Words: 72 (missing J,Q, 2wks in a row)
Blocks: 34
Mr.
Sessa is another dreaded Saturday constructor for me, and today was
just what I expected from him. To be fair, this one had an even
distribution of "dig down deep", vagueness, proper names, and
letter-count entries - two near-spanners of 14, two 11- letters, four
9's, two 8's, and six 7's. Some of the longer answers;
20a. Whistle-accompanying words : GET A LOAD OF THAT - the wolf whistle comes to mind
30a. Create norms for : STANDARDIZE
39a. They're undeveloped : BLANK SLATES
52a. 1998 Coen brothers comedy : THE BIG LEBOWSKI - IMDb - gotta admit, I have not seen it, and I have heard it's great - didn't know it was the Coen Bros.
Ow, da R.N.~?
ACROSS:
1. 1953 comeback hero? : SHANE - before my time; "Come back" refers to the closing scene
6. Blood __ : CLOT - ah, not "TYPE"
10. Stare : GAWP - my only WTF moment today; I have heard of gawK, not this - but KAR (13d.) made no sense to me
14. China from America : LENOX - an "educated WAG"
15. Mishmash : HASH - rhyme time
16. Historic act signed by Pres. Nixon : OSHA - the Occupational Safety and HEALTH Administration (D'oh~!)
17. Gut feeling : AGITA - I considered "HUNCH", but I sensed it wasn't playing nice with my other answers
18. Gardner with plots : ERLE - learned from doing crosswords
19. Peterhof Palace resident : TSAR - my first inkling, but CZar, or TSar?
23. Marble counter feature : SLAB TOP - meh, a marble counter IS a slab top, no? maybe it's my construction background....
24. Bearish? : URSINE
26. Yet, poetically : E'EN - 'PC' for "even" - that is, Poetically Correct
27. Woodworking tool : ADZE - nailed it; but it was a bit of a WAG
29. "Solaris" author Stanislaw __ : LEM - His 1961 book became a 1972 movie, and then it was remade in 2002 with George Clooney
34. Strengthen, in a way : ARM
35. Window component : PANE - we've been "vagued" by this before; HEAD, RAIL, JAMB, SASH, SILL, an STOP would all work
36. It's at eye level : EAR - drawing instruction lesson #1 - I like when the proportions are distorted in caricatures
6. Blood __ : CLOT - ah, not "TYPE"
10. Stare : GAWP - my only WTF moment today; I have heard of gawK, not this - but KAR (13d.) made no sense to me
14. China from America : LENOX - an "educated WAG"
15. Mishmash : HASH - rhyme time
16. Historic act signed by Pres. Nixon : OSHA - the Occupational Safety and HEALTH Administration (D'oh~!)
17. Gut feeling : AGITA - I considered "HUNCH", but I sensed it wasn't playing nice with my other answers
18. Gardner with plots : ERLE - learned from doing crosswords
19. Peterhof Palace resident : TSAR - my first inkling, but CZar, or TSar?
23. Marble counter feature : SLAB TOP - meh, a marble counter IS a slab top, no? maybe it's my construction background....
24. Bearish? : URSINE
26. Yet, poetically : E'EN - 'PC' for "even" - that is, Poetically Correct
27. Woodworking tool : ADZE - nailed it; but it was a bit of a WAG
29. "Solaris" author Stanislaw __ : LEM - His 1961 book became a 1972 movie, and then it was remade in 2002 with George Clooney
34. Strengthen, in a way : ARM
35. Window component : PANE - we've been "vagued" by this before; HEAD, RAIL, JAMB, SASH, SILL, an STOP would all work
36. It's at eye level : EAR - drawing instruction lesson #1 - I like when the proportions are distorted in caricatures
37. A deadly sin : ENVY - ah, not LUST
38. Tedious : OLD
43. "King Kong" studio : RKO
44. "Symphonie espagnole" composer : LALO
45. Experiences : HAS
46. Chocolate-covered candy : KIT-KAT - I can't stand their TV commercials at all
48. Assigned work : SET TASK - ROUTINE fit, too
55. __ Southwest Grill: restaurant chain : MOE'S
56. "Movies You Grew Up With" channel : FLIX
57. Get behind, as a desk : SIT AT
58. Fix : CURE - not MEND, DARN, HEAL
59. Topnotch : A-ONE
60. Where to find Independence Hall? : C NOTE - very good - the image on the back of a $100 bill
61. Wee : ITSY - not TINY or IOTA
62. Medicare Advantage gps. : HMOs
63. Keats' "The Eve of St. __" : AGNES
DOWN:
1. Converts into metallic waste : SLAGs - doesn't sound right, but it's the back-formed verb from the word for the by-product of ore smelting
2. German idealism pioneer : HEGEL - I tried HESSE first
3. Baker with Grammys : ANITA
4. "Pay attention," in legal papers : NOTA BENE - Latin for "note well"
5. Lofty : EXALTED
6. For peanuts : CHEAP
7. Pastry maker's ingredient : LARD
8. Munch Museum city : OSLO
9. Gangsters' foes, in old films : "THE FUZZ", the heat, Five-O
10. Fourth-century Germanic invaders : GOTHS
11. Cop's quarry : ASSAILANT
12. "Of all the gall!" : "WHAT NERVE~!"
