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C.C. Burnikel (Aria, Feb 9, 2014)

Thursday, December 31, 2020, Richard Shlakman & Brad Wilber

 

Happy New Year's Eve, cruciverbalists!  In what has been a trying year, our final puzzle seemed, fittingly, to be a bit trying for a Thursday.  Perhaps it was just the fatigue factor but it appeared to this solver as if this puzzle had more than its  fair share of "forced" fill (word fragments, abbreviations and the like) and these required some time to work through.  

Fortunately, the theme was fairly easy to identify and that helped out.  In other words:

That Part Made Cents

First, the unifier: 

67 Across: Items that can circulate or be tossed ... as illustrated in this puzzle's six sets of circles:  COINS. 

At six places within the grid, in both Across and Down answers, the word COIN can be formed by unscrambling adjacent circled letters.

17 Across:  Birder's gear: BINOCULARS

Watch The Birdie

30 Across:  California county where Fort Bragg is: MENDOCINO

The Sir Douglas Quintet - Mendocino

47 Across:  Barrier-breaking report: SONIC BOOM  A loud noise is sometimes called a "report" and the clue also refers to the sound barrier.

Chuck Yeager  -  B: 13 February 1923  D: 07 December 2020

63 Across:  State capital about 100 miles from Sacramento: CARSON CITY  By automobile, the state capital of Nevada, Carson City, is roughly 135 miles from Sacramento,  the state capital of California.

10 Down:  Chance to plead one's case: DAY IN COURT.

29 Down:  Tip of a toy arrow, often: SUCTION CUP.

Well, those are the themed answers.  Now, let's take a look at the rest of the puzzle:

Across:

1. Potential fodder in a libel lawsuit, briefly: BAD PR.  At the risk of being served with a libel lawsuit, I thought that BADPR (BAD Public Relations) was, to coin a phrase, a bad way to get the ball rolling.

6. Sackcloth material: HEMP.  The reference is often to "sackcloth and ashes" with the sackcloth traditionally being made from goat hair.

10. Reduces, as glare: DIMS.

14. Lexus competitor: ACURA.  An automobile reference.

15. Avocado shape: OVAL.  Avocados are, however, three dimensional and an oval is two dimensional.   Obovate would, perhaps, have been a more precise answer but it would have necessitated other changes.  Fruit Shapes

16. "Stress cannot exist in the presence of __": Mamet: A PIE.  The quote begins:  "We must have a pie."  I have no familiarity with this quote.  I have no difficulty embracing the philosophical stance.

19. Afghan constitution?: YARN.  A bit of misdirection in that the first impulse might be to assume that the clue was referring to the laws of the country that lies at the crossroads of Central and South Asia.  Instead, the clue refers to the composition of an eponymous knitted blanket.

Misdirection

20. Newspaper VIPs: EDS.  EDITORS  Being a writer is enjoyable but being an EDITOR is more rewording.

21. Possessed by Shakespeare?: HADST.  When we see constructors fall back on Elizabethan English may we assume that they got stuck?

22. Bathroom fixture: BIDET.  This is the first time that I recall seeing this particular bathroom fixture in a crossword puzzle.  A BIDET is a sensible idea if borderline inappropriate for a crossword puzzle.  If you do not know what one is then you might want to ask Mr. Hankey to explain.

23. Overwhelm: AWE.

24. "Young Sheldon" star Armitage: IAIN.  While I enjoy "The Big Bang Theory," I am far less familiar with the "Young Sheldon" spin-off and I was previously unaware of anyone named IAIN.  Still, I suppose it would be good to remember this constructor-friendly (four letters, three vowels) name. 

26. Laundry cycle: RINSE.

35. Nonalcoholic beer brand: O'DOUL'S.

37. Crimson, e.g.: RED.  There are many shades of red represented in the English language.

38. What the nose knows: ODOR.   The clue is nice play on words.  I once tried to buy perfume from a vending machine but it was out of ODOR.

