Wednesday, March 15, 2023, Prasanna Keshava

Theme: TEA TIME

3D. "Peanuts" girl who calls Charlie Brown "Chuck": PEPPERMINT PATTY. PEPPERMINT TEA. From the Fandom site: Patricia "Peppermint Patty" Reichardt is a major female character in the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz. An outgoing and sporty girl, she has a crush on Charlie Brown (whom she always calls "Chuck") and is almost always accompanied by her best friend Marcie after the latter's introduction in 1971. Shultz wrote: Peppermint Patty, the tomboy, is forthright, doggedly loyal, with a devastating singleness of purpose, the part of us that goes through life with blinders on.

5D. Add interest: SPICE THINGS UP. SPICE TEA.

11D. Formal social events: BLACK TIE AFFAIRS. BLACK TEA.

19D. Party device filled with liquid soap: BUBBLE MACHINE. BUBBLE TEA. The bubble tea is so popular - but I've never had it myself. Taiwanese immigrants brought it to the United States in the 1990s. It most commonly consists of tea accompanied by chewy tapioca balls. Make it at home.

27D. British afternoon tradition, and what this puzzle's four longest answers literally have?: HIGH TEA.

Melissa here. The first word of each Down answer can precede "tea." I have to admit, this theme did not jump out at me and I had to ask C.C. After getting all the theme answers, 19D not having a T at all threw me off. Thanks, C.C.!

Across:

1. Meal: REPAST. The word “repast” literally translates to “to eat.” This was a common Latin word for mealtimes. However, over the years, it's become associated with funerals. Now, it's a tradition for breaking bread symbolically as a family after the passing of a loved one. Repasts are usually informal affairs.

7. Near mist?: FOG.

10. Old PCs: IBMS.

14. Syria's most populous city: ALEPPO. Syria is not an entirely safe country to visit due to the ongoing civil war in some regions. However, tourists can visit government-controlled areas such as Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, and Maaloula. Syrian Civil War.

15. "Blessed __ the peacemakers": ARE. From Matthew's Beatitudes, "for they will be called children of God.”

16. Large number: SLEW.

17. Accepts a driver's offer: HOPS IN.

18. Cell boundary: MEMBRANE.

20. Quick kisses: PECKS. Types of Kisses And What They Mean.

22. Corvallis sch.: OSU. Just down the road for me.

23. Windy City commuter org.: CTA. Chicago Transit Authority.

24. The ones here: THESE.

26. Comedian Margaret: CHO.

28. "Sweet Love" singer Anita: BAKER.

30. __ Lingus: AER.

31. Bangkok residents: THAIS. Second Thai reference (after 19D).

33. Data units: BYTES.

34. "And there you have it!": BAM. I just read that Emeril's son has followed in his footsteps.

35. Suspend: HANG.

36. Inouye Airport arrival gift: LEI. Hawaii. The airport is named after Honolulu native and Medal of Honor recipient Daniel Inouye, who represented Hawaii in the United States Senate from 1963 until his death in 2012.

37. __ Lanka: SRI. Formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia.

38. Trisected: IN THREE. Divided into three parts.

41. "You get the idea" abbr.: ETC.

44. Religious woman: NUN. A member of a religious community of women, especially a cloistered one, living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

46. Glossary entry: TERM.

47. Long, long __: AGO.

48. Remove one's username from, on social media: UNTAG.

50. Comedian Anne featured in Jerry Stiller's memoir "Married to Laughter": MEARA. Their son Ben Stiller Sees the World Differently Now.

51. Aromatic tree: FIR.

52. Areas that may be irritated by shirt tags: NAPES.

53. Sculling need: OAR. Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the stern.

54. __ macchiato: CAFFE. In Italian, the term “macchiato” translates as “marked” or “stained”, meaning a stained or marked coffee. The macchiato is an espresso coffee drink, topped with a small amount of foamed or steamed milk to allow the taste of the espresso to still shine through.

56. K-12 support gp.: PTA. Parent Teacher Association.

57. Volodymyr Zelenskyy's country: Abbr.: UKR. Who is he?

59. Conductor Zubin: MEHTA. Indian conductor of Western classical music.

61. Devices for reproducing signatures: AUTOPENS. Ten facts about the autopen.

64. __ star: RISING.

67. Old PC screens: CRTS. Cathode Ray Tube - How it Works.

68. Narrow waterway: RIA. A ria is a coastal formation that was once a river valley. It is found along an unglaciated land, which is an area that has not been formed by glaciers. Today, these river valleys are flooded and open into the sea. The flooding was likely caused by one of two reasons. The first reason for river valley flooding is that world sea levels have risen (eustatic). The other reason for this flooding is that the land has sunk below sea level (isostatic).

69. Get-up-and-go: ENERGY.

70. Florida vacation destination: KEYS.

71. Stop on the road: INN. Noun, not verb.

72. __ tickets: SEASON.

Down:

1. "Yay, team!": RAH. 

2. "Xanadu" gp.: ELO. Sung by Olivia Newton John for the soundtrack of the musical film of the same name.

4. Cathedral niches: APSES.

6. Honky-__: TONK.  A bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons  and the style of music played in such establishments.

7. Mom, dad, sibs, etc.: FAM.

8. Cookies for breakfast?: OREO OS.

9. Tiara twinklers: GEMS. Some very pretty ones here.

10. Syr. neighbor: ISR. Syria and Israel. 

12. Protégé: MENTEE. A person who is guided and supported by an older and more experienced or influential person.

13. Takes an oath: SWEARS.

21. Barely enough: SCANT.

24. Bar bills: TABS.

25. Pick up: HEAR. That was tricky.

29. "Yes," on Talk Like a Pirate Day: AYE.

32. "The Summer I Turned Pretty" novelist Jenny: HAN. Book and now a movie.

39. Break a peace treaty, perhaps: REARM.

40. Make a mistake: ERR.

42. Pre-weekend shout: TGIF. Thank Goodness It's Friday.

43. Center: CORE.

45. Dubai's fed.: UAE. United Arab Emirates.

48. Prepare to stay a couple nights, say: UNPACK.

49. Inherent character: NATURE.

50. Informal greeting: MORNIN'.

55. Clueless: AT SEA. We sure do see this a lot.

58. "The Americans" star Russell: KERI.

60. "¿De dónde eres?": ERES. "Where are you from?" in Spanish.

62. WWII spy org.: OSS. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II.

63. Word with Jose or Juan: SAN.

65. Private aid prog.: NGO. Non-governmental organization. A nonprofit organization that operates independently of any government, typically one whose purpose is to address a social or political issue.

66. OB-__: med. specialty: GYN. Obstetrics and gynecology. One day when my daughter was three and I was expecting my second, I told her that we were going to go see the baby doctor. She thought for a bit and replied, "Is he little?"