Friday November 24, 2023 - Zachary David Levy

Theme: Get down with the "IN Crowd"

Thanks to my fellow blogger MalMan who reminded me of this song from my youth. I like this all instrumental version ...

Puzzling thoughts:

You might recall a few weeks ago I blogged a Zachary David Levy puzzle, so I kind of know his "style". His, and most other Friday puzzles use a combination of witty puns and/or homophones. This seems to be the trend at LA Times, as the one MalMan did on the 17th had a similar "feel".

Today's reveal is pretty short and sweet and is located dead-center in the grid: 39-across. Conclude with, and a phonetic hint for the answers to the starred clues: END IN.

Zachary gives us 6 - count 'em - 6 entries to support his reveal. Two of the 6 intersect each other as 4 of the entries lie horizontally, and 2 of them vertically [it'll be clear once the grid is inserted into the blog]. Let's see how this happened:

17-across. *Obstacle encountered at dawn?: EARLY BURDEN. The more common phrase "early bird" is the first part of the pun's phonetics; the second (as it fits the reveal) is at the END, where the letters "EN" are pronounced "IN". BURDEN is pronounced "bird-in"

Next is: 24-across. *Plot where blue bars of soap grow?: COAST GARDEN. Coast is a brand name for a bar soap; Coast Guard is a branch of the US military

Intersecting 24 across is: 11-down. *Everyone's favorite fire-breathing monster?: MAIN DRAGON. OK, so this is where the puns and homophonics got me a bit confused ... the term "main drag" = the most prominent road in a city. Unlike the previous two entries, the punned homophonic part of the answer was not misspelled

47-across. *Time when tall, thick grass covers a golf course?: ROUGH SEASON. Rough seas are unpleasant for recreational boaters; rough, as in the area of grass just outside of the fairway on a golf course, is more lush and thick when the growing season is current

Intersecting 47 across is: 29-down. *Controller part that gets worn out playing "Mortal Kombat"?: KICK BUTTON. The phrase "kick butt" gets a phonetic "in" ending when it describes a feature of a popular video game

At lastly, 58-across. *Shoutout to a ride-hailing app?: UBER MENTION. This is a complete outlier, IMHO, as the word "Übermensch" is taken from Friederich Nietzsche's idea of the Ubermensch, or the superman, as an idea of humans who create their own values based on their experience of life. He presents this idea prominently in his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra [various internet sources]. Phonetically, I suppose, the word "mention" could be spelled: "mensch-in"

Four entries that end in "ON"; two entries that end in "EN"; 6 entries whose endings phonetically sound like "IN"

One thing I can say is that Zachary didn't ZHUZH us today!! 😜

One of Zachary David Levy's entries that didn't make the cut today ...

Clue: "Head nurse for the hospital's delivery rooms?" --> MATERNITY WARDEN

On one or two previous occasions where I questioned the theme/reveal/entries, I reached out to my fellow bloggers for assistance. Maybe, as I alluded to on November 16 when I commented on waseeley's blog, I am looking for more than what is just there on the surface. But if any of you, who solved this puzzle and are reading this blog, want to add your thoughts below, please comment. Here is the grid, and then off to the rest of the clues ...

Across:
1. Chuckleheads: BOZOS. If there was something I missed in today's puzzle, then you may call me a BOZO

6. Marcus Aurelius, for one: STOIC. ROMAN fits, too; [Wikipedia] "Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a STOIC philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ..."

11. Distraction in a dr.'s waiting room: MAG. MAG, as in MAGazine. The abbr. in the clue gave this away, but I'm gonna say "meh" for this one

14. Meet part: EVENT. Not like the "meet" in "meet and greet" ... like a track meet ... where the 4x400 relay race is one of the EVENTs

15. Confection typically flavored with saffron and rosewater: HALVA. [wikipedia] Recipe for HALVA: "Sesame. Sesame halva is popular in the Balkans, Poland, Middle East, and other areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The primary ingredients in this confection are sesame butter or paste (tahini), and sugar, glucose or honey". Looks like they left out the saffron and rosewater ... maybe that's why I needed perps to solve this one

16. Make public: AIR. Like this blog, perhaps

19. Letters before a take: IMO. The clue for this seemed odd to me ... anyone else?

20. Ruse: PLOY. Let's see what the Thesaurussaurus says about this one:

21. Flamenco shout: OLE. Also heard at Ryder Cup matches ...

22. Sleep study subject: APNEA. Click here for more information

27. Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy: AIKMAN. QB #8 for the Dallas Cowboys. My favorite HOF football player named Troy is this guy:

31. __ roll: HONOR. Moe-ku #1:

Rodney Dangerfield's
Least known quote from "Back to School"
Is "I'm HONOR roll" ...

