Words: 72 (missing Q,W,X)
Blocks: 27
I would have to say it depends on one's approach to a crossword
that can make all the difference. Last week I struggled with a Silkie
that most others from the corner seemed to do well on. Today, I
cruised through this puzzle with nary a hiccup. Just over the half-way
mark of my personal time, too. Of course, a lack of personal/proper
names did help tremendously, too ;7)) Anyway, triple stacks of 10's
and 7's in the corners, and a pair of 8-letter fills on the inside. Some of the longer answers;
1. It's often swiped at offices : ACCESS CARD - I thought "PAPER CLIPS" - but with "PUNCH in"
at 2d., I 'ventured forth' (6d) with APPLE iPADS, which seemed logical -
lots of people I know do business with a tablet these days; I'm one of
them - my Home Inspections are done thru an app on my tablet, and I send
the report via email. Did you hear about Apple's new tape measure~? It's called the "iRule"....
61a. Surrounded : UNDER SIEGE - good movie, too; featured Steven Segal as a "CPO" (q.v. 50a.) - the Wiki
O - ah - O - ah - O-ah-O-ah - O - AH - O - nward~!
ACROSS:
11. Censor's target : SMUT - for those in the area, I had "-MU-" and considered IMUS
15. Deer, e.g. : PLANT EATER
16. Leveret's dad : HARE - huh - I thought this was a personal name, and did not get it until I looked it up during the write-up; new word for me
17. Reminder, often : POST-IT NOTE
18. Largest island in the Tuscan Archipelago : ELBA - once I had -LB-, the rest was 'E-Z' - or is that "E" "A"~!?
19. Slip in a store: Abbr. : RCT - receipt, not the "oops" of a lawsuit
20. Quarters : ROOMS - huh - a WAG that never went away; I like those guesses
21. Olympics coach Karolyi et al. : BELAs
22. "Fooled ya" : I KID
24. Corn lead-in : UNI - unicorn
15. Deer, e.g. : PLANT EATER
16. Leveret's dad : HARE - huh - I thought this was a personal name, and did not get it until I looked it up during the write-up; new word for me
17. Reminder, often : POST-IT NOTE
18. Largest island in the Tuscan Archipelago : ELBA - once I had -LB-, the rest was 'E-Z' - or is that "E" "A"~!?
19. Slip in a store: Abbr. : RCT - receipt, not the "oops" of a lawsuit
20. Quarters : ROOMS - huh - a WAG that never went away; I like those guesses
21. Olympics coach Karolyi et al. : BELAs
22. "Fooled ya" : I KID
24. Corn lead-in : UNI - unicorn
25. Carbon compound found in crude oil : BUTENE - threw in the first 6-letter "fuel" I could think of; in this case, it was ETHANE, and that's strictly 33% correct
26. Closed up : SILENT - ah, a personal description, not an end-of-day routine
28. Attire for filmdom's The Mask : ZOOT SUIT
30. Month in el invierno : ENERO - Spanish~? Month~? WAG 'enero', Spanish for January
31. Terminal : DEPOT - I have a question that I'd like everyone's feedback on; see the end of the write-up
32. Member of the fam : SIS - Started with SIB, but I did not think 14d. was going to end with "-TB" - but not unheard of; could have been "Silent B"
33. Tiny time div. : nSEC - nanosecond - or, the equivalent of 1 second to 31.71 YEARS~! Since light travels 11.8 inches in one nSEC, it's referred to as a "light foot" - could you call that a "Gordon"~!?
35. Govt. collectors : T-MEN - I put in G-men, but T is better; refers to the Treasury
37. "Sweet!" : RAD
40. Norwegian flag feature : CROSS
42. Indian bigwig : RAJAH - Ooops, went with RANEE - that's the missus
46. Intimate : ONE-TO-ONE
48. Words to a savior : "MY HERO~!"
49. Breaks off : SEVERS - huh. Filled this in, took it out, and ended up putting it back in
50. Naval NCO : CPO - Chief Petty Officer - e.g. Casey Rybeck (who~?)
52. Big name in shaving : ATRA - change up from the usual cluing
53. "The Girl Next Door" co-star Hirsch : EMILE - I have the DVD - but did NOT cheat; all perps
54. Work unit : JOULE - usually, it's "ERG"
56. Much : FAR - my only 'meh' for the day
57. West Virginia resource : COAL
58. Lingered : HUNG AROUND
60. Biblical preposition : UNTO - dah~! Not THOU
62. High school subject? : TEEN - is that a "high" school subject, or a high school "subject"~? ;7P
63. Commercial success : BEST-SELLER
DOWN:
