Saturday, Jul 12th, 2014, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 70 (missing F,J,X)

Blocks: 29

   Yep, I felt we were getting a Silkie today~!  I liked this one - just enough of a challenge without being jammed up with a lot of proper names and vague references.  Triple 7's in the Downs, triple 11's in the Across - missed the date ( 7-11 ) by one day....Two other long fills on the inside as well, and a stair pattern at the center, plus a low block clount.  Some of the longer fill:

15a. 1959 Fabian hit : TURN ME LOOSE - Link away, because I knew this one growing up

 65a. "Mission: Impossible" actor : PETER GRAVES - Also "Captain Clarence Oveur"

Onward....

ACROSS:

1. Strategy rarely involving a power hitter : SQUEEZE PLAY - Some baseball for C.C., right off the bat - pun intended

12. Class fig. : GPA - Not EST. - my graduating class was 791 students

16. Art of MGM? : ARS - Ars Gratia Artis - seems WAY too easy, especially for Mr. Silk

17. Oil field workers : ROUSTABOUTS - according to the dictionary, it's an Americanism, and isn't limited to oil fields - any unskilled laborer

18. 1909 ballet "__ Sylphides" : LES - sensible WAG, but I waited on perps

19. Portuguese is its official lang. : ANG - ANGOLA, Africa

20. Scotland's __ Awe : LOCH - DAH~!  I had PESTERS in at 8d., so I did not see this at first

21. Static, e.g. : NOISE - my first thought, and I hesitated

23. Not surprising : USUAL - my first thought, and I hesitated again

26. Personal question? : WHO

27. Gulf sight : OILER - Seen in Edmonton, too

28. '60s Navy project : SEALAB - there were three; more from Wiki

30. Sharp turn : ELL - Dah~!  I tried ZIG

32. Riga native : LETT - Got it, but spelled it LATT first

33. Touch screen accessory : STYLUS

34. Liability-limiting order : STOP-LOSS - investment market security measure - sounds like I know something, but I just looked it up

36. Cheater's tool : CRIB - Cliff's Notes didn't fit

38. "J'accuse" writer : ZOLA - Perps and WAGs

39. Ios and Naxos are in them : CYCLADES - I have heard of this place, but I was thinking along the lines of asteroids in the belt - it's all Greek to me....

43. Fast ballroom dances : MAMBOS - I have this Perry Como song in my MP3 player - from "Ocean's Eleven" - but we would change the lyrics to "Pablo Loves Mangos"

47. Second : AIDE

48. American __ : ELM - OK, who else went with "PIE"~!?

49. Home of the 3M Company : ST. PAUL - More for our Minnesotan (doesn't sound right)

50. "SportsCenter" brief : RECAP

52. USSR successor : CIS - Commonwealth of Independent States - perps

54. Extend an invitation for : ASK TO

55. Santa __ : CLARA - first thought, but I waited, again...tsk-tsk

56. 7, for N : AT. No. - Atomic Number - nailed it

58. Latin is often heard in it : LAW

59. Pitches : ADS

60. Vision : MENTAL IMAGE

64. Holy mlle. : STE

66. Desperate letters : S.O.S.

67. "It's about time they all left!" : "ALONE AT LAST~!"

DOWN:       

1. "Salome" composer : STRAUSS

2. __ hut : QUONSET - It's great to get the 11-letter fill at 1a. - makes all the downs that much easier~!

3. First FIFA World Cup winner : URUGUAY - sure, when you have the U-----Y in place

4. Inning trio? : ENs - iNNiNgs

5. CPR provider : EMT

6. Fire : ZEAL - again, with the "Z" there....

7. Pasta shape : ELBOW

8. Hounds : POOCHES - PESTERS was a good fit, too

9. Longtime college football coach who is now an ESPN analyst : LOU HOLTZ - Last to fill, and a WAG

10. Bermuda hrs. : AST - Atlantic Standard Time

11. Offering only two choices : YES/NO

12. First spacecraft to orbit Jupiter : GALILEO - VOYAGER fit, but that just flew past

13. Radio buttons : PRESETS

14. Claims : ASSERTS

22. Light sources : OIL LAMPS

24. Safety announcement : ALL CLEAR

25. Preminger noir classic : LAURA

29. Surprise hit, maybe : B-SIDE

31. They have shuttles and treadles : LOOMS

35. Montana motto word : PLATA - Oro Y Plata - Gold & Silver

37. Singing style in Rossini operas : BEL CANTO - Beautiful Singing in Italian

39. Lifeless form : CARCASS - Nice way to define this

40. Accept : YIELD TO

41. Jewel boxes : CD CASES

42. In love : SMITTEN - Like this....I found this funny, too

 

44. Filo pastry dessert : BAKLAVA - really good; used to get some after having a gyro

45. Storm consequences : OUTAGES - Tis the season, at least around here

46. Last to finish : SLOWEST - makes sense when it's filled in....

51. Argentine grassland : PAMPA

53. Bag : SNARE

57. First name in Russian gymnastics : OLGA

61. Sushi choice : EEL - DAH~! not AHI

62. Lexington Ave. line : IRT -

63. Practice leader? : MAL - Malpractice

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Happy 84th Birthday to dear Sallie! Are your sons visiting you for the special occasion, Sallie? Hope all is well with you. 

 

Saturday, Jun 21st, 2014, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 70 (missing Q,X)

Blocks: 32

  Yes, it was feeling like we'd get a Silkie today - and the first day of summer, officially 6:51am EDT.  Not a terribly daunting puzzle, with a different looking grid.  Three-letter fill to start, which didn't help me much, but there were a few fills on the first pass, and even more on the Downs. Triple 11- and 7-letter corners, and two 10-letter fills on the inside;

33. Cocktail with rum : BAHAMA MAMA - My friends and I came up with the drink name "Gilligan's Island", which was a total misnomer - the drink consisted of Captain Morgan and Ginger Ale, but the show had a Skipper, not a Captain....and I preferred Mary Ann anyway

37. Crusaded : CAMPAIGNED - Great fill, considering the silent "G"

oooh, uh, Onward?!?!?