32. Certain cross-country traveler: SKIER. I cross-country skied when I lived in New England many decades ago. I enjoyed the workout as well as the lack of speed, unlike my Friday counterpart, MalMan who prefers to downhill ski

33. Two or three, say: A FEW. Two = a couple; three or four = A FEW

35. Setup punches: JABS. A pugilistic term

38. Chest muscles, briefly: PECS. PECtorals; here you go, ladies!! 😉

40. Four-award acronym: EGOT. This acronym is quickly becoming a part of crossword-ese

41. Big Apple store: SAKS. A NYC landmark

42. Fibber: LIAR.

43. "Pride Is the Devil" rapper: J COLE. Here is the "official" trailer ... it's "rap" so listen to it if you want, or skip it if you'd rather

44. Soaks up the sun: BASKS.

46. Short revitalizer: CATNAP.

51. "It's open!": ENTER.

52. Soup container: CAN. Moe-ku #2:

The favorite dance of
Campbell's soup containers is,
Of course, the CAN CAN

53. Western gas chain: ARCO. Western CANADA gas chain would be: ESSO

57. Avocado discard: PIT. The word PIT has several synonyms and meanings; oddly, I found very few that lists it as an avocado (or peach) discard:

62. System starter?: ECO. SOLAR didn't fit

63. "They were no match for me!": GOT 'EM.

64. Center of Renaissance art: ITALY. Read all about it!

65. Actor Cariou: LEN. A CSO to CanadianEh! "Leonard Joseph Cariou OC OM is a Canadian actor and stage director. He gained prominence for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the original cast of Stephen Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street alongside Angela Lansbury for which he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical" [wikipedia]

66. Pert: SASSY.

67. Anti-anxiety drug: XANAX. Not for those who are "palidromicphobic" 🤣

Down:
1. Appliance alert: BEEP. Unusual clue for this word, but it works

2. Not quite round: OVAL. aka, an ELLIPSE. Have you ever wondered how to calculate the area for an OVAL?

3. Round number?: ZERO. On my computer keyboard, the number "ZERO" looks like an OVAL, while the letter "O" looks more round ... and "ONE" is the loneliest number if you believe in Three Dog Night [this is what happens when you're into your third hour of writing a blog ...]

4. Merely: ONLY.

5. Porcine pen: STY. Porcine = french for "pig"; pigs live in a STY

6. NFL coach with the most career wins: SHULA. Don SHULA

7. Scale allowances: TARES.

8. Not fresh: OLD.

9. Secret suffix: IVE. "IVE" could've been clued as: "___ Got a Secret" (former game show). Secret is also a brand you can use on your PITs

10. Ancient land on the Dead Sea:) CANAAN Looks a bit like modern-day Israel!

12. Mann of pop: AIMEE. When I googled the word "AIMEE", AIMEE Mann comes up in the 4th position on the list of AIMEEs. I'm pretty sure that this filled via perps

13. [But I don't wanna do my homework!]: GROAN. You want a GROAN? Moe-ku #3:

Peruvian owl
Becomes friends with mockingbird
Are they Inca hoots?

18. Windfall: BOON.

23. Cast: PROJECT. Verb form of the clue word

24. Jaguar, for one: CAR. XKE could've fit (that's a Jaguar model)

25. His and hers: THEIR. All of these gender pronouns ... 😕

26. Gala garb: GOWN.

27. Egyptian cobras: ASPS.

28. Maker of BILLY bookcases: IKEA. These:

30. Text, e.g.: MESSAGE.

33. Star __: expensive spice: ANISE. And another clue whose solve sounds "similar" to ANISE: (48. Waiting in the wings:) ON ICE.

34. Rx overseer: FDA. Prescription drug watchdog

36. Whirled weapon: BOLA. I always get BOLA and BOLO mixed up. One you wear and one you whirl

37. Pedometer unit: STEP. I track mine (STEPS) either on my iPhone or Apple watch. I should be doing more

39. Large deer: ELKS. Is this a more difficult clue than "Fraternal order, familiarly" ... ?? Some folks would argue that the plural of ELK is ELK, not ELKS

43. "SNL" alum Hooks: JAN. I hate to admit, but SNL passed me by many decades ago. This was a complete unknown. I will bet that the J COLE crossing with JAN (Hooks) tripped up more than one solver today

45. "I dunno" gestures: SHRUGS. 🤷 🤷

46. Post-op wear for some pets: CONE. One of my favorite SNL sketches was the foibles of the CONEheads; they seemed funnier back in 1978 ... 😅

47. Drive away: REPEL.

49. Surveyor's units: ACRES.

50. __ the Owl: Rice University mascot: SAMMY. College mascot

53. Naan flour: ATTA. Interesting and fun fact: the flour used (ATTA) for the Indian bread (NAAN) is also a palindrome. How weird?

