Gurion airport : LOD

9. Author LeShan : EDA - perps

10. Husky follower : DOGSLED

11. They're filled and folded : OMELETS - I figured it was either a Spanish/Mexican dish, or um, that, er, whatsitcalled Italian thingy - Calzone~!  I just could not think of the word, and it was wrong anyway

12. Like some brick walls : VINED - Like, say, Wrigley Field

13. Join : ENTER - Dah~!! Not UNITE

14. Touch-and-go : RISKY - OK, I think of this phrase as more 'delicate' or 'sensitive'

20. Dakota du Sud, e.g. : ETAT - More Frawnche - that's Dakota of the South, of the United States

23. __ Canals : SOO

24. "Angry" adversary in Enid Blyton's "Faraway Tree" series : PIXIE - OK, I cheated.  I had to look this one up, even with "--XIE" - shoulda guessed

25. Dogfish Head products : ALES - sounded like a beer name to me - the Wiki

27. Pressure : FORCE

29. Sound off : BOAST

31. Business identifier : TRADE NAME - I thought it might end with "CARD" at first

32. They go with chips : SALSA DIPS - messed my 'INNS' up

34. Vivacity : BRIO

37. Hoop, for one : EARRING

38. Take offense : BRISTLE

39. Venom source : FANG - ah, not ASPS

40. Flying fig. : ALT - altitude - not ETA, ETD, or ARR. 

42. Unattached : SINGLE - like me~!   :7(

43. L.A.-based brewery : PABST - did not know this

44. Prince Valiant's bride : ALETA - mostly perps

45. "Path __": 2002 LBJ biopic : TO WAR

46. "Woman With a Parasol" painter : MONET

48. Pre-euro currency : LIRA

51. Monopoly token that replaced the iron : CAT - I remember the iron, but did not know it was replaced with a CAT

52. Cabinet dept. created under LBJ : HUD - Housing and Urban Development

53. One on the links : ACE - I pondered TEE, PAR, and PIN before realizing we are talking about a score of ONE

Splynter

Saturday, Mar 7th, 2015, Daniel Nierenberg

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing Q,W,X)

Blocks: 27

  I would have to say it depends on one's approach to a crossword that can make all the difference.  Last week I struggled with a Silkie that most others from the corner seemed to do well on.  Today, I cruised through this puzzle with nary a hiccup.  Just over the half-way mark of my personal time, too.  Of course, a lack of personal/proper names did help tremendously, too ;7))    Anyway, triple stacks of 10's and 7's in the corners, and a pair of 8-letter fills on the inside.  Some of the longer answers;

1. It's often swiped at offices : ACCESS CARD - I thought "PAPER CLIPS" - but with "PUNCH in" at 2d., I 'ventured forth' (6d) with APPLE iPADS, which seemed logical - lots of people I know do business with a tablet these days; I'm one of them - my Home Inspections are done thru an app on my tablet, and I send the report via email.  Did you hear about Apple's new tape measure~?  It's called the "iRule"....

61a. Surrounded : UNDER SIEGE - good movie, too; featured Steven Segal as a "CPO" (q.v. 50a.) - the Wiki

O - ah - O - ah - O-ah-O-ah - O - AH  - O - nward~!

ACROSS:

11. Censor's target : SMUT - for those in the area, I had "-MU-" and considered IMUS

15. Deer, e.g. : PLANT EATER

16. Leveret's dad : HARE - huh - I thought this was a personal name, and did not get it until I looked it up during the write-up; new word for me

17. Reminder, often : POST-IT NOTE

18. Largest island in the Tuscan Archipelago : ELBA - once I had -LB-, the rest was 'E-Z' - or is that "E" "A"~!?

19. Slip in a store: Abbr. : RCT - receipt, not the "oops" of a lawsuit

20. Quarters : ROOMS - huh - a WAG that never went away; I like those guesses

21. Olympics coach Karolyi et al. : BELAs

22. "Fooled ya" : I KID

24. Corn lead-in : UNI - unicorn

25. Carbon compound found in crude oil : BUTENE - threw in the first 6-letter "fuel" I could think of; in this case, it was ETHANE, and that's strictly 33% correct

26. Closed up : SILENT - ah, a personal description, not an end-of-day routine

28. Attire for filmdom's The Mask : ZOOT SUIT

30. Month in el invierno : ENERO - Spanish~?  Month~? WAG 'enero', Spanish for January

31. Terminal : DEPOT - I have a question that I'd like everyone's feedback on; see the end of the write-up

32. Member of the fam : SIS - Started with SIB, but I did not think 14d. was going to end with "-TB" - but not unheard of; could have been "Silent B"

33. Tiny time div. : nSEC - nanosecond - or, the equivalent of 1 second to 31.71 YEARS~!  Since light travels 11.8 inches in one nSEC, it's referred to as a "light foot" - could you call that a "Gordon"~!?

