Wednesday, September 11th, 2024, Taylor Johnson

 FOOT PRINT

It is 7D. "fitting" that I be the blogger for September 11th - I was in Long Island, a mere 65 miles from the Word Trade Center during the attacks in 2001.  Taylor Johnson, last seen here at the corner with two Saturday themeless grids, has given us a grid with left-right "mirror" symmetry only, and I wonder if it was intentional that there are two "towers" of  10-letter Down fills on each side of the theme reveal.  No circles, more four-letter words than TLWs, and a lot of proper names, again.  Careful when you put your FOOT down on the themers;

19. *Withings product: BATHROOM SCALE -  I did not know what "Withings" was, but the theme reveal helped with the fill - and one item you may NOT care to acknowledge when you "step on it"

Sadly, this is me

22. *Construction toy piece: LEGO BLOCK - I had plenty of Lego growing up - the other item you may NOT care to feel when you "step on it"

YEEEOW~!

25. *Entryway rug: WELCOME MAT - I want this one for my front door 

Dare you 'step on it' ~?

28. *One of three under a baby grand: PIANO PEDAL - What the three pedals effect when played

she can walk all over me

37. "Go, go, go!," or an instruction one *may or may not* want to follow for

    the answers to the starred clues: STEP ON IT


And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Swear words: OATH  - my favorite is "d#f^j*k$@l&pf%ht"

5. Post-WWII alliance: OAS - Organization of American States - their website

8. Q-tip, e.g.: SWAB

12. Spanish : señora :: German : __: FRAU - When "Frau" appears in a puzzle, I must add this link

Blucher~!

13. Fold animals: SHEEP - not origami-related, had the "P" already, so a WAG on the animal "group"

more animal group names found here

15. Ponytail place: NAPE

16. Small amounts: TADS

17. Concur: AGREE

18. "Who __?": "ELSE~?"

23. Beach bag item: TOWEL - Douglas Adam's explanation on Towels

I have this towel

26. Susan of "The Partridge Family": DEY - name #1

27. Fatty acid, e.g.: LIPID

31. Made to resemble soft leather: SUEDED - check out my latest leather furniture addition

I now own a rocking/swivel/heat & massage RECLINER - It's official: I am "old"

33. "Make kind choices": "BE NICE."

34. Southern city where Cartoon Network has its HQ: ATLanta - name(ish)

35. Go from site to site, say: NET-SURF  - web browsing

39. Small batteries: AAs

40. Arena concert genre: ROCK - see 53A.

42. The first "M" of MGM: METRO - Goldwyn - Mayer; name(ish)

43. Latin years: ANNI - plural of anno

44. Fencing blade: FOIL - not ÉPÉE this time

46. Hoops stat: REBound

47. Scent: ODOR

48. "Hand it over!": "GIMME~!"

49. Tavern initials: IPA

50. Construction __: PAPER - used for origami~?

52. Keats piece: ODE - name(ish)

53. Musket attachment: BAYONET - Iron Maiden, arena rockers still going at 50yrs

The Trooper - You'll fire your musket / but I'll run you through

56. Quarterback Manning: ELI - name #2

57. Missing clownfish in a Pixar film: NEMO - name #3

59. Charged toward: RAN AT - see 53A.

60. Some handheld organizers, briefly: PDAs - Public Display of Assistant~?

Bell and WATSON~!

61. Bread served with saag paneer: NAAN

62. "Seven Samurai" and "Rashomon" director Kurosawa: AKIRA - George Lucas drew inspiration for Star Wars from him; his Wiki; name #4

63. Give five stars, say: RATE

64. Referencing: AS TO

65. Fly catchers?: MITTS - baseball reference, fly balls and gloves

66. Fútbol cheers: OLÉs


DOWN:

1. Much more than ne'er: OFT - more often than never

2. Many a Yemeni: ARAB - name(ish)

3. "Voilà!": "ta-DA~!"

4. Picked up the pace: HUSTLED

5. "What a relief!": "OH GOOD~!"

6. Oxygen-dependent organism: AEROBE - ah. a generic organism; good fill

7. Fitting: SEEMLY

8. Attend a movie without a ticket, say: SNEAK IN

9. Fenway's Green Monster, for one: WALL - I drove past the Green Monster last week on my way to doing field work; had to cut a new hatch into a chamber floor for a new set of pipes - here's the organ façade, seen from below

Trinity Church, Boston

10. Basilica area: APSE - speaking of churches....

11. Drone, e.g.: BEE - think "rank"

13. Puppeteer Tony: SARG - Never heard of him, name #5 - his Wiki

14. Mexican money: PESO

20. Hunt of "Twister": HELEN - name #6; I liked her in Mad About You and Cast Away, too

21. Symbol seen on viola sheet music: C CLEF

23. Old Russian leader: TSAR

24. Lacking inspiration: OUT OF IDEAS

29. "Same for me": "I CAN RELATE."

30. From South Asia, perhaps: DESI - I had to look this up - a new definition for me

32. Many a blue state sen.: DEMocrat

33. "Dude!": BRO~!

36. Glaze made with soy sauce and mirin: TERIYAKI -soy I know, and I have bought rice wine to make my General Tso's, did not know it was called "mirin"

38. Murals, park statues, etc.: URBAN ART - I tried ARTWORKS first

41. First name of bassists Gordon and Deal: KIM - Cool clue; Gordon from Sonic Youth, and Deal from the Pixies/Breeder; two other female bass players - Tal Wilkenfeld and Sean Yseult - name(s) #7

43. Poet laureate Limón: ADA - name #8

45. Syr. neighbor: LEBanon - name(ish)

47. Choose: OPT

48. Plannin' to: GONNA

51. Elevates: RISES - meh.  rAises sounds better

54. Composer Khachaturian: ARAM - no clue - more here; name #8

55. Car service predictions, for short: ETAs

58. Singer Yoko: ONO - name #9

60. For: PRO

Splynter

 

Notes from C.C.:

 

Happy birthday to dear Husker Gary, our creative Saturday guide, and my caring and generous friend. I look at this picture often. It was taken in August 2014 when Gary and his wife Joann visited Minneapolis for a wedding. I'll never forget the first time I heard his voice.

Left to Right: Boomer, Gary, C.C. & Joann