Saturday, Feb 20th, 2016, C.C. Burnikel

Theme: C.C.C.W.~!

Words: 72 (missing J,K,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 31

So nice to see our own blog host as the constructor of the 'Saturday Struggle'.  I was a little miffed by the SE corner, with just a few too many proper names, but a WAG here and there and I prevailed - within my personal allotted time AND without Google or red-letter help, no less~!  Yay~!  Triple 9x6 corners, almost triple 8-letter corners in the Down, and two 8-letter fills round out today's long answers;

32. Chain with day care : PETSMART  - I take it they have a pet-sitting service.  Also, we have a referential clue at 42a. Brand at 32-Across : IAMS

38. Refreshing ice cream with blended cookies : MINT OREO

 58. Step out : GO ON A DATE - this phrase is rather unfamiliar to me....  :7((

 63. Tom Jones hit written by Paul Anka : SHE'S A LADY - I am a huge fan of Tom Jones; I grew up listening to his records because my parents are from England.  I bought his "Rescue Me" album, long out of date, on CD from a guy in Russia through eBay - imagine that

Never Had a Lady Before (1979)

DiscO-NWARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Siri counterpart : GOOGLE NOW - I have an Android cel phone, but not this feature/ app.  I do know about Siri, as a friend of mine was telling us how her kids were able to get "her" to find "your momma" jokes

10. Inst. with a weekly "Big Picture Science" radio program : SETI - seemed like a good WAG, but I had to have the "S" first

14. Short-term hospital service : ACUTE CARE

15. Demonym that may have a second "a" : UTAHN - strangely, I did not know exactly what "demonym" meant (tho I knew "-nym" meant 'name'); then it showed up on Dictionary.com

16. Ignores : LETS SLIDE

17. Wise guys : SAGES

18. One of the Noldor, in Tolkien : ELF - ooops, not ENT

19. Pitcher's goal : SALE - about as close as we got to baseball today; that's a different kind of pitcher

20. Kind of red : MERLOT - not GARNET - but that's 33.3% correct 100%ly

21. Dark genre : NOIR - seemed to easy, so I left it blank at first

23. Holy __ : TERROR

25. Child expert LeShan : EDA

26. When many take breaks : AT TEN - I had TEN AM to start - right idea, wrong order

28. Work with a partner : DUET

29. Dropbox's blue box, for one : ICON

30. More, to Nadal : MAS

34. Lollygag : LOITER

37. Stay in the cooler : DO TIME - I knew this was jail related, but "sentence" didn't fit

40. Mattress problem : SAG

41. First name in couture : YVES

44. "Pipe down!" : SHUSH - I tried QUIET, but the "Q" was just not going to work

48. Child support org. : PTA

49. Road safety feature : MEDIAN - unless, of course, you drive over it; I have seen and heard people do so

51. Family __ : TREE

52. Schools abroad : LYCEES - oops, not ECOLES; that's Frawnche for school; this word translates to High School

54. Genre of the late David Bowie : GLAM - R.I.P. Ziggy Stardust

56. Dove shape : BAR - the soap, not the bird; I was onto the clue, but I was trying "EGG" or "OVA" to describe the shape of the soap bar....

57. "Iron Chef America" host Brown : ALTON

60. Hunger Games competitors : TEENS - I am in the middle of reading "Catching Fire", book 2; I have the third one waiting....and I am not going to see the movie until I am done

61. "We don't promise you a rose garden" sloganeer : U.S. MARINES

62. Transposes letters, say : ERRS

ODWN:

1. Lead source : GALENA - Galena is the ore that lead is derived from; Galina is the Russian name for "Helen"; I knew one when I lived in Jacksonville, FL

2. Spotted cat : OCELOT

3. Company : OUTFIT - There's a running joke in the movie "Payback" (starring Mel Gibson) about the criminal organization's name the "syndicate" being changed to the "outfit"

4. Alfa Romeo sports cars : GTs

5. More, to minimalists : LESS

6. Flash : ECLAT - and a clecho at; 13d. Flash : INSTANT - two different definitions

7. Got down pat : NAILED - C.C.'s turn of phrase when getting a longer fill in a crossword puzzle with no crossings is "Nailed It", and I like to use it, too

8. Diner kitchen shout : "ORDER UP~!"

9. Minute : WEE - now that's a "wee" mini-skirt~!

10. Heineken logo feature : STAR

11. It's trained on a nest : EAGLE-CAM

12. Name meaning "God's gift" : THEODORE

15. Tweeter, say : USER

20. Phrases on seals : MOTTOS

22. Sends in : REMITS

24. Musical piece : REED - dah~! Not reST

27. Icel. is its only member without a standing army : NATO

29. "Perhaps" : "I MIGHT."

31. Soap, for example : SERIES

33. Short stops? : STAs - StaTIONs

34. She played Arwen Undómiel in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy : LIV TYLER

35. Albee's "The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?," e.g. : ONE-ACTER

36. Enjoy The Atlantic : READ - Argh~!  Not SAIL - as in the Atlantic, not THE Atlantic

Ghostbusters (1984)

38. Government nutrition guide : MY PLATE - the website

39. "Holy cow!" : "OMIGOSH~!" - interesting fill

43. Wilde tragedy : SALOME - here's where I started running into trouble

45. Roger Ebert's Illinois birthplace : URBANA - proper name #2

46. Ready for dinner : SEATED

47. Reason for Luther's excommunication : HERESY

49. Target section : MEN'S

50. Family matriarchs : NANAs

53. Ages : EONS

55. "The Social Network" actress Rooney __ : MARA - #3

58. Gloomy one : GUS - "Gloomy Gus"

59. Pickles on "Rugrats" : DIL- #4

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Argyle our sweet Santa, who has guided us through over 660 puzzles. Argyle always keeps a close eye on the blog so no comment is accidentally junked by Blogger. He also replies to each question posted on an old post. Off the blog, he's my close friend & trusted adviser. Thanks for all you do for me and this blog, Santa!