Sunday February 8, 2026 ~ Gary Larson & Amy Ensz

Theme: "Doing Business"

Cutthroat compounds are verb-noun compounds where the verb acts on the noun (i.e. cut-throat). While the themers are not compound words, they are in-the-language nouns turned into 'verb-ing on a noun' for each whimsically-clued career.

Let us play...

23. Job for an elephant caretaker?: BATHING TRUNKS.

He doesn't have a trunk.
He has a glove compartment.

33. Job for a department store model?: SPORTING GOODS. To sport clothes is to wear the goods.

51. Job for a tailor?: EVENING DRESSES. Read this as EVEN-ing a dress and then "tailor" makes sense.

65. Job for a nanny?: HANDLING CHARGES. A nanny's charges are the little imps she must handle with grace.

Mary Poppins, Burt, and her charges, Jane and Michael Banks.

85. Job for a cheesemonger?: PITCHING WEDGES.

Monty Python's Cheese Shop Sketch taught me all the cheeses.

100. Job for an interior designer?: CHANGING ROOMS. My fav of the themers.

117. Job for a corporate VIP?: RUNNING BOARDS.

Across:

1. Screenwriter's output: SCRIPT.

7. Confined: SHUT IN.

13. Emma of "Madame Web": ROBERTS.

20. "Gotcha": OH I SEE.

21. Excalibur, notably: CASINO. Sword was a letter short and perps didn't agree. My first gamble was roulette at Excalibur. I won on my first bet (on 19) and played with the house's money the rest of the night. I've never been that lucky since.

Excalibur Casino - Las Vegas, NV

22. Resolve: IRON OUT.

23. [See: Theme]

25. Hot pepper: CAYENNE.

Baldo is always a fun read

26. "Double-quick!": STAT.

27. Eggs __ easy: OVER. How I build my eggs every weekend.

28. Sugar source: CANE.

29. Mountain __: DEW.

30. Dangerous biters: ASPS. Egyptian snakes.

33. [See: Theme]

38. Show contempt for: SNORT AT.

41. Carrot, e.g.: ROOT.

42. Ring bearer, perhaps?: EAR. Who else thought "wedding" 1st?

43. Alter, in a way: HEM.

44. Coastline feature: RIA.

45. "__ Fideles": ADESTE. Better known as the carol "O Come, All Ye Faithful." [Wikipedia]

47. Kibble maker: ALPO.

51. [See: Theme]

54. Onetime Nissan make: DATSUN. In college, DW & I had a used ('84?) Datsun Z for a few years. I can't recall if it was a 240 or a 280Z but many of the parts were stamped "Nissan."

56. Galoot: BIG APE.

57. Cartesian conclusion: I AM. Rene Descartes: "cogito, ergo sum" ("I think therefore I am"). I learned that from Monty Python, too ;-)

The Philosopher's Song - Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl

58. Needle holder: TONE ARM. On your [98a] SPINNER.

59. "C'est la vie": ALAS. "C'est la vie" is classier than "sh** happens."

60. Saint __ fire: ELMOS. St. Elmo's Fire is a weather phenomenon caused by a pointy object in an electrically charged atmosphere [WikiP] and a Brat Pack movie from the mid-'80's.

62. Brook fish: TROUT.

64. Casual attire: TEE.

65. [See: Theme]

70. Cry of realization: AHA.

73. Roos in pouches: JOEYS.

I'm fairly sure I was much
younger when I figured that out.

74. 1990s cardio workout system: TAE BO.

75. Third-longest river in Europe: URAL.

79. Summers on "Gilligan's Island": MARY ANN. Dawn Wells (Reno, NV) played the character from KS who won the Three Hour Tour via a lottery.

Dawn Wells as Mary Ann Summers

81. Las Vegas drama: CSI. Crime Scene Investigation. I don't think I've ever seen an episode.

82. Brand for competitive divers: SPEEDO.

Image, fortunately, not available.

84. Entice: ALLURE.

85. [See: Theme]

90. Ran off with: TOOK.

91. Bounces back: ECHOES.

92. Bounce house filler: AIR.

93. Ginger __: ALE. A soda flavor.

94. Uni ref. work: OED. Oxford English Dictionary.

97. Microbe: GERM.

98. Record player: SPINNER. While I've heard "spin some records," I've never heard a turntable called a spinner.

100. [See: Theme]

106. Whirlybird: HELO. I'm guessing Gary & Amy are looking for helicopter and not the opening command in RFC 821 - SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) § 3.5.

