Thursday, February 3, 2022 Lewis Rothlein, Nancy Stark

 

Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers

Constructors Lewis Rothlein and Nancy Stark have both contributed puzzles to our Corner before, but I believe this is their first collaboration here.   

The themers and reveal of their puzzle today describe a zero-sum game, which in game theory and economics is defined as a situation involving two sides, where the result is an advantage for one side and a loss for the other, e.g. the game of baseball.  There are also non-zero sum games, e.g. cooperative ventures such as the stock market, where investors pool their resources in hopes of mutual gains.  

I think we'll see that overall, this puzzle is really a non-zero sum, "win-win" game, in which Lewis and Nancy reward our efforts with a clever theme and lots of clever clues and fill. Let's start with the two part reveal:

68A. With 71-Across, possible result of my gain ... and what four long answers have undergone?: YOUR.  and  71A LOSS.  Each themer has undergone the LOSS of YOUR, resulting in fill with a different meaning:

20A. Psychiatry?: MIND BUSINESS.  A metaphor for a profession involved in a non-zero sum game.  While we tend to think of business in general as a competitive zero-sum game, it takes co-operation and a lot of hard work to MIND YOUR BUSINESS:

32A. A noble title and entrée into high society?: COUNT BLESSINGS.  While the last few years have been rough on our society and tragic for some, it never hurts to look on the bright side and to stop and COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS.

42A. Passion of a well-trained city dog?: CURB ENTHUSIASM.  I always thought dogs liked fire hydrants?   Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American TV sitcom that has been produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000. It was created by comedian, writer, actor, director, and television producer  Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself.  I reviewed quite a few video clips to insert here, but Larry's jokes all seemed to be at the expense of someone else, and that curbed my enthusiasm.

58A. Blue plumage, say?: SWALLOW PRIDE.  I'm sure most of us have had to SWALLOW OUR PRIDE at some point in our lives.  Eating CROW seems to be the metaphor for this favored by constructors.  But the clue connotes FEATHERS that a SWALLOW could be PROUD  of.   SWALLOWS are in almost perpetual flight, and their blue plumage is not as bright as that of Jays and Bluebirds, so it's not as noticeable. But here's one proudly taking a brief rest on a fence: 

Tree Swallow

Here's the grid:

Now let's see what other games we can find:

Across:

1. Goes on and on: JAWS.

5. Like storytelling: ORAL.  In celebration of the recent start of the Lunar New Year of the Tiger, here's a children's story called There's a  Tiger in the Garden:

9. Continued violently: RAGED.

14. Spiky succulent: ALOE.  In addition to its utility to crossword puzzle constructors, there are at least 7 Amazing Uses for Aloe Vera.

15. Half a salon job: PEDI.  The other half being a MANI.

16. Prize: ADORE.  "That's not AJAR, that's ADORE!"

17. Failed to honor: RENEGED ON.  In the view of some, Britain and France RENEGED ON their promise to Poland in early 1939 to provide military assistance in the event that it was invaded by Germany.

19. Like some diets: VEGAN.  What's the difference between VEGAN and VEGETARIAN diets?
 

22. Like a pin?: AS NEAT.  Unlike my office.

25. Hockey great Phil, to fans: ESPO.  Philip Anthony Esposito born February 20, 1942) is a Canadian broadcaster, and a former professional ice hockey player, and coach.   He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks, Boston Bruins, and New York Rangers. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time, and is the older brother of fellow Hall-of-Famer Tony Esposito, a goaltender.  He also played for Canada in international competitions.  A CSO to CanadianEh!!

Phil Esposito

26. Golfer's support: TEE.

27. L.A. commuter org.: MTA.

28. Remind over and over: NAG.

30. Neighbor of Greece: Abbr.: ALB.  Albania, Northwest of Greece, is a small country with Adriatic and Ionian coastlines and an interior crossed by the Albanian Alps.  Although she was born in neighboring North Macedonia, undoubtedly the most notable person of Albanian heritage was St. Teresa of Calcutta.   She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 and from 1952 until her death in 1997, ministered to the dying in India.

Albania

38. Father: SIRE.

39. Jimmy Eat World genre: EMO.  Here's everything you want to know about EMO.   Jimmy Eat World is an American rock band formed in 1993 in Mesa, Arizona (a CSO to Lucina, CMOE, and Yuman!). The band is composed of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch, and drummer Zach Lind.  Here's their first big hit, "The Middle", a place we all find ourselves from time to time.

