Friday, Jul 10th, 2026 ~ Mike Peluso

HEavy MEtal, the song from Blue Öyster Cult

This is my first puzzle from Mike Peluso - he has been contributing crosswords since before the Corner, I would guess; his last construction for the LA Times was here, in 2023, on a sumdaze Monday. A simple add-in of the symbol for the element Iron, 'Fe', from the Latin "ferrum".  The cluing was solid Friday-level, with just a hiccup for me at the crossing of two name-ish answers - that's YOU, square #5~!  Standard grid, no circles, less than ten names, no Twurds, and eight "elemental" songs.  The themers & reveal, which is what got me through the themers;

16. Slogan on a very thorough pet sitter's business card?: I WALK THE FELINE - The base phrase is from the Johnny Cash song "I Walk the Line" -  I walked canine Cooper, but not the "feline" cats . . . 

28. Upgrade one's cookie supply?: TRADE WAFERS - Trade Wars - no song for you~! - but think the outer layers of, say, 32A., an Oreo cookie . . .

48. Newest resident of the Land of Enchantment?: SANTA FE BABY - A Christmas Classic, the song "Santa Baby", tho I did not know that the "Land of Enchantment" was New Mexico - I DO know my ex-wife is down there, so it can't be that enchanted . . . 

62. Treatment for anemia, or a treatment given to 16-, 28-, and 48-Across?: IRON SUPPLEMENT - the periodic chart square for Iron, "Fe"

Thanks Bill Nye, Science Guy~!


ACROSS:

1. Places to feel kneaded?: SPAs - I could go for a massage . . .

5. Peter or Paul, but not Mary: TSAR - I do the Downs clues first, and this was my last fill; I had _S_R, yet it took a minute - ah, Russian rulers . . . I solved this one before Moe's Wednesday dupe; name(ish)

9. Vocal quality: TONE - plenty in today's write-up

13. Part of some forests: KELP

This image's website

14. Land parcel: ACRE

15. On the road: AWAY

19. "Exodus" Oscar nominee Sal: MINEO - crossword staple, name #1

20. Anger: INCENSE

22. Snap: PHOTO - Friday vague cluing

24. Carson successor: LENO - Johnny & Jay, the Tonight Show, name #2

26. iPhone platform: iOS

27. Checkers side: RED

The Red and the Black, an "Fe" Maiden song, almost 14mins long
- and - Blue Öyster Cult song #2

32. Sweet sandwich: OREO - the cookies part of OREOs can blended into my ice cream - see 3D.

34. Word on a bottle of Château Margaux: CRU - from the Frawnche for "growth"; more here

35. El Prado, por ejemplo: MUSEO - 'for example, museum', Español #1

36. Cause of statistical misrepresentation: BIAS - that's ALOT of clue for a four-letter answer . . .

38. Colon units: DOTS - Oh, that colon [:] . . . never mind . . .

40. Ordered from DoorDash, perhaps: ATE IN

43. Flight status abbr.: ARRivals

44. Part of many a lunch special: SOUP

"NO soup for YOU~!"

52. Mex. neighbor: USA - there's always that half second of hesitation when I think, "I don't know all those countries in Central America~!"

53. Green around the gills: ILL

54. From the top: ANEW

55. Late bloomer: ASTER

57. Toots and the Maytals, for one: SKA BAND - no clue, but I had perps; more here

Funky Kingston - not really my thing, but I can 'dig' it

60. Aptly named hybrids: UGLIs

66. Four-award acronym: EGOT - Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony - somewhere last week I read that Steven Spielberg was a winner - so I wondered what he got his Grammy for; it's a bit of a stretch, but OK . . . the Wiki

Raiders March, Raiders of the Lost Ark

67. Plum kin: SLOE

68. Major disappointment: BLOW

69. Gym reps: SETS - For me, training at the gym is three times a week, two SETS of three exercises, and within those, somewhere between 8-16 "REPetitions"; not quite the same thing, IMHO

70. Actress Daly: TYNE - name #3

71. Bajo opposite: ALTO - 'low & high', Español #2

DOWN:

1. Word with lift or lodge: SKI - ski lift, ski lodge

2. Political research center: PEW - never heard of this; named after the Pew family - the Wiki

3. Dessert option: À LA MODE - look, I made protein ice cream - my trainer got me excited to buy and try the Ninja Ice Creami

The chocolate chips are an added indulgence 😁

4. Share, in a way: SPLIT - but not a banana split - bananas upset my stomach, and I don't know why . . .

5. "Doctor Who" actress Catherine: TATE - I know nothing about the series; it looks like she guest-starred in just three episodes; that's Friday vague - name #4

6. Think tank members, often: SCHOLARS - SCIENTISTS didn't fit

7. Modern art?: ARE - Shakespeare; "Where for art thou~?" - 21st century; "Where're you at~?"

8. Purify: REFINE

9. Softest mineral on the Mohs scale: TALC - This puzzle gets 4-1/2 of 5 ⭐ on the "other" Moe's Scale

10. Tot's scrape: OWIE

11. Childcare providers: NANNIES - There will be NO owies on this nanny's watch~!

12. Unsightly sight: EYESORE - Sightly sight - eye SURE~!

Spectacular view - and the city is pretty as well . . . 🙄

17. Celtic artwork feature: KNOT - Dah~! Not RUNE

This website

18. Sufficient, once: ENOW - ye olde sfelling of ENOUGH

21. Name on some Canadian pumps: ESSO - far right crossword-friendly letters, name(ish)

22. For: PRO

23. Pronoun option: HER - as last week, so again; YOU, OUR, SHE, HIS or HIM~?

25. College domain: EDU. - internet add-on for education

29. Sony record label: RCA - Eartha Kitt, "Santa Baby" was an RCA artist, and so are these girls

The Pointer Sisters, Neutron Dance - seems appropriate for an atomic theme . . .

30. Invoice no.: AMT - I charged $700 to build these custom maple pantry doors to fit an opening the previous contractor framed at 42"- 😖- too small for sliding doors, too big for bi-folds . . . and I always forget to take "before" pictures, and in this instance, would have been worth a laugh

Had to reconfigure the wood floor, too, as the other contractor's

wider opening left two wall-sized "gaps" in the T&G strips . . .🙄

31. Kerfuffle: FUSS

33. Passing thoughts?: OBITuary - Friday clever cluing

37. Food Network host Garten: INA - INA or UTA~?  I always get "her" wrong; name #5

38. Tap: DRAW UPON - Spigot and Faucet were all wet in this instance

39. Bard's sphere: ORB

40. Used car caveat: "AS IS"

41. Hollywood innovation of the 1920s: TALKIES - Ah.  Right.

42. Swell: ENLARGE - nailed it

43. Actor Vigoda: ABE - name #6

45. Generate more revenue than: OUTSELL

46. Tap: USE - Tap: Spinal . . . the "other" umlaut band name . . .

These guys still go to Eleven . . . Rock N Roll Creation

47. Target score at Augusta: PAR - Augusta being the PGA Tour's premier event in Georgia

49. Some coolers: FANS - I'm the "other" fan of PGA Augusta 2026 winner Rory McIlroy

50. Pledge rival: ENDUST - Pledge being the go-to cleaner for Consuela from Family Guy

No, no use Endust . . .

51. Second-oldest Ivy: YALE - There are only eight, and the list has only one four-letter entry . . . alright, maybe it could be PENN 😑

56. "The Lion King" lion: SIMBA - name #7, but I knew this one

58. Rolls-Royce trunk: BOOT - Brit-speak

59. Hill dwellers: ANTS - or POL(iticians)S~?  I picked the correct one this time

61. Joy: GLEE

63. Practice, as a trade: PLY

64. "__ on my watch!": "NOT . . ."

65. Cube root of eight: TWO - ∛8 = 2; geez, now we gotta do math on Fridays~?

Splynter

Grid Flow 19.6, low again

Thursday July 9, 2026 Robin Stears

Robin Stears is cutting the rug today. After constructing crosswords for 30 years, she's still got the moves!

17. Dance move performed when entering a room?: DOORSTEP. A DOORSTEP is just outside a door, while a threshold is the bottom of the doorframe itself. 

21. Cancan move performed while skydiving?: DROP KICK. A DROP KICK is a rarely used tactic in American football, it's only been used successfully once since 1941. Doug Flutie, in his last play in the NFL, kicked it in a game between the Patriots and the Dolphins in 2006.

35. Tango move on "Yellowstone"?: RANCH DIP. Yellowstone, the TV show, takes place on a ranch, where RANCH DIP is presumably served at parties.

46. Five-point spin on the dance floor?: STAR TURN. A STAR TURN is an idiom that refers to the most prominent performance in a show.

56. Leap at a military ballet?: BASE JUMP. BASE JUMPing is an extreme sport where participants parachute from a fixed object rather than an aircraft. BASE is an acronym for Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges), and Earth (cliffs).

66. Pas de deux move performed where the road divides?: FORKLIFT. Pas de deux is a ballet term referring to an intricate dance duet, probably much more graceful than a warehouse FORKLIFT.

While there is no revealer, we have six (!) themers that all end in a dance move: STEP; KICK; DIP; TURN; JUMP and LIFT. With this many themers, the grid was pretty crowded leaving a lot of short fill which made this easier than usual for a Thursday. I have two left feet, so I found it better to play in the band than be out on the dance floor. 

Let's take the rest for a spin:

Across:

1. Hotel waiters: CABS. Nice misdirect for the dance's opening number.

5. Carried the day: WON.

8. Cuts it close: SHAVES. Literally, it's using a razor - figuratively, it means a narrow escape.

14. Skip past: OMIT.

15. "__ takers?": ANY.

16. Nikon product: CAMERA. 

17. [theme]

19. Unexpectedly funny: IRONIC. Funny strange, not funny haha, I ASSUME.

20. Adopt, as an alias: ASSUME. Believe it or not, my name isn't RustyBrain. 

21. [theme]

23. Makeshift swing: TIRE. Some are fancier than others.

Oh, yours was just a round one?

25. Bard's before: ERE.

26. Network supported by "viewers like you": PBS. And viewers like me! I've volunteered to man the phones at a Public Broadcasting Service fundraiser.

29. Number of legs on a prawn: TEN. Prawns are the larger biological cousins to shrimp.

If you like legs more than wings, these are for you.

30. Shows up: ARRIVES.

35. [theme]

38. Half an Everest expedition: ASCENT. The other half, the descent, is considered more dangerous because after reaching their goal, climbers are exhausted and less focused.

39. Actor Sharif: OMAR. Everyone's favorite OMAR was also a world-class bridge player.

He apparently liked backgammon as well.

40. Club VIPs: DJS. Disc Jockeys. 

42. Inner: Prefix: ENTO. I wanted the more common ENDO, as in ENDOscope and ENDOskeleton. 

43. Curt: ABRUPT.

46. [theme]

49. James M. Cain's "__ Pierce": MILDRED. The film version of his novel won Joan Crawford the Best Actress Oscar for the title role in 1945.

51. Spanish gold: ORO. Lots of ORO at the bottom of the ocean from sunken Spanish galleons off the Gold Coast of Florida.

52. Contact site: EYE. As in contact lens. 

53. Singer Yoko: ONO. The first time Paul McCartney met Yoko, he said, "Oh, no!"

Here she is making EYE contact.

54. Wasabi __: PEAS.

56. [theme]

61. Coffee shop emanations: AROMAS.

65. Artful dodger?: EVADER.

66. [theme]

68. Spot: NOTICE.

69. Apple core, for short: CPU. Central Processing Unit, a computer's "brain" (no relation). 

70. Store that sells Frakta shopping bags: IKEA. It's Kits in Every Aisle.

71. Sounds like a bird: TWEETS. Seems like only yesterday when TWEETS only applied to birds.

72. Slump: SAG.

73. Like a lawn at dawn: DEWY. This is when it dawned on him that he lost.

Truman celebrating his upset victory in 1948.

Down:

1. Led Zeppelin's final studio album: CODA. Like the output from many groups, I like the early albums better.

2. Famous __ cookies: AMOS. Much more famous than these cookies, which are for the Byrd's.

3. "About me" summaries: BIOS.

4. Move with a swagger: STRUT.

5. Used sprinklers on: WATERED. Unless your lawn is already DEWY.

6. United: ONE.

7. "Blue Bloods" org.: NYPD. Blue Bloods was a TV series about the New York Police Department starring Tom Selleck.

8. Annabella of "The Sopranos": SCIORRA. She played Gloria Trillo, Tony Soprano's mistress in Season 3.

9. __ Ferry, West Virginia: HARPERS. HARPERS Ferry is famous as the site of abolitionist John Brown's 1859 raid, which helped spark the Civil War. Because of its strategic location between North and South, the town changed hands eight times during the conflict.

10. Wildly out of control: AMOK. I wanted to spell it AMUK, which was IRONIC because it didn't fit.

11. Start of Caesar's boast: VENI. "VENI, vidi, vici" translates to "I came, I saw, I conquered." It was spoken by Julius Caesar in a report to the Roman Senate over a quick and decisive victory. That's as succinct as it gets. 

12. Actor Bana: ERIC. ERIC Banadinovich is an actor from Down Under who came out on top!

13. Burlap bag: SACK.

18. Suffix that means "maker": SMITH. I grew up in Williamsburg, VA where there are many craft shops plying colonial trades, such as: blackSMITH, tinSMITH and gunSMITH. A friend mine from high school apprenticed as a silverSMITH. 

Amazing quality from only simple tools.

22. Mens __: criminal intent: REA. Oddly, I learned this phrase from watching Legally Blonde.

24. Wednesday's roommate at Nevermore: ENID. From the Addam's Family spinoff, Wednesday. Jenna Ortega plays Wednesday, and Emma Myers plays Thursday ENID.

Wednesday and Enid

26. Many a charity tourney: PRO-AM.

27. Deer friend of Flower and Thumper: BAMBI.

28. Warning from a doghouse: SNARL.

31. "Rhyme Pays" rapper: ICE-T. The Grammy-winning rapper also carved out a successful acting career and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

i
32. Locale: VENUE.

33. Log passage: ENTRY.

34. Granite or marble: STONE.

36. Yucky stuff: CRUD.

37. Comfy loungewear: PJS. Short for Pajamas.

Pajama shorts

41. "Enough!": STOP.

44. Assignment: PROJECT.

45. Terms of service: TENURES.

47. Accent piece: AREA RUG.

48. "The Fountainhead" protagonist: ROARK. The Fountainhead is a 1943 philosophical novel by Ayn Rand that champions individualism, egoism, and artistic integrity.

50. __ Pérignon: DOM. I can think of better ways to spend $250+ than a bottle of champagne. 

55. Utterly reliable: SOLID.

56. Not erect: BENT.

57. Solemnly swear: AVOW.

58. Fully appease: SATE.

59. Falco of "The Sopranos": EDIE. EDIE played Carmela Soprano, Tony's wife. 

You better not mention Gloria.

60. Some USO patrons: PFCS. Private First Class soldiers may attend shows put on by United Service Organizations, an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment and other programs to members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families.

Bob Hope spent 50 Christmases overseas!

62. Podcaster's purchase: MIKE. Bzzzt! No one spells it this way. It's MIC, short for microphone.

63. Several: A FEW.

64. Remain: STAY.

67. Happy Greek cry: OPA. Oh, Pa! I'm so happy!!

Be good. RB

Notes from C.C.:

Happy 56th birthday to our sweet Tony (Anon-T)! Every time I need someone to cover the blog, Tony is there without hesitation. Thank you for always being so generous with your time and willing to help. Hope you have a wonderful birthday, Tony!

 

 

Tony At Wit's End near Carmel on Father's Day 2017

 

Wednesday, July 8, 2026 - Jonathon Hales

 Theme:  "Quiet, please!"

 

 

Puzzling thoughts:

Greetings from Chairman Moe; or, as I learned last month when Miss Margaret and I toured the Iberian Peninsula for 3+ weeks, the local expression for greetings are: "Bom Dia" (Portuguese) and "Egun On" (Basque)

 

My crossword solving skills took a hiatus, too, as I did not travel with my laptop, and solving on a cellphone is not very practical.  Solving crossword puzzles was not even on my priority/to do list while on holidays.  Too many amazing things to see and explore.  If you've never visited Portugal or the Basque Country in Spain, do. Thanks, CED, for swapping Wednesdays with me this month as I returned back to the U.S. on 1 July and would not have been able to do my "assigned" day

On to the puzzle du jour:  When I googled the constructor's name, Jonathon Hales, I came up empty; other than a few people with that name (and exact spelling) on Facebook.  I found zero relatable "hits" to any so-named crossword puzzle constructor so my guess is that this is both his LAT and personal debut.  If this is so, congratulations!  If not (and he happens to stop by) please provide us with some more details about yourself and about today's puzzle

Jonathon's work is a combination of word play and factual phrases that one could relate to a (52-across. Community facility for researchers and book lovers) LOCAL LIBRARY.  For example:

17. Suggestion for a 52-Across patron who didn't finish a book by closing time?: CHECK IT OUT.  The word play ("check it out") could refer to examining or analyzing something; the library connection (literal meaning) is taking the book to the desk, showing your library card, and taking it home for a period of time

 

 

 

24. Reminder on a collection that can't leave a 52-Across?: READ ONLY FILE.  The literal and figurative meaning of this is a bit more vague than the other entries, IMO.  But, if you recall the "Reference" section of a library, items such as encyclopedias were "read only in the library"; not to be checked out.  A read only file [as defined by Microsoft Support] is: any computer file that you can open, view, print, or copy, but cannot modify, delete, overwrite, or edit. The operating system blocks any "write" operations to protect the document's content and maintain its original state

 

 

36. Sign near a door slot of a 52-Across?: RETURN TO THE FOLD. Another connection of literal and figurative as the word "return" is what you literally do with a book you've checked out of the library, and return to the fold is an expression that means to rejoin, return, or be welcomed back into a group, community, or organization after a period of absence. I suppose that a book that's been checked out of the library could be "missed" by the other books.  I chose another meaning of the word "fold" with the cartoon below:

 

 

 

 

64. Advice for patrons who borrow materials from a 52-Across?: DON'T BE LATE.  The cartoon below is a bit "dark" but it summarizes the theme! 😏

 

 

 

Perhaps my blogging "skills" took a hiatus, too.  Please add your thoughts to the comment section if you saw anything different than I 

Here is the completed grid.  This "felt" a bit more difficult than a typical Wednesday puzzle but I finished it without help and with very few write-overs ...

 

 

 

Across:

1. Seaweed on tobiko maki: NORI.  Moe-ku:

 

        Question on seaweed

        Sushi wrap: Do you eat it?

        If it's no, NOR I 

5. Trophy winner: CHAMP. 

10. Quaker grains: OATS.  

14. Sing the praises of: LAUD.  As in the lyrics of this hymn:

 

15. Striped Girl Scout Cookie: SAMOA.  Not sure that I agree that a singular cookie would be called a Samoa 

16. Tortilla sandwich: WRAP.  Moe-ku:

        Movie director's

        Comment after having lunch:

        "I think that's a WRAP!" 

[theme entry]

19. The Dalai __: LAMA.

20. Geena's "Thelma & Louise" co-star: SUSAN.  Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon 

That's Susan on the left / Geena on the right

21. Native Canadian: CREE. [from Wikipedia] "The Cree are one of the largest Indigenous groups in North America, with a total population exceeding 350,000. Their traditional territories stretch from Alberta to Quebec in Canada, with a few communities in Montana, USA. They are divided into distinct groups like the Plains, Woodland, and Swampy Cree, each adapting unique traditions to their specific regional environments"

23. Not great: BAD.  I typed in MEH before correcting it

[theme entry]

28. Former South African president Nelson: MANDELA.  

31. Slices and __: DICES.  Ron Popeil's invention of the 1960's: "It slices and dices and makes julienne french fried potatoes ..."

And its commercial was filmed in the Canadian Province that's the answer to (49 across. Home of Canadian curler Marc Kennedy:) ALBERTA. (and a mini-CSO to CanadianEh!)

32. Melber of MS NOW: ARI. [according to Wikipedia] "Ari Naftali Melber is an American attorney and Emmy Award-winning journalist who is the Chief Legal Correspondent for MS NOW and host of The Beat with Ari Melber. Melber won a 2016 Emmy Award for Supreme Court reporting and was nominated for Emmy Awards in 2020 and 2025 in the "Outstanding Live Interview" category"

33. Frequently, in poetry: OFT.

35. March 14 dessert: PIE.  Based on the fact that the mathematical number for "pi" is 3.14 (when rounded to two decimals) and is also a way of expressing March 14 (3/14)

[theme entry]

43. Look at: SEE.  

44. "Gangnam Style" rapper: PSY.  

45. Forever and a day: EON. 

46. Group of lions: PRIDE.  Moe-ku:

        A group of lions

        Who were homosexual

        Held a PRIDE Parade 

        (of course they did!!) 

 

 

[theme reveal]

56. The "A" of IPA: ALE.  As in India Pale ALE

57. __ fountain: SODA.  If the word "fountain" were capitalized, my answer would've been PETE

58. Greek fable writer: AESOP.  My favorite "fables" growing up were featured on the cartoon show "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle":

 

62. Healthy piece: SLAB.  As opposed to an "unhealthy piece" where I would have inserted the word FLAB

67. Prefix with phone: MEGA.  Anyone else besides me have TELE in this spot?

68. Twinkle: GLEAM.  A different spelling of this word was used as a brand name for toothpaste (that apparently made your teeth "twinkle").  P & G discontinued this brand about 12 years ago as part of a purging of under-performing SKUs

 

 

69. Raison d'__: ETRE. Raison d'être is a French phrase that translates to "reason for existence". It refers to the fundamental purpose, justification, or driving motive behind why a person, organization, or concept exists

70. Greek war god: ARES. Did anyone confuse Ares with MARS?  The Roman war god? Not I

71. County in southeast England: ESSEX.

72. Furniture wood: TEAK.  Moe-ku:

 

        Piece of furniture

        Shaped like Polynesian raft

        Is called: Kon-TEAK-i  

Down:
1. MLB playoff round: NLCS.  Short for: National League Championship Series - won last year by the LA Dodgers.  I'm old enough to remember when there was one "champion" of the NL and one of the AL and they contended for the World Series.  Baseball has expanded greatly since then (double the number of teams) and there are more playoff rounds before the World Series begins.  Now, there is a "Wild Card" round; a "Divisional" round; and a "League Championship" round.  Used to be that the World Series was decided in early October - with all the extra "rounds" it can spill into November

2. Diamond Head's island: OAHU.  A reference to the dormant volcano crater located on Hawaii's most populated island

 

 

3. Wants to take back: RUES.

4. Security checkpoint request: I.D. CARD.  During our Iberian Peninsula trip we had to show our U.S. Passport several times but never an I.D. "card"

5. CBS forensic franchise: CSI.  Short for: Crime Scene Investigation

6. See 34-Down: HAT. (34 down. With 6-Down, part of an Abraham Lincoln costume:) TOP.  This dude wore a top hat of sorts:

 

7. Corporation previously called Standard Oil of Indiana: AMOCO.  [per Wikipedia]: The majority of today’s largest energy corporations trace their roots back to the 1911 breakup:

ExxonMobil: Descends from the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (Esso) and the Standard Oil Company of New York (Socony).

Chevron: Formed from the Standard Oil Company of California (SoCal), which later acquired Standard Oil of Kentucky.

BP (British Petroleum): Acquired the Standard Oil Company of Ohio (Sohio) and the Standard Oil Company of Indiana (Amoco).

Marathon Petroleum / Marathon Oil: Descends directly from The Ohio Oil Company, an early Standard Oil production subsidiary.

8. Grieve: MOURN.

9. Dev of "Lion": PATEL.  A clecho of sorts as the word "lion" appeared for the answer: PRIDE

10. "Horned" bird: OWL.  We had a Great Horned Owl "family" build a nest in one of our community's Saguaro cacti a few years ago

11. Language of the Quran: ARABIC.

12. Snack steamed in a corn husk: TAMALE.

13. Small shovels: SPADES.  

18. Patella locale: KNEE.

22. Grammy winner Gorme: EYDIE.  Married to fellow singer/comedian Steve Lawrence

 

 

25. Like Kevin McCallister at Christmas: ALONE.  From the movie series "Home Alone"

26. Inane: DAFT. [according to Cambridge Dictionary] "Daft" is an informal adjective meaning foolish, silly, or obviously absurd. Commonly used in British and Scottish English, the term describes actions, ideas, or behavior that lack good sense and judgment

