Monday, September 14, 2026, Brian Keller

  Today's Theme:

The Reveal:

60 Across. Game division, or what can be found in 16-, 26-, and 44-Across: FIRST HALF.

The First Half:

16 Across. Star of "Ghost" and "The Substance": DEMI MOORE.

The Second Half:

26 Across. "For Whom the Bell Tolls," for one: HEMINGWAY NOVEL.

The Third Half???

44 Across. Indigenous people of Oklahoma who originated in Florida: SEMINOLE NATION.

Demi, Hemi, and Semi are all prefixes meaning "half."

Onward!

Across:
1. Highly skilled: ABLE.

5. Mop (up), as gravy: SOP.

8. Valuable item: ASSET.

13. Spring: LEAP.

14. Perlman of "Cheers": RHEA.

You remember Carla...

15. "Hello," in Mandarin: NIHAO. My first guess would be to pronounce this NiH"a"-o, but I would be wrong.

16. [Theme.]

18. Believe without questioning: TRUST. Belief without questioning would be faith...

19. Former: ONE TIME. ("At" one time seems more plausible to my ears...)

20. Chemical in oven cleaners: LYE. No Lie! Why would you trust your lungs to this stuff?

22. "New" prefix: NEO.

23. "I'm __ roll!": ON A. (I think it would have to be two N's to be considered one word...)

24. Informal lingo: SLANG. (See above 23A.)

26. [Theme.]

32. Supergirl accessory: CAPE.

No Capes!

33. Actor's prompt: CUE.

34. One-named singer whose studio albums have numerical titles: ADELE.

35. Braying pack animal: ASS.

36. Thawing of diplomatic tensions: DETENTE.

39. Digital collectible: Abbr.: NFT. More info here...

40. Tale: STORY.

42. Fruit-filled pastry: PIE. Tart wouldn't fit..

43. French friends: AMIS.

44. [Theme.]

48. Stately home in the country: MANOR.

49. Wheels: CAR. Curious that you need "wheels" (plural, 4 to be exact,) for this clue to work...

Pardon my dust...

50. No. 1 pal: BFF. Best Friend Forever.

53. Cow sound: MOO.

54. French island near Sardinia: CORSICA.

58. Perp's excuse: ALIBI.

60. [Theme Reveal.]

62. Ancient artifact: RELIC.

63. "Up, up, and __!": AWAY.

64. Dr. Frankenstein's assistant: IGOR.

Obligatory pronunciation lesson...

65. Maroon vegetables: BEETS.

66. Pig heavier than 120 pounds: HOG.Some have been known to reach 1,400 lbs...

67. __ stick: POGO.

Down:
1. Gucci of fashion: ALDO.

2. "We've all __ there": BEEN.

3. Gold fabric: LAME.

4. Perfect example: EPITOME.

5. Jimmy Choo creation: SHOE.

6. Above, poetically: OER.

7. Spanish rice dish seasoned with saffron: PAELLA. During my recent trip to Spain (CE:D here...) I eagerly awaited tasting authentic Spanish Paella. However I was disappointed at every dinner in Barcelona and Girona. Too dark, brothy, and/or fishy. It was not until our cruise tour of Valencia that I was made aware that Paella originated here, and I sampled a delicious home made Paella of my dreams...

8. Insect feelers: ANTENNAE.

Some are more extravagant than others...

9. Knight's title: SIR.

10. Exclude: SHUN.

11. Smooth sailing: EASE.

12. Dog who visits Oz: TOTO.

14. Nora Roberts genre: ROMANCE.

17. Short skirt: MINI.

For Splynter...

For the Ladies...

21. "Yippee!": YAY. (Don't get too excited...)

24. Center defender in soccer: SWEEPER. Ack!again! We had this Wednesday!

25. Immortal being: GOD.

26. Speed: HASTE.

27. __ salts: bathwater additive: EPSOM. Would you bathe in it if it were called magnesium sulphate?

28. Belly: GUT.

29. Mobile payment app: VENMO.

30. Small and pointy-eared, perhaps: ELFIN. Large and pointy-eared, perhaps: Vulcan?

31. Tennis do-overs: LETS.

32. Elliot of the Mamas and the Papas: CASS.

Best video quality I could find, song starts at 1:20.