35. Govt. collectors : T-MEN - I put in G-men, but T is better; refers to the Treasury

37. "Sweet!" : RAD

40. Norwegian flag feature : CROSS

42. Indian bigwig : RAJAH - Ooops, went with RANEE - that's the missus

46. Intimate : ONE-TO-ONE

48. Words to a savior : "MY HERO~!"

49. Breaks off : SEVERS - huh.  Filled this in, took it out, and ended up putting it back in

50. Naval NCO : CPO - Chief Petty Officer - e.g. Casey Rybeck (who~?)

52. Big name in shaving : ATRA - change up from the usual cluing

53. "The Girl Next Door" co-star Hirsch : EMILE - I have the DVD - but did NOT cheat; all perps

54. Work unit : JOULE - usually, it's "ERG"

56. Much : FAR - my only 'meh' for the day

57. West Virginia resource : COAL

58. Lingered : HUNG AROUND

60. Biblical preposition : UNTO - dah~! Not THOU

62. High school subject? : TEEN - is that a "high" school subject, or a high school "subject"~?  ;7P

63. Commercial success : BEST-SELLER

DOWN:

1. Inform : APPRISE - Oddly, I've heard this word twice this week

2. Start work : CLOCK IN - daH~!  Not PUNCH in

3. Medieval Iberian kingdom : CASTILE - all I had to WAG was the "I" - Love the flag

4. Fictional giant : ENT - ah, from the "Rings" movie trilogy; perps again

5. Activity : STIR

6. Venture forth : SET OUT

7. PowerShot maker : CANON - I like their printers, too

8. Reduce to minute particles : ATOMIZE

9. Soaks, as hemp : RETS

10. Beats Electronics co-founder : DRE - Bought my brother the wireless headphones for Christmas - I have not heard how good they are (pun intended), but for the price, I should be able to hear them from the next town over....

11. Rain may fall in them : SHEETS

12. Hammer-shaped bone : MALLEUS

13. Pope who initiated the First Crusade : URBAN II - the "I-I" at the end did not concern me

14. Dollhouse accessories : TEA SETS - I would love to build a custom dollhouse for my daughter - in fact, I would just love to have "a daughter"

21. Like shortbread : BUTTERY

23. "Blue Velvet" actress : DERN

25. Horizontal spar : BOOM

27. Reason for overtime : NO SCORE - say, in ice hockey.  This Wednesday, we're going to try playing with a puck instead of a ball, so I am planning on modifying a pair of skates so that I can take a shot off my toe without breaking bones - my experience has taught me that taking a ball on the toe stings like a sonofabitch; and the plastic pucks are harder....

29. Goes (for) : OPTS

31. Maker of the Ultra Set trap : d-CON - becoming a Sat crossword staple

34. Mythical archer : EROS

36. Okinawa's capital : NAHA - bottom left

37. Diamond buyer's choice : ROSE CUT

38. Red flower created from the blood of Adonis : ANEMONE

39. Digress : DEVIATE

41. Motion backing : SECONDS - we have business meetings in AA - which includes motions and seconds and voting

43. Aviation supply : JET FUEL

44. Put in order : ARRANGE

45. Compulsive subject of a former A&E series : HOARDER

47. Rat out : TELL ON

48. Grinders : MOLARS - ah, teeth, not sandwiches

51. __ Sound, part of the Salish Sea : PUGET - DAH~! Shoulda gotten this; I visited Seattle WA some years ago - I'd like to go back, too

54. Alexandrite is one of its birthstones : JUNE - Oh how I love the name Alexandra.  As for the clue, the choices were JUNE or JULY - so I filled in JU-- and waited.

55. Gaelic language : ERSE

58. Center : HUB - Our UPS center is referred to as a terminal - the largest HUB is Worldport in Kentucky; the Medford facility where I'm at is 24 years old - and it's outdated.

