This is the 22nd themeless Saturday puzzle by Dr. Dolan I have blogged. For this puzzle I sought out someplace where I could get multiple fills and work out from there. For this puzzle it was the SW corner where things filled in and ERIVO took care of itself greatly aided by my fortuitous guess at SCUBA DIVE. As you can see by the red square I did have one bad cell where I had to confess to my French major
granddaughter that I guessed ENTRE VOUS and not NOUS. I made the connection to Egypt with Theban deity but AMENRA escaped me.
Across:
1. "Hold my beer": WATCH THIS - Idiocy fueled by alcohol and testosterone.
10. __ forest: KELP.
14. "It's not up to me": IF YOU WANT.
15. Obsession: MANIA - Are you old enough to remember this MANIA?
16. "Ask away!": DON'T BE SHY.
17. Quirkily creative: ARTSY.
18. Leaves home?: TREE 😀 Leaves is a noun and is possessive.
19. Put on board: LADE.
20. Board game: DARTS.
21. Pronoun option: HER.
22. Radiation that triggers vitamin D synthesis, for short: UVB.
23. Lineup of runners?: SLATE - This is the SLATE of runners you would have seen in 2024 in Nehawka, NE (pop. 167)
25. Used a prayer rug: KNELT. 27. Supreme Theban deity: AMENRA - AMEN-RA (alt. AMUN-RA) was the supreme state deity of New Kingdom Egypt (150-1100 BCE) merging the Theban creator god Amun ("The Hidden One") with the sun god Ra. Searching for his book was a plot arc of the 1999 movie The Mummy.
30. Mexico City's __ de la Reforma: PASEO - Walkway Of The Reform. A nine-mile diagonal street modeled on the Champs-Élysée in Paris.
33. "Truce?": ARE WE COOL.
35. As soon as: ONCE - ONCE you get some time
36. Natl. Merit Scholarship qualifying exams: PSATS.
37. Dance with a kahiko style: HULA - Includes chanting
38. Small beard: SOUL PATCH.
40. Amounts on some bottles: DOSES.
41. Sportscaster Dick with the catchphrase "Touch 'em all!": ENBERG - Said after a home run
42. Tilt: TIP UP - Getting the stones to Stonehenge was one thing and then they had to TIP them UP
44. "Fare thee well": ADIEU.
46. Top suit: CEO 😀 A suit is one of the executives of a company and so the top one would be the CEO
47. Toe bean spot: PAW - Lily did not like that channel!
50. Shots after whiffs, say: REDOS or after a really bad bunker shot
52. Polish place: NAIL 😀
54. [Not again!]: SIGH.
55. "Wicked" star: ERIVO ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
56. "Count me in!": I'M SO THERE.
58. Assumption: GIVEN.
59. Suit perfectly: FIT TO A TEE.
60. Forward thinker?: SEER.
61. "Why not both": YES AND YES - Do you love me and will you marry me?
Down:
1. Mover's concern: WIDTH - Oops!
2. "Loch Lomond" preposition: AFORE.
3. Pianist McCoy who played with the John Coltrane Quartet: TYNER- ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
4. Home on an apartment building's roof, maybe: COTE - Brando shows Eva Marie Saint a pigeon egg from his rooftop COTE in On The Waterfront.
5. Carrier base: HUB.
6. Not quite a teen: TWELVE - Pat Boone sang Twixt TWELVE And Twenty
7. Lives it up: HAS A BLAST.
8. Clear for all to see, so to speak: IN HD - Fill words can be complicated when abbreviations have become "words" on their own.
9. Lid blemishes: STYES.
10. Handy maneuver?: KARATE CHOP 😀
11. "Confidentially ... ": ENTRE NOUS - Just between you and me. Entre vous means between us as a group.
12. Lay out: LIST - My projects are much more successful when I lay out what I need to do in a LIST.
13. Foots: PAYS - We used to "foot the bill" when we took our girls out but now they have families and we go dutch.
15. Nice thing to call someone?: MADAME - I suppose MADAME would be a nice thing to call someone in Nice, France. 😊
22. Shedding card game: UNO.
24. Code components: LAWS - One of the first compilatons
25. Succumbed to gravity: KEELED OVER.
26. Leaflet: TRACT - A famous one.
28. Part of a play list?: ROLE 😀 - A person, who later became very famous, was listed here as a minor character for her first ROLE. She played a lesbian lover for Joan Molinsky (later Joan Rivers)
29. "Woe is me!": ALAS.
