Thursday, February 8, 2024 ~ Jon Daly

Domestic Flights of Fancy

Hi All!
Today Jon offers us four U.S. carriers as part of common things. Let's take a look:

17. Sadness that sets in after missing a flight?: DELTA BLUES. Blues from the Mississippi Delta; Delta is an airline based in ATL.

23. Countries listed on a flight board?: UNITED NATIONS. Headquartered in New York, the UN tries to keep the world more or less civilized. United Airlines is HQ'd in Chicago.

47. Rural areas serviced by just one airline?: FRONTIER TOWNS. A township founded by the settlers. Frontier Airlines is based in Denver, CO.

57. Flight that lasts seven days?: SPIRIT WEEK. The week before the big homecoming game #RahRahRah. SPIRIT airlines - the butt of late-night jokes.

Pretty straight forward theme that doesn't require much from me so let's just move on to the fill.

Across:
1. Maze runners: MICE.

"I solved the maze in fifty-three seconds, but it was a Monday level."

5. Formal decrees: DICTA. Puts the DIC in dictator.

10. Help the chef: PREP. Sous in the kitchen.

14. Driver of Hollywood: ADAM. Listening to an interview, I learned he's a Marine Corps vet.

Adam Driver

15. "American Fiction" actress Tracee __ Ross: ELLIS. She's an actress and Diana Ross's daughter.

Tracee Ellis Ross

16. Stray: ROVE. I almost went with roam.

17. [See: theme]

19. Jon Arbuckle's dog: ODIE. Garfield comic.

20. F1 neighbor: ESC.

Standard Keyboard

21. Friction reducer: LUBE.

22. Paint, toddler-style: SMEAR.

23. [See: theme]

27. Minimally: AT LEAST.

29. Spring bloom: IRIS. Blue Iris used to frequent The Corner.

30. Grilled sausages, for short: BRATS.

31. Out in the open: AL FRESCO. When DW & I were in Italy, we ate only one meal indoors. //I had the anchovy pasta.

35. Fun, as a party: LIT.

36. Jewelry retailer: ZALES.

38. Paddle kin: OAR.

39. Hit the gym: EXERCISE.

42. Church donation: TITHE. 10% is literally what it means and suggested by the church.

44. Tennis Court __: French Revolution event: OATH. The OATH that established the National Assembly in the Real Tennis room of Versailles.

45. Some patches: IRON-ONS.

47. [See: theme]

51. Filmmaker George who won five Hugo Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation: LUCAS. Hugos are for Science Fiction / Fantasy. George's are for Star Wars (1978), Empire Strikes Back (1981), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1982), Return of the Jedi (1984), and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1990).

52. __-Free: contact lens solution: OPTI.

53. Honor society letter: PHI. As in PHI Beta Kappa.

National Honor Society

56. Second son: ABEL. Cain killed him.

57. [See: theme]

60. Covered: CLAD.

61. Eagle claw: TALON.

62. Fabled napper: HARE. Aesop reference.

63. Numbers game: KENO.

64. Mantegna's "Criminal Minds" role: ROSSI. Didn't know his name but I know the face. Good Italian boy, him.

Joe Mantegna [WikiP] as Rossi.

65. Pod in Creole cuisine: OKRA.

Down:
1. Took home: MADE. Net. After taxes.

2. Midmonth time: IDES. Beware the IDES of April. #Taxes

3. Do the math: CALCULATE. Take line 47 and subtract from... Ha!, No., just give the Gov't all that's left over and move on.

4. CPR expert: EMT. Needed after taxes :-)

5. Opens: DEBUTS.

6. "Suuure": I'LL BET.

