Words: 72 (missing F,Q,X)
Blocks: 31
Somehow
I sensed that there should have been an extra row or column in this
puzzle, as Mr. Steinberg's last two offerings on Saturday were both
expanded grids. I moved through this one with relative ease, but got
stumped at two Naticks, which kinda bummed me out. Oh well. Unlike those previous two, no
spanners in today's construction, but triple 11-letter across and almost
triple 9-letter downs in the corners;
17a. Whatchamacallit : THINGAMABOB
- D'ya know I actually read the word "gewgaw" in a novel last week - I
was so pleasantly surprised to see it because it justified the
many times its appeared in crosswords, and I said "that's not a
word"....
12d. Buddhism branch : MAHAYANA - I was curious, so I looked; here's the Wiki, and it led to the word "Dharma" which is this guitar player
Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser
62. Amusing editor, at times : AUTO-CORRECT - some very hilarious results : WARNING~! Adult
36. Team member in "Moneyball" : ATHLETIC - I thought this was a Wall Street movie, but it's this one; I don't know what movie I was thinking about
ONE EARED~! (Damn auto-correct~!)
ACROSS:
1. Librarians might use them : HUSHED TONES
12. Lt. col.'s inferior : MAJor - I read this as "literary college's" inferior, so I put in "TAs". Odd.
15. Sci-fi concept : ANTI-GRAVITY
16. Lovelace whom many consider the first computer programmer : ADA - Natick #1, with a proper name crossing a religious branch; "Ida"~? "Ada"~?
18. Solo on-screen : HAN - this guy; I just finished reading "the making of Star Wars" and "the making of Empire Strikes Back"
19. Trail, perhaps : HUNT - the verb, not the noun; pondered PATH
20. Milky Way source : MARS - the candy bar
21. Camera product : IMAGE - yep, that's the output
23. Tablet container : ARK - historic tablets, not electronic ones
24. Coral Triangle tourist destination : BALI - Mali or Bali~?? I didn't get much help from the crossing
25. Left rolling in the aisles : SLAYED
26. Down a lot : TOPE - I shoulda known this; drinking to excess....
28. __ other : EACH
30. Robot starter : NANO - eh, more like NANO-bot, than robot
31. Pay dirt : ORE
33. Hassle : NUISANCE
35. First instrument for many : RATTLE - I still play the rattle, but it's made by Ludwig, and comes in several pieces
38. Icy Hot competitor : BENGAY
39. Keep secret : WITHHOLD
41. Sushi bar delicacy : ROE - dah. Not AHI
42. __ pedal: guitar accessory : ECHO - I have a delay pedal, but not an echo, and I really, really want one. I also have a chorus, distortion, and Zoom pedal, which has multiple effects built in, and there's a pedal accessory that allows me to create a "wah-wah" effect with it. I thought the answer might have been "WA-WA"
43. Slam offering : POEM - didn't get it; perps
45. Org. that monitors plants : OSHA - DID get it, the factory kind of plants
48. Nervous person? : NELLIE - har-har
50. Fail to beat the heat : MELT - the only "ice" found in Florida is that under the skates of the Tampa Bay Lightning, now even in their Stanley Cup series
52. AIDS-fighting drug : AZT
54. Rough stuff : TWEED
55. Low-cost pub : ZINE - publication and magazine
56. "__ bien" : ESTA - dah~! Not TRES
57. Storage unit? : BIT - computer storage
58. Vaping devices : E-CIGARETTES - the evolution of these things is incredible; very popular with the younger types at UPS
61. "Wheel of Fortune" purchase : AN "I" - fill in "AN", and wait....
63. Mo. for which tanzanite is a birthstone : DECember
64. Comics-derived danger alert : SPIDEY SENSE - well, I wasn't sure how to spell "Spidey", since I didn't read the comic book; I tried SpideE
DOWN:
1. Yoga variety : HATHA - ooops, not ASANA
2. Fine after an accident : UNHURT - ah. Not TICKET; my experience in one accident was that the other party involved crossed in front of me while I had right-of-way; he was given two tickets - the other for not wearing the seatbelt
3. Well-lit? : STINKO - well, I got it, but the "O" at the end was a bit meh.
4. "Gimme a __" : HINT
5. Noodle variety : EGG
6. Certain queen's domain : DRAMA
7. Steamed cantina food : TAMALE
8. Like a certain female artery : OVARIAN - I didn't realize there were names for the smaller ones
9. Ink deliverers : NIBS - Dah~!! Not PENS
10. WWII arena : ETO - learned from crosswords
11. Basil's wife on "Fawlty Towers" : SYBIL - a WAG; I thought "sibyl" was the answer to 14D., but it didn't fit
13. Company offering many promotions : AD AGENCY - cute
14. Mystery woman : JANE DOE - Mystery no more~!! I have found her, and this is what she looks like - I might have solved a LOT of criminal investigations, too~!!
22. Watches over : MANAGES
24. Where an engineer may retire : BERTH - Natick #2, the "E" did me in....I am not sure I get this; does this mean a train engineer and sleeping in a car on the train~?
