Friday, March 29, 2024, Lisa Senzel and Will Nediger

Theme:  Alphabet Soup

Puzzling thoughts:  

Will Nediger is a name well-known to crossword puzzles.  As the link describes, Will has done scores of puzzles in the NYT.  I also look forward to solving his Saturday and Sunday puzzles @ Crossword Club.  

Lisa Senzel may not be as well-known, but she has also been published in the NY Times.  Not sure if this is her debut @ LA Times, but if so, congratulations!  Also, I am not sure if she has done solo work, but the company she keeps (Will and Jeff Chen) are both solid collaborators

Today's puzzle uses a series of 4 phrases that are transformed into a play-on-words, of sorts, by adding another word which also contains a filler word ... capisce?  No?  Want me to explain?  OK.  Will do.  It's why I get paid the big bucks twice a month to help figure out what's going on in today's puzzle!! 😉

16-across. *Diner's entitlement to savory flavor?: UMAMI RIGHT.  Or is it: UM, AM I RIGHT?

19-across. *Reason yellowfin tuna are wallflowers at a school prom?: AHI CAN'T DANCE. Or is it: AH, I CAN'T DANCE?

36-across. *Pal who seconds whatever one says?: LIKE-WISE GUY. Or is it: LIKE, WISE GUY?

57-across. *Not-very-straight shooter?: ERRING CAMERA. Or is it: ER, RING CAMERA?

=================================================================

UMAMI = savory flavor; RIGHT = entitlement ... UM (a filler word) AM I RIGHT? (See below)

AHI = yellowfin tuna; (those who) CAN'T DANCE = wallflowers ... AH (a filler word) I CAN'T DANCE! (I dance similar to this person)

LIKE-WISE = same; GUY = pal ... LIKE (a filler word) WISE GUY (As a Stooge, I have to sneak in this image!)

ERRING = not very straight; CAMERA = (picture) shooter ... ER (a filler word) RING CAMERA (we have one installed but it's not active) 

 

The reveal:

61-across. Sound added to everyday speech, and what's been added to create the answers to the starred clues: FILLER WORD.  Not sure how else to explain it but to add this image:

Across:
1. Blue-green: TEAL.  AQUA would have been a fun word to begin with

5. Short form of a name that means "merciful": CLEM.  I had "no clue" and penciled in CLEO.  Guessing it's short for CLEMENTINE, but I'm not going to confirm

9. Lass: MISS.  I had HUGE in 9-down at first; that slowed me down in the NE corner

13. Jessica of "Sin City": ALBA.  And 26-across. NHL great Bobby: ORR.  Two crossword puzzle proper name staples

14. Eta follower: THETA.  The "ABC's" of Greek:  ALPHA, BETA, GAMMA, DELTA, EPSILON, ZETA, ETA, THETA ...

15. Shape the narrative?: EDIT. Sometimes there are clues that are too clever, but sure, why knot [sic]?

18. __ therapy: GENE. 

21. "Easy-peasy": NO PROB.  Isn't the jargon used by kids these days just totes adorb?

24. In __ of: LIEU.  Moe-ku:

    They used stunt double

    In The Tiger's Apprentice,

    In Lucy LIEU of

25. Contacts list no.: TEL.  867-5309
    
27. Little dog: PUP.  Does anyone recall the expression "cuter than a speckled PUP"?

29. Michelin product: CAR TIRE.  This exact clue and entry were last seen at a WSJ puzzle in 2022

31. Planner division: WEEK.  Back in the day, this used to be my planner of choice:  

33. Q neighbor: TAB.  Oh, the "Q" key on a computer keyboard ... not the neighbor fellow who lived next door to the James Bond character ...

35. Yapped like a dog: ARFED.  The only dog I recall that said "ARF" was this one:

40. Lopsided: ATILT.  Like this famous tower??  

42. Cozy room: DEN.  Most new houses feature a great room (instead of a separate living room/family room), and an extra room without a closet is now used (mostly) as a home office 

43. The Emerald Isle: EIRE.  Moe-ku 2:

    Calling Ireland

    The Emerald Isle, not

    EIRE, gets my ire

46. Ill-fated: NOT TO BE.  The soliloquy in Shakespeare's Hamlet: "To be or NOT TO BE ..." 

49. "Need I go on?" abbr.: ETC.  Sometimes there are clues that are too clever ...

