Saturday, Dec 28th, 2013, Steve Salitan

Theme: None

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

Blocks: 28

   Thank you all for last week's get well comments; I had such a high fever I thought I was going to lose my mind - literally. This is the first time I've gotten to a crossword in two weeks.  I was able to review the last three LAT this week, and I have to say thank you to C.C. for covering my part last Saturday, and for a stellar effort on Thursday's puzzle. As for today, when I saw Steve's name at the top, I figured I was looking at a DNF - I am usually thwarted by his misdirection and vagueness, but with only one cheat,  I was able to finish this one.  Nothing longer than the two 11-letter cross fills today;

 31A. "Violator" band : DEPECHE MODE - JUDAS PRIEST fit, too - but I knew that was wrong; I was finally able to tune in to Pandora for the first time in a month yesterday, and Depeche Mode pops up on my favorite channel with this song

39A. 1996 film with the tagline "YIKES! They've Landed!" : MARS ATTACKS! - Hysterical parody of science fiction and horror directed by Tim Burton with a cast of big names - and Tom Jones, too~!

Onward~!

ACROSS:

1. There may be tears in them : DUCTS - Right off we have ambiguity; tEErs, or tAIrs~???

6. Track event : GRAND PRIX - the Indy car kind of track; clecho 16A. Track event : RELAY RACE - the human leg kind of track

15. Like some office boxes : IN/OUT

17. Yellow-flowered medicinal plant : SENNA

18. Champing at the bit, and then some : OVEREAGER

19. "__ Cheerleaders": 1977 comedy-horror film : SATAN'S - I wonder if the people at IMDb feel like they really, really need to include these types of films; then again, the summary does sound intriguing....

21. Campus not far from LAX : USC - well, I figured it was University of something/something California

22. Camera that uses 70mm film : IMAX - So far, I've only seen Skyfall in IMAX (and a nature film at the Museum of Natural History)

23. Exploit : USE

24. Casual evening? : NITE - night (evening) spelled casually

26. Inedible orange : OSAGE

27. Aspire to greatness : AIM HIGH

29. "84, Charing Cross Road" novelist Hanff and others : HELENEs

33. Deco designer : ERTE

34. Agreeing words : "SO AM I"

35. Latin quarters? : CASA

41. Arizona retirement community : SUN CITY

45. Black-footed albatrosses : GOONEYS - also the nickname of the Douglas C-47

46. Ring material : ONION - steel? nylon? oh, duh

47. Savory, e.g. : HERB

48. Tex.-based carrier : SWA - Southwest Airlines - they are the leading airline at my 'local' jet airport, MacArthur; gets so little respect being in the neighborhood of JFK and LGA....

49. "Such a shame" : PITY

50. It's a mess : STY

52. Zen awakening : SATORI

54. Daily reading for many : HOROSCOPE - NEWSPAPER fit, too - and I DO read my daily horoscope each morning; said nothing about getting sick, tho

57. Nitpick : CAVIL

58. New members : INITIATES - Rookies, probies, neophytes (hey, that one fit) - I am a 'new member' of the driver's group at UPS - but I have not made their UNION yet

59. Whence Icarus fled : CRETE

60. Ones on the way up : ASCENDERS - yes, they, are....

61. Had a row : OARED - and another ambiguous word; roe, or rOW

DOWN:

1. Convince otherwise : DISSUADE - took a little too long to let go of PERSUADE

2. More disturbed : UNEASIER

3. Disdain : CONTEMPT

4. Skipjack, perhaps : TUNA - my one look-up; I was sure it was a boat, and it turns out it's also a block cipher, and the one we needed - TUNA

5. Tinny : STANNIC - which means "containing TIN"- STANA KATIC is better

6. Nursery product word : GRO - Miracle-Gro, e.g.

7. Follies : REVUE

8. Draft picks : ALES

9. Traffic blocker? : NARC - the drug traffic

10. Shade provider? : DYE - the "?" meant it was NOT "ELM"

11. Extol : PRAISE

12. Dealer in old clothing : RAGMAN

13. Way more than a cold snap : ICE AGE

14. Darius I's successor : XERXES - Persian (likely Bibilical) kings

20. Reacts to with an eye roll, perhaps : SIGHS AT - wasn't there a 'Friends' episode where Joey wasn't allowed to roll his eyes at what Phoebe said?