7. Like crosswords: CLUED. Cute. I find clueing is the easiest part; gridding takes C.C..

8. Twist-__: TIE.

9. Saddlebag carrier: ASS.

10. Potential: PROMISE. As in, "-T had a lot of promise | potential..." that I'd get on report cards.

11. Wyoming's state sport: RODEO. Also Texas' state sport. Houston's Rodeo is 27 February through 17 March this year.

12. S.Pellegrino rival: EVIAN. Bottled spring waters. I associate S.Pellegrino with carbonated and Evian with still (though they (Evian) make sparkling now).

13. Coevals: PEERS. Coevals are contemporaries.

18. Misleading handle: ALIAS. Fake name used for mischief.

22. To-do: STIR. A row.

24. Clear: NET.

25. African river to the Mediterranean: NILE. Our Egypt offices are moving from Maadi to New Cairo City in June(ish).

I tried to highlight the Nile in red.

26. Pound sounds: ARFS.

27. Qualified: ABLE.

28. Lucky Charms shelfmate: TRIX. There's an Eddie Murphy bit in this.

Eddie Murphy on Carson

31. Pour choice: ALE. Ha!

32. Figuratively: SO TO SPEAK.

33. Four-time Oscar-winning lyricist Sammy: CAHN. Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. [WikiP]

34. Smelter input: ORES.

36. Tubular pasta: ZITI. Among Rigatoni, Penne, Fileja, Cannelloni, Ditalini, Manicotti, and Macaroni. #KnowYourTubePastas

37. Tennis great Arthur: ASHE.

40. Portuguese soccer great who now plays in Saudi Arabia: RONALDO. Cristiano Ronaldo's WikiP.

41. Musical based on Eliot poems: CATS. Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats is based on T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.

42. Specifically: TO WIT.

43. Overnight stop: INN.

45. PC problem solvers: IT PROS.

46. Corkscrew pasta: ROTINI. Great for pasta salads.

Recipe

47. "Killing Me Softly With His Song" singer: FLACK.

Roberta Flack

48. Moscow money: RUBLE. DW had some left over from her Russia trip that we added to our international monies collection.

49. __ Spray: OCEAN. Cranberry Cooperative.

WikiP

50. Foments: ROILS.

54. Munster mister: HERR. Today's German lesson.

55. KALLAX shelf seller: IKEA.

57. Viola's sect.: STR. A buddy of mine in HS was First STRing offensive line and First STRing Viola in the STRing SECTion.

58. Kung __ shrimp: PAO.

59. Seuss villager: WHO. As in Horton Hears 'em or The Grinch tries to steal their Christmas.

Whos in Whoville. 
(The one on the left (in blue) is The Dr. :-))

The Grid:

The Grid

After I completed the grid I noticed ATL (Delta's hub) in AT LEAST and went hunting for the other airlines' hubs. There's United's ORD (O'Hare), Frontier's DENver, and I think Spirit is HQ'd in MIAmi. I don't think Jon intended this level of silliness but there you are :-)

WOs: Sous -> PREP, ROam -> ROVE
ESPs: ELLIS, ROSSI
Fav: 42d CLUED as "Specifically" is nicer parsing than the slight (at me) "What to do when the Alfa doesn't work." :-)

Cheers, -T

Thursday, February 1, 2024 ~ Emet Ozar

SWF Seeking...

Escape - Rupert Holmes

15. *Device sold with some sheets of hard candy: TOFFEE HAMMER. You say so.

Toffee Hammer

22. *Took from the top: SKIMMED OFF. Taking the cream or a Salami Attack.

47. *"The Irishman" role for Al Pacino: JIMMY HOFFA. Jimmy's still alive, right?

58. *Teenage vampire slayer of film and TV: BUFFY SUMMERS. I didn't know Buffy had a last name.

35. Some partners, and what can be found in the answers to the starred clues?: SAME SEX COUPLES.

All I can figure is MM (male-male) & FF (female-female) are paired up in the themers. Overall, Emet provided a nice Thursday puzzle that wasn't too difficult.

Across:
1. Yogurt-based drink: LASSI.

Recipes

6. Choose: OPT.

9. "The Equalizer" network: CBS. I've seen one or two partial episodes - I think Queen Latifah was (is?) in it.