40. R&B artist India.__: ARIE.  India Arie Simpson (born October 3, 1975), also known as India Arie (sometimes styled as india.arie), is an American singer and songwriter. She has sold over 5 million records in the US and 10 million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards from her 23 nominations, including Best R&B Album.  Here's her breakthrough single "Video":

47. Alternative to email: FAX .

48. German grandpa: OPA.  We miss you Spitzboov.

49. '60s war zone: NAM. 

50. Speaker in a typical Swifty: TOM. Named for Tom Swift, the main character in six series of American juvenile science fiction and adventure novels that emphasize science, invention, and technology. First published in 1910, the series totals more than 100 volumes and many are still in print.. Swifties are a form of humor Tom is credited with creating, but which seems to have fallen into disuse in recent years.   But they're overdue for a revival and if nothing else, they're fun and "they'll help keep your mind sharp - as Tom would say, pointedly".  I have a feeling we haven't heard the last of this.

53. Craft brew choices: IPAS.  India Pale Ales. (see 2D).  We seem to imbibe them regularly on the Corner. 

56. How Mona Lisa smiles: SUBTLY.  Certainly the most famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, if not the most famous in the world.

Mona Lisa, circa 1506
The Louvre, Paris

61. Many pop soloists: ALTOS.  Our featured  ALTO is Adele singing the theme song from the 2012 James Bond movie Skyfall:

62. Settings for hiking and running: GRIDIRONS.  Could this be a reference to football?

66. In again: RETRO.   “Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.” - Oscar Wilde.  But don't worry, it'll be back again in another 6 years.  Teri tells me that these are back:

67. Comfort: EASE.

69. "The Dancing Couple" painter Jan: STEEN.  Jan Havickszoon Steen (c. 1626 – buried 3 February 1679) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, one of the leading genre painters of the 17th century. His works are known for their psychological insight, sense of humor and abundance of colour.  The Dancing Couple was painted in 1663 and is currently in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

The Dancing Couple

70. Place for pupils: EYES.

Down:

1. Mason __: JAR.  We canned some Salsa Verde this past Fall.  I hope I didn't put too much SRIRACHA sauce in the recipe.

2. It may be blonde or amber: ALE.  See 53A.

3. Captured: WON.

4. Note below F?: SEE ME.  Not a musical note.  A note on your last math test. 
 
5. Drinks may be put on one: OPEN TAB.

6. Funny Foxx: REDD.  John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor.  Probably best known for the TV series Sanford and Son.

John Elroy Sanford

7. Spanish for "mudbrick": ADOBE.  Adobe  is a building material made from earth and organic materials. While we associate it with the American Southwest, it is used throughout the world, e.g.in this Mosque in Djenné, Mali, Africa:
 

Great Mosque of Djenné

8. "House intellectual" in "Peanuts," per Schulz: LINUS.  Schulz, has said of the character, "Linus, my serious side, is the house intellectual, bright, well-informed which, I suppose may contribute to his feelings of insecurity."

9. Pockets usually stuffed: RAVIOLI.  You can make your own!

10. Mideast port city: ADEN.  Aden is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some 170 km (110 mi) east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb.

11. Fetch: GO GET.

12. Totally remove: ERASE.

13. Hard to get through ... or get through to: DENSE.  Like some people?

18. Oracle Park player: GIANT.  The home of the San Francisco Giants.  Hand up if you're a Giants fan?

21. Places for 15-Acrosses: SPAS.  A CSO to Lucina.  Any other ladies who take a respite in these frequent crossword oases?

22. Old Ramblers, briefly: AMCS.  Teri used to drive her spiffy AMC Rambler Classic over to my house to give me driving lessons.  Unfortunately the lessons were in my father's '57 Buick Riviera with manual steering and it drove like a tank.

23. Stiff-upper-lip type: STOIC.  Very British!

24. Tiny Pacific nation: NAURU.  Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru is an island country in Oceania, in the Central Pacific.  With only a 21 km² (8.1 sq mi) area, Nauru is the third-smallest country in the world behind Vatican City and Monaco, making it the smallest republic as well as the smallest island nation.

