Friday, February 14, 2025, Daniel Hrynick

  Theme:  Darling, food is love!

Constructor Daniel Hrynick treats us to a Valentine's Day feast, introduced by terms of endearment.

The theme clues and answers, all Across, are:

17. "My love, borscht for the first course of our Valentine's dinner!": SUGAR, BEETS!  Hey, Sugar, I prepared SUGAR BEETS in a delicious Russian soup!

23. "My love, ruby spuds as a side": BABY, RED POTATOES!  Hey, Baby, I boiled BABY RED POTATOES to go with our main dish!

49. "My love, sweet-and-sour chops for our entree": HONEY, GLAZED PORK!  Hey, Honey, I made HONEY GLAZED PORK for dinner!

56. "My love, I didn't forget dessert!": PUMPKIN, PIE!  Hey, Pumpkin, I baked PUMPKIN PIE!

I like how the terms of endearment are part of the names of the food.  Food is love.

Across:

1. Clipped: TERSE.

6. Per: EACH.

10. Binary pronoun: SHE.

13. __ trail: VAPOR.  Contrails (short for "condensation trails") or VAPOR TRAILs are line-shaped clouds produced by aircraft engine exhaust or changes in air pressure. They are composed primarily of water in the form of ice crystals. Unfortunately, these high altitude clouds absorb thermal radiation from the Earth and then warm the atmosphere.

14. March Madness org.: NCAA.  The National Collegiate Athletic Association organizes this annual basketball tournament in -- you guessed it -- March.

15. Aviation prefix: AERO.

17. [Theme clue]

19. Avian mimic: MYNA.  MYNA (or mynah) birds are prized as pets because of their ability to mimic human speech.  They are perching birds in the starling family, native to Iran and Southern Asia.  The common MYNA (AKA Indian Myna) has been declared one of the world's most invasive species and is one of only three birds listed among "100 of the World's Worst Invasive Species" that pose a threat to biodiversity, agriculture and human interests.

Common Myna

20. D.C. figure: POL.  Short for politician.  Some of these also pose a threat to biodiversity, agriculture and human interests!  In this neutral space, we shall not opine as to which ones.

21. Site traffic stat: PAGE HIT.  Website owners like to see PAGE HITs.  It means someone is looking.

23. [Theme clue]

28. __ loss: AT A.  Puzzled or uncertain what to think, say, or do.

29. Balkan natives: SERBS.

30. Cybergiggle: LOL.  Texting shorthand for Laugh Out Loud.

31. "Whipped Cream" musician Alpert: HERB.

33. Ceremonial pile: PYRE.  A ceremonial pyre is a structure of combustible material that is set on fire for a variety of purposes, including funerals, celebrations, and executions.

34. Strong cleaners: LYES.  LYE is a strongly alkaline solution, especially of potassium hydroxide, used for washing or cleansing.

36. Princeton team: TIGERS.  The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 35 varsity teams in 20 sports.  

38. Ease: SOOTHE.  

40. Actor Corddry: NATE.  Nathan Corddry is an American actor best known for his roles as Adam Branch in the NBC drama series Harry's Law and for his role as Gabriel in the first two seasons of the CBS sitcom Mom.  Sorry, NATE, all perps for me.  Glad I didn't have to spell your surname.

Nate Corddry

41. First name in animation: WALT.  WALT Disney.

44. Touchpad toucher: USER.

45. "__ be an honor!": IT'D.

46. Filmmaker Kurosawa: AKIRA.

48. Moo goo __ pan: GAI.  Moo goo gai pan is a Chinese-American dish that translates to chicken with mushrooms.

49. [Theme clue]

53. Taking five: ON BREAK.

54. __ mode: A LA.  "À la mode" is a French phrase that means "according to the fashion".  It is used to describe something that is stylish or fashionable, or something served with ice cream.

55. Free __: REIN.  Free REIN is the freedom to do or say what you want.  The expression comes from horseback riding:  when you give a horse free rein, you hold the reins loosely so that the animal may wander where it wants. In contrast, if you keep a tight rein on something, you control its every move.

56. [Theme clue]

62. Prefix between micro- and pico-: NANO.

63. Colossal: EPIC.

64. Digestive aid brand: BEANO.

65. Winter hrs. in Utah: MST.  Mountain Standard Time.

66. "Last four digits" IDs: SSNs.

67. Change channels?: SLOTS.  I think the clue refers to coin slots -- where you insert your "change."

Down:

1. Hotel room sets: TVs.

2. __ Claire, Wisconsin: EAU.  The name of this city in Wisconsin is French for "clear water."

3. WoW or D&D: RPG.  World of Warcraft and Dungeons and Dragons are Role Playing Games.

4. Like the taste of cilantro, to some: SOAPY.  I love cilantro.  DH hates it.  My love language involves keeping cilantro out of the house.

5. Blunders: ERRORS.

6. Chemistry suffix: ENE.  A suffix used to form the names of hydrocarbons having one or more double bonds, such as benzene.  

7. Expert: ACE.

8. Spine-stretching asana: CAT POSE.  An āsana is a body posture, originally a general term for a sitting meditation pose, and later extended to any type of yoga exercise position.

Above:  CAT POSE.  Below:  Cow pose.  Good stretches to alternate.

9. Attacks: HAS AT.

10. "Likewise!": SAME TO YOU.

11. Repeated line in "Blitzkrieg Bop": HEY! HO! LET'S GO!  Blitzkrieg Bop was the opening track on the Ramones' self-titled debut album, 1976.  The line "Hey! Ho! Let's go!" became a rallying cry at sporting events.

The song came out first as a single with this cover art.

12. Orange Muppet who tries to learn the saxophone: ERNIE.

16. Stout grains: OATS.

18. Censors: BLEEPS.

22. Pico de __: taco topper: GALLO.  Pico de GALLO (Spanish for "rooster's beak") is a roughly chopped Mexican salsa made from tomato, onion, peppers, salt, lime juice, and cilantro.  Sorry, DH!  Cilantro is a key element.

23. Thai coin: BAHT.

24. Ordered room service, say: ATE IN.

25. Spots for priced-to-sell items: BARGAIN BINS.

26. Not at all humid: DRY.

27. Beer letters since the 1800s: PBR.  Pabst Blue Ribbon.

32. "Actually, bad idea": BETTER NOT.

35. Cut close: SHEAR.

37. Touch up, as a fading salon job: RE-DYE.

38. Barely run?: STREAK.  To STREAK is to run bare naked through a public place for publicity, for fun, as a form of protest, or to participate in a fad.  It was a big fad in the 1970s.

39. Actor Estrada: ERIK.  Henry Enrique "Erik" Estrada is an American actor and police officer.  He is known for his co-starring lead role as California Highway Patrol officer "Ponch" Poncherello in the police drama television series CHiPs, which ran from 1977 to 1983.

41. Buildings without elevators: WALK-UPs.

42. Alias letters: AKA.  AKA is an abbreviation for Also Known As, which might precede an alias.

43. Fashion's Claiborne: LIZ.  Liz Claiborne's success was built on stylish but affordable apparel for career women featuring tailored separates that could be mixed and matched.  I loved wearing her clothes during the decades I spent as a college librarian.  She left this mortal coil in 2007.

47. Improvises: AD-LIBs.

49. Instrument in a toot suite?: HORN.  Silly!  Horns "toot."  "Tout de suite" (which sounds like "toot sweet") is French for "right away."  And of course, a suite in music is a collection of short musical pieces that are played in sequence. Maybe it's a French HORN for a toot suite!

50. Wee hour: ONE AM.

51. Stares slack-jawed: GAPES.

52. Advisory group: PANEL.

57. Max. opposite: MIN.  Maximum vs MINimum.

58. Dells, e.g.: PCs.  Dells are Personal Computers ... Dell being a brand name.

59. Kung __ tofu: PAO.  More good eats!  

60. QB misfire: INT.  Interception.  The quarterback gets the blame if his throw is intercepted by a member of the opposing team.  Amirite?

61. Goddess of the dawn: EOS.  In Greek mythology, Eos is the goddess and personification of the rosy-fingered dawn, who drives a chariot each morning from her home at the edge of the river Oceanus to deliver light and dispel the darkness.

Eos AKA Aurora (in Roman mythology)

Here's the grid:

If you were old enough to listen to popular music in 1969, you might remember a song by The Archies that became the most successful "bubblegum pop" single of all time.  Today's puzzle brings that old ear worm to mind:

Sugar

Oh, honey, honey

You are my candy girl

And you got me wanting you

Honey

Oh, sugar, sugar

You are my candy girl

And you got me wanting you

With love to all you lovers,

NaomiZ

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.