59. Whale __ : OIL

Splynter

 OK, so - I am working on my board game, and I have to come up with some clever street names - I have a list of some of my personal favorites, but I'd like to hear what your favorite street name is....

Saturday, Feb 28th, 2015, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie

Words: 72 (missing F, J, Q)

Blocks: 30

This one just plain gave me a genuine headache - and it's all my fault.  My WAGs were spot on, but my "I know this" answers were completely, utterly wrong, and that made for some really difficult solving.  Oh well.  The NE was a shambles, and it took w-a-a-a-y too long to see some really obvious fills.  Add to that the proper name vagueness, and....Triple 10's in the across corners, and paired 10- and 11-letter climbers on the inside, with a couple of 9's thrown in, to boot;

17a. Correct : ON THE MONEY - can't say I was this today

12d. Metal-bending aid : ANVIL BLOCK - Does anyone else consider this Duran Duran~? That is, redundant~? I proudly filled in PRESS BRAKE - seen here - and just could not get this corner to co-operate.  Guess I'll go stick my head under the "water faucet"

56a. What "D" may mean, monetarily : DENVER MINT - nailed it - rare coins

36a. Square shooter? : BOX CAMERA - once the last "A" popped in, I got the CAMERA part; the rest~?  Nothing.

OW~! DARN~!

ACROSS:

1. Shower alternative : SPONGE BATH - went with ---BATH, but the rest would NOT come to me, even when the "P" showed up

11. Hollow : DALE - Sleepy Hollow, e.g.

15. "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1934) actor : PETER LORRE - before my time, so semi-vague

16. NASA unit : ONE G - I considered LT YR at first

18. Pigmented layer : UVEA - skin seemed too easy

19. Takeout menu eponym : TSO - The General, of American Chinese food

20. Smartens (up) : WISES - ah, I was in a "primp" & "tidy" frame of mind, not an intellectual one

21. 1954 Detroit Auto Show unveiling : T-BIRD - eh.  I went with EDSEL, knew it was wrong because I read up on it recently; I felt like an "abbr." was needed here

22. Battery, e.g. : TORT - I knew this was a legal term "battery"; Metallica's take

Metallica - Battery

23. Ride and Brown : SALLYS - knew this, filled it in, then 12d. made me change it - and it was all downhill from there ( or is that uphill~? )

24. Maker of Neo soft drinks : RC COLA - Cheated.  Had to Google.

27. Capital NNE of Rome : ZAGREB - Had the "G" and the "B", but took too long to fill in the rest.

29. Prayer opening : O LORD - "please help me find my mistakes~!"

30. Feelers : TENTACLES - I was on the right wavelength with "antennae", but was short a letter

33. Noggin : BEAN

34. Chain with a red cowboy hat logo : ARBY'S

35. __ Raven: Baltimore neighborhood : LOCH - ah, so that's why the football team is the Ravens~?

38. Very small : MICRO

39. Sequoia Park Zoo home : EUREKA - California - link

40. Teaching model : MOCK-UP - meh.  I know very well what mock-up means, but a teaching model~? Ugh.  When I worked at G&K architects, they had to do a mock-up of this structure to get the aluminum framework cuts correct

41. Actress who starred in two Hitchcock films : HEDREN - Tippi~! From MN~! Semi-clecho with;

22d. Hitchcock thriller set in East Germany : TORN CURTAIN  - her IMDb

43. Jerk : YANK - Noun or verb?  Needed the "K" first

44. Garibaldi's wife : ANITA - Ugh.  Who?  Vague.  Her Wiki

45. Tons : SCADS

47. "Criminal Minds" network : CBS

50. Spanish address : DONA

51. Pointer's cry : "LOOK AT THAT~!" - Look at this~! My buddy Mike, the one with the games company, took home a Family Choice Award~!

53. When the ghost of Hamlet's father first appears : ACT I - I like these clues; it's usually "ACT", followed by "I" or "V"

54. Nanny's service : IN-HOME CARE

55. Fund-raising suffix : THON - like tele-thon

DOWN:

1. Tough __ : SPOT - this clue was a "tough spot" for me; "S**T" was a real possibility

2. They may be filled from wells : PENS - took way too long to dawn on me

3. Mort Walker dog : OTTO

4. Bk. about the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls : NEHemiah - I have a link to these

5. Aged : GREW OLD - Dah~!  The verb; I was thinking of wines

6. Where Mark Twain married Olivia Langdon : ELMIRA - Vague

7. Amplify : BOOST

8. "A-Hunting We Will Go" songwriter : ARNE - Ugh, vague.

9. Marne modifier : TRES - Frawnche for "very"

10. "Yo!" : HEY

11. Mouse action : DOUBLE CLICK

13. Distrustful : LEERY

14. "Tarnation!" : EGADS~!

21. Fictional house "built according to no architectural plan whatever" : TARA - seemed like a good fictional house WAG

23. Friday et al.: Abbr. : SGTs

24. Name in Virginia politics : ROBB - more vagueness - Wiki

25. Singer Laine : CLEO - even more vagueness

26. Gently convinced about : COAXED INTO

27. Barking horse relative : ZEBRA - once I finally got the "Z", it was obvious - but I had not heard of a 'barking' horse; I found some interesting reading on zebras

28. "The Cherry Orchard" daughter : ANYA - ugh, ugh, ugh.  Vague

30. Go a long way : TREK - not "LAST"

31. Neutral color : ECRU

32. Look for a good deal : SHOP

34. "Yes!" : AMEN

37. Region : AREA

38. Ginormous : MONSTER - nailed it

40. "___ X" : MADAME - took some perps

41. Charged : HAD AT - DAH~! I had RAN AT, and that makes MUCH more sense

42. Methuselah's father : ENOCH - WAG from the "H"

43. Comedian Smirnoff : YAKOV - Hey~!  I know this one~!

45. Acoustical unit : SONE

46. Columbia Pictures co-founder Harry : COHN - and back to vague.

47. Masala __: Indian beverage : CHAI - perps

48. Building with big doors : BARN - look at how big those...doors are...

49. Proof mark : STET

51. Top : LID

52. "__ Underground": cult film showcase : TCM

Splynter

Saturday, Feb 21st, 2015, Johnathan L. O'Rourke

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing Q,V)

Blocks: 27

  Upon reviewing our list of constructors, Mr. O'Rourke has but one prior LAT puzzle, dating back to Oct 30, 2011 - a Sunday, and from the same year I started doing the Sat blog.  I was able to do 75% of this one, but the SW corner was just crash and burn - too many proper names/locations, and as a result, kinda sucked the life out of this otherwise engaging excursion.  Oh well.  Triple 9- and 10-letter corners, and two 11-letter spanners - one which I knew immediately, but didn't know the exact spelling;

30. "Die Hard" cry adapted from an old cowboy song : YIPPEE KI YAY - I was really close - just had an "I" at the end of yippie....one of my favorite movies, all time, and I like to watch it at Christmas

43. Range for some power measurements : ZERO TO SIXTY - in reference to cars, but the definition just doesn't jive with me....it's not really a measurement of the power so much as the rate of acceleration - which might be incredible, but have no reflection on the actual 'power'; take the Jaguar XF diesel - only gets up to 140mph, but it's 0-60 is 5.9secs.  I tested my 2000 Dodge Stratus about two years ago - 11+ seconds.  258,000 miles ago, it probably got close to 140mph.

DCLXVI~!

[Gasp~! The number of the beast~!]

ACROSS:

1. Modern location code : IP ADDRESS

10. Vertical sides : JAMBS - doors and windows, e.g.

15. Ability to stand? : TOLERANCE - I can tell you, my tolerance got pretty high when it came to alcohol, which leads to the next clue/answer;

16. "What I always get" : USUAL - like, say, Scotch, NO ICE~!!!

17. Baby, for one : SPICE GIRL - dah~! Clever. the others;
Scary, Sporty, Ginger & Posh

18. Ward cry? : NURSE - "it's medication time~!"

19. "Bless __ ...": Psalm 68 : YE GOD

20. "Shadow of the Vampire" Oscar nominee : DAFOE - no clue; WAG

22. Mr. __!: old detective game : REE - get it~?  Mister - ree....?  Har-har

23. Churchill's "so few": Abbr. : RAF

25. Chess tactic : PIN - new one to me, since I have played a lot of chess, but I get it

26. [Oh, my!] : "GASP~!"