51. Sister: NUN.  SIB could've fit, I guess ...

52. Pump part: TOE.  Part of a pair of shoes for women (pumps) ... these: 

 [guessing that these might be open TOE??]

53. Said, informally: WENT.  [someone explain this to me, please ...]

55. Roamed freely: RANGED.  Moe-ku 3:

    "Home, home on the roam;

    Where the deer and buffalo

    RANGED. Where seldom is ... "

60. Half-moon tide: NEAP.  More crossword-ese

65. Intl. alliance joined by Finland in 2023: NATO.

66. First-year law students: ONE L'S.  [Wikipedia] "One L tells author Scott Turow's experience as a first-year Harvard Law School student. The book takes place in Cambridge, Massachusetts where Harvard University is located. First years, or One-L's as they are often called, all face similar issues their initial year of law school. Harvard, known for its reputation as one of the best law schools in the country, takes only about 12% of applicants". 

Didn't we just have ONE L this past Monday??

67. Sunburn soother: ALOE.

68. Pub pours: ALES.  Moe-ku 4:

    I've heard when a pub

    Runs out of an IPA,

    This is what ALES you

    

69. Gift on "The Bachelor": ROSE.  "The Bachelor" is not on my watch-list.  Are any of you ladies that post here fans of the show?

70. Gripe: BEEF.  As opposed to "tripe" which is just offal ... 

Down:
1. __ cross: TAU.  If Lisa and Will wanted a clecho of sorts they might have chosen: "Sigma follower" ... The "ABC's" of Greek:  THETA ... IOTA, KAPPA, LAMBDA, MU, NU, XI, OMICRON, PI, RHO, SIGMA, TAU ...

TAU cross

2. Bark beetle target: ELM.  Bark beetle blog ==> for real!!

3. Old hoops gp.: ABA.  American Basketball Association

4. Pulitzer-winning rapper Kendrick: LAMAR.  The video clip below is NSFW (or home, for that matter) ... 

 
5. Fashionable: CHIC.  (59-across. Fr. title for 9-Across:) MLLE.  (44-down. French street:) RUE.  Today's obligatory foreign words needed to fill in random places in the puzzle 

(in these cases, as Splynter would say, "Frawnche")

6. Pad size: LEGAL. [Blumburg dot com] "The term “legal pad” is a bit of a misnomer; it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the law. The defining feature of a legal pad is the 1-1/4" vertical margin on the left side of the paper. This margin, also known as the down line, was traditionally used for annotations or side notes.

Legal pads originated from paper mill scraps bound together and cut to legal size, hence the name. They were initially used by lawyers, which further contributed to the name"

7. Of a particular culture: ETHNIC.

8. Country singer Kathy: MATTEA.  This is the theme song for the country version of "The Bachelor":

 

9. Bigger than big: MEGA.  HUGE was my first thought ... yours, too??

10. Naming: IDENTIFYING.  Pretty common synonym, as my friend the Thesaurussaurus says: 

11. Heartfelt: SINCERE.  I tried GENUINE first; another mini-roadblock on my way to solving this in 25+ minutes, but I didn't cheat too much ... had to look up MATTEA 

12. Girded (oneself): STEELED.  [Merrium Webster dot com] defines STEELED (transitive verb) as:

2

a

: to cause to resemble steel (as in looks or hardness)

b

: to fill with resolution or determination (girded)

The video below defines how to "gird ones loins" [courtesy of Redemption Community Church]

14. Ozzy Osbourne album in memory of Randy Rhoads: TRIBUTE. [Wikipedia] "Tribute is a live album by British heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, featuring his work with hard rock guitarist Randy Rhoads, in whose honor the album was released. The album was released in April 1987 in the US and May 1987 in the UK, five years after the death of Rhoads"

17. "Let's put a smile on your plate" chain: IHOP.  IHOP Brand Campaign - 2022

20. Garment that preserves hair waves: DURAG.  I thought it was spelled "DOORAG" but I discovered otherwise: [Wikipedia] "A durag (alternate spellings) is a close-fitting cloth tied around the top of the head to protect the hair; similarly a wave cap is a close-fitting cap for the same purpose. Durags may be worn to accelerate the development of long curly/kinky hair, waves or locks in the hair ..."

21. This instant: NOW.  STAT and ASAP did not fit

22. Mine find: ORE.  Moe-ku 5:

    "49'ers" left

    CAL for their northern neighbor;

    They found ORE in ORE

23. Communicating with pictograms, perhaps: PRE-LITERATE.  My my, that's a big word for describing a stick-figure!!  BTW, this is a debut word for crossword puzzles.  Congrats!

