Words: 70 (misssing J,Q,X,Z)
Blocks: 30
How's this for an early Halloween scare??? My first look at the triple
triple-15-letter spanners and I immediately ran for the DOWNS. And
that didn't help much. Too many abbrs., names and vagueness to be of
any good - at first. The key to solving this construction, for me, was
to go with my 'crossword instinct', meaning that the long answers would
most likely end with E, S, T, R, etc. - and then, with my smattering of
DOWN fill, I literally worked my way from the bottom up. I'll admit to
one bad cell (*), and I cheated and went to my analog dictionary for the spelling of 1A.
The Spanners:
1. Wedding reception fare : HOT HORS D'OEUVRES - I missed the "U", and jumbled my "R" and "V"
16. Hunter's accessory : AMMUNITION POUCH - I delivered a box of ammo to a guy yesterday who was questioning why I required a signature; it had nothing to do with his 2nd Amendment rights, but UPS does require an adult to sign for explosives. Period.
17. Fourth-generation relative : GREAT- GRANDNIECE
16. Hunter's accessory : AMMUNITION POUCH - I delivered a box of ammo to a guy yesterday who was questioning why I required a signature; it had nothing to do with his 2nd Amendment rights, but UPS does require an adult to sign for explosives. Period.
17. Fourth-generation relative : GREAT- GRANDNIECE
32. Certain cohabitant : DOMESTIC PARTNER
- when I was in the Sober House, everyone would talk about their "S.O."
- I thought it was a variation on a P.O. - parole officer. Turned out
to be their "significant other" - sounds pretty cold to me
37. Anglican leader : EPISCOPAL PRIEST
38. Beethoven work completed the same year as the "Moonlight" : PASTORALE SONATA - let's hear a little
37. Anglican leader : EPISCOPAL PRIEST
38. Beethoven work completed the same year as the "Moonlight" : PASTORALE SONATA - let's hear a little
53. Have a considerably negative effect on : MILITATE AGAINST - about the only one that is not a 'common phrase'
58. Recipe datum : PREPARATION TIME
59. Fitness specialist : STRENGTH TRAINER
58. Recipe datum : PREPARATION TIME
59. Fitness specialist : STRENGTH TRAINER
O~N~W~A~R~D~!
ACROSS:
18. Wrong : SIN
19. 1980s pop duo with an exclamation point in their name : WHAM!
20. Stowe novel : DRED - more here
21. Chanel competitor : COTY - They used to make "IRON" cologne, and I loved it: I miss it, too - it really defined "me" - it's a Ferro-pheromone alloy....
22. Chihuahua chatter : ARFs - eh, not YIPs
25. Rent-__ : A-CAR
28. Jolly Roger crewman : SMEE
29. Desperate letters : S.O.S.
19. 1980s pop duo with an exclamation point in their name : WHAM!
20. Stowe novel : DRED - more here
21. Chanel competitor : COTY - They used to make "IRON" cologne, and I loved it: I miss it, too - it really defined "me" - it's a Ferro-pheromone alloy....
25. Rent-__ : A-CAR
28. Jolly Roger crewman : SMEE
29. Desperate letters : S.O.S.
39. Cobb and others : TYs
40. Get up : RISE
41. Scrapes (out) : EKES
42. Moments : SECs
43. One may be zapped : TV AD - I zap every one of them, because I watch everything from my DVR - and there's no one else in the UPS truck to spoil a show for me~!
46. Deuce follower : AD IN - advantage in - when the server is one point up after deuce on his/her opponent, and could take the next one and win - the Wiki if you really want to get confused
49. Cup part : BRIM
50. One of Can.'s Maritime provinces : P.E.I. - Prince Edward Island - one of those crossword instinct answers that does NOT end in E, S, T, R.
DOWN:
1. Crones : HAGS - I put in PALS, but that's cronies.
2. "Dallas" actor Katz : OMRI - IMDb
3. Bootleggers' foes : T-MEN - I put in FEDS to start
4. '70s Chinese leader : HUA - I defer to our very own C.C. for more on this (From C.C.: HUA brought Cultural Revolution to an end, for which I'm very grateful. He's Chairman Mao's handpicked successor.)
5. Huddle directive : ON TWO....
6. In order : RIGHT - and an anti-clecho 27D. Not in order : AMISS
7. Cattle drive concern : STRAY - I tried DINGO, but the word I meant to fill in was DOGIE
8. Spherical meas. : DIAMeter
9. Suffix with bass : OON - BassOON
10. Close : END - the verb
11. "Buffy" airer after The WB : UPN
12. Cancels : VOIDS
13. Penitent : RUER - The noun, in this case; I always think of the scene from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" when I hear penitent
14. Old Roman cry : ECCE~! Behold~!
15. Discard : SHED - Not TOSS, going with my instinct
21. Peak : CREST - hey, nice peaks
22. Liberal : AMPLE - quite ample
23. Takes in : REAPS
24. Alloy prefix : FERRO - "Iron", like in these fine examples
25. Pro : ADEPT
26. Pharmacy figure : CO-PAY and a semi-clecho with;
28. Bygone pharmacy fixture : SCALE
29. Preview opener? : SNEAK - sneak preview
30. Montevideo-to-Buenos Aires dirección : OESTE - map
31. Sp. lasses : SRTAs
33. Tie, perhaps : SCORE - you bet your ASCOT I got this one~!
34. Like doughnuts : TORIC - OK, so I went with HOLEY - I had a very white grid....
35. "Not for me" : "I PASS"
36. Pointed, in a way : TINED
42. Marsh bird : SNIPE - STORK, EGRET~?
43. It may be inherited : TRAIT
44. Bounce : VIGOR - yes, she's got some 'vigor' to her....
45. Appliance maker once owned by Raytheon : AMANA
46. Intensifies, with "up" : AMPS
47. Skinny : DIRT - and the title of Mötley Crüe's biography
48*. Robert of "The Sopranos" : ILER - the "L" got me
49. Three-time LPGA Player of the Year Daniel : BETH
50. Nabokov novel : PNIN - pronounced P'neen
51. Edward's adoptive mother in the "Twilight" series : ESME - a WAG, since I have not, and do not care to see any of these movies - but it worked well with my E, S, T, R instinct
52. Anatomical passage : ITER - Latin for journey - I can see that
54. A spray might be used for one : TAN
55. Uru. neighbor : ARGentina, constructor Ned must like the area - see 30D.
56. Parlor work, briefly : TATtoo - and a chance for a music link
57. "Lord, is __?": Matthew : "IT I?"
Splynter
