Theme: None
Words 70 (missing Q,V,W,X)
Blocks: 38
First time blogging an Erik Agard LA Times Saturday puzzle for me; he
has seven previously published constructions, and with a posting on a
Tuesday, he will have hit for the cycle. Odd-looking grid with the
black corners, a high block count, and the step-stacks of 12-,13-, and
14-letter fills; 12 & 14 is hard to do. Not much success on my first pass,
and the short down clues did not help much - if it had not been for some "I
know this" fills, I would probably still be working on the grid. Got
my ta-DA~! with one bad cell, silly mistake crossing a total unknown. Oh
well. Some of the longer fill;
13a. ESPN game show where four expert panelists compete debate-style : AROUND THE HORN - I see it on the TV at the restaurants occasionally, but not an actual watcher - but I do like the chalkboard quotes
15a. "42" subject : JACKIE ROBINSON
- my first thought was the "42" of Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy,
and that was not working. Baseball is not my thing, but once the -SON
appeared, a vague recollection of this movie occurred
65a. Early U.S. Navy flag motto : DON'T TREAD ON ME
66a. Likely to be returned : MISADDRESSED
ONWARpeD~!
ACROSS:
1. Diagnostic aid : TISSUE SAMPLE - oof; vague
17. Water __ : SKI - oops, not "PIK"
18. Gets ready to eat, in a way : NUKES - affectionate term for microwaving; it's how I defrost chicken and re-heat pizza
19. Key of Beethoven's Sym. No. 7 : A Maj - I filled in the "M", and waited; it's going to be A-G, Major or Minor
21. Clipped affirmative : YES,'M
23. Other: Pref. : HETERO-
25. Scary story sound : CREAK
28. One of a prohibitive septet : SIN - the Se7en Deadly
31. Industry bigwigs : CZARS - ah, we've seen this before; did not occur to me at first; I went with EXECS
32. Hide out, with "down" : HUNKER
34. School offering belts : DOJO - martial arts
36. Get : NAB - oops, not "SEE"
37. Rihanna album whose title is a common prefix : ANTI - half perps and a WAG
38. Cosmic balance : KARMA
40. Analogy part : IS TO
41. An ace is under it : PAR - in golf, it's par, birdie, eagle; on a par-three hole, "ace" is a hole in one
42. Desert bordering the Altai Mountains : GOBI
43. Mitt with ten fingers : ROMNEY - clever
45. "Luck Be __": "Guys and Dolls" song : A LADY
47. Smoking evidence : ASH
49. Shuffles, say : iPODS - Apple MP-3 music players
50. Firming (up) : TONING - D-oh~! I filled in Boning, and 25d was anyone's guess
52. Italian recipe word : ALLA
54. User of recording devices called quipus : INCA - fascinating, for me - I had to find out what a quipu was, and here's the Wiki; down at the bottom, the article mentions Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt series, and I have read two of his books - now I need to get the one mentioned here.
55. WWII conference city : YALTA
58. Home of MLB's Redbirds : STL - St. Louis Cardinals
61. Learn : GET INFORMATION
17. Water __ : SKI - oops, not "PIK"
18. Gets ready to eat, in a way : NUKES - affectionate term for microwaving; it's how I defrost chicken and re-heat pizza
19. Key of Beethoven's Sym. No. 7 : A Maj - I filled in the "M", and waited; it's going to be A-G, Major or Minor
21. Clipped affirmative : YES,'M
23. Other: Pref. : HETERO-
25. Scary story sound : CREAK
28. One of a prohibitive septet : SIN - the Se7en Deadly
31. Industry bigwigs : CZARS - ah, we've seen this before; did not occur to me at first; I went with EXECS
32. Hide out, with "down" : HUNKER
34. School offering belts : DOJO - martial arts
36. Get : NAB - oops, not "SEE"
37. Rihanna album whose title is a common prefix : ANTI - half perps and a WAG
38. Cosmic balance : KARMA
40. Analogy part : IS TO
41. An ace is under it : PAR - in golf, it's par, birdie, eagle; on a par-three hole, "ace" is a hole in one
42. Desert bordering the Altai Mountains : GOBI
43. Mitt with ten fingers : ROMNEY - clever
45. "Luck Be __": "Guys and Dolls" song : A LADY
47. Smoking evidence : ASH
49. Shuffles, say : iPODS - Apple MP-3 music players
50. Firming (up) : TONING - D-oh~! I filled in Boning, and 25d was anyone's guess
52. Italian recipe word : ALLA
54. User of recording devices called quipus : INCA - fascinating, for me - I had to find out what a quipu was, and here's the Wiki; down at the bottom, the article mentions Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt series, and I have read two of his books - now I need to get the one mentioned here.
55. WWII conference city : YALTA
58. Home of MLB's Redbirds : STL - St. Louis Cardinals
61. Learn : GET INFORMATION
DOWN:
1. Persian for "crown" : TAJ - pondered "ABU" at first
2. Subjects of IRS Pub. 590 : IRAs
3. Belt : SOCK - ah, not "SHOT"
4. Japanese hot pot dish : SUKIYAKI - oops, not TERI yaki
5. Athlete's wear, for short : UNI - I believe it's short for unitard
6. Idyllic settings : EDENS - one of the few clues I got on the first pass
7. Toys with strings? : STRUMS - I have been known to toy with the strings of my guitars
8. "I see now" : "AH, OK"
9. "Leave __!" : "ME BE"
10. Trey Anastasio's band : PHISH - nailed it, but for the life of me I cannot remember my favorite song from them from a live concert; my brother might recall the name. I spent way too much time looking for it....
11. Chaney of the screen : LON
12. Imitation : ERSATZ - great WAG off the "T" in hetero-
14. Unequivocal rejection : NO MEANS NO
16. Told : NARRATED
20. Alcott's "Little Men" sequel : JO'S BOYS
22. __ out a victory : EKE
24. Prefix with tourist : ECO
25. Indian flatbread : CHAPATI
26. Words with a dismissive wave : RUN ALONG
27. Unable to look away : ENTRANCED
29. Actor __ Elba of "The Wire" : IDRIS - his IMDb; I was not aware he played the captain in the movie Prometheus, the 'prequel' to ALIEN
30. French handle? : NOM - Frawnche for "name"
33. "Citizen Kane" studio : RKO
35. Shake up : JAR
39. Old hoops org. : ABA
40. Thick paint applications : IMPASTOS
42. OB/__ : GYN
44. Sautéing substance : OIL
46. Unicellular alga : DIATOM
48. Abomination : HATRED
51. "Peer __ Homecoming": Grieg work : GYNTS
53. Rapper Kendrick __ : LAMAR
56. Mennen skin product : AFTA
57. Voldemort's title : LORD - from the Harry Potter series of books and films, portrayed by Ralph Fiennes
59. Cookie containers : TINS
60. __-Tokoin Airport: Togo hub : LOME
27. Unable to look away : ENTRANCED
I am unable to look away~!
29. Actor __ Elba of "The Wire" : IDRIS - his IMDb; I was not aware he played the captain in the movie Prometheus, the 'prequel' to ALIEN
30. French handle? : NOM - Frawnche for "name"
33. "Citizen Kane" studio : RKO
35. Shake up : JAR
39. Old hoops org. : ABA
40. Thick paint applications : IMPASTOS
42. OB/__ : GYN
44. Sautéing substance : OIL
46. Unicellular alga : DIATOM
48. Abomination : HATRED
51. "Peer __ Homecoming": Grieg work : GYNTS
53. Rapper Kendrick __ : LAMAR
56. Mennen skin product : AFTA
57. Voldemort's title : LORD - from the Harry Potter series of books and films, portrayed by Ralph Fiennes
59. Cookie containers : TINS
60. __-Tokoin Airport: Togo hub : LOME
62. Pasta ending : INI - rotini was the only one I could think of, so I went looking, and found the pasta shapes dictionary
63. Soft drink ending : ADE
64. Young adult fiction author Vizzini : NED - perps
Splynter
