Theme: None
Words: 70
Blocks: 38
I did the research and found that Mr. Doll has done a Saturday puzzle for the LAT once in 2010, and 2009. I don't keep up with the other paper's grids. Robert's last puzzle was Sunday's "Fish Heads", during the Hurricane Irene days - seems so long ago, now that we are two weeks from Christmas Eve.
Anyway, a sort of 'sideways' grid, with two 12-letter down fills;
8. Feature of many a monster movie : MASS HYSTERIA - Mob mentality, like in the movie Frankenstein, but it reminds me more of this scene, from my generation
20. Called for : NECESSITATED - a rare occurrence for me, a 12-letter fill that is one word, and not underlined in red because spell-check is having a problem with it
Well, when it comes to tough puzzles, these that have one-word clues that define synonyms are the ones that really thwart me, and it gets worse when it's more than one word - for example;
17A. Try : BID - STAB, TEST, ATTEMPT, ugh - what's another three-letter word for this???
18A. Saw : ESPIED - and then there's the 'stuck in carpenter' problem, so it's not the tool, it's the verb that is echoed in 59A
27A. Entered : KEYED IN - well, I was fairly certain that it was -- IN, so I tried WALKED, WENT, AMBLED, nope, nuh-uh, not it....
13A. Miss __ : A CUE - Ah....not AMERICA, U.S.A., MANNERS, but a stage flub
6D. Inconsequential : FRILLY - YEEEACHT ~!!! OK, I get it, but I was looking for that juicy fill, like MINOR, EFFETE, FAILED - oh, I do love that tingle in the brain at the final letter ~!
ANY way, for me, BURSTING was was burst this puzzle open for me.
Onward ~!
ACROSS:
1. Engage in logrolling : BIRL - been in Crosswords before, but I couldn't recall it
5. Not quite right : OFF
8. Life Savers, e.g. : MINTS - again, not CANDY, or RINGS
14. Depression era prog. : NRA
15. 1983 World Cup skiing champ McKinney : TAMARA
16. Abel, vis-à-vis Adam: Abbr. : DESCendant
19. Controversial fuel : ETHANOL
21. Annoys : HASSLES
22. "No way!" : "GET REAL~!"
23. Kyrgyzstan border town : OSH
24. Birmingham band, briefly : ELO - Black Sabbath didn't fit
25. Fed. auditing agency : GAO - we just had this, too
26. Shout : CRY
29. But, to Brutus : SED - yeah, I took Latin for 4 years, and it didn't come to me
30. Replete : BURSTING - and this is where I '10.D' it
31. Divisions politiques : ETATS - French for state, becoming a standard
34. Pig thief of rhyme : TOM - Don't know this - filled in via perps
35. Waterproof boots brand : TOTES - Used to be a popular commercial at Christmas when I was growing up - they had slippers and umbrellas, too
36. One arriving during the overture, say : LATE SHOW - as in, "how rude, he was a late show and interrupted my view"
38. Literary contraction : EEN - Evening
39. Platoon provender : K-RATION
40. Lending letters : APR - not IOU, but Annual Percentage Rate
41. Small trip : HOP - not a JOG
44. Words With Friends, e.g. : APPlication, for one's smart phone - I don't have this particular one
45. Macavity creator's monogram : TSE - total WAG, but what can I say?
46. Idle fancy : CHIMERA - more familiar with the "animal" than this definition
48. Tray carrier, perhaps : BARMAID
50. Series of clips : TRAILER
51. Sleep inducer : OPIATE - well, sure, but so is beer, if you take enough of it - I would know....
52. Airport screening org. : TSA
53. They're above pvts. : CPLs - corporals
54. Kisser : NECKER - in this case, it's not the mouth, it's the person - and he's getting frisky
55. Overseas assent : OUI
56. Playground rejoinder : AM SO
57. Corporate __ : GREED
58. 45, say: Abbr. : RPM
59. No longer hidden : SEEN
DOWN:
1. No-goodnik : BAD EGG
2. Summer cooler : ICETEA - oh I am so not going to say it, but ARGH~!
3. Form hastily, as judgment : RUSH TO
4. Old Renault : LeCAR - Image
5. In agreement : ON BOARD
7. It doesn't last : FAD
9. Troublemakers : IMPS
10. Passed the test in a big way : NAILED IT - This is C.C.'s phrase - I learned it from her blog here
11. Mountain demarcation : TREELINE - not ALTITUDE, but it sounded right - treeline makes much more sense
12. "Teen Angel" et al. : SAD SONGS - et. al. means "and others', but I goofed by filling in _ _ SONG, and it wasn't working
15. Enticing ad : TEASER
21. Nonsense : HOKUM
28. Harrow rival : ETON
29. Leave be : STET
30. Stem at sea : BOW - the front of a ship
31. Quick Draw McGraw alter ego with a guitar for a weapon : EL KABONG - never heard of him - here he is
32. Roofer's material : TAR PAPER - well, now you're talkin' - Tar Paper is just that - paper saturated in tar, and used as an underlayment for roofing, siding, and decking applications
33. With consequences : AT A PRICE
34. In shape : TONED
37. Sock seller : HOSIER - my kind of hosiery
38. Joseph's second son : EPHRAIM - I was curious
40. Elicits a scolding : ACTS UP
41. Distressed request : HELP ME - I had J from JOG at 41A - leaving me J_ _P ME - and, well, JUMP ME is a request, but I swear, I was thinking about the car battery ~!!! (lol)
42. Ultimatum words : OR ELSE
43. Protestant cleric : PARSON
47. Layered minerals : MICAS
49. Auto title datum : MAKE - Make, model, year, mileage
52. Perch for a puma : TOR - rock ledge - here he is leaving
Answer grid.
Splynter
Question from C.C.:
I got a new computer with Windows 7 yesterday. When I go to Chicago Tribune's puzzle website in my Firefox browser, the Options, Print, Solve buttons do not work. Does anyone know why? They are perfectly fine in Internet Explorer, but I'm not fond of IE. I did get a "A fatal error has been detected by the Java Runtime Environment" message when I downloaded Java update.
Words: 70
Blocks: 38
I did the research and found that Mr. Doll has done a Saturday puzzle for the LAT once in 2010, and 2009. I don't keep up with the other paper's grids. Robert's last puzzle was Sunday's "Fish Heads", during the Hurricane Irene days - seems so long ago, now that we are two weeks from Christmas Eve.
Anyway, a sort of 'sideways' grid, with two 12-letter down fills;
8. Feature of many a monster movie : MASS HYSTERIA - Mob mentality, like in the movie Frankenstein, but it reminds me more of this scene, from my generation
20. Called for : NECESSITATED - a rare occurrence for me, a 12-letter fill that is one word, and not underlined in red because spell-check is having a problem with it
Well, when it comes to tough puzzles, these that have one-word clues that define synonyms are the ones that really thwart me, and it gets worse when it's more than one word - for example;
17A. Try : BID - STAB, TEST, ATTEMPT, ugh - what's another three-letter word for this???
18A. Saw : ESPIED - and then there's the 'stuck in carpenter' problem, so it's not the tool, it's the verb that is echoed in 59A
27A. Entered : KEYED IN - well, I was fairly certain that it was -- IN, so I tried WALKED, WENT, AMBLED, nope, nuh-uh, not it....
13A. Miss __ : A CUE - Ah....not AMERICA, U.S.A., MANNERS, but a stage flub
6D. Inconsequential : FRILLY - YEEEACHT ~!!! OK, I get it, but I was looking for that juicy fill, like MINOR, EFFETE, FAILED - oh, I do love that tingle in the brain at the final letter ~!
ANY way, for me, BURSTING was was burst this puzzle open for me.
Onward ~!
ACROSS:
1. Engage in logrolling : BIRL - been in Crosswords before, but I couldn't recall it
5. Not quite right : OFF
8. Life Savers, e.g. : MINTS - again, not CANDY, or RINGS
14. Depression era prog. : NRA
15. 1983 World Cup skiing champ McKinney : TAMARA
16. Abel, vis-à-vis Adam: Abbr. : DESCendant
19. Controversial fuel : ETHANOL
21. Annoys : HASSLES
22. "No way!" : "GET REAL~!"
