Words: 68
Blocks: 37
I do believe that this is Jeff Chen's first themeless (Saturday) puzzle - at least for the LA Times. In fact, we last saw Jeff with his Aug 8th "L.A." puzzle, and his well done "VW" women's initials puzzle in July - and this means he has "batted for the cycle", having a puzzle published every day of the week; S, M, T, W, T, F, and now S. Two grid spanners,
14A. Period, say : PUNCTUATION MARK - straight up definition, though the word has several meanings
47A. Tavern order : I'LL HAVE A COLD ONE - ah, the "old" days for me, but I never asked for a beer quite this way - someone will raise a glass for me tonight, tho it might not be 'cold'~!
and pyramid stacks of 11- and 13-letters, including:
12A. Source of a large reserve supply : NATIONAL GUARD - now I know we have several retired military members here at the blog, but are any of us part of this organization?
14A. Period, say : PUNCTUATION MARK - straight up definition, though the word has several meanings
47A. Tavern order : I'LL HAVE A COLD ONE - ah, the "old" days for me, but I never asked for a beer quite this way - someone will raise a glass for me tonight, tho it might not be 'cold'~!
and pyramid stacks of 11- and 13-letters, including:
12A. Source of a large reserve supply : NATIONAL GUARD - now I know we have several retired military members here at the blog, but are any of us part of this organization?
51A. Hybrid sport with seemingly incompatible components : CHESS BOXING - never heard of this; requires skill in both areas - chess and boxing, in alternating rounds....I'll bet the later rounds of chess get harder with each left hook you take....
On~ward Orthorunicans~!
ACROSS:
1. Bout with padded weapons : PILLOW FIGHT - can't say I have ever participated, and I was married to a woman with a young child, too; I would like it to be "all out" and have the feather stuffing strewn all over the place~!
16. Score direction: Abbr. : RITARDando - Gradual slowing of the tempo
17. Gull-like bird : TERN
18. Island food in a bowl : POI
19. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" composer : STYNE - a WAG, but the perps took care of 80% of the fill; I would have to say this one was a Natick for me, crossing nuiT, and a clecho with 9D - how's that for cramming in some CW blog phrases?
20. Some shooters, briefly : SLRs - Cameras, that is
21. Go on (one's way) : WEND
22. Certain hustler's tools : CUES
23. Setting for Ariadne : MAZE - Daughter of Minos - from the labyrinth myth
24. Observation after "Clean your room!" : IT'S A MESS~!!!
29. Pea family trees : CAROBS
31. Student's supper spot : COMMONS
32. "Oh no!" from Poirot : MON DIEU - French
33. Showed contempt for : SPAT AT
34. Where Daniel was thrown : LION'S DEN - First line here, from one of my favoritest bands Monster Magnet
35. Sellout signs : SROs - Standing Room Only
36. President under whom Texas was annexed : POLK - Hey, four letters and a president~! Another clecho, too; 43D. 34th pres. : DDE - Dwight David Eisenhower
37. "__ be in England ...": Browning : "OH TO"
38. Goggle : GAWK
39. Fragment : SHARD
44. Co-star with Betty, Rue and Estelle : BEA - 'Golden Girls' foursome
45. Bartlett relative : BOSC
46. Whistled at, perhaps : HAILED - oh, for a cab, not those legs.... see below
50. Characterized by extremes : FEAST OR FAMINE - seems that way in carpentry; now that I am involved in a large project, everyone seems to need some work done~! (BTW, I am not complaining~!)
DOWN:
1. __ hose : PANTY - ah, Jeff, pantyhose, the perfect clue/ans for me; have to restrain myself and pick just one image~!
2. "Txtng & Drivng ... __ Wait": AT&T ad tagline : "IT CAN" - pretty harsh commercials, but then again, what I see here on the roads of Long Island is far more terrifying....
3. BP unit : LITRE - British Petroleum, and the English spelling
4. Hard to look at, in a way : LOUD - like this outfit
5. Words with diet or dime : ON A
6. Turkey features : WATTLES - seen here
7. Circulars : FLIERS
8. Sikorsky and Stravinsky : IGORs - 'copters and composers
9. '50s-'60s title detective whose show's theme was composed by Mancini : GUNN - Earworm~!
10. Breakfast choice : HAM
11. Figure with two legs askew : TRAPEZOID
12. Matin preceder : NUIT - Ugh, morning & night
13. Queen's mate : DRONE BEE
14. Button on older phones : PRS - the other 'odd' one was WXY
15. Razz : KID
20. Figure (out), in slang : SUSS - Dah~! I left this one out of my little run at 19A~!
21. Districts : WARDS - Did any of you like the movie "District 9"~?
22. Lincoln's place? : CENT
23. Author of the novel "Doctor Faustus" : MANN
24. Suffix with robot : ICS - RobotICS
25. Of the best quality : TOP SHELF
26. "Everyone's a comedian" : SMART ALEC
27. Kid's retort : AM TOO
28. Extinct kiwi relatives : MOAs
29. One who's at home on the range? : COOK
30. Nearest star to Pluto : SUN - Duh~! I thought "hey, Alpha Centauri is no closer to Pluto than to Earth at 4.37 light years....oh wait....
32. Take advantage of : MILK
34. Like the Atkins diet : LOW CARB
36. Leisurely walks : PASEOs
37. "Memoirs of a Geisha" prop : OBI - our Crossword sash
38. State runners: Abbr. : GOV'TS
39. Highly seasoned pheasant stew : SALMI
40. Used for cover : HID IN - remember this hiding spot?
41. During : ALONG
42. Russo of "Tin Cup" : RENE
45. Supporting part : BASE
46. Fraud : HOAX
48. Cry of derision : HAH~!!!
49. Fiscal VIP : CFO - oops, not CPA
Answer grid.
Splynter
Note from C.C.:
Here are two great pictures from Yellowrocks' 2009 trip to Costa Rica (Sorry for the error earlier). The first is of her and her son Alan. The second is of her and their guide & driver.