36. Branch of mechanics: DYNAMICS.

37. Diarist Anaïs: NIN. More info here.

38. Pot insulator, in England: TEA COSY.

41. Part of a basketball hoop: RIM.

43. Blimp, for one: AIRSHIP.

45. Peace activist Yoko: ONO.

46. Exfoliating scrubber: LOOFAH.

47. Fruit-filled pastry: TART. Oho! A 42 across Clecho!

50. Spike on a dragon's tail: BARB. I don't know why Mace came to mind...

51. Make a run for it: FLEE. If you see the above!

52. Nail salon tool: FILE.

54. Jagged rock: CRAG. More info here.

55. "Aladdin" parrot named for a Shakespeare villain: IAGO.

Not to be confused with Igor...

56. Plumbing problem: CLOG.

57. Natural hairstyle: AFRO.

59. Drill insert: BIT.

61. __ Jima: IWO.

And The Grid.

7 personal names, 13 three letter words, (more if you include God.) but easy enough for a Monday to breeze through. Brian Keller is an up and coming constructor we hope to see more of, his last puzzle  Was reviewed here.

I feel I went on far too long, so I have saved Demi, Hemi, and Semi for discussion on The Blog. What were your  experiences with Demi's, Hemi's, and Semi's? And/or have you ever met Demi, Hemingway, or a Seminole Indian? I would love to hear your stories!

 

Chris Gross (Chairman Moe on our blog) made today's Universal. Click here to solve.

CE:D out...

Friday August 22, 2025 Brian Keller and Katie Hale

Phew! I just got Chairman Moe squared away, and now Malodorous Manatee is taking a few Fridays off. I'd better oil the RustyBrain, this could take awhile.

Brian Keller is an up-and-coming constructor who has paired with Katie Hale, a freelance crossword editor who moved to London so she could learn proper English.

20. Diamonds can cut glass, corundum can scratch most other minerals, et al.?: COOL HARD FACTS. I wanted COLD HARD FACTS for the longest time, which lead to 4D = SEA-something (like SEA-worthy?) and messed up the entire NW corner. The reason I wanted COLD HARD FACTS is it's a common expression, while COOL HARD FACTS is just a rather odd phrase.

34. Director's guidance to be more affable?: PLAY IT WARM. Got PLAY IT WARM quickly from perps, but again it's an odd phrase, while PLAY IT COOL is a very common expression. 

41. Stuffed animals that go viral?: HOT FUZZIES. Here we go again. The expression is WARM FUZZIES not HOT FUZZIES. At this point, I was looking to swap temperatures between these answers. Take COOL from the first one to replace WARM in the second, then take WARM and move it down to third to replace HOT. Then move HOT to...? And I got lost going down a rabbit hole.

55. Increase pressure, or an apt title for this puzzle?: TURN UP THE HEAT. The themers progressively increase in temperature: COOL → WARM → HOT. In my fantasy revision, the progression would be: COLD → COOL → WARM which would make all the answers real phrases. But I guess "Some Like it Hot" (a must-see comedy classic!).

Across:

1. Signal and Line: APPS. Signal and Line are both messaging APPS (applications) for mobile phones. Signal was in the news recently because of it's improper use by the presidential staff.

5. Is into: DIGS. "I dig your new DIGS!" 

9. Espresso or cappuccino, to Italians: CAFFE. Those Italians! It's like they have a different word for everything.

14. King's address: SIRE. 

15. Lot of land: ACRE.

16. Group calling strikes: UNION. Umpires also call strikes and are part of a UNION - the MLBUA (Major League Baseball Umpires Association). I betcha C.C. knew that.

17. Heartfelt request: PLEA. 

18. Plane section: TAIL. Plane sections are also common in geometry. In anatomy, the horizontal section is the "transverse plane."

