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

Advertisements

Jun 30, 2012

Saturday, Jun 30th, 2012, John Farmer

Theme: None

Words: 72

Blocks: 31

Well this was just brutal - too many names, quotes, stuff before my time; then John sprinkles in a little vagueness*, and I am left with a snowy white grid of disappointment - almost the exact the same thing I said when I blogged his last puzzle, on St Patrick's Day. Not a terribly intimidating layout, with two 11's -

19A. Ones whose business is going down? : SCUBA DIVERS - My first thought was plumbers, but I was short some letters....lois, what were you thinking~!

52A. What excessive volume might do, facetiously : WAKE THE DEAD - clued as "line from a Quiet Riot" song, ( 3:30 ) and I would have gotten this one sooner

And two 10-letter climbers:

11D. Debunked claims that don't go away : ZOMBIE LIES - Never heard this phrase - anyone?

26D. "You Learn" singer : MORISSETTE - Alanis; this track is from her "Jagged Little Pill" album, a huge success; Guitar Center featured her "sessions" last night.

Now, I am not looking for a handout, Mr. Farmer, just a fighting chance ~!

onward....

ACROSS:

1. "__ & Son": "The Bullwinkle Show" feature involving morality tales* : AESOP - Never seen the Bullwinkle Show; I just know it was TV at one time....

6. Common 99-cent buy : APP - DAH~!! Stuck on "PEN", for some reason, totally out of the digital age; I do have an Android, but only 6 or 8 APP(lications)

9. Rubbernecked : GAZED - Had gaPed to start; did not help with the Zombies at all

14. Brand pitched by Bucky Beaver : IPANA - I do not know where I dredged this up from, but I did get it; toothpaste/beaver teeth, I can see that

15. Musical flourish : GRACE NOTE - JazzB probably knew this; I have seen it in some tabs

17. Printing error? : LIBEL

18. "Simply a patient wolf": Lana Turner* : GENTLEMAN - Very cute; I am a gentleman by this definition....

21. Crisper, e.g. : BIN - like in your fridge

22. Unlikely remedy : CURE-ALL

23. Utah's state flower, e.g. : LILY

24. Farm male : TOM

27. Craigslist condition : AS IS - not USED, not MINT

28. Unfriend? : FOE - I am not on Facebook; I thought this was a way to "take somebody off" your page....anyway....

29. Hit the roof : BLOW UP

32. Hot stream : LAVA FLOW

36. '40s-'50s Cleveland Indians slugger : AL ROSEN - C.C., our host and baseball aficionado, if you would, please (C.C.: He spent his entire career with the Indians. I often confused him with Hank Greenberg when I started collecting baseball cards. Neither played during Yom Kippur, correct, Dennis/Husker Gary?)

38. Setting for some History Channel programs : WARTIME

39. One coming down : RAINDROP - not gonna get DF, but my mind was....not on rain

41. Like some airport parking : NOSE-IN - Tried "BY HOUR" - Bzzzzt~!!!

42. Caribbean music : SKA - HEY~! I got one~!

43. Novelist Hoag : TAMI - if Mr. Farmer says so - this author - anyone read some? Tell me more

45. Reg. : STD - regular/standard

46. Balkan Peninsula peak : OSSA

48. Game played with two decks : CANASTA - never played; I know Blackjack uses multiple decks, and we used to play WAR with more than one.

51. All-around vehicle, briefly : UTE - not ATV, SUV, CUV

56. Couple's interaction : TÊTE-À-TÊTE - Head to Head, in Frawnch - not really synonymous to me; I think of it as couples "banging" heads - but then again, I am divorced, so....

58. Restaurant seating option, perhaps : PATIO - not BOOTH

59. 1995 film based on an Elmore Leonard novel* : GET SHORTY - Great movie; had NO clue who wrote the book it was base on, of course.

60. Sportswear selections : IZODs - Ugh, the brand name; huge in the early 80's as a preppy polo shirt, and I, of course, was not in that clique - I don't own any alligator logos




61. 1970s-'80s Mantas, e.g. : OPELS



62. First airline to operate a transpolar route : SAS - well they live there; you'd think that's how they wanted to go~!

63. Slow on the uptake : DENSE - Yep, it's how I feel about my solving experience today....

DOWN:

1. Bugs : AILS - couldn't decide if this was the "IRKS" or "ANTS" variety - missed on both accounts

2. "Spartacus," for one : EPIC

3. "Black Narcissus" actor* : SABU - This guy; never heard of him, or the movie

4. Prelude to a historic turning point* : ONE B.C. - uh, well I would say so, since we are now living in A.D. 2012

5. Pacific island nation : PALAU - Survivor setting, 2005, and the winner was Fireman Tom Westman, from right here on Long Island~!

6. Team from College Station, Texas* : AGGIES - at this point, with two passes through the clues and nearly nothing filled other than the SW, I went to Google for this one

7. Finish on top : PREVAIL

8. Plywood cutter : PANEL SAW - ever gotten your CDX sheets cut to fit your car at Home Depot? That's a panel saw

9. Some nail applications : GELS - maybe the ladies got this one easier than I did

10. Hydrocarbon suffix : ANE - propANE, butANE, octANE

12. Big chunk of Christmas sales nowadays : E-TAIL - and great for my UPS Overtime, too~!!!

13. 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year Hamlin : DENNY - can't talk about him; he drives for that OTHER E-tail company



16. Key not used alone : CTRL - yeah, OK, but shouldn't it have some clue as an abbr.?? - it does stand for CONTROL....maybe I'm just grouchy now (C.C.: It's just CTRL on my keyboard.)

20. Hamm's "Mad Men" role : DRAPER - Don't watch the show; do like him when he visits Conan (see the video clip; it's cute)

23. Some galleries : LOFTS

24. Way up a slope : T-BAR

25. It's a crock : OLLA

28. Game named for a king : FARO - oh, as in Pharaoh; still, it's French - the Wiki

30. Dahl entrepreneur : WONKA - Willy and his Chocolate Factory

31. Food stamp : U.S.Department of Agriculture

33. Get lost : VANISH

34. Neglect : OMIT

35. Proceed : WEND

37. Fate of a bad offer : NO TAKERS

40. Defense secretary after Gates : PANETTA - proper political names just kill me

44. Jolly Roger fliers : MATEYS - Arrrr~!!! me knews it was pirates, the Skull & Crossbones, but I needed ---EYS to get it....Tinbeni, pass the grog~!

46. Expenditure* : OUTGO - Outgo?? Really?? Ugh.

47. Be in hot water : STEEP - Like a tea bag

48. Opponent of Caesar : CATO

49. Halfhearted : TEPID

50. Bewildered, after "in" : A DAZE

52. Crib cries : WAHs

53. __ blue: color named for a school : ETON

54. Boosts : AIDS

55. Teaspoon, say : DOSE

57. Night sch. staple : ESL - English as a Second Language - the way this puzzle went, I think I better sign up for English as my FIRST language~!!!

Answer grid.

Splynter