54. "Glass Onion" filmmaker Johnson: RIAN. Another proper name solved via perps. Glass Onion teaser/trailer:

55. Bar mixer: COLA. Believe it or not, I can count on one hand the number of times I have had a COLA this year, and have fingers left over. The only carbonated beverage I drink (as a bar mixer) are Tonic Water and Ginger Beer

56. Black gemstone: ONYX. Odd assortment of letters on the border of the puzzle. Not that many choices of words that could fill this section that end in O, N, Y, and X

59. Campy scarf: BOA.

60. UFO aviators: ETS. The CONEheads, perhaps?

61. Squash: NIX. GOURD didn't fit

So how did you fare today? Hope y'all had a Happy Thanksgiving 🦃 🍗 🍠 🥧

Friday, November 3, 2023 - Zachary David Levy

Theme: "Let's spice this up!"

Puzzling thoughts:

Zachary David Levy is our constructor today, and in keeping with the Friday puzzles this year, wordplay is in full force. Each of the three theme entries use the letters "ge" to form a "zhuzh" sound, and that also fits the reveal: 61-across. Added panache, as was done three times in this puzzle?: ZHUZHED IT UP.

How so, you ask?

First, there is 17-across. Farmer's tan?: BEIGE OF PIGS. The common term "BAY OF PIGS" refers to the location of the botched invasion of Cuba in 1961

A "farmer's tan" is the image you see in this link. The "wordplay" farmer's tan focuses on the color beige, as in the color of some PIGS

Next, there is 30-across. Battle hymn?: SIEGE SHANTY. As is the case with BEIGE OF PIGS, SIEGE SHANTY wordplays off the common "SEA SHANTY" with the SIEGE part being the "battle" reference in the clue. Not sure that this tune would have the same meaning if it were called "The Siege Shanty of the Republic"

And last, we have 49-across. Don rose-colored glasses?: ROUGE THE DAY. Some say the phrase, "RUE THE DAY" has its roots with Shakespeare; as the link indicates, Shakespeare never used those exact words in any of his plays, but the use of "rue the day" eventually led to its meaning of when you bitterly regret a moment

ROUGE THE DAY, on the other hand, might look like this

So where in the world did Zachary David Levy come up with the word "zhuzh"? According to several sources [found after Googling] "the earliest records of the word "zhuzh" show that it is part of Polari, an argot used in Britain since perhaps the eighteenth century primarily among gay theatrical and circus performers. The claims that the word was borrowed from Yiddish or Romani are not supportable"

Here is a link to today's puzzle grid: Zachary David Levy 11/3/2023

Blogger's note: For some reason I was unable to load images from my computer to the blog; hence, all of the links today. Not sure what happened but I hope you all will still enjoy the recap ... C-Moe

Across:
1. Representative: AGENT. Still a 10-percenter, I believe

6. Comets, to some: OMENS. Erstwhile Mercury compact cars didn't fit

11. "Pow!": BAM.

14. Like some opposites: POLAR.

15. Manuscript sheet: FOLIO.

16. Single: ONE.

19. Ill. neighbor: IND. Illinois has five neighboring states; only one of which is usually abbreviated with three letters (INDiana). The other four? WISConsin, IowA, MissOuri, and KentuckY

20. Save for later: STASH. Does anyone here have a secret, special "STASH" they want to reveal and/or confess to?

21. "Lonely Planet" recommendation: HOSTEL. Moe-ku #1:

Did you hear about
The dangerous inn for youths?
The hostile HOSTEL

23. Skewer: SPIT. Again, today you will have to click on the hyperlink to see an image

24. Buzz: HYPE. I had a bit of a Natick going in this section of the puzzle, due to my wanting (26-down. Green gp.: PGA, to be EPA. (28-across) "I __ HATE to say it, but I think the clue should have been written: Green gp.? Why? Because the PGA would use the plural, "greens", instead. A bit of a nit, but this should have indicated a misdirection

29. Org. with complex schedules: IRS.

33. "u crack me up": ROTFL. Text speak; Roll On The Floor Laughing. Or this emoji: 🤣

35. Purple Heart recipients: WAR HEROES. Fun fact: There were over 1 million Purple Heart medals awarded over the five years of WWII alone. Open this link to see the entire list of Purple Heart recipients since 1782

