Words: 70
Blocks: 29
This would be Jeffrey's first LAT puzzle, based on the history of the blog - there isn't even a link to his name, so I would say congratulations are in order~!!! (I did find a link to another CW of his, but....). Sadly, I have to concede a DNF (Did Not Finish) this time, as the NW corner was left partially unfilled by my allotted time....ah, well, every now and then I have to have a learning moment. Not a terribly daunting grid, triple stacks of 8's and 9's, and a smattering of 8's and 7's along the way. Some odd parsings;
2D. Confident declaration : I SURE CAN - Can you solve this puzzle in short time? "I SURE CAN'T"
53A. Repulsive : UGLY AS SIN - I can hear my mother saying this when I was a kid; there are some actresses that make me wonder how they got their jobs in front of a camera - want to know who?
12D. Ont. site of a War of 1812 battle : FT. ERIE - When I had F and T, I thought, "no, that can't be right", but then the V-8 can came sailing in....Some history here
36D. Popular burning spot : DVD DRIVE - Dah~! I had "---DRIVE" and couldn't figure out the rest; and the "D" for Cholesterol names, either H-DL or L-DL had to be right, so fooD drive, blooD drive~??? It won't fit ~!!!
Onward....
ACROSS:
1. Twisted : SICK - not BENT; I had the "C" from CAME NEXT, so I tried RACY, too - hey, my mind is SICK and TWISTED and RACY, like the DF types on the blog....
5. Completed : CAPPED OFF - Capped off a great weekend in July with a huge bonfire
14. Virtually done deal? : E-SALE - knew it would be "E" something....
16. Pure as the driven snow : LILY WHITE - you can kiss my lily white 'uglyassin'
17. Light unit : LUMEN - pretty sure it was not WATT(S)
18. Mentalist who failed to bend Johnny Carson's spoons : URI GELLER - before my time, but I was pretty confident this was right
19. Out : FREED - too many options for the term "OUT", so I had to wait on this
20. Rips into : SLAMS - not TEARS or REAMS
21. Go down the wrong path : ERR
22. Brooding sort? : HEN
23. Like some ball gowns : SATINY - my first thought; I didn't fill it in because I thought it was a bit cheesy; then I had S----Y, so....
25. Cheese originally from the department now called Seine-et-Marne : BRIE - not BLEU, but enough to get going
26. Prevented a return from : ACED - ah, tennis; I had ICED because I was thinking along a different line
28. Safari setup : TENT
29. Troubled : BESET - makes me think of this movie quote @1:09 (language~!)
30. Expense account item : TAXI FARE
32. The younger Hardy boy : JOE - the only thing I know about the Hardy Boys was the TV show that was on when I was about 8
33. Involves : ENTAILS
34. Canines : CUSPIDS - crossing 29D. Top dog : BOSS - had me on the wrong wavelength for too long
38. Gov., e,g. : POL - GOVernor and POLitician makes sense
39. Husband : CONSERVE - this is a new definition for me, and it didn't fill in easily
40. Throws in the towel : GIVES - not CEDES
43. Traditional time for hot cross buns : LENT - not YULE - hey, I'm a recovering alcoholic, not a recovering Catholic ( a little AA humor there )
44. Early word : DA-DA
45. Co-star of Hugh on "House" : OMAR - Epps, or "Foreman"; I was just watching some HOUSE yesterday; there are some episodes where I just can't tolerate House....Theme song
46. One who got plenty of sack time in Rome? : VANDAL - OK, I cheated - I went to Google to see who had a name with second letter -A- and ended -L; didn't find "a" name, but a group
48. Crestor target, for short : LDL
49. Acct. entry : BALance
50. Green sauce : PESTO
51. One may be seen from a box : OPERA
55. "Good __": 1966 #1 song : LOVIN'
56. "Evidently ..." : SEEMS TO ME - makes me think of this song
57. Energetic : ALIVE
58. Locke pieces : TREATISES
59. Candy machine input : ONES - DAMN~!! Candy has gotten expensive~! I tried DIME, COIN and CENT
DOWN:
1. Therapist's challenge : SELF-HATE - just couldn't figure this out; I had the ----HATE part, but was looking for psychological term, not a hyphen phrase
3. Ensued : CAME NEXT
4. Bauhaus school teacher : KLEE - more here
5. Many flowers grow in them : CLUSTERS - Considered GUTTERS, even though I needed one more letter; the church where I am working now has plant life growing in the gutters
6. High overhead business? : AIRLINE - I had WIRE--- to start, since here on LI there is a 'backbone' of high wire transmission lines that runs right through the UPS grounds where I work
7. Supple : PLIANT
8. __ hippo : PYGMY
9. Lea grazers : EWES - Ewww~~!! That picture is UGLY ASS IN
10. FedEx rival : DHL - meh, I have gotten a DHL package once; it always fascinates me when a FedEx or DHL package comes down my slide. Plus, the work van I bought was once an Airborne Express courier
11. Four-time 1980s Stanley Cup champs : OILERS - with the "Great One", Wayne Gretzky. They won one more in 1990. Yes, eddyB, today (well, tomorrow AM) is the day we learn about our hockey future
13. Bring to light, with "out" : FERRET
15. Purposes : ENDS
24. Whatsoever : AT ALL
25. Emitted a backup signal? : BEEPED - not really sure the "?" is needed
27. Bum wrap : DIAPER - har har har
31. Verizon communications service : FiOS - Their Fiber Optic service
32. Interim ruling group : JUNTA
34. Backs up : CONDONES - yeah, I get it, but my mind was stuck on burning a 'back-up' to DVD
35. "Deathtrap" playwright : IRA LEVIN
37. Cruise routes : SEA LANES
39. Haitian coin : CENTIME
40. Fail : GO BUST
41. Satellite's eye : IMAGER
42. Crooner Rudy : VALLEE - new to me; more here
43. They may be seen around calves : LASSOS - not these - c'mon, you should know me by now....
46. "__ la giubba": "Pagliacci" aria : VESTI - filled via Perps
47. 1970 Kinks classic : LOLA - someone else can link; I can't stand the tune
50. Over : PAST
52. Game with four-person teams : POLO - Four horses, too, I hope
54. Sumac of song : YMA - Learned from crosswords
Answer grid.
Splynter
