Thursday September 17, 2026 Katy Steinmetz

Katy Steinmetz is a poet and she knows it. She should try her hand at songwriting!

(with apologies to Paul Simon)

All of the following themers rhyme a "newsworthy" object with a synonym for a reporter's point of view.

17. Reporter's approach to a story about a bracelet?: BANGLE ANGLE. But this could've been an entertainment reporter's review of a BANGLEs concert...

23. Reporter's approach to a story about a doppelgänger?: TWIN SPIN. ...or a Bee Gees concert.

TWINs born on December 22, 1949

35. Reporter's approach to a story about a male duck?: DRAKE TAKE. ...or a DRAKE concert.

50. Reporter's approach to a story about a picnic pest?: ANT SLANT. ...or an Adam ANT concert.

57. Reporter's approach to a story about a spring bloom?: CROCUS FOCUS. ...or even of FOCUS playing Hocus Pocus. (There also was a rock band in the '80s called KROCUS.) 
 

Well, this one from our bard wasn't hard. Once you gleaned the scheme of the theme (which was after the first one), knowing they all were rhymes made it easy peasy. And with five of them, the rest was pretty much run-of-the-mill fill.

Let's continue from different perspective:

Across:

1. Necklace clasp spot: NAPE.

5. Rather peculiar: SCREWY. I'm not SCREWY, although I may have one loose...

11. Implore: BEG.

14. Tandoor, for one: OVEN. In the '70s, we had a tan door OVEN.

It's called Espresso. Avocado and Harvest Gold were also popular.

15. Sub: HOAGIE. If they're out of HOAGIEs, you can always sub a grinder...but not one from Lowe's!

16. Credit card fig.: APR. Annual Percentage Rate.

17. [theme]

19. Game cube: DIE. Not to be confused with it's bigger sibling.

Nintendo GameCube

20. "Cheap Thrills" singer: SIA. I so wanted ZAPPA instead.

21. Lowe's purchase: TOOL. Try their grinders!

22. Lariat: ROPE. ROPE is in Lowe's aisle 23.

23. [theme]

26. Workers featured in the opening scenes of "Frozen": ICEMEN.

28. Greet someone from a distance: WAVE HI.

29. Gets a rise out of, in a way: LEAVENS. This year, RightBrain challenged herself to make sourdough bread. After several months of trial and error, she's nailed it. Her latest thing is mini-loaves.

Clockwise from top: cinnamon swirl; artisanal plain; everything bagel; strawberry with chocolate chips

30. Spanish "Listen!": OYE. 

31. Soy block: TOFU. A vegan in Maine loves TOFU, but the DMV made him surrender his license plate anyway.

34. Phoenix team: SUNS. The SUNS professional basketball team.

35. [theme]

38. Small jazz combo: TRIO.

40. Provide a fake alibi for, say: ABET.

41. Swelter: FRY.

44. Tap dancer Hines: GREGORY. He is celebrated for his intricate phrasing, cool style, and for reviving tap popularity in the late 20th century.

46. "You're right!": I AGREE.

49. Make changes to: REVISE.

50. [theme]

52. Prayer ender: AMEN. 

53. Lamb wrap with tzatziki: GYRO. A GYRO is usually wrapped in a PITA.

55. Charged particle: ION.

56. Tennessee athlete, for short: VOL. The University of Tennessee Volunteers.

57. [theme]

61. Before, in old poetry: ERE.

62. Compilation: DIGEST. Such as Reader's DIGEST. I haven't seen one in years, but print subscriptions are still available.

63. Subway Series squad: METS. The local rivalry of the New York METS vs. the New York Yankees.

64. Acid letters: LSD. I was given a hit of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in college, but I dropped it.

65. __-sense: SPIDEY. SPIDEY-sense refers to an early warning of immediate danger before it happens, as evidenced by Peter Parker aka Spiderman.

66. River through Flanders: YSER. YSER flows in French Flanders, the north of France.

Down:

1. San Francisco's __ Hill: NOB. NOB Hill is a posh historic neighborhood overlooking San Francisco.

I don't mean to brag, but I live near Nob Hill (Road).

2. Janelle's "Abbott Elementary" role: AVA. Janelle James plays principal AVA Coleman.

3. Deep in thought: PENSIVE.

4. Tuneup target: ENGINE. I wanted GUITAR, of course. 😉 I never had a Ric 12-string, but while it's an engineering marvel, it looks daunting to tune up.

Rickenbacker 360/12 headstock

5. "__ sells seashells ... ": SHE. "I have the world's largest collection of sea shells. I keep it scattered on beaches all over the world. Maybe you've seen it." Steven Wright

6. Tropical ring-tailed mammal: COATI. A COATI is a member of the raccoon family and is native to South America.

7. Built one's campaign around: RAN ON.

8. Breakfast brand: EGGO. Crossword constructors will never leggo EGGO because its contains such common letters.

9. Country great Nelson: WILLIE. We should all chip in and buy him a new guitar.

WILLIE Nelson and "Trigger"

10. "__-haw!": YEE. I wanted HEE-Haw because of another country great, Roy Clark.

Roy's playing a Gibson Les Paul Custom "Black Beauty"

11. Sign of trouble: BAD OMEN.

12. Camp nurse's supply: EPIPENS.

13. Salad leaves: GREENS.

18. Mascara target: LASH.

22. Variety show: REVUE.

23. Wee hour: TWO. As we learned a week ago, TWO may also be the wee-wee hour.

24. Modus operandi: WAY. Per the Mandalorian, "This is the WAY."

25. 53-Across bread: PITA. Although a GYRO may be served on a platter.

27. Champagne barrel: CASK.

29. Mandolin kin: LUTE. For comparison to Roy's, here's a pic of my blonde Les Paul Custom, a distant cousin of a LUTE.

20th Anniversary model from 1974 aka "the Fretless Wonder"

32. "... Fine.": OKAY.

33. Shortest mo.: FEB. My oldest son was born on February 28th of a leap year, just hours before not having a birthday very often. 

35. "Dinner is served!": DIG IN.

36. Some big hoppers: ROOS. ROOS is short for kangaroos, even if they're tall. 

37. Fighting: AT IT.

38. Small quakes: TREMORS.

39. Took deep pleasure (in): REVELED.

41. Three-time Best Actress Oscar winner McDormand: FRANCES. She also won a fourth Oscar for Best Picture as producer of Nomadland.

42. Driver's "Star Wars" role: REN. Adam Driver plays Kylo REN in the Star Wars franchise, but he never met a Mandalorian. 

43. Up to today: YET.

44. Rough road surface: GRAVEL.

45. Fix, as a tennis racket or golf club: REGRIP.

47. "Yeah, right!": AS IF.

48. Down in the dumps: GLOOMY.

50. Like an eyebrow: ARCED. I'd rather have ARCHED.

51. Pointless: NO USE.

54. Asana expert: YOGI. If you do it right, you won't have boo-boos. 

57. LP successors: CDS. Kids ask me, "What's an LP?" I tell them they came before CDs. "What's a CD?"

58. Farm pen: STY. 

59. Great Basin native: UTE. 

60. Georgia, once: Abbr.: SSR. This Soviet Socialist Republic was part of the Soviet Union from 1921 to 1991.

Be good. RB

Thursday September 10, 2026 Alex Rohrer & Rodrigo Kerlegand

While Alex Rohrer has published here before, I believe this is Rodrigo Kerlegand's LAT debut. Together, they're troublemakers, but I guess rules were meant to be broken!

38. Cheating, or what the black squares in rows 3, 5, 11, and 13 are doing: BREAKING THE RULES. This phrase clues us in that the theme words are BREAKING i.e. being divided by a black square. The end of the first word on the line plus the beginning of the second create synonyms for RULES: ORDER, BYLAW, EDICT and MANDATE.

When the revealer is in the middle, as a rule it spills the beans and the rest of the puzzle isn't as fun. But not in this case. I mean, what do HIT RECORD and LAWN MOWER have in common? The theme was so well hidden I had to discover it upon completion. I know some people don't like themes that are of no help in the solve, but I liked this one nonetheless. What does bother me a bit is when I have to spend half my review time looking up bios of various celebrities.

I'll now rule on the rest.

Across:

1. With deftness: ABLY.

5. Clogs (up): DAMS. Some damn big clogs!

9. Typical Stan Lee role: CAMEO. Stan Lee, creator of many comic book superheroes, made CAMEO appearances in dozens of films, TV shows, and video games, most famously appearing in 22 Marvel Cinematic Universe films. 

