Words: 70 (missing Q)
Blocks: 33
This was one of those
deceptive grids with the double 10-letter answers hiding inside of the
edges of the puzzle and in the downs through the middle. I must admit, I
had to Google to get a hold in the NW. Yesterday it was 86° on Long Island -
UPS was brutal, as well as doing construction outdoors that afternoon;
then staying out late for a BBQ at Mike's made it hard for me to see
some of the more obvious answers....oh well. One from each section:
17. Cesar Millan, e.g. : PET TRAINER - DAH~!!! I had PETT----, and figured it was Petty 'something', and finally caved in to looking this guy up
57. Dunkin' Donuts order : ONION BAGEL
- Fridays at UPS they get a platter of bagels for the drivers - so I
conveniently punch out in the office and swipe me an everything bagel
with cream cheese
10. Desert plant named for a Biblical spy : JOSHUA TREE - Music link #1; a commentary on the album, and I like what Bono has to say at 1:51 - and the song itself
27. Top-10 Lady Gaga hit from "The Fame Monster" album : BAD ROMANCE - Music link #2 - but from her debut album "The Fame"
6. Noble : ARISTOCRAT - which is mirrored by 29D. Dude who totally lurks in the bushes : CREEPAZOID - which to me seems WAY out of Mr. Silk's regular fill
ACROSS:
1. Org. concerned with neglect : SPCA - Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - I got this, and always makes me feel good going in
5. Rivera specialty : SAVES - Baseball for C.C. - Mariano, and I will leave it to her for the details (From C.C.: Greatest closer ever! He's the only one who still wears #42 jersey.)
10. Group led by a council of 12 Masters : JEDI - It wasn't until I had the "I" that the V-8 can came sailing across the room....
14. Dart : FLIT - wasn't sure, but I filled it in right away
15. Restrict : CRAMP - and clecho 45A. Restricts : STEMS
16. Team members : OXEN - D'oh~!! I put in an "S" at the end, since, well, it's plural, right~!!?!?
19. Kebab need : SPIT
20. Child care option : DAY NURSERY
21. "Too great a burden to bear": M.L. King Jr. : HATE - Total WAG
22. Spends time at home : BATS - more baseball, but this one didn't fool me
23. Synthetic rubber used in footballs : BUTYL
24. Spoiler of a perfect GPA : ONE B
28. Northwestern winter fruit : BOSC PEAR - I WAGed "SNOW", since I am from the NorthEAST....
31. Foot-related : PODAL
33. Acoustically, it affects treble but not bass : CARPETING
36. Indian clay oven : TANDOOR
38. Officer Poncherello portrayer of '70s-'80s TV : ESTRADA - I grew up with "CHiPs"
39. Programs with previews : SHAREWARE
41. Lay into : SET AT
42. Wade Boggs book subtitled "My Favorite Chicken Recipes" : FOWL TIPS - HAR-HAR~! It is quite funny, actually - and more baseball - C.C., have you heard this story? (From C.C.: What story? Boggs ate chicken before every single game.) (From Splynter: that's the one~!)
44. Alarm sounds : EEKS
47. Shell with fish, perhaps : TACO - oh, now I get it
49. Mother of Hephaestus : HERA
50. Rhythmic fitness routine : JAZZERCISE
56. 10- or 13-digit ID : ISBN - Not SSN, and not your cell phone #, either
58. TVA product : ELECtricity
59. Had to accept the loss : ATE IT
60. Ticket word : LOGE - dah~! Not TIER
61. Skate on thin ice : DARE
62. Square figures : NERDS
63. Native to : FROM
DOWN:
1. Its HQ was once destroyed as the result of an earthquake : SFPD - The San Francisco Police Department, in the "great" one of 1906
2. Bargaining focus : PLEA
3. Map listing : CITY
4. Fax abbr. : ATTN
5. Ancient amulet : SCARAB
7. Genus of butterfly that includes the Red Admiral : VANESSA - John Lampkin nailed this one
8. Urgent care abbr. : EMERgency
9. Active : SPRY
11. One likely to vote by absentee ballot : EXPATRIATE
12. Krishna, for one : DEITY
13. Surveillance product, briefly : INTELligence
18. Difficulty : RUB - Shakespeare appears later, too; "Aye, there's the RUB"
23. Sugar sources : BEETS
24. Goes (for) : OPTS
25. Ham kin : NOAH - Son and father
26. 1925 Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist : EDNA FERBER - full name for Saturday
30. Ltr. extender : PPS - post-post script
32. Former MGM parent : LOEWS
34. Flickertail St. : N. DAKota - More here
35. Heaters : GATS - Guns, in slang; funny, but I was thinking "fastball"
37. Wide-faced bird : OWL
40. More chic : RITZIER
43. Essences : SCENTS
45. Backed (away) : SHIED
46. Magnetic induction unit : TESLA
48. "... the inconstant moon ... that monthly changes in her circled __": Juliet : ORB
50. Actress Cusack : JOAN
51. Initial payment : ANTE
52. Baby elephant : CALF
53. Classic name heard in the 1962 hit "Monster Mash" : IGOR - I'll leave music #3 to you~!
54. Utah lily : SEGO
55. I, O or U : ELEMent - Iodine, Oxygen, and Uranium
Splynter