30. False front: POSE.
Give it up, poser!
31. Mystery author, briefly: ANON - Here the identity of the author is the mystery not the work itself 😀
32. Get tanked on a tropical vacation?: SCUBA DIVE - A confident fill when I only had the "S" showing. Yay me!
34. People with concerns about trolleys?: ETHICISTS ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Happy to learn.
36. Resident of D.C.'s Daniel Webster Hall: PAGE - A former funeral home that was refurbished in 1995 to house Senate PAGES.
39. "Orange Is the New Black" setting: PRISON - A binge watch for me.
40. Couple: DUO.
43. Cesta-slung sphere: PELOTA - Here a jai alai player is slinging a PELOTA (sphere) with his cesta (basket)
45. Bring together: UNIFY.
47. Reverence: PIETY.
48. Concur: AGREE.
49. Carnival cries: WHEES - Kevin Hart seems to be making a cry of terror while Jimmy Fallon is doing more of a WHEE.
50. Policies, for short: REGS.
51. Put-in-Bay's lake: ERIE - The village of Put-In-Bay is located in our favorite crossword lake
53. Femme friend: AMIE - A French friend who is female
No Comment. Alas, I must comment - it's the "krow" I do here at the Corner - and I am going to "crow". This was just too much of a stretch to be enjoyable, and the solve itself was fraught with ALOT of meh/vague/cringe. It looks to be the author's debut LA Times crossword; I found one other, I believe, a NYT here, and a blog review of said puzzle. Methinks he is a very cerebral constructor. Names slowed me down, and unlike last week, getting any "?" themer did not necessarily help me elsewhere in the grid. A scarce nine 3LWs, and no circles, at least. The themers, and reveal;
20. *Aircraft marshaling?: PROJECT RUNWAY - "Runway Project" - but this clue~? Meh. "Tarmac resurfacing" - now that's more like it. The actual fill is about this show
34. *Lifeguarding?: LABOR POOL - this is the only themer that makes sense, too me - "Pool Labor". The actual fill is "the source of trained people from which workers can be hired"
40. *Bounty hunting?: JOB SEARCH - "Search Job" - i.e., "skip trace"; Cletus Purcell, a character in the Dave Robicheaux books, does this sort of work as a P.I. The actual fill is, well, a job search
54. Advice to a problem solver, or an apt description of the answers to the starred clues: WORK BACKWARDS - and the title of a self-help, motivational, life-affirming book as well
1. "Catastrophe" writer/star Delaney: ROB - speaking of catastrophe, name #1 - not a good start, but I begin by doing the DOWN clues, so that I might have some perps for the themers - didn't help today. His IMDb
4. Power unit: WATT - a measure established by James Watt who adopted "horsepower" to compare to his steam engine, which improved on the existing design; more here
8. School assignment: ESSAY - I want you to write . . . a "theme" Awww
A Chrstmas Story
13. Filter target: SPAM - my NW was a mess; I had SMOG
15. 2025 Pixar film about a boy who meets aliens: ELIO - name #2, never heard anything about this movie
16. Hollers: YELLS
17. Nix: VETO - my vote.
18. Big pig: BOAR
19. Windows shopping: eTAIL - Ah. a subtle play on "window" shopping - OK, a good one
23. Grammy winner Baker: ANITA - name #3, but we see her frequently in crosswords
24. Thus far: AS YET
25. Lara Croft target: TOMB - the "Raider" from the video games, and movies; name(ish)
31. Couch surfer's spot: FUTON - Ugh. Even IF you accept this definition of couch surfing, still makes me cringe as a clue/answer
37. Ore. neighbor: IDAho - it seems that the Cornerites are not fond of three-letter state abbrs
38. Pressed sandwich that's part of a friendly rivalry between Miami and Tampa: CUBAN - too local to be a fair clue/answer, IMHO, but here's a newsletter/blog for your perusal
39. Quaint quarters: INN - it's Friday; the slight mismatch of singular/plural is a bit meh.
43. Accordion-heavy music: POLKA
45. Latin for "as originally positioned": IN SITU
"Hey, what is that~?"
46. One on the Mohs scale: TALC - The mineral talc rates a low "1" on the hardness scale - I don't have to tell you what this crossword rates on the Moe's scale
48. Spills the beans: TELLS
51. "Let's maybe take it down a __ or two": NOTCH - can we maybe bring it UP a notch~?
