Saturday, July 2, 2011 Barry Silk

Theme: None

Words: 72

Blocks: 31

Hey~!

 We start off the holiday weekend with a Saturday Silk, two triple stacks of 10 in the NW and SE.  Lots of entertainment clues, most before MY time....Not a tough one, but I did have to check red-letter for my first guess at 9D.  Oh well.  6 "Z"s, but no 59D - missing the "Q-U"

Let's go to the video tape ~!

 Splynter

ACROSS:

1. Extraterrestrial factor in creating much of Earth's carbon-14 : COSMIC RAYS - first thoughts were SOLAR FLARE or COMET/METEOR something....

11. '90s TV toon therapist : KATZ - Dr. Katz - this was on Comedy Central, but I couldn't watch because of the annoying jittery animation, described here

15. "The Defense Never Rests" co-author : F. LEE BAILEY - I defer to others

16. You may bid on it : EBAY

17. Circulation aid : CEILING FAN - good answer, I just installed two.

18. Five-time Wimbledon winner : BORG - Bjorn, of Sweden

19. American Fur Company founder : ASTOR

20. Firenze field : CAMPO - hey, thanks to yesterday, this one was a gimme ~!

21. "__ to Canaan": Carole King hit : BEEN - tried "ROAD" to start

24. Harris trickster : BR'ER RABBIT - a contraction of "brother", he's a character of folklore with more here

27. Sin tax, e.g. : EXCISE

29. Take-charge type : DOer

30. __ Genevieve: Missouri county or its seat : STE

31. __-ovo-vegetarian : LACTO - a guess, and I surmise that this is a person who is OK with consuming milk and eggs

32. Cry of delight : YOWZAH - last word heard here (warning: lyrical content~!).  Fun to sing and play; tough solo

34. Low life? : AMOEBAE - yes, a play on the plural, like I had before; this time, the Latin plural for our one-celled organisms

36. Remote drivers? : AA CELLS - AA batteries for one's TV remote - got this one with a smile - thinking about a similar answer in a puzzle of my own....

40. Attached, as some decals : SEWN ON - meh, but I guess if it read "patches" instead of decals, it'd be a gimme.  I tried IRON ON to start

 

42. Certain elephant : ASIAN - funny, but I couldn't get Indian or African to fit....

43. Dander : IRE

46. Pro __ : RATA

47. Miss Hungary of 1936, familiarly : ZSA-ZSA - our cop-slapping drunk driver - here

48. Where Massenet's "Don Quichotte" premiered : MONTE CARLO

51. Grate : RASP

52. Obscured : HAZED

53. Edge : SIDLE

55. Desert antelope : ORYX - image

56. Insolvent bailout beneficiary : ZOMBIE BANK - today's learning moment for me; based on the way things are after the $700B bailout of '08, I would prefer my "cut" of $22,000.

61. Michelle Phillips was one in the '60s : MAMA -of the Mamas & Papas

62. Man in the street : AVERAGE JOE - I could do without this guy's 15mins of fame in the next presidential election....but a shout out to one of our new members~!

63. Hot times in 48-Across : ETES - not gonna say it....

64. Coconut-flavored cocktail : PI�A COLADA - gettin' caught in the rain....

DOWN:

1. Ozone-threatening compound : CFC - ChloroFluoroCarbon - here

2. Word of support : OLE~!!!

3. Half of dodici : SEI - Italian for 12 and 6 - it filled itself in via perps

4. Black garnets : MELANITES - image

5. Spoonbill's cousin : IBIS

6. "No way!" : CAN'T BE

7. Inflexibility : RIGOR

8. Served with a creamy cheese sauce : ALFREDO

9. Word of support : YEA - I had "PRO" to start, and it wasn't working for me - "FOR" was not much better; considered "BRA".

