Theme: None
Words: 70
Blocks: 32
WOW~! Fun puzzle for me today; Argyle handled Michael's LAT debut in April of this year, and he has been published in the NYT as well. Mr. Dewey seems to have a musical flair, with strong art and sports knowledge as well. Just short of the "Q" for a pangram, and we have one spanner, one climber in today's pinwheel;
32A. Football backfield formation named for its shape : WISHBONE OFFENSE - I am not a huge fan of any particular football team, but I do enjoy watching any chance I get - and for us New Yorkers, we have a pre-season Giants/Jets game today, which ought to be good
8D. Fruity desserts : RAZZLEBERRY PIES - the real deal
- lots of proper names, too, most of which I was familiar with - and that can go a L-O-N-G way in getting good with grueling grids~! Persevere my proud puzzling pals~!!!
On-Ward~!.!.!.
ACROSS:
1. "SNL" predator voiced by Chevy Chase : LANDSHARK - one of my favorite SNL skits
10. "Aladdin" villain : JAFAR - knew it, but haven't seen the movie
15. 363-mile project known as Clinton's Folly : ERIE CANAL - I remember this from watching "America, the Story of Us"
16. Genre of "Akira" : ANIME - sounded Japanese, so....
17. Tease : TANTALIZE
18. Worked on, as a surfboard : WAXED
19. Blacken : SMEAR - like someone's good name
20. Alcopop brand : ZIMA
22. Horace's art : ARS - perhaps a little too easy clue/ans for Saturday; we're already 2/3 of the way there....
23. Support beam : GIRT - I-bar?, GIRD? nope, GIRT
24. Gunstock wood : WALNUT - knew it from watching "How It's Made"; beautiful grain
26. Mannerism : TIC
27. WWII org. : OSS - Office of Strategic Services; precursor to the CIA
28. Cowboy directive? : RIDE 'EM - Loved this answer
29. Type unit : PICA
30. Seat usually in first class : ONE-B - I had "ONE_", so I just waited on the perps
31. Cacophonous : AROAR - crossing "A FEE", so a bit "Meh", but what can you do~? The rest of the grid is pretty tight
38. Los __: Bay Area city : ALTOS - map; one of the red SQUARES, not red SCARES (see 14D)
39. Former South Korean leader : RHEE - the Wiki for those who care to know more
40. Deli staple : SLAW
41. Sequence of notes : PHRASE - a musician would know this, especially one who plays the guitar; a "phrase" is usually a riff-like pattern of repetition found in a guitar solo; see the "outro" part here from Hotel California (@1:37)
43. Tyler of "Inventing the Abbotts" : LIV - Three letters and Tyler? Go with LIV~!
46. Sign of smooth operation : HUM - Purr didn't fit; my brother had to have his beloved cat 'Maddie' put down yesterday, but he had her cremated so he has something to remember her by; my fondest memory is seeing just her tail sticking straight up and cruising through the house; this is her likeness:
47. Boxer Patterson et al. : FLOYDs
48. Gospel singer Winans : CECE - Her website
49. Clairvoyance : ESP - Extra-sensory Perception
50. Air show highlight : LOOP - not "RACE"
51. Shadow : TRAIL - like a Private Eye
52. Mother of Aphrodite : DIONE
54. Tough to budge : PIGHEADED
57. Throat thing : UVULA - the thingy hanging at the back
58. Tangy strips : LEMON ZEST - we get our "Lemon" zest on Fridays
59. Brown ale brand : PETE'S - I no longer partake, but I do appreciate the "Tinbeni toast" at sunset, for many reasons
60. Class leaders : "A" STUDENTS
DOWN:
1. Frees : LETS GO
2. Literary character in an old candy bar logo : ARAMIS - Three Musketeers; I did not know this; even this version of the candy is before my time - and now it makes sense
3. Five-time Super Bowl champs : NINERS - Another Bay Area reference; the SF 49ers
4. Coup __ : D' ÉTAT - French, literally "strike against the state", or an illegal overthrow of the government - but who's going to 'convict' you???
5. Reminder of a sort : SCAR - could have been SCAb, too, but I was right the first time
6. Fictional supercomputer : HAL - 2001: A Space Odyssey
7. Game show buy : AN I - Wheel of Fortune - comes on after Jeopardy! here in NY, NY; good crossword-like concept; usually fill in "AN_" and wait....or guess; 1-in-5 chance....
9. Little word in a Mozart title? : KLEINE - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, "a little serenade" - you'll recognize this
10. Chide : JAW AT
11. Bibliographical suffix : ANA
12. Hang-up : FIXATION
13. __ Cup : AMERICA'S - the award for a sailboat race, been going on since 1851 - here's the Wiki
14. McCarthy era paranoia : RED SCARE - Those pesky Russians....
21. Clammed up : MUM
24. Glutton of the grape : WINO - I was a glutton of the barley, you could say
25. Arabian Peninsula city in the crater of an extinct volcano : ADEN - Four-letter Arab location? Not OMAN? Try the 'other' one....although I did learn about the crater today
28. Sticks up : ROBS
29. Start to meditate? : PRE-meditate, like murder
31. Charge __ : A FEE
32. Done for : WASHED UP - nailed it
33. Misleading : ILLUSIVE - Looks 'misleading'; "E"lusive yes, but "ILL"usive...? Yep, same as Illusory, which does look right
34. Extinguish : STAMP OUT
35. Know-__ : HOW
36. "__ I Jubal's Lyre": Handel : O! HAD
37. Not conceal, with "up" : FESS - have to admit, I was stumped because originally, my 32A was "DEfense", which left me with E_SS - huh?
41. Abbas's gp. : PLO - not the "other" ABBA group
42. Ticker-tape parade, e.g. : HOOPLA
43. Tough to budge : LEADEN
44. Least hospitable : ICIEST
45. African grasslands : VELDTS - nailed it, and spelled it right, too~!
47. Canine problems : FLEAS - because CAVITIES wouldn't fit?
48. Flavor of the month, so to speak : CRAZE
51. Lean : TEND
53. Braves' div. : NLE - National League East; also the NY Mets division; not really a fan of these fills, like "ALer" and such, but it's part of our culture, so....but then again, I am a hockey guy - God help the NHL if they can't come to a contract agreement this year, right eddyB~???
55. Chronometric initials : GMT - I read this as "Chromosome", so I had DNA to start; this is chronometric, from chronometer, an "exceptional time piece" - Greenwich Mean Time
56. Astros, on scoreboards : HOUston
Answer grid.
The new church ramp is underway....Thanks for stopping in ~!!!
Splynter