Republic of Nauru

29. Scottish lowland: GLEN.  While the word originated in Scotland, most English speaking countries also use it.  A GLEN is a type for a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. It is also used in place names such as Glen Burnie and Glen Arm not too far from where we live.  There is also a Glen at the center of Towson University, Teri's and my Alma Mater.

31. "Sons of," in temple names: B'NAI. B'NAI is not only used in synagogue names, but other Jewish organizations as well.  The most well-known of these is probably B'nai B'rith, literally the "Sons of the Covenant".  B'nai B'rith is the oldest and largest Jewish organization in the world, with associations in many countries. It began in 1843 in New York and has its main office in Washington, DC. It is a cultural, social and educational organization that also supports hospitals and gives help after disasters. In 1913 it created the Anti-Defamation League to fight unfair treatment of Jews and others

33. Indoor ball brand: NERF.

34. Lifesaver, briefly: EMT.

35. Carnaby Street's district: SOHO.  This particular district is in London, but New York City also has a district in Manhattan ("South of Houston Street") called SOHO.
 
36. Johnson successor: GRANT.   A Civil War hero who, later went on to become President, Ulysses S. Grant succeeded Andrew Johnson who became President when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.  And BTW, Ulysses is actually Grant's middle name, the "S" having resulted from a clerical error on his application to West Point. 

37. Scratching post material: SISAL.

41. Part of EGOT: EMMY. The others being GRAMMY, OSCAR, and TONY.

43. Abandons in a crisis: BAILS ON.

44. Fairly large fair: EXPO.  The first international EXPO was the Great Exposition of 1851, held in the Crystal Palace in London.  I have a personal connection to this event, as my great great uncle, potter Felix Pratt of Fenton, England exhibited this ceramic plate depicting the scene described in Matthew 12:1-8:

Christ in the Corn
Jesse Austin, engraver
Victoria and Albert Museum

 

45. Silver linings: UPSIDES.

46. Medina resident: SAUDI.  Medina, Saudi Arabia is considered the second holiest city in Islam.

50. Makeup of a long Russian line: TSARS.

51. Parliament newcomer?: OWLET.  This was new to me.   Until I looked it up I thought it was Brit slang for a  new member of the House of Commons.  but this "Parliament" is a collective noun for owls, and of course OWLETS are baby owls.

52. Photo finish: MATTE.  A horse race?  No, not even close.

54. "What a shame!": AW GEE.

55. Surf feature: SPRAY.

57. New Hampshire state mineral: BERYL.  Beryl is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium cyclosilicate with the chemical formula Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈. Well-known varieties of beryl include emerald and aquamarine.  Depending on impurities it can take a variety of other colors:

59. Stories to pass on: LORE.

60. Hike: RISE. A noun not a verb.

63. Castle queenside, in chess notation: OOO.  Every thing you need to know about chess notation.  See the TOC on the sidebar for how to notate castling, which involves two moves.

64. Xi preceders: NUS.  Not the current Chinese premier, but Greek letters:

65. Prom gp.: SRS.  And a lot of us folks.

And thanks as always to Teri for proofreading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley

Cheers,

Bill

Friday, March 5, 2021, Lewis Rothlein

Theme: Dyslexic's Nightmare!!

The reveal: 63-Across. Hair problem, and what three short puzzle answers each has: SPLIT END.

Chairman Moe here, trying to "tackle" the elusive "split end" that Lewis Rothlein featured in today's crossword puzzle. Not the easiest of tasks for this blogger, as I had to cheat several times in solving the puzzle. And then I had absolutely NO CLUE about the puzzle's "reveal" until my sister (who is visiting us for awhile) looked at the filled-in puzzle grid, and saw the SPLIT ENDS.

Let's insert the grid now, and please pay attention to the letters in red, including the circled ones:

First things first: if your puzzle came with no circles, this would be almost impossible to find. Second, the clue (in 63-Across; "what three short puzzle answers each has") was a bit misleading at first. This puzzle is filled with 3-letter answers, not circled. But I digress. Even looking at the circled "words" and trying to make heads or tails from them, all I saw were: CIM/MIC; TIP/PIT; SEY/YES; NOT/TON; DOG/GOD; and TOP/POT. And what, pray tell, did all of these mean? Four of the six circled words were "mirrored anagrams": TIP/PIT; NOT/TON; DOG/GOD; and TOP/POT. Hmm.