39. Soft mineral: TALC.  What did the Moh's Scale say when it was feeling down?  "I don't want to TALC about it." 

40. Mortar and pestle stone: AGATE.

42. Sports org. whose name once included "Lawn": USTA. The United States (Lawn) Tennis Association

43. Shoot the breeze: CHAT.  CHAT is also French (masculine) for cat.

44. Bon __: MOT.  A Bon MOT is a witty remark.

45. Upset, as a plan: DERAIL.

50. Eye sores: STYES.  It seems like a good idea to eschew the graphics for this one.

51. Scandinavian royal name: OLAF.  We often have to wait a bit to determine if the answer is going to be OLAF or Olav.

52. Apr. addressee: IRS.  Our good friends at the Internal Revenue Service.

54. Fogg's creator: VERNE.  Phileas Fogg was a character featured in Jules VERNE's "Around The World In Eighty Days".  He also made an appearance in an episode  of "Have Gun Will Travel" (season 4, episode 12) .

57. Count with a band: BASIE.    ... and a one, and a two, and hit it ...

Count Basie - Blazing Saddles

59. "That __ close!": WAS.

62. Lindros in the Hockey Hall of Fame: ERIC.

Eric Lindros

65. Prego alternative: RAGU.  Very often, one of these brands of sauce is clued by referring to the other.

66. Polar chunk: FLOE.

68. "Don't dawdle!": ASAP.  As Soon As Possible

69. Bygone GM line: OLDS.  We often see Ransom Eli OLDS in puzzles.  It usually has something to do with, or the answer is, REO.

70. Ryegrass fungus: ERGOT.

Down:

1. Innocent: BABE.

That'll Do Pig.  That'll Do.

2. Prilosec target: ACID.  Oh, stomach ACID.  This could have been clued Orange Sunshine or Window Pane.

3. Hassles for payment: DUNS.

4. In favor of: PRO.

5. Ray who hosts the Yum-o! virtual cooking camp: RACHAEL.  We often see RACHAEL Ray's pet name for extra virgin olive oil, or EVOO, in crossword puzzles.

6. Poker variety: HOLD EM.

7. Mendes and Gabor: EVAS.

The Gabor Sisters

8. Taskmaster: MARTINET.  This is not a word that we often see, or hear, but it seems like a good addition to our crossword vocabulary.

9. Letters from a polite texter: PLS.  Texting "shorthand" has provided a great many possibilities for constructors but, PLS, enough already, with this sort of thing.

11. Tablet at a Genius Bar: IPAD.  To solve this, it helped to know that the tech support station at an Apple Store is called The Genius Bar.  Most people do.  If not, the perps likely filled it in.

12. Boggy area: MIRE.  Fen has too few letters and Swamp has too many.  Moor might have seemed to work out for a while.

13. Posted: SENT.

Gromit

18. Assembly line gp.: UAW.  The United Auto Workers Union

22. Prefix with mass: BIO.  The combined BIOmass of bacteria on Earth is more than a thousand times that of  the combined BIOmass of all humans.

25. Went on to say: ADDED.  Sometimes, too much is ADDED.

Joe Jones - 1960

26. University mil. programs: ROTCS.  Has anyone before seen the plural of Reserve Officer Train Corps ?

Navy ROTC

27. Twin Falls' state: IDAHO.

28. "Dunkirk" director Christopher: NOLAN.  One might have clued this answer with a reference to this gentleman:

Nolan Ryan

31. Muse of poetry: ERATO.  We often see one, or more, of the Nine Muses in crossword puzzles with ERATO being the most commonly spotted.

32. "My guess is ... ": ID SAY. 

33. Casual remark?: NO TIE.  This must be a reference to Casual Fridays.

34. Intense exams: ORALS.  An academia reference.  This clue really tees it up but this manatee shall, reluctantly, pass.

 

36. Latin steps: SAMBA.  A dance reference.  Both Tango and Rumba would have fit but neither would have worked out.

41. Cut-up: GOOFBALL.  Not a cooking reference.  Both the clue and the answer are synonyms for a silly person.

46. Bottom line: ESSENCE.  A bit of a stretch in the cluing but not completely goofy.

48. The Cavs, on ESPN crawls: CLE.  The CLEveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team.

49. Air balls, e.g.: MISSES.  In basketball jargon, a shot that MISSES everything, and hits neither the backboard nor the rim, is called an Air Ball.

53. __ Grande: RIO.  I first thought of TACO Grande by Weird Al.

54. __ Bradley bags: VERA.  VERA Bradley bags are well known in some circles.

