Saturday, January 15, 2022, C.C. Burnikel

 Saturday Themeless by C.C. Burnikel

Another fun puzzle by our learned mistress and honorary Cornhusker! Even with all her responsibilities she now has with Boomer, C.C. sent us this comment: 

 I originally had THAT'S SO SAD for 65-Across. My 60-Down is PET, clued as [ ___ scan (MRI alternative)]. Rich changed it to WHAT'S SO SAD because PET dupes with PET SAT in 47-Down

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Across:

1. Handy tension reliever: STRESS BALL - Useful if you can't 11. Kick back: REST.

15. "Aww!": WHAT A CUTIE.

16. Fair: EXPO - County Fairs are a huge cultural event in Nebraska small towns 

17. Places for posers: ART CLASSES.

How long can she hold that pose?

18. Banh mi spread: MAYO - MAYO (seen below) seemed liked a pedestrian ingredient for an exotic sounding sandwich. BTW, the Vietnamese bread is called Banh Mi and the sandwich has come to be known as that too.

19. Nonsense: ROT.

20. Fabric types: KNITS - Ah, the double KNITS of the disco era were très 35. In: CHIC.

21. Racer with a crew: YACHT.

22. Pasture mom: MARE.

24. Exchange membership: SEAT - You could lose it

25. Trumpet: EXTOL.

Ever feel this way about your 
Credit card?

26. Guiding lights?: STARS.

28. Leaves on the sly: SKIPS -In The Music Man, Professor Harold Hill, was preparing to SKIP town when his conscience got the better of him

30. Pub order: ALE.

31. Architectural deets: SPECS - Details/Specifications

33. Omission indications: ELLIPSES.

37. Instrument akin to an oud: LUTE - One big difference is that the oud has no frets

38. Bucolic: PASTORAL.

42. From then on: SINCE.

45. Tony-winning playwright Ensler: EVE - She is now known simply as V and is very involved in violence against female issues. 

46. Prepare to show some muscle: OIL UP - Pre-governor Arnold

48. Pets: SNITS - I learned this usage doing cwds

50. From around here: LOCAL - Name the actor and the movie (*answer below)

52. One way to start: ANEW - Finish this lyric, "C'mon baby, let's start ANEW, cause... "(**answer below)

54. Reason to go green?: ENVY.

55. Desktop assortment: ICONS - Mine

56. Software to debug: BETAS.

58. Very long time: EON.

59. "Pretty please?": CAN I 

60. Let others talk: PASS THE MIC.

62. Inserts, say: ADDS - My lovely bride ADDS brown sugar to her chili

63. Event necessitated by a move, perhaps: ESTATE SALE.

64. Bridge site: NOSE - This is where Hercule Poirot/David Suchet perches his pince-nez.

65. "Why the tears?": WHAT'S SO SAD? - Hmmm...

Down:

1. Moving multitudes: SWARMS - Grasshoppers

2. Speakers often clear them: THROATS.

3. Dilapidated digs: RAT TRAP - What my childhood home had become

4. Space-saving abbr.: ETC.

5. La Jolla scientific research institute namesake: SALK.

6. Medical procedures: SCANS and 9. MRI technician's request: LIE STILL.

7. Keeps occupied: BUSIES - Materials that provide these materials for kids are great for substitute teachers

8. On the line: AT STAKE - "You lose and you're done"

10. "__ Djinns": Franck symphonic poem: LES - Here ya go

11. Century 21 rival: REMAX.

12. Ambitious track wagers: EXACTAS - In this race, you won $321.50 if you bet an EXACTA, i.e. you picked the #11 horse to finish first and the #10 horse to finish second. 

13. See-through device: SPYHOLE.

14. Piccolo sounds: TOOTLES and "That's not the sound of a piccolo!" 21. Confident response after being doubted: YES IT IS.

23. Straight up: ERECT - Standing ERECT in the heat with locked knees for the queen...

27. Underwater groups: SCHOOLS.

29. __-size: PLUS - Lincoln native Ashley Graham was one of the first models for this group 

32. HomePod Mini voice: SIRI.

34. Diagonally cut pasta: PENNE.

36. Vine fruit that can be dried and used as a container: CALABASH - Also called bottle gourd

38. Smoothie King Center NBAer: PELICAN - In NOLA

39. California state fruit: AVOCADO.

40. Duel personalities: SECONDS - Hamilton's SECOND was Nathaniel Pendleton and Burr's was  William P. Van Ness 

41. Some sleep on it: LUNESTA.

43. Mall features: CINEMAS.

44. "Ta-da!": ET VOILA - "...and there you have it!" in Français 

47. Watched a boxer, say: PET SAT - We only use our granddaughter for our kitty Lily

49. Matched, as movie sound and action: SYNCED.

51. Star __: five-spice ingredient: ANISE - Ingredients for Chinese Five Spice Powder

53. Juice amounts?: WATTS.

57. Word before "A Lady" or "A Woman," in two old Top 10 songs: SHE'S - I chose The Beatles  rather than Tom Jones

60. Bench for a flock: PEW - The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville was built as a Tabernacle in 1892 and then in 1943 it started housing The Grand Ole Opry but retained the PEWS as seating 

61. Spanish pronoun: ESO - I always think of Paul Anka's ESO Beso (That Kiss) for this word

*Bill Murray in What About Bob?

*Breaking Up Is Hard To Do by Neil Sedaka