A THEMELESS SAINT PATRICK'S DAY SATURDAY WITH ALAN OLSCHWANG
Another worthy Saturday puzzle! I fell for the bait and switch mode as the entire top tier fell easily after which I found I was in for a real fight. The triple stack of grid spanners was very impressive and helpful. I was so proud I got 39. Event on a fall highlight reel : INTERCEPTED PASS with
I _ T _ _ _ _ P _ _ D P _ A _.
Interestingly, those spanners made for a disproportionate number of Down clues as the 45 cells of the spanners didn't leave room for the usual number of horizontal entries.Here is an interview in 2009 with Alan conducted by C.C. where he reveals he is a retired lawyer who developed his love of crosswords by watching his Dad do them in ink so he, of course, eschews using a pencil.
I hope this St. Patty's Day finds you in fine fettle and that you got the same pleasure out of the puzzle that I did!
Let's start with the wonderful stacked grid spanners:
29. Hose : PAIR OF STOCKINGS - Each Radio City Rockette here is sporting a lovely PAIR OF STOCKINGS!
38. "Mom," e.g. : SITUATION COMEDY - Of all the SITUATION COMEDIES available, Alan chose this one
39. Event on a fall highlight reel : INTERCEPTED PASS - Some think this Malcom Butler INTERCEPTED PASS was the most important of all time as it won Super Bowl XLIX (I'm not sure why 49 is not IL). Some also say it was the dumbest play call in history.
Here's the balance of the former barrister's clues
Across
1. Surfers' banes : WIPEOUTS - Talk about spectacular!
9. Figures in Spanish skating : OCHOS - Figure 8's. Cool cluing!
14. Caught : IN A SNARE
15. Concord, for one : GRAPE - Not a PLANE as it turns out
16. NBC slogan that covered "Hill Street Blues," among others : MUST SEE TV - When I watched this scene from Hill Street my jaw dropped when Belker delivered this "best ever TV line" starting at 1:00. Worth the wait!
18. Took on cargo : LADED
19. Orchestra area : PIT
20. Some functionally limited applications : SHAREWARE - SHAREWARE all kids were playing in the late 70's - Lemonade Stand
22. WWII camp : STALAG - Some thought Hogan's Heroes about STALAG 13 came out too soon after WWII
26. Feature of some lights : LESS TAR
27. NL West team : ARI - ARIZONA Diamondbacks
28. Wee : SMA - Here is SMA in a Burns stanza with an explanation I truly needed!
40. Zebra kin : ASS - Speaking of kin that are ASSES...
41. "Blueberries for __": kids' book awarded a 1949 Caldecott Honor : SAL - Last Saturday SAL was the name Jack Kerouac took for himself in On The Road.
42. Newsletter editor's filler : CLIP ART - My first, although limited, access to images for my files
47. Has an online chat with : SKYPES - We SKYPED our granddaughter in Grenoble, France last year. That sill amazes me!
51. Like evil villains : REDUNDANT - e.g. Absolutely essential, Fewer in number...
54. Skeletal start? : EXO - Great lobster meat lies beneath one which requires a nutcracker to break through
55. Sluggish : INERT
56. One who's not at all graceful : SORE LOSER
60. Put on : STAGE - The idiocy of people who believe this astounds me!
61. Popular Canadian beer : LAKEPORT - New to me
62. Opposite ends : POLES
63. License requirements, perhaps : EYE TESTS - It took about 15 seconds for me last year. Not what you would call an exhaustive process
Down
1. Timid types : WIMPS
2. Arctic inhabitant : INUIT
3. Ristorante regular? : PASTA
4. World-record finish? : EST - The margins of victory for Usain Bolt, the FASTEST man in the world, in successive Olympics
5. Switch statuses : ONS - Switches have ONS and OFFS I guess. C.C. would call this "gluey fill" as it is less than desirable but is necessary to hold the puzzle together
6. Gulf states fed. : UAE - United Arab Emirates
7. Tijuana trio : TRES - Por favor, dénos TRES margaritas (Please give us three margaritas)
8. Newborn mentioned in Genesis 4:25 : SETH - Said to have been born after the death of his brother Abel
9. Gives more than the once-over : OGLES
10. Crows' crops : CRAWS - Like this gull, a crow has a Crop or CRAW where excess food is stored for later digestion or feeding young
11. Attacked : HAD AT
12. Work often with subtitles : OPERA - Andrea Bocelli singing my favorite aria with Italian and English subtitles
13. Where the same questions are asked annually : SEDER - A ritual Jewish passover feast held on the 15th of Nisan
17. 1989 Firth/Bening movie : VALMONT21. Log onto after a crash, say : REACCESS - Computer speak
23. "CSI: Miami" actress Eva : LARUE - Did Lash have grandchildren? 😏
24. Like the arena after the home team's winning goal : AROAR - Our old friend Marty hated the "A words"
25. Present with many options : GIFT CARD
28. Timetable listings : STOPS - If you take the Red Line north from downtown Chicago on the day of a Cub baseball game, it is very obvious where the STOP is to get off to go see the game!
30. River to the Rhone : AIN - Europe seems full of rivers that are full of water and vowels
31. Former comm. giant : ITT
32. Shuteye sessions : SIESTAS
33. Brownie maker : KODAK - The camera of my ute!
34. Suggest : IMPLY
35. "Great Public Schools for Every Student" org. : NEA
36. Whse. filler : GDS - Hey, those are my initials as well as an abbr. for GOODS
37. __ admin : SYS SYStem Administrator
42. Like fresh lettuce : CRISP
43. Slow tempo : LENTO - Not LARGO I guess
44. As good as it gets : IDEAL - Don't let IDEAL get in the way of possible
45. Completely cleanse : PURGE - His name is synonymous with that word to me46. Asks for a hand? : ANTES - Ya gotta pay to play!
48. Monterrey jack : PESOS - Ah the euphemisms for money
49. Apply : EXERT
50. Gets ready to file : SORTS
52. NCAA 'Cane's rival : NOLE - The Seminole Nation Of Florida fully supports the use of SEMINOLE as Florida State's athletic nickname. Below tribe members are shown with the FSU homecoming king and queen
53. Airplane platform? : TRAY
57. Supplement, with "out" : EKE
58. Give leave : LET - I give you leave to comment on Alan's fine puzzle
59. "... thus wide I'll __ my arms": "Hamlet" : OPE - So spoke Laertes
DA GRID
What say you?
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