Friday, March 21, 2025, Tracy Gray

  Theme:  Precision steering!

In today's puzzle, constructor Tracy Gray challenges us to turn on a dime -- a maneuver that requires precison and flexibility.  Each theme answer begins going Across or Down, and then TURNS on the D in DIME to head the other direction.  

Here are the theme clues and answers:

5 Across. Collection of matching cruets: COND.  With 8 Down. --: DIMENT SET.  Condiment set. The answer reads across and then down, turning on the D of DIME.

A matching cruet set.

1 Down. "Happy our paths crossed!": GLAD. With 19 Across. --: D I MET YOU.  Glad I met you.  The answer reads down and then across, turning on the D of DIME.

32 Across. Violinist recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986: YEHUD. With 33 Down. --: DI MENUHIN.  Yehudi Menuhin.  The answer reads across and then down, turning on the D of DIME.  Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999), was an American-born violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century.

Yehudi Menuhin

41 Down. With 69-Across, change quickly, and a hint to completing three other long answers in this puzzle: TURN ON A D.  With 69 Across. See 41-Down: DIME.  Turn on a dime.  This revealing clue spells out what's been going on with the other themers; they all turn on the D of DIME.

It's neat how the theme answers alternate starting Across or Down.

Let's see how these tight turns look in the grid: 

Okay, if we haven't TURNed you off yet, let's look at the rest of the clues and answers.

Across:

1. Fare topped with tzatziki: GYRO.  A Greek sandwich of grilled meat, tomato, onion, and yogurt sauce (tzatziki) on pita bread.

Veggie gyros for me, please!

5. [Theme clue with 8 Down]

9. "__ we cool?": ARE.  Some of our solvers object to conversational prompts like this one.

12. Like some handwriting: LOOPY.

Apparently, the style of your loops says something about you.

14. Deer friend of Thumper: BAMBI.

Bambi and Thumper.
Thumper's wisdom is frequently cited in our Comments section.

15. WC: LAV.  In British English, "WC" (short for water closet), "lav" (short for lavatory) and "loo" are common terms, all referring to a room with a toilet. 

16. Striped stone: AGATE.

17. Silk region of India: ASSAM.

18. Word with breaker or maker: ICE.  An ice breaker is usually a ship designed for breaking a channel through ice, or something that relieves tensions between people or starts a conversation.  An ice maker is found in the freezer compartment of most modern refrigerators.

19. [Theme clue with 1 Down]

21. Lasting memory of an old flame?: EMBER.  Cute.  The remains of an actual flame, not a romantic attachment.

23. One of three in bunco: DIE.  Die is the singular form of dice.  The game of Bunco uses 3 of them.

24. Pharyngeal tissue: ADENOID.  Adenoids are masses of lymphatic tissue located at the back of the nasal cavity, behind the roof of the mouth.  The pharynx is a hollow, muscular tube inside the neck that starts behind the nose and opens into the larynx and esophagus. Pharyngeal means relating to, located in, or produced in the region of the pharynx.  Don't you feel better?

27. Vis-à-vis: AS TO.  French for "face-to-face," we use vis-à-vis to mean "with regard to."

30. Painter's board: PALETTE.  Typically, a wooden board on which an artist keeps paint handy while painting, and mixes paints to obtain desired hues.

32. [Theme clue with 33 Down]

34. Future JDs' exams: LSATS.  Someone who wants to obtain a Juris Doctor (law degree) has to take the LSAT (Law School Admission Test).

35. Aromatic tree: FIR.  Well known to anyone who has had a fir tree in the house for the holidays.

38. Expressing feeling: EMOTIVE.

40. Eventually, with "in": DUE TIME.

42. Honorific for 32-Across: SIR.  Indeed, Queen Elizabeth II knighted Yehudi Menuhin.

43. Simpson with a blue beehive: MARGE.

Marge Simpson

45. Turkey's national flower: TULIP.

46. London district that includes Shaftesbury Avenue: WEST END.  Fancy shops, restaurants, and theatre.

48. Home facelift, informally: RENO.  Short for renovation.

49. Heartfelt: EARNEST.

51. Legged it: RAN.

53. High-priced Japanese beef: WAGYU.  Wagyu is the collective name for the four principal Japanese breeds of beef cattle. All wagyu cattle originate from cross-breeding between native Japanese cattle and imported stock, mostly from Europe.

