Theme: DP & PV ( or Tony and Sony~?)
Words: 72 (missing Q,V,X,Z)
Blocks: 29
It's
been over a year since we have had this duo of constructors on a
Saturday. This week's contribution was a bit lumpy for me, as I
butchered the NW corner and had to cave in to red-letters for my
mistakes. On the flip side, it was an enjoyable solve, with some tricky
cluing that I was able to get past, and proper names that slowed me
down, but only slightly. Friendly corners with two 14-letter spanners, a
pair of 11's in the Down, and paired 10s in the Down corners;
5. "Candida" singer : TONY ORLANDO
- as with most of the proper names, I had no idea about this one to
start, but the perp(endicular)s and the familiar, "not-so-vague"
personality helped
26. Pioneering music player : SONY WALKMAN -
I thought we were looking for an actual person, and when I first filled
this DOWN in, thought it was a guy named "Sonny" something....
35. Friend of the Fry Kids : RONALD McDONALD - had no clue, but when the perps started filling in, I shoulda known - I didn't remember the "fry kids" until I saw this image, and now I think of them as a bit creepy
42. It's generally celebrated on the same day as Tet : CHINESE NEW YEAR - nailed it. Happy Year of the Rooster ( or Cock, if you prefer....) - I was born in the year of the Pig
Thank
you all for your compliments on Wednesday about our debut puzzle - it's
a bittersweet success for me - I guess you could say when it comes to
published crosswords, I "don't have a clue."
Word N/A~?
ACROSS:
1. Modern categorizing aid : HASHTAG
- I have mentioned before that I do not Facebook nor Twitter - but I do
see this "#" symbol on TV and in advertising frequently - have you seen
the promos for "Garage Rehab" on Discovery Channel~? I am friends with
Russell, one of the hosts of the new show
8. Sign of stress : ALL CAPS - I DON"T LIKE DATING PROFILES TYPED LIKE THIS~!
15. Pennsylvania home of the world's oldest operating wooden roller coaster : ALTOONA
- I tried HERSHEY, even though I knew it was wrong. The famous ride
which I have not heard of - but I am not a roller-coaster fan - is the Leap-The-Dips
16. "All will be well" : FEAR NOT - got it on the second pass from the "F"
17. Homophonically named '60s sitcom lady : JEANNIE - funny, I just linked this two weeks ago - I dream of "Genie"
18. Steel work : ROMANCE - knew it was author Danielle on the first pass, went with "FICTION"
19. It's cut and dried : JERKY - I'd like to try making my own some day
20. Fish-eating bird : LOON - not TERN
22. Really feel the heat : BAKE - ah, not MELT
23. Coast Guard pickup : S.O.S
25. Wave function symbols : PSIs - care to melt your brain~? Try to understand this
27. Night spot : BED - huh. I wonder where my head is - I went with BAR - but I prefer BED these days
28. Financial pg. debut : IPO - a good WAG
31. "The __ of King William": Old English poem : RIME
- dah~! Should have known this from one of Iron Maiden's classics, the
re-telling of the story "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
With a little of the poem narrated in at 7:50
33. "Golden Boy" dramatist : ODETS - perps
39. Place to buy a landscape : ART SALE - I filled in the "ART" part and waited
40. Unspoiled : IDYLLIC
44. Per person : A HEAD
45. __ con gas: Spanish soda water : AGUA - oh, duh. I had no idea on the first pass
46. Nevada copper town : ELY - filled via perps
47. Troubling bank msg. : NSF - thankfully, I have not had a Non-Sufficient Funds message in a long time
48. Cutlass, e.g. : OLDSmobile - I had one, a '77 Supreme Brougham. Clecho with 55a. Cutlass, e.g. : AUTO
Got about 8 gallons to the mile
51. Angels' org. : MLB - Anaheim from Major League Baseball
53. Peabody-winning journalist Ifill : GWEN - half perps, half WAG
57. Buckwheat porridge : KASHA
61. Waiting to get in, say : LINED UP - ah. ON/IN LINE was too short
63. Studio mascot : MGM LION
65. Cover, as a cover charge : INCLUDE
66. __ glass : STAINED
67. Like most cartoon characters : AGELESS
68. Only president to win a Pulitzer Prize : KENNEDY
DOWN:
1. Pillar of Islam : HAJJ
2. Nautical direction : ALEE - not PORT, not AHOY
3. Michelin unit : STAR - ah, not TIRE
4. Traffic chorus : HONKS
6. "The Phantom Menace" boy : ANI - Anakin Skywalker, a.k.a Darth Vader
7. Certain Celt : GAEL
8. High dos : AFROS
9. "Madam Secretary" actress : LEONI
10. Flee : LAM - oops, not RUN
11. Word with grass : CRAB
- there's no crab grass on the golf courses I play - but there's a lot
of "crabbing" - I was so angry with my game last Sunday I pitched my
putter....at a tree. I did buy a pull cart from eBay, only $42. Now I
need a new putter.
12. Poe classic : ANNABEL LEE - Edger Allan's last complete poem
13. Make an unexpected connection with : POCKET DIAL - or BUTT dial, your cel phone - mine has a two-piece case, so there is little chance of me making this blunder
14. Stable population : STEEDS
21. Org. Indonesia left in 2008 : OPEC - ah, not NATO
24. Edge furtively : SIDLE
28. Radio host Glass : IRA
29. Rocker alternative : PORCH SWING - I had P-RC-, so I was not fooled by the "alternative" kind of rocker - like the ones in Iron Maiden
30. Torn : ON THE FENCE - again, because of perps, I was not thinking "ripped" for torn
32. Fr. titles : MMES - Dah~! Not STES
34. "The Voice" host Carson : DALY
36. Section in Disney's Animal Kingdom : ASIA - wow, vague. Never been to Disney
37. "Correct!" sound : DING~!!!
38. Greek theater : ODEUM - oops, I had odeON
41. Word with war or far : CRY
43. Point in the right direction? : EAST - a weather vane/compass point to the right
44. Old name for England : ANGLIA
49. Praises : LAUDS
50. Con targets : DUPES
52. Dwarf who traveled with Bilbo : BALIN - despite my D & D upbringing, I never got into The Lord of the Rings
54. "The Old Curiosity Shop" girl : NELL - perps
56. Trans-Siberian Railway city : OMSK
58. __ wave : SINE
59. Broke ground : HOED
60. Red's pal in "The Shawshank Redemption" : ANDY
62. Expected : DUE - speaking of porch swings, you know this is "expected"
64. Former AT&T rival : GTE
Splynter