107. Feel poorly: AIL.

108. __ Goose vodka: GREY.

109. Cedar Point state: OHIO. The Internet tells me that Cedar Point is a Six Flags property on the shores of Lake Erie in Sandusky, Ohio.

111. Wall alternative: MOAT. Why not both?

Let's see if this meme clip works.

115. More clear, as a photo: SHARPER.

117. [See: Theme]

122. Small: COMPACT.

123. Back, on a boat: ASTERN.

124. Completely committed: IN DEEP.

125. Rubs with oil: ANOINTS.

126. Affixes in a scrapbook: PASTES.

127. Subatomic particles: BOSONS.

WikiP explains.

Down:

1. Breaks down in tears: SOBS.

2. Online help option: CHAT.

3. Pop singer Ora: RITA.

4. Heavily panned 1987 Beatty/Hoffman comedy: ISHTAR. I heard it was bad so didn't bother.

5. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame architect: PEI. If you look closely, it's a TONE ARM on a stack of SPINNERS.

More info here

6. Mark of perfection, at times: TEN. But these go to 11...

Obligatory clip

7. Sketch show that once starred John Candy, for short: SCTV. Second City [Toronto] TeleVision. So much talent -- John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Catherine O'Hara (who passed last week), Harold Ramis, Dave Thomas, Martin Short, Rick Moranis, et.al. -- came out of SCTV. Lorne Michaels could pick 'em even b/f SNL.

Having been a smoker, the bit about "golden arm" stuck with me.

8. Animals that can run up to 50 mph: HARES. Cheetahs didn't fit and they run 60+ mph.

9. Appropriate, as power: USURP.

10. Pewter metal: TIN.

11. Tats: INK.

12. Discouraging words: NOS. If you think it's a NO, don't ask 'til it's time for forgiveness (learnt that in the Army, I did :-))

13. Puerto __: RICAN.

14. Anaheim's county: ORANGE. Anaheim, CA is in Orange County. I don't know why I know this 'cuz I've never been there.

15. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" actor John: BOYEGA.

16. Compass reading: ENE.

17. Repetitive musical composition: RONDO. Think Row, Row, Row Your Boat repeated over and over but started on three separate downbeats.

18. Properly pitched: TUNED.

19. Hearty dishes: STEWS.

24. Show up solo: GO STAG.

28. Mentions in a footnote: CITES.

31. Ribbon of fabric: STRIP.

32. "Common Sense" pamphleteer: PAINE. Thomas, the OG pamphleteer rabble rouser.

34. Assayers' stuff: ORES.

35. "The Joy of Painting" host Bob: ROSS. Pop & I would watch on PBS every Saturday.

36. Carry: TOTE.

37. Take the floor: ORATE.

38. Kingdom in what is now Yemen: SHEBA.

39. "On the Beach" author Shute: NEVIL.

40. Alpha's opposite: OMEGA. Greek to me.

45. Friend of d'Artagnan: ARAMIS. I'm thinking a Three Musketeers reference - Google says I'm right :-)

46. Evil fiend: DEMON.

48. Exam with an Argumentative Writing section: LSAT. Youngest passed hers and now has a semester of GWU Law under her belt.

49. 100%: PURE. My shower barsoap, Ivory, is touted as 99.44% pure.

50. "Put your wallet away": ON ME. Their treat.

52. Poet Ogden: NASH.

53. Humdinger: DILLY. Does anyone say this now? I'll tell Eldest; She'll bring it back to fashion.

54. Pederson who coached the Eagles to their first Super Bowl win: DOUG.

55. Penny-__: ANTE. FIL used to say this for anything unimportant.

58. Tuna tartare cut: TORO. Sushi!

60. Locale in a Steinbeck title: EDEN. Just a little East of, if I recall correctly.

61. Certain NCO: SGT.

62. Core argument: THESIS.

63. 1990s Israeli prime minister: RABIN.

66. Open a bit: AJAR. When is a door not a door? When it's a jar. Pop got me a Dad Joke of the Day calendar and now you must all suffer.

67. __ the wiser: NONE. Y'all really don't want the Dad Joke desk calendar.

68. Secret store: CACHE.

69. Sought damages: SUED.

70. Part of a Latin 101 conjugation: AMAT.

71. __ Top Creamery: HALO.

