Wednesday, October 4th, 2023, Matt Forest

 THEME: RECYCLE~!

   This one had me stumped at first; I simply could not see a connection between the answers - and then I realized the answers had nothing in common - other than starting and ending with the same three letters.  ah-HA~!  The "clue" was not much help for me, TBH.  A very quick solve for me, felt like a Monday level puzzle - but it took two extra minutes for me to find out why I did not get the ta-DA~! at the end; 46d crossing 69a, Latin vs. Spanish, so I was a little disappointed.  And no Frawnche, either.  Here are the theme answers, as indicated with the "*" and referred to as the "starred" clues:

17. *Synthetic pump: ARTIFICIAL HEART - ART to ART

26. *Cheap shot: LOW BLOW - LOW to LOW

50. *Regional collective pronoun: ALL Y'ALL - ALL to ALL - quite popular this week

61. *"There really is a wolf now!": "I MEAN IT THIS TIME~!" - IME to IME

And the central reveal....

33. With 43-Across, "When one door closes, another door opens," and an apt description of the answers to the starred clues: THE END IS JUST

43. See 33-Across: THE BEGINNING

And Around We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Formula One event: RACE

5. Prep, as onions: CHOP - I took Husker G up on his "offer" Saturday, and made a tater tots casserole

 

Yummy~!

9. __ bean: PINTO

14. Machine that helps with 51-Down: CPAP  = Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, which I'd heard of, but never knew what it stood for; and; 51d. Sleeper's problem: APNEA

15. [Snicker]: HE-HE

16. Trapshooting: SKEET

20. General on American Chinese menus: TSO - my 'go-to' dish when I order

21. Asian country divided in 1945: KOREA

22. __-la-la: TRA

23. Meaning of an unlit "vacancy" sign: NO ROOM

28. Kept cold: ICED

29. Chicken __ king: A LA

32. Vega's constellation: LYRA

38. Cruelty-free lip balm brand: EOS

39. Secret spots?: ARMPITS - best. clue. ever.  Secret, the deodorant

40. That guy's: HIS

45. Bangers partner: MASH - not "head" Bangers - the old MTV metal hours late on Saturday nights, but the British dish

48. Foreign policy org. chaired by the president: NSC - National Safety Council - we had OSHA in the grid earlier this week, and I am required to finish their 30-hr course in order to work at the Washington National Cathedral - I am about 20 hours in

49. "Grand slam" awards acronym: EGOT - when I stopped blogging Saturdays five years ago, this was not a crossword fill at all; Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony awards; more here.

54. Decade following Y2K: AUGHTS - 00's

56. Regret: RUE - OR - a Frawnche Canadien street~!

57. Marshmallowy Easter treats: PEEPS - I am not a fan - sorry; my thing is the Cadbury eggs

60. Mouse site: PAD - cute.

66. Painful turning point?: ANKLE - clever, but my "ETA" at 62d messed me up - I do the DOWNS to start, so that the theme answers ( usually in the across ) are half-filled by the time I get to them

67. Primary: MAIN

68. Necessary __: EVIL

69. "__ mañana": HASTA - Spanish for "see you tomorrow" (?)

70. "SportsCenter" network: ESPN - I have Hulu with Disney and ESPN, and the price goes up in one week - and I am thinking it's time to ditch Disney - I have seen all the 4d I think I care to see - and I am a HUGE fan

71. Swabbing spot: DECK - Aye, matey


DOWN:

1. TV pioneer: RCA

2. Fourth mo.: APRil

3. Towers that may have scratching posts: CAT TREES - I knew what we were looking for, but didn't know they were called "TREES"; my brother has a cat named Ashes - guess what color....

4. "Star Wars" installment: EPISODE - Episode IV, A New Hope changed my life - I was six years old, and decided right then that I was going to make movies....didn't quite work out the way I had planned

5. Greek X: CHI - I WAGed this, and was correct

6. "What the __!?": HECK - The "censored" answer

7. Home state of the Reds and the Browns: OHIO - and the Bengals, I might add - but then again, their record in relation to their QB, the highest paid player in the history of the NFL....

8. Gem from a mollusk: PEARL

9. "Balderdash!": "PSHAW~!"

10. Barinholtz of "The Mindy Project": IKE - no idea; filled via perps

11. In a tidy way: NEATLY

12. Paralyzing fear: TERROR - I tried PHOBIA first

13. Home of Canada's Parliament Hill: OTTAWA - nailed it; hockey starts soon~!

18. __ Fighters: Dave Grohl's band: FOO - I liked Nirvana - Dave's first band; the Foo, not so much

19. Astrological cat: LEO

23. Nick at __: NITE - Nickelodeon TV channel after 9pm

24. Dos y seis: OCHO - more Spanish, two and six = eight

25. Spanish parent: MADRE - and yet more Spanish

27. Classic sammie: BLT - sammie being an abbreviation of sandwich ( my word is "sa'mich" ), we get the Bacon Lettuce & Tomato short answer

30. Support for a tire swing: LIMB

31. Colorado ski town: ASPEN

34. Casual rejection: NAH....

35. Joyful dances: JIGS

36. Erie Canal city: UTICA - I could not answer this one; it just means I have moved that much further away from New York, and I am not looking back.