27. Reagan era mil. program : SDI - the "Strategic Defense Initiative", which the media referred to as "Star Wars", and since I grew up with the movie/myth, found it a little insulting

33. Trap catchings : LINT - This took WAY too long....might be because I was at the restaurant and in a 'lobster' & 'crab' frame of mind

35. Wager : LAY - meh. I get it, but.

36. Get comfy : NESTLE - I do hope to get to nestling, soon - and she's wearing 65a.~!

37. "The Hangover" star : ED HELMS - totally unhelpful for me - not only did I NOT see the movie, but I still have no desire to, either, and I don't recognize the actor - IMDb

39. Is worth something, in dialect : AIN'T HAY - once the first "A" filled in, I got this

40. Fifth-grader's milestone, maybe : AGE TEN - ARGH~!  ELEVEN fit, too, and I was 11 in 5th grade

41. One may involve a homonym : PUN

42. Like the Negev : SERE - Dah~! Not ARID

46. "The Spanish Tragedy" dramatist : KYD - Had to cheat the "K" - Natick, in the truest sense; two names crossing?  Ouch.

47. Behan's land : ERIN - Duh.  Sounded IRAN/IRAQ at first

48. Robot extension? : ICS - Robotics

49. Chinese dynasty during Caesar's time : HAN - WAG - but, three letters...?

51. Little : BIT - This puzzle frustrate you~? A "bit".

52. "__ yourself!" : BRACE

54. 1946 Literature Nobelist : HESSE

58. Nice parting : ADIEU - That's "Neece", the Frawnche city

60. Baklava flavoring : ROSE WATER - I thought it was going to be honey-something

62. One removed from the company? : LONER - Two's company, three's a crowd; one's a loner....like me  ;7(

63. Cocktail portmanteau : APPLETINI - I can never remember the definition of portmanteau when I see it in crossword clues; need to remember it's a 'name' derived from parts - in this case, an apple-flavored martini

64. Start using Twitter, say : LOG ON - ugh.  I don't "tweet"

65. Victoria's Secret purchase : BOYSHORTS - I prefer seeing these on a woman over a thong any day, twice on Sunday

DOWN:       

1. Tiny : ITSY

2. Urban, e.g. : POPE - did not fool me

3. Boorish Sacha Baron Cohen persona : ALI G - I saw Borat, and stopped there

4. Style : DECOR

5. 1993 rap hit : DRE DAY - Dr. Dre

6. Low-quality paper : RAG

7. Home of Phillips University : ENID - ugh.

8. Full of spunk : SCRAPPY - I wanted sNappy, but it was too short

9. Instagrammed item : SELFIE

10. __ bug : JUNE

11. Pac-12 sch. whose mascot carries a pitchfork : ASU

12. "Swingin' Soiree" DJ : MURRAY THE K - this would have been a very neat corner were it not for the "K"....and the guy was before my time - his Wiki

13. It doesn't include benefits : BASE SALARY

14. About to crash? : SLEEPY-EYED

21. About 1.8 tablespoons, vis-à-vis a cup : ONE-NINTH - Funny, but "ELEVENTH" worked here, too, and since I don't usually divide my cups this way....

24. "Double Indemnity" genre : FILM NOIR

26. Basic ideas : GISTS

27. Despicable sort : SLEAZEBALL

28. Australian wind : DIDGERIDOO - ah, the musical instrument; I was thinking along the lines of some sort of "DEVIL ZEPHYR" - Bzzzt

29. Willing consequence? : INHERITING - Doesn't look right, but it is - "I bequeath..."

31. Step on stage : PAS - meh meh meh meh - Frawnche

32. Grasp : KEN - and yet I nailed this three-letter fill

34. Jackson Hole's county : TETON

38. Court call : LET - DAH~!  I was in 'law' court, and thought it was OYE

39. TV input letters : AUX - Hmmm, didn't think it was VCR

41. 1980s "SNL" regular : PISCOPO - OK, I cheated - I got as far as PI---, and could not think of his last name - but I knew he was a guest in one episode of Law & Order

44. Sacred beetle : SCARAB - Hey~!  One answer I felt confident about~!

45. Name derived from the Tetragrammaton : YAHWEH - once I had ----EH, there weren't too many names you could think of

50. "Far out!" : NEATO

52. Cheat, in slang : BURN 

53. Notice : ESPY

55. Hullabaloo : STIR

56. Text status : SENT

57. Most massive known dwarf planet : ERIS - fascinating - I did not know about this; did you, Husker~?  The Wiki. Take a look at its orbit