25. Something to test : THEORY

26. Cry of approval : OLE - I had O-HO, then OYE, and I wondered what other "Heyenes" there could be (29A)

28. Laugh line? : HEE - hee-hee

29. Respect : HOMAGE - if you're being really reverent, it's an OH-MAHJE

30. Corrections staff? : EDITORS

32. Humanities degs. : MAs

35. Soup holder : CAN - sometimes, the simplest answers....

36. Best kind of full house : ACES OVER - I had ACE/KINGS, and that stopped me from getting anywhere in the SE for the longest time

37. Use lofty words? : SKYWRITE - HAR-HAR~!!!

38. Pounced on : ASSAILED

39. Short time? : MINute

40. Caldwell's "__ Road" : TOBACCO

41. Most popular baby girl's name of 2011 and 2012 : SOPHIA - what's the inspiration? Usually there's a super-popular female singer/star that causes the increase in popularity; Britney Spears was one I recall

42. They may be civil : UNIONS - wars, rights, engineers

43. __ acid : NITRIC

44. Prairie predator : COYOTE

47. Bouncing off the walls : HYPER

50. Large amount : SCAD

51. Haul : TOTE

53. Frank Kennedy saved it from foreclosure : TARA - the plantation from "Gone With the Wind"

55. Moral lapse : SIN

56. Twisty character : ESS - as in

Splynter

Thursday, May 17, 2012, Steve Salitan

Theme: Danny Thomas starring in Make Room for Daddy, of course I am too young to remember this show so I must have seen it on TV Land.. Each of the four theme answers are two-word names of Television Shows, with the second word describing a type of room. We have only seen Mr. Salitan with themeless Saturday offerings recently, but he put together a nice grid with lots of interesting long fill along with the theme. I kept looking for a pun on the show names, but they were straightforward, and the reveal buried at the end confirmed the only other link between the shows.

17A. Gene Rayburn-hosted program with a six-celebrity panel : MATCH GAME. Who did not love Charles Nelson Reilly. GAME ROOM is probably where we had the TV in those days.

35A. Sitcom that received 17 Emmy nominations in 2011 : MODERN FAMILY. Hmm, I guess I must start watching this show. I take it back, the TV was in the FAMILY ROOM.

41A. 2000s high school drama : BOSTON PUBLIC. One of the many shows from David Kelley, but starring such great names as Chi McBride and Fyvush Finkel. PUBLIC ROOM is more common a phrase in England I think, or maybe any room open to the Public, I guess many might have TVs in them, like at a Pub?

60A. Jon Stewart vehicle, with "The" : DAILY SHOW. Contemporary humor on Comedy central, I never watch. SHOW ROOM. Ironically, this is not the room where you watch your shows, but where you go to shop for the new TV. And the unifier....

48A. Den, often, and in a way, what 17-, 35-, 41- and 60-Across end in : TV ROOM.

Let us see where Steve takes us.

Across:

1. Result of a dough shortage? : DEBT. Well I was thinking of the invention of bagels, or doughnuts. Not a great start.

5. Java neighbor : BALI. Geography, rats. All part of Indonesia, I think.

9. "Godzilla Raids Again" setting : OSAKA. I hate starting 0 for 3, but Tokyo also fit. Time to start looking at the downs.

14. End of a court game : ALAI. Jai Alai. We just had cesta recently.

15. Finished : OVER. Will solving this ever be over?

16. One learning the ropes : PUPIL. Why ropes? Why not ropes?

19. Key component : EBONY. Piano keys. LINK.

20. City south of Juneau : SITKA. More geography, A harbor city where the Alaska cruise ships go.

21. Org. that works with vets : SPCA. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; veterinarians not veterans.

23. Photog.'s blowup : ENLargement.

24. Telly Savalas trademark : NO HAIR. More old TV trivia, Kojak. I had a hard time sussing this one.

28. Home near a fire : TENT.

32. Protected side : LEE.

33. Nancy's comics cohort : SLUGGO. Quite the cute couple.

34. Assortment : OLIO. I nominate this as the official word of the Corner, to go along with Loon, the official bird, and Morel the official picture. C.C.? (From C.C.: I like this choice. DF is good too, though 2-letter.)

37. Cal Ripken, for one : ORIOLE. Of the Baltimore persuasion.

40. Long-billed birds : IBISES.

45. Nobel Institute city : OSLO. For Jerome and our Scandinavian contingent.

46. Rubbed off : ERASED. Sorry, my mind did not go in that direction when I first saw this cue. I guess some of the old DF from this site is rubbing off on my innocent mind.

47. Sot's shakes : DTS. Delirium Tremens.

50. Watcher : EYER.

51. Down : MOROSE. If you are UP are you LESSOSE?

52. Hail, to Caesar : AVE. Ave Caesar, morituri te salutant. Hail Caesar, we who are about to die salute you. The great things we learn doing puzzle.

53. "The Loco-Motion" singer Little Eva's last name : BOYD. Did not know the name (her middle name was Narcissus) but know the SONG.

55. Iraqi port : BASRA. More geography, I need a refresher course.

57. Traffic light signal : ARROW.

64. "Mean Girls" star : LOHAN. Can you say Train Wreck? She is no Nancy.

65. Cookie Monster pal : ELMO. Sesame Street.

66. Meeting place for Plato : STOA. Back again, feeling its OATS?

67. Plunders : LOOTS.

68. Deeply absorbed : RAPT. How to describe all of your current state of mind as you read my words.

69. "___ knowledge..." : TO MY.

Down:

1. Distressed gal? : DAMSEL. Oh goody, one I know. EXAMPLE. For our own Dudley.

2. Lancelot's unrequited lover : ELAINE. Oh my, not Guinevere, but this MAIDEN.

3. War component : BATTLE.

4. Bit of time : TICK. Or tock?

5. Peat source : BOG.

6. Gardner of film : AVA. Beautiful, married to Mickey Rooney and Frank Sinatra. This LINK is for you Kazie.

7. Moon vehicle : LEM. Lunar Excursion Module.

8. Words spoken in a huff, perhaps : I RESIGN. No politics from me.

9. Crude org. : OPEC. I really like this clue, nice play on words.

10. Like quarks : SUBATOMIC. Physics, right up there with geography.

11. G.I. Joe's address? : APO. Army Post Office.

12. Clan members : KIN. or Kith? Right Sylvester?

13. Rita Hayworth husband ___ Khan : ALY. Another movie beauty from the past.

18. "Star Wars" hero : HAN SOLO. Harrison Ford, I would not mind kithing him.

22. Side views : PROFILES. I like my left side best, or is it the right?

25. Rival of the past : OLD ENEMY. When I was in high school, Jenny...oh never mind.

26. Color chart component : HUE.

27. Cabinet dept. : AGRiculture.

29. Some Ivy Leaguers : ELIS. The Yalies.

30. Where many a felucca is sailed : NILE. Hahtoolah, did your husband sail your felucca while you were in Egypt? No clue. I know they must be sail boats.

31. Plays (with) : TOYS. With my emotions, the rat.

35. Lake transport : MOTOR BOAT, Nice long fill

36. Follow, as rules : ABIDE BY. Another Friday fill.

37. Reed in a pit : OBOE.

38. Far from bleak : ROSY. All rosy cheeked.

39. Man, for instance : ISLE. Off of Great Britain.

42. Poker : PRODDER. For some reason this makes me think of Allan Sherman.

43. Former Egypt-Syr. alliance : UAR. We are back in Egypt.

44. Seji Ozawa led it for nearly 30 yrs. : BSO. This is a gimme for us in Massachusetts who love the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The best.

47. Race for, as the finish line : DASH TO. I was lucky I had the perps filled here.

49. Saint Lawrence ____ : SEAWAY. In Canada, and maybe our last geography of the day.

54. Dominates : OWNS. Novak Djokovic owns Nadal.

56. Second: Abbr. : ASST. Who said, "I would like to introduce you to number two."

57. The whole enchilada : ALL.

58. Literary hopper : ROO. Kanga's baby in Winnie the Pooh.

59. Air density symbol : RHO. More PHYSICS.

61. Chef's recipe words : A LA. Carte. A LA Mode.

62. Sitter's challenge : IMP. Tyrion?

63. Fortune : LOT. Well it is my lot in life to finish up and get out of here. See you next time.

Answer grid.

See you next week, same time, same channel...

Hugs,
Marti

Saturday, March 24th, 2012, Steve Salitan

Theme: None (well, a bit Indian, I think)

Words: 70

Blocks: 28

A little mix of everything today for me - some gimmes, some WAGs; some right-ons and some write-overs. A pinwheel of nines with two more climbers inside; got one by pure logic, the other pure luck -

9D. Hosp. staffers : E.R. DOCTORS - Had the first letter, "E", and the "-ORS", so....

31D. Mount high above Delphi : PARNASSUS - ah~! Greece~! Too early in the AM, I guess, and confused my DelPHi with DelHi (as in 44D). Had to WAG the second "S"; the rest was all perps; here's a map for you

Compared to last week's pummeling, I am pleased with how I did on this puzzle ~! I'd like to hear how you fared.

ONWARD ~!

