SATURDAY, February 6, 2010—Barry C. Silk

THEME: No theme today—It's a themeless/freestyle puzzle

It's late Friday night and I'm sleepy, so let's get right down to it.

No, 29A: ["Sands of Iwo Jima" director Allan] DWAN is not all that famous. If you did not know this name, you aren't alone.

Highlights:

• 8A: [Milky Way cousin] (MARS BAR). Our Milky Way bar is called a Mars bar in other countries, and what used to be our Mars bar became the Snickers Almond. One of my most favoritest candy bars!
• 36A: [Phase in which the moon's right half is mostly visible in the Northern Hemisphere] (WAXING GIBBOUS). This is by far the grooviest of all moon-related terms.
• 38A: ["Franny and Zooey" author] (SALINGER). Oh, how timely, as J.D. Salinger just passed away.
• 47A: [Genre of the 1963 hit "Wipe Out"] (SURF). The Surfaris!

• 8D: [Luxury car with a trident emblem] (MASERATI). Anyone in my generation thinks of Joe Walsh when they hear the word "Maserati."

• 12D: [Leader played by Rod Steiger in the 1981 Libyan film "Lion of the Desert"] (BENITO MUSSOLINI). Wow, who knew there could be an '80s movie clue for BENITO MUSSOLINI?
• 37D: [2008 Steve Carell film based on a '60s sitcom] (GET SMART). My kid enjoyed the movie.

Crosswordese 101: Ah, long-form crosswordese! Today we have the classic crossword answer IMARETS, or 17A: Turkish travel shelters. Typical clues for the IMARET start with Turkish or Istanbul and end with hostel, inn, or hospice. Halfway rhymes with minaret.

See you Wednesday.

Everything Else — 1A: Where some colonies are studied (ANT FARM); 8A: Milky Way cousin (MARS BAR); 15A: "Ditto" ("SO HAVE I"); 16A: Eisenhower library site (ABILENE); 17A: Turkish travel shelters (IMARETS); 18A: Año's 52 (SEMANAS); 19A: Final touch on a letter? (DOT); 20A: Stretched (CRANED); 22A: Weaken (WILT); 23A: While beginning (ERST); 25A: River to the Baltic (ODER); 26A: TV host Pennington et al. (TYS); 27A: Mail-order pioneer (SEARS); 29A: "Sands of Iwo Jima" director Allan (DWAN); 31A: Creep (BOZO); 32A: Word with bar or god (TIKI); 34A: Carnegie associates (STEELMEN); 36A: Phase in which the moon's right half is mostly visible in the Northern Hemisphere (WAXING GIBBOUS); 38A: "Franny and Zooey" author (SALINGER); 39A: Scraps (ROWS); 40A: Energy company founder Halliburton (ERLE); 41A: Initial step, metaphorically (A TO B); 43A: Passover month (NISAN); 46A: Old Eastern capital (EDO); 47A: Genre of the 1963 hit "Wipe Out" (SURF); 49A: Extent of damage (TOLL); 50A: Hair line? (PART); 52A: Auto debut of 1958 (IMPALA); 54A: Practiced profession (LAW); 55A: Pyrenees republic (ANDORRA); 57A: Cold War link (HOTLINE); 59A: Emblem of power (SCEPTER); 60A: "Honey, I Blew Up the Kid" star (MORANIS); 61A: Most clipped (TERSEST); 62A: T.E. Lawrence, for one (ARABIST); 1D: Spoken thoughts, in a way (ASIDES); 2D: "Enough!" ("NO MORE!"); 3D: "You may be asking too much" ("THAT'S A TALL ORDER"); 4D: Successful way to go? (FAR); 5D: Paris preposition (AVEC); 6D: In again (RETRO); 7D: Get a wrong number (MISADD); 8D: Luxury car with a trident emblem (MASERATI); 9D: Retired (ABED); 10D: Volcano part (RIM); 11D: Potluck dish (SLAW); 12D: Leader played by Rod Steiger in the 1981 Libyan film "Lion of the Desert" (BENITO MUSSOLINI); 13D: Breaks down (ANALYZES); 14D: Leans against, perhaps (RESTS ON); 21D: Usenet message repository (NEWS GROUP); 24D: "The Honeymooners" role (TRIXIE); 28D: Pelt (SKIN); 30D: First st. to join the Union after the end of the Civil War (NEBR.); 31D: Mess up (BLOW IT); 33D: Co-worker of Igor and Frau Bl¸cher in "Young Frankenstein" (INGA); 35D: Dark, in verse (EBON); 36D: Pre-combat ritual (WAR DANCE); 37D: 2008 Steve Carell film based on a '60s sitcom (GET SMART); 38D: Overlook, as a fault (SEE PAST); 42D: Hindu god of creation (BRAHMA); 44D: Self-titled 1991 debut album (ALANIS); 45D: Padres' div. (NL WEST); 48D: Stun (FLOOR); 51D: Lids (TOPS); 52D: Gets hot (IRES); 53D: Popular blade (ATRA); 56D: U.S. 101, for one (RTE.); 58D: Research facility (LAB).