Thursday, October 31st 2019 David Alfred Bywaters

Theme: Tricky Treats - Five punny theme entries in keeping with tonight's scare-fest:

18A. Halloween feeling in a warren?: RABBIT FEARS. Rabbit ears. I thought these antennae had gone the way of the dodo, but recently people who are jettisoning cable TV are using digital antennae to pick up the local free-to-air stations.

24A. Halloween feeling near a water supply?: WELL DREAD. Well-read loses its hyphen for the theme entry.

39A. Halloween feeling in the office?: CLERICAL TERRORS. Clerks make clerical errors. Fire-and-brimstone-preaching priests are clerical terrors with their Sunday sermons.

54A. Halloween feeling in the yard?: LAWN SCARE. The lawns around here are scary, my neighborhood goes all-in at Hallowe'en. They're generally pretty cared-for too, so that's a two-fer for me today.

62A. Halloween feeling in the loo?: FLUSH FRIGHT. Flush right, otherwise known as right-justified, in typographic alignment terms (in case you were wondering as I was!)

Fright-night theme from David today, and he didn't scare us too badly with terrible puns (an occupational hazard as a crossword constructor!) I thought this was fun, once I tumbled to the theme it was entertaining finding the others. A quick solve for me for a Thursday, and not a lot to make me POUT. Let's find and go seek ....

Across:

1. Spot for a salt scrub: SPA ... where you will doubtless be exposed to the aroma of ...

4. Aromatic evergreen: BALSAM

10. Wind with nearly a three-octave range: OBOE. I know pretty much nothing about orchestral woodwind instruments, but it's the only four-letter one, so not a tough fill no matter how you clue it. Its cousin is the English Horn, which isn't English, and isn't a horn. Makes sense, right?

14. Fresh from the oven: HOT

15. Collection of hives: APIARY. A honey farm, if you will.

16. Sullen look: POUT

17. Track: RUT

20. Buffalo lake: ERIE

22. Like the vb. "go": IRR. Irregular. It seems like most verbs in the English language are irregular.

23. Belly laugh syllable: HAR. I don't think I belly laugh. I chuckle mostly, and I have cried laughing which mostly involves snorting when you can draw breath. I'm not sure how you spell a chuckle or a snort-laugh.

27. Valleys: DALES

31. "Take Care" Grammy winner: DRAKE.  A very melodic rapper is Drake. Here's the "Take Care" video, featuring Rihanna, from 2012. 300 million+ views on YouTube.

32. "We've waited long enough": IT'S TIME

34. Bebe's "Frasier" role: LILITH. Speaking of Grammy winners, what happened to the Lilith Fair?

38. Overlook: OMIT

44. Enjoy privileged status: RATE

45. Poise: APLOMB

46. It may get the ball rolling: INCLINE. Or the car, which is a lot less fun.

48. Trio in "To be, or not to be": IAMBS. This "Hamlet" snippet is an example of iambic trimeter, three iambs forming the line.

53. "Borstal Boy" author Brendan: BEHAN. This might be a little obscure for some; A youth member of the IRA, Behan was jailed at 16 after being arrested in possession of explosives while on a solo mission to bomb Liverpool docks. The "Borstals" were part of the system of youth detention centers in the UK. I re-read the book a few months ago after many years. The Borstal experience described seemed almost quaint compared to today.

58. Angel dust, initially: PCP. The street name for the hallucinogen phencyclidine. How do I know this? The movie "Trading Places" with Dan Ackroyd and Eddie Murphy. Honestly, officer.

60. "You wish, laddie!": NAE!

61. Put out: EMIT

67. Summer hrs. in Denver: MDT. There's a slow-burning move to abolish Daylight Savings time here in California. Prop Seven passed in 2018 to begin the process to allow law-makers to progress the initiative.

68. Stood: ROSE

69. Paparazzo's gear: CAMERA

70. Mature: AGE. The verb form.

71. Lumberjacks' tools: AXES. Ox, Oxen. Ax (or axe!) Axes. How the heck anyone learns English as a foreign language is beyond me.

