A Rose by Any Other Name.
17-Across. If Nicholson sang, danced and acted, he might be called __: JACK OF ALL TRADES. Jack Nicholson (né John Joseph Nicholso; b. Apr. 22, 1937) is an actor who has a played wide range of roles, so he probably can sing and dance as well as act.
40-Across. If Robinson left En Vogue to sing in Jerry Garcia's group, she might be called __: DAWN OF THE DEAD. Although I had heard of the group En Vogue, I was not familiar with Dawn Robinson (née Dawn Shreese Robinson; b. Nov. 24, 1965).
59-Across. If Tomlin came from San Fernando, she might be called __: LILY OF THE VALLEY. Lily Tomlin (née Mary Gean Tomlin; b. Sept. 1, 1939) is an actress and stand-up comedian. She played Ruth Ann on Rowan & Martin.
Across:
1. Tripoli's country: LIBYA.
6. College grad: ALUM.
10. Kill, as a dragon: SLAY. St. George, the patron saint of England, is said to have been a dragon-slayer. Surprising fact: Dragons don't exist!
14. Thorny plant: BRIAR.
15. Latina toon explorer: DORA. Dora the Explorer
16. Scrabble piece: TILE.
20. GQ or Cosmo: MAG. Both are magazines, one for men and the other for women.
21. Photographed: SHOT.
22. Inhumane: BARBARIC.
27. Salty drops: TEARS.
31. Big name in PCs: ACER. I learned of Acer computers from doing the crossword puzzles.
32. __ pork: Chinese dish with pancakes: MOO SHU. Hubby likes Moo Shu Chicken.
35. "High" afternoon meal: TEA.
36. Forbidden: TABOO. Not to be confused with Tattoo, which is a common crossword word.
38. Series of missed calls: PHONE TAG.
43. Dog food seller: PET STORE.
44. Crop up: ARISE.
46. Soul, to Sartre: ÂME. Today's French lesson. Jean-Paul Sartre (June 21, 1905 ~ Apr. 15, 1980) was a French extentialialism philosopher. I had to read some of his work in college, but I don't remember anything now.
47. Polar parka: ANORAK. I need one today. Icy rain is coming down now, even as I type this. We covered all of our fruit trees last night. Hope they will survive.
50. Passionate about: INTO.
51. Winona of "Stranger Things": RYDER. Winona Ryder (née Winona Laura Horowitz; b. Oct. 29, 1971) was born in Winona, Minnesota. She has starred in many movies and television shows, including Stranger Things, which is a sci-fi horror mystery television series.
53. Brings good luck to: SMILES ON.
55. Taunt: GIBE.
58. Drone or worker: BEE.
67. Trim, as a photo: CROP. It's so easy to do on your computer.
68. Dry forecast: FAIR.
69. Religious doctrine: DOGMA. Also the name of a 1999 movie that starred Matt Damon and Ben Aflack.
70. Credit card balance, say: DEBT.
71. Benchmarks: Abbr.: STDs. As in Standards.
72. Jerk or twitch: SPASM.
Down:
1. JFK's successor: LBJ. Lyndon Baines Johnson (Aug. 27, 1908 ~ Jan. 22, 1973) succeeded John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 ~ Nov. 22, 1963). As a kid, I thought Johnson was really old, and yet he died at only 64.
2. Nest egg initials: IRA. As in an Individual Retirement Account.
3. Flickable lighter: BIC.
4. Go on and on: YAK.
5. Kitchen allure: AROMA.
6. Samuel Barber's "__ for Strings": ADAGIO. Samuel Osmond Barber, II (Mar. 9, 1910 ~ Jan. 23, 1981) was an American composer, conductor and pianist. This piece has been used in a number of movies and television shows, from Platoon to episodes of The Simpsons.
7. Cyberchortle: LOL. Laughing Out Loud. Apparently this has been used for over 30 years.
8. Web addresses: URLs. The Uniform Resource Locator has become a crossword staple.
9. Subject with numbers: MATH.
10. Georgia or Washington: STATE. In this map, both states are the same color.
11. Pot cover: LID.
12. It may be blonde or pale: ALE. Everything you wanted to know about beers, but were afraid to ask.
13. "Roundabout" rockers with a positive name: YES.
18. Word before hand or land: FARM.
19. Capitol feature: ROTUNDA. It's a majestic building. Photographs don't do it justice.
22. Cave hanger: BAT.
23. Plato's school, with "the": ACADEMY.
24. Paid back, as a purchase incentive: REBATED.
25. Tweezer targets: BROWS.
26. Whirlybirds: 'COPTERS. Also the name of a carnival ride.
28. Realizes, as a goal: ATTAINS.
29. Entertains with a bedtime story: READS TO.
30. Give in to gravity: SAG.
33. Recital rebuke: SHH.
34. Flower bed tool: HOE.
37. Province on four Great Lakes: ONTARIO. Hi, CanadianEh! Is this your Province? Ontario touches upon Lakes Superior, Huron, Erie, and Ontario.
39. Spooky: EERIE. Not one of the Great Lakes.
41. Bass ending: -OON. As in a Bassoon.
42. Pendulum direction?: FRO. The Foucault Pendulum at the Boston Science Museum.
43. Links standard: PAR.
45. Seemingly forever: EON. A crossword staple.
48. Orange-yellow gemstones: AMBERS. They are often embeded with insects.
49. Ukraine's capital: KIEV. The people of Ukraine prefer to spell the name of the capital as Kyiv. Kiev is a transliteration of the Russian name, whereas Kyiv is the Ukrianian transliteration.
52. The Nile runs through it: EGYPT. Several years, we took a boat ride up the Nile.
54. Detectives' aids: LEADS.
56. Bosom buds, in texts: BFFs. Textspeak for Best Friends Forever.
57. Nouveau-Mexique, par exemple: ÉTAT. More of today's French lesson. Contrary to what some people think, New Mexico not a foreign country, but a State in the American Southwest.
Carte des États-Unis avec le Nouveau-Mexique en rouge.
59. TV screen type: LCD. As in Liquid-Crystal Display.
60. Fury: IRE.
61. Easy throw: LOB. Not to be confused with 63-Down: Cut (off): LOP.
62. Laid low: HID.
64. JFK alternative: LGA. Both the LaGuardia Airport and the JFK Airports service the New York Area. The airport in Newark also services the New York Area.
65. Maximum borders?: EMs. As in the letter M. Maximum.
66. Oft-candied veggie: YAM. I'll pass on this dish. I never understood why people liked yams with marshmellows.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
Happy Mardi Gras, Y'all! You can still celebrate. Only the parades have been cancelled. This is the coldest Mardi Gras in recent memory, however.