Lasceaux Cave Painting

28. Dog's attention-getter, maybe: PAW.  

Covid Cartoon

30. Loyal: TRUE.

32. Scottish wedding garb: KILT.  This one is for the ladies here at the Corner ... I was told this was taken just before the wedding ... 

34. eBay action: BID.

37. Nabe that might have an H Mart: K TOWN.  I suppose that every puzzle needs to have an odd clue/answer or two these days ... K TOWN is an abbr. for "KOREATOWN" (as opposed to CHINATOWN, e.g.).  Nabe is an abbr. for neighborhood.  H Mart is a name for a chain of Asian food stores ... learning moe-ment, for sure

38. Get the picture: SEE.

39. Main courses: ENTREES.

40. Vehicle's shark fin, maybe: ANTENNA.  For modern cars, yes.  It's that fin-shaped device on vehicles that acts as an ANTENNA.  But the "shark-fins" on vehicles that I grew up with are shown below: 

41. Uncomfortably close to home: TOO REAL.

45. Sew up: END.  Good mis-directional clue

47. Request, as table food: BEG FOR.  I'm beginning to think that this puzzle has "gone to the dogs" 😀

48. Los Angeles neighborhood near Reseda: ENCINO.  Well, I have heard of ENCINO, but I haven't a clue where Reseda is ... maybe Art Fern does, but not today:

50. Quarterback Derek: CARR.  Erstwhile Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders QB, he now slings passes for the New Orleans Saints

54. Lore: TALES.  Tried STORY with no success

56. Muslim honorific from which "nabob" is derived: NAWAB.  I will let others comment about this entry ... I did confirm that this word has been used before in published crossword puzzles, but it's been almost a decade ... and only once before @ LA Times

58. Wall St. debuts: IPOS. 

62. Flamenco shout: OLE. 

63. Sushi topper: ROE.  Moe-ku 6:

    Sushi bar offers

    New roll shaped like a ship, called:

    ROE ROE ROE the boat

    

64. __ Jam Recordings: DEF. [Wikipedia] Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop"

And just like that, we are done.  At the end of the day, I, um, hope, er, that I, ah, explained the gist of the puzzle.  

Before publishing this blog I asked Margaret if she got it, and her response was "Like, totally"! 

So OK, like seriously, add some of YOUR comments below ... 

The grid:

Friday, March 22, 2024, Katie Hale

Greetings, Cruciverbalists. Anomalous Moderate here with a recap of today's puzzle by Katie Hale.  As was the case with the puzzle reviewed by yours truly this past December 29th, Lisa Simpson leads the way to anagram-ville (well, it's kinda close to being an anagram of Margaritaville).

At five places in the grid Katie has a bit of fun by rearranging the initial three or four letters of everyday vocabulary and thereby produces humorous themed answers.  After the first few of these were figured out by this solver (not in top-to-bottom order) I thought that the theme would also have an electronics angle (STEM, USB, RCA) but this was not to be.

Here are the five he terms, er themers:

18 Across:  Shirts for a coders vs. physicists softball game?: STEM JERSEYS.  (New York) METS JERSEYS has been rearranged.  A tech reference.

24 Across:  Break-even transactions involving vintage TVs and turntables?: RCA WASHES.  CAR WASHES  RCA was an early brand of TVs and other electronic gear (although I do not recall ever seeing an RCA turntable).  A break-even transactions is sometimes referred to as "a wash".  Six of one a twenty-fourth of a gross of the other.

38 Across:  One issuing tickets to the over-50 crowd?: AARP TROOPER.  PARATROOPER  If anyone here needs AARP explained please drop me a line.

51 Across:  Animated image of an apple falling on Sir Isaac?: GIF NEWTON.  FIG NEWTON  A popular cookie morphs into an animated illustration of an aha moment in the history of physics.  Here, now, a GIF:

59. Lab work focused on data storage devices?: USB CULTURES.  SUBCULTURES

This is how all of this appears in the grid:

Here are the rest of the clues and answers:

So, Cars:  Oops, Across:

1. Trailhead posting: MAP.  My hiking friends and I used to rely heavily on the USGS contour maps.

4. Courtroom drama on NBC from 1986 to 1994: LA LAW.  Today's first TV show reference.

9. Lariat: ROPE.  Drop the L from the clue and we could form RIATA.

13. Spring mo.: APR.  APRIL.  This could have been clued with a credit card interest rate reference.

14. Vague afternoon time: ONE-ISH.  Probably not Katie's favorite fill.

16. Multicolored gem: OPAL.  We have all seen some so-so posts on blogs but here are some gems:  emeralds, sapphires, OPALs, rubies

17. "Gotta __!": JET.  New to this solver.  "I gotta JET is, apparently, a phrase that means "I have to go (quickly)".

20. Miner concern: ORES.  Often found in crossword puzzles but rarely seen pluralized.

22. Water coolers: ICE.  The use of the plural in the clue lead to a bit of head scratching but, I guess, ICES would not be not used in this context.

23. Water movers: MAINS.  Not the first water conduit that came to mind but the clue is on target.

27. Dead set on: WED TO.  Pairing Dead with WED might be perceived as a slippery slope.

29. Tangy red spice: SUMAC.  Popular in middle-eastern cuisine.

30. "Jingle Bells" contraction: O'ER.

32. CSNY's "__ House": OUR.  It was very, very, very fine house with two cats in the yard.

33. Making one's hair stand on end?: TEASING.  A clue to be taken literally.

37. Doesn't take well?: ROBS.   Don't take this wrongly . . .

40. Mark left by a bumper: DENT.  If a plane has a small DENT does that make it an airline fracture?

42. Afternoon rests: SIESTAS.

43. Sprint: RUN.  Did the clue jog your memory?

44. Dudes: MEN.  By definition.

45. Romance novelist Dare: TESSA.  Unknown to this solver although I am aware that Romance Novels exist and I have heard such books referred to as "bodice rippers".

49. Make space on the whiteboard: ERASE.  Clued many ways.

55. "__ you a barrel of laughs": AREN'T.  See also 63 Across.

57. Nintendo character option: MII.  Completely unknown to this solver.  Thanks perps.  MII is a customize-able avatar used on several Nintendo video game consoles.

58. Artemis org.: NASA.  With Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.  The first manned, excuse me, the first crewed lunar landing is scheduled for 2026.

62. Gov. or sen.: POL.  POLitician.  We often encounter POLs in our puzzles.

63. Barrel of laughs: RIOT.  See also 55 Across.

64. Big-box shop: COSTCO.  I was in one just prior to starting to work on this write-up.

65. 68-Across restroom: LOO.  We often go there in our puzzles.

66. Drummer Ulrich: LARS.  Of Metallica.

67. "Anything Goes" star Merman: ETHEL.

68. U.K. part: ENG.  United Kingdom.  ENGland

Down:

1. Focuses in college: MAJORS.  If marine biology was the right MAJOR for you then your grades were probably above c-level.

2. Brief sketch: APERCU.

3. Comms experts: PR TEAM.  COMMunicationS experts - Public Relations TEAM

4. Rock's __ Lonely Boys: LOS.

5. Opposition parties: ANTIS.  ANTIS is a word not often heard, seen or used.

6. Hanger-on: LEECH.  Idiomatically and literally.  Ugh.

7. Teegarden of "Friday Night Lights": AIMEE.

8. Financial paper, for short: WSJ.  Newspaper.  The Wall Street Journal

9. "The Jetsons" maid: ROSIE.  That's ROSIE in the back.  You know the other names from the theme song.  Another TV reference.

10. What love is, per a "Frozen" song: OPEN DOOR.

11. Earnings report: PAY STUB.  Of a sort, I suppose, for an individual but not for a company.

12. Lapel edges?: ELS.  Lapel begins and ends with the letter L.

15. Take up, in a way: HEM.  See also 37 Down.

19. Playful "grr" alternative: RAWR.  Used to express anger, flirtation or affection.

21. Try to hit: SWAT AT.

25. Lenovo rival: ACER.  DELL and SONY would also have fit the allotted space.

26. Wireless speaker brand: SONOS.  Hand up for ANKER.

28. RN workplaces: ORS.  Registered Nurse.  Operating RoomS.

31. Elton John accomplishment, briefly: EGOT.  Emmy Grammy Oscar Tony.   Elton John is the most recent person to complete this feat and, of all who have done so (less than twenty people) he was the oldest at "completion".

