Thursday, November 14, 2024, Lynn Lempel

 

 A SIMPLE THEME

Today veteran Lynn Lempel returns with a simple letter insertion theme.  Each of her 3 themers is clued with a perfectly reasonable question and the resulting 2 word fill is a pun on the clue, prefixed with the letter 

... which when removed results in a new in the language phrase.  This was a helpful theme and if you found the reveal it made the puzzle easier to solve.  Here are Lynn's themers ...

16A. Reason for copyright suits filed by Atari?: APING PONG.  I recall playing Atari's PONG in college back in the 60's at a local eatery in College Park, MD.   It was one of the very first video games.  I'm sure it was often imitated, but I don't know if Atari actually sued anyone for APING it. It was played on a computer controlled CRT mounted in a table top and looked like this ...

24A. Where squirrels stash treats?: ACORN HOLE.  Where else would they stash them?  OTOH Corn Hole is a game -- here's how it's played ... 

34A. Shenanigans in the physics lab?: ATOM FOOLERY.  The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists tell us that these shenanigans are a very dangerous game that the world is playing with itself.  But drop the A and Merriam Websters tells us it's all just playful or foolish behavior.  Let's hope MW is right!

47A. Rueful remark after losing on the Strip?: ALAS VEGAS.  Stop me if I've told you this before ... I don't gamble, but I was on a business trip in VEGAS years ago and decided to play the slots just for the thrill of it.  I cashed in a 5 dollar bill for nickels and played the slots until they were all gone.  After plugging my last nickel into that one armed bandit, I hit the jackpot and got them all back!  The next day I stacked them into neat piles and left them for the maid.  VEGAS has a way of bringing out generosity in people. 😀

Here's Lynn's reveal ...

57A. "Haven't seen that before," and an apt title for this puzzle: IT'S A FIRST.  Need I say more?

Here's the grid ...
 

Here's the rest ...

Across:
1. Hit-the-water sound: PLOP.  Like this ...

5. Falafel bread: PITA.  Here's Dr. Sonali's recipe.

Falafel sandwiches

9. Bio. branch: ECOL.  Ecology (from Ancient Greek οἶκος (oîkos) 'house' and -λογία (-logía) 'study of') is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology addresses the full scale of life, from tiny bacteria to processes that span the entire planet. 

Ecologists study many diverse and complex relations
 among species, such as predation and pollination.
The diversity of life is organized into different habits,

from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems.

13. Waiter's place: LINE.  CAFE fit, but didn't perp.

14. Japanese noodle: UDON.  SOBA fit, but didn't perp.  Here is the difference between the two.

15. Wassail spice: CLOVE.  Wassail is a beverage made from hot mulled cider, ale, or wine and spices, drunk traditionally as an integral part of wassailing, an ancient English Yuletide drinking ritual and salutation either involved in door-to-door charity-giving or used to ensure a good harvest the following year.  Here's Lauren's recipe.

Wassail

16. [Theme clue]

18. "The Right Kind of Wrong" singer LeAnn: RIMES.  Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at the age of 13 and has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Christian, and other musical genres.

19. Prehistoric tools: STONES.  This is a broad area of study and anyone wishing for a deep dive of prehistoric tools around the world might find this Wikipedia article interesting.  Closer to home are the stone tools developed by the Clovis culture, during the Paleoindian period of North America, spanning around 13,050 to 12,750 years ago.  These indigenous Americans created spear points, hand axes, and other tools call Clovis points by flaking cryptocrystalline varieties of quart such as flint, chert, jasper, and chalcedony with deer antlers. Clovis points got their name from the high concentration of tools found in Clovis, New Mexico.  The tools were not only very functional, but many were quite beautiful ...

Clovis points explained

20. Pelvic bones: ILIA.  The ilium (pl.: ilia) is the uppermost and largest region of the coxal bone, and appears in most vertebrates including mammals and birds.

