Sunday, January 19, 2025, Ricky J. Sirois

 Title:  "Rank and File."

The Count on the 9th hole.

Constructor Ricky J. Sirois returns to our favorite page of the L.A. Times for the fourth time, asking us to count in ordinal numbers from first to ninth.  The theme clues and answers, symmetrically placed throughout the Across lines of the puzzle, are:

22. First place: TOP OF THE LINE.

30. Second banana: ASSISTANT MANAGER.

45. Third base: HOT CORNER.  Malodorous Manatee explained this baseball reference in his blog post for Amanda Cook's puzzle on Friday, January 10, 2025.

52. Fourth Estate: PUBLIC PRESS.  In the time of the French revolution, the first estate was the clergy, the second estate was the nobility, and the third estate was the commoners and bourgeois.  A few years later, folks began to refer to the press as the fourth estate.

68. Fifth wheel: SPARE TIRE.

80. Sixth sense: GUT INSTINCT.

91. Seventh heaven: SHANGRI-LA.  Shangri-La is a fictional place in the mountains of Tibet, described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by English author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley. Shangri-La has come to mean any earthly paradise.

106. "Eighth Grade": COMING OF AGE STORY.  Eighth Grade is a 2018 American coming-of-age comedy drama film.

117. Ninth circle: CENTER OF HELL.  The Inferno is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century narrative poem The Divine Comedy, followed by Purgatorio and Paradiso. The Inferno describes the journey of a fictionalised version of Dante himself through Hell, guided by the Roman poet Virgil. In the poem, Hell is depicted as nine concentric circles of torment located within the Earth.

No circles of hell here, though!  Just a few unknowns that are solvable by perpendicular entries.

Let's wander through the rest of the clues and answers.

Across:

1. Headbanging genre: METAL.  An intense sort of rock and roll music.

6. Colts and fillies: FOALS.  Baby horses!  Colts are male, fillies are female.

11. Kept involved via email: CC'ed.  "Carbon copied" (in the days of typewriters), or copied on an email.

15. Broncos org.: AFC.  American Football Conference.

18. Circumvent: EVADE.

19. Fictional teen sleuth Belden: TRIXIE.  Trixie Belden is the title character in a series of mysteries written between 1948 and 1986. The first six books were written by Julie Campbell Tatham; the stories were then continued by various in-house writers from Western Publishing under the pseudonym Kathryn Kenny.

20. Off-color: BLUE.

21. LeBron's team, on scoreboards: LAL.  Los Angeles Lakers.

22. [Theme clue]

24. River crossed by Washington's troops: DELAWARE.

Washington crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, 1851

26. Steps in: ENTERS.

27. Frigg's husband: ODIN.  In Norse mythology, Frigg is the wife of Odin, the king of the gods, and the goddess of marriage and motherhood. 

29. Oscar nominee McCarthy: MELISSA.

30. [Theme clue]

34. Largest organ in the human body: SKIN.

35. Butter servings: PATS.  I worry about the ones we leave uneaten on the cafe table.

36. Yankees great Gehrig: LOU.

37. "Then what happened!?": GO ON.

38. Duane __: pharmacy chain: READE.  Discovered this pharmacy chain in NYC.

39. Make an oopsie: ERR.

40. Skit show featuring Kenan Thompson since 2003, briefly: SNL.  Saturday Night Live.

42. Pinterest pin: PIC.  On Pinterest, users "pin" images they've found online -- like a virtual bulletin board.

45. [Theme clue]

47. Welcomes: SAYS HI.

49. Tibetan priests: LAMAS.

51. Exploit: FEAT.  Exploit used as a noun:  a striking or notable deed; feat; spirited or heroic act:

the exploits of Alexander the Great.

52. [Theme clue]

55. Flamboyantly showy: GARISH.

60. Teri of "Young Frankenstein": GARR.  Sadly, Teri Garr died from complications of multiple sclerosis in October 2024 at the age of 79.

Teri Garr

63. Sign of distress: SOS.  SOS is a Morse code distress signal ( ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ), originally established for maritime use. SOS was not an abbreviation when it was first used. Later, a backronym was created for it in popular usage, and SOS became associated with mnemonic phrases such as "Save Our Souls" and "Save Our Ship."  The phrase "SOS" has entered general usage to informally indicate a crisis or the need for action.

64. Target in mini golf: PAR.  This threw me off.  Isn't PAR also the target in regular golf?

65. Cooling-off period: DETENTE.

66. Something to go by?: ALIAS.

68. [Theme clue]

72. Consumer: EATER.

73. Pipián verde seeds: PEPITAS.  Pipián verde is a traditional Mexican green mole (sauce) that gets its color and flavor from pumpkin seeds.

Pipián verde

75. Rolls on the dirt?: SOD.  Very clever.

76. Blonde brew: ALE.

78. Search meticulously: COMB.

79. Like a drive through the mountains: SCENIC.

80. [Theme clue]

84. Pixar title fish: NEMO.

86. Abdicates: CEDES.

87. Street musician: BUSKER.

91. [Theme clue]

96. Spoil: MAR.

97. Manhattan spirit: RYE.

98. Bird that lays green eggs: EMU.  Yup!

Emu egg

99. Some pajama tops, casually: CAMIS.  Short for camisoles.

100. Suffix that turns adjectives into nouns: NESS.  If I am tardy, please excuse my tardiNESS.

102. Nest egg inits.: IRA.  In a world where many workers don't have company sponsored pensions, it's important to have an Individual Retirement Account or similar plan in place.  

104. Desertlike: ARID.

105. Singer India.__: ARIE.  We've met Ms Arie on this page many times.

106. [Theme clue]

111. Apple AirTag, for one: TRACKER.  Bad guys are dropping these in people's pockets!  If you find one among your things, remove the battery and call the police.

113. Garment worn with a choli: SARI.  A choli is a fitted shirt worn with a wrapped sari.

114. Pays: REMITS.

115. Ireland, in Latin: HIBERNIA.  Hibernia is the Classical Latin name for Ireland. 

117. [Theme clue]

121. Slithery swimmer: EEL.

122. Roti flour: ATTA.  Roti is an Indian circular flatbread, made with ground whole wheat flour or “atta.”

123. Pelvic exercises: KEGELS.  The life-long assignment of all women who have borne children.

124. Country singer Tucker: TANYA.

125. Pig's pad: STY.

126. "The __ of Summer": Don Henley song: BOYS.

127. Shared account?: STORY.

128. Like San Francisco's Lombard Street: STEEP.  Steep and curvy.

Lombard Street

Down:

1. Joined: MET.  As in, met (or joined) for dinner ...

2. Annual gaming tournament, for short: EVO.  The Evolution Championship Series, commonly known as Evo, is an annual event that focuses exclusively on fighting-style electronic games. 

3. Carole King album with the song used as the "Gilmore Girls" theme: TAPESTRY.

4. Dreamboat of Greek mythology: ADONIS.  In Greek mythology, Adonis was the mortal lover of the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone. He was considered to be the ideal of male beauty in classical antiquity.

5. Some turns: LEFTS.

6. San Joaquin Valley city: FRESNO.  Harder if you're not Californian.

7. Word with can or pan: OIL.

8. Saying that goes without saying: AXIOM.

9. Blair of "The Exorcist": LINDA.

10. Dating: SEEING.

11. Chem. in some calming pet treats: CBD.  Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of 113 identified cannabinoids in cannabis plants, and accounts for up to 40% of the plant's extract.  Medically, it is an anticonvulsant used to treat multiple forms of epilepsy.  Clinical research on CBD includes studies related to the treatment of anxiety, addiction, psychosis, movement disorders, and pain, but at this point there is insufficient evidence that CBD is effective for these conditions.

12. Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto: CLEMENTE.  Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (1934 – 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In December 1972, Clemente died in the crash of a plane he had chartered to take emergency relief goods for the survivors of a massive earthquake in Nicaragua.  He was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Roberto Clemente

13. Graph theory pioneer: EULER.  Leonhard Euler (1707 – 1783) was a Swiss polymath who was active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, logician, geographer, and engineer.  He founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made influential discoveries in many other branches of mathematics such as analytic number theory, complex analysis, and infinitesimal calculus.

14. "I agree to those terms!": DEAL!

15. Juneau native: ALASKAN.

16. Gary Larson comic strip, with "The": FAR SIDE.

17. After-hours employee, perhaps: CLEANER.

19. In __ to: deeply engrossed in: THRALL.

23. Vietnamese New Year: TET.

25. Better informed: WISER.

28. 119-Down formula: NaOH.  Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is a white, odorless, corrosive solid that is used in many industrial and household products. It is also known as lye or caustic soda.

30. Chimpanzees, e.g.: APES.

31. Gilbert of "The Conners": SARA.  Sara Gilbert is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcom Roseanne.

32. Rapper Shakur: TUPAC.  Tupac Shakur (1971 – 1996) was an American rapper and actor.  He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. His lyrics are noted for addressing social injustice, political issues, and the marginalization of African-Americans, but he was also synonymous with gangsta rap.  He was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.

Tupac Shakur

33. Makes an oopsie: GOOFS.

38. Take turns: ROTATE.

40. Moo __ pork: SHU.

41. Ballpoint tips: NIBS.

43. Little hellion: IMP.

44. Latin "Seize the day": CARPE DIEM.

46. Parakeet enclosure: CAGE.

48. Graded injury: SPRAIN.  A first-degree sprain is the mildest form of sprain, resulting in minimal tissue damage and quick recovery time.  A second-degree sprain happens when one or more ligaments has been damaged.  A third-degree sprain occurs when the ligament has torn.  These are ordinal numbers through which we would prefer not to progress.

49. Challenge for a speech therapist: LISP.

50. Usher to a table: SEAT.

53. End of a hot streak: LOSS.

54. __ Lanka: SRI.

56. Doesn't keep a poker face: REACTS.

57. Call __ question: INTO.

58. Fruit holder: STEM.

59. Mint, e.g.: HERB.

60. Unaccounted-for times on a résumé: GAPS.

61. Knighted actor Guinness: ALEC.

62. Fragrant, in a bad way: RIPE.  "Ripe" can be used as an adjective to describe a smell that is strong and unpleasant, similar to being stinky.

65. Shop with a meat slicer: DELI.  Delicatessen:  a good place to purchase sliced pastrami or corned beef, if you're into that sort of thing.  DH craves the veggie Reuben sandwich at Canter's Deli in L.A.

67. Result of stirring up a hornet's nest: STINGS.

69. Sun Devils sch.: ASU.  Arizona State University.

70. Source of some coll. scholarships: ROTC.  Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a leadership training and development program that prepares full-time, college-enrolled students for service opportunities in the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Space Force.

71. "Shucks!": RATS.

74. Laptop giant: ACER.

77. Genderqueer identity: ENBY.  "Enby" is a term used to describe someone who identifies as non-binary, or outside of the male and female gender binary.  It's pronounced "en-bee."  This is perfect crosswordese, as we are used to spelling out the sounds of letters in our answers.

80. Humanoid creature of Jewish folklore: GOLEM.  A golem is an animated anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is created entirely from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. 

81. Secrecy doc: NDA.  Non-disclosure agreement.  Promise not to tell!

82. Typographical flourish: SERIF.

83. Stick at a table: CUE.  Pool table.  Billiards.

85. Smaller side: MINORITY.

88. Portable stove fuel: KEROSENE.  I was finally relieved of pumping kerosene stoves when I married DH.  He is not a camper.  DH says, if the Lord meant for us to go camping, why did he create all these fine hotels?

89. Gulf States title: EMIR.

90. Football film with the tagline "Sometimes a winner is a dreamer who just won't quit": RUDY.  Rudy is a 1993 film about the life of Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who dreamed of playing football at the University of Notre Dame, despite significant obstacles.

91. Lambastes: SCATHES.

92. Abolitionist Tubman: HARRIET.

93. In a friendly way: AMIABLY.

94. Sister's daughter: NIECE.

95. Garage sale caveat: AS IS.

97. Wild parties: RAGERS.

101. After-school treats: SNACKS.

103. Almost never: RARELY.

104. In addition: AT THAT.

106. Italian hundred: CENTO.

107. Welcome: GREET.

108. "Weird Science" band __ Boingo: OINGO.  "Weird Science" is a 1985 song by American new wave band Oingo Boingo.  The song reached No. 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 21 on the US Dance Club Charts, and No. 81 in Canada.  It is Oingo Boingo's most successful single.

109. Punk kin: EMO.  Emo is an offshoot of punk rock, according to many crossword constructors.

110. Aerates, as flour: SIFTS.

112. The Krusty __: SpongeBob's employer: KRAB.

116. Inserts for some electric toothbrushes: AAs.

118. Rx notation: TER.  Terbinafine is used to treat fungal infections.

119. Caustic chemical: LYE.

120. Swimmer's unit: LAP.

Here's the grid:

C.C. had computer problems, and asked me yesterday to substitute for her today.

Because this review was hasty, please excuse any GOOFS due to my hastiNESS!

-- NaomiZ

Tuesday, January 14, 2025, Beth Rubin, Owen Bergstein

 Theme:  FOURced entry.

In today's puzzle by Beth Rubin and Owen Bergstein, the theme entries are arranged symmetrically among the Across answers.  

16. Surfaces for playing board games: TABLETOPS.  As kids, we played board games on the floor, but now that we are old and creaky, we play them on top of the table.  In keeping with today's theme, we give a shout out to the FOUR TOPS, who helped establish the Motown sound in the 1960s.

29. Lateral handsprings: CARTWHEELS.  Harking back to youth again, CARTWHEELS were popular with the girls, but this blogger never learned the trick.  But I did see the theme here:  FOUR WHEELS are typical of wheeled vehicles.

34. Collections of episodes overseen by showrunners: TV SEASONS.  IMDb says: "Showrunner is the unofficial title given to the top-level creative decision maker and manager overseeing all episodes of an individual season of a television/episodic series."  I didn't know that a showrunner typcially controls an entire season, but I did know the FOUR SEASONS.

Artist Diane Getty made this quilt called "Green's View" featuring one scene in four seasons. 

45. Triangular snack chips from PepsiCo: POPCORNERS.  Have you seen or heard of PopCorners?  Although this snack has only three corners, a typical room in a house has FOUR CORNERS.  Four Corners is also the place where Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico meet.

My kiddos at the Four Corners Monument in 1990.

58. Round after the Elite Eight, and what the ends of 16-, 29-, 34-, and 45-Across are?: FINAL FOUR.  In the NCAA men's Division I basketball championship or the NCAA women's Division I basketball championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. The winners advance to the Final Four.  There are further distinctions made for the various Divisions.  For purposes of today's puzzle, the FINAL part of each theme answer can be paired with the word FOUR to form a common phrase:  FOUR TOPS, FOUR WHEELS, FOUR SEASONS, and FOUR CORNERS.  

Let us now go FOURth to solve the rest of the puzzle:

Across:

1. Misses: GALS.

5. Taj Mahal city: AGRA.

9. In addition: PLUS.  Not "also" this time.

13. "The Reader" actress Lena: OLIN.  In "The Reader," Swedish actress Lena Olin played a Jewish survivor of the Auschwitz death march at a trial in the 1960s, and as the woman's daughter twenty years later.

Lena Olin in "The Reader"

14. Pedicure targets: TOES.

15. Tuscan city: SIENA.  Since darling daughter married a Tuscan man, we have had the opportunity to visit a few Tuscan cities.  I wouldn't know the towns of other regions in Italy off the top of my head.

The Ex, the Daughter, her F-I-L, NaomiZ, and the Groom in Siena before the wedding.

P.S.  I am not short!  These people are tall.

16. [Theme clue]

18. Disconnected: APART.

19. Actor Vigoda: ABE.  Abe Vigoda (1921-2016) was an American actor known for his roles in The Godfather and Barney Miller. 

Abe Vigoda

20. "Super cool": RAD.

21. Homeric journey: ODYSSEY.

23. Zeroes out for container weight, say: TARES.  To TARE is to adjust a scale on which an empty container has been placed so as to reduce the displayed weight to zero.  I do this with the kitchen scale to weigh what I'm going to put into a container without having to subtract the weight of the container.  Until this moment, I didn't realize TARE could be used as a verb.  

25. One that might get turned into stone?: SCREW.  Really?  To screw into stone, you generally have to drill a hole and sink an anchor in there for the screw.  A little forced, if you ask me!

27. That girl: HER.

28. Big name in cinema: IMAX.  IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio and steep stadium seating.

29. [Theme clue]

31. __ Alto, California: PALO.

32. "__ seen worse": I'VE.

33. Finishes up: ENDS.

34. [Theme clue]

38. Help (out): BAIL.  You can BAIL someone out of jail by providing a security deposit, or BAIL them out of a predicament by lending assistance.  You can also BAIL water out of a boat, and if you are in a boat with a friend, I guess you're bailing them out at the same time.

40. Rap battle VIPs: MCS.  MC, or Master of Ceremonies, is a term used to describe a rapper who is also a performer with a variety of skills, including crowd control, stage presence, and hosting abilities.

41. Collection of Norse poems: EDDA.  EDDA is an Old Norse term that has been applied by modern scholars to two Medieval Icelandic literary works: what is known as the Prose Edda and an older collection of poems now known as the Poetic Edda. Both works were recorded in Iceland during the 13th century in Icelandic, although they contain material from earlier traditional sources, reaching back into the Viking Age. The books provide the main sources for Norse mythology.

45. [Theme clue]

48. Greek god of war: ARES.

49. Freezer cubes: ICE.

50. Crystal-lined rock: GEODE.  A hollow, spherical rock that contains masses of minerals, often in the form of crystals.

51. Material: CLOTH.

52. Like futuristic tech: NEXT-GEN.

54. Govt. org. employing ecologists: EPA.  Environmental Protection Agency.

56. Poker prize: POT.

57. Harsh light: GLARE.

58. [Theme reveal]

61. Bull on glue bottles: ELMER.  The brand was introduced by Borden Inc., and Elmer was meant to be the mate of advertising mascot Elsie the Cow.  The original Elmer's glue contained dairy products, but it is now synthetic.

62. Once more: ANEW.

63. Energy field read by a psychic: AURA.

64. Spinal column element: DISK.

65. Little bits: TADS.

66. Marketplace with personalized gifts: ETSY.

Down:

1. "Care to share your expertise?": GOT A TIP?  Right at 1-Down, you are going to annoy some solvers with this conversational prompt.

2. The Crimson Tide of the NCAA: ALABAMA.  DH's cousin's daughter went to 'Bama, so I sorta knew this.  Anyone else with a sports allergy find this difficult?

3. Generous: LIBERAL.  Liberal usually means broad-minded or tolerant, but it can also mean generous.  Perhaps you are liberal with the olive oil, or the salt, or pepper?

4. NBC skit show, for short: SNL.  Saturday Night Live.  

5. "__ baby!": "Way to go!": ATTA.  We've had ATTA boy and ATTA girl in the puzzle before.  I have not heard ATTA baby, but Urban Dictionary says it is "A congratulation for doing something beasty or awesome."  I thought this was forced, but it seems I was just uninformed.

6. "Talked your way out of trouble there!": GOOD SAVE.

7. Gym unit: REP.  Short for repetition.  So commonly used in the gym that there was no prompt for an abbreviation, although I guess "gym" is short for "gymnasium."

Forced reps require a spotter to assist.

8. Arrange by category: ASSORT.  To distribute into groups of a like kind.  "Sort" means the same thing.  Do you use ASSORT as a verb?  Or do you sort things to create an assortment?

9. Gladys Knight & the __: PIPS.  An American R&B, soul, and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s.

Gladys Knight & the Pips

10. Like a dog in a crowded park, ideally: LEASHED.

11. Lets out, as a fishing line: UNREELS.  Unwinds from a reel.  Fishing with my dad, I performed this motion, but did not know this word.  I thought this answer was forced, but maybe I should have been forced to learn more verbs.

12. Mythical forest folk: SATYRS.  Lustful, drunken woodland gods. In Greek art they were depicted as men with horses' ears and tails, but in Roman art as men with goats' ears, tails, legs, and horns.

Greek Satyr

Roman Satyr

15. Drink pourer's words: SAY WHEN.

17. Hectic hosp. areas: ERS.  Emergency Rooms.  Abbreviated clue calls for abbreviated answer.

22. Morning drops: DEW.

24. Otherworldly: EXOTIC.  From another country; unusual; alien.

26. __ spinach: CREAMED.  How to take a healthy vegetable and make it not that.

29. Lead-in to gender: CIS.  Cisgender describes a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth, that is, someone who is not transgender.

30. Ratify with a stamp, quaintly: ENSEAL.  Enseal is an obsolete verb that means to impress a document with a seal.  As a teenager, I loved to seal the envelopes of letters I sent to friends with sealing wax, but obvs I was missing this verb.

35. Many a YouTuber: VLOGGER.  Vlogger is a portmanteau of video and blogger. Anyone who posts video updates to an online journal or weblog can be described as a vlogger.

36. Sifted through, as candidates: SCREENED.

37. CIA predecessor: OSS.  The Office of Strategic Services was an intelligence agency of the United States during World War II.

38. Italian tenor Andrea: BOCELLI.  Andrea Bocelli was born with congenital glaucoma, and lost his eyesight completely at age 12 after being hit in the eye with a football.  He has had a brilliant singing career in spite of these difficulties.

Andrea Bocelli

39. HS tests taken for college credit: AP EXAMS.  Many colleges offer course credits for High School Advanced Placement tests.

42. Quit school: DROP OUT.

43. Roundabout routes: DETOURS.

44. Container in a smoking lounge: ASHTRAY.

45. Made unwanted sounds, as an engine: PINGED.  An engine can ping (or knock) due to an improper combustion process, because the engine is too hot, or because of improper gasoline octane.

46. Food Network host Drummond: REE.  Anne Marie "Ree" Drummond is an American blogger, food writer, and television personality. Known for her blog, The Pioneer Woman, which documented her life in rural Oklahoma, Drummond has starred in her own television program, also titled The Pioneer Woman, on The Food Network since 2011.

Ree Drummond

47. Like some yogurt: NONFAT.

51. Nev. neighbor: CAL.  Nevada is next door to California.

53. Lengthy hike: TREK.

55. Rabbit's feet: PAWS.

59. Food Network host Garten: INA.  Ina Garten is an American television cook and author. She is host of the Food Network program Barefoot Contessa and is a former staff member of the federal Office of Management and Budget.

Ina Garten

60. Neopronoun sometimes spelled "fey": FAE. Fae/faer/faers are gender-neutral pronouns. Which would be great, as an alternative to using cisgender plurals for singular persons, but there are too many new ones to be practical.  Besides fae/faer/faers, there are ze/zir/zirs, xe/xem/xyrs, ae/aer/aers, ve/ver/vers, ne/nem/nirs, and per/per/pers, among others!

Are we done yet?  I found this to be a tough Tuesday.  It was also:

Here's the grid:

Did you DROP OUT?  Were you CREAMED by this puzzle?

Or did you finish with an ATTA baby?

-- NaomiZ

 

Notes from C.C.:

Happy 81st Birthday to dear JD! Here's a picture of Jill, Garlic Gal, Chickie and JD, all of them used to read our blog regularly.

 

 

Tuesday, January 7, 2025 Gary Cee

  Theme:  PICK UP LINES.

Today's crossword puzzle by Gary Cee reminds us about some things we can pick up.  Those things are the second word in each of the answers to the clues marked with asterisks.  They have nothing to do with the cheesy pick up line illustrated above!  

The big reveal is right in the center of the puzzle:

37-Across. With 39-Across, "Move faster!," or what one can do with the end of the answer to each starred clue: PICK.  Together, 37- and 39-Across spell out PICK IT UP.  Let's see how this applies to the "starred" clues -- the ones marked with asterisks.

17-Across. *Teen magazine launched in 1965: TIGER BEAT.  Tiger Beat was an American teen fan magazine marketed primarily to adolescent girls. The magazine had a paper edition until December 2018, and afterward was published exclusively online until 2021.  And of course, you can PICK UP the BEAT, which means to start playing or moving in rhythm with the music, and perhaps to speed up a bit.

25-Across. *Nail-biting moment: CLOSE CALL.  A close call is a narrow escape from danger or disaster.  Some folks bite their nails at such tense moments!  And of course, you can PICK UP a CALL, or let it go to voicemail.

55-Across. *British tabloid: DAILY MAIL.  The Daily Mail is a British daily tabloid newspaper published in London. It was founded in 1896. As of 2020, it has the highest circulation of paid newspapers in the UK.  And of course, you can PICK UP the MAIL.

64-Across. *Notation for a fretted instrument: GUITAR TAB.  Tablature (or tab for short) is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering or the location of the played notes rather than musical pitches.

Tablature is common for fretted stringed instruments such as the guitar or lute. It was common during the Renaissance and Baroque eras, and is used today in notating many forms of music.  And of course, you can PICK UP the TAB -- pay for something, especially for what someone else has bought or used.

Time for me to PICK UP the pace.  Onward!

Across:

1. New puppy's need: NAME.

5. Photo app option: CROP.  I use phone and PC apps to CROP my photos. You?

9. Smidgen: SKOSH.  Some people say:  Just a SKOSH of cream in my coffee!  Merriam-Webster says:  The word skosh comes from the Japanese word sukoshi, which is pronounced "skoh shee" and means "a tiny bit" or "a small amount." The Japanese word was shortened by U.S. servicemen stationed in Japan after World War II. 

14. Spoken, not written: ORAL.

15. Atmospheric glow: AURA.  

Amazing aura around this person!

16. Pool divisions: LANES.  C.C. has shared some impressive swimming with us.

17. [Theme clue]

19. Free of profanity: CLEAN.

20. Film festival city on the French Riviera: CANNES. 

Festival de Cannes

21. Covert org.: CIA.  This organization is the Central Intelligence Agency.

23. Tail off: EBB.  Recede, lessen, reduce, tail off ...

24. Basketball giant Shaquille: O'NEAL.  Shaquille O'Neal, known commonly as Shaq, is a former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. He is a 7-foot-1-inch and 325-pound center who played for six teams over his 19-year career in the NBA and is a four-time NBA champion. Even I knew the gist of that.

Shaq

25. [Theme clue]

28. Toronto's prov.: ONT.  Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario.  An abbreviation in the clue hints at an abbreviation in the answer.

Is it really so pretty, CanadianEh?

29. Clarinet kin: OBOE.

31. Yiddish put-down: SCHLUB.  That poor SCHLUB just doesn't get it!  No one asked for a put-down!  Today's puzzle is about pick-ups!

32. Gal: LASS.  Conjures up a young woman of Sweden, Norway, or Scotland.  

34. Expenditure: COST.

36. Really gets to: RILES.

37. [Theme reveal]

39. [Theme reveal]

41. Lawful: LICIT.  LICIT means not forbidden, or lawful.  Somehow I hear "illicit" more often!  

44. "The Sweetest Taboo" singer: SADE.  Popular singer of crossword puzzles.

46. Quarrel: SPAT.  A brief, petty argument.

50. Orange shape: SPHERE.  A sphere is a round solid figure, or its surface, with every point on its surface equidistant from its center.  An orange is not a perfect sphere, but it's certainly glorular.

52. "Give me a __?": HAND.  Some of our solvers hate conversational prompts as clues.

54. "Now __ seen it all!": I'VE.

55. [Theme clue]

57. Estate measures: ACRES.

59. Pat gently: DAB.

60. No longer hush-hush: OUT.  Google's AI Overview explains, "Out" means something is openly revealed or not kept secret, while "hush hush" means something is kept secret or confidential, not to be discussed openly; essentially, "out" is the opposite of "hush hush."

61. E.B. White's "__ Little": STUART.  A wonderful book for children, by the author of Charlotte's Web.

Stuart Little

62. Like male lions: MANED.

64. [Theme clue]

66. Liquid measure, in Britain: LITRE.  In the U.S., we spell it "liter," and we only use it to measure large amounts of soda pop.

67. Overturn: UNDO.

68. Sonic the Hedgehog creator: SEGA.  It helps to have had teenagers at a certain point in history.

69. Navy prisons: BRIGS.  The brig on the Starship Enterprise looked OK.

Picard!  Who do you have in the brig?

70. Scratchy tone: RASP.

71. Paradise: EDEN.

Down:

1. "That's just wrong": NOT COOL.

2. Media magnate Huffington: ARIANNA.  Arianna Huffington is a Greek American author, syndicated columnist and businesswoman. She is a co-founder of The Huffington Post, the founder and CEO of Thrive Global, and the author of fifteen books. She has been named to Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people and the Forbes Most Powerful Women list.

Arianna Huffington

3. Shopping list holders: MAGNETS.  My refrigerator door is not magnetic; my magnet collection went to waste.

4. Supreme Court justice Kagan: ELENA.  Elena Kagan is an American lawyer who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was appointed in 2010 by President Barack Obama and is the fourth woman to serve on the Court.

Elena Kagan

5. Autos with meters: CABS.  If you've ridden in a taxi cab, you know there's a meter showing the increasing cost of the journey as you go along.

6. Feel sorrow over: RUE.  Regret, feel remorse ... we've all been there, on the way to doing better!

7. Fortunetellers: ORACLES.

8. Place for a firepit: PATIO.

9. Utah's capital, briefly: SLC.  Salt Lake City.

10. Crispy, nutritious snack: KALE CHIPS.  I'd like to make baked kale chips, but I'm convinced it will take more water, electricity, and personal energy, than will be gained from the consuming thereof!

11. Solid yellow on a pool table: ONE BALL.

12. Aquamarine: SEA BLUE.  Also a gem of that color.

13. QVC alternative: HSN.  QVC (Quality Value Convenience) and HSN (Home Shopping Network) were pioneers of modern consumer retail in the late 1980s and 1990s. They changed the way people shopped by introducing the concept of televised home shopping,

18. Move to a new house, informally: RELO.  American English short for "relocate."

22. Burro: ASS.

25. Hash slingers: COOKS.

26. Very light brown: ECRU.

27. Nt. wt. units: LBS.  Net weight units: pounds.  Abbreviations call for abbreviations.

30. Secretly include on an email: BCC.  BCC stands for "blind carbon copy" and is a feature in email that allows the sender to send a copy of an email to additional recipients without the other recipients being aware.

33. Steven who said, "When I grow up, I still want to be a director": SPIELBERG.  He started making films at age 12, and was bound and determined to continue.

Steven Spielberg

35. __ pool: TIDAL.

38. Coy response to "You're awesome!": I TRY.

40. First number in most countdowns: TEN.

41. Mind-altering drug: LSD.   Lysergic acid diethylamide.  Growing up in the 1960s, I kind of hoped that taking LSD, shacking up in Haight-Ashbury, and free love at outdoor festivals, would not be required in my young adulthood.

42. Lightweight Apple tablet: IPAD AIR.

43. Wine served at a trattoria: CHIANTI.  At a small Italian restaurant, you may order an Italian red wine produced in the Chianti region of central Tuscany.  

45. Steak option at a seafood house: AHI TUNA.  Ahi tuna is often called "steak" because when cut into thick slices from the loin of the fish, it resembles a beef steak in its appearance, texture, and ability to be cooked to different doneness levels, from rare to well done, just like a steak.  Tuna are big fish.

47. Illegally downloaded: PIRATED.  I remember when we told the kids to get Napster off their computers.  No stolen music in the house!  

48. Commonplace: AVERAGE.

49. Nuclear treaty topic: TEST BAN.

51. Angsty rock genre: EMO.  If you're new here, welcome to the most popular rock genre in LA Times crossword puzzles.

53. Analytics input: DATA.

56. Foretell: AUGUR.  This clue augurs well for a good finish today.

58. Put a whammy on: CURSE.  “Put the whammy on” means to cause someone to have bad luck or to jinx them.  Did someone put the whammy on our dear RosE?  We all wish her complete healing.

Flowers for RosE

61. "Enough!": STOP.

62. Org. with Angels and Dodgers: MLB. This organization is Major League Baseball.  I didn't even have to look it up before bolding typing it out.

63. __ Moines, Iowa: DES.  DH has family there!  And it's freezing!  

65. TSA checkpoint needs: IDs.  When you go through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint, you need to show IDentification.

Here's the grid:

How did you do with today's theme? 

Did you PICK IT UP quickly?

Or did you miss a BEAT?

-- NaomiZ