Theme: None
Words: 72 (missing G,K,Q,X)
Blocks: 30
Normally it's hit or miss for me with Ed Sessa's puzzles, but today I couldn't
enter the answers fast enough. I just happened to be in a WAGing mood,
and threw in what I thought was the most logical solution, and quite a few
were good. No Google, no red letter, and got my ta-DA~! in less than half
my personal allotted time. Triple 10-letter Downs, and nearly triple
10's in the Across, and another pair of 11-letter climbers towards the
center;
25. Went ballistic : LOST CONTROL
o o o o o O O O ONNN WA A A aa aa rr dd d d d ~ ~ !!
ACROSS:
1. Heart : CORE - A Wild-Ass Guess ( tho educated ) to start; all my other W.A.G.s are "*", whether they were good or bad
5*. JFK Library architect : PEI
8. "The Well-Tempered Clavier" composer : J.S. BACH - I knew this, but failed to consider the "J.S." part
14. "C'mon, be __!" : A PAL
15. In abundance, in slang : UP THE WAZOO
17. Data lead-in : META
18. Flowerlike marine creature : SEA ANEMONE
19*. Latin 101 word : ERAT - ah, not AMAS
20*. Bear's call : SELL - stock market reference
21*. Worked on the road : PAVED
22*. Nowadays : LATELY - I went with "AS LATE"
24. Mine yield : SALT - rather specific
26*. Tails : SHADOWS - dah~! Not FOLLOWS
28*. Most lemony : SOUREST - dah~! Not TARTEST
33. Word with air or bed : HOT - I could only think of BUG and PAN, and neither worked with air
34. Ammo for Moe : PIES - Three Stooges reference
36. Peloponnesian War side : SPARTA - about the only WAG I did not throw in; the Wiki
37. One on a lot : AUTO
39. Didn't reach logically, with "to" : LEAPT
41. "Downton Abbey" title : EARL - a gimme for those commenters that watch
42*. "City of the Beasts" author Allende : ISABEL - a semi-WAG since I had "I--B-L"
44. Dissenting group : SECT
46. Tommy Pickles' younger brother on "Rugrats" : DIL - shows up often in crosswords, and I can never recall the name right away
47. Vitamin A form : RETINOL
49. Infect with the T-virus, in "Resident Evil" films : ZOMBIFY
51. Things that come in pairs : TWOS - like these~!
53*. Melody and Millie, to Minnie Mouse : NIECES
54*. Earth pigment : OCHRE
58. Jargon : CANT - new to me; straight definition (3) - here
60*. Wood strip : LATH - a WAG only because I thought SLAT might work, too
61. Focus of 1972 environmental legislation : CLEAN WATER
63. Stub __ : A TOE
64. "Yikes!" : "HOLY TOLEDO~!"
65. No more than : MERE - ooops, went with LEST
66*. Bad temper : SPLEEN - I tried RANCOR
67. High-speed letters : DSL - internet service
68. Ain't right? : ISN'T - the correct pronunciation/spelling
DOWN:
1. Clothing material for John the Baptist : CAMEL'S HAIR
2. Marx Brothers setting : OPERA HOUSE
3. Rapping sound : RAT-A-TAT-TAT - I wasn't sure of the spelling this time
4. Carried away : ELATED
6. Near-pointless swordplay? : ÉPÉE - fencing weapon
7. Romans and countrymen: Abbr. : ITALianS
8. Brad's ex : JEN - Pitt and Aniston
9. Suddenly involved (in) : SWEPT UP
10. 2016 College Football Playoff champ : 'BAMA - don't watch, don't follow, but this is a common abbreviation in crosswords
11. Sea of __, south of Ukraine : AZOV - dah~! Not KIEV; my green-eyed friend lives in a town w-a-y north and east of Moscow; we've been sharing emails for three weeks now; she's 1372 miles from this sea; it is one vast country....