36. Copa locale: RIO. Sorry to disappoint you but there is no way the Chairman is going to post a video of Barry Manilow singing "At the Copa"!! 🤣

38. Shaggy ox: YAK. Barry Manilow, no; The Coasters? Yes!!

39. One handing out cigars in a waiting room, perhaps: PROUD PAPA. Here is a throw-back clue. So give a guess; when did maternity wards first allow PROUD PAPAs to be involved in the delivery room? I will link something at the end of the blog.* As a "personal" Fun Fact, I have two 40-something kids, and was in the delivery room for both of their births. I was "allowed/encouraged" by the OB/GYN to cut the umbillical cord for my younger child. As for the handing out of cigars, it most certainly happened, but not in the waiting room ...

45. Winner's gesture: V-SIGN. Same two fingers as the peace-sign; but the V-SIGN is made with your knuckles facing out. In lieu of an image, just close your eyes and imagine it ...

51. Pinch: NAB. Sounds like a reference to catching a criminal or perpetrator

52. Beyoncé's "Cadillac Records" role: ETTA. "At Last", we have some crossword-ese!! 😉

53. High-and-mighty sort: SNOB. At one time in my adult life I was a true Wine SNOB. Fortunately, that passed once I got into the business (proprietor, sales rep, sommelier) as I came to appreciate the vast variety of palates wine drinkers had. And just because the wine comes in a box instead of a bottle, or is called "White Zinfandel", I realized that folks drank this and liked it

On the other hand, I am DEFINITELY a BEER and COFFEE SNOB. I'd rather drink water than Coors Light, e.g.; and Folger's? Puh-leeze ... same goes for Starbucks. The best thing that happened to the BEER and COFFEE industry was the growth of craft brewers/craft roasters

And its clecho: (3-down. High-and-mighty sort: ELITIST

54. Aquarium growth: ALGA. I have this vague memory of my elementary school days when I brought a tadpole to our classroom for "show and tell". It was in a small "aquarium" and our teacher thought it would be interesting to watch it develop into a frog ... ALGA (or maybe it was SCUM) was a constant presence

55. Piehole: GULLET. Click for an image: Not one of the more common synonyms for the word "mouth"

58. Rapper Kendrick who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018: LAMAR. I know most of my rappers from doing crossword puzzles. I can now add LAMAR to that list

60. JFK-to-Tokyo carrier: ANA. All Nippon Airways. Fun Fact: ANA was awarded the 2023 SKYTRAX Top Winner for Airport Services, Cleanliness and Airline Staff in Asia, and ranked 3rd in Airline of the Year (behind Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airlines). It has won these individual awards multiple times:

World's Best Airport Services (10-time recipient)
World's Cleanest Airline (5-time recipient)
Best Airline Staff Service in Asia (8-time recipient)

66. Some NIH grant recipients: MDS. The National Institute of Health issues grants to Medical DoctorS

67. Seized items: REPOS.

68. Acrobatic: AGILE. Is there anyone more AGILE than she?

69. Make a fast stop?: EAT. Got it! When you stop "fasting" you? EAT

70. "Is that my cue?": AM I ON?. Surprised to find that this phrase is a "debut entry". AM I UP also appears to be unused in published crossword puzzles

71. "Woman With a Parasol" painter Claude: MONET. Here is both an image and a description of this work by Claude MONET. It's of his wife and son

Down:
1. PD advisory: APB. All-Points Bulletin; according to [Wikipedia], "An all-points bulletin is an electronic information broadcast sent from one sender to a group of recipients, to rapidly communicate an important message. The technology used to send this broadcast has varied throughout time, and includes teletype, radio, computerized bulletin board systems, and the Internet"

2. Joins the big leagues: GOES PRO. Moe-ku #2:

When the naysayer
Was convinced of the truth, he
Yielded, and GOES PRO

4. Worry: NAG AT. I guess that when something NAGs AT you, you tend to worry ... a longer clue could have been: What a spouse might do to you if you procrastinate too much

5. Square root of nueve: TRES. Spanglish

6. Askew: OFF. Moe-ku #3:

VP Spiro cheats
On taxes; the headline read:
"Agnew is ASKEW"

7. Disheveled do: MOP. I don't know why, but when I saw this I thought of Opie Taylor

8. "Boola Boola" collegian: ELI. "The authorship of Yale's iconic fight song “Boola Boola” has traditionally been ascribed to Allan M. Hirsh, Class of 1901. In October 2000, Hirsh's grandson, Philip Hirsh '60, published an essay in this magazine that appeared to be the definitive account of his grandfather's writing of the song

