Saturday, July 9, 2011 Doug Peterson

Theme: None

Words: 70

Blocks: 28

Wow~! - Considering the fine and challenging offers from our "Corner Constructors" of the last two days, I smoked this puzzle, without a single hesitation, and only one quick review to find my one-letter goof. We have seen Doug before on Saturday, his last being the duo with Barry Silk.

A nearly a 'pinwheel' symmetrical puzzle, with triple stacks of 10 in each "arm" - just a black square off in the NE and SW.

Onward~!

Splynter

ACROSS:

1. It may be picked : BASS GUITAR - I actually switched to the DOWNS first, but once I had _SS G_, I pretty much got it - I play, but use a pick more often then the finger or slap technique

11. Revival figs. : EMTs - nice misdirection, human revivers, Emergency Medical Technicians

15. Sly role, as a rule : ACTION HERO - Sylvester "Sly" Stallone, in movies such as Rambo, Cliffhanger, etc. - I still want to see "The Expendables" with "ALL" the action heroes.

16. Fly on the river, perhaps : LURE

17. One who might steal kisses : CHOCOHOLIC - those little Hershey kisses here

18. Protected from buffeting : ALEE - Saturday level cluing for this word

19. Shorten, in a way : HEW

20. Smoking choice : PIPE

21. Big name in test preparation : KAPLAN - Here

23. Certain surfer's power source : KITE - I would rather sail my Hobie Cat than do this

24. Stands in a field? : COPSES

25. Choice cut : T-BONE

28. Dealt with loose ends : MOPPED UP

30. Shadow removers : RAZOR BLADES - "5 o'clock shadow" for the hirsute man

33. Treasure State motto word : ORO

34. Intaglio stone : ONYX - Here

35. Not as refined : RUDER - I had rawer to start

36. Times to get ready : EVES

37. "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." producer : MGM - a WAG with the -G- there

38. Sinuous storytellers : HULA DANCERS - show me your links ~!

40. One of the noble metals : PLATINUM - nailed it; also Gold et. al.

42. Champion, for one : HORSE - I got it, but didn't know who Champion was....

43. Absinthe flavorings : ANISES

44. Chicago's __ House : HULL - Here's the story

46. Out there to the max : ODDEST

47. Tightly : FAST - meh, not sure about this

48. NASCAR no. : RPM

51. Doce halved : SEIS

52. "You Should Be Dancing" group : THE BEE GEES

55. Pre-bar letters : LSAT

56. Trying to get close to : ESTIMATING

57. Extremely : OHSO

58. Cops often take them at crime scenes : STATEMENTS - Huge Law & Order fan, usually this segment comes right after the first commercial break

 DOWN:

1. "Little Organ Book" composer : BACH - Four-letter organ composer?

2. Not quite smart? : ACHE - Loved this, reminds me of this

3. Put away : STOW

4. Disclaimer in a quote : SIC - most often brakceted [sic] like this....

5. More likely to ooze : GOOPIER

6. Like a pitch that's taken, ironically : UNHIT

7. "My wish is ..." : I HOPE

8. Tubby leader? : TELE - Tele-tubbies, those pastel colored things

9. 1968 newlywed, familiarly : ARI - I had LIZ at first, a WAG at Elizabeth Taylor

10. Pink Floyd's "The Wall," e.g. : ROCK OPERA

11. Slip by : ELAPSE

12. Chewed on : MULLED OVER

13. Balancing pros : TREASURERS - well-clued

14. Caught, in a way : SEEN

22. Useful downloads : APPS

23. First U.S. secretary of war (for whom a fort was named) : KNOX

24. Put into bars, say : CODED

25. Defeat badly : TROMP

26. East Pakistan, today : BANGLADESH

27. Sonnet likely inspired by Ramses the Great : OZYMANDIAS - One and the same

28. Chair's title, at times : MADAM

29. Sheriff's outfit : POSSE

31. Gentlemen's second choices? : BRUNETTES - Well, now, they happen to be this gentleman's FIRST choice

32. Corkers : LULUs

36. Sierra Club subj. : ECOL. - Ecology, hear here ~!

38. Sign of an escape? : HISS - as air from a punctured tire

39. Devils, e.g. : NHL TEAM - New Jersey - I will root for them if the NY Rangers aren't on

41. Words with organized crime : TIES TO - Another L&O reference, as in "Biegel has ties to the Masucci family..." ( I had tieD to, my only boo-boo )

44. Order clothes : HABIT - I had ROBES to start here

45. "I'm yours to command" : USE ME - I think of the lyrics here at 0:58

46. Vigeland Sculpture Park city : OSLO - Images

47. Crumbly topping : FETA - cheese, on salads, etc

48. Arabian checker : REIN - Arabian, the horse, but not Champion

49. Shut (up) : PENT

50. In-box queue: Abbr. : MSGS

53. Fair Deal initials : HST - Harry S. Truman

54. Former comm. giant : GTE - I remember these guys

Answer grid.

See ya next time ~!

Splynter

Saturday, June 11th, 2011 Doug Peterson & Barry Silk

Five Spanner Saturday

An intimidating, but do-able Saturday grid from one of my "regulars" in a duo with another constructor whom I've seen before - Doug's "Run" puzzle from May 10th with Angela Olson Halsted.  Today we have three spanners, and two climbers;

34A. Copyright, e.g. : INTANGIBLE ASSET

38A. "Right on!" : NOW YOU'RE TALKING

39A. It can help you carry a tune : TRANSISTOR RADIO

5D. Song sung by Pinocchio : I'VE GOT NO STRINGS

10D. Lab synthesis substance : CHEMICAL REAGENT

Very blank grid to start, wondered if I had any chance at all ~!

