Thursday, June 26, 2025, Roland Huget

 Theme:  There's something different about you!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Frequent constructor Roland Huget serves up a Thursday challenge.  The theme clues and answers are:

17-Across. *Technical team supervisor: PROJECT ENGINEER.

27-Across. *Special occasion mailing: GREETING CARD.

49-Across. *Place of monumental achievement?: ANCIENT EGYPT.

63-Across. Change studied by evolutionary biologists, or what can be found in the answer to each starred clue?: GENETIC MUTATION.

In the answers to each of the starred clues, the word GENETIC has been scrambled, or mutated, and spans both of the words in the answer.  I have a hard time unscrambling words, so I'm impressed with Mr. Huget for finding these scrambles!  I like seeing the theme answers placed symmetrically in the grid, and two of them span the grid.  It's also worth nothing that mutations involve scrambling of the genetic code.  All very impressive.  

Across:

1. Erie Canal city: UTICA.

The original Erie Canal ran right through downtown Utica.

6. True, in Italian: VERO.  Shared Latin roots give us the English words very, veracity, verify, and verdict.

10. Hippie event: BE-IN.  The Human Be-In was an event held in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on January 14, 1967.  Inspired by sit-ins and teach-ins, it gave rise to another Human Be-In in Denver later the same year.  Along with some very cool musical performances, the events focused on ideals of personal empowerment, communal living, ecological awareness, higher consciousness, and radical New Left political thinking.  Apparently all that universal love and grooviness didn't replace the existing culture.  

14. Pinned distinction: MEDAL.

15. Female gamete: OVUM.

16. The 411: INFO.  Dialing 411 used to get you to directory assistance, where a live person could help you find phone numbers and other information.  Now, whether or not you can reach 411 depends on your phone carrier, and sometimes, on whether you pay for 411 service.  But based on the way we oldsters used our corded phones back in the day, "the 411" is current slang for information or the latest news.  "What's the 411 on the party tonight?"

17. [Theme clue]

20. Storage tower: SILO.

21. Group taken for a drive?: HERD.  Herd of cattle, taken for a cattle drive.

22. Google Books __ Viewer: tool that tracks word usage frequency: NGRAM.  The Google Books Ngram Viewer is a search engine that charts the frequencies of any set of search strings using a yearly count of n-grams (sequences of adjacent symbols) found in printed sources published between 1500 and 2022 that are in Google's text database.  The program can search for a word or a phrase, and if found in 40 or more books, the results are displayed as a graph.

I used the Google Books Ngram Viewer to search Human Be-In.
It begins to register in 1978.

23. Go ahead: LEAD.  One meaning of the verb "lead" is to guide by going in advance.  I might lead a hike by going ahead of my friends on the trail.

25. Sky streakers: METEORS.

27. [Theme clue]

31. Poppin': LIT.  If you've been around the Crossword Corner a few times, you know that it's lit!  But did you know that it's poppin'?  Same deal.  It's awesome.  (But poppin' can also mean happenin' -- as in, what's poppin'?)

32. Blended juice prefix: CRAN.  The Ocean Spray agricultural cooperative used to make all its money at Thanksgiving through sales of cranberry juice and cranberry sauce.  The introduction of Cran-Apple juice in 1963 gave Ocean Spray a year-round product.  Now there's Cran-Grape, Cran-Pineapple, Cran-Raspberry, Cran-Strawberry, Cran-Mango, and more.

33. "Tough": TOO BAD.  An unsympathetic response to an unfortunate situation.

37. Way off: AFAR.

39. "That smarts!": YOW.

41. Staff member?: NOTE.  A staff is a set of five lines and four spaces on which notes are written to indicate their pitch.  The notes are represented by ovals on the staff.

The letter names of the notes are not normally indicated as above.

42. Indirect route: DETOUR.

45. Perfume application: MIST.

48. Slip into: DON.  "Don we now our gay apparel, fa-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la!"

49. [Theme clue]

52. Sleep aid of folklore: SANDMAN.  The Sandman is a mythical character originating in Germanic and Scandinavian folklore who puts people to sleep and inspires dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.  I wonder whether people still tell little children that the crust in the corners of their eyes upon waking is from the Sandman?  What on earth did we picture when our parents said that?

55. No longer here: GONE.

56. Top-tier: ELITE.

57. Hawaiian coffee region: KONA.  If you're ever on the Big Island of Hawaii, you can tour a coffee plantation in the Kona area and learn all about coffee production.

coffee berries on the Big Island

59. Birds associated with wisdom: OWLS.  Because they know WHO!  Also, those big, forward-facing eyes, rotating heads, and serious looks just make them seem smart.

63. [Theme clue]

66. Lines that cross at (0,0): AXES.  In a two-dimensional coordinate system, the x-axis is the horizontal line, and the y-axis is the vertical line. They are perpendicular to each other and intersect at the origin (0,0), forming a coordinate plane.  The plural of axis is axes.

67. Lope or canter: GAIT.

68. Capital on the Red River: HANOI.  The capital of Vietnam.

One of several bridges over the Red River in Hanoi.

69. Shoemaker's form: LAST.  At LAST, my daughter's career as a shoe designer helps in the crossword puzzle!

Men's shoe lasts.

70. Bldg. units: APTS.  Building units can be apartments.

71. Contract negotiator: AGENT.

Down:

1. Some park workers: UMPS.  Ball park workers include umpires, officials responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport.

2. Garr of "Young Frankenstein": TERI.  She was fabulous.

Teri Garr

3. "Survivor" find: IDOL.  In spite of its 25 year history, I don't think I've ever watched an episode of Survivor.  Apparently, the "Hidden Immunity Idol" is a pocket-sized talisman that prevents the user from being voted out from Tribal Council.  This is not to be confused with the tribal Immunity Idol or the individual Immunity Necklace.

The not-so-hidden immunity idol.

4. Wheedle: CAJOLE.  Synonyms of cajole include coax, sweet-talk, and wheedle.  These are all about getting someone to do something by means of gentle urging, special attention, or flattery.

5. Schooner filler: ALE.  A schooner can be a sailing vessel or a rounded glass with a short stem.  Usually the one filled with ale is the glass.

A schooner of ale.

6. Gave a thumbs-down: VOTED NAY.  In a voice vote, the presiding officer asks those in favor to say "yea," and those opposed to say "nay."

A challenging aspect of horse politics.

7. At all: EVER.  Have you been to Utica at all?  Ever?

8. First hip-hop group to have music videos on MTV: RUN-DMC.  With the release of Run-D.M.C. (1984), Run-DMC became the first hip-hop group to achieve a Gold record. With subsequent albums, Run-DMC became the first hip-hop group to go platinum and then multi-platinum.  Run-DMC was the first hip-hop act to have their music videos broadcast on MTV, appear on American Bandstand, be on the cover of Rolling Stone, perform at Live Aid, and be nominated for a Grammy Award.

Run-DMC

9. Texter's gasp: OMG.  Oh my gosh!

10. Watched an entire season of, say: BINGED ON.  The joy of streaming -- watching a whole season of a television show in a single sitting, or within a short period of time.  

11. Año start: ENERO.  The Spanish year (año) begins with the month of January (Enero).

12. "Sorry to say ... ": I FEAR.

13. Expected results: NORMS.

18. Board head: CHAIR.

19. Emcee's piece: INTRO.  The emcee (or Master of Ceremonies) for an event usually gives an introduction to the proceedings.

24. Ellipsis alternative: Abbr.: ETC.  You can add "etc." to an incomplete list, or use the ellipsis to indicate things you're omitting, which is to say, you don't have to go on and on and on ...

26. Have something: EAT.

Eat!

27. Showy flower, briefly: GLAD.  Gladiolus is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the iris family, native to Eurasia and Africa.

Gladiolus are pretty, but my ethic is to plant things
that have co-evolved with local birds and insects.

28. Widespread: RIFE.

29. "L'__, c'est moi": Louis XIV: ÉTAT.  King Louis XIV of France supposedly said "L'État, c'est moi" (The state, it is me) in parliament, suggesting that his power was absolute.  However, the statement does not appear in the registers of parliament, and on his deathbed, Louis is known to have said "Je m'en vais, mais l'État demeurera toujours" (I am leaving, but the State will always remain).

Just a nice guy, misunderstood and misquoted.

30. Garden sentinel: GNOME.

34. __ positivity: BODY.  Body positivity is a social movement that promotes acceptance and appreciation of all body types and sizes.

35. Straddling: ATOP.

36. Slight progress: DENT.  As in, making a dent in my workload.

38. Consumer Reports task: ROAD TEST.  Consumer Reports rates automobiles, among other things, so one of their tasks is to take a car out for a road test.

40. Hand-tightened fasteners: WING NUTS.

43. Like some expectations: UNMET.  We've all had a few!  This is when anticipated outcomes or desired results do not materialize, leading to disappointment or frustration.  TOO BAD!

44. Classic TV brand: RCA.

46. Summer ermine: STOAT.

The white animal we call an ermine in winter is a brown animal called a stoat in summer.

47. Decimal value of hexadecimal A: TEN.  Hexadecimal (or hex) is a base-16 number system, meaning it uses 16 unique symbols to represent numbers. These symbols are the digits 0-9, and the letters A-F, where A represents 10, B is 11, and so on, up to F representing 15. This system is often used by software developers and system designers.

50. Mushroom that drips black liquid: INK CAP.  Coprinopsis atramentaria, also known as the common ink cap, tippler's bane, or inky cap, is a species of fungus.  It is found throughout the Northern Hemisphere.  It is edible, but poisonous when consumed with alcohol.

51. Location label: GEOTAG.  A geotag is a piece of data, usually in the form of coordinates (latitude and longitude), that is embedded within a digital file, like a photo or video, to indicate its geographical location.

52. "Love Story" novelist: SEGAL.  Erich Segal wrote a screenplay for Love Story, and Paramount required him to turn it into a novel before the movie came out, as part of the marketing campaign.  The novel and the film were both released in 1970.  A huge success in print and film, the tear jerking story is very unfair to the female protagonist who gives up everything and forgives all, in return for not much.

"Love means never having to say you're sorry."  What?!

53. Echo assistant: ALEXA.  Echo devices are smart speakers developed by Amazon, and Alexa is the voice assistant (or software) that powers these devices and compatible products.  I don't have smart speakers around the house.  It's bad enough that the robot vacuum sometimes thinks I've said his name and responds, "I'm here."  Then we keep quiet for five minutes hoping he'll go back to sleep.

54. Dressed to the __: NINES.  "To the nines" is an idiom meaning "to perfection" or "to the highest degree."  In modern English, the phrase most commonly appears as "dressed to the nines."  It seems to be Scottish in origin, and may refer to the nine muses.  The earliest written example of the phrase is from the 1719 Epistle to Ramsay by the Scottish poet William Hamilton:

The bonny Lines therein thou sent me,

How to the nines they did content me.

58. Drop: OMIT.

60. Product that gets pressed into service?: WINE.  Our inlaws in Italy use a little wine press like this one to squeeze the grapes that make the family wine:

61. Diving bird: LOON.  Bird clues always help me out.

62. Agitated state: SNIT.

64. "Hometown Proud" food market chain: IGA.  The Independent Grocers Alliance was founded in 1926 to bring family owned, local grocery stores together under the IGA brand.  I count 36 of them in California, but none in the Los Angeles area.

65. Epiphany cry: AHA.  An epiphany is a moment of sudden revelation or insight ... an AHA moment.

Here's the grid:

So ... any AHA moments for you today?  

Was your grid RIFE with errors?  Did you OMIT anything?  Or do you deserve a MEDAL?

-- NaomiZ

Wednesday, June 18, 2025, Emet Ozar

Theme:  Garden variety.

Surprise!  NaomiZ here on a wonderful Wednesday.  Constructor Emet Ozar enriches the crossword grid with circles to help us find various types of gardens hidden in the long entries.

My native plant garden is for the birds!
This Northern Mockingbird enjoys eating elderberries.

The theme clues and answers are:

16-Across. "The," grammatically: DEFINITE ARTICLE.  Tea garden.

24-Across. Baseball overtime: EXTRA INNINGS. Rain garden.

41-Across. Heavy-duty material for cutting boards: BUTCHER BLOCK. Herb garden.

55-Across. Frances Hodgson Burnett novel set at a country estate, or an apt title for this puzzle: THE SECRET GARDEN.

Let's dig into the rest of the clues and answers.

Across:

1. Trash receptacle: CAN.

4. Stringed instrument: HARP.

8. Some med. scans: MRIs.  Magnetic Resonance Imaging tests.

12. Just slightly: A TAD.

14. Large paper format: FOLIO.  Today, folio often refers to 8.5" x 13.5" size paper for printing.  Historically, it meant a large sheet of paper folded once to create two leaves, which make four pages.  Folio books were large compared to quarto and octavo books where the paper was folded more to create smaller pages.

The hands give you an idea of the size of Shakespeare's first folio.

15. Number two: AIDE.  The boss is number one; his aide is number two.

16.[Theme clue]

19. "Let You Love Me" singer: RITA ORA.  Everything I know about Rita Ora, I've learned in the Crossword Corner.

20. Pet restraint: TETHER.

21. Due-in hr.: ETA.  Estimated Time of Arrival.

22. "Washington Black" novelist Edugyan: ESI.  Esi Edugyan is a Canadian novelist.  She has twice won the Giller Prize (a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English), for her novels Half-Blood Blues (2011) and Washington Black (2018).

23. __ Bradley bags: VERA.  Vera Bradley Designs was incorporated in 1982 and became wildly popular for its colorful fabric tote bags and purses.  

Vera Bradley bags

24. [Theme clue]

29. Predatory insect: MANTIS.

Praying Mantis preying on a lizard.

32. Pa: DAD.

33. Boxer Muhammad: ALI.

34. Vote into office: ELECT.

35. 100%: ALL.

36. Greek fabulist: AESOP.  Fabulist:  a person who composes or relates fables. 

38. Cured fish often topped with capers and lemon: LOX.

39. Aaron Judge stat: RBI.  Aaron Judge is a right fielder for the New York Yankees.  He is a six-time MLB All-Star and two-time American League MVP Award winner. He holds the AL record for most home runs in a season.

Aaron Judge

40. Reveries: DREAMS.

41. [Theme clue]

45. Pixar film about a young sea monster: LUCA.

46. 3-Down signatory: Abbr.: USA.  The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) established a free-trade zone in North America; it was signed in 1992 by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, and took effect on January 1, 1994.  NAFTA immediately lifted tariffs on the majority of goods produced by the signatory nations.  It was replaced by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on July 1, 2020.

47. Trans- opposite: CIS.  Cisgender, often shortened to "cis," describes a person whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth.  In other words, if a person was labeled male at birth and identifies as a man, or was labeled female at birth and identifies as a woman, they are considered cisgender.  The term is the opposite of transgender, which refers to individuals whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth. 

50. Tribute at a memorial: EULOGY.

53. New Mexico's "The City Different": SANTA FE.  Santa Fe combines a number of Southwestern cultures and has a lively art scene.  It adopted "The City Different" moniker in the early 1900s.

The Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe
was the seat of government for New Mexico from 1610 to 1901.

55. [Theme clue]

58. Outstanding: A-ONE.

59. Flood-protection structure: LEVEE.

60. Affirmative votes: YEAS.

61. The one there: THAT.

62. "When will you __ learn?": EVER.

63. Italian three: TRE.

Down:

1. Core group: CADRE.

2. Bit the dust: ATE IT.

3. Commerce pact until 2020: NAFTA.  See 46-Across for more information.

4. Bloviator's excess: HOT AIR.  A bloviator is someone who talks at length in a pompous or boastful way, often saying very little of substance.  The idiom "hot air" refers to empty, exaggerated, or pretentious talk that does not reflect real intentions.

5. Foamy fare: ALE.

6. Small inlet: RIA.

7. Foreshadow: PORTEND.

8. Island cocktail: MAI TAI.  Composed of rum, orange curaçao, fresh lime juice, and orgeat (an almond syrup), the Mai Tai is one of the characteristic cocktails in Tiki culture.

Does anyone else remember Kelbo's tiki restaurant on Pico in West LA?
My ex and I once enjoyed a big blue cocktail in a large bowl with two straws.

9. Loaded with cream, say: RICH.

10. Taking it easy: IDLE.

11. Crystal ball consulter: SEER.

13. Domingo, for one: DÍA.  Domingo is Spanish for Sunday.  Día is Spanish for day.

14. Noteworthy events: FIRSTS.

17. Warning sign on a door: NO EXIT.

18. Coastal flyer: TERN.  Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae, subfamily Sterninae, that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands.

I took this photo of Long-billed Terns in the Amazon River.

23. Apothecary container: VIAL.

24. List-ending abbr.: ETC.

25. Speak off-the-cuff: AD LIB.

26. Moon landing org.: NASA.  National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

27. Grab, with "on to": GLOM.  "Glom onto" is an informal American English phrasal verb that means to take something for one's own use, become strongly attached to something, or become aware of something.  It can also mean to grab hold of something or to latch onto an idea or person.

28. Dainty tastes: SIPS.

29. Singer also known as Scary Spice: MEL B.  Melanie Brown, known as Mel B, is an English singer, actress, author, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, where she was nicknamed "Scary Spice" for her energetic stage presence. 

Mel B in 2025

30. Baseball family name: ALOU.

31. Deli counter cry: NEXT.

35. Syllables in an incantation: ABRA.  Abracadabra is a magical incantation whose origin is a matter of debate.

36. Tarot card group: ARCANA.  Tarot cards are generally divided into two main groups: the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana.

Tarot cards

37. Startled cry at the sight of a mouse: EEK.

39. Give new life to something old: RECYCLE.

40. Prescription measure: DOSAGE.

42. Bedroom storage space: CLOSET.

43. Gargantuan: HUGE.

44. Glossy finish: LUSTER.

47. West Point student: CADET.

48. Apprehensive beginning: I FEAR.

49. Perception: SENSE.

50. Coup d'__: ÉTAT.  A coup d'état (from French for 'stroke of state') is an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership.  A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to power through legal means, tries to stay in power through illegal means.

51. "This is not good": UH OH.

52. "The Chi" creator Waithe: LENA.  Lena Waithe is an Emmy-winning actor, producer, and screenwriter from Chicago.  She is the creative force behind the Showtime drama series The Chi, set in her hometown, and the BET comedy series Boomerang and Twenties. 

Lena Waithe

54. Push to the limit: TRY.  As in, the barking dogs try my patience.

56. Put the pedal to the metal: REV.

57. Precursor to a big event: EVE.

Here's the grid, but look out for an error!  35-Across should show ALL, not ALI:

Did today's puzzle fulfill your crossword DREAMS?

Or was it A TAD TRYing for you?

NaomiZ

Thursday, June 12, 2025, Amie Walker, Amanda Rafkin

 Theme:  Love Of My Life

LOML and NaomiZ on their recent trip to Spain
checking out the Alcázar in Segovia where
Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon once held sway.

Constructors Amie Walker and Amanda Rafkin team up today to give us a pleasant diversion with a puzzling theme.  There are no circles, but we are asked to look at the beginning of each of the starred entries to find a secret message.

17-Across. *Elixirs that stir passion: LOVE POTIONS.

27-Across. *Steinbeck novella featuring George and Lennie: OF MICE AND MEN.

48-Across. *Franchise whose characters have "cutie marks": MY LITTLE PONY.

63-Across. *"Appreciate every moment": LIFE IS SHORT.

62-Down. Romantic initialism spelled out by the starts of the answers to the starred clues: LOML.

I'm glad the ladies told us this was an initialism, because LOML did not look like an English spelling to me!  And I'm glad they said it was romantic, too.  That helped me to guess "Love Of My Life."  When I went online to confirm this solution, I found that according to Yahoo News UK, "The acronym LOML is universally believed to mean 'love of my life'. It is used in messages and comments constantly."  Not only that, but Taylor Swift released a song just last year titled "loml."  Learning new things is good mental exercise, and not a waste of precious brain cells, right?

On to the rest of the things we knew, or didn't:

Across:

1. Fire (up): REV.

4. Sound of an ungentle landing: THUD.

8. Ready to pour: ON TAP.

13. "Little Red Riding Hood" tool: AXE.

I had nightmares about this story for years.

14. Grey __ vodka: GOOSE.

15. Boatload: CARGO.

16. __ reel: GAG.

17. [Theme clue]

19. Fish sauce quality: UMAMI.  Umami is often described as a fifth taste sensation (not salty, sour, bitter, or sweet) that is savory and delicious.  Vague enough?  Oxford Languages says it corresponds to the flavor of glutamates, especially monosodium glutamate.  Yum!

21. Takes a turn?: REVOLVES.

22. "Let's kick it up a __": NOTCH.

25. Worn-down pencil: NUB.

26. Jargon suffix: ESE.  Legalese, bureaucratese, journalese, computerese ...

27. [Theme clue]

31. Not post-: PRE.

32. Hindu festival: HOLI.  Holi is a major Hindu festival celebrating the arrival of spring in India and the blossoming of love. It is colorful!

33. Gave the star treatment to: RATED.  Oh, that kind of star treatment!  

37. Morrison who said, "The function of freedom is to free someone else": TONI.  Spoken at the Barnard College commencement ceremony, 1979.

39. Like cereal sitting in milk: SOGGY.

42. Clip: PACE.  Clip is usually used when speaking of a rapid pace:  a good clip, a fast clip.

43. Compress: SMUSH.  Informal for mash or push.  

45. Warmth: HEAT.

47. Pro's opposite: CON.

48. [Theme clue]

52. Rapper __ Nas X: LIL.  By now you all know him.

Lil Nas X

55. Particle: BIT.

56. Rounds in tourneys: SEMIS.

57. "That was off topic ... ": I DIGRESS.

60. Cultured __: PEARL.

63. [Theme clue]

66. WC: LOO.  WC (water closet) and loo are British terms for toilet or lavatory.

67. Put some chips on the table: ANTED.  Not snacks!  He put some chips (gaming tokens) on the table to play a round of cards.  In other words, he anted (sounds like ANTEED) up.

68. Capitol Hill staffers: AIDES.

69. Cash dispenser: ATM.

70. Wine vessels: CASKS.

71. Some "Modern Family" figures: DADS.

72. Marina __ Rey, California: DEL.  The other end of "the 90" from our place.  Speaking of which, save the 90!  Los Angeles city planners want to repurpose this short freeway by putting apartment buildings and businesses on it.  It's not continually jammed, so it must be ripe for further development.

Down:

1. Italian meat sauce: RAGÙ.  Yes, ragù (with a grave accent, leaning left) is a meat sauce typically served with pasta.  But RAGÚ (with an acute accent, leaning right) is a trademarked brand of bottled pasta sauces.  I counted 25 varieties of RAGÚ on their website, and only one contained meat.  

2. Test: EXAM.

3. List that may include black bean chili and mushroom pot pie: VEGAN MENU.  Traveling in Europe can be challenging for us.  We were happy to find places like Roots & Rolls in Barcelona, Mad Mad Vegan in Madrid, and Wild Food in Granada, where the menus are entirely vegan.

4. All __ well: TOO.  I know all TOO well that vegetarian options are limited in some places!

5. __ lane: HOV.  We can use the High Occupancy Vehicle lane in California if there are two or more people in the car -- or if it's a Clean Air Vehicle with a required decal.  To qualify for a decal, the vehicle must be: 1) 100% electric or hydrogen fuel cell powered, or 2) plug-in hybrid-electric meeting certain standards, or 3) compressed natural gas meeting state and federal emission standards.

6. Tech support caller: USER.

7. Rely (on): DEPEND.

8. National Black Cat Day month: OCTOBER.  Sure, but:

National Black Cat Appreciation Day is August 17th.

National Black Cat Day is October 27th.

October is Black Cat Awareness Month.

All of these events are meant to raise support for black cat adoptions and to dispel superstitions.

9. Get just right: NAIL.

10. Treasure stash: TROVE.

11. Nosy neighbor in "WandaVision": AGNES.  WandaVision is a TV miniseries created for Disney+, based on Marvel Comics, featuring the characters Wanda Maximoff (whose alter ego is Scarlet Witch) and Vision.  Nosy neighbor Agnes is secretly a witch herself, and an antagonist.  If we are going to get into complex fictional worlds, I'd rather listen to my granddaughter describe the tribes of dragons in the Wings of Fire books:  SkyWings, IceWings, NightWings, SeaWings, MudWings, SandWings, RainWings, HiveWings, LeafWings, SilkWings ....

12. Entourage: POSSE.

14. Bug: GLITCH.

18. Reproductive cell: OVUM.

20. Pronoun used in mock outrage: MOI.  Made famous by Miss Piggy, it's Frawnche for "Who, ME?"

23. Co. leaders: CEOs.  Company leaders are Chief Executive Officers.

24. Angel hair topper: HALO.  You were thinking ragù, right?  Not that kind of angel hair.

27. Elects (to): OPTS.

28. Gift tag word: FROM.

29. "See ya in the morning!": 'NIGHT.

30. __ trapped: stuck at home because of a tot's sleep schedule: NAP.  The clue defines this very well.  I'm not sure this phrase existed when I had little children, but I may experience the situation with the upcoming grandson.

34. Tex-Mex dish with an edible bowl: TACO SALAD.  I always called the salad in a fried tortilla bowl a tostada, though I'm aware that some skimpy tostadas are built on flat, fried tortillas.  Extremely brief research suggests that the meal in the yummy bowl is actually a TACO SALAD. 

El Pollo Loco calls this a Classic Tostada.  They're on my side!

35. Nobel Prize subj.: ECON.  Also phys., chem., med., lit., and peace.

36. Say no to: DENY.

38. Belief system: ISM.

40. Obtains: GETS.

41. Home of Grace Hopper College: YALE.  Grace Hopper College is a residential college of Yale University, opened in 1933 as one of the original eight undergraduate residential colleges.  It was originally named Calhoun College after US Vice President John C. Calhoun, but renamed in 2017 in honor of computer scientist Grace Murray Hopper.  If you knew this, you just might be a Yalie, AKA Eli.

44. Some Subarus: HYBRIDS.

46. Lures: TEMPTS.

49. "Completely false!": LIES.

50. "Such a shame": IT'S SAD.

51. Food in "Sweeney Todd" and "Waitress": PIE.  In the penny dreadful stories about Sweeney Todd (1846/47), the villainous barber of Fleet Street, Todd kills his customers, and his neighbor bakes their flesh into meat pies, which she sells.  Waitress was a 2015 stage musical and 2023 musical comedy movie, in which a waitress who bakes pies eventually finds a way to leave her abusive husband and run her own business.

52. Lavender kin: LILAC.

53. Tony winner Menzel: IDINA.  Idina Menzel is an American actress and singer. She has been nicknamed the "Queen of Broadway" for her commanding stage presence and powerful mezzo-soprano voice.  Having achieved mainstream success across stage, screen, and music, her accolades include a Tony Award and a Daytime Emmy Award.

Idina Menzel

54. Elevates: LIFTS.

58. __ chic: GEEK. According to Collins English Dictionary, geek chic is a fashion style believed to be characteristic of geeks, including the wearing of heavy-rimmed glasses and T-shirts with humorous slogans.

59. Branch of Islam: SHIA.

61. Repetitive learning method: ROTE.

62. [Theme clue]

64. Out of the ordinary: ODD.

65. Hi-__ graphics: RES.

Here's the grid:

One of the Loves Of My Life is solving the crossword puzzle with all of you here in the Corner ... the bloggers, the commenters, and those who read along.  

So ... was this puzzle a rare PEARL?  Or did it land with a THUD?

NaomiZ