34. Basilica alcove: APSE.  Do you struggle to find domed recesses in cathedrals?  There's an APSE for that.

35. Result of angering a wasp, probably: STING.  Not the ethnic kind of WASP.

36. Fury: IRE.

37. Taken up, in a way: RE-SEWN.  See also 15 Down.

38. University of Michigan city: ANN ARBOR.  Go Blue!

39. Spread out at a cocktail party: PATE.  Not splayed.  An edible spread that might be put out (served).

40. Rap's Dr. __: DRE.

41. "1984" superstate: EURASIA.

44. Maitre d' offering: MENU.

46. Paper clip alternative: STAPLE.  Alternatively:  You shouldn't eat stationery.  It might become a dietary STAPLE.

47. "Time to go already?": SO SOON.

48. Like a watch with hands: ANALOG.

50. Factions: SECTS.

52. "You can't stop me": I MUST.

53. Colin of "1917": FIRTH.  An actor/motion picture reference.

54. Extended family member: NIECE.  In Nice, nièce.

56. "No Scrubs" group: TLC.  A music/"girl group" reference.

59. Clickable link: URL.  Here's One

60. Little piggy: TOE.

61. Mexican lager: SOL.  Aaahhh, a nice cold beer to wrap things up.

________________________________________________________

Notes from C.C.:

Happy 83rd birthday to our sweet Pat (PK on our blog), who's been with our blog for a long time. PK used to be a reporter.

 

Cake from Dave

Friday March 15, 2024, 2024 - Alan Levin

 Theme: Ides and Go Seek

 

Puzzling thoughts:  

Blogging a puzzle on the Ides of March?  Be prepared, then, fellow Cornerites for some puns (and jokes) to "celebrate" the 2068th year of Julias Caesar's assassination.  For starters:

This is a story about a Roman. His name was Herman. His name was Roman Herman. The fad of the era was berries. People collected berries. They were a status symbol. One day, while Roman Herman was roaming the outskirts of Rome, he spied a berry. It was the most beautiful berry he had ever seen. He took the berry and brought it to his wife, who loved berries. She saw the berry. She praised it. She said, "That's an awfully nice berry you got there Herman!" Pretty soon, word got around about the berry. People came from all over Rome to see the berry, and to praise it. One night, there was a menacing knock on the door. It was late. Herman opened it. He said, "Who are you?" They said, "We've come for your berry." He says "It's not my berry, it's my wife's berry. Have you come to praise her berry?" "No, we've come to seize her berry, not to praise it." 

OK, I digress ... on this year's Ides of March, our constructor du jour (Alan Levin) decides to tease us with a series of entries whose clues contain the "aha" behind the reveal:

58-across. When read as three words, suitable sponsor for "Sesame Street" and an alternate answer for 18-, 20-, 30-, 36-, 46-, and 53-Across: THE LETTER S.  

Wait, what??  THE LETTER S?? What does that have to do with the 6 entries??  Well, let me try to use the KISS method, as I highlight the key word(s) in each clue for you ...

18-across. It concludes The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds": CAROLINE, NO.  Forget about the final song track on the Beach Boys' album "Pet Sounds" and think about the last letter of the album's name; "Sounds" ends/concludes with THE LETTER S

20-across. Character seen at the beginning and end of "Star Wars": AR-TOO DE-TOO.  R2-D2 (the droid) is quite a character. Additionally, the movie title (name), "Star Wars" begins and ends with THE LETTER (aka, CHARACTER) S 

30-across. It comes early in September: LABOR DAY.  LABOR DAY is not only celebrated early in September (the first Monday, traditionally, in the US), but THE LETTER S also comes early in the "word" SEPTEMBER

This year's LABOR DAY is 9/2

36-across. One is used in basketball but not in hockey: SHOT CLOCK.  This is probably my most favorite of Alan's ... the "SHOT CLOCK" is a timer that sits above each backboard at a basketball game.  In the NBA, e.g., the team with possession has 24 seconds to attempt a SHOT, and at the very least, hit the rim of the net (or make the basket), or else they would turn the ball over to the other team  

In hockey, the only CLOCK is the one on the scoreboard that ticks down the minutes/seconds (20:00, to be exact) in each of three periods.  The skaters/players on each team have no sense of urgency to take a shot; hence, there is no SHOT CLOCK  

So what makes this clue/answer even more amazing is that the word "basketball" contains THE LETTER S; the word "hockey" does not ... very, very clever

The SHOT CLOCK is above the backboard for easy visibility

46-across. What can be seen in two places in Missouri: MLB TEAMS.  At first, I was a bit miffed at this answer (before I solved the puzzle) because the clue contains no abbreviated word(s).  Usually, if part of a crossword answer should be abbreviated, an abbreviation appears in the clue.  

