Thursday, April 10, 2025, Ricky J. Sirois

Theme:  Bad intentions.

Constructor Ricky J. Sirois reveals a tendency to see the bad in everything.  Perfectly innocent English phrases are reinterpreted as dastardly designs.

The theme clues and answers, all Across, are:

17. Devious ploy to swap fries for a salad?: SIDE HUSTLE.  There's nothing bad about having a side hustle, an activity that brings in extra income beside your regular job.  But here, someone is hurrying or misleading the owner of a side dish of tasty French fries to give them up in exchange for a boring salad.  Or is it the other way around?

26. Devious ploy to obtain a beefeater's headgear?: HAT TRICK.  A hat trick is usually a good thing:  it means repeating a positive feat (perhaps scoring a goal) three times, within a limited period.  But here, someone is scheming to get a Yeoman Warder's hat through trickery.  

36. Devious ploy to swipe someone's crayons?: COLOR SCHEME.  Color schemes are used to create pleasing interior spaces, beautiful gardens, and festive celebrations.  But here, a heartless scoundrel conceives a plan to steal crayons.

51. Devious ploy to put on a bogus open mic night?: COMIC CON.  At an open mic(rophone) night, you might be excited to try out your comic routine on a live audience.  But what if it's not a legitimate open mic night?  The whole thing might be a con -- a ruse, a shake down, a total ripoff.

60. Devious ploy to get down?: PILLOW SHAM.  It's not a bad thing to put pillows in decorative shams.  A sham is just a fancy pillow case that fully covers a pillow, making it handy for an occasional backrest in bed, or other supportive purpose.  But imagine that someone only wants the natural down filling in your pillow, and is willing to use deception to get it from you.  Chicanery!  Duplicity!

Finding five examples of phrases that might be repurposed this way is impressive.  Fitting them symmetrically into a crossword puzzle is amazing.

And now, the less devious clues!

Across:

1. Agreement: PACT.

5. Feature of an old home, perhaps: DRAFT.  A draft is a current of cold air inside a room.  This occurs in old homes due to gaps around windows, poorly sealed doors, and lack of insulation.

10. Book jacket part: FLAP.

14. Unexciting: BLAH.

15. Sovereign: RULER.

16. Liberty __: BELL.

The Liberty Bell on display in Philadelphia.

17. [Theme clue -- see above.]

19. Rae of "Insecure": ISSA.  DH and I enjoyed watching Issa Rae in "Insecure," not least for glimpses of the Windsor Hills area, close to our neighborhood.

Crossword favorite Issa Rae in Leimert Park, Los Angeles.

20. Articles: ITEMS.

21. Vegas opener?: LAS.

23. Guy: MAN.

24. Grinding teeth: MOLARS.  Not the action of grinding your teeth, but the teeth you use to grind.

26. [Theme clue]

28. Actor Kilmer: VAL.  Val Kilmer is an American actor who found fame through films including Top Secret!, Real Genius, and Top Gun. He played Jim Morrison in The Doors and Batman in Batman Forever.  His voice has been altered by throat cancer, and had to be digitally modified for the 2022 film, Top Gun: Maverick.

Val Kilmer in 2005

29. Paycheck boost: BONUS.

31. Radiates, as charm: OOZES.

32. British nitwit: PRAT.  Prat is a derogatory term for a stupid person.  It also means buttocks, and a pratfall is a fall onto one's buttocks, or more generally, an embarrassing mistake.

34. DJ's stack, once: LPs.  A Disc Jockey used to play recorded music on Long Play vinyl discs.

35. __-Magnon: CRO.  Cro-Magnons were the first early modern humans (Homo sapiens) to settle in Europe, migrating from western Asia, continuously occupying the continent possibly from as early as 56,800 years ago. They interacted and interbred with the indigenous Neanderthals of Europe and Western Asia.  

36. [Theme clue]

40. Subj. for some MFA students: MUS.  Some Master of Fine Arts students study Music.  The abbreviation of "subject" in the clue suggests that there will be an abbreviation in the answer.

41. Drink suffix: ADE.  Squeeze some citrus juice, stir in water and sugar, and add ADE to the name!  Lemonade, limeade, orangeade.

42. Place to play b-ball: YMCA.  You'll find a basketball court, and other sports facilities, at your local Young Men's Christian Association.  And of course, it's fun to stay at the YMCA.

The Village People released the song YMCA in 1978.

45. Otherworldly: ALIEN.

48. Travel documents: VISAS.

50. Some laptops: PCs.  A laptop or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC).  An Apple laptop is a PC, but people usually refer only to Windows-based computers as PCs, and refer to Apple computers as Macs.

51. [Theme clue]

53. Defeat decisively: THRASH.  To thrash is to beat with a stick or a whip, but in the context of sports, it means to defeat easily or by a large margin.

55. Flaky fish: COD.

56. Selling quickly: HOT.  Selling like hotcakes!

57. Skedaddle: SCOOT.

58. "Enough! I get it already!": OK OK.

60. [Theme clue]

64. Nevada gambling town: RENO.

65. Step around: AVOID.

66. Isolate, in corporate jargon: SILO.

67. Eins und eins und eins: DREI.  "One and one and one" in German makes DREI (three).

68. "Fiddler on the Roof" matchmaker: YENTE.  Yente is a character in Fiddler on the Roof, a 1964 musical and 1971 film set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia around 1905. It is based on "Tevye the Dairyman" and other short stories by Sholem Aleichem. Tevye, a milkman, must deal with his daughters' wishes to marry for love, and with Yente, who suggests potential husbands to the parents.  "Yente" or "yenta" is Yiddish for a busybody, gossip, or meddler.

Tevye and his family leave their village after a pogrom.

69. Coffee specification: ICED.

Down:

1. Viewer-supported network: PBS.  The Public Broadcasting Service is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia.

2. Wong of "Beef": ALI.  Beef is a Netflix series starring Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, two strangers whose involvement in a road rage incident escalates into a prolonged feud. 

Ali Wong in Beef

3. Escalade producer: CADILLAC.  An eco-Caddy?

2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ is all-electric.

4. Greek letter that may represent an angle: THETA.  In mathematics, the Greek letter θ (lowercase theta) is commonly used to represent an angle, particularly in trigonometry, geometry, and polar coordinates.  

5. Musical performances that hit all the beats?: DRUM SOLOS.  Ba-dum-tss!  (Drum sound effect.)

6. Former Wisconsin senator Feingold: RUSS.  Russell Feingold is an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1993 to 2011. 

Russ Feingold

7. Prefix in some genre names: ALT.  In music, "alt" as a prefix (e.g., "alt-rock", "alt-country") signifies a deviation from a genre's traditional aesthetics, indicating a more alternative or independent approach.

8. Guys: FELLAS.

9. Buy a round, say: TREAT.

10. Org. with agents: FBI.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation is the domestic intelligence and security organization of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency ... with agents.

11. "On My Own" B'way musical: LES MIZ.  Les Misérables, commonly called Les Mis or Les Miz, is a long-running musical, and 2012 film, based on the 1862 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo.

Lea Salonga - On My Own (Les Misérables)

12. French region on the Rhine River plain: ALSACE.

13. Core exercises that resemble pushups: PLANKS.

18. Sage, for one: HERB.

22. Retail outlet: STORE.

24. Athletic VIP: MVP.  A Very Important Person in sports may be named the Most Valuable Player.

25. Rowing implement: OAR.

26. Chef Nadiya who won "The Great British Baking Show" in 2015: HUSSAIN.  Eldest daughter loves this show.

Nadiya Husain on The Great British Baking Show

27. Not too tight: ROOMY.

30. Ayesha Rascoe's network: NPR.  Ayesha Rascoe hosts Weekend Edition Sunday on National Public Radio.

33. "My Cousin Vinny" Oscar winner: TOMEI.  My Cousin Vinny is a 1992 American comedy film starring Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio, Marisa Tomei, and others.  Tomei won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny

35. Gamer's secret: CHEAT CODE.  I remember eldest son playing Super Mario Brothers on Nintendo and using cheat codes to get extra powers.  For instance, at one point in the game, you can jump on a particular turtle repeatedly, bouncing it, while your points multiply just from hopping in place.  With enough points, you earn extra lives that help you make it through the game.  Some of these tricks my son discovered for himself, and others were shared by friends.

37. Day break?: LUNCH.

38. DJ's stack, once: CDs.  A clecho (clue echo) with 34-Across.  After LPs came CDs (compact discs).  Now most folks acquire musical recordings through digital downloads.  

39. Attuned to the feelings of others: EMPATHIC.

43. Includes on an email: CCs.  Putting someone in the CC area of an email means they'll be informed, but are not required to take action.  Everyone included on the email will see that person's name or email address.  It comes from "carbon copy."  In the days of typewriters, we used sheets of carbon paper between sheets of regular paper to create (blurry) copies of the original correspondence.

44. Barbecue residue: ASH.

45. Diplomatic achievement: ACCORD.

46. Knockout: LOOKER.

47. "No more for me": I'M DONE.

48. Small candle: VOTIVE.  A votive candle is about 2 inches tall and is meant to be used in a glass container.  An even smaller candle is a tealight, only half an inch tall, which usually comes in a metal container that is discarded when the candle burns out.

votive and tealight candles

49. Demonstrate: SHOW.

52. Pharmacy figure: COPAY.  A copay is a fixed amount you pay for a health service or for filling a prescription.

54. Big name in vermouth: ROSSI.  Make my martini dry!  Just wave this bottle over the glass.

Martini & Rossi vermouth

57. Paper cut: SLIT.

59. Splash in a garden pond?: KOI.  Koi are colorful variants of carp kept in ponds. For some people, they are beloved pets.

61. Horror master Chaney: LON.  Leonidas "Lon" Chaney (1883-1930) was an American actor, widely regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors in film, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque, characters. He starred in silent horror films such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925). His ability to transform himself using makeup techniques that he developed earned him the nickname "The Man of a Thousand Faces."  His son, Lon Chaney, Jr. (1906-1973) played Frankenstein's monster, the Wolf Man, Son of Dracula, and others.

Lon Chaney, Sr.

62. Keg pour: ALE.

63. Subreddit admin: MOD.  Reddit moderators are unpaid volunteers who dedicate their time to maintaining and moderating communities on the platform.  Subreddits are niche communities on Reddit where users discuss specific topics.  We would never participate in niche communities online, would we, Cornerites?  😉

Here's the grid:

Well, was it a TREAT for you, as it was for me?  Or did you find it BLAH?

NaomiZ

Thursday, March 20, 2025, Ricky J. Sirois

 Osterizers  

Today's constructor, veteran Ricky J. Sirois, presents us with four themers for another scrambled word game ...

17A. *Noisy yard implement: LEAF BLOWER.  We have a lot of trees on our yard, and we use a LEAF BLOWER to collect them and blow them onto a tarp, which we drag to the back of our lot for composting.  We use a RYOBI leaf blower.  This looks like a better one ... 

24A. *Like a skier without goggles, perhaps: SNOW BLIND.  You can buy a pair of these for $55 from REI ...

51A. *Hobnob (with): RUB ELBOWS.  Yep -- the pigeons agree ...

40A. *Path through Oz: YELLOW BRICK ROAD.  The road that Dorothy and Toto follow to meet the wonderful Wizard ...

64. Kitchen prep essential, and what can be found in the answer to each starred clue: MIXING BOWL.  Here's an assortment of bowls that we use for kitchen prep ...

Here's the grid ...

Here's the rest ...

Across:

1. Carousel riders?: BAGS.  As we wait in great expectation in the baggage claim area ...

5. Instruments that may create a meditative sound bath: GONGS.  Brought to you by templesounds.net -- finally a musical instrument I think I could play! ... 

They even have easter eggs -- singing BOWLS! ...

10. Street snack in a shell: TACO.

14. Río contents: AGUA.  RIO is Spanish for river and AGUA is Spanish for water

15. "Stop the launch!": ABORT.  This word has a plethora of meanings.

16. Muscat's country: OMAN.  Muscat is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. The metropolitan area spans approximately 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi), making it the largest city by area on the Arabian Peninsula. 

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

17. [Theme clue]

19. Major Temecula Valley industry: WINE.  Temecula Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in the Temecula Valley, located in southwestern Riverside County, California against the eastern slopes of the Santa Ana Mountains.  A CSO to CMOE to stop by and give us some tasting notes.

20. Lot timers: METERS.  And if yours times out you may get a visit from this lady ... 

21. Cooler filler: ICE.  Also an acronym for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, who've been getting a lot of press lately.

22. Subj. for an MBA: ECON.

23. Pitching stat: ERA.

24. [Theme clue]

26. Printer issue: JAM.  The Achilles heel in computer systems.

28. "You could've kept that to yourself": TMI.

30. Very short pencil: NUB.

31. Jai __: ALAI.  Here's how it's played ...

More about Jai Alai

33. "Preach!": AMEN.

36. Inner circle: CADRE.  Dino thinks these would be better clues ... 

40. [Theme clue]
 
43. Overhead space?: SCALP.  Or between the ears? 😀

44. Rival leader?: ARCH.  E.g. Sherlock Homes' nemesis ...

Professor James Moriarty

or The Master in Dr. Who, who has worn many faces over the last 60+ years of the saga ...  

45. Gulp: SWIG.

46. Steamed bun dipped in hoisin sauce: BAO.  Bao, aka BAOZI, is a type of yeast-leavened filled bun in various Chinese cuisines. There are many variations in fillings (meat or vegetarian) and preparations, though the buns are most often steamed. 

Meat filled BAO

48. Baby goat: KID.

50. Nashville-to-Louisville dir.: NNE.  

via I 65
3h 3m (176 mi)

51. [Theme clue]

56. Situp targets: ABS.

58. Brief "However": OTOH.  On The Other Hand ...

59. Banned Books Week org.: ALA.  American Library Association.

60. Like a clock with hands: ANALOG.  Actually this clock is DIGITAL ...

63. Selfish cry: MINE.

64. [Theme reveal]

66. Taiwanese laptop maker: ACER.

67. Turn away: AVERT.

68. Foil kin: EPEE.

69. Comic Bargatze: NATE.  What a relief -- a clean comic ...! 

70. Inkling: SENSE.

71. Story opening, in journalism lingo: LEDE.  In the days of paper journalism the purpose of the LEDE was to give the essential "who, what, where, when, and why of the story" -- the so-called "inverted pyramid".  In the digital days, these essentials are postponed until the end of the story, so that the reader can be exposed to as many ADS as possible -- what I call the "perverted pyramid".  Also this fill is a CSO to Jinx to show him that journalists are bad spelers too. 😀

Down:

 1. Salve: BALM.

2. Pulitzer winner James: AGEE.  Agee received the Pulitzer prize for his autobiographical novel A Death in the Family published posthumously in 1955. His name evokes for me Knoxville: Summer of 1915, a dreamlike "lyric rhapsody" set to excerpts from  an Agee prose poem by composer Samuel Barber.  It is sung here by the great soprano Renée Fleming, accompanied by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra ...

Lyrics

3. Most populous Central American country: GUATEMALA.  With an estimated population of around 17.6 million, Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America, the 4th most populous country in North America and the 11th most populous country in the Americas. Its capital and largest city, Guatemala City, is the most populous city in Central America.

4. Less of a gamble: SAFER.

5. Girls: GALS.

6. "Price flexible" abbr.: OBO.  Or Best Offer.

7. Lose-lose: NO WIN.

8. With 51-Down, wrestling style: GRECO.  See 51D.

9. Scattered: STREWN.

10. Bathroom drying racks: TOWEL BARS.

11. Pals, in Parma: AMICI.  Parma being a city in Italy, this is today's Italian lesson: "Friends".  

12. Officially accepted works: CANON.  One of the most significant historical events was the acceptance of the CANONICAL books of the Bible.  After Jesus Christ's appearance on Earth and subsequent departure, his disciples began to write down stories about his life and his teachings.  These writings were widely circulated among the rapidly growing number of nascent Christian churches.  Eventually it was decided to gather them together into what eventually became the New Testament.  As these writings made frequent references to the extant Hebrew scriptures, these were gathered into what became the Old Testament.  But questions quickly arose as to what specific writings should be included -- e.g. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas contained stories about Jesus' childhood that were clearly inconsistent with other Gospels.  The resolution as to which books were canonical began in a series of church councils in the 4th Century AD and were reaffirmed in the 15th and 16th centuries.

13. Standing straight, as hair: ON END.  Like this ...

,
18. Oktoberfest sausage, informally: BRAT.  Short for BRATWURST and today's German lesson: BRAT = "roast" and WURST = "sausage".

24. Mufasa's son in "The Lion King": SIMBA.  Simba is a fictional character in Disney's The Lion King franchise. First appearing as a lion cub in The Lion King (1994), the character flees his homeland when his father, King Mufasa, is murdered by his treacherous uncle, Scar, who also guilts Simba into believing he is responsible for Mufasa's death. Several years later, Simba returns home as an adult to reconcile his childhood trauma, confront Scar, and reclaim his birthright as King of the Pride Lands.

Simba

25. O'Neil who was the first African American coach in the MLB: BUCK.  John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil Jr. (November 13, 1911 – October 6, 2006) was an American first baseman and manager in the Negro American League, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he worked as a scout and became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball.  Buck was formally enshrined  into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 24, 2022.

26. Blue birds: JAYS.  Nasty birds.

27. Actor Guinness: ALEC.  Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE (1914–2000) was an English actor. In the British Film Institute listing of 1999 of the 100 most important British films of the 20th century, Guinness was singled out as the most noted actor, represented across nine films — six in starring roles and three in supporting roles.  If you look up the word "versatile" in the dictionary his picture is there.  He has played everything from numerous roles on the Shakespearian stage; a general in the Bolshevik army; a Jedi Knight; soldiers in war movies; as a real life Naval officer in WWII; many comic roles in films; and as a spymaster.  One of his less famous roles is a satire on espionage called Our Man in Havana ... 

29. Wide opening: MAW.

32. "Come find me when you're ready": I'LL BE HERE.

34. Fumble: ERR.

35. Stevie of Fleetwood Mac: NICKS.  Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac, and as a solo artist.  Here she sings her signature song Sara ... 

37. Skier's direction: DOWN SLOPE.  A CSO to Joseph -- I'm sure he doesn't leave home without a pair of 24As.

38. Wet weather: RAIN.

39. Trim, as grass: EDGE.

41. October birthstone: OPAL.

42. T'ai __ ch'uan: CHI.  Tai chi is an ancient Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners perform a series of deliberate, flowing motions while focusing on deep, slow breaths, often referred to as "meditation in motion".

A Beginner's Guide to Tai Chi

47. Barack and Michelle: OBAMAS.  Although the song pre-dates the OBAMAS,  I'm recently reminded of the hit Those Were the Days sung by Mary Hopkin ...

49. "Darn it!": DANG.

51. See 8-Down: ROMAN.  Greco-Roman is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1904. This style of wrestling forbids holds below the waist, which is the main feature that differentiates it from freestyle wrestling. This restriction results in an emphasis on throws, because a wrestler cannot use trips to bring an opponent to the ground or hook/grab the opponent's leg to avoid being thrown. 

Even on the mat, a Greco-Roman wrestler

must still find ways to turn his opponent's

shoulders to the mat for a fall without using the legs.

52. College city near Syracuse: UTICA.  Utica is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adirondack Mountains, approximately 95 mi west-northwest of Albany, 55 mi east of Syracuse and 240 mi northwest of New York City.  Among the colleges and universities in and around Utica are SUNY Polytechnic Institute, one of 14 doctorate-granting universities of the State University of New York (SUNY), Mohawk Valley Community College, and Empire State College.  And a CSO to Ray - O - Sunshine.

53. Lisa of "A Different World": BONET.  Lisa Michelle Bonet (born November 16, 1967) is an American actress. She portrayed Denise Huxtable on the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992), for which she earned widespread acclaim and a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1986; she reprised the role of Denise in the 1987 season of the spinoff series A Different World. 

Lisa Bonet

54. __ oil: OLIVE.

55. Pallid: WAXEN.  That works for Dino ...

57. Biblical tower spot: BABEL.  The Tower of Babel is an origin myth and parable in the Book of Genesis chapter 11 meant to explain the existence of different languages and cultures.  According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language migrates to Shinar (Lower Mesopotamia), where they agree to build a great city with a tower that would reach the sky. God, observing these efforts and remarking on humanity's power in unity, confounds their speech so that they can no longer understand each other and scatters them around the world, leaving the city unfinished.

The Tower of Babel
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1563

Like many such stories in the Bible, this one constitutes what is a called a "bookend" -- one of a pair of parallel stories, the later one completing the first.  In this instance the second bookend occurs in the New Testament book The Acts of the Apostles on the Feast of Pentecost, when the Apostles are gathered together to address a crowd of visitors to Jerusalem.  The crowd is astonished that despite their being from many different countries, and speaking many different languages, they are all somehow able to understand the Galilean Aramaic language spoken by the Apostles. 

60. Pay to play: ANTE.

61. Had to pay: OWED.  See 65D ...

62. Delight: GLEE.

65. Auditing agcy.: IRS.  Timely clue.

Cheers, 

Bill

And as always, thanks to Teri for proofreading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley

Friday, January 31, 2025, Ricky J. Sirois

 Theme:  Risible (rhyming) repetition 

Puzzling thoughts:

Just 12 short days ago, Ricky J. Sirois provided us with a Sunday puzzle: his 4th LAT submission, according to NaomiZ.  And as NaomiZ will be doing the Friday blog in Moe's absence while he heals, believe every word she says!! 😀 

So, let's explore Ricky's 5th LAT puzzle before I take a brief hiatus:

Today's offering, while not as tough as some Friday puzzles I've blogged, did have its Moe-ments.  Every time there is some play-on-words it takes a couple of solved ones before the theme reveals itself.  At least for me ... 

So how did today's theme of repetition come about?  Let's look at the entries:

21-across. Dorothy's musing before heading back to Kansas?: DO I HAVE TOTO?  

I am certainly curious to know how Ricky came to think of the four entries he offered today.  The first is a solid example of how both of the expressions work: "Do I have to?" is a lament that many kids use when they don't want to do something.  And maybe Dorothy didn't want to return to Kansas after spending her wonderful dream in Oz.  But I'm sure that she double-checked before she did return that her dog, Toto was by her side.  

A Moe-ku, perhaps?  Be sure to read this a couple of times to see the double meaning ... 

        "C'mon, Dorothy,

        Ship's leaving; TOTO can't come."
        Her Auntie Em barks

33-across. All-clear before the big dance competition?: GOOD TO GOGO.

Once again, Ricky found a clued entry that exemplifies both meanings.  "Good to go!" is an expression that means everything is ready, or all-clear.  The word go-go is synonymous with a style or type of dancing.  It also was a term used by Inspector Gadget when he wanted to summon something:

42-across. Advice on how to prevent undue interest from influencers?: MAKE IT SO-SO.

One of our regular board influencers is our one and only Picard.  Sometimes a picture captures more than my words can describe!

53-across. Enthusiastic reply from a certain bird impersonator?: INDEED I DODO.

What ultimately led to my rating this puzzle a bit lower was this entry.  If our resident grammarian, Yellowrocks happens to stop by today, I hope she will offer her comments and thoughts about it

The first part of the phrase could be written "I do indeed" as well as "Indeed, I do".  Maybe the word "enthusiastic" in the clue leads us to the proper position of the word, "indeed".  But I digress ... 

The whole concept of "indeed, I dodo" just seemed forced.  A dodo is not just a "certain" bird, but an extinct one.  And unlike the other three entries the plausibility of that phrase just isn't there

How might the fourth entry be a little more plausible?  Here is a possible substitute for 53-across:

"Words from a department store Santa on his first day on the job"? I AM GUNG HO HO

He does check out who's naughty or nice

Today, Ricky had some pretty good mojo.  I give this puzzle ⭐⭐⭐ and 3/4⭐s - congrats!!

The filled grid.  Notice the Natick at 1-down and 13-across

Across:

1. Decoupage, e.g.: CRAFT.  Knowing what the word decoupage means led to solving this

Decoupage: the art or technique of decorating something with cut-outs of paper, linoleum, plastic, or other flat material over which varnish or lacquer is applied

6. Stroller passenger: TOT.  

9. Substance: HEFT.

13. Dark matter?: HUMOR.  I stuck with rumor for too long in this spot.  I didn't get the play-on-words of its perpendicular (1-down. Ring leader?): CHAMP, either.  This was Moe's "Natick", as described in the grid image

14. Had regrets: RUED. I hope I won't rue having my cataracts replaced

16. Largest of seven: ASIA.  Seven = continents - can you name them all?

17. Suspect's story: ALIBI.  Really, I didn't make this up 

18. Plot size: ACRE.

19. Villain in "The Lion King": SCAR.  This guy:

20. Memory unit, informally: MEG.  Gig also fits - I had to erase it when some of the perps solved

24. Undertaking: PROJECT.

26. Persian Gulf nation: IRAN.  Iraq also fits but I used Iran, initially

Persian Gulf

27. Durham sch.: UNH.  My first thought was Duke - a university in Durham, North Carolina.  But since the word school was abbreviated in the clue, I knew the answer must contain initials.  The Wildcats of UNH reside in Durham, New Hampshire

28. Ellipsis trio: DOTS.  Something that C-Moe uses often when blogging ... would it surprise you to know that one of C-Moe's favorite movie theater candy is this?

30. Terr. divided in 1889: DAK.  My preferred clue for this would be: "Oft-injured QB Prescott of the Cowboys"

37. Stack: PILE.

38. Hierarchy levels: RUNGS.

39. Hockey's Bobby: ORR.  Oops - Ricky used one of the dreaded crossword-ese names

40. Civic, for one: SEDAN. Honda also fits, and I had to erase this before completing that section of the puzzle

41. "Ohhhh": I SEE.  Hopefully what Moe will say after he gets some new eyeball lenses

44. School org.: PTA.

45. Lean (on): RELY.

46. Foldable bed: COT.

47. Abbr. on an ESPN crawl: NCAA.  This usually applies to the NCAA as a whole. Right now, you'll see "WCBB" (for example) when ESPN is offering the scores of women's college basketball games on their "ticker" (crawl)

49. School papers: REPORTS.  The business world might refer to "reports" as those who work for their manager

57. One with a platonic partner, for short: ARO.  This was unknown by me but to be fair, it showed up recently in another LA Times puzzle

[ note: I wrote this recap before seeing ARO (in last Saturday's August Miller puzzle, e.g.) and then came back to edit it ... ]

58. Thoroughfare: ROAD. 

59. Leave out: OMIT.

60. Polling booth figure: VOTER.

62. Vegetable in the cabbage family: KALE.  I notice this vege being used in a lot of prepared salad mixes found at the grocery store 

63. Say hello quietly: WAVE.

  

64. __ planner: EVENT. 

65. Pizza joint in "Do the Right Thing": SAL'S. Sal's Pizza is a regional chain in NH and MA (surprisingly, there is none located @ UNH - see 27-across).  Sal's Pizzeria is found in Brooklyn, NY and was a venue in the movie, "Do the Right Thing".  And now you know, because prior to looking this up, I had no clue

66. Souvenir from an animated film: CEL.

67. Worshipper of Jah: RASTA.  I don't know about Jah but I do know that Joboo is for real.  Enjoy this clip! [rated PG-13 for a few choice words]

Down:

2. Help in keeping things straight: RULER.  I am guessing that Ricky/Patti meant one of these?

Notice the straight edge on the RULER

3. Compadre: AMIGO.  Would you use amiga if the clue was "Com-madre"??

4. Keyless key: FOB.  Moe-ku:

        Dick Van Dyke's TV 

        Wife said this before driving:

        "Lob me the FOB, Rob"

5. Weapons for Neptune and Shiva: TRIDENTS.  Many of us are aware of the god, Neptune 

I was unaware of the god, Shiva

6. Aspect: TRAIT.

7. "That sounds painful": OUCH.

8. Mega- squared: TERA.

9. "__ mañana": HASTA.

10. San Diego suburb whose name means "hidden": ESCONDIDO.

11. Italian automaker: FIAT.  Alfa fit but I didn't bite

12. Primary ingredient in poi: TARO.

15. Danny of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia": DE VITO.  A series on FX network.  The trailer:

22. Cuatro y cuatro: OCHO. [translation from Spanish to English] Four and four = eight

23. Hosp. sections: ERS.  ORS also fit.  Again, I chose the correct one initially

25. 2022 and 2024 AL MVP: JUDGE.  "Here comes the JUDGE"!  As in, Aaron Judge the center fielder of the NY Yankees

28. Not at all cool: DORKY.

29. Fairy tale baddie: OGRE.

31. "Too bad": ALAS.

32. Casino game: KENO.  How to play, courtesy of WikiHow

33. Golf clinic topic: GRIP.  Step-by-step guide to the perfect golf GRIP

34. Depose: OUST.

35. Everybody: ONE AND ALL. Not a phrase that we see a lot of in crossword puzzles

36. Hoped-for result: GOAL. 

37. Sauce made with pine nuts: PESTO.  Here is a simple recipe:

40. Short stay: STOPOVER.

42. Grazing location: MEADOW.

43. Coffee order: ICED.

45. "Run Away With Me" singer Carly __ Jepsen: RAE.

48. Gives way: CEDES.

49. Brand of canned chiles: ROTEL. My favorite of theirs, and one I use often in a variety of recipes:

Try this with black-eyed peas

50. Going prices: RATES. 

51. Reznor with two Oscars for Best Original Score: TRENT. His biography, courtesy of Wikipedia

52. "More or less": SORTA.

53. Bothers: IRKS.

54. U.S. weather agency: NOAA.  NOAA and NCAA were a bit too close to each other in the grid for my liking ... 

55. Apple desktop: IMAC.  I am a PC guy (laptop) with an iPhone

56. Deep __: DIVE. 

61. Eggs, biologically: OVA.  Not sure how much they'd charge for an ova, but a dozen hen's eggs were $6.99 this past week, and that was for the "store" brand

I'll close with a -ku:

    Manicurist earned

    Vet School degree. She now can

    Give a pet a cure

The Chairman has left the building ... see you in March or April