19. Clichéd: TIRED. I'm sick and clichéd of this.

20. [theme]

23. Contented: AT PEACE.

24. Blanketed: COATED. I grew up in Williamsburg, Va. The occasional blanket of snow transformed the colonial area.

27. Crime lab evidence: DNA. DeoxyriboNucleic Acid - you can tell that I'm fun at parties.

28. Some Kellogg grads: MBAS. The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University is named after the inventor of Kellogg's Corn Flakes, due to hefty endowments from his son. My first son, when he was little, asked for "chicken cereal." Took us a while to figure it out.

30. "Breaking Bad" org.: DEA. Drug Enforcement Administration - the name sounds like they’re federally sanctioned drug dealers.

31. Quadri- doubled: OCTO.

34. [theme]

37. Staff leaders: CLEFS. We're all familiar with the treble and bass clef symbols, but that alto clef is just plain weird.

39. Colonial insect: ANT. Frequent visitors to Colonial Williamsburg. Uncles, too.

40. Take root: SET IN.

41. [theme]

44. Bottom of the barrel stuff: LEES. 

45. Brink: EVE. Brink seemed to be an odd clue for EVE until I thought of "brink of collapse," meaning something imminent. Suitable for a Friday.

46. Votes of no confidence: NAYS.

47. "The __ and the Pussycat": OWL. "The OWL and the Pussy-Cat" is a nonsense poem by Edward Lear, first published in 1870. In it, he made up a "runcible spoon," now commonly called a spork.

49. Listing agent's field: REALTY.

51. Baja breaks: SIESTAS. 

55. [theme]

58. Fast Amtrak train: ACELA. Although pretty slow compared to other nation's trains.

60. Euphoric feeling: GLEE.

61. Org. concerned with ergonomics: OSHA. The ever popular Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

62. Suddenly took interest: SAT UP.

63. Moon goddess: LUNA. The Roman goddess was often depicted with a crescent moon on her head. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you, Sol, those aren't horns!"

64. Designer Cassini: OLEG.

65. Book maker: PRESS. Here's a book made for me by an old friend in Williamsburg's bookbinders shop (he needed the practice). The PRESS, however, was in the print shop. Pages were printed, then delivered for binding. Creating the marbled endpapers was yet another craft.

66. Dr. Frankenstein's assistant: IGOR. "It's pronounced eye-gore."

67. Tiny bits: TADS.

Down:

1. Pet welfare org.: ASPCA. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - but you already knew that.

2. Series opener?: PILOT. "What's our vector, Victor?" This one wasn't series-ous. (Hey, they all can't be good!)

3. Scrub-up stop: PRE-OP. I found this one hard to parse, especially with my COLD error.

4. Leakproof: SEALED OFF. And this one, too, for the same reason.

5. Fixed point in a mobile contract: DATA CAP. America OnLine, who is discontinuing its dial-up service soon (wait, they still have it?), once sent out promotional CDs offering 10 hours of free service! At 56 kilobits per second, you could download about two minutes of high-def video before hitting the DATA CAP. An entire movie in standard def would take several days!

6. "My thoughts are with you": I CARE. 

7. Calendar page, maybe: GRID.

8. __-control: SELF. 

9. Save on spending: CUT COSTS.

10. Singer Baker: ANITA. ANITA Baker is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter known for her soulful ballads and three-octave vocal range.

11. What one might Bumble into?: FIRST DATE. Fun clue. Hopefully, they've heard the "birds and the bees" lecture already. 

12. Cheetah, to Wonder Woman: FOE.

13. Wrap up: END.

21. Kylo's father: HAN. HAN Solo. In the Star Wars universe, Kylo Ren's real name is Ben Solo. I guess that's true, but it's like finding out Yoda's real name is Joe.

22. Berry in a yogurt bowl: ACAI. After years as a common crossword clue, I thought you'd might like to see some. ACAI berries are about the size of grapes and nutritionally similar to blueberries.

25. Uncanny: EERIE.

26. Consigns to hell: DAMNS. Confines to hall: DORMS.

28. Buffing and painting services: MANIS. I don't know about my nails, but my car could sure use the help.

29. Tera- finisher: BYTE.

31. Shade in the desert: OCHER. I'm always on the lookout for a twisted clue, especially at the end of the week, so I wasn't fooled into thinking oasis.

32. Orange studder, at Christmas: CLOVE. CLOVE oranges, also known as pomanders, release a pleasant, spicy scent as the fruit dries. I remember these festive holiday decorations from my youth in Williamsburg.

33. Private meeting: TETE-A-TETE.

35. Averse to work: LAZY. I know I should finish up my crossword review, but first I think I'll sit back in my La-Z-Boy and watch the late... night... mooovie... zzzz...

36. "Gosh darn it": WELL SHOOT. 

38. South-facing gardens, maybe: SUNTRAPS. New to me. A SUNTRAP is a location, often in a garden or outdoor space, that is strategically designed to capture and retain sunlight beneficial for plants.

42. "Pillowtalk" singer: ZAYN. ZAYN Malik is an English singer-songwriter who went solo after a successful career as part of the five-piece boy band One Direction. Yes, this is him as a child (tats added later - I hope).

43. "Rumor has it": SO I HEAR. Fleetwood Mac "Rumours" was released nearly 50 (!) years ago. I'm getting old...

48. Teeny-tiny: WEE.

50. Humdingers: LULUS. 

51. Dictation taker: STENO.

52. Physicist Nikola: TESLA. Few people know that he invented the TESLA coil while working as a "special effects" tech in early horror films. Well, that's what IGOR told me, anyway. 

53. Reacted to a laser show, perhaps: AAHED. Ooh, AAHED is bad.

54. Bambi and others: STAGS. STAGS usually refer to mature male deer, so including a fawn or young buck like Bambi is a stretch.

56. Knobbly citrus: UGLI.

57. Socket filler: PLUG.

58. Egyptian viper: ASP.

59. Token in The Game of Life: CAR. When Monopoly first replaced the flat iron with a cat in 2013, I was mad they didn't nix the thimble instead. Every other token was a miniature version of something, but the thimble was virtually life-size so should be the odd man out. Also, if lost, it could easily be replaced by a real one. 

End of rant.

Thursday, August 9th 2018 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: ISLE BE BACK - The Terminator's description of today's theme:

16A. Lombardy skiing destination: THE ITALIAN ALPS. Lanai. Lombardy has all sorts going for it, Milan, great food & wine, Lake Como, skiing. No wonder it's beyond my retirement budget. I blame George Clooney for jacking up the prices.

22B. One of many standing in a Mexican bar: TEQUILA BOTTLE. Bali. The tequila would work well in my 48A restaurant "CANTINA BURRATA" below.

36A. Gene Autry Easter song critter: PETER COTTONTAIL. Crete. Unknown critter for me. Another letter-by-letter fill.

48A. Carl Orff opus: CARMINA BURANA. Aruba. Completely unknown to me. I had ***INA BUR*NA at one point, and decided it had to be a restaurant called CANTINA BUR*** and then BURRATA didn't fit. I didn't know the work, but I certainly know "O Fortuna" from the opus. Here's conductor Simon Rattle giving the Berlin Philharmonic the full eyebrow treatment.

Then the reveal:

58A. Vacation spots found in each set of puzzle circles: ISLAND RETREATS. 

Lawks-a-mercy, this was a toughie! I did a speed warm-up with the monthly puzzle in the United Airlines in-flight magazine (a pre-Shortz NYT reprint) and then cracked my knuckles for a quick JW Thursday jaunt. 70 minutes later, I'm still not done. That ALBI/CARMINA/ACS/LAVISH/BRUSHY perfect storm almost did for me. Finally, FINALLY teased it out. That "Congratulations" Mr. Pencil box was never so welcome. Cracking stuff.

Let's see what else gave me wounds to lick this week:

Across:

1. Kvetch's phrase: OY GEVALT! What? Right off the bat. I should have seen the omen for bad things to come.

9. Obstruct: DAM UP. JAM UP? No.

14. Military award phrase: FOR VALOR. This is the Medal of Honor awarded to Sgt. John Randolph "J.R." McKinney. I never knew him nor met him, but his memorial page came up when I was searching for a suitable image to post. He was also awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman's Badge (the, "See, I Been there") during the Pacific campaign in WWII. He passed away aged 76 in 1997. Thank you for your service.

15. Cut out for marriage?: ELOPE

18. Feed bit: OAT

19. "Can I get a word in here?": AHEM?

20. Addams cousin: ITT

27. Merged comm. giant: G.T.E.

29. Large garden ornament: URN

30. Viewed warily: EYED

31. Looks down on: DISDAINS. This caused me a huge problem. I know "DISTAINS" and so "TEN**" was just not revealing a fabric. I stared down that section for a loooooong time. Finally, I thought that maybe it might be a "D". I looked up DISTAIN after I was done, and apparently it's archaic. That ages me quite precisely, I guess.

34. Gas __: TAX

41. Extreme degree: NTH

42. Moot point: NON-ISSUE

43. Toulouse-Lautrec's birthplace: ALBI. Pretty place. This is the Pont Vieux ("Old Bridge"). I like the French literalism. Which begs the question, why isn't he called "Albi-Lautrec"? Toulouse is a good 74Kms away. We should be told.

46. Like -trix, at times: Abbr.: FEM.

47. Brief "I think": IMO

54. "Law & Order: __": SVU. Special Victims Unit, apparently.

55. Boy of la casa: NIÑO

56. Farmers' business: Abbr.: INS. I like the commercials, the always jaunty "We are Farmers, bam-de-bam, bom, bam-bam-bam". The spokesperson in the commercials, actor J.K. Simmons is a regular patron of my local Italian restaurant. It's tough not to sing the hook line when he walks in.

64. Stand out: SHINE

65. Behind closed doors: IN SECRET

66. Publicizes showily: HYPES

67. Car named for a small warship: CORVETTE

Down:

1. Many times o'er: OFT

2. Pirate song snippet: YO, HO! 

Fifteen men on the Dead Man's Chest — 

Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! 

Drink and the devil had done for the rest — 

Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! 

Robert Louis Stevenson

3. Classic circus adjective: GREATEST

4. Site with clickable RSVPs: EVITE

5. Industrial-sized tank: VAT

6. Helen Keller is on its st. quarter: ALA.

7. Brief chuckle: LOL. Brief, as in abbreviated. Nice clue. First instincts here are HAH! or HAW!

8. Dry run: TRIAL

9. Cygnus' brightest star: DENEB

10. Budget rival: ALAMO

11. Gretchen of "Manchester by the Sea": MOL. I think I saw the movie, but either I gave up on it halfway through, fell asleep or it just didn't register.

12. Presumptuous: UPPITY

13. Mortar's partner: PESTLE. Seems obvious when you fill it in, but my first thought was "BRICKS", closely followed by military ballistics. Considering I used my pestle and mortar more often than bricklaying or aerial bombardment, I wondered why I struggled.

17. Revelation reaction: AHA!

21. "Chopped" host Allen: TED. Gimme. One of my favorite shows, and favorite hosts. He's so classy. Never a bad word to say about anyone.

23. Ice cream buy: QUART

24. "Spenser: For Hire" actor: URICH. I tried URIAH first. Yep, that worked just great.

25. __ particular order: IN NO

26. Student's backpack burden: TEXTS. TESTS/TEXTS. I was wrong at first.

27. Econ. indicator: G.D.P.

28. Exec's accessory: TIE

32. Sturdy fabric: DENIM. I spent about 40 minutes on these nine or ten squares. Paid off in the end, although I'm sure the guy next to me on the plane was wondering if I was trying to solve by sheer stare-down tenacity.

33. RR stop: STN. 

34. Copier need: TONER

35. Jungian archetype: ANIMA

37. Stir-fry staple: TOFU. I use the extra-silky type in pad thai noodles. Tip - pour boiling water over it to drive out the moisture before you fry it. Counter-intuitive I know.

38. Buddha statues, Japanese silk prints, etc.: ASIAN ART

39. Periodic table suffix: -IUM

40. Celestial feline: LEO

43. Carrier products, briefly: ACS. Aircraft from a carrier? AC voltage carried by your power utility company? Appellation d'origine contrôlée wines imported by Robert Carrier? Questions, questions.

44. Profuse: LAVISH

45. Like some hillsides: BRUSHY. Not GRASSY, then. Darn.

49. Ludicrous: INANE

50. Array just before an odometer reaches 100,000: NINES

51. "So?": AND

52. __ acid: BORIC

53. Family member: NIECE

57. Dele canceler: STET

59. Cup rim: LIP

60. Eclectic musician Brian: ENO. Elevators, Roxy Music and U2. Versatile guy, and very useful in crosswords.

61. Original D & D company: TSR. One day, one day I'll remember this.

62. Prepare to drag: REV. As in your engine, before your drag race. Here's the famous start to the race in Grease, filmed here in LA on the not-exactly-bucolic river bed under the 6th Street Bridge.

63. Sault __ Marie: STE.

The seatbelt sign has been on for most of the ride across the country today. I call it "trampolining" when you're bouncing up and down. Amazing the internet cable doesn't get disconnected, eh?

And it's Sierra Tango Echo Victor Echo signing off from 37,000 feet, or 11,280 meters, give or take, in Euro-money.

Here's the grid:

Saturday, April 11, 2020, Debbie Ellerin

Themeless Saturday by Debbie Ellerin

This fun puzzle is authored by our frequent Saturday constructor Debbie Ellerin. You may recall she is a retired computer programmer who lived in Boston for 30 years and now lives in Los Angeles. Her reply to me about this puzzle:

Hi Gary,

The weather has been nice here, but other than going for walks in my neighborhood, we are staying at home. 

My clue for APRIL was Month for pranksters. I wrote this puzzle in May of 2019, so it's been a while!  MINIMOON was one of my seed entries for the puzzle, inspired by my daughter and her husband who went on one after their wedding. Some entries I like are BOOTCAMP and ZIPLINES, as well as the area down south with TELENOVELA  and ENCHILADAS. I see that TANEHISI might be tough, but hope people will be up for the challenge.

I have heard interviews with Ta-Nehisi Coates, and I'm in a book group where his name and books have come up, but I haven't read any of his books. It is an unusual name though, and it must have stuck in my head.

ESTES - I don't know how Rich ended up cluing it. I had it clued as ___ Park, Colorado , which maybe Rich thought was too easy?  If the clue is about an opera singer - I have no idea! Never heard of him. 

STERIC,  I clued as Spatial, in chemistry. This is outside of my wheelhouse, for sure, and I tried to clue it in a straightforward way. As a solver, I would need most of the crosses to get it. 

Stay well,

Debbie

Off we go: 

Across:

1. It's happening now: APRIL - Since only Rich knows when puzzles are going to be published, he did change Debbie's initial cluing as you read in her note

6. Controversial reading: PALM - Not OP-ED but the lines of your hand

10. Circumstance partner: POMP - Not going to be heard this spring

14. Brain center associated with speech: BROCA'S AREA - Frontal lobe usually on the left side

16. '60s pop singer Sands: EVIE - Johnny Cash loved her voice and marveled at how she played her guitar upside down with her left hand 

17. Borders of old, e.g.: BOOKSELLER - The flagship store in Ann Arbor, MI founded by brothers Tom and Louis Borders in 1971

18. First name in jazz: LENA - LENA Horn gets the job and Ella and Etta do not today

19. Abbr. on an invoice: AMT.

20. Tech boss: CIO - Tech in the clue hints at Chief Information Officer 

21. Relating to the arrangement of atoms in space: STERIC - Space taken up by molecules 

23. Mealtime alert: SOUP'S ON Is it 43. Soup sometimes served with banh mi: PHO  (banh mi is Vietnamese for bread)

26. Magic competition?: NBA GAME - The Orlando Magic are one of four NBA teams with a singular name. The others play in Oklahoma City, Miami and Utah.

27. Give rise to: SPAWN - A pair of bettas SPAWNING by releasing sperm and eggs into the water

28. Rap's "Puffy" Combs: SEAN - Can't quote

29. Head of Parliament?: LOO - A naval toilet to clue a toilet in the British home of Government 


30. '40s-'50s paranoia: RED SCARE - This also gave HUAC the center stage

32. Bud's bud: LOU - Bud Abbott's pal LOU Costello

33. Judge in stripes: ZEBRA - Slang for a referee wearing stripes

36. Anago or unagi: EEL - Names we see here for this fish

37. "__ that been done?": HASN'T - What Rich has to ask before he okays a daily puzzle gimmick

39. 2019 Uber landmark, briefly: IPO - Uber and Lyft's stock price after Initial Public Offering. Two days ago Uber was selling for $27.99

40. Brought under control: REINED IN - The goal for COVID-19

44. Eastern brew: SAKE - Wines such as Riesling, Grüner Veltliner and Sauvignon Blanc are suggested to drink with PHO. SAKE is not.

45. Bass-baritone Simon: ESTES - A very interesting man who was a grandson of a slave and born in Centerville, Iowa. Here he is being honored at Iowa State University. As you read, Debbie originally had ____ Park in Colorado

48. "Time to move on": LET IT GO - Live life through the windshield not the rearview mirror

50. Co-star of Cox and Kudrow: ANISTON.

52. "No worries": I'M COOL.

53. Behave: ACT.

54. Co-star of Ethan in "Gattaca": UMA - Trailer

55. Without rocks: NEAT - A shoutout to our "iceless" Tinman

56. Mexican fare: ENCHILADAS.

60. "Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died" writer Bombeck: ERMA.

61. Latin American fare: TELENOVELA - A portmanteau of TELE (television) and NOVLEA (novel) produced primarily in Latin America

62. Enervates: SAPS.

63. Certain farm, or one of its residents: STUD - Brian Paquin's puzzle last Saturday talked of being PUT OUT TO PASTURE. Now Debbie, on the other hand... 

64. Pesto ingredient: BASIL.


Down:

1. Arafat's successor: ABBAS - Mahmoud, head of the PLO

2. Ads, e.g.: PROMOS - $500M worth of them did him no good

3. Pull from the ground, in Plymouth: ROOT UP - On this side of the Atlantic we might UPROOT 

4. Disgusted remark: ICK.

5. Much of "Deck the Halls": LAS - Paired with FAS

6. "The Python Years" diarist: PALIN - Michael tells of his time with Monty Python

7. Janis' comics mate: ARLO.

8. Casual brand: LEE.

9. Milky Way cousin: MARS BAR.

10. Crony of Captain Bildad, in "Moby-Dick": PELEG - The principal owners of the Pequod who hired Ishmael 

From the Moby Dick Card Game

11. Construction sight: OVERALLS.

12. Quick getaway for newlyweds: MINIMOON - A seed entry for Debbie as she explained in her note

13. Hipster's "Later": PEACE OUT.

15. Vote to support: SECOND.

22. "Between the World and Me" National Book Award winner Coates: TA-NEHISI - Info on TAH-nuh-HAH-see

24. Henry VIII's sixth: PARR - Catherine kept her head and outlived him

25. Affirms: SWEARS TO.

26. Author Zora __ Hurston: NEALE - Another author unknown to me. Her writings of blacks in the 1700's of America

28. Director's unit: SCENE.

31. Quartz watch innovator: SEIKO.

33. Rainforest explorers' aids: ZIP LINES - I'd love to make this trip in Costa Rico

34. Transient things: EPHEMERA.

35. Military training site: BOOT CAMP - Sir! Yes, Sir!

38. Red stingers: ANTS.

41. Bald babies?: EAGLETS - Last week, cute Akitas. This week...

42. Most of a tooth: DENTIN.

46. Liszt's "Paganini __": ETUDES - This is #6. You gotta have some real chops to play this exercise!

47. Mogadishu native: SOMALI.

49. Little bits: IOTAS.

50. Needed a massage: ACHED.

51. Like "m" or "n," phonetically: NASAL - A lowered velum (soft palate) gives a NASAL sound

53. Org. co-founded by Helen Keller: ACLU - I'll take Amazing Women for $1,000, Alex

57. Surfer's setting: NET - I know Debbie lives in LA and so I thought a surfer's setting might be PDT. Nope, it's the interNET

58. Alley-oop pass: LOB.

59. Actress Gardner: AVA - Also Mrs. Frank Sinatra, Mrs. Artie Shaw and Mrs. Mickey Rooney