12. Pins included in many Ikea furniture kits: DOWELS.
 

Who's NOT used these?

13. Oberlin College's state: OHIO. Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second-oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of higher learning in the world. [WikiP]

14. Horde member in Tolkien: ORC. Remember, ENTs (16' humanoids that look like trees) are good; ORCs bad. EFTs are salamander newts and are NOT part of LOTR.

15. [See: theme]

17. "The Marvels" director DaCosta: NIA.

Nia DaCosta

18. Zaftig: ROTUND. Zaftag: Yiddish origins for "pleasantly plump" woman. #Google

19. Genetic strand: RNA. Ribonucleic acid.

20. Happily __ after: EVER. All the Grimm Brothers' tales as told by Disney.

21. Pastoral poem: IDYL.

22. [See: theme]

25. Label: TAG.

26. "Nova" subj.: SCI. Nova, on PBS, is a great SCIence program.

28. Suffers: AILS.

29. Tokyo, long ago: EDO. Comes up about four times a year in puzzles.

30. Diner patron: EATER. A diner eats dinner at the diner.

33. Yuletide: NOEL.

35. [See: theme]

39. Stew meat: LAMB. Friday, I had lamb curry at an Indo-Pac place. It must be authentic - no pepper icon next to the menu item but it sure had a kick to it.

40. Style: TASTE.

41. Amber, for one: GEM.

43. Brand of kitchen bags: GLAD.
 

Don't get mad, get Glad

45. Dudes: HES. Guys & Bros was too long.

46. "It's __-brainer!": A NO. I didn't even have to think about this one.

47. [See: theme]

52. "Not only that ... ": ALSO. Oh, and, and, and...

53. Neck of the woods: AREA. As Pop [57d] says of his property, "It's my little postage stamp on the globe."

54. Salad dressing base: OIL. EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil) was too long; perps said 'egg' was right out.

55. Crazy about: MAD FOR.

57. Pop: DAD. I call father both.

58. [See: theme]

61. Fig. affected by weather: ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival is just that, an estimate.

62. Lago contents: AGUA. Spanish lesson for the day.

63. Removes, as a knot: UNTIES. Or, how dyslexics gather around a cause.

64. Marina __ Rey, California: DEL.

65. Sighs of pleasure: AHS.

66. Visibility reducers: MISTS. Could affect your ETA.

Down:
1. Ambitious aspiration: LOFTY GOAL. Anyone have any LOFTY GOALs for 2024? Mine is to get a HAM license.

2. Nasty: AWFUL. Mean was too short.

3. Observed: SEEN.

4. Winter coaster: SLED.

5. "More or less": ISH. Or so(ish).

6. "Wowza": OH MAMA. Should I rat-out BIL? He had salted carmel in dark chocolate for the first time. "Oh, damn, Oh, Oh, dude. Oh, Mama! Y'all need to check this out!" //he has a sheltered (meat & potatoes) pallet. Once, the Girls double-dog dared him to eat a blueberry and he was plussed.

7. Thanksgiving dessert: PIE. Being from the South, DW must have pecan; I gotta have pumpkin.

8. The Blue Jays, on sports crawls: TOR. Toronto Blue Jays, eh, C,Eh?

9. Chat sesh: CONVO. A chat ses[h]sion is a conv[o]ersation. #KidsTheseDays

10. Terse: BRIEF. [see: 9d]

11. Beginner's knitting project, perhaps: SCARF. For crocheting too (I made a lot of scarfs :-))

12. Tchotchkes: DOODADS. Thingies on the shelf.

13. Universal opening?: OMNI. Omnipresent, Omnivorous, Omniscient, Omnidirectional.

15. Hackneyed: TRITE. [see: this expo]

16. Genesis boat: ARK.

20. Unsuccessful Ford: EDSEL.

 History [Time]

