Words: 70 (missing J,K,V,Z)
Blocks: 30
Welcome
to another year of Saturday setbacks~! I was so pleased to be able to
fill in the first four across answers, sensing I might be on Brad's wavelength, only to crash and burn at the longer fills and
caving in to red-letter help in the bottom half. [sigh] Oh
well....Still, a great challenge, a little heavy on the proper nouns(*),
and some clever misdirection, but all in all, a fun puzzle. 6x8
triple-word corners, two 11-letter, and one 13-letter spanners;
33. Carolina bisque tinted orange by roe : SHE-CRAB SOUP - Once the "--SOUP" part appeared, it was only a matter of time before I remembered this - the Wiki
39. It can be used to make gin : DISCARD PILE - Clever; alternative version of "gin", this time the card game; the clecho at 32a. "It can be used to make gin : SLOE" refers to the fruit used in drinks such as "Sloe Gin Fizz"
~!
ACROSS:
1.* Its construction created Lake Nasser : ASWAN DAM - nailed it; always good to start off with the correct fill at 1a.~!
9. Certify : ATTEST - and again....
15.* "Wuthering Heights" backdrop : THE MOORS - and then "fail" - went with "CIVIL WAR", since I have no clue when, where or what this book is about
16. Want : DEARTH - "fail" - went with DESIRE - but was 28.5% correct
17. Word not usable with an indefinite article, such as "magic" or "dust" : MASS NOUN - I had the two "N"s, and that led to --NOUN, and from there it was an educated WAG; you don't vacuum up "a" dust, or use "a" magic ( but you might have 'a' magic wand - but now it's changed to an adjective.)
18. Made up : UNTRUE - ah, not UNITED - this is the pretend, 'fake' made up, not the end-of-a-tiff made up
19. Heave-hos : OUSTERS - meh
20. Word with level or devil : SEA - I started with "SUB", which half worked
21. Bizarre : ODD
22. Snicker follower : SNEE - snickersnee - a large knife; unrelated to the next clue
23. [snicker] : HEH - which is a mini-laugh
25.* Skyler's sister on "Breaking Bad" : MARIE - if you say so; all perps
27. CPA's concern : TAX LAW
30. Darn things : SEW - cute
40.* Bobby Darin record label : ATCO
41. "Shame on thee!" : "FIE~!" - whoops, went with "TSK~!"
42. Weightlifting technique : SNATCH - clean and jerk did not fit; I have to admit to a little "snicker" at this answer - such a DF mind....
47. Academic administrators : DEANS
49. Lofty letterhead abbr. : ESQuire
51. Tolerated : BORE
52. LAX posting : ARRival - duped; went with ETA
53. Smidge : TAD
55. Business, informally : BEE'S WAX - As in the phrase "Mind your own ---"
58. Chemical relative : ISOMER - isoTOPE did not fit, and it took waaay too long to remember this word
60. Act out, say : RE-CREATE - I always get a laugh out of shows like "UFO files" that always include a "dramatic re-creation" of the events occurring on 'that night'
9. Certify : ATTEST - and again....
15.* "Wuthering Heights" backdrop : THE MOORS - and then "fail" - went with "CIVIL WAR", since I have no clue when, where or what this book is about
16. Want : DEARTH - "fail" - went with DESIRE - but was 28.5% correct
17. Word not usable with an indefinite article, such as "magic" or "dust" : MASS NOUN - I had the two "N"s, and that led to --NOUN, and from there it was an educated WAG; you don't vacuum up "a" dust, or use "a" magic ( but you might have 'a' magic wand - but now it's changed to an adjective.)
18. Made up : UNTRUE - ah, not UNITED - this is the pretend, 'fake' made up, not the end-of-a-tiff made up
19. Heave-hos : OUSTERS - meh
20. Word with level or devil : SEA - I started with "SUB", which half worked
21. Bizarre : ODD
22. Snicker follower : SNEE - snickersnee - a large knife; unrelated to the next clue
23. [snicker] : HEH - which is a mini-laugh
25.* Skyler's sister on "Breaking Bad" : MARIE - if you say so; all perps
27. CPA's concern : TAX LAW
30. Darn things : SEW - cute
40.* Bobby Darin record label : ATCO
41. "Shame on thee!" : "FIE~!" - whoops, went with "TSK~!"
