google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner

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Oct 6, 2012

Saturday, Oct 6th, 2012, Peter A. Collins

 Theme: None

 Words: 72

 Blocks: 32

   Every now and then you get a puzzle that appears to be daunting, but little by slowly the pieces fall into place, and you can solve it.  In the past, I have been thwarted by Mr. Collins' grids, and this one was looking bleak, too, but then I got my toe in the corner of the doorway, and managed to push my way through to the end, under my personal time, and without red-letter or Google help.  Monster 10-letter triples in each pinwheel, with two 12-letter "SQU" words climbing inside the grid;

5D.+ Beyond reproach : SQUEAKY CLEAN +

21D. Followed a caller : SQUARE-DANCED

And clechos, too~! - the ones with the "+" next to them

OnWaRd ~!!!

ACROSS:

1. Seller of beignets and éclairs : PATISSERIE - had it not been for working on a drafting project for a pastry store in Brooklyn, I would never have gotten this one.  Forget about it being French; but then I tried PTAS for organizers, 1D, and that was just enough to trigger my memory

11. Women's medal-awarding Olympic sport since 1992 : JUDO
 

15. Men in dress clothes? : DRAG QUEENS + 33D.

16. "The Night Circus" author Morgenstern : ERIN - never heard of the story or author; each letter came via perps....my car is nick-named Erin, though

17. Reviewers of plays : ANNOUNCERS - sporting plays, that is

18. One on a catboat : MAST - one mast, not one person

19. "__ they all, all honourable men": "Julius Caesar" : SO ARE - Shakespeare

20. Bill listings : FEES

22. Degree in math? : NTH

23. Bankrupt European automaker : SAAB

26. Escort : SQUIRE - hey, it's Saturday, what'd you expect

28. Wednesday relative : ITT - Addam's Family Characters, TV and Movie

31. Alaska is the only state without one : KMART - I had KM---, and thought, "well, that can't be right..."

34. Expected : USUAL

35. One of a G.I.'s three squares : MRE - Meals, Ready to Eat - "Three Hots and a Cot" - or is that prison?

36. River near Vicksburg : YAZOO - map  no, your eyes are not getting worse....

37. Auto repair franchise : AAMCO - remember the ads?  Double A, [beep-beep], M-C-O

38. Pecan, e.g. : PIE - not NUT

39. Turntable feature : CHANGER - very vague, but what can you do?

41. Prefix with laryngology : OTOlaryngology - normally seen here at the blog as "ENT", the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor

42. Trumpet : EXTOL - the verb

44. Dig deeply : ADORE - the 'hip' version of 'dig'

45. Zoning class. : RES.idential - anyone a fan of Sim City?  I love the game; it has three types of zoning; residential, commercial, and industrial...guess which one generates the most pollution?

46. "Mystery, Alaska" star : CROWE - Russell, in the hockey movie

47. Golf unit : ROUND - a shout-out to our own Husker G....must be getting cold on those early AM rounds

48. City east of Utrecht : EDE - map; just like it says - east of Utrecht

49. Brief time out? : CATNAP

51. Color on San Jose Shark uniforms : TEAL - Hockey team; won't be needing uniforms or gear any time soon...

53. Dave DeBusschere was its last commissioner: Abbr. : ABA - not attorneys, but basketball

54. Expos, now : NATS - the Nationals - I defer to our beloved baseball Boomer girl, C.C. for more (C.C.: The Expos became the Nats in 2005. Today's constructor Peter Collins is a Tigers fan.)

57. Like some sour cream : NO FAT - tried LO-FAT to start

61. OPEC units : BBLS - the often discussed, but never really cleared up, abbreviation for barrels; we have gone over this before; same with carburetors, too. 

63. Do a steno's job : TRANSCRIBE

66. Place : LIEU

67. Rapscallion : HOLY TERROR - nice

68. Infinitive with a circumflex : ÊTRE - the diacritical mark over the "E"

69. One with a passing interest? : SPEED DEMON - Aaargh~!!! Please, people, do not cruise in the fast lane - is this just a NY thing? 

DOWN:

1. Some organizers : PDAs - Personal Data Assistants, not Parent/Teacher Associations

2. River in Tuscany : ARNO

3. Ethiopia's largest lake : TANA - map

4. Former Russian foreign minister Ivanov et al. : IGORs - well, I had the "I", sooo....

6. Item on Argentina's flag : SUN - Anyone remember Match II ~?

 

7. Continental trade gp. : EEC - more here for those interested in the European Economic Community 

8. Pilot's hazard : REEF - if you've already ditched the plane in the drink, I would think that a reef is the least of your concerns....oh, a boat pilot - never mind

9. About : IN RE - not AS TO

10. Word comprising 60% of itself : ESSES - great clue; 3/5ths of the letters, or 60% are "S"

11. Scout's brother, in a Harper Lee novel : JEM - "To Kill a Mockingbird"

12. Pitchblende, e.g. : URANIUM ORE

13. Wandering : DISTRACTED

14. Free : ON THE LOOSE - oh, so close - I had ON THE HOUSE; in the past, I was not so much of a 30D. - my drinks were rarely "on the house"

24. Hunan nurse : AMAH

25. Market : BAZAAR - not BODEGA

27. "Psych" network : USA

28.+ Beyond reproach : IMPECCABLE + see 5D at the top

29. Pink-nosed cereal pitcher : TRIX RABBIT - we just had this two weeks ago Saturday

30. One who won't take a shot? : TEETOTALER - a shot of liquor, that is

32. Lively movement : RONDO

33.+ Dress up : TOG OUT

40.+ Shore bird : ERNE; and + 60D. Shore bird : TERN

43. Personal : OWN

50. What hikers wear? : PATHS - another cute clue

52. He played Ugarte in "Casablanca" : LORRE

55. Rays' home field, familiarly, with "The" : TROPicana Stadium - I got this one, C.C.~! 

56. Pitcher's goal : SALE 

58. Solid : FIRM 

59. Bug follower? : ABOO - Bug-a-boo

62. Boy who fought his father in a 1969 hit : SUE - Johnny Cash - link away~!

64. Emmy-winning scientist : NYE - Bill Nye, the science guy

65. Kind of time: Abbr. : STD - Standard, which arrives this November; at this point, I think we need to do away with "Daylight Saving Time" altogether

Splynter