A Wrap by any other name ... Just stay warm and fashionable.
17-Across. Midas stock item: MUFFLER ASSEMBLY. A muffler is typically a scarf that is warn to keep one warm. If you wear a muffler all day, will you be exhausted?
23-Across. Left surreptitiously: STOLE AWAY. Fur stoles were once considered high fashion.
36-Across. Simple New England houses: CAPE COD COTTAGES.
48-Across. Gobble up: SCARF DOWN. A scarf may be worn to keep one warm, but may also have decorative, protective, or religious purposes.
55-Across. Director's "We're done for today, people" ... and hint to the start of 17-, 23-, 36- and 48-Across: THAT'S A WRAP FOLKS. The first word of each theme answer is another word for something you might wrap around you if you get cold. And, yes, there are technical differences between each of these items. Everything you wanted to know about the differences, but didn't know to ask.
Across:
1. Insult: SLUR.
5. Golden fruit that, legend has it, started the Trojan War: APPLE. A brief history of how the Golden Apple instigated the Trojan War.
10. Heat in "The Heat": COPS. The Heat was a 2013 Comedy-Action film that starred Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy.
14. First-rate: A-ONE.
15. Stands at lectures: PODIA. Plural of Podium. It is derived from the Greek word meaning Foot.
16. Like some hygiene: ORAL.
20. Slept noisily: SNORED.
21. Period in office: TERM.
22. Leered at: OGLED.
28. Beatty and Kelly: NEDs. Ned Beatty (né Ned Thomas Beatty; b. July 6, 1937) is an American actor. Kazie taught me about Ned Kelly (1855 ~ Nov. 11, 1880), who was an Australian outlaw and gang leader.
29. "Walking in Memphis" Grammy winner Marc: COHN. Marc Craig Cohn (b. July 5, 1959) is an American folk rock singer-songwriter.
30. Bill for svc. rendered: INV. I am guessing that this means a Bill for Services Rendered, which would be an Invoice.
31. Berry who played Storm in "X-Men": HALLE. Halle Berry (née Maria Halle Berry; b. Aug. 14, 1966) won an Oscar for Best Actress in the 2001 movie Monster's Ball.
33. Israeli or Arab: SEMITE. The word Semite comes from Shem, the eldest son of the Biblical Noah.
40. From dawn to dusk: ALL DAY.
41. '90s candidate __ Perot: H. ROSS. H. Ross Perot (né Henry Ross Perot; June 27, 1930 ~ July 9, 2019) ran in the 1992 and 1996 Presidential campaigns.
42. Buzzer in a swarm: BEE.
43. Half-moon tide: NEAP.
44. Office fill-in: TEMP. As in a Temporary employee.
52. "Wherefore art thou" guy: ROMEO.
53. Weighty Kuwaiti?: EMIR.
54. Girl-asks-guy dances, informally: SADIES. Sadie Hawkins was a character in a Li'l Abner cartoon.
60. Bequest beneficiary: HEIR.
61. Linney of "Ozark": LAURA. Laura Leggett Linney (b. Feb. 5, 1964) portrayed Wendy Byrde in the TV crime drama Ozark.
62. "Blue" or "White" African river: NILE.
63. "This is __ a test": ONLY.
64. Matches audio to video, e.g.: SYNCS.
65. Verbalizes: SAYS.
Down:
1. Lover of Delilah: SAMSON. A Biblical reference from the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. Samson was known for his great strength. If, however, his long hair was ever cut, he would lose his strength. His lover, Delilah, betrayed him to the Philistines, and his hair was cut while he was sleeping. This scenario is often portrayed in art, such as the one below by Anthony Van Dyck (1599 ~ 1641).
2. Airport waiting area: LOUNGE. On my initial trip a couple of weeks ago, the airport lounge was not very crowded, however, on my return trip the lounge was crowed and the plane was packed.
3. Prepare to use, as a lawn chair: UNFOLD.
4. Updated, as a Web page: REFRESHED.
5. Mimicked: APED. This has become a crossword staple.
6. For, to Fernando: POR. Today's Spanish lesson.
7. "Get a room!" evoker, initially: PDA. Textspeak for Public Display of Affection.
8. Sonny who lost to Clay in 1964: LISTON. On February 25, 1964, Sonny Liston (né Charles L. Liston; 1930 ~ Dec. 1970) lost his title of heavyweight boxing champion to Cassius Clay (Jan. 17, 1942 ~ June 3, 2016). Shortly after this fight, Clay announced that he would henceforth be known as Muhammad Ali.
9. Portraitist's prop: EASEL.
10. City-state separator: COMMA. This clue and answer made me laugh. New York, New York.
11. Globe: ORB.
12. Pay or pen follower: PAL.
13. Foxy: SLY.
18. Captained: LED.
19. "She desires to speak with you ... __ you go to bed": "Hamlet": ERE.
23. Realtor's favorite sign: SOLD.
24. 2010s cooking-themed talk show: THE CHEW. I never heard of The Chew, which was apparently a daytime talk show for foodies. It ran for several seasons.
25. Kristen of "Bridesmaids": WIIG. Kristen Carroll Wigg (b. Aug. 22, 1973) joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2005. Six years later, she was one of the cast of Bridesmaids.
26. Required wager: ANTE.
27. The "Y" of YSL: YVES. From fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent (Aug. 1, 1936 ~ June 1, 2008).
29. Be saccharine: CLOY.
32. Here, in Havana: ACÁ. More of today's Spanish lesson.
33. Octagonal sign: STOP.
34. Short aliens?: ETs. As in ExtraTerrestials.
35. Extinct elephants: MASTODONS.
36. Uber competitors: CABS.
37. "Match Game" host Baldwin: ALEC. Does this mean that the movie career of Alex Baldwin (né Alexander Rae Baldwin, III; b. Apr. 3, 1958) is over?
38. Earnest request: PLEA.
39. Algerian port: ORAN.
43. Land with fjords: NORWAY.
45. Clarke who played Daenerys on "Game of Thrones": EMILIA. Emilia Isobel Euphemia Rose Clarke (b. Oct. 23, 1986) is a British actress.
46. Sheepishly: MEEKLY.
47. Deputized bands: POSSES.
49. Second attempt: RETRY.
50. Radio settings: FMs.
51. Circular dashboard devices: DIALS. Don't touch that Dial!
52. U.K. fliers: RAF. As in the Royal Air Force.
54. Restorative resorts: SPAS.
55. Albeit, briefly: THO.
56. Barnyard layer: HEN.
57. Disturb: AIL.
58. Operate: RUN.
59. Pendulum path: ARC.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
I am back home again after having a nice visit with my Dad. And no, I didn't come home to this game!
