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:
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
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
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
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...
51. Top : LID
52. "__ Underground": cult film showcase : TCM
Splynter
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a challenge today, for most of the reasons Splynter explained. My big "it has to be right" answer that ended up being wrong was MALCOM instead of MADAME (despite the fact that it's actually spelled MALCOLM). Oops. I also had DELL before DALE and RAN AT before HAD AT. Each caused me some grief.
I think ANYA and ANITA were the only totally unknown names today, and I had to get them from the perps and a little guessing. Other vague/obscure names such as HEDREN, EUREKA, ELMIRA, ZAGREB, ENOCH, NEH, etc., just required a little perp help to jog my memory.
And yes, I wasn't thrilled with ANVIL BLOCK or MONSTER (as opposed to MONSTROUS), but what ya gonna do?
True, it was a slog, but I like Saturday Silkies and this one was especially rewarding when I got the "tada". WBS about the proper names, although I did know HEDRiN (my original sp.)and NEH for Nehemiah. Remembered Charles Robb marrying LBJ's daughter.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's my ignorance, but ANVILBLOCK didn't cause me any grief. After reading Splynter's concerns, I googled the term and got a lot of hits on several pages. After reading some, I infer that the term is technically correct but bordering on archaic today.
To sum up, thank you, Mr. Silk for the challenge and reward and thank you, Splynter, for an entertaining expo and links.
Cya.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteIn true Silkie fashion, this one started slow, picked up speed, and came into the station right on time. Even got a shoutout at 3D, thanks to Beetle Bailey.
Splynter, I also wanted some type of BREAK for that metal-bender. Had OGLE for "Look for a good deal." Wite-out, please. Hand up for RAN AT, but that icy blonde, Tippi HEDREN, fixed that. I also toyed with EDSEL, but knew that '54 was way too early.
At the end, I had to choose between ILEO/RICOLA and CLEO/RCCOLA. The cough drop lost out.
Splynter, I enjoyed your decorative door knockers. :)
Hope we can get an update on Husker today.
For a Saturday Sillkie I found this one pretty straightforward.
ReplyDeleteAt 1D I wanted tough "love" or "luck," so SPOT wasn't occurring to me right away. The only fill I had on the first pass was UVEA, ARBYS, CBS and ACT I.
ReplyDeleteNot much to go on, but I started filling in the SE corner with LOOK AT THAT (great entry!). Then DENVER MINT came to mind, and I just filled from the bottom up after that.
Oh, and I had "spy" CAMERA before BOX finally came to mind. I thought the clue for "Square shooter" was referring to Red Square in Moscow, not the shape of the camera. Duh!
Have a great day everyone - at least the sun is out and it's not a gazillion degrees below zero here. ;-)
Mark Twain and Elmira were in the news recently. Link to the bizarre theft of a plaque from his grave site.
ReplyDeleteThis ocean of white stayed that way for about 5 minutes. CLEO and ROBB made RC COLA easy, not the way Ahad The Arab, Sheikh of the Burning Sands pronounced it way back when. Compared to Thursday's and Friday's I found this puzzle easier to complete even though the unknowns were plentiful.
ReplyDeleteI never saw the films (other than GWTW) mentioned and initially wrote IRON for TORN. HEDREN and ANITA were new to me. LORRE and ELMIRA were WAGS. I had a problem with 9D because Marne looks exactly like 'Mame' in my newspaper and until I read Splynter's explanation I had no idea what it was but knew it was correct due to the crosses.
Other unknowns were LOCH Raven, ARNE, ENOCH, COHN, CHAI, TCM. I knew the comedian but didn't know if it was YACOB, YAKOB, or YAKOV. I initially put BANK for BARN, IRIS for UVEA, and LOADS for SCADS.
When I finished with DENVER MINT I felt like saying EUREKA, but my wife is still asleep, so I will just bother you guys.
Good Morning,
ReplyDeleteI was actually happy to See Mr. Silk today after some seemingly impossible run. I followed Marti's advice and went for the low-hanging fruit first with some surprising success. BUT there were the usual catches which have already been mentioned. I so focused on a person for jerk, I didn't see YANK until I ran through the alphabet for that and a Russian first name. Duh!! TARA also challenged me for the same reason. I was searching for a generic term not a specific (imaginary) place. This time I knew the mouse wasn't in the pantry--DOUBLE CLICK.
The Ravens are the only NFL team named for a poem (though I am mighty sure OwenKL could write poetry explaining the rest of them). EAP was from Baltimore, quoth the former English teacher, evermore.
Thanks, Splynter, for the explication!
Heart- After I had 1A and 19A I wasn't thinking Tough SPOT but Tough S___T, but I knew it would not be allowed.
ReplyDeleteGuess I'm getting accustomed to the Saturday Silkies because I "breezed" through this in 44 minutes, according to the mensa.org timer. I ask myself why? These are learning experiences but more than that, I have to remind myself not to put too much faith in any of my guesses. For example, in the NE, 11-A, I first wrote VALE but quickly went to the correct DALE, helping me get DOUBLECLICK, et al. Of course, it helps that occasionally my first WAGS are correct. RCCOLA? Nailed it. And that was almost enough to finish COAXEDINTO. Truly a domino effort today... every small step led into an adjacent success. I don't have a lot of confidence on Saturdays' offerings, but maybe I'm improving just a tad. Or was this just an easier Silkie than normal? Definite maybe. Thanks, Splynter. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteTA DA! I finished this Saturday Silkie without assistance.
ReplyDeleteMARNE looked like MAME to me, too, for quite a while.
When I was little my mom had a BOX CAMERA.
I remember the White House wedding of Lynda Bird Johnson and Charles ROBB, who later became the governor of VA.
I am a big fan of Mark Twain so I knew of ELMIRA. Argyle, I hadn't heard about the theft of the Twain plaque.
No nit with MONSTER as an adjective as in MONSTER trucks.
DELL before DALE. I, too, thought of the unacceptable answer to 1D.
I can't put off my paperwork any longer. I guess a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Tough S**T never occurred to me, but I can see where some of you might have done a double take at that one!! (^0^)
ReplyDeleteYR, an Italian saying I have heard is, "Anyone can eat an elephant, if they do it one bite at a time."
weren't too vague about 48 down
ReplyDeleteChallenging outing, as is to be expected from Mr. Silk. Took forever to get a toehold, but eventually it just kind of filled in. Hand up for ran at, corrected when Redren and Nona looked wrong. Unfortunately, also a hand up for Loads instead of scads, and I forgot to check those crosses and left it in. If only my dead tree had a tada, I wouldn't have missed that. But I did. So FIW.
ReplyDeleteI also am looking for a report from Gary today. Hope it all went well.
Happy Saturday everybody!
ReplyDeleteFastest. Silkie. Ever!
As opposed to yesterday, which seemed more like a NY Times Saturday Times Ten....
Hands up for SKIN, HEAD, and EDSEL....
A buddy and I have been discussing Hitchcock films lately, as in which can be called "classics" as opposed to duds. Rear Window is a classic, while Marnie (with Tippi Hedren) and Torn Curtain (with Paul Newman) are not, at least imho....
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteMarti's right. I had Tough S__T and wondered whether Saturday had gotten that loose.
I began this furry bear in the wee hours, under the influence of a faulty belief that there were enough brain cells awake and marshaled. Wrong. Waited for morning.
Once awake, things made more sense, and I chugged right through...except that SW corner. Only Act I was filled; the rest was snow. Hopelessly stuck, I turned to Google for the Hitchcock references. That cleared it up, but Technical DNF by my rules.
Morning Splynter, I had the same feeling about Anvil Block.
About box cameras: I found some jumbo-sized slides in the old attic, the sort that a 120 sized box camera would produce. What a treasure! Back in the 60's, my now deceased brother got a reliable Brownie Hawkeye camera and went crazy with it; those slides are all I've found from that time.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteA typical Silkie as far as the solving process, I.e., a chip here, a chip there, and voila! you're home free. Did anyone else think there were an inordinate number of proper names for a Silkie puzzle? I, too, had ran/at,had at and dell before dale.
Anyway, thanks to Mr. Silk for another challenging Saturday and thanks to Mr. Splynter for a spot-on expo.
Cold but sunny. Snow tomorrow night! (Sigh!)
I hope we get an update on Gary.
Have a great day.
Wanna feel really old? Take this modern language quiz. I managed 6/12 and half of the 6 were WAGs.
ReplyDeleteOne of Silky's easier ones for a Sat. but fun all the way through.
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteThrilled to see we had our (approx.) monthly Silkie today. Woke up right; was on Barry's wavelength. early on starting with SPONG BATH and TSO. Had infant care before IN HOME CARE. Only other AREAS to slather white-out were at O LORD and DOÑA . Had Srta, first. Never heard of an ANVIL BLOCK but it made sense from a metal shaping standpoint.
27a - My only nit and probably quite petty. While the perps clearly signalled ZAGREB, and there are only so many capitals in that general direction, I take issue with the sector assignment. NNE includes any direction from 11.25 to 33.75 º True. The direcion of Zagreb airport from Rome's L. da Vinci airport is 33.8º T initial great circle direction, which would make it NE; not NNE. Your mileage may vary.
Dudley, what say you?
Well, I only got the NW corner, HEDREN, and ACT I before I had to start cheating. Not a great way to begin a Saturday, but I survived.
ReplyDeleteStill don't get how ONE G is a NASA unit?
Have a great weekend, everybody!
Love our Saturday Silkie's. Not much to start with, but with some WAGS, it's easy to get on Mr. Silk's wavelength.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a challenge, and a nice expo, Splynter.