22. Dash of flavor?: MRS.  A Dash a day helps keep salt away.

23. "Impression, Sunrise" artist: MONET.  Impression, Sunrise is an 1872 painting by Claude Monet first shown at what would become known as the "Exhibition of the Impressionists" in Paris in April, 1874. The painting depicts the port of Le Havre, Monet's hometown and is credited with inspiring the name of the Impressionist movement.

Impression, Sunrise
Claude Monet, 1872

24. [Theme clue]

  26. Vague quantity: ANY.

27. Kid-lit girl with a blueberry pail: SAL. Blueberries for Sal is a classic children's picture book written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey in 1948. The story is set in Maine, following the adventures of a young girl named Sal and a bear cub named Little Bear as they both go blueberry picking with their respective mothers before winter. The book was awarded the Caldecott Honor in 1949.

First Edition cover

29. Allen who was the 2017 NFL Comeback Player of the Year: KEENAN.  Keenan Alexander Allen (born April 27, 1992) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears before leaving after his junior year. He was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft.  Allen won multiple rookie honors after setting Chargers' records for receptions and receiving yards by a rookie. In 2017, he was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

Keenan Allen
Rookie year 2013

30. Amble: STROLL.

33. "The Sound of Music" range: ALPS.  Here's the inspiring finale of the movie ...

... in reality their hike in the ALPS was a diversion to keep the Nazis from realizing that they were leaving the country.  At some point in the hike they were able to reach a train station and they left the country by rail.

34. [Theme clue]

37. "12 Monkeys" network: SYFY.  12 Monkeys is a 1995 American science fiction thriller film directed by Terry Gilliam from a screenplay by David Peoples and Janet Peoples, inspired by Chris Marker's 1962 short film La Jetée. It stars Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, and Christopher Plummer (who BTW also starred in 33A). Set in a post-apocalyptic future devastated by disease, the film follows a convict who is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.  Here's a trailer

39. Aboriginal emblems: TOTEMS.  Reports by European explorers of the totems of the Northwest coast Indigenous peoples date back at least to the 18th century.  They were a highly developed art at that time and the tradition of creating is returning.

40. Liquefies: PUREES.

43. "Gross!": UGH.

44. "1883" actor Elliott: SAM.  1883 is an American Western drama miniseries created by Taylor Sheridan that premiered on December 19, 2021, on Paramount+. 

47. [Theme clue].

50. Scale mark: OUNCE.

52. Retailer with an "Uncommon Path" blog: REI.  New to camping?  There's an app for that.

53. Make at work: EARN.

54. Worth remembering: OF NOTE.

55. Church official: ELDER.  In Christianity, an elder is a person who is valued for wisdom and holds a position of responsibility and authority in a Christian group. In some Christian traditions (e.g., Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism, Methodism) an elder is an ordained person who serves a local church or churches and who has been ordained to a ministry of word, sacrament and order, filling the preaching and pastoral offices. In other Christian traditions (e.g., Presbyterianism, Churches of Christ, Plymouth Brethren), an elder may be a lay person serving as an administrator in a local congregation, or be ordained and serving in preaching (teaching during church gatherings) or pastoral roles.

57. [Theme reveal]

59. Like a cloud forest: MOSSY.  A cloud forest is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. Cloud forests often exhibit an abundance of mosses covering the ground and vegetation, in which case they are also referred to as mossy forests.  Olympic National Park in Washington State, has a cloud forest called the Hoh Rainforest.  It's the wettest destination in the lower 48 US states, receiving 12–14 feet of rain per year, plus 30 inches of fog and mist. It is blanketed by moss and ferns.  

Hoh Rainforest
Olympic National Park

60. "Now you see it, now you don't!": POOF.

61. Side: TEAM.

62. Versatile celeb's feat: EGOT.  Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony -- here's a list of the winners.

63. Terminal points: ENDS.

64. Irish Gaelic: ERSE.  A Celtic language spoken in Scotland and Ireland.  What is Irish?

Pct. of those who said they could speak Irish
 in the Republic of Ireland and
Northern Ireland censuses of 2011

Down:

1. Resource stored in some banks: PLASMA.  In this case, blood banks.  Blood plasma is a light amber-colored liquid component of blood in which blood cells are absent, but which contains proteins and other constituents of whole blood in suspension. It makes up about 55% of the body's total blood volume.  

