Theme: None
Words: 70 (missing Q,Z)
Blocks: 32
Brad Wilber is a familiar name, but I did not recognize the co-author
today - he has contributed several times to the LA Times, mostly
Fridays. The grid itself looked like a typical weekday puzzle, not so
intimidating. I forgot to set the clock, but I do believe I went over
my allotted personal time. The triples on the left and the crossings of
the names in the SE slowed me down, again, and had to guess for most of
them. Triple 10-letter corners in the Down, and a pair of 11-letter
climbers crossing a pair of 9's;
8. They may provide track details : SLEEVE NOTES - I filled this in, but did not make the connection - I was thinking "track" as in horse racing, not albums/CDs
back half of a sleeve from a 1985 album
29. Turning point? : USE BY DATE - har-har
23. Signs of infrequent cleaning : DUST BUNNIES
you might not want to look too closely
44. Line after Casca's "Speak, hands, for me!" : "ET TU, BRUTE~?" - the whole phrase
O.N..W...A....R.....D......~!
ACROSS:
1. Rose of rock : AXL - of Guns N' Roses fame
4. Incidental catches by South Pacific tuna fishermen : OPAHS
9. Mall Santa, probably : TEMP
13. Endodontic therapy : ROOT CANAL - the "-dontic" part helped me out
15. "Finding Dory" studio : PIXAR - "Finding Nemo" characters return
16. Reject : PUSH ASIDE - ah, the verb, not the noun.
17. As expected : ON CUE - strange. I nailed this.
18. Roundup group : STEERS - POSSE was not long enough
19. When the French fry? : ÉTÉ - Frawnche summer
21. Terrible's two : ARs - the two "R"s of teRRible
22. Presented an invention? : LIED - clever
24. Compared with : VIS-À-VIS - from the Frawnche for face to face
26. Canada's highest peak : LOGAN - OK, I cheated. I looked at a list of mountains in Canada
31. World leader whose name shares its last four letters with a state : OBAMA - this was my first guess, since it had occurred to me in the past that Obama and Alabama had the common ending
4. Incidental catches by South Pacific tuna fishermen : OPAHS
9. Mall Santa, probably : TEMP
13. Endodontic therapy : ROOT CANAL - the "-dontic" part helped me out
15. "Finding Dory" studio : PIXAR - "Finding Nemo" characters return
16. Reject : PUSH ASIDE - ah, the verb, not the noun.
17. As expected : ON CUE - strange. I nailed this.
18. Roundup group : STEERS - POSSE was not long enough
19. When the French fry? : ÉTÉ - Frawnche summer
21. Terrible's two : ARs - the two "R"s of teRRible
22. Presented an invention? : LIED - clever
24. Compared with : VIS-À-VIS - from the Frawnche for face to face
26. Canada's highest peak : LOGAN - OK, I cheated. I looked at a list of mountains in Canada
31. World leader whose name shares its last four letters with a state : OBAMA - this was my first guess, since it had occurred to me in the past that Obama and Alabama had the common ending
32. Together : SANE - Oh, that kind of together
33. "South Park" kid : STAN - or KYLE~!? I went with STAN, then switched, and then switched back
35. WWI hero portrayed by Gary Cooper : SGT. YORK - again, before my time
38. Bond yield: Abbr. : INTerest
39. Creepy look : LEER - I saw your wolfish look yesterday, Lemonade
41. Not much at all : A BIT - SOME~? A FEW~?
42. Golfer with an "army" : ARNIE - R.I.P.
46. Longtime Indiana senator Dick : LUGAR - perps and two WAGs
47. Hall of Fame outfielder Richie of the '40s-'50s Phillies : ASHBURN - perps and two WAGs
48. Automaker that introduced headlight wipers : SAAB - oops, not AUDI, but I was close
50. Last pres. born in the 19th century : DDE - not sure if we were looking for a short name, or initials. At first I had was "E" in the middle, since I misspelled the Frawnche crossing
51. Dr. for women : GYNecologist
52. Cold-stricken : RHEUMY - Dah~! Not CHILLY - that's 33.33% 100% correct, tho
56. Coventry coolers : GAOLS - argh~! I was stuck looking for some sort of drink to 'cool' off. This is the clink, the brig, the gulag, the pokey....
58. Corfu locale : IONIAN SEA - my "OMA" WAG was a big help here
61. Impressive lineup : ARRAY
63. Final crossing? : STYX
64. Nixon-Brezhnev missile pact : SALT I
65. Approved : OK'D - again, had it, took it out, put it back in
DOWN:
1. Some dadaist works : ARPS - ooo, close, I went with ARTE
2. Cross off : X OUT
3. Shake, as a tail : LOSE - when you are 14d.
4. Ovoid winds : OCARINAS
5. So five minutes ago : PASSÉ
6. Young Darth's nickname : ANI - Anakin Skywalker
7. Victimized : HAD
9. __ can : TIN
6. Young Darth's nickname : ANI - Anakin Skywalker
7. Victimized : HAD
9. __ can : TIN
10. Dig action : EXCAVATING
11. Senegal neighbor : MAURITANIA - I got it, but don't ask me how I knew it
14. Running, with "on" : THE LAM - a Blue Öyster Cult song~!
20. River through Umbria : TIBER
25. Break fillers : ADS
26. Focus of an EPA phasedown introduced in 1973 : LOW LEAD GAS - I tried "NON" at the start, but it was not jibing for me
27. Curiosities : OBJETS D' ART - more Frawnche - we got hit hard today~!
28. Mathematical approach to military strategy, say : GAME THEORY
30. "Speak!" : "SAY IT~!"
36. Chess luminary Kasparov : GARRY - Larry, Barry, Garry, I tried them all
37. Much of Botswana : KALAHARI - SAHARAN did not fit - because I was too far north
43. 17th-century Flemish painter : RUBENS
45. Film Warren commissioned? : BUGSY - I had the "--GSY" part, so I hardly read the clue
49. Hilarious : A RIOT
53. "Teach __ number our days": Psalm 90 : US TO
54. Like doormats : MEEK - I like this door mat
more funny ones here
55. Sale area : YARD - ah, took a moment. I like "yard saleing"
57. Negligent : LAX
59. Medical suffix : OMA - a cancerous growth/tumor
60. Org. with Colts and Cowboys : NFL - and a gimme to end the day
Splynter
