Words: 70 (missing F,Q,V,X)
Blocks: 26
YES~! This week's offering from Mr. Silk was probably one of the
toughest puzzles he's given us in a long time - IMHO. The low block
count, triple 11- and 10-letter corners and inner pinwheel stacks left
little wiggle room. Not to mention the utter vagueness of the clues and
the clever misdirections - oh, wait, I just did.... There were two
breakthrough answers (*) that got me to the finish - but with a mere 57 seconds left on the clock of my personal time limit. Some of the longer fill:
15a. Riverbend Festival city : CHATTANOOGA - that's odd; Boston in Tennessee?
55a. Egyptian expanse : SINAI DESERT - SAHARA was a tad too long
25. African Union Commission headquarters : ADDIS ABABA - Africa is popular today
14. Part of Larry King's legacy : SUSPENDERS
On(e more week) ward~!!!
ACROSS:
1. Travelocity offering : PACKAGE DEAL*
- 11-letter start, and I'm thinking HOTEL---, PLANE---, etc., and it
wasn't until the third or fourth pass, with a smattering of letters in
place that I finally realized this was a 'general' term
12. Bit of texting tact : PLS - ah, so the "new" language is making its way into crosswordese; PLeaSe
12. Bit of texting tact : PLS - ah, so the "new" language is making its way into crosswordese; PLeaSe
16. Note : I.O.U. - the vagueness; no 'debt' reference
17. Private collectibles? : TOY SOLDIERS - I had the second "O" in place, and PHOTO--- was looking promising, as in Private Detective....
18. Sporty cars : GTs - dah~! Not MGs
19. Mac OS part: Abbr. : SYStem - I'm PC. 'nuf said.
20. Ghostly sound : MOAN
21. Relax : EASE UP
23. Tabloid fodder : DIRT - not ITEM
24. "__ Place" : MELROSE - ARCHIE'S, MILLER'S....strange - Miller Place is right next to Mount Sinai here on Long Island (55a.)
25. Torrid : ABLAZE - Dah~! The "Z" was in place, so I considered SLEAZY - the "Y" led me to PLENTY at 6d., and that just messed up the NW
28. It may be fit for a king : BED LINEN - Har-har~! king-sized bed, that is
29. Mideast monotheistic sect : DRUZE - the Wiki
30. Ramble on : PRATE
31. Taken : HAD - "I've been ___~!"
32. Monopoly needs : DICE - Ugh, really, Mr. Silk~??? The plural vagueness got me
33. "Cool!" : "NEATO~!"
34. Thoughtless procedure? : ROTE - Clever
35. Gross remark? : ICK - not UGH, not ACK ( my last correction before time expired )
36. Difficult : MESSY - like, say, d-i-v-o-r-c-e
37. More sound : HALER - not sAnER - that's 60%, D-Otto~!
38. Vietnam War attack aircraft : SKYHAWKS
40. They're history : GONERS
41. Ed O'Neill sitcom role : AL BUNDY - "Married, with Children" - could only watch so much of it
42. Bottled (up) : PENT
43. Cultural icon making her debut in 1959 : BARBIE - I only saw this upon doing the review; she looks good for 55....
44. Prefix with nautical : AERO - aeronautical
45. Poke : JAB
48. Call for passage : AYE
49. Each of the two longest ones lasted 15 innings : ALL-STAR GAME - they take it way too seriously, then
52. Emmy winner Arthur : BEA
53. Split personality? : CHEERLEADER* - ah, that kind of split
54. Vessel measured in cubits : ARK - three-letter vessel? All I could think of was URN - DAH~!! THAT kind of vessel
DOWN:
1. Election figs. : PCTs - Percentages
2. Gob stopper? : AHOY - Gob being a term for a sailor in this instance
3. Small islands : CAYS - not KEYS, AITS....
4. Board jumpers: Abbr. : KTs - Knights, on Chess boards - the only piece that can 'jump'; makes this today's uber-vagueness winner~!
5. Reduce to mist : ATOMIZE - one of my very few first pass answers
6. In abundance : GALORE
7. Proceed until : END AT
8. "Whatcha __?" : "DOIN'?"
9. Job listing letters : EOE
10. Accepted : AGREED TO
11. The Explorers of the Atlantic 10 Conf. : LaSALLE
12. Catalog : PIGEONHOLE
13. Mythological daydreamer : LOTUS EATER - more here
22. Indian honorific : SRI
23. Floor : DAZE - the verb, not the noun
24. Substantive : MEATY
26. Construction worker : BRICKLAYER - got a new wood working project to do at a restaurant on the east end of L.I. called "A Lure", so this wash-out weekend will be spent doing CAD work; the Rook Table is on hold
27. Sore loser's comment : LUCKY BREAK
28. Source of many orders : BRASS - I threw in "SARGE" - that's 0%, D-Otto
30. Irksome : PESKY
33. One of the Nehru Planetarium cities : NEW DELHI
6. In abundance : GALORE
7. Proceed until : END AT
8. "Whatcha __?" : "DOIN'?"
9. Job listing letters : EOE
10. Accepted : AGREED TO
11. The Explorers of the Atlantic 10 Conf. : LaSALLE
12. Catalog : PIGEONHOLE
13. Mythological daydreamer : LOTUS EATER - more here
22. Indian honorific : SRI
23. Floor : DAZE - the verb, not the noun
24. Substantive : MEATY
26. Construction worker : BRICKLAYER - got a new wood working project to do at a restaurant on the east end of L.I. called "A Lure", so this wash-out weekend will be spent doing CAD work; the Rook Table is on hold
27. Sore loser's comment : LUCKY BREAK
28. Source of many orders : BRASS - I threw in "SARGE" - that's 0%, D-Otto
30. Irksome : PESKY
33. One of the Nehru Planetarium cities : NEW DELHI
34. Carry on : RANT
36. More than just zealots : MANIACS - fanatics was one too many
37. Award winner : HONOREE
39. Where some routes meet : HUB - ALL of Suffolk County's Eastern UPS routes meet at our HUB, which is more of a TERMINAL, actually
40. Predecessor of Nelson : GERALD - Vice Presidents, Gerald Ford, Nelson Rockefeller
42. __ dish : PETRI - Hey~! I got one~!
44. Perplexed : ASEA
45. Alaska's state gem : JADE
46. From Hawaii, say: Abbr. : AMERican - argh~!!! Yes, anything from Hawaii is STILL American
47. Hall of Fame pitcher Blyleven : BERT - I'll have to dig out my old baseball sticker albums - I actually KNEW this one, C.C.~!
50. Novelist Deighton : LEN
51. Energy : GAS
Splynter
