Words: 72
Blocks: 32
Every
now and then you get a puzzle that appears to be daunting, but little
by slowly the pieces fall into place, and you can solve it. In the
past, I have been thwarted by Mr. Collins' grids, and this one was
looking bleak, too, but then I got my toe in the corner of the doorway,
and managed to push my way through to the end, under my personal time,
and without red-letter or Google help. Monster 10-letter triples in
each pinwheel, with two 12-letter "SQU" words climbing inside the grid;
5D.+ Beyond reproach : SQUEAKY CLEAN +
21D. Followed a caller : SQUARE-DANCED
And clechos, too~! - the ones with the "+" next to them
OnWaRd ~!!!
ACROSS:
1. Seller of beignets and éclairs : PATISSERIE
- had it not been for working on a drafting project for a pastry store
in Brooklyn, I would never have gotten this one. Forget about it being
French; but then I tried PTAS for organizers, 1D, and that was just
enough to trigger my memory
11. Women's medal-awarding Olympic sport since 1992 : JUDO
15. Men in dress clothes? : DRAG QUEENS + 33D.
16. "The Night Circus" author Morgenstern : ERIN - never heard of the story or author; each letter came via perps....my car is nick-named Erin, though
17. Reviewers of plays : ANNOUNCERS - sporting plays, that is
18. One on a catboat : MAST - one mast, not one person
19. "__ they all, all honourable men": "Julius Caesar" : SO ARE - Shakespeare
20. Bill listings : FEES
22. Degree in math? : NTH
23. Bankrupt European automaker : SAAB
26. Escort : SQUIRE - hey, it's Saturday, what'd you expect
28. Wednesday relative : ITT - Addam's Family Characters, TV and Movie
31. Alaska is the only state without one : KMART - I had KM---, and thought, "well, that can't be right..."
34. Expected : USUAL
35. One of a G.I.'s three squares : MRE - Meals, Ready to Eat - "Three Hots and a Cot" - or is that prison?
36. River near Vicksburg : YAZOO - map no, your eyes are not getting worse....
37. Auto repair franchise : AAMCO - remember the ads? Double A, [beep-beep], M-C-O
38. Pecan, e.g. : PIE - not NUT
39. Turntable feature : CHANGER - very vague, but what can you do?
41. Prefix with laryngology : OTOlaryngology - normally seen here at the blog as "ENT", the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor
42. Trumpet : EXTOL - the verb
44. Dig deeply : ADORE - the 'hip' version of 'dig'
45. Zoning class. : RES.idential
- anyone a fan of Sim City? I love the game; it has three types of
zoning; residential, commercial, and industrial...guess which one
generates the most pollution?
46. "Mystery, Alaska" star : CROWE - Russell, in the hockey movie
47. Golf unit : ROUND - a shout-out to our own Husker G....must be getting cold on those early AM rounds
48. City east of Utrecht : EDE - map; just like it says - east of Utrecht
49. Brief time out? : CATNAP
51. Color on San Jose Shark uniforms : TEAL - Hockey team; won't be needing uniforms or gear any time soon...
53. Dave DeBusschere was its last commissioner: Abbr. : ABA - not attorneys, but basketball
54. Expos, now : NATS - the Nationals - I defer to our beloved baseball Boomer girl, C.C. for more (C.C.: The Expos became the Nats in 2005. Today's constructor Peter Collins is a Tigers fan.)
57. Like some sour cream : NO FAT - tried LO-FAT to start
61. OPEC units : BBLS
- the often discussed, but never really cleared up, abbreviation for barrels;
we have gone over this before; same with carburetors, too.
63. Do a steno's job : TRANSCRIBE
66. Place : LIEU
67. Rapscallion : HOLY TERROR - nice
68. Infinitive with a circumflex : ÊTRE - the diacritical mark over the "E"
69. One with a passing interest? : SPEED DEMON - Aaargh~!!! Please, people, do not cruise in the fast lane - is this just a NY thing?
DOWN:
1. Some organizers : PDAs - Personal Data Assistants, not Parent/Teacher Associations
2. River in Tuscany : ARNO
3. Ethiopia's largest lake : TANA - map
4. Former Russian foreign minister Ivanov et al. : IGORs - well, I had the "I", sooo....
6. Item on Argentina's flag : SUN - Anyone remember Match II ~?
7. Continental trade gp. : EEC - more here for those interested in the European Economic Community
8. Pilot's hazard : REEF - if you've already ditched the plane in the drink, I would think that a reef is the least of your concerns....oh, a boat pilot - never mind
9. About : IN RE - not AS TO
10. Word comprising 60% of itself : ESSES - great clue; 3/5ths of the letters, or 60% are "S"
11. Scout's brother, in a Harper Lee novel : JEM - "To Kill a Mockingbird"
12. Pitchblende, e.g. : URANIUM ORE
13. Wandering : DISTRACTED
14. Free : ON THE LOOSE - oh, so close - I had ON THE HOUSE; in the past, I was not so much of a 30D. - my drinks were rarely "on the house"
24. Hunan nurse : AMAH
25. Market : BAZAAR - not BODEGA
27. "Psych" network : USA
28.+ Beyond reproach : IMPECCABLE + see 5D at the top
29. Pink-nosed cereal pitcher : TRIX RABBIT - we just had this two weeks ago Saturday
30. One who won't take a shot? : TEETOTALER - a shot of liquor, that is
32. Lively movement : RONDO
33.+ Dress up : TOG OUT
40.+ Shore bird : ERNE; and + 60D. Shore bird : TERN
43. Personal : OWN
50. What hikers wear? : PATHS - another cute clue
52. He played Ugarte in "Casablanca" : LORRE
55. Rays' home field, familiarly, with "The" : TROPicana Stadium - I got this one, C.C.~!
56. Pitcher's goal : SALE
58. Solid : FIRM
59. Bug follower? : ABOO - Bug-a-boo
62. Boy who fought his father in a 1969 hit : SUE - Johnny Cash - link away~!
64. Emmy-winning scientist : NYE - Bill Nye, the science guy
65. Kind of time: Abbr. : STD - Standard, which arrives this November; at this point, I think we need to do away with "Daylight Saving Time" altogether
Splynter
