Words: 70 (missing J,Q)
Blocks: 26
Welcome to another edition of Splynter 'splains Saturday's Silkie~!
This one was a bear, at least on the first pass - then, little by
slowly, with a few sensible W.A.G.s, followed by a dredging of the
depths of the dark corners of my mind, I finished - and within my
personal time, too. Quite a satisfying solve. Intimidating triple
10-letter corners tied together with crossing 8's - add to that a
boat-load of proper names and some uncommon items and you get what we
have today. Some of the longer answers;
1a. One is featured in the 1962 Ventures instrumental "The 2,000 Pound Bee" : FUZZ GUITAR - I am a huge fan of the guitar, and I am familiar with Jimmy Page's use of the "fuzz" sound.
13d. Sandusky locale : ERIE COUNTY - knew it was in PA, but didn't get it 'til I had ---UNTY
57a. South side : TEXAS TOAST - clever; I was trying to squeeze "CONFEDERATES" in
26d. Power source : SOLAR PANEL - Two weekends ago I was up in a little, and I mean little, place called South Otselic - it's east of Cortland, NY, and the little cabin we stayed in was totally powered by a wind turbine and solar panels. My friend Garry owns the land, and did the work; in fact, he owned "Go Solar" down here on L.I., and that's how we met. Here's pics of the cabin, the wind turbine, and me standing in one of the blades that are part of the real wind turbines up at the Fenner Wind Farm; 80 feet long~!
57a. South side : TEXAS TOAST - clever; I was trying to squeeze "CONFEDERATES" in
26d. Power source : SOLAR PANEL - Two weekends ago I was up in a little, and I mean little, place called South Otselic - it's east of Cortland, NY, and the little cabin we stayed in was totally powered by a wind turbine and solar panels. My friend Garry owns the land, and did the work; in fact, he owned "Go Solar" down here on L.I., and that's how we met. Here's pics of the cabin, the wind turbine, and me standing in one of the blades that are part of the real wind turbines up at the Fenner Wind Farm; 80 feet long~!
ONWIND~!
ACROSS:
11. Bass output : ALES - Bass - the beer brand; toyed with "LOWS" at first
15. He played the bandit Calvera in "The Magnificent Seven" : ELI WALLACH
16. __ Maar, mistress of Picasso : DORA - all perps
17. Qualified for : ENTITLED TO
18. "The Enemy Below" setting, briefly : WW II - Waaaay before my time; IMDb
19. Zap : LASE
20. Kid's cry : Maa~!
21. Overpower with noise : DEAFEN
23. Airline created by an Act of Parliament : BOAC - British Overseas Airways Corporation
25. Take away : DETRACT - I went with DEPRIVE to start; only 42.8% correct
26. "The Love Machine" author : SUSANN - Since I do not know this person, I was curious about whether this was a first/last name - her Wiki
29. Place to stretch : REST STOP - They're called REST AREAS around here, but I was pretty sure about that second "S" from 11d.
30. In abeyance : ON ICE
31. "Michael" co-screenwriter Ephron : DELIA - I put in NORAH - Bzzzt~! (spelled wrong, to boot); her movie bio page
32. Expected : DUE
33. Tie : LINK - Dah~! My only bad cell; I had LINE, and since it crossed a "foreign" word....
34. "Hot House" Grammy-winning pianist : COREA - Did not think of Chick until I had C-R-A in place
