Tuesday, June 8, 2021 Jeff Stillman

Crazy Relations:  The word "sister" can be found "twisted" in the circles.

20-Across. Prime time for vacationers: TOURIST SEASON.  Webster's defines Tourist Season as "the time when many people go to visit places as tourists."

29-Across. Work out of the office?: BUSINESS TRIP.  Webster's defines a Business Trip as "a visit made to a place for work purposes, typically one involving a journey of some distance."

46-Across. Pacific spot named for the day it was discovered: EASTER ISLAND.  Easter Island a territory of Chile.  It's native name is Rapa Nui and it is known for its monumental statues of oversized heads.

56-Across. '80s hard rock quintet, and what's literally found in each set of circles: TWISTED SISTER.  I'll spare your ears.

Across:

1. Welsh dog: CORGI.  A favorite of the Queen.

6. Voice mails: Abbr.: MSGs.  As in Messages.

10. Heed: OBEY.

14. Atom with a negative charge: ANION.

15. German mark successor: EURO.  Each country that uses the Euro can have one side of the coin depict a design symbolic of its nation.  You can see the German national side of the Euro here.

16. Very hot state: RAGE.

17. Works on a keyboard: TYPES.

18. Mideast's Gulf of __: ADEN.

19. __ job: deception: SNOW.

23. Informal affirmative: YUP.

24. Small amount: TAD.

25. Weep: CRY.

26. Childcare writer LeShan: EDA.  Eda LaShan (June 6, 1922 ~ Mar. 3, 2002).  She visited us just last Sunday.  

32. King's rabid dog: CUJO.  Cujo was the subject of a novel by Stephen King (b. Sept. 21, 1947).

35. Laugh sound: HEE.

36. Like some waves: TIDAL.

37. Chevy subcompact: AVEO.

38. Basic building blocks: ATOMS.

41. Half of Mork's sign-off: NANU.  A reference to the 1980s sit-com, Mork and Mindy.

42. Greek cheeses: FETAs.  Almost everything you wanted to know about Feta Cheese, but didn't know to ask.  Feta is a Protected Designation of Origin product, so technically only the cheese made in some areas of Greece can be called Feta.

44. Washington NLer: NAT.  As in the Washington Nationals, the Major League Baseball team.

45. Cavefish's functionless parts: EYES.  Some of these fish barely even have eyes.  Cavefish is actually a generic term for fish that have adapted to living in caves and underground habitats.  Some fish have no eyes altogether, other fish have vestige eyes.

50. Chicago-to-Miami dir.: SSE.  South-SouthEast.

51. Elton's "Rocket __": MAN.

52. Prior to, poetically: ERE.  A crossword staple.

53. Baglike structure: SAC.

60. Lightsaber wielders: SITH.  Think of the Star Wars movies.

62. Dove's home: COTE.

63. Wavy pattern: MOIRE.

64. __ socks: KNEE.

65. Beheaded Boleyn: ANNE.  Anne Boleyn (1500s ~ May 19, 1536) was the 2nd of Henry VIII's wives.  She was also the mother of Elizabeth I, Queen of England.

66. Kate's TV sidekick: ALLIE.  Kate & Allie was a sit-com from the 1980s.  Kate was played by Susan Saint James (b. Aug. 14, 1946) and Allie was played by Jane Curtain (b. Sept. 6, 1947).

67. Legal memo phrase: IN RE.

68. Cordelia's father: LEAR.  A reference to a play by Willie the Shakes.

69. Prominent: NOTED.

Down:

1. Like a remark evoking a "Rowr!": CATTY.

2. "The joke's __!": ON YOU.

3. Make into confetti: RIP UP.

4. Active type: GOER.

5. At its original position: IN SITU.  Today's Latin lesson.

6. Carnivore's regimen: MEAT DIET.

7. Frothy water: SUDS.

8. 776 BC Olympics locale: GREECE.  And home of Feta Cheese.

9. Undersea trackers: SONARS.  Sonar is short for Sound Navagation and Ranging.  

10. -ish, numerically: OR SO.

11. Time to celebrate: BANNER DAY.

12. Vanity: EGO.

13. Fine-grained wood: YEW.

21. Nickname for Alexandra: SASHA.

22. Part of GPS: Abbr.: SYST.  As in the Global Positioning System.

27. "Cheers" server: DIANE.  Diane was played by Shelley Long (b. Aug. 23, 1949).

28. Top mark: A PLUS.

29. Hiss, as a villain: BOO AT.

30. Vegas lights: NEONS.

31. Pronged: TINED.

32. Bookstore eateries: CAFÉs.

33. Eye parts with irises: UVEAS.

34. Traveler in life's fast lane: JET SETTER.

39. Stag: MALE DEER.  //  And 59-Down: Stag: SOLO.

40. Paparazzi targets: STARS.

43. Interstate hauler: SEMI.

47. Mischief-maker: RASCAL.

48. Emulate the Gregorians: INTONE.

49. Upscale retailer __ Marcus: NEIMAN.  Affectionately known as Needless Markup.

53. Clown's heightening prop: STILT.

54. Falcon's nest: AERIE.

55. 2015 "Rocky" films sequel: CREED.

57. Amusement park cry: WHEE!

58. Highest Italian peak south of the Alps: ETNA.  It's the volcano on Sicily.

60. Schuss, e.g.: SKI.

61. Lodging with a "keeper": INN.

Here's the Grid:

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