42. Weightlifting technique : SNATCH - clean and jerk did not fit; I have to admit to a little "snicker" at this answer - such a DF mind....
47. Academic administrators : DEANS
49. Lofty letterhead abbr. : ESQuire
51. Tolerated : BORE
52. LAX posting : ARRival - duped; went with ETA
53. Smidge : TAD
55. Business, informally : BEE'S WAX - As in the phrase "Mind your own ---"
58. Chemical relative : ISOMER - isoTOPE did not fit, and it took waaay too long to remember this word
60. Act out, say : RE-CREATE - I always get a laugh out of shows like "UFO files" that always include a "dramatic re-creation" of the events occurring on 'that night'
61. Deferential bow : SALAAM
62. Ravel, vis-à-vis "Pictures at an Exhibition" : ARRANGER - here's the Wiki; if you play the "promenade", you'll recognize it
63. Like Miss Marple's attire : TWEEDY - uh, OK
64. Speech disruptions : STUTTERS - Dah~! I had this, changed it to stAMMers
DOWN:
1. No greater than : AT MOST
2.* "Entourage" publicist played by Debi Mazar : SHAUNA - I watched the show - liked it - but it never seemed to get 'dramatic'; this character I don't recall - but when I saw her pic, I remembered her from "Goodfellas" - IMDb
3.* "Far From the Madding Crowd" region : WESSEX - this is where the puzzle started to bog down on me with the proper nouns, and that sucks the life out of it when you don't have a clue
4.* Brewery bought out by Heineken : AMSTEL - a WAG from the "A"
5. Zilch : NONE - not NADA
6. Access point : DOOR
7. Frantic, perhaps, with "in" : A RUSH - "in a rush"
8. ISP with a butterfly logo : MSN
10. Brunch hr. : TEN A.M.
11. Pic on a pec : TATtoo
12. Computer self-diagnostics list : ERROR LOG
13. Bookish : STUDIOUS
14.* Benchley novel : THE DEEP
20.* Shepherd of "The View" : SHERRI - mostly perps
24. Joint risks? : ESCAPES - ah - the "joint" here being jail; I had knees in mind first, then I thought this was a reference to eloping - that kind of joint 'escape'
26. LPGA part: Abbr. : ASSN - Ladies Professional Golfing Association
28. One side of the Bering Strait : ASIA - I threw in USSR, but that's kinda dated now
29. Berth place : WHARF
31. Squash court features : WALLS
34. Whirled : EDDIED
35. __-aimé: beloved, in French : BIEN - can't get away from the Frawnche
36. Tool for making precise crosscuts : MITER SAW - yeah, true, but I tend to associate a 'miter' with 'angle' cuts; my Sliding Compound Miter Saw
38. No View, No Touch Trap maker : D-CON - becoming a crossword staple
39.* Max Ernst, for one : DADAIST
43. Without : ABSENT
44. Tugboat's fee : TOWAGE
45. Evidence of major impact? : CRATER
46. Bewitching types : HEXERS - ah, just the spell-casters, not the "hot girl" kind
48. Farm addition? : STEAD - Dah~! Went with STAND (60% correct) - more popular, and aggravating, down here on L.I. - I'll be upstate in Spitboov country today
50. Pyramid hopper in a 1980s arcade game : Q*BERT
54. Multitude : ARMY
56. Almond relative : ECRU - ah, the color, and usually associated with my favorite gratuitous image
57. Sum, in a different form : ERAT
- remember your Latin; Sum, Esse (which I went with first), Fui,
Futurus - "state of being" - I am so pleased I recalled that this is
known as "declension"
59.* Novelist Rita __ Brown : MAE
60. Univ. peer leaders : RAs - Resident Assistants
59.* Novelist Rita __ Brown : MAE
60. Univ. peer leaders : RAs - Resident Assistants
Splynter
