Theme: None
Words: 70 (missing J,Q,X,Z)
Blocks: 30
Mr.
Agard is on a roll with another Saturday puzzle, three months running
now. I was able to move through this one pretty smoothly, with just a couple of
hang-ups, and yes, I decided to cheat and red-letter once to see if I
was off-base - and I was. Oh well. A friendly-looking grid, though I did
not see the two 15-letter climbers in the DOWN, and yet they filled in
via perpendiculars, despite the fact that I had never heard of either
answer. We also had a stagger-step of triple 13-letter answers in the
center:
3d. Nonprofit that won a 2007 UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy : REACH OUT AND READ - their website awards page
3d. Nonprofit that won a 2007 UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy : REACH OUT AND READ - their website awards page
31a. False pretenses : MOUNTEBANKERY - from the Italian, meaning "mounted on a bench", where charlatans would hock phony medicines - according to the M-W site
35a. They win audiences over bit by bit : STAND-UP COMICS - bits, that's punny....
37a. Denzel Washington's directorial debut : ANTWONE FISHER - The Wiki
11d. First black U.S. Congresswoman : SHIRLEY CHISHOLM - her Wiki - and a Congresswoman from New York, no less
35a. They win audiences over bit by bit : STAND-UP COMICS - bits, that's punny....
37a. Denzel Washington's directorial debut : ANTWONE FISHER - The Wiki
11d. First black U.S. Congresswoman : SHIRLEY CHISHOLM - her Wiki - and a Congresswoman from New York, no less
9-irON WARD~!
ACROSS:
1. Veal __ : PARM - argh~! I was not thinking of an abbr. Got us a rhyming start;
5. Seal : SHUT
9. Actress Thompson of "Creed" : TESSA - I only know of actresses Leah and Emma
14. "Gotcha" : "I SEE." - At first I thought we had a "!" in the clue, so I was looking for something like "A-ha" at first
15. Posh "Peace!" : "TA-TA~!" - My buddy Mike always signs off with "Peace"
16. One remaining : OTHER
17. Israeli foreign minister during the Six-Day War : EBAN
18. It began in 2010 with the Tunisian Revolution : ARAB SPRING - good WAG with half the letters filled in via perps
20. Legendary Shawnee leader : TECUMSEH - also filled in after half perps
22. __ Rico : PUERTO - my first Across fill
23. Suffix suggesting wiggle room : -ISH - I am good for saying things like "I made a birdie(ish)" - because I might have taken two extra swings from the tee....yesterday I hit three pins - twice with my pitching wedge, once with the putter from the fringe. No -ish.
24. Uncertain utterances : UHS....
25. School squad goal? : PEP
26. English __ : LIT - another acceptable abbr.
27. Greek walkways : STOAS - remembered it once I had the two "S"s
29. Spy-fi employer : CIA
30. Boggy biomes : FENS
39. Gigging group : BAND
41. Shakespearean interjections : AYS - there's the rub~!
42. Company with "It's what you do" ads : GEICO
43. Briefs brand : BVD
44. Woolf's "__ Dalloway" : MRS. and a semi-clecho with; 47a. 44-Across, in Andalusia : SRA
45. Pit stuff : TAR
48. __ beef : CORNED
50. Separated seed from : THRESHED
52. Epic salvo of social media missives : TWEET STORM - I do not Facebook, Tweet, or Instagram - but I am addicted to Pinterest
54. What you might pass, but can't fail, in school : NOTE - cute
55. Hair extension : WEAVE
56. Instrument often made of African blackwood : OBOE - really good WAG, and a great change of cluing for a crossword staple
57. Spread on the table : OLEO
58. More bizarre : ODDER
59. Watched carefully : EYED
60. Iraq War concerns, for short : WMDS - dah~!! Weapons of Mass Destruction~? I tried I.E.D.s
DOWN:
1. Old doctrinal Lutheran movement : PIETISM
2. Mineral involved in much litigation : ASBESTOS - always a concern as a home inspector - and any time you see 9"x9" floor tiles, assume they have asbestos in them
4. List with sides : MENU
5. Illicit collection, perhaps : STASH
6. Some bounders : HARES - because ROOS would not fit
7. Where I-15 and I-80 meet : UTAH - great guess on my part - but then again, a western four-letter state~? (figuring it was not a city)
8. Where charges are entered at the bar : TAB
9. Refill : TOP UP
10. Tours to be? : ÊTRE - Tours, the Frawnche city
12. Submitted : SENT IN
13. Specialized idioms : ARGOTS
19. Discuss : SPEAK OF
21. Forbidding contraction : MUSTN'T
25. __-nez glasses : PINCE
28. Vishy __, World Chess Champion before Carlsen : ANAND - only had to guess the "N"
29. Crunch and others? : CAP'Ns
30. Bichon __ : FRISE - cute dog breed; knew it, but not sure how to spell it
32. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" director : EDWARDS - again, perps
33. Lifts up : BUOYS
34. Expatriate : ÉMIGRÉ
36. Hidden away : SECRETED - I have 35 boards on Pinterest, and some of them are "secret"
38. Bus meets, e.g. : ROADEOS - new word for me, but it makes sense
39. "The Great British Bake Off" airer, initially : BBC TWO - the B, B, and C filled in early, and then it was a matter one "ONE" or "TWO"
40. Declared : AVOWED
44. One fed on the street : METER - clever
45. Sharp pang : THROE
46. Fortified : ARMED - I'm trying to come up with a clever name for my board game, and Fortified was one of the words I was pondering - any suggestions....?
