Sunday August 18, 2019 Paul Coulter

Theme:  "Done to a T" - T is added to to the end of each familiar phrase.

22A. Naughty young athlete?: SPORTS BRAT. Sports bra.

24A. Materials on a king's palette?: ROYAL PAINT. Royal pain.

34A "Don't worry about that, Mr. Gingrich"?: IT'S NOTHING NEWT. It's nothing new.

 

52A. "The Alien Simpsons" character?: MARS BART. Mars bar.

55A. Watery world?: SEA PLANET. Sea plane.

77A. Defective phone download?: BAD APPLET. Bad apple.

79A. Large pub band?: BAR NONET. Bar none.

 

94A. Tiny golf course rental?: SUBCOMPACT CART. Subcompact car.

111A. Strategy using a heavily pine-tarred bat?: STICKY BUNT. Sticky bun.

113A. Tiff about a checkup?: HEALTH SPAT. Health spa. 

We've seen adding T or T sound puzzles in LAT before. Paul's has T's consistently added in the end. And he has 10 of them. Heavy themage in a 142-word grid.

Across:

1. Name on toy vehicles since 1964: HESS. Most of rusty toy trucks are Tonka.

5. '50s first lady: MAMIE.

10. Architect Saarinen: EERO.

14. Become unhinged: SNAP.

18. Bridge toll unit: AXLE.

19. Whirlpool brand: AMANA. Just don't buy GE, so glitchy. 

20. "Ah, me!": ALAS.

21. Arcade pioneer: ATARI.

26. Energy-saving tactic: POWER CUT.

27. AOL, e.g.: ISP.

29. Military chaplain: SKY PILOT. New term to me.

30. Platform for Siri: IOS.

31. Cons: ANTIS.

33. Biting: ACERB.

40. Less taxing: EASIER.

43. Pouts: MOUES. Like this.

44. Oxlike antelope: GNU.

45. Syndicate: CARTEL.

47. Chinese culinary general: TSO.

48. Fine things?: ARTS.

49. Cartoon flapper: BOOP.

50. Cabinet dept. with an atom on its seal: ENER.

51. 1995 court VIP: ITO. Lance.

59. Doo-wop syllable: SHA.

60. Big size, in a small way: LGE. Large. "in a small way" just indicates an abbreviated answer.

61. Operatic chorus: BRAVOS.

65. Chip features: RIDGES.

66. Organic fuel: PEAT.

67. Deprive of courage: UNMAN.

68. Ex-baseballer Martinez: TINO. Here he is with a more famous Yankee.

69. Photos, say: IMAGES.

72. Not diluted much, if at all: STRONG.

73. __ v. Wade: ROE.

74. Dusk, to Donne: EEN.

81. Deg. for a writer: MFA.

82. Red analog: BEET. There are also golden beets these days.

84. Trounce, down south: WHUP.

86. Global extremity: POLE.

87. Lulu: PIP.

88. "Ageless Body, Timeless Mind" author: CHOPRA.

90. "__ the fields we go ... ": OER.

91. Graf rival: SELES.

92. They may be driven: CATTLE. Nice clue.

98. Bailiwicks: AREAS.

100. Slogs: PLODS.

101. Bygone New Zealand bird: MOA.

102. Last of seven, for many: SATURDAY. Sunday in Chinese calendars.

105. UFO crew, in theory: ETS.

106. Curbside pickup places: BUS STOPS.

115. Recesses: NOOKS.

116. Miscellany: OLIO.

117. Stand in a studio: EASEL.

118. Adjutant: AIDE.

119. Envy and others: SINS.

120. Fill-in: TEMP.

121. Singer Springfield: DUSTY.

122. Word of medical advice: REST.

Down:

1. Door fastener: HASP.

2. Big show: EXPO.

3. Tedious: SLOW.

4. Arid: SERE.

5. Phillie Phanatic, for one: MASCOT.

6. Waylay: AMBUSH.

7. K follower: MART.

8. Minute or moment lead-in: IN A.

9. Consuming, as time: EATING UP.

10. Secret Service agent's accessory: EARPIECE. I remember watching Chinese version of "In the Line of Fire". John Malkovich killed this nice girl simply because she's from Minneapolis, which I had never heard of then.

11. "Do Ya" rock gp.: ELO.

12. Bottom-feeding fish: RAYS.

13. 1970 World's Fair site: OSAKA. Where Osaka was born.

14. Way up: STAIRS.

15. Nervous habit: NAIL-BITING.

16. Cartoonist Peter: ARNO.  The New Yorker.

17. Big East team: PITT.

21. Court loser's option: APPEAL.

23. Chamber groups: TRIOS.

25. École cousin: LYCEE. "Nice school" would be a Saturday clue. The answer could be either. 

28. RR stop: STN.

31. Part of A.D.: ANNO.

32. Bittersweet farewell: SWAN SONG.

34. Mosque officials: IMAMS.

35. Judaic spiritual text: TORAH. Followed by 36. Buddhist spiritual text: SUTRA.

37. 1987 Costner role: NESS.

38. Gershwin's "__ Rhythm": I GOT.

39. "Poems are made by fools like me" poem: TREES.

41. Cosmetician Lauder: ESTEE. Their best product. So expensive.

42. Origins: ROOTS.

46. Song syllable: TRA.

49. Author Harte: BRET.

53. Obscenity cover-up: BLEEP.

54. Showing shock: AGASP.

56. Former: PRIOR.

57. Bedding: LINEN.

58. Big deal: ADO.

61. Flatter: BUTTER UP.

62. GI's furlough: R N R.

63. Latin lover's word: AMO.

64. Vehicle with sliding doors: VAN. We have a van. We hope to click this Santa Fe back home next year.

66. Links letters: PGA.

68. Under-the-sink assembly: TRAP.

69. High-tech debut of 1981: IBM PC.

70. Underworld society: MAFIA.

71. Novel's screen version, e.g.: ADAPTATION.

72. Oozes: SEEPS.

74. WWII bomber __ Gay: ENOLA. And 76. Desert trial: N TEST.

75. Fisherman with pots: EELER. Always think of this old fisherman. His eels are the best.

78. Debt-heavy corp. takeover: LBO. Leveraged buyout.

79. Pat on the back, maybe: BURP.

80. Crude gp.?: OPEC. Crude oil.

83. Place setting setting: TABLETOP.

84. Fuel storage structure: WOODSHED.

85. Does some tailoring: HEMS.

88. Store employees: CLERKS.

89. Exciting: HEADY.

91. Put away for later: STASH.

93. Rollers on the road: TRUCKS.

95. Bunk: COT.

96. Charm: AMULET. My friend Roberto wears an Evil Eye.

97. Like serious mistakes: COSTLY.

99. Cousin of a clog: SABOT.

102. IRS IDs: SSNS.

103. Yours, to Yvette: A TOI. One more French: 114. Évian water: EAU.

104. "Throw the __ Log On, Uncle John": P.D.Q. Bach madrigal parody: YULE.

106. Low pitch: BASS.

107. Peter the Great, e.g.: TSAR.

108. '60s sitcom boy: OPIE.

109. Stationer's stock: PADS.

110. Editorial "let it stand": STET.

112. Matchstick-removing game: NIM.

Glad Picard's surgery went smoothly. Liquid diet for 2 weeks sounds so hard!

Irish Miss (Agnes) told me her nausea is under control, but the pain is still here. She can now sleep in her own bed, so that's a bit of progress. Please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We need our corner sunshine back to the blog soon.

Light to Right : Anne, Agnes, Eileen, Mar, and Peggy (3/17/2019)

C.C. 

Thursday, July 25th, 2019 Paul Coulter

Theme Clean Sweep - all the theme entries are phrases containing the name of a detergent, to wit:

17A. Detergent sold around Yankee Stadium?: BRONX CHEER. Hopefully none aimed at this puzzle.

27A. Jingle for a detergent ad?: SURF MUSIC. What better excuse for a summer blast with the Beach Boys from 1963?

38a. Detergent for fishing equipment?: NET GAIN

47A. Directors in charge of a detergent?: DASHBOARD. The outlier regarding the theme. One word, not two.

63A. Detergent for seasonal cleaning?: SPRING TIDE. Quickly - which tide is higher, the spring or the neap?


So, I have to say I found this a struggle, the center section especially. I stared it down eventually, but it really was a challenge, so kudos to Paul for the assignment. The cluing was tough, but there were a couple of entries which were, to my mind, so obscure to be worthy of my new acronym SNOE (Said No-One, Ever). We'll come to those in due course.

That being said, the theme was fun, and some nice long downs to tie things together. Let's go and explore:

Across:

1. Diet food phrase: NO-FAT. Heavens. What a horrible idea! I look at the fat content of everything I eat, but no fat? No flavor.

6. Puny pencil: STUB

10. __ gin fizz: SLOE. I used to make sloe gin back in the UK. You pick a basket of sloe berries in the winter, prick them all over with a needle (takes a while!) and infuse them with a couple of pints of gin or more. A few weeks later you uncork the bottles and yay! Sloe Gin!

14. Ancient market: AGORA

15. Long Island Iced Tea coloring provider: COLA. I tried COKE first against my better instincts.

16. Double-decker checker: KING. Checkers. Two makes a king. Is it three that makes a queen?

19. Village People megahit: YMCA. I saw them perform at Dodger Stadium on a July 4th after the game. They still had it!

20. Good to go: SET

21. Put up: HOUSE. Soft "S" if you're wondering.

22. Fell off: EBBED

23. Title characters, typically: LEADS. As in actors.

25. Tetris shape: ELL. I've seen Tetris, never played it. I can see how it could get addictive.

26. Chicken __: KIEV. Food! A classic recipe - chicken breast stuffed with parsley, garlic and butter and fried in breadcrumbs. Certainly not NO-FAT. We should be less sniffy about the "old school" food, this one is delicious. Just don't eat it every day.

33. Stuck, with "down": BOGGED

35. Game official: REF

36. Mediterranean tourist site: ETNA. Yay! A clue that doesn't talk about Sicily or "spewer".

37. "Go team!": RAH!

41. Same old routine: RUT

42. __ sax: ALTO

44. Charge: FEE

45. Large sea ducks: EIDERS. Those of the popular "down". I hope we leave them alone now and use synthetic breast feathers. I don't need to be kept warm that badly.

50. Junior prom attendee: TEEN. Isn't a senior prom attendee a teen too? I've never been to a prom, but aren't seniors teens too?

51. G.I. chow: M.R.E. Meals, Ready to Eat. Also "Meals Rarely Enjoyed" or "Meals Rejected by the Enemy".

52. "Snowy" bird: EGRET

54. No-sweat class: EASY "A"

57. Copier of old: MIMEO. I tried XEROX first against all common sense. I circled around this puzzle for quite a while filling in odds and ends here and there. This mis-step didn't help.

59. Member of the fam: SIB. Ling.

62. Quickly down: CHUG

65. Kon-Tiki Museum city: OSLO. I do want to go to Oslo, just so I can visit the crossword museums - the Nobel library, the Kon-Tiki museum, I think there are a couple of other destinations too.

66. Acorn droppers: OAKS

67. Three on a par-five, say: EAGLE. Golf, two under par. Or "Turkey Eagle" if you watch the ads for State Farm Insurance with Ricky Fowler. He's a funny chap, on a par with Peyton Manning in the celebrity commercial actor stakes.

68. Hard on the ears: LOUD

69. Military outpost: BASE

70. Composition for nine: NONET. Playing a nice-piece on a tightrope? No Net.

Down:

1. Bags: NABS

2. Fantasy brute: OGRE

3. Stage illumination: FOOTLIGHTS. This was fun, I noodled around with FLOODLIGHT, SPOTLIGHTS and others before the crosses started to help me out. I was an electrician with an amateur theatre company in London and lit a lot of productions. I blew myself off my stool in the lighting booth once when my cunningly-rigged stage telephone shorted out the lighting board mid-performance (it was a dress rehearsal, so no harm done). My hair was only slightly singed. Don't mess around with 220 volts and 30 amps. I picked myself up off the floor. I only missed one lighting cue as I patted myself on the back. There was a funny smell in the lighting booth for a few days, I think it was my charred hair.

4. Prince Valiant's son: ARN. Why did I think this was HAL?

5. Many an offshore bank account: TAX HAVEN

6. Go downhill fast: SCHUSS. The tuck position. If you're watching the Tour de France, watch tomorrow's stage 19 in the Alps, and watch the riders schuss on the downhills. They are crazy, I've come off a bike at around 25 MPH and it hurts. These guys are doing around 50.

7. __ the line: TOES

8. Film beekeeper: ULEE

9. Keep out: BAR

10. Color named for a natural phenomenon: SKY BLUE

11. Spot for a nest: LIMB. There are sparrows nesting in a street sign outside my door right now. Two chicks have been born. A lot safer inside a steel street sign than perched on a tree branch.

12. A while back: ONCE

13. "Good grief!": EGAD!

18. Atlantic catch: COD. A great fish, now slowly recovering from the over-fishing of the 70's and 80's. The UK and Iceland went to a "soft" war over the fishing grounds in the North Atlantic. A couple of warning shots were fired by British frigates in the so-called "Cod Wars".

22. Stately tree: ELM I had OAK first until 66A put paid to that idea.

24. Brain scan, for short: EEG. I need to consign the difference between EKG, ECG and EEG to memory. That one letter in the middle held me up for a long time

25. __ White, Jennifer Hudson's role in the film "Dreamgirls": EFFIE. Thank you crosses, I saw and enjoyed the movie, but the name escaped me.

26. Fluffy-eared critter: KOALA. I was trying to think of the fluffy guys in the movie who turn nasty (when they get wet?). Then I saw the light. I still can't remember what they were called, and a Google search "movie critters who get wet" doesn't help.

28. Pushy type: URGER. SNOE. First one.

29. "V for Vendetta" actor Stephen: REA

30. It may have an arrow: STREET SIGN

31. Store, as ashes: INURN. Quicky following on from 28D. My second SNOE of the day.

32. Title pets in a Lilian Jackson Braun mystery series: CATS. Have you seen the trailer for the new CATS movie? It's so creepy I had nightmares. Two questions - why does Helen Mirren's character wear a fur coat, when she's got fur underneath? And - why do the female cats have boobs? We should be told.

33. Thin nail: BRAD

34. "Moll Flanders" novelist: DEFOE. A lot of deep digging in the memory banks for this one.

39. Cause of a brewed awakening?: TEA. I get the wordplay here, but I think this is a stretch, even for a tea-drinker like me.

40. Ammonia component: NITROGEN

43. "Heavens!": OH MY GOD!

46. Snider of Twisted Sister: DEE. A great band who became popular in the 1980's. Go search for them on YouTube, you'll find some entertaining videos on there.

48. Sports __: BRA. In my youth I sang a version of "Rawhide" that was amusing to my ears: "Round 'em up, move 'em in, head 'em up, squash 'em down ... Sports Bra!". You have to understand I was young and foolish :)

49. End: DEMISE

53. High-ranking off.: GEN. General. Don't watch the commercials, they are all terrible.

54. Earth Day subj.: ECOL. ogy.

55. "Understood": AH, SO! SNOE, unless they are playing a cod Chinese character in a terrible movie.

56. "Mr." on a sci-fi bridge: SULU. Star Trek chap. I'm pretty sure he never said "Ah, So, Captain". I might be wrong, but somehow I doubt it.

57. Film-rating org.: M.P.A.A. The Motion Picture Association of America. I read an article recently about the British equivalent, and what now informs their ratings. I'd risk upsetting the mild-mannered amongst our Cornerites if I was too detailed, but apparently some "things" no longer consign your movie to the 18+ category as long as they inform the story.

58. Bothers: IRKS

60. Like much chitchat: IDLE. Isn't all chitchat idle? I thought that was the definition.

61. Borscht vegetable: BEET

63. Blubber: SOB

64. Confucian path: TAO

And ... we get to the grid after a long and winding road. Hope you had fun with Paul's puzzle.

Steve

Thursday, July 11th 2019 Paul Coulter

Theme: The Byrds Songs - what better to celebrate a nice punning puzzle with a reminder of Roger McGuinn's 12-string Rickenbacker?

I'm assuming I don't have to explain the puns, they're pretty obvious, so let's call out the theme entries and move on.

17A. Devious nestling's cry?: CHEEP TRICK. Here's Cheap Trick for color (or black and white in this picture, darn).

27A. Early-rising duck's call?: QUACK OF DAWN

46A. Prizeworthy cornfield sounds?: CAWS CÉLÈBRE. Not sure about the definition in the clue here. "Prizeworthy" doesn't ring true. Controversial or unpopular in my dictionary.

62A. Elegant dove's murmur?: COO DE GRÂCE. Filling up my quota of diacriticals here.

I was interested to see that two of the four punning entries had been used before - no knock on Paul´s elegant puzzle, but both had appeared in the NYT, granted 20 years apart, but the most recent was 2017. I like how Paul pulled everything together with the aviarian theme though. Let's see what else we've got:

Across:

1. Red ink list: DEBTS

6. Editor's "never mind": STET

10. Fast one: SCAM

14. Naturally lit courtyards: ATRIA

15. Mex. title: SRTA. Senorita. Not just Mexico, any Spanish-speaking country.

16. Roughly: OR SO

19. Word on diet food packaging: LITE

20. Like a coach after a rough game, maybe: HOARSE

21. Marriott-owned hotel chain: SHERATON. Marriott and Hilton have pretty much acquired every other hotel chain on the planet.

23. Sets, as a price: ASKS

24. Div. won by the Braves 13 times: N.L.E. Atlanta of the National League East.

26. Besmirch: TAR

32. __ Maria: TIA. I tried AVE first, which didn't work so well. A non-religious friend of mine works with some parochial schools, and was reading a hymn sheet. She asked me why "Avenue Maria" was part of a prayer.

35. Big bully: BRUTE

36. Protected at sea: ALEE

37. Counselor: ADVISER

39. Watch for money, usually: BABYSIT

42. Four-time Grammy winners Kings of __: LEON. I decided not to link one of my favorite songs of theirs - it has the s*x word in the title, and I didn't want to upset anyone.

43. Backspace over: ERASE

45. Hosp. areas: O.R.'S My first full-time job out of high school was as a cleaner in the county hospital. I'm not sure how many O.R's and E.R's I cleaned up. That was a good education for a precocious 17-year-old. It certainly taught me a couple of life lessons.

49. Amigo: PAL

50. Letters from the Civil War: CSA

51. Mine bonanza: LODE. Is there a father lode? I know there's a mother one.

55. Skated on thin ice: RAN A RISK

59. Look into again, as a cold case: REOPEN

61. Brought into play: USED

64. Many a retired thoroughbred: SIRE

65. "It __ up to me": ISN'T

66. Catcher's interference, in baseball rules: ERROR

67. Kit Carson House site: TAOS

68. Throw away: TOSS. Nicely proximate to TAOS.

69. Nostalgically fashionable: RETRO

Down:

1. Russian country house: DACHA

2. Cultural spirit: ETHOS

3. Work stoppage?: BREAK

4. Elaborate cake layers: TIERS. I guess "elaborate" because a tier needs to be stacked on something?

5. Easy marks: SAPS

6. Kazakhstan, once: Abbr.: S.S.R. Soviet Socialist Republic.

7. Split into thirds: TRISECT. Quite an uncommon word, but perfectly logical.

8. Inscribe: ETCH

9. Start liking: TAKE TO

10. Astronomical time period: SOLAR DAY. The time it takes for a planet to rotate on its axis so that the sun appears in the same place in the sky. 24 hours on Earth, 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35 seconds on Mars.

11. Lit __: CRIT

12. In the matter of: AS TO

13. Kohler rival: MOEN

18. Academic goal: TENURE

22. Churchill's "so few": Abbr.: R.A.F. The Royal Air Force. "Per Ardua Ad Astra". I'm sure you all know the full quote:

"Never, in the field of human conflict, was so much owed by so many to so few".

25. Bay leaf source: LAUREL

27. Moon and Starr of the NFL: QB'S. Nice clue. Warren Moon and Bart Starr. Bart Starr led the Green Bay Packers to the first two Superbowl wins. He passed away recently, in May.

28. Skewered fare: KEBABS. I wait for crosses, as "KEBOBS" is equally valid. Also "KABOBS/KABABS".

29. "And another thing ... ": ALSO

30. 2003 Masters champ Mike: WEIR. A Canadian leftie, winning the Masters was the highlight of his career.

31. Brings home: NETS

32. Locker room sprinkle: TALC

33. Brain wave: IDEA

34. Admit frankly: AVOW. I had "AVER" first which slowed me down a little.

38. To a great degree: IN SPADES

40. Equally hard to find: AS RARE

41. Contest where participants stand for a spell: BEE. Is the National Spelling Bee done? What, eight joint winners after the organizers ran out of words this year? It seems a little silly now, especially with all the professional coaching that seems to be compulsory to give the kid a chance to compete. Let's just call it a day and move on.

44. Figures: RECKONS

47. Elevator __: CAR

48. Bring out: ELICIT

51. He played Ugarte in "Casablanca": LORRÉ. ¨He goes strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorré, contemplating a crime¨.

52. Eyeball benders: OP ART. I posted an example of this a couple of years ago, and spent the night with my eyes spinning and I couldn't sleep. Google at your own (pleasure) risk.

53. HGTV topic: DECOR

54. Two before marzo: ENERO. Spanish months, January and March.

55. Reddish shade: RUST

56. Where to find Java: ASIA. Also, my kitchen, with a pound of Blue Mountain coffee brought back from Jamaica. I use it sparingly, it's delicious but expensive.

57. Student of Seneca: NERO

58. Just all right: SO-SO

60. Hungarian wine region: EGER. Not one of the most well-known regions, but some nice reds are produced there. You need to be careful, a lot of the wineries load up the wines with a ton of alcohol, not the most subtle approach.

63. Rehab symptom, for short: DT'S. Delirium Tremens, or visions of pink elephants and the shakes, much the same that anyone would experience watching the latest Disney remake of "Dumbo". What were they thinking?


Well, that about wraps up another Thursday from me. Here's the grid and I'll get my coat.

Steve

Wednesday May 1, 2019 Paul Coulter

It’s May, ribbit, ribbit!

“Tra la, it's May, the lusty month of May
That lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray
Tra la, it's here, that shocking time of year
When tons of wicked little thoughts merrily appear

It's May, it's May, that gorgeous holiday
When every maiden prays that her lad will be a cad
It's mad, it's gay, a libelous display
Those dreary vows that everyone takes, everyone breaks
Everyone makes divine mistakes, the lusty month of May”

Recognize those lines? I’ll confirm or inform later on.

On to the puzzle with musical interlude #1. Today's cw is by our quasi-resident wordsmith, Paul Coulter.  For this mid-week effort, Paul placed all of the theme answers in the verticals, because.....well, because the theme demanded it.  The bottom word of each theme answer is a type of bell.
 
As a lowly enlisted swabbie, I can relate to the naval connotation of the Bell Bottom uniform. Those pant-legs were actually more stove-pipe than bell-bottom. The trousers were stocked extra long by waist measurement, and were then shortened to fit the individual sailor. The 13 buttons may be traditional (they represent the 13 colonies), but they’re a real bother to deal with. I’d vote for a zipper fly any day.

The Reveal:

28D. Retro pants, and a hint to the answers to starred clues:  BELL BOTTOMS  The bottom word of each theme answer is a type of bell.

3D. *Many Northeast tourists look up to her: LADY LIBERTY. Lady Liberty isn’t nearly so welcoming today as in years past. But here we’re talking about the Liberty Bell. When did it get it’s famous crack?

9D. *Bring-a-dish event: POTLUCK DINNER. The triangular dinner bell became popular in the early 1800s to call the family and workers in from the fields at mealtime.

 

18D. *Controversial educational institution: CHARTER SCHOOL. Your school bell might have been a hand-held model wielded by a bookish schoolmarm, but more likely it was an electric bell that signaled the beginning and end of class periods. I thought “saved by the bell” probably had a school connection. Nope, it originates in the boxing ring.

26D. *Real moneymaker: CASH COW. Cow bell. The company I worked for served as a Cash Cow for the parent corporate holding company. After the long recession in the “awl patch,” I wonder if that’s still the case.

 

Across:

 

1. Indonesian resort island: BALI. Just east of Java.

5. Champagne flute part: STEM.

9. Provide with lodging: PUT UP. Tried HOUSE first.

14. Australian export: OPAL. Wool would also fit...but it would be wrong.

15. Hilo feast: LUAU.

16. "SNL" alum Cheri: OTERI. Vowel-rich, but c’mon guys, she left SNL way back in 2000.

17. Lack of propriety: INDECORUM. I’ve been known to resemble that remark.

19. Link: TIE IN.

20. Marshal at Waterloo: NEY. Why did I think it was Dey? Oh, wait, that was L. A. Law.

21. Solo played by Harrison Ford and Alden Ehrenreich: HAN. Han Solo, Star Wars.

22. Fly off the shelves: SELL.

24. Producing a direct electric current: GALVANIC. Back in the late 1700s Luigi Galvani discovered that muscle tissues would contract when electricity was passed through them. He experimented with frog legs, because he was prone to playing with his food.

27. Colorado town that means "town" in Spanish: PUEBLO. The USS Pueblo was captured by North Korea in January, 1968. The ship was about 16 miles off the coast at the time. Here’s probably more than you ever wanted to know about the incident.

31. Tel Aviv's land: Abbr.: ISR. Israel.

32. Pre-exam feeling, if you didn't study: PANIC. I wanted ANGST.

34. Brain scan letters: EEG. I wanted MRI. I had a brain MRI last year. Contrary to popular belief, they found one.

35. Clog kin: SABOT. This was actually my first thought for this answer. Yay, me.

37. Down with something: SICK.

38. Short, for short: LIL. I really, really wanted IOU for this one. You may have noticed that I didn’t get a lot of the things I wanted in this puzzle.

39. Brunch serving: CREPE. Because Mimosa and Omelet were too long.

40. "Huh?": WHA. With the W in place, I immediately inked in the TF.  Nope, not to be.

41. Sweetly, to Solti: DOLCE. What do you suppose is the musical meaning of Dolce Vita?

43. Part of HRH: HER. Put in the H and wait for the ER or IS to show up.

44. Campus mil. group: ROTC. ROTC (Reserve Officer’s Training Corps). Back in the day, orientation lectures were required of all male freshmen. Those military instructors could stand the loud stamping of feet for just so long. They usually kicked us out after 10-15 minutes.

46. Out of favor: IN BAD. Also a sailor, missing his first letter.

47. "Dig in!": EAT.

48. In one fell __: SWOOP. I always say it as one “swell foop.” “If the shoe fits” gets similar treatment.

50. Paleo- opposite: NEO. Also the hero of the Matrix movies.

51. Source of theatrical fog: DRY ICE. Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide. It “sublimes” (goes directly from solid to gaseous state) when warmed. See, I didn’t sleep through every chemistry class, just most of ‘em.

53. "I'm qualified, too!": WHY NOT ME. Musical interlude #2 from this mother/daughter team.

57. "Gotcha": AH SO. Apparently “facetiously” is no longer required in the clue.

59. Bonanza find: Ore. Ben would’ve fit, but Hoss, Adam, and Little Joe were too long.

60. 1960s chess champ Mikhail: TAL. If you say so.

61. Historic Texas landmark: ALAMO. Easy for this pseudo-Texan to remember.

64. Book's epilogue: AFTERWORD.

67. "The Hobbit" hero: BILBO. Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo’s cousin, Frodo Baggins, was the hero of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

68. Hoops shot: HOOK. Basketball.

69. French friend: AMIE. Glue.

70. Creeping critter: SNAIL.

71. __ Major: URSA. The big bear in the sky.

72. Old autocrat: TSAR. “Old” tipped me off that it’d be TSAR and not CZAR.

Down:

 

1. Spring sound: BOING. I really liked this c/a. My first thought was CHIRP.

2. Sleep clinic study: APNEA. Is it really all that bad? I’ve never heard of death by snoring.

4. Paris's __ de la Cité: ILE. The had a fire there recently. You may have read about it.

5. "McSorley's Bar" painter: SLOAN. The oldest “Irish” tavern in NYC is actually known as McSorley’s Old Ale House.

6. Root vegetable: TURNIP. I don’t believe I’ve ever had one. How do you fix ‘em? Are they good? Do they get damaged when they fall off the truck?

7. __ Claire, Wisconsin: EAU. If it were in Florida, they’d call it Clearwater.

8. Rose Parade flowers: MUMS. Aren’t all flower types acceptable as float decoration?

10. Serving a purpose: UTILE. I’ve never spoken that word in my whole life as a person.

11. Links supporter?: TEE.

12. Ocean State sch.: URI. University of Rhode Island.

13. Debit card code: PIN. You also need a Pin from the IRS if you’ve been a victim of identify theft when somebody filed for your tax refund. (I think it’s safe to assume that nobody would steal your identity for the purpose of paying your taxes.)

23. Awesome: EPIC. Two of the most over-used words in the English language.

25. Brandy bottle abbr.: VSOP. “Very Superior Old Pale.” To bear that moniker, the youngest brandy in the blend must be at least four years old. In Wisconsin and Mini-Soda the brandy Manhattan is a popular cocktail...and only there, so far as I know.

29. German camera: LEICA. They’ve been at it since 1914.

30. Eyed inappropriately: OGLED. When is it an ogle, and when is it a leer? Discuss.

33. Long of "Empire": NIA. Recognize her name, but draw a blank at Empire.

35. Timetable: Abbr.: SCHED.

36. Backward, shipwise: AREAR. Gluey. Not to be confused with arrear or arrears – dead horses which were severely beaten in recent days.

40. Geneva-based commerce gp.: WTO. World Trade Organization.

42. Basie's "__'Clock Jump": ONE O. Musical interlude #3:

45. Has to pay: OWES.

49. Snaps: PHOTOS. Not ginger cookies.

52. Frost-y feet?: IAMBI. Robert Frost-y poetic feet.

54. California town wrongly thought to be named from a backwards "bakery" sign: YREKA. It’s the county seat of Siskiyou County, but you knew that. wy-REE-kə

55. "The Sound of Music" matriarch: MARIA. Von Trapp – that flibbertigibbet, will-o-the-wisp, and clown. In case you need a hint, the actress who played her in the movie also sang the words at the top of this post.

56. Church leader: ELDER. Also a tribal leader. I don’t remember any elders in the church I attended.

58. Maui neighbor: OAHU. Neighbor, if you ignore Molokai and Lanai…

61. Muscles seen at Muscle Beach: ABS. Does your muscle car have ABS?

62. Architect Maya __: LIN. Anybody else read this as “Ancient Mayan?” No, just me.

63. Montgomery's st.: ALA. Capital of Alabama.

65. In favor of: FOR. As opposed to agin.

66. Angkor __: Cambodian temple: WAT.

Quiz answer: Those lines were sung by Julie Andrews on Broadway as Queen Guinevere in Camelot.

I hope Melissa Bee is enjoying her time off. Desper-otto out. (With luck, C.C. will find a visual of the grid to stick here.)