Wednesday, Mar 12th, 2025 ~ Rebecca Goldstein

 THE HOLY GALE

Pope Francis, 2018 - Daily Mail

Another Wednesday RG puzzle, another 15 x 16 grid, and another crossword with those sinister circles - but really not so bad this week - a handful of foreign words/phrases, and nary a name in sight~! Wow~!  ( OK, two. ) Right to the theme reveal;

59. "This may come as a shock," or an apt title for this puzzle: HOLD ON TO YOUR HAT - each theme answer "holds" ( within  the circles ) a type of hat 

17. Gym shorts, yoga pants, tank tops, and the like: ATHLETIC APPAREL - a CAP is a piece of athletic apparel, too

28. "Adiós, amigo": HASTA MAÑANA - the Scottish TAM

Why it's called the "Tam O Shanter"

35. Raise doubts: CALL INTO QUESTION - a chef's TOQUE

45. Concept in modern morality: CYBER ETHICS - Le Frawnche Beret

Oui~!

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Work Extra?: CHEW - clever start; Extra, the chewing gum

5. "Surely, you __!": JEST

9. Coral habitats: REEFS

14. Greek vowel: IOTA

15. Duel tool: EPEE

16. Heart chambers: ATRIA - my only goof; I had ETAS, but changed this to AORTA - yet I was already correct.  I went down to Long Island this past weekend to see my younger brother, who just had a scare - he was lying down with chest pains last week, and thank God he has a concerned fiancée - she insisted it was more than just a "pulled muscle" and it turned out to be cardiomyopathy - but I also discovered he takes a LOT of medications, and that's scary. . . .

I did get to see my buddy Cooper - no luck yet on finding my own four-legged friend, Irish Miss

20. Spotted wildcat: OCELOT

21. Butter squares: PATS

22. Distress signal: SOS

24. Mineral and metal mixtures: ORES - I like this alliterative alternative clue - I had to think about it

25. Alley-__: OOP

26. "Cut that out!": "STOP~!"

27. Served right?: ACED - an unreturnable serve is an ACE

32. Feathered neckwear: BOA - ah, the BOA shows itself this week - AND - 62D. Word of agreement: YES - Oh, so this week, it's yeS and not yeA

33. Unpleasant person: PILL - my mom was good for using this 'slang'

34. Name that means "my God": ELI - clued differently this past Monday

42. Neuro scan: EEG - ElectroEncephaloGram

43. __ snuff: UP TO

44. Mexican Mrs.: SRA

50. James of "Misery": CAAN

51. Accomplishes: DOES

52. Humble abode: HUT

Marching to the Jabba the Hutt hut

53. Fine feathered friends: FOWL

54. Tofu protein: SOY

55. Hieroglyphic bird: IBIS

57. Successful in a critical situation: CLUTCH - typically describing people in "athletic apparel"

63. Vegetable that may be white, yellow, green, or purple: ONION

64. Told tales: LIED

65. Fruity pastry: TART

66. In a weird way: ODDLY

67. "What __ is new?": ELSE

68. Put one's foot down: STEP

DOWN:

1. "Adiós": CIAO

2. Mugful with marshmallows, maybe: HOT COCOA

3. Exquisitely delicate: ETHEREAL

4. Like some ancient cities: WALLED

Do you recognize this WALLED city~?  Answer below

5. The Godmother of Punk Joan: JETT 

6. Prefix with pen or gram: EPI - EPIpen, EPIgram

7. Triple __ liqueur: SEC - I'm all too familiar with the "Kamikaze" shot

BONZAI~!

8. Service center?: TEAPOT - clever; the "central" element in a teas service set

9. Spellbound: RAPT

10. Airline stats: ETAs

11. Slip up: ERR

12. __ Bowl: annual game in Arizona sponsored by Vrbo: FIESTA

13. Watering hole with swinging doors: SALOON

18. Goddess of the dawn: EOS

19. Potato, in Spanish: PAPA

23. Place for a massage: SPA

25. Norway's capital: OSLO - OK, another name, but this one's a crossword staple

26. Hissy fit: SNIT

27. Block letters: A B C

28. Door opener: HINGE - my only nit; the knob/handle/lockset opens, the hinge "hangs" the door

29. Ctrl-__-Del: ALT

30. Track competitions: MEETS

31. Too: ALSO

33. Spot for a long walk on the beach?: PIER - funnier would have been to clue this "A SHORT spot for a long walk" . . . .

36. Wine bottle sediment: LEES

37. Throw in the towel: QUIT

38. Inventory tracking aid, briefly: UPC - Universal Product Code - and the 21st century QR code

39. "Nothing gets past me": "I SAW THAT."

40. Dental hygiene: ORAL CARE

41. Granny, to some: NAN

45. Music format stored in wallets: CDs

46. "Hello there!": "YOO-HOO~!"

47. Out of reach of: BEYOND - some Don McMillan comedy

"Beyond " @ 1:15

48. Slim: THIN

49. Shake a leg: HUSTLE

50. Legal arenas: COURTS

53. Bug often observed in winter: FLU - Ah, that kind of "bug"

55. Adored one: IDOL

56. All elbows: BONY

57. Key for a smart lock: CODE - I have this Schlage smart lockset on my sunroom door

58. URL opening: HTTP

60. Pot topper: LID

61. Liquid in the story of Hanukkah: OIL - burned for more nights than expected; the Wiki

A "theme" oriented repeat from Monday, too

Splynter

ANSWER:

Firenze - Florence, Italy

Wednesday, Feb 26th, 2025 ~ Rebecca Goldstein

 THE ENGINEER COMEDIAN...

...was "technically funny"

Don McMillan - technicallyfunny.com

Another RG puzzle on a Wednesday, a standard 15 x 15 grid with no circles, 18 TLWs, seven of which are abbrs, along with three out of the 28 4LWs in the construction.  Lots of "quoted" clues and answers, too, only three(ish) names, but one still got me; I shoulda known via the crossing theme perp.  Sigh.  That said, the theme is a punny one with the opening line of 

At the amateur comedy night...

17. the omelet chef had the audience __: CRACKING UP - an eggs-cellent joke

24. ... the personal trainer had the audience __: BUSTING A GUT - I ABs-olutley loved this one

38. With 51-Across, ... the professional bowler had the audience __: ROLLING - AND - 51A. See 38-Across: IN THE AISLES - "Aisle" never see bowling the same way again

60. ... the tailor had the audience __: IN STITCHES - this one is SEW funny

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Mosque leader: IMAM - Crossword staple

5. Get ready quickly?: PREP - abbr, the "short" version of prepare

9. Tapioca pearls: BOBA

A recipe site

13. Zilch: NADA

14. Sweeping stories: SAGAS - palindromic

16. Russian mountain range: URAL - name(ish)

19. Deli spread: MAYO - I like mayonnaise, even for my fries - like in Pulp Fiction

** Note:34A. F-bomb coming **

20. __ facto: IPSO - Latin, "by the fact itself"

21. Hear about: LEARN OF - Did you hear about Van Halen~?

Hear About it Later - from the album "Fair Warning"

23. Industrious insect: ANT

28. Scented accessory: LEI - trying for some alternate cluing here

29. Oscar winner Stone: EMMA - name #1 - her IMDb

30. Guacamole or baba ghanoush: DIP

31. Vacay: PTO - I am enjoying some Personal Time Off currently, but not quite by choice

32. "And for my __ trick ... ": NEXT

34. Warning letters in a subject line, maybe: NSFW - Not Suitable For Work

37. Part of MYOB: OWN - Mind Your Own Business

40. "It just clicked!": "A HA~!"

42. Org. with ergonomic guidelines: OSHA - Occupational Safety and Health Administration

44. __ Liberty: LADY - La statue de Frawnche

The copper clad Colossus belongs to . . . .NY, or NJ~?

45. Neither/__: NOR - I neither speak Frawnche, NOR write it

46. Little devil: IMP

48. Stinger in a swarm: WASP - this one is NOT an abbr. 😜

50. CBS show with the theme song "Who Are You": CSI - Crime Scene Investigation

55. Pay stub letters: YTD - Year-To-Date

56. Home to the Hockey Hall of Fame: TORONTO

57. Dark side force: SITH - the "anti" Jedi

59. Word with deep or dive: SKIN - Skin deep, Skin dive

65. Silent performer: MIME

66. Edmonton NHL player: OILER - Hockey again

67. "I'm all __!": "EARS~!"

68. "No sweat!": "EASY~!"

69. One of Canada's First Nations: CREE - filled via perps, name(ish), but common in crosswords

70. Recipe that may call for a bay leaf: STEW - I have a crock pot and a bay leaf; I should make me a stew

DOWN:

1. Company abbr.: INC - Ever wonder what it means, exactly~?  More here

2. Helicopter carrying the Vice President: MARINE TWO - I knew it was named something similar to "Air Force One", but waited on perps; I found the history quite fascinating

3. Films that have been formatted to fit a smaller screen, e.g.: ADAPTIONS - this just sounds wrong; adapTAtions seems more common, and better yet, adapted to fit your screen

4. Apples that are inedible: MACS - I figured it was a computer reference

5. Tired initials?: PSI - I knew the gag, but could not think of a three-letter 'radial' tire brand - turns out to be the recommended pressure in Pounds per Square Inch 

6. Aired: RAN

7. Caviar bit: EGG - I tried ROE - Bzzzt~!

8. Theoretical physicist Wolfgang: PAULI - name #2 - I knew we needed a name, so I tried PAULA

9. Negative charges?: BUM RAPS - "I was framed, I tell ya~!"

10. Chimp relative: ORANGutan

This one fits the "stalker" description

11. Boggy biome: BAYOU

12. Floating: ALOFT

15. Toss a coin?: SPEND - you'll need more than just coins these days . . . .

18. Region known for Wagyu: KOBE - took the "K" to remind me; everything Wagyu from Wiki  - name #3

"You're sick, Jerry~!  . . . Sick, sick, sick~!"

22. Growing old: AGING - I am definitely getting old-ER . . . sounds like I'm maturing, but not really

23. Beagle's bowlful: ALPO - I tried CHOW, but we were looking for a brand name(ish)

25. "Yeah, guess again": "UM, NO."

26. Catch a whiff of: SMELL

27. Withholding information?: TAX LAWS - I owe money this year, but I'm still waiting on a mess the IRS created two years ago

33. Current-ly?: TIDAL - Har-har

35. "Well, I'll be!": "FANCY THAT~!"

36. Question from behind a closed door: "WHO'S THERE~?" - AND - 51. Potential reply to 36-Down: "IT'S ME."

38. Japanese broth dish: RAMEN

39. Trading letters: NYSE

41. Dry as the desert: ARID

43. "I'm home, dear": "HI, HONEY~!"

47. Al fresco dining area: PATIO - eating outdoors

49. Soft "Hey, you": "PSST~!"

52. Early mobile phone manufacturer: NOKIA - I think my first cellular phone was a flip-open Nokia, and I had this one, as well

It had the game "Snake" on it

53. Haircuts that may not be noticeable: TRIMS - what's left of my hair takes so long to grow that it's hard to tell I'm into heavy metal

54. Type of chemical bond: IONIC - Such as Sodium and Chlorine = salt

58. Numbs, maybe: ICES - my knee is better, thank you for asking

61. High-end camera initials: SLR - Single Lens Reflex

62. Undershirt, for one: TEE

63. Fury: IRE

64. NNE opposite: SSW

Splynter

Wednesday, Jan 29th, 2025 ~ Rebecca Goldstein

 What~!?  No Country AND Western~!?

More Music Family Trees Here

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR~!  We move into the Year of the Wood Snake -- C.C. and I are Chinese Zodiac 'Pigs', but as far as I am concerned, the year ahead does not bode well;  all the horoscope reviews suggest I be cautious in everything I do - and I already hurt my knee.  Sigh.  

The full link here

ANYWAY, as for the crossword, it's been a while since I had an RG puzzle, but another 15 x 16 grid, with a melodious theme of "music" genres spanning four "rows" of the grid.  Forty-Two 4LWs, the circles were in yesterday's grid, and for a change very few names; I did not get my "ta-DA~!" right away, so it took a few minutes to find my error in the SE ( I'm looking at you LIBS ).  The centered reveal:

41A. Nashville district with historic recording studios, or what can be found four times in this puzzle: MUSIC ROW - there's a newsletter of the same name

The theme word rows alone:

SOUL  - - - - - ALTERNATIVE

BLUES - - -TRAP - - - SWING

METAL - - - FUNK - - - SALSA

ROCK AND ROLL - - - FOLK

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Fireplace fuel: LOGS - I raid the wood shop at work for scraps to make kindling, too

5. Bath and body work locations?: SPAS

9. Carne __: ASADA - Yummers~!

Most of the recipe sites were blown up with ads

14. Hardly working: IDLE - I have kept working, and kept aggravating my knee muscles

15. Bucks: CASH

16. __ roll: KAISER

17. Animating spirit: SOUL - soul music = The "other" OTIS; see 25D.

18. Backup plan: ALTERNATIVE - alternative music = growing up, there were so many choices in the 1980s that qualified as 'alternative' - the group in the clip below was among them, but this is their only song I PREFER

The Cure - Open

20. Like better: PREFER - hey, I just said I preferred . . . .

22. Personalizable cookie: OREO - I did not know this - here's the website to 'design your own'

23. Orator's platform: DAIS

24. __ facto: IPSO - Latin for "the fact itself"

26. Spot for a backyard barbecue: PATIO

28. St. Louis team: BLUES - blues music  = Stevie Ray Vaughn, ZZTop, so many others; I am learning the solo in this masterpiece from 1969, a remake of classic Delta Blues with the AMP set to "eleven"

Led Zeppelin - You Shook Me

31. Catch in a cage: TRAP - trap music = The Wiki, which is the closest I get to this style of music

33. Playground fixture where pushing is encouraged: SWING - swing music = before my time, but I did enjoy this one as a "revival"

Cherry Poppin' Daddies - Zoot Suit Riot

37. House mems.: REPS - oh, that House - in the Capitol; I was thinking BROs, DADs, etc.

38. Epitome of ease: PIE

39. Red-letter: BANNER - as in memorable, a " - " day

40. Tiebreakers, briefly: OTs - sports Over Times

44. Blvd. kin: AVE - abbrs for street-like pavings 

45. Titania's husband: OBERON - from Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream

47. Quick snooze: NAP - spent most of Saturday napping icing and resting my knee

48. Dart: FLIT - usually with "about"

49. Gold or silver: METAL - metal music = my most beloved genre, but to pick "a" song . . . hmm OK, as far as I am concerned, here are the Godfathers of Heavy Metal, what with the image on their first album, the opening rain and thunder, the church bell, the "devil's interval" of the diminished fifth in the main riff, and the dark lyrics - I give you BLACK SABBATH

Black Sabbath

50. Feature of some cheeses: FUNK - funk music = this is the song that comes to mind

Kool & The Gang - Jungle Boogie

52. Chip dip: SALSA - salsa music = Marc Anthony is cited as the best-selling Salsa Artist per Wiki

53. Some viral content: MEMES

55. Devilish: EVIL

57. Sheer delight: GLEE

Delightfully sheer

60. Bills tracked at WheresGeorge.com: ONES - Interesting; the website

62. Sunset hue: ORANGE

66. Get the show on the road: ROCK AND ROLL - This one was tough - I chose to narrow it down to a  three-minute length, with a catchy riff, lyrics you can sing to, and some hint at a guitar solo - and the winner is, well, self-titled

Joan Jett and the Heartbreakers - I Love Rock N Roll

69. People: FOLK - I will not do this injustice; folk music = you pick your favorite

71. "Sure about that?": "IS IT~?"

72. Coastal Pennsylvania town: ERIE - home to Organ Supply Industries - I did not have a chance to respond to some comments last week - T-Ken, I am working on the drawings for a NEW organ that is to be installed in the Nave triforium at the National Cathedral - an extremely narrow chamber of only 3ft.

73. Double take?: STUNT - the star of a movie's stunt double

74. Pointillism units: DOTS - I did a painting like this, using Q-tips . . . . 

More about the movement here

75. 2024 WNBA champs: LIBS - meh.  The New York LIBerty defeated the Minnesota Lynx


DOWN:

1. Speech therapy subject: LISP

2. Smell: ODOR

3. Modeling supply: GLUE - I tried CLAY first

4. Mirror images?: SELFIES - first time appearing in a crossword per the analysis site

5. Lasting signs of damage: SCARS

6. Buddy: PAL

7. Regarding: AS TO - or IN RE~?  I guessed correctly this time

8. Tibetan ethnic group: SHERPA - filled via perps

9. Org. offering tows: AAA - The American Automobile Association - I'm A guy in AA and AAA 😜

10. "This may be hard to hear": "SIT DOWN."

11. Most populous continent: ASIA  - AND - 70A. Second-most populous continent: AFRICA

12. Hindu goddess: DEVI - Literally "goddess" in Sanskrit

Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth fortune, prosperity - I might just pray to her this year

13. Fighting spirit?: ARES - meh.  The God of War -- or -- maybe this site~?

16. Shoelace tangle: KNOT

19. Cut and collect: REAP - I had SNIP, like coupons - I could add a bonus of (Don't Fear) The Reaper

21. Podcast installments, briefly: EPs - I am guessing episodes - I have never actually listened to one

25. Elevator name: OTIS - Elisha, the inventor of the safety "brake" on elevators 

27. "We were all there": "I SAW."

28. Dustpan partner: BROOM

29. Didn't bother: LET BE

30. One-seed loss, e.g.: UPSET - Did this happen~? I hope so

32. Outdoorsy outlet: REI - Crosswordese - Recreational Equipment, Inc

34. Taken together: IN ALL

35. St. Kitts and __: NEVIS - I did not know this name

36. Director Gerwig: GRETA - I had a tie-in to her last week with "Lady Bird" more here

38. Bit of wordplay: PUN

39. Catchy song: BOP - I pondered "HIT" 

41. Star-nosed __: MOLE - I have had this before in crosswords - here's a link, but it's not pretty

42. Channel HQ'd in Atlanta: CNN

43. Accessory for fall collections?: RAKE - har-har

46. Creme brulee dish: RAMEKIN - I was this years old when I learned that this is literally "the" dish

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

  48. Pita filling: FALAFEL - fried chickpeas and seasonings

50. Ward (off): FEND

51. Login need: USER I.D.

52. Round Table title: SIR

54. "A Sister's Eulogy for Steve Jobs" essayist Simpson: MONA - biological sister of - more here

56. Electricity units: VOLTS - Dah~! I went with WATTS

57. Mardi __: GRAS

58. Raised bed, maybe: LOFT

59. Greige hue: ECRU - Grey / Beige portmanteau; the common color of McMansions

61. Only okay: SO-SO

63. Seaweed snack: NORI

64. Insincere: GLIB - we have GLEE, GLUE, GRETA, GRAS, GREIGE and GLIB today

65. Squeaks (by): EKES

67. Do something: ACT - "don't just do something, stand there~!"

68. Course with a long reading list, for short: LIT - as in "English Lit(erature)"

Or maybe this~?  I like this one better

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

 

1) Happy Year of the Snake!

2) ORCA season is here. Voting is now open until February 17th for the 1^3th ORCA. You can read more here and cast your ballot.

Friday, December 13, 2024, Rebecca Goldstein

 Theme:  Less is less.

The theme clues and answers are:

18. Flat sea urchin: SAND QUARTER.  Instead of sand DOLLAR.  

29. Period covered in a midterm exam, maybe: ACADEMIC DIME.  Instead of an academic QUARTER.  When I was in college, a midterm exam covered the first half of an academic quarter.  I suppose an academic dime is a little less than half.

45. Tattles (on): DROPS A NICKEL.  Instead of drops a DIME.  "Drop a dime" is an idiom that means to inform on or betray someone, especially to the authorities.

57. Dense, dark rye bread: PUMPER PENNY.  Instead of pumperNICKEL.

And the reveal ...

36. Form of downsizing, and what has affected 18-, 29-, 45-, and 57-Across?: SHRINKFLATION.  Shrinkflation is a business practice by which a company reduces the size or quantity of a product while keeping the price the same. Fewer Cheerios in the Cheerios box. The value of your DOLLAR is now a QUARTER.

On to more ... or less!

Across:

1. Makeup of an oyster bed?: ICE.  Raw oysters are stored and served on crushed ice.

4. Ordering aid: MENU.

8. Superlatively smart: WISEST.

14. Sanskrit honorific: SRI.  In India, Sri is a title of respect used before the name of a man, a god, or a sacred book.

15. Second word in many fairy tales: UPON.  Once upon a time ...

16. Member of the Seven Council Fires: OGLALA.  The Oglala are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people who, along with the Dakota, make up the Seven Council Fires.

Thomas White Face, Oglala Lakota, 1899.

17. Ducked, maybe: HID.

18. [Theme clue]

20. Mouth-puckering: TART.

22. Mate mate?: SOUL.  DH is my soul mate.  Or perhaps, my better half.  

23. Altar answer: I DO.  That's essentially what I said to DH!  But it was more like, "Behold, by this ring you are made holy unto me."

Best day ever.

24. Small storage unit: KILOBIT.  A unit of computer memory or data equal to 1,024 (2¹º) bits.  Kilobytes measure storage capacity or data size, while kilobits measure data transfer rates or transmission speeds.  I'm sure you knew this, but I sure didn't!

26. Assumes: ADOPTS.  "Adopt" in the sense of "assume" means to take on or accept something as your own, like an idea, attitude, or position.

29. [Theme clue]

31. Cap: LID.  What do caps and lids conjure up for you?

Caps and lids ... or caps and lids?

32. Hosp. ward: ICU.  Intensive Care Unit in a hospital.  Abbreviation in the clue calls for abbreviation in the answer.

33. South Indian rice cake: IDLI.  Crossword cuisine.

Idli

36. [Theme reveal]

41. __ squeeze: MAIN.  Uh, oh.  TMI today about DH!

42. Peaty wetland: FEN.

43. Singular: ONE.

45. [Theme clue]

50. Fresh air, say: BREEZE.

52. "Maybe give it a pass": NO STARS.  A no star rating is a rating that indicates there is no redeeming quality about something.  A reviewer might say "maybe give it a pass" about a bad movie or museum.

53. 401(k) kin: IRA.  Individual Retirement Account.

54. Flying start?: AERO.  A Greek prefix relating to flight and air, as in aerodynamics and aeroplane (British for airplane).

56. Graphic __: ARTS.  The graphic arts include drawing, painting, photography, and printmaking -- all of which are produced on flat surfaces -- and are often associated with visual communication and advertising.

57. [Theme clue]

61. Vote for: YEA.  As opposed to nay.  In a sensible language, these would be yea and nea, or yae and nae, or yay and nay.

63. Wet weather wear: ANORAK.  A usually pullover hooded jacket long enough to cover the hips.

64. Reddit Q&As: AMAS.  Reddit AMAs (which stands for “Ask Me Anything”) are Q&As designed to bring an authority on a subject to a community of interested people.  News to me.

65. Stale, in a way: OLD.

66. Names on some college buildings: DONORS.

67. Toy brand with a 3,955-piece "Home Alone" set: LEGO.  The level of detail in this set is astonishing.

68. Phenomenon that may be explained by NASA: UFO.  Unidentified Flying Object (commonly abbreviated as UFO) is the popular term for any apparent aerial phenomenon whose cause cannot be easily or immediately identified by the observer.

Down:

1. In a way: ISH.  The suffix "-ish" is used to form adjectives from nouns or other adjectives to indicate an approximation.

2. Pulitzer category since 1970: CRITICISM.  The Pulitzer Prize for Criticism has been presented since 1970 to a newspaper writer in the United States who has demonstrated "distinguished criticism."

3. Muslim festival that precedes the Tashreeq days: EID AL-ADHA.  Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, is one of the two main holidays in Islam.  The Days of Tashreeq are the three days after Eid al-Adha.

4. "There's no other explanation": MUST BE.

5. AQI monitor: EPA.  The Air Quality Index is the Environmental Protection Agency's tool for communicating about outdoor air quality and health. 

6. Like some cookware: NONSTICK.

7. Take back: UNDO.

8. Eager agreement: WOULD I.  DH:  Would you marry me?  Me:  Would I?!  (Not the actual words that were uttered.  Proposal-ISH.)

9. Grocery store franchise based in Chicago: IGA.  The Independent Grocers Alliance was founded in 1926 to bring family owned, local grocery stores together under the IGA brand.

10. Shutterbug's initials: SLR.  A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) typically uses a mirror and prism system that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured.  I like to point my SLR at birds in the backyard.

Yellow-rumped Warbler, a fall and winter resident in my Los Angeles garden.

11. Hit the deck: EAT IT.  "Hit the deck" means to suddenly fall to the ground, usually to avoid danger. One meaning of "eat it" is to fall down.

12. Para ice hockey gear: SLEDS.  Para ice hockey is an adaptation of ice hockey for players who have a lower body physical disability.  A specialized sled (or sledge) is substituted for skates.

A para ice hockey player handling the puck.

13. Boba tea flavor: TARO.  Taro root has a slightly sweet and nutty flavor with vanilla undertones that goes well with the milk, sugar, and black tea used to make boba tea. Or so I've read!  I'm not a fan of the tapioca bubbles (AKA pearls, AKA boba) in boba tea.

19. Campus square: QUAD.  In architecture, a quadrangle (or colloquially, a quad) is a space or a courtyard, usually rectangular, the sides of which are mainly occupied by parts of a large building, or several smaller buildings.  Often associated with college campuses.

The original quad at UCLA is bordered by the first four campus buildings, dating to 1929:  

the Library, Royce Hall, the Physics Building and the Chemistry Building.  Pictured here is Royce Hall.

21. Staff: ROD.  Psalm 23:4 speaks of God as a good shepherd:  "Your rod and your staff, they comfort me."  The shepherd's rod warded off predators; the staff (with a hook on one end) was used to gently guide the sheep.  Although the two English words are sometimes equated, that is probably an error.  At least in this instance, the Hebrew text uses two distinct words.

24. Actor Penn: KAL.  Kalpen Suresh Modi, known professionally as Kal Penn, is an American actor, author, and former White House staff member in the Barack Obama administration. 

Kal Penn

25. "Name the time and place": I'M IN.

27. Conveniently forget, maybe: OMIT.

28. Treatment for tootsies: PEDI.  A pedicure makes your toes pretty.

30. Results of rolling up one's sleeves?: CUFFS.

34. "Great job, friend!": LOOK AT YOU.

35. Private parts?: INNER SELF.  Ha ha!

37. Roller coaster, e.g.: RIDE.

38. Subject line phrase: IN RE.  In re, Latin for "in the matter [of]," is a term with several different meanings.  I always assumed it meant "in regard to ...."

39. Bill Withers hit that begins, "Sometimes in our lives / We all have pain": LEAN ON ME.  What a great song!

Lean on Me

40. Civilization-building video game series set in various years: ANNO.  Did not know this, but guessed the name, since "anno" is Latin for "in the year."

44. Half of roll call: ELS.  The letter L (spelled "el") constitutes half of the letters in "roll call."

46. Range whose highest point is Wahzhazhe Summit: OZARKS.  The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, is a region in the states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as the southeastern corner of Kansas.

47. Marshmallow treat: PEEP.

These do not look like good eats.

48. "It's my decision": I SAY SO.  Did your parents give you this answer to "Why?"

49. QB feeder: CTR.  Football *and* abbreviations!

50. "Encanto" uncle: BRUNO.  I saw the 2021 animated film by Walt Disney Studios, but had to guess at this character's name.

51. Rodriguez of "Will Trent": RAMON.  Ramón Rodríguez is a Puerto Rican actor known for his current role as the title character in the ABC series Will Trent.  Well, known to some -- not to me!

Ramón Rodríguez

53. Apple tablet: IPAD.

55. Honest-to-goodness: REAL.

58. Major leaguer: PRO.  A member of a major-league baseball team is a PROfessional ball player.

59. Maize unit: EAR.  Corny!

60. Remind repeatedly, say: NAG.  Dr. Laura Schlessinger says not to do this to our Dear Husbands.

62. Fuss: ADO.  Nagging DH would constitute Much Ado About Nothing.

Here's the grid:

I had one bad cell in the solve, thanks to that small storage unit at 24 Across.

Did you have more?  Or LESS?

NaomiZ