14. Manitoba people: CREE.

15. Vinaigrette ingredient, initially: EVOO. Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It's the good stuff.

16. Throw shade at: HATE ON.

17. Start filming, say: HIT RECORD. And as a noun, a HIT RECORD is a chart-topping album.

19. Like a drive deep in the woods?: ERRANT. It's how many golfers spend their Saturdays.

20. Pioneers of old-school rap, for short: OGS. Original Gangsters. Initially, this was used in specific street and hip-hop contexts, but over time, it was shortened it to “OG” and the meaning broadened to “original” or “authentic,” often without any criminal connotation. As in: C.C. is the OG!

21. "__ Lisa": MONA. Da Vinci's painting has a nice frame per Mr. Bean, but it's also a classic song by one of the greatest singers of all time, Nat King Cole.

Talk about smooth vocals!

22. React to meeting one's hero, perhaps: SWOON. It's an occupational hazard of being a crossword blogger, but I'm getting used to it.
 
23. "Wowza!": OH BABY. "Is it really you, RustyBrain?!" 

25. One pushed to make cuts?: LAWN MOWER. Winner: Best Clue.

29. Mega- times mega-: TERA. Prefixes for a million x million = trillion.

30. Disaster response org.: FEMA. The Federal Emergency Management Agency.

31. Actress Polo: TERI. I guess Polo is the new Garr, but she does look very familiar. I think I first saw TERI Polo in the Meet the Parents movies with Ben Stiller.

32. Bombeck who advised, "Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth": ERMA. Great quote from a funny woman.

34. Situated on: ATOP.

37. Sass: LIP. Don't gimme any of that!

38. [theme]

43. Abbr. in calculus class: LIM. A LIMIT in calc is the value that a function approaches as it's input gets closer and closer to some value.

44. "Ditto!": SAME.  Ditto machines were early duplicators that used liquid alcohol to dissolve a bit of purple wax dye from a master copy and stamp it onto a page. Each time it was used, a little more wax was removed, so after a while the copy quality degraded.

I remember the smell from ditto sheets in school.

45. Paradise: EDEN. 

46. Celebrity pair: ITEM. 

48. Son of Hera: ARES.

50. Padre's hermanos: TIOS. A Spanish father's brother is your uncle.

53. First responder: PARAMEDIC.

56. Game played in the trunk before a road trip?: TETRIS. I'm so good at this 3D TETRIS "game" that I'm in high demand. I've helped many friends load up a truck for a move and they're always amazed how much I can fit in.

58. Mark: GRADE. Back in the day, tests in school were often printed on Ditto machines.

59. Bait: LURE.

61. Medical pen prefix: EPI. An EPIpen is a disposable, pre-filled auto-injector device used to deliver a measured dose of epinephrine (adrenaline) in an emergency to treat severe, life-threatening allergic reactions.

62. Val Kilmer's "Top Gun" role: ICEMAN. Too bad Val died at 65 due to complications from throat cancer. I liked him as Jim Morrison in The Doors biopic.

64. Couple's outing: DATE NIGHT.

66. California wine valley: SONOMA. SONOMA County vineyards and the broader California wine industry are facing an unprecedented economic crisis. Driven by declining wine consumption, oversupply, and rising operational costs, many generational vineyards have closed, leaving their grapes to rot.

67. Spot for dirty dishes: SINK. 

Reminds me of college, for some reason.

68. Corner chess piece: ROOK. The ROOK is the second most valuable piece on the board (after the queen) because they can move rapidly and cover any row or column.

69. Actress who voices Bo Peep in the "Toy Story" franchise: POTTS. Annie POTTS, now 73, has performed on both TV and the big screen. I remember her from Ghostbusters.

70. "__ bien!": TRES.

71. Chlumsky of "Veep": ANNA. ANNA is an American actress who has appeared on Broadway and in movies, but she's mostly known for her TV roles.

Down:

1. Hay fever sound: ACHOO. Gesundheit! (Which means "health" in German.)

2. Quick-witted: BRIGHT. I'm so bright, my mom called me "son." I'll show myself out...

3. Doesn't bother: LETS BE. 

4. "__ darn tootin'!": YER.

5. Distraction: DECOY.

6. Stratford-upon-__: AVON. The town of Stratford on the AVON river was The Bard's old stomping ground.

7. Team spirit: MORALE. Rah.

8. Turf: SOD.

9. Pool bounce: CAROM.

10. Fundamentally: AT ROOT. This phrasing may be used in formal writing, but is less common in everyday speech.

11. Have the best of intentions: MEAN WELL.

12. Extremely long time: EON.

13. Toronto's prov.: ONT. Toronto is the capital city of the Canadian province of ONTARIO.

16. Chopped down: HEWN. I wonder why after chopping down a tree, I have to chop it up.

18. Sets off: EMBARKS. 

22. Wraps tightly: SWATHES.

24. Neighborhood: AREA.

26. Amo, amas, __: AMAT. Amo, amas, AMAT, amamus, amatis, amant is the present tense conjugation of the Latin verb amare. I love, you love, he (she, it) loves, we love, you (plural) love, they love. Three years of Latin in high school!

27. Shallowest Great Lake: ERIE. ERIE averages 62 feet deep vs. Superior's 483.

28. Features of some jeans: RIPS. RIPS in a old pair of favorite jeans are well earned, but I can't see buying new ones that are pre-ripped.  

30. Like some unauthorized editions: FANMADE.

33. "Mamma __!": MIA. Mamma MIA! is a jukebox musical featuring ABBA songs that has grossed $4.5 billion worldwide since its 1999 debut. A film adaptation was released in 2008.

35. Wordsmith's ref.: OED. Ye olde Oxford English Dictionary is a huge reference work. You'll need a library cart to check it out.

36. Many a Little Leaguer: PRETEEN.

38. Minor disruption: BLIP.

39. Pop star Ora: RITA. RITA Ora is a British singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress.

40. Up-and-coming: EMERGENT.

41. Mel B and Mel C bandmate: GERI. Dang! I wanted Mel A. GERI Halliwell et al. were Spice Girls.

42. Second, for one: UNIT. I liked last week's clue better: "Second, but not first."

47. Squirrel kin: MARMOT. MARMOTs are known as "whistle pigs," because they use loud, high-pitched whistles to alert their colonies to danger.

This one just watched The Lion King.

49. Pastry choice: ECLAIR.

51. The Beaver State: OREGON. 

52. Suction tube: SIPHON. 

54. Polite addresses: MA'AMS.

55. Crime novelist Buchanan: EDNA. EDNA Buchanan is an American journalist and writer.

56. Long journeys: TREKS. Like the one through the stars many moons ago...

57. First capital of Alaska: SITKA. I knew of this because SITKA spruce is the most common wood used for guitar tops because it offers an ideal balance of light weight and high stiffness.

My Martin D-42

60. Eclectic magazine: UTNE. The UTNE Reader is an American digital and print digest of alternative media, politics, and culture created in 1984 by Eric UTNE (pronounced UT-nee). 

62. Web access co.: ISP. Internet Service Provider.

63. Murmur: COO.

64. Summer hrs.: DST. Daylight Saving Time.

65. 401(k) kin: IRA. Individual Retirement Account.

Hopefully, I didn't break any rules along the way!

Be good. RB 

Thursday September 3, 2026 Kim Alswager & Zhou Zhang

Zhou Zhang often collaborates with others, and today she's playing a duet with newcomer Kim Alswager. 

61. Score symbols, or a description of 17-, 24-, 39-, and 49-Across: MUSIC NOTES. MUSIC NOTES is a pun of MUSIC notation, i.e. NOTES, blended into theme phrases (also NOTES as in memos) that feature a musical term. Equating the following clues with their musical equivalent answers will take a bit, so bear with me.

17. "Step one: make sure everything is in tune"?: FIRST PITCH. The ceremonial FIRST PITCH is a traditional event where a honored guest throws a baseball from the mound to start a game. In music, one tunes an instrument by adjusting its PITCH.

24. "Learn to recognize the pattern of sharps and flats"?: MASTER KEYS. MASTER KEYS is usually singular, after all, it is the MASTER that unlocks everything. The KEY of a song is the tonal center of the melody, chosen from one of the 12 available NOTES (in Western music) and flavored with a mood, major or minor.

39. "Don't wait for anyone else, go ahead and write a song"?: COMPOSE YOURSELF. To COMPOSE YOURSELF is to calm down and regain emotional control after becoming angry or upset. COMPOSE is what a songwriter does, and this answer is the only one that seems akin to something a memo or NOTE might say.

49. "Now play C major and C minor descending"?: SCALES DOWN. SCALES DOWN means to reduce something in size or scope while still retaining the general idea. C major and C minor are KEYS with corresponding SCALES that may be played from their highest note DOWN to their lowest.

As a musician, I wanted to like this more than I did. It started with, "Step one..." leading me to believe that the rest of the themers would follow some sort of order as one writes or plays a song, but they don't. And while KEYS, PITCH and SCALES are related, COMPOSE (a verb) is not. I also had trouble thinking of most of these phrases as NOTES. 

Playing on:

Across:

1. Word with order or reel: GAG. These phrases highlight the different meanings of GAG, from "to silence" as in a GAG order, to a GAG being a joke as in a blooper reel, a funny collection of outtakes.

4. __ farming: asking for upvotes on Reddit: KARMA. New to me but makes sense.

9. Catches forty winks: NAPS. In the 19th century, "forty" was used loosely to mean an indefinite, large number. In this idiom, "winks" equates to "shut-eye," which is sleep.

Me working hard on this review!

13. Hazy brew, briefly: IPA. India Pale Ale is the most popular beer served here at the Corner.

14. Raise in relief: EMBOSS.

16. On-the-job protection org.: OSHA. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

17. [theme]

19. Drill or clamp: TOOL. I liked this because while both are a TOOL, they are also verbs describing the actions of said TOOLs. Just ask OSHA.

20. Party game with forbidden words: TABOO. I can't say enough about this answer.

21. Origin of a plot hole?: HOE. Fun clue.

Not this kind of plot!

22. Green Gables girl: ANNE. ANNE of Green Gables does not have any major plot holes, but it does have some continuity errors and leaves loose ends.

23. One with elitist tastes: SNOB. A SNOB often has a big EGO.

24. [theme]

27. Big heads: EGOS. People with big EGOS are often SNOBs.

29. Regretted: RUED. 

30. Perpignan pal: AMI. Perpignan is a medieval city in Southern France, thus the French word for "friend."

The Castillet (City Gate) of Perpignan

33. Put a new price on: RETAG. Walmart recently tried "surveillance pricing" whereby they use cellphone data to RETAG digital prices on the shelves based on what they think a customer will pay as one walks by. Thus, shoppers may pay different amounts for the same item. I think it's awful and it's being contested.

36. Wedding party member, perhaps: GROOM. It's "perhaps" nowadays. 

39. [theme]

42. Beer with the largest single-site brewery in the world: COORS. While COORS doesn't directly make an IPA, it does through its craft divisions and broader offerings from Molson COORS.

43. Olympic judo medalist Rousey: RONDA. RHONDA was the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in judo by winning bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She went on to beat everyone else up.

44. Place for a tug: SEA. There are ocean-going tugboats, but most stay in harbors.

45. Opportunity org.: NASA. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. "Oppy" was a historic robotic vehicle that explored Mars for nearly 15 years, far outliving its original 90-day mission.

47. Mirror pic letters on social media: OOTD. Outfit Of The Day. People take pictures of what they are wearing and post them to show off their personal style. Some monetize this by including details telling where they bought their clothes, shoes, and accessories. 

I simply must know where she bought that hideous jacket!

49. [theme]

53. Aware of: ON TO.

57. Onigiri wrapper: NORI. Onigiri is a classic Japanese snack made of cooked rice pressed into a triangle or round shape and often wrapped in NORI, dried seaweed.

58. Tonewood used to make ukuleles: KOA. KOA, from a tree native to Hawaii, is also used in guitar-making because of its striking grain and deep color. 

Gibson SG from their custom shop

59. Parting mot: ADIEU. Let's say "farewell" to any more French today.

60. Shortly, quaintly: ANON. ANON, meaning "soon," was often found in classic literature and plays. In fact, Shakespeare was called the "Bard of ANON" (I may be misremembering my high school English teacher).

61. [theme]

64. Run while sitting: IDLE. Another fun clue.

65. Draw out: ELICIT.

66. Groove: RUT. I'd rather be in the groove than stuck in a RUT.

67. Yuks, online: LOLS. Laugh Out Louds 😂

68. Short digression: ASIDE. 

69. Photo __: OPS. Like this one of NASA's rover:

Photo Opportunity - but who took it?

Down:

1. Talents: GIFTS.

2. Hive-minded?: APIAN. APIAN comes from the Latin word apianus, derived from apis, which means "bee".

3. Greta known as the "Swedish Sphinx": GARBO. GARBO just visited us last Thursday. 

I wonder how she got that nickname?

4. Diet with fat bombs: KETO. On a KETO diet, carbs are the enemy, not fats. 

5. Feedback provider, maybe: AMP. Another music-related clue! This concert set up had potential to provide feedback...and deafen everyone in the process.

The Grateful Dead's Wall of Sound

6. Triple Crown stat: RBI. Baseball's Major League Triple Crown is awarded to a hitter who leads their respective league (American or National) in three major offensive categories during a single regular season: Batting Average (BA); Home Runs (HR); and Runs Batted In (RBI).

7. Fliers who are often light-headed?: MOTHS. My grandma used to call them "millers," and I thought that was because they milled around a light. Turns out it's due to the powdery dust on a MOTH'S wings that resembles milled flour.

8. Tie at a racetrack?: ASCOT. Neckwear named after the famous Royal ASCOT horse race in England.

9. Zero interest: NO TAKERS. Anyone wanna buy my ASCOT collection? Anyone?

10. "Sure, that's a very normal response ... ": AS ONE DOES. 

11. Baloney descriptor: PHONY. It's PHONY baloney!

12. Retail statistic: SALES. I wonder how SALES are affected by surveillance pricing?

15. Like tulle: SHEER.

18. Drink brand with lizards in its logo: SOBE. SOBE was founded in Norwalk, Connecticut, but traded on the vibe of South Beach in Miami, hence the lizards.

24. Springfield watering hole: MOE'S. MOE'S is the bar in The Simpsons cartoons, which may serve IPAs...NITRO-infused of course.

25. Sunflower kin: ASTER. 

26. Tommy Pickles, for one: RUGRAT. Tommy is the baby in the RUGRATs cartoons on Nickelodeon.

28. "__ Pointe Blank": GROSSE. GROSSE Pointe Blank is movie featuring John Cusack as a hitman returning to his home, GROSSE Pointe, Michigan, for his 10-year high school reunion. The title plays on "point-blank" meaning shooting at close range and the main character's name, Martin Blank. It's an entertaining dark comedy from 1997.

30. Syracuse's gp.: ACC. Syracuse University, where both my mother and daughter-in-law earned their masters, is part of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

31. Sound from a pen: MOO. A pen may be any fenced enclosure, but I usually associate them with smaller animals like goats, so BAA crossed my mind.

32. "My streak continues!": I'M ON A ROLL. 

34. Edebiri of "The Bear": AYO. AYO Edebiri won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for her portrayal of a chef in the award-winning TV series, The Bear about the trials and tribulations of a Chicago restaurant.

35. "Why are you still here?": GO NOW.

37. World Cup cheer: OLE. And say, "¡Hola!" to OLE as we switch from French to Spanish.

38. Theater director's deg.: MFA. Masters of Fine Arts.

40. Nutty confections: PRALINES. Originally, this sugary French confection used almonds, but when settlers brought the recipe to New Orleans, native pecans became the nut of choice.

41. Sukiyaki noodle, maybe: UDON. This is our second helping of Japanese food today. Sukiyaki is a popular hot pot dish where thinly sliced beef and vegetables are slow-cooked in a soy sauce broth, then may be served over UDON noodles.

46. Words on a docent's badge: ASK ME. A docent is a person who acts as a knowledgeable tour guide in a museum, zoo or historical site. A good one is a decent docent.

48. Bird that was once endemic to Mauritius: DODO. "Why did the DODO go extinct?" is a question for a docent.

49. __ mail: SNAIL. 

50. Airbnb option: CONDO. 

51. Birth day party?: DOULA. Yet another fun clue! A DOULA is non-medical professional who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to a person before, during, and after childbirth.

52. Caravan's rest spot: OASIS. 

54. Cold brew style: NITRO. Suds are pouring freely today! Infusing beer with nitrogen gas, instead of traditional carbon dioxide, creates a silky-smooth mouthfeel with a dense, creamy head.

55. Pave the way for, as a topic of conversation: TEE UP.

56. Removes: OUSTS.

59. Prerequisite to a deal: ANTE. Nice way to clue this old fav.

62. Here, in Le Havre: ICI. More French.

63. Spain's El __: CID. More Spanish. 

I'll let the music play me out.

Be good. RB