2. Tazo alternative: LIPTON.  Lipton is a brand named after its founder, Sir Thomas Lipton who started an eponymous grocery retail business in the United Kingdom in 1871. The brand was used for various consumer goods sold in Lipton stores, including tea from 1890 for which the brand is now best known.  It was the brand preferred by my English Mum whenever she had a spot of tea.

3. Like a classic French soup: ONIONY.  Here's Jenn's classic recipe made with caramelized onions, rich beef broth, and toasty bread topped with melted cheese.

French onion soup

4. Pasta with lisce and rigate versions: PENNE.  DNK these variations.  Lisce (smooth) vs rigate (ridged) PENNE pastas both have ends cut like a quill pen, "penne" being Italian for "quilled".  

Rigate Penne pasta

And since the pasta's ready, here's a recipe for Penne Puttanesca (anchovies optional) to go with the French onion soup.

5. Young seals: PUPS. 

Awwwh!

6. Union agreement?: I DO.  And after 55 years we still do!

7. Fizzy mixer: TONIC.

8. __-Frisian: West Germanic language group: ANGLO.  Thank you perps! The Anglo-Frisian languages are the Anglic (English, Scots, Fingallian, and Yola) and Frisian (North Frisian, East Frisian, and West Frisian) varieties of the West Germanic languages.  Here is the distribution of the modern versions of these languages ...

Perhaps the best way to describe the relationships between these languages is this family tree ...

9. Country quartet __ Young Band: ELI.  Eli Young Band is an American country music band composed of members who met while students at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas: Mike Eli (lead vocals, guitar), James Young (guitar), Jon Jones (bass guitar), and Chris Thompson (drums). Here's their Crazy Girl, the Billboard top country song of 2011 ...

10. As a rule: COMMONLY.

11. Cover some of the same territory: OVERLAP.

12. Diminishes: LESSENS.

15. Marsh bird: CRANE.  One particular species of this marsh bird, the Whooping Crane, was of special interest to Marylanders.   By 1964 only 42 of the birds were left in the wild and their prospects were grim.  In a effort to help the species survive, the Maryland Patuxent Wildlife Research Center established a breeding program using eggs taken from the remaining wild birds (it had been discovered that they usually laid 2 eggs, but only one would survive and removing the 2nd egg didn't harm the wild birds' prospects).  By the time the program ended in 2017 the Center had managed to rear 72 birds in captivity.  While we never got to see any of these magnificent creatures in Maryland, years later we were thrilled to see many in Texas on an aquatic birding trip to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, where they migrate each Winter.  They are still endangered and the work to save them continues to this day.

Whooping Cranes
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

17. Reaches: GETS TO.

21. Peeve: IRK.  A verb. IRKS could also be a synonym for 17D

24. Up in the air: ALOFT.

25. Learns via the grapevine: HEARS.  That's where Marvin Gaye heard it ...

28. Sleeve tattoo spot: ARM.  If you're not into pain you can buy these a set of 6 of these faux tattoos from Amazon for only $4.99 + taxes and handling ...

Faux sleeve tattoos

30. Eye sores: STYES.

31. Bath bathroom: LOO. LAV fit but didn't perp.  Opinions are divided among Brits over which is preferred.

32. Seated yoga pose: LOTUS.  It's more than just sitting cross legged ...

34. "Sorry, but it's true": AFRAID SO.

35. Part of a right triangle: LEG.

36. Second Gentleman Doug: EMHOFF.  Not for long.  He didn't make it to First Gentleman, so his days as Second Gentleman are numbered.

37. "Stop with all those details!": SPARE ME.  TMI was too short.

