Words: 70
Blocks: 28
Plenty of 63D. "D'oh~!" moments for me today. A pleasant offering from Mr. Peterson; lots of clues that made me think, plus a few write-overs. A good-looking grid with triple 9's in the across, triple 8's in the down, and two 'cheater squares' to add to this week's 'blogversation'. Two 12-letter spanners that are 24D., 'hardly easy' to fit;
33A. Evidentiary home movie studied by the Warren Commission : ZAPRUDER FILM - Abraham Zapruder, the man who captured the assassination of President John F. Kennedy with his home-movie camera in Dallas, Nov. 22nd, 1963. Seed entry?
41A. Programs for quick studies : CRASH COURSES - first "D'oh" moment for me - stared at this one for too long.
On - WARD~!
ACROSS:
1. St. Basil's Cathedral locale : RED SQUARE - my next "D'oh" moment, as I was thinking "Basil" is a British Isles kind of name - yet I know this place...
10. "Whereupon ..." : AND SO...
15. What Henry taught Eliza : ELOCUTION - "My Fair Lady", "Pygmalion"
16. Diner choice : BOOTH
17. Rash : HOT-HEADED
18. Did stable work : SHOED - MUCKED didn't fit
19. Heaps : A PILE - meh, I had "PILES", and it wasn't working out
20. Forever, it seems : AGES - Not "EONS"
22. Arctic explorer John : RAE
23. Good-hearted : BENIGN
25. Building with a dome : ROTUNDA - CAPITOL fit, and it has both a DOME and a ROTUNDA, but....
28. Snorkel, e.g.: Abbr. : SGT - Crossword regular, Sergeant
29. Shell mover : OAR - another "D'oh" moment, was stuck on 'shell game', and considered "rat" as the answer....but we're looking for this
32. Angora goat fabric : MOHAIR - and another "D'oh" moment, as I was trying to "59A." Cashmere, Kashmir, and Kasmir in there....
36. Short-term funding source : ATM - Fresher clue for this old answer
39. Site of regular slopping : PIG FARM - ah, you guessed it, I wanted PIG STY, needed another letter....
40. Soap component : LYE
44. Hoodwink : TAKE IN - Like in a Shell Game
45. Catch on : SEE
46. AMEX, e.g. : MKT - stock exchange 'market'; a learning moment for me
49. Indulged in to excess : OVERDID - yep, I overdid the beer (1D.)
51. Aglow in the gloaming : TWILIT - such eloquence, pronounced "TWY-lit", and yet the word looks like an insult - "you Twilit~!!!"
54. Morass : FEN - I tried MUD first, seemed sensible
55. Michael of "Juno" : CERA
58. Colleague of Clarence and Ruth : ELENA - Supreme Court justices; is this 'annotated'~??
59. Squeeze : WRING - yeah, I get it, but I think of these "compressions" as being different from each other....
62. Target for some keglers : CANDLEPIN - kegler, from German "to bowl", is a perfect score of 300 in American bowling, or 12 straight strikes - isn't Boomer a bowler ??? (From C.C.: Yes. In fact, Boomer just had 9th perfect game two days ago. To me, kegler = bowler.)
64. Dandy's accessory : ASCOT
65. Like many bibliographies : ANNOTATED
66. Bagpipes and saxes : REEDS - not HORNS or WINDS
67. Overdrawn account? : FISH STORY - well said~!
DOWN:
1. Recovery locale : REHAB - been there, done that....
2. Gets together quietly? : ELOPES
3. Prone to spoiling : DOTING - grandparents, not grapes
4. "The beer that made Milwaukee famous" : SCHLITZ - despite my 1D. stay, I never actually had Schlitz, go figure
5. Wouk captain : QUEEG - The Wiki, for those who would like to see more
6. First name in acting instruction : UTA
7. "O patria mia" singer : AIDA
8. "Walkabout" director Nicolas : ROEG - one of those "constructor friendly" names
9. Rear-__ : ENDER
10. Chiseled muscles : ABs
11. Masked drama : NOH - Japanese theatre
12. Epitome of deadness : DOORNAIL - Dead Horse wouldn't work here
13. With regularity : STEADILY
14. "My heavens!" : OH DEAR ME
21. Cheddar's county : SOMERSET - Today's map
24. Hardly easy : NO PICNIC
26. Self-titled jazz vocal album of 1958 : TORME
27. Old dial letters : UHF - TV dial, remember those?
30. Castor and Pollux sailed on it : ARGO
34. Plant pest : APHID
35. Provoke : DARE
36. Pearl Harbor attack, e.g. : ACT OF WAR
37. Pass over : TRAVERSE
38. Act friendly : MAKE NICE
42. Source of Sun. light? : SER
43. Flirt with, in a way : SMILE AT
47. Pick-up artist? : KLEPTOmaniac, a thief; one who uses the "five-finger discount"
48. More minuscule : TINIER
50. Joltless joe? : DECAF - none for me, thanks, I like my coffee with kick
52. Painful paintball mementos : WELTS - and HOW~!! Stings like a mo***f'er
53. Early personal computer maker : TANDY
56. Mumbai royal : RANI
57. Journalists Compton and Curry : ANNs
60. Show boredom : NOD - needs "off" to make more sense, really
61. Alfa Romeo sports cars : GTs
63. Head-slapper's cry : "D'oh~!" - Homer Simpson, and his now dictionary-worthy expression
Answer grid.
Now go out and have your tequila with salt, and your Coronas with lime - do one for me
Cinco De Mayo ~!!!
Splynter