59. Fair-hiring initials : EEO - DAH~! Went with EOE, which is 100% right, and yet still wrong - correct, D-Otto~?

61. 2012 British Open winner : ELS - three letters and an open winner~? Try ELS

Splynter

Saturday, Feb 14th, 2015, Brad Wilber

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 30

  Oh well, no theme.  So I will make one up.  We're going with a "romantic" music montage for today;  Triple 11-letter and almost triple 10-letter corners, nothing longer, and just a few proper names to annoy me today - and a lot of French.  Happy Valentine's Day - for those who celebrate....  ;7P

63. Soft Cell hit with the lyric, "Once I ran to you, / Now I'll run from you" : TAINTED LOVE

  3. Campaign team member : SPIN DOCTOR

 Two Princes - Spin Doctors

 44. "__ in April never came so sweet": Shak. : A DAY - do you know the connection to this video~?

Ugh.  Saturday, the 14th
DRAWNO

ACROSS:

1. Airline to Trondheim : SAS - I went with KLM to start

4. Grounds for an umpire's warning : RACKET ABUSE - thought this was a baseball umpire at first; then I thought of John McEnroe, but this guy - I've been there, but with the goalie stick and a defenseless post

15. Nile Valley threat : ASP

16. What beeps may be : EMAIL ALERTS

17. Pandora's Tower platform : WII - Don't know this game, but I love Pandora, the internet radio; my new phone has a L-O-O-o-o-n-g lasting battery, so I can listen for hours - makes me sad that I spent $75 on an MP3 player a month ago

18. Collar attachments : DOG LICENSES

19. Jackson's second vice president : VAN BUREN - I knew this; watched the History channel series on the presidents, and these two men had a run that was seen again with Reagan/Bush; the VP just couldn't live up to the "original"

21. Packed in more than : OUT ATE

22. One whose work is at an end? : INDEXER

23. Respecting : AS TO

24. Winnings, eventually : POT - and a referential clue at; 56d. 24-Across starter : ANTE

25. Eleanor's mother-in-law : SARA - this to me was utterly vague; I guess you had to be there to understand this was the Roosevelts.  I thought it might have been Biblical, for all I know

27. Home of Appalachian State Univ. : N CAR - been a rough academic year

31. Georgia crop : PECANS - OK, so I put COTTON in to start - does my "C" count at all, D-Otto?

34. Celebratory : GALA

36. Emulating : À LA

37. Tell : RAT

38. Triceps-strengthening equipment : CURL BAR

40. Small magazine inserts : BBs - ah. Not ADS - the gun kind of magazine


41. Montana motto word : ORO - I seem to get this a lot

42. Soloist in Tchaikovsky's "Swan's Theme" : OBOE - WAG; I doubt it was "DRUM"

43. Old connection method : DIAL-UP

45. Amt. rarely charged : MSRP - Manufacturer's "Suggested" Retail Price

47. Classic film curtain tugger : TOTO - Wizard of Oz

49. JFK, but not LAX : DEMocrat; JFK, the man, not the airport

50. "Keep dreaming!" : "AS IF~!" - sha~!

52. The Thrilla in Manila, notably : REMATCH

56. View from Yerevan, Armenia : ARARAT - the mount(ain), which is a dormant volcano, and resting place of Noah's Ark (but not the "lost" ark of the covenant)

59. Hype : BALLYHOO - OK, here's some V-day hype

60. Hourly-rate offerer, often : NO-TELL MOTEL - think they're as booked as the restaurants today~?

 62. Girl rescued by Uncle Tom : EVA

64. Chemin de __ : FER - um, OK.  I had to know, so I looked it up; literally, it's Frawnche for "lane of iron" - a railway

65. Dreamy looks : EMPTY STARES - meh, not quite the same in my book.  I'd like to see a girl get a dreamy look when she thinks about me - and would rather it not be an empty stare....