22. Locale: SITE.

23. Microscopic: MINUTE. Here's a word that, depending on long- or short- "I," has two different meanings. Primer is another.
//chatting with a hacker-buddy HAM on #discord I said I'd like a primer on the cheap-a** Baufeng radio I bought for my LOFTY GOAL. He thought I wanted to paint it :-)

24. Gets together quietly: ELOPES. Cute.

26. Proper: SEEMLY. I don't quite get this... I thought SEEMLY was baudy in a way.

27. World Heritage Site in Algiers: CASBAH. Cue The Clash.

Rock the Casbah

31. Business card no.: EXT. Phone number EXTention within your PBX (Private Branch Exchange).

32. Kelly Clarkson's first record label: RCA. Nipper's recording studio. Hi Misty!

34. Cost of a suit?: LEGAL FEES. Not a three-piece but a lawsuit.

36. Molten rock: MAGMA.

Rock Cycle

37. Federal org. that inspects workplaces: OSHA. Occupational Safety & Health Administration.

38. Features of many alarms: SENSORS. Motion sensors, break-glass noise sensors, magnet switches on the windows & doors, etc.

42. Heath-covered wastelands: MOORS. Emily Bronte comes to mind.

Semaphore Version of Wuthering Heights [Python]

44. Foolish one: DOOFUS.

47. Over it all: JADED. Cynical.

48. Hopping mad: IRATE. PO'd was too short.

49. Purple Heart, e.g.: MEDAL. (Army) Bro has one.

Purple Heart

50. Sports org. based in Zurich: FIFA.  #Soccer

51. Pop __: FLY. Usually an easy catch in #Baseball.

52. Let in or let on: ADMIT. Bouncer ADMITs you or you ADMIT you did it.

55. Public transit system in San Francisco, familiarly: MUNI. I kept wanting BART but perps didn't agree.

56. Tsps. and tbsps.: AMTS. Don't confuse these two AMTS when using baking powder (ask me how I know).

58. Pasture sound: BAA.

59. "Blah": UGH.

60. Dim __: cuisine often served in steamer baskets: SUM.

Yummers!

The Grid:

The Grid

WOs: LOng shO[ts] -> LOFTY GOALS, bart -> MUNI
ESPs: LASSI, ROTUND, MUNI (oh, yeah)
Fav: I'll go w/ OMNI - any one else subscribe to the magazine back in the day?

Toss in your $0.02 below - I'll catch up with y'all later tonight. Have a great Friday eve!

Cheers, -T

Thursday, January 25, 2024 ~ Freddie Cheng

Pump Up The Jam

Click if you don't know the song

Ok, I concede, you can't make jam out of a pump but "plum up jam" isn't a thing -- though, you can plumb UP a [door] jamb :-).

Anyone with a better title? Fortified Foods?

Today, Freddie adds the word UP to intensify our foods / FARE. Let's see what I mean.

20. Add bulk to cured meat?: BEEF UP JERKY. BEEF UP: Make it stronger, better, more interesting.

25. Treat haricot verts to extra plant food?: BUTTER UP BEANS. Haricot verts are French green beans [Google]. BUTTER UP: Praise or flatter in order to get someone to do something

42. Give some oomph to pot stickers?: SOUP UP DUMPLINGS. SOUP UP: Make more powerful such as an engine.

Yummers!

52. Concerns for commuters, or an apt title for this puzzle: FARE HIKES.

I, for one, liked the theme and thought the wordplay in the themers fun. The only downside (or upside depending on your solving experience) is you knew UP was after the verb / before the food.

Across:
1. Element of ecclesiastical architecture: APSE.

5. Pave over: RETAR.

10. Business magnate: CZAR.

14. Tailless cat: MANX. The Manx cat is a breed of domestic cat originating on the Isle of Man, with a mutation that shortens the tail. Many Manx have a small stub of a tail, but Manx cats are best known as being entirely tailless; this is the most distinguishing characteristic of the breed, along with elongated hind legs and a rounded head. [WikiP]
 

Manx Cat

15. "Same here," more formally: AS AM I. Not "ditto?"