ACROSS:

1. Image on many Oregon license plates : FIR - Makes sense now

4. Drink containing the antioxidant lycopene : TOMATO JUICE - shoulda had a V-8

15. Rock genre : EMO - Rock? Meh.

16. "I'd have never guessed!" : "IMAGINE THAT"~!

17. Male __ : EGO - Can't believe Mr. Silk threw us all under the bus with this clue

18. Fight site : BATTLEFIELD

19. Doesn't start well? : HOT WIRES - Nice

21. Georgia-based insurance giant : AFLAC - Huh - not AETNA, not GEICO

22. One way to shrink : IN FEAR - made me think of this song, with the lyric "shrinking violet"

23. "Lassie Come-Home" author Knight : ERIC

25. Nautical units : KNOTS - Sort of a 'freebie' for a Saturday

26. Soup served with sour cream : SCHAV - Total WAG; I had SC-A-; never heard of this soup, never had it

31. "You betcha" : YUP - My first thought, and considered it too easy

32. Bring in : EARN

35. Cocktail with sweet vermouth : AMERICANO - never had one

40. Old Venetian judge : DOGE

44. Food franchise initials : IGA - another fill I hesitated on

45. Enjoy on the sly : SNEAK

46. Rancor : VENOM

47. Magazine fig. : CIRCulation

49. Menace at sea : PIRATE - I really wanted to put in KRAKEN

50. Words to un caro : TI AMO - "I love you"....one of these days

53. Nassau Coliseum player : ISLANDER - Mr. Silk rocks~!  Home town fill - and yes, I AM a Ranger fan, but I will root for the Islanders, just because

55. First Bond actor born after the Bond films began : DANIEL CRAIG - Most logical, and it fit; gratuitous image for one C.C.

57. Charlton's "Earthquake" co-star : AVA - IMDb

58. Redealt, say : STARTED OVER

59. No. with a prefix : TELephone

60. It includes the Jurassic period : MESOZOIC ERA

61. Close : END - Great way to "end" the Across clues

DOWN:

1. Budget-squeezing announcement : FEE HIKE - we had this discussion at Home Depot yesterday while building grills; we are trapped on Long Island, unless we're willing to pay $15 to cross the Geo. Washington Bridge - highway robbery?

2. Response to "Did you clean your room yet?" : I'M GONNA - Aww, ma~

3. Support : ROOT FOR - I don't care that the Rangers lost in the Stanley Cup - they played ALL the games they could have played this season.  Not much to "rebuild", either.  Rick Nash, however....

4. Fibula neighbors : TIBIAS

5. Astrologer Sydney : OMARR - I read my daily and love horoscopes before starting work at UPS each morning

6. King's demise : MATE - Chess finale - that kind of king, not "The King" ( Elvis ) or Martin Luther

7. CIA employees : AGTs - ah, not G-Men

8. Up to, in ads : TIL - unTIL

9. Most fit to serve : ONE-A

10. Lynne of ELO : JEFF - forced me to change my insurance company (21a.)

11. Not worthless : UTILE

12. "Gotcha" : "I HEAR YA"

13. Element #20 : CALCIUM - semi-cheat; I have a Periodic Chart app on my phone - can you say nerd?

14. JFK announcement : ETD - Dah~!  not e.t.A

20. Brand used with wings : WET-NAP - Thought it might be "HOT-NIP" or something like that, for a spicy sauce

24. Pro concerned with losses : CPA - my CPA got me a huge return this year - thank you Home Inspection classes~!

26. Military nickname : SARGE

27. 20th-anniversary gift : CHINA - A list, for those curious

28. Czech diacritical sometimes called an inverted circumflex : HAČEK - not a clue, but I WAGed it right the first time. "Little hook", according to Wiki

29. Make __ dash : A MAD

30. Police vehicle : VAN - so vague; this is Saturday cluing

33. "__ Green": Kermit's song : BEIN' - I prefer the Rainbow Connection

34. Today : MODERN

36. More, in Mexico : MAS

37. Title for Obama: Abbr. : CIC - Commander In Chief

38. Shake up : AGITATE - Nailed it, but that's not sayin' much

39. Mooring areas : MARINAs

41. Out, perhaps : ON A DATE - One of these days....

42. Didn't let bygones be bygones : GOT EVEN

43. Shade of green : EMERALD

46. Levitra competitor : VIAGRA - Left out Cialis....I don't watch TV, but when I am at mom's house after hockey, I end up watching Jeopardy, and I can't stand the commercials for these drugs - but really, what else can they depict?

48. 2011 revolution locale : CAIRO

49. Diligent worker : PLIER

51. City on the Moselle : METZ

52. Bar in the kitchen : OLEO - margarine

53. Camaro __-Z : IROC

54. Statistic in baseball and hockey : SAVE - so here's another thing C.C. & I have in common~!

55. Mil. honor : DSM - Distinguished Service Medal

56. Fifth-century date : CDI - 401 in Roman numerals

Splynter

Saturday, May 31st, 2014, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 70 (missing Q,Y)

Blocks: 26

  Ahh, such a joy to see a puzzle from Mr. Silk~!  I did not get off to a blinding start, and there were a few geographical proper names that slowed me down, but a few perps and WAGs, and it was done, and in pretty good time.  Low block count, and triple 10-letter pinwheel pattern, with nothing longer than 8 letters on the inside.  Some of the longer fill today;

1a. California/Arizona border reservoir : LAKE HAVASU - So we start with West Coast geography; I had to wait.  I was pretty sure it was "LAKE" something, or something "LAKE"

14d. Type of headlight : SEALED BEAM - pretty dated, now

28d. Winter soil phenomena : ICE NEEDLES

57. Number that's physically impossible to write out in standard form : GOOGOLPLEX- that's 10 to the 10 to the 100 - more here

Onward to the Stanley Cup~!!!
 

ACROSS:

11. Has yet to settle : OWES

15. "Let a new chapter begin" : I'VE MOVED ON

16. Salinger's "__ Stories" : NINE

17. Yellow sticky, often : NOTE TO SELF - I tore off the skin from the back of my fingernail on a cardboard box yesterday, and said out loud "note to self; don't do that again"

18. With 3-Down, Wingey Wallace's comic strip girlfriend : ETTA - coupled with 3d. See 18-Across : KETT

19. __'acte : ENTR - Crossword staple

20. Pkg. measures : WTs - I can't wait for UPS to go back to being a "parcel" company; this time of year in my center, it's all patio furniture, grills, mowers, A/C units, dehumidifiers, hammocks, trampolines, etc.

21. Wife of Jacob : RACHEL - educated WAG on my part, and I was pleased to see it was correct

23. Ominous time : IDES

25. Smiley creator : LE CARRÉ - spy novel character; more here

26. Treated with malice : SPITED

29. 57501 preceder, on envelopes : PIERRE, SD - Great fill; I knew we were looking for a geographical location;  I know that NY zips are 1----, CT is 06---, Jacksonville FL is 32---, and Cincinnati, OH is 45---; I'm looking to move to 98207.  Map here

30. Place : LOCUS

31. __ ball : MATZO

32. A little freedom? : LIBeration

33. Lea grazers : EWES

34. Star of the 1931 film "M" : LORRE - got with perps

35. Film : CINE

36. Yet, poetically : E'EN

37. Toon lead singer in a leopard-print leotard : JOSIE - ah, Josie and the Pussycats - nothing subliminal here....I did not know they made a movie, too - IMDb

38. Outlook : VISTA

39. Building and grounds : PREMISES - COMPOUND worked, too - but are we talking drug dealer estate?

41. Comprehend : FATHOM - Nice

42. Post-reaping sights : SHEAVES

43. Japanese sandal : ZŌRI - I was trying to find a pic of James BOnd in Japanese garb from "You Only Live Twice" that included these sandals

44. Bunches : OODLES

45. Thrice, in Rx's : TER - I tried T.I.D., which was almost there; the Latin is "ter in die"

46. Egyptian Christian : COPT - another crossword staple, but I had to wait on perps for a reminder

50. Nonexistent : NULL

51. Blew up : BOILED OVER

54. "Gotcha" : "I SEE"

55. Liven up : INVIGORATE

56. Experiment : TEST

DOWN:

1. __ drive : LINE - baseball for C.C. - Of course, I am keyed up for the NY Rangers hockey team, who are on their way to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in 20yrs - and that last time, they brought it home~!

2. "The company for women" company : AVON

4. Honored retiree : EMERITUS - nailed it

5. Selling fast : HOT

6. Swore : AVOWED

7. Sleeveless garments : VESTS

8. Summer quaffs : ADES

9. Nuevo __: Peruvian currency : SOL - the only letter I got wrong was the "S"; I went with "N" to start

10. Remove restrictions from : UNFREEZE

11. Like many a garage : ONE-CAR

12. Enthusiastically : WITH RELISH

13. Signs, as an agreement : ENTERS INTO

22. Start to bat? : ACRO - ACRObat

24. __ Arc, Arkansas : DES - another geographical

25. Petrol purchase : LITRE - I watch my BBC Top Gear, so I know that gasoline is "petrol" across the pond, and bought by the litre - in fact, there was a Fiskers Karma in the Riverhead Home Depot parking lot yesterday, and I knew it right away

26. Weighs options : SLEEPS ON IT

27. Dominant team : POWERHOUSE - The Chicago Blackhawks tied their NHL series with the LA Kings last night, so we still have one last game to decide who we are playing next Wednesday

29. Trojan War figure : PARIS

31. Law recipient : MOSES - Ah, THOSE  Laws

34. Takes a bath : LOSES BIG

35. It merged with Travelers in 1998 : CITICORP - I remember the name because of this NYC skycraper, and here's a little story on why it was built on stilts

37. Tease, in slang : JIVE

38. Irreg. spelling : VARiation

40. Xylophonist's tool : MALLET

41. Antecede : FOREGO

43. 1983 Woody Allen title role : ZELIG

45. TV watcher's convenience : TIVO

47. Like zero : OVAL

48. Best of the Beatles : PETE - Pete Best was the original drummer

49. Big natural history museum attraction : T-REX

52. Bride in 1969 news : ONO - More Bealtes

53. N.Z. currency : DOLLar

Splynter

Saturday, May 3rd, 2014, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,X)

Blocks: 33

    A great puzzle from our Saturday Stalwart, Sr. Silk - we had to wait a bit since his last (Apr 5th; almost a month~!)  I liked this puzzle because I cheated, W.A.G.ed and actually knew some things, too - and that means I learned something.  Nifty little pinwheel design with double-word-only stacks in a spiral pattern, plus a couple more 9- and 10-letter words on the inside as well.  The "it looks easy" 4-4-5 across the top was deceiving, to say the least; some of the longer fill:

18a. Bonobo, e.g. : CHIMPANZEE - Also a musician

28d. Australian red formerly called Hermitage : SHIRAZ WINE - a guide for those who can partake of the alcoholic grape

47a. It needs to be refined : CRUDE METAL - Because CRUDE OIL was not enough - how about some crude metal hair band music?

