Monday, August 17, 2026, Kelly Morenus

Theme:  Get back!

back-to-back meerkats

Constructor Kelly Morenus has authored four Friday puzzles in the New York Times, as well as one Saturday puzzle there.  She co-authored a puzzle in the LA Times on Saturday, November 8, 2025, with devilishly difficult co-constructor Erik Agard.  Today, Kelly's puzzle appears on Monday, the easy-peasy day of the week.  Let's see how that worked out.

Some solvers enjoy a puzzle where the theme is discernible and actually helps with the solve.  Yours truly found today's theme to be invisible until the big reveal.  That's OK, because some solvers like a theme that comes as a big surprise at the end.  The big reveal happened here:

58-Across. Consecutive, or a hint to what can follow the first parts and precede the second parts of 17-, 25-, 38-, 40-, and 49-Across: BACK TO BACK.  Let's break this down.  "Back-to-back" is a synonym for "consecutive."  Think of back-to-back meetings, one right after another.  That works.  Next, we look at the first and second parts of the cited entries, and see what happens when we stick "back" in there a couple of times ... back-to-back, so to speak.  Thus:

17-Across. Attraction in a neighborhood park: PLAYGROUND.  PLAYBACK / BACKGROUND.

25-Across. Illuminating item in an emergency kit: FLASHLIGHT.  FLASHBACK / BACKLIGHT.

38-Across. Phone history list: CALL LOG.  CALLBACK / BACKLOG.

40-Across. Fail to show up for: BLOW OFF.  BLOWBACK / BACK OFF.

49-Across. Outing for two couples: DOUBLE DATE. DOUBLE BACK / BACKDATE.

An elegant feature of the theme entries is their symmetrical placement in the grid.  Well done.

Across:

1. Magic: The Gathering fan's collection: CARDS.  Yours truly is not familiar with the collectible "Magic: The Gathering" cards, introduced in 1993.  Inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, the game has attracted fifty million or more players.  

A game of Magic: The Gathering in process.

6. "You are __": map message: HERE.

10. Slugger Sammy: SOSA.  Sammy Sosa is a Dominican former professional baseball right fielder.  He played in Major League Baseball for 18 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs.  He hit his 400th home run in his 1,354th game and his 5,273rd at-bat, reaching this milestone quicker than any player in National League history.  Sosa is one of nine players in MLB history to hit 600 career home runs.

Sammy Sosa

14. Capital of Ghana: ACCRA.  Formed from the merger of settlements around British Fort James, Dutch Fort Crêvecoeur, and Danish Fort Christiansborg, Accra served as the capital of the British Gold Coast between 1877 and 1957 and has since become a modern metropolis ... in spite of all the European colonizers.

Accra, Ghana

15. Yemen neighbor: OMAN.  Speaking of European colonizers, the Sultanate of Oman expelled the Portuguese in the 17th century.  It has been continuously ruled by the Al Bu Said dynasty since 1744, and is an absolute monarchy with Islam as the state religion.

Note that the northernmost part of Oman is on the Strait of Hormuz.

16. Birds associated with wisdom: OWLS.

17. [Theme clue]

19. Skewed view: BIAS.

20. Flow slowly: SEEP.

21. General idea: SENSE.

22. Lobby group for seniors: AARP.  Originally an initialism for the American Association of Retired Persons, it's now just AARP, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization helping people aged 50 and older with concerns related to health, personal finances, and daily living.

25. [Theme clue]

29. Word before metal and music: SHEET.

31. Buoyant: AFLOAT.

32. Kitchen tool needed for some potato dishes: PEELER.

34. Commuter's fee: TOLL.  DH and I have transponders on our cars to facilitate automatic payment of tolls on California toll roads, but it can be confusing to encounter tolls in other states, especially where there are no payment stations on the road.

35. Garden implement: HOE.  Hoes have been used since ancient times to clear weeds, shape soil, and harvest crops.

Weeding the vegetable garden with a hoe.

38. [Theme clue]

40. [Theme clue]

42. Streaming interruptions: ADS.  We tolerate ads on some streaming platforms, and pay for premium access without ads on others.  Television today has many options, and can be very expensive.

