Words: 72 (missing J,Q,W,Z)
Blocks: 28
I thought I was going to smoke right through this puzzle, and maybe hit
my personal best time for a Saturday - alas, it was not to be. I
started off so well, too....drat. Ran into trouble in the top left
quadrant, with three proper names and a couple of vague clues. So I
cheated on 1d. Then I still did not get my ta-DA~! because of one
letter - more later. As for the grid, triple and double 9-letter
corners with two 11-letter climbers and two 12-letter spanners;
28a. Singer with the 2002 debut hit "Complicated" : AVRIL LAVIGNE
- I knew who it was right away, but then the spelling became an issue.
I was pleased to read she married Chad Kroeger from Nickelback - I like
their music; according to Wiki, the two married in a medieval castle - now that's my kind of wedding~!
42a. Constitution nickname : OLD IRONSIDES - the ship, not the document
onward~!
ACROSS:
1. NASA program for aspiring explorers : SPACE CAMP - love getting 1a. right off the bat~!
10. Subject of a 1964 Time article subtitled "Pictures That Attack the Eye" : OP ART
if it's moving when you scroll, it's working
15. Crowded locale : URBAN AREA -
I was in Dover Delaware helping my good friend Mike move into his new
house; he has several reasons for going down there, and I have taken an
interest in going as well - I can transfer to the local UPS hub by
signing up for school. Mike's new home is about 5mins from the heart of
the city, so "Firefly" was the talk of the town, Bluehen - YoUDee~!
(actually, it'll likely be the Tech school for advertising design)
16. Nikon competitor : RICOH - I WAGed CANON; I could argue I was 40% correct....nice job yesterday~! ;7))
17. Empty entirely : PICK CLEAN
18. Western formation : BUTTE
19. Furniture wood : RED ELM - as a wood worker, I'd really like to get into a project made from something other than pine or oak
20. Clergyman's deg. : ThD - Doctor of Theology
22. Building __ : SITE
23. "Peer Gynt" widow : ASE - and with 24a....
24. Runner-up before RMN : AES - ....a mini-anagram going on
26. Short-tailed weasel : ERMINE
31. Dow 30 company : APPLE
34. Focus of many a botanical festival : TULIP
35. Ottoman bigwig : BEY - I thought it was "AGA", and then "REY"
36. Farm newborn : FOAL - ah, not CALF
37. When many retire : AT TEN - my first fill was TEN PM
38. Great : HUGE
39. Hogwarts redhead : RON - Harry Potter's best bud
40. 1979 sci-fi classic : ALIEN - one of my top five movies
41. Gibson's "Lethal Weapon" role : RIGGS - I managed to recall his first name - Martin - too
45. Sign of anxiety : PACING
46. Allowance holder, perhaps : CAN - JAR, PIG, DAD(~?)
47. Place to see sea monsters, once : MAP
50. "¿Quién __?" : SABE - What is this, Spanish~? Who Knows~?
51. Announcer Hall : EDD
53. Dead Sea stronghold : MASADA
- I recall having watched this in school; even tho I was 10, I remember
thinking the surprise at the end made it a great story - IMDb
55. Pay : TREAT
57. Cepheus neighbor : URSA MINOR - I went with ursa MAJor to start; the "J" made it unlikley
(BTW, if I ever have kids, I'd like to name one daughter Cassiopeia)
59. Floor in the Louvre : ÉTAGE - Frawnche; can't get away from it
60. Quiet break : CEASE FIRE - yeah, that's one way to describe it
61. Corning creation : PYREX
62. Hog support? : KICKSTAND - Harley Davidson "hog"
DOWN:
1. 1978 Toyota debut : SUPRA - DAH~!! I couldn't think of this; Sentra? Celica? I am excited for their new hybrid pick-up, the A-BAT, due for release 2016
2. Looks closely : PRIES - argh~! Not PEERS
3. Tot's song starter : A B C D E - H, I, J, K....now I know uh, sumthin'
4. Decorator's target : CAKE - nice; didn't occur to me
5. Lesotho, for instance : ENCLAVE - OK, so I thought this was a Shakespearean character; turns out it's a land-locked country in South Africa - the Wiki
6. Comparatively still : CALMER
7. Exist : ARE
8. Essence : MEAT
9. Like the ancient Olympic Games : PAN-HELLENIC - "All of Greece"
10. Blake's eye : ORB - if I go to Delaware, I'll have to give up on my blue-eyed girl :7(
11. 15th-century pope : PIUS II - I nearly nailed it; "V" or "I"~?
12. Drive on the way to Hollywood? : ACTING BUG - yeah, um, what's an acting "RUG"~?
13. Stinker, in more ways than one : ROTTEN EGG
14. Old Testament pronoun : THEE
21. Backup site : DRAIN
25. One who's easy to take : SITTING DUCK
27. NBA honor : MVP - also MLB, NHL, NFL, etc.
28. Tide alternative : ALL - nice; laundry detergents
29. Tambur relatives : LUTES
30. Most spiders have eight : EYES - I had perps, so it was not "LEGS"
31. High style : AFRO - hair style, that is
32. Place to make a splash : POOL PARTY
- My B-day is in February, so my parents frequently suggested I do a
summer pool party for a better turnout and more fun; I was OK with the
idea because I basically celebrated twice
33. Sichuan native : PANDA BEAR
37. Separate : ALONE
38. __ Honor : HIS
40. Name from the Hebrew for "lion" : ARI
41. Alters on a desktop, maybe : RENAMES - your computer desktop
43. 2002 film with a mammoth co-star : ICE AGE
44. Table linen fabric : DAMASK
47. Fanaticism : MANIA
48. Dress : ADORN - oh, the verb, not the noun - it's part of my "47d"
49. Cut off : PARED - as say, the branches of a shrub or bush
50. Short distance : STEP
52. Square root of neun : DREI - Das German~!
54. Recipe direction : SIFT
56. '60s-'70s soul singer Joe : TEX
58. Ink __ : SAC - "JET" seemed plausible; made me question my "URSA"
Splynter
