Theme: None
Words: 72 (missing Q,X)
Blocks: 29
This
puzzle gave me a mental wedgie. It didn't help that I
massacred two sections with constant overwrites - had I done this one in
pencil, there'd be no paper left. I thought I had enough to solve this one,
but most of the clues just didn't give me anything to work with, and
then some of the answers didn't look right anyway - I'm looking at you,
17a & 45d.~!! Caved in to red-letters. No exceptionally long answers, and that might have
contributed; just triple 9's in the across, and triple 8's in the down;
17. Florida beach ranked by TripAdvisor as #1 in the U.S. in 2017 : SIESTA KEY - Argh~!! siestakey~? Had I parsed this properly, it might have made sense - but the furthest south I have ever been is Jacksonville, FL, and "key" never occurred to me
14. Construction protection : HARD HATS - clever plural misdirection
60. Insect world raiders : AMAZON ANT - ah, the wonders of nature - the Wiki
34. Curse deterrent : SWEAR JAR - if I had one for this puzzle, I could have bought my own vineyard; here's a picture of the vines surrounding the owner's house - see below, too
34. Curse deterrent : SWEAR JAR - if I had one for this puzzle, I could have bought my own vineyard; here's a picture of the vines surrounding the owner's house - see below, too
Rainy Day
VINEWARD~!
ACROSS:
1. Takes a risky leap : BASE JUMPS - I got the JUMPS part, but 'HIGH' was all that came to mind
10. Teensy bit : SKOSH - learned from doing crosswords
15. Baked fruit dessert : APPLE TART
16. Actress Campbell of "Martin" : TISHA
18. Furry fish eater : OTTER - seemed to simple, so I waited
19. Drink with a polar bear mascot : ICEE - dah~! Not COKE - this ad mascot
10. Teensy bit : SKOSH - learned from doing crosswords
15. Baked fruit dessert : APPLE TART
16. Actress Campbell of "Martin" : TISHA
18. Furry fish eater : OTTER - seemed to simple, so I waited
19. Drink with a polar bear mascot : ICEE - dah~! Not COKE - this ad mascot
20. Mag wheel? : HEF - R.I.P.
21. Let loose : UNTIED
22. Dishonorable sort : CAD - Dah~! Not CUR - the NW corner was the first disaster area
23. Without breaks, as a tennis set : ON SERVE - in desperation, I tried "ONE-LOVE", and the "O" and "N" remained after I switched to red-letters. That helped.
25. Degree of uncertainty : NTH - again, I hesitated
26. One hanging around in the forest? : SLOTH
28. Eurasia's __ region : URAL - I had aRAL, which made it almost impossible to make sense of 7d.
29. Cantina snack : TAPA - ugh. Not TACO
30. Tombstone shootout participant : EARP - Yay~! I got one~!
32. Natural home : HABITAT
34. Domino's competitor : SBARRO - knowing this was a huge help in the SW
37. Fruits often cubed : MELONS
38. Hopeful : WANNABE
40. Acted like : APED - I think this is better than the "Did" clue we had about two weeks ago
41. Lighting hrs.? : ETAs - think "a"-lighting, as in landing
42. Eye care brand : ReNu
44. City on the Shatt al-Arab river : BASRA - filled via perps
48. Hawaiian yellowfin : AHI - a good WAG, since it could have occurred at 39d., too
49. String around the collar? : BOLO TIE - I so wanted NAME TAG here
51. Harley Davidson's NYSE symbol : HOG - knew it
52. Prayer string : ROSARY
54. British society page VIP : NOB - I tried FOP; this was the start of my "four corners from hell" - I was missing the "N" and "B" and those choices were not at the top of my list; "M" and "Z" from 60a. were the other pair in the across clue
55. Tiny particle : MOTE - Rrrr - not ATOM
56. Interim ruling group : JUNTA
57. Entertainment for the whole gang : FAMILY FUN
59. Many a Pacific resident : ASIAN
61. Tears : RENDS - tEErs or tArEs~? I can never tell in a blank grid
62. Ceremony with a Best Female Hip-Hop Artist category : BET AWARDS
DOWN:
1. First things to learn : BASICS - "THE ABCS" didn't fit
2. Forming a summit : APICAL - new word for me
3. Tight-fitting suit : SPEEDO - ah, that kind of suit. I'm an equal opportunity sexist....
4. If-then-__: programmer's flow : ELSE
5. Fast flier : JET - not SST
6. Roseanne Barr, for one : UTAHN - F%$#ing not COMIC
7. Partner of kisses : MAKES UP - HUGS didn't fit; then I wondered what went with Hershey's Kisses; the phrase "kisses and makes up" did not cross my mind
