Themeless Saturday Puzzle
Hello, my puzzling friends, this is Husker Gary about to 40. Sail : GO TO SEA on the S.S. LA Crossword - Saturday edition. After years of devoted effort, Splynter has retired from the helm and I hope my blog 34. Causes to be : RENDERS a useful service to you in the enjoyment of our weekend challenges.
So let's cast off lines, weigh anchor and shove off.
We'll miss Splynter's style but to quote my second favorite Sammy Davis Jr. Song, I've Gotta Be Me!
Let's set sail and... (Hey, enough of the nautical metaphors already!)
Across
1. Overwhelming place for many country folk : THE BIG CITY
11. Once-a-week mantra : TGIF - Everyday is Friday when you're retired!
15. Early second-millennium style : ROMANESQUE - Architecture characterized by Roman Arches. Ground was broken in 1063 for this fabulous example: The Dumo di Pisa. Hey, isn't the building in the background famous too?
16. Modern-day carpe diem : YOLO - According to Ian Fleming's 007 book and his buddy Roald Dahl's screenplay, You Only Live Twice (not Once)
17. '80s scandal : IRAN CONTRA - Every president seems to have at least one scandal
18. Pro shop purchase : POLO - My golf shirts tend to be "Whatever's on sale at Kohl's"
19. Remove fluff from, perhaps : EDIT - and 22. Dispatch to the cutting room floor : DELETE. He'd be great at it!
20. Blond, in many cases : DYED
21. Moved to another table : RESAT
24. Easy money, in theory : SURE BETS - Sonny Liston was an 8 - 1 SURE BET against Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) in 1964. Uh, not so much.
26. Some retirement purchases : RVS - We love to walk through Recreational Vehicles but don't know if our marriage could survive living/traveling in one
27. Pinkberry competitor : TCBY
28. Hardened, as concrete : SET - Like the Hollywood "Walk Of Fame"
29. Layers : PLIES - Baltic Birch plywood in different PLIES
32. Make a mild romantic overture to : ASK IN - Said the spider to the fly
33. Eastern way : TAO
36. Anka hit with a Spanish influence : ESO BESO - "Ooh, THAT KISS!"
38. Iron-__ : ONS
39. Era, perhaps : REIGN - The Victorian Era during the 64-year REIGN of Queen Victoria wasn't a real hoot for most
41. Place for a pin : LAPEL
42. Opening : GAP - This very famous one through the Appalachians helped open up the West43. Facts and figures : INFO - Not DATA as it turns out
44. Physical pros : MDS - "Turn your head and cough!" 45. "Right, understood" : OH I GET IT - "I know what you're checking."
47. Fig. at the state's courtroom table : ASST DA - Law And Order had some hot ASSistanT District Attorneys
51. "Odyssey" fruit : LOTUS - When Odyessus' ship got blown off course to the land of the Lotus Eaters, his men partook of the local LOUTS food/narcotic and had to be dragged back to the ships
52. They have small roles : COGS - We are all vital COGS at this blog
54. Unlike narrators, usually : SEEN - Peter Coyote was "heard but not SEEN" narrating six Ken Burns' documentaries
55. Duty-__ : FREE
56. Could conceivably get : HAS A SHOT AT - Nebraska HAS A SHOT AT yet another VB national championship tonight like this one in 2015 (and five others)
58. Hazzard County deputy : ENOS
59. "Is it safe to talk?" : ARE WE ALONE
60. Calls the game : REFS - Some cheat while calling the game
61. Plot markers : HEADSTONES
Down
1. Strained, e.g. : TRIED - Wonderful Paul Robeson sang: "You an' me, we sweat an' STRAIN, Body all achin'' and' racked wit pain"
2. Large mass : HORDE - Here's the Khanate of the Golden HORDE below
3. Modern box filler : EMAIL
4. Went back and forth : BANTERED
5. Business issue : INC
6. Natural history museum objects : GEODES - A huge GEODE at the Harvard Museum of Natural History
7. "Ohio" group, initially : CSNY - The initials of the group!
8. Educational placement aids : IQ TESTS
9. Double-stuffed holiday dish : TURDUCKEN - Yes, it's a TURkey stuffed with a deboned DUCK and a deboned chickEN. Voila, you have this portmanteau
10. Pro's call : YEA - As opposed to the anti's call of nay
11. Generally unstressed : TYPE-B - Working for a TYPE-A person can make you 13. Twitchy : ILL AT EASE
12. Stiff-legged stride : GOOSE STEP - Ahhh...
14. Chair accessory : FOOT STOOL
21. Big name in aluminum history : REYNOLDS
23. Pilot's ideal outcome? : TV SERIES - Despite a lousy pilot that simply copied the British version, this show adapted and became a great TV SERIES. Clever clue!
25. MLB stats : RBIS
29. FedExCup seeker : PRO GOLFER
30. Subject of the biography "Stormy Weather" : LENA HORNE - Her biography was named for her signature song
31. Notwithstanding : IN SPITE OF
32. "Big deal" : AS IF I CARE - One must judge if this phrase is bantering or bullying
35. Let out for a time : RENT - My friend LETS out his winter Texas home in the summer
37. Jazz club highlight : BASS SOLO
44. Ordinary people : MASSES - I needed two more letters for HOI POLLI
46. One may be educated : GUESS
48. Western Wyoming county : TETON
49. Revolutionary diplomat Silas : DEANE - He was a hero for negotiating an armament deal with France and then was disgraced by accusations he profiteered
50. Opening stakes : ANTES
53. "Oh mah __!" : GAWD - A Valley Girl term of amazement
56. "Unlikely!" : HAH
57. Banded Wonderland wear : HAT - The numbers on the Mad Hatter's hat indicated it cost 10 shillings and 6 pence
Ok, lower the gangplank and transfer over to the comment area!
DA GRID
