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