25. Less forward : SHIER
27. Artery problem : POTHOLE - I got this; I was on a different wavelength from the first artery clue, this one referring to the highways into/from a city
29. Bear fruit? : CUB - oh, so witty
32. Secretly unite : ELOPE
34. Arrogant sort : SNOOT
35. Beverage used in Chinese cuisine : RICE WINE
37. "Eldorado" group : ELO - ah, the song Eldorado; Iron Maiden has a song with the same title
39. Soured : WENT BAD - straight up
40. Part-human mythological creature : DEMI-GOD - CENTAUR fit, too
44. Threat : MENACE
46. Get cracking : HASTEN
47. Ancient cacao bean traders : AZTECS
49. TED talk subjects : IDEAS
51. Encyclopedia Brown's first name : LEROY - perps
53. Discretion : TASTE
55. Italian tubes : ZITI - this helped out a lot in the SE
12. Lt. col.'s inferior : MAJor - I read this as "literary college's" inferior, so I put in "TAs". Odd.
15. Sci-fi concept : ANTI-GRAVITY
16. Lovelace whom many consider the first computer programmer : ADA - Natick #1, with a proper name crossing a religious branch; "Ida"~? "Ada"~?
18. Solo on-screen : HAN - this guy; I just finished reading "the making of Star Wars" and "the making of Empire Strikes Back"
20. Milky Way source : MARS - the candy bar
21. Camera product : IMAGE - yep, that's the output
23. Tablet container : ARK - historic tablets, not electronic ones
24. Coral Triangle tourist destination : BALI - Mali or Bali~?? I didn't get much help from the crossing
25. Left rolling in the aisles : SLAYED
26. Down a lot : TOPE - I shoulda known this; drinking to excess....
28. __ other : EACH
30. Robot starter : NANO - eh, more like NANO-bot, than robot
31. Pay dirt : ORE
33. Hassle : NUISANCE
35. First instrument for many : RATTLE - I still play the rattle, but it's made by Ludwig, and comes in several pieces
38. Icy Hot competitor : BENGAY
39. Keep secret : WITHHOLD
41. Sushi bar delicacy : ROE - dah. Not AHI
42. __ pedal: guitar accessory : ECHO - I have a delay pedal, but not an echo, and I really, really want one. I also have a chorus, distortion, and Zoom pedal, which has multiple effects built in, and there's a pedal accessory that allows me to create a "wah-wah" effect with it. I thought the answer might have been "WA-WA"
43. Slam offering : POEM - didn't get it; perps
45. Org. that monitors plants : OSHA - DID get it, the factory kind of plants
48. Nervous person? : NELLIE - har-har
50. Fail to beat the heat : MELT - the only "ice" found in Florida is that under the skates of the Tampa Bay Lightning, now even in their Stanley Cup series
52. AIDS-fighting drug : AZT
54. Rough stuff : TWEED
55. Low-cost pub : ZINE - publication and magazine
56. "__ bien" : ESTA - dah~! Not TRES
57. Storage unit? : BIT - computer storage
58. Vaping devices : E-CIGARETTES - the evolution of these things is incredible; very popular with the younger types at UPS
61. "Wheel of Fortune" purchase : AN "I" - fill in "AN", and wait....
63. Mo. for which tanzanite is a birthstone : DECember
64. Comics-derived danger alert : SPIDEY SENSE - well, I wasn't sure how to spell "Spidey", since I didn't read the comic book; I tried SpideE
my kind of spider sense
DOWN:
1. Yoga variety : HATHA - ooops, not ASANA
2. Fine after an accident : UNHURT - ah. Not TICKET; my experience in one accident was that the other party involved crossed in front of me while I had right-of-way; he was given two tickets - the other for not wearing the seatbelt
3. Well-lit? : STINKO - well, I got it, but the "O" at the end was a bit meh.
4. "Gimme a __" : HINT
5. Noodle variety : EGG
6. Certain queen's domain : DRAMA
7. Steamed cantina food : TAMALE
8. Like a certain female artery : OVARIAN - I didn't realize there were names for the smaller ones
9. Ink deliverers : NIBS - Dah~!! Not PENS
10. WWII arena : ETO - learned from crosswords
11. Basil's wife on "Fawlty Towers" : SYBIL - a WAG; I thought "sibyl" was the answer to 14D., but it didn't fit
13. Company offering many promotions : AD AGENCY - cute
14. Mystery woman : JANE DOE - Mystery no more~!! I have found her, and this is what she looks like - I might have solved a LOT of criminal investigations, too~!!
24. Where an engineer may retire : BERTH - Natick #2, the "E" did me in....I am not sure I get this; does this mean a train engineer and sleeping in a car on the train~?
25. Less forward : SHIER
27. Artery problem : POTHOLE - I got this; I was on a different wavelength from the first artery clue, this one referring to the highways into/from a city
29. Bear fruit? : CUB - oh, so witty
32. Secretly unite : ELOPE
34. Arrogant sort : SNOOT
35. Beverage used in Chinese cuisine : RICE WINE
37. "Eldorado" group : ELO - ah, the song Eldorado; Iron Maiden has a song with the same title
39. Soured : WENT BAD - straight up
40. Part-human mythological creature : DEMI-GOD - CENTAUR fit, too
44. Threat : MENACE
46. Get cracking : HASTEN
47. Ancient cacao bean traders : AZTECS
49. TED talk subjects : IDEAS
51. Encyclopedia Brown's first name : LEROY - perps
53. Discretion : TASTE
55. Italian tubes : ZITI - this helped out a lot in the SE
56. Sera is a form of it : ÊTRE - I pondered "DOSE", as in medical serum; turns out to be the conjugation of the Frawnche, and reminds me of this song
Wax Tailor, with Doris
60. Halting syllables : ers....
Splynter
