Theme: None
Words: 66 (missing Q,X,Z)
Blocks: 27
This
is my first puzzle from Mark Diehl, and when I checked, his last and
only two contributions to the LA Times were both Saturday constructions,
both before my blogging time. See here and here.
With no experience to go on, I simply plugged away at any clues I might
have had a shot at. Some proper names slowed me down, and ultimately, I
had to cheat for one cel with red-letters. Dang. Big chunky corners,
two 12-letter spanners and two 10-letter climbers;
26a. Formulation in Newton's "Principia" : LAW OF GRAVITY - I knew what we were looking for, but I waited to see where the word "GRAVITY" would fall
See "The Law" @ 2:05
35a. Height is an exception to it : "I" BEFORE "E" RULE - Height, weight, eight - yeah, it's wEIrd. More of a guideline, really
15d. "Paradise Lost" style : BLANK VERSE - I did not know anything about this style; it has no rhyme, but a steady meter
21d. One whose business is growing : DIRT FARMER - I filled in
the "FARMER" part, and waited. Basically a poor farmer. We have lots
of sod farms here on L.I., and after harvest, it looks like they're in
the dirt farming business
dOwNWARD gravity~!
ACROSS:
1. Studio department : CASTING - I contemplated "COSTUME", and that would have been 100% 42% correct
8. Fills with mortar, as tile : GROUTS - don't tell me - I just finished my bathroom, which I built from the plumbing up; I happen to like tiling, as opposed to just installing a plastic surround. Here's a pic; I noticed that "Picasa" is no longer - it's all about Pinterest now
14. Invite : ASK OVER - and they consistently, politely decline....
15. Traditional slow cooker : BEAN POT
16. 1963 Best Actor : POITIER
17. '70s-'80s sitcom roommate : LAVERNE - ah, yes, the other one was Shirley - and Lenny was their friend, played by Michael McKean, who played David St. Hubbins of Spinal Tap fame
18. "By all means!" : "INDEED~!"
19. Central California county : MARIPOSA - the second half was perps, the first half a WAG about a place that I seemed to have heard of before
20. Contract details : TERMS - oops, not ITEMS
21. Slips on : DONS
22. Put down : LAID
23. Latin I word : AMO
24. Pen output : OINK - I did not know which "pen" this was; the writer's ( BOOK, e.g. ) or the farm one; it was the latter
25. __ warning : EARLY - I had -A-L- and thought it was "FALSE" - but FASLE looked wrong....
30. Jokingly : IN SPORT - ooops, not 'in sHort'
31. "Coming Out of the Dark" singer : ESTEFAN - Gloria, half perps and WAGs
37. Stylish beach resorts : LIDOS
40. Sanctuary part : APSE - ah, but which the part of the church~? APSE or NAVE~?
41. Eponymous 2001 album : J.Lo
42. MBA subject : ECON - good WAG on my part
43. Part of a name on the 1989 album "Dr. Feelgood" : CRÜE - Nailed it - I can't help it - these guys defined the whole 80's big hair thing, and the music was good, too. In fact, the first puzzle Mark Diehl had for the LA Times featured "TEN SECONDS" as an answer - and here's Mötley Crüe's version
44. Congo jungle denizen : CHIMP
46. Sprint and others : TELECOMS - I went with TELCOMS, and found it too short
48. Ice cream baron William : DREYER
49. NSA home : Ft. MEADE
50. "You had your chance!" : "TOO LATE~!"
51. Certain permit holder : LEARNER - driving permits
52. Pitching pro? : AD WOMAN - ooh, nice gender misdirection.
53. Mahmoud's PLO predecessor : YASSER
54. Lose freshness : GO STALE
DOWN:
1. First person indicator : CAPITAL I
2. Without dissent : AS ONE MAN
3. Rundown areas : SKID ROWS - Ironically, I thought this was SKI related, but it certainly helped to correctly guess the first 3 letters
4. Revered emblem : TOTEM - popular lately
5. Brown is one of them : IVIES - I knew where this was going, but was reluctant to fill in "IVIES"
6. Triage basis : NEED
7. Lab warning : Grr - the LABrador breed
8. First, second and third : GEARS - and many more, depending on the car. My crappy work van has a hard time getting out of second gear; I have to get to 42mph. Reminds me of this song
9. Norah's dad : RAVI - it took a moment to remember Norah Jones' dad is Ravi Shankar; her Wiki
10. Like solitaire : ONE-PLAYER
11. Hue and cry : UPROAR
12. Uvula neighbor : TONSIL
13. Regular : STEADY
19. Bart Simpson's grandma : MONA - I dredged this one up from the cerebral depths
24. No gentle giant : OGRE
25. Novel ending : ETTE - novelette; I submitted a short story to Dan's Papers Literary Contest, but I didn't win - read more here, Sep 9th issue, pg 32
27. First book of the Great Plains trilogy : OPIONEERS - no clue, and the "P" was "H" for my first guess
28. Key chain attachments : FOBS
29. "Say no more" : "I SEE."
32. Roller coaster named for a mountain : FUJIYAMA - mostly perps and a WAG - not a big roller-coaster fan
33. Like some storage shelves : ALL METAL - and F%*&ing heavy when they ship thru UPS
34. Wetsuit material : NEOPRENE - nailed it - big help in the SE
36. Sonata, e.g. : OPUS - toyed with "AUTO", since it's a Hyundai
37. Heave : LET FLY
38. Summer beverage : ICE TEA - I've come to accept the missing "D"; look away, Tin~!
39. Middle Eastern stuffed vegetable dishes : DOLMAS - ah, yes, I've had them, and they're good - I get the vine leaf stuffed with rice
43. Software whiz : CODER
44. They're often involved in murders : CROWS
45. Serf of Sparta : HELOT
47. Mr. Peanut trademark : CANE
48. Doofus : DODO
50. Touch and go? : TAG - the game - "you're IT~!"
8. Fills with mortar, as tile : GROUTS - don't tell me - I just finished my bathroom, which I built from the plumbing up; I happen to like tiling, as opposed to just installing a plastic surround. Here's a pic; I noticed that "Picasa" is no longer - it's all about Pinterest now
15. Traditional slow cooker : BEAN POT
16. 1963 Best Actor : POITIER
17. '70s-'80s sitcom roommate : LAVERNE - ah, yes, the other one was Shirley - and Lenny was their friend, played by Michael McKean, who played David St. Hubbins of Spinal Tap fame
18. "By all means!" : "INDEED~!"
19. Central California county : MARIPOSA - the second half was perps, the first half a WAG about a place that I seemed to have heard of before
20. Contract details : TERMS - oops, not ITEMS
21. Slips on : DONS
22. Put down : LAID
23. Latin I word : AMO
24. Pen output : OINK - I did not know which "pen" this was; the writer's ( BOOK, e.g. ) or the farm one; it was the latter
25. __ warning : EARLY - I had -A-L- and thought it was "FALSE" - but FASLE looked wrong....
30. Jokingly : IN SPORT - ooops, not 'in sHort'
31. "Coming Out of the Dark" singer : ESTEFAN - Gloria, half perps and WAGs
37. Stylish beach resorts : LIDOS
41. Eponymous 2001 album : J.Lo
42. MBA subject : ECON - good WAG on my part
43. Part of a name on the 1989 album "Dr. Feelgood" : CRÜE - Nailed it - I can't help it - these guys defined the whole 80's big hair thing, and the music was good, too. In fact, the first puzzle Mark Diehl had for the LA Times featured "TEN SECONDS" as an answer - and here's Mötley Crüe's version
46. Sprint and others : TELECOMS - I went with TELCOMS, and found it too short
48. Ice cream baron William : DREYER
49. NSA home : Ft. MEADE
50. "You had your chance!" : "TOO LATE~!"
51. Certain permit holder : LEARNER - driving permits
52. Pitching pro? : AD WOMAN - ooh, nice gender misdirection.
this is one gorgeous ad woman
53. Mahmoud's PLO predecessor : YASSER
54. Lose freshness : GO STALE
DOWN:
1. First person indicator : CAPITAL I
2. Without dissent : AS ONE MAN
3. Rundown areas : SKID ROWS - Ironically, I thought this was SKI related, but it certainly helped to correctly guess the first 3 letters
4. Revered emblem : TOTEM - popular lately
5. Brown is one of them : IVIES - I knew where this was going, but was reluctant to fill in "IVIES"
6. Triage basis : NEED
7. Lab warning : Grr - the LABrador breed
8. First, second and third : GEARS - and many more, depending on the car. My crappy work van has a hard time getting out of second gear; I have to get to 42mph. Reminds me of this song
9. Norah's dad : RAVI - it took a moment to remember Norah Jones' dad is Ravi Shankar; her Wiki
10. Like solitaire : ONE-PLAYER
11. Hue and cry : UPROAR
12. Uvula neighbor : TONSIL
13. Regular : STEADY
19. Bart Simpson's grandma : MONA - I dredged this one up from the cerebral depths
24. No gentle giant : OGRE
25. Novel ending : ETTE - novelette; I submitted a short story to Dan's Papers Literary Contest, but I didn't win - read more here, Sep 9th issue, pg 32
27. First book of the Great Plains trilogy : OPIONEERS - no clue, and the "P" was "H" for my first guess
28. Key chain attachments : FOBS
29. "Say no more" : "I SEE."
32. Roller coaster named for a mountain : FUJIYAMA - mostly perps and a WAG - not a big roller-coaster fan
33. Like some storage shelves : ALL METAL - and F%*&ing heavy when they ship thru UPS
34. Wetsuit material : NEOPRENE - nailed it - big help in the SE
36. Sonata, e.g. : OPUS - toyed with "AUTO", since it's a Hyundai
37. Heave : LET FLY
38. Summer beverage : ICE TEA - I've come to accept the missing "D"; look away, Tin~!
39. Middle Eastern stuffed vegetable dishes : DOLMAS - ah, yes, I've had them, and they're good - I get the vine leaf stuffed with rice
44. They're often involved in murders : CROWS
45. Serf of Sparta : HELOT
47. Mr. Peanut trademark : CANE
50. Touch and go? : TAG - the game - "you're IT~!"
Splynter