My first thought as I began blogging was to look at the uppermost circles: MIC and TIP. The "ends" of these words are "split" apart from their beginnings. What is a MIC TIP you ask?

Same with TOP and DOG.

And the third SPLIT END is NOT YES, it's HELL YES!

But then, as the clues and answers unfolded (I was all the way to 10-Down. "Sure!": WHY), when it finally hit me like a can of V-8! The "SPLIT ENDS" are: HOT MIC, HOT TIP, WHY NOT, WHY YES, AND LAPTOP, LAP DOG! Duh. All of these resemble what a SPLIT END looks like!! I hope it didn't take all y'all as long to figure it out as it took me. I literally wrote over 50% of the blog before I got it. And after devoting about 2-1/2 hours to my draft, I am not going to re-write the whole thing! So just bear with me, OK??!!

Anyway, that's my story and I am sticking to it!! Thanks, Lewis for a VERY CLEVER puzzle

Across:
1. "Born From Jets" automaker: SAAB. Not your average SAAB story

5. Fiscal exec: CFO. Chief Financial Officer

8. Sign of danger: BEWARE.

14. Like letters in an outbox: UNMAILED. Do you folks still use a mailbox flag to indicate your UNMAILED letters?

16. Transport again: RE-HAUL. Different than U-HAUL I presume . . .

17. Connecticut home of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament: STAMFORD. Learning moment for me. Perhaps my Friday blog partner-in-crime, (and native to the Nutmeg State) Lemonade714 would care to comment?

18. Nobody special: ANYONE.

19. One may reveal a secret: HOT. As in HOT TIP! A HOT MIC is not shown, but refers to a microphone that is active

20. Inconsistent: STREAKY. As a college student in the early '70's, my first thought about seeing the root word for this is captured by Ray Stevens below:

22. Pro Bowl side: Abbr.: NFC. National Football Conference. Or could've been AFC. Pro Football all star game. Football used to have SPLIT ENDS until they re-named them wide receivers. And if the game goes 23-Across. Past regulation, briefly: we would say that it's IN O.T.

25. Land in the ocean: ISLE.

26. Cal Poly setting, initially: SLO. San Luis Obispo. California Polytechnic Institute has a campus here. See the map image below, courtesy of Google Maps ... San Luis Obispo is north of Santa Barbara ...

27. Morlock prey: ELOI. You knew this, right? The ELOI are one of the two fictional post-human races, along with the Morlocks, in H. G. Wells' 1895 novel The Time Machine

29. Area 51 figures, supposedly: ETS. This link courtesy of Brittanica dot com has a lot of information, as well as an imbedded video worth watching. Are they really revealing the truth about Extra Terrestrial BeingS? What about this picture?

30. Way to earn interest?: FLIRT. Cute clue

32. Recipe amts.: TSPS.

34. "1984" superstate: OCEANIA. H.G. Wells with ELOI and now George Orwell with OCEANIA from the book Nineteen Eighty-Four

36. Find: LOCATE.

39. Lab tubes: PIPETS. Moe-ku:

Great Expectations
Was translated to Klingon.
Named, "PIP", for ET'S

40. Comparable things: ANALOGS. This one was a stretch for me. Too Friday-ish perhaps?

42. "Black Narcissus" figures: NUNS. Perps filled in this answer for me. A 1947 movie in which a group of Anglican NUNS, led by Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr), are sent to a mountain in the Himalayas

43. Word on mail from Toledo, maybe: AEREO. "Apartado aéreo" in Spanish means "air section/air post office", in English ... I think ... Toledo as in the city in Spain

44. Abate: EBB. Crossword puzzle staple

46. Just the best: TOPS. See the TOP DOG reference in the intro

49. __ thai: PAD. PAD Thai is stir-fry dish made with rice noodles, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, peanuts, a scrambled egg and bean sprouts. The ingredients are sautéed together in a wok and tossed in a delicious pad thai sauce

50. Mystery novelist Paretsky: SARA. SARA Paretsky is an American author of detective fiction, best known for her novels focused on the protagonist V. I. Warshawski

51. Sine qua non: NEED. From Latin. Loosely translated means: an essential condition; a thing that is absolutely necessary. NEED. Friday clue. But the wine geek in me saw this clue and thought about a California cult wine called "Sine Qua Non"

53. One often chosen for lightness: LAP. As in LAP TOP! Cats love them, and fittingly, the picture below ALSO shows a LAPTOP computer. No LAP DOG in this first picture, but the second one is questionable, methinks

54. Arced woodshop tools: C CLAMPS. Used in carpentry

57. Mex. title: SRA. SenoRA

58. Hercule's creator: AGATHA. Big day for books and authors. Wells, Orwell, Paretsky, and now Christie. Methinks our constructor must enjoy books and reading

60. "Join us for lunch?" regrets: I'VE EATEN. Sure; makes sense

62. Put back in the fridge: RE-COOL. Meh. Not an expression I would use

64. Drafted: DREW UP. Also defined as bringing a body of troops in array

65. Many a quote, for short: EST. LOL!

66. "South Park" co-creator Parker: TREY. Perps. I've heard of "South Park" but not the co-creator. Here is a clip of TREY Parker's favorite episode

Down:
1. Temaki or futomaki: SUSHI.

2. San __: Texas city nickname: ANTONE. Not gonna diss this clue and answer, because phoenetically, it fits. But just as natives from San Francisco do not refer to their city as "Frisco", neither do San Antonians refer to their city as "San ANTONE". Just sayin'

3. Explosive mixture: AMATOL. A high explosive consisting of a mixture of TNT and ammonium nitrate

4. "Kapow!": BAM.

5. Thicken, as cream: CLOT. According to Wikipedia dot com, CLOT(TED) cream is a thick cream made by indirectly heating full-cream cow's milk using steam or a water bath and then leaving it in shallow pans to cool slowly. During this time, the cream content rises to the surface and forms "clots" or "clouts", hence the name. It forms an essential part of a cream tea. And now you know!

6. Martha's Vineyard arrivals: FERRIES. I think that now, the only active ferry routes to Martha's Vineyard embark from Woods Hole, MA; Hyannis, MA; and Nantucket Island.

7. Most unexpected: ODDEST. Weird; I got this one!

8. Slow up: BRAKE. Do you say this to slow up or slow down?

9. Counting word: EENY. EENY, meeny, miney, MOE!! (That's me, in case you thought Malodorous Manatee was blogging today's puzzle . . .)

11. Internet recovery program: A. A. ON-LINE. This clue and answer didn't resonate when I was filling it in. And still didn't until I found this:. I guess that during the pandemic it is/was the safest way to continue the recovery process

12. Flee in fear: RUN FOR IT.

13. Utility abbr.: ELEC. Our ELEC bills range between $130 a month in the winter to well over $300 a month in the summer. But nothing like the recent bills in Texas this past month

15. Possibles: IFS. One of my favorite expressions (and I may be paraphrasing here): If IFS and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas!

21. As a bonus: ALSO. Did you get this, too?

24. Came to: TOTALED. As in added-up

26. Applies carelessly: SLAPS ON. But not in the case of "wax"

28. Puerile retort: IS TOO. Great word, puerile! Defined as: childishly silly and trivial. This answer could've been clued differently if it weren't a Friday

30. Artful dodge: FEINT. Another great Friday clue/answer. Our resident Canadian, Canadian Eh! might know it as this:

31. Prof.'s aides: T.A.'S. A teaching assistant (T.A.) or teacher's aide or education assistant or team teacher is an individual who assists a teacher with instructional responsibilities

33. Fielder's strong throw: PEG. An archaic baseball term, or it could've been clued as "a nickname for Margaret". But my "Margaret" does not want to be called this

35. PC brain: CPU. Central Processing Unit

36. SoCal ball club, on scoreboards: LAA. Los Angeles Angels. LAD fit, ALSO. As in Los Angeles Dodgers

37. Short report: ONE PAGE'R. Not this PAGER:

38. Turtle shell, e.g.: CARAPACE. I thought this a bit obscure, but it's been seen in other puzzles, recently

41. Letter closer: SEAL. Like this one:

42. Curry and Antetokounmpo, recently: NBA MVPS. National Basketball Association Most Valuable PlayerS. Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors, and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks

45. Sear and simmer: BRAISE. How to braise:

47. Vex: PESTER. Apparently our Thesaurussaurus has not heard of this synonym

48. Cool: SERENE. Another Friday clue for this answer methinks

50. Resell to desperate fans, maybe: SCALP. The word "SCALP" has some negative meaning, too. But the term meaning to resell tickets goes back a long way

