Saturday, Nov 10th, 2012, Barry C. Silk

Theme:  Saturday Silkie

Words: 72

Blocks: 28

  I do hope all you Orthorunicans managed to get on Mr. Silk's wavelength today - my first pass was nearly blank, but once I changed "RIM" to "FLU", I was off and running - "FORGED AHEAD", if you will.  A pleasant puzzle with little in the way of obscure people, and just a little misdirection on some of the old standbys - for example, see 54D.  Triple 11's and double 10's make up the pinwheel, and some of the notables:

15. 1989 Best Original Song Oscar winner : UNDER THE SEA - From the Little Mermaid

27. Windows alternatives : AISLE SEATS - ah, not "APPLE iPods", or something along one's computer software line; just the regular everyday windows found on airplanes

 

53. Solos : GOES IT ALONE - we just had "GO SOLO" yesterday~!

onWARD~!!!

ACROSS:

1. Fictional sleepwalker : LADY MACBETH - I am not up on my Shakespeare, did not know this; the perps were enough to try a WAG

12. __ shot : FLU - not RIMshot

16. Seed used in cat grass : OAT

17. Holiday staple : ROAST TURKEY - we are almost there ~!!

18. GRF succeeded him : RMN - Richard Mihous Nixon, who became the POTUS after Leslie Lynch King Jr. - see here

19. "The Memory of Trees" album maker : ENYA - crossword staple

20. Join the cast of : ACT IN

21. 1940s Time film critic James : AGEE - crossword staple, I guessed

22. Head turner : NECK - My first thought, but I didn't actually fill it in

24. Winter warmer : MITTEN

26. Consented : SAID O.K.

29. Soften : MODULATE

31. Firing spots : KILNS

32. Bus stop : DEPOT

33. Exhibits : HAS

34. Home of the Kon-Tiki Museum : OSLO

35. It may be marked : TRAIL

36. Signs of neglect : WEBS - cobwebs, that is

37. Mass garb : ALB

38. Worker, informally : PROLE - short for proletariat

39. Kerosene source : SHALE

40. Product with the slogan "Get What Fits." : LEE JEANS

42. Fair one : MAIDEN

43. Political position : STANCE - no more posturing and prattling~!

44. __ tape : DUCT - yes, it's ducT tape, not ducK tape, but there is a brand that went by that name

45. Paint company with an ursine image in its logo : BEHR

 

46. Skiers' aids : T-BARS - crossword staple

48. Rescue team, briefly : EMTs - crossword staple

52. OPEC member : UAE - United Arab Emirates - OPEC is an abbreviation, so...

55. Orch. section : STRings

56. All fuss and feathers : PRETENTIOUS

57. Literary monogram : T.S.Eliot - crossword staple

58. Antipastos, e.g. : ASSORTMENTS

DOWN:
 
1. Fly in a river : LURE

2. Presently : ANON

3. Time to 6-Down : D-DAY - cross referenced with; 6. See 3-Down : ATTACK

4. Equivocal reply : YES AND NO - well, maybe?

5. Bouncer-turned-actor : MR. T - I pity the fool who didn't get this one

7. Berry of St. Louis : CHUCK - also a WAG, but I was right

8. Game show host Convy : BERT - this guy

9. Klondike bar relative : ESKIMO PIE

10. Cause of screaming and fainting, perhaps : TEEN IDOL - always think of the Fab Four

11. Stable diet? : HAY

12. Progress at a faster rate : FORGE AHEAD

13. Unfortunate : LAMENTABLE

14. __ Reader: alternative media anthology : UTNE

21. Hawks' home: Abbr. : ATLanta, the NBA team

23. Volkswagen model : EOS - this car

25. Subject of a 1922 discovery : TUT - King Tutankhamun - more here

26. "Cheers!" : SKOAL - not SALUT

28. "You can count on me!" : I'LL BE THERE

29. Board : MEALS - as a carpenter, I wanted "WOOD", but this is the college "room and board" version

30. City north of Cologne : ESSEN - map

32. They develop from unfertilized eggs : DRONE BEES - huh

35. Cultivation wheels : TRACTORS - good misdirection, not looking for TILLERS ( yes, it's short one letter )

36. Benign fiction : WHITE LIE - from now on, I am going to tell people it was "a little benign fiction"; sounds acceptable, doesn't it?~??