72. Gave it more gas: SPED UP

73. Finch family creator: LEE. To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper.

Down:

1. Astute: SHREWD

2. Bartender, often: POURER

3. Fifth-century conqueror: ATTILA

4. Soap unit: BAR

5. Two (of): A PAIR

6. Cuba __: LIBRE. Rum, cola and a squeeze of lime. "Free Cuba" was the slogan of the Cuban independence movement in the Spanish-American war.

7. Brand of hummus and guacamole: SABRA. There's about a billion different flavors of hummus now. When I make it, I stick to the basics - garbanzo beans (dried, not canned), garlic, lemon juice and tahini, a pinch of cumin; I serve it drizzled with some olive oil and a sprinkling of ras el hanout, a Moroccan spice blend. I love hummus, when I make it it nets out at about 3 lbs a batch. Here's some that I made on Sunday. The green dab is zhoug, a middle-eastern blend of cilantro, chili and spices.

OK, let's get back to the crossword!

8. Actor Millen of "Orphan Black": ARI. Thank you, crosses.

9. Folk story: MYTH

10. Wheeler-dealer: OPERATOR

11. Feathery neckwear: BOA

12. CSNY's "__ House": OUR. Cute song written by Graham Nash while he was living with Joni Mitchell and later recorded by the band.

13. Many "Guardians of the Galaxy" characters: E.T.'S. I have to confess I have no idea how to punctuate plurals of acronyms which include periods. That's my best shot above.

19. Latest things: FADS

21. Rockies bugler: ELK. I didn't know that elk bugled, a learning moment for me today. The elk mating call is termed a "bugle". Who knew? Not me.

25. Sandwich source: DELI

26. "Same here": DITTO

28. Vehicle with a partition: LIMO

29. Mideast potentate: EMIR

30. Slowly sinks from the sky: SETS. When I visited Malawi in Africa, which is very close to the equator, the sun seemed to set in about five minutes flat.

33. Those folks: THEM

35. Confident words: I CAN

36. Suit part sometimes grabbed: LAPEL. I think you have to grab them both at the same time, right?

37. Unhealthy: ILL

39. Nursery piece: CRIB

40. Narrow way: LANE. We visited the famous lane in Liverpool a couple of years ago. Every road in England is narrow, even the new ones. Driving is a heck of a lot of fun when you have to choose between sideswiping the oncoming tour bus or scraping the wall (or the pedestrians!)

41. Engrave: ETCH

42. Backslides: RELAPSES

43. Hitting stat: RBI'S. Runs Batted In, now a word in itself, not necessarily an abbreviation.

47. Advance slowly: INCH

49. Big club: ACE. Handy when playing 51D.

50. Koala, for example: MAMMAL

51. Game based on whist: BRIDGE

52. Living room piece: SETTEE. Originally, the settee, couch and sofa where quite distinct items of furniture, but nowadays they've all come to mean the same thing. It used to be an indication of social class back in the UK (less so today) which word you used.

55. Japanese art genre: ANIME

56. Carried on: WAGED

57. Big name in Indian politics: NEHRU. The first Prime Minister of India following independence from the British in 1947.

59. Some GIs: PFC'S

62. Monk's address: FRA. "Fra" is sometimes thought to be an abbreviation - it's not - it's derived from the Italian for "brother". The monk and painter of the early renaissance, Fra Angelico, translates as "the angelic brother". Like any Italian renaissance artist worth his salt, he painted on the walls of the Vatican. It must have been difficult to find elbow room in there.

63. Cured salmon: LOX

64. Employ: USE

65. 31-Across genre: RAP

66. Covert information source: TAP. With fewer and fewer landlines, the wire tap is going virtual, eavesdropping on cellphone conversations and hacking into IP networks.

And with that, I'm tapping out! Stay safe this Hallowe'en, and be careful if you're driving after dusk, the kids don't stop to think when they run across the road to the next "Trick or Treat" target house.

Steve

Wednesday, October 30, 2019, Morton J. Mendelson

Theme: THE OUTER LIMITS

15 (rows) x 16 (columns) to accommodate the 16-letter theme answer STUCK ONE'S NECK OUT.