9. At hand: NIGH. Anyone else have the word "NEAR" in this spot?

10. Only fair: SO SO. Moe-ku #4:

Chicago slugger
Hit fewer homers one year;
Was Sammy SOSO

11. Orser's rival in the "Battle of the Brians" at the 1988 Winter Olympics: BOITANO. You can find the damndest things on the Internet when you Google!! Two versions; the second is the original

12. Actress Bening: ANNETTE. [Wikipedia] "Annette Carol Bening (Born: May 29, 1958) is an American actress. In a career spanning over four decades, she has received various accolades, including a BAFTA Award and two Golden Globes as well as nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, two Tony Awards, and four Academy Awards"

13. Collages of songs: MEDLEYS.

18. "Well, hey there!": "OH, HI!".

22. Mavens: SHARKS. Another one of the "Friday-level" synonyms used today. [Vocabulary dot com]: "Definition of maven: someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field". Synonyms (include): ace, adept, champion, genius, hotshot, mavin, sensation, star, superhero, superstar, virtuoso, whiz, whizz, wiz, and wizard. SHARKs fit, too; as in Pool SHARKs

23. Title for Andy Murray: SIR. Brits

25. Common name of Taxus baccata: YEW. (Genus; Species) for a tree known for its use in making archery bows

27. Poetic adverb: E'ER. Have you EVER seen this in x-word puzzles??

30. Go downhill: SLIDE. Had SLIDE first; then tried GLIDE when I was wrestling with that center portion of the puzzle. The S in SIEGE solidified the SLIDE

31. Not bold: SHY. Not sure I would E'ER be called "SHY". A better Friday-level clue might have been: "Lacking"

32. Hard to handle: HEAVY. I could imagine the word "HEAVY" being found in this book

34. Penny-pinching: FRUGAL. Moe-ku #5:

Penny-pinching chick
Made a very unique sound:
Not "cheep", but FRUGAL

37. Bow (out): OPT. Bow (wow): ARF

39. Warmup time: PRE-GAME. The PRE-GAME show at the Super Bowl lasts most of the day

40. Domed hall: ROTUNDA. Building feature; think the U.S. Capitol. Last time I visited there was when I was in 6th grade

41. Stay longer than: OUTLAST. Appropriate part of the three-word motto (OUTWIT, OUTPLAY, OUTLAST) for the TV Reality Show Survivor, which is now airing its 45th episode/season. One more and the show will have as many seasons as the U.S. has had Presidents

42. Relaxed sounds: AHS. Where you hear these sounds, usually, are at a SPA

43. Stock room?: PEN. Nice misdirectional clue. "Live"stock (includes pigs, too) are sometimes kept in a PEN

44. Big bother: ADO.

46. Like many state mottoes: IN LATIN. Here in AZ, our state motto is: DITAT DEUS, which is Latin for: "God Enriches"

47. Regulation that restricts discussion: GAG RULE.

48. Org. with Thunder and Heat: NBA. Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder and Miami Heat

50. Up to the task: ABLE. I am more than ABLE to recap and post to our blog; I am willing, too! 🤪

54. "¡Mi hombre!": AMIGO. Spanglish

56. Alt-rock band Better Than __: EZRA. This was all perps, with the "Z" coming last because, well, it just did. I won't admit that this one may have been a Google look up, 'cause I certainly didn't know the word "ZHUZH" before today

57. Not us: THEM. If a group of people who didn't identify as HE's or SHE's, would they be THEM?

59. Scott of "Severance": ADAM. Only on a Friday (well, maybe on Saturday) would the word ADAM not be linked with Eve, Cain, Abel, the Book of Genesis, the Garden of Eden, ...

62. Initials in the news: UPI. AP was too short. [Wikipedia]: United Press International is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th century. At its peak, it had more than 6,000 media subscribers"

63. Menagerie: ZOO. I put in ZOO early in my attempt to solve the puzzle; and then scratched my head as I tried to figure out "ZHUZHED"

64. Retail channel: HSN. Home Shopping Network

65. Gently stroke: PET.

And so it ends. The answer to my question in 39-across:*1960's for being in the "labor room"; 1970's for being in the delivery room

Sorry again for the absence of images without having to link them. I hope to have my computer figured out in two weeks when I next return ... please add your comments below

Friday, September 15, 2023, Zachary David Levy

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with the Friday recap.  I have been (and will be) traveling and want to thank those who have, and will, pinch-hit for me.

Today's puzzle setter is David Zachary Levy whose work has appeared here several previous times.  His themes have always been clever and this one does not break with tradition.  Let's start with the reveal:

53 Across:  "Without a doubt!," and a hint to 20-, 31-, and 41-Across: NO BUTS ABOUT IT.  At the three identified places, David has removed the word BUT from descriptive words that we have all heard before and, thereby, created appropriate answers to the clues.  