72. "The Good Dinosaur" dinosaur: ARLO. Google tells me Arlo is the protagonist in Disney's 2015 movie. An Alice's Restaurant or Motorcycle Song reference is more in my wheelhouse for ARLO.

76. Lear daughter: REGAN.

77. "Easy on Me" singer: ADELE.

78. Last one to cross the finish line: LOSER. How about the softer euphemism "didn't place"?

80. Klondike Gold Rush site: YUKON.

What would you do?

82. Run off with: SWIPE. Took [90a clecho], steal, rob, sometimes clued as 'take badly.'

83. Risk: PERIL.

85. "Mad Men" role for Elisabeth Moss: PEGGY.

86. "Happy Birthday" writer: ICER.

87. "Comin' __ the Rye": THRO. Robert Burns' 1784 poem.

88. Singer Perry: COMO.

89. Fuel guzzler: GAS HOG.

95. Omelet maker: EGG PAN.

96. Work behind the camera: DIRECT.

99. Wanderers: NOMADS.

Dion

100. Brutus co-conspirator: CASCA. He, too?

101. Casual lead-in to "I'm home": HI HON.

102. Memorable Texas mission: ALAMO. The first time I went to the Alamo was post-Basic AIT (Advanced Individual Training) at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio in '88. The River Walk has grown a lot since then, but the core (and the Alamo) remains the same.

Remember the um, um, um...

103. "Botheration": NERTS.

104. "Haystacks" painter: MONET.

Haystacks

105. English county: SHIRE. The OED [94a] (subscription required, so this instead) will tell you that Sheriff comes from "Shire's Reeve" where reeve is an official steward.

110. Quaint hotels: INNS.

112. Black-and-white treat: OREO.

113. Arabian port: ADEN.

114. Cough syrup amts.: TSPS.

116. Upstate NY school: RPI. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy (Hi, IM!) New York.

117. 50 Cent piece?: RAP. 50 Cent, aka Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), is a Rapper.

118. Letters on Megan Rapinoe's jersey: USA. Megan in a soccer player.

119. Some Windows systems: NTS. Windows NT / XP / Vista / 10 / 11 all have the same kernel base first developed for IBM's OS/2. I first worked with NT 3.1 & 3.5 on a DEC Alpha in the early '90's.

120. Chest protector: BIB.

121. "Painting To Be Stepped On" artist Yoko: ONO. Is there any other Yoko? Oh, there is (but not in crossword-world).

Painting To Be Stepped On [MOMA]

The Grid:

The Grid

WOs: DoTSUN - > DATSUN, rIB -> BIB
ESPs: ROBERTS, BOYEGA, ADESTE, RITA, ARAMIS, NEVIL, REGAN, PEGGY, ICEO, CASCA, ARLO (as clued) & probably other names.
Fav: SCTV brings back many fond memories.

Y'all have a great Sunday.
Cheers, -T

Saturday, January 10, 2026, Amanda Cook

 Saturday Themeless by Amanda Cook

Amanda is a music critic and digital editor who is a published crossword puzzle constructor that maintains a blog for refined sugar-free dessert recipes, and enjoys taking care of her growing collection of houseplants. Amanda lives in Minnesota with her husband Kenny, and together they enjoy hiking, playing board games, and cheering for the Cleveland Guardians. She added that she had certainly heard of C.C., had met her once and lives in a Minnesota city next to our lovely blogmistress.

Be sure to read the additional info about Amanda's constructing style at the bottom of this write-up.

Across:

1. Volunteer effort where word gets around?: BOOK DRIVE 😀

10. Wrapped in terry cloth: ROBED.

15. Let someone else do the cooking: ORDERED IN.

16. Make reparations: ATONE.

17. Romantic partner's quirky yet innocuous behavior: BEIGE FLAG 😀 One of Amanda's seed entries. I laughed out loud when the sense of the clue/fill hit me! Below is the first of many more BEIGE FLAGS at this site

1. Makes weird moaning sounds while they eat. 
2. Infinitely reuses the same tissue, stuffing it in their pocket each time.
3. Never puts lids back on stuff. 
4. Set a dozen alarms and ignore them all. 
5. Texts by sending a million short individual texts instead of typing it all out before sending. 
6. Wearing clothes that are all too big or too small. 
7. Has a repeated “catch phrase” that you can’t unhear once you notice it. 

18. Game with blocking fouls?: JENGA - Among other violations, you are forbidden to physically block your opponent's path to the tower.

19. Suffix in many Icelandic surnames: SON - Iceland's starting soccer team

20. Faced off, in a way: DUELED.

22. Soothe: LULL.

23. Like Parmesan cheese: AGED.

24. Sticks the landing: NAILS IT.

26. Part partner: PARCEL.

29. Professionals who have a real sense of style: EDITORS 😀

30. "Copy that": HEARD - "Houston we have a problem!"

31. Lock: TRESS.

32. "Now I get it!": OHH.

34. Cedar Point's lake: ERIE - Cedar Point bills itself as America's Roller Coaster and is located near Sandusky, Ohio. All that blue is Lake ERIE.

35. Join: MARRY.

36. Primary instrument of English Renaissance composer John Dowland: LUTE - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Saturday cluing for LUTE

37. Score 11 points in pickleball, perhaps: WIN - But you do have to win by two

38. Broncos and Mustangs: AUTOS - Fords, of course 

39. Group of experts: PANEL - Are they always experts? 🤔

40. International travel need, often: ADAPTER - Don't cross an ocean without one. I lost mine in Venice, Italy and the hotel had a box with at least 5o in it that had been left behind. 

42. Smashing pumpkins fan?: VANDAL - The word pumpkins is not capitalized and so it is just a run-of-the-mill idiot. 

43. Relief medium: PLASTER.

44. Kite, for one: BIRD - Oh, that kind of Kite.

45. Vent: RANT.

46. Oatmeal-based brews: STOUTS.

48. Fell: HEW - Fell is a verb here

51. "Blackfish" mammals: ORCAS - Of course they are more than black and are certainly not a fish but...

53. One of 17,974 in Passau's St. Stephen's Cathedral: ORGAN PIPE - I'm sure Splynter could give them a tune-up.

55. Cardiologist's insert: STENT.

56. Counted: TALLIED UP.

57. Rebecca Solnit piece: ESSAY ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

58. Accumulation for new parents: SLEEP DEBT - Oh, how I remember!

Down:

1. Blunt cuts: BOBS - "Bells on BOB tail ring"

2. Snack that had a Space Dunk version: OREO.

3. Ragnarok warrior: ODIN - ODIN is a character in this game

4. Saloon delivery: KEG.

5. Coated in flour before frying: DREDGED.

6. Make a pit stop: REFUEL or RECHARGE

7. Ran in place: IDLED.

8. Vaccine container: VIAL.

9. Gives rise to: ENGENDERS.

10. "The Big Bang Theory" role: RAJ.

11. Verdi opera with Desdemona: OTELLO.

12. Chance to add to one's score: BONUS ROUND.

13. Twinings product: ENGLISH TEA.

14. Passed out: DEALT.

21. Princess who first appeared in Super Mario Land: DAISY ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

23. Lot unit: ACRE.

25. "__ go time!": ITS - Lloyd Bridges calls out Jerry Seinfeld

26. "What a relief!": PHEW.

27. Silks and trapeze, e.g.: AERIAL ARTS - I knew trapeze. 

28. Hopi ceremonies: RAIN DANCES.

29. User __: ERROR.

31. Hot-dish topping: TATERTOTS - Very common in our part of the country

33. Land down under?: HELL 

35. Trumpet accessories: MUTES.

36. Resonate, as a joke: LAND.

38. Spot-on: APT.

39. Root vegetable: PARSNIP.

41. Kazakhstan capital: ASTANA - 1,700 miles ESE of Moscow

42. Sportscaster who coined "dipsy-doo dunkaroo": VITALE - I knew him but not the phrase 

43. Conventional writing: PROSE.

44. Military brass?: BUGLE - In From Here To Eternity, Montgomery Clift's character played taps on his bugle into a megaphone that he rotated.

47. Like most dissertation defenses: ORAL.

48. Mask: HIDE.

49. Kindle file format: EPUB.

50. Expressed relief, perhaps: WEPT.

52. Dirty digs: STY.

54. Disposable sock: PED.

More thoughts from Amanda

This is my first published themeless puzzle, and it was created around the seed entry BEIGE FLAG, which is making its debut in this grid! The team at the LA Times really helped me get going when I was a new constructor, and one thing they instilled in me early on was a high standard for clean fill. I'm really happy that I managed to find some fun options for the marquee entries in this grid without having to rely on too much "crossword glue." I also try not to have too many proper nouns in my grids because as a solver, I hate getting stuck on know-it-or-you-don't clues. In my fill, I love to include food, the arts and humanities, sports, references to life in the Midwest, and misdirection clues, and you'll find all of those in this puzzle!

Friday, Jan 9th, 2026 ~ Rebecca Goldstein & Rachel Fabi

 EARLY ONSET CROSSWORDESE

( I fudged it; the cartoon actually said "the NYT...Sunday" )

Rebecca Goldstein and Rachel Fabi have paired up once more - I have blogged one other construction from the duo, back here - and now they only need a Thursday publishing to hit the "EGOT" ( or Grand Slam ) for all seven days with an LA Times crossword.  ALAS & SADLY, I seem to have the same snags whenever I solve one of their puzzles.  Today we have yet another non-standard, 15 x 16 grid, with prefix~? 'kickoff' clues and their 'dawning' definitions.  No circles, a few names and abbrs, a balance of 20 3LWs and 5-letter ones, but a lot of meh fill, IMHO - your mood may vary.  The themers, with no reveal; 

17. Pseudo?: FALSE FRONT - e.g. a pseudonym, such as Theodore Geisel *

25. Neo?: NEW BEGINNING - No, not Keanu

"Neo", from The Matrix

38. Mono?: SINGLE ORIGIN - Learning moment for me

54. Mega?: GRAND OPENING - I goofed; my original fill in the grid was "GREAT", and while 60% correct, still wrong.  I let the computer find my error(s), the black triangles in the solution below

64. Anti?: NONSTARTER - the only outlier, as this is not a two-word phrase

Ah -  I found sumdaze's first ruler of the colony, "Ant I" - get it~?

But Wait - There's More~!

ACROSS:

1. Framing pieces:  JAMBS - I do the Downs first, had J - - B -, and this is true from a carpentry point of view; windows and doors are, technically, framed with jambs

6. Layer under a tee: CAMI - T-shirt abbr, camisole abbr

10. Basketball commentator Rebecca: LOBO - filled via perps; name #1, and a self-shoutout for RG~?

14. Swings and misses three times, say: IS OUT - A poor at-bat in baseball - so many clunky two-term phrases in this crossword - and yet, none unique; I'm naming this type of fill "Twurds", #1

15. Nudge: PROD

16. Leaving less of a bad taste, maybe: RIPER - mmmmaybe~?

19. Annual EDM festival in 22-Down: ULTRA - no clue.  I actually like Electronic Dance Music - yet I recognize no one from the lineup at this "concert", held in 22D. -  I am surprised there was no circumreferential cluing here, being that it's Friday

Daft Punk was one of the artists I liked

20. Fashionably nostalgic: RETRO - I'm "retro" simply because I'm old, and never changed . . . 

21. __ the consequences: DAMN - Oooo, swear word

23. Evil act: SIN - Oooo, more badness

24. Lab coat?: FUR - Labrador, that is.  I have not given up on getting a dog - but I need a little more financial stability in the new year

Cooper tore up the pink octopus - but I had gotten him new chew toys for Christmas~!

29. Word of woe: ALAS - alas, I did not care for some of the fill . . . .

31. Biological pouch: SAC

32. Maxims: SAYINGS

33. Portions (out): METES

35. Covered in crystals?: ICY

37. Stalter of "Hacks": MEG - name #2, my total WAG crossing 28D; Sigh. Meg RYAN was Monday

42. Also: TOO - one too

43. Pair: DUO - "two twos, too" - not tu-tu; too many 'to's

44. Spot targeted by butterfly stretches: GROIN

47. Takes up a lot of space: SPRAWLS - I had SPREADS, which is 5/7ths correct, 71.42%

51. "__ been a minute": IT'S - a minute is an endless amount of time in our instant gratification world

53. Ibiza, por ejemplo: ISLA - Español lesson

57. Shade tree: ELM - crossword staple

58. Tax counterpart: TIP - think dining, not death 😜

59. Missing GI: AWOL - Absent WithOut Leave

60. Concession speech?: "I LOST." - "Twurd" #2 

62. Down in the dumps: MOPEY

68. Location, location, location: AREAS - Now this is a clever clue/answer - I'd like to see more of this, and less "Twurds". 

69. Transcript figs.: GPAs - Grade Point Averages

70. Racing shell: SCULL - oaring - not roaring - like, say, F1

71. Leave in the lurch in the church: JILT - even the word sounds unpleasant - is that a variation on onomatopoeia~?

72. "Abominable" character named Everest: YETI - Abominable 4-letter . . . yada, yadi, yati - YETI~!

73. Word of woe: SADLY - sadly, some of this puzzle's clue/answers . . . 

DOWN:

1. Peter Pan rival: JIF - semi-deceptive - peanut butter, not Disney & the original play - name(ish)

2. In general: AS A RULE - "I make a rule, not get involved with possessed people..."

"...Actually, it's more of a guideline"

3. "Naked" rodents: MOLERATS - "He's an ugly little spud, isn't he - I think he can hear you, Ray."  Stantz & Venkman, also Ghostbusters.  Interesting fact  about - and almost cute image of - this animal

4. Get three eights in blackjack, say: BUST - Another good clue/answer; the best hand is "21"; anything over ( in this case, 24 ), and ...

Bugs Bunny had a one-card win, remember~?

5. Unsmiling: STERN

6. Procedure practiced on mannequins: Abbr.: CPR -  Ah.  Not sword testing, Forged in Fire style

"It will kill" - Yeah, OK, it's a ballistic dummy, I know

7. Preferring platonic relationships, informally: ARO - Aromantic, a very common fill lately

8. Café du __: New Orleans shop known for beignets: MONDE - Nailed it.  It's a frequent location in the "Dave Robicheaux" books from James Lee Burke; name #3

9. Collar danglers: ID TAGS - Cooper only wears his when we go for a walk

10. Rapper __ Mama: LIL - name #4, her IMDb

11. Elects to participate: OPTS IN - "Twurd" #3

12. Strait off the coast of Siberia: BERING - geo name, #5.  A bridge~? More here

13. Indonesian apes: ORANGS - good guess on my part;  BONOBOS are "too big"

16. Over-easy serving: RUNNY EGG - strangely, this is a unique fill; I can only do scrambled eggs - otherwise, my tummy grumbles

18. Nemeses: FOES

22. Biscayne Bay city: MIAMI - Didn't know this - I once lived in Jacksonville, Florida; geo name #6

24. Sibs and 'rents: FAMily - Pa -rents

26. Make like a banshee: WAIL - Ah.  I tried YELL first; only 25% correct

27. Covertly included: BCC'ed

28. Sushi bite sometimes served on a model boat: NIGIRI - I have actually seen this in a crossword before - here - and I hit on the last letter "G" for the WAG; but then we have . . . .

30. Vegan protein option: SEITAN - Although I am not thrilled to see this in a crossword, I realize it's Friday.  I am intrigued to try using this as a pizza crust - which I currently make using ground chicken - more Seitan here

I will be happy again if it's yummy in my tummy ~!

34. Winter break?: SNOW DAYS - yeah, not so much as an adult, as CT DOT stays on top of clearing roads, so it's off to work I go 😕

36. "We doing this?": "YOU IN~?" - "Twurd" #4 - now it's getting absurd

39. Decline to take the high road: GO LOW - "Twurd" #5

40. Naan relative: ROTI - Asian "flatbreads" - the differences

41. Small bit of facial jewelry: NOSE STUD - of course I went with RING

45. "You won't get away with this!": "I'LL TELL~!" - "Twurd" #6

46. __ khao: Laotian crispy rice salad: NAM - Friday cluing for this 3LW;  my only resolution for 2026 is to completely shift my diet to healthy foods, and today's puzzle is full of some good choices

A recipe - looks good - I'ma gonna try it

47. High-ranking noncom: SGT. MAJ.

48. A __: literally, "from what is earlier": PRIORI - I have heard of this term

49. Climber's descent: RAPPEL - My first thought, but hesitated

50. Absorbent: SPONGY - also my first thought, also hesitated

52. Foul mood: SNIT

55. Have no reception, say: ELOPE - Hey - you weren't JILTed

56. Corning Museum material: GLASS - I knew of this place, in upstate NY, but I went with "PYREX"

61. Killer whale: ORCA

63. Have a snack: EAT

65. "Etc.," in Pittsburghese: N'AT - WAY too localized, IMO, even for Friday; I see no Cornerites other than 'oc4beach' in PA on HuskerG's map

The rest of the "dictionary" here

66. Fed. stipend for some people with disabilities: SSI - Supplemental Security Income; the website

67. "Srsly?": RLY - Seriously~?  Really~?  Textspeak, unique, and meh.  

* - Dr. Seuss

Splynter

Grid Flow was a high 47.8