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

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Oct 26, 2013

Saturday, Oct 26th, 2013, Ned White

Theme: None

Words: 70 (misssing J,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 30

   How's this for an early Halloween scare???  My first look at the triple triple-15-letter spanners and I immediately ran for the DOWNS.  And that didn't help much.  Too many abbrs., names and vagueness to be of any good - at first.  The key to solving this construction, for me, was to go with my 'crossword instinct', meaning that the long answers would most likely end with E, S, T, R, etc. - and then, with my smattering of DOWN fill, I literally worked my way from the bottom up.  I'll admit to one bad cell (*), and I cheated and went to my analog dictionary for the spelling of 1A.  

The Spanners:

1. Wedding reception fare : HOT HORS D'OEUVRES - I missed the "U", and jumbled my "R" and "V"

16. Hunter's accessory : AMMUNITION POUCH - I delivered a box of ammo to a guy yesterday who was questioning why I required a signature; it had nothing to do with his 2nd Amendment rights, but UPS does require an adult to sign for explosives.  Period.

17. Fourth-generation relative : GREAT- GRANDNIECE

32. Certain cohabitant : DOMESTIC PARTNER - when I was in the Sober House, everyone would talk about their "S.O." - I thought it was a variation on a P.O. - parole officer.  Turned out to be their "significant other" - sounds pretty cold to me

37. Anglican leader : EPISCOPAL PRIEST

38. Beethoven work completed the same year as the "Moonlight" : PASTORALE SONATA - let's hear a little




53. Have a considerably negative effect on : MILITATE AGAINST - about the only one that is not a 'common phrase'

58. Recipe datum : PREPARATION TIME

59. Fitness specialist : STRENGTH TRAINER

O~N~W~A~R~D~!

ACROSS:

18. Wrong : SIN

19. 1980s pop duo with an exclamation point in their name : WHAM!

20. Stowe novel : DRED - more here

21. Chanel competitor : COTY - They used to make "IRON" cologne, and I loved it: I miss it, too - it really defined "me" - it's a Ferro-pheromone alloy....
22. Chihuahua chatter : ARFs - eh, not YIPs

25. Rent-__ : A-CAR

28. Jolly Roger crewman : SMEE

29. Desperate letters : S.O.S.

39. Cobb and others : TYs

40. Get up : RISE

41. Scrapes (out) : EKES

42. Moments : SECs

43. One may be zapped : TV AD - I zap every one of them, because I watch everything from my DVR - and there's no one else in the UPS truck to spoil a show for me~!

46. Deuce follower : AD IN - advantage in - when the server is one point up after deuce on his/her opponent, and could take the next one and win - the Wiki if you really want to get confused

49. Cup part : BRIM

50. One of Can.'s Maritime provinces : P.E.I. - Prince Edward Island - one of those crossword instinct answers that does NOT end in E, S, T, R.

DOWN:

1. Crones : HAGS - I put in PALS, but that's cronies.

2. "Dallas" actor Katz : OMRI - IMDb

3. Bootleggers' foes : T-MEN - I put in FEDS to start

4. '70s Chinese leader : HUA - I defer to our very own C.C. for more on this (From C.C.: HUA brought Cultural Revolution to an end, for which I'm very grateful. He's Chairman Mao's handpicked successor.)



5. Huddle directive : ON TWO....

6. In order : RIGHT - and an anti-clecho 27D. Not in order : AMISS

7. Cattle drive concern : STRAY - I tried DINGO, but the word I meant to fill in was DOGIE

8. Spherical meas. : DIAMeter

9. Suffix with bass : OON - BassOON

10. Close : END - the verb

11. "Buffy" airer after The WB : UPN

12. Cancels : VOIDS

13. Penitent : RUER - The noun, in this case; I always think of the scene from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" when I hear penitent

14. Old Roman cry : ECCE~!  Behold~!

15. Discard : SHED - Not TOSS, going with my instinct

21. Peak : CREST - hey, nice peaks

22. Liberal : AMPLE - quite ample

23. Takes in : REAPS

24. Alloy prefix : FERRO - "Iron", like in these fine examples

25. Pro : ADEPT

26. Pharmacy figure : CO-PAY and a semi-clecho with;

28. Bygone pharmacy fixture : SCALE



29. Preview opener? : SNEAK - sneak preview

30. Montevideo-to-Buenos Aires dirección : OESTE - map

31. Sp. lasses : SRTAs

33. Tie, perhaps : SCORE - you bet your ASCOT I got this one~!

34. Like doughnuts : TORIC - OK, so I went with HOLEY - I had a very white grid....

35. "Not for me" : "I PASS"

36. Pointed, in a way : TINED

42. Marsh bird : SNIPE - STORK, EGRET~?

43. It may be inherited : TRAIT

44. Bounce : VIGOR - yes, she's got some 'vigor' to her....

45. Appliance maker once owned by Raytheon : AMANA

46. Intensifies, with "up" : AMPS

47. Skinny : DIRT - and the title of Mötley Crüe's biography

48*. Robert of "The Sopranos" : ILER - the "L" got me


49. Three-time LPGA Player of the Year Daniel : BETH

50. Nabokov novel : PNIN - pronounced P'neen

51. Edward's adoptive mother in the "Twilight" series : ESME - a WAG, since I have not, and do not care to see any of these movies - but it worked well with my E, S, T, R instinct

52. Anatomical passage : ITER - Latin for journey - I can see that

54. A spray might be used for one : TAN

55. Uru. neighbor : ARGentina, constructor Ned must like the area - see 30D.

56. Parlor work, briefly : TATtoo - and a chance for a music link

57. "Lord, is __?": Matthew : "IT I?"

Splynter