Words: 70
Blocks: 26
Hi there~! Hope your morning solve was a tough, but enjoyable one - this is my first time analyzing a Mr. Wiesenberg construction in the year I have been here at the blog, and I either knew his answers, or I was completely lost - and no 51D. was going to help. Triple stacks of 11- and 10-letters in a classic pinwheel frame, most of which came easy with a few letters; it was the middle "stairs" that did me in - yes, I cheated today. oh well.... ONWARD with some of the longer strings -
17A. Western Hemisphere group : THE AMERICAS - we'll start with a map - one that everyone should be familiar with....so I went with an "ALT" (q.v. 45A) light pollution version
53A. Skinny : ECTOMORPHIC - I thought this guy was an "Ectomorph", and he ain't skinny
14D. Opalescent gems : MOONSTONES - sounds cool, like they came from the moon, but they're found right here on Earth
25D. Snooze : GRAB SOME Z'S - just great fill here - I got it from the crossing "ZEE"
I already said it, my Orthorunican friends~!!!
ACROSS:
1. "See ya!" : I'M OUTTA HERE - nice start, since I was not going anywhere until I was finished; I did have to wait until I had some downs filled first. Reminds me of Dennis Miller's sign off on SNL, 4 rows down here
12. Part of an org. : MEMber
15. Overprotective governments : NANNY STATES
16. Simpson judge : ITO
18. HBO alternative : SHO - Showtime TV - their website is www.sho.com
19. Ruman of Marx Brothers films : SIG
20. Wing: Pref. : PTER - as in Pterodactyl - this fella
21. Good sense : REASON
23. Place for a Valentine's Day gift : VASE - "Aww, you brought that tall man some flowers..." - OK, what movie, huh? huh?
24. Puts (in) conditionally : PENCILS - as in "he pencils in a tentative lunch time"
25. "Brighton Rock" author : GREENE - actually, the whole middle section was Proper names, and I knew none of them
28. Guinevere's lover : LANCELOT - well, OK, I know this one, but had to wait for some perps
29. "Conjuring" author James : RANDI
30. Siesta time : TARDE - OK, total unknown for me - I tried ONE PM, since I thought the clue was asking for a specific moment; I am guessing this means "late"~??? A little help here, with my language barrier (Added late: It's "afternoon".)
31. Trip taker of a kind : EGO
32. "__ boy!" : ATTA
33. Fur sources : MINKS
34. Not backin' : AGIN'
35. Short life story? : BIO
36. "South Pacific" Tony winner : PINZA (Ezio) - Unknown to me
37. Jaded : BLASÉ
38. What Balboa called the Pacific : SOUTH SEA - 36A. Pacific clecho, too
40. Lures : TEMPTS
41. Some entrées : ON-RAMPS - now, I figured this out early, because I am familiar with on-ramps and cloverleafs, but I figured since it was "French" in needed to be "On Rampe", or some "ALT" spelling....
42. Hardly a sign of support : HISS; and 54A. Puff adder's warning : SSS - some snake clecho
43. Lorin __, who succeeded Szell as the Cleveland Orchestra's music director : MAAZEL - well, now, I just linked this guy whose CD I "promoted" last week with "1812" - which by the way, was the year we had a war, 200 years ago
44. Cabinet div. : DEPT
45. Alt's opposite : NEU - completely lost on this clue: at first I was looking for the "ALTernative" to ALTitude, but nothing was coming to me; I call it brain-lock when you hit a "Sticking Point" (that is not a "TINE") and you refuse to give up - I am guessing it's German for Old and New - I found this link to a synagogue
48. Taina of "Les Girls" : ELG - Another unknown for me
49. Longtime separatist Sri Lankan group : TAMIL TIGERS - tried PAPER tigers, but I know what a paper tiger is, and it has nothing to do with Sri Lanka
52. Omega counterpart : ZEE - last letter in two alphabets
55. Having another look at : REASSESSING - Great bottom edge fill, with two "E"s, and four "S"s
DOWN:
1. QBs' stats : INTerceptionS - one stat a QB wants to keep really low....
2. When doubled, a fish : MAHI-mahi
3. NASA acceleration unit : ONE G - a measure of the force of Earth's gravity
4. Actress Merkel : UNA
5. Kettledrums: Var. : TYMPANI
6. Safari threat : TSETSE
7. Up __ : A TREE
8. 2009 Broadway revival : HAIR- other 4-letter plays; CATS, RENT
9. Inclusive abbr. : ETC - Et Cetera, and other things from Latin
10. Hits after a screech, probably : REAR-ENDS
11. Core : ESSENCE
12. Perceived Cold War weapons disparity : MISSILE GAP - the space between dart throws, when playing for beer....
13. One studying animals' behavior in their natural habitats : ETHOLOGIST
22. Poker plus, usually : ACE
23. Hindu sacred text : VEDA
24. Cold wear : PARKA
26. Bases : RATIONALE
27. Followings : ENTOURAGES - love the show, too
28. "The Great Caruso" star : LANZA - the movie, here
30. Sticking points : TINES - nice mis-direction for me - I was looking for "bones", or something that holds up a contract negotiation - nope~! Just these
33. Lose : MISPLACE
34. Charity : ALMS
36. Acidity-measuring device : pH METER - I was fairly certain of the "pH" part, but I tried TESTS, then PAPER - but it crossed my other WAG at PAPER (49A.)
37. Rouses to action : BESTIRS
39. Toon whirlwind from Australia, familiarly : TAZ
40. Sneak : TIPTOE - I had " - - - -OE", and thought nah, that's not going to...oh, wait~!
42. Big wheels at sea : HELMS - DAH~!! I was trying to get LINERS and OILERS here - and we were looking for the actual BIG wheel....
44. De Soto's deity : DIOS
45. Classic fruit-flavored drink : NEHI - Crossword favorite, new(ish) clue
46. Ireland, poetically : ERIN
and three closing initialisms -
47. SOS responder : USCG - The United States Coast Guard
50. Common commuting letters : MTA - e.g., Metro Transit Authority
51. Help for lost drivers, for short : GPS - Global Positioning System - once a piece of expensive military equipment, most cars and smart phones now come with one, and I think it's a good idea - so why do I always end up lagging behind some Cidiot (C.C.: I'm such a City idiot. I had to google to see what Splynter means!) lost on his way out to "Wine Country" at the end of Long Island ~????
Splynter
Notes from C.C.:
1) Happy Birthday to Annette. Hope all's well.
2) Here is Part Four of Kazie's Spain Travel. Great to see the railway station where she and her husband first met.
Notes from C.C.:
1) Happy Birthday to Annette. Hope all's well.
2) Here is Part Four of Kazie's Spain Travel. Great to see the railway station where she and her husband first met.