10. Lexicon abbr. : SYNonym

11. Word from the Turkish for "roasted meat" : KEBAB

12. Subj. of Cold War tests : A-BOMBS

13. Asphalt trap : TARPIT

14. Fallopian tube traveler : ZYGOTE - that is, coming down....

20. Bol�var's birthplace : CARACAS - map - Simon Bolivar

21. Coach of Nadia and Mary Lou : BELA - too 52A for me - I just know these were two Olympian gymnasts.

22. Physical, e.g. : EXAM

23. Danish shoe brand : ECCO

25. Martin's partner : ROWAN - Rowan & Martins' Laugh-in, which I saw in reruns as a kid, and where I learned about Arte Johnson - lots of famous people, including 47A

26. Iran's Mohammad Shah __ Pahlavi : REZA - um, OK, sure...

28. Dried out, with "up" : SOBERED - I "dried out" 2,365 days ago

32. Busybody : YENTA

33. 1962 chart topper whose title subject "doesn't do what everybody else does" : HE'S A REBEL - someone else might appreciate this more than I do

35. "Never Wave at __": 1952 film : A WAC - WAAAY before my time

37. "__ With a 'Z'": 1972 TV special : LIZA - again, WAAAY before my time - I WAGed it when the Z showed up

38. Miss : LASS

39. Breeze : SNAP - as in "that was a _"

41. Crew members : OARSMEN - SAILORS fit, too

43. Arrival announcement : I'M HOME

44. Find very funny : ROAR AT

45. Catalytic protein : ENZYME

47. Group of signs : ZODIAC - nailed it.  How's your life now that there are 13 signs?  I actually had to "switch" to Capricorn from Aquarius - it's OK, it's a more manly sign, anyway.

49. Gulf state : TEXAS

50. 47-Down member : LIBRA - my younger brother is one

54. Block brand : LEGO - loved this toy as a kid - still have it all in my closet

56. Reheat, in a way : ZAP - we say "Nuke" in my house

57. Duct opening? : OVI - I had VIA to start; any relation to the Zygote?

58. Grammy-winning Steely Dan album : AJA - I like old Steely Dan; the new stuff, not so much

59. Doze : NOD - NAP fit, too.

60. Mauna __ : KEA - OK, so did you go with LOA or KEA to start?

Answer grid.

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

Saturday, May 21, 2011 Barry Silk

Theme: None

Words: 72

Blocks: 28

Good doomsday to all ~! Personally, I am waiting on December 21st, 2012 - as our constructor notes in 37D. -

Dark clouds, to some : ILL OMENS

Another Saturday Silk - the man is a monster - I have about 10 puzzles I am trying to complete for submission for publishing, and I am struggling with the more complex grids - and Mr. Silk just pounds them out, in my opinion. 

ACROSS:

1. Unhappy fans, in slang : BOO BIRDS - Good NHL semi-finals, the fans in Tampa Bay were not happy with their Bolts, shut-out at home last game - lots of Boos

9. Dinar spenders : IRAQIs - I had Iranis to start; see 9D.

15. Encroachment : INVASION

16. Scraps : REFUSE - the noun; REH - fuse

17. Cruel woman : SHE-DEVIL - Blue �yster Cult's "Sinful Love"; it's in the chorus

18. Cheerios' cousins : ADIEUX - French, plural, and I nailed it - HA~!

19. Poitier title role : SIR - "To SIR, with love", 1967

20. Sargasso Sea spawner : EEL - I did not know this, but the perps did

21. Hunter, at times : SNARER

22. "The Little Mermaid" prince : ERIC - Loved the movie, couldn't remember him

24. Clancy hero : RYAN - and our first reference to a Harrison Ford role, along with Alec Baldwin, playing Jack Ryan, from Tom Clancy's "spy/CIA" novels

26. Principle : TENET

28. Four-note chord : TETRAD - shoulda known this; as a guitarist, I play a lot of diads and triads (much of Van Halen); actually, four notes on a guitar is a bit hard - it means skipping strings, and it's not that easy; here's the major chord standard patterns; B and D are tetrads, the X's are strings you don't strum, O's you do