38. Cake also called bûche de Noël: YULE LOG.  Here's Sally's recipe.  You've only got 41 days to make yours ...

bûche de Noël
Yule Log

41. Not just some: EVERY.

42. Copious quantity: SEA.

44. Unpopular camper: SNORER. 

45. Fills in for: ACTS AS.  In As You Like It Shakespeare suggests that we're all acting as ourselves.

46. Terse invitation to get together: MEET ME. 

48. Complain: GRIPE.

49. Writer Chekhov: ANTON.  Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer. His career as a playwright produced four classic plays: The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard.  Chekhov was a physician by profession. "Medicine is my lawful wife," he once said, "and literature is my mistress."

Anton Chekhov

51. Wed: UNITE.

54. lummoxes: OAFS.  Our dinosaur agrees, finding only one 4 letter synonym for "lummoxes".

56. Inexact fig.: EST.

58. Grass farm output: SOD.

Cheers,

Bill

And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley

Friday, December 8, 2023 - Lynn Lempel

Theme: "Cesium the day!" (Cs) or C ==> S

One of Lynn's entries that didn't make the cut? CLUE: When images of Lucky Charms are dancing in your head?: CEREAL TIMES (SURREAL TIMES)

If the THEME were K ==> N, then this cartoon would be appropriate:

Puzling thoughts:

More Friday wordplay as Ms. Lempel produces 5 homophonic phrases in which each of the homophones has a "C-word" that should begin with an "S" for the more common phrase or expression. Lynn Lempel's reputation as a Crossword puzzle constructor more than precedes itself. Having more than 100 puzzles @ the NY Times places her in a rareified class of puzzle producers

Hmm ... another wordplay just creeped into MY jumbled brain ... CLUE: Successor who lives above 10,000 feet?: RAREFIED HEIR

So let's examine each of the 5 phrases, "won" at a "thyme" ...

17 across. Odd remedy for an overhead crack?: CEILING WAX. Let's come clean for a second ... my first entry was CEILING FAN before realizing that this puzzle was heading in a homophonic direction. CEILING WAX isn't anything I'm aware of, but SEALING WAX most certainly is ... notice the red wax on the bottle below; it is hand-dipped at the distillery in Loretto, KY

25 across. Pennies that are a dime a dozen?: COMMON CENTS. "Let's throw in an idiom, too", said Lynn, as the phrase "dime a dozen" = COMMON; and after using a bit of COMMON SENSE, the Chairman (me) figured this one out

37 across. Percussion instrument for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir?: RELIGIOUS CYMBAL. This one calls for a Moe-ku:

Zildjian has special
Religious collection that
Features creche cymbals

52 across. Sacrifice of some data storage space?: CLOUD CEDING. The most subtle in terms of humor of the five ... I am very familiar with the CLOUD for data storage: [wikipedia] "Cloud storage is a model of computer data storage in which the digital data is stored in logical pools, said to be on "the cloud". The physical storage spans multiple servers, and the physical environment is typically owned and managed by a hosting company"

CLOUD SEEDING is: [wikipedia] "... a type of weather modification that aims to change the amount or type of precipitation that falls from clouds by dispersing substances into the air that serve as cloud condensation or ice nuclei, which alter the microphysical processes within the cloud". Or maybe, this:

61 across. Jewelry in the shape of a swan?: CYGNET RING. THIS was my favorite of the 5. Very clever. A CYGNET is a juvenile male swan. A SIGNET is a small seal (usually on the face of a stone on a ring) that authenticates; this, e.g.:

As opposed to this:

Here is a singular of (1 across. Short shot: PIC) showing today's completed grid; this will also show where I made my mistakes (see the crossing of 44a and 39d, as well as 35a and 27d). Due to the number of theme entries, the puzzle grid had to contain a large number (22) of 3-letter words. Adding together the time I spent solving and the complexity of today's puzzle (for me) puts this @ 8.2 on the MOES hardness scale. Well done Lynn! Hope you'll stop by and say hello!

Across:
5. Shocks: JOLTS; and its singular "clecho" (20 across. Shock:) STUN.

10. Gum balls?: WADS. When I was a kid, many baseball players chewed tobacco. They always had a distinctive WAD in their cheek. I "aped" that - in a way - by cramming multiple sticks of bubble gum into my mouth. Might be a good reason why all of my molars had cavities ...