55. Named stretches: ERAS.

56. Latvian seaport: RIGA.

58. J.Lo's partner: AROD.  Alex RODriguez played twenty-two seasons of major league baseball but he might be even more famous for his relationship with Jennifer Lopez.

59. Kristen of 2016's "Ghostbusters": WIIG.

Kristen Wiig Ghostbusters Vignette

60. 8 for O, e.g.: AT NO.  At no time would my first guess have been that this was a reference to the ATomic Number (NO) of Oxygen.  However, by the third or fourth guess it became clear.

61. Betting aid: Abbr.: SYST.  As with PLS, above, I did not care much for this abbrvtn.

63. Fiscal exec: CFO.  Chief Financial Officer

64. __ anglais: English horn: COR.  By definition.   The COR Anglais originated in neither England nor France but, rather, in Silesia circa 1720.

--------------------------------------------------

That completes the work on our puzzle, and completes our puzzle work for the year, leaving one more question:

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

MM OUT 

 

Notes from C.C.:

 

I'm very sad to inform you that Gail Grabowski, our regular L.A. Times crossword constructor passed away on Christmas eve.  See here for her obit.  Thanks for the link, TTP.  In addition to her many solos, Gail collaborated many puzzles with Bruce Venzke over the years.

 

 

Wednesday, December 30, 2020 Hoang-Kim Vu

 Theme: VELOCITY.  Theme answers contain words that indicate rapidly and efficiently getting from one place to another

18 A. Academy attended by James T. Kirk: STAR FLEET.  From the original Star Trek TV series: boldly going where no man has gone before.  A Fleet is a group of ships under a single command.  FLEET here is an adjective - as all the theme words are - indicating rapid motion.  Fleet is also an enema, but we'll just let that go.

24 A. Artist with a record 32 American Music Awards: TAYLOR SWIFT.  [b 1989]  She's has some success.  SWIFT is another synonym for FLEET.  It's also a bird that, appropriately, holds the record for the fastest confirmed level flight, at 69.3 mph.

34 A. Deeply hurt: CUT TO THE QUICK.  Literally, this means to cut through the skin to the living tissue; figuratively it means to be hurt and offended.  Here, it's another synonym for SWIFT.  It's also a brand name for flavored powders to make your cold glass or warm mug of milk a bit less bland.

49 A. Inviolable, as a rule: HARD AND FAST.  This means it is fixed and definitive, not to be modified or avoided.  The sense of fast in this expression, now otherwise obsolete, is "locked in place."  It's the root of the verb fasten, meaning to firmly attach.  In the puzzle, FAST is another synonym for QUICK.

56 A. With immediacy, or a hint to the four other longest puzzle answers: POST HASTE.  Yet another synonym for FAST.  From my brief examination, it seems that this can either be a single word, or a two-word phrase, with or without a hyphen.

Hi, Gang, JazzBumpa here.  Hope your Christmas was happy and safe.  The holidays go by quickly.  The theme notwithstanding, let's not speed through this puzzle, but take it slow and steady.

Across:

1. Invents, as a word: COINS.  Devising a new word or phrase.  The phrase itselfe seems to have been coned in American Literature with the earliest recorded use being in the 'The Southport American' newspaper in 1848. 

6. Laugh-a-minute sort: RIOT.  Fun guy.

10. Lucas of "Raising Hope": NEFF.  [b 1985]  Most recently, he starred in the CBS sitcom Carol's Second Act.

14. Bandleader's exhortation: HIT  IT.  In all my decades of playing in all sorts of ensembles and venues, I don't remember ever hearing the leader say this.

15. Egyptian life symbol: ANKH.

Key of Life

16. Pest on a pooch: FLEA.  Dog annoyer

17. Red-tide contents: ALGAE.  The color is due to an algal bloom, often caused by an up-swelling of nutrients from the ocean floor following a storm.  

20. Shape, as clay: SCULPT.  Make it look like something other than a lump.

22. Mayberry lad: OPIE.  Young Ron Howard.

23. Org. in much recent news: CDC.  The Center for Disease Control.

26. "We'll let you know," on skeds: TBA. To Be Announced.

27. 18-Across jr. officer: ENS.  Ensign.

28. Threaded fastener: NUT.  To make a mechanical connection hard and fast.

29. Claw into: TEAR AT.  Rip apart

31. Fire truck alert: SIREN. Listen up!

33. Tourette syndrome symptoms: TICS.   Idiosyncratic and habitual features of a person's behavior.

39. Brooklyn Coll. is part of it: CUNY.  The City University of New York.

40. Double duty?: STUNT.  I had to think about this one.  Performing STUNTS - dangerous skilled maneuvers  in a movie scene - is the duty of a star's STUNT double.

41. Convent leader: ABBESS.  Head nun.

44. Shoelace, e.g.: TIE.  A tie is a type of fastener.

45. NBA's Heat, on scoreboards: MIA.  MIAMI's basketball team.

48. Inouye Airport arrival gift: LEI.   Hawaiian flower garland necklace.

53. Investment inits.: IRA.  Individual Retirement Account.

54. Common ointment ingredient: ALOE.  Extract of the ALOE vera plant, a succulent cultivated for tis medicinal uses.

55. Hall of Fame knuckleballer Phil: NIEKRO.  [1939-2020]  He played for 24 years in the majors, from 1964 to 1987.  Sadly, he just passed the day after Christmas after a long battle with cancer.

59. Step: TREAD.  Stomping is optional.

60. Worked in a garden: HOED.  Used a hand-operated cultivating tool.  Or emulated Santa.

61. "Because You Loved Me" singer: DION.  Celine [b 1968]

62. Battle zone journalist: EMBED.  This was confusing.  I was expecting a specific name, not the category.  The answer is a bit awkward, since it is a noun that looks like a verb.

63. Criteria: Abbr.: STDS.  Standards.

64. Racy message: SEXT.   Portmanteau of SEX and TEXT.

65. Rotary phone features: DIALS.  Does anybody have one of these?

Down:

1. Unsullied: CHASTE. Refraining from sexual activity.  The Unsullied in Game of Thrones certainly did this.  But, in general, is this a good equivalence?  You decide.

2. Prop for the Tin Man: OIL CAN.  I still wonder how it happened that tin rusted.  Must be a Oz thing.

3. Men working on a network, informally: I. T.  GUYS.  Experts in Information Technology, aka nerds.

4. One Direction's "cute one" __ Horan: NIALL.  True?  You decide.

Cute?

5. "C'mon, we're in a hurry!":  STEP ON IT.  Go faster, referring to pressing a vehicles accelerator pedal.  Theme echo.

6. Late-summer orientation mtg. holders: RAs.  Resident Advisors:  students who are responsible for supervising and assisting other, typically younger, students who live in the same residence hall.  One of our granddaughters has this position in the honors dorm at her school.

7. Like many trailers: IN TOW.   Pulled by a vehicle

8. Giraffe relative: OKAPI.   An artiodactyl [ungulate with an even number of toes] mammal native to the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. 

Made from spare parts?

9. Frugality: THRIFT.

10. Patriots' org.: NFL.  National Football League.

11. Exciting, as an atmosphere: ELECTRIC.

12. Survey info: FEEDBACK.  Requested information.

13. Big shots with big balances: FAT CATS.  More specifically, rich political donors.  It is also commonly used to describe a rich, greedy person who, due to ownership of large amounts of capital, is able to "live easy" off the work of others. 

19. Honor in a big way: FETE. To honor or entertain (someone) lavishly.

21. Town near Provincetown: TRURO.  Two of the 15 towns surrounding Cape Cod Bay.

25. Editorial "let it stand": STET.  From Latin,  it is a form of the Latin verb sto, typically translated as "Let it stand."

30. Feuding: AT IT.  A multi-purpose phrase, depending on what the definition of "it" is.

31. Eyelid ailment: STYE.  An inflamed swelling on the edge of an eyelid, caused by bacterial infection of the gland at the base of an eyelash.

32. Smart students' org.: NHS.  National Honor Society.

34. Two, to eight, e.g.: CUBE ROOT.  To cube a number is to multiply it by itself twice.  That number is then the cube root of the product.

35. Impartial: UNBIASED.  

36. Sundance's sweetie: ETTA.  ETTA Place [dates uncertain]   Companion of Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, aka, the Sundance Kid.  Along with Butch Cassidy they were members of the outlaw gang known as Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch. 

37. "Glee" cheerleader: QUINN.  Quinn Fabray is a fictional character from the TV series Glee, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. The character is portrayed by actress Dianna Agron.  