1. Inform : APPRISE - Oddly, I've heard this word twice this week
2. Start work : CLOCK IN - daH~! Not PUNCH in
3. Medieval Iberian kingdom : CASTILE - all I had to WAG was the "I" - Love the flag
46. Intimate : ONE-TO-ONE
48. Words to a savior : "MY HERO~!"
49. Breaks off : SEVERS - huh. Filled this in, took it out, and ended up putting it back in
50. Naval NCO : CPO - Chief Petty Officer - e.g. Casey Rybeck (who~?)
52. Big name in shaving : ATRA - change up from the usual cluing
53. "The Girl Next Door" co-star Hirsch : EMILE - I have the DVD - but did NOT cheat; all perps
54. Work unit : JOULE - usually, it's "ERG"
56. Much : FAR - my only 'meh' for the day
57. West Virginia resource : COAL
58. Lingered : HUNG AROUND
60. Biblical preposition : UNTO - dah~! Not THOU
62. High school subject? : TEEN - is that a "high" school subject, or a high school "subject"~? ;7P
63. Commercial success : BEST-SELLER
DOWN:
1. Inform : APPRISE - Oddly, I've heard this word twice this week
2. Start work : CLOCK IN - daH~! Not PUNCH in
3. Medieval Iberian kingdom : CASTILE - all I had to WAG was the "I" - Love the flag
4. Fictional giant : ENT - ah, from the "Rings" movie trilogy; perps again
5. Activity : STIR
6. Venture forth : SET OUT
7. PowerShot maker : CANON - I like their printers, too
5. Activity : STIR
6. Venture forth : SET OUT
7. PowerShot maker : CANON - I like their printers, too
8. Reduce to minute particles : ATOMIZE
9. Soaks, as hemp : RETS
10. Beats Electronics co-founder : DRE - Bought my brother the wireless headphones for Christmas - I have not heard how good they are (pun intended), but for the price, I should be able to hear them from the next town over....
11. Rain may fall in them : SHEETS
12. Hammer-shaped bone : MALLEUS
13. Pope who initiated the First Crusade : URBAN II - the "I-I" at the end did not concern me
14. Dollhouse accessories : TEA SETS - I would love to build a custom dollhouse for my daughter - in fact, I would just love to have "a daughter"
21. Like shortbread : BUTTERY
23. "Blue Velvet" actress : DERN
25. Horizontal spar : BOOM
27. Reason for overtime : NO SCORE - say, in ice hockey. This Wednesday, we're going to try playing with a puck instead of a ball, so I am planning on modifying a pair of skates so that I can take a shot off my toe without breaking bones - my experience has taught me that taking a ball on the toe stings like a sonofabitch; and the plastic pucks are harder....
29. Goes (for) : OPTS
31. Maker of the Ultra Set trap : d-CON - becoming a Sat crossword staple
34. Mythical archer : EROS
36. Okinawa's capital : NAHA - bottom left
9. Soaks, as hemp : RETS
10. Beats Electronics co-founder : DRE - Bought my brother the wireless headphones for Christmas - I have not heard how good they are (pun intended), but for the price, I should be able to hear them from the next town over....
11. Rain may fall in them : SHEETS
12. Hammer-shaped bone : MALLEUS
13. Pope who initiated the First Crusade : URBAN II - the "I-I" at the end did not concern me
14. Dollhouse accessories : TEA SETS - I would love to build a custom dollhouse for my daughter - in fact, I would just love to have "a daughter"
21. Like shortbread : BUTTERY
23. "Blue Velvet" actress : DERN
25. Horizontal spar : BOOM
27. Reason for overtime : NO SCORE - say, in ice hockey. This Wednesday, we're going to try playing with a puck instead of a ball, so I am planning on modifying a pair of skates so that I can take a shot off my toe without breaking bones - my experience has taught me that taking a ball on the toe stings like a sonofabitch; and the plastic pucks are harder....
29. Goes (for) : OPTS
31. Maker of the Ultra Set trap : d-CON - becoming a Sat crossword staple
34. Mythical archer : EROS
36. Okinawa's capital : NAHA - bottom left
37. Diamond buyer's choice : ROSE CUT
38. Red flower created from the blood of Adonis : ANEMONE
39. Digress : DEVIATE
41. Motion backing : SECONDS - we have business meetings in AA - which includes motions and seconds and voting
43. Aviation supply : JET FUEL
44. Put in order : ARRANGE
45. Compulsive subject of a former A&E series : HOARDER
47. Rat out : TELL ON
48. Grinders : MOLARS - ah, teeth, not sandwiches
51. __ Sound, part of the Salish Sea : PUGET - DAH~! Shoulda gotten this; I visited Seattle WA some years ago - I'd like to go back, too
54. Alexandrite is one of its birthstones : JUNE - Oh how I love the name Alexandra. As for the clue, the choices were JUNE or JULY - so I filled in JU-- and waited.
38. Red flower created from the blood of Adonis : ANEMONE
39. Digress : DEVIATE
41. Motion backing : SECONDS - we have business meetings in AA - which includes motions and seconds and voting
43. Aviation supply : JET FUEL
44. Put in order : ARRANGE
45. Compulsive subject of a former A&E series : HOARDER
47. Rat out : TELL ON
48. Grinders : MOLARS - ah, teeth, not sandwiches
51. __ Sound, part of the Salish Sea : PUGET - DAH~! Shoulda gotten this; I visited Seattle WA some years ago - I'd like to go back, too
54. Alexandrite is one of its birthstones : JUNE - Oh how I love the name Alexandra. As for the clue, the choices were JUNE or JULY - so I filled in JU-- and waited.
55. Gaelic language : ERSE
58. Center : HUB - Our UPS center is referred to as a terminal - the largest HUB is Worldport in Kentucky; the Medford facility where I'm at is 24 years old - and it's outdated.
59. Whale __ : OIL
Splynter
OK,
so - I am working on my board game, and I have to come up with some
clever street names - I have a list of some of my personal favorites, but I'd like to hear what your favorite street name is....