14. Shade in a neutral palette: ECRU.

15. Nebraska rail hub: OMAHA. CSO to our Saturday blogger and daily poster, Husker Gary

16. Actor Guinness: ALEC.

19. Speak effusively: GUSH.

21. Rejections: NOS. And two additional homophones: NOSE and KNOWS

23. "You can't mean me!?": MOI.

24. Go downhill fast: SKI.

30. Super __: PAC.

31. Met favorites: ARIAS.

32. Truism: AXIOM.

33. Sundance Film Festival state: UTAH.

35. Club kin: BLT. This one got me, as I didn't associate "club" with a sandwich, and I didn't recognize the name in the crossing word clue (27 down. Ventimiglia of "This Is Us":) MILO, even though I watched all of the "This is Us" series' episodes. MILO played Jack Pearson. Worth watching if you haven't seen it

36. __ carte: A LA.

43. "Hardly!": NOT.

44. Same old same old: RUT. My mistake here was using the word "ROT" instead of RUT. My inner Norm Crosby must've appeared

45. Rational: SANE.

46. CX-5 and CX-50 automaker: MAZDA. Anyone else try HONDA first?

49. Olympian and actress Sonja: HENIE; and conveniently, Lynn Lempel found this (2 down. Gear for 49-Across: ICE SKATE) to complement

51. Decline: SAG.

54. Prefix with friendly: ECO.

55. Tanqueray product: GIN. Not the brand I normally drink; here is one of my (and Margaret's) current favorite:

56. Tofu, basically: SOY.

57. Munch Museum city: OSLO.

59. Really distasteful: ICKY. Glad this wasn't a five-letter answer ... 

66. Committed perjury: LIED.

67. Gochujang origin: KOREA. I love using this on fried or scrambled eggs, or in an omelete

68. Red's friend in "The Shawshank Redemption": ANDY. This filled in with perps as I did not remember the character's names; played by Tim Robbins

69. Boys: LADS.

70. More confident: SURER.

71. Baseball gripping point: SEAM. How to throw and two-seam fastball:

Down:
1. Delt neighbor: PEC. If this were a fraternity or sorority based clue, could the answer have been "EPS"?

3. Decisive: CRITICAL.

4. Chekov colleague: SULU. Original Star Trek, so technically it's not a CSO to Picard

5. Garfield's human: JON. The comic strip Garfield; not the US President. Any guesses as what Jon's last name is?? A LA Husker Gary, I will mention it at the end of my blog*

6. "Daaaang!": OMG. Text speak; Oh My Go...

7. Kim Wexler's field on "Better Call Saul": LAW. Am I the only one here who hasn't watched "Better Call Saul"? Thankfully, LAW was easy to perp into this spot. Reflecting back on ALL of the 3-letter's today, they were very fair

8. Marvel villain who collected the Infinity Stones: THANOS. I actually got this one, as Margaret introduced me to the Marvel Universe when we became a couple in late 2019. The Infinity Stones colors represent: Purple for Space, Yellow for Reality, Red for Power, Blue for Mind, Orange for Time, and Green for Soul. The stone colors were updated in the Marvel Legacy series to match the film versions. Here is an image of this dude with the 6 Infinity Stones:

9. Early invader of Great Britain: SAXON. Earlier invader of Great Britain: ANGLO. Otherwise, how else could they merge??

10. Jokester: WAG. See 9 down; that's Chairman Moe trying to be a WAG

11. Many college donors: ALUMNI. Many blood donors: O NEGATIVE

12. Bygone Chrysler: DESOTO. Bring back any memories?

13. Rupture in a church group: SCHISM. [Wikipedia] "A schism is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, such as the Great East–West Schism or the Western Schism"

18. Native of Peru's Urubamba Valley: INCA. [Wikipedia] "The Sacred Valley of the Incas or the Urubamba Valley, is a valley in the Andes of Peru, north of the Inca capital of Cusco"

22. Like a bass or a boa: SCALY. It's homoNYM time with the clues ... clearly, not these two:

24. Urge (on): SPUR. GOAD or PROD fits, too

26. Planetary path: ORBIT. Or if the clue were to somehow use a transitive verb we could have this Moe-ku:

Do we know planets
Are circular in shape? Or
Did we just ORB IT?

