Saturday Dec 9, 2017 Craig Stowe

Theme: None - LAT Saturdays are always theme-less, though occasionally we have a mini-theme, two phrases are placed in symmetrical spots.

Words: 66 - Pretty low. 70-72 are our norm. Just FYI, the lowest ever themeless word count is 50  (NYT by Joe Krozel).

Blocks: 28 - Average. The lowest is 17 for a themeless (Again, NYT by Joe Krozel.) Neat right?

C.C. here. Yeah, I'm surprised to find myself here also.

Today is a typical themeless, total twelve 9's, with triple-stacks on top and bottom, and two double 9's on Down, crossing by another pair of 9's: 31A and 37A, both important connective tissues.

I myself have never made a 66-word. 68 is my lowest. Craig might have started with a 64. The black squares after MONTE (27A) and before MAINE (42A) might not have existed when he first designed the grid.

 

Across:

1. Arctic Winter Games gear : SNOWSHOES. Yes, PK, white stuff on our ground. 15F as I'm writing this post. We're having January-like weather.

10. Follows a cookbook direction : WHIPS

15. Apparent : EASY TO SEE. Also 31. Apparent : OSTENSIVE. I only know OSTENSIBLE.

16. Red River city : HANOI

17. Nomadic : ITINERANT

18. Pertaining to : AS FOR

19. Nucor and POSCO, industry-wise : STEELS. Wiki says Nucor is the largest steel producer in the US and POSCO is a steel company based in South Korea. Alas, I know neither.

20. Steak __ : TARTARE

22. Fragrant shrubs : MYRTLES. Must be how Myrtle Beach got its name.

24. Stretches out : EXTENDS

25. Try : TASTE

27. Con game : MONTE

28. Longtime foe of Rafael : ROGER (Federer)

34. Commotion : ADO

35. Rap sheet entry, perhaps : ARSON

36. Jar head? : LID. Nice clue.

37. Available employment : JOB MARKET. Senator vacancy here in MN.

40. Songwriter Green : CEELO

42. New Brunswick neighbor : MAINE

43. Propellant in ion thrusters : XENON

45. Patellar and Achilles : TENDONS

47. Hired help : SERVANT. In Hong Kong, many family have Amahs, who are mostly from the

Philippines.

51. Popular blend of seasoning : ITALIAN

52. Small 1-Down : TREMOR. OK. 1. Quake : SEISM. Jayce's expertise.

53. Ulyanov's alias : LENIN. Holy smokes! I always thought Lenin is his real name. This poster was everywhere when I grew up. 

54. Unyielding : OBSTINATE

57. Player selection process : DRAFT

58. Browbeats : BULLDOZES

59. Long-eared critters : ASSES

60. Party decorations : STREAMERS

Down:

2. Like some dressers : NATTY

3. Flexible wood : OSIER. Learned from doing crosswords.

4. 1998 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee : WYNETTE (Tammy). Only know her "Stand By
Your Man".

5. Finer than fine : STELLAR. Been enjoying Picard's pictures. These Amazon ones are lovely.

6. Fools (around) : HORSES

7. Baja bear : OSA

8. Poetic contraction : E'EN

9. Roman numeral : SETTE. Followed by D-less Otto.

10. Penn's business school : WHARTON

11. Moves quickly : HASTENS

12. Childish : INFANTILE

13. Unfortunate one : POOR DEVIL. New phrase to me.

14. Many retired Kentucky Derby winners : SIRES

21. Forestry workers : AX MEN

23. Flier that delivers? : STORK. Babies.

26. County in four Northeast states : ESSEX

28. Indian filmmaker Kapoor : RAJ. Another learning moment. Wiki says he's also known as "the
greatest showman of Indian cinema".

29. Devices used on trips : ODOMETERS

30. Freak out : GO BANANAS. Another sparkling fill.
 

32. Lugs : TOTES

33. Old Tokyo : EDO

 
35. Air Canada Centre, e.g. : ARENA

38. __ crisis : MIDLIFE. Ahh, both Splynter and I have entered that age range.

39. Consecrates, in a way : ANOINTS

40. Bullfight : CORRIDA

41. "Did Hamlet so __ with his envy ... ": Shakespeare : ENVENOM. Our Ol' Man Keith'e milieu.

44. Aggravate : NETTLE

45. Alternative nickname to Mattie, perhaps : TILDA. Stumped me. They sound so different.

46. Hardly humble sorts : SNOBS

48. Knock over : AMAZE

49. Observant one : NOTER. Gluey entry. Much needed in a low-count grid.

50. Barrette target : TRESS

55. "__ I digress" : BUT

56. Type of camera, briefly : SLR

I'm sad to tell you that Splynter (Richard Monsaythe) has decided to leave our blogging team. He's been guiding us since March 2011, missing only two Saturdays when he was sick. 

I was stunned by his decision. Then I read his his last write-up again and again. Sad that I did not catch his hints last Saturday.

Splynter has a wide-ranging interests, from film-making to game design to wood-working. He's very creative, resourceful and subtle. I'm glad we had the chance to get to know him and enjoy his work and creativity for six and a half years.

Thank you so much for your hard work, Splynter, please stay in touch and check in with us from time to time. We'd love to know more about your job, hobbies and life in general.

Splynter the Saturday Stud

At the same time, I'm also happy to inform you that the incomparable Husker Gary has agreed to take up the Saturday helm. He'll be our guide starting Dec 16th, 2017.

Gary and Joann

Happy Birthday to Hahtoolah (Susan), who's been with our blog since 2009. She never comes to our blog without an thought-provoking quote. And her quotes are never random. She's amazingly thoughtful and observant.