Saturday, Aug 17th, 2013, Brad Wilber

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing Q)

Blocks: 37

   I do believe Mr. Wilber took it easy on us this week - at least it seemed so for me; I worked harder on yesterday's "Buzz" puzzle than I did today - and today had just as many "Z"s, too~!  A rather odd-looking grid, a scattering of blocks ( and a high count for a Saturday ).  Just two 11-letter climbers, and two 9-letter entries in the across:

4. Familiar slogan : CATCH-PHRASE - what's your favorite "catch-phrase"? I'll tell you mine....

25. Beginner : ABECEDARIAN - Literally, someone learning the "ABCDs" of their milieu, from the Latin for someone learning the, well, a,b,c,d's

24. Coltrane's rendition of "My Favorite Things," e.g. : JAZZ WALTZ - I have added music links elsewhere in the puzzle, so feel free to find yours

47. Triple : THREEFOLD

Ooooooooonward~!--------->

ACROSS:

1. Pretentious fop : COXCOMB - Filled this in on the second pass; derived from the hat worn by court jesters, as it resembled the 'cock's comb'; i.e., the crest of a gallinaceous (ooh, big word) male bird

8. Ring of Fire country : JAPAN - nailed it, but then again....Ring of Fire story

13. Some brotherhoods : FRIARIES - new word for me, but I knew about friars; see 62A

15. Slow-tempo Spanish dance : BOLERO

16. "Who's on First?" comic : COSTELLO - I started typing BUD ABBOT, but was short a letter

17. Britt of "The Wicker Man" : EKLAND - Spelled it wrong; I had "U" in for the "A"

18. Resource in Montana/Wyoming's Powder River Basin : COAL MINE - a shout-out to our Montana

20. Antique auto : REO - too easy for Saturday

21. Peacock Throne leaders : SHAHS - more 'cocks'....

26. Grandeur : POMP - To go along with your coxcomb....

27. Majestic quality : HALO - and still more; a glow about the 'head'?

28. Launder money for, e.g. : ABET - is this really abetting, or more like racketeering?

29. "This could get ugly!" : "UH-OH~!"

30. Diner cooker : GRIDDLE - The appliance, not the person

32. Dickens's "Little __" : DORRIT

34. Creator of Marryin' Sam and Joe Btfsplk : AL CAPP - Some etymology on the name Btfsplk

38. Was a mentor to : ADVISED

42. Earth tone : ECRU

43. Amount to take : DOSE

45. Edgar-winning mystery writer Stabenow : DANA

46. "__: The Wanderer Talks Truth": singer's memoir : DION - musical interlude

49. Flooded field : PADDY

50. Unsavory paper : RAG

51. Brad, for one : FASTENER - the small nail, not the actor Pitt

53. One of six official U.N. languages : ARABIC

55. They're often mixed : EMOTIONS - my first thought, and so I did NOT fill it in; I thought it was too easy for Saturday

59. Waiter's observation : I'M NEXT - The person in line, not the server

60. Fertilizer compounds : NITRATES - Great WAG for me

61. Try : TASTE

62. Plainsong singer : CHANTER - reminds me of this movie:

DOWN:

1. Phased-out refrigerant compound : CFC - Chlorofluorocarbon, and if you care to continue our chemistry lesson from last week....

2. Conquistador's treasure : ORO - Spanish man, Spanish gold

3. They follow the nus : XIs - cute use of homonym ("Late Night following your local news")

5. Creme-filled snacks : OREOs - well, there's a lot to get DF about on this Saturday~!

6. Actress Kunis : MILA

7. Lab vessel connected to a vacuum pump : BELL JAR

8. Regular "Laugh-In" feature : JOKE WALL - starring that crossword staple ARTE Johnson

9. Up, in scores : ALL - tied, that is; I used to hear this in soccer recaps - "Manchester and Arsenal 1-all in the second half"

10. LensCrafters rival : PEARLE - eyewear professionals

11. Journalist Peter : ARNETT

12. Crammer's tablet : Nō-DōZ - pill popping tablets, not the i-thingy

 

14. Horn of Africa native : SOMALI

15. Automotive pioneer Karl : BENZ - Half of the Mercedes-Benz company's origins

19. Maker of PerformX sportswear : IZOD

21. Tater : SPUD

22. Seasonal chuckle : HO-HO - short a Ho~?

23. Spanish soap staple? : AMOR - Spanish soap opera, that is, and love; threefold love makes for much more drama

27. "Design on a Dime" network : HGTV

31. Art movement born during WWI : DADA - some history here; funny, but this article uses 4D in the 4th paragraph

33. Obsession with an accent : IDÉE FIXE - I was thinking this was a clue about perfume at first; idée fixe is Frawnch for fixed idea, so that kind of obsession, with the 'accent' on the "E"

35. __ test : ACID - seemed a little too easy for a Saturday

36. Nudge : PROD

37. Weak : PUNY - we just had this earlier in the week, I believe

39. Altar assurances : I DOs - until you DON'T for some ( including me )

40. "Bambi" creator Felix : SALTEN

41. Peculiar to a locale : ENDEMIC - I like "indigenous" better; sounds less 'plague-like'

43. Greg's TV partner : DHARMA - ABC sitcom I never watched; I like this Dharma better

44. They have stops and keys : ORGANS - LOVE the pipe organ; more music - what incredible skill

47. Attribute : TRAIT

48. Really, after "in" : FACT

49. Historic Jordanian city : PETRA - the city built into the canyon wall, and featured in "Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade"

52. "Sex and the City" actor Chris : NOTH - I never watched this, either, but I was a huge fan of "Mike Logan" on Law & Order

54. Get into the pool : BET - the gambling pool

56. Third Major Leaguer to reach 500 home runs : OTT - now this is more like Saturday cluing; total WAG for me, but then again, how many three-letter baseball players can you name, C.C.~? (From C.C.: Derrek Lee came to mind.)

57. Alumna identifier : NÉE - more Frawnch. more accent.

58. Lith., once : SSR - for BarryG, before he goes away~!

Splynter

PS.

 I would like to know if anyone here has any idea about how to go about getting a novel copyrighted, and then published.  Thanks for your responses.

 Oh, and here's the missing "Q"