43. Argentine author Jorge __ Borges: LUIS.  Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, educated in Geneva, Switzerland, and returned to Buenos Aires as a young adult.  His groundbreaking short stories are surrealistic explorations of dreams, labyrinths, mirrors, and myths.  His eyesight dimmed as his career blossomed, and he became completely blind about the time he was appointed director of the National Public Library and professor of English Literature at the University of Buenos Aires in 1955.  His familiarity with many languages allowed him to write his own stories with a view to their future translations, which were many.

45. Italian town with a namesake coast: AMALFI.

Amalfi, Italy -- a bit south of Naples,
and surrounded by towns just as lovely on the "Amalfi coast."

46. "Go Birds!" NFL team: EAGLES.  The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. 

48. Iron alloy: STEEL.  Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon.  It is one of the most commonly manufactured materials in the world.

49. [Theme clue]

53. Literary governess Jane: EYRE.  Jane Eyre is the heroine of an 1847 novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë.  Wonderful book.

54. Up to: UNTIL.

55. Love, in Spanish: AMOR.

57. Actor Estrada: ERIK.  Erik Estrada played Frank "Ponch" Poncherello, a California Highway Patrol officer, on the television series CHiPs, which aired from 1977 to 1983.  He was voted one of "The 10 Sexiest Bachelors in the World" by People in 1979.  Not an Oscar, but still flattering!

Erik Estrada poster from the 1970s

58. [Theme clue]

64. Country singer Lovett: LYLE.  Lyle Lovett has recorded 14 albums, released 25 singles, and won four Grammy Awards, including Best Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Album.

Lyle Lovett

65. Shrek, for one: OGRE.  Fictional ogre Shrek got his start in a book of the same name by William Steig, and then became the star of a series of animated films, in which he was voiced by Mike Myers.  The films are charming.  If you haven't seen them, start with Shrek (2001).  The stories make wonderful use of familiar fairy tale characters.

Shrek

66. Nintendo's The Legend of __: ZELDA.  Everything I know about Nintendo's video game adventure series The Legend of Zelda, I learned from watching my son play the game.  He was born in 1978.  The first game was released in 1986.  Could my son really have been only 8 years old?  Am I a bad parent?

The Legend of Zelda

67. Notices: SEES.

68. Some small dogs: TOYS.  Toy dogs have been bred to be so small they look like playthings.  Various kennel clubs list different breeds in the toy category, but none seem to give specific guidelines for qualification.  Almost all toy dogs will weigh less than 15 pounds as adults.  As with other breeds promoted by kennel clubs, breeding for appearance often outweighs breeding for good health or temperament.  Toy breeds have fragile bones and yet live in a world where they continually leap from tall furniture and laps.  Flat faced dogs experience severe breathing trouble.  Tiny spaniels suffer early onset heart disease.  And tiny "teacup" dogs live very short lives.

69. Official order: EDICT.

Down:

1. Lid: CAP.

2. Knee surgery target, for short: ACL.  The anterior cruciate ligament is a stabilizing element in the knee, connecting the thighbone to the shinbone. Tears or sprains occur with sudden stops, jumping, or rapid changes in direction.  Or in the case of my beautiful bonus daughter, when some guy coming down the slope behind you rams into you and knocks you off your skis.

3. Color TV pioneer: RCA.

4. Unproductive period: DRY SPELL.

5. Mint family herb: SAGE.

6. Fuss: HOOPLA.

7. Down Under bird: EMU.  "Down Under" is a nickname for Australia.  The emu is a tall flightless bird endemic to Australia.

When emus go rogue.

8. Appeared in print: RAN.

9. Cease: END.

10. "That's that, then": SO BE IT.

11. In debt: OWING.

12. Cut drastically, as prices: SLASH.

13. Valuable quality: ASSET.

18. Gridiron official: REF.

21. Ski races with gates: SLALOMS.  Slalom gates are flexible plastic poles used in alpine ski racing. Skiers must turn around each pole in a specific order.

slalom skiing

22. Pet welfare org.: ASPCA.  The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

23. On track to win: AHEAD.

24. Film spools: REELS.

26. Away from the bow, on a boat: AFT.

27. Untidy one: SLOB.

28. Say hi, in slang: HOLLA.  An urban slang variant of "holler."  

30. Dishy memoir: TELL ALL.

33. Cheek colorer: ROUGE.

35. Like moth-eaten clothing: HOLEY.

The holes in this toy dog's sweater are caused by moth larvae.
Eww!  Time to clean the closet.