28. Ripened: MATURED. Margaret often tells me that I have not yet MATURED, but occasionally tells me that I am RIPE ... 藍

29. Chances to determine proficiency: EXAMS. I always liked multiple guess questions on EXAMS

34. Holi celebrant: HINDU. Another homonymic clue ... HOLI and HOLY are pronounced the same but have different meanings. [Wikipedia] "Holi is a popular and significant HINDU festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love, and Spring. It celebrates the eternal and divine love of the deities Radha and Krishna. Additionally, the day signifies the triumph of good over evil, as it commemorates the victory of Vishnu as Narasimha over Hiranyakashipu"

If I were a betting man I would guess that Picard has some photos of this celebration to share with us today ...

36. Get credit for?: ACT IN.

38. Urges on: GOADS. Hmm ... didn't I just see this a few clues ago?? A plural clecho ...

39. Olympic gymnast Lee: SUNI. One of my two Naticks today. I didn't know this person, but her routine is pretty incredible:

40. Court boundary: BASELINE. This link provides several references to the term "BASELINE"

41. World's heaviest snake: ANACONDA. Now THIS boa is pretty SCALY

42. Component of some small castles: LEGO. Perps to the rescue but quite fair (and clever) as a clue

46. Montreal university: MCGILL. CSO to CanadianEh! Perhaps they can give us a bit more info on this fine institution

47. Garza who co-founded the Black Lives Matter movement: ALICIA. [Wikipedia] "Alicia Garza is an American civil rights activist and writer known for co-founding the Black Lives Matter movement. She is a recognized advocate for social and racial justice, with a particular focus on issues affecting marginalized communities, including Black women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and immigrants"

48. Utterly exhausted: ZONKED.

49. "Oh, hi!": HEY YOU.

50. Versatile celeb's achievement: EGOT. EGOT is becoming a very popular Crossword Puzzle entry

53. Roosters: COCKS.

58. Some Mex. spouses: SRAS. CSO to Lucina

60. Quilting qty.: YDS. Nice alliterative clue

62. "Why, I oughta ... ": GRR.

63. Name-clarifying word: NEE. My screen name is Chairman Moe, NEE Moe Vedre ... feel free to ask why

64. Otoscope target: EAR. Friday-like clue

65. Workout spot: GYM. An easy one to finish on

Hope y'all liked the puzzle and the wordplay. Please comment below ... see ya again just before Christmas ... *ARBUCKLE

 

Note from C.C.:

Happy 77th birthday to dear Jazzbumpa (Ron)! Ron is taking the December off, but he'll be back in January. Ron has been our faithful Wednesday Sherpa since January 2011.

 

 

 

Monday July 17, 2023 Lynn Lempel

 

Hello Cornerites!

sumdaze here. Today's grid delivers 4 themers plus a reveal. Let's take a closer look:

16 Across. Bed that may have a canopy: FOUR POSTER.  

22 Across. Prize announcement that often involves ping pong balls: LOTTO DRAWING.  

37 Across. Many a writing exercise in a fiction class: CHARACTER SKETCH.

How to Write One

49 Across. Spotted pattern appropriate for a catsuit: LEOPARD PRINT. 

He's quite the catch.

60 Across. Bizarre, and what the ends of 16-, 22-, 37-, and 49-Across are when redecorating: OFF THE WALL.  Def.: (adj.) highly unusual; strange or very different, often intentionally.  

It is also the slogan for Vans shoes. OFF THE WALL was a term coined when skateboarders in the mid '70s were landing new tricks in empty pools by literally skating OFF THE WALL.