30. Investment company T. __ Price : ROWE - was stuck on "BONE" for a bit

32. Dating letters : BCE - Dating, as history - Before Common Era; more here

33. 160 square rods : ONE ACRE - a rod is 5.5 yards

35. Ugly : MEAN

36. Centennial debut of 1909 : LINCOLN HEAD CENT- seed entry?

40. Downwind : ALEE

41. Sunbeam product : TOASTER

42. Nth: Abbr. : ULTimate

43. Bird suborder that includes gulls and terns : LARI - perps again for me

44. Prom queen's concern : HAIRDO - and; 53. High-profile 44-Across : MOHAWK; image

48. Divine, in a way : DOWSE - as in divining rods, fooled me at first; for finding a water source.

50. Summit : ACME - image

52. Shade of red : BEET

55. Title object of a 1981 film quest : ARK - Harrison Ford #2 - this might be my all-time favorite movie, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" - great scene

57. Rubble creator : TNT - I wonder if Mr. Silk was going for a Flintstones misdirection - Barney Rubble?

58. Fine wool : MERINO

59. Polish : SIMONIZE - both my vehicles desperately need to be washed and waxed

61. Observation while passing the buck : ANTLER - oh, very good, sir ~! "HEY!, nice rack~!"

62. Jason, for one : SEAFARER - Jason and the Argonauts, pursuing the Golden Fleece

63. On the beach : ASHORE

64. One of only three golfers who briefly kept Tiger Woods out of the World #1 spot between 1/11/1998 and 10/30/2010 : ERNIE ELS - Mr. Els makes a lot of puzzles - he's got a good arrangement of letters there

 DOWN:

1. "The Deep" co-star : BISSET - and in respect to 61A, here's Jacqueline~!

2. Available, in a way : ON HIRE - meh, FOR sounds better

3. Ready to move on : OVER IT - ah, I was looking for an "INVASION"-type answer, 'MOVE on', instead of  'move ON'

4. Sinister : BAD

5. "Of course" : I SEE

6. Mouth formation : RIVER DELTA - nailed it; started with the downs, too - image

7. Decoration under a bowl : DOILY - that lacy circle

8. Oct. 1975 TV debut : SNL - Saturday Night Live - if it's 1975 and TV, it's probably something related to this comedy sketch show

9. Modern-day theocracy : IRAN - and the "other" I-R-A_ answer

10. Make an archaeological adjustment to : RE-DATE - sort of a clecho to 32A

11. Hot : AFIRE - "A" answer

12. Colonial leader : QUEEN BEE - in the hive; a colony of bees; thought it was ants

13. "Glad to do it!" : I SURE CAN - can I blog this Saturday?  "I sure CAN~!"

14. Word with appeal or change : SEX  sex appeal, sex change - yes on one, no on the other....

21. They may wake you up : SNORES

23. "I Got a Name" singer : CROCE - Jim

25. Very old : ARCHAIC - Ancient fit at first....

27. Big top, e.g. : TENT

29. Year in Mexico : ANO

31. One concerned with clemency : WEATHERMAN - I had a high school buddy who wanted to be the TV weatherman since he was a kid - on the tube in VA today.

34. Arctic jacket : ANORAK - the Wiki

35. Fast-food pork sandwich : McRIB - for all the hype surrounding it's limited release, I have nver had one

36. Glorify : LAUD

38. Financial planning yardstick : NET WORTH

39. Traffic controller, briefly : DEA - Drug Enforcement Agent - that kind of traffic

43. One resting against a stake : LEANER - a horseshoe game reference, and I love to play - worth two points; the other winning shot is the ringer, worth three

45. Turn in : RETIRE

46. Washington of "Glory" : DENZEL

47. River rompers : OTTERS

49. 1970 Neil Diamond hit : SHILO

51. Gold medalist skier Hermann : MAIER - all perps on this one

54. Passed slowly, with "on" : WORE

56. First name in diplomacy : KOFI - Annan, United Nations

58. Barnyard bleat : MAA - also my house growing up..."Maaaa, where's my sneakers?"

59. Vane dir. : SSE

60. Clydebank contradiction : NAE - Clydebank, in Scotland - only geography for the day, up next to Glasgow, and the birthplace of some famous ships, including the QEII

Answer grid.

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

I'm pleased to announce that Splynter (Richie) will blog all Saturday puzzles from now on. As you can see, he loves guitar and hockey. He is also an aspiring constructor and I can't wait to see his debut. I bet it'll be French free.