But after further review I get it.  Both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals are MLB TEAMS in the state of Missouri.  And guess what?  THE LETTER S also is seen in two places in the "word" Missouri.  Nice!  

 

53-across. One can't print dollars without it: SPECIAL INK.  Try printing the word "dollars" without THE LETTER S; it can't be done.  The word would be "dollar".  Try printing a sheet of US Dollars without SPECIAL INK (or special paper) and you'd be arrested for counterfeiting, if caught

Lots of SPECIAL INK used

                                    

I highlighted all 14 of THE LETTER ESSES found in today's puzzle.  Can't wait for the rest of the clues/words to see what else is in store ... 

The Grid

Across:

1. Cotillion VIPs: DEBS.  More information about a Cotillion vs a Debutante

5. Fades: DIMS.  Many lighting sources come with some sort of DIMming device these days

9. Redolence: AROMA.  Its literal meaning; mostly used as an adjective (redolent) 

14. Strip of wood: SLAT.

15. Legendary: EPIC. 

16. Participated in a regatta, maybe: ROWED.  My first thought was that a regatta was a boat race for sailing vessels, not rowing vessels ... but this image below shows the type of boat referred to:

17. Prefix between giga- and peta-: TERA. A GIGA-byte is 1 billion bytes; a TERA-byte is 1,000 gigabytes; but a PETA byte is what happens when a worker at the SPCA doesn't pay attention to the rescue's bark ...

22. Gain an advantage: ONE UP.  Who wants to ONE UP the Chairman today on dad jokes??!😏

23. Collection of vineyards, perhaps: ESTATE.  This one is right up the Chairman's alley

28. Tune from "10": BOLERO.  Been a lonnnnggggg time since I saw this EPIC film starring Bo Derek and Dudley Moore ... the clip below is definitely NSFW [be warned!]

32. W-2 org.: IRS.  One month - to the day - and our 2023 1040 tax returns are due

33. Benefit: AVAIL. Many of us AVAIL ourselves of the blog to see where we went wrong (or succeeded)

35. Nose (out): EDGE.  Also a horse racing term; when a horse "wins by a nose" and EDGEs out its rival

Also known as a "photo finish", but the inside horse EDGEd out the other

39. Hearty partner: HALE. 

42. Animal also called a forest giraffe: OKAPI.  Fun facts about it in this short video clip:

43. Boxer's warning: GRR.  Maybe THIS is the warning made by a dog prior to giving one a "peta-byte"

49. Dinner-and-a-show platform: TV TRAY.  Margaret and I still use this device

Tables for two??

51. Small accident: MISHAP.

52. One-named K-pop singer: IRENE.  This filled in with perps; Her

62. Powdery mineral: TALC.  I'm sure the sales of this powder plummeted once the discovery of its connection to cervical cancer was made public

64. Inbox filler: EMAIL.

65. Cut down to size: CROP.  Most of my images in this blog are CROPped from its original size

66. Poetic tributes: ODES.

67. Study aids: NOTES.  I was a prolific NOTES taker when I was in school

68. Physicist Bethe portrayed in "Oppenheimer": HANS.  The movie "Oppenheimer" is bound to provide us with many new clues/entries this year in xword puzzles

69. Moon landing org.: NASA.

Down:
1. Summer hrs.: DST.  Not here in AZ (except for the Navajo Nation) ... apparently there is a bill before the Senate (and/or House) that would make DST permanent ... YMMV ... having more daylight here in the desert SW during the summer would not be welcomed

2. Roosevelt whom Truman called the "First Lady of the World": ELEANOR.  FDR's wife

3. Crude carriers: BARRELS.  TANKERS also fit as an answer

4. Square figure?: STATUE. Nice misdirection for a clue ... square, as in "town square", where many statues reside, though many that had to do with Civil War figures (CSA) have been torn down/removed.  

Here is a joke related to square figures ... (just one cuss word)

For decades, two heroic statues, one male and one female, faced each other in a town square until one day, an angel came down from heaven. "You've been such exemplary statues," the angel said, "that I'm going to give you a special gift. I'm going to bring you both to life for thirty minutes, during which time you can do anything you want." 

And with a clap of his hands, the angel brought the statues to life. The two approached each other a bit shyly and dashed for the bushes, from whence there came a good deal of giggling, laughter, and shaking of branches. Fifteen minutes later, the two statues emerged from the bushes with wide grins on their faces. 

"You still have fifteen more minutes," said the angel, winking at them. Grinning even more broadly, the female statue turned to the male statue and said, "Great! Only this time you hold the pigeon down and I'll shit on its head!"
[Jokes4us dot com]

5. Ert 's style: DECO.  as in Art DECO

6. Tablet since 2010: iPAD.  No tablets in the Moe household; just PC's and cellphones

7. Marshy spot: MIRE.  BOG didn't fit

8. Dundee resident: SCOT.

9. Melodic passage: ARIOSO.  Here is a nice Bach ARIOSO:

10. Director Howard: RON.  He's come a long way from playing Opie

11. Have debts: OWE. Mine include just a car payment and mortgage payment; credit cards, no

12. Guys: MEN.  MALES was too long to fit

13. Flap: ADO.  Had to check all of the synonyms ... does the thesaurussaurus agree?

Nope; ADO didn't make it

19. "Stay" singer Lisa: LOEB. Lots of proper names in today's puzzle; who kept track of them? Not I

21. 2021 interviewer of Meghan and Harry: OPRAH.

22. Kimono sash: OBI.  Lots of 3-letter words (TLW) today; who kept track of them?  Irish Miss, perhaps?

24. Arduous journey: TREK.

25. Append: ADD.  

26. Graffiti signature: TAG.  This, maybe??

27. Needle hole: EYE.

29. Lacto-__ vegetarian: OVO.  One who consumes dairy and eggs in their non-meat diet

30. Soundly defeats: LICKS.  I have been known to "soundly defeat" a lollipop ...

31. Penne __ vodka: ALLA.  Italian for "with"

34. Speck: ATOM.  IOTA fits, too

36. MacFarlane or Green of "Family Guy": SETH.  The man of many voices.  Does anyone else here watch The Graham Norton show?  It's one of our favorites - shown on BBC America 

37. Elect (to): OPT.  OPT in or OPT out; that's the "election"

38. Polite: CIVIL.  Unlike the CIVIL War, which was anything but "polite"

39. "Let me see ... ": HMM.  HMM and GRR in the same puzzle?? ARRGGHH

40. Mahershala with two Oscars: ALI.  Not the "boxer's" family member

41. Nt. wt. units: LBS.

43. Southernmost of the Windward Islands: GRENADA.

Grenada is situated to the northeast of Venezuela; to the northwest of Trinidad and Tobago; and to the southwest of Saint Vincent and Grenadines.

44. Really irks: RANKLES.

45. Saloon pour: RYE.  As opposed to a "salon" pour, which would've been DYE.  RYE is one of the Chairman's favorite whiskies - especially when used to make a Manhattan cocktail

47. Stands in front of artists: EASELS. MODELS could've answered this clue, too ... yes??

48. Dr. visit: APPT.  I like to make mine (APPT.'s) mid-morning

50. Son of Poseidon: TRITON.

54. Engrave: ETCH.

55. "Life & Beth" actor Michael: CERA. Michael Austin Cera is a Canadian actor and musician. He is known for his awkward, offbeat characters in coming of age comedy films and for portraying George Michael Bluth in the sitcom Arrested Development (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019). He is also known for voicing Brother Bear in The Berenstain Bears

56. Curling __: IRON.  RINK also fit, though I bet most Canadians refer to the surface for curling as a sheet

57. Egyptian snakes: ASPS.  Cleo's foil

58. Number of digits on a keypad: TEN. Note: the final five clues in today's puzzle yield TLWs, Irish Miss ...

59. Med. care provider: HMO.

60. "Don't let it get cold": EAT.

61. Whopper: LIE.

63. Farm-share program, for short: CSA.  Clues that match this answer to the group that split from the USA in 1861 are no longer allowed, methinks

And there you have it!  The IDES of March puzzle fell with no additional stab wounds.  Curious to know YOUR thoughts ... in the comments section below.  

On another note, the Chairman and Margaret will be attending the funeral of her mom today, so I won't be coming here until tomorrow, or much later tonight to see your comments.  Her mom passed peacefully a few weeks ago (at the age of 94).  May she RIP; she is now reunited with the love of her life who passed away in 2019, just a few days after their 68th wedding anniversary