I see the connection between POSTER, DRAWING, SKETCH, and PRINT. However, for me, it is less clear how OFF THE WALL connects. It does make me think of my teenage bedroom. I had so many posters on my walls (e.g., Rocky, Devo, Let's Boogie, the 'Hang in There' cat, Yosemite's Half Dome) that I ran out of space. I had to resort to tacking posters on my ceiling. Perhaps Lynn is reminding us of when the POSTERs/DRAWINGs/SKETCHes/PRINTs of our youth eventually came OFF THE WALL to make room for a more sophisticated décor. Everyone has to grow up sometime....

Let's see what else the Queen of Mondays prepared for us today.

Across:

1. Goes halfsies with, say: SHARES.  cute clue

7. Chat at length: GAB.

10. Yield to gravity: SAG. Congratulations if you have no idea what this means!

13. Sneak attack: AMBUSH.  The gray cat shows how it is done:  

14. Pollution-fighting org.: EPA.  "Organization" is abbreviated, so is "Environmental Protection Agency".

15. "Aladdin" parrot named for a Shakespeare villain: IAGO.  Sparknotes calls IAGO (from Othello) "possibly the most heinous villain of Shakespeare."

18. Grouchy one: CRAB.  

19. "¿Cómo __ usted?": ESTA.  Muy bien, gracias.

20. Tattle (on): RAT.  

21. News outlets: MEDIA.  "MEDIA" is a collective noun so it can be singular or plural.

26. Soup cooker: POT.  

29. U-turn from NNW: SSE.

30. Sioux City citizen: IOWAN.  Sioux City was founded in 1854. Its elevation is 1,201 ft (366 m.) and its population in 2021 was 85,617. Some famous Sioux City citizens are Fred Grandy (Gopher on The Love Boat), Jerry Mathers (Beaver on Leave it to Beaver), and the advice columnist twins Ann Landers & Abigail Van Buren, neither of whom has a rodent moniker.

31. Soil: EARTH.  and  58 Down. Clump of dirt: CLOD.

33. Pea sheller's discard: POD.

34. Celestial Seasonings products: TEAS.  Anyone who has taken the Celestial Seasonings factory tour in Boulder, CO will remember going into the Mint Room!  

41. Japanese wrestling: SUMO.  To win a match, the wrestler must push his opponent out of the 15 ft. diameter (4.54 m.) ring or make him fall down to the ground. This usually only takes a few seconds but there is a lot of lead-up. You can read more here.

These athletes are much more limber than one might think.
It looks like the wrestler on the left will fall down to the ground first.

42. Bounce: HOP.

43. Put pen to paper: WRITE.  

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss sing Please Read the Letter (1998).

44. Sat for a photo: POSED.  How to Pose: 7 Easy Adjustments for More Flattering Photos

48. Govt. intel group: NSA.  "Government" is abbreviated, so is "National Security Agency".

53. Bowler's hangout: ALLEY.  Um, actually.....

54. West Coast sch. with the most Rose Bowl wins: USC. The University of Southern California Trojans have the most appearances (34) in the Tournament of Roses Football Game, giving them an advantage on the record for most wins (25). more stats

55. Oil cartel acronym: OPEC.  Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries

59. Commotion: STIR.  

63. Family lads: SONS.  I wish they still did TV show opening credits like this one for My Three Sons (1960 - 1972).

64. File that might be e-signed: PDF.  Portable Document Format  

65. "Still ... ": EVEN SO.  

66. Dollar bill: ONE.  As in, "I threw a couple of ONEs into the tip jar."

67. Endeavor: TRY.  Also, a British TV detective drama (2012 - 2023). Set in Oxford from 1965 - 1971, it is a prequel to the Inspector Morse series (1987 - 2000). Endeavor does a good job of recreating the fashion, settings, and cultural zeitgeist of the times.

Shaun Evans and Roger Allam star as
young Inspector Morse and Fred Thursday, respectively.