52. Fine partner: DANDY. Did this come to ANYONE's mind?

53. Shortening, maybe: LARD. It's actually pronounced "uhts". My favorite potato chip

54. French cabbage: CHOU. Frawnch!

55. Hide: PELT. Moe-ku for SportsCenter fans:

ESPN host,
Now that he's bald, should be known
As Scott Van No PELT

56. Roman numeral?: SEI. As in "VI"?? SEI --> Italian for "six". Wow, what a stretch!!

59. Garage service: TOW. As in TOWing a vehicle to the garage for service

61. ABA member: ATT. American Bar Association has, as its members, ATTorneys

This was fun! Hope to hear from many of you about your solving trials and tribulations on today's puzzle . . .

Wednesday, June 19, 2019 Lewis Rothlein

Theme - WORD LADDER.  This is a word game invented by Lewis Carroll, in which a starting word is transformed into a target word by changing one letter at a time.  The challenge is to accomplish this in the fewest steps.  Here all the ladder words have circled letters, and are stand alone fill.  Let's see how this works.

1. Strong drink, and part 1 of a word ladder: DOUBLE.  A DOUBLE is a drink with 2 ounces of liquor.  It is also our starting word.  Looking ahead, our target word is SHIFT.  So, one can work a DOUBLE SHIFT.  I've never done that, and let's hope we don't have to.  But hold that thought.

20. Tabloid item (part 2): COUPLE.  A COUPLE in a tabloid is often referred to as an item.  Usually they show up because of some scandal, rumor, or bit of personal news involving them.  None of this is anybody's business, of course, but inquiring minds want to know.  The changed letters are highlighted in red.  Hang on a sec - letters!?!  Two of them? Should I call foul on this?  Let's defer that answer for the nonce.

28. Two-door cars (part 3): COUPES.  Cars with fixed roofs, two doors, and sloping rears.  Two letters changed.

36. Brunch order (part 4): CREPES. These are thin pancakes, usually rolled and wrapped around a filling.  My favorite is apricot.  Again, two letters have changed.

Poloscinta

42. Underground tombs (part 5): CRYPTS. I can't improve on that definition.  Nor on the consistent changing of two letters.

48. Arts' partner (part 6): CRAFTS.  The skills involved in making things by hand.  Or craftally changing two letters at a time.

56. Wanders (part 7): DRIFTS.  Travels aimlessly.  Or changes by two letters at a time, with a specific aim in mind.  Hmmm  .  .  .

68. Work assignments ... and, preceded by 1-Across, the key to creating the word ladder (and part 8 of it): SHIFTS.  You can work several kinds of SHIFTS - day, night, third, or swing.  But, back to the puzzle, now all becomes clear.  Putting the first and last words together, we get DOUBLE SHIFTS - thus the alteration of two letters at a time.  Tadah!

That's a bit meta, but certainly clever, and I'll give some extra credit for that.

Hi, Gang.  It's JazzBumpa, not feeling at all SHIFTY.  So let's double down and see what the rest of this puzzle has to offer.

Across:

7. Kiss: BUSS.  From the Latin basiare, probably via French and late Middle English.

11. Injured, as a knee: BUM.

Kneezles is even worse

14. Damage: IMPAIR.  As, for example, a knee.

15. Private tutoring session: ONE ON ONE.

17. Theater walkways: AISLES.  Or in churches.

18. Injured, as an ankle: SPRAINED.  When the ligaments are stretched or torn.  We are having a rather bad leg day.

19. Cancels a dele: STETS.  Editor's marks for delete and let it stand, respectively.

21. The "S" of CSNY: STILLS.  I was stuck on NY as being New York.  That was a complete dead end.  This "S" is Steven Stills of Crosby, STILLS, Nash and Young.  Remember them?

24. "No more sharing," briefly: TMI.  Too Much Information - not on my need-to-know list.

25. Genetic material: DNA. Deoxyribonuclaic acid.  We all took biochemistry - right?

30. 1975 Tony-winning play about a stableboy: EQUUS.  About which I know nothing.

32. Former Boston commuter org.: MTA. Municipal Transit Authority.

35. Small, chirpy bird: WREN.  Several varieties.

37. "It can't be!": OH NO.  Dang!

