Friday, the 13th, Mar 2026 ~ Tracy Gray

 "EDGE"SSENTIAL WORKERS

Six years ago, to the day - Friday the 13th, March - most were told to stay home for two weeks . . . . 😜

She's a meteorologist, so, um, essential - don't "skirt" the issue 🙄

Tracy Gray had two puzzles last year, one landing 51 weeks ago, also on a Friday, that had the themers 'turn' on the word DIME.  Today's construction is another "visual" theme from her, offering us a series of ten fills that are "jobs", found on the perimeter, or "side" of the grid - very clever.  We have seen this type of theme before, and I liked the puzzle, but it felt like the author had to "RAM IN" some of the fill - I'm looking at you, 18A~!  Perhaps having the solution to begin will be the best way to explain the reveal;  

38. Secondary gig, or a literal description of 10 answers in this puzzle: SIDE JOB - the edge, or "side" fills are careers, or "jobs", but clued synonymously;

Top Across:

1. Undergarment brand: JOCKEY

their logo 'hints' at professional racehorse riders

7. Single-story home: RANCHER - just called a "ranch" where I grew up

Down Right: 

13. Enc. or dict.: REFerence, encyclopedia & dictionary; one of two abbrs - REFEREE

29. Representation built to scale: MODEL - not the meteorologist🠅, this🠇

Scale model of a Mercury Cougar, with the actual name plate from the car I once owned

52. Perry of classic TV: MASON - Stonemasonry - name #1

Ozzy~!

Across Bottom:

65. One who is a real sport: TROOPER - I linked the Iron Maiden" Eddie" trooper two weeks ago

66. "Heaven Can Wait" Oscar nominee Jack: WARDEN -  name #2 - the main character was 'supposed' to die almost a year ago today - 'proclaimed' in the 1978 movie ( also the name of an Iron Maiden song )

Left Up:

57. Confirm the credentials of, say: VET - the straight verb, and the other abbr, VETERINARIAN

33. Test episode: PILOT - "Pilot~?  What's a pilot~?"

Pulp Fiction

1. 2017 AL Rookie of the Year: JUDGE - NY Yankees baseball slugger, Aaron, name #3

B u t       W
M            a
o              i
r               t
e               ,
T h e  r e' s 

ACROSS:

14. Starts a revolt: UPRISES - my incorrect Down fills seriously hindered my progress in the NW 

16. Good-natured: AMIABLE - the Corner discussed AMICABLE not too long ago

17. Fresca, for one: DIET POP - a Coca~Cola product - an interesting history

18. Hightail it: BOLT OFF - a bit meh.  I have frequently "bolted", but not "off"

19. Extra product: GUM - clever misdirection; this product

20. Some surfers: WAHINES - Downs gave me - - HINES, and I recalled this 'Hawaii Five-O' term

22. Collaborate on Microsoft Teams, say: eMEET

25. "The Man Who Fell to Earth" director Nicolas: ROEG - name #4, and I am shocked that I had never heard of this 1976 Sci-Fi movie staring David Bowie - more here

Some other "versions" from IMDb

26. Try to learn quickly: CRAM

30. Big to-do: RUCKUS - in another Sci-Fi movie, Agent J asks why all the "ruckus"

32. 1990s fitness fad: TAE BO

33. High-performance German cars: PORSCHES - I'll have the plug-in hybrid 918 - name(ish)

Yes, it shoots blue flames - only 918 were made; I can have this one for $2.9mil

36. Frank: CANDID

37. Brewpub fave: IPA

40. Beth Ann Fennelly's "__ to Butter": ODE - name(ish) - Quite raunchy - I love it~!

41. "Grumpy Old Men" actor: LEMMON - I remembered these movie outtakes; name #5

Jack Lemmon and Burgess Meredith

43. Spot for horsing around?: CAROUSEL - Great clue/answer~!

45. Film production company named for a constellation: ORION - they put out a lot of winners

46. Actress Suzanne: SOMERS - my first guess, but I thought there were two "M"s; she of "Three's Company", and "Thighmaster" fame - name #6

47. Shades at the beach: TANS

48. Daycation locations: SPAS

49. Earthquake: SEISM - the "def" from Greek seismos

53. Tops of most org charts: C-SUITES - CEO, CFO, COO, etc.

56. __ salt: SEA

57. No longer occupied: VACATED

60. Option not available for most low-tier streaming subscriptions: SKIP ADS - worth every penny to have uninterrupted music on Pandora 

63. Paragon: EPITOME - uh PIT oh mee -  like hyperbole 😜

64. Starting line?: "HERE I GO - again", Whitesnake~!


DOWN:

2. Yves Saint Laurent perfume: OPIUM - name(ish)

3. __ anglaise: CRÈME - I thought HABLA, but no - it's this Frawnche sauce

4. Word with mess or press: KIT - ah... Not HOT 😏

5. Unusual ability: ESP - Friday, so no indication that this is an abbr~?

6. Pained cry: YEOW~! - I had OUCH to start; I've told co-workers in the past that if I exclaimed "Ouch~!", it was no big deal; if I sucked my teeth, however, maybe they need to call me a doctor . . . 

7. Concern after an animal bite: RABIES

8. Interspersed with: AMONG

9. African flower?: NILE - crossword misdirection - flow-er, like mower

10. Former name of a med. imaging tool: CAT SCAN - originally EMI, now CT - here's why

11. "Task" network: HBO - filled via perps

12. Rivendell resident: ELF - I know my Lord of the Rings

15. Ignited: SPARKED

21. Comfy cover-up: HOUSE COAT

23. Hesitant sounds: Ers - I had Ums to start

24. City near Saguaro National Park: TUCSON - filled via perps; geo name #7

27. Overhauls: REDOs - the noun, not the verb REDOES

28. Remain faithful to, with "by": ABIDE - meh.  I filled in STAND

31. Viola holder: CHIN - Dah~! Not CASE

Pearl de la Motte - she just happened to come up on my Google viola image search

32. Fife-and-drum drums: TABORS - Dah~!  I filled SNARES - the Wiki

34. Palais Garnier performance: OPERA - total WAG

Buy tickets here

35. Force to fit: RAM IN - my time at UPS was spent putting 10lbs of boxes in a 5lb van

This was a US Postal delivery . . . "we care" - uh-huh

36. Heart: CORE

39. Impromptu gig, casually: JAM SESH - has actually appeared once before in another crossword

42. Sweet Italian wine: MOSCATO - WAGed the "C" - my 53A. was messed up due to my 48 Down🠇

44. Draw upon: USE

46. Biter of Miles Morales: SPIDER - mostly perps, not a comics fan, didn't "get it"; his Wiki; name #8

48. Sarcastic challenge: "SUE ME." - I filled in "SEE ME", as in "watch this~!" - Bzzzzt

50. "To refresh your memory ... ": "I SAID . . ."

51. Marsh plant used for papyrus: SEDGE - I was tempted to try REEDS

54. Discontinue: STOP

55. Misrepresent, as data: SKEW

58. Diamond birthstone mo.: APRil - I knew this; here's a comprehensive with alternatives chart

59. AFL partner: CIO - frequent crossword appearances 

61. Golden yrs. fund: IRA - Individual Retirement Account; I can finally start funding mine again - let's just say I'm about to be the next "Hubby" - more to to be revealed in the coming weeks~!

62. Parts __ million: PER

Splynter

Grid Flow 40.4