Tuesday, March 3, 2020 Gail Grabowski & Bruce Venzke

I'm Ok, You're Ok!



16-Across. Steinway parts: PIANO KEYS.

29-Across. Hobbyist's blade: X-ACTO KNIFE.

35-Across. "Are you serious?": NO KIDDING.

46-Across. Cartoon character who is five apples tall: HELLO KITTY.

And the Unifier:
60-Across. Receives a go-ahead ... and a hint to what's hidden in 16-, 29-, 35- and 46-Across: GETS THE OK.

Across:

1. Not very spicy: MILD.

5. Time and again, to a bard: OFT.

8. Stage surprise: AD LIB.  Today's Latin lesson.  Ad libitum (Ad lib., for short) is Latin for "at one's pleasure."

13. More reasonable: SANER.

14. Give in to jet lag: NAP.

15. Far from posh: SEEDY.

18. Whack, biblically: SMITE.

19. Space-saving abbr.: ETC.  More of today's Latin lesson.  Et cetera (abbreviated as Etc.) roughly translates in English as "and other similar things".  Literally, it means "and the rest".

20. Mayberry kid: OPIE.  Played by Ron Howard (b. Mar. 1, 1954).  Be sure to wish him a belated Happy Birthday.   He just turned 66.

 Ron Howard then.

Ron Howard today-ish.

21. Bk. before Philippians: EPH.  A reference to books of the New Testament.  The letter from Paul to the Ephesians is before his letter to the Philippians.

22. Cajun crustacean: CRAWDAD.  NOOOOO!  This is so wrong!!!!!  It is CRAWFISH!!!

24. Lowlifes: SLEAZES.

28. Bell-shaped lily: SEGO.  The Sego Lily is the state flower of Utah.

31. Laura of "Marriage Story": DERN.  Laura Dern (née Laura Elizabeth Dern; b. Feb. 10, 1967) is from an acting family.  Her parents are Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd.  I have heard of Marriage Story, but haven't seen this Netflix movie.

33. BMW competitor: AUDI.

34. Merged comm. giant: GTE.

39. Awareness-raising TV ad: PSA.  As in a Public Service Announcement.  We see these often in the crossword puzzles.

42. Lose stamina: TIRE.

43. A whole lot: GOBS.

50. Chase scene maneuvers, slangily: UEYS.  Awkward!

52. Some bottled waters: DASANIs.  Dasani is a brand of bottled water created by the Coca-Cola company.  It's basically filterered and bottled tap water.

53. Most tidy: NEATEST.

55. Arcing shot: LOB.

56. Fleshy facial feature: JOWL.

57. Student advocacy org.: PTA.  As in the Parent Teacher Association.

58. Off-the-cushion pool shot: CAROM.

62. Render weaponless: UNARM.

63. Maiden name lead-in: NÉE.  Today's French lesson.

64. Country rocker Steve: EARLE.  I am not familiar with the work of Steve Earle (né Stephen Fain Earle; b. Jan. 17, 1955).

65. Jam-packed: DENSE.

66. FedEx rival: UPS.

67. React to yeast: RISE.

Down:

1. Restaurant host: MAÎTRE D'.  More of today's French lesson.  The Maître d' (short for maître d’hôtel), is the head supervisor of wait staff and welcome guests in a formal restaurant.

2. Like most pet birds: IN A CAGE.

3. Writer Deighton: LEN.  Len Deighton (né Leonard Cyril Deighton; b. Feb. 18, 1929), is best known for his  spy and espionage novels.  He just celebrated his 91st birthday.

4. Dickens' "The Mystery of Edwin __": DROOD.  Charles Dickens died before he finished writing The Mystery of Edwin Drood.  It was to have been published in 12 installments, but only 6 had been written when Dickens' died, thus, the true ending is the real mystery.

5. Upstate New York lake: ONEIDA.  My flatware is made by Oneida.

6. Actress Dunaway: FAYE.  Faye Dunaway (née Dorothy Faye Dunaway; b. Jan. 14, 1941) is probably best known for her role as Bonnie Parker in the 1967 movie Bonnie and Clyde.

7. Playfully pranks, for short: TPs.  Toilet Papering someone's house and yard is a big prank for some high school kids.

8. Stubborn equine: ASS.

9. Cut down to size: DEMEAN.

10. German city where Wagner was born: LEIPZIG.

11. Crime after a data breach, perhaps: ID THEFT.

12. "See ya": BYE.

13. Architectural details: SPECS.

17. Title planet in a 2001 sci-fi film: K-PAX.  I never saw this movie, which starred Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges.

23. In need of patching: WORN.

24. __ finder: carpenter's tool: STUD.

25. Wine city near Sacramento: LODI.  I learned of this California city from doing the crossword puzzles.

26. Just managing, with "out": EKING.

27. Witness: SEE.

30. Coast Guard Academy student: CADET.

32. "__ your life!": NOT ON.

36. Dee who sang with Elton: KIKI.

37. Spring flower: IRIS.

38. Joint ailment: GOUT.

39. Prof.'s degree: Ph.D.  As in the Doctor of Philosophy.

40. Maritime route: SEA LANE.  Check out this this interactive map of sea lanes.

41. Concession speech deliverer: ALSO RAN.

44. Paging gadgets: BEEPERS.  These were high tech 20 years ago.

45. Ventricular contraction: SYSTOLE.  The heart beat has two phases: the systole and the diastole.  The Systole occurs when the heart contracts and the blood is pumped out.  The diastole occurs when the heart muscle relaxes after the contraction and the blood pours into the heart chambers.

47. Hercules' 12 challenges: LABORS.

48. Low-risk govt. securities: T-NOTES.  As in Treasury Notes.  These appear often in the crossword puzzles.

49. Evergreens used for archery bows: YEWS.  The tree also has red berries.

51. Buffy's weapon of choice: STAKE.

54. Make changes to: ALTER.

56. Wrangler maker: JEEP.

58. Bovine chew: CUD.  Everything you wanted to know about Cattle Chewing and more.

59. French Mrs.: MME.  More of today's French lesson.

60. Oxlike antelope: GNU.  What's Gnu with You?

61. Yokohama yes: HAI.  Today's Japanese lesson.

Here's the Grid:

QOD: Happiness is a reward that comes to those that have not looked for it.  ~  Émile-Auguste Cartier (Mar. 3, 1868 ~ June 2, 1951), French philosopher and journalist