Words: 68 (missing J,Q)
Blocks: 32
Julian
Lim's Saturday grids usually intimidate me, and this one looked to be
no different. But there were just enough solvable short answers, and I
surprised myself with how fast I finished. Big blocks of white in every
corner, triple 8's and 6's, with one grid spanner;
37A. "Whatever" : I DON'T REALLY CARE - You know she's not happy with you if all she has to say is "whatever"....
Also - 10D. "It's hard to tell" : I CAN'T SAY, and 53D. Answer from the unwilling : NOT IAnd some other long answers of note;
11. Long-haired pet : PERSIAN CAT - my brother has one, not this cute, named Sherlock
27. "Straight Outta Compton" genre : GANGSTA RAP
- N.W.A., Ice Cube's original act, so you can pretty much figure out
what N.W.A. stands for....here's a link to something less gangsta, but
still rap - "ain't outta Compton..." @3:24 - WARNING: strong lyrical content~!
ACROSS:
1. Installment in a modern series : WEBISODE - Episode didn't fit, but once the "W" was there, 'modern' now made sense
9. Thing to be cracked : CIPHER
15. Loge : OPERA BOX
16. Purchase provider : ICE AXE - ah, that kind of purchase; the one with 'grip'
17. Olympic winner : MEDALIST - first long fill for me
18. Hero with a memorable yell : TARZAN - This was my first thought, but I wouldn't necessarily call him a "hero" per se
19. Bird that dines on stingers : BEE-EATER - well, it makes sense, and followed by:
20. Bug : INSECT
21. PC debut of 1981 : MS-DOS
23. Leans : TILTS
24. Truffles, e.g. : FUNGI
28. Unit in una zona residencial : CASA - I am guessing Spanish,
for a "house" in the residential zone; I went bar-hopping with the guys
tonight (I was the Designated Driver, so my sodas were "free"), and my
buddy Bob has the last name Casa
30. Most suitable for service : ONE-A
31. In danger of snapping : UNBALANCED
39. 1959 Cornelius Ryan best-seller about the Normandy invasion, with "The" : LONGEST DAY
41. Keister : SEAT
43. They may generate interest: Abbr. : ACCounTS
50. "Hysterical" : HA-HA-HA - HEY~!!! That's MY line~! (OK, HAR-HAR is mine )
52. On balance : ALL IN ALL - great fill
57. God wed to his sister : OSIRIS - a little Egyptian history, for those who care
58. Rather wicked : DIABOLIC - DEMONIC was too short
59. Say : REMARK - UTTER was too short
60. Not barred : ADMITTED - ALLOWED was too short
61. Good guys? : ADEPTS - AD-epts, the noun
62. Many characters on "The L Word" : LESBIANS - I didn't think this word would fit; not sure why. Never seen the show, but I knew what the "L" stood for
DOWN:
1. Place of development : WOMB
2. It has about a 35-inch blade : EPEE
3. Saint who wrote the earliest history of England : BEDE
4. Requiem Mass hymn word : IRAE
5. Sub base? : SALAMI - Sub, Hero, Hoagie
6. Bye lines? : OBITS - I said "bye" to my dad Jan 12th; we did not publish an obituary
7. Did a nurse's job : DOSED
8. Version's beginning? : EXTRO - In psychology, extroversion is focusing one's attention on things outside the self; I am a Type 5 (with a 4 wing) thinker with INtroversion tendencies
9. One of U.S. banking's Big Four : CITI - Citigroup, along with
JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo; they hold 39% of
customer deposits in 2009 per Wiki; My money is with Chase, and I have WF stock.
12. Nut-producing tree : HAZEL - PECAN would fit, but I had the "L" from TILTS already
13. Like some change : EXACT - not LOOSE
14. Uses Zipcar, say : RENTS - never heard of them but I have heard of: 40A. Its Nasdaq symbol is CAR : AVIS
22. Milan's La __ : SCALA
24. Keep from happening : FOIL - another word for EPEE, too
25. Wreck : UNDO
26. Light element : NEON
29. She has your back : ALLY
31. __ Major : URSA
32. Modern entertainment : NET TV - I am investing in NETFLIX this weekend, I believe
33. Maleficent : BAD
34. Vena __ : CAVA - : any of the large veins by which in air-breathing vertebrates the blood is returned to the right atrium of the heart; Merriam Webster
35. "Fast Food Nation" author Schlosser : ERIC - had the "C", seemed like a perfectly good Wild-Ass Guess to me
36. Work area : DESK - mine has the back ends of four brown trucks....
38. Top choice : TEE SHIRT - and 46. 38-Down option : V-NECK
42. Apparel for the slopes : SKI BIB - Marti, got one or two? Do they match the Jimmy Choos? I like ski bunnies - so cute in their tight little outfits
43. Now, in Nogales : AHORA
44. Checked out badly? : CASED - Like watching the bank before the heist
45. Ring : CHIME
47. Seven-time French Open winner : NADAL - LENDL fit, too, bit I have no clue who has won what in tennis....
48. Fail to say : ELIDE - consonants, that is
49. Simoleons : CLAMS - Had MOOLA to start; money slang
51. Petitions : ASKS
54. Medicine Hat's prov. : ALTA - Map
55. Homeowner's burden : LIEN - Well, so is the LAWN
56. Some TV screens : LCDs - Liquid Crystal Displays
Splynter