21. Risked it big-time: LIVED ON THE EDGE.

37. Risked it big-time: STUCK ONE'S NECK OUT.

55. Risked it big-time: WENT OUT ON A LIMB.

Across:

1. Gets misty, with "up": FOGS.

5. Salon treatment, briefly: PEDI. Never gets old.

9. Benjamins: C SPOTS. $100 dollar bills. The "C" refers to the Roman numeral for 100.

15. Curly coif: AFRO.

16. Popular river name from the Welsh for "river": AVON. Learning moment, I did not know the origin.

17. They're exchanged in Hawaii: ALOHAS.

18. Nonstick cookware product: T-FAL. This brand name is a portmanteau of the words TEFlon and ALuminium. I use cast iron cookware almost exclusively. Once it's seasoned there is no issue with sticking.

19. Religious season: LENT. Religious season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. It is a traditional time for fasting or giving something up or abstinence.

20. "Don't take the blame": DENY IT.

24. Cooler filler: ICE.

25. Chinese zodiac critter: RAT. 2019 is a year of the Pig, starting from February 5th 2019 and ending on January 24th 2020. 2020 will be a year of the Rat. 2018 was a year of the Dog.

26. Approximate nos.: ESTS.

27. MN and NM: STS. States - Minnesota and New Mexico.

30. Puts (in) tentatively: PENCILS. Who solves on paper? Pencil or pen?

32. Bad-mouth: DIS.

33. Word before bug or ant: FIRE.

34. Prov. bordering four Great Lakes: ONT. Ontario is bordered to the south by Great Lakes Superior, Huron, Erie & Ontario. 

35. Hairpiece: RUG.

36. Hazardous gas: RADON.

42. Parrots geese: HONKS. Had a hard time deciphering this clue.

43. Fill up on: EAT.

44. Nero's 91: XCI.

45. Exclusive: ONLY.

46. Part of UNLV: LAS. University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

47. Wore: SPORTED.

51. BB-shaped veggie: PEA. Or pea-shaped ammo.

52. Coll. Board exams: SATS.

53. "I'm sorry, Dave" film computer: HAL. In the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, HAL is a sentient computer that controls the systems of the Discovery One spacecraft and interacts with the ship's astronaut crew.

54. "__ you serious?": ARE.

59. Compensate for: OFFSET.

61. Short hoppers?: ROOS. Short for kangaROO.

62. Hall of Fame pitcher Randy "The Big __" Johnson: UNIT. From Wikipedia: During batting practice in 1988, the 6'10" Johnson, then with the Montreal Expos, collided head-first with outfielder Tim Raines, prompting his teammate to exclaim, "You're a big unit!" The nickname stuck.

63. Hairpiece: TOUPEE.

64. Pennsylvania county: ERIE.

65. 5 for B or 6 for C: AT. NO. Atomic Number is the number of protons found in the nucleus of every atom of that element. The atomic number uniquely identifies a chemical element. It is identical to the charge number of the nucleus.

66. Coffee and wine: COLORS. Sneaky.

67. Lairs: DENS.

68. One logging on: USER.

Down:

1. Fistfight souvenir: FAT LIP. Haha. Same amount of letters as SHINER, but perps prevented that.

2. __ hours: OFFICE.

3. Second Commandment adjective: GRAVEN. "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image ..."

4. Footprint maker: SOLE.

5. Silicon Valley city: PALO ALTO.

6. Pentathlon's five: EVENTS. Fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, and a final combined event of pistol shooting and cross country running.

7. "That's a no-no!": DON'T.

8. Where losers of a race may be left: IN THE DUST.

9. West Point students: CADETS.

10. Gravity-powered vehicles: SLEDS. Wondering if we're going to have snow here in my neck of the woods this year, it's regularly below freezing overnight now.

11. Classic video game: PONG.

12. Reaffirming rebuttal: OH YES I DO.

13. __ chi: TAI.

14. Boomer that no longer booms: SST. Not our Boomer.

22. Screwdrivers, e.g.: DRINKS. Clever misdirection.

23. Give approval online, in a way: E-SIGN.

28. Slacks, briefly: TROU. If you say so.

29. Email status: SENT.

31. Far from self-effacing: COCKY.

33. Mystic on a bed of nails: FAKIR. A Sufi Muslim ascetic who has taken vows of poverty and worship, renouncing all relations and possessions. 

35. Comforted: REASSURED.

36. Soda since 1905: RC COLA.

37. Explore OfferUp: SHOP.

38. Hue: TONE.

39. Prohibited: UNLAWFUL.

40. "Awesome!": NEATO.

