Theme: "Will it go round in Circles"
Puzzling thoughts:
Normally the circled letters in a crossword puzzle will be anagrams or maybe hints to a revealed phrase. Not today. Today they were, literally, circles and/or synonyms for a circle that helped the clue make sense. How? Let's explore:
In computer programming, an infinite loop (or endless loop) is a sequence of instructions that, as written, will continue endlessly, unless an external intervention occurs, such as turning off power via a switch or pulling a plug. It may be intentional [per Wikipedia]
22-across. Puzzling field formations, literally: CROP. As in, crop "CIRCLES" [According to Wikipedia] "The term (crop circles) was first coined in the early 1980s". Further into the article it also said that while many people (fringe theorists) believe crop circles to be linked to aliens, "there is no scientific evidence for such explanations, and all crop circles are consistent with human causation"
30-across. Containers for a comic character's internal monologue, literally: THOUGHT. As in thought "BUBBLES" - look at the cel where Charlie Brown is thinking "I'll kick it out of sight" to see the thought bubbles connecting from his brain to the statement ...
35-across. Bling for successful MLB teams, literally: WORLD SERIES. As in World Series "RINGS". Yogi Berra was the MLB player who sported the largest number of world series rings, 10
51-across. Toys that are quite hip, literally: HULA. As in hula "HOOPS". This is not an "exercise" that the Chairman can do
Here is the grid and then we are off to the other clues/entries:
7. Root with red skin: RADISH. They also come in other colors
13. Gum choice: CINNAMON. Hmm - odd clue but it ended up being "Friday tough"
15. Invitation on a sealed envelope: OPEN ME.
[theme entry]
17. Moral of the story: LESSON.
18. "The Matrix" protagonist: NEO. And the first of 19 three-letter words
19. Crown material: ENAMEL. As in a tooth crown. I have both gold and enamel crowns in my mush
21. Skater Midori: ITO.
[theme entry]
24. __ sequitur: NON. Non sequitur is from the Latin: "it does not follow". One might refer to my "Moe-kus" as non sequiturs
25. Chelsea apartments: FLATS.
27. Exercise in a heated studio: HOT YOGA. The history of hot yoga
[theme entry]
32. Sigma preceder: RHO. From the Greek alphabet - more on this, later
33. Eurasian border river: URAL. Why do I always have to wait to enter the A or the U? You'd think by now that I would know the difference between ARAL and URAL ... ARAL is the dry sea; URAL is the name of the mountain range and/or river
34. Ability to see what others can't: ESP. Could those of us who solved the theme today claim to have ESP?
[theme entry]
38. Ante-: PRE. I misread the clue (thought it said "anti") and entered PRO - which really doesn't make sense
40. Together, in music: A DUE.
41. Little one: TOT.
[theme entry]
44. Instant coffee brand: NESCAFE. I entered FOLGERS first before correcting
48. Cameo shapes: OVALS. This entry would not have made sense in today's puzzle to be circled 😁
49. Many moons __: AGO. As a septuagenarian I am legally allowed to use this phrase
[theme entry]
52. NAACP co-founder __ B. Wells: IDA.
53. Tequila plants: AGAVES. One of the restaurants we dined at during our trip (in Santa Barbara) was called "Los Agaves". It was "muy bueno"
56. 'Twas, now: TIS. Somehow the line "My country, 'twas of thee ... " just doesn't sound right
57. Word with license or justice: POETIC. Moe-ku #2:
[theme entry]
61. Paying customer: CLIENT.
62. Holier-than-thou sorts: ELITISTS. SNOBS fits the clue but not the number of grid squares ...
63. Winter Paralympian apparatus: SIT SKI. Some information on this device
64. Cooks dim sum, say: STEAMS. Friday-ish clue
Down:
1. Moola: DINERO. Moe-ku #3:
2. Walking or running: ON FOOT.
3. Darth Vader's childhood nickname: ANI.
4. __ Doe: JANE. Why are unidentified people called John or Jane Doe?
5. "Let's do it!": I'M IN. I entered C'MON instead
6. Passed with flying colors: GOT AN A. My personal grade for solving today's puzzle was an A minus. Made a couple of errors. My grade for solving today's puzzle theme was a solid A
7. Take a turn in Yahtzee: ROLL. This has nothing to do with Yahtzee, but I thought it a worthy video when it comes to a roll of the dice ...
8. Copycat: APE.
9. Original "Star Trek" studio: DESILU. Learning moe-ment today. I did not know this before solving the puzzle. There was even a video I found about this (FTR, Ms. Margaret knew this, but she's a Trekkie)
10. Step-by-step: IN STAGES.
11. Evens (out): SMOOTHS.
12. Barnyard mother: HEN. I tried COW. EWE, too?
13. Guaranteed victory: CINCH.
14. Verne captain: NEMO. Moe-ku #4:
20. Between, in Spanish: ENTRE. Two doses of Spanish today: DINERO and ENTRE
23. Fireworks prefix: PYRO. Moe-ku #5:
25. Large books: FOLIOS. TOMES did not fit
26. Pit stop brand: STP. I want to believe that my last blog also had the word "STP" in the grid. I asked it then, and will ask it now: does anyone other than a racecar driver use this stuff??
28. "Nuts!": OH RATS. Seems to be a "Peanuts" theme in here - one of Charlie Brown and Snoopy's favorite phrases. And this cartoon also features a reference to 23 down:
29. "Fiddler on the Roof" wife: GOLDE. Chaim Topol as Tevye and Norma Crane as GOLDE [copyright United Artists]
31. Gold rush storyteller Bret: HARTE.
33. Take advantage of: USE.
35. "Success!": WE MADE IT.
36. Tight-fitting lid: DURAG. Is this the correct spelling of the tight-fitting lid? Turns out, it is
37. Scratch the surface?: ETCH. Not to be confused with "scratch the serf" which would be ITCH
38. Soup with rice noodles: PHO. Moe-ku #6:
39. Filled pasta: RAVIOLI.
43. Roof tiles: SLATES. Our roof has these. Very common here in the Valley of the Sun
44. Storied works: NOVELS. NOVELS tell a story
45. Condition measured on a spectrum: AUTISM. Information on this from the Mayo Clinic
46. Spark producers: FLINTS. Making fire is a critical skill for those who participate in the reality show, Survivor. Heidi was un fuego
47. Alleviates: EASES. Moe's hope is to ease/alleviate your concerns about the puzzle
50. Clue, e.g.: GAME. The name of a board game from Hasbro. "Colonel Mustard - in the Library - with a Rope"
53. Dramatic beginning: ACT I. The first lines in a dramatic play begin in Act I, Scene I
54. Revise: EDIT. As I look back to my preamble, I really wish that Patti had edited Jeffrey's 22-across entry to use a reference to GLOBES and not actually used a reference to CIRCLES. But that's why she has a paying job in the crossword business, and I am just a blogger who does this for free ...
55. Location: SITE.
57. Mac alternatives: PCS. I have always used PCS for my desktop and/or laptop computers, but I use an iPhone for my mobile device. Go figure
58. HP supply: INK. HP = Hewlett Packard. Why would it be abbreviated in the clue when the word INK is not an abbreviation?
60. Langley org.: CIA. NSA and OSS fit; fitting that this puzzle ends on a 3-letter word