3d. Out of order : ON THE BLINK - When I was growing up, it was usually the TV that suffered this malady

Flowers Onward~! (From C.C.: The blue-eyed girl?)

ACROSS:

1. Trudge : PLOD - Um, OK, so, TREK, WALK, STEP....

5. Sonoma County seat Santa __ : ROSA - A WAG off the "O"

9. Square : PLAZA - anyone else in "dweeb" mode here?  Oh, that kind of square

14. Late great? : LENO - Ah, the V-8 can - DUCK~!

15. Sci. subject : ASTRonomy - For some reason, I was pre-qualifying this as a "high school" subject, and not Science in general

16. Eponymous golf promoter Samuel : RYDER - His famous Ryder Cup is the prize for the winning team of USA vs. Europe players

17. FYI relative : ATTN.

20. Brief disclaimer : IMHO - Seen frequently here at the Blog, "In My Humble Opinion"

21. Provider of sound testimony? : EAR-WITNESS

22. Saw things : TEETH - Nailed it - did not fool me with "seeing"

24. Priceless? : FREE - Yup

25. Crayola color since 1949 : BRICK RED

28. Diving duck : SMEW - I tried TEAL

32. Uses a management training technique : ROLE PLAYS

34. Title imaginary friend in a Neil Diamond hit : SHILO - I have spent my music links

35. Fast ship : CLIPPER - "Fast ship? You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?"

36. DVD staple : TRAILER - Annoying, actually - and I do not have Star Wars on DVD - just VHS ( for shame )

38. Silicon Valley college : MENLO - all perps

39. Tempo notation : ALLA BREVE

41. Slow : POKY

42. Liver delicacy : FOIE GRAS

43. "The Wizard of Oz" farmhand : ZEKE

44. San Diego State athlete : AZTEC - Total cheat on my part - Googled it

53. Policy pro : WONK - New word for me; these two across clues messed up the whole SE

54. Transcends : RISES ABOVE

55. Prefix with Aryan : INDO

56. Free __ : AGENT

57. "The Last King of Scotland" tyrant : AMIN

58. Caution to a German shepherd, say : NEIN - Ah, not "HEEL" - that would be a German Shepherd - ah, you deceiver, Barry Silk~!

59. Longtime NFL coach Schottenheimer : MARTY - WAG/perp for me

60. Stop : REST

61. Uruguay's Punta del __ : ESTE

DOWN:


1. Braid : PLAIT

2. "I can do it" : LET ME

4. Phrase in much computer-generated mail : DO NOT REPLY

5. Speed : RACE - RUSH was my first try

6. Federal inspection org. : OSHA

7. Cook quickly : STIR FRY

8. Compete in a strength contest : ARM WRESTLE

9. Jabber : PRATE

10. "Coal Miner's Daughter" subject : LYNN - Loretta

11. Shop shaper : ADZE - LATHE was too long, so I pondered RASP and FILE

12. You might catch a few : ZEES - Had it, removed it, put it back in

13. Father of Deimos : ARES - Greek Gods

19. Patchy : PIED - when this filled, I had to duck again

23. Semiaquatic heavyweight : HIPPO

26. Largest OH airport : CLEveland - Cincinnati's airport is actually in Covington, KY

27. Place to enjoy a sharp drinker? : KARAOKE BAR - musically "sharp", but most of the time, 'atonal' is a better way to describe it

29. Noteworthy events : MILESTONES

30. Abbr. on some city limit signs : ELEVation

31. Had on : WORE

32. Ottawa-based law gp. : RCMP - One of those "ooh, I know this one~!" answers

33. Stick on a fridge door : OLEO - another bit of misdirection that did not get past me - a stick of margarine, not a magnet

34. Tel Aviv native : SABRA

37. Syncopated piece : RAG

40. 1962 hit with the lyrics "the truth could mean I'd lose you" : LIE TO ME

42. Disaster relief org. : FEMA

43. Piquant : ZESTY

45. Split up : END IT

46. Designer fragrance : ck ONE

47. Squeeze : CRAM

48. Baltic seaport : RIGA - No more maps for you~!

49. End __ : USER

50. Noticeable progress : DENT - I am making a dent in my list of things to get done around here, and it feels good, too.  The rental apartment at mom's house is vacant again, so that needs to be cleaned up, I just replaced the valve cover gasket on my car, and changed the plugs; today I tackle the thermostat.  Now the battery idiot light came on in the other car -  the list never seems to get shorter....

51. Dollar alternative : AVIS - Rental car places

52. Nearly six-week period : LENT - An educated WAG

Splynter

Saturday, Apr 5th, 2014, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,U,V,X)

Blocks: 30

   Well now, today's offering from Mr. Silk was still tough in some spots, but do we feel better about our crossword solving ability since the beating I think we all took from last week's bear~?   I did have to wait on the hefty answers while I did my first pass through the Downs, then I was able to get a grip.  Several "exclamations" in the grid today (*). Triple 11-letter stacks in the NW and SE, with four 10's and six 9's to round out the long fill of the grid:

1a. Performing poorly : FALLING DOWN - also a movie starring Michael Douglas; they "Stopped Serving Breakfast"

15a. Music lover's resource : iHEART RADIO - Don't care for anything "i" these days; "I" listen to Pandora Internet Radio, and I am sad to say that didn't fit the space....

20a. Think : CEREBRATE - Oooh, that's a $2 word you can use in passing today....

12d. Spider producer : ALFA-ROMEO - the latest Alfa as I have seen from watching the BBC show "Top Gear" is this one, the Disco Volante ( "fly wheel")

28. Aristotelian ideal : GOLDEN MEAN - The Wiki; I could argue that this is the principle of Alcoholics Anonymous as well; I am a card-carrying member

ONWARD~!

