Words: 70 (missing Q)
Blocks: 27
UGH~!
- I was so pleased with myself for getting 80% of this beast solved
without any cheating - no Google, no red-letter, despite some very
clever cluing that did NOT get past me. I was plugging away, one cell at
a time, and making my way from the bottom up - but the NW corner was
just not giving in, and once I caved and checked my 1a. answer, I
realized it was never going to work out. Oh well. Big chunky 9x6 corners, and triple 8's in the down;
1. Four Corners collectible : NAVAJO RUG - *%$&^#@~! I was
so, so pleased I came up with NEVADA FLAG, as the Four Corners consist
of the four US States that meet at a single point; however, NEVADA is
not among Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado - duh.
57. Strips at a party : STREAMERS - oh, uh, the um, noun, not the verb. Right. Maybe the anons are right about me....
13. 1964 World's Fair giant tire Ferris wheel creator : UNIROYAL
- a major flub as far as I am concerned - at the fair in
Queens, NY, the one with the Unisphere, the wheel was U.S. Royal; maybe all the same company, but it
doesn't jibe with me
32. Colorful fall tree : RED MAPLE
ACROSS:
10. Edit, as a soundtrack : RE-DUB
15. "Be right there" : ONE MINUTE - I considered this, but because I had FLAG, I put in FAIR for "Just" @ 6d.
16. Dior style : A-LINE - dress style; at least Mr. Sessa was on my "fashion wavelength" today
17. Window-adjusting tool : SCROLL BAR - the doohickey on the side of your screen;
18. Sheep or goat : BOVID - Someone correct me - this is totally wrong; I thought this category of animals was O-vine; BO-vine is cattle; cows, bison, buffalo, etc.
19. Two after love? : THIRTY - I knew this was going to be tennis scoring; 0-30 or 30-0 is two points scored after the opening of a game
20. Aria from "Carmen" : HABANERA - perps and a WAG
22. Some drills : ROTES - meh. period.
23. Champagne toast : SALUT - I had saluD; close enough, and 80% correct
24. English lit pseudonym : BOZ - perps - learning moment for me; the Wiki
25. Father of Phobos : ARES
26. Bounty maker, briefly : P AND G - think "P&G" - Proctor and Gamble, the makers of the paper towel
18. Sheep or goat : BOVID - Someone correct me - this is totally wrong; I thought this category of animals was O-vine; BO-vine is cattle; cows, bison, buffalo, etc.
19. Two after love? : THIRTY - I knew this was going to be tennis scoring; 0-30 or 30-0 is two points scored after the opening of a game
20. Aria from "Carmen" : HABANERA - perps and a WAG
22. Some drills : ROTES - meh. period.
23. Champagne toast : SALUT - I had saluD; close enough, and 80% correct
24. English lit pseudonym : BOZ - perps - learning moment for me; the Wiki
25. Father of Phobos : ARES
26. Bounty maker, briefly : P AND G - think "P&G" - Proctor and Gamble, the makers of the paper towel
27. R&B's __ II Men : BOYZ - they were popular when I was in school - but not with me
28. Murky milieus : FENS - Ugh. SEAS was my thought
29. __ cracker : ANIMAL - # 1
31. Facing dauntlessly : BRAVING
35. Like sparkling wine : ABUBBLE - crossed with another "A-" clue
36. Real estate pioneer with a Long Island town named for him : LEVITT - Nailed it - but that's not saying much - I live on Long Island
37. Clan member : SCOT - dah~! Not CELT
38. Ruler of Asgard : ODIN
39. American Leaguer since 2013 : ASTRO - I thought this was wrong, too - but then I remembered that they were once a National League team
41. Ray : BEAM
45. 1975 ABC debut, for short : GMA - Good Morning America
46. Like music to one's ears? : ON KEY
47. Skater Harding : TONYA
48. Best ever : CAT'S MEOW - the Bee's Knees
50. Evil : ROTTEN
51. Splatter catcher : APRON - catcher~? deflector or collector maybe
52. will.i.am, for one : RAP ARTIST - from the Black-eyed Peas. Sorry, but I think their stuff is at best amateur
54. Baggage carousel feeder : SLIDE - we have lots of slides at UPS - here's a pic of my "office"
