Monday, March 2, 2026, Renee Thomason

Theme:  The Giving Tree.

Today's puzzle comes to us from none other than Renee Thomason, AKA sumdaze, our long-time Monday blogger.  And sumdaze is a giver!

The big reveal occurs at 66- and 67-Across:

66-Across. With 67-Across, repay a community's generous support, or a feature of the answer to each starred clue: GIVE.

67-Across. See 66-Across: BACK.

When you've benefitted from the support of your community, you may feel inspired to GIVE BACK.  And when you look closely at the answers to the starred clues, you may find that the BACK end of each -- that is, the last word -- is a word for GIVE.

21-Across. *Official currency of a nation, e.g.: LEGAL TENDER.  "Legal tender" is government-issued currency that must be accepted if offered in payment of a debt.  TENDER, as a verb, means to make a formal offer.  A person can TENDER cash or goods to settle a debt -- that is, GIVE something.

26-Across. *Gently sidestep an awkward question: SKIRT THE ISSUE.  "Skirt the issue" means to avoid an uncomfortable topic.  ISSUE, as a verb, means to release, distribute, or supply something.  Your employer might ISSUE raises or new equipment -- that is, GIVE something.

44-Across. *18th president of the United States: ULYSSES S GRANT.  Ulysses S. Grant led the Union Army to victory in the American Civil War, and later served as the 18th president of the United States.  GRANT, as a verb, means to formally bestow, confer, or transfer something.  Your supervisor might GRANT permission for you to leave early -- another way of saying GIVE.

52-Across. *Japanese sedan that's been a top seller in the U.S. since 1989: HONDA ACCORD.  The top selling sedans in the USA are Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Honda Accord, and Nissan Sentra, in that order -- but pickup trucks and SUVs outsell sedans.  ACCORD, as a verb, means to grant something that is due or appropriate.  You'll want to ACCORD equal respect to all who attempt today's puzzle -- another way of saying GIVE.

TENDER, ISSUE, GRANT, and ACCORD are all more formal words than GIVE, and used in more limited contexts.  If these didn't leap out at you as synonyms, GIVE yourself some slack.

It's time for me to GIVE you some insight into the rest of the clues and answers.

Across:

1. Engrave a name on a trophy, say: ETCH.

5. Barrels into: RAMS.

9. Thumbs-up answers: YESES.  Dictionaries disagree on YESES versus YESSES.

14. Gift tag word: FROM.  "To" was too short.

15. "Peacemaker" actor Steve: AGEE.  Steve Agee is a comedian, actor, writer, and musician, known for roles on The Sarah Silverman Program, The Suicide Squad, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, the HBO series Peacemaker, and Creature Commandos.  I needed perpendicular entries to solve this one.  Sorry, Mr. Agee.

Steve Agee

16. Mexican street corn: ELOTE.  This is an answer I can sink my teeth into.

Elote

17. Huggies rival: LUVS.  Disposable diaper brands.

18. Old Roman garment: TOGA.

19. Island country between Sicily and North Africa: MALTA.

20. Enjoyed a meal: ATE.

21. [Theme clue]

23. Sewing kit spool: THREAD.  What's in your sewing kit?

spool of thread

25. Finish: END.

26. [Theme clue]

33. Sooner or __: LATER.

35. Long-term goals: AIMS.

36. Tax return pro: CPA.  An abbreviation in the clue calls for an abbreviation in the answer.  A tax return professional is a Certified Public Accountant.

37. Bygone Apple music players: IPODS.

38. Corp. VIP: CEO.  Another abbreviated clue with an abbreviated answer.  A corporate Very Important Person is the Chief Executive Officer.

39. Sloughs off: SHEDS.

41. Hearing organ: EAR.

42. Lady Gaga's "__ This Way": BORN.  Here's a spectacle for you:

43. Paddled boat: CANOE.

44. [Theme clue]

48. Fitting: APT.

49. Like Greg, among the Brady kids: ELDEST.  The Brady Bunch was a sitcom that aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974, featuring a blended family with six children, of whom "Greg" was the eldest.

The Brady Bunch

52. [Theme clue]

58. Play-__: Fun Factory clay: DOH.  I played with Play-Doh.  My kids had the Play-Doh Fun Factory.  I guess the newest grandchild will have AI robots to shape the stuff.

59. Newspaper opinion pieces: OP EDS.  On the page opposite the editiorial page in a newspaper, outside contributors may author short prose pieces expressing opinions on topics of current interest.

60. "That can't be": OH NO.

61. Volcano on Sicily: ETNA.  See map at 19-Across.  Sicily is the large island north of Malta.

62. Royal domain: REALM.

63. D.C. MLB team: NATS.  Washington D.C. is home to the Washington Nationals, a team that competes in Major League Baseball.

64. "__ Green": Kermit's song: BEIN'.  "Bein' Green" is a song written by Joe Raposo, originally performed by Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog on both Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. It was later covered by Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Van Morrison, and other performers. "Bein' Green" is Kermit's  signature song.

65. Land divisions: ACRES.

66. [Theme clue]

67. [Theme clue]

Down:

1. Note in the C minor scale: E FLAT.  The C natural minor scale consists of the notes C, D, E flat, F, G, A flat, and B flat.

2. Objective fact: TRUTH.

3. Featured article of a magazine: COVER STORY.

4. Letters on some British ships: HMS.  HMS stands for His (or Her) Majesty's Ship -- depending on the gender of the reigning monarch in England.

5. Like most gory movies: RATED R.  Gory films involve violence and bloodshed, and are RATED "R" for "restricted."  Viewers under age 17 must be accompanied by an adult parent or guardian.

6. Eagerly expectant: AGOG.  Eager or curious to hear or see something.  "I'm all agog to see London."

7. Bigger than big: MEGA.  Costco is a mega store.  You don't have to be mega rich to shop there.  

8. __ of approval: SEAL.

9. Sanaa resident: YEMENI.  Sanaa is the capital and largest city of Yemen.  Sanaa is currently under Houthi control, and suffers from shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.  The economy has collapsed, jobs are scarce, and prices are rising.  Saudi Arabia has been fighting the Houthis since 2015, and renewed conflict is a constant concern for Yemenis.

10. Spiral-horned African antelopes: ELANDS.  I searched for images of ELANDS and found a bunch of despicable people. 

11. Realtor's sign of success?: SOLD.

12. Kin of -kin: ETTE.  The suffix -kin denotes smallness.  A lambkin is a little lamb.  The suffix -ette is much the same.  A kitchenette is a small kitchen.

13. Verb in many a grilling recipe: SEAR.  To scorch the surface with sudden, intense heat.

21. Hideaways: LAIRS.

22. Souvenir shirts: TEES.

24. Squeaked (by): EKED.

27. Food truck snacks: TACOS.

28. Layers of tall cakes: TIERS.

29. Southeast Asian ethnic group: HMONG.  The Hmong are a distinct ethnic group originating from southern China and Southeast Asia.  There are diaspora communities in the United States, Australia, France, and South America.

Hmong women in Vietnam

30. Fragrant herbal brew: SCENTED TEA.  Dry tea leaves and fresh flower buds can been combined in piles overnight.  As the flower buds bloom, the tea absorbs their released fragrance.  In the morning, the flowers are removed, but the aroma remains in the tea.  That's how traditional jasmine tea is created.

31. Ballerina's bun, for one: UPDO.  An updo is a hairstyle that lifts long hair up and off the neck.

32. Effortlessness: EASE.

33. In __ of: replacing: LIEU.

34. "Come on, be __!": A PAL.

39. Burn with hot water: SCALD.

40. Round of applause: HAND.

42. Greek letter after alpha: BETA.

45. Jockey's seat: SADDLE.

46. Twitches: SPASMS.

47. Stood up again: REROSE.  Past tense of rerise -- a verb I've never encountered before.  

50. __ boom: noise made by a fast jet: SONIC.

51. TGIF part: THANK.  Thank God It's Friday.

52. Jewish wedding dance: HORA.

The hora is easy to learn and fun to do.

53. Oil cartel letters: OPEC.  Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

54. Within reach: NEAR.

55. Capitol Hill gp.: CONG.  A Capitol Hill group is Congress.

56. __ latte: spiced drink: CHAI.  NaomiZ's morning beverage, made with oat milk and spiced tea.

57. Like a sitcom star: ON TV.

61. __ and flow: EBB.

Here's the grid:

Solvers, did you GIVE up?

Or did you finish with EASE?

Let us know in the comments.

-- NaomiZ 

Monday, February 23, 2026, Robert E.L. Morris

Theme: Chicken Parts

Robert E.L. Morris serves up a fast-food Monday, with a gruesome goal.  

59-Across. Wishes of a lifetime, or what the starts of the answers to the starred clues form at a chicken restaurant?: BUCKET LIST.  A BUCKET LIST usually refers to a list of experiences that a person hopes to achieve before they die (or "kick the bucket") ... such as visit another country, learn a new language, pay off one's debts, go snorkeling.  But the starts of the answers to the starred clues are something else entirely.

16-Across. *Woolen garments for ballet dancers: LEG WARMERS.  Leg warmers are great gear for ballet classes, and were a fashion craze in the 1980s.  Innocent enough!  But the operative word here -- the start of the starred answer -- is LEG.

10-Down. *Defensive armor that covers the chest: BREASTPLATE.  A breastplate is a piece of armor worn to protect the torso from injury.  A good idea for knights and military men of centuries past.  But the word we're looking for at the start of this answer is BREAST.

24-Down. *Fitness gadget promoted by Suzanne Somers: THIGHMASTER. American actress Suzanne Somers (1946-2023) famously promoted the ThighMaster, an exercise device.  We're not going to get fit by thinking about the ThighMaster, but we are focused on the THIGH.

26-Down. *Supporting pilot in a "Top Gun" formation: WINGMAN.  A wingman is a military pilot who flies behind and to the side of a leading aircraft to guard their back.  By extension, a wingman is a person who supports you in your efforts.  But today, the parts are greater than the whole.  We're just looking for the starting word, WING.

Looking again at 59-Across, which reveals the theme for today's puzzle, at a restaurant that serves cooked chickens, a BUCKET LIST could be a list of the body parts included in a bucket:  LEG, BREAST, THIGH, and WING.

Let's move on through the less troubling clues.

Across:

1. Rains cats and dogs: POURS.  The origin of the phrase "raining cats and dogs" is unknown, but we do know that it had its start in 17th century England.  One theory is that a heavy rain would cause the corpses of stray cats and dogs to float down the filthy streets of London.  OK, still gruesome.

6. Inflatable float: RAFT.  Yes, a raft is usually a casually assembled structure of materials used as a floating platform -- but it can also mean a large amount of something, like a raft of animal corpses in the streets of London.  Just trying to keep with the theme, here!

10. Film school deg.: BFA.  Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees are also given in areas such as acting, ceramics, graphic design, sculpture, and music.  I entered MFA first.  My brother has one of those -- in glass blowing!

13. Greenish pond growth: ALGAE.

14. After-sun gel ingredient: ALOE.

15. Small appliance that removes wrinkles: IRON.

16. [Theme clue]

18. Floating ice chunk: BERG.

19. Dull and dreary: DRAB.

20. Halloween goodies: TREATS.

22. Hotel room price: RATE.

25. Right this moment: NOW.

27. Constricting undergarment: CORSET.

28. Shocked: AGHAST.

30. Pretty soon: IN A BIT.

32. Magician's revealing cry: VOILÀ.  There it is -- in French!

33. Grandson of Adam: ENOS.

34. "Planet of the __": APES.  The first Planet of the Apes movie, which came out in 1968, was based on French author Pierre Boulle's 1963 novel La Planète des singes.  Charlton Heston starred as an astronaut who crash lands on a desolate planet in the distant future, where apes are the dominant species, and humans are primitive, mute beings.  But wait ... there's more!  

Charlton Heston in Planet of the Apes

37. Indoor rower, for short: ERG.

A favorite crossword exercise machine.

38. Used some Listerine, say: GARGLED.

41. Sass: LIP.

42. Arlene of classic cinema: DAHL.  Arlene Dahl (1925-2021) was an American actress in films of the late 1940s.  She founded frangrance and telephone companies, wrote a syndicated astrology column, and married six times.  The eldest of her three children is actor Lorenzo Lamas.

Arlene Dahl, 1953

44. Fairy tale bear: MAMA.

This intruder got off easy.

45. Water bill statistic: USAGE.

47. Actress Tomei: MARISA.  Marisa Tomei is an American actress who gained prominence for her performance in My Cousin Vinny (1992), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny

49. Really, really hate: LOATHE.

50. Primary hub of Alaska Airlines, familiarly: SEATAC.  Seattle–Tacoma International Airport.

52. Hoops org.: NBA.

54. Collecting Soc. Sec., maybe: RET'D.  A person collecting Social Security may be RETIRED.

55. Lipton rival: NESTEA.

56. With 48-Down, "Insecure" creator/star: ISSA.  ISSA RAE is an American actress from my neighborhood of Los Angeles, and popular here in the crossword.

Issa Rae in Insecure

58. "Laugh-In" comedian Johnson: ARTE.  Are you old enough to remember Arte Johnson (1929-2019), an American comedian best known for his work on the NBC sketch comedy series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967-1971)?

Goldie Hawn and Arte Johnson on Laugh-In

59. [Theme clue]

65. Santa Monica landmark: PIER.

66. The Daily Planet reporter Lois: LANE.

67. Eaglet nest: AERIE.

68. Msg. from a pulpit: SER.  OK, a message from a pulpit is a sermon, and we have to abbreviate it because the clue is abbreviated, but the only abbreviation Google showed me for sermon is serm.  And if we're going that far, is the on too much to add?

69. Strong urges: YENS.

70. Make fun of: TEASE.

Down:

1. Chum: PAL.

2. Nashville's Grand __ Opry: OLE.

3. Fleecy boot brand: UGG.

4. Shoddy treatment: RAW DEAL.

5. Cook fast, as tuna: SEAR.

6. Stallone's "First Blood" role: RAMBO.  First Blood is a 1982 film starring Sylvester Stallone as Rambo, a Vietnam War veteran who runs afoul of local law enforcement and uses his Special Forces experience to elude capture.

Sylvester Stallone in First Blood

7. The "A" of IPA: ALE.  India Pale Ale.

8. In favor of: FOR.

9. Court decision that sets a precedent: TEST CASE.

10. [Theme clue]

11. Strong suit: FORTE.

12. Anxious feeling: ANGST.

15. Spain and Portugal's peninsula: IBERIA.  The Jewish people who lived in this area from before the arrival of the ancient Romans until the expulsion in 1492 called this land Sepharad.  Those who survived in other lands following the expulsion are still called Sephardic Jews.

Iberia, AKA the Iberian Peninsula

17. Speak wildly: RANT.

21. Actor Lowe: ROB.  Rob Lowe is an American actor who was a teen idol in the early 1980s, was sidelined by a sex tape scandal in 1988, and found redemption starting in the late 1990s, especially with a regular role on The West Wing.

After complaining about the body parts theme, I realized I had a different sort of body parts theme going with Charlton Heston and Sylvester Stallone.  I was forced to complete the theme with this image of Rob Lowe.

22. Spoke wildly: RAVED.

23. Ancient Greek marketplace: AGORA.

24. [Theme clue]

26. [Theme clue]

29. Droop: SAG.

31. Mardi Gras city, familiarly: NOLA.  Short for New Orleans, LA (Louisiana).

33. Presidential spans: ERAS.

35. Elite __: March Madness round: EIGHT.  Basketball!  The 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament Elite Eight (regional finals) will take place on March 28-29, 2026.

36. Put the pedal to the metal: SPEED.

39. In an agreeable manner: AMICABLY.  I wanted to put "amiably" here, but it wasn't long enough.  I had AMI_ABLY, and needed SEATAC to provide the C.

40. Dynamic __: DUO.

43. Former's counterpart: LATTER.

46. Big name in frozen desserts: SARA LEE.

48. See 56-Across: RAE.

49. Cut with a beam: LASE.

50. Breaks sharply: SNAPS.

51. Otherworldly: EERIE.

53. Two-wheelers: BIKES.

57. "Pronto!": STAT.

60. Dubai's fed.: UAE.  Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, and is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, which is one of seven emirates making up the federation called the UAE.

61. "The Situation Room" channel: CNN.

62. Lyricist Gershwin: IRA.  Ira Gershwin (1896-1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create more than a dozen Broadway shows.

63. Female sib: SIS.  Your female sibling is your sister.

64. Workout top: TEE.

Here's the grid:

Et VOILÀ!  We have completed another puzzle.

Did our constructor hand you a RAW DEAL at any point?  Did you LOATHE it?

Or was the puzzle full of TREATS that allowed you to complete it at great SPEED?

Please share your experience in the comments!

-- NaomiZ

Monday, February 16, 2026, Betsy Ochester, Andrew Gutelle

Happy Presidents' Day!  NaomiZ here to MC a marvelous Monday puzzle by Betsy Ochester and Andrew Gutelle.  This puzzle has five theme entries, symmetrically placed in rows across, with one spanning the grid.  And today's puzzle is not just the luck of the draw, but as the grid spanner makes clear, it was designed for a Monday morning.  

The key to the theme is in the very last Across clue:

65-Across. Ceremony host, or a phonetic hint to 17-, 23-, 37-, 45-, and 58-Across: EMCEE.  EMCEE is a phonetic spelling of the initialism MC, which means Master of Ceremonies.  The hint suggests that the letters M and C will play important roles in the listed entries.

              NZ as MC

17. Communication system with dots and dashes: MORSE CODE.  This entry sets the pattern for the rest.  The two words of the answer begin with M and C.  When solving, I failed to see the pattern until 65-Across enlightened me.  Were you quicker to catch on?

"Samuel Morse, stop fooling with that telegraph thing.
People will never talk to each other with their fingers."

23. "Aladdin" transport: MAGIC CARPET.

37. Early-week newspaper feature: MONDAY CROSSWORD.  Here's our grid spanner!  It tells us that our constructors hoped this puzzle would run on a Monday.  

45. Actor who plays Allan in "Barbie": MICHAEL CERA.  Allan is Ken's red-headed buddy, and so rare a doll that in Greta Gerwig's Barbie, there are multiple Barbies and Kens, but just one Allan, played by Michael Cera.  Admittedly, I didn't remember any of that from the movie, but perps (perpendicular entries) were helpful.

Michael Cera as Allan in Barbie

58. Nickname for Detroit: MOTOR CITY.  I learned Detroit's nickname from X's album More Fun in the New World (1983), specifically from the song "The New World":

"Don't forget the Motor City, this was supposed to be the new world!"

Let's maneuver carefully through the rest of the grid.

Across:

1. Expenses: COSTS.

6. Happy __ clam: AS A.

9. "Judy" Oscar winner Zellweger: RENÉE.  Renée Zellweger won the Academy Award for Best Actress in this 2019 biographical film based on the life of Judy Garland.

14. Software company that makes InDesign and Acrobat: ADOBE.  I use Adobe software to view and edit PDFs, but if you know a good alternative, I am interested!

15. Captain's record: LOG.  My generation's favorite example of a captain's log:  Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise recording his observations and noting the stardate.

William Shatner as Captain Kirk in Star Trek, the original TV series

16. Garlicky spread: AIOLI.

17. [Theme clue]

19. "I'm chipped" collar attachment: ID TAG.  A good idea!  Add this tag to your pet's collar to let folks know that the animal has a microchip which will lead to your information.  Our dogs always had their address and phone on their collars as well as the local dog license.

20. Peel or pare, say: PREP.  DH and I have learned to prep ingredients for the meal before we start cooking, so that things are less frantic as we go along.

21. Artist Yoko: ONO.

22. Miss Marple, e.g.: SLEUTH.  A fictional character in Agatha Christie's crime stories, Miss Marple is an amateur consulting detective.

Miss Marple

23. [Theme clue]

25. One little piggy's destination: MARKET.  We'll be playing piggies on our new grandson's toes any day now.  A strange cultural inheritance!

29. Cap: HAT.

30. Look forward to: AWAIT.

31. Bike part that can be raised and lowered: SEAT.

33. Rickman of "Love Actually": ALAN.  Alan Rickman (1946-2016) was an English actor of stage and screen.  You may remember him as Severus Snape, the potions master, in the Harry Potter movies.  Love Actually was a 2003 holiday season romantic comedy.  DH handles the rom-com viewing in our home.  

Alan Rickman in Love Actually. 
His character cheated on Emma Thompson's character.
Some people are still mad at Alan Rickman for that!

37. [Theme clue]

40. Side social media accounts, informally: ALTS.  Some folks set up more than one account on a social media platform.  You could have a very public Instagram account where you try to attract lots of followers, and you might have an ALT(ernate) account for close friends and family.  Or you might market to different audiences through your ALTS.  This is new to me.  I remember that before the world wide web became public, Usenet ALT groups were a way to chat with like-minded folks online.  I still use recipes I gleaned from alt.veg.

41. Many moons: EONS.  My Usenet activities occurred EONS ago.

42. Temporary body dye: HENNA.

43. Mini owner: BMW.  BMW owns the MINI brand, including MINI Cooper, MINI Countryman, and MINI Electric.

MINI lineup 2026

44. TikTok content: VIDEOS.  TikTok is another platform where some folks maintain ALTS.

45. [Theme clue]

51. NYC subway between Inwood and Far Rockaway: A TRAIN.  My brother lives in Inwood at the north end of Manhattan.  I've been there, but not to Rockaway, because it's Far.

52. Chem class locale: LAB.

53. Exchange: SWAP.

57. Queen's tenure: REIGN.

58. [Theme clue]

60. Permeate: IMBUE.

61. Be in debt: OWE.

62. Supporter of the arts?: EASEL.  Cute clue!

63. Donkeys: ASSES.

64. "Bel Canto" novelist Patchett: ANN.  Ann Patchett is an American writer whose fourth novel, Bel Canto, received the Orange Prize for Fiction (UK) and PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction (USA).  The novel is based on the Japanese embassy hostage crisis of 1996-97 in Lima, Peru, and focuses on the relationships between terrorists and hostages.

Ann Patchett

65. [Theme clue]

Down:

1. Summer sleepaway site: CAMP.

2. Smell: ODOR.

3. Achy after exercise, say: SORE.

4. Meas. on the wrapper of a stick of butter: TBSP.  An abbreviation in the clue calls for an abbreviation in the answer.

5. "Catch my drift?": SEE?

6. "Run __ now!": ALONG.

7. "Likewise!": SO DO I!

8. Stone or Iron follower: AGE.

9. Berate: RAIL AT.

10. Puffer jacket filler, often: EIDER.  The Common Eider is a large sea-duck of the far north, famous for the insulating quality of its down.  Mother birds pluck their own down feathers to create warm nests for their young.  In Iceland, some folks build small huts for the birds to nest in, and collect the down when the nests are abandoned.

Male and female Common Eiders of Hudson Bay

11. Still snoozing: NOT UP.

12. Exhilarate: ELATE.

13. Twice four: EIGHT.

18. Paint layer: COAT.

22. Sings like Sarah Vaughan: SCATS.  Sarah Vaughan (1924-1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist.  The recipient of two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, she was known to improvise wordless syllables -- scat singing -- which is typical of vocal jazz.

Sarah Vaughan

23. Self-referential: META.  "Meta" is something that refers to itself or its own category, such as a movie about making movies.  We sometimes see "meta" clues and answers in the crossword puzzle, like "Start to see?" for ESS.  BUT THE BEST META CLUE AND ANSWER I'VE EVER SEEN IN THE LA TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE IS TODAY'S GRID SPANNER, 37-ACROSS!    

24. Utter mess: CHAOS.

25. Three Bears matriarch: MAMA.

26. Mil. truant: AWOL.  A military truant is Away WithOut Leave.

27. __ and rave: RANT.

28. Nanny's offspring: KIDS.  Baby goats.

31. Grimace: SCOWL.

32. Directional suffix: ERN.  Eastern, western, northern, southern.

33. Amazed: AWED.

34. __ Star State: LONE.  Texas!

35. River of Florence: ARNO.

I took this photo of the Arno from Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence, Italy.

36. Confidentiality contracts, for short: NDAS.  Non-Disclosure Agreements are used to protect sensitive or proprietary information from being disclosed by employees, partners, and others.  An NDA protects trade secrets, client lists, and other confidential information.

38. Sanaa's country: YEMEN.  The capital and largest city of Yemen.

The red flag marks Sanaa.

39. Branch of Islam: SHIA.  Not long after the death of Muhammad in the year 632, his followers split into two camps:  Shia Muslims who believed that Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib was the rightful successor, and Sunni Muslims, who appointed Abu Bakr, Muhammad's closest friend and father-in-law, to succeed him.  Shia Muslims account for 10-13 percent of all Muslims.

43. The "B" of LBJ: BAINES.  Finally, a President for Presidents' Day!  Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908- 1973) was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969.  He accomplished a lot for civil rights, education, Social Security, and the space program, but lost popular support for escalating involvement in the unpopular war in Vietnam.

LBJ

44. Airbnb competitor: VRBO.  Vrbo is an online marketplace for vacation rentals.  It was originally an initialism for Vacation Rentals By Owner, but is now just Vrbo.  DH and I have never used Airbnb (though our adult offspring do), but we have rented spacious cabins for the whole family through vrbo.com (and through HomeAway, which was absorbed by Vrbo in 2019).

This three-level cabin with turret was *inside* the boundaries of Glacier National Park!

45. Tennis star Sharapova: MARIA.  Maria Sharapova is a Russian former professional tennis player who won five major titles and the Career Grand Slam in singles.  

Maria Sharapova

46. Action __: post-meeting list: ITEMS.

47. Baby beds: CRIBS.

48. Peace Palace site, with "The": HAGUE.  The Peace Palace is an international law administrative building in The Hague, Netherlands.  It houses the International Court of Justice (the main judicial body of the United Nations), the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague Academy of International Law, and the Peace Palace Library.

Peace Palace

49. Bozo: CLOWN.  Bozo the Clown was a character created for children's entertainment, popular in the second half of the 20th century. He was introduced in the United States in 1946, and to television in 1949, later appearing in franchised television programs of which he was the host.  Bozo was played by numerous performers.  The Bozo Show aired nationally from 1960 to 2001.

Kids today are afraid of clowns.  Not old cruciverbalists!  We grew up with Bozo.

50. Devoured: EATEN.

53. Con: SCAM.

54. The Badger St.: WISC.  In the 1820s, Wisconsin lead miners lived in their mines, very much like badgers, burrowing into hillsides to keep warm in the winter.

A badger in a burrow.

55. Suit to __: fit perfectly: A TEE.

56. Gomer of TV's Mayberry: PYLE.  More old TV.  Gomer Pyle was a fictional character, played by Jim Nabors, who originally appeared on The Andy Griffith Show.  A naive auto mechanic turned US Marine Corps private, he became a recurring character, and then was spun off to his own show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. in 1964, which ran until 1969.  The character was from the fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina.

Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle

58. Extinct New Zealand bird: MOA.  Moa are an extinct group of flightless birds formerly endemic to New Zealand.  There were likely a couple million of them circa 1300 CE when Polynesians settled New Zealand.  Some species were 12 feet tall!  Extinction occurred within 100 years of human settlement, thanks to overhunting.

Moa and human nemesis

59. Food writer Drummond: REE.  Ree Drummond is a food blogger whose site, The Pioneer Woman, documents her life in rural Oklahoma.  Her blog led to a television show of the same name on The Food Network.  I tried out some of her cookie recipes several years ago.  If she could do it on the ranch, surely I could do it in my urban kitchen!

Ree Drummond

Here's the grid:

Solvers, were you ELATEd by this MONDAY CROSSWORD?  Did it suit you to A TEE?

Or did you find some ITEMS you'd like to RANT about?

We AWAIT your comments below!

-- NaomiZ