57. Country singer Rimes: LEANN - name #5
59. Lemon-shaped: OVAL - when the LA Times gives you lemons . . .
60. Choose yea or nay: VOTE - Nay.
61. Bright and airy courtyards: ATRIA
62. Relocate: MOVE
63. Icicle locale: EAVE - I see just one icicle hanging from my gutters - blessed with no ice dams
64. Streisand film with the song "The Way He Makes Me Feel": YENTL - name #6
65. Imp: BRAT
66. Scolding sound: TSK
DOWN:
1. Choose yes or no: RSVP - Ugh. Vague
2. Place for binoculars: OPERA - I tried VISTA - like this
James Bond using them in "The Living Daylights"
3. Track and field handout: BATON - handout~? Ugh . . . better = hand OFF
4. Zoom lens?: WEBCAM - Zoom, the internet meeting app; we used it for AA meetings during COVID
5. Bundles: A LOT - Atwurd
6. Quinceañera crown: TIARA - good WAG on my part; the Español part, which refers to a 15year-old girl's passing into womanhood, was 'irrelevant'; I ran with a crown synonym
7. Doughnut shape: TORUS
8. Monocle, for one: EYEWEAR - that it is, I guess; so spectacles & glasses are EYES wear~?
9. Put on: SET ATOP - No comment; technically, it's a unique fill
10. "You __ me!": "SLAY" - Friday vague
11. Actor Mahershala: ALI - I'll have to add this name, #7, to the Muhammad / Laila list - and a dupe with Tuesday
12. Fashion monogram: YSL - Yves Saint Laurent, a double whammy abbr/name, #8
14. Cocktail garnished with mint: MOJITO - I tried GIMLET first; but that's a lime garnish - gimlet appared on Tuesday, too
29. Pass (out): ZONK - Ah. Another clever clue; I was in DOLE/METE mode
30. Fibula counterpart: ULNA - leg-to-arm bone comparison; semi-deceptive, but four letter bone~?
I like the other leg pic . . .
31. Pacific nation that exports water: FIJI - I did not know that this was the actual case; some interesting environmental info here; I'll stick with the 5gal jugs from BJs - and geo-name(ish)
32. Nagoya noodles: UDON - crossword staple
33. Pop-top tops: TABS - I found several pieces of art made from these, including "chain mail"...
...and a cool dragon
35. Pre-K sequence: ABC - yeah but meh.
36. Thai coin: BAHT - name(ish), but I knew this from doing crosswords
Theme: Conductor's Conduct or Overbearing at the Opera or Tyranny from the Pit. In-the-language phrases are repurposed as harsh instructions from the conductor to members of a musical ensemble.
20. "Second oboe, play the right notes this time!," e.g.: WIND DIRECTION. This normally refers to the compass point from which the wind originates, rather than where it is blowing towards. But here it is a rather rude instruction given to one of the wind instrument players. There are generally considered to be the woodwinds.
26. "Sing your solo correctly for once!," e.g.: VOICE COMMAND. This usually indicates a spoken word or phrase used to control devices, software, or applications, enabling hands-free operation via speech recognition technology. But here it is another rude correction of a poor singer, probably feeling a bit intimidated.
45. "Perform the music as written! No sharps or flats!," e.g.: NATURAL ORDER. This typically refers to the inherent, logical, or spontaneous arrangement of things in the universe, operating according to natural laws rather than human design - perhaps the music of the spheres. Or maybe not. This one is a bit of a stretch, but yes, one should play the notes on the page and not add in any vagrant accidentals [written sharps of flats that are foreign to the key signature.]
54. "You must!," or how a demanding conductor would interpret 20-, 26-, and 45-Across: IT'S IMPERATIVE. Disobedience is not an option, so get it right.
Hi, Gang, JazzBumpa here to conduct us on our way through this musical composition. I promise not to be over bearing.
Fortunately, I never had to deal with that kind of conductor - though there are many of them out there. Once, when I was playing in an amateur symphony orchestra, due to a copyists error - so, totally not my fault - I wound up playing a note that clashed with the music. IIRC, this was in Howard Hanson's 2nd Symphony - an absolutely gorgeous piece of music. The conductor looked a me and said, "Just play any note in the chord." I asked, "What is the chord?" "D Major," he replied. I was playing a G. Probably the worst possible note in that context.