35. Philadelphia tourist attraction : MINT - ah, not BELL; look for the "P" on dimes, etc.
36. DJIA part: Abbr. : AVG - I thought "DOW" was too simple, but it's what I went with until SOLAR PANEL 'enlightened' me
37. Massenet opera : THAÏS - the Wiki
38. Heraklion's island : CRETE - the clue looked Greek, turned out to be Greek -ish
39. Chimney repair job : RELINING - REPOINTING did not fit
41. 14-Down, for one : MARTYR - I did not know this about St. Pete
42. Some property safeguards : PRE-NUPS
43. "Alice in Wonderland" bird : DO-DO
44. They may be frozen or liquid : ASSETS - this was, like, one of my only fills on the first pass (OK, I had MAA & TASE to start, and that was wrong)
45. Ideal figure : TEN - Mr. Silk is probably referring to Olympic scoring; a woman's figure is ideal if she were, say, a "two" - IMHO ;7))
46. School with the mascot Big Al : 'BAMA - mostly perps, but makes sense - my mom loves elephants
50. Quill parts : NIBS
51. Food chain group : HERBIVORES - anyone else think something like "IHOP" first?
54. Greek letters : ETAs
55. Gourmands : OVER-EATERS
56. Erato's instrument : LYRE
DOWN:
1. Sense : FEEL
2. Radius neighbor : ULNA - 'dem bones
3. Unpopular spots : ZITS - I knew ACNE was what we were looking for, but I had TASE and felt pretty confident about the "S"
4. Literally, "twice-baked" : ZWIEBACK - I thought it was a cookie (and the last name of a kid I went to high school with); after reading up on it, I prefer Biscotti
5. Rod : GAT - gangsta talk for a gun
6. "Tracey Takes On" author : ULLMAN - and her TV show spawned "The Simpsons" - its first airing was Dec 17th, 1989, and has since surpassed all other TV shows for longevity
7. Intestinal : ILEAC - DaH~! Spelled it with two "I"s
8. Cry of achievement : "Ta-DA~!"
9. Routine : ACT - ah, that kind of routine; I guess UPS has got me thinking "RUT"
10. Botswana neighbor, formerly : RHODESIA - a WAG with half the letters via perps
11. Some October campaigns : AD WARS - we're getting close to another "AD" high point - the Superbowl
12. Fare reduction option : LOW-FAT DIET
14. Keys holder in a Rubens portrait : SAINT PETER - Total WAG with only the two "E"s in place; I'm proud of myself~!
22. Singer James : ETTA
24. Person : ONE
25. Strikes out : DELES - DAH~! Was in baseball, not editing, mode
27. Brown, e.g. : UNIVERSITY
28. Business where lines are short? : SINGLES BAR
29. Equip anew : RERIG
31. Pain relief pill brand : DOAN'S
34. Greenside stroke : CHIP SHOT - then there's the stroke below the belt - that's a chEAp shot
35. 1983 Styx hit that begins in Japanese : Mr. ROBOTO - I liked it when it first came out; now, not so much
37. Flanged fastener : T-NUT
38. Rogue : CAD
40. Existing: Lat. : IN ESSE
41. Francs and beans? : MONIES - Plural of money; clever - loved the clue
43. Winger of "Black Widow" : DEBRA
45. Cretaceous giant : T-REX
47. Stretch : AREA - I get it, but this was the 's-t-r-e-t-c-h' clue for the day
48. Seas overseas : MERS
49. Part of PDA: Abbr. : ASST - Personal Data Assistant, now referred to as a Smartphone
52. Certain threshold : EVE - the next "eve" on my calendar is Feb 8th
53. Brewery sight : VAT
15. He played the bandit Calvera in "The Magnificent Seven" : ELI WALLACH
16. __ Maar, mistress of Picasso : DORA - all perps
17. Qualified for : ENTITLED TO
18. "The Enemy Below" setting, briefly : WW II - Waaaay before my time; IMDb
19. Zap : LASE
20. Kid's cry : Maa~!
21. Overpower with noise : DEAFEN
23. Airline created by an Act of Parliament : BOAC - British Overseas Airways Corporation
25. Take away : DETRACT - I went with DEPRIVE to start; only 42.8% correct
26. "The Love Machine" author : SUSANN - Since I do not know this person, I was curious about whether this was a first/last name - her Wiki
29. Place to stretch : REST STOP - They're called REST AREAS around here, but I was pretty sure about that second "S" from 11d.
