LA Times editor Patti Varol is back again on Friday - this is her fourth that I have blogged in 2026. Another tack-on theme, with two of the fills grid-spanners, this time adding '-TON' to some common things / phrases, resulting in some punniness, and a 'defining' reveal. I breezed through today, just one sticky square, and I was on this Patti puzzle wavelength with most of the proper names being in my wheelhouse. Standard grid, no outlier squares, no circles, thirteen 3LWs, and ten names. The themers & reveal;
24. Lazy way to soothe hurt feelings?: NOOFFENSEBUT...TON
43. Take tiny crustaceans out for a stroll?: WALKTHEPLANKTON
49. Getting heavier, or an apt title for this puzzle: GAININGWEIGHT - in this case, the answers gain a "TON", or about 2000lbs - I, on the other hand, am losing weight. I did a weigh-in with my trainer last Thursday - the same 190lbs, but down to 26.5% body fat, originally at 43% - Yikes~! I keep pushing him to feature me in the Big Sky gym "spotlight" email, but everytime I ask, he tells me "when you get to X" - this time, I have to be down to 24% body fat . . . the carrot at the end of the stick . . . 😖
Button Waiton, There'ston Moreton~!
ACROSS:
1. Band: STRAP
Ankle strap shoes
6. Primer lesson: ABCs
10. Printer refills: INKS
14. Provençal sauce: AIOLI - I do the Downs first, so this corner self-filled in the Across
15. Bread from a tandoor: NAAN - common crossword crust
16. Many a techie or Trekkie: GEEK - Dah~! Not NERD
17. Fruit with a thick rind: MELON
18. Thing that has away with words?: DELETEKEY - I had "I gOt it" crossing, but once that changed, I saw the clever misdirection with 'away', and not "a way" in the clue
22. Raft: SEA - the "other" noun definition, #3 - a large collection or number
23. Fish that's a symbol of Children's Day in Japan: KOI
33. "Wow, nice!": "OHCOOL~!" - Twurd(ish)
34. Approach: WAY
35. Rite answer: "IDO." - well, you'd better give the right answer, or . . .
36. Constant critic: HATER
37. Like fresh nail polish: WET
38. Bridget's daughter in the "Bridget Jones" series: MABEL - never saw it, no clue, IMDb; name #1
40. "Big" and "Bang Bang" singer Rita: ORA - Crossword staple, just about every week now, along with Dua Lipa. Name #2
41. "Happy now?": "SEE~?"
42. Old Spanish coin: PESETA
47. Scand. land: NORway - part of ScandINAVIA - Geo name #3
48. Routine: ACT
56. One who's in it for the money: MERCENARY
"I care . . ."
57. Nebraska rail hub: OMAHA - Friday cluing, still geo name #4
59. Fun run distance, for short: ONEK - my gym is hosting a 5K in October, or, you can just walk it
Katy Steinmetz is a poet and she knows it. She should try her hand at songwriting!
(with apologies to Paul Simon)
All of the following themers rhyme a "newsworthy" object with a synonym for a reporter's point of view.
17. Reporter's approach to a story about a bracelet?: BANGLE ANGLE. But this could've been an entertainment reporter's review of a BANGLEs concert...
23. Reporter's approach to a story about a doppelgänger?: TWIN SPIN. ...or a Bee Gees concert.
TWINs born on December 22, 1949
35. Reporter's approach to a story about a male duck?: DRAKE TAKE. ...or a DRAKE concert.
50. Reporter's approach to a story about a picnic pest?: ANT SLANT. ...or an Adam ANT concert.
57. Reporter's approach to a story about a spring bloom?: CROCUS FOCUS. ...or even of FOCUS playing Hocus Pocus. (There also was a rock band in the '80s called KROCUS.)
Well, this one from our bard wasn't hard. Once you gleaned the scheme of the theme (which was after the first one), knowing they all were rhymes made it easy peasy. And with five of them, the rest was pretty much run-of-the-mill fill.
Let's continue from different perspective:
Across:
1. Necklace clasp spot: NAPE.
5. Rather peculiar: SCREWY. I'm not SCREWY, although I may have one loose...
11. Implore: BEG.
14. Tandoor, for one: OVEN. In the '70s, we had a tan door OVEN.
It's called Espresso. Avocado and Harvest Gold were also popular.
15. Sub: HOAGIE. If they're out of HOAGIEs, you can always sub a grinder...but not one from Lowe's!
19. Game cube: DIE. Not to be confused with it's bigger sibling.
Nintendo GameCube
20. "Cheap Thrills" singer: SIA. I so wanted ZAPPA instead.
21. Lowe's purchase: TOOL. Try their grinders!
22. Lariat: ROPE. ROPE is in Lowe's aisle 23.
23. [theme]
26. Workers featured in the opening scenes of "Frozen": ICEMEN.
28. Greet someone from a distance: WAVE HI.
29. Gets a rise out of, in a way: LEAVENS. This year, RightBrain challenged herself to make sourdough bread. After several months of trial and error, she's nailed it. Her latest thing is mini-loaves.
Clockwise from top: cinnamon swirl; artisanal plain; everything bagel; strawberry with chocolate chips
30. Spanish "Listen!": OYE.
31. Soy block: TOFU. A vegan in Maine loves TOFU, but the DMV made him surrender his license plate anyway.
34. Phoenix team: SUNS. The SUNS professional basketball team.
35. [theme]
38. Small jazz combo: TRIO.
40. Provide a fake alibi for, say: ABET.
41. Swelter: FRY.
44. Tap dancer Hines: GREGORY. He is celebrated for his intricate phrasing, cool style, and for reviving tap popularity in the late 20th century.
46. "You're right!": I AGREE.
49. Make changes to: REVISE.
50. [theme]
52. Prayer ender: AMEN.
53. Lamb wrap with tzatziki: GYRO. A GYRO is usually wrapped in a PITA.
55. Charged particle: ION.
56. Tennessee athlete, for short: VOL. The University of Tennessee Volunteers.
57. [theme]
61. Before, in old poetry: ERE.
62. Compilation: DIGEST. Such as Reader's DIGEST. I haven't seen one in years, but print subscriptions are still available.
63. Subway Series squad: METS. The local rivalry of the New York METS vs. the New York Yankees.
64. Acid letters: LSD. I was given a hit of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in college, but I dropped it.
65. __-sense: SPIDEY. SPIDEY-sense refers to an early warning of immediate danger before it happens, as evidenced by Peter Parker aka Spiderman.
66. River through Flanders: YSER. YSER flows in French Flanders, the north of France.
Down:
1. San Francisco's __ Hill: NOB. NOB Hill is a posh historic neighborhood overlooking San Francisco.
I don't mean to brag, but I live near Nob Hill (Road).
2. Janelle's "Abbott Elementary" role: AVA. Janelle James plays principal AVA Coleman.
3. Deep in thought: PENSIVE.
4. Tuneup target: ENGINE. I wanted GUITAR, of course. 😉 I never had a Ric 12-string, but while it's an engineering marvel, it looks daunting to tune up.
Rickenbacker 360/12 headstock
5. "__ sells seashells ... ": SHE. "I have the world's largest collection of sea shells. I keep it scattered on beaches all over the world. Maybe you've seen it." Steven Wright
6. Tropical ring-tailed mammal: COATI. A COATI is a member of the raccoon family and is native to South America.
7. Built one's campaign around: RAN ON.
8. Breakfast brand: EGGO. Crossword constructors will never leggo EGGO because its contains such common letters.
9. Country great Nelson: WILLIE. We should all chip in and buy him a new guitar.
WILLIE Nelson and "Trigger"
10. "__-haw!": YEE. I wanted HEE-Haw because of another country great, Roy Clark.
Roy's playing a Gibson Les Paul Custom "Black Beauty"
11. Sign of trouble: BAD OMEN.
12. Camp nurse's supply: EPIPENS.
13. Salad leaves: GREENS.
18. Mascara target: LASH.
22. Variety show: REVUE.
23. Wee hour: TWO. As we learned a week ago, TWO may also be the wee-wee hour.
24. Modus operandi: WAY. Per the Mandalorian, "This is the WAY."
25. 53-Across bread: PITA. Although a GYRO may be served on a platter.
27. Champagne barrel: CASK.
29. Mandolin kin: LUTE. For comparison to Roy's, here's a pic of my blonde Les Paul Custom, a distant cousin of a LUTE.
20th Anniversary model from 1974 aka "the Fretless Wonder"
32. "... Fine.": OKAY.
33. Shortest mo.: FEB. My oldest son was born on February 28th of a leap year, just hours before not having a birthday very often.
35. "Dinner is served!": DIG IN.
36. Some big hoppers: ROOS. ROOS is short for kangaroos, even if they're tall.
37. Fighting: AT IT.
38. Small quakes: TREMORS.
39. Took deep pleasure (in): REVELED.
41. Three-time Best Actress Oscar winner McDormand: FRANCES. She also won a fourth Oscar for Best Picture as producer of Nomadland.
42. Driver's "Star Wars" role: REN. Adam Driver plays Kylo REN in the Star Wars franchise, but he never met a Mandalorian.
43. Up to today: YET.
44. Rough road surface: GRAVEL.
45. Fix, as a tennis racket or golf club: REGRIP.
47. "Yeah, right!": AS IF.
48. Down in the dumps: GLOOMY.
50. Like an eyebrow: ARCED. I'd rather have ARCHED.
51. Pointless: NO USE.
54. Asana expert: YOGI. If you do it right, you won't have boo-boos.
57. LP successors: CDS. Kids ask me, "What's an LP?" I tell them they came before CDs. "What's a CD?"
58. Farm pen: STY.
59. Great Basin native: UTE.
60. Georgia, once: Abbr.: SSR. This Soviet Socialist Republic was part of the Soviet Union from 1921 to 1991.
17 A. Prohibition of some single-use products: PLASTIC STRAW BAN. A government or business rule that restricts or prohibits the distribution, sale, or use of single-use plastic drinking straws.
26 A. Spiral burners that deter biting pests: MOSQUITO COILS.They are only temporarily and marginally effective over a limited area. Better to wear light colored clothing and use a topical repellant. These nasty suckers are mostly active at dawn and dusk. You have been warned.
43 A. Liquid in a vampire slayer's vial: HOLY WATER. Water that a member of the clergy has blessed for a religious or spiritual purpose. It acts as a powerful repellent and weapon against vampires in pop culture and modern folklore. It burns them like acid on contact.
53 A. "Later, chumps!," or what can be said while putting 17-, 26-, and 43-Across to good use?: SO LONG, SUCKERS.Here is the rude dismissal. What the items described by the theme entries accomplish is repelling or avoiding things that suck. Mosquitos and vampires "vant to suck your blood." The plastic straw doesn't really fit, because is does not provide the sucking. It is an item through which one may suck something, such as a milk shake. That's my nit for the day.
Hi, Gang - JazzBumpa here. Let's put on our insect repellant and see what we can discover.
Across:
1. Image in a botanical print: LEAF. Took me a while to catch on to this clue. Here are some examples.
5. Feminist Frequency founder Sarkeesian: ANITA. Anita Sarkeesian [b. 1983] is a Canadian-American feminist media critic. She is the founder of Feminist Frequency, a website that hosts videos and commentary analyzing portrayals of women in popular culture.
10. Hardly hard: SOFT. Describes something that easily yields to pressure, feels smooth, or is gentle and soothing to the senses, Softly soft, maybe. Clever clue.
14. Jessica of "Sin City": ALBA. Jessica Marie Alba [b. April 28, 1981] is an American actress and businesswoman. She rose to prominence at age 19 for portraying Max Guevara, the lead character in the television series Dark Angel, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. Her cinematic breakthrough came shortly after with the lead role in Honey. Images.
15. __ New Year: LUNAR. A major multi-day festival that marks the start of a new year based on the traditional lunisolar calendar, typically falling between late January and mid-February. The date changes every year depending on the new moon. In 2026, it began on February 17, and in 2027 it falls on Saturday, February 6.
16. Wagon rod: AXLE. A central rod, bar, or shaft that connects a pair of wheels to help them rotate and move a vehicle or machine.
20. __ Domingo: Caribbean capital: SANTO. Founded in 1496, Santo Domingo is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic, serving as the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas.
21. Permit: LET. Allow.
22. Grinds to a halt: STOPS. Gradually slows down and completely stops moving, working, or functioning
23. German article: DER. The, in masculine nominative singular case.
24. Earth-friendly prefix: ECO. Originating from ecology, the scientific study of how living organisms interact with each other and with their physical environment.
25. Female moose: COW. Does a moose cow moo?
30. Bottled, as emotions: PENT UP. Feelings, energy, or demand that are held inside and not expressed, vented, or released.
31. Add to an email: ATTACH. To include and send a separate document or photo with an electronic message.
33. Subject of a miner dispute, maybe: ORE. Note: miner, not minor -- deep joke. Can you dig it?
34. Shuns: ESCHEWS. Deliberately avoids, shuns, or abstains from something, usually for moral, practical, or personal reasons. Many years ago there was a popular bumper sticker in the Ann Arbor area that said " Eschew obfuscation."
38. Splash of color in an ornamental pond: KOI. Brightly colored, ornamental varieties of the common carp
39. Ties the knot: WEDS. Accepts the ball and chain.
41. Granola bar fleck: OAT. An annual cereal grass (Avena sativa) or its edible seed, which is commonly used for human food (like oatmeal or porridge) and animal feed
42. Groks: GETS. Understands. The word is a neologism (a newly coined word) invented by American science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein in his 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land. In the book's fictional Martian language, it literally translates to "to drink," but it symbolically means to blend or merge with a concept or person so thoroughly that the observer and the observed become one.
48. Home of the College World Series: OMAHA. Omaha is a city in the U.S. state of Nebraska, on the Missouri River close to the Iowa border. A stop on the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail, it's known for its pioneer history, museums and cultural centers.
50. Cover story: ALIBI. An alibi is proof or a claim that a person was somewhere else when a crime or event happened, meaning they could not have done it.
57. Actor James __ Jones: EARL. James Earl Jones [1931 - 2024] was an American actor. A pioneer for Black actors in the entertainment industry, he was acclaimed for his performances on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few performers to achieve the EGOT [Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards]
58. Liquid-Plumr rival: DRANO. A popular brand of chemical drain opener.
59. Battery unit: VOLT. The standard international unit of measurement for electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force.
61. Distort: SKEW. To twist, bias, or cause something to be slanted, inaccurate, or uneven.
62. Shoutout to a parent: HI, MOM. What - no love for Dad?!?
63. __ out a living: EKED. Managed to get by with great difficulty,
64. Like muted colors: PALE. Describes a very light color that won't attract mosquitos.
65. Ukrainian port on the Black Sea: ODESA. A major port city and transport hub located on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea in southwestern Ukraine.
66. Tennis match units: SETS. A set in tennis is a group of individual games that players must win to move closer to winning the overall match. This usually involves winning 6 games.
Down:
1. Track circuits: LAPS. Each LAP is one complete trip around a track or course during a race or exercise.
2. Spanish pronoun: ELLA. The third-person singular feminine personal pronoun.
3. Like ghost towns: ABANDONED. Left behind, no longer used, or deserted.
4. Like a race winner: FASTEST. Moving, acting, or happening with the greatest degree of speed or in the shortest amount of time.
5. Boxer Muhammad: ALI. Muhammad Ali [formerly known as Cassius Clay Jr. 1942 - 2016] was an American professional boxer and activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "the Greatest", he is often regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time.
6. Atomic centers: NUCLEI. The tiny, dense, positively charged centers of atoms made of protons and neutrons.
7. Bug: INSECT. Six-legged creepy crawler or flyer.
8. Bit of henna art: TATTOO. A tattoo is a permanent design, mark, or word etched into the skin using needles and ink.
9. Train board abbr.: ARR. The scheduled or estimated arrival time.
10. Took care of a situation: SAW TO IT. Took full responsibility for making sure a specific task or action was successfully completed.
11. U-shaped body formed by a river diversion: OXBOW LAKE. An oxbow lake forms when a meandering river erodes through the neck of one of its meanders. This takes place because meanders tend to grow and become more curved over time. The river then follows a shorter course that bypasses the meander. The entrances to the abandoned meander eventually silt up, forming an oxbow lake.
12. Cardboard carton part: FLAP. A box flap is a flat extension of a container that folds over the opening to close, cover, and secure the contents.
13. Till stack: TENS. Ten dollar bills in a cash box.
18. Rotational force: TORQUE. Torque is the rotational equivalent of a linear force—essentially the twisting power that makes things spin around an axis or pivot point.
19. Broad neckties: ASCOTS. Wide, traditional men's neckties that look like short scarfs.
26. Trifling: MERE. An adjective meaning "nothing more than" or "only," used to emphasize how small, insignificant, or limited something is.
27. Company with brown trucks: UPS. United Parcel Service.
28. Cry from a crow's nest: CAW. Crows are not song birds. They're squakers.
29. Glaswegian, e.g.: SCOT. Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland.
35. Demure: COY. Quiet, shy, modest and reserved. But COY suggests that this is flirty or performative.
36. Hem and __: HAW. Hesitating, stalling, or taking a long time to make a decision because you are unsure, evasive, or unwilling to commit.
37. Greek vowel: ETA. Eta is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, written as Η in uppercase and η in lowercase. It sounds like a long E.
40. "Ready to get moving?": SHALL WE? A polite suggestion to start or do something.
42. Mourns: GRIEVES. Feels or shows deep sadness and sorrow, especially because someone has died.
44. "Well, well, well!": OHO. Expression of mock surprise when discovering about somebody.
45. Cry from a crow's nest: LAND HO. A crow's nest is a small, partly enclosed platform high up on a ship's mast where a sailor stands as a lookout. LAND HO is a traditional nautical call shouted by a sailor or lookout to announce that land is finally visible. Note the clecho.
46. Puget Sound city: TACOMA. Tacoma is a vibrant port city in Washington State, located on the shores of Puget Sound about 30 miles south of Seattle.
47. Large deer: ELK. (Also called wapiti) is a massive animal belonging to the deer family (Cervidae), weighing up to 1,100 pounds and standing about 5 feet tall at the shoulder.
48. Financial center in Honshu: OSAKA. Osaka is a major financial center of Japan and is recognized as one of its most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities. It is home to the Osaka Exchange and the headquarters of multinational electronics corporations such as Panasonic and Sharp.
49. Gourmet mushroom: MOREL. The common morel, often called the white or gray morel. Its color varies from light cream to gray to yellowish-brown depending on habitat and age. The hollow cap is attached to the stalk at base. The common morel is perhaps the easiest of all edible spring mushrooms to recognize, and is therefore widely collected.
51. Insolvent: BROKE. Lacking funds.
52. Typically uninhabited key: ISLET. A tiny, often rocky or sandy, uninhabited island in a sea, lake, or river.
54. Sudoku diagram: GRID. A network of evenly spaced horizontal and perpendicular lines used to organize, locate, or distribute things. The layout for some games and puzzles.
55. "I feel seen!": SAME. A powerful sense of connection that makes you feel less alone in your struggles or thoughts.
56. Chicago-style pizza chain, familiarly: UNOS. Pizzeria Uno. It's good. Detroit style from Buddy's is better.
57. Seer's gift: ESP. Extra Sensory Perception. A supposed mental ability to receive information without using the normal physical senses
60. Scores equal to two FGs: TDS. Touchdowns - six-point scoring plays in American football where a player possesses the ball in the opponent's end zone.
That wraps up another Wednesday. Actually, this puzzle did not suck. Hope you enjoyed it.
If the Shoe Fits ... Today's puzzle is all about shoes.
17-Across. Including every flaw: WARTS AND ALL. Sandal. The phrase Warts and All is generally attributed to Oliver Cromwell (Apr. 25, 1599 ~ Sept. 3, 1658). When he was sitting for his portrait, he told the artist to portray him truthfully, saying: to note all his "roughnesses, pimples, warts, and everything as you see me, otherwise I will never pay a farthing for it." Three years after he died, Cromwell was exhumed and posthumously executed by hanging.
25-Across. Like serrated knives: SAW-EDGED. Wedge.
50-Across. In the past few days: AS OF LATE. Flat.
62-Across. Radio format likely to appeal to baby boomers: CLASSIC ROCK. Croc.
And the unifier:
39-Across. Safe bets, or a phonetic hint to the circled elements of this puzzle?: SHOO-INS. Shoo and Shoe are homophones.
Here's the Grid:
Across:
1. Prepare, as avocados for guacamole: MASH.
5. When nothing seems to go right: OFF DAY.
11. Org. now known as Scouting America: BSA. As in Boy Scouts of America.
14. Director Preminger: OTTO. Otto Ludwig Preminger (Dec. 5, 1905 ~ Apr. 23, 1986) was an Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in his five-decade career He was one of the most influential directors in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. In 1960, he directed the movie Exodus. He was born in what is now current day Vyzhnytsya, Ukraine.
15. Bubble tea balls: PEARLS. The "pearls" are actually made of tapioca.
16. Duolingo bird: OWL. Duolingo is a company that has language courses for English speakers. The name literally translates to two languages (duo + lingo).
19. Short swim: DIP.
20. Muse of poetry: ERATO.
21. Trial version: DEMO.
22. Old-school cool: HEP.
23. Ceremonial act: RITUAL.
28. Country singer Paisley: BRAD.
Brad Douglas Paisley; b. Oct. 28, 1972
30. Like the African dish bariis iskukaris: SOMALI. Bariis iskukaris is a traditional rice stew dish from Somali cuisine. It is generally cooked in a single pan, The name means "cooked mixed together."
31. Yaps: GABS.
34. Catch a ride to the beach?: SURF.
37. More pleasant: NICER.
38. Green prefix: ECO-.
41. Toward a boat's rudder: AFT.
42. University of __ Dame: NOTRE. The backstory of the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.
44. Meh: SO-SO. This is becoming a crossword staple.
53. Laundry container: HAMPER. I initially tried Basket. // And 27-Down. Like clothes in a 53-Across, probably: DIRTY.
57. "Pls stop sharing!": TMI. Textspeak for Too Much Information,
58. Second to none: BEST.
60. Ish: SORTA.
61. Opposite of trans: CIS. Cis is short for cisgender, which means a person whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
64. Post-OR area: ICU. As in the Intensive Care Unit.
65. Sentence ender: PERIOD.
66. Arthur in the International Tennis Hall of Fame: ASHE. Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 ~ Feb. 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player. He won three Grand Slam titles in singles and two in doubles. Ashe was the first African American player selected to the United States Davis Cup team, and the only African American man to win the singles titles at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open.
67. Egyptian viper: ASP.
68. Evaluate: ASSESS.
69. Starring role: LEAD.
Down:
1. Grass-cutting machine: MOWER.
2. Video game pioneer: ATARI. A brief history of Atari.
3. Fender guitar, familiarly: STRAT. The guitar's full name is the Fender Stratocaster. Clarence Leonidas Fender (Aug. 10, 1909 ~ Mar. 21, 1991) invented the electric guitar despite the fact that he could neither play nor tune the instrument.
4. Jacuzzis: HOT TUBS.
5. Happy Greek cry: OPA. In Greek, it would be written as όπα.
6. __ for oneself: FEND.
7. Tapered haircuts: FADES. I was not familiar with this term for haircuts, now that I see it, it makes sense.
11. Feline that helps control pests in a store: BODEGA CAT. I was not familiar with this expression.
12. Express disinterest on a dating app: SWIPE LEFT. Dating apps didn't exist when I met my hubby.
13. Mont Blanc, e.g.: ALP. Also a high-end writing instrument.
18. Fly like a dragon: SOAR.
22. TV cable letters: HDMI. As in High-Definition Multimedia Interface, which is a standard digital connection used to send both video and audio signals through a single cable.
24. Eyelid hair: LASH.
26. Years and years: EONS.
29. Couples: DUOS.
31. Italian city known for salami: GENOA. The city of Genoa, Italy has been around for centuries. It is on the Italian Riviera.
32. Science of sound: ACOUSTICS. The word Acoustics is derived from Greek.
33. "Here's mud in your eye!": BOTTOMS UP! Where did this phrase come from?
35. Hopping pal of Piglet: ROO. The characters from Winnie the Pooh make frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.
36. Herring, but not a red herring: FISH. Where did the phrase Red Herring come from?
39. Make airtight: SEAL.
40. "Stranger Things" actor Schnapp: NOAH. I am not familiar with Noah Schnapp (b. Oct. 3, 2004).
43. Loan adjustment, for short: RE-FI. As in ReFinance.
45. Sinful: IMMORAL.
47. Pool hall fixtures: TABLES.
49. Like some lesbians, slangily: MASC. This seems a bit rude.
51. Signs of sorrow or joy: TEARS.
52. Nail salon brand: ESSIE.
54. Ordinary writing: PROSE.
55. __ Sketch: drawing toy: ETCH-A-.
56. Made a leaf pile, perhaps: RAKED.
59. General __ chicken: TSOs. Yes, Virginia, there really was a General Tso. And he liked his chicken.
61. Spy-fi org.: CIA. As in the Central Intelligence Agency. Did you know that the CIA was formally established in 1947?
62. Tax prep pro: CPA. As in Certified Public Accountant.
