Words: 72 (missing J,Z)
Blocks: 29
This one started out well enough, but the NE corner did me in - some
answers were just not in my wheelhouse, so I had to switch to
red-letter. Oh well. A little something for everyone today, myself
included (see 19D.). A rare grid pattern, nothing too intimidating,
with just the triple 8's in two corners. Worth mentioning:
7A. Dupe : CAT'S PAW - Now that I think about it, I vaguely remember something about this, but I didn't get this reference at first; it's also a 54A.
41A. City where the first koala sanctuary opened : BRISBANE
58. Underwater escape mechanism : SQUID INK - I just found out it's an ice cream flavor
O n w a r d ~ !
ACROSS:
1. Protocol : RUBRIC - First line from Blue Öyster Cult song
14. Where seals are their least graceful : ON LAND
15. Script used to transcribe foreign words into Japanese : KATAKANA - more here
16. Low-tech calculator : ABACUS
17. Modeling job? : EPOXYING - Loved making scale models when I was a kid; still have some kits waiting to be finished
18. Drop shots, in badminton : DINKS
19. Nearsighted one : MYOPE
20. Was into : DUG - My first thought, but it didn't sit well with me; then the "U" showed
21. Low : SAD
22. "Daniel Deronda" (1876) was her last novel : ELIOT - the Wiki
24. Regatta racer : SCULL - ARGH~!! Second time in two weeks that my "YACHT" was wrong
26. Osiris' sis : ISIS - ssssssss....and they had a kid, Horus, together
28. Speculate : INFER
30. Choir section : APSE - DAR~!!! I tried ALTO, BASS - no, the actual place
31. Wielding absolute power : DESPOTIC
33. Legal extremes? : ELs - LegaL - the two "L"s on the ends of the word; didn't fool me
35. He plays Andy Bernard on "The Office" : ED HELMS
36. Tool that's swung : CLEAVER - HAMMMER was too wrong
40. Letters in a prof's email address : EDU
42. Term paper abbr. : IBID
45. Wild outing : SPREE
47. 14-time A.L. All-Star : A-ROD - Alex Rodriguez - baseball for C.C.
48. Collection of plates : ARMOR - I like Knights and Castles; I dressed in chain mail for my now-defunct wedding (From C.C.: Very cool, Splynter!)
50. Isn't industrious : LOAFS - not LAZES
52. Tag for some as-is mdse. : IRRegular
53. Legend site : MAP
54. Get one's goat, e.g. : IDIOM - Argh~!!! I had "IRKED", going with the figurative, not the literal English reference
56. It was once called Mission San Antonio de Valero : ALAMO - W.A.G.
60. Stories on stands : ALIBIS - Court of Law stands, that is
61. Enhances : AUGMENTS
62. Slim and trim : SVELTE - sounds sexy; I once knew a Russian girl named Svetlana; she was svelte
63. Ritual candelabrum : MENORAH
64. Cutie pies : HONEYS
DOWN:
1. Farm stand spot : ROADSIDE - Yep, the Cidiots will be arriving soon, with their "ooh, look, a farm stand~!" rubberneck driving skills
2. Neutral : UNBIASED
3. Flatter in a cajoling way : BLANDISH - straight up definition; new word for me, tho I did consider this "BLAND - ISH"
4. Pool convenience : RACK - No, Dennis, THIS kind of rack
5. Taken : IN USE
6. Some investments, briefly : CDs - Certificates of Deposit
7. Writer who said "All literature is gossip" : CAPOTE
8. Perched on : ATOP
9. Campaign hot button : TAXES - I had MONEY, since it worked with my YACHT
10. Word with jack or box : SKY - Skyjack, Skybox
11. Settled : PAID UP
12. Cancels : ANNULS - my wedding has not been "annulled" yet
13. Part of some golfers' pre-shot routines : WAGGLE - do any of our blog golfers "waggle?" Do you address the ball~? "Hello, ball~!"
15. It has an all-white scale : KEY OF C - Great clue/ans.
19. They show a lot of leg : MINIs - another gratuitous Splynter link
23. Chem test paper? : LITMUS - The paper's color changes depending on pH level
25. Fruit named for a Turkish town : CASABA
27. Maker of small suits : SPEEDO - a link for the ladies~!
29. A pitcher may appear in it : RELIEF - Bet C.C. nailed this one, too
32. Unlike spring chickens : OLD - "that A-Rod, he ain't no spring chicken"
34. Porter's "__ Girls" : LES
36. Stationery shade : CREAM
37. Algebraic uncertainty : VARIABLE
38. Unfathomable size : ENORMITY - Cream - Variable - Enormity; sounds like, um, how many inches of snow we might be getting....
39. Wooer's buy : RED ROSES
41. Tolerates : BROOKS - I have heard this before, but it was the perps that filled it in for me
42. Penn movie with a Seussian title : I AM SAM - IMDb
43. Cubism pioneer Georges : BRAQUE - some of his work
44. Call into question : IMPUGN - love the spelling of this; "im-pyoon"
46. Statue base : PLINTH - because PEDESTAL was unfathomably sized
49. Straphanger : RIDER - Subways
51. 21-gun salute, e.g. : SALVO
55. Actress Merrill of "Operation Petticoat" : DINA
57. Bank security : LIEN
59. Bit of blogger shorthand : IMO - In My (sometimes Humble) Opinion
60. It may be tapped off : ASH - cigarette reference; I went with KEG
Splynter
