Theme: None
Total words: 66
Total blocks: 36
Average Word length: 5.73
The total block count is relatively high compared with its word count, but 12 are help squares in each corner, consuming 1/3 of them.
The puzzle is framed by a 11/13/15 on top and a 15/13/11 at the bottom. All of them are multi-word entries:
1A. Co-star of TV's "Chuck" : ADAM BALDWIN. Cross-referenced with MY BODYGUARD (56A. 1980 film debut for 1-Across). Have never heard of this dude. Looks cool. I liked how the cross-referenced pair bookends the grid.
12A. One might raise the roof : CRANE OPERATOR. Was thinking of something temper related.
14A. Situations that aren't clear-cut : BORDERLINE CASES. My favorite entry today. This might be the seed entry.
52A. 1983 ELO hit with the lyric "She loves that drivin' beat" : ROCK 'N' ROLL IS KING. Blind spot for me.
55A. They may be spotted at pet stores : CALICO KITTENS. Not a pet person. So, yeah, another blank stare.
Very difficult solving for me. Unable to sync with the constructor. I seldom do on Saturday, regardless of who constructs the puzzle. The clues are just too tricky & ambiguous.
Across:
16. State with a five-sided flag : OHIO. Unknown trivia to me. Boy, that's strange looking, isn't it?
17. Raccoon kin : COATI. With long & ringed tail.
18. Multipurpose lyrics : LA LA. Because they are often refrained, Santa?
19. Story : LEVEL. Was in the tale "Story" direction.
21. Cat lead-in : SNO. Snowcat.
22. Plush, in a way : PILED. As velvet.
23. Top quality : GRADE A
25. Oregon Trail river : PLATTE. A gimme for our Oregon gang.
26. It's often smoked in Sweden : EEL. I thought it's pickled there.
27. Kind of well : ARTESIAN. Named after the French region Artois. It's "a well that is dug into the ground to the water table and is under pressure and will spray out of the well head like a oil geyser". Who knows?!
31. Some rtes. : RDS
32. Luminescent critter : FIREFLY. Awesome fill. With two Fs.
33. Org. that infiltrated Germany in the '40s : OSS. I am used to the "CIA forerunner" clue.
36. Exude an air of disinterest : BLOW COLD. Also a new phrase to me. Crossing BRISKLY (36D. How a cool wind blows). Blow duplication.
37. Balderdash : PAP. Only familiar with the baby food definition.
38. For only a select few : SECRET
41. Very much : SORELY. For those who have been missing Clear Ayes,, she has a photo for us today.
43. Aquiline nose, e.g. : TRAIT
44. Area between N. and S. Korea : DMZ
47. Capital east of Dhaka : HANOI. Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh. My brain nerve for directions is damaged. So, no idea, Sir!
48. Goes on to say : ADDS
49. One of the fire signs : ARIES
51. "Let's go!" : C'MON
Down:
1. Airport board heading : ARRIVALS
2. Grooved, in carpentry : DADOED. Here is a dado joint. Did not know it can be a verb, Jerome!
3. Hydrocarbon suffix : ANE. Learned from doing Xword.
4. Hired gun, briefly : MERC (Mercenary)
5. Official ties of New Mexico : BOLOS. Neckties!
6. Like bees : APIAN
7. Tempo marking : LENTO. "Slowly".
8. Bavarian trio : DREI. Three in German. A gimme for Kazie/Spitzboov.
9. Mil. branch from 1943 to 1978 : WAC. Women Army Corps. Stumper.
10. Restaurant guide category : ITALIAN
11. Margarita option : NO SALT. Hmm, that would not be margarita.
12. Stuck : COHERED. Tricky clue.
13. Got a new tenant for : RELET
14. Tony-winning star of "Where's Charley?" (1948) : BOLGER (Ray). Only know him as the scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz".
15. 1986 Best New Artist Grammy winner : SADE. Had the S in place, so SADE came to me immediately. Love her.
20. Certain handout : LEAFLET
22. Toy in resealable cans : PLAY-DOH. Nice clue/answer.
24. "__ is the language of the unheard": M.L. King Jr. : A RIOT. Have never heard of this quote before. What does it mean? Sounds violent to me.
25. Dispensary stock : PILLS
28. Credit checker Experian, formerly : TRW. No idea.
29. Continental trade org. : EEC (European Economic Community)
30. Virgin America hub: Abbr. : SFO. Peeked at the answer sheet.
33. Negotiating asset : OPEN MIND. Another great entry.
34. Watering holes : SALOONS. Watering hole = bar/saloon.
35. Bond activity? : SPYING. James Bond.
38. Macy's logo : STAR
39. Triage MD : ER DOC. Had ERD?? forever.
40. High-tech engineering acronym : CAD/CAM. Computer-Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing. Got me.
42. Eightball loser, often : RACKER. Don't know any pool terms.
44. Title name in an unfinished Dickens work : DROOD. Dickens's "The Mystery of Edwin Drood".
45. Whitish : MILKY
46. Chameleon-like Woody Allen character : ZELIG. Woody Allen's mockumentary (1983). We had this clue before.
49. String music direction : ARCO. With the bow. I can never remember this term.
50. In __: as found : SITU
53. Tip of a pen : NIB. Neb too, right?
54. RR depot : STA
Answer grid.
Here is a sweet photo of our beloved Clear Ayes & her granddaughter Rachael. she said the picture "was taken on Easter Eve 2010 when my granddaughter and I were making a huge mess dying Easter eggs. They weren't exactly works of art, but we had a great time making them and every one was colored with splashes of laughter". She'll be back with us once her family issue is resolved.