41. Wide-open spaces: EXPANSES.

46. Coffeehouse orders: LATTES.

47. Sure winner: SHOO IN. This expression purportedly comes from the practice of corrupt jockeys holding their horses back and shooing a preselected winner across the finish line to guarantee that it will win. A “shoo-in” is now an easy winner, with no connotation of dishonesty. “Shoe-in” is a common misspelling.

48. Contaminates: TAINTS.

49. White-coated weasel: ERMINE.

50. One with bills to pay: DEBTOR.

52. Look of disdain: SNEER.

56. Hockey's Phil, to fans: ESPO. Philip Anthony Esposito OC is a Canadian broadcaster, and former professional ice hockey executive, coach and player.

57. Sped: TORE.

58. Waikiki bash: LUAU.

59. Needing no Rx: OTC. Over The counter.

60. Egg __ yung: FOO. An asian omelet-like dish, usually served with gravy.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019 Chase Dittrich

It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To!



Today is a bid of an odd theme.  After I finished the puzzle, I stared at the circles and the unifier  for a long time before the the light bulb went on.  So, today we'll start with the Grid and Unifier:

38-Across. Act in a bipartisan way, and what the circled letters do Across and Down: CROSS PARTY LINES.  The circled letters are common letters of words that Cross each other.   Each of the "crossed" words describes a type of Party, hence the Circled Letters Cross Party Lines!  Notice, too, the nice symmetry of the circle placement on the grid.  Clever!

There are 4 sets words that Cross the Party Lines as we shall see below:

The word Pool crosses with the word Work at the letter O.  Hence we get a Pool Party and a Work Party.  A Pool Party sounds like fun.  A Work Party ~ not so much.

16-Across. Game with cues and balls: POOL.

11-Down. Toil: WORK.

~~~~~~~

Two words cross Masquerade ~ Disco at the letter S and Theme at the letter E, giving us a Masquerade Party, a Disco Party and a Theme Party.

17-Across. Social event with costumes and facial covers: MASQUERADE.

 

3-Down. "Y.M.C.A." music genre: DISCO.

9-Down. Unifying feature of many escape rooms: THEME.

~~~~~~~~

Two words cross Tupperware ~ After at the letter T and Beach at the letter A.  This gives us a Tupperware Party, and After Party and a Beach Party.

61-Across. Kitchen storage brand: TUPPERWARE.  We've all probably all owned some Tupperware at some point in our lives.

50-Down. Chasing: AFTER.  An After Party is a party that is held after another party of event.  There are lots of After Parties following the Oscars, or so I'm told.  I have never been invited.