Cheer with Glee

38. Not yet corrected for publication: UNEDITED.  Having no STETs nor deles.

39. Islamic leaders: CALIPHS.  The chief Muslim civil and religious ruler, regarded as the successor of Muhammad. The caliph ruled in Baghdad until 1258 and then in Egypt until the Ottoman conquest of 1517; the title was then held by the Ottoman sultans until it was abolished in 1924 by Atatürk.

42. 1979 exile: SHAH.  Mohammad Reza Pahlavi [1919-1980]  of Iran.

43. Soup followers: SALADS.  In multi-course meals.

45. Folk singer Miriam known as "Mama Africa": MAKEBA. [1932 - 2008]

46. Gal Gadot's birthplace: ISRAEL.  In case you were wondering about this woman.

Probably needed a STUNT double

47. Disagreeing: AT ODDS.  Loggerheads doesn't fit.

50. Riveting icon: ROSIE.

Probably not what you think

51. Rehab program: DETOX.  A process designed to remove addictive toxins leave the body.

52. 1938 Physics Nobelist: FERMI.  Enrico [1901-1954] An American physicist who created the first nuclear reactor.  He won the Nobel Prize for his work on induced radioactivity by neutron bombardment and for the discovery of transuranium elements. 

57. Six-pt. scores: TDS.  TouchDowns in American football.

58. Tolkien's Treebeard, e.g.: ENT.  

And thus does Fangorn bring our Wednesday to a slow moving close.  Hope you enjoyed the journey.  Now - stay home and stay safe  Happy New Year.  See you all in January.

Cool Regards!

JzB

Tuesday, December 29, 2020 Catherine Cetta

Double Your Fun!  The word Double can be placed before each word in the theme answer to give a new concept.

20-Across. City street spot you usually have to back into: PARKING SPACE.  Double Park and Double Space.  Double Space in typing means that there is a full space, the equivalent to the full height of a line of the text, between rows of words in a document.  Most computer texting programs default to single spacing.

This is just wrong!

33-Across. Unfavorable impression: NEGATIVE TAKE.  Double Negative and Double Take.

Double Take

42-Across. Winter clock setting: STANDARD TIME.  Double Standard and Double Time.

Double Standard.

And the unifier:

56-Across. In 2020's MLB season, each game of one was seven innings ... and what each word of three long answers can have: DOUBLE HEADER.  The Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on Major League Baseball this year.

Across:

1. Like new dollar bills: CRISP.  //  And 19-Across. Singles: ONES.

6. Instruction unit: STEP.

10. Last year's frosh: SOPH.  Last year's Freshman is this year's Sophomore.  According to Webster's, the word Frosh for a first year student may derive from the German word for Frog, which is what a student is called before entering the university.

14. Mediterranean mayonnaise: AIOLI.  This is becoming a crossword staple.

15. Place for pews: NAVE.  There has been much discussion on the church nave recently.

16. Crosby, Stills & Nash, e.g.: TRIO.  Crosby, Stills & Nash were a folk rock group formed in 1968.  A year later, Neil Young joined the group and the band became known as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. 

17. Raced toward: RAN AT.

18. One cutting staff: AXER.  Axer isn't in the Scrabble dictionary, but if it was, it would be worth 11 points.

23. TSA __Check: PRE.  Getting the Pre-Check on my airline ticket always makes me smile.

26. "Annabel Lee" poet: POE.  Edgar Allen Poe (Jan. 19, 1809 ~ Oct. 7, 1849) is known for his tales of mystery and poetry.  I don't think I had ever read Annabel Lee before.

27. Result of a coup, perhaps: OUSTER.

28. Sea surrounding Santorini: AEGEAN.  Santorini seems to be on the outer edge of the Aegean Sea,

30. Relate, as a story: TELL.  William Tell had a Tale to Tell.

32. Silly starter?: ESS.  Silly Goose!  It's the letter S.

36. HEATH Bar competitor: SKOR.

37. "Bel Canto" author Patchett: ANN.   Ann Patchett (b. Dec. 2, 1963) has written several novels.  Bel Canto is loosely based on the Japanese embassy hostage crisis of 1996-1997, which occurred in Lima, Peru.  By coincidence, I took this book along with me to read while I was traveling in Peru about 10 years ago.  I highly recommend this book.

38. Many an Omani: ARAB.

47. UFO operators: ETs.  As in ExtraTerresterials.

50. Iowa college town: AMES.  Iowa State University is located in Ames, Iowa.

51. Egg-coloring holiday: EASTER.  Tsars Alexander II and Nicholas II had Fabergé jeweled eggs made for their wives as Easter gifts.

52. Useless: NO HELP.

54. Coll. entrance exam: SAT.  The SAT exams were formerly known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test.

55. Business card abbr.: EXT.  Think of the telephone extension number.

60. James of jazz: ETTA.  Etta James (née Jamesetta Hawkins; Jan. 25, 1938 ~ Jan. 20, 2012) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.

61. See-the-sights travel option: RAIL.  //  And 1. See-the-sights travel option: CAR.

62. Banana cluster: BUNCH.

66. Came down: ALIT.

67. Poet Pound: EZRA.  Ezra Pound (né Ezra Weston Loomis Pound; Oct. 30, 1885 ~ Nov. 1, 1972) was not without a lot of controversy.

68. Vowel-rich farewell: ADIEU.  Today's French lesson.

69. Surrealist Magritte: RENÉ.  René Magritte (Nov. 21, 1898 ~ Aug. 15, 1967) was a Belgium artist who is known for creating amusing images.

70. Burpee purchase: SEED.  The Burpee Seed company was founded by Washington Atlee Burpee (Apr. 5, 1858 ~ Nov. 26, 1915) in the 1870s.  The company is still going strong today.

71. Transplant to a new container: REPOT.

Down:

2. River inlet: RIA.

3. Na+ or Cl-: ION.  Together, these ions form table salt.

4. Word with happy or dash: SLAP.  As in Slap Happy or Slap Dash.

5. Rain-on-the-roof sound: PIT-A-PAT.

6. Asp or adder: SNAKE.

7. Cab: TAXI.

8. Like every other integer: EVEN.  2, 4, 6, 8, ...

9. Vine-covered walkway: PERGOLA.  A pergola can also be a covered sitting area.  We build a pergola in our back yard a couple of years ago and I spent many hours there during this pandemic season.  The word Pergola comes from the Latin, meaning projected eave.

10. Dots on a transit map: STOPS.

11. Highly decorative: ORNATE.  The mosaics at the Alhambra Palace are very ornate.

12. Concert choices: PIECES.

13. Uncouth types, in Canadian slang: HOSERS.  Hi, CanadianEh!

21. Rice-A-__: RONI.  It's the San Francisco treat and it comes in many flavors.

22. Pout: SULK.

23. Thumbs-down reviews: PANS.

24. Really smell: REEK.

25. Thick & Fluffy waffle brand: EGGO.  L'Eggo my Eggo!  They, too, come in several flavors.

29. All __: listening: EARS.

30. Takes care of: TENDS.

31. Sicilian smoker: ETNA.  Since 2013, this volcano has been periodically been showing some eruptive action.

34. Wind indicator: VANE.  The word Vane comes from an old English word, Fane, which means Flag.

35. Grub: EATS.

39. Baptism, for one: RITE.

40. Plastic choice, briefly: AMEX.  Nice misdirection:  American Express.

41. Ernie's Muppet pal: BERT.

43. Like unlikely tales: TALL.

44. Current units: AMPERES.  The Ampere is named after André-Marie Ampère (Jan. 20, 1775 ~ June 10, 1836), French mathematician and physicist, considered the father of electromagnetism.

45. Enjoy a novel: READ.  I have read just under 50 books this year, most of which were novels.

46. Baked treat that sounds like a place to meet: DATE BAR.

47. Make precious: ENDEAR.

48. Play the flute: TOOTLE.  Flute playing in the year 2020.

49. Locked up: SHUT IN.

53. Online money-back offer: E-BATE.

54. Dinner course: SALAD.  In Israel, Salads are a common breakfast food.

57. Thin fog: HAZE.

58. The Emerald Isle: EIRE.

59. Impolite: RUDE.

63. Puppy's bite: NIP.

64. Head of the corp.: CEO.  As in the Chief Executive Officer.

65. Shack: HUT.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

No matter what or how you celebrate the holidays, please respect everyone.  We are all fragile and we need to look out for the health and welfare of all.  Please wear your mask and social distance.  We want to be able to hug next holiday season.  

May 2021 bring Health and Happiness!