Across:
1. "__ Secretary": Téa Leoni drama: MADAM. Madam Secretary explored Elizabeth McCord's life as the reluctant but determined United States Secretary of State. She drives international diplomacy, battles office politics, and circumvents protocol, if needed, as she navigates global conflicts. The show also focuses on McCord's personal life and family, and their relationship with her work; she is married and has three children. Elizabeth Téa Pantaleoni [b. 1966] known professionally as Téa Leoni, is an American actress and producer. Leoni also starred in the short-lived 1992 sitcom Flying Blind and The Naked Truth. She's been married to both Tim Daly and David Duchovny, with whom she has a child named West. Leoni is also a dedicated supporter of UNICEF, traveling to see their programs in action and serving on their National Board.
14. Horace composition: EPODE. Horace's Epodes is a collection of 17 early Roman poems, published around 30-29 BCE, that imitate the iambic verse of the Greek poet Archilochus, featuring themes of love, nature, politics, and social commentary with a tone ranging from witty to vitriolic. The poems, written in a mix of meters, often use a longer first line followed by a shorter second line (the "epode"), and explore topics like loyalty to his patron Maecenas, the contrast between rural and urban life, and sharp invective against enemies, showcasing a more aggressive style than his later Odes.
15. "Houdini" singer Dua: LIPA. Dua Lipa [b. 1995] is an English singer, songwriter, and model known for her dance-infused pop anthems and husky vocals. Her music blends influences from pop, dance, and electronic genres, with retro-inspired disco and pop rhythms. Lipa has won seven Brit Awards and three Grammys. The name Dua was her grandmother's suggestion, and means "love" in Albanian.
16. 2017 Tony winner "Come From __": AWAY. Come From Away is a Tony Award-winning musical by Irene Sankoff and David Hein that tells the true story of the 7,000 airline passengers stranded in Gander, Newfoundland, after the 9/11 attacks, and the small town that welcomed them with open hearts and homes.
17. "... and anything else that might come up": OR WHATEVER.
19. Hon: BABE. Terms of endearment.
22. Sneaky: SLY. Having or showing a cunning and deceitful nature.
23. Blood: KIN. Those in a familial relationship.
24. Ashram figure: MONK. An Ashram is a hermitage, monastic community, or other place of religious retreat. A MONK isa member of a religious community of men typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
31. "Gnossiennes" composer: SATIE. Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (1866 – 1925), better known as Erik Satie, was a French composer and pianist. "Gnossienne," a word he invented, refers to a set of seven piano pieces composed by Erik Satie around 1890, characterized by a unique, unconventional style without traditional bar lines or structure. They are fabulously experimental pieces in which the form consists of haunting melodic fragments which circle around without any specific direction or goal. In their circularity and stasis they seem to lay down a challenge to German 19th century dominance: music does not have to be developmental; neither does it have to be goal-directed or hierarchical. It can simply float along and be an evocative mystery.
34. Take a chance: DARE.
35. Online marketing strategy, for short: SEO. Search Engine Optimization is the practice of improving a website to increase its visibility in organic (unpaid) search engine results. By optimizing content, technical structure, and authority, SEO helps search engines like Google understand and rank pages higher, driving more targeted traffic to a website.
36. Count in the cereal aisle: CHOCULA. A chocolate-flavored, marshmallow-filled breakfast cereal introduced by General Mills in March 1971, featuring a friendly vampire mascot. Primarily sold during the Halloween season, it is part of the "Monster Cereals" line alongside Franken Berry and Boo Berry.
39. "Girl With a Pearl Earring" painter: VERMEER. Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) was a renowned Dutch Baroque painter specializing in intimate, meticulously detailed domestic interior scenes. He worked slowly, producing only about 35 known paintings, often using expensive pigments to masterfully depict light and calm, quiet atmospheres. Despite his talent, he was not wealthy and left his wife and many children in debt upon his sudden death, leading to centuries of obscurity before his rediscovery.
41. __ Lingus: AER. Aer Lingus, the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Ireland, was founded in 1936. Headquartered at Dublin Airport, it operates a hybrid business model providing both low-cost European and full-service transatlantic flights to over 100 destinations across Europe and North America.
42. Invalidate: VOID. To cancel, invalidate, or nullify something, such as a contract, check, or warranty, rendering it legally ineffective.
44. Like a dive bar: SEEDY. Said of a person, place, or thing that is disreputable, shabby, or in poor condition, often implying a sense of moral decay or dishonesty. It can also mean run-down or dirty.
