Saturday, Aug 8th, 2015, Alan Olschwang

Theme: None

Words: 72 (missing J, X)

Blocks: 28

Whenever I see Alan's name, I cringe - and the grid looked intimidating, to boot ( saw that answer in Thursdays puzzle ).  So my Across pass did not yield much, but then I smoked thru quite a bit of the Downs.  Had to re-work the SE corner, but ultimately, I was really irritated by the crossing of TWO Frawnche words/phrases - ugh, please, Alan.  Triple 9-letter corners in the down, and double 11-letter across corners riding along with two spanners;

17. Celebration of a future union : ENGAGEMENT PARTY - I've been told there's a bachelorette party at the restaurant today; gonna have to show up and "work" for a little while  ;7))

I'll take the third one from the right....

51. Lets have it : LOWERS THE BOOM ON - seems to have nautical origins, though I saw an online discussion which begged to differ

ACROSS:

1. Show that won 16 Primetime Emmys : BREAKING BAD - have to admit, I have not watched the show - but there's always the DVD set

12. Sno-__ : CAT

15. Doesn't bother : LEAVES ALONE

16. Z preceder : A TO --

19. "Vous __ ici" : ETES - Frawnche "You Are Here"

20. Some tech sch. grads : EEs

21. French department __-Maritimes : ALPES - and yet more Frawnche

22. Allotment word : PER

23. Roasts : RIBS - as in jokes, joshes, ridicules

24. Mass figure : PRIEST

25. More familiar role for the portrayer of George in "Bringing Up Baby" : ASTA - phew~!  That's a lo-o-o-ong way to go to avoid a weekday clue/answer.  Took 3 perps and a WAG to get this dog actor

26. Embedded below the surface of : SET INTO - funny, I just spent yesterday working with some outdoor wiring at A Lure; the lines got SET INTO the rock garden next to the deck

27. AMPAS' London counterpart : BAFTA - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, along with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts

30. Code subject : DRESS - ah, dress code, not spies

32. Original Dungeons & Dragons co. : TSR - Tactical Studies Rules - ah yes, how I spent my junior high school days....I liked being Dungeon Master - is that TMI~?

33. Sinister : EVIL

34. Fed, say : AGENT

35. Seahawks coach Carroll : PETE - oh, what were you thinking, Pete~?

36. __ Bund: Swiss newspaper : DER

37. Family member : NIECE - oops, not UNCLE; my Uncle Phil died Wednesday, 80yrs old

38. A.L. West team, familiarly : 'STROS - Houston Astros

39. Shakes : TREMORS - today marks exactly 10-1/2 years since I had one of "those" tremors

41. Classic muscle cars : GTOs

43. Meat garnishes : ASPICS

44. Interstate H-1 locale : OAHU and an interstate semi-clecho with; 49a. Airport near I-480, on itineraries : CLEveland

45. TV "Tool Man" Taylor : TIM - Home Improvement

48. Local life : BIOTA - I had FAUNA, then BIOME.  Only after I started the write-up did I notice it changed via perps

50. City SW of Bogotá : CALI

55. Chemical suffix : ENE - hey, this WAG I got right~!

56. Considers : BEARS IN MIND

57. Georgia, once: Abbr. : SSR - Pocchi, that is

58. Pressure tactic : SQUEEZE PLAY

DOWN:

1. Censor : BLEEP - huh. This was my guess, but I didn't fill it in

2. French annuity : RENTE - Really, Alan, really~?

3. Beaverlike? : EAGER

4. Actress Gardner et al. : AVAs

5. Frat bash staple : KEG

6. Response to a pointer : I SEE IT - reminds me of this scene from "Predator"

7. Convention handouts : NAME BADGES - Hi My Name Is...

8. "Burn Notice" actress : GLESS - Ha~! Got it~! Happened to be on TV one morning at breakfast in Delaware

9. Early AC/DC frontman Scott : BON - I liked his voice

10. Worker in an Aesop tale : ANT

11. Sails, say : DEPARTS

12. Chiseler, at times : CARPENTER - yup, been there, done that

13. Corroborates : ATTESTS TO

14. Top sellers : TOY STORES - ah - the toy itself, a top

18. Others, in Latin : ALII - as in "et al.", and others

23. Pretoria's home: Abbr. : RSA - dah~! I thought RUSsia first

24. Vexatious sort : PEST

25. View from Eng.'s Land's End : ATLantic Ocean

26. West African cuisine : SENEGALESE - great fill, but not a clue on my part - the Wiki

27. Stands where we lie : BED TABLES - clever; more common for me to call it bedSIDE

28. Opposite of predilections : AVERSIONS - nailed it~!

29. Military might : FIREPOWER

31. __ center : REC

34. Vents : AIRS

35. NBA tally : PTs

37. Certain dieter's credo : NO CARBS

38. Trifle : SOU - derived from the Frawnche (ugh) coin, 'of little value'

40. Bit : MITE

42. Hollywood, casually : THE BIZ

44. Autumn color : OCHRE - we are almost there - not a big fan of summer

45. Certain Sri Lankan : TAMIL

46. Massey of "Balalaika" (1939) : ILONA - I WAGed IRENE - Bzzzt~!

47. Fred McConnell's daughter, in an old sitcom : MINDY - ah, from Mork & Mindy

50. Provide gratis : COMP - did you hear that Apple is remodeling a casino in Vegas~? It's called the "iWynn"

52. "The Empire Strikes Back," e.g.: Abbr. : SEQuel, and one of my personal favorites - I happen to like the fact that it was "dark", and that the bad guys prevailed

53. 19th Greek letter : TAU

54. 1300 hours : ONE - PM, military time

Splynter