Theme: BLAH BLAH BLAH
17. Watch straps: WRISTBANDS.
27. Chardonnay-based wine: WHITE BURGUNDY.
45. Reverse chin lock, for one: WRESTLING HOLD.
61. Verbose, and what the circled letters in this puzzle literally are?: LONG WINDED.
Melissa here. See how WIND is stretched out LONG across the theme answers? AND Circles! I know some people don't like them, but I like an extra layer in a puzzle.
Across:
1. Moving at a snail's pace: SLOW.
5. Wedding invite enclosures: RSVPS. French phrase, "répondez s'il vous plaît," directly translates to "Respond, if you please."
10. "Everything Everywhere All at Once" Oscar winner Michelle: YEOH. I've heard so many good things about this movie, but have yet to see it.
14. Campaign staffer: AIDE.
15. Not as sweet: ICIER. Cold as ice.
16. Event with demos: EXPO. In my area there is a home show every 3-4 months that is very popular. You can buy everything from professional quality blenders, to local spirits, to tiny homes on wheels, and they all have demos or tastings or tours.
19. A-line line: SEAM. Here is a pleated, a-line skirt.
21. Outdoor gear co-op: REI. Recreational Equipment, Inc., sells camping and hiking equipment and clothing. It's hard to get out of there without going broke.
22. Go by bike: CYCLE.
23. __ and cheese: MAC. So many restaurants have specialty versions now. A favorite lunch spot in Florence (on the Oregon coast) has add-ons of pesto, bacon, roasted veggies, pork chili verde, pot roast or fried brussel sprouts & sriracha.
25. Baja vacation spot, familiarly: CABO. Cabo San Lucas, a resort city on the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.
33. Too clever __: BY HALF. I like this phrase. It means annoyingly proud of one's intelligence or skill and in danger of overreaching oneself. It was coined in George J. Whyte-Melville's 1858 book, ''The Interpreter.''
35. Many a Mideast native: ARAB. Originally from the Arabian peninsula and neighboring territories, inhabiting much of the Middle East and North Africa.
36. "You Only Love Me" singer Rita: ORA.
37. Oboe insert: REED.
38. TV spot seller: AD REP.
40. Eurasia's __ Mountains: URAL.
41. Paddle kin: OAR. Paddle Vs Oar: The Difference Between Oar And Paddle Explained
42. Continental currency: EURO.
43. Many a chalet: AFRAME. I feel claustrophobic just looking at some of them.
48. Poker stake: ANTE.
49. __ Center: Chicago skyscraper: AON. Chicago’s third-tallest building stands out in Chicago’s skyline, distinctively different from its steel-and-glass peers. Its history is rather more colorful than the stark white stone in which it is clad.
50. Old photo finish: SEPIA. Sepia is a reddish-brown color, named after the rich brown pigment derived from the ink sac of the common cuttlefish Sepia.
53. Pa: DAD.
55. Quai d'Orsay's river: SEINE.
60. Zero-shaped: OVAL.
63. Modest meal: BITE.
64. Accurately pitched: TUNED.
65. University list-maker: DEAN. The dean's list is a comparative award at many universities, awarded to the top percentage of students rather than everyone who earns a certain GPA. During a particularly competitive semester, where many students earn high grades, the GPA you need to qualify for the award may be higher.
66. Vehicle pulled by huskies: SLED.
67. Data for sabermetricians: STATS. From the Society For American Baseball Research (SABRE): As originally defined by Bill James in 1980, sabermetrics is “the search for objective knowledge about baseball.” James coined the phrase in part to honor the Society for American Baseball Research.
68. Singer-songwriter Bareilles: SARA.
Down:
1. Tree topplers: SAWS. No Nonsense Guide to Tree Felling. How to cut down a tree safely.
2. Italian 42-Across predecessor: LIRA.
3. Norse god played by Anthony Hopkins: ODIN. Marvel: Sir Anthony Hopkins says Thor role was 'pointless acting.'
4. "__ Side Story": WEST.
5. Barbecue bone: RIB.
6. Hard to find: SCARCE.
7. Climbing plant: VINE.
8. Spa menu item: PEDICURE.
9. Next year's alums: SRS. Seniors.
10. "Who else would I be talking to?": YES YOU. That was a little tricky.
11. Corp. bigwig: EXEC.
12. Fall birthstone: OPAL. October.
13. "__ Front": Kristin Hannah novel about a military family: HOME. I've never read anything by Kristin Hannah but she sure is popular.
18. Sri Lankan language: TAMIL. Tamil is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia.
22. Bygone NYC punk venue: CBGB. Founded on the Bowery in New York City by Hilly Kristal in 1973; CBGB was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and new wave bands like the Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, Misfits, Television, Patti Smith Group, The Dead Boys, The Dictators, The Cramps, and Joan Jett.
24. Guilty: AT FAULT.
26. Indigenous people of Colorado and Wyoming: ARAPAHO. Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota.
27. "__ was I?": WHERE.
28. Owned: HAD.
29. Noble rank below viscount: BARON. A member of the lowest order of the British nobility. The term “Baron” is not used as a form of address in Britain. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, but lower than a viscount or count.
30. U.S./Canada defense letters: NORAD. North American Aerospace Defense Command is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection for Canada and the continental United States.
31. Small drink: DRAM. "A wee dram to ward off the winter chill."
32. New Haven university: YALE.
33. Forehead: BROW.
34. Calendar interval: YEAR.
39. Dehydrated: DRIED OUT.
40. Link letters: URL.
42. Sicilian peak: ETNA.
44. "Despacito" singer Luis: FONSI. Puerto Rican singer.
46. Breezed (through): SAILED.
47. Thingamajig: GADGET. Whatsit. Doodad. Thingamabob. Gizmo.
50. Blubbers: SOBS.
51. Malicious: EVIL.
52. Mushroom spread: PATE. Usually made with meat. French term that loosely translates to paste. Paté is a savory filling of meat and fat that is baked in a terrine (an earthenware vessel) and served hot or cold. The most famous pâté is probably pâté de foie gras, made from the livers of fattened geese.
54. Paquin of "The Irishman": ANNA.
56. Wraps up: ENDS.
57. Concept: IDEA.
58. In the area: NEAR.
59. Novelist Ferber: EDNA.
61. Mil. officers: LTS. The time Gary Sinise first saw his missing legs in ‘Forrest Gump.’
62. OED entries: WDS. Oxford English Dictionary entries = Words.
Note from Melissa: Two pieces of NCR (Not Crossword Related) News:
Jaelyn and Harper will be joined by baby #3, also a girl, in late November or early December of this year.
Some of you know I married in 2017. I met my husband Jacob through my work, he is an incarcerated activist in Washington state who I started working with in 2016, when he organized a fundraiser by prisoners (who make no more than 42 cents an hour) to raise money for our website. We recently received the wonderful and unexpected news that he is coming home soon, in time to meet our new grandlove. He is already being courted by various prison reform, legal, and legislative organizations that he has worked with over the last 10 years. We are over the moon.