52-Down. Surfer's hangout: BEACH.

~~~~~~~~

The word Wrap crosses the word Stag at the letter A, giving us a Wrap Party and a Stag Party.

64-Across. Rolled-up sandwich: WRAP.  A Wrap Party is a party for the cast and crew of a film or television program after the completion of the production.  It could also be a party held for wrapping gifts.  I belong to an organization that wraps gifts for children in the community at Christmas time.  We call that gathering a Wrap Party.

57-Down. Without a date: STAG.  The party for the groom before his wedding.

Across:

1. Rogues: CADS.

5. Is without: HASN'T.  //  Interesting to be right next to 10-Across: Possesses: OWNS. 

14. Rose's Broadway love: ABIE.  A reference to the play Abie's Irish Rose, which was also made into a movie.  It was a comedy from the 1920s about a young Irish Catholic girl who fell in love with a young Jewish man and the obstacles they faced from their families.

15. Copier brand: RICOH.

Probably not for home use.

19. Gaelic tongue: ERSE.  A crossword staple.

20. Defunct Amer. soccer competition: U.S. CUP.

21. Commented: REMARKED.

23. Footwear insert: SHOE TREE.  Not to be used while wearing the shoe.

26. Slice of history: ERA.

27. Homebuyer's need: LOAN.

28. Accustom (to): ENURE.

32. Ron Weasley's pet Scabbers, for one: RAT.  I initially tried Bat.  Everything I know about Harry Potter, I learned from doing the crossword puzzles.  At least I recognized that Ron Weasley is a character from Harry Potter.

35. The "S" in CBS: Abbr.: SYS.  As in the Columbia Broadcasting System.

37. San Diego ball club: PADRES.

42. Major blood vessels: AORTAs.

43. Have a bug: AIL.

44. Northern Calif. airport: SFO.  The code letters for the San Francisco International Airport.

45. Avow: SWEAR.

46. Lunch hour: NOON.

49. Nutrition fig.: RDA.  As in the Recommended Dietary Allowance. 

51. Native encountered by Crusoe: CANNIBAL.  A reference to Robinson Crusoe, the 1719 novel Daniel Defoe.  Hand up if you have read this book.

55. Large watchdogs: MASTIFFS.

59. "SNL" alum Cheri: OTERI.  Cheri OTERI (née Cheryl Anne Oteri; b. Sept. 19, 1962) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.  She was on Saturday Night Live 2 decades ago, where she played a number of roles, including the Spartan cheerleader.

60. Rebuke from Caesar: ET TU.

65. Office communication: E-MAIL.

66. "__ hardly wait!": I CAN.

67. Internet transmission delays: LAGS.

68. Uses for a fee: RENTS.

69. Therefore: THUS.

Down:

1. "The Stranger" novelist Albert: CAMUS.  Albert Camus (Nov. 7, 1913 ~ Jan. 4, 1960) was a French existentialist philosopher.  He was born in Algeria to French parents.  His father was killed in the Battle of Marne in 1914, so Camus never knew his father.  In 1957, Camus was the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature.  He was killed 3 years later in a car accident at age 46.  I read a lot of Camus back when I was in high school.

2. Make self-conscious: ABASH.

4. Book that continues a story: SEQUEL.

5. Charlemagne's domain: Abbr.: HRE.  As in the Holy Roman Empire, which was neither Holy nor Roman.  The Holy Roman Empire was actually a group of territories in Western and Central Europe from the time of Charlemagne until the early 1800s.  The largest territory within the HRE was the Kingdom of Germany, but included Bohemia, Italy and Burgundy.  It's rulers were often referred to as the King of the Romans.  The boundaries of the HRE were fluid over the centuries.  The term Holy Roman Empire was first used sometime in the 13th Century.

Map of the HRE around 1000 C.E.

6. Balloon filler: AIR.  Some balloons are filled with Helium, but they float away.

7. Hiccups cure, so they say: SCARE.

8. Lymph __: NODE.

10. Part of MO: OPERANDI.  As in Modus Operandi, a phrase from the Latin, which means Mode of Operating.  

12. Odor detector: NOSE.

13. Iditarod conveyance: SLED.  The Iditarod Sled Dog Race is an annual event that runs from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska.  The word Iditarod means "distant place" and is derived from a native Alaskan language.  The original of today's race began in the early 1970.  History of the Iditarod.

18. __ no good: scheming: UP TO.

22. "That's __ shame": A REAL.  This wasn't the first word that popped into my mind.

24. Speaks in a gravelly voice: RASPS.

25. One-named "Only Time" singer: ENYA.

 

29. Caterer's coffeepots: URNs.

30. Snorkeling spot: REEF.

Great Barrier Reef

31. Gas brand in Canada: ESSO.  A crossword staple.

32. Some TVs: RCAs.  As in the Radio Corporation of America.

33. In __: lined up: A ROW.

34. Ripped up: TORE.

36. Mrs., in Madrid: SRA.  Today's Spanish lesson

37. Traffic cone: PYLON.

39. Recipients of venture capital: START UPS.

40. Broadway restaurant founder: SARDI.  The famous Sardi's restaurant in Manhattan's Theater District began as a modest little eatery in 1921.  It was originally called The Little Restaurant.  The founders were Melchiorre Pio Vincenzo Sardi and his wife, Eugenia Pallera.  He was known in New York as Vincent Sardi (Dec. 23, 1885 ~ Nov. 19, 1969).  Shortly after the restaurant first opened, it moved down the block under its current name ~ Sardi's.  Because the restaurant is in the Theater District, Vincent Sardi hired a sketch artist to draw caricatures of actors and other celebrities, which adorn the walls of the restaurant.

41. "Mean Girls" screenwriter Fey: TINA.  Tina Fey (née Elizabeth Stamatine Fey; b. May 18, 1970) was also a sketch writer for Saturday Night Live before her portrayal of Liz Lemon on 30 Rock.

47. __ about: roughly: ON OR.

48. Peabrain: NIT-WIT.

51. "Washington Journal" channel: C-SPAN.

53. Pianist Claudio: ARRAU.  I am not familiar with Claudio Arrau León (Feb. 6, 1903 ~ June 9, 1991).  He was a Chilean pianist.

54. Real estate claims: LIENS.

55. Whimper: MEWL.  An interesting word.

56. Gillette brand: ATRA.

58. Do a slow burn: FUME.

62. Mango remnant: PIT.

63. Trains over the street: ELs.

The Chicago Loop.

Today is National Cat Day! QOD:  Children, old crones, peasants and dogs ramble; cats and philosophers stick to their point.  ~  H.P. Lovecraft (né Howard Phillips Lovecraft; Aug. 20, 1890 ~ Mar. 15, 1937), American writer

Monday October 28, 2019 Craig Stowe

Theme:  MIDDLE GROUND.(52. Compromising standpoint ... and what the answers to starred clues contain?) - LAND is in the middle of each theme entry.

20. *Do business shrewdly: WHEEL AND DEAL.

28. *Murmur lovingly: BILL AND COO.

34. *Basic experimentation method: TRIAL AND ERROR.

41. *Like a typical walking stride: HEEL AND TOE.

Boomer here.

Land Ho!!  Enjoy the Monday puzzle!  First of all, I wish to thank C.C. and all of you faithful Crossword Corner member bloggers for all of the fine birthday wishes I received yesterday.  Also, I have been enjoying the World Series without favoring one team or the other. But I do find it incredible that the visiting team has won every game so far.  I do not remember that ever being the case in a World Series, but sometimes, at my age, I have trouble remembering what I had for breakfast. I have not heard if the Astros asked to stay in Washington for game 6, but I think they are watching the "Wizard of Oz" and trying on the ruby slippers and clicking the heals and repeat, "There's no place like home, There's no place like home." 

Across:

1. Gives in to gravity: SAGS. Old folks like me fight this gravity problem constantly. Some of us are losing the fight.

5. Annoying little kids: IMPS.

9. Hunter's plastic duck, e.g.: DECOY.  I am not a hunter. I have seen these but I don't think they work.  You cannot fool a duck.

14. Clear off the road, as snow: PLOW.  This season is coming to our home in Minnesota soon.  part of the reason why our taxes are on the high side.  It's expensive to keep the roads clean.

15. Actress Gilbert of "The Conners": SARA.

16. Make amends: ATONE.

17. What "Ten-hut!" is short for: ATTENTION.  I thought it was a row of Quonset huts on a Marine base.

19. Income __: TAXES.  The season is coming next April.  About time the flu season subsides. 

22. Tidy up: NEATEN.

23. "__ you kidding?": ARE.  No I am not.  I wish there was a tax shot to buy.

24. Off-the-wall: ODD.  Add an "S" and my mind wanders to the craps table.  I know the odds for every number.  I learned them the hard way.  You can make a 4, 6, 8,or 10 the hard way.  You may get 30 to one, but correct odds are 35 to one.

27. Walmart warehouse club: SAM'S.  We have one of these west of our home, but it does not seem much different than Walmart, except I think you have to purchase a membership. Like Costco

32. Muslim mystic: SUFI.

33. Lake near Carson City: TAHOE.  This is a beautiful lake in the higher elevation of Nevada.  I never went to Carson City, but we visited Harrah's club in Tahoe after bowling in Reno.

39. Sea item sold by 39-Down, in a tongue-twister: SHELL. 39. See 39-Across: SHE.  She sells sea shells by the seashore.  Say that real fast three times.