36. Buyer's proposal: OFFER.

37. Submit taxes online: E-FILE.

39. __ the lily: add unnecessary decor: GILD.  A popular phrase based on a misquotation from Shakespeare's play King John:

To gild refinèd gold, to paint the lily,

To throw a perfume on the violet,

To smooth the ice or add another hue

Unto the rainbow, or with taper-light

To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish,

Is wasteful and ridiculous excess.

41. Sloshy mattress: WATERBED.  Waterbeds accounted for more than one out of of five mattresses sold at the height of their popularity in 1987.  Having to run a hose into your bedroom to fill the mattress, pump the water out to move it, and risk flooding in case of a leak, reduced their popularity.

44. Salty expanse: SEA.

46. Chargeable two-wheelers: EBIKES.

47. Poles in a tomato garden: STAKES.

49. Old-fashioned showdowns: DUELS.

50. Sandwich request: ON RYE.

51. Purposeful: UTILE.

52. First responder: Abbr.: EMT.  Emergency Medical Technician.

56. Flow slowly: OOZE.  Imagine sap oozing from a tree.  A waterbed leak is likely to go faster.

58. Droid: BOT.  Droid is short for android, a humanlike robot.  Bot is short for robot.  A droid is always a physical robot.  A bot is usually a software program that runs online.  So ... not the same.

Droids ... or robots ... but not bots!

59. In the past: AGO.

60. Get weepy: CRY.

61. "__ Baba and the Forty Thieves": ALI.  "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" is an Arabic folk tale that was added to the other tales of the One Thousand and One Nights by French translator Antoine Galland in the 18th century.

62. Public health agcy.: CDC.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the national public health agency of the United States.

63. Dennings of "WandaVision": KAT.  Kat Dennings has appeared in a long list of films and TV shows.  She is best known for starring roles in the CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls and as Darcy Lewis in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films.

Kat Dennings

Here's the grid:

Solvers,

Did Kelly's puzzle end a DRY SPELL for you?  Or give you BACK TO BACK wins?

Did it all make SENSE to you?

HOLLA at your fellow solvers in the comments!

-- NaomiZ

Monday, August 10, 2026, David Ding

Theme:  Let the good times roll!

Constructor David Ding works in electrical and computer engineering, and because that is not sufficiently challenging, he also engages in creative writing and crossword puzzle construction.  Today is David's Los Angeles Times debut!  Congratulations, David!  You can learn more about David at www.davidyding.com.  While there, if you listen closely, you might still hear the Whoosh! sound of his articles and riddlers going right over the head of yours truly.

Today is Monday, and even this blogger should be able to solve the puzzle.  The clue and answer that reveal the key to today's theme appear here:

59-Across. Call for action, or what one might say before using the ends of 20-, 33-, and 43-Across: LET'S GET ROLLING.  This expression suggests it's time to get started on a task or begin a journey.  How does it relate to the ends of the listed answers?

20-Across. Formal event attended in costume: MASQUERADE BALL.  The end of 20-Across is BALL, and you might say LET'S GET ROLLING if you want to bowl, or play bocce, or skeeball -- that is, to roll a BALL.

masquerade ball

33-Across. Last film starring Daniel Craig as James Bond: NO TIME TO DIE.  The end of 33-Across is DIE, which can be a noun referring to a small cube with numbered faces, used in games.  The plural of DIE is DICE, of course.  You might say LET'S GET ROLLING if you want to start a game of dice -- that is, to roll a DIE.

Daniel Craig in No Time to Die

43-Across. Official record on a ship: CAPTAIN'S LOG.  Thanks to Star Trek, yours truly is familiar with the CAPTAIN'S LOG.  But a LOG is not always a record book.  We usually think of a LOG as a bulky section of a tree trunk or branch.  You might say LET'S GET ROLLING if you want to start a rolleo -- that is, a LOG rolling competition.

Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise recording an entry in his log

Note that the theme answers appear in symmetrically placed rows, and two of the four are just one square short of spanning the grid.  Lovely construction, perfectly befitting the Los Angeles Times.  

Shall we talk about the rest?  LET'S GET ROLLING.

Across:

1. Train for a boxing match: SPAR.

5. Love deeply: ADORE.

10. Follow directions: OBEY.

14. "Beloved" novelist Morrison: TONI.  Toni Morrison (1931-2019) won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel Beloved (1987).  It is a gut wrenching exposé of the horrors of slavery in the United States.