16. Gold element of some religious paintings: HALO.
 

History of the World Part I

17. Thing that may have twists and turns: PLOT. Cute.

18. Capacitance unit: FARAD. A capacitor holds a charge between two plates. The Farad was named for Michael Faraday.

19. Penny-__: ANTE. Small stakes poker

20. [See: theme]

23. Pro Bowl org.: NFL. National Football League holds a Pro Bowl (all star) every year the week before the Super Bowl.

24. California's Big __: SUR. Let's check in with the Chamber of Commerce.

25. [See: theme]

32. Longtime "Dancing With the Stars" judge Goodman: LEN.

Len passed last year of pancreatic cancer.

33. "My bad": SORRY.

34. Zelenskyy's country: Abbr.: UKR. Ukraine's president is Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

There lots of deep-fakes of him dancing but one account is real.

36. Range units: ACRES. "Home, Home, Home on the Acres" just isn't the same.

39. Hubbub: ADO.

40. __ del Carmen, Mexico: PLAYA.

Playa del Carmen in relation to...

42. [See: theme]

45. "No time to talk!": I'M LATE.

Alice in Wonderland's Rabbit

46. Half of an interrogation pair: BAD COP.

Maya Rudolph and Jason Bateman Play Good Cop/Bad Cop 

French Cop / Italian Cop #Improv

47. Decryption need: KEY. Two types of keys - symetric and asymetric. A semetric key is used to encrypt and decrypt. Asymetric keys are two related keys - one is used to encrypt and the other is used to decrypt (read more). Asymetric encryption is what makes online shopping possible.

48. Highway sign no.: RTE.

50. WWII carrier: LST. World War II's "Landing Ship, Tank", 1ea.

51. Dreyer's partner in ice cream: EDY. Crossworddom's favorite frozen treat; presumably the OREOs & cream variety.

52. [See: theme]

55. Corn Belt state: IOWA.

58. Shiraz resident: IRANI.

Pretty much 9 hrs. due south of Tehran

59. Milton setting: EDEN. John Milton's poem Paradise Lost.

63. Pub contest: QUIZ.

64. Disciplined, in a way: FINED.

65. Roof overhang: EAVE.

Eave

66. Place to build: SITE.

67. Months and months: YEARS.

68. Was positive: KNEW.

Down:
1. Band aid: AMP. Cute.

2. Sidekick: PAL. Not Tonto nor Robin.

3. Stuffed shirt: SNOB.

4. Length: EXTENT.

5. Some drawings: RAFFLES. Pastels fit.

6. Biblical birthright seller: ESAU.

7. Renovator's protective cover: TARP.

8. Key of Beethoven's Sym. No. 7: A MAJ. Even if you don't know, you can count on an M and wait for perps.

9. Rolls past: RIDES BY.

10. Yogic spiritual center: CHAKRA. Did you know it's also another Stan Lee superhero?

11. Off-the-wall: ZANY.

12. PC key near Z: ALT. Left side of your keyboard.

13. Sturgeon delicacy: ROE.

21. Young salamander: EFT.

22. Have regrets about: RUE.

25. Turn into: BECOME.

26. Disorderly: UNRULY.

27. Thing that may have twists and turns: ROAD. Cute Clecho with 17a.

28. Pakistani language: URDU.

29. Dance with a queen: PROM.

ABBA's Dancing Queen

30. Fine point: NUANCE.

31. Heavenly body?: SKY GOD.

32. Shortsighted solution?: LASIK. Cute.

35. Rough, in a way: RASPY. RASPY wasn't a ROUGH START Monday.

37. Org. concerned with plastic pollution: EPA. Environmental Protection Agency.

38. Buddhist teaching: SUTRA.

40. One in a buffet stack: PLATE.

41. Starbucks top: LID.

43. Paralyze with fear: PETRIFY.

44. "The Not-Too-Late Show With Elmo" airer: PBS KIDS.

