Monday, February 2, 2026, Zachary Edward-Brown, Jude White

Theme:  OBX.

Today's big reveal should be a gimme for our east coast crowd, or for fans of the Netflix series:

52-Across. Drama set on the North Carolina coast, and what 16-, 27-, and 39-Across have?: OUTER BANKS.  I have heard of NC's Outer Banks, a 200 mile stretch of barrier islands and deposition bars separating a series of lagoons and estuaries from the Atlantic Ocean.  I had not heard of the Netflix teen mystery that premiered in 2020 and will have its fifth and final season this year.  What do the OUTER BANKS have to do with 16-, 27-, and 39-Across?  Let's take a look.

Outer Banks AKA OBX (on TV and in general)

16. Work promoted by the American Library Association every autumn: BANNED BOOK.  It's been a while since I worked as a professional librarian, but this campaign still makes me proud.  Note that the OUTER edges of the answer spell BANK.

27. Color associated with tutus: BALLERINA PINK.  From prima ballerinas to tiny tots in tutus, pink seems popular.  Note that the OUTER edges of the answer spell BANK.

Prima Ballerina by Edgar Degas (detail)

39. Euphemism that conveys disapproval: BLANKETY BLANK.  Why, you darned blankety blank!  (You can mentally fill in the strong language of your choice when so addressed.)  Note that the OUTER edges of the answer spell BANK -- and that the BANK has been shifting from one side to the other, very much like the sand BANKS of the barrier islands in North Carolina, except that those shift westward, as the mainland retreats in the same direction.  Cape Hatteras Lighthouse -- the tallest in the country -- had to be moved 2,900 feet from its original location to avoid being swallowed by the ocean.

Are you feeling buoyed up by all this offshore banking?  Let's see what the rest of the clues and answers do for us.

Across:

1. Eisenberg of the "Now You See Me" heist films: JESSE.  This seemed like a tough start for a Monday puzzle, but since Mr. Eisenberg has starred in *three* movies in this series, they are clearly popular.  He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for portraying Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network (2010), and has played Lex Luthor in two recent DC Comics superhero films, as well as many other roles.

Jesse Eisenberg

6. Disobey: DEFY.

10. Miso paste source: SOY.

This is the brand sitting in my fridge.

13. Fundamental truth: AXIOM.

14. Guthrie of folk: ARLO.  Son of Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie is a singer-songwriter known for songs of protest against social injustice.

Arlo Guthrie in 1979

15. Source of ruin: BANE.  BANE can mean a source of ruin, like a curse; it can mean death or destruction; or woe; or poison; or a more trivial cause of misery.  "Mosquitos are the bane of my existence."

16. [Theme clue]

18. Three or four: A FEW.

19. Texting format: SMS.  Short Message Service is a widely used mobile communication standard.

20. Deprives (of): ROBS.

21. "Shaqtin' a Fool" host: O'NEAL.  Also a little tough for Monday, but anything "Shaq" is likely to be O'Neal.  Shaqtin' a Fool is a weekly segment from the TV show Inside the NBA on ESPN.  The title is a play on "actin' a fool."  Shaqtin' highlights humorous and unusual basketball plays that have occurred during the past week.  O'Neal is the host and presenter, while other analysts in the studio react and provide commentary. 

23. Pumpkin picking time: FALL.

24. Turf: SOD.

25. Copacabana city: RIO.   Copacabana beach is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  There's a nightclub called the Copacabana in New York that has existed in various NYC locations since 1940.

27. [Theme clue]

30. Rice field: PADDY.

31. Narcissist's problem: EGO.

32. Foil alternative: ÉPÉE.  Modern fencing uses three types of sword:  foil, épée, and sabre.

Mind where you poke that thing!

33. Walks in shallow water: WADES.

34. Mover's vehicle: VAN.

35. Like horror movies: SCARY.

36. Classic soft drink: NEHI.  An American brand of soda pop since 1924.

37. Actor Beatty: NED.  Ned Beatty (1937-2021) acted in more than 160 film and television roles.  Married four times, he was a busy guy.  You may have seen him in Deliverance, Nashville, All the President's Men, Network, Superman (1978), The Big Easy, etc. etc.  RIP.

Ned Beatty

38. Asterisks: STARS.

39. [Theme clue]

42. Wong of "Beef": ALI.  Ali Wong and Steven Yeun star in Beef, a Netflix comedy series in which two strangers are involved in a road rage incident that escalates into a prolonged feud.  Originally broadcast in 2023, a second season is planned for 2026.

Steven Yeun and Ali Wong

43. Google : Android :: Apple : __: iOS.  Google phones run on the Android operating system.  Apple phones run on the iPhone Operating System.

44. Drei minus zwei: EINS.  Three minus two is one in Germany, just like here.

45. "No Time To Die" actress Ana de __: ARMAS.  This beautiful lady has shown up in several puzzles I've blogged recently.  She looks just like I do -- in my imagination.

Ana de Armas

47. Seething: IRED.  Some folks are IRED by the use of IRED as the past tense of IRE, to make angry.  After all, IRE has not been used as a verb since the year 1500 or so.

48. Duracell size: AAA.

51. Off-the-neck style: UPDO.

Ana de Armas with an updo

52. [Theme clue]

55. Sir counterpart: MA'AM.  "Sir" and "ma'am" (short for madam) are traditional English honorifics used to show respect for men and women, respectively, especially when their names are unknown or they are in authority.

56. The "U" of CPU: UNIT.  A central processing unit (CPU) is the primary processor in a computer.  Its electronic circuitry executes instructions of computer programs.

57. Some high-end coolers: YETIS.

$300 for this one.

58. "__ second now": ANY.

59. Defeat: LOSS.

60. Fragrance: SCENT.

Down:

1. Boxing punches: JABS.

2. Crammer's concern: EXAM.

3. Biblical don'ts: SINS.

4. Male offspring: SON.

5. Green gemstones: EMERALDS.

6. Work casually: DABBLE.  Many of our Cornerites dabble in guitar playing.  Others are serious rockers.

7. Deity often depicted as a winged youth: EROS.  The god of love -- renamed Cupid by the Romans.

Eros

8. Cheery aproned agent in Progressive Insurance ads: FLO.  Flo is a fictional salesperson portrayed by comedian Stephanie Courtney in advertisements for Progressive Insurance.

Flo

9. John Lennon's "Unfinished Music" series collaborator: YOKO ONO.

10. Zoolike attraction: SAFARI PARK.

11. Short jokes: ONE LINERS.

12. Evergreen with poisonous berries: YEW.

15. Sweetie: BAE.

17. "Queen of Country" Parton: DOLLY.

22. Sensitive info doc: NDA.  A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract that outlines confidential information that two or more parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but to which they agree to restrict other access or uses.

23. Cinematic transition: FADE IN.

24. Autograph: SIGN.

26. "__-dokey!": OKEY.

27. Reason to don a cap: BAD HAIR DAY.

28. "__, set, go!": READY.

29. Pie nuts: PECANS.

30. Spanish rice cooking vessel: PAELLA PAN.  Paella is prepared in a wide, shallow pan, typically on a grill or over an open fire.

Paella in the pan

33. Caitlin Clark's org.: WNBA.  Caitlin Clark is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

Caitlin Clark

34. Longtime players on a team: VETS.

35. Travelers not guaranteed a seat: STANDBYS.  Standby passengers may have arrived early for their flight, or arrived too late to board, and they wait at the gate to see whether a seat becomes available on another flight.

37. Genre for Maxwell and D'Angelo: NEO SOUL.  A couple of one-named musical artists associated with neo soul in the late 1990s.  Proving that even 30 years ago, this blogger was completely un-hip.

38. Foxier: SLIER.  We had this in last Monday's puzzle!  As noted last week, this answer works in the USA, but Brits are slyer.

40. Sportage automaker: KIA.

41. Flat French hats: BERETS.

46. Parenting blog visitor, maybe: MOM.

47. "No kidding?": IT IS.  "No kidding, the peregrine falcon is the fastest animal in the world?"  "It is!"

48. Poker buy-in: ANTE.  Jinx sometimes reminds us that the buy-in happens earlier, when a player buys chips, but the ante is the buy-in for any given hand, is it not?

49. Similar (to): AKIN.

50. Exec's helper: ASST.  An abbreviation in the clue calls for an abbreviation in the answer.

51. Actress Thurman: UMA.  Uma Thurman is an American actress.  Known for her collaborations with Quentin Tarantino, she has performed in over fifty film and television productions since the 1980s.

Uma Thurman

53. Draw Four card game: UNO.  In UNO, the Wild Draw Four (+4) is a special action card that forces the next player to draw four cards and skip their turn.

UNO cards

54. Nuclear agcy. depicted in "Oppenheimer": AEC.  Atomic Energy Commission.

Here's the grid:

Solvers, did you find A FEW of today's clues to be tough for a Monday puzzle?

Were some of them SCARY?  

Or did you pass this EXAM easily and get a big EGO boost from the experience?

Let us know in the comments section!  It's the friendliest place on the internet.

-- NaomiZ

Monday, January 26, 2026, Doug Peterson

Theme:  Zero to hero

Constructor Doug Peterson has constructed a lovely grid with five symmetrically placed theme entries, two of which span the grid from side to side.  It is all based on a familiar rags-to-riches story, as revealed at 62-Across.

62-Across. Underdog's feel-good narrative, and where to find the first words of the answers to the starred clues: CINDERELLA STORY.  Let's review the starred clues and answers to see the Cinderella elements.

17-Across. *Lead Belly song about a wee-hours train: MIDNIGHT SPECIAL.  Cinderella has to leave the royal ball before MIDNIGHT, when her dress will turn back into rags, her coach will turn back into a pumpkin, and her coachmen will turn back into mice.  As for the song, MIDNIGHT SPECIAL is a folk song that originated among African-American prisoners in southern states, and was recorded by Huddie William "Lead Belly" Ledbetter in 1934.

Lead Belly

28-Across. *Armless furniture that sits low to the ground: SLIPPER CHAIR.  When Cinderella runs away from the ball, one of her glass SLIPPERs falls off, leaving behind a crucial clue for the prince to find her.  A SLIPPER CHAIR is an upholstered, armless chair with a low seat, typically placed in a corner of a bedroom so that ladies can sit to put on their SLIPPERs.

A 19th century slipper chair.

39-Across. *Play area with plastic spheres: BALL PIT.  Cinderella's stepmother provides her own daughters with elegant gowns and a coach so that they may attend the royal BALL, but Cinderella is left at home in rags to continue her usual chores -- until her fairy godmother provides her with magical garb and transportation.  You may never have attended a royal ball, but you've probably seen a BALL PIT, where children crawl around among small plastic balls.

Cinderella's ball pit?

47. *Flavor of many fall lattes: PUMPKIN SPICE.  How will Cinderella get to the ball, since her sisters have left without her?  Her fairy godmother turns a PUMPKIN into a coach.  Think about that next fall when you order a PUMPKIN SPICE latte at Starbucks!

Appearing every fall since 2004.

Who doesn't love a CINDERELLA STORY, in which the good and kind triumph over the wicked and mean?  And who can fail to appreciate the beauty of this grid?

Quickly now, before any of us turn into mice, let's address the rest of the clues and answers.

Across:

1. Put on: DON.  Cinderella had the bright idea to DON her dead mother's dress, but her nasty stepsisters tore it to pieces.

Poor Cinderella!

4. More crafty: SLIER.  This answer works in the USA, but Brits are slyer.

9. Red emblem on the English flag: CROSS.

Flag of England

14. Org. concerned with forever chemicals: EPA.  Environmental Protection Agency.  An abbreviation in the clue calls for an abbreviation in the answer.

15. Trattoria course: PASTA.  A trattoria is an Italian eatery, less formal than a ristorante, but more formal than an osteria.  Pasta is usually among the dishes labeled Primi, or first, which constitute the first hot course of a meal, often vegetarian.  Secondi is the next course, where meat and seafood appear.

16. Flood barrier: LEVEE.

17. [Theme clue]

20. Blooming __: deep-fried appetizer: ONION.  DH used to invite clients and prospective clients to dinner at nice restaurants.  His then-assistant set up one of these meals at a steakhouse, and the vegetarian entree she arranged for DH was a blooming onion.  He was not thrilled with her choice.

blooming onion

21. Large atlas section: ASIA.

22. Broadband letters: DSL.  Digital Subscriber Line is high-speed Internet access that uses existing copper telephone lines from homes and businesses to transmit data.

23. Pico de gallo pepper: SERRANO.  Pico de gallo is a chunky Mexican salsa made from tomatoes, onions, cilantro, jalapeños or serranos, and lime juice.

pico de gallo

26. Advance, as cash: LEND.

28. [Theme clue]

33. In this spot: HERE.

36. Prefix with classical: NEO.  Neo is a prefix meaning "new" or "revived."  Neoclassical refers to the revival of classical styles, especially in literature, music, art, or architecture.

The U.S. Capitol is an example of neoclassical architecture.

37. Extreme: ULTRA.

38. GI show gp.: USO.  The United Service Organizations Inc. is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment to members of the United States Armed Forces and their families.

39. [Theme clue]

42. "Ugh, sounds painful!": OOF.

43. New Zealand native: MAORI.

45. Forever and a day: EON.

46. Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo, for short: TMNT.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  The turtles, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo, starred in comic books, animated cartoons, video games, and films.

Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo

47. [Theme clue]

51. __ Millions lottery: MEGA.  Mega Millions is a multijurisdictional lottery game.  It is offered in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  For those of you in Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, or Utah, this will not be your rags-to-riches story.

52. Lose one's footing: STUMBLE.

56. One of the Manning brothers: ELI.  Eli Manning played in the National Football League for 16 seasons with the New York Giants.  He led the Giants to underdog Super Bowl victories against the New England Patriots in Super Bowls XLII (2008) and XLVI (2012).  Those were zero-to-hero seasons for the Giants!

Eli Manning

59. A handful of: SOME.

61. Bit of mint: SPRIG.

62. [Theme clue]

66. Mombasa's country: KENYA.  Mombasa is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean.  Centered on an island, the city extends onto the mainland.  It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi.

67. JPEG, e.g.: IMAGE.  A JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) file is a popular, compressed image format (.jpg, .jpeg) ideal for digital photos.

68. Dispenser at a bar: TAP.

69. Beginning stage: ONSET.

70. Took to the impound lot: TOWED.

71. Pres. before DDE: HST.  Before Dwight D. Eisenhower, there was Harry S. Truman.

Down:

1. Tech expo presentations: DEMOS.

2. Share a view: OPINE.

3. Lowest point: NADIR.

4. Backbone-related: SPINAL.

5. Delay in a livestream: LAG.

6. "Kinda": ISH.

7. Gospel great James: ETTA.  Crossword puzzles love this songstress.

Etta James

8. Grapple, slangily: RASSLE.

9. Neat and well-groomed: CLEAN CUT.

10. "Parks and __": REC.  Parks and Recreation (also known as Parks and Rec) is a political satire mockumentary television sitcom that aired on NBC from 2009 to 2015. The series stars Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana. I found the first few episodes unbearable, but apparently it improved.

Amy Poehler in Parks and Recreation

11. Poet of ancient Rome: OVID.

12. Bodies of water: SEAS.

13. Exchange for cash: SELL.

18. Like myths about Asgard: NORSE.

19. Walkway over water: PIER.

24. Girl, in Guatemala: NIÑA.

25. Autobahn auto: OPEL.  Opel began as a sewing machine manufacturer founded by Adam Opel in 1862 in Rüsselsheim am Main.  They began making bicycles in 1886 and produced their first automobile in 1899.  The company was responsible for the world's first rocket-powered flights in 1928 and 1929.  In 1929, General Motors took a majority stake in Opel and then full control in 1931, establishing American ownership of the German automaker for nearly 90 years.  In 2017, PSA Peugeot Citroën acquired Opel, which is still headquartered in Rüsselsheim am Main.

Opel's 2026 all electric auto will sell for 25,000 euros.

27. FedEx alternative: DHL.  DHL (named after founders Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational logistics company, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany.  It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail services.

DHL in the USA

29. Fish sticks?: POLES.  OOF!  Fishing poles.

30. Basic particle: ATOM.

31. Mineral in leafy greens: IRON.  And protein!  DH is cooking up fresh spinach as I type.

32. River float: RAFT.

33. Camel feature: HUMP.

34. Biblical twin: ESAU.  His fraternal twin was Jacob.  Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentils.  He was hungry!

35. Suite part: ROOM.

39. Pedaler's perch: BIKE SEAT.

40. Opens, as a trunk: POPS.

41. Still a competitor: IN IT.  Still with me?  You are IN IT to win it!

44. LP fig.: RPM.  An LP (Long Play) record typically plays at 33 1/3 RPM (revolutions per minute).

46. Tantalize: TEMPT.

48. Classical composer Stravinsky: IGOR.  Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945).  He is widely considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and a pivotal figure in modernist music.  His third ballet, The Rite of Spring, caused a near-riot at the premiere in 1913 due to its avant-garde nature.  But then, there were four near-riots in European concert halls that year!

49. "Anything you want!": NAME IT.

50. Was a potty mouth: CUSSED.

53. Soup liquid: BROTH.

54. Turkish coins: LIRAS.

55. Red Sea nation: EGYPT.  My cousin's wife is currently climbing pyramids.  DH's best bud cruised the Nile recently.  It's trending.

56. Fashion designer Marc: ECKO.  Marc Ecko followed his artistic inclination into T-shirt design and made a name for himself with hip-hop and skater fashions.  He's an emeritus member of the Board of Directors of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and is known for charitable works.

Marc Ecko

57. Bank's property claim: LIEN.

58. Cozy lodgings: INNS.

60. Red friend of Grover: ELMO.

Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Elmo, and Cookie Monster

63. Henna, for one: DYE.  Natural henna is made from a plant (Lawsonia inermis) and turns hair and skin a reddish color.  Could ELMO be using henna?

64. Statute: LAW.

65. Get on in years: AGE.  Presumably, this is what the prince and Cinderella did when they lived happily ever after.

Solvers, how did you like today's CROSSword puzzle?

Were you ULTRA successful? 😀 Or did you STUMBLE?  😬

Kindly OPINE below!

-- NaomiZ

Monday, January 19, 2026, Agnes Davidson, Zhouqin Burnikel

Theme:  We've been framed! 

Who are the masterminds behind this scheme?  None other than our blogmistress, Zhouquin "C.C." Burnikel, and our commenter extraordinaire, Agnes "Irish Miss" Davidson.  How did they frame us?  Let us count the ways, beginning with the big reveal:

36-Down. Scapegoating scheme, or what the ends of the answers to the starred clues may be part of?: FRAME JOB.  A scapegoating scheme blames an innocent person for the wrongdoings of others.  Similarly, a FRAME JOB arranges evidence to point to an innocent person as the one responsible for a crime.  Why would Irish Miss and C.C. do this to us?  The good news is, they didn't.  They just hung a framed picture on the wall for our enjoyment, and scattered their tools around the grid.

16-Across. *Statistical measure of certainty: CONFIDENCE LEVEL.  A LEVEL is a handy tool for making sure a framed picture hangs straight on the wall.

CONFIDENCE LEVEL       and       LEVEL TOOL

22-Down. *Earlobe sparkler: DIAMOND STUD.  A STUD is a vertical wood beam that is part of the substructure of a wall.  If the framed picture is heavy, it's a good idea to attach one of the picture hangers to a stud in the wall.

DIAMOND STUD   and   WALL STUDS

23-Down. *Fashion accessory attached at a salon: ACRYLIC NAIL.  A NAIL is essential to fasten a picture hanger to a wall.

ACRYLIC NAILS   and   NAIL FASTENERS

33-Down. *"U Can't Touch This" rapper: MC HAMMER.  A HAMMER is a handy tool for driving a nail into a wall.

MC HAMMER   and   HAMMER TOOL

This FRAME JOB turned out to be a satisfying task.  But "hang" on -- there's more to do.

Across:

1. Golf scorecard number: PAR.  PAR is the number of strokes that a proficient golfer should require to complete a hole, a round, or a tournament.

4. Prefix with task or vitamin: MULTI.

9. Pt. of LLC: LTD.  An LLC is a Limited Liability Company. A part (abbreviated "pt.") of this phrase is the word "Limited," abbreviated as LTD.

12. "Look __ this way ... ": AT IT.

14. Sci-fi author Asimov: ISAAC.  Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. Considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, he wrote or edited more than 500 books.

15. "The __ the merrier!": MORE.

16. [Theme clue]

19. "Yum Yum Bedlam" rap duo __ Clown Posse: INSANE.  Insane Clown Posse, often abbreviated as ICP, is an American hip hop duo formed in Detroit in 1989.  Thank you, perpendicular entries.

Insane Clown Posse

20. Try to chomp on: BITE AT.

21. Experience grief: FEEL SAD.

23. Calgary's province: ALBERTA.  It's only fair to have the occasional gimme for our friend CanadianEh!

24. NFL distances: Abbr.: YDS.  NFL is an abbreviation for National Football League.  YDS is an abbreviation for yards.  Although American football is largely incomprehensible to this blogger, it's clearly an outlet for tribal instincts, where the capture of territory is measured in yards.

25. Air pressure fig.: PSI.  Pounds per Square Inch.  By now, you've noticed that an abbreviation in the clue calls for an abbreviation in the answer.

26. Nasty mutt: CUR.

Bad dogs have had bad experiences.
They can be helped, but some people create this behavior on purpose.

27. Method: Abbr.: SYS.  System.

28. Lucked out at last: GOT A BREAK.

31. Entice: TEMPT.

34. Mother's Day month: MAY.

35. Sorts (through): SIFTS.

39. Marine mammal feared by sharks: ORCA.  Orcas (AKA killer whales) are fearsome creatures.

40. Turnpike charges: TOLLS.

42. Sound from a leaky tap: DRIP.

43. "Hard pass": NAH.

44. Mark left by a swimsuit: TAN LINE.

Tan lines left by various recreational outfits.

46. "__ questions?": ANY.

47. Grammy, for one: AWARD.

49. Insurance case: CLAIM.

51. Like most races: TIMED.

53. __ Antonio Spurs: SAN.  A professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas, the Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

55. "Will __": ABC police drama starring Ramón Rodríguez: TRENT.  Will Trent is a police procedural TV series based on novels by Karin Slaughter.  The series, starring Ramón Rodríguez in the title role, premiered on January 3, 2023, on ABC, and was renewed for a fourth season which premiered on January 6, 2026.

Ramón Rodríguez as Will Trent.  Cute dog!

58. Italy's capital: ROME.

59. Rib-eye, for one: STEAK.

61. Not quite closed: AJAR.

62. Blown away: AWED.  Blown away, as in very impressed.

63. Collectible trinket: CURIO.

64. Chore list heading: TO DO.

65. The red planet: MARS.

66. Adored stars: IDOLS.

67. Site with bidding wars: EBAY.  When you shop for a CURIO on EBAY, it's very easy to get caught up in a bidding war.

Down:

1. Soothe, as a fussy baby: PACIFY.  Our young folks went to the hospital thinking they would not use a pacifier for their baby.  The hospital staff supplied this model, and our grandson has been happily sucking on one ever since:

2. Did penance (for): ATONED.

3. Washes the suds off: RINSES.

4. Fertile Crescent's region: MIDEAST.  The Fertile Crescent is a region in the Middle East, spanning modern-day Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, together with northern Kuwait, south-eastern Turkey, and western Iran.  It is believed to be the first region where farming emerged as people began to clear natural vegetation to grow domesticated plants as crops.  Alas, modern irrigation projects have drained the marshes and made the Crescent much less fertile.

Map of the Fertile Crescent

5. Bring into play: USE.

6. PC-to-PC hookup: LAN.  A Local Area Network is a collection of devices connected together in one physical location, such as a building, office, or home.  The LAN is made up of cables, access points, switches, routers, and other components that enable devices to connect to internal servers, web servers, and other LANs.  I'm glad our business has a "techspert" to manage the LAN!

7. Tic-__-toe: TAC.

8. Cool tone on a palette: ICE BLUE.

9. Romeo and Juliet, e.g.: LOVERS.

10. Goal of a peace summit, perhaps: TREATY.

11. Triangular river formations: DELTAS.  A river delta is a landform, typically triangular, created by the deposit of sediments carried by the waters of a river, where the river merges into a body of slower-moving water such as an ocean, a sea, a lake, or a reservoir -- in other words, at the river mouth.

The Nile river delta as seen from a satellite.

13. Nonstick cookware brand: T-FAL.  T-Fal is a popular brand of nonstick cookware.  DH and I recently gave up on nonstick and opted for good, old-fashioned stainless steel pots and pans.

15. Ration (out): METE.

17. Cool place to hang: IN SPOT.

I'm in with the in crowd, I go where the in crowd goes ...

18. Most October babies: LIBRAS.

22. [Theme clue]

23. [Theme clue]

28. Academic transcript no.: GPA.  Grade Point Average.  "No." is an abbreviation, so you know the answer will also be an abbreviation.

29. Masquerade event: BALL.

30. Baby goat: KID.

And they both say maa!

31. Freight weight: TON.

32. Period of history: ERA.

33. [Theme clue]

36. [Theme reveal]

37. Ceiling metal: TIN.  Tin ceilings are decorated with tin tiles that have designs pressed into them.  This architectural detail was popular in North America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was used as an affordable alternative to the beautiful plasterwork used in European homes.

Tin ceiling with tiles from Penn Metal Ceiling Company's 1896 catalog.

38. Undercover agent: SPY.

40. Roofing goo: TAR.

41. Sketch show that inspired "30 Rock," for short: SNL.  Saturday Night Live.

44. Small amount: TAD.

45. Gulp down: EAT.

48. Garden invaders: WEEDS.  Weeds are wild plants growing where they are not wanted, and in competition with cultivated plants.  Always a problem for me after winter rains in Los Angeles.

I have an urge to kill the spurge.
Spotted spurge, that is.  (Euphorbia maculata.)

50. Hot under the collar: IRATE.

51. Shuttle on rails: TRAM.

52. Corn Belt state: IOWA.

A corn belt I'd like to see.

54. Prefix with dynamic: AERO.

56. Zilch: NADA.

57. "Iliad" city: TROY.  Homer's Iliad is an epic poem that tells the story of the Trojan War, in which Greek armies beseiged the city of Troy after Paris, son of the Trojan king, and Helen, wife of the Greek king Menelaus, ran off together.  What a lot of trouble those LOVERS caused!  

The fall of Troy came when Greeks entered the city hidden inside a wooden horse.
That story appears in Homer's Odyssey.

59. Physics or chem: SCI.  Science.

60. Some UFC victories: KOS.  Ultimate Fighting Championship (mixed martial arts) victories can be knockouts.

Here's the finished grid:

Solvers, did you work AT IT until you GOT A BREAK?

Did you USE a computer interface where your solving was TIMED?

Can you CLAIM an AWARD for your best solving time ever?

Or did you get NADA and FEEL SAD or even IRATE?

That's a TON of questions.  MAY we hear from you in the comments?

-- NaomiZ