Wagyu cow -- prized for the fatty streaks in her muscles.

54. Support neighborhood shops, say: BUY LOCAL.

59. Bungle: ERR.

60. Ask (for): HIT UP.  Youngest is getting married.  She is going to HIT us UP for wedding funds.

63. Novelist Shreve: ANITA.  Anita Hale Shreve (1946-2018) was an American novelist.  One of her first published stories, Past the Island, Drifting was awarded an O. Henry Prize in 1976.  In 1999, Oprah Winfrey selected Shreve's novel The Pilot's Wife for her book club.  Three of Shreve's novels were made into movies:  The Weight of Water, Resistance, and The Pilot's Wife.

64. The "A" of 61-Down: ALE.  IPA is India Pale Ale.

65. "That's not for me": I PASS.  Answer to "Wanna join us for karaoke?" and many other invitations.

66. Held back for now: SAT ON.  As in, officials SAT ON evidence that might have exonerated (or incriminated) a person.  Or, I sat on my response to the karaoke invitation.

67. Pastrami bread: RYE.  Pastrami and rye go together like hummus and crudités.

68. __ a one: NARY.  "Nary a one" means not a single one.

69. [Theme clue with 41 Down]

Down:

1. [Theme clue with 19 Across]

2. Hatha practitioner: YOGI.  Hatha yoga is a traditional form of yoga that focuses on physical postures (asanas) and breathing exercises (pranayama).  A yogi is a practitioner of yoga.

3. Incur cellphone charges, maybe: ROAM.

4. Unsubscribed: OPTED OUT.  We opt out of unwanted email blasts by unsubscribing.

5. Informal duds: CASUALS.  Do you refer to your casual wear as casuals?  I don't!

6. Mantra syllables: OMS.  Om is a sacred sound in Hinduism, representing the divine.  It can be used as a mantra, which is a sacred sound or a group of sounds or words, used as a tool in meditation.

7. Org. that includes nets and Nets: NBA.  The National Basketball Association has nets on hoops, and also the Brooklyn Nets as a team.

8. [Theme clue with 5 Across]

9. Story backed up by a witness, hopefully: ALIBI.

10. Zoomed: RACED.

11. "Best. Day. __!": EVER.  Woo hoo!

13. Igloo rival: YETI.  Igloo and Yeti make coolers to keep food cold when camping.

14. Bun cooked in a bamboo steamer: BAO.  Bao are a type of soft, steamed bun that originated in China and are widely enjoyed across East Asia. They're a popular street food due to their versatility and ease of preparation. Bao can be served either filled or unfilled, making them adaptable for various recipes.  Waseeley showed us some meaty ones yesterday.

20. "You got that right!": YEP.

22. Stooge with the shortest name: MOE.  A shout out to our Chairman Moe, who alternates Friday blog duties with the Malodorous Manatee.

Moe Howard of the Three Stooges

25. Muffle: DEADEN.

26. Caesarean delivery?: ET TU.  Perhaps the last words of Julius Caesar, as he was assassinated by Roman senators:  Et tu, Brute? (You too, Brutus?).  

Detail from The Death of Julius Caesar (1806) by Vincenzo Camuccini.

27. Yes votes: AYES.

28. Big rig: SEMI.  A semi-trailer truck is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight.  They are known by various names, including "semis," "semitrailers," "tractor-trailers," "big rigs," "semi-trucks," "eighteen-wheelers," and "semi-tractor-trailers."

29. Brother of Balder: THOR.  In Norse mythology, Baldr is the brother of Thor, and in Marvel Comics, Balder the Brave is the half-brother of Thor.