38. Declaration of Independence writer? : PEN - har-har

39. RBI fly : SACrifice - when you swing for the fence, and give your runner on third a chance to 'tag up' and sprint for home before the relay throw - hey, I know a little baseball

41. Tip holder : JAR

42. Taboo word : MUSTN'T - big block of unruly consonants

44. Paint additive : DRIER - not COLOR

45. Run in : BUST

47. About : AS TO

49. Noyes's "ghostly galleon" : MOON - poem

50. Hardware bit : T-NUT - crossword staple

51. Mtg. : SESSion

53. Credit-weighted no. : GPA - Grade Point Average

54. Balance-reducing equipment, often : ATM - crossword staple, our "20's Dispenser" with a new lease on life, so to speak - the Automated Teller Machine - so let's give it a little time in the limelight

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Husker Gary's wife. He said:

"Today is my wife's (she is on the left) and her twin sister's 66th birthday. This is a picture of them at a party where they did not know what the other was going to wear. Well, they both shop at Kohl's and they are twins."
 

Friday, November 9, 2012, Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme: Name your state, briefly and self-referentially!

This latest effort from marti I found  both really easy and really hard.  Looking back after it is all done, it seems really easy, but there was no way to benefit from deducing the key was the abbreviation system implemented by the US Post Office in 1963 when zip codes were also added to our mail. Trivia warning, the only state to ever change is Nebraska which went from NB to NE. Anyway, the puzzle had some new stuff, a ton of music inspiring and inspired cluing and a hint which did not help me at all. I saw Florida, Colorado, Arkansas, Oregon, and North Dakota, but it was only after the perps did I see where the last three theme answers hid the state. The puzzle used a mirror image of the clues to go from front to back. Some short fill for a Friday, but who would want to nit pick a marti, with not an "A" word in the bunch. Time to do it. 

17. FL? : FLYING START. Once you see it, the clue is simple, but you cannot get there without the perps, at least not for the first one. FL which is the two letter code for Florida (my home sweet home) is in fact the "start" of the word FLYING. 

28A. CO? : COLD FRONT. Now I am feeling confident, as front, like start is another way of saying the abbreviation begins the word. So Colorado is cold. But wait, she will not make it that easy...

35A. AK? : BREAKING HEART. The AK is  the "heart" of the clue and of the puzzle. A really self-referential clue for our own heartrx..

43A. OR? : RAZOR BACK. This one is the opposite direction as OR is the back of the word RAZOR.

56A. ND? : GRAND FINALE. Also the end of the word, so there is perfect balance with the two first theme answers beginning the first word, and the two last ending the first word. The two "beginning" abbreviations are in the first two spots, and the two "ending" abbreviations are in the last two spots. Elegant?  Designed on purpose?  I think so...

And the hint,

6A5. Kind of secret represented by each two-letter puzzle clue? : STATE. They are secrets because the state abbreviations are all 'hidden' within the fill. 

Across:

1. Post-op regimen : REHABilitation.  These days, most think of drugs with rehab, though sadly often after the physical rehab, comes the other for stopping the pain-killers.

6. Ligurian capital : GENOA. The Italian RIVIERA.

11. Pepper, e.g.: Abbr. : SGT. No, not a doctor, a Lonely Heart's Club BAND. Which is not acid rock even thought it includes Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Mini-theme marti?

14. End of ___ : AN ERA. You think with A-Rod down, Jeter hurt and the rest aging badly this is it for the Yankees?

15. "Paper Moon" co-star : O'NEAL. Tatum, daughter of Ryan and ex-wife of John McEnroe.

16. Fight sound : POW. Just ask Adam West.

19. A single might get you one : RBI. A nice baseball reference for our fearless leader. 

20. Tops : AT MOST. This will cost you $20.00, tops; don't believe it..

21. Herr's home : HAUS. German lesson, Mister: House. A hint of more German to come.

22. Like always : AS USUAL.

25. One with an inflamed "I" : EGOIST. A classically witty pun on the inflamed eye. and its down counter part, 25D. I can follow them : EFGH. A four letter string!!

27. Legal matter : RES. Latin for "thing"; thanks miss m. 41A. Doohickey : THING. A non legal term.

31. Increasing in vol. : CRESCendo.  It is legitimate in the DICTIONARY. So take your nits and stick em where the sun don't shine.

34. Swiss peak : EIGER. Do you all Sanction this clue? We all know marti likes to ski the Alps.

40. Twist of a sort : IRONY. Dr. Brennan does not like it when it is confused with COINCIDENCE.(0:08). But wait, 13D. Little wrench : TWIST. Like THIS? (2:46) Also  from the 60's.

47. Dixie Product : CUP. They make excellent telephones.

48. Not at all light : SOLEMN.

49. Gets going after a crash : REBOOTS. Computer, not car.

52. ___ rock : ACID. Also known as psychedelic rock, from the LSD era, where the instrumental work was important than the lyrics.  so many to choose from; maybe a little of THIS.(3:57). Your choices?

53. Harum-___ : SCARUM. Before LSD was synthesized to mess with young minds, there was ELVIS. (2:07).

55. Blubber : SOB.

61. Navig., for one : SCIence.  HISTORY.

62. Gourmet mushroom : MOREL. The official fungus among us, which stands up for what we believe in.

63. Sheets and such : LINEN.

64. Rocky hails : YOS.  LINK.(0:39)

66. Saw : DATED. Anyone who did LSD? Did you?

Down:

1. Battle of Britain gp. : RAF. Royal Air Force.

2. Like mil. volunteers : ENListed.

3. "What's the big idea?!" : HEY. Is for horses.

4. Recital pieces : ARIAS.

5. Language family common in southern Cameroon : BANTU. This GROUP. How do I avoid commenting on all the scholars in this field who are so cunning?

6. Split with the band : GO SOLO. Like Phil Collins and Genesis, more music miss m.

7. Fangorn Forest denizens : ENTS. Lord of the Rings.

8. How cognac is usually served : NEAT. An obvious shout out for the Tinman who thinks ice is meant for skating.

9. It fits in a lock : OAR. Fun clue.

10. Key used in shortcuts : ALT. Notice how the use of KEY in the next clue is used to confuse.

11. Wrench : SPRAIN.

12. Tank : GO BUST. Another idiom for crapping out, but after the Thursday discussion of massaging boobies, I see this response as the proper cheer while Dennis is at work.

18. Ally Financial Inc., formerly : GMAC. General Motors Acceptance Corporation, which did go bust and is now 73% owned by the US Treasury, great juxtaposition of clues.

21. Exuberant cry : HOORAH. makes me think of this LINK.

22. Pop-up path : ARC.

23. Balkan native : SERBian.

24. Tech support caller : USER, the stem word for the New Jersey favorite USE GUYS.See Rocky.

26. Do a Sunday morning church job : GREET.

29. "The Threepenny Opera" star : LENYA. Miss (CHAR)LOTTE.(3:40) The original written for her by her husband.

30. Really be into : DIG. Kurt really dug Lotte. He often was

32. Grabbed : SEIZED.. by creative passion.

33. Pool shot : CAROM. How good are you? Can you bank on your skill?

36. Band with the multi-platinum album "Follow the Leader" : KORN. The SONG..(4:29) South Park's favorite heavy metal band.

37. Liszt's "Piano Sonata ___ Minor" : IN B. The perfect MUSIC (7:28) to follow Korn.

38. Psychotic penguin in "Madagascar" : RICO.  KABOOM(1:31)?

39. Letter-shaped fastener : T-NUT.

42. Rte. finder : GPS. Global Positioning System.

43. Elaborate style : ROCOCO. How many of you remember Firesign Theater?

44. Outs : ALIBIS. It's my story and I'm sticking to it.

45. Nurturing place : CRADLE. Place for baby Charlotte.

46. Saw cut : KERF. I will leave the explaining to our resident cut ups.

48. Impertinent : SASSY. A shout out to herself!

50. Weightlifter's pride : BUILD.

51. All, to Caesar : OMNIA. Gallia in tres partes est divisa.

53. Poet Teasdale : SARA. Famous for committing suicide and this poem:

             "I Shall Not Care"

WHEN I am dead and over me bright April
Shakes out her rain-drenched hair,
Tho' you should lean above me broken-hearted,
I shall not care.
I shall have peace, as leafy trees are peaceful
When rain bends down the bough,
And I shall be more silent and cold-hearted
Than you are now.

54. Site where techs get news : CNET.

56. Execs who make trades : GMS. Not cars but athletes, General Managers.

57. Balderdash : ROT.

58. Hill worker : ANT.

59. Wrangler competitor : LEE. I get these two brands confused, who has Favre?

60. Apt puzzle answer, in this case : END. Really cute.

And in the immortal words of a hero, I am done and as always a pleasure to present a marti masterpiece and and a new pic of my baby, so Lemonade out, LINK. (0:08).

Lemonade