Words: 66
Blocks: 35
PHEW~! - Thank God for DWEEBS~! It's the word that gave me a chance....then, one letter at a time, I had just enough to go back and literally piece together this challenge from Mr. Venzke - and I had a premonition we were due for one from Bruce. Two brilliant sets of triple-stacked grid spanners today, which is visually intimidating, to say the least ~!
1A. Steve Irwin wildlife documentary series, with "The" : CROCODILE HUNTER - Crikey~! Just could not recall the name of the show - all I remembered was his shocking death from a stingray barb
16A. It may involve a step : AEROBIC EXERCISE - I had SPIRAL STAIRCASE here, and the -C-SE at the end was good enough to get going....
17A. Senator, perhaps : STATE LEGISLATOR - considered --- ORATOR early on
54A. Valuable floor coverings? : SUNKEN TREASURES - The floor of the sea, that is; wooden ships run aground (or "a-reef"), spilling their treasure all over the bottom so that future vacationing divers have something to look for....
57A. Questionable prospects : UNCERTAIN FUTURE - can I get rich finding sunken treasure~?
58A. Some evaluations : PEER ASSESSMENTS - it's how we graded our Home Inspection tests this past winter
Onward, my lexeme liberators~!
ACROSS:
18. Hoppers : BINS - Ah, not ROOs or Rabbits; the container-type "bin"
19. Lummoxes : LOUTS
20. You might encounter a jam in one : AUTO
21. Luanda is its cap. : ANGola, Africa - map
22. The Keydets of the Big South Conf. : VMI - Virginia Military Institute - more here
23. Constellation near Virgo : LEO - image - one of those "can't be, too easy, but I'll try it" clue/ answers; considered ARA, but that constellation is near Scorpio
24. Rainbow features : HUES - I didn't think it would be ARCs, so after some pondering....
26. "Glee" extras : TEENS - never watched the show, but I know the premise - and TEENS was not my first thought....
28. Old Dodge : DART - Not OMNI, or NEON
29. Williams of "Bathing Beauty" : ESTHER
31. Get fouled up : GO AWRY
33. Addl. : AUXiliary
34. Blow smoke : LIE - and it's usually directed here
35. Pet store swimmers : TETRAS
38. Cab Calloway's signature line : HI-DE-HO - I know this from the "Blues Brothers"
41. 1891 title mother of an infant named Sorrow : TESS - a summary, here
42. One who doesn't stay put : NOMAD
44. Investor's purchase : BOND
46. Scrub sites, briefly : ORs - Operating Rooms
47. Kids usually don't want to hear them : NOs - Growing up in my house it was "We'll see...", and my mother would hope my brother and I would "forget" what we wanted
48. Month after avril : MAI - Le Freunche
49. Butter-yielding tree : SHEA - ah, I know of shea butter, did not know it was from a tree
51. Keep an __ the ground : EAR TO - "one eye on the road/price upon his head/one ear to the ground/he's listening to the dead" - song; @ 0:51
53. Items from drawers? : CELS - draw-ers, those who draw cels, animation elements
DOWN:
1. African landmark near the Mediterranean : CASBAH - someone else can link the song - not my thing
2. Entourage : RETINUE
3. Juicy fruit : ORANGES - well, that they are~!
4. Barracks lineup : COTS - not Barrack's line up
5. Brit. award : OBE - Order of the British Empire - my aunt and cousin are visiting from Nottingham, England this week - they spent quite a lot of time helping clean up the yard - then again, were I to go there, I would love to build them a deck~!
6. Parsley family herb : DILL
7. Freeze : ICE OVER
8. Lentil, for one : LEGUME - had it, took it out for my "staircase", brought it back with the 'crocodile hunter'
9. Like some traffic : EXITING - if only it was ALL exiting....
10. British pianist Dame Myra __ : HESS
11. Address letters : URL
12. Bracketology org. : NCAA - College hoops, basketball - more on 'bracketology' here
13. Like figureheads : TITULAR - as in title, only - but hey, go ahead and get DF, my friends~! Dennis, Lois, anyone? Bueller? DF for the guys
14. Abstruse stuff : ESOTERY - good words; try working one into your day today....
15. Establish a fresh foothold : RE-ROOT - several times this puzzle, I would say
25. Ballpark figures : STATS
26. Janis Joplin or Scott Joplin : TEXAN - a WAG from -E-AN; Janis you might know; Scott was a ragtime composer - there's a link to "Maple Leaf" on the right, here
27. All muscle : SOLID
28. Social misfit : DWEEB - well, I suppose I am a dweeb, by this definition
30. Ben-__ : HUR - Classic Hollywood - what year? (before my time) - IMDb
32. Developing country's need : AID
35. Founder of Sunnybank Kennels : TERHUNE - Albert Payson - learning moment for me; I was watching a science show that said Collies are the smartest of all dogs (training-wise, I think)
36. Scent : ESSENCE
37. Recital pieces : SONATAS
38. Gets a move on : HASTENS
39. Big hit : HOME RUN
40. Ready : ON ALERT
41. Tough decision for a bettor : TOSS-UP
43. Title professor in a Mitch Albom best-seller : MORRIE - the Wiki - another learning moment
45. Puts down : DISSES - Slang; to "dis" someone is to show them disrespect
50. Oslo's river : AKER - huh - all I could find was Akerselva, and not much luck finding a map that called it that
51. Middle-earth creatures : ENTs - "Even the %^&*~! trees walked" - LOTR "dis" - strong language from Clerks II
52. Lummoxes : OAFS
53. Like a button? : CUTE - as in "Cute as a Button"
55. Internet __ : ERA
56. Cartesian conclusion : SUM - Latin, "I am", and some philosophy here
Answer grid.
Splynter