C.C.
Total words: 66
Total blocks: 36
Average Word length: 5.73
The total block count is relatively high compared with its word count, but 12 are help squares in each corner, consuming 1/3 of them.
The puzzle is framed by a 11/13/15 on top and a 15/13/11 at the bottom. All of them are multi-word entries:
1A. Co-star of TV's "Chuck" : ADAM BALDWIN. Cross-referenced with MY BODYGUARD (56A. 1980 film debut for 1-Across). Have never heard of this dude. Looks cool. I liked how the cross-referenced pair bookends the grid.
12A. One might raise the roof : CRANE OPERATOR. Was thinking of something temper related.
14A. Situations that aren't clear-cut : BORDERLINE CASES. My favorite entry today. This might be the seed entry.
52A. 1983 ELO hit with the lyric "She loves that drivin' beat" : ROCK 'N' ROLL IS KING. Blind spot for me.
55A. They may be spotted at pet stores : CALICO KITTENS. Not a pet person. So, yeah, another blank stare.
Very difficult solving for me. Unable to sync with the constructor. I seldom do on Saturday, regardless of who constructs the puzzle. The clues are just too tricky & ambiguous.
Across:
16. State with a five-sided flag : OHIO. Unknown trivia to me. Boy, that's strange looking, isn't it?
17. Raccoon kin : COATI. With long & ringed tail.
18. Multipurpose lyrics : LA LA. Because they are often refrained, Santa?
19. Story : LEVEL. Was in the tale "Story" direction.
21. Cat lead-in : SNO. Snowcat.
22. Plush, in a way : PILED. As velvet.
23. Top quality : GRADE A
25. Oregon Trail river : PLATTE. A gimme for our Oregon gang.
26. It's often smoked in Sweden : EEL. I thought it's pickled there.
27. Kind of well : ARTESIAN. Named after the French region Artois. It's "a well that is dug into the ground to the water table and is under pressure and will spray out of the well head like a oil geyser". Who knows?!
31. Some rtes. : RDS
32. Luminescent critter : FIREFLY. Awesome fill. With two Fs.
33. Org. that infiltrated Germany in the '40s : OSS. I am used to the "CIA forerunner" clue.
36. Exude an air of disinterest : BLOW COLD. Also a new phrase to me. Crossing BRISKLY (36D. How a cool wind blows). Blow duplication.
37. Balderdash : PAP. Only familiar with the baby food definition.
38. For only a select few : SECRET
41. Very much : SORELY. For those who have been missing Clear Ayes,, she has a photo for us today.
43. Aquiline nose, e.g. : TRAIT
44. Area between N. and S. Korea : DMZ
47. Capital east of Dhaka : HANOI. Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh. My brain nerve for directions is damaged. So, no idea, Sir!
48. Goes on to say : ADDS
49. One of the fire signs : ARIES
51. "Let's go!" : C'MON
Down:
1. Airport board heading : ARRIVALS
2. Grooved, in carpentry : DADOED. Here is a dado joint. Did not know it can be a verb, Jerome!
3. Hydrocarbon suffix : ANE. Learned from doing Xword.
4. Hired gun, briefly : MERC (Mercenary)
5. Official ties of New Mexico : BOLOS. Neckties!
6. Like bees : APIAN
7. Tempo marking : LENTO. "Slowly".
8. Bavarian trio : DREI. Three in German. A gimme for Kazie/Spitzboov.
9. Mil. branch from 1943 to 1978 : WAC. Women Army Corps. Stumper.
10. Restaurant guide category : ITALIAN
11. Margarita option : NO SALT. Hmm, that would not be margarita.
12. Stuck : COHERED. Tricky clue.
13. Got a new tenant for : RELET
14. Tony-winning star of "Where's Charley?" (1948) : BOLGER (Ray). Only know him as the scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz".
15. 1986 Best New Artist Grammy winner : SADE. Had the S in place, so SADE came to me immediately. Love her.
20. Certain handout : LEAFLET
22. Toy in resealable cans : PLAY-DOH. Nice clue/answer.
24. "__ is the language of the unheard": M.L. King Jr. : A RIOT. Have never heard of this quote before. What does it mean? Sounds violent to me.
25. Dispensary stock : PILLS
28. Credit checker Experian, formerly : TRW. No idea.
29. Continental trade org. : EEC (European Economic Community)
30. Virgin America hub: Abbr. : SFO. Peeked at the answer sheet.
33. Negotiating asset : OPEN MIND. Another great entry.
34. Watering holes : SALOONS. Watering hole = bar/saloon.
35. Bond activity? : SPYING. James Bond.
38. Macy's logo : STAR
39. Triage MD : ER DOC. Had ERD?? forever.
40. High-tech engineering acronym : CAD/CAM. Computer-Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing. Got me.
42. Eightball loser, often : RACKER. Don't know any pool terms.
44. Title name in an unfinished Dickens work : DROOD. Dickens's "The Mystery of Edwin Drood".
45. Whitish : MILKY
46. Chameleon-like Woody Allen character : ZELIG. Woody Allen's mockumentary (1983). We had this clue before.
49. String music direction : ARCO. With the bow. I can never remember this term.
50. In __: as found : SITU
53. Tip of a pen : NIB. Neb too, right?
54. RR depot : STA
Answer grid.
Here is a sweet photo of our beloved Clear Ayes & her granddaughter Rachael. she said the picture "was taken on Easter Eve 2010 when my granddaughter and I were making a huge mess dying Easter eggs. They weren't exactly works of art, but we had a great time making them and every one was colored with splashes of laughter". She'll be back with us once her family issue is resolved.
C.C.