15. Kitchen gadget for apples: CORER.

16. Locale: SITE.

17. Bygone GM division: OLDS.  The automobile brand Oldsmobile was founded in 1897 and acquired by General Motors in 1908.  The brand was discontinued in 2004.

18. "Understood": ROGER.  In early radio and Morse code communications, the letter "R" stood for "received."  If spoken, the word "Roger" was used for clarity, based on the military "Able Baker" alphabet, which preceded the NATO alphabet.  If the NATO alphabet had been in use in 1941, we'd be saying "Romeo that" instead of "Roger that."

19. Prize grabber in an arcade game: CLAW.

an exercise in frustration and loss

20. [Theme clue]

23. Like a parent at graduation: PROUD.

24. "Man of Steel" director Zack: SNYDER.  Zack Snyder has made a bunch of comic book film adapations, as well as horror and sci fi films.  His Army of the Dead won the Oscars Fan Favorite at the 2022 Academy Awards.

Zack Snyder and the Man of Steel

25. Geological span: EON.

27. Scissors sound: SNIP.

30. Wimbledon org.: ATP.  Here yours truly hit a fatal snag.  DNK (Did Not Know) that the Association of Tennis Professionals is the global governing body of men’s professional tennis.  I learned (from researching for this blog) that the ATP provides ranking information to Wimbledon, but Wimbledon is owned by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and overseen by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).  So the relationship of ATP to Wimbledon is tenuous. 

I rank this clue "thumb down."

 
33. [Theme clue]

39. Cardamom-infused tea: CHAI.

41. Subscribe again: RENEW.

42. Turn down: DENY.

43. [Theme clue]

46. Broke bread: ATE.

47. Trace of smoke: WISP.

48. Baby goat: KID.

50. Humiliated: ABASED.

55. Walkie-talkie, e.g.: RADIO.  A walkie-talkie is a portable, handheld radio transceiver that can send and receive voice messages.  This can be handy for short range connections where cellular networks do not reach, like when you're out hiking.

walkie-talkie time

59. [Theme clue]

62. College admissions office offering: TOUR.

63. Garden pest: APHID.

64. Hideout: LAIR.

65. Bilingual cartoon explorer: DORA.  Dora the Explorer is the title character of an animated series that ran on Nickelodeon from 2000 to 2019, and then spawned sequels, a feature film, and a series reboot.  Dora is Latin American, and the programs teach a little Spanish language.

66. Kitchen gadget for flour: SIEVE.  This simple mesh tool helps break up lumps in flour.

sieve

67. Poker buy-in: ANTE.

68. "Don't come any closer!": STOP.

69. Cuts (down): PARES.

70. Talk back to: SASS.

Down:

1. Tread heavily: STOMP.

2. __ opposites: POLAR.

3. "Consequently ... ": AND SO.

4. Racy: RISQUÉ.  Naughty, suggestive, improper, indecent. 

5. Zoning unit: ACRE.

6. Opportunities, metaphorically: DOORS.

7. Church instrument with pipes: ORGAN.  Shout out to fellow blogger Splynter!

8. Like the sound of an oboe: REEDY.  An oboe is a double reed instrument.  The oboist blows air between two pieces of cut cane (reeds) that are strapped to a metal pipe.  Cane is a type of large grass.  Yours truly has never played the oboe, but has produced some annoying sounds by blowing on a large blade of grass held taut between her thumbs.

9. Made a blunder: ERRED.  

10. Nomination from the Academy: OSCAR NOD.

11. Bar tab, e.g.: BILL.

12. List-shortening abbr.: ET AL.  Latin "et alia," meaning "and others."

13. Source of some flexible wood: YEW.

21. Thick Japanese noodle: UDON.

22. Breezy email sign-off: BEST.  Short way of saying "Best regards."

26. Sushi wrapper: NORI.  Nori is a dried, edible seaweed.  Rolled sushi uses nori to wrap up rice and fillings.

Vegetarian sushi rolls wrapped in nori -- yum!

28. Brainchild: IDEA.

29. Ice cream purchase: PINT.

30. UNC's athletic gp.: ACC.  This blogger's loyal followers may recall that I am allergic to organized sports.  At the long-ago time that I was born, my father had his first professional position, teaching anatomy at the School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, so University of North Carolina did not throw me, but I DNK (Did Not Know) ACC, the Atlantic Coast Conference.  30-Down crossed with the unknown-to-me 30-Across ATP (loosely affiliated with Wimbledon), so the space numbered 30 remained blank.

31. Defrost: THAW.

32. Big __: David Ortiz nickname: PAPI.  This blogger's troubles continued here.  Have I ever heard of  David Ortiz, the Dominican-American former professional baseball player nicknamed "Big Papi"?  That would be a NO.  32-Down crossed with the unknown-to-me 30-Across ATP, so the space numbered 32 remained blank.  I had two blank spaces -- on Monday!  ATP / ACC / PAPI are to blame.  I would say David Ding got dinged here ... or I did.

34. Perfect score in diving, or half a score: TEN.  A "score" is a group of twenty, so half a score is ten.

35. Connections: INS.

36. EGOT-winning Brooks: MEL.  Comedic actor, director, songwriter and playwright Mel Brooks has won the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards, making him a rare EGOT recipient.

Mel Brooks receives his first Oscar in 1967

37. Furry "Star Wars" creature: EWOK.  These fictional cuties defied the evil Empire in 1983's Return of the Jedi, in spite of their technological disadvantages.

an ewok

38. Potato spot: EYE.

40. "We've been duped!": IT'S A TRAP.  How I felt about the center left block of the puzzle today.

44. Emer. alerts: APBS.  All-Points Bulletins are alerts sent between law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for wanted persons or vehicles.

45. "You go, __!": GIRL.  This phrase from African American culture went mainstream in the 1990s.  It's a way to praise a woman or girl for an accomplishment.

49. Texas city known as "Big D": DALLAS.

51. Audibly shocked: AGASP.

52. Vintage photo tone: SEPIA.

53. Early anesthetic: ETHER.

54. Motivation: DRIVE.

56. Taurasi who holds the WNBA record for career points: DIANA.  Diana Taurasi is an Argentine and American former professional basketball player. She played 20 seasons in the Women's National Basketball Association, spending her entire WNBA career with the Phoenix Mercury.  She holds the all-time WNBA scoring record, and is the most decorated Olympic athlete in any team sport, winning six Olympic gold medals with the United States women's national basketball team.  Perps (perpedicular entries) helped here.

Diana Taurasi

57. Monogram pts.: INITS.  Monogram parts are initials.

58. Fairy tale baddies: OGRES.

59. Stolen goods: LOOT.

60. Capital of France?: EURO.  Not Paris -- the euro is the currency (oh, that kind of capital) of France.

61. Poems of tribute: ODES.

62. QB stats: TDS.  Quarterbacks score touchdowns.

Here's the grid:

Solvers,

Were you PROUD of your performance today?  Did you ADORE the puzzle and enjoy your TOUR of the grid?

Or perhaps you ERRED as I did, and it wasn't your BEST experience.  Maybe you got STOMPed!

Don't DENY me the gift of your thoughts!  Please comment below.

-- NaomiZ

Monday, August 3, 2026, Matthew Luter

Theme:  Spine tingling stuff!

Matthew Luter

Dr. Matthew Luter researches, writes, and teaches about American literature in Jackson, Mississippi.  He's published a slew of crossword puzzles in all the right places over the last five years, and he posts a new one on his website every Tuesday, so if you enjoyed today's puzzle, check this out tomorrow:  matthewluter.com/crosswords.

Today's puzzle features four theme entries in symmetrically placed rows, with two entries spanning the grid from side to side, and two others that each fall just one space short of a complete span.  A pleasure to behold!  The theme is revealed here:

50-Across. Bravely stand one's ground, or what 19-, 24-, and 45-Across typically do?: SHOW SOME SPINE.  "Show some spine" means to act with courage or determination.  The other theme answers show some spine more literally.

19-Across. Long-lived plant native to the Sonoran Desert: SAGUARO CACTUS.  Cactus spines are modified leaves that deter animals from eating the plant, provide shade to the plant, and gather moisture from fog.  Like other varieties of cactus, the Saguaro will always show some spine.

My mother took this photo of Saguaro flowers in Carefree, AZ.

24-Across. Places for books that may be borrowed: LIBRARY SHELVES.  As a former librarian, this entry is dear to my heart.  The spine of a book is the edge where the pages are gathered and attached to the cover.  In the library, we typically attach a call number label to the spine.  Author and title information usually appears on the spine as well.  Although there is a (stupid) decor trend to shelve books with the spines facing the wall, on LIBRARY SHELVES we always show some spine.

45-Across. Anatomical structure that includes bones and joints: SKELETAL SYSTEM.  The human skeletal system is the body's support structure, and includes the skeleton, connective tissue, and muscles.  The axial skeleton includes the bones of the skull, spine, and ribs.  The appendicular skeleton includes the bones of the arms and legs.  Just by standing, you show some spine.  And if you bend forward, we can see it clearly through the skin on your back.

Another way to SHOW SOME SPINE.

This was a spine-tingling start!  Let's see if the rest of the puzzle maintains the excitement.

Across:

1. Collaboratively managed website: WIKI.  Wikipedia says:  "A wiki is a form of hypertext publication on the internet which is collaboratively edited and managed by its audience directly through a web browser.  A typical wiki contains multiple pages that can either be edited by the public or any organization.  The name derives from the first user-editable website called WikiWikiWeb – wiki being a Hawaiian word meaning 'quick'."

5. Responded in court: PLED.

9. Big serving of cake: SLAB.  Apparently, rectangular sheet cakes are now being called "slab cakes," but this clue uses "slab of cake" the way I do, meaning a great, big slice.

This dainty slice is not a SLAB.  More, please!

13. Vows exchanged with rings: I DOS.  Wedding vows.

14. Ireland, to the Irish: EIRE.

15. Novelist Vonnegut: KURT.  Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) was the author of fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five works of non-fiction.  The novels include Cat's Cradle (1963) and Slaughterhouse-Five (1969).  

Kurt Vonnegut

16. Hamilton bills: TENS.  Alexander Hamilton was the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.  TEN years ago, the Treasury announced plans to replace his image with a woman's, but the popularity of the Broadway musical with his name helped save his spot on our currency.

17. Landed on a perch: ALIT.  When a bird comes to rest on a branch, it alights.  In the past, it alit.

18. Pet aisle brand: IAMS.  Created by animal nutritionist Paul Iams in 1946, the Iams brand was sold to Procter & Gamble in 1999.  P&G sold Iams to Mars, Inc. for all markets except Europe in 2014, and then sold the European business to Spectrum Brands later the same year.

I AM Such a good dog.

19. [Theme clue]

22. Young newt: EFT.  A newt begins life as an aquatic larva, moves on to the eft or terrestrial juvenile phase, and then returns to the water as an adult.

Eastern red-spotted eft

23. __ and paste: CUT.

24. [Theme clue]

32. Extra sports periods, briefly: OTS.  Overtimes.

33. "You __ what you sow": REAP.  Galatians 6:7, King James Version:  "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

34. Handed out playing cards: DEALT.

35. Clearance rack caveat: AS IS.

37. Prepare to publish: EDIT.

39. Curved line on a musical score: SLUR.  A slur is a musical notation indicating that the notes are to be played smoothly, without separation.

The curved line is a slur.

40. Internet access device: MODEM.

42. "__ Diary ... ": DEAR.

44. End of a college email address: EDU.

45. [Theme clue]

48. Lav: LOO.  Informal British terms for the toilet, or the room with a toilet.

49. Driving range prop: TEE.

50. [Theme clue]

57. Sweetheart: BEAU.

58. One with a superiority complex: SNOB.  Austrian physician and psychologist Alfred Adler (1870-1937) coined the terms "superiority complex" and "inferiority complex."  The superiority complex is a defense mechanism that helps a person cope with feelings of inferiority.  Are snobs not truly snobby?

59. Hammer, for one: TOOL.

60. Musical based on "La bohème": RENT.  Jonathan Larson’s 1996 rock musical Rent is loosely based on Giacomo Puccini’s 1896 opera La Bohème. Both works follow a group of impoverished young artists living in a cold space, dealing with fatal illnesses, trying to create art, and looking for love. 

61. Off-white hue: ECRU.

62. Woolly mamas: EWES.

63. Sportsbook figures: ODDS.  A sportsbook is a venue where a gambler can place bets on sporting events.  Most U.S. sportsbooks are in Nevada, but in 2018, a Supreme Court decision allowed all states to legalize sports betting if they so choose. Odds for various events are displayed on large boards.  The odds for the favored team (expected to win) are negative, indicating how much you need to bet to win $100. The odds for the underdog (expected to lose) will be positive, indicating how much you will win if you bet $100.

Looking at the odds boards in a Las Vegas sportsbook.

64. Monopoly card: DEED.  Deeds to property in the classic board game, Monopoly.

Monopoly is often a long and rancorous game.

65. Fairy __: TALE.

And now, what goes Across, must go ...

Down:

1. Comical wordsmiths: WITS.  We have some wonderful wits among the regular commenters here.

2. Brainstorming product: IDEA.

3. Hong __: KONG.

4. Credit card provider: ISSUER.

5. Partridge's place, in a Christmas song: PEAR TREE.  "A partridge in a pear tree" completes every verse of "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

6. Disney's "__ & Stitch": LILO.  A 2002 Disney animated film, Lilo & Stitch was remade as a blended live action and animation film in 2025.

Lilo & Stitch -- the original

7. "Springsteen" country singer Church: ERIC.  Eric Church co-wrote and recorded a song called Springsteen, making Bruce Springsteen's music part of a memory evoked in the lyrics.  The 2012 release reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs.

8. Disconnect: DETACH.

9. Fruity candy brand: SKITTLES.

10. Party with poi: LUAU.  A traditional Hawaiian food made of steamed and pounded taro root.

taro root, shown with leaves of the taro plant

11. Sleeve fillers: ARMS.

12. K-pop band also known as the Bangtan Boys: BTS.  BTS is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010.  The young men co-write many of their own songs.  BTS stands for the Korean phrase Bangtan Sonyeondan, which translates to "Bulletproof Boy Scouts."  Their rise through the pop charts has been meteoric.  Here they are performing on July 19th at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final halftime show in New Jersey:

20. Not at all close: AFAR.

21. Prompted, in a theater: CUED.

24. Fertile soils: LOAMS.  Loose, crumbly soil including sand, silt, clay, and rich organic matter.

25. "There, there": IT'S OK.

26. Back of a hit 45 record: B-SIDE.  Remember vinyl records?  Seven-inch 45 RPM records used to have the hoped-for hit single on the A-side, and another song thrown in on the B-side.

27. When repeated, "You know the rest": YADDA.  This expression was popularized by the 153rd episode of Seinfeld, in which George's new girlfriend said "yada yada yada" to shorten her stories.  That episode was titled "The Yada Yada."  YADDA is an alternate, less used spelling,

28. Sales pitch: SPIEL.

29. Parking attendant: VALET.

30. Dodge: ELUDE.

31. Play a ukulele: STRUM.

36. Performances with no empty seats: SELLOUTS.

38. Sensory receptor on a tongue: TASTE BUD.  Taste buds are cell clusters found around the little bumps on the tongue and elsewhere in the mouth.  They detect saltiness, sourness, bitterness, sweetness and savoriness.  A human being has thousands of taste buds at any given point in time, but each one only lives for about 10 days.  Give them a treat during that short window of time!

41. Cat's noise: MEOW.

43. Deli loaves that may be seeded or marbled: RYES.

46. Threw away: TOSSED.

47. 12-Down, e.g.: SEPTET.  Yes, BTS is a septet.

BTS:  count 'em!

50. __ money: startup funds: SEED.  Seed money is the initial capital used to launch a new business or project.  The term was first used in the1950s.  It loosely references the money a new farmer would need for seeds.

51. Appendage often traced to draw a turkey in art class: HAND.  A classic Thanksgiving project in elementary school.

52. Not often, but not never: ONCE.

53. "What __ can I say?": MORE.

54. Des Moines locale: IOWA.  DH has a brother there.  Buried under snow in the winter, Des Moines is startlingly green in the spring.

55. Christmas carol: NOEL.

56. "What __ can I say?": ELSE.

57. Sis's playmate: BRO.  Sis is short for sister; bro is short for brother.  Play nice, you two.

Here's the grid:

DEAR Solvers,

Did any of today's answers ELUDE you?  ONCE?  MORE?  IT'S OK!

Perhaps you gathered your WITS and FIR (Finished It Right).

Tell your TALE in the comments section below!  ("I started off right at 1-Across, YADDA YADDA ...")

-- NaomiZ