23. Kyrgyzstan border town : OSH
24. Birmingham band, briefly : ELO - Black Sabbath didn't fit
25. Fed. auditing agency : GAO - we just had this, too
26. Shout : CRY
29. But, to Brutus : SED - yeah, I took Latin for 4 years, and it didn't come to me
30. Replete : BURSTING - and this is where I '10.D' it
31. Divisions politiques : ETATS - French for state, becoming a standard
34. Pig thief of rhyme : TOM - Don't know this - filled in via perps
35. Waterproof boots brand : TOTES - Used to be a popular commercial at Christmas when I was growing up - they had slippers and umbrellas, too
36. One arriving during the overture, say : LATE SHOW - as in, "how rude, he was a late show and interrupted my view"
38. Literary contraction : EEN - Evening
39. Platoon provender : K-RATION
40. Lending letters : APR - not IOU, but Annual Percentage Rate
41. Small trip : HOP - not a JOG
44. Words With Friends, e.g. : APPlication, for one's smart phone - I don't have this particular one
45. Macavity creator's monogram : TSE - total WAG, but what can I say?
46. Idle fancy : CHIMERA - more familiar with the "animal" than this definition
48. Tray carrier, perhaps : BARMAID
50. Series of clips : TRAILER
51. Sleep inducer : OPIATE - well, sure, but so is beer, if you take enough of it - I would know....
52. Airport screening org. : TSA
53. They're above pvts. : CPLs - corporals
54. Kisser : NECKER - in this case, it's not the mouth, it's the person - and he's getting frisky
55. Overseas assent : OUI
56. Playground rejoinder : AM SO
57. Corporate __ : GREED
58. 45, say: Abbr. : RPM
59. No longer hidden : SEEN
DOWN:
1. No-goodnik : BAD EGG
2. Summer cooler : ICETEA - oh I am so not going to say it, but ARGH~!
3. Form hastily, as judgment : RUSH TO
4. Old Renault : LeCAR - Image
5. In agreement : ON BOARD
7. It doesn't last : FAD
9. Troublemakers : IMPS
10. Passed the test in a big way : NAILED IT - This is C.C.'s phrase - I learned it from her blog here
11. Mountain demarcation : TREELINE - not ALTITUDE, but it sounded right - treeline makes much more sense
12. "Teen Angel" et al. : SAD SONGS - et. al. means "and others', but I goofed by filling in _ _ SONG, and it wasn't working
15. Enticing ad : TEASER
21. Nonsense : HOKUM
28. Harrow rival : ETON
29. Leave be : STET
30. Stem at sea : BOW - the front of a ship
31. Quick Draw McGraw alter ego with a guitar for a weapon : EL KABONG - never heard of him - here he is
32. Roofer's material : TAR PAPER - well, now you're talkin' - Tar Paper is just that - paper saturated in tar, and used as an underlayment for roofing, siding, and decking applications
33. With consequences : AT A PRICE
34. In shape : TONED
37. Sock seller : HOSIER - my kind of hosiery
38. Joseph's second son : EPHRAIM - I was curious
40. Elicits a scolding : ACTS UP
41. Distressed request : HELP ME - I had J from JOG at 41A - leaving me J_ _P ME - and, well, JUMP ME is a request, but I swear, I was thinking about the car battery ~!!! (lol)
42. Ultimatum words : OR ELSE
43. Protestant cleric : PARSON
47. Layered minerals : MICAS
49. Auto title datum : MAKE - Make, model, year, mileage
52. Perch for a puma : TOR - rock ledge - here he is leaving
Answer grid.
Splynter
Question from C.C.:
I got a new computer with Windows 7 yesterday. When I go to Chicago Tribune's puzzle website in my Firefox browser, the Options, Print, Solve buttons do not work. Does anyone know why? They are perfectly fine in Internet Explorer, but I'm not fond of IE. I did get a "A fatal error has been detected by the Java Runtime Environment" message when I downloaded Java update.
