Monday, November 9, 2026, Robin Stears

Theme:  Wham!

Robin Stears is a longtime pro at crossword construction.  This marvelous Monday is my first opportunity to blog one of her puzzles. 

The theme clues and answers are:

17-Across. *Spinach eater who's smitten with Olive Oyl: POPEYE THE SAILOR.

26-Across. *"I Don't Like Mondays" new wave band: BOOMTOWN RATS.

48-Across. *"Mighty Morphin" heroes of 1990s television: POWER RANGERS.

63-Across. Has a thrilling opening, or what the answer to each starred clue does: STARTS WITH A BANG.

Every one of the starred clues opens with the sound of a BANG:  POP, BOOM, or POW.  This puzzle is banging!  Popping!  (Booming is not the same, and powing is not a thing!)  Wham, bam, thank you, Robin!

Across:

1. "Forever Your Girl" singer Abdul: PAULA.  Paula Abdul began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18, became the head choreographer for the Laker Girls, and then choreographed music videos for Janet Jackson.  She went on to become a very popular singer, talent show judge, and choreograher for films, television, and award programs.  

Paula Abdul

6. Radio band toggle: AM/FM.

10. Rotating roasting rod: SPIT. 

piggies on spits -- eww!

14. Online moderator, briefly: ADMIN.  I'm an ADMIN for a Facebook group that shares daily photos of clouds around the world.  Someone's gotta enforce the rules!

15. King, queen, or jack: CARD.

16. Hawaiian dance: HULA.

17. [Theme clue]

20. Office helper: Abbr.: ASST.  The abbreviation for "assistant."

21. Self-storage rental: UNIT.

22. Looped rope at a 31-Across: LASSO.

23. Other, in Spanish: OTRO.  I appreciate it when the answer is masculine, as it is today.  When the answer turns out to be OTRA, as it often does, I think there should be a hint that we're looking for a feminine adjective.  Otro hombre (other man), otra mujer (other woman).

25. Short choral compositions: MOTETS.  Musical compositions in which various voices sing distinct words and melodies at the same time.  Having evolved from the 13th century to the present, there have been tremendous changes in the form over time.

26. [Theme clue]

31. Official state sport of Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Texas: RODEO.  And Alaska has dog mushing as its state sport!  In the category of sports not based on animal abuse, we have surfing (California), skiing (Colorado), outrigger canoe paddling (Hawaii), jousting (Maryland), archery (Missouri) and stock car racing (North Carolina), among others.

32. Lithium-__ battery: ION.  A rechargeable energy storage device.

33. Lyft rival: UBER.

37. Mattel game with colorful cards: UNO.  The goal is to be the first person to get rid of all the cards in your hand.

Uno

38. "The __ of the Opera": PHANTOM.  The Phantom of the Opera is a story created by French novelist Gaston Leroux as a 1910 serialized novel. It follows a disfigured musical genius who lives in the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera House and becomes infatuated with a young chorus singer.  There was a 1925 silent horror film version starring Lon Chaney, a 1935 Technicolor version starring Claude Rains, a 1986 Broadway musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and a 2004 film starring Gerard Butler.

Lon Chaney as the Phantom of the Opera, 1925

42. St. crosser: AVE.  Streets are typically narrow roads with closely spaced buildings on both sides, whereas avenues are often wider thoroughfares with large scale landscaping, but this usage varies regionally.  In Los Angeles, streets usally run east-west, and avenues run north-south.  The house where I grew up was on a north-south avenue, but it was a narrow road with closely spaced houses, fitting the description of a street.

43. Skater Lipinski: TARA.  Tara Lipinski was the 1997 U.S. national champion and world champion in women's singles figure skating, a two-time Champions Series Final champion (1997–1998), and the 1998 Olympic champion.  She was the youngest single skater Olympic champion and World champion ever (at age 15), and is currently a commentator on the sport.

45. Have bills to pay: OWE.

46. Lubricated: OILED.

48. [Theme clue]

52. College grounds: CAMPUS.

55. Auth. unknown: ANON.  An unknown AUTHor is ANONymous.

56. Opera solos: ARIAS.

57. Failed to float: SANK.

59. Slender woodwind: OBOE.

63. [Theme clue]

66. Heavy book: TOME.

67. Slowly grow dim: FADE.

68. Student of Socrates: PLATO.  Socrates taught Plato; Plato taught Aristotle.  The three of them are credited with creating the foundations of Western philosophy.

Three hard headed guys.

69. Garden dirt: SOIL.

70. Pundit piece: OP-ED.  An op-ed (short for "opposite the editorial page") is a piece of opinion journalism written by an outside contributor who is not on a publication's editorial board.  A pundit is a person who has deep knowledge about a specific subject and shares opinions, analysis, or commentary through mass media.

71. Mexican bucks: PESOS.

Down:

1. Smurf with a white beard and red hat: PAPA.  The Smurfs is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest.  There was an American Saturday morning cartoon series from 1981 to 1989 which continued in reruns and TV specials for several years, and is still broadcast on the cable Boomerang channel.

2. Noisy commotions: ADOS.

3. Baseball officials: UMPS.  Umpires also officiate at tennis, cricket, badminton, and field hockey games.

4. "I can't handle the truth!": LIE TO ME.  In the TV drama series Lie to Me (2009-2011), crime solving psychologists detected deception by analyzing microexpressions, body language, and vocal tones.  

5. "__ ideas?": ANY.

6. "Don't wait or you'll miss out!": ACT NOW.

7. Fish often grilled for tacos, informally: MAHI.  The fish formally known as mahi-mahi.

human being with future fish taco filling

8. Ridge on a guitar fingerboard: FRET.  Frets are usually thin metal strips inserted in the neck of a guitar, providing guidance for finger placement to create musical notes.

frets

9. Rx writers: MDS.  Medical doctors can write a prescription (Rx).

10. Japanese massage technique whose name means "finger pressure": SHIATSU.  Practitioners use thumbs, fingers, palms, elbows, knees, or feet to apply pressure along energy pathways called meridians.

11. Heart rate: PULSE.

12. "You beat me": I LOST.

13. Starchy roots used in poi: TAROS.  Taro is a tropical plant grown for its starchy roots (tubers), which are a major food staple in the Pacific Islands, Africa, the Caribbean, and parts of Asia.  In Hawaii, cooked taro roots are mashed into poi.

taro on the left, poi on the right

18. Continental currency: EURO.

19. Like crazy: A LOT.

24. Sporty car roof: T-TOP.

Corvette T-top

25. Spanish hand: MANO.  Give me your hand:  Dame la mano.

26. Dry, as champagne: BRUT.  Sparkling wines are labeled according to the amount of residual sugar per liter after fermentation.  

27. Actress Chaplin: OONA.  Oona Chaplin is a granddaughter of English filmmaker and actor Charlie Chaplin, and great-granddaughter of American playwright Eugene O'Neill.  She had roles in HBO's Game of Thrones, BBC's The Crimson Field and Taboo, and the Avatar films.

As Talisa Maegyr in Game of Thrones, Oona Chaplin got to be married to Robb Stark -- for a minute.
She was first to die at the Red Wedding (Game of Thrones, season 3, episode 9).

28. Febreze target: ODOR.  Isn't it better to clean up the mess than to cover the odor with this sort of thing?

29. Bay Area NFLer: NINER.  The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

30. Decompose: ROT.  Febreze is not really the solution to that.

34. Hay bundle: BALE.

35. Penultimate word in many fairy tales: EVER.  "... and they lived happily EVER after."  Not the ultimate (last) word, but the penultimate (next-to-last) word.

36. Maroon, crimson, ruby, and the like: REDS.

39. "__ it going?": HOW'S.

40. Astonishment: AWE.

41. Stereo alternative: MONO.  Monophonic audio recordings use one channel, and stereophonic recordings use two.  Mono is great for voice recordings and public address systems.  For music and movies, it's nice to have different sounds playing on separate channels to mimic a natural sound environment.

44. Clothes: APPAREL.

47. Dishonorable: IGNOBLE.

49. Depose: OUST.

50. __ and raved: RANTED.

51. Egyptian cross with a top loop: ANKH.  The ankh is an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol that represents "life" or "breath of life."

A god offering the breath of life to a deceased pharoah?

52. Acting ensembles: CASTS.

53. Threepio pal: ARTOO.  Artoo (technically R2-D2) and Threepio (technically C-3PO) are fictional droids in the Star Wars movies.

R2-D2 and C-3PO

54. "The Golden Girls" city: MIAMI.  The Golden Girls, starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty, aired on NBC from 1985 to 1992.  The four older ladies shared a house in Miami, Florida. 

57. Trade: SWAP.

58. Office helper: AIDE.

60. Sheep sounds: BAAS.

61. "I'm __ your tricks!": ONTO.

62. Inner selves: EGOS.

64. Bay Area hub, for short: SFO.  San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is the primary international airport serving the San Francisco Bay Area.

65. iPad download: APP.  An app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet.

Here's the grid:

Solvers,

Did you get A BANG out of today's puzzle?

Tell me in the comments section!  But don't LIE TO ME!

ACT NOW!

-- NaomiZ

Monday, November 2, 2026, Amanda Cook

Theme:  What's My Line?

Today marks Amanda Cook's fifth crossword constructor credit in the Los Angeles Times.  What a great way to begin the week!

The theme clues and answers are:

16-Across. Minute Maid juice box option: FRUIT PUNCH.  

24-Across. Catchphrase associated with hippies: FLOWER POWER.

34-Across. Occasion to wear a little black dress, perhaps: COCKTAIL PARTY.

50-Across. Tennis server's infraction: DOUBLE FAULT.  A double fault occurs when the server makes two consecutive errors, and the point goes to the opponent.  The errors might be hitting the net, hitting outside the service box, or stepping onto the court before contacting the ball.

58-Across. End of a race, or what's found at the end of 16-, 24-, 34-, and 50-Across?: FINISH LINE.  I had to reach this FINISH LINE to see the theme:  each of the listed entries finishes with a type of line!  PUNCH LINE, POWER LINE, PARTY LINE, FAULT LINE.  Bottom line:  well done!

We have not come to the end of the line, though.  Here come the rest of the clues and answers.

Across:

1. Earth tremor: SEISM.

6. Quarterback Darnold who won the Super Bowl with the Seahawks in 2026: SAM.  As you might have guessed, Sam Darnold's line of work is playing quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL.

9. Tom or drake: MALE.  A tom is a male turkey; a drake is a male duck.

13. Japanese breadcrumbs: PANKO.  Have you ever purchased white bread or pastries in a Japanese grocery?  The texture is incredibly light and fluffy!  No wonder Japanese breadcrumbs are prized for coating fried foods.

14. Lose steam: TIRE.

15. 20-Down highlight: ARIA.  An aria is an elaborate solo song with instrumental accompaniment featured in an opera.

16. [Theme clue]

18. Dressage gait: TROT.

19. The "D" of LED: DIODE.  An LED (light-emitting diode) is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current flows through it.

20. Atmospheric layer with holes: OZONE.  The ozone layer has a big seasonal hole over Antarctica, largely due to chemicals released from refrigerators, air conditioners, and aerosol sprays.  The hole allows harmful ultraviolet radiation to reach the Earth's surface, which raises the risk of skin cancer, cataracts, and immune system damage for humans and other creatures, and harms plants, including crops.  Thanks to an international treaty (The Montreal Protocol) signed in 1987, which phased out chlorofluorocarbons, the hole in the ozone layer is gradually shrinking.  Sadly, recent extreme weather due to human caused climate change appears to be slowing the recovery of the ozone layer.

The ozone hole over Antarctica

21. Knee pt. studied in an MRI, perhaps: ACL.  The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the main stabilizing ligaments in the knee.

24. [Theme clue]

27. Bedroom piece: DRESSER.  You know ... bed frame, dresser, nightstand, mirror.  Typical bedroom furniture.

29. Migrating geese formation: VEE.  Each goose generates a wake of air behind and beneath its wings.  A following bird gains upward lift from the air currents created by the bird in front.  The goose at the front of the line doesn’t get any aerodynamic benefit and works the hardest. That’s why, when the first goose gets tired, it drops back into a trailing position, and another goose takes the lead. 

Geese in V formation

30. Crafty: SLY.

31. Thoroughly cooked: DONE.  Stick a fork in me, Jerry -- I'm done!

32. Pageant crown: TIARA.

34. [Theme clue]

40. Maid of honor speech, typically: TOAST.

41. Field of expertise: AREA.

43. PC key near the space bar: ALT.  I went into a veterinary clinic today to pick up meds for darling daughter's dog, and saw these keyboards at the front desk PCs.  I may need one.

Candy colored keyboard!

46. "What __ missing?": AM I.

47. Flagging down, as a cab: HAILING.

50. [Theme clue]

53. Bear, in Spanish: OSO.

54. Utterly confused: AT SEA.

55. Loud kiss: SMACK.

57. Leaning Tower city: PISA.

58. [Theme clue]

63. Notified: TOLD.

64. Opinion column: OP-ED.  "Op-ed" is short for "opposite the editorial page."  The essays that appear there are short opinion pieces that represent the views of outside contributors rather than the publication's editorial board.

65. Conger catcher: EELER.

66. Classic game console, for short: SNES.  Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

67. Prohibit: BAR.

68. Airline based in Atlanta: DELTA.

Down:

1. Coppertone initials: SPF.  Sun Protection Factor (SPF) measures how well a sunscreen protects your skin from ultraviolet B (UVB) rays, which cause sunburn and contribute to skin cancer.

2. Unit of corn: EAR.

3. Shiba __: dog breed: INU.  An ancient Japanese breed of hunting dog, the Shiba Inu is small:  just 17-22 pounds.  If you want an adorable, fox-like little dog that is independent, stubborn, and can't be trusted off-leash, here's your next pet!

Shiba Inu

4. Lose traction, as on an icy road: SKID.

5. Recurring themes: MOTIFS.

6. Connective tissue: SINEW.  Also called a tendon, a sinew connects muscle to bone.

7. Curved path: ARC.

8. "Not my fave": MEH.

9. __ ball soup: MATZO.  DH looks forward to my vegetarian matzo ball soup every year.

Here is Martha Stewart's vegetarian version.

10. Quiver contents: ARROWS.  A quiver is a container used by archers to hold arrows.

A classic back quiver

11. "Hello" singer Richie: LIONEL.  Lionel Richie is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer.  In the 1970s, he was a songwriter and co-lead singer of the Motown group The Commodores.  In 1982, he launched his solo career with the album Lionel Richie.  His second album, Can't Slow Down (1983), became one of the best-selling albums of all time, and included the number one singles "All Night Long (All Night)" and "Hello."  He co-wrote the 1985 charity single "We Are the World" with Michael Jackson.  His third album, Dancing on the Ceiling (1986), contained the number one single "Say You, Say Me" and the No. 2 hit title track.  Wow.  Strange video, though.

12. Dining establishment: EATERY.

14. Royal house of Elizabeth I: TUDOR.  Henry VII was the first Tudor king of England, seizing the crown by force during a civil war.  His son Henry VIII is remembered for separating the Church of England from the Catholic church to facilitate the dissolution of his first five marriages; his sixth wife outlived him.  Henry VIII's son Edward VI reigned from age nine until his death at age 15.  Next up, Mary I ("Bloody Mary"), a daughter of Henry VII, reigned for five years, during which she restored Catholicism and persecuted Protestants.  And then came Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, who had been beheaded for supposed treason.  Elizabeth ruled for an amazing 70 years, restored the protestant church in England, and was the last of the Tudor monarchs.  Merry Olde England.

Elizabeth I

17. Bit of trekking gear: POLE.  These collapsible poles are lightweight and fit in your suitcase.  Totally worth bringing if you're planning to hike on uneven terrain.

Trekking poles

20. La Scala production: OPERA.  La Scala is an historic opera house in Milan, Italy.

21. Append: ADD.

22. Colorful clog with holes: CROC.

Croc with Croc

23. Longtime late-night host Jay: LENO.  Jay Leno is a stand-up comedian who was chosen in 1992 to replace Johnny Carson as the host of NBC's The Tonight Show, which he did until 2009 when Conan O'Brien took over for a year.  Leno returned to hosting The Tonight Show from 2010 to 2014, then hosted Jay Leno's Garage, and then the revival of You Bet Your Life.  He currently writes a regular column in Popular Mechanics giving automotive advice.

Jay Leno

25. Nefarious: EVIL.

26. Gather, as crops: REAP.

28. Religious faction: SECT.

32. __ for tat: TIT.

33. North __ Sea: Kazakh lake: ARAL.  The Aral Sea was once the world’s third largest lake.  It started shrinking in the 1960s when the Soviet government diverted two of its main inlet rivers, the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya, to irrigate the surrounding desert region. The North Aral Sea was separated from the South Aral Sea in 1987-88 as water levels dropped.  Independent Kazakhstan has addressed environmental degradation by again allowing the Syr Darya River to flow into the lake.

The Aral Sea is circled.

35. Eucalyptus lover: KOALA.  The koala is native to Australia and eats little besides Eucalyptus, which is poisonous to most other animals.  The low nutritional value of this diet leads koalas to sleep up to twenty hours a day.  Hmm ... good life?

36. Like household pets: TAME.

37. "You wish!": AS IF.

38. Threesome: TRIO.

39. Cravings: YENS.

42. Long, long __: AGO.

43. Modifies to fit: ADAPTS.

44. Soothing cosmetic: LOTION.

45. Minor dustup: TUSSLE.

47. Muggy: HUMID.  Like this past summer in Los Angeles.  Brutal!

48. "What a shame": ALAS.

49. Irritated, in a way: ITCHED.  Like the bites of the invasive Aedes mosquitoes (commonly known as "ankle biters") which have recently infested Los Angeles, thanks to the aforesaid humidity.

51. Common elements in Native American jewelry: BEADS.

52. Ed of "Elf": ASNER.  Ed Asner (1929-2021) was an American actor, best known for playing Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977) and the same character on the drama Lou Grant (1977-1982).  He won seven Primetime Emmy Awards -- the most of any male actor -- and acted in a number of films as well.  He played Santa Claus in New Line Cinema's Elf (2003) and voiced Carl Fredricksen in the Pixar animated film Up (2009).

Ed Asner is on the far right, with other cast members of
The Mary Tyler Moore Show

56. "Twittering Machine" painter Paul: KLEE.  Twittering Machine is a 1922 watercolor with gouache, pen-and-ink, and oil transfer on paper by Swiss-German painter Paul Klee. It depicts a loosely sketched group of birds on a wire or branch connected to a hand-crank.

Klee's Twittering Machine

58. Keyless key: FOB.  A key fob is a remote control device that uses radio waves to communicate with a car's computer, allowing drivers to lock, unlock, or start their vehicles with the press of a button.

59. Bitter beer letters: IPA.  India Pale Ale was created when English brewers increased the amount of hops in beer, and increased the alcohol level, to preserve the brew for the hot, six-month sea journey to India, during the time that India was under the control of the British East India Company.  

60. Unwell: ILL.

61. Take-home pay: NET.

62. Pitching ace's stat: ERA.  Earned Run Average.

Here's the grid:

Solvers,

Did Amanda's puzzle SMACK you in the face with the POWER of its brilliance?

Or did you find FAULT with it?

LINE up below to share your comments!

-- NaomiZ

Monday, October 26, 2026, Zhouqin Burnikel

Theme:  CAST your mind back ...

Zhouqin Burnikel -- our C.C.

Today's constructor, Zhouqin Burnikel, grew up in Xi'an, China, and moved to the Minneapolis area in 2001.  She started this blog in 2008, and started making her own crosswords in 2010.  Since then, she has become one of the most prolific and popular crossword constructors in the country.  We know her in this space as C.C., where her band of bloggers collaborates to educate and entertain everyone enjoying crossword puzzles in the Los Angeles Times.

C.C. helped us out today with circled letters to highlight the theme.  Note that the theme entries are symmetrically placed in the grid.  That's elegant!  The theme clues and answers are:

17-Across. "Piece of cake!": IT'S A CINCH.  Two ways of saying "easy!" -- just like a Monday puzzle.

29-Across. Airport screening spots: TSA CHECKPOINTS.  Where the Transportation Security Administration scans for prohibited items and holes in your socks.

47-Across. Landmark antidiscrimination legislation of 1964: CIVIL RIGHTS ACT.  Proposed by President John F. Kennedy in 1963, and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, this act outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

64-Across. Shoe with a strap behind the heel, or what can be found in each set of circled letters: SLINGBACK.  Slingback shoes can be high- or low-heeled, but "it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that sling."  Did you see the circled letters, which if read BACKwards, spell CAST?  CAST, as a verb, is a synonym for the verb SLING.  In the theme answers, the SLING (or CAST) goes BACK.

Slingback shoe

It took this blogger a moment to grasp the theme.  I was picturing my father, CASTing a fly fishing line, which involved SLINGing the entire line backward and forward before letting it settle on the water's surface, and eventually the synonyms hit me.

It is my duty and pleasure to TOSS a few more explanations of today's puzzle your way.

Across:

1. Mani-pedi spots: SPAS.  Spas are nice places to get MANIcures and PEDIcures.

5. Muscles targeted by leg raises: ABS.  You can do leg raises lying down, hanging from a bar, or in a "captain's chair" as shown below.

8. Pumpkin's place: PATCH.

13. Like a trusted mentor: WISE.

14. Not of the clergy: LAIC.

16. Windy City airport: O'HARE.  O'Hare is a massive global hub in Chicago.

17. [Theme clue]

19. Harder to come by: RARER.

20. Stingray relative: MANTA.  Manta rays can be as large as 29 feet wide.  They have one of the highest brain-to-body ratios of all fish and exhibit self-awareness.  They are endangered by overfishing.

Human diver and manta ray with suckerfish

21. Search for: SEEK.

23. "Well, golly!": GEE.

24. Vipers in the Sahara: ASPS.  The asp, or Egyptian cobra, is highly venomous.  The Egyptian queen Cleopatra committed suicide through the bite of an asp, reputed to bring on sleepiness and death without pain.

27. Feel the same way: AGREE.

29. [Theme clue]

34. Actor Lowe: ROB.  Rob Lowe was a Brat Pack actor in the 1980s, and has achieved critical acclaim this century with roles in The West Wing, Brothers & Sisters, and other television productions.

Rob Lowe

35. "That sounds cool!": OOH.

36. Below, poetically: 'NEATH.  Simon & Garfunkel used this shortened version of "beneath" in their 1964 song, The Sound of Silence.

In restless dreams I walked alone

Narrow streets of cobblestone

'Neath the halo of a street lamp

I turned my collar to the cold and damp

When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light

That split the night

And touched the sound of silence

38. Individual: ONE.

39. Heartburn reliever: ANTACID.

42. Title for Louis XIV: ROI.  "Roi" is French for "king."

43. Tennessee NFL player: TITAN.  I knew this one only because DH is from Tennessee, and follows sports.

45. Snowboarding great Chloe: KIM.  Chloe Kim is an American professional snowboarder and two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Chloe Kim

46. German 101 article: EIN.  "Ein" is German corresponding to the English article "a."  Courses numbered "101" are usually introductory classes for college undergraduates.

47. [Theme clue]

52. Girl Scout Cookie with coconut: SAMOA.  In some regions, Samoas are labeled Caramel deLites, but they're made by a different bakery and have key differences.  Samoas have darker chocolate and more coconut.  Caramel deLites have milk chocolate and less coconut.  I wonder whether the deLites inspire the same level of devotion as the Samoas?  

53. Relax in the bath: SOAK.

54. Oral health org.: ADA.  American Dental Association.  If you use one of the major toothpaste brands, you're probably used to seeing the ADA Seal of Acceptance on the package.

56. Line on a graph: AXIS.

58. Golf course halves: NINES.  A full course has eighteen holes.  Playing half the course takes less time and may benefit beginners.

62. Automaton: ROBOT.

64. [Theme clue]

67. "You had to be __": THERE.

68. Currency in Cyprus: EURO.  Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, and adopted the euro in 2008.

69. Woe after a long hike: ACHE.

70. Filled to the brim: SATED.

71. Shoot the breeze: GAB.

72. Shine from within: GLOW.

Down:

1. First leg of a traditional triathlon: SWIM.  A triathlon is an endurance race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running.

2. Falafel bread: PITA.  Falafel is a deep fried ball of chickpeas and/or fava beans, often served in pita bread.

Falafel in pita

3. Professional gp.: ASSN.  "Gp." stands for "group."  "Assn." stands for "association."

4. Closest airport to Mt. Rainier, familiarly: SEA-TAC.  The 14,411-foot active volcano is about 60 miles from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in the state of Washington.

5. Mahershala of "Green Book": ALI.  Mahershala Ali's acting has been rewarded with two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.  Ali won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Moonlight (2016) and in Green Book (2018).  Green Book tells the true story of a 1962 tour of the deep south by African-American pianist Don Shirley, relying on The Negro Motorist Green Book to find restaurants and hotels accepting black customers.

6. Declare off-limits: BAN.

7. Sets the dogs (on): SICS.

8. Salty fried snack: PORK RIND.

9. "I get it now!": AHA.

10. Bull's-eye vicinity: TARGET AREA.

11. One of Canada's First Nations: CREE.  The Cree are a North American indigenous people whose homelands occupy most of eastern and central Canada.

12. "Present!": HERE.  Both are responses to roll call.

David?  Here!  Alice?  Present!

15. Low-priced: CHEAP.

18. Fat wallet fattener: CASH.

22. Sense of self: EGO.

25. Laborer: PEON.  A low ranking worker, or debtor bound to servitude.

26. Edinburgh native: SCOT.  We encountered these good looking folks in Edinburgh last month:

Edinburgh natives

28. U-turn from WSW: ENE.  Opposite points on a compass.

29. Slow and steady run: TROT.

30. Lightning-fast hedgehog of video games: SONIC.  Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series for Sega which debuted in 1991.

31. "No weaseling out! Pay up!": A BET IS A BET.

32. Uniform color for some park rangers: KHAKI.

33. Showing no emotion: STOIC.

37. Helpful suggestion: HINT.

39. Like Pixar movies: ANIMATED.

40. Slangy smokes: CIGS.  Short for cigarette, of course.

41. Intro to a texter's two cents: IMHO.  IMHO stands for "in my humble opinion."

44. "Selma" director DuVernay: AVA.  Ava DuVernay is a recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, a BAFTA Film Award, and a BAFTA TV Award, as well as a nominee for an Academy Award and Golden Globe.  Her Academy Award nomination was for the 2014 film Selma, about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Ava DuVernay

48. Fishy bagel topping: LOX.  Lox is a fillet of raw salmon that has been soaked in salt water for at least several days and then thinly sliced.  It is typically served on a bagel with cream cheese.

49. Reward for a job well done: RAISE.

50. Zesty flavor: TANG.

51. Carrier for poles, boots, and goggles: SKI BAG.

54. Bonsai and saikei: ARTS.  Bonsai is the Japanese art of pruning trees or shrubs in shallow containers to create miniature versions of mature trees.  Saikei goes a step further by adding stones, moss, gravel and other elements to create miniature landscapes.

Saikei

55. Gulf capital known for its futuristic skyline: DOHA.  Doha is the capital of Qatar.

Doha

57. Slimy garden pest: SLUG.

59. Table salt, to a chemist: NACL.  NaCl is the chemical formula for sodium chloride, commonly known as table salt.

60. Sound in an empty chamber: ECHO.

61. Distort, as data: SKEW.

63. Mined find: ORE.

65. 401(k) kin: IRA.  Individual Retirement Account.

66. San Francisco's __ Hill: NOB.  An historic, affluent neighborhood in San Francisco, with steep hills, luxury hotels, and great views of the city and the bay.

Here's the grid:

Solvers,

Were you WISE to the theme today?  Was it a CINCH for you?

Or did you encounter a rough PATCH?

We love to hear from you -- beginners and old-timers alike.  All are welcome in the comments.

-- NaomiZ

Notes from C.C.:

Here's a picture of CrossEyedDave, all dressed up for a fancy French restaurant. He said "This is my first time tasting Crepe Suzette. I don't like crepe Suzette any more than I like French in my crosswords..."

 

At least he didn't have to solve the dessert before eating it.