49. Lavish love (on): DOTE. Be extremely and uncritically fond of.
50. Graphic opening?: GEO-. The prefix geo- means earth, ground, or land. It is used in English to form words relating to physical, geographical, or geological aspects of our planet. Some people think this kind of clue is clever. To me, it is self-referential and misleadingly annoying.
51. Check out: VET. To thoroughly investigate, examine, or check someone or something for accuracy, authenticity, or suitability. It is commonly used in professional contexts to screen candidates, check documents, or evaluate potential risks before approval. It is a 19th-century back-formation from the abbreviation of "veterinarian," originating in the 1890s. It initially meant to submit a horse to a physical examination by a vet before a race, and by the early 1900s, it broadened to mean examining anyone or anything for flaws.
59. Coil in a garden: HOSE. A coil is a length of something wound or arranged in a spiral or sequence of rings. This is a typical arrangement for a garden hose. Or, perhaps, a snake. Be careful.
61. Worker who tracks transactions: BOOKKEEPER. A person whose job is to keep records of the financial affairs of a business. I don't know of another English word with either a double K, or a sequence of three consecutive double letters.
62. The America's Cup, for one: EWER. The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. Or, as here, the relvant trophy. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy and the other from the yacht club that is challenging for the cup. A EWER is a large jug with a wide mouth.
63. Sea eagle: ERNE. An older, traditional name for a large sea eagle, specifically the White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), a massive bird of prey found across Eurasia, closely related to North America's Bald Eagle. This used to be a frequent flier in crosswords. Now it is a rare bit of nostalgia.
64. Signals from space, perhaps: OMENS. Omens are events regarded as portents of good or evil. I am not getting the connection to the clue.
65. Dumpster fire: MESS. A chaotic or disastrously mishandled situation. Mess hardly seems adequate.
66. Mary __ Lincoln: TODD. Mary Ann Todd Lincoln [1818 - 1882] was First Lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln, in 1865. Mary Todd was born into a large and wealthy slave-owning family in Kentucky, although Mary never owned slaves and in her adulthood came to oppose slavery.
67. Hospital employee: NURSE. Registered nurses (RNs) provide direct patient care, acting as health educators and advocates in hospitals, clinics, and homes.
Down:
1. Feline chorus: MEOWS. Stylized cat sounds.
2. National Scrabble Day month: APRIL. National Scrabble Day is celebrated annually on April 13th to honor the birth of the game's inventor, Alfred Mosher Butts, born on this day in 1899. The day promotes playing the iconic word game, which was originally developed during the Great Depression and is now enjoyed globally in over 120 countries.
3. Soft and fluffy: DOWNY. Covered [or filled] with fine soft hair or feathers. By extension, anything with a similar feeling.
4. Med. condition treated with Ritalin: ADHD. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent patterns of inattention, hyperactivity, and/or impulsivity that interfere with daily functioning. It typically starts in childhood and can continue into adulthood, affecting how the brain manages focus, organization, and behavioral control.
5. Medieval fair quaff: MEAD. Mead, or honey wine, is an ancient alcoholic beverage created by fermenting honey with water, often with fruits, spices, or hops. It ranges from dry to sweet and 3.5% to >20% ABV. Best served chilled (white wine temp) or slightly warmer for spiced versions, it offers a versatile flavor profile reflecting the honey source, ranging from floral to fruity or spicy.
6. Healing character class in D&D: CLERIC. Dungeons and Dragons features 13 core character classes. Each has a different set of strengths and weaknesses. Clerics have a special relationship with a specific god and can function as versatile divine spellcasters and armored front-line support, serving as armored healers, protectors, and undead hunters who draw power from a deity or divine domain.
7. Pepped (up): LIVENED. Made something more lively, exciting, energetic or intereresting.
8. Gp. founded in Baghdad: OPEC. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
9. Hair line?: PART. The line on the scalp where hair is divided and brushed in different directions, often dictated by natural growth patterns, cowlicks, or styling preferences. The other hair line is the edge or border where hair growth begins on the human head, particularly along the forehead. In recent years I have experienced significant forehead growth.
10. Explosive sound: KABOOM. Used to represent the sound of a loud explosion.
11. "Lemme look!": I WANNA SEE. A couple of colloquial contractions expressing a desire to observe something.