20 Across:  Result of an overzealous stylist?: FLYING TRESSES.  FLYING BUTTRESSES  Think Notre Dame de Paris:

31 Across:  Result of a "Moonstruck" actress converting to Judaism?: KOSHER CHER.  KOSHER BUTCHER

41 Across:  Indulge in many, many naps?: SNOOZE TONS.  SNOOZE BUTTONS  Not snooze GOBS (36 Across).

This is how everything appears in the grid:

The rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Alluring: SEXY.

5. One rocking a pocket protector: DWEEB.  GEEK and NERD were both too short.

10. Cerulean kin: AQUA.  A color.

14. Neutral tone: ECRU.  Another color.

15. Cost: RAN TO.  Cost is used as a verb in the clue.

16. Has to: MUST.

17. Crowd sound: ROAR.

18. Four-footed Jetson: ASTRO.

That's ASTRO on the right.

19. Marathon measure: PACE.  Always set your own pace.

23. Member of the fam: SIS.  Sister.  Got it, bro?

24. Drink that may elicit brain freeze: ICEE.

25. Drudgery: TEDIUM.

28. Genre for the Maytals: SKA.

Toots and the Maytals

29. Dispensable candy: PEZ.

30. CT scan kin: MRI.  See also 3 Down.

36. A whole lot (of): GOBS.  Tons.  Lots.  It wasn't going to be A Lot 'cause that was used in the clue.

37. Cary of "Glory": ELWES.

38. Crunch targets: ABS.

39. Angry with: MAD AT.  This led to one of those first-fill-with-perps-and-then-wonder "What the heck (in this case) is a MADAT?" moments.

40. Some draft picks: ALES.  Not a professional sports reference.

43. Connect: TIE.

44. Sever: CUT.  

45. Extra periods, briefly: OTS.  OverTimeS

46. Got going: SET OUT.

48. Stash of water balloons, e.g.: AMMO.  Often clued with a reference to snowball fights.

50. Sci-fi beings: ETS.  Extra TerrestrialS

56. " ... or not": WELP.  In modern usage, a "linguistic shrug".  Apparently, its use is common on Twitter.  No wonder that I had no idea.

58. "Arrested Development" actress Portia de __: ROSSI.

59. Title for Helen Mirren: DAME.

60. Love god: EROS.  Would it be AMOR?  The perps always tell us which.

61. Wipe out: ERASE.  For another take on this:

The Ventures

62. Ready to do business: OPEN.  Reminded me of one of Cleavon Little's scenes in Blazing Saddles but I could not find a suitable clip.

63. Like the lawn at dawn: DEWY.

Neither Huey, Dewey not Louie Was Correct

64. Stadium toppers: DOMES.

The Original - The Houston Astrodome

65. Coming up: NEXT.

Down:

1. Feudal laborers: SERFS.  Today, we were spared the Liege (sovereign)/Liege (vassal) conundrum.

2. Common source of food poisoning: E-COLI.

3. Shots at a doctor's office: X-RAYS.  Shots as in pictures.  Nice misdirection in the cluing.  See also 30 Across.

4. Gagarin who was the first human in outer space: YURI.  Those of us of a certain age remember the event well.

5. Street racer: DRAG CAR.  Drag Racer and Dragster have both been heard by this solver.  Drag Car?  Never, until today.

6. Refuse: WASTE.  Refuse as in to say no?  No.  Refuse as in please place your refuse in the trash can.

7. __ nous: ENTRE.  Between us.  Cours de français d'aujourd'hui.

8. Basic French verb: ETRE.  Un autre cours de français d'aujourd'hui.

9. Rocket stage: BOOSTER.

10. Full of energy: AMPED.  How do electricians relax after getting AMPED up all day?  They chant Oooohhhhhmm.

11. Victor Hugo character: QUASIMODO.  The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

12. Sch. near Hollywood: USC.  More often, we encounter UCLA clued this way.

13. Devoured: ATE.

21. Air Force 1s, e.g.: NIKES.  A nice bit of misdirection.  We're supposed to think, at first, of the aircraft not the shoe model.

22. "__ me!": SEZ.  A bit of a punt but it does go very nicely with 29 Across.

26. __ sprawl: URBAN.  Cow tipping is an URBAN myth.  The farmers pay them a competitive rate.

27. Humid phenomena: MISTS.

28. Spike Lee's "__ Gotta Have It": SHES.

29. Chihuahua change: PESO.  Not the dog.  The Mexican city.

31. "Hyperion" poet: KEATS.