8. Choose over, with "to" : PREFER
9. Farm dwelling : STY
10. It may be skipped : STONE
11. Talking Trans Am of classic TV : KITT - Knight Industries Two-Thousand - the Wiki
12. Repeated melodic pattern : OSTINATO - filled via perps
13. Bit of bakeware : SHEET PAN
21. Tanning aid, for short : UV LAMP
23. "Ten North Frederick" author John : O'HARA - again, perps
24. Motivational speech component? : "RAH~!"
27. Beach birds : TERNS
29. "Michael Clayton" Oscar winner Swinton : TILDA
31. Whisky cocktail garnished with skewered cherries : ROB ROY - whiskey~? I'm into "merlot" these days. Here's another pic of the vineyards, taken from the second floor of the owner's house (which I have access to, since I upkeep that place as well)
33. Early bathysphere user William : BEEBE - vague
35. Safe haven for cave dwellers? : BAT HOUSE
36. "Delta of Venus" author : ANAIS NIN
39. Sushi fish : EEL
40. Early fast-food eatery : AUTOMAT
43. Unpopular sort : NO NAME - this clue/answer was unpopular with me; the missing "N" and "M" from the Across clues
45. Instrument made from a ram's horn : SHOFAR - can you tell I'm not Jewish~? The Wiki
46. Stout : ROTUND
47. Spies : AGENTS
49. Fiber-rich cereals : BRANS - spellcheck doesn't like the plural
50. Spanish vacation island : IBIZA - and the final "B" and "Z"
53. Minimally : A TAD
55. Avian motormouth : MYNA
57. Swell : FAB
58. Like a carefully kept profile : LOW - reminds me of George Clooney's line from this scene in Dusk Til Dawn - caution~! - strong language. I am going to find me a '68 Cougar just like theirs and restore it some day
21. Let loose : UNTIED
22. Dishonorable sort : CAD - Dah~! Not CUR - the NW corner was the first disaster area
23. Without breaks, as a tennis set : ON SERVE - in desperation, I tried "ONE-LOVE", and the "O" and "N" remained after I switched to red-letters. That helped.
25. Degree of uncertainty : NTH - again, I hesitated
26. One hanging around in the forest? : SLOTH
28. Eurasia's __ region : URAL - I had aRAL, which made it almost impossible to make sense of 7d.
29. Cantina snack : TAPA - ugh. Not TACO
30. Tombstone shootout participant : EARP - Yay~! I got one~!
32. Natural home : HABITAT
34. Domino's competitor : SBARRO - knowing this was a huge help in the SW
38. Hopeful : WANNABE
40. Acted like : APED - I think this is better than the "Did" clue we had about two weeks ago
41. Lighting hrs.? : ETAs - think "a"-lighting, as in landing
42. Eye care brand : ReNu
44. City on the Shatt al-Arab river : BASRA - filled via perps
48. Hawaiian yellowfin : AHI - a good WAG, since it could have occurred at 39d., too
49. String around the collar? : BOLO TIE - I so wanted NAME TAG here
51. Harley Davidson's NYSE symbol : HOG - knew it
52. Prayer string : ROSARY
54. British society page VIP : NOB - I tried FOP; this was the start of my "four corners from hell" - I was missing the "N" and "B" and those choices were not at the top of my list; "M" and "Z" from 60a. were the other pair in the across clue
55. Tiny particle : MOTE - Rrrr - not ATOM
56. Interim ruling group : JUNTA
57. Entertainment for the whole gang : FAMILY FUN
59. Many a Pacific resident : ASIAN
61. Tears : RENDS - tEErs or tArEs~? I can never tell in a blank grid
62. Ceremony with a Best Female Hip-Hop Artist category : BET AWARDS
DOWN:
1. First things to learn : BASICS - "THE ABCS" didn't fit
2. Forming a summit : APICAL - new word for me
3. Tight-fitting suit : SPEEDO - ah, that kind of suit. I'm an equal opportunity sexist....
take that you misblogynist~!
5. Fast flier : JET - not SST
6. Roseanne Barr, for one : UTAHN - F%$#ing not COMIC
7. Partner of kisses : MAKES UP - HUGS didn't fit; then I wondered what went with Hershey's Kisses; the phrase "kisses and makes up" did not cross my mind
8. Choose over, with "to" : PREFER
9. Farm dwelling : STY
10. It may be skipped : STONE
11. Talking Trans Am of classic TV : KITT - Knight Industries Two-Thousand - the Wiki
New movie in 2018~? I think I've seen that clip before....
13. Bit of bakeware : SHEET PAN
21. Tanning aid, for short : UV LAMP
23. "Ten North Frederick" author John : O'HARA - again, perps
24. Motivational speech component? : "RAH~!"
27. Beach birds : TERNS
29. "Michael Clayton" Oscar winner Swinton : TILDA
31. Whisky cocktail garnished with skewered cherries : ROB ROY - whiskey~? I'm into "merlot" these days. Here's another pic of the vineyards, taken from the second floor of the owner's house (which I have access to, since I upkeep that place as well)
35. Safe haven for cave dwellers? : BAT HOUSE
36. "Delta of Venus" author : ANAIS NIN
39. Sushi fish : EEL
40. Early fast-food eatery : AUTOMAT
43. Unpopular sort : NO NAME - this clue/answer was unpopular with me; the missing "N" and "M" from the Across clues
45. Instrument made from a ram's horn : SHOFAR - can you tell I'm not Jewish~? The Wiki
46. Stout : ROTUND
47. Spies : AGENTS
49. Fiber-rich cereals : BRANS - spellcheck doesn't like the plural
50. Spanish vacation island : IBIZA - and the final "B" and "Z"
53. Minimally : A TAD
55. Avian motormouth : MYNA
57. Swell : FAB
58. Like a carefully kept profile : LOW - reminds me of George Clooney's line from this scene in Dusk Til Dawn - caution~! - strong language. I am going to find me a '68 Cougar just like theirs and restore it some day
Splynter