As some have mentioned, this had to be an easier Silkie than usual. Although it was a DNF, I managed to fill in from 29A to the end completely. The top half, however had me rubbing my head. Knew 1A was some type of bath, but couldn't figure the front of it. My mind was thinking S**T at 1D, as well.
ReplyDeleteNever saw 15A, unfamiliar with UVEA, ANVIL BLOCK, or ELMIRA. This puzzle put me in a TOUGH SPOT.
Everyone enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Misty, the G is gravity -- the atmospheric pressure exerted on a body at sea level is One G. The pressure that astronauts experience during lift-off is expressed in G terms.
ReplyDeleteI dood it! I solved this lovely puzzle without having to look anything up. It took a while, though, because I had to walk away and do something else a few times, which helped a lot. I really like Barry Silk's work.
ReplyDeleteGreetings WISE puzzlers! I'm sorry about your solving experience, Splynter. Good review, though.
ReplyDeleteI'm in a hurry because I'm expecting company and had to finish making meatballs for tomorrow's dinner.
Did most of this very early this morning and I often find myself on Barry Silk's wave length. It's eerily like I'm channeling him.
So the NE and NW corners filled easily and smoothly. Once I have one or two letters, the phrase emerges.
CSO to me on my last name!
My friend who is visiting from NY owns a HOME CARE business and it encompasses much more than nannies.
Thank you Barry Silk and Splynter.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
Spitz 10:53 - can't fault your logic. To me, the spaces in between defined compass points are vaguely named, sort of like the fuzzy difference between afternoon and evening. If we use rounding rules, 33.8° T is (just barely) closer to 45° than to 22.5°, which puts it at NE.
ReplyDeleteIf we use the old-fashioned mariner's points, it becomes Northeast by North. I doubt Rich wants to split the hairs that finely! :-)
Misty 11:55 - G loads are important in rocketry and orbital mechanics and such. One G is an important steady-state value. In aviation, cruise flight is very close to One G all the time; it's varied by such minutia as the altitude, which equates to the distance from the Earth's center of gravity. (The farther you are from the planter, the weaker its gravitational pull)
Sci-Fi shows usually overlook the lack of gravity in space (what choice do they have?). Star Trek seemed to have supposed the development of an artificial gravity generator, deployed on every vessel, even the little shuttlecraft. I seem to recall a show where the gravity machine broke down.
After the first run through, I had precisely one answer filled - thank you, Mr. COHN. I eventually ate the elephant though!
ReplyDeleteMr. Silk is doing double-duty today if you want a second dose of pain over at the NYT.
A healthy (tough) Silkie for our Saturday delight!
ReplyDeleteIt is always fun to discover what you didn't know you knew. I surprised myself by getting PETER LORRE with just one of the Rs in place. I nearly forgot he was a big name in Austria--stage and screen-- and that even most of his Hollywood days came before my time.
Another early "get" was DENVER MINT that I recall from my long-ago and short-lived coin collector days.
Still, while I was solving at a pretty good clip I had to do a couple of look-ups, just to get some sectors started-- such as LOCH... and I forget what else.
Like others, I paused a while at 1D when I had S**T staring back at me. But the LA Times is a "family paper," so I restrained myself.
A fine write-up, Splynter.
Oh, and lest we forget...
ReplyDeleteRIP, Mr. Spock!
The difference between ZAGREB and ZEBRA is ONE G.
ReplyDeleteTORN CURTAIN Starred Rip and Jane
BOOST- Jeered, in the Old Testament
Jerome, you've still got it. Now go put it away.
ReplyDeleteA scaredy cat little kitten.
ReplyDeleteGreetings!
ReplyDeleteWonderful! This thing gradually worked itself with no cheats. Thanks, Barry and Splynter. Knew HEDREN immediately.
Feel better, Gary!
Cheers!
Bill G. @ 2:01, that little kitty sure got her comeuppance!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks, Desper-otto and Dudley, for explaining the ONE G to me. It really is fun learning new things on the blog, and this was completely new to me!
ReplyDeleteHow embarrassing, I thought O NEG was a blood type...
ReplyDeleteThere is only one way to remedy this error...
I did the puzzle late as I drove home from my mom's in a snowstorm, since tomorrow's storm/roads were supposed to be worse.
ReplyDeleteI'm with CED- I got One G right, but thought "that's not a NASA unit that's a unit of blood (O NEG)."
Typical Silkie, chip away until it's finally done. Thanks Splynter for the write-up!
So it was LORRE not Falk (maybe put a U in there?)... My ink blot started at bubbleBATH. OTTO made me re-think it. Oh, S**T; TITT. Thanks Silk for making me feel like the idiot I am :-) Thanks to Splynter for the answers.
ReplyDeleteFor those who can't sleep, have an hour on their hands, and love Columbo here's a series of endings I found from the shows we've all seen. Spoiler - he nails Dick Van Dyke. Cheers, -T