68. Like most pretzels and chips: SALTED.  I had SALTy --> SAvory --> SALTED

Down:

1. Spot for valuables: SAFE.  Jeff Sitar won the Lockmaster's International SAFEcracking Competition eight times! You can meet him in this 2:17 min. video:  

2. Managed care gps.: HMOS.  "Groups" is abbreviated and plural, so is "Health Maintenance OrganizationS". This webpage explains the difference between an HMO and a PPO.

3. Lie alongside: ABUT.

4. Like a farming community: RURAL.  Speaking of TV shows with fun opening credits, how about this show featuring RURAL life?  

Green Acres (1965 - 1971)

5. Clairvoyant's claim: ESP.  A clairvoyant is someone who claims to have a supernatural ability often called ExtraSensory Perception.  

6. Summer attire: SHORTS.

7. Reach: GET TO.

8. Nonhuman primate: APE.

9. Soap unit: BAR.

10. Packed can of fish: SARDINE TIN. Yes, there have been many 3-letter fills today. I suppose that is the price one pays to fit in this pleasing fill, along with its symmetrical partner at 28 Down.  

This is a mesmerizing video of Pacific SARDINEs, sea turtles, and tuna in a one million gallon tank at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a building which was once a SARDINE factory on Cannery Row. The last cannery closed in 1973.

Note:  I recommend muting the sound to eliminate audio distractions.

11. From the top: AGAIN.  This clue made me think of my musician grandfather's favorite TV show.

With a-one and a-two....

12. Portable evacuation kit: GO BAG.  Here is a list of things to pack in your GO BAG.

15. Cold zero-calorie drink: ICE WATER. This was another amusing clue, along with its symmetrical partner at 32 Down.

17. Fill to the max: SATE.

21. Cavernous opening: MAW.  Def: (noun) the receptible into which food is taken by swallowing; the throat, gullet, or jaws especially of a voracious animal; something suggesting of a gaping maw.

23. Org. that collects workplace injury data: OSHA.  "Organization" is abbreviated, so is "Occupational Safety and Health Administration".

24. Designer Christian: DIOR.  

This ensemble is from Christian DIOR's Fall 2023 Ready-to-Wear collection.

25. Fishing poles: RODS.

26. Muscles above abs: PECS.  

27. Waikiki's island: O'AHU.

28. Acrobat's springboard: TRAMPOLINE.  TRAMPOLINE is an Olympic event.  

32. Highway officers: TROOPERS. Not all States use this term. In some States, these officers are called State Police, Highway Patrol, or State Patrol.

33. Vitality: PEP.

35. Plays a part: ACTS.

36. __ butter: moisturizer in L'Occitane products: SHEA.

38. One-named "Believe" singer: CHER.  Believe is the title track from her 22nd studio album, which was released in 1998.

39. Chuck of "Meet the Press": TODD.  Last month he announced he will be leaving the show to spend more time with his family.

40. "Crazy Rich Asians" novelist Kevin: KWAN.  Kevin KWAN is a Singapore-born American author.  

45. Give voice to: SAY.  With only 3 letters, there were not a lot of options.

46. Formerly, quaintly: ERST.

47. Wealth: RICHES.  Kevin KWAN's literary realm

49. Coach Ted played by Jason Sudeikis: LASSO.  Annon-T recommends this show. I want to watch it but first I need to get HULU.

50. "Tiny Dancer" singer John: ELTON.  This one always tricks me. I first think, "John ___."

51. Somewhat swollen: PUFFY.  

puffer jackets

52. Low-tech hair dryer: TOWEL.  I liked this clue -- possibly because it appealed to my dry sense of humor.

ba-dum-TSSH

56. Gasp for breath: PANT.  and  57 Down. Otherwise: ELSE.

60. Elect (to): OPT.

61. WPA creator: FDR.  "Works Progress Administration" is abbreviated, so is the name of the president who enacted it, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

I recently visited a WPA art exhibit. I was previously unaware of this program from the 1930s.

62. "Searching for Mexico" host Longoria: EVA.  This is a travel & food TV show which first aired on March 26, 2023.

Here is the grid. You may or may not choose to PRINT it out and POST it on your WALL.

That's all for today. I look forward to reading your thoughts!