28. Murky milieus : FENS - Ugh. SEAS was my thought
29. __ cracker : ANIMAL - # 1
31. Facing dauntlessly : BRAVING
35. Like sparkling wine : ABUBBLE - crossed with another "A-" clue
36. Real estate pioneer with a Long Island town named for him : LEVITT - Nailed it - but that's not saying much - I live on Long Island
37. Clan member : SCOT - dah~! Not CELT
38. Ruler of Asgard : ODIN
39. American Leaguer since 2013 : ASTRO - I thought this was wrong, too - but then I remembered that they were once a National League team
41. Ray : BEAM
45. 1975 ABC debut, for short : GMA - Good Morning America
46. Like music to one's ears? : ON KEY
47. Skater Harding : TONYA
48. Best ever : CAT'S MEOW - the Bee's Knees
50. Evil : ROTTEN
51. Splatter catcher : APRON - catcher~? deflector or collector maybe
52. will.i.am, for one : RAP ARTIST - from the Black-eyed Peas. Sorry, but I think their stuff is at best amateur
54. Baggage carousel feeder : SLIDE - we have lots of slides at UPS - here's a pic of my "office"
55. Eatery serving 47-Downs : TRATTORIA - this week is "restaurant week", and the Italian one I work at, aMano, was jimm-jamming on the frim-fram last night
56. State with a red, white and blue flag : TEXAS
56. State with a red, white and blue flag : TEXAS
DOWN:
1. Pisan possessive : NOSTRA - I WAGed from my understanding of "Cosa Nostra"
2. It's dropped on purpose : ANCHOR
3. Cinema __ : VERITE - dredged up from somewhere deep in my brain; "truth in cinema", or documentary style - I found a great list on IMDb - some titles you have heard
4. Ovid work : AMORES - written in 16BC; love stories are eternal
5. Dumps : JILTS - with my "NEVADA", DIVES worked here. Talk about a cluster***k
6. Just : ONLY - not FAIR, nor EVEN; this is the "I was just going to eat one piece of candy"
7. Prepare for a grilling : RUB - BBQ related
8. Jazz followers : UTAHANS - gave myself a big pat on the back for NOT confusing this basketball team Jazz with musical jazz
9. Memorable '70s Ford : GERALD - ha HA~! - not TORINO; in fact not even a car....
10. Capital SSW of Tangier : RABAT
11. Tar Heel State campus : ELON - half perps; a little misdirection here, as the Tar Heels of UNC are sports foes of the college at Elon
12. Attack from above : DIVE BOMB
12. Attack from above : DIVE BOMB
14. Enchant : BEDAZZLE
21. Cause of worry : BUGABOO - think "boogeyman"; there's also a stroller of the same name - sort of paradoxical, if you think about it
23. Blabbed : SANG
26. Compound with five carbon atoms : PENTANE - formula C₅H₁₂ ; C₅H₁₀ is pentEne
27. Crab house accessory : BIB
28. In good shape : FIT
30. Fruit served with a cracker? : NUT - # 2
31. Online clip : BLOGCAST - I filled in BLOG----, the rest was perps; is this post a blogcast, or just a blog~?
33. Anne Morrow Lindbergh, but not Charles : AVIATRIX - clever; only women can be the -TRIXes
34. Café quaff : VIN
35. "__ in the Dark": 1988 Neill/Streep film : A CRY
37. Noah's predecessor : STEWART - not a clue; turns out, Trevor Noah replaced Jon Steward on the Daily Show
40. Hybrid apparel : SKORTS - I love them; the looks of a skirt, the fit of shorts - and followed up with 41d.~? Mr. Sessa, you're the man~!
41. Rear end : BOTTOM
42. Complete : ENTIRE
43. Bos'n's response : AYE, SIR - sailing term; a boatswain is a crewman
44. Large rays : MANTAS - this time, MANTA was correct
46. Exeunt __: all go out : OMNES - straight Latin
47. 55-Across dessert : TORTA
49. __ cracker : SODA - # 3
50. Assign value to : RATE
53. Four on Augusta's fifth : PAR - the golf course, and it's 'Magnolia' hole
43. Bos'n's response : AYE, SIR - sailing term; a boatswain is a crewman
44. Large rays : MANTAS - this time, MANTA was correct
46. Exeunt __: all go out : OMNES - straight Latin
47. 55-Across dessert : TORTA
49. __ cracker : SODA - # 3
50. Assign value to : RATE
53. Four on Augusta's fifth : PAR - the golf course, and it's 'Magnolia' hole
Splynter - # 4, former "cracker" from Jacksonville, FL