49. Strange and scary: EERIE.

50. Hard-hit baseball: LINER.

52. Throw for a loop: FAZE.

53. Mandlikova in the International Tennis Hall of Fame: HANA.

Her Wiki

54. Try to find: SEEK.

55. Sharpness figs.: IQS. Intelligence Quotient. Its a measure against others your age on a test designed to measure intelligence / problem solving. The average is 100, one sigma is 85 to 115. If you're three-sigmas from the mean, you're either a genius or a moron (or both!)

56. "Absolument!": OUI.  Is the clue really a word? Or even French??

57. One with a knack for snappy comebacks: WIT.

60. Auerbach of the Black Keys: DAN.

61. "House of the Dragon" actress Best: EVE.

62. Word in four state names: NEW.

The Grid

The Grid

WOs: mask->TARP, Lts->LST (untie!), dAZE->FAZE
ESPs: PLAYA, DAN
Fav: Penny-ANTE. FIL used to say "Penny-ANTE lollipop bullsh**" for the small stuff.

What foods can you UP? My Angel Editor came up with four (4) in short-order.

Cheers, -T

Thursday, January 18, 2024, Michael B. Berg

 

 

The Language of Love*

Today's constructor Michael B. Berg made his debut in the New York Times just last year (be sure to read his note about how he got into the construction business).  Now that he's ready for the big time (😀)  he has come to teach us a little bit about romance.  Some say love is a battleground -- and  if it is, Michael's theme describes where it all takes place ...

16A. "Don't switch to memory foam": KEEP IT DOWN.  It keeps you much warmer, and sometimes it gets hot.

25A. "Pray we can hold on to the smaller one, which is more comfortable than the king": GOD SAVE THE QUEEN.  And more than that it brings lovers closer together.

42A. "Please double-stitch the new sham": MAKE A STRONG CASE.  True love is the best.

The themers are all references to the boudoir of course and in this reveal Doris Day  tells us all about the language spoken there ...

56A. Nighttime heart-to-heart that's taken literally in this puzzle: PILLOW TALK.

I think I've suggested enough about the theme.  Here's the grid ...
 

Across:

1. "General Hospital," for one: SOAP.  Jacklyn Zeman (March 6, 1953 – May 9, 2023) portrayed nurse Bobbie Spencer on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital for 45 years. Prior to that she played Lana McClain in One Life to Live.

Jacklyn Zeman

5. Care: MIND.

9. Bogus offer: SCAM.

13. Wheel shaft: AXLE.

14. Admit: COP TO.

15. Latin bear: URSA.  MAJOR is the big one and MINOR is the little one.  The tail of the little one is the NORTH STAR ...

16. [Theme clue]

18. Softball clubs: BATS.  Not the ones who live in belfries. 😁

19. SASE, perhaps: ENC.  Self-Addressed Stamped Envelopes.  Aspiring novelists buy them by the pound.

20. R&B's __ Hill: DRU.  Dru Hill is an American R&B group, whose repertoire included soul, hip hop soul and gospel music. The group was founded in Baltimore in 1992 by Tamir Ruffin, and as of 2023, is still active. Dru Hill recorded seven top 40 hits, and is best known for the R&B number-one hits In My Bed, How Deep Is Your Love, and Never Make a Promise: the last a bit of R&B pillow talk ...

21. Data transfer unit: TERABIT.  A trillion bits. 

23. Vend: SELL.

24. Laura of the "Jurassic Park" films: DERN.  Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967), who plays Dr. Ellie Sattler, is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and five Golden Globe Awards.  Here are a few memorable scenes with Dr. Sattler from Jurassic Park ...

25. [Theme clue]

32. Makes the first bid: OPENS.

33. Srs.' nest eggs: IRAS.

34. Rain-__ gum: BLO.  It's also available in a JUM BLO size and it doesn't lose its flavor on the bed post over night ...