39. Unsuccessful Ford: EDSEL.  But now a cult classic.

41. Personal care brand with a bird in its logo: DOVE.

Peace and Well-being

44. Mining hauls: ORES.  Rocks containing useful metals.

46. Circus safety feature: NET.  To catch a falling star.

47. Owl sounds: HOOTS.  Do you give one?

50. Piercing tool: AWL. For puncturing leather, not owls.

51. Japanese assent: HAI. Means yes.

53. Sandal parts: STRAPS.  Keeps them on your feet.

59. Taxpayer's option: E-FILE.  Electronic submission.

61. Neckwear that makes a statement: POWER TIE.  It's all nonsense, in my humble opinion.

63. Older, as bread: STALER.  Not that I've ever made that specific comparison.

64. Like the print version of an e-book, say: DEAD TREE.  Paper pulp source.

65. Abrasion: SCRAPE.  Damage due to friction - more pain. Ouch!

66. Cook in oil: FRY.

67. Insolence: SASS.  Impudence and rudeness.   Thad says, don't do it.

Down:

1. Days in Quito: DIAS.  In Ecuador, they speak Spanish, todos los días.

2. Drops: OMITS.  Leaves out or excludes.

3. Hot and bothered: UPSET.  Disturbed, or - if you prefer - excited.

4. Like Estonia and Latvia: BALTIC.   Also Lithuania - refers to countries on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, across from Sweden.

5. Stays out of sight: LIES LOW.  Avoiding attention and detection, generally for the purpose of staying out of trouble.

6. Trauma ctrs.: ERS.  Emergency Rooms.

7. Pear variety: BOSC.  Unique in shape and color.

Distinctive russet color

8. Removes for transplanting: UNPOTS.  Out of one pot, and into another - or, perhaps, the ground.

9. Antitoxin: SERUM.

10. Having more lather: SOAPIER.

11. Took a refresher course in: BONED UP ON.  You can BONE UP ON it here.

12. Half of deux: UNE.  Two divided by two is one.  This looks suspiciously like French to me.  Numbers in French go hilariously wonky, as you will soon see. My granddaughter Alexa, who has studied French, assures me that every bit of this is true.

13. __ school: MED.  Where one learns to be a doctor.

16. Zero, in soccer: NIL.  Exactly nothing.  Probably the same - or something [that is to say: "nothing"] close to it - in French.  I hope.

22. Angling needs: LURES.  Things that attract the fish.  In another puzzle I worked recently the answer to this clue, in the singular, was LINE.

23. Went like the wind: SPED.  If I do that, I get winded. 

26. Béisbol team complement: NUEVE.  A baseball team has 9 players, in any language.  Spanish numbers, if I recall correctly, make some sort of sense.

27. Desirable trait: ASSET.

29. Belgian painter James: ENSOR. [1860-1949] Read about him here.

31. Logician's "as was proven": QED.  Quod Erat Demonstrandum - loosely, that which was to be demonstrated.

32. Coffee flavor: MOCHA. A coffee-chocolate combination.

33. Host, as a party: THROW.

34. With no discernable pattern: ANY OLD WAY.  Whatever.

36. Chin indentation: CLEFT.

Chin divot

38. Back (out): OPT.  Choose to not participate.

40. Labeled times: ERAS.

43. Warm-weather wear: T SHIRTS.

45. Warm up before a run: STRETCH.

48. Boston and Chicago: CITIES.  Large municipalities.

49. "Green Hills of Africa" journey: SAFARI.  From the Arabic word safara - to travel.

52. Union that merged with SAG in 2012: AFTRA.  Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

54. Rice dish: PILAF.  Cooked in broth with spices and vegetables or meat.

55. Snoozed: SLEPT.

57. See 58-Down: RED.  The color of anger.

58. With 57-Down, loses one's cool: SEES.  To see red is to become suddenly enraged.  From an earlier expression "To see things red," from ca. 1900.  Probably not related to a bull fighter's red cape.

60. Part of a Spanish "to be" conjugation: ERES.  I'll leave this to a Spanish speaker to explain.

61. Adobe doc suffix: PDF. Portable Document File.

62. Atop, poetically: O'ER. As, for example, ramparts.

63. Griddle sound: SSS.  Onomatopoeia, I suppose.

That wraps up another Wednesday.  I'll add this, just because I can - a big trombone [and tuba] choir I participate in once a year.  This year it was on June 9th.

Cool Regards!
JzB