37. Tax ID: SSN

40. Compete in a dramatic event at the World Aquatics Championships: HIGH DIVE

41. Playing to break a tie, briefly: IN OT

42. Some NCOs: SGTs

43. Quaker pronoun: THY

44. Canceled out: NEGATED

45. Singer Carey: MARIAH

46. College grad: ALUMNA - I had ALUMNI, which is the plural form

47. Makes glossy, as hair: SLEEKS

52. Floral wreath: LEI

53. "I can do that": "LET ME"

55. FedEx rival: UPS - ah, me, back in the day....

58. School gps.: PTAs

59. Use 55-Down, say: SHIP

62. Flying fig.: ALTitude - not "ETA"

63. Quaint lodging: INN

64. Need for playing Rock Band, for short: MIC - Rock Band is the "expanded" version of Guitar Hero, adding in drums and vocals

65. Great Plains grazer: ELK - Giraffe didn't fit - har har har har . . . .

Splynter

 

 

Wednesday, Sep 6th, 2023, Dan Margolis

 

 The GOOD, The BAD, and the UGLY, er, potato (19d.)~?

Today's puzzle theme clues are opposing statements with the same catch-phrase/idiom answer....two 15-letter spanners, and two awkward 14-letter spanners;  a reasonable challenge for a Wednesday-level puzzle, with only a few proper names to "42A." the solve.  Splynter here, filling in for melissa....

17. Good advice for an angry person / Bad advice for a novice dairy farmer:
DON'T HAVE A COW MAN

28. Good advice for a complainer / Bad advice for someone blowing out birthday candles:
SAVE YOUR BREATH

48. Good advice for a nervous public speaker / Bad advice for an impersonator:
JUST BE YOURSELF

63. Good advice for an impatient person / Bad advice for a Chippendales dancer:
KEEP YOUR SHIRT ON - I filled this in with "PANTS", but it didn't jibe with the DOWN clues

For the ladies; for the guys....

And, uh, Away We Go....

ACROSS:

1. Soccer star Lionel with seven Ballon d'Or awards: MESSI

The "Golden Ball"

6. Spreadsheet line: ROW

9. Hope __: CHEST

14. Water brand: EVIAN - There was a comedian who pointed out that this is "naïve" spelled backwards....

15. Poetic preposition: ERE

16. Name tag word: HELLO

urm, Vader~? Anakin~?

20. Shelley's "Ozymandias," e.g.: SONNET - I had SONN - - , so from there....

21. Rhythm-heavy genre: SKA - pondered RAP first

22. Mole: SPY

23. Fine __: ARTS

25. Historical times: ERAS - I don't have the link anymore, but I believe this is the single most used crossword fill;  see also 39D.

34. Wild beast also called a wildebeest: GNU - hey, that's "GNUS" to me....

35. "Pull up a chair": SIT

36. Fume: SEETHE

37. Blake who played Aunt Harriet on TV's "Batman": MADGE

Loved me the 60s Batman

40. Lower limb: LEG - oooh, a gimme~!

42. Go bad: SPOIL

43. Off topic: AFIELD - I am in the FIELD for the month of September - first on the west side of CT, and then back to Lynchburg, VA for pipe organ work

45. Repurposed tee, maybe: RAG

47. Directed: LED

52. Price-slashing event: SALE

53. Back muscles, for short: LATS - latissimus dorsi

54. Brief chances?: OPS - OPportunitieS

57. T'ai __ ch'uan: CHI - looked vague at first; more here

59. Newsstand stack: PAPERS

67. In vogue again: RETRO

68. Lunes or martes: DIA - Spanish for days Monday / Tuesday

69. Tucci's "Road to Perdition" role: NITTI - no clue; filled via perps

70. Far-out type?: ALIEN - and: 56. 70-Across-hunting org.: SETI - the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence - and a musical interlude from Blue Öyster Cult

Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser never makes any Top100 guitarists lists

71. Belief suffix: -ISM

72. Prepare, as an infusion: STEEP

DOWN:

1. Rx orders: MEDs

2. Cooking staple, initially: EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil; learned by doing crosswords

3. Ireland's __ Féin: SINN - SIEN, SEIN~? can never remember how to spell this

4. GPS technology, for short: SAT-NAV - the guys on Wheeler Dealers still call it as such

5. "We can share this hiding place!": "IN HERE~!"

6. Gun: REV

7. Miner concerns: ORES - cute; Miner/minor; see 34D.

8. More watered down: WEAKER

9. Comedian Margaret: CHO

10. Cut down: HEW - oddly followed by....

11. Colonnade trees: ELMS

12. High-five sound: SLAP

13. Broadway award: TONY

18. Legal dept. staffers: ATTYs

19. Potato nutrients, for short: CARBS - carbohydrates

"Ugly" Potatoes

24. Potting material: SOIL

26. Greek war god: ARES

27. Filter (through): SEEP

28. Complete fiasco: SNAFU - Situation Normal, All....

29. Some German imports: AUDIs

30. In __: unborn: UTERO

31. Island formation: ATOLL

32. "The Book __": Markus Zusak novel: THIEF - filled via perps

33. Grasped: HELD

34. Key with one sharp, briefly: G maj - "E min" would have worked, too, as I knew it's the same as G major from playing the guitar; A LOT of Metal music is in this key....I started taking piano lessons~!  My goal, which might take me decades, is to play Bach's Dorian Toccata - this piece - right now I can play the part of "page turner" @ 3:17

Washington National Cathedral organ, NE facade

38. Grasps: GETS 

39. Idris of "Cats": ELBA - seems to becoming a crossword staple as popular as "ERA"

41. Ancient France: GAUL - Hey~! My first chance to say this one is "Frawnche"

44. Car battery pioneer: DELCO - The Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co. - the Wiki

46. Result of some plotting: GRAPH - I toyed with "CABAL", but it's the 'other' type of plotting, e.g. geometry and AutoCAD

49. Violinist Menuhin: YEHUDI - No clue; filled via perps and WAGs

50. Sullies: STAINS - Not THIS Sully - I am fascinated with the Smithsonian Channel's "Air Disasters", not because I am morbid, but for the intriguing investigations - and how a very small part can bring down an airliner.

51. Global fashion brand founded in San Francisco in 1968: ESPRIT - again, no clue

54. Gumbo vegetable: OKRA

55. Spa treatment: PEEL - Dah~!  I tried MANI first

58. Pupil's place: IRIS - I briefly considered "DESK"

60. Kitchen addition?: ETTE - KitchenETTE - I bought my new kitchen cabinets a year ago, but I need to upgrade my home electrical service to 200amps, and even tho I can do it myself, I am waiting on the electrician

61. Learning method: ROTE

62. Salon sound: SNIP

64. Not post-: PRE

65. "Round __ Virgin, Mother and Child ... ": YON - Silent Night

66. Actor Waterston: SAM - you know him best as John "Jack" McCoy, the Executive Assistant DA from Law & Order

Splynter

Sunday, Aug 20, 2023, Amie Walker

"I'm out"

This is my first time blogging a Sunday, and thank you to C.C. for the opportunity.  A clever puzzle idea, not that we haven't seen this "bending" part of the answer before, though I don't recall circles.  Circles on a Sunday, no less.  I got the theme quick because I do the DOWN fill first, and noticed TONS (97D.) of MIC fill.  The MIC part "drops" down from the Across fill.  I like the fact that the theme answers spread the M, I, and C in various ways.  The only one I see missing is "M [space] IC".  Overall I enjoyed the challenge, but there were just too many names ( I stopped counting at 20 ), and some clue/answers that I *questioned*....

22. *Wide-angle lens output: PANORAM - - VIEW - panoraMIC view

24. *Deep-fried burrito: CHIM - - HANGA - chiMIChanga

46. *Woman who was the first Black model to appear on the cover of Time: NAOM - - AMPBELL - naoMI Campbell

59. *"Why won't anyone notice me!?": "WHAT AM - - HOPPED LIVER~?" what aM I Choppped liver

79. *Paper birds in the Japanese tradition of senbazuru: ORIGAM - - RANES - origaMI Cranes

102. *Pedicure tool: PUM - - ESTONE - puMICe stone ( I used pumice to clean the soot off my fireplace stone - worked like magic )

104. Dramatically ends a performance, and what the answer to each starred clue does?: DROPS THE MIC


               

Physics is fun~!

And DOWN We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. 2026 Winter Olympics range: ALPS - The next Olympics is in Milano-Cortina of Italy

5. "Love your work!": I'M A FAN

11. Currency featuring activist Viola Desmond on one of its notes: Abbr.: CAD - CAnadian Dollar.  The puzzle doesn't really have any "weak" fill, but it felt like too many clues-to-answers were a bit much of a stretch, like this one - I will refer to them as *cringe*

14. Peddle: SELL - One CAD = .74 US$

18. Average: MEAN

19. Widen, as a pupil: DILATE

20. "Total lies!": "SO NOT TRUE~!"

25. Tower topper: SPIRE

26. Prudent ending?: IAL - PrudentIAL

27. With 81-Across, fruity liqueur: SLOE - and; 81. See 27-Across: GIN

29. Van Gogh vaseful: IRISES

30. Comedian Wyatt: CENAC - name.  Never heard of him - more here

32. Snuggle, in a way: SPOON

33. Onetime Altoids rival: CERTS - with retsyn~! 

34. Javier of "The Little Mermaid": BARDEM - name.  also the "bad guy" in  "Skyfall", which I believe may be the best Bond film; tied with "88 Across" Royale

36. Kelly Ripa, e.g.: TV HOST

38. Partisanship: BIAS

39. Fuel efficiency mode: ECO - My Prius C has three modes; normal, ECO, and "EV" - which shuts down at 25MPH

40. Treatment that may include a mask: FACIAL

42. Embrace: HOLD

43. Fuel efficiency stat: MPG - and even when I drive like a pig, I still get 40+ MPG in my Prius

49. Double Dutch implement: ROPE - Shouldn't it be ropeS~? 

50. Get closer: NEAR

51. Hesitant: TIMID

52. Big Board initials: NYSE - New York Stock Exchange

53. Soup aisle stacks: CANS

54. Adorable one: CUTIE

55. Saskatchewan people: CREE

57. "For all I __ ... ": CARE

58. Nowadays: LATELY - now this one is the opposite of *cringe*

64. Doesn't sink: FLOATS

66. Smidgen: IOTA

67. Villainous: EVIL

68. New Orleans structure: LEVEE - A musical interlude

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks

69. Pre-TiVo devices: VCRs - I still have one, and it still works

70. Actor Kinnear: GREG - name.

73. Classic skirt silhouette: A-LINE

77. Figure skating feat: AXEL

78. Actress Sorvino: MIRA - name.

82. Paul of "The Fabelmans": DANO - Ugh.  name.  Crossing a 'foreign' word, too

83. Coastal city in Italia: NAPOLI - the opposite of the ALPS

84. Message in a bottle, maybe: S.O.S.

85. Scary St. Bernard of fiction: CUJO - Read the book, did not see the movie; see below

86. Sound effects: NOISES - *cringe*

88. Monaco attraction: CASINO - Gratuitous Daniel Craig for C.C.

91. Give a fright: SCARE

93. Golf shirts: POLOS

94. Like an angry dog's teeth: BARED

Might be a little too gratuitous for a St. Bernard

95. Common allergens: SPORES

96. Genesis locale: EDEN 

97. Air marshal's org.: TSA

99. "Barbie" director Gerwig: GRETA - name.

107. Gaps: OMISSIONS - Saturday clue/answer

108. Inherent: INNATE - *cringe* - I don't like to see an IN- clue for an IN- answer

109. Kid-lit boy detective __ the Great: NATE - name.  The Wiki

110. Noir sleuths: TECS - I am just plowing my way through Rex Stout's "Nero Wolfe" detective books, they're so good - I love the Archie character

111. "Evita" narrator: CHE - narrator~? *cringe*  and name.

112. Preserved in a scrapbook, say: PASTED

113. Mireille of "Hanna": ENOS - name.

DOWN:

1. Cranks (up): AMPS - "These go to eleven."

2. Big jump: LEAP

3. 2002 Jodie Foster film about a robbery: PANIC ROOM - Good movie - saw it when it came out

4. Suffered from 41-Down, perhaps: SNORED - 41. Sleep disorder: APNEA

5. Snake River Canyon st.: IDA - meh.  Don't like three-letter state abbrs

6. Copy: MIMIC - the MIC part of 22A

7. Thomas __ Edison: ALVA - name. Have not seen this fill in a while; if a Tesla is "stolen", is it then called an "Edison"~?

8. Be unsuccessful: FAIL

9. Snacked: ATE

10. Survey by a media outlet, e.g.: NEWS POLL

11. "Hallelujah" songwriter Leonard: COHEN - name.

12. Young Skywalker's nickname: ANI - Short for Anakin, pre-Darth Vader.  and name.

13. Home: DOMICILE - the MIC part of 24A

14. Flight segments: STAIRS

15. Dadaist Max: ERNST - name.  if the clue were Blofeld, we'd be at James Bond again.

16. Olympic sleds: LUGES - see you in Italy

17. Grassy meadows: LEAS

20. "Move over!": "SCOOT~!"

21. Series of related emails: THREAD - *cringe* - a series of texts, maybe

23. Actress Russo: RENE - name.

28. The "L" of UCLA: LOS - University (of) California - - - Angeles

31. Radio letters: AM/FM

32. Layered rock: SHALE

34. Warped: BENT - like my mind

35. Berry from the Amazon: ACAI

36. Froyo franchise: TCBY - The Country's Best Yogurt; uh, well, the closest one to me is in Yonkers, in a different state - I guess you have to travel the country....

37. Competes (for): VIES

38. Great songs, slangily: BOPS - *cringe*

42. Fine-tuned: HONED - like my blogging skills....mic drop

43. Water usage measurer: METER

44. Sand bucket: PAIL

45. __ Goose vodka: GREY

47. NBA great Jordan: MICHAEL - the MIC part of 46A.  and name.

48. Commercial figure?: AD RATE

49. Chophouse specification: RARE

50. Chocolate-hazelnut spread: NUTELLA - oh so good

53. Spending limit: CAP - a perpetual problem for the NY Rangers

54. Cowboy __: bean salad: CAVIAR - never heard this

56. Non-earthlings, for short: ETs

57. Licensed tax pro: CPA

58. "The Leftovers" actress Tyler: LIV - name.

59. Like fruit of the loom?: WOVEN

60. Prefix with climate or greens: MICRO - the MIC part of 59A

61. Dance set to klezmer music: HORA - Ah, Hebrew; looked German to me

62. Extra NHL periods: OTs - oh, we are so close to the start of the hockey season

63. Paper size: LEGAL

64. Mark for attention: FLAG

65. LPGA golfer Thompson: LEXI - name.

69. Trattoria menu heading: VINO - The "N" was my last fill, a Natick crossing; BTW, I now live closer to the place we get the term from....

70. Sod: GRASS - Meh.  almost *cringe*

71. Like yellow bananas: RIPE

72. Targets of some trash talk: EGOS
 
74. 2006 Jodie Foster film about a robbery: INSIDE MAN - now this movie, I did not see

75. Sign gas: NEON

76. "Put a tiger in your tank" brand: ESSO - gas sign

78. Regal: MAJESTIC

79. Party bowlful: ONION DIP

80. Layered rock: MICA - the MIC part of 79A

82. Undue pressure: DURESS - Bzzzt; I had STRESS

85. Tender touch: CARESS

86. Points of connection: NODES

87. Flamenco shout: OLE

89. "So frustrating!": "ARGH~!"

90. At peace: SERENE - I like the Serenity Prayer

91. Ocean foam: SPUME - I had SPRAY

92. "Nancy" or "Cathy": COMIC - Strip, actually - and the MIC part of 102A

93. Pasta choice: PENNE

94. Butter up, in a way: BASTE - now this is clever clue misdirection

95. Leopard's mark: SPOT

97. Loads (of): TONS -  I can never tell if it's going to be TONS or ALOT

98. Minor dispute: SPAT

100. Mambo legend Puente: TITO - name.

101. Solitaire foundation cards: ACES

103. "How lovely!": "OOH~!"

105. Genetic messenger: RNA

106. Keanu title role: TED - Dah~!   I had NEO - but once I read the clue, I see it says "title".

        and name.

 

Splynter

 

Monday, Aug 7th, 2023, Laura Dershewitz

 

THEME: The Age of Aquarius, not Superman

17. Tied with a scrunchie, maybe: IN A PONY TAIL - An "UP" hairstyle

30. No longer on deck: AT THE PLATE - "UP" at bat - I saw this happen in a game on TV while down in VA

BACKSWING BAT CATCHES CATCHER

47. Taking time off: ON VACATION - "I am AWAY from my desk..." - Technically, I was on vacation last week, as I was supposed to be in between jobs - needed the time off to sort some legal issues still pending from the sale of the house on Long Island - went down there for two days, and that was enough to remind me why I left....

And the connection -

62. Classic sunshine pop hit single with hot-air-balloon imagery, and what 17-, 30-, and 47-Across literally are: UP UP AND AWAY - Ah, the 60s - this one is from 1967; I was born in 1971, but I heard this "The 5th Dimension" hit on the radio, along with another one of theirs, "Aquarius" - and born in early February, I am an Aquarius

Up, Up, ....

AND AWAY we go~!

ACROSS:

1. Make small adjustments to: TWEAK

6. Palindromic title: MADAM - a palindrome is a word, phrase, or sequence that reads the same backward as forward - I found this clever palindrome poem

11. "¡Dios __!": "MIO~!" - OMG in text-speak

14. Fictional chocolatier Wonka: WILLY- played by one of my favorite actor/comedians, Gene Wilder

"Pure Imagination"

15. Sports complex: ARENA

16. Series finale, e.g.: END

19. Director DuVernay: AVA - Not much one can do, but IMHO the proper names in crosswords are becoming too much

20. Italian ice cream: GELATO

21. Most coll. applicants: SRs - Twice in a puzzle row now for me

22. Thing: ITEM

23. Food __: lethargy after a big meal: COMA - Thanksgiving is a mere 15-1/2 weeks away; football starts in exactly one month - yay~!

25. Mosaic tile: TESSERA - Learned by doing crosswords, otherwise, a $2 Monday word

27. Stargazer's bear: URSA - My "bear" last week was "MAMA"

32. Election night backdrop for Steve Kornacki: MAP - No idea who we are referring to; filled via perps....no politics, please~!

33. Whispery video genre, for short: ASMR - This is a 21st century crossword fill; not familiar with it, so I went to YouTube, and I actually got that 'tingly' sensation.

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response

34. "Fiddlesticks!": "DRAT~!"

35. Big gulps: SWIGS

37. Word before salt or snail: SEA

39. "Know what __?": I MEAN

42. Pre-calc math class: TRIGonometry

44. YouTube diary: VLOG video web log; we here are merely a weB LOG

46. Irish actor Stephen: REA - Crossword staple

50. Car sticker amt.: MSRP - Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price - I bought a used Prius C for $12K, using my Amazon credit card - what a rush that was; I paid it off immediately with money from the sale of the LI house

51. [shrug emoji]: BEATS ME - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

52. Turner known as the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll": TINA - Died 24 May this year

54. Wheel turner: AXLE

55. Donne couplet?: ENs - do N N e; Donne I believe refers to this guy

57. Forced from power: OUSTED

61. "The Real World" airer: MTV - Shows on this channel seem contradictory - the "golden age" of the music video, the 80s, gave us a lot to see, so what defines a good music video~?  I threw this question at my brother, and got the response below; a little bit of story-telling, some performance, and some 'over-the-top' elements; what would YOU choose~?

ZZTop Gimme All Your Lovin'

64. Gobbled up: ATE

65. Draped silk dresses: SARIs - or sarees

66. Mitt: GLOVE - more gratuitous baseball for C.C. 😁

67. Letters of distress: S.O.S.

68. Utopias: EDENS

69. Made less onerous: EASED

DOWN:

1. Small branch: TWIG and; 26D. Small branch: SPRIG - Rhyme time, too

2. Sonoma County product: WINE

3. Ben Gurion-based airline: EL AL - Crossword staple, Israeli Airline

4. South American kin of a camel: ALPACA

5. Japanese city with many shrines: KYOTO - WAG

6. Star Wars Day month: MAY - the Fourth Be With You

7. Review-heavy newspaper section: ARTS - I had OP-ED, my first incorrect DOWN fill

8. Scarcity: DEARTH - Vader~?

9. Ouzo flavoring: ANISEED

10. "Bad" prefix: MAL - Latin

11. Carnivores: MEAT-EATERS - Reminds me of Jurassic Park - couldn't find a link to the scene I was thinking about

12. Turn upside down: INVERT

13. Whoopi's Oscar-winning role in "Ghost": ODA MAE

18. Spanish phrase equivalent to "¡Basta!": "NO MAS~!"

22. Five Pillars faith: ISLAM

24. Devices called "cashpoints" in the U.K.: ATMs - fresh cluing for a crossword staple; still didn't fool me

 27. Sounds of hesitation: UMs - never can tell if it will be ERs or UMs

28. Uncooked: RAW

29. Trumpet parts that need to be drained: SPIT VALVES - JazzB can fill you in - or maybe that's not the phrase to use in this instance....I play the guitar and drums - usually, no spit involved

31. Fountain near Rome's Spanish Steps: TREVI - It's said that $1.5mil in coins was tossed in during 2016

33. Nike rival: ASICS

36. Storm drain cover: GRATE

38. Oodles: A LOT 

40. __ Lingus: AER - Irish Airlines

41. Rest in a sleep pod: NAP - I figured it was "NAP", but the sleep pod part had me baffled; THIS or THIS~?

43. Xbox controller, for one: GAME PAD - Gaming for me was Atari 2600

Yar's Revenge

45. Awesome Blossom vegetable: ONION - The "bloomin' onion" appetizer from Outback is called the "cactus blossom" at Texas Roadhouse - proprietary, as my brother gets agitated when I use the "wrong" name at the wrong restaurant

47. 2000s first family: OBAMAs

48. Alongside of: NEXT TO

49. Academic job security: TENURE

50. Indian spice mix: MASALA - I did not know this; filled via perps

53. Gentle reminder: NUDGE - "shall I phone you or nudge you~?" - but again, couldn't find a link to this line from a scene in a great, underrated, all-star cast movie called "Sneakers"

 

56. Rotate: SPIN

58. Low poker pair: TWOS - meh.  I went with TREY, since when I play cards, it's DEUCES

59. Roof trim: EAVE

60. Hid one's true colors, perhaps: DYED - har-har

62. "It's just no __!": USE

63. Mule kin: ASS - well, that's what you get when you reach the "bottom", I say....

Splynter

 

Monday, Jul 31, 2023 Jolie L'Heureux & Alexander Liebeskind

 Theme: "IN THE BEGINNING...."

    So, I was born February, 1971....oh wait, that's a long story.  This is my first time blogging a "themed" puzzle for C.C. and the LA Times, as I was the regular Saturday themeless guy for about five years.  I still work the puzzles everyday, and I read the write-ups every day.  Since I last blogged, I changed my solving style and prefer to do all the DOWN clues first, then when I switch to ACROSS, most of the perps are in place, and the theme answers a little easier to solve. We had two nine- and two eight-letter words in the downs today, which is unusual for a Monday puzzle. C.C. had asked me to "guest" blog, and I had the opportunity last month, but was way out of practice, and thus had my own "EPIC FAIL".    But enough of my long story, here are the theme answers for today;

20. Bank customer, e.g.: ACCOUNT HOLDER

28. Colorful and fuzzy street art: YARN BOMB - Never heard this term before; here's an image

 

36. Innovative concept: NOVEL IDEA

49. Big-time letdown: EPIC FAIL

 57. "I'll tell you the rest another time," and what can be said about the starts of 20-, 28-, 36-, and 49-Across: IT'S A LONG STORY

And away we go~!

ACROSS:

1. Matriarch of the Three Bears: MAMA

5. Grocery shopper's aid: LIST - I have mine on my phone, listed by aisle, and my new favorite store since I moved to CT is "Big Y" because I can scan the barcodes with my phone camera, pay via credit card, and walk right out.

9. Private supply: CACHE

14. "Right away" letters: ASAP - As Soon As Possible

15. Mideast leader: EMIR

16. Catchall option on a survey: OTHER

17. At a __ for words: LOSS

18. Regarding: AS TO

19. With 4-Down, small dog from Tibet: LHASA and 4D. See 19-Across: APSO

23. 24 horas: DIA - Spanish

24. Disco __ of "The Simpsons": STU - Crossword regular now

25. Has lunch on a blanket, say: PICNICS

31. More expansive: VASTER - meh.

32. Southeast Asian language: LAO

33. Mani-__: spa treatments: PEDIs

35. "For sure": "YES"

40. Cat coat: FUR - clever clue

43. Calf-length skirts: MIDIs - I cannot resist....

44. Raspberry shade: RED

47. "The way things are ... ": AS IT IS

53. Shares a tweet on Instagram, say: REPOSTS - Spell-check doesn't like this

55. Pull the plug on: END - Sadly, I pulled the plug on my career as a Pipe Organ technician - at least for now.  I had tried to bargain for a pay increase, but the company could not come up to the offer I got from a local millwork company that needed a CAD drafter; so my three-week trip to Lynchburg VA in July was my "Swan Song"; here's me at the Washington National Cathedral; it was howling windy and raining as we unloaded.

56. Ode title words: TO A....

60. Vietnam's capital: HANOI.

62. Comfort: EASE.

63. Shape of many a car logo: OVAL - Ford, Subaru, Toyota and others

64. Houston MLB player: ASTRO - Spellcheck doesn't like this one, either

65. Squeezes (out): EKES - Crossword staple

66. How-to presentation: DEMO

67. Cereal eater's utensil: SPOON

68. Hissed "Hey!": "PSST~!"

69. Etch or sketch: DRAW

DOWN:

1. Affliction: MALADY

2. Preferring to be alone: ASOCIAL - My ex-wife is/was a counselor, and she 'diagnosed' me as being anti-social; I told her "good, that lets me off the hook" - not the answer she wanted to hear....

3. Cosmetic applied with a wand: MASCARA

5. Makeshift shelter: LEAN-TO.

6. "Haven't the foggiest": "I'M STUMPED"

7. Lightsaber wielders who are enemies of the Jedi: SITH

8. Scout unit selling cookies: TROOP

9. Unsolved crime: COLD CASE

10. Home of the Acropolis and the Parthenon: ATHENS - GREECE fit, too

11. Donation recipient: CHARITY - On my way back from Lynchburg, I saw billboards reading Mega Millions was up to $940mil - I would have to donate to more than one CHARITY if I walked away with that kind of money

 12. Father and son: HEs - Meh.  True, but I'm not a fan of this kind of answer

13. Time studied in history class: ERA

21. PC connection port: USB

22. Really steamed: LIVID - I had IRATE to start

26. Average grade: CEE

27. Graduating gp.: SRs - Abbreviated group, abbreviated SenioRs

29. Persona __ grata: NON - Latin

30. Represent inaccurately: BELIE

34. Hands out: DISPENSES - ATMs and vending machines "dispense", which I think is not quite the same as "hand out"

37. Something left out: OMISSION - $2 Monday 8-letter word

38. Photogenic expanse: VISTA

If you zoom in, this is Washington DC from the cathedral

39. "Woof!": "ARF~!" - Dogspeak

40. Few and __ between: FAR

41. Function: USE - as a designer, I am of the thought that FORM follows FUNCTION

42. Verbally attack: RIP INTO - We stayed at a popular, long-term hotel with in-room kitchens for the trip to VA - there were several issues in my room that never got resolved during my 19-day stay - so when they sent me a survey, I had to RIP INTO the chain's poor service.

45. Dine at a friend's: EAT OVER

46. Elementary school shoebox project: DIORAMA - I helped my buddy's seven-year-old son build a "Leprechaun trap" for a school project - quite enjoyable

48. "My Neighbor __": Studio Ghibli film: TOTORO - The Wiki; I've been solving the LA Times crossword daily for the past year, and I can tell that the new editor has changed the rules - I doubt this clue/answer would fly on a Monday in the past

50. Consume: INGEST

51. Insured investments: Abbr.: CDs - I have one through my Discover card, and a savings account now getting 4.30%

52. "Stay out of trouble": LAY LOW - I had BEHAVE

54. Dream state: SLEEP

58. Thousand __: Ventura County city: OAKS - filled via perps

59. Sondheim's "Sweeney __": TODD

60. Gives birth to: HAS.

61. Egyptian snake: ASP - My #1 movie of all-time, Raiders of the Lost Ark

 

Well, I'm back, 

da-na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na-na
Fix your bent antenna, tune it in, and then I'm gonna
Enter in and up under your skin like a....

Splynter

Notes from C.C.:

Welcome back, Splynter! We missed you.

Splynter will blog next Monday's puzzle also. Sumdaze will be back on August 14th.

Saturday, Dec 2nd, 2017, D. Scott Nichols & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Argyle SoC.C.ks~!

Words: 70 (missing F,J,Q,X)

Blocks: 31

A Saturday collaboration between our Monday/Tuesday blogger and the host of the show, C.C.  Lots of multi-word answers today, and a few vague proper names, I caved in to red-letters to help me get the NE corner finished.  Staircase pattern grid, with a pair of 9x6 corners, and nothing longer than those;

15. [Yawn] : I NEED A NAP

12. Singer? : DIRTY RAT - the canary stoolie kind of singer.  I wondered if it was singe-er, as in one who singes

62. Big brother, often : ROLE MODEL

36. Legendary court figure : LANCELOT

 Monty Python~! - well I got "a" note~! @ 3:30

Done.

ACROSS:

 1. Stay in the big house : SERVE TIME - I've done mine - time for someone else

10. Beach pretender : HODAD - I had no idea - I tried POSER to start -  tho I probably have seen this in crosswords before - filled via perps, but I had to Google to check it out

16. Many a Studio Ghibli film : ANIME - red letters told me INDIE was wrong - but only 60% wrong

17. Fund for incidentals : PETTY CASH

18. Character who dances on the beach at Stavros : ZORBA - the only Stavros I could think of was Stavro Mueller and his Beta nightclub - the scene of the climactic end to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 5-book trilogy

So long, and thanks for all the fish

19. Supporting : PRO - I waited to see if it would be "FOR" or "PRO"

20. Evil skill : SORCERY - I tried spelling it so"U"rcery for some reason

22. Talbot Jr. or Sr. on "Rectify" : TED - Googled; never even heard of the show

23. Obstacles on the set : EGOS

25. Confident response to "Your opponent is ready" : "SO AM I~!"

26. Funeral rite heap : PYRE

27. Poet Thomas : DYLAN - filled via perps

29. "Baby Blues" baby : WREN - filled via perps; I looked it up, realized it was the comic strip, which I read and like, but it did not register during the solve

30. Maranjab Desert country : IRAN - a WAG off the "I" - either this one or iraQ

31. Empty out badly? : ROB - ah, theft empty out

33. Repertoire : ARSENAL

35. Skeleton's place? : CLOSET

38. Do maintenance on, as a putting green : AERATE - I had "RE-" in the opening position, which stopped me from seeing this answer, better than "reRAKE" - but it works with sand traps....

39. Card carrier : LANYARD - generic cord for holding ID cards, etc., that is

41. Convene : SIT - MET would not work with the tense of the verb

42. Chill (with) : HANG

43. Kate of "House of Cards" : MARA - filled via perps

45. Grouses : CARPS - wait til we get to the leg picture, and the grousing shall commence~!

49. Welding sparks : ARCS

50. Better : AMEND

52. Tar on the ocean : SALT - sailor nicknames

53. Compete : VIE

54. Like free-range chickens : UNCAGED

56. West of Tinseltown : MAE

57. Country album? : ATLAS - clever

59. History buff's artifacts : AMERICANA

61. Tearful queen : NIOBE

63. First chips : ANTEs - poker, and such

64. Chaotic places : SNAKE PITS

DOWN:

1. Nursed : SIPPED

2. Zip : ENERGY - the 'pep' definition, not the 'nothing' one

3. Overhaul the plant : RETOOL - I pondered REPOTS, but it's the other kind of plant

4. Old hand : VET

5. Dessert company founded in 1928 : EDY'S - only so many ways to clue this four-letter word

6. Shells from stands : TACOS - I was thinking tomatoes, as in shelling a bad stage actor

7. Sequentially : IN A ROW

8. It runs in the shower : MASCARA - I suppose it would

9. Short-lived things : EPHEMERA - the plural of ephemeron, Greek for short-lived insect, and subsequently anything designed to be short-lived

10. Indistinct : HAZY

11. Noted resident of The Dakota in Manhattan : ONO

13. Pale order : AMBER ALE

14. Tone down : DEADEN

21. Washes out : RINSES

24. South Seas cover-ups : SARONGS - a golden opportunity for some leg~!

26. They're beaten at parties : PIÑATAS

28. Intrusive : NOSY - it's those uppity trolls around here that give "anonymous" a bad name - now that's funny

32. Tough guy's exhortation : BE A MAN - for the men, a leg pic can be found here

34. Church of country : ERIC - his name, not the location

35. Allergy sufferer's choice : CLARITIN

37. Mine carriers : TRAMCARS - oh, that kind of mine - I have been watching The Viet Nam War series on PBS, and those were the mines I was thinking of

40. "As if!" : DREAM ON

42. Caribbean city with cocotaxis : HAVANA

44. German chancellor Merkel : ANGELA

46. City west of Baghdad : RAMADI

47. Mercury, e.g. : PLANET - not the sedan/auto this time

48. Bargains beyond belief : STEALS

51. Teammate of Mariano for 19 years : DEREK - couldn't be a C.C. puzzle without baseball, and even though I knew who Mr. Rivera was, I went with JETER before DEREK

54. Exploits : USES

55. Small change : DIME - the one that fit, but CENT was a possibility, too

58. #16, familiarly : ABE - President of the United States

60. Booking agent? : COP - tell 'em, Steve~!

"Aloha, Suckers~!"

Splynter