12. Open page on a web browser: TAB. A user interface element located at the top of the window that allows you to open and switch between multiple websites within a single browser window. At the moment, I have 13 open in Chrome.
13. Cornea locale: EYE. The cornea is the transparent, dome-shaped outermost layer at the front of the eye, covering the iris and pupil.
18. Polynesian carving: TIKI. A carved human-like figure representing Polynesian deities or the first man in Māori mythology, embodying a deep spiritual connection to nature.
21. Plunge into liquid: IMMERSE. Dip or submerge in a liquid.
25. Gave a leg up to?: KNEED. Hit someone with the knee.
26. The Old __: London venue: VIC. A historic, independent theatre in Lambeth, South London, founded in 1818 and famously nicknamed for its 1833 renaming to the Royal Victoria Theatre. Renowned for Shakespearean productions, it served as the original home of the National Theatre from 1963 to 1976 and is a major cultural landmark.
27. Bodies of work: OEUVRES. The works of a painter, composer, or author regarded collectively.
28. CLE player: CAV. The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. They are currently in 4th place.
29. Mine deposit: ORE. A naturally occurring solid material from which a metal or valuable mineral can be profitably extracted.
30. Flat-bottomed fishing boat: DORY. A small flat-bottomed rowboat with a high bow and stern, of a kind originally used for fishing in New England.
31. Airport security check: SCAN. A safety screening process using technology like millimeter-wave imaging or X-ray systems to detect metallic and non-metallic, prohibited items (weapons, explosives) on passengers or in luggage.
32. Up, in a way: AHEAD. A team or individual that is leading - or ahead- of their opponent is said to be "up" on them.
33. Giant Galapagos natives: TORTOISES. The Galápagos tortoise (Chelonoidis niger), also called the Galápagos giant tortoise, is a very large species of tortoise in the genus Chelonoidis (which also contains three smaller species from mainland South America). The species comprises 15 subspecies (12 extant and 3 extinct). It is the largest living species of tortoise, and can weigh up to 417 kg (919 lb). They are also the largest extant terrestrial cold-blooded animals (ectotherms).
37. Hawaiian for "long": LOA. Distant, long, tall, far or permanent.
38. Feel bad: AIL. Troubled or afflicted in mind or body.
40. Large body of eau: MER. French for water and sea.
43. Backyard feature for a water-loving pup: DOG POND. A specific body of water, a designated area within a park, or a business dedicated to dogs swimming, playing, or training. I suppose there could be one in a backyard somewhere.
46. Says out loud: UTTERS. Makes a sound with one's voice.
47. Stunk: REEKED. Emitted a strong and unpleasant odor.
48. "How To __ Your Diary": interactive edition in a YA series: DORK. An interactive, DIY companion book to Rachel Renée Russell's popular Dork Diaries series, offering tips, prompts, and space for readers to create their own secret journals, inspired by Nikki Maxwell's experiences with diary-keeping, code words, and the importance of privacy.
51. Bygone Dodge two-seater: VIPER. A sports car manufactured for most years between 1992 and 2017.
52. Levels: EVENS. Gives something a flat and even surface.
53. Hardly rambling: TERSE. Sparing in the use of words; abrupt.
55. Skeptical scoff: I BET. A phrase used sarcastically to mean the opposite of it's literal meaning, hence indicating severe doubt or disbelief.
56. __ reflex: infant's instinctive protective response: MORO. An involuntary, protective, two-phase reaction in newborns triggered by a sensation of falling, sudden movement, or loud noise. When startled, a baby throws back their head, extends arms and legs, cries, and then pulls limbs back inward. It typically appears at birth and disappears by 5–6 months.
57. Millennia upon millennia: AEON. A very long indefinite time period.
58. Online discount marketplace: TEMU. Temu is an online marketplace operated by e-commerce company PDD Holdings, which is owned by Colin Huang. It offers heavily discounted consumer goods, mostly shipped to consumers directly from China.
59. Haw counterpart: HEM. To hem and haw is to be uncertain and take a long time deciding something. The phrase originated in the 16th and 17th centuries as an imitative phrase for hesitant, indecisive, or evasive speech.
60. Be outstanding: OWE. Any unpaid debt is said to be outstanding.
So ends our more or less musical excursion. Hope it hit the right notes for you.
granddaughter that I guessed ENTRE VOUS and not NOUS. I made the connection to Egypt with Theban deity but AMENRA escaped me. 