12. Ice cream parlor purchase : CONE
13. Worked in a bed : HOED - oh, uh, a garden bed, I knew that....
16. Immortal Bears coach : HALAS - filled in via perps
23. Prune : LOP
27. Get it : SEE - ah. "Now I get it (see)."
29. Singer Carly __ Jepsen : RAE - and a semi duplicate at; 57D. Comical Martha : RAYE
30. Uproots : ERADICATES - I think of 'uproots' as having to move abruptly; I don't necessarily think it means to utterly eliminate
31. In a state of endless conflict : STRIFE-TORN
32. You can count on it : TALLY SHEET
35*. Flier to Sundsvall : SAS - seen this Scandinavian airline enough to guess
38. Eastern sash : OBI - sort of too easy for Saturday
40. Loadable confections : PEZ
43. International accord : ENTENTE - I had DEtente
45. "More than I care to know" : TMI - textspeak for Too Much Information
48. Subway option : LOCAL - vis-à-vis express; I pondered TOKEN, but 'local' made more sense
50. Guy de Maupassant novel : BELAMI - again, filled via perps
52. Stuffed : SATED
54. "Draft Dodger Rag" folk singer : OCHS
55. Western sound effect : CLOP - my soon to be "eradicated" marriage featured my ex-wife's son clopping two coconut halves together, as I rode in on an imaginary Monty Python horse
59. "__ Declassified School Survival Guide": 2000s Nickelodeon sitcom : NED'S - never heard of this show; crossing "Jargon" at 58A., the "N" was a complete unknown/natick
62. Persuaded, with "over" : WON
5*. JFK Library architect : PEI
14. "C'mon, be __!" : A PAL
15. In abundance, in slang : UP THE WAZOO
17. Data lead-in : META
18. Flowerlike marine creature : SEA ANEMONE
19*. Latin 101 word : ERAT - ah, not AMAS
20*. Bear's call : SELL - stock market reference
21*. Worked on the road : PAVED
22*. Nowadays : LATELY - I went with "AS LATE"
24. Mine yield : SALT - rather specific
26*. Tails : SHADOWS - dah~! Not FOLLOWS
28*. Most lemony : SOUREST - dah~! Not TARTEST
33. Word with air or bed : HOT - I could only think of BUG and PAN, and neither worked with air
34. Ammo for Moe : PIES - Three Stooges reference
36. Peloponnesian War side : SPARTA - about the only WAG I did not throw in; the Wiki
37. One on a lot : AUTO
39. Didn't reach logically, with "to" : LEAPT
41. "Downton Abbey" title : EARL - a gimme for those commenters that watch
42*. "City of the Beasts" author Allende : ISABEL - a semi-WAG since I had "I--B-L"
44. Dissenting group : SECT
46. Tommy Pickles' younger brother on "Rugrats" : DIL - shows up often in crosswords, and I can never recall the name right away
47. Vitamin A form : RETINOL
49. Infect with the T-virus, in "Resident Evil" films : ZOMBIFY
51. Things that come in pairs : TWOS - like these~!
54*. Earth pigment : OCHRE
58. Jargon : CANT - new to me; straight definition (3) - here
60*. Wood strip : LATH - a WAG only because I thought SLAT might work, too
61. Focus of 1972 environmental legislation : CLEAN WATER
63. Stub __ : A TOE
64. "Yikes!" : "HOLY TOLEDO~!"
Die Hard with a Vengeance
66*. Bad temper : SPLEEN - I tried RANCOR
67. High-speed letters : DSL - internet service
68. Ain't right? : ISN'T - the correct pronunciation/spelling
DOWN:
1. Clothing material for John the Baptist : CAMEL'S HAIR
Heavy Metal Camel
3. Rapping sound : RAT-A-TAT-TAT - I wasn't sure of the spelling this time
4. Carried away : ELATED
6. Near-pointless swordplay? : ÉPÉE - fencing weapon
7. Romans and countrymen: Abbr. : ITALianS
8. Brad's ex : JEN - Pitt and Aniston
9. Suddenly involved (in) : SWEPT UP
10. 2016 College Football Playoff champ : 'BAMA - don't watch, don't follow, but this is a common abbreviation in crosswords
11. Sea of __, south of Ukraine : AZOV - dah~! Not KIEV; my green-eyed friend lives in a town w-a-y north and east of Moscow; we've been sharing emails for three weeks now; she's 1372 miles from this sea; it is one vast country....
12. Ice cream parlor purchase : CONE
13. Worked in a bed : HOED - oh, uh, a garden bed, I knew that....
16. Immortal Bears coach : HALAS - filled in via perps
23. Prune : LOP
27. Get it : SEE - ah. "Now I get it (see)."
29. Singer Carly __ Jepsen : RAE - and a semi duplicate at; 57D. Comical Martha : RAYE
30. Uproots : ERADICATES - I think of 'uproots' as having to move abruptly; I don't necessarily think it means to utterly eliminate
31. In a state of endless conflict : STRIFE-TORN
32. You can count on it : TALLY SHEET
35*. Flier to Sundsvall : SAS - seen this Scandinavian airline enough to guess
38. Eastern sash : OBI - sort of too easy for Saturday
40. Loadable confections : PEZ
45. "More than I care to know" : TMI - textspeak for Too Much Information
48. Subway option : LOCAL - vis-à-vis express; I pondered TOKEN, but 'local' made more sense
50. Guy de Maupassant novel : BELAMI - again, filled via perps
52. Stuffed : SATED
54. "Draft Dodger Rag" folk singer : OCHS
55. Western sound effect : CLOP - my soon to be "eradicated" marriage featured my ex-wife's son clopping two coconut halves together, as I rode in on an imaginary Monty Python horse
I am about 60lbs lighter today
56. Inferno : HELL59. "__ Declassified School Survival Guide": 2000s Nickelodeon sitcom : NED'S - never heard of this show; crossing "Jargon" at 58A., the "N" was a complete unknown/natick
62. Persuaded, with "over" : WON
Splynter