Theme: None

Words: 70

Blocks: 36

ACROSS:  ( I actually started with the DOWNS )

1. Chia Pet, perhaps : GAG GIFT - CH- CH- CH- CHia ~! - never had one, but I think it's a cool gift, tho

8. "That's too close!" : BACK OFF

15. Stop flowing, in a way : ICE OVER - good misdirection; I was thinking clot

16. Daughter of Polonius : OPHELIA - From Shakespeare's Hamlet - not that I know any line from her

17. Drawing room? : GALLERY - First thought was Drafting Studio, but, uh, it wouldn't fit

18. Foil : PREVENT

19. Security item : I.D. TAG

20. Fancy wraps : MINKS

21. Handles abroad : NOMS - names, in French; handles, as in CB radio 'nicknames'

24. Key : MAIN

26. Non-coml. interruption : PSA - Public Service Announcement; I still zip through on the DVR

29. Body image, briefly : TAT - D'oh~! I had MRI, CAT, PET...TATtoo, body art

30. __ lamp : ARC - Thought I was sharp with OIL here

31. American leader? : ALL - ALL-American, like Bob Hope used to 'host' when I was a kid

40. Anthem elision : O'ER - "over the ramparts we watched" does sound a bit strained

41. "__ Calling": 2003-'05 supernatural drama : TRU - don't remember this show; two seasons on Fox

42. Will's "Glee" adversary : SUE - I do not watch this show

43. Bill holder: Abbr. : ENV - ENVelop(e), depending on where you are, I guess

44. Word in some school names : PREP - I figured this was going to be some Latin, like "Omni"

45. Quaint interjection : EGAD

47. "Romeo Must Die" star : JET LI

50. Power systems : GRIDS

54. Shake up : UNHINGE - Love this line from "Addams Family"

57. Curse : SWEAR AT

59. Deceiving : LYING TO

60. Conservative commentator who wrote "Let Freedom Ring" : HANNITY - I so do not buy into any of these "all news, all day" programs; truly, just talking heads.  Sean Hannity, another Fox TV show

61. Jerks, as a bell rope : YANKS ON - hey now, down in front....

62. Wind in a combo : ALTO-SAX - Isn't this Bill's instrument? (the other one...)

DOWN:

1. 1958 film with the song "The Parisians" : GIGI

2. Sch. : ACAD - ACADemy

3. Yiddish dough : GELT - got this from the clue last week - one of the few answers I had to start

4. __ Heights: disputed Mideast territory : GOLAN - took a moment for me to remember; had GAZA on the brain, and that's the strip, not the geography

6. Tableau P�riodique #26 : FER - FER-ench for IRON, on the Periodic Table - actually, I like this better than "not agin"

7. Effort : TRY

8. Dizzy music? : BOP - Be-bop, from Dizzy Gillespie, and probably a shout-out to our own Jazzbumpa ~!

9. Loan letters : APR - you can tell my state of mind - I had IOU to start....

11. Bacon from Philadelphia : KEVIN - first answer I got, then wondered if it was Roger

12. Author Robert __ Butler : OLEN - Prize winner

13. Rat : FINK

14. Nuts are rich in them : FATS - this is where i got my first toe-hold, and finished the NE corner, inspired me to carry on

22. 1996 Cruise title role : MAGUIRE - Also from '96 was Ethan Hunt, Mission Impossible, but it didn't fit; SAMURAI did, but that was from "The Last Samurai", 2003

23. Provokes : STIRS UP

24. Brewery sugar : MALTOSE - so it actually helped that I brewed my own beer in college - and man, that stuff was strong ~!

25. Decorator's suggestion : AREA RUG - was on the wavelength, tried ART _ _ to start

26. Mottled horse : PINTO - since ARAB and ROAN wouldn't stretch - maybe an AROAN?

27. "Boring" : SNORE - "Snore ~!" - I had ENNUI to start

28. Not just squabbling : AT WAR

31. Out of the way : ASIDE

32. Red head : LENIN - I had HENNA here, but knew it was a lead-in to "red", as in communist Russia, and ask me about my "Vladimir" story....

33. Statehouse official: Abbr. : LT. GOV - Lieutenant Governor, like here in NY -David Paterson rose to the first seat after Elliot Spitzer wound up in the hot seat....

35. First name in objectivism : AYN - AYN Rand, of the "Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" books - nailed it.

36. It's made by one who doesn't go out : BET - not sure I get this

37. Jamaican genre : SKA - since REGGAE didn't fit

44. Xylophone sound : PLINK - when the answer's blank, a Xylophone can make a whole lot of sounds

46. Liquid lye brand : DRANO

47. Pioneer Day month, in Utah : JULY - only two choices, right?  June, and July - I guessed wrong

48. "Watermark" musician : ENYA - got it

49. Watery : THIN

51. Romance novelist Johansen : IRIS

52. Excel fodder : DATA - Excel, the Microsoft application software for compiling information into a spreadsheet

53. Netherworld flower : STYX - well, I seriously doubt there are fl-OW-ers in Hell.... Flow-ers = Things that flow.

55. Song from the same era as "Little Deuce Coupe" : GTO - the Beach Boys with "Little Deuce Coupe", and this number, from the days of my youth

56. Quite a stretch : EON - well, it's not "ages", right?

57. Oldie syllable : SHA - as in SHA-NA-NA

58. Retail store opening? : WAL - Wal-mart, the super chain - I don't shop there - I won't go near the place....

Answer grid.

Thanks, and we'll see you next week - Same Spy Time, same Spy Channel

Splynter