40. Say no to: DENY.

44. Bygone Japanese audio brand: AIWA.  I don't remember them.  I think Sony acquired them.

48. Conclusion: END.  It's not the end.  We still have the "down" clues.

49. Boardroom VIP: CEO.  Interesting - in the 19th century, native Americans had a chief, and the military had officers.  Not sure where the executives came from.

50. The Lone __: RANGER.  At a bowling center I used to patronize, there was an autographed photo of Clayton Moore.  "Who was that masked man? I don't know, I wanted to thank him."

55. Deck alternative: PATIO.  Our home does not have a patio.  We have a raised deck that serves us well.  Except I don't know how the squirrels get up on it.

58. Belittle: DENIGRATE.

59. 17-syllable Japanese poem: HAIKU.

60. Suffix with major: ETTE.  "Halftime brings on pretty girls, with little short skirts and long blonde curls. - But who's got time for majorettes, when NBC has got the Jets and I just can't afford two sets."

61. Auth. unknown: ANON.

62. Desert retreats: OASES.  Singular OASIS was a brand of cigarettes,  I don't see them anymore.

63. Monica's brother on "Friends": ROSS.  "Also the surname of George's fiance on Seinfeld."  I don't watch "Friends".  I've had enough.

64. German thinker Immanuel: KANT.

Down:

1. Reproduces like salmon: SPAWNS.  If salmon reproduces so much, how come it's so expensive ?

2. __ Gibson, first African-American to win a Grand Slam tennis title: ALTHEA.  Virgil Tibbs wife on "In the Heat of the Night".

3. Pep rally cheer: GO TEAM.  "Go Wild, and take the Timberwolves with you!"

4. Candy and such: SWEETS. Then there was Wilson Sweet, also on "In the Heat of the Night."

5. Turkey's largest city: ISTANBUL.  I thought it was Constantinople. I am old.

6. Principal: MAIN.  I will bet this is the most common name for a street.

7. Spur to action: PROD.

8. Beach footwear: SANDAL.

9. Job of typing in facts and figures: DATA ENTRY.

10. List-shortening abbr.: ET AL.  What's the difference between ET AL and ETC.? One letter of course.

11. Courtney who played Monica on "Friends": COX.  I do not watch "Friends".  I remember a timid comedian named Wally, and also Courtney had a bit role on a Seinfeld episode, before she got famous and rich.

12. Single: ONE.  Gotta pick up those single pins.

13. "By all means!": YES.

18. Phillies' div.: NLE.  It seems there is a team called NATS in that division doing quite well,

21. Significant stretch of time: ERA.  Mainly because their pitchers have low ERAs.

24. Twice cuatro: OCHO.  If this were German I would say Gesundheit.

25. Way in: DOOR.  Add an "S" "Light my Fire"

26. Forest female: DOE.  A deer, a female deer - The hills are alive, with the "Sound of Music".

29. "__ tree falls in the forest ... ": IF A.  With no one around, does it still make a sound??

30. High-end chocolatier: LINDT.

31. __ es Salaam: DAR.

32. Lustful: SALACIOUS.

34. At that time: THEN.

35. Oboe or clarinet: REED.  I remember Donna Reed.  This was back in the day when some of the sitcom was named after the leading actor or actress.  Isn't that right, LUCY?

36. Not feeling well: ILL.  The Great State of TTP,  Notice in campaign season, All states are great.

37. __ volente: God willing: DEO.

38. Vigorous qualities to put into one's work: ENERGIES.  Our power supplier is XCEL Energy.  They serve us very well.

42. Nancy Drew's beau: NED.

43. Walk feebly: DODDER.  That's how I walk, especially upstairs. I just didn't know what it was called.

44. Arctic jacket: ANORAK.

45. Exotic lizard kept as a pet: IGUANA.

46. Was happening: WENT ON.  Fires in California wine country seem to go on and on.  Hope folks up there are safe.

47. Passionate: ARDENT.

51. Buenos Aires' country: Abbr.: ARG.  With all the problems in the middle east we don't hear about unrest in South America. Except recently there was hubbub in Santiago, Chile - A spinoff of a subway fare increase.  Reminds me of Poor Old Charlie on the MTA.  "Did he ever return?"

52. Karaoke prop that often ends in "c" nowadays: MIKE.  "Mike, Mike, Mike what day is it??  Hump day".  Don't get me wrong, I am still no fan of car insurance commercials.

53. Jared of "Dallas Buyers Club": LETO.

54. Tolkien creatures: ENTS.

55. Vietnamese soup: PHO.

56. Small battery: AAA.  These are not that small.  I have things in my possession that take those little round batteries that have a four digit number for their name.

57. "__ the season ... ": 'TIS.  To be Jolly, Fa la la la la la la la la.

Boomer