Words: 72 (missing -; a Pangram~!)
Blocks: 30
"Sans" Cruciverb, but we prevailed ~! I have never done this pen and
paper, but due to the downed website, it was print and solve,
old-fashioned~! ( actually, I play a little game when I do the puzzle in
the paper - I only allow myself the ability to solve a clue IF I have a letter from a crossing fill in place first ). Anyway, we had two 11-letter climbers:
11D. Fajitas server : SIZZLE PLATE - always looks, smells and sounds good when one of these goes by in a restaurant
Lots of clechos, lots of misdirection, especially in the 'plurals' department - I marked them with "*". I have to admit, I had two squares wrong - proper names crossing - what can you do?....
link~!
ACROSS:
1. Pet’s plaything : SQUEAK TOY - let the YouTubers begin~!
10. Syrian Ba’ath Party leader : ASSAD - Total WAG
15. Fools : OUTSMARTS; clecho #1 - 16A. Fool : LIE TO; #2 - 23A. Foolish : WITLESS, and #3 - 14D. Fools : DOLTS
17. Semi lubricant : DIESEL OIL
18. Longtime Cleveland Orchestra conductor : SZELL - the "S" got me; I figured it had to be a vowel....George - more here
19. Galaxy download : APPlication - the Samsung Galaxy line of phones and tablets
20. Baby bugs : NITS (Sorry for the error earlier).
21. Freight not permitted in some tunnels, familiarly : HAZ-MAT - Hazardous Materials
22. Edsel feature : FINS - no, sorry, I don't see fins on an Edsel - I see fins HERE
24. Two-player whistlike game : ECARTE - Dah~! I had "A" at the end, because I didn't know my Detroit Tigers great
27. __ and Jack: kids’ clothing shop chain : JANIE - never heard of it, but there are two stores here on LI
28. 2012 N.L. Manager of the Year Johnson : DAVEY
- now this baseball guy I know - he was the Nationals manager in 2012,
and won MotY in 1997 with the Orioles - but I knew him as the Mets
manager 1984-90, including their '86 World Series win (how's that~!!)
29. Prepare to compare : JUXTAPOSE - love that word~!
33. Eczema soother : ALOE
34. Pool components : GENES - so who's been peeing in THIS pool~?
35. Wash unit : LOAD
36. Numismatist’s concerns : MINT MARKS - the big word for coin collector
38. Base boss : SARGE - some might have thought "abbr" could have helped, but it's Saturday
39. Something up grandma’s sleeve? : HANKY - yep, my Granny usually had a tissue there
40. Snowsuit clip-on : MITTEN - oh, we are getting there... woo-hoo~!
41. Like some pot roast : STRINGY - I had this, and thought...yeah?
44. Knitting rib : WALE
45*. Beachgoer’s wear : THONGS - Flip-flops for the feet; guys, unless you can rock it like this, then it better be Flip-flops....
46. Something to fill : ROLE
47. Get dolled (up) : TOG - OK, thong image for the guys
50. “For the Love of Mike” columnist : ROYKO - the Wiki, here
51. Sierra Mist flavor : LEMON-LIME - If we get Lemon on Friday, am I "LIME" on Saturday? (my parents are British, so technically, I'm a 'limey'....)
53. Run the roast : EMCEE
54. Brand used by police in lieu of a sketch artist : INDENT-I-KIT - Sounds like a Douglas Adams device from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
55*. Nobility : PEERS
56. Gridiron defensive rush : ZONE BLITZ - I knew the BLITZ part...had to wait for the rest
DOWN:
1. Fountain buy : SODA
2*. Words of Hope : QUIP - BOB Hope, that is
3. Sch. whose mascot is Paydirt Pete : UTEP - University of Texas El Paso D-Otto, gimme?
4. First of seven? : ESS - Seven
5. Hotel extra : AMENITY
6. Detroit Tigers great Al : KALINE - More from our true baseball expert, C.C. - (From C.C.: He spent his whole career with the Tigers. I like players like Al Kaline, Robin Yount, Stan Musial, Yaz, Cal Ripken Jr., Kirby Puckett, etc.)
7. Brings (out) : TROTS
8. Mayberry sot : OTIS
9. Monogram on some high-end scarves : YSL - Yves Saint Laurent
10. Old name of London’s Whitefriars district : ALSATIA
12. Boss’s terse summons : SEE ME
13. Traveler’s aid : ATLAS
21.* Help for those at sea? : HINTS
23.* Auto detailer’s supply : WAXES
24. Dutch export : EDAM
25. Colombian city : CALI
26. Big name in romance novels : AVON
27. Inferior : JUNKY - immediately followed by ->
29. Spasmodic : JERKY
30. Dutch astronomer who found the first evidence of dark matter : OORT - more on this man here
31. Fragrant herb : SAGE
32. Fall setting : EDEN - Not autumn, but "THE" fall, in the Bible
34. Mobs : GANGS
37*. Tropical fruit : MANGOES
38. One in doubt? : SILENT B - d-o-u-B-t - didn't fool me~!
40. Molly who sells cockles and mussels : MALONE - the unofficial anthem of Dublin
41. Amoxicillin target : STREP - a penicillin antibiotic for treating Streptococcus - phew~!
42. Jim who is the most recent member of the 600-home run club : THOME - and to you, C.C. (From C.C.: He hit his 600th home run as a Twin.)
43. Big name in luxury travel : ROYCE - Rolls ROYCE
44. Lilith Fair performers : WOMEN
46. Overhaul : RE-DO
47. __ bar : TIKI
48. Drop : OMIT
49. Stan with a sax : GETZ
51. 1963 Cleo player : LIZ - Cleopatra, and ELIZabeth Taylor
52. __ Wolf: Big Bad’s son, in Disney comics : LI'L - the Disney Wiki
I've decided I want the bigger paycheck, since my car is aging fast - I passed my physical on Tuesday - going to be a UPS driver~!
Splynter
Answer Grid:
