Wednesday, November 1st, Catherine Lammersen

A Clever Collection of Capitals

....of the world - quaintly contained in the continental United States; care to carry on~?  I know of at least two others - Berlin, CT, which we drive through on our way south via I-91, and Rome, New York - my buddy Matt D. from high school got his first 'gig' as a TV weatherman in that city - he is now the 'main man' in Richmond, VA....Anyway, this may be Catherine's debut, at least for the LA Times, and a fairly smooth solve for yours truly, with a bit of a slow-down around say, Oregon.  Two Across theme answers, and two Down theme answers - messed up my 'solve the downs first' method.  I also count five proper names in the grid, and a mini-theme of automotive references, too....

17. Capital of the Midwest?: ATHENS, OHIO

55. Capital of the South?: PARIS, TEXAS

10. Capital of the Northeast?: LISBON, MAINE

24. Capital of the Northwest?: MOSCOW, IDAHO

I also found this

And on tour we go~!

ACROSS:

1. Roulette wheel action: SPIN

5. "Brokeback Mountain" actor Ledger: HEATH - Name #1, but I got it

10. Edelstein of "The Kominsky Method": LISA - Name #2, but I knew her from "House, M.D."

14. Gimlet flavor: LIME

15. Sister company of Enterprise: ALAMO - auto theme #1; also - 

        26D. Sister company of Budget: AVIS - auto theme #2

16. As above, in a footnote: IDEM - Latin, 'the same'

19. "__ help you are!": SOME

20. "Eternally nameless" concept: TAO - not that I have heard of this, but a three letter "existential" clue~?

21. Hieroglyphic snakes: ASPS - my guest blogging is rare, but it's the second time I have had this

Very Dangerous

22. Employee-owned supermarket chain based in Florida: PUBLIX - nailed it; I once lived in Jacksonville, FL, and worked at the competition, Winn-Dixie

24. Marathon unit: MILE

25. Bone, in Italian: OSSO

26. Niche: ALCOVE

29. Power: POTENCY - see 56D.

32. Quran chapter part: VERSE

33. Steady look: GAZE

34. Not worth discussing: MOOT

36. Apple choice: iMAC - the computer, and - 47D. Apple choice: GALA - the fruit

37. More ironic: WRYER

38. German automaker: AUDI - auto theme #3

39. Padres slugger Juan: SOTO - Name #3

40. Düsseldorf dwelling: HAUS - I have never been to Düsseldorf, but see who I know lives there....

It's a Russian dating site, actually

41. Completely drained: WIPED

42. Smartphone source of daily headlines: NEWS APP - meh

44. In need of companionship: LONELY - uhh, not if I can get to Düsseldorf....

45. Antilles landmass: ISLE - and 

    44D. __ Antilles: Caribbean cluster: LESSER

46. Richard of "Chicago": GERE - Name #4

47. Actress Hawn: GOLDIE - Name #5

50. Kiss: BUSS

51. Cy Young stat: ERA - E - R - A, the most common crossword fill, ever, I believe

54. Locale: AREA

58. Mascara recipient: LASH

59. Zinc __: sunblock ingredient: OXIDE

He's got it covered....

60. Eight, on a sundial: VIII

Check this out, too

61. Middle harmony chorus part: ALTO

62. Discourage: DETER

63. Largest active volcano in Italy: ETNA

DOWN:

1. Picket fence piece: SLAT - Uh, isn't it called, ay, um, picket~?

2. Baba ghanouj bread: PITA

3. Texter's "I'm no expert, but ... ": IMHO - In My Humble Opinion....

4. Formerly named: NÉE

5. Big headache: HASSLE

6. Have no reception?: ELOPE - har-har

7. Satisfied sighs: AAHs - the dreaded two "A"s or two "H"s conundrum

8. "OMG, stop sharing!": TMI - Too Much Information

9. Cager: HOOPSTER - B-Baller was too short; it's all basketball slang

11. One inundated with fan mail: IDOL

12. Partly: SEMI

13. Green card co.: AMEX - oh, THAT green card....

Mr. Frost needs to cancel this card ASAP

18. None too worldly: NAÏVE - umlaut~!

23. Adopt: USE

25. Seeps: OOZES

27. Subpar car: LEMON - auto theme #4

28. Subpar car: CRATE - auto theme #5

29. "Fork it over!": PAY UP~! - see 51D.

30. Two-door vehicle: COUPE - auto theme #6

31. Alpine song: YODEL

33. Flavor of much children's medicine: GRAPE

35. Spruce (up): TIDY

37. Group of orcas, e.g.: WHALE POD

41. Superlatively bad: WORST

43. Means-tested govt. assistance program: SSI - this stumped me; never heard of this; Supplemental Security Income

46. Museum employee: GUIDE

48. Interview-style exam: ORAL

49. "__ we forget": LEST

50. One who may keep a spare tyre in a boot: BRIT - both my parents were born and raised in England

        and auto theme #7

51. Parking garage sign: EXIT - we worked on a pipe organ at the Riverside Church in NYC last week; here's a pic I took of the scale model in the elevator lobby, and one of the ornate bench carvings; our hotel was in Times Square, and we parked in a garage there, too - $73 overnight

52. Golf date ruiner: RAIN - it's not the rain, it's the lightning....

53. Bhutan's continent: ASIA

56. Splitting tool: AXE - I now own the 29A version....

57. Morn's opposite: EVE - and to all, a good night~!

Splynter

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