30. In abeyance : ON ICE
31. "Michael" co-screenwriter Ephron : DELIA - I put in NORAH - Bzzzt~! (spelled wrong, to boot); her movie bio page
32. Expected : DUE
33. Tie : LINK - Dah~! My only bad cell; I had LINE, and since it crossed a "foreign" word....
34. "Hot House" Grammy-winning pianist : COREA - Did not think of Chick until I had C-R-A in place
35. Philadelphia tourist attraction : MINT - ah, not BELL; look for the "P" on dimes, etc.
36. DJIA part: Abbr. : AVG - I thought "DOW" was too simple, but it's what I went with until SOLAR PANEL 'enlightened' me
37. Massenet opera : THAÏS - the Wiki
38. Heraklion's island : CRETE - the clue looked Greek, turned out to be Greek -ish
39. Chimney repair job : RELINING - REPOINTING did not fit
41. 14-Down, for one : MARTYR - I did not know this about St. Pete
42. Some property safeguards : PRE-NUPS
43. "Alice in Wonderland" bird : DO-DO
44. They may be frozen or liquid : ASSETS - this was, like, one of my only fills on the first pass (OK, I had MAA & TASE to start, and that was wrong)
45. Ideal figure : TEN - Mr. Silk is probably referring to Olympic scoring; a woman's figure is ideal if she were, say, a "two" - IMHO ;7))
46. School with the mascot Big Al : 'BAMA - mostly perps, but makes sense - my mom loves elephants
51. Food chain group : HERBIVORES - anyone else think something like "IHOP" first?
54. Greek letters : ETAs
55. Gourmands : OVER-EATERS
56. Erato's instrument : LYRE
DOWN:
1. Sense : FEEL
2. Radius neighbor : ULNA - 'dem bones
3. Unpopular spots : ZITS - I knew ACNE was what we were looking for, but I had TASE and felt pretty confident about the "S"
4. Literally, "twice-baked" : ZWIEBACK - I thought it was a cookie (and the last name of a kid I went to high school with); after reading up on it, I prefer Biscotti
5. Rod : GAT - gangsta talk for a gun
6. "Tracey Takes On" author : ULLMAN - and her TV show spawned "The Simpsons" - its first airing was Dec 17th, 1989, and has since surpassed all other TV shows for longevity
7. Intestinal : ILEAC - DaH~! Spelled it with two "I"s
8. Cry of achievement : "Ta-DA~!"
9. Routine : ACT - ah, that kind of routine; I guess UPS has got me thinking "RUT"
10. Botswana neighbor, formerly : RHODESIA - a WAG with half the letters via perps
11. Some October campaigns : AD WARS - we're getting close to another "AD" high point - the Superbowl
12. Fare reduction option : LOW-FAT DIET
14. Keys holder in a Rubens portrait : SAINT PETER - Total WAG with only the two "E"s in place; I'm proud of myself~!
22. Singer James : ETTA
24. Person : ONE
25. Strikes out : DELES - DAH~! Was in baseball, not editing, mode
27. Brown, e.g. : UNIVERSITY
28. Business where lines are short? : SINGLES BAR
29. Equip anew : RERIG
31. Pain relief pill brand : DOAN'S
35. 1983 Styx hit that begins in Japanese : Mr. ROBOTO - I liked it when it first came out; now, not so much
37. Flanged fastener : T-NUT
38. Rogue : CAD
40. Existing: Lat. : IN ESSE
41. Francs and beans? : MONIES - Plural of money; clever - loved the clue
43. Winger of "Black Widow" : DEBRA
45. Cretaceous giant : T-REX
47. Stretch : AREA - I get it, but this was the 's-t-r-e-t-c-h' clue for the day
48. Seas overseas : MERS
49. Part of PDA: Abbr. : ASST - Personal Data Assistant, now referred to as a Smartphone
52. Certain threshold : EVE - the next "eve" on my calendar is Feb 8th
53. Brewery sight : VAT
Splynter