66. Venture : TRY

DOWN:       

1. 2009 horror film sequel : SAW VI

2. Far East fruit : ASIAN PEARS

4. Updike's "Rabbit __" : REDUX - this followed up with the next clue = Rrrrr

5. "L'elisir d'__": Donizetti opera : AMORE

6. Heat or Magic : CAGERS - I went with NBAers first; the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic, two basketball teams in Florida - neither are doing well, but then again, the Knicks....I don't care for the game, but the owner of the restaurant I'm working at does

7. Potter's heat source : KILN

8. Biblical mentor of Samuel : ELI - oh, here's the Bible clue....

9. Dish served in an edible bowl : TACO SALAD - nailed it; I like the one from Taco Bell

10. Early seal hunter : ALEUT - educated WAG, since ESKIMO wouldn't fit

11. "Kramer vs. Kramer" Oscar-winning director : BENTON

12. __ Major : URSA

13. Editorial cancellation : STET - oops, went with DELE first

14. Forum infinitive : ESSE

20. Software version : BETA

23. Desert mount : ARAB - not the desert mountain - q.v. 56a.

26. Lace protector : AGLET - that thingy on the end of your shoelaces

28. Bad reception? : CABLE THEFT - clever

29. Record protector : ALBUM COVER - what's your favorite~?  I am trying to decide; this one's up there

30. Speak like Vito Corleone : RASP - didn't think it would be "LISP"

31. Limo destination : PROM

32. Many a PX customer : NCO

33. DVD menu option : SUBTITLES

35. 1968 groom, familiarly : ARIstotle, JFK's 'replacement'

39. It may be pitched : ROOF

46. Rear : PARENT - I get it, but....

48. One on the stump : ORATOR

51. Off-color : SALTY


53. Sorbonne enrollee : ELEVE - more Frawnche (student)

54. Lille lasses: Abbr. : MLLES - still more Frawnche (mademoiselles)

55. Grizzled : HOARY

57. Leave the path : ROAM

58. Left __: rewarded : A TIP - eh.

59. Incan army weapon : BOLA - well, there you have it, Lemonade~!

61. Colorado Rockies schedule letters : MDT - more mountains, but in daylight saving time

Splynter

Saturday, Feb 7th, 2015, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 72 (missing K,Q,W,Y,Z)

Blocks: 27

  Ah, a Silkie, and since I unofficially call his puzzles a "theme", that's two in a row for me~!  Pretty blank on the first pass, with triple 11-letter stacks in the Across, and then triple 8's in the Down corners to work with.  Slowed down by the proper names again, but I seem to be getting more open-minded about how I go about the solve (*); guess I've done my share of Saturday crosswords, and a good number of Mr. Silk's at that....all in all, a fairly fun solve.  Some of the longer fill;

15a. Reversible chemical process : ION EXCHANGE - I had the "X" from 5d., and not that I've heard of this process, but it sounded pretty good; think water softeners

14d. Followers : APOSTLES - pondered BOOSTERS ( had the --OST--S), then GNOSTICS; I got there eventually

67a. Bank counter convenience : DEPOSIT SLIP - becoming obsolete in my world; I can now run my checks thru the ATM ( in a stack of up to 30, not that I would ever have that many ) and get a print-out of the check on my receipt - no deposit slip required

37. Loiters : HANGS OUT

ONvacationWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Three-volume biography of Winston Churchill : THE LAST LION - no clue to start, but that rarely fazes me anymore

12*. Summer, at times : CPA - open-minded; a "sum-mer", like my friend Ed, who does my taxes

16. Material flaw : RIP - I went with "RUN", but you know where my mind usually is....

17. Collectible late-'50s auto : EDSEL RANGER - I took time to read over some of the reasons for this epic failure, and found some of it quite fascinating

18. Mattel game since 1992 : UNO - I am working on a board/card game of my own right now, with the hope of selling it through my buddy Mike's company, Kid Agains - he's really taking off with the brand; in fact, he's in China working out the details of the next 3 games they're producing for him this year.  I have a lot of work to do at the restaurant, and with the threat of more snow, I decided to take a week of vacation from UPS.  Any free time next week will be spent working on the game.

19. Inventing initials : TAE - Thomas Alva Edison

20. Almost null? : EINS - cute.  Zero and one in German

21. Dodges : EVADES - I went with AVOIDS; that's 67% technically, but the key was having the "V" in the right place

23. Four-time All-Star Oriole outfielder Jones : ADAM - C.C. would know more

25*. Former prime minister who grew up in Milwaukee : MEIR - WAG

27. Raise : ERECT

28*. Certain red giant : C STAR - here's what I mean; in past puzzles, we've seen "-"STAR, so I filled that part in, and WAGed a "G" to start

30. One often looking down : SNOB

32. File, for one : TOOL - Tried MENU.   Was 100%.   Wrong.

33. 54-Across holder : TUB - ah, didn't get enough circumreferential yesterday~?

