Theme: None
Words: 72
Blocks: 30
Splynter here.
I took a look and found the last Peter A. Collins puzzle on Wed., June 3rd, 2009 - before my time here at the blog. This one took longer than I planned, lots of names and places, but it had those "gettable" moments, and one central grid climber -
8. "It seems unreal to me!" : I CAN ONLY IMAGINE
And away we GO ~!
ACROSS:
1. Peace offering? : NOBEL PRIZE - good start; I didn't get it until the Z from ZAG came
11. __ jure : IPSO - Latin, "by operation of law" - Lemonade knows more
15. Subversive : UN-AMERICAN - eh, I suppose
16. Orthodontic challenges : GAPS - I had braces as a teenager, just as they were becoming "acceptable" - my teeth were mis-aligned, but no "gaps"
17. Modern era : DIGITAL AGE - knew it was "- AGE", but computer didn't fit....
18. The Sakmara flows into it : URAL - map #1
19. Party follower? : GOER party-go-er
20. The Musketeers, e.g. : MEN - long clue, short answer
21. Venetian marketplace : RIALTO
23. Big name in China : Zhou ENLAI - first premier of the People's Republic of China - I defer to C.C. on this
25. Cotton-pickin' : DOGGONE - thought it was Southern drawl, but it's in the dictionary as is - Damn "lite", so to speak
27. "Dracula" director Browning : TOD - never heard of him
29. Contrarian : NAYSAYER - a person who habitually expresses pessimisitc feelings...ooh
32. Eco-friendly border : GREENBELT - at first I thought "huh?", but here's the skinny
36. Produce : SIRE - I don't think of being a father as "producing" kids, but....
37. "The Professor and the Madman" subj. : OED "A tale of murder, mystery, and the making of the Oxford-English Dictionary" - never heard of it
38. Not seasonal : ALL YEAR
41. "Collages" novelist : NIN - Anais
42. Oscar-winning Whitaker role : AMIN - Idi
44. Read the wrong way : MISJUDGED
46. Ledger entry : LINE ITEM
49. Grooved whale : SEI - new to me; here's a pic
50. Small Australian omnivore : BUSHRAT - also new to me; pic #2
52. Place for boarders : DEPOT - meh on this, too - boarding a train....
56. 1998 NFL Comeback Player of the Year : FLUTIE - Doug, from the NFL (and CFL) when he was with the Buffalo Bills
58. Prattle : GAB
60. Heavy wind : TUBA - D'oh~! - I had gale, gust, etc. - we're talking orchestra
61. Infrequently spotted : RARE
62. Official report : WHITE PAPER - here's the Wiki
65. GM worker : ENGR - engineer
66. Apple that's Minnesota's state fruit : HONEYCRISP - according to Wiki, it was 'developed'
67. Morse morsels : DAHS - Morse code, dits & dahs
68. Teases too much, maybe : OVER-STYLES - as in hair, like this....
DOWN:
1. Jog : NUDGE - as in the brain, when you're short on crossword answers....
2. With 3-Down, deli order : ONION, and
3. See 2-Down : BAGEL - I prefer 'everything', personally
4. Qatar, for example : EMIRATE
5. Umpire's cry : LET - Tennis, not baseball - I, of course, had "~OUT!~"
6. London pusher's vehicle : PRAM - baby, not drugs - that would be a Jag with "bling"
7. Worked (up) : RILED
9. Bit of evasion : ZAG - it's Zig in the other direction
10. What some bars supply : ENERGY - ugh, I get it, as in protein bar
11. Dewlapped reptiles : IGUANAS - I miss my good buddy Zeus
12. Negotiating during a truce : PARLEYING - love this
13. Gaiter relative : SPAT - oh, these "things"
14. Vigeland Park city : OSLO - had the S, WAGed it
22. Cyclades island : IOS - map #2
24. New York college whose team is the Gaels : IONA
26. Bill for software? : GATES - as in William Henry III of Microsoft
28. Hotel rm. option : DBL - double, the room/bed size
30. Presque Isle State Park's lake : ERIE - had the - - IE, WAGed it, too
31. Tear : REND
32. SportsCenter highlight : GOAL - eddy, SJ couldn't close out the Red Wings; can Vancouver finish off the Predators?
33. Do __ ... : RE MI, musical notes
34. City nicknamed "Auld Reekie" : EDINBURGH - here's the castle; love 'em
35. Dramatist Rice : ELMER
39. Foyt and Cronin : AJs
40. Felt remorse for : RUED
43. Fixes : NEUTERS - ouch ~!
45. Regarding what's taken in : DIETARY
47. Grammar best-seller "Woe __" : IS I
48. "Tommy" rockers : THE WHO - not a big fan; I prefer Led Zeppelin & Blue Oyster Cult
51. What tots might go after? : TATER-tots, those little potato nuggets
53. Learner : PUPIL - I tried too hard with TUTEE
54. Like some with sedentary lifestyles : OBESE - if you don't watch your DIETARY intake....
55. Painters' protection : TARPS - diamonds, too
56. "High Noon" director Zinnemann : FRED
57. Lang of Smallville : LANA - Superman's story, as a teenager, and his GF
59. Ottoman governors : BEYS
63. __ lane : HOV - High Occupancy Vehicle - a long way to go for "car pool" - I miss the days before "PC" euphemisms
64. Agt.'s cut : PCT - Agents, and percentage
What? No FRENCH ~? Oh, wait, Parley....
Splynter
