Wednesday, October 5, 2022, Ed Sessa

Theme: IN THE REAR VIEW

20. *Kitchen fire, for one: HOME EMERGENCY.

24. *Laura Dern's "Little Women" role: MARMEE MARCH.

44. *Lifetime Achievement Award presented to "Sesame Street" in 2009, e.g.: DAYTIME EMMY.

50. Soft-shoe classic, or what can be found in the answers to the starred clues: ME AND MY SHADOW. That phrase is a crossword theme waiting to happen, amirite?

Melissa here. Each theme answer contains the sequence "MEEM," so "ME" followed by it's shadow "EM." There are a few additional answers in the grid with different letters that use the same pattern, I've marked them with the same highlighting as above.

Across:

1. Creates suds: FOAMS.

6. Lettuce variety: BIBB.  Named after John Bibb, a lawyer who developed this variety in Kentucky out of his Frankfort home. More about Bibb Lettuce.

10. Testy mood: SNIT. Or person. SNIT is a valid scrabble word.

14. Patronized, as a diner: ATE AT.

15. __ Bator: former spelling of Mongolia's capital: ULAN. Also spelled Ulaanbaatar, it was originally a nomadic Buddhist center.

16. Security checkpoint device: WAND. I haven't seen the wand at TSA lately, just go through the scanner, followed by a pat down if they see something. Sadly, it has become like a prison visiting room check-in.

17. Crooner Mel: TORME.

18. Tracks on a muddy road, e.g.: TIRE MARKS.

22. To boot: ALSO.

23. __ lodge: SKI.

30. '60s protest gp.: SDS. Students for a Democratic Society, American student organization that flourished in the mid-to-late 1960s.

33. Bed bug?: APHID. Garden bed.

34. Vaio laptop maker: SONY.

35. Game, __, match: SET. Tennis.

36. Kylo Ren's mother: LEIA. Not up on my Star Wars, had to look this one up. Ben is the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, the nephew of Luke Skywalker, and the grandson of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader and Padmé Amidala. After turning to the dark side, he becomes the apprentice of Supreme Leader Snoke, and later renames himself Kylo Ren upon becoming the Master of the Knights of Ren.

37. Yellowstone bovine: BISON. The Yellowstone Park bison herd is probably the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States, estimated in 2020 to be 4,800 bison. There have been at least two bison attacks this summer in the park, as national park visitors explode post Covid. Here’s a quick bison "rule of thumb:" If you outstretch your arm and hold up your thumb, you should be able to cover the entire silhouette of any bison in the vicinity. If not, you are too close.

39. "I Just Wanna Stop" singer Vannelli: GINO. 1978 memories!

40. Square root of 100: TEN.

41. House overhang: EAVE.

42. Pitcher's bagful: ROSIN. Baseball. A small canvas bag filled with rosin powder (a sticky substance extracted from the sap of fir trees) is used by pitchers to improve their grip on the baseball and keep their hands dry. The rules specifically allow the rosin bag to be kept on the field of play.

43. Pvt. address: APO. Military mail - Pvt. for rank of Private. APO stands for "Army Post Office," and is associated with Army or Air Force installations. FPO stands for "Fleet Post Office," and is associated with Navy installations and ships.

47. Michael of "SNL": CHE. Co-anchor on Weekend Update and co-head writer alongside Colin Jost. Not to be confused with SNL creator Lorne Michaels.

49. Latest: NEWS.

56. Common sweetener: CORN SYRUP.

57. Atlanta Dream co-owner Montgomery: RENEE. Former professional basketball player, sports broadcaster and activist who is currently vice president, part-owner, and investor of the Atlanta Dream.

59. "Oh, sure, whatever you say": UM OK. Alright then.

60. Wolfe of detective fiction: NERO.

61. Try to stop: DETER.

62. Chilean sea __: BASS.

63. Revise: EDIT.

64. Part of an inner circle?: SPOKE. Nice clue. Why Do Bicycles Have Spokes?

Down:

1. Butter or lard: FAT.

2. Brief "Then again ... ": OTOH. On the other hand ...

3. Flight-related prefix: AERO.

4. Jukebox musical featuring ABBA songs: MAMMA MIA. AMMA.

5. Braced (oneself): STEELED.

6. Kid's dismayed cry: BUT MOM.

7. Nastase of tennis: ILIE.

8. Mystery writer Nevada: BARR. She is known for her Anna Pigeon series, which is primarily set in a series of national parks and other protected areas of the United States.

9. Uncommon blood type, briefly: BNEG. B negative red blood cells can be given to both B and AB patients. B negative patients can only receive blood from other B negative donors or from type O negative donors (who are the universal donors).

10. Two-time Best Actress winner Hilary: SWANK. Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby.

11. Self-absorption: NARCISSISM. ISSI

12. Very dark: INKY.

13. NFL scores: TDS. Touchdowns.

19. Like netting: MESHY.

21. Linguistic suffix: ESE. Chinese. Portuguese. Vietnamese.

 
24. Island near Sicily: MALTA.

25. "Not __ out of you!": A PEEP. PEEP.

26. Thick-skinned safari beast: RHINOCEROS.

27. Valuable quality: ASSET.

28. Milne joey: ROO. A.A. Milne is the creator of Winnie the Pooh. Kanga is the doting mother to Roo. A baby kangaroo is known as a joey, which means “little animal” in the Aboriginal language.

29. Christiane Amanpour's channel: CNN. British-Iranian journalist and television host. In the news recently for refusing to wear a headscarf.

31. Durable fabric: DENIM.

32. Poker-faced: STONY.

37. Shearing day sound: BAA.

 

38. Creeping vine: IVY.

39. Hits a homer, in baseball lingo: GOES DEEP. Football lingo, too. ETA: Thanks anon@7:23, you are correct - my brain tried to make that DEED to fit the theme.

41. Idyllic places: EDENS.

42. Loyalty program perks: REWARDS.

45. Trendy place: IN SPOT.

46. "I could take it or leave it": MEH.

48. Tom who voices Woody in the "Toy Story" films: HANKS.

50. NYC cultural center: MOMA. Founded in 1929, The Museum of Modern Art is one of the largest and most influential museums of modern art in the world. Date Night at The Met.

 
51. Unit of force: DYNE.

52. 1960s TV horse: MR ED.

53. Cosmonaut Gagarin: YURI. The first human to journey into outer space. Gagarin was killed in 1968 with another pilot in the crash of a two-seat jet aircraft while on what was described as a routine training flight. His ashes were placed in a niche in the Kremlin wall. After his death the town of Gzhatsk was renamed Gagarin.

54. Not duped by: ONTO.

55. Pay period, for some: WEEK.

56. Baby bear: CUB. Cubs and joeys today.

58. Poetic "before": ERE.