ACROSS:

12. Hematological system : ABO - Blood types; I am "B positive~!"

16. Crucible setting : LAB - I was concerned this might have to do with the novel at first

17. Accept financial responsibility : BEAR THE COST

18. Not to : FRO - cute; "To & Fro"

19. St. Louis bridge architect : EADS - Beautiful, but I happen to like bridges in general

22. RR crossing sites : RDs - Dah~! Went with STs first - Roads, not Streets

23. Chaotic scene : ZOO

25. Rum company founder Fred : MYERS

26. Onslaught : BARRAGE

29. Animal shelter : COTE - LAIR, CAVE, COTE  all worked

31. Satisfied : MADE GOOD ON - MADE ENDS MEET was too long

34. Latin 101 word : AMAT - "He loves" - had amaS to start

35. Pulitzer playwright Zoë : AKINS

36. Brooks of Hollywood : MEL - The man who brought us "Young Frankenstein" and "Stand-up Philosophers"

37. Dog in a horned helmet : SNERT - from the comic strip Hägar the Horrible

38. Qajar dynasty country, today : IRAN

39. Bar seller : CANDY STORE - ah, that kind of bar

41. Norton Sound city : NOME

 

42. Broken up : IN TEARS - emotionally broken up, that is

43. Food mfr.'s calculation : NET WT.

45. At 5,343 ft., Mt. Marcy is its highest point : NYS - huh - New York State - I live here, and did not know this - did you, Argyle?

46. HDTV brand : RCA

49. Netherlands port : ROTTERDAM

52*. Cries of discovery : "O-HOs~!"

53. Cuban Revolution name : CHE

54. They may come from ostriches : BOA FEATHERS

57. Craft whose name means "peace" : MIR - Russian space station

58. Picture in your head : MENTAL IMAGE

59. Batt. terminal : POSitive

60. Forensic technique : DNA ANALYSIS - with a semi-clecho to start the downs -->

DOWN:

1. Bit of forensic evidence : FIBER

2. Not trying to catch anyone : AHEAD - some crafty clechoing here, too -->

3. Doesn't have to catch anyone : LEADS - being 'ahead' in a race, e.g.

4. Norwegian-born chemistry Nobelist Onsager : LARS

5. NYC subway : IRT - gimme, being that I do live 60mi from New York City; the Interborough Rapid Transit

6. Degree in math : NTH

7. Wrestling style : GRECO-ROMAN

8. Freshwater fish : DACE

9. Suggestive quality : ODOR - did this puzzle has an 'odor' of "DNF"~?

10. Guys with gifts : WISE MEN - SUITORS fit, too

11. __ a long shot : NOT BY

13. MVP of the first two Super Bowls : BART STARR - had to dredge this one up from the depths.  Much cerebrating.

14. Wind up on stage? : OBOE - Wind, short e, not Wye-nd

21. Takes back : RECANTS

23. Turns abruptly : ZAGS

24. Montana motto word : ORO - Shout-out~!!!

26. Floyd __ Field, NYC's first municipal airport : BENNETT - great, another NYS learning moment for me - hey, I did know the name of JFK before it was called JFK Airport

27. Make __ in : ADENT

30. Usher follower? : ETTE - usherETTE - my 'meh' clue for the day

31. Key : MAIN - ah, not ISLE

32. LeBron James' birthplace : AKRON, OHIO - mostly perps on this one

33. Circle measures : DIAMETERS

37. Cold War gp. : SSRs - I have a bit of a nit with the plural nature of the answer

39. French auto pioneer : CITROËN - André-Gustave, read about WWII sabotages and more here

 

40*. "Way to go!" : "YAY~!"

44. Site with a Symptom Checker : WebMD - I have had reason to stop by this website

46. Flightless birds : RHEAs

47. Cardigan or Pembroke dog : CORGI - I had the "C", took a W.A.G.

48. Burden-bearing team : ASSES - I'd like to see this clued 'another' way....

49. Law org. with an annual Musical Ride tour : RCMP - Royal Canadian Mounted Police

50. Actress Delany : DANA

51. Mennen lotion : AFTA

52*. "Wow!" : "OH MY~!"

55. After : A'LA - as in styled "after"....

56. Up to, briefly : (un)TIL

Splynter

 

 

 

Notes from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Irish Miss & Abejo, two of our very loyal and caring regulars. I still feel guilty forgetting their birthday last year. 

Here is a picture of Irish Miss (Agnes) with her sister Eileen. The picture was taken on Nov 22, 2013 at their sister Peggy's house. Any special plans today, Agnes?

Eileen & Agnes

Let's meet Abejo (Bradley):

Abejo & Harvey

Abejo said:

This is a photo of myself and Fermatprime's friend Harvey about a year and a half ago. I am on the left as you are looking at the picture. Harvey is on the right. We were in Virginia together. This organization, the Knights Templar, is what I do in my spare time.

Saturday, Mar 15th, 2014, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 72   (missing J,Q)

Blocks: 30

  Today's challenge from Mr. Silk took some intuitive thinking, as quite a few clues gave me fits. With the chunky triple 7-letter corners, I find this type of grid to be the most difficult, especially when you can't get a foothold.  In my case, I struggled a bit in the SW, and bad WAGs made some other spots slow to solve - and I had one wrong letter.  One grid-spanner, and let's hope that it's a thing of the past for the next 12 months~!

35. Winter forecast : FREEZING DRIZZLE - I got the DRIZZLE part from MAZDA, so I tried "--- AND DRIZZLE", but that didn't help

Aw, Dr. NO~!

 ACROSS:

1. Instrument played with mallets : MARIMBA - BAM~! Nailed it, not that I'm saying much - but hey, XYLOPHONE wouldn't fit

8. Pitcher's coup : PICK-OFF - I don't watch baseball, but this is one of those nifty little plays that make the game interesting - along with the "hidden ball" trick

15. Mine carriers : ORE CARS - Funny, ORE CARTS didn't fit, so I skipped it the first time around - and I was 114% correct

16. Orwell superstate : OCEANIA

17. 1980s Hollywood sex symbol : BO DEREK - I was trying to think of a popular male, and when the "K" appeared, I was stumped - oh, her - still looking good

18. Hang : SUSPEND

19. Meas. seen on a tee : YDs - Argh~!  My first thought was golf, but then I thought "nope, he's going with T-shirt here", and tried "XXL"

20. Beguile : TEMPT - not TEASE, not GET AT

22. Warthog features : TUSKS - made the "Top 10 List" for ugliest animal~!

23. Screened conversation? : VIDEO CHAT - I was thinking this could be "CONFESSION", but it's one letter too many

25. 28-Across natives, e.g. : ASIANS - circular clues -->

28. The Mekong flows along its border : LAOS

29. Fighter acronym : MiG - Mikoyan-Gurevich, the Russian military aircraft company

32. Going downhill : WORSE

33. "The __ Affair": Jasper Fforde novel : EYRE - never heard of it; Saturday cluing

34. Lighten : EASE - a burden, for example

38. Servers at affairs : URNS

39. Ballpark figs. : MGRs - Ah, the guy in the dugout, not ESTs

40. Needles : RIDES

41. Food-curing chemical : LYE - not MSG

42. "__ Mia": 1965 hit : CARA - I tried MAMA, and that's 50% right, but I knew the date was wrong

43. Give away : DONATE

44. Funk band instrument : SAXOPHONE - I think this is funky

46. When to see die Sterne : NACHT - 'the star(s)' in German, and 'night'; there's also a band by the same name, so I guess you could see them at night, too

49. Pasta bit : SHELL

50. Card quality : WIT - Card as in ham, clown, cut-up, etc.

53. Odorless fuels : ETHANES - all the light ones are pretty much odorless; the stink from propane is actually ethyl percaptan, which is added to warn you of a leak - it was a gas explosion that leveled the two buildings in Harlem NYC this week.

55. Tennessee neighbor : ALABAMA - GEORGIA fit, too; KENTUCKY, ARKANSAS, MISSOURI, and VIRGINIA are all 8-letters long

57. Zip up : ANIMATE - I was in "winter clothing" mode on this one, so this answer was slow to show

58. Extreme : RADICAL

59. Surfing annoyance : POP-UP AD - tell me about it; I hate that little 'hiccup' you get from ads on computers and mobile devices that shifts everything down one line JUST as you tap to move to the next link

60. Ship maintenance site : DRY DOCK - my Dodge Stratus and Ford Van are in 'dry dock' right now; today will be the first warm, dry day with no snow on the ground, allowing me to finally take a look and see what's wrong

DOWN:

1. Colorado State's __ Arena : MOBY

2. MLB nickname in recent news : A-ROD

3. Cabs, e.g. : REDS - DAH~! Wines, not Taxis

4. Winter coat : ICE - I've seen enough

5. Two-time 1990s A.L. batting champ Edgar : MARTINEZ - C.C. has more (From C.C.: He spent his whole career with the Mariners. He'll remain in the Hall of Fame ballot next year. Look at what I found:)

2-Down, Ken Griffey Jr, 5-Down

6. Procreates : BREEDS - Ah, not the Biblical BEGETS

7. Help desk sign : ASK ME

8. Deltiologist's collection : POSTCARDS - learning moment

9. Post-op area : ICU

10. Basque baskets : CESTAS

11. Shot : KAPUT

12. People : ONES - As in "the ones waiting for spring to arrive"

13. Rat : FINK

14. They come and go : FADS

21. Storyteller? : POLYGRAPH - TATTLE-TALE didn't fit

23. Arrangements may be made in them : VASES

24. Weed killer : HOER - my one missed letter; I had HOAR - hey, that could kill weeds, too - it kills the grass....

25. Horrific : AWFUL - not SCARY

26. Classic board game : SORRY!
 

27. Daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands : IRENE - Saturday cluing for a popular crossword name; this one goes back a bit, as Queen Juliana passed at 94 ten years ago

29. Tribute maker : MAZDA

30. Key : ISLET - ah, not iNSet

31. Inane ones : GEESE - "You silly gooses~!"

33. Absorbed : ENGROSSED - I did NOT try "---- UP" to start, as in "SOAKED"

34. Salon, for one : E-ZINE

36. Big name in movies? : IMAX - yep, that's a big screen

37. Nickname in 20th-century British leadership : IRON LADY - Margaret Thatcher - that's the second "Iron" to come out of Britain - I prefer Iron Maiden....

42. Short time out? : CAT-NAP

43. Word on a Canadian loonie : DOLLAR - no animals were tattooed in the making of this crossword

44. San Diego attraction : SHAMU - not ZOOOO....

45. Picked up : HEARD

46. Tide table term : NEAP

47. Words before time or point : AT NO

48. Wood __ : CHIP - ah, not SHED

50. City on the Brazos : WACO

51. Apple product : iMAC - It's going to be "i" something....

52. Converse : TALK

54. Touchdown info : ETA - airplanes, not football

56. Nod, at times : BID

Splynter

Saturday, Feb 22nd, 2014, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie

Words: 72 (missing Q,X)

Blocks: 28

   Considering the last two Saturday puzzles, I expected to take a beating today, and I was not all that surprised when it happened to be a Silkie - and a pinwheel of triple-10's at that~!  Yet despite my first pass looking like the front yard ( here on LI, we're still knee-deep in snow ), my second pass pretty much wrapped it up.  Have to admit, there were some s=t=r=e=t=c=h=e=s in the clues, but what else do you get on a Saturday?  Some of the longer fill today;
 

17a. What "c" might mean : LIGHT SPEED - E=mc²

12d. Response to a knock : WHO CAN IT BE - gotta have this musical link

28. Caspian Sea republic : AZERBAIJAN - Scrabbly fill~!

69a. Pronunciation aid : STRESS MARK - see 29d.

ON - the - WAshington - RoaD~!

ACROSS:

 1. Honolulu memorial : USS ARIZONA - I get this a lot in crosswords

11. Stroked : SWUM - oh, uh, that kind of stroked....

15. Approached : CLOSED IN ON

16. Quite : OH SO - ah, not "VERY"

18. Cold War capital : BONN

19. Befogged : AT SEA

20. Beginning for metric : BARO - BAROmetric

22. Hipster : CAT - I went with "KAT" first

23. Rat : SING - a slight meh, since I think it should be "rat OUT"

26. Do maintenance on, as a roof : RE-SLATE - I'd love a slate roof on my house - but the weight and cost is prohibitive

28. Inlet : ARM - meh #2; I get it, but, well....meh

31. Adopted great-nephew of Claudius : NERO

33. Self-titled 1991 debut album : ALANIS - Morisette; this was her 'dance-pop' album she recorded at the age of 17; 4 years later came the album everyone else knows, the 33million-copies-sold "Jagged Little Pill"

34. Fashionable '40s garb : ZOOT SUITS

37. Jumbles : OLIOs

38. Nervous : EDGY

39. Honored, in a way : FETED

41. 8 for O, e.g. : AT. No. - Atomic # 8, for Oxygen

42. Lively dances : REELS

44. Apple Store tech support station : GENIUS BAR - I'm PC - the genius is in ME

46. Cram : BONE UP

48. Cheer : ROOT

49. One wearing a "Y" shirt, perhaps : ELI - we had this yesterday; NOTE: if you punch in "Y shirt" on Google, and leave the ELI or YALE part out, you get much raunchier pictures~!

 

50. Formal talk : ADDRESS - Harrison's Inaugural Address was 8,445 words - see 35d.

52. Messenger molecules : RNAs

54. SS supplement : IRA - Social Security and Individual Retirement Account

55. "Deputy __": old toon : DAWG

57. "The King and I" group : HAREM - Gotta get me one of these

61. Nonsense : JIVE - "excuse me miss, I speak JIVE"

63. Don't bother : LEAVE ALONE

66. 2013 Zipcar acquirer : AVIS

67. Pinocchio, for one : MARIONETTE

68. Composer Rorem and others : NEDs

DOWN:

1. Pauley Pavilion team : UCLA

2. Fine cut : SLIT

3. Soaks, in British dialect : SOGS - My parents were born and raised in England, though I can't say I ever heard them say this

4. Fire proof : ASHES - Fire PROOF, not FIREproof

5. Hires to handle the case : RETAINS

6. Names : IDs

7. Letter number : ZIP - code; great clue for one of the numbers on a written letter

8. Spoiler of a perfect semester : ONE B - funny, because I got straight A's in my first semester at Island Drafting except for "one B"

9. Musical deficiency : NO EAR - because TIN EAR would not fit

10. Tenor Bocelli : ANDREA - that's a man, baby - and my ex-wife's name.  Awkward.

11. Sound of distress : SOB

13. Amer. citizen, e.g. : U.S. NATIONAL

14. Education innovator : MONTESSORI

21. __ Accords: 1993 agreement : OSLO

24. Huit follower : NEUF - 8 and 9, in Frawnche

25. Composer who incorporated Norwegian folk music into his work : GRIEG

27. Singing syllables : LALAs - Shout-out to Linda~!

29. Haute couture shopping area : RODEO DRIVE - because it's "haute couture", the pronunciation is rho-'DAY-o; everywhere else it's 'RO-dee-o; sort of like Marty Brodeur, goalie for the NJ Devils; when he makes a spectacular save, he becomes 'MAR-'TAN 'BRO-'DOOOR~!

30. Hexagram on the Israeli flag : MOGEN DAVID - Because Star O' David seemed too Irish to me; I did not know about this 'speculative' astronomical idea

32. River player : OTTER - ah, not a Texas Hold 'em reference

35. Harrison's successor : TYLER - US Presidents; the former for 30days, 12hours, 30minutes

36. Toledo title : SEÑOR

40. "I Wonder Why" lead singer : DION - someone else's turn

43. Took to court : SUED

45. St. George residents : UTAHANS

47. Job follow-up? : PSALMS - ah, Bible reference

51. Part of Churchill's offer : SWEAT - Winston Churchill - more here

53. Capital on the Willamette : SALEM

56. "Mr. Mom" actress : GARR

58. Personnel list : ROTA

59. Start of an intermission? : ENTR'acte, Frawnche for "between the acts"

60. Yielding : MEEK - ah, not "WEAK"

62. Winding path : ESS

64. Contend : VIE

65. Aurora, to the Greeks : EOS

Splynter

Saturday, Jan 25th, 2014, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie

Words: 72 (missing J,Q)

Blocks: 32

    There are three reactions during the solve of a crossword, I believe; 1), the "I know this" and you fill in with confidence; 2), there comes an answer and you go "oh, I get it, that's pretty clever"; and 3), when the V-8 can comes sailing across the room and you think "D'oh, I shoulda known that~!"  Mr. Silk's offerings are like this for me most of the time, but today I had a fourth emotion - one of those rare, "Rrrr", teeth-gritting moments; see below.  Challenging triple 10-letter stacks in the four pinwheels, and two 12-letter climbers:

5D. 69-Across preservation technique : FREEZE DRYING - 69-Across being "rose petals", and it's getting close to Valentine's Day, guys - personally, I have no one to cater to ;(

21d. 1982 James Bamford book about the NSA, with "The" : PUZZLE PALACE - more here, for those curious

onward~!

ACROSS:

1. "Giant" novelist : EDNA FERBER - Once I did a 'Down' pass, there were enough letters to figure this one out; falls into the #1 category

11. Sweeping : EPIC - I started with "WIDE", which slowed me down in the NE corner for too long; falls in to category #2

15. 1971 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year : LEE TREVINO - again, enough Down fill to get this one

16. MillerCoors brand : ZIMA - the "Clear Beer" that was the big thing just as I turned 21, but alas, has gone away

17. Where one can swing close to home? : BATTER'S BOX - nailed it (that's a #1 response), and I am sure C.C. did, too

18. Jaws : RAPS - GABS, YAKS, etc

19. Pitcher of milk? : ELSIE - the spokes-cow who 'pitches' milk in ads

20. Fall preceder : SLIP - started with "TRIP"

22. Japanese drama : NOH - Part of me wanted "OKE", from our earlier-in-the-week discussion

23. Kingpin : CZAR

26. Email program named for a writer : EUDORA - never heard of this software, or the author

28. Union fighter: Abbr. : CSA - REB? or CSA? - I went with the former, of course - that's a #2 in my book - reference to the Confederate States of America

31. Cheese shop offerings : EDAMS - went with "CUBES" first, thinking about samples

34. Peels : ZESTS -  PARES, the verb, RINDS, the noun? ARGHHH~!

35. With it : HEP - Filled in hIp, which was good enough to start

36. Daughter of Jacob and Leah : DINAH - not up on my Bible lineage, so I went with SARAH, and that was - D-otto, check me - 40% correct

37. Letters from Greece : ZETAs - could only be this, "Betas", or "iotas"

38. 1940s command: Abbr. : ETO - we've seen this once this week

39. Traditional Amish toy : RAG DOLL

41. Together : ONE - clever; technically, two = one

42. Evaluate : ASSAY

44. Do away with : ERASE - Had TrasH to start; 60% right

45. 10, at times: Abbr. : OCT - the 10(th) month

46. Eponymous German bacteriologist : PETRI - ah, and his dishes were popular, too

47. Pass a second time, in a race : RE-LAP

48. French article : LES - I put in DES to start

49. Overthrow target : TYRANT - For some reason, I had the image of a Quarterback's spiral in my head, so I was trying to fit "HAIL MARY" here

51. Lee of Marvel Comics : STAN

53. Flying Cloud, e.g. : REO

54. Proceeds : GATE - The noun, in this case, or money collected

57. Ruy __: chess opening : LOPEZ - this falls in to the #1 category, since I learned this from doing crosswords - and it was on a Saturday, no less; a clip for the chess player

61. Car trip game : I SPY - with my little eye, something beginning with "M"

63. Tanks : TAKES A DIVE

66. Pacific salmon : COHO - remembered this from the salmon puzzle we had recently

67. Compound used in photographic film production : ACETIC ACID

68. Was onto : KNEW

69. Florist's decorative supply : ROSE PETALS

DOWN:

1. Dresden's river : ELBE

2. Pass out : DEAL - ah, that kind of "pass out" - I used to do a LOT of the other kind

3. Brooklyn team : NETS - Basketball, and the local NBA team for me, which I don't follow; interferes with hockey, tho not as much this year. 

4. Top story : ATTIC - DAH~!  Gets me every time~!  The top story of a building, not the newscast

6. Election end? : EER - ElectionEER, such as a campaign manager

7. Campground array : RVs - Recreational Vehicles

8. Chest protectors : BIBS - I put in RIBS, and then "EDNA" fixed that

9. Hydroxyl compound : ENOL - such as THIS one, (neat~!, please~!) which often leads to 2d.

10. "Chicago" song : ROXIE - I was thinking of the "wrong" Chicago (the 70's band, not the musical)

11. Book before Neh. : EZR - ARGHHH~!  Here's that fourth response - The book is EZRA, and I had to Google it; dropping the last "A" makes me grit my teeth on this one - and I worked out an alternative solution in this corner to avoid the crummy abbr.  - SLR, which is a camera, SPIC, as in SPIC N Span, Lima and not Zima - done~!

12. Bench alternative : PIANO STOOL - Clearly a #3 moment for me, as I was thinking cars, and therefore BUCKET SEAT.  Here's some piano funny

13. Weight : IMPORTANCE - I had ---NCE at the end, and pondered putting in OUNCE to see if that would lead me somewhere

14. Liquid holdings : CASH ASSETS

24. Song on Sarah McLachlan's "Surfacing" album : ADIA

25. Park __ : RANGER - oh, duh - I couldn't see this on the first pass.  Um, that's a #3

27. Two-point Scrabble tile : DEE - the only other 2pt tile is "GEE", which worked, too

28. "The Flame" band : CHEAP TRICK

29. Observes : SETS EYES ON

30. Sign of possession : APOSTROPHE - very clever, - a #2 in my book -  Splynter's, e.g.

32. Sierra __ : MADRE - OK, I put in LEONE to start - also #2

33. Isles of __: Gulf of Maine locale : SHOALS - A WAG after 83% perps

40. Quarterly half-day exam : LSAT - Saturday cluing for the test for Law School - if you're interested in taking the test, here's the schedule

43. Constellation next to Scorpius : ARA

50. Volga region native : TATAR - The Wiki - I once had a cute pen-pal in Kazan

52. Acknowledge silently : NOD AT

55. Bell or shell lead-in : TACO - Taco Bell, taco shell, nice

56. Squeezes (out) : EKES

58. Type size : PICA

59. Source of harm : EVIL

60. Letters from Lancaster : ZEDs

62. "Ouch!" : YOW

64. Festival d'__ de Québec: annual music event : ETE - Saturday cluing for "Summer in Somme"

65. Taste : SIP

Splynter