ACROSS:

1. Diamond protector : GLASS CASE - Not Tarpaulin, so, sorry C.C., no baseball to start

10. Agra wrap : SAREE - Indian (Asian, like 44D.) garment; Agra is the site of the Taj Mahal - a crossword staple

15. A job ticket often accompanies one : WORK ORDER - seen my share of these; all my job tickets are numbered by my sobriety date; today is 80216

16. Southeastern town dubbed "Brick City" in the 1880s : OCALA - goofed here, too, thinking this was "ADOBE", but that's the South WEST; map

17. Deceptive football play : END-AROUND - I am not too familiar with football plays; the only ones I know are quarterback sneak, flea-flicker, and BLITZ~!!!

18. Inveigles : LURES - new word for me

19. Like arbitrators : NEUTRAL

20. Not straight up : OVER ICE - WHOA ~!!! Easy, Tin....

22. Packing gp.? : NRA - National Rifle Association, packing 'heat' - makes me think of this Blue Öyster Cult song.

23. Hairy TV cousin : ITT - the "Addams Family"

24. Bonds, in a way : CEMENTS - new this, but it took "DOCTOR" to give me the "C", and that altered my 10D.

25. Lawyer's thing : RES

26. Old gun across the pond : STEN - Image

27. Nice way to refer to you? : TOI - Nice the French city. As you know, meh, French for me (Nice, the city in France)

28. Some plants : SPIES - not this plant; mis-direction here

31. Sit (down) undaintily : PLOP

32. Blue genre : PORN - I hear one of the Republican candidates plans to "ban" pornography; good luck to him; he will NOT get my vote - any comments, lois?

33. Something to believe in : TENET - nailed it

34. __ ball: bad miss in hoops : AIR

35. Had, biblically : BEGAT

36. Disappearing sea : ARAL

37. Places for icons, briefly : CRTs - Cathode Ray Tubes, yeah I get it, but a bit of a stretch

38. Olympic speed skater __ Anton Ohno : APOLO - for the ladies

39. Some MDs : GPs - a WAG, but not too hard to guess - General Practitioners

40. Business word after "&," maybe : SONS - like P.C. Richard & SON (S)

41. It can lead to fisticuffs : IRE

42. Sister of Orestes : ELECTRA - a little mythology, if you care

44. Formicidae family member : ANT - I always wanted to have a whole wall of my house to be like 1A so I could have a really huge any farm

45. S.A.'s second-largest country : ARGentina

48. Sea nymphs : NEREIDS

49. Shooting marble : STEELIE - I put this in right away, tho I thought it was the ball from pinball....

51. Like a Frisbee's symmetry : AXIAL - not CONIC, and RADIAL didn't fit

52. Christian __ : SCIENTIST - not familiar with this one

54. Reagan attorney general : MEESE - The Wiki

55. "Rise 'n' shine!" : UP AND AT 'EM - crossing 46D. Out of the sack : RISEN

56. Blessed duo? : ESSES - bleSSed, very good

57. Common sedimentary rock : SANDSTONE

DOWN:

1. "Miracle on 34th Street" Oscar winner : GWENN - Ed #2, here - I have not seen this movie, go figure - but then again, I am "young"....

2. One unlikely to collaborate : LONER

3. Per __ ad Astra: RAF motto : ARDUA

4. Card game for three : SKAT

5. Most pathetic : SORRIEST

6. Certain Balkans : CROATS

7. __ education : ADULT

8. RFK, for three-plus yrs. : SENator - NYC renamed the Triboro bridge for him

10. Mirthless : SOLEMN - Had SULLEN to start

11. Words after seek or find : A CURE - find, yes, seek, meh

12. Champing at the bit : RARIN' TO GO

13. Kind of college : ELECTORAL

14. Gradually enters : EASES INTO

21. White House colloquialism : VEEP - VP, Vice President

25. Stagger : REEL

26. Thin apertures : SLITS

28. Acting handle : STAGE NAME - Splynter is my "stage name"

29. Baffles : PERPLEXES - Great fill, with an "X", too

30. Sequentially : IN A SERIES

32. Classical guitarist Romero : PEPE

35. Mixes well with others? : BARTENDS - another cute clue/ans.

37. Quantity destined to be burned : CORD - of wood, that is

40. Metro gates : STILES



41. Mean : INTEND - ah, the other meaning of mean

43. Cut out : CEASE

44. Indian, say : ASIAN - my my my ~!! Image

45. O'Connor's successor : ALITO - Supreme Court associate justice

47. "Understand?" : GET ME ???

50. Non-stateside state : ETAT - meh, French

53. Balancing pro : CPA - Busy busy busy; Certified Public Accountant

Answer grid.

For those who care to know, this was my first full week doing different trucks for UPS - I stayed union, and did not fall to the "DARK SIDE".... I am very happy with my new supervisor, assignment and drivers - and I had no mis-loaded packages for the first time in a long time - proof that I needed to change. Thanks for asking ~!!

Splynter (stage name)