49. Campbell of the "Scream" franchise : NEVE
50. Belch in "Twelfth Night" : TOBY - perps
51. Word with bank or board : SNOW - until I changed my IEDs, this was not coming to me
53. It may be jammed : TOE -there's two ways to interpret this....
5. Seal : SHUT
9. Actress Thompson of "Creed" : TESSA - I only know of actresses Leah and Emma
14. "Gotcha" : "I SEE." - At first I thought we had a "!" in the clue, so I was looking for something like "A-ha" at first
15. Posh "Peace!" : "TA-TA~!" - My buddy Mike always signs off with "Peace"
16. One remaining : OTHER
17. Israeli foreign minister during the Six-Day War : EBAN
18. It began in 2010 with the Tunisian Revolution : ARAB SPRING - good WAG with half the letters filled in via perps
20. Legendary Shawnee leader : TECUMSEH - also filled in after half perps
22. __ Rico : PUERTO - my first Across fill
23. Suffix suggesting wiggle room : -ISH - I am good for saying things like "I made a birdie(ish)" - because I might have taken two extra swings from the tee....yesterday I hit three pins - twice with my pitching wedge, once with the putter from the fringe. No -ish.
25. School squad goal? : PEP
26. English __ : LIT - another acceptable abbr.
27. Greek walkways : STOAS - remembered it once I had the two "S"s
29. Spy-fi employer : CIA
30. Boggy biomes : FENS
39. Gigging group : BAND
41. Shakespearean interjections : AYS - there's the rub~!
42. Company with "It's what you do" ads : GEICO
The camels, Europe and medieval bosses are my favorites
44. Woolf's "__ Dalloway" : MRS. and a semi-clecho with; 47a. 44-Across, in Andalusia : SRA
45. Pit stuff : TAR
48. __ beef : CORNED
50. Separated seed from : THRESHED
52. Epic salvo of social media missives : TWEET STORM - I do not Facebook, Tweet, or Instagram - but I am addicted to Pinterest
54. What you might pass, but can't fail, in school : NOTE - cute
55. Hair extension : WEAVE
56. Instrument often made of African blackwood : OBOE - really good WAG, and a great change of cluing for a crossword staple
57. Spread on the table : OLEO
58. More bizarre : ODDER
60. Iraq War concerns, for short : WMDS - dah~!! Weapons of Mass Destruction~? I tried I.E.D.s
DOWN:
1. Old doctrinal Lutheran movement : PIETISM
2. Mineral involved in much litigation : ASBESTOS - always a concern as a home inspector - and any time you see 9"x9" floor tiles, assume they have asbestos in them
4. List with sides : MENU
5. Illicit collection, perhaps : STASH
6. Some bounders : HARES - because ROOS would not fit
7. Where I-15 and I-80 meet : UTAH - great guess on my part - but then again, a western four-letter state~? (figuring it was not a city)
9. Refill : TOP UP
10. Tours to be? : ÊTRE - Tours, the Frawnche city
12. Submitted : SENT IN
13. Specialized idioms : ARGOTS
19. Discuss : SPEAK OF
21. Forbidding contraction : MUSTN'T
25. __-nez glasses : PINCE
28. Vishy __, World Chess Champion before Carlsen : ANAND - only had to guess the "N"
29. Crunch and others? : CAP'Ns
32. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" director : EDWARDS - again, perps
33. Lifts up : BUOYS
34. Expatriate : ÉMIGRÉ
36. Hidden away : SECRETED - I have 35 boards on Pinterest, and some of them are "secret"
38. Bus meets, e.g. : ROADEOS - new word for me, but it makes sense
39. "The Great British Bake Off" airer, initially : BBC TWO - the B, B, and C filled in early, and then it was a matter one "ONE" or "TWO"
40. Declared : AVOWED
44. One fed on the street : METER - clever
45. Sharp pang : THROE
46. Fortified : ARMED - I'm trying to come up with a clever name for my board game, and Fortified was one of the words I was pondering - any suggestions....?
49. Campbell of the "Scream" franchise : NEVE
50. Belch in "Twelfth Night" : TOBY - perps
51. Word with bank or board : SNOW - until I changed my IEDs, this was not coming to me
53. It may be jammed : TOE -there's two ways to interpret this....
Splynter
