17. Really terrible wine?: UNPARDONABLE ZIN. Sin.
27. Dad jokes?: POP ZINGERS. Singers.
46. Hardware store window feature?: DISPLAY ADZ. Ads.
56. Power nap?: MAINTENANCE DOZE. Dose.
Across:
1. Doing something: BUSY. Do something: Get busy. Now there's a word where the S really sounds like a Z.
5. Infatuated, old-style: SMIT. Raging dopamine levels clouding one's judgement.
9. "The Goldbergs" actor George: SEGAL.
15. First-rate: A-ONE.
16. Hardly in the dark: AWARE. Andre Ware (A Ware ?) would be known to longtime college football fans. He was the 1989 Heisman Trophy winning quarterback who played for the University of Houston Cougars. He was the first African American quarterback to win the honor.
20. Master's degree seeker's assignment: THESIS. Thesis title: “Membership of Subculture as Made Evident Through Referential Verbal Cues” Translated title: "Nerds say nerd things to other nerds."
21. Evaluate: ASSESS.
22. Hosp. area for critical cases: ICU.
24. Truck unit: TON.
25. PreCheck org.: TSA. TSA Pre✓® - Transportation Security Administration
26. Focus word in a Scripps logo: BEE.
30. Extensive periods: EONs.
31. "See ya": SO LONG.
32. Pork cuts: LOINs.
34. Beethoven wrote just one: OPERA. My eyes deceived me. I read "Beethoven just wrote one" and thought, "What ? That can't be right!"
35. Academic growth: IVY.
36. Indian silk region: ASSAM.
40. Trumpet sound: BLARE. To "blow one's own trumpet" is to talk openly and boastfully about one's achievements.
42. Mrs. King on "Scarecrow and Mrs. King": AMANDA. Kate Jackson starred as a divorced mother of two opposite Bruce Boxheimer as a spy. "Goodbye, PTA...hello, foreign intrigue!"
43. HUD financing gp.: GNMA. Ginnie Mae. The Government National Mortgage Association in the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
48. Tanning line: RAY.
49. Mag. listing: EDs.
50. Some PCs: HPs.
51. Kitty alternative: KAY. Both can be short forms of Katherine.
52. Pertaining to a heart chamber: ATRIAL.
54. Facial feature named after an animal: GOATEE.
60. Location: PLACE.
61. Innocent, for one: PLEA.
62. Keypad predecessor, in some cases: DIAL.
63. Rent-a-car choice: SEDAN. Alamo ? No. Hertz ? No. Aha, now I see !
64. Cabs and the like: REDs. Wines. Other reds might be Medoc and Merlot. I learned they were reds in a USA Today puzzle last week. Wine Folly
65. Multinational range: ALPs. Eight Alpine countries: France, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, and Slovenia.
Down:
1. A/C measure: BTU. Air Conditioning. British Thermal Unit.
2. Caterer's item: URN.
3. 35 to 5, say: SEPTUPLE. You know. Single, double, triple, quadruple etc. Do the math. This may be a debut for septuple. Crossword history ?
4. Slangy assent: YEAH.
5. "Teen Angel" or "Leader of the Pack": SAD SONG. Teenage tragedy songs of the early 60s era. Here's another:
6. Sounds from the pasture: MOOING.
7. Holiday places: INNs. Holiday Inns.
8. English cuppa: TEA.
9. Spicy condiment: SALSA. Spicy dance: Salsa.
10. Farm moms: EWEs.
11. Summerhouse: GAZEBO.
12. Out of bed: ARISEN.
13. They can make things clearer: LENSEs.
18. __ scan: ID method: RETINAL.
19. Soprani opposites: BASSI.
22. __ facto: IPSO.
23. Farm home: COOP.
25. Helen's home: TROY. We have an Irish Miss of Troy.
28. Kazantzakis title hero: ZORBA. Time magazine book review from 1953
29. Fabled mischief-makers: ELVEs. The Keebler elves make Uncommonly Good cookies with elfin magic in the Hollow Tree.
30. Montaigne work: ESSAY.
33. Yoga class greeting: NAMASTE. "... a respectful greeting said when giving a namaskar." That clears it up.
35. Greek rainbow goddess: IRIS.
37. Charlatan's curative: SNAKE OIL.
38. "__ pinch ... ": recipe direction: ADD A. A pinch of patience, a dash of kindness, and a spoonful of laughter.
39. Labyrinthine: MAZY.
41. Disorient: ADDLE.
42. Andean animals: ALPACAs.
43. Dad's dad: GRAMPS.
44. Italian Christmas: NATALE.
45. Many: MYRIAD.
47. Contacted, in a way: PHONED.
49. Gobbled up: EATEN.
53. Ancient Peruvian: INCA.
54. Wind warning indicated by two red flags: GALE.
57. "Morning Edition" airer: NPR. National Public Radio. A number of fans here at the Corner.
58. Nuke: ZAP. Both slang for microwave.
59. Little League leaders?: ELs. Little League trailers: Ees.
Check your grid against this one:
