google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner

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Dec 15, 2012

Saturday, Dec 15th, 2012, Neville L. Fogarty

Theme: None

Words: 72

Blocks: 30

 A fun romp of a Saturday, missing just the "Q", with some good fill, lots of references that I could identify with, and enough perps to cover the obscure answers.  Neville is the young man who was on Jeopardy ( see this from C.C. on the blog ) and has a blog of his own, with a weekly crossword offering - see here - and - gave himself a bit of a shout-out today with 42D.~!!!  One grid climber:

7. "Perform This Way" parodist : WEIRD AL YANKOVIC - oh, what song to link?  "I'm Fat", "Smells Like Nirvana"?, "Amish Paradise"?

and some other long fills I liked -

36. Of the 48 states, it has the largest island : NEW YORK - YEAH~!!! A shout-out to my home on Long Island~! ( the "r" in Port Jefferson is painted on my roof....)

5. It was dissolved by the Belavezha Accords : SOVIET UNION - I did not know there was an accord to officially dissolve the union.

25. Teleportation device for chocolate, in a 1971 film : WONKA-VISION - "TV Mike's" demise when he decided to become the first kid to be beamed into TV; from the movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, the film version of Raold Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Loved this song done by Gene Wilder ( who I thought was great as Wonka, too ).

ONWARD, quickly, I have to go to work this AM~!!!

ACROSS:

1. Confusing places : MAZES

6. Unfaithful : TWO-TIMING - How DARE you?!?!

15. Matter of faith : CREDO

16. "Huh?" : BEG PARDON?

17. When Othello says to Desdemona, "... would thou hadst ne'er been born!" : ACT IV - HA~! I filled in ACT II, and was almost right....

18. "The Birth of a Nation" period : SILENT ERA - nice to see more than just ERA in a puzzle

19. Clarifying words : THAT IS....

21. Black's opposite, financially : RED - How many of you are going into the "red" this holiday season?  - and I don't mean that red colored dress....

22. Brewer's need : OAST - aw, I almost filled this in, but waited

23. 1972 Eastwood title role : JOE KIDD - funny how this is followed by the next clue, and "Outlaw Josey-"  (from 1976)

25. Country with a dragon on its flag : WALES


26. Medieval poem about fate set to music in Orff's "Carmina Burana" : O FORTUNA - ya know, it does sound 'medieval' - I think Monty Python used this piece as a basis for their Holy Grail score (and other films used it straight up, I believe)

28. Whiting cousin : COD - something's fishy with this clue....

29. Cutting-edge brand since the '70s : GINSU - "But WAIT~! There's more~! Act Now ~!"

30. Highway through Whitehorse : ALCAN - I tried "US One", and was wrong - wrong side of the world, that is - the Alaska-Canadian Highway

32. Show co-hosted by Robin Roberts, briefly : GMA - Good Morning America

35. "The Facts of Life" actress : RAE - Charlotte

38. __-en-Provence, France : AIX - took a moment to remember the "X" ending in French

39. Martians, e.g. : ETs - Aliens~!

40. Clarifying words : I MEAN....

41. Pianist Watts : ANDRE

43. Bossy remark? : MOO - the Muppet Cow, HAR HAR


44. Weapon outlawed by a 1993 agreement : NERVE GAS - eh, I tried UZI RIFLE, even though I know it was wrong

46. __ renewal : URBAN

49. Perform a long jump : SKYDIVE - um, yeah, that's pretty long

50. Street light : NEON

51. Sgt., e.g. : NCO

52. If nothing changes : AS IT IS

55. Friend of Uncle Tom : LITTLE EVA - I have had this in a Saturday puzzle before

58. Parting words? : I LEFT

59. Branch of chemistry : INORGANIC

60. Brand of imitation fat : OLEAN

61. Big 12 football team led onto the field by The Masked Rider : TEXAS TECH - here

62. "Crud!" : "NERTS~!"

DOWN:

1. Future doc's test : MCAT - Medical College Admissions Test

2. Keystone site : ARCH

3. "Chicago" Oscar winner : ZETA-JONES - Catherine, all legs ~!

4. Life sentence reducers? : EDITORS - Life, the magazine, and written sentences

6. Conan's network : TBS - I like Conan, I have said this before

8. Took a good look at : OGLED - Oh, I'll take a good look at it...

9. Adorned mischievously : TP'ed - toilet papered ~!!!

10. First name in spy fiction : IAN - Flemming, of James Bond books

11. "The Wind in the Willows" amphibian : MR. TOAD - my younger brother liked this book

12. Optimal : IDEAL

13. Old language that gives us "geyser" : NORSE

14. Airborne pests : GNATS

20. UPC cousin : SKU - the store's 6- or 7-digit Stock-Keeping Unit reference number; Grossman's 2x4x8 stud was 204-208

24. Blown away : IN AWE

26. Meanie : OGRE

27. Royal decree : FIAT - ah, not WRIT

28. Ride : CAR

31. __ Island : CONEY

32. One with the latest gizmos : GADGETEER - it's a word, at least in the online dictionary

33. Actress Sorvino : MIRA - Paul Sorvino's ( Goodfellas ) daughter - do you think Neville likes blondes or brunettes?

34. Graph references : AXES - that's AXIS plural, the X- and Y- (and sometimes Z) planes

37. Expressive rock genre : EMO

42. Early WWII prime minister Chamberlain : NEVILLE - well, there you have it, Mr. Fogarty~!

43. It's repeated a lot : MANTRA - Om....

45. Dietary no. : RDA

46. Dark : UNLIT

47. Roi's wife : REINE - Frawnch

48. Head shot? : BOTOX - yep, botulism injections for beauty....

49. Tantrum result, maybe : SCENE - "get off the floor~! you're making a scene~!"

51. In order : NEAT

53. "__ first ..." : IF AT

54. Planned stops: Abbr. : STNs

56. Some linemen: Abbr. : LGs - Left Guards, in football - he's in yellow, here

57. "__ du lieber!" : ACH

Splynter