Five Spanner Saturday
An intimidating, but do-able Saturday grid from one of my "regulars" in a duo with another constructor whom I've seen before - Doug's "Run" puzzle from May 10th with Angela Olson Halsted. Today we have three spanners, and two climbers;
34A. Copyright, e.g. : INTANGIBLE ASSET
38A. "Right on!" : NOW YOU'RE TALKING
39A. It can help you carry a tune : TRANSISTOR RADIO
5D. Song sung by Pinocchio : I'VE GOT NO STRINGS
10D. Lab synthesis substance : CHEMICAL REAGENT
Very blank grid to start, wondered if I had any chance at all ~!
Theme: None
Words: 70
Blocks: 36
ACROSS: ( I actually started with the DOWNS )
1. Chia Pet, perhaps : GAG GIFT - CH- CH- CH- CHia ~! - never had one, but I think it's a cool gift, tho
8. "That's too close!" : BACK OFF
15. Stop flowing, in a way : ICE OVER - good misdirection; I was thinking clot
16. Daughter of Polonius : OPHELIA - From Shakespeare's Hamlet - not that I know any line from her
17. Drawing room? : GALLERY - First thought was Drafting Studio, but, uh, it wouldn't fit
18. Foil : PREVENT
19. Security item : I.D. TAG
20. Fancy wraps : MINKS
21. Handles abroad : NOMS - names, in French; handles, as in CB radio 'nicknames'
24. Key : MAIN
26. Non-coml. interruption : PSA - Public Service Announcement; I still zip through on the DVR
29. Body image, briefly : TAT - D'oh~! I had MRI, CAT, PET...TATtoo, body art
30. __ lamp : ARC - Thought I was sharp with OIL here
31. American leader? : ALL - ALL-American, like Bob Hope used to 'host' when I was a kid
40. Anthem elision : O'ER - "over the ramparts we watched" does sound a bit strained
41. "__ Calling": 2003-'05 supernatural drama : TRU - don't remember this show; two seasons on Fox
42. Will's "Glee" adversary : SUE - I do not watch this show
43. Bill holder: Abbr. : ENV - ENVelop(e), depending on where you are, I guess
44. Word in some school names : PREP - I figured this was going to be some Latin, like "Omni"
45. Quaint interjection : EGAD
47. "Romeo Must Die" star : JET LI
50. Power systems : GRIDS
54. Shake up : UNHINGE - Love this line from "Addams Family"
57. Curse : SWEAR AT
59. Deceiving : LYING TO
60. Conservative commentator who wrote "Let Freedom Ring" : HANNITY - I so do not buy into any of these "all news, all day" programs; truly, just talking heads. Sean Hannity, another Fox TV show
61. Jerks, as a bell rope : YANKS ON - hey now, down in front....
62. Wind in a combo : ALTO-SAX - Isn't this Bill's instrument? (the other one...)
DOWN:
1. 1958 film with the song "The Parisians" : GIGI
2. Sch. : ACAD - ACADemy
3. Yiddish dough : GELT - got this from the clue last week - one of the few answers I had to start
4. __ Heights: disputed Mideast territory : GOLAN - took a moment for me to remember; had GAZA on the brain, and that's the strip, not the geography
6. Tableau Périodique #26 : FER - FER-ench for IRON, on the Periodic Table - actually, I like this better than "not agin"
7. Effort : TRY
8. Dizzy music? : BOP - Be-bop, from Dizzy Gillespie, and probably a shout-out to our own Jazzbumpa ~!
9. Loan letters : APR - you can tell my state of mind - I had IOU to start....
11. Bacon from Philadelphia : KEVIN - first answer I got, then wondered if it was Roger
12. Author Robert __ Butler : OLEN - Prize winner
13. Rat : FINK
14. Nuts are rich in them : FATS - this is where i got my first toe-hold, and finished the NE corner, inspired me to carry on
22. 1996 Cruise title role : MAGUIRE - Also from '96 was Ethan Hunt, Mission Impossible, but it didn't fit; SAMURAI did, but that was from "The Last Samurai", 2003
23. Provokes : STIRS UP
24. Brewery sugar : MALTOSE - so it actually helped that I brewed my own beer in college - and man, that stuff was strong ~!
25. Decorator's suggestion : AREA RUG - was on the wavelength, tried ART _ _ to start
26. Mottled horse : PINTO - since ARAB and ROAN wouldn't stretch - maybe an AROAN?
27. "Boring" : SNORE - "Snore ~!" - I had ENNUI to start
28. Not just squabbling : AT WAR
31. Out of the way : ASIDE
32. Red head : LENIN - I had HENNA here, but knew it was a lead-in to "red", as in communist Russia, and ask me about my "Vladimir" story....
33. Statehouse official: Abbr. : LT. GOV - Lieutenant Governor, like here in NY -David Paterson rose to the first seat after Elliot Spitzer wound up in the hot seat....
35. First name in objectivism : AYN - AYN Rand, of the "Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" books - nailed it.
36. It's made by one who doesn't go out : BET - not sure I get this
37. Jamaican genre : SKA - since REGGAE didn't fit
44. Xylophone sound : PLINK - when the answer's blank, a Xylophone can make a whole lot of sounds
46. Liquid lye brand : DRANO
47. Pioneer Day month, in Utah : JULY - only two choices, right? June, and July - I guessed wrong
48. "Watermark" musician : ENYA - got it
49. Watery : THIN
51. Romance novelist Johansen : IRIS
52. Excel fodder : DATA - Excel, the Microsoft application software for compiling information into a spreadsheet
53. Netherworld flower : STYX - well, I seriously doubt there are fl-OW-ers in Hell.... Flow-ers = Things that flow.
55. Song from the same era as "Little Deuce Coupe" : GTO - the Beach Boys with "Little Deuce Coupe", and this number, from the days of my youth
56. Quite a stretch : EON - well, it's not "ages", right?
57. Oldie syllable : SHA - as in SHA-NA-NA
58. Retail store opening? : WAL - Wal-mart, the super chain - I don't shop there - I won't go near the place....
Thanks, and we'll see you next week - Same Spy Time, same Spy Channel
Splynter
Splynter