Thor, I recognize.  Balder, not so much.

31. Tips off: ALERTS.

33. [Theme clue with 32 Across]

35. Mani-pedi tool: FILE.

36. "Wouldn't miss it for the world!": I'M IN.  Substituting one phrase for another is a pet peeve of some of our solvers.

37. Collector's item?: REPO.  If you default on payments for property, the debt may be referred to collections.  Part of that process may involve the REPO man (repossession agent) coming to get the unpaid for item, often a car, which itself may then be called a REPO.

39. Mantel piece: VASE.  A vase is a piece of decoration that you might display on a mantel.

41. [Theme clue with 69 Across]

44. "Stop dawdling!": GET BUSY.  Another substitution of one phrase for another.

46. Like some humor: WRY.  Humor that is sarcastic, cynical, biting, or ironic.

47. Like some humor: DRY.  Humor delivered with a straight face and a serious tone.

49. In advance: EARLY.

50. Say yes: AGREE.

52. Sad sigh: ALAS.

53. Sport: WEAR.  As in, he showed up sporting CASUALS.

55. FedEx rival: UPS.  United Parcel Service.

56. Amex rival: CITI.  American Express and Citibank both offer credit cards.

57. Bohr model subject: ATOM.  Niels Bohr developed a model of the atom from 1911 to 1918.  It improved on earlier models, but was replaced by the quantum atomic model in the 1920s.

58. Assignment for a swimmer or a sprinter: LANE.  Our blog mistress, C.C., says she is assigned to lane one because she's not the faster swimmer in the pool.  She is, however, swimming faster than everyone who is *not* in the pool.

61. Brewpub brew: IPA.  India Pale Ale.  See 64 Across!

62. Road or roof goo: TAR.

I hope you enjoyed the twists and TURNs of Tracy's puzzle, and that my exposition was not too

NaomiZ

Friday, March 14, 2025, Matt Revis

 Theme:  AIR PRESSURE.

Constructor Matt Revis has whipped up an airy treat which pressures us to think of homonyms for the very stuff we breathe.  The theme clues and answers, all Across, are:

15. Time when everyone woke up achy and sore?: ERE MATTRESSES.  In days of yore, I went camping with my ex, and we eventually acquired air mattresses.  That time when we woke up achy and sore?  That was ERE (before) MATTRESSES.

Not bad, but then DH introduced me to the concept of hotels.
Reader, I married him.

22. "Reader, I married him," "I would always rather be happy than dignified," etc.?: EYRE QUOTES.  Jane Eyre is a novel by Charlotte Brontë, published in 1847.  The title character tells the story in the first person, and the clue gives us some quotations from the book.  If I were to quote Jane Eyre to you in person, I might use air quotes.

air quotes

35. Key component of a royal line of succession?: HEIR POWER.  Air power usually refers to the use of planes in combat, reconnnaissance, transport, and bombing.  But a heriditary monarchy relies on a suitable HEIR to the throne, giving the ruling family some HEIR POWER.

The British Crown has plenty of HEIR POWER with these folks waiting in the wings.

48. Eligible bachelors in Berlin?: HERR SUPPLY.  Air supply is air delivered to a space.  Our youngest took her first scuba diving lesson recently, and of course had to carry her air supply while underwater.  But over in Berlin, there is a supply of men she might marry --  HERR Schmidt, HERR Bauer, HERR Klein, HERR Weber, et al.  If only she would stop and come up for HERR.

57. Car wash freebies, or an apt title for this puzzle: AIR FRESHENERS.  

Does your car wash throw in one of these for free?

Having cleared the ERE / EYRE / HEIR / HERR / AIR, let's review the rest of the puzzle.

Across:

1. Some tech support agents: CHATBOTS.  These pop up in a dialog box when you are completely frustrated with a website, and are looking forward to further frustration.

9. Director Peter recognized with an Academy Honorary Award in 2023: WEIR.  Peter Weir is a retired Australian film director. You may remember him for films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), Gallipoli (1981), The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), Witness (1985), Dead Poets Society (1989), Fearless (1993), The Truman Show (1998), Master and Commander (2003), and The Way Back (2010).

