Sunday, May 15th, 2011 Don Gagliardo & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: SALE ! Today's theme relates to the "two month" period preceding the end of business for a company filing Chapter 11 -

23A. Week 1 : BUY ONE GET ONE FREE

39A. Week 2 : INVENTORY REDUCTION

57A. Week 3 : DEEP DISCOUNTS

67A. Week 4 : HUGE SAVINGS

82A. Week 5 : BLOW-OUT PRICES

97A. Week 6 : STORE-WIDE CLEARANCE

115A. Week 7 : EVERYTHING MUST GO

129A. Week 8 : CLOSED

I was there for the final days of a local hardware/paint store Pergament in 2001.

Splynter, filling in for today's blogger, who is actually today's co-constructor - C.C.~!

See both C.C. and Don's note at the end of the comments.

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Lifetime job : CAREER

7. "Let __ eat cake!" : THEM

11. "__ meant was ..." : ALL I

15. "Loser" rocker : BECK - music; for me, his first 'hit', and "I" get mentioned at 2:00

19. Commonly thorny tree : ACACIA

20. Whit : IOTA

21. Like people in pews : LAIC - not 'of the cloth'

22. Wheel shaft : AXLE

26. No View, No Touch Trap maker : D-CON rat traps

27. Sis's sib : BRO

28. Like an ant. : OPPosite - antonym

29. Org. that can help you get started : AAA quite some clechos today;  4D. Car starter? : ECO. Ecocar.

30. Fastens, as a ship's rope : BELAYS  "Belay that belaying~!" I think of Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation

32. One-named New Ager : YANNI - lots of music today, but this one y'all can link for yourselves....

35. Some strings : VIOLAS

38. Common Latino newspaper name : EL SOL

45. Catch word? : HOWEVER - don't "get" it

48. Beans spiller : STOOLIE

49. Many NASA astronauts were in it : BSA - Boy Scouts of America - tricky; I was looking for something much more "rocket science" - then again, isn't that a badge?  I was never in.

50. "__ seen the light!" : I'VE

51. 1997-2006 U.N. leader : ANNAN

54. Foot or fathom : UNIT - of measure, in this case length; a fathom is 6 feet

55. Team : SQUAD

61. "Understood" : I HEAR YA

63. Els with clubs : ERNIE

64. 1968 U.S. Open champ : ASHE -, Arthur - the Queens, NY US Open tennis stadium is named for him

65. Put into law : ENACT

66. Group with the 1979 #1 hit "Babe" : STYX - sorry, but "lame", no link

71. __ world : ARAB

75. Silly : INANE - crossword standard

77. Lincoln in-law : TODD

78. Refrain syllables : TRA LA

79. Yacht feature? : SILENT C - love this, had the 'silent' part, and wondered if it was the "A" or "H", too - technically, it's "YOT"

86. Degrade : ABASE

87. Zeus' jealous wife : HERA

89. Chicago Eight defendant : SEALE - Bobby, the Black Panther co-founder, was the eighth member, and had his trial severed from the other seven

90. Mess up : ERR

91. Club __ : MED - I remember the commercial, the "antidote to civilization"

92. "Li'l Abner" and "Doonesbury," e.g. : SATIRES

95. Inner-city genre : GANGSTA - as in gangsta rap

102. Exeter's county : DEVON - map

103. As much as one cares to see : EYEFUL - went to Hooters for the hockey game, got my EYE FULL...

104. They may be childproofed : HOMES - I never had a baby, but I have been in these types of homes, where everything has a secondary catch on it

108. Place saver : DOG-EAR - as a book page

110. Got the gold : WON

112. __ Grande : RIO

113. Word to a masseuse : AAH

114. The mi. in Mile-High City : ELEVation

122. Ax : FIRE - Canned, 86'ed

123. Floor piece : TILE

124. Yahtzee quintet : DICE

125. Hall of Fame subject of "The Last Boy" : MANTLE - baseball, I am sure a C.C. contribution, Mickey Mantle

126. Lob : TOSS

127. Stops hedging : OPTS

128. Ton : SCAD

DOWN:

1. Hack : CABBY - hesitated, wanted CABBIE at first

2. Legend creator : ACURA -this car

3. Silky synthetic : RAYON

5. German article : EIN and, 33A. Freudian "never" : NIE

6. Arctic explorer John : RAE

7. Men's wear accessory : TIE PIN

8. East Asian stew : HOT POT - Wiki

9. Ike's command: Abbr. : ETO - Another crossword standard, the European Theater of Operations

10. "Oh, brother!" : MAN

11. Communications opener : ALFA - as in the pilot's alphabet, BRAVO CHARLIE, etc.

12. Zhivago's love : LARA

13. It's not good to get caught in one : LIE

14. Cool color for contacts : ICE BLUE - gotten cliche as 'vampire'

15. Rotten apples, so to speak : BAD LOT

16. Legendary sword : EXCALIBUR  - have to link this

17. Sate : CLOY - I thought this meant annoy, as in "I forget his name, and it cloys at me"

18. 50-year-old dolls : KENS - D'oh~!, I was thinking Barbie

24. Rules : GOVERNS

25. Routine grounder, say : EASY OUT - baseball again

31. F1 neighbor : ESC - keyboard, top row

34. Intrude upon, as one's space : INVADE

36. Part of 81-Down : LOS Angeles

37. Gallery fare : ART

38. Cutting, maybe : EDITING

40. One of a Latin trio : VENI - Veni, vidi, vici - I didn't know this, but "I came, I smoked, I quit" - the quitting part 4 years ago.

41. Silver and Glass : RONs

42. Yale Bowl rooter : ELI and 93D. Tarzan portrayer Ron : ELY

43. Anthem start : O SAY can you see...

44. Zippo : NADA - anyone else think lighter first?

45. Keeps secret : HIDES immediate clecho;

46. Hardly secret : OVERT

47. Squirt : WEENY

52. Confined, after "in" : A CAGE - this rocks

53. Inhaler? : NOSE - clecho, two "in" clues in a row

55. Dry, as wine : SEC

56. Doha native : QATARI - map #2

58. Playful sprites : PIXIES - had NAIADS at first

59. Hesitating sounds : UHS - had UMS first, made my Arthur "ASME" (64A)

60. "Peachy!" : NEAT-O

62. Owns : HAS

65. Assume, as a role : ENDUE

67. Bowler, for one : HAT

68. Let loose : UNCHAIN - gotta link it

69. Altar assurance : VOW immediate clecho;

70. Altar assurances : I DOs - and I had them reversed; I DO, then VOWS

72. Darts : RACES

73. It may be red : ALERT - Star Trek again

74. Iraqi seaport : BASRA

76. Manila-to-Seoul dir. : NNE

78. Dug-out area : TRENCH - ah, semi-baseball

79. __ Club: Costco rival : SAM'S

80. "Yeah, right!" : I BET

81. Six-time World Series-winning MLB franchise : L.A. DODGERS

82. Party wheel : BRIE - cheese wheel

83. It may be grand : LARCENY - as OPPosed to Petit

84. Manila tongue : TAGALOG - I have heard the word

85. Blueprint : PLAN

88. Airport stat. : ETD - Estimated Time of Departure

92. Affirmed in court : SWORE TO

94. "Get it?" : SEE?

96. Old Prizm maker : GEO - interesting history

98. "Speed" actor : REEVES

99. Uncle Tom rescues her from drowning : EVA - from the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe - and an awesome song from Warrant

100. Aardvarks' land : AFRICA - Argyle had this Monday; linked one of my favorite all-time songs

101. Undone : RUINED

105. Dillon and Damon : MATTs

106. Hole in one, e.g. : EAGLE - the rarest of eagles, or "two under par" on a par three

107. Did a smithy's job : SHOED

108. Nimble : DEFT - I think the word sounds DEFT; crafty and skilled

109. Mixed bag : OLIO

110. Whip mark : WELT

111. Mined metals : ORES

116. Big shot : VIP

117. Favre's 508, briefly : TDs - Brett Favre, Quarterback, and his 1A touchdown passes

118. Fruit drink named for a vitamin : Hi-C

119. III x DCC : MMC - Roman math, 3 X (500+100+100) = 2100(1000+1000+100)

120. "Friendly skies" co. : UAL - United Airlines

121. __-Cat : SNO - image

Answer grid.

Splynter

Notes from C.C. & Don:

This "Sale" idea first came to us last August. We had to change a few theme entries that are either too plain or did not resonate with Rich. We originally had different clues for the theme entries. Rich went a step forward and came up with the "Week 1, 2..." idea. Putting the final punch line CLOSED in the lower right corner created the greatest challenge to completing the fill smoothly. It took 8 months of back and forth with Rