Friday, The 13th, 2026 ~ Stacey McCullough & Larry Snyder

SEWER ENTRANCE

Sō - er en TRANCE, not this . . .

Today we have a duet of previous LA Times crossword constructors; here's one from Stacey, and one from Larry.  Our Friday theme, not related to the "Thirteenth", is a play on words that could, but don't, rhyme - words that are spelled the same, but have a different pronunciations are called "Heteronyms".  Two grid-spanners in the over-sized 15 x 16 puzzle frame, no circles, no outlier letters, 2 Napoleons, a few quotes, a Twurd or two.  3- & 5LWs combined equal the number of four-letter words, plus a number of proper nouns, but fair ones.  The themers, no reveal;

18. Year of tears?: PAGE-A-DAY CALENDAR - yeer of "tares"

The caption says "llamas at home", and in the bubble -

"Llook out Llary, it's the llandllord~!"

30. Show bow?: CURTAIN CALL - shō - bao

The Princess Bride

45. Kind of wind?: OCEAN BREEZE - kye-nd of wih-nd - a bit meh, since one would inherently read this as such - not kih-nd of wye-nd, or kye-nd of wye-nd . . . 

58. Power shower?: BATTERY INDICATOR - IMHO, the best of the bunch - pao-wer shōw-er

Butte Weight, Tare's Moor~!

ACROSS:

1. Chicago team: CUBS - Major League Baseball

5. Atmosphere: AURA

9. Put in the rearview mirror: GO PAST - you can go past fast if you go past fast

15. Still working: AT IT - Yes, I know it's parsed differently, but no way the previous editor lets this fly with "TIT" in the grid as well . . . 😖

16. Apple variety: iMAC - computers, not crisps

17. Beethoven symphony originally intended to honor Napoleon: EROICA - 'Hero' in Italian

Napoleon #1

21. "Hoo boy": "OH MAMA~!" - oh, Twurd(ish)~!

22. Paleozoic, for one: ERA

23. Minor progress: DENT - i.e., "I made a ' _ _' in my to-do list today."

24. Little dickens: IMP

25. Pumpkin seeds: PEPITAS - filled via perps

Straight definition

28. __-bitsy: ITSY - teeny-weeny, yellow polka-dot bikini . . .

34. Pointillism bit: DOT - coulda been tied to 30D.

More about this painting style from this website

35. Ribs, e.g.: BONES

36. Ashram mentors: GURUS

37. Class with makeup tests?: ANATOMY - Meh. Cosmetology would have been funnier; anatomy is the study of internal and external structures that "make up" a body

39. Countertop option: FORMICA - I still have the one from the 1950s - a product now over 100yrs old

41. One who keeps on trekkin': HIKER

42. Quaint greeting: M'LADY - "It's a bit windy, M'lady . . ."

Our dear departed Queen Elizabeth can't look

44. Bird that may be rufous-naped, fire-capped, or black-bibbed: TIT - and a Wednesday dupe

48. Some postgrad degs.: PhDs - abbrs

49. Mixture: MELANGE - a meaty mouthful 

50. Poorly lit: DIM

51. Big personalities: EGOS

54. Do one's part: ACT - I prefer being behind the scenes - literally making the "scenes"

55. "You promise?": "HONEST~?" - Quote #1

62. "Shove it!": "BITE ME~!" - Quote #2

63. Outdated marriage vow word: OBEY

64. Flooring choice: TILE - I plan to redo my cheap linoleum kitchen floor with ceramic tile

65. Horse barn sounds: SNORTS

66. Gram: NANA - Grandmother nick-names

67. Solitaire foundation cards: ACES

DOWN:

1. Tool for a quick key change: CAPO - Hah~!  That kind of key change - nailed it.  

I say a Kay-po, You say a Cah-po - fits the theme, too - the other Capo

2. State whose license plates say "Life Elevated": UTAH - I lived in OHIO, so that four-letter state was out, and it definitely wasn't IOWA - but I couldn't recall this last four-letter one . . . and a Tuesday dupe

3. "You'll regret that": "BIG MISTAKE." - 10-letter Down, Quote #3 - and a unique fill, too 

4. Torrid: STEAMY - Dah~! I had stORmy first . . .

5. Opera mentioned in the 10,000 Maniacs song "Verdi Cries": AIDA - yada yada four-letter opera~?

6. Actress Thurman: UMA - Crossword three-letter name staple

7. Word with UV or X, but not W: RAY - Took me a minute, but a great clue/answer; UV-ray, X-ray

8. Learns to live with: ACCEPTS - ABIDES was a letter short

9. Frozen Italian desserts: GELATI - the Italian plural of gelatO

10. Mine find: ORE - More ORE~!  Every Friday, it seems - and a Thursday dupe 

11. High-grossing film?: POND SCUM - The disgusting, "gross", water-covering kind of "film" - and one of my favorite "Edgar" scenes from Men In Black

. . . as they scurry about, in short, pointless, lives . . . 

12. Staffer: AIDE

13. Read quickly: SCAN

14. Small pie: TART - I'm making fudge peanut-butter brownies for Thanksgiving 

19. Concert piece: AMP

The Grateful Dead's "wall of sound"

20. Opera solo: ARIA - opera #2

25. Dinky: PUNY

26. Before, once: ERE - we had palindrome on Tuesday

Napoleon #2

27. Spitting nails: ANGRY - not IRATE

28. Craters of the Moon locale: IDAHO - more here

29. Elixir: TONIC

30. Business extension: .COM - I actually had to think about this one; ".biz" was my first notion

31. Branch of mathematics: ARITHMETIC - the other 10-letter Down

32. __ dreaming: LUCID - I try to recall all the details of my dreams in the morning - the Wiki

33. Future DAs' exams: LSATs - District Attorney, Law School Admissions Test

35. Carried: BORNE - e.g., "wind-borne" sand

Jason Bourne sand

38. Semi pro?: TEAMSTER - Didn't fool me - I knew we were looking for a "rig driver", but that didn't fit - Teamsters is the "semi" truck-driving union, which includes UPS, e.g., where I was once a member

39. Put off one's game: FAZE - most of us are fazed by too many names in a crossword

40. Many a poem by Clint Smith: ODE - no clue, but yada yada three-letter poem~?

42. Bring up: MENTION - did I mention there were 18 3LWs today~?

43. Limb lifted in a développé: LEG - I can't believe I tried ARM first - I'm so ashamed . . . 

Frawnche #1, the ballet move, "unfolded"

46. Plays loudly: BLARES - Like one's stereo

Quiet Riot - "Cum on Feel the Noize" - 

the YouTube link

47. Somewhat blue: RACY - Ah. That kind of "blue"

48. One hanging around a party?: PIÑATA - Har-har

50. MS Word file: .DOC

51. Starts to peter out: EBBS - Dah~! not DIES

52. Profit: GAIN 

53. Inflatable pilot in "Airplane!": OTTO - Ah, the all-time best comedy movie~? 

Blazing saddles, Young Frankenstein are in the running, too

55. "Hey there!": "HI-YA~!" - I tried PSST first

56. Single: SOLE - Dah~! Not LONE, but 75% correct

57. "__ chic!": "TRES~!" - Frawnche #2

59. Vitals checker, briefly: EMT - Emergency Medical Technician, but I thought "RNs" was better

60. Org. for Suns and Rockets: NBA - Basketball from Phoenix & Houston - not NASA 😁

61. Guest room, in a pinch: DEN

Splynter

Grid Flow 52.4

 

 

Notes from C.C.:

Happy birthday to Big Easy (George), husband of Louisiana Tennis Hall of Famer Diane! Hope you have a wonderful birthday and a great year ahead, George!

Friday, Nov 6th, 2026 ~ Yijing Chen

GO BIG. . .

Grand Opening~!!

Apple is planning a new building in downtown LA - 

it's called the iSore 🙄

Yijing Chen - is back again; her last LA Times puzzle was the "no notes" musical theme back on Oct 16th that we either loved or hated.  I loved that one, and today's construction, too - it might well be the epitome of a crossword, at least within the context of a themed, Friday-level one.  A solid concept, four answers in a pinwheel, plus a grid-spanner, with each of the matching "?" clues beginning with "Go", but interpreted as "G and O" - the letters that start the matching two-word fills.  A theme that even if solvers sussed out, only gives them two cells for "free".  Plenty of deceptive and/or obscure clues, with almost no dreck for fill, a high Grid Flow, and four 9-letter Downs on top of the themers.  My only 'nits' ( 58D. ) were the five additional "?" clues that were non-themers, used as a hint at punny answers, and of the mere four names ( one a themer ), one could have been clued differently; perhaps a change by the editor.  The five themers, no reveal;

18. Go with the flow?: GIANT OTTER - This animal "weaseled" its way into the crossword . . . 🙄

38. Go wild?: GREAT OUTDOORS - An 80's movie I did not see - Dan Aykroyd, John Candy

I went as Dan Aykroyd's Ghostbusters character Ray Stantz at the gym on Halloween

59. Go vegan?: GREEN ONION - A.K.A. 'scallions', I liked the fact that "Go Green" was not used for any of the clues. I chop up and add the whole bunch when I make my Kung Pao Chinese chicken dish. Here's the musical version

Booker T & the M.G.s

3. Go blond?: GOLDEN OREO - I liked the cute clue for this version of our beloved crossword cookie

31. Go figure?: GARY OLDMAN - One of my favorite actors, I am fascinated how his appearance and demeanor changes drastically from role to role, with hardly any makeup; here he is in the Fifth Element as Zorg, then Sirius Black from the Harry Potter movies, and again as commissioner Gordon from one of the Batman triologies - name #1

But Wait - Go On - There's More~!

ACROSS:

1. Wilts: SAGS

5. Lacking the knack: INEPT 

10. Each, informally: A POP - OK, twurd(ish)

14. Monkey's fist, for one: KNOT - solid Friday obsure, if you're not into sailing - or crafts . . .

Here's how to tie one, and some history / uses

15. James of "North by Northwest": MASON - second of only four names today; didn't have to be one - he was the actor originally cast as "Drax" for the 007 movie "Moonraker"; here's more from YouTube . . .

Fact #9 @ 8:12

16. At its prime, in a way: RIPE - this is true, of fruit - B.O., not so much - see 56 Down

17. Online chat status: IDLE

20. Reduce the importance of: DEVALUE

22. Osso buco cut: SHANK

23. Early tourney rounds: PRELIMS - tournament & preliminaries both abbrs

25. Storage tower: SILO

27. German article: EIN - "a"

28. Clothes line: SEAM - We've seen this misdirection before

30. Herding breed that originated in Wales: CORGI - proper noun, not quite a 'name'

33. Sponsor, as a stretch of highway: ADOPT - Here's a link to the history, and how it works

I believe this is on a stretch of I-84

35. Exceed 21 at a casino, say: LOSE - Dah~!  Not BUST

37. Legged it: RAN - my thanks to the constructor fo teeing this one up for me . . .

A leg, a run, a tragedy

41. Shrill cry: "EEK~!"

42. Part of AM: ANTE - Latin, ante meridian, before ( meri dies ) mid-day

43. Make quickly, as eggs: FRY UP - Also learned this is what Brits call a full breakfast

The YouTube video

45. Not just dreaming about: DOING

47. One, for two: HALF - another vague, yet great clue for Friday

49. It's mined, all mined!: ORE - Great new way to clue this old fill

"Mining" Nemo

50. Noun suffix: NESS -  I read this as the suffix one puts on a noun - e.g. SOFT is an adjective - softness, however, is the noun . . . one can't put "ness" on a noun; I have never enjoyed the "deskness" of my office . . . 😜

52. Handout to a passerby: LEAFLET

54. Tempo slower than adagio: LARGO

57. Gulped down: INHALED - had this clue/answer two weeks ago

61. "Could not agree more": "AMEN~!" - two weeks in a row for Friday

64. Sting operators?: BEES - har-har; non-themer "?" #1

65. "Alice in Wonderland" instruction: "EAT ME"

66. Prefix with quit or bait: RAGE

67. Point of view: TAKE - as in, "what's your - - - on things~?"

68. Optional stair part: RISER - the vertical part between treads if they're NOT optional by code

Vertiginous

69. With 23-Down, stir-fry vegetable: SNOW - AND - 23. See 69-Across: PEA

. . . OR . . .

DOWN:

1. Compete in the super-G, e.g.: SKI - I start with the Down clues to give me some crossings at the themers, which was only 3/5ths effective today; I did not know what 'sport' this clue referred to

2. "Is there more to this story?": "AND . . .?"

4. __ wool: STEEL - Dah~!  I shoulda known this one . . . 😖

5. "Sign me up!": "I'M GAME~!"

6. Paperless filing center?: NAIL SALON - "?" clue #2, very clever, and the first of four 9-letter Down fills; the place one can go to get your fingernails filed, trimmed, painted, etc.

7. Genesis sibling: ESAU - Dah~!  I went with ABEL; CAIN, SETH, and even LEVI fit; name #3

8. Southern cornmeal cakes: PONES - A bit Meh in the plural

9. Letters on red Minecraft blocks: TNT

10. Hybrid subgenre for Ari Aster and Jordan Peele: ART HORROR - Down 9 #2, I have not heard of this type of film-making, and I only recognized ONE movie from this IMDb list; name(ish)

11. Kebab bread: PITA - Dah~!  I filled in NAAN to start

12. Kick off: OPEN

13. Added benefit: PERK - I tried PLUS; 25% correct

19. Scandinavian city served by Gardermoen Airport: OSLO - Four letter yada yada Scandinavia~?  

21. Far-reaching outlook: VISTA

24. Like Ruffles: RIDGED

26. Sugar-coated, in a way: ICED - another great clue, talking birthday cake, e.g.

29. Cave entrance: MOUTH - I pondered our more obscure crosswordese "ADIT"

32. Create a policy for: INSURE - spot on, but took me a while

34. Toy breed that originated in China: PEKINGESE - Down 9 #3

36. Touch base in an unusual way?: STEAL HOME - "?" #3, and Down 9 #4 - baseball, but it's a bit 'meh' as home is a 'plate', not a base . . .

39. License plates: TAGS - I see this in books and hear it in movies, but most of the people I am acquainted with on the East coast do not call them "tags" - it's just "the plates".  Perhaps due to my time in New York where the registration is a sticker in the lower corner of the windshield, not on a corner of the plate

40. Ingredient used by nose-to-tail chefs: OFFAL - Another learning moment; I never realized that "offal" is the word/term/definition of the edible organs of an animal.  More about the cuisine - also British - here in an LA Times article

44. Caress: PET - I put in PAT

46. Inert gas: NEON - second in the Noble gases class

48. More economical: LEANER - CHEAPER didn't fit, but I left in the  "E R" and waited on perps

51. Red Sea peninsula: SINAI - More Bible, Geo name #4

53. Psychoanalysis topics: FEARS - nailed it - not the fingernail kind of hammering fear, either . . . 🙄

54. Pride Month letters: LGBT

55. Side by side?: AREA - a very clever, but fourth "?" non-theme clue

56. Raise a big stink?: REEK - our last, "?" clue #5

58. Minor complaints: NITS - see above

60. Poetic contraction: O'ER - in just a couple of weeks, we will be o'er the fields jingling bells . . . 

62. I, to Claudius: EGO - Dah~!  I went with "ONE", for the Roman numeral

63. Still in the box: NEW - "in mint condition" - I have these two original Star Wars toys, but they're pretty banged up, as I played with them when I was a kid . . .

. . .GO HOME~?

Game Over

Splynter

Grid Flow 62.6

Friday, Oct 30th, 2026 ~ Patti Varol

 AMERICA'S MOST HAUNTED

Wanted Dead, or . . . Undead~?

We have a Halloween-themed puzzle a day early; I was unaware that we would have a similar theme yesterday, as I wrote today's blog earlier in the week, but solve the rest of the week's puzzles as they come out . . . The LA Times editor, Patti Varol, is back again with a crossword that takes common in-language phrases and gives them a trick-or-treat-ment . . . 🙄 Five themers, including a grid-spanner, totalling 61 squares, that become "creepy" puns in a timely fashion.  A solid Friday construction, maybe more names than I would care for, but I did some historical research, and found even our host & crossword master C.C. has "bemoaned" them - on Halloween, no less.  Huh.  Standard grid, no circles, no outliers, a Twurd, and thirteen names - we have a Friday the 13th coming in November.  The themers, no reveal;

17. Suggestion at the start of a Halloween decoration workshop?: MAKE-A-WITCH - Make-A-Wish; I don't have a tree in my front yard, or I'd put one of these up . . .

Here's how to make "witch crash witch craft"  🙄 

23. Expectation during a Halloween concert?: RHYTHM AND BOOS - Rhythm & Blues

Atlanta Rhythm Section - "Spooky" - but they weren't the original band

Bminor, same key as Hotel Cali- . . .

36. Apparition who only appears on Halloween in the Golden State?: CALIFORNIA GHOST - I had ghoul first - as in California girl, but no, it's the California Coast, which I see is currently threatened

Ghost,  "Faith" 🠟

49. Got separated from a spooky friend at a Halloween party?: LOST ONE'S GHOUL - Lost One's Cool - the "nameless Ghouls" are the members of the Swedish rock band Ghost, behind "Papa Emeritus V".  Now for a song about that vampire from Transylvania . . . not the Muppet, the other one

Nosferatu, off "Spectres", from Blue Öyster Cult

59. "My Halloween monster costume is so disappointing!"?: I DON'T SCARE - "I. Don't. Care."

"We're Ready to Believe You"

Buuuuuut Waaaaaait There's Mooooooan~!

ACROSS:

1. Oodles: ALOT - A Twurd to start us off

5. Mattress material: FOAM - I do the Downs first, had perps

9. Tablet downloads: APPs

13. Kidney-related: RENAL - my dad had a kidney transplant, so I heard this word ALOT growing up

15. Red inside, maybe: RARE

16. Victory lap speed: TROT 

19. Depend (on): RELY

20. Sugar suffix: OSE - fructose, sucralose ( OK, that's fake sugar ), etc.

21. Shoreline shaper: TIDE - The King Tide is the threat to the west coast

22. Yaz's team from 1961 to 1983: BOSOX - abbr for abbr - Carl Yastrzemski, played for the Boston Red Sox - not a baseball fan, but I knew this name, #1

27. Athletic honor: ESPY - The award given out by ESPN, the sports network; I see our favorite crossword WNBA player made the list . . .

28. Horn of Africa nation: ERITREA - Geo name #2

31. Omnia vincit __: AMOR - Latin, "love conquers all"

34. "Right on!": "AMEN~!"

These Halloween tights are right on

35. Dragon boat steerer: OAR - Chinese "ship", but when I punched "Dragon Boat" into Google, I get more Chinese restaurants than rowers; more here

41. Meadow mouthful: CUD - cow candy - alliteration 😜

42. Turn off the security cameras for, maybe: ABET

43. Iowa college town: AMES - Geo name #3

44. Accessory that may match cuff links: TIE CLIP

46. Sportages and Tellurides: KIAs - autos

54. Copious: AMPLE

56. Covent Garden solo: ARIA - yada yada four letter solo~?  ARIA - more about the centre here

57. Cold-sounding commercial prefix: SNO - Sno-cone, sno-caps, sno-balls, etc.

58. Rich soil: LOAM - AND - 53. Windborne sediment: LOESS - Both good for wine-making, it seems

62. Dough for pupusas: MASA

The website

63. Alaskan gold rush town: NOME - Geo name #4

64. __ fun at: POKES - hard to see the 'plural'

65. Mystery writer?: ANONymous - frequent visitors to the Corner comments section

66. "The Crying Game" writer/director Jordan: NEIL - Friday vague, and I did see the movie, back in 1992; name #5

67. Intervals: GAPS

DOWN:

1. Medieval museum display: ARMOR - When I build my castle, I'll have a suit of armor on display

2. Spot checker?: LEASH - Dog humor, har-har

Cooper-checker

3. Harmonious, in a way: ON KEY - a bit meh.

4. __ kwon do: TAE

5. End of the workweek, for some: FRIDAY - Technically, it's the "start" of my "work" week 😜

6. Like some breakfast bars: OATEN - I made my own granola, but the calories in a tray are outrageous

I divvy it up into 20 squares, 238cals each

7. Part of a circumference: ARC

8. Underwhelmed review: MEH - Friday's puzzles have been 50/50 Yeah/Meh of late

9. Intrinsically: AT ROOT

10. Briefing setting: PRESSROOM - Brief setting = Dressing room

For the ladies

11. See 24-Down: POLO - AND - 24. With 11-Down, "The Fosters" actress: TERI name #s 6 & 7

12. River that made Achilles (mostly) invincible: STYX - dipped all but his "heel", hence the "weak" term

14. Plastered strips: LATHS - Meh in the plural

18. Fraidy-cat: WIMP - fitting clue/answer

22. Sound of spring?: <<BOING>> - Har-har

25. Lovato with the 2025 album "It's Not That Deep": DEMI - name #8; her website

26. City near Anaheim: BREA - west coast, again - I get it - it's the LA Times . . . 😑Geo name #9

29. Smooth sailing: EASE - Dah~!  I tried CALM

30. Newspaper section: ARTS - not op-ed

31. Checkbook no.: ACCT

32. Home of Kahului Airport: MAUI - sounded Hawaiian, tried OAHU to start - Geo name #10

33. Tex-Mex brand: OLD EL PASO - I usually buy their flat-bottom taco shells

34. Echidna snack: ANT - learning moment; did not think of Echidna as an animal, but a place . . . turns out it's another Greek mythology figure, and the mother of Cerberus, for one

37. "F" on a test: FALSE - Five letters, therefore, not "FAIL"

38. Notice in passing?: OBITuary - Standard crossword humor

39. Credit report blot: REPO - A repossession, typically of a vehicle - I own my two cars

40. Leftovers dish: HASH - I toyed with STEW but waited on perps

45. "The Favourite" Oscar winner Olivia: COLMAN - looks like it might be a funny movie; name #11

46. Seed: KERNEL - corn - candy corn

47. Skeptical reply: "IS IT~?"

48. Showing shock: AGASP - Dah~!  Not AGAPE

The Scream

50. With 51-Down, 2019 and 2021 Australian Open winner: NAOMI - AND - 

51. See 50-Down: OSAKA - tennis, a Corner shout-out, and name #12

52. General Assembly fig.: UN REP - United Nations representative - the list, here

54. __ mater: ALMA

55. Bellyache: MOAN - Bark at the Moan . . .

OZZY~!!!

59. Travel stop: INN - How about a stop at "The Stanley Hotel"~?  it's the one from The Shining

60. Generic surname: DOE - lucky #13, didn't hafta be one . . .

61. Horologist's piece: COG - I was thinking astrology, but this is a watchmaker

Splynter

Grid Flow 24.1

Friday, Oct 23rd, 2026 ~ Winston Emmons

UNDERSTAND A BLEAT

🙄

This is Winston's LA Times puzzle #15, and the first one I've had to blog - Chairman Moe had ths last one, here, back in April 2024.  This one kinda fizzled on me; even owning up to a single cell mistake, I found the construction & theme to be bland - in fact, 30D. is not even a unique crossword answer.  The rest of the fill contained little to make me go "RAH~!"; YMMV, but again, I think the editor is more to blame on this one - and not the first time I felt that way this week.  Standard grid, no circles, no outlier letters, far too many proper nouns ( names ) & "foreign"clues, and the same count of 3LW to 5LWs.  The Across themers and Down reveal:

18. Gospel music?: PRAISE BEAT - "Praise Be" being the base phrase; the addition of the "A T" does not really result in a 'punny' or 'alternate' themer, IMHO

The Yellow & Black attack of

Christian rockers Stryper, "To Hell with 9A."

30. Really, really sticky situation?: HONEY COMBAT - Honeycomb, a better redefining themer

46. Brag obnoxiously after winning a swabbing contest?: MOP AND GLOAT - Mop & Glo, the floor cleaning product

That'll work . . .

59. Generous Volkswagen promotion?: FREE PASSAT - Free Pass - I have a "free" VW Jetta in my backyard if you'll give me $1500 to get rid of it . . . 😜

48. "Finally!," or what can be found in 18-, 30-, 46-, and 59-Across: AT LAST - The theme answers all end with the additional letters A & T, or "at, last".  I see Mr. Emmons was able to slide "ETTA" into the grid as well "@" 31D.

But@ Wait@ There's@ More@~!

ACROSS:

1. "Ring out the thousand __ of old": Tennyson: WARS - no clue, tough way to start a puzzle - the poem

5. Hat holders: PEGS

9. Figure in a Faustian bargain: SATAN - A.K.A. Lucifer, Beelzebub, Mephistopheles

14. Name on a former lake in Central Asia: ARAL - Geo name #1, even if it's a crossword staple

15. Sandwich title: EARL - the Earl of Sandwich, credited with the "invention" of the meat-between-bread fare that now bears his name . . . and name(ish)

Wiki backs it up

16. __ keyboard: EMOJI - I do the Downs first, had E - - - I, so I got it, but didn't really "get it"

All I can say is 😝 or maybe 😖

17. Hayworth of "The Strawberry Blonde": RITA - name #2

20. Slogans: MOTTOS - If Nike came out with crossword apparel, the slogan would be "Just Clue It" 🙄

22. Ring topper: STONE

23. Screening org.: TSA - Transportation Security Administration

24. Chart-topper: HIT

26. High cloud: CIRRUS - made my "TRES" at 28D. wrong

34. Fiver: ABE - seen this before in crosswords; money, not moniker, but still, name (ish)

Hey, that's not Abe . . .

35. Uncomfortably honest: TOO REAL

36. Pulitzer winner James: AGEE - Popular in crosswords, still name #3

37. African language family: BANTU - "foreign" fill, first of many . . .

40. __ Atleos: big name in ATMs: NCR - Dah~!  Didn't get my "ta-DA~!", could not find my mistake - I had ECR, yet I am familiar with this company, as they made cash registers, initially - in fact that's what "N C R" stands for - National Cash Register - the history

41. Oscar, but not Big Bird: AWARD - two Muppets, one trophy - very clever clue / answer

42. Vicinity: AREA

43. Tenor Pavarotti: LUCIANO - Italian, name #4

45. Molecule in some vaccines: RNA

50. Gymnast Olga with four Olympic gold medals: KORBUT - Belarusian, name #5

52. 128 oz.: GALLon

53. Colorado Plateau Native: UTE - Indigenous, name (ish)

54. Model/actress Kate: UPTON - American Michigander, name #6

That's hubby Justin Verlander, retired WS-winning baseball pitcher

57. Mortar's partner: PESTLE

63. Panache: ÉLAN - Frawnche

64. Mexican meat: CARNE - Español

65. Period after Shrove Tuesday: LENT - Christian 😉

66. Toy (with): MESS

67. Break the rules: CHEAT - not a themer, as in Che AT . . .🙄

68. Eight, in combinations: OCTO

69. Minuscule: ITTY - AND - 49D. Minuscule: TEENSY - straight clecho

DOWN:

1. Affection: WARMTH - another great single-syllable fill

2. Oratorio solo: ARIOSO - Italian, and a Sunday dupe

3. Material for some patio furniture: RATTAN - South Asian, another Sunday dupe

4. Board on some patio furniture: SLAT - Not a "sl AT" themer, either . . . 🙄

5. Gatorade owner: PEPSICO - Twice (25D.) this month that a "Pepsi" phrase has made the crossword

6. Orecchiette shape: EAR - Italian again, for "little ears" - nailed it, but knew it from doing crosswords

7. Foie __: GRAS - Frawnche again, heard of it, never actually knew it translates as "fatty liver"

The image's connected website

8. Buttonhole, e.g.: SLIT - SLAT & SLIT in the same grid

9. Veto on movie night: "SEEN IT."

10. Cautionary color: AMBER

11. Spot for a metti: TOE - South Asian Indian, learning moment - the Wiki

12. Two-time WNBA Finals MVP Wilson: A'JA - name #7, coulda been clued as a Steely Dan album

13. Picky criticism: NIT - I had a fair number of  name "nits" in this grid today

19. Golden St. region: SoCal - Southern California - I am East coast, so this did not come readily to mind, but this song did after it filled in - I'd heard it growing up, but would've never guessed the artist

Albert Hammond

21. "Silly goose!": "OH YOU~!" - Oh, Twurd~!

25. Distraught: TORN UP - Dah~!  I simply did not see the option of the past tense version of this phrase, and I blanked on the crossing ECR not being correct - I'll take the one-cell hit on this one . . .

27. Sitar piece: RAGA - Asian Indian - You don't want to go raga . . . 

28. Very, informally: ÜBER - German - Dah~!  I tried TRES

29. Pomegranate bit: SEED

31. "__ Is Betta Than Evvah!": 1976 album: ETTA - an Easter Egg.  Etta James, crossword staple, and the singer associated with the muscial number that my future ex-wife chose for our wedding herself.  It's certainly a "numb-er" for me - thus, I am not a fan of the "theme"; I wanted "Leather & Lace" which was 'dismissed', but my brother snuck it in during his best man speech.   Name #8

32. Home of the Kaaba: MECCA - Arabic, Kaaba = 'cube', geo name #9

33. Revealing to all: BARING

36. Missing GI: AWOL - Absent WithOut Leave

37. Flavorful part of a cinnamon tree: BARK

38. View from the Uffizi: ARNO - No clue this was an art gallery; Italian again, geo name #10

Bottom center

39. Proximate: NEAR

41. Measurement given in degrees: ANGLE

43. Led Zeppelin's "Whole __ Love": LOTTA - Whole lotta yes, please~!  

Here's a cool story from Rick Beato's YouTube channel

about the recording of the track

44. Fit in with: ADAPT TO - Yeah, but Meh~?

46. Sesame Street denizen: MUPPET - see 41A

47. Current source: OUTLET

51. Lake __ Vista, Florida: BUENA - Español again, geo name #11

55. Capital west of Stockholm: OSLO - attempted obscurity, still got it, still Scandinavian, geo name #12

56. Fraction of a min.: NSEC - SEC was too short, filled it in and waited on perps

58. Big rig: SEMI

59. TV monitor: FCC - I almost went with CRT, but this is the "overseer" kind of monitor

60. Cheer syllable: "RAH~!" - I'm going with "MEH."

61. Poetic preposition: ERE

62. Pantry pest: ANT - we had ANT MAN on Tuesday

Splynter

Grid Flow 32.7