13. Professional charge from a 16-Down, perhaps: LEGAL FEE.

14. River through Florence: ARNO.  Eldest daughter used to live and work in Florence, so we had a few opportunities to visit and impress the Arno into our memories.

15. [Theme clue]

17. Like venison, compared to beef: GAMIER.  Meat of wild animals is said to taste "gamy" or "gamey," which means it has a strong flavor, possibly tainted due to mishandling.  "Game animals" or just "game" are wild animals hunted for food or recreation.  Venison is the meat of a game animal, especially a deer.  It isn't much of a game when one player has a rifle and the other has no hands.

18. "That's sorta right": ISH.  -ish is a suffix added to a word to create an adjective:  Finnish, boyish, bookish, fortyish.  By itself, it is now used to mean "to some extent."  "Are you busy?"  "ISH."

19. Tear: RIP.

21. "__ go bragh!": ERIN.  “Ireland until eternity” or "Ireland forever."  

You may encounter this phrase on Monday.

22. [Theme clue]

26. Release: LET GO.

28. Western treaty gp.: OAS.  Thirty-five sovereign states of the Americas are members of the Organization of American States.  Cuba and Nicaragua are the only sovereign states that are not members, but both used to be.

29. Credit card giant: VISA.  What's in your wallet?

30. QB stats: TDs. Quarterbacks score touchdowns in football.

31. Deep purple: PLUM.

Pantone Plum

33. Picks up the tab: TREATS.

35. [Theme clue]

37. Mediterranean capital: ATHENS.

40. Era: SPAN.  An era is a long SPAN of time.

41. Nt. wt. units: LBS.  Net weight may be measured in pounds (LBS) or other units.

44. Home of the Mets from 1964 to 2008: SHEA.  Shea Stadium in Queens, New York, hosted the New York Mets and New York Jets.

45. Take to court: SUE.

46. Freedom, in Swahili: UHURU.  This word inspired the name of Star Trek character Lieutenant Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols in the original television series.

Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Uhura

48. [Theme clue]

52. Deep purple berry: ACAI.

53. Antidiscrimination letters: EEO.  Equal Employment Opportunity laws prohibit specific types of job discrimination in certain workplaces.

54. 1950s political moniker: IKE.  Dwight D. Eisenhower, also known by his nickname Ike, was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961.

55. Sheepish reply to "Where's the rest of the pizza?": I ATE IT.

57. [Theme clue]

61. Crabby mood: SNIT.

62. Cellphone lack: DIAL TONE.

63. Socials with finger sandwiches: TEAS.

64. Playground game similar to hide-and-seek: SARDINES.  Sardines is a variation of hide-and-seek where players join the hidden person in the hiding place until they are all packed in tight.  News to me!

playing sardines

Down:

1. Took home, in a way: CLEARED.  One of many meanings of clear as a verb is to gain without deduction, or to "net."  

2. Loners: HERMITS.

3. Getting on: AGEING.  American and Canadian writers use aging.  Ageing is the preferred spelling outside North America. 

4. Far from daring: TAME.

5. Strident noise: BLARE.

6. Many times o'er: OFT.  An archaic or poetic form of "often."  "O'er" (for "over") lets us know that the answer will be archaic or poetic.

7. Lunar festival in Vietnam: TET.  Tết is the Vietnamese lunar new year festival, which celebrates the start of spring and the transition from the old year to the new. It's the most important holiday in Vietnamese culture. This year, the national holiday fell on January 31st.

8. Word on some Emmy Awards: SERIES.  The 2024 Emmy for outstanding drama series went to Shōgun.  It was truly outstanding!

Anna Sawai as Toda Mariko in Shōgun

9. St. Louis sch.: WashU.  Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri.  "At WashU, we’re connecting learners, thinkers, leaders and doers who inspire each other to ask big questions and find real solutions – together. This is what WashU can do."

10. Hosp. areas: ERs.  Hospital areas:  Emergency Rooms.

11. Resistance to change: INERTIA.

12. Most optimistic: ROSIEST.

16. Atty.'s title: ESQ.  Attorney's title:  Esquire.  In the United States, esquire (often shortened to Esq.) is a title of courtesy, given to a lawyer and commonly appended to his/her surname (e.g. , John Smith, Esq. or John Smith, Esquire) when addressing the lawyer in written form.  The title comes from England, where it used to mean someone superior to a gentleman but inferior to a knight.

17. Hanukkah chocolate: GELT.  Gelt is Yiddish for money, and German for gold.  Money used to be given to children at Hanukkah, but has been replaced in many families by chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil.  At our house, the dreidel players tend to eat a lot of their winnings before the game ends.

20. Some ads: PSAs.  A public service announcement is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media, without charge, to raise public awareness and change behavior.

23. Part of FYI: YOUR.  For Your Information.

24. Builds dramatically: RAMPS UP.  Increases in amount, intensity, extent:  builds.  A company ramps up production to meet booming demand.

25. Above: OVER.

27. Willing to talk: OPEN.

32. Fleur-de-__: LIS.  The fleur-de-lis is a stylized image of a lily (fleur being French for flower, and lis being French for lily).  It has been used to represent France for a thousand years.

Fleur-de-lis design on the coat of arms of the French monarchy.

33. Bygone airline: TWA.  Trans World Airlines was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001.

34. Big name in saline: RENU.  A cleansing solution for soft contact lenses from Bausch & Lomb.

35. Catch, in a way: HEAR.  Did you catch that?

36. Astra and Corsa automaker: OPEL.  Opel is a German car manufacturer.  Astra and Corsa are model names.

37. Tennis legend Arthur: ASHE.

38. Whence one Wicked Witch: THE EAST.  Whence means "from what place or source."  Where did one Wicked Witch come from?  The East.

The Wicked Witch of the East did not get much screen time in The Wizard of Oz.

39. Wonder Woman, for one: HEROINE.

41. Swiss home of the rock relief known as the Lion Monument: LUCERNE.  The Lion Monument in Lucerne, Switzerland, honors the Swiss Guards who were killed during the French Revolution, defending the family of King Louis XVI in Paris.

42. Sears and simmers: BRAISES.  To braise is to cook slowly in fat and a small amount of liquid in a closed pot.

43. Diamonds, for one: SUIT.  A standard deck of playing cards comprises 13 ranks in each of the four suits:  clubs (♣), diamonds (♦), hearts (♥) and spades (♠).

45. Exceeds the limit: SPEEDS.

47. Disparage: HATE ON.  "Hate on" is an informal verb phrase that means to criticize or say bad things about someone in a public way. For example, "These kids get hated on for no good reason at all."  You can hate someone in private, but once you go public with your antipathy, you're hating on them.

49. Combs (through): SIFTS.

50. Kyiv's country: Abbr.: UKR.  Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine -- which we've all come to know through a prolonged tragedy.

Kyiv, Ukraine

51. Make way: YIELD.

56. Against: ANTI.

58. Narrow waterway: RIA.

59. "Unstoppable" singer: SIA.  "Unstoppable" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Sia, taken from her seventh studio album, This Is Acting (2016).  It was released as a single in the U.S. in 2022, reached one billion streams on Spotify in 2023, and was named Most Performed Australian Work Overseas in 2024. 

60. Laugh syllable: HAR.

Here's the grid:

Did this puzzle have you walking on AIR?  Or did you ERR along the way?

NaomiZ

Friday, February 28, 2025, Wendy L. Brandes

 Theme:  Biased magazine movie reviews.

Today's theme clues from constructor Wendy L. Brandes involve real magazines and their supposed picks for the best movie of all time.  Each magazine chooses a movie whose title reflects the name of the magazine.

The theme clues and answers, all Across are:

18. Mad's pick for the best movie of all time?: RAGING BULL.

Mad is an American satire magazine, launched in 1952 and currently published by DC Comics.  Raging Bull is a 1980 film adaptation of middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta's 1970 memoir Raging Bull: My Story. "Mad" is a synonym for "raging," so of course Mad magazine would have an affinity for the film.

24. The Atlantic's pick for the best movie of all time?: OCEAN'S ELEVEN.

Founded in 1857, The Atlantic is an American magazine featuring articles on politics, business, the arts, technology, and science.  Ocean's Eleven is a 2001 comedy film which is a remake of a 1960 Rat Pack film, and stars George Clooney as professional thief Danny Ocean.  Since "Atlantic" is the name of an ocean, naturally the magazine would favor a movie with "ocean" in the title.

39. Shape's pick for the best movie of all time?: CIRCLE OF FRIENDS.

Shape is an American monthly fitness magazine for women started by Weider Publications in 1981.  Circle of Friends is a 1995 film based on the 1990 novel of the same name by Maeve Binchy.  A circle is a shape, so the magazine might favor that movie.

53. Rolling Stone's pick for the best movie of all time?: SCHOOL OF ROCK.

Rolling Stone is an American monthly magazine, founded in 1967, that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture.  School of Rock is a 2003 comedy film starring Jack Black.  Because Rolling Stone is concerned with popular music, especially rock 'n' roll, it would of course favor a movie about rock music.  And a "stone" is a "rock," so there's another connection.

63. The New Yorker's pick for the best movie of all time?: A BRONX TALE.

The New Yorker is an American magazine, founded in 1925, that features journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. A Bronx Tale is a 1993 film directed by and starring Robert De Niro, adapted from Chazz Palminteri's 1989 one-man show of the same name. The New Yorker might look favorably upon a movie whose title features a borough of New York City, like The Bronx.

Are you with me?  Time to move on?  OK, People!

Across:

1. Pic: SNAP.

5. Thread: FIBER.

10. Eye woe: STYE.

14. Ace in the __: HOLE.  In poker, this refers to an ace card which is dealt and kept face down until the deal is over.  Figuratively, it is any advantage held in reserve until needed.

15. "Rolling in the Deep" singer: ADELE.

16. Eurasian river: URAL.

17. "Leave that to me!": ON IT.  Blog the puzzle while Chairman Moe recovers from surgery?  I'm ON IT!

18. [Theme clue]

20. Lab's dish?: PETRI.  Laboratory's dish -- not Labrador Retriever's dish.

22. Meat-grading org.: USDA.  United States Department of Agriculture.

23. Get even with?: TIE.

24. [Theme clue]

28. "Bet you __ to doughnuts ... ": DOLLARS.  A favorite expression expressing certainty, but dollars were worth more than doughnuts when it originated.  At this point, it makes little sense, since doughnuts cost more than a dollar.  A "Krispy Kreme" original glazed doughnut goes for $2.69 at our nearest location.

Maybe a dollar will get you a doughnut hole.

31. Vicinity: AREA.

32. Smug cry: OHO!

33. Diet branding word: LITE.

35. Big name in sporting goods: VOIT.

39. [Theme clue]

44. Coke, e.g.: SODA.

45. Overflow (with): TEEM.

46. Animal featured on the Olympic National Park quarter: ELK.

47. Spring break?: THAW.  When ice breaks up in the spring -- and possibly road surfaces along with it.

51. Stockpiles: AMASSES.

53. [Theme clue]

57. Small digit?: TOE.  Digit can mean any of the numerals from 0 to 9, or a finger or toe.  Is that because we count on them?  

58. Surrealist Magritte: RENE.

59. Scott of NPR: SIMON.

63. [Theme clue]

67. Cordon (off): ROPE.

68. Blossomed: GREW.

69. Unsuccessful Ford: EDSEL.

70. Orange or pear: TREE.

71. Move very slowly: EASE.

72. Minuscule amounts: IOTAS.

73. Delight: SEND.

Down:

1. Browse: SHOP.

2. Fewer than few: NONE.

3. Landed: ALIT.

4. Gas, to an Aussie: PETROL.

5. A ways away: FAR.

6. Mont. neighbor: IDA.  Montana and Idaho.

7. Kicked off: BEGUN.

8. Senator Slotkin of Michigan: ELISSA.

Elissa Slotkin

9. Give, as a verdict: RENDER.

10. Temp: SUB.  Shout out to Husker Gary, our Saturday blogger and substitute teacher extraordinaire.

11. Cable channel with reruns of sitcoms and reality shows: TRUTV.  TruTV is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It broadcasts reruns of comedy and reality shows, with a recent primetime focus on live sports.

12. Connecticut Ivy Leaguer: YALIE.  Another nickname for a Yale student that we frequently encounter here is "Eli."

13. Sigourney's "Alien" role: ELLEN.

Good on you if you remembered the character's name!

19. Beaufort scale rating: GALE.  The Beaufort scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land.  Ratings include conditions from Calm to Hurricane.

21. "Let's see your hand": I CALL.  Is this where your ACE IN THE HOLE comes in handy?

25. Lake that surrounds Kelleys Island: ERIE.

Kelleys Island is flagged, due east of Toledo, Ohio.

26. Regarding: AS TO.

27. Roof trim: EAVE.

28. Ob-gyns, e.g.: DOCS.  An OB/GYN, meaning obstetrician gynecologist, is a medical DOCtor.

29. Home of Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks: OHIO.  Ohio again!  Holy Toledo!  Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks is a World Heritage Site preserving eight monumental earthworks constructed by the Hopewell Culture between approximately 0 and 400 AD along tributaries of the Ohio River.

30. "Bridgerton" title: LORD.  Bridgerton is an fantasized historical television drama set in the early 1800s in England.  It is based on a book series by Julia Quinn and appears on Netflix.

A scene from Bridgerton

34. Baby newt: EFT.

36. Tip jar wad: ONES.

37. Collecting dust: IDLE.

38. Judgy clucks: TSKS.

40. "The Censor" of ancient Rome: CATO.  Marcus Porcius Cato (234–149 BC) was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism.  Among other government positions, Cato served as censor, responsible for the census, for public morality, and for government finances.

Cato the Censor, AKA Cato the Wise, and Cato the Elder.

41. Phobia: FEAR.

42. San __, Italy: REMO.

43. Safari runners: IMACs.  Safari is a web browser used on Apple devices.

48. ESPN's "Around the __": HORN.  Around the Horn is an ESPN sports roundtable discussion show, conducted in the style of a panel game.

49. Russian political dissident Navalny: ALEXEI.

50. Is inadequate: WON'T DO.

52. Parts of some suits: SKIRTS.

53. Ride out of town, in a Western: STAGE.  In this case, "ride" is a noun -- a "vehicle" to get out of town.  

Stagecoach -- or "stage." 

54. Hooded snake: COBRA.

55. "__ to you": HERE'S.  Congratulations!  You've almost finished the puzzle.

56. Repast: FEAST.

60. Greedy cry: MORE!

61. Unbox: OPEN.  Unboxing is the act of taking a product out of its packaging, especially when it's recorded on video and shared online. Strangely, it's a popular trend that allows people to watch others unpack new products. 

62. Sine qua non: NEED.  Sine qua non can be translated literally from Latin as "Without which, not."  It indicates that "without (something), (something else) won't be possible."  Or a need.  I learned this in high school, when my friend's father dedicted his magnum opus to his wife:  "For Gloria, sine qua non."

64. Buy on credit, say: OWE.

65. Perrins's partner in steak sauce: LEA.  Lea & Perrins is a United Kingdom-based subsidiary of Kraft Heinz, originating in Worcester, England, where it manufactures Worcestershire sauce.

66. Couple of locals?: ELS.  There are a couple of ELS ("L"s) in the word LOCALS.

Here's the grid:

Did today's puzzle earn a BRONX cheer?  Or a call for MORE?

NaomiZ