13. Course number : PAR - Golf Course
21. O'Neill's daughter : OONA - another crossword learned name
22. One leaving in spring? : TREE - LEAF-ing, that is
25. Woman-holding-an-atom statuettes : EMMYs - some history
27. Hersey bell town : ADANO
28. Clive Cussler hero Pitt : DIRK - anyone recall who DIRK DIGGLER was?
30. Foon's cousin : SPORK - oh, duh - my first thought was that a "Foon" was a type of bird, and STORK was looking pretty good....
28. Clive Cussler hero Pitt : DIRK - anyone recall who DIRK DIGGLER was?
30. Foon's cousin : SPORK - oh, duh - my first thought was that a "Foon" was a type of bird, and STORK was looking pretty good....
31. Chat to settle a spat : TALK IT OUT
32. Inclusive phrase : AND OTHERS - nice to see "et alia" spelled out
33. Utter : REAL
37. White House theater location : EAST WING
39. Yak : BLAB
40. Queen born Dana Owens : LATIFAH - Rapper/songwriter turned movie and TV star
41. Cowboy singer Wooley : SHEB - Learning moment - I have heard of THIS song, but not its performer
32. Inclusive phrase : AND OTHERS - nice to see "et alia" spelled out
33. Utter : REAL
37. White House theater location : EAST WING
39. Yak : BLAB
40. Queen born Dana Owens : LATIFAH - Rapper/songwriter turned movie and TV star
41. Cowboy singer Wooley : SHEB - Learning moment - I have heard of THIS song, but not its performer
42. Play that inspired Puccini : La TOSCA
47. Nurse Ratched creator : KESEY - "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", Ken Kesey's 1962 novel, and the great 1975 film - one of three to take all 5 major awards
48. Classifies, as kittens : SEXES
49. __ Martin : ASTON - James Bond's DB-5 was in "Goldfinger", which reappeared in "Skyfall"; the latest model was the DBS in Quantum of Solace - more here
50. Blade holder, maybe : SKATE
51. Wingless fliers : KITES - Great, more kites
53. Latch (onto) : GLOM
54. Start to type? : LINO - a LINOtype machine was used in printing
55. 2006 Verizon acquisition : MCI
47. Nurse Ratched creator : KESEY - "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", Ken Kesey's 1962 novel, and the great 1975 film - one of three to take all 5 major awards
48. Classifies, as kittens : SEXES
49. __ Martin : ASTON - James Bond's DB-5 was in "Goldfinger", which reappeared in "Skyfall"; the latest model was the DBS in Quantum of Solace - more here
50. Blade holder, maybe : SKATE
51. Wingless fliers : KITES - Great, more kites
53. Latch (onto) : GLOM
54. Start to type? : LINO - a LINOtype machine was used in printing
55. 2006 Verizon acquisition : MCI
Splynter
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to dear PK, the real one. PK used to be a newspaper reporter and must have exposed plenty of dirty tricks in those days. I hope it's a lovely day & you can work on your garden, PK.
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to dear PK, the real one. PK used to be a newspaper reporter and must have exposed plenty of dirty tricks in those days. I hope it's a lovely day & you can work on your garden, PK.