27. Feudal estate: FIEF. Moe-ku:

 

        Notable giant

        Became a vassal. His new 

        Phrase? "FIEF-fi-fo-fum"  

28. Feb. follower: MAR.  Might've preferred this answer to not be an abbreviation 

29. "Odds __ ... ": ARE.  'N' ENDS didn't fit; nor ON

30. Tiny issue: NIT.  See my response to 28 down

35. Kingdom divisions: PHYLA.  [according to Wikipedia] "Phyla" is the plural form of the word phylum. In biology, a phylum is a major taxonomic rank used to classify organisms. It sits below kingdom and above class. Organisms in the same phylum share a fundamental structural framework or a common evolutionary body plan

37. Food safety org.: USDA.  Short for United States Department of Agriculture

38. Film spools: REELS. 

39. Peter the Great, for one: TSAR.  CZAR also fits, but why tsar?  [according to American Heritage Dictionary]  "Tsar" and "czar" are simply two different English spellings of the same Russian title for a monarch or supreme ruler, with both words etymologically derived from the Roman title "Caesar"

40. Not 'neath: OER.

41. Spot with many spots: LOT.  As in a parking lot

42. Genetic material: DNA. So, is RNA a genetic material?  Would it have worked as an answer here? Yes, RNA is genetic material. While DNA is the primary genetic material for humans and most other cellular life, RNA serves as the sole genetic material for many viruses (such as HIV and Influenza). Additionally, all living cells use RNA to translate genetic information (code) from DNA into functional proteins [according to National Human Genome Research Inst]

46. Blood bank supply: PLASMA.  Moe-ku:

 

        What's the screen format

        Of Count Dracula's TV?

        Why, PLASMA, of course!  

47. __ skates: ROLLER.  ICE was too short here, but see the next entry:

48. Worldwide cold spell: ICE AGE.    

50. Scottish hillside: BRAE.  I had CRAG first, but after correcting I learned this about the difference between crag and brae: "Crag and brae both describe natural geographical elevations, but they differ in their appearance, composition, and regional usage. A crag is a steep, rugged, or projecting rock. A brae is a term from Scottish English and Northern English referring specifically to a sloping hillside, typically leading down to a river" [according to Merriam-Webster]

51. Shoelace hole: EYELET.  Whilst I still have shoes that involve tying laces, I really enjoy my Skechers "step-in" shoes.  The pair I wear most often even come with eyelets even though those are unnecessary

53. Mountain hangout: LODGE. Après-ski hangout

54. Role models: IDOLS.  A direct rejection of the second of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:4) "It strictly prohibits creating physical, graven images or idols of anything in heaven, earth, or sea to worship them"

55. Curses: BANES.  My friend the Thesaurussaurus agrees

59. Fill until full: SATE.  This happened far too often when we were on our Iberian Peninsula trip - but I suppose that gaining just 3 pounds over the course of 23 days isn't too bad.  I swore I wasn't going to eat bread again for quite a while and my first "meal" after getting home was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich 

60. Other, in Oaxaca: OTRA.  We probably heard this word a time or two when we were in Spain 

61. Steal a glance: PEEK.  Moe-ku:

        The paparazzi

        Were rated 5 stars.  It was

        Their PEEK performance 

63. Humanities degs.: B.A.s. Another of many abbreviations used today - Bachelor of Arts

65. __ kwon do: TAE. Fun Fact:  "Taekwondo" can be translated as tae ("strike with foot"), kwon ("strike with hand"), and do ("the art or way"). Taekwondo (or Tae Kwon Do) Moe-ku:

        New martial arts course

        Features a "touchless" routine

        Known as TAE Kwon Don't  

66. Extreme sport with bunny hops: BMX. Not sure if this is AI generated or not but if I hadn't googled it I don't know that I could imagine it ...

As I conclude this blog, I am still wondering if there was another meaning to the collective entries, but I won't lose sleep over it.  Please feel free to comment below if you think otherwise or agree.  Obrigado y Eskarikosko (thank you in Portuguese and Basque)

See you again next month - Chairman Moe 

Post script:  I almost forgot to include this classic Library Video; the Library Cop.  Enjoy!