35. Pastures: LEAS.

36. Brunch staple: BAGEL.

38. Void partner: NULL.

39. Coastal raptor: ERN.  A sea eagle or fish eagle (also called erne or ERN, mostly in reference to the white-tailed eagle) is any of the birds of prey in the subfamily Haliaeetinae of the bird of prey family Accipitridae. Ten extant species exist, currently described with this label.  They are also frequent flyers through crosswords puzzles ...

Sea Eagle or Ern

40. Mammoth: HUGE.

41. HS class with a big reading list: AP LIT.  Advanced Placement Literature.

42. [Theme clue]

46. Poet of ancient Rome: OVID.  Publius Ovidius Naso (21 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as OVID was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature.  In keeping with today's theme here's a poem from Ovid's The Art Of Love: Book Two.

Ovid

47. Rackets: DINS.

48. See 59-Across: BLOOMER.

51. PC file suffix: EXE.

52. Xiao long __: soup dumpling: BAO.  Here's a recipe.
 

Xiao long Bao

55. Sow sound: OINK.

56. [Theme reveal]

59. With 48-Across, one who is eventually successful: LATE.

60. "Finding Dory" setting: OCEAN.

61. Peru's capital: LIMA.

62. Stretches between forces, briefly: DMZS.  An outmoded concept.  Nowadays the forces are fair game no matter where they're found.

63. Gender-fluid pronoun: THEY.

64. Sculpting material: CLAY.  CLAY is soil composed of the dust from igneous rocks mixed with water.  One of the things that can be sculpted from it is a 25D.

Down:

1. Quaff with sushi: SAKE. SAKE is a wine made from rice, water, yeast, and a mold called koji.

2. Rice paddy team: OXEN.  And speaking of rice  ...

Balinese rice farmer
preparing his paddy for planting

3. Oscar winner Guinness: ALEC.  Sir Alec Guinness,  CH CBE (2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English Shakespearean actor probably most famous in the US for his portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi in George Lucas' original 1977 Star Wars trilogy.  But his career really began in 1946 with a series of collaborations with Director David Lean that included The Bridge Over the River Kwai (1957 Oscar and BAFTA), Dr. Zhivago, and Lawrence of Arabia.  In 1959, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the arts.

Sir Alec Guinness

4. Liveliness: PEP.

5. Self-contained unit: MODULE.  A MODULE can be easily replaced with any unit that accepts the same inputs, produces the same outputs and has an interface compatible with the units it is intended to work. This concept is widely used in electronics and software development and simplifies development and maintenance.

6. Wall St. announcement: IPO.  Initial Public Offering -- what it is and how it works.
 
7. Packaging meas.: NT WT.  The amount that you get after the packaging is removed.

8. Signed, sealed, and delivered agreement: DONE DEAL.

9. Outback maker: SUBARU.

10. Cosmic cloud that resembles a crustacean: CRAB NEBULA.  Apparently it can get pretty crabby.

Crab Nebula
Messier 1
Hubble Telescope

11. Sparkling wine region: ASTI.

12. Sloop pole: MAST.  A CSO to Jinx.  See also 36D.

14. PC paste combo: CTRL-V.   Pastes whatever is on the memory "clipboard".  The former gets filled by highlighting a portion of text and clicking CTRL-C ("Copy"). 

17. Dot journal entries: IDEAS.

22. Nonelective courses, informally: REQS.

23. Nine-digit IDs: SSNS.

25. 64-Across creature of Jewish folklore: GOLEM.  A GOLEM (/ˈɡoʊləm/ GOH-ləm; Hebrew: ‎גּוֹלֶם, romanized: gōlem) is an animated, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is entirely created from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. The golem is a highly mutable metaphor with seemingly limitless symbolism. It can be a victim or villain, man or woman—or sometimes both. Over the centuries, it has been used to connote war, community, isolation, hope, and despair.  There has been some suggestion that the Golem was the inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien's Gollum in the Lord of the Rings.