35. Lucrative venture : GOLD MINE

37. They don't sound as welcoming as they are : HOSTELS - One would hope the environment is not "Hostile"

41. Bolivian president Evo : MORALES - mostly perps

42. Net : AFTER TAX

44*. Blues musician Mahal : TAJ - sensible WAG, but then I wondered if it might be "Raj", or something like that

45. NASCAR Hall of Fame locale: Abbr. : N. CARolina

46. Go (through) : SIFT - I tried PASS

48. Goes for : COSTS - picking up my new phone tomorrow.  There was nothing wrong with my old one, but I am really excited to start using the new Ryobi Phone Works tools - I have the scope, the moisture meter, and will probably buy the stud finder ( yes, it might just be a metal detector, HeartRx~! ) as well.  My new plan COSTS more than the last one because I added a 'hot-spot' device so I can print Home Inspection reports in the field - that is, from the trunk of my car.

52. Capturer's triumphant words : GOT 'EM

54. 33-Across filler : LARD - uh, see 33a?

56. Cheer : ROOT - not RAVE, not RANT

57. Tannery output : SUEDES

59. Smoke, perhaps : CURE - ah, like meat; think Beef Jerky

61. Fr. title : MME

62. "... and the __ below / As hush as death": "Hamlet" : ORB

63. Asset disposal option : AUCTION SALE

66. Original "Burn Notice" airer : USA - I tried the show; I liked it, but couldn't stay with it.  I am happy to see "Sirens" is back - more Denis Leary

68. Rx notation : TER - Dah.  Went with TID

69. Runoff facilitators : STORM DRAINS - went with GRATES to start

DOWN:      

1. Haberdashery item : TIE-TAC

2. Beginners with boards : HO-DADS - Dictionary.com calls this person a "non-surfer who spends time at the beach masquerading as a surfer"

3. Put on a throne : ENSEAT

4. Author Harper : LEE

5*. Wheelbarrow feature : AXLE - did my share of assembling these last summer ( not sum-mer ); how many 4-letter parts does one of these have, anyway~?

6. Open-weave fabric : SCRIM - new word for me; frequently used as a lighting filter and stage backdrop

7. Old Scottish officials : THANES - half perps, half WAG

8. Capital on the Grand River : LANSING - JazzB nailed it, right?

9*. Like Dvorák's Symphony No. 8 : IN G - more of that crossword intuition; it's going to be "IN" A,B,C,D,E,F, or G....

10. Fancy molding : OGEE - messed up my AVOIDS, but I am working on a new project at the restuarant - they're looking for some "wow" when they re-open for Valentine's Day, so the owner opted for a true 'fish house' look; chalkboards and subway tile - I like the contrast, and I love doing the work - the split between the two is the height of the chairs.  Hence, I am installing chair rail.  When I primed the wall, you could really see the dings from the backs of the seats

11. Audacity : NERVE

12. Well target : CRUDE OIL

13. Organ with scales : PINE CONE - well, uh, that's one way to describe it

22. Would-be designer, perhaps : ART MAJOR - the "J" from 44a. helped immensely

24. Had an impact : MATTERED

26. Basic rental : ROOM - Ah. Not AUTO

29. Who's sorry now : RUER

31. Smudge : BLOT - not SPOT, so I took it all out - but was half right in the first place

34. Alphabetical orders? : BLTs - Odd, but I went with RSVP

36. Literary count, familiarly : DRAC - or VLAD~?  All I had was the "A"

38. "For certain" : "OF COURSE~!"

39. Regulatory legal association : STATE BAR

40. Breeze (through) : SAIL

43. Hard-to-define influence : X FACTOR

47. Platitude : TRUISM

49. Shilling spender : SOMALI

50. 2003 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor recipient : TOMLIN

51. Marinates : STEEPS

53. Honey beverages : MEADS

55. Sci-fi figure : DROID - my "GRATES" led me to try ZERO G - hey, that's sort of a "figure"

58. Haggis ingredient : SUET

60*. Start of an intermission? : ENT'R - ACTE; seen this in enough crosswords, so I was not fooled

64. USCG rank : CPO

65. Federal benefits org. : SSA

Splynter