32. Stan's partner in slapstick: OLLIE.

Stanley (Stan) Laurel and Oliver (Ollie) Hardy

33. Product in pink packets: SWEET 'N LOW.

34. Isn't able to: CAN'T.

35. Subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery: HBO.

36. Heaters: GATS.  Both the clue and the answer are noir movie slang for guns.

39. Empowerment hashtag since 2017: ME TOO.  In the news quite a bit over the past several years.

41. Stitched together: SUTURED.

42. "Shaun of the Dead" figures: ZOMBIES.

No BUTS !

44. Den youngster: CUB.

47. "__-daisy!": OOPSY.  I kept trying to  make some variant of UPSY work out.

48. Tea region of India: ASSAM.  A region often referenced in our puzzles.

49. Pool stroke that may damage the felt: MASSE.

50. Tour de France section: ETAPE.  Once, again, French.

51. Corporation that began as the Waterbury Clock Company: TIMEX.  New to this solver but after the X appeared in 65 Across it was not difficult.

52. Vessel opener: STENT.   In this case, blood vessel.  Too close to home for this solver.  No, not that close.  Valerie and I were at the Hollywood Bowl the other night and when we walked to the car our friend, Allan, had a difficult time of it.  The next day he received a STENT.

54. Big name in lawn mowers: TORO.

55. Soup noodle: UDON.  RAMEN would not fit.  Would it be SOBA?  The perps always tell us which.

56. Married: WED.

57. Bard's before: ERE.

Well, that wraps things up for today.  I will be back on sabbatical through the end of next month.  See you in November.

___________________________________

Tuesday, August 15, 2023 Zachary David Levy

My Treat.  I'll PAY the BILL.  Give me the CHECK and put it on my TAB, then you can CHARGE my card.

17-Across. Wild West stage name of William Cody: BUFFALO BILL.  Buffalo Bill (né William Frederick Cody; Feb. 26, 1846 ~ Jan. 10, 1917) was a soldier, bison hunter, and showman.  At age 15, he became a Pony Express rider.  In 1883, he founded his famous Buffalo Bill's Wild West, a touring company that traveled through out the United States and Europe putting on shows that romanticized the American West.  [Name #1.]

29-Across. Word processor error finder: SPELL CHECK.  I had a boss named Darryl.  I had to be careful when I sent him emails, because spell check always wanted to change his name to Diarrhea.

43-Across. Something opened while on Safari?: BROWSER TAB.

It's been discontinued.

59. Underwater explosive: DEPTH CHARGE.

And the unifier:

34-Across. Vow made while shaking one's fist or when referring to the ends of 17-, 29-, 43-, and 59-Across?: YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS.  You may need Anger Management, you Angry bird.

Across:

1. Language also known as Persian: FARSI.  Farsi is the official language of Iran. It is also spoken in parts of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates.  It is written in the Arabic alphabet.

6. "In memory of ... " poem, e.g.: ELEGY.  Elegy or Eulogy?

11. Past the "sell by" date, perhaps: BAD.  But is it still safe to eat?

14. __-proof: easy to operate: IDIOT.

15. Double agents: MOLES.

16. Sporty truck, briefly: UTE.  UTE is short for Utility Vehicle.

19. Stubbing victim: TOE.

20. Early residents: SETTLERS.

21. Inclined walkway: RAMP.

22. __ fide: BONA.

23. South Pacific island region: OCEANIA.  There are 14 countries in Oceania.

26. "Les Misérables" novelist Victor: HUGO.  Victor-Marie Hugo (Feb. 26, 1802 ~ May 22, 1885) wrote many books in addition to Les Misérables.  I had to read Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame when I was in High [Name # 2.]

Victor Hugo

31. "The Shipping News" novelist Proulx: ANNIE.  Annie Proulx (née Edna Ann Proulx; b. Aug. 22, 1935) will celebrate her 88th birthday next Tuesday.  She also wrote Brokeback Mountain, which was made into a movie.   [Name # 3.]

33. Earth goddess: GAIA.  It's Greek to me.  [Name # 4.]

41. "You crack __!": ME UP.

42. Birthing coach: DOULA.  Today's Greek lesson.  The word originally referred to a female slave, however.

49. With skill: ABLY.

50. __ Stone: software for language learners: ROSETTA.  The original Egyptian Rosetta Stone was found in July 1799.  The original stone is now housed in the British Museum in London.

51. Shortening: LARD.

53. Enclosed by: AMID.

54. TV 64-Across from the planet Remulak (or France): CONE HEAD.  //  And 64-Across Extraterrestrial: ALIEN.  A blast from the past!

58. __ for the course: PAR.  //  Not to be confused with 61-Down:  Each: PER.

62. Singer DiFranco: ANI.  Fall 2023 dates for Ani DiFranco's (née Angela Maria DiFranco; b. Sept. 23, 1970) Righteous Babe consort tour.  [Name # 5.]

63. "Carmen" or "Elektra": OPERA.  Have I ever mentioned that Carmen is one of my favorite operas?

65. Spanish two: DOS.  Hi, Lucina!

66. British nobles: EARLS.

67. Consecrate: BLESS.  I misread this clue as Concrete, so confidently wrote in SOLID.

Down:

1. Little lies: FIBS.

2. Together, in music: A DUE.  Today's French and music lesson.  We have occasionally seen this phrase in the puzzles.

3. Break in relations: RIFT.

Great Rift Valley

4. Cook for three minutes, as an egg: SOFT BOIL.

5. Writer Calvino: ITALO.  I am familiar with the name of Italo Calvino (né Italo Giovanni Calvino Mameli; Oct. 15, 1923 ~ Sept. 19, 1985), but have never read any of his works.   [Name # 6.]

6. Genre for Lil Uzi Vert: EMO RAP.  Emo Rap is a fusion of Hip Hop and Emo music.  Lil Uzi Vert (né Semer Bysil Woods; b. July 31, 1995) is probably not a household name to most of us.  [Name # 7.]

7. Tosses gently: LOBS.

8. One of the "Manningcast" brothers: ELI.  Manningcast is a football broadcast hosted by the two Manning brothers ~ Payton (né Payton Williams Manning; b. Mar. 24, 1976) and Eli (né Elisha Nelson Manning; Jan. 3, 1981).  The Manning brothers were both born in New Orleans.  [Name # 8.]

9. Hair goo: GEL.

10. Couture initials: YSL.  Yves Saint Laurent (né Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent; Aug. 1, 1936 ~ June 1, 2008) makes frequent appearances in the puzzles.  [Name # 9.]

11. Lighter filler: BUTANE.

12. Super hot, as wing sauce: ATOMIC.

13. New Age writer Chopra: DEEPAK.  Deepak Chopra (b. Oct. 22, 1946) is an Indian-American author and advocate of alternative medicine.  [Name # 9.]

18. Telescope part: LENS.

21. "Go team!": RAH.

23. "Frozen" snowman: OLAF.  [Name # 10.]

24. Advertising award: CLIO.  The Clio Awards are named after the Greek goddess Clio, the mythological muse known for celebrating great deeds and accomplishments.  [Name # 11.]

25. Stampless greeting: E-CARD.

26. Foal food: HAY.

27. Spanish one: UNO.  Also the name of a card game.

28. Wildebeest: GNU.  What's gnu with you?

30. Land of pharaohs and pyramids: EGYPT.  //  And 45-Down. God of the dead, in ancient 30-Down: OSIRIS.  Everything you wanted to know about Osiris but didn't know to ask.  [Name # 12.]

32. Horror film loc.: ELM ST.

35. Amanda of "Brockmire": PEET.  Brockmire is a sit-com about Jim Brockmire major league baseball announcer who suffers an embarrassing on-air meltdown, then tries to reconstruct his career several years later.  I am not familiar with the show, but am familiar with the actress Amanda Peet (b. Jan. 11, 1972)[Name # 13.]

36. Mystical glow: AURA.

37. "The Wind in the Willows" residence: TOAD HALL.  The Wind in the Willows is a children's book that was first published in 1908.  I wonder if children still read this book or whether it seems too antiquated.

38. Center: HUB.  In case you are wondering, Boston, Massachusetts is the Hub of the Universe.

39. Under the weather: ILL.

40. Remark: SAY.

43. Undergarment insert: BRA PAD.

44. Pecorino __ cheese: ROMANO.  This is a hard, salty Italian cheese.  It is often used as a grating cheese.  Pecorino means ovine, thus, the cheese is made of sheep's milk.

46. Become one: WED.

47. Hawaiian greetings: ALOHAS.

48. Judicial seat: BANC.

52. Postop regimen: REHAB.  Well wishes to our friend Vidwan.  We have missed you.

54. Bottom-row PC key: CTRL.

55. Keystone State port: ERIE.  Pennsylvania is the Keystone State.  It got its nickname because of its essential role in the founding of the United States.

56. Forever and a day: AGES.

57. Lairs: DENS.

59. Female deer: DOE.

60. Clean air org.: EPA.  The Environmental Protection Agency makes frequent appearances in the Tuesday puzzles.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה