Saturday, Apr 15th, 2017, Roland Huget

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing V,W,X)

Blocks: 27

Second Saturday from today's constructor this year, and looking over that puzzle, I noted that I had one cheat - well, there was none of that today. I did have a slow start and some vague cluing which was not that vague once I realized my first thought was the right answer.  The NW corner was last to fill in, and I had just enough in my wheelhouse to make this a challenge, but doable.  Quad 9's and triple 7's in the corners of this grid;  I am working from my desktop "tower" computer for the first time this week, and it takes some getting used to with the much wider monitor - 25 whole inches - and the "big buttons" keyboard.  My laptop has Windows XL, which Firefox no longer supports, so the internet was crashing too often.  The technological turnover in devices these days is sometimes too fast....anyway, some of the longer answers;

19. Asylum seeker : IMMIGRANT - we'll open with a musical refernce

The Immigrant Song

14. Candidate for Photoshop : EYESORE - forget the fact that this is also a courthouse, but to me, a real eyesore....

57. Carousel riders : SUITCASES -got it because I was not thinking of little kids on a carousel - it was because Airplane~! was on TV yesterday;

37. Water or gas : UTILITY - makes me think of Monopoly

or this one - warning~!

ACROSS:

1. Nevada's state flower : SAGEBRUSH - guess there's not a lot to choose from in plants out there

10. Yippie Hoffman : ABBIE

15. Silver tongue : ELOQUENCE

16. Like some winds : REEDY - my first thought, but thought it was too seedy

17. Becomes ripe : MATURATES

18. "Joyful, __ nations, rise": carol lyric : ALL YE

20. Walk quartet : BALLS - drew a complete blank, even after I finished, but then I finally got the V-8 can moment and figured out it's a baseball reference; see 11d.

21. Rathskeller turndown : NEIN - I spelled it 'backwards', which didn't help - we have a running gag at the poker table that there's a German playing when a "nine" comes out - get it~?

22. In silence : MUTELY

24. Half of Bennifer : JLo - Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck

25. "Inferiority complex" coiner : ADLER - pondered FREUD

27. "Unfaithful" co-star : GERE

28. Hold 'em holding : PAIR - I tanked in last week's game - and we're not playing tonight

29. Calif. NHL team, on scoreboards : LA Kings - who did not make the playoffs this year, but beat the NY Rangers for the Stanley Cup in 2014.  The Rangers gave it away last night to the Canadiens

30. How many TV shows are aired : IN HD

32. Liftoff sensation : G-FORCE

34. Record flaw : BLOT - ah, a 'criminal' record, not an LP

35. Moonraker, for one : SAIL - got stuck in James Bond mode

36. "You kiss by the book" speaker : JULIET - got it from -U--ET

39. Solar __ : CELL - not WIND

40. Word heard before a pistol fires : SET - ready, set, go~!

43. Heavy traffic may affect them, briefly : ETAs

44. Buddy : CHUM

46. Seriously hurts : MAIMS - had it in, took it out, put it back

48. First date concern : ZIT - first dates these days don't concern zits - compatibility seems to be the big issue at my age

49. Civil War battle site : SHILOH

51. Tahari of fashion : ELIE

52. Young would-be 19-Across in 2000 news : ELIAN

54. River across Quebec, in Quebec : St. LAURENT

56. Overindulgence : BINGE

58. Business that requires browsing : eTAIL

59. Lily's "Laugh-In" operator : ERNESTINE

60. Janitor's supply : LYSOL - oops, I threw in an "S" at the end thinking it would be plural

61. Collector's targets : DEADBEATS - I tried "WHOLE SETS", which fit, but seemed awkward

DOWN:

1. Pioneering : SEMINAL

2. Oakland's county : ALAMEDA - pretty good WAG from some crossings

3. Dairy line? : GOT MILK~?

4. Like some mounts : EQUINE

5. Hamlet : BURG - not TOWN

6. Prepare for a new assault : REARM

7. Innate : UNTAUGHT

8. Like many candles : SCENTED

did you see the candles~?

9. Hawthorne's Prynne : HESTER - forced high school reading - The Scarlet Letter

10. Sheikdom of song : ARABY

11. Coach of Nadia and Mary Lou : BELA - the "A" was my last fill, and I guessed

12. Protective display cover : BELL JAR

13. Charmingly rustic : IDYLLIC

23. By the book : LEGAL

26. Get to : RILE

28. Campaign pro : POLitician

31. V-shaped cut : NOTCH - I have finally gotten around to building my entertainment center after months of planning - the unit divides my space into "living room" and "bedroom"; I mounted the TV and the fake fireplace on a swivel, can see both from either room now

33. Thin coat : FILM

34. Grafton's "__ for Burglar" : B IS

35. Pasta ingredient : SEMOLINA - my first thought, but was not jibing with my crossings

36. Biblical wife of Ahab : JEZEBEL - good WAG from the "J" and the "L"

38. Selena and others : LATINAS

39. Lab dish subject : CULTURE

40. Historical Oder River region : SILESIA - filled via perps

41. Distinguished : EMINENT

42. Flies over Africa? : TSE-TSES

45. Sounded displeased : HISSED

47. Make bubbly : AERATE

49. Fishhook connector : SNELL

50. More than a little unpopular : HATED

53. Currency exchange fee : AGIO - hah~!  I knew this~!

55. Sch. in the same system as Berkeley : UCSB - somehow I managed to try U CAL, but it helped

Splynter