Golem

26. Word with glasses or gloves: OPERA.  I've used binoculars at OPERAS, but I never wear gloves.

27. Novelist who wrote the "Odd Thomas" thrillers: DEAN KOONTZ.  Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9, 1945) is an American author. His novels are billed as suspense thrillers, but frequently incorporate elements of horror, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and satire. Many of his books have appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list including Odd Thomas.  The protagonist is a twenty-year-old short-order cook named Odd Thomas, who can communicate with the dead and helps to solve crimes.

Why such an odd name?

28. Big cat in "Life of Pi": TIGER.  A 2001 novel by Yann Martel about Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel from Pondicherry, India, who explores issues of spirituality and metaphysics from an early age. He survives 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger which raises questions about the nature of reality and how it is perceived and told. It's also a film adaptation directed by Ang Lee. Here's a trailer ...

29. Otto I's realm: Abbr.: HRE. The Holy Roman Empire has been described as neither holy, Roman, nor an empire.

Holy Roman Empire
circa 1512 - 1806
Superimposed over modern states

30. New York Harbor's __ Island: ELLIS.  Europe's gateway to America.
 

Ellis Island

31. "Tropic Thunder" actor: NOLTE.  Tropic Thunder is a 2008 satirical action comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, who wrote the screenplay with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen. The film stars Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Jay Baruchel, and Brandon T. Jackson as a group of prima donna actors making a Vietnam War film. When their frustrated director (Steve Coogan) drops them in the middle of a jungle and dies in an accident, they are forced to rely on their acting skills to survive the real action and danger.  Even though Nick NOLTE's role in the film was a minor one,  the only other 5 letter actor was Jack BLACK former was easily perped. 😁

36. Place to watch Greyhounds: BUS DEPOT.  A CSO to Zoё.

37. Actor's rep: AGT.
 
38. Background figures in video games, for short: NPCS.  A non-player character (NPC), is any character in a video game that is not controlled by a player.[

40. Actor Corey: HAIM.  Corey Ian Haim (December 23, 1971 – March 10, 2010) was a Canadian actor. He starred in a number of 1980s films, such as Silver Bullet (1985), Murphy's Romance (1985), and Lucas (1986). Haim's early success led to money and fame. He had difficulty breaking away from the trauma of his experience as a child actor and was troubled by drug addiction throughout his adult life. He died of pneumonia on March 10, 2010.

Corey Haim

41. Vice president under 45-Down: AGNEW.  I once shook his hand at a high school Student Council meeting.   I guess I'm just one degree of separation in time and space from an ex-President of the United States! 

43. Conjures: EVOKES.
 
44. Beck album with the single "Where It's At": ODELAY.  Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck (not to be confused with the binonymous Jeff Beck born in 1944 😀) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer.  Beck rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style.  This is "Where It's At" ...

45. President who resigned in 1974: NIXON.

48. Daring: BOLD.

49. Actor Neeson: LIAM.  William John Neeson OBE (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed seventh on The Irish Times list of Ireland's 50 Greatest Film Actors. Neeson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2000.

Liam Neeson

50. Buttery: RICH.

52. Cut out early: BAIL.

53. __ mater: ALMA.

54. Approve: OKAY.

57. Director Spike: LEE.  A common surname among movie directors.

58. "Waterfalls" trio: TLC.  TLC is an American girl group formed in 1990 in Atlanta, Georgia. The group's best-known line-up was composed of Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. The group enjoyed success during the 1990s, with nine top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including four number-one singles: Creep, No Scrubs, Unpretty and Waterfalls ...

Cheers,
Bill

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

waseeley

* This review is dedicated to the memory of Professor Keith Fowler, who loved language, Shakespeare, acting, crossword puzzles, and diagonals.

OMK