KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF
More my kind of music
This looks to be Dana's debut puzzle for the LA Times - congratulations~! She has manufactured a muscial medley of clues & answers, and a rare 15 x 14 Grid, which makes up for the long line of grids 15 x 16 that I have blogged on a regular basis for several Wednesday crosswords in the past. No circles, a handful of easy-enough names, and twice the # of 4LW to 3LWs. Two of the themers are unique*, as are two of the longer Down fills. The theme, and the centered reveal;
16. Plant that can cause an itchy rash: POISON IVY - I get the rash just looking at it....
22. Piece at the Met or the Louvre: MUSEUM ARTWORK*
55. Power source for some trains: THIRD RAIL - for those who prefer rap to rock and blues, Erik B. & Rakim had this track, which has the lyric "the stage is a cage/the mic is a third rail" @3:05
34. MC Hammer hit, and an important reminder about 16-, 22-, 45-, and 55-Across:
U CAN'T TOUCH THIS - sampling my generation's Super Freak by Rick James, this rap took Stanley Kirk Burrell ( and his signature pants ) all the way to best R&B and rap solo for the year 1990; the "DEETS" are here at Wiki
All things being equal, it IS a catchy number
And Away We Go~!
ACROSS:
1. "Waterloo" group: ABBA - crossword musical fodder to start us off
5. Sported: WORE
9. HS exams with many multiple-choice questions: SATs
13. Big chunk: SLAB
14. Milky gemstone: OPAL
15. Bloke: CHAP
18. Morning TV host Kelly: RIPA
19. Green roll: SOD
20. Pouty expression: MOUE - My last correction before the "ta-DA~!"; I had moPe
21. "Old Time Rock and Roll" singer Bob: SEGER - this might come as a surprise, but I am not a Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band fan - I'll leave it to the Cornerites for any links
25. 57-Across product: TNT - AND - 57A. Cartoon manufacturer of explosive tennis balls: ACME
26. Statement that may follow "Not to toot my own horn, but ... ": BOAST
27. Absurdist art movement: DADA - Here's the Wiki; I happen to like "fountain" by Marcel Duchamp
Yes, that's exactly what it is . . . .
30. Red __: cinnamon candies: HOTS - I like cinnamon in candy, gum, mouthwash, etc., and Fire Water was my go-to shot in days of yore - but it seems to be hard to find these days
31. Nickname for Ernesto Guevara: CHE
38. "Yo!": "HEY~!"
39. __ and parcel: PART
40. Inclined plane: RAMP
41. Good bargains: DEALS
43. Swiatek who was the first Polish tennis player to win a major singles title: IGA - she likes AC/DC and Pink Floyd - more here from WTA Tennis
50. Fight grime: CLEAN - clever play on word
51. Fail to enunciate: SLUR - especially if you've consumed copious amounts of Fire Water
52. "Yo!": "S'UP~!"
54. Turn over a new leaf?: READ - I just finished "An Absolutely Remarkable Thing" by Hank Green - a well-written Sci-Fi story
58. Big name in headphones: BOSE
59. Boundary: EDGE
60. Med. condition once called shell shock: PTSD - Post-Trumatic Stress Disorder; here's George Carlin's skit referring to both terms
61. Full collections: SETS
62. Like some internships: PAID
DOWN:
1. Venomous snakes: ASPS
2. Bouquet element: BLOOM - ROSE, FLOWER, STEM~? Ah, that floral word
3. Tech giant known as the "Google of China": BAIDU - I've never heard of this company before today - here again is the Wiki
4. Muscles worked in boat pose: ABs - I have my second "weigh-in" tomorrow with my trainer
5. Triumphed: WON OUT
6. Yves Saint Laurent fragrance: OPIUM - I bought a sample of "Scent of Dark", the fragrance from Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath - and it's quite alluring - not what you'd expect, if you were expecting "heavy metal on-stage sweat & body odour" 😜
Here's the website where one can buy the fragrance
7. Sing the praises of: RAVE ABOUT*
8. "Tarzan" actor Ron: ELY - I somehow recalled this; I guess I must have seen some Tarzan movie on a Saturday afternoon, long ago
9. Nail alternatives: SCREWS - a more betterer fastener, IMO
10. "Oh, understood": "AH, I GOTCHA.*"
11. Gradually decrease: TAPER - Dah~! Not ABATE
12. Chemistry, so to speak: SPARK - as in romance and relationships
17. Gathering of crows, to some: OMEN - not MURDER - the official name for a group of crows
21. Secret stock: STASH - Dah~! Not CACHE
23. Megafan: STAN - 21st century-speak; a reference to an Eminem song, if you care to listen to this rap - might be a bit too 'unsettling' for some
24. Univ. military gp.: ROTC - Reserve Officers' Training Corps - had this a couple weeks ago
27. "Obvi!": "DUH~!"
28. Whiz: ACE
29. Fantasizes: DAY-DREAMS
30. Lawn game item pitched at a stake: HORSESHOE - semi-meh; we always called the GAME horseshoeS
32. "That bloke": "HIM~!" - "You~! Yes, You~! Stand still, laddie~!"
33. Telepath's talent: ESP - crosswordese
35. "Bartender" singer: T-PAIN - Cringe - I triple-dog dare you to listen through to the end - I could not. Warning~! No foul language, but a not-very-deep, excessive abuse of Auto-Tune hip-hop song
36. Soft silicate: TALC
37. Vehicle with cables: TRAM - good WAG, but then again, STREETCAR was almost a grid-spanner
42. Dodged: EVADED - HA~! I risked filling this in, knowing that it could have been ELUDED, etc.
43. Accustoms (to): INURES - Wednesday's $2 word - You have to use it in a sentence in a convo today
44. Steel (oneself): GIRD - especially your loins
45. Leftover bit: SCRAP
46. Vote in: ELECT
47. Most sought-after, as party guests: A-LIST - "That's why I invited clients instead of friends" -who said this~? What movie~? - See below.
48. Carne __ burrito: ASADA
49. Mario character in green: LUIGI
some anon on the street because I had on grey overalls
53. Declared in court: PLED
55. Samantha Bee's former network: TBS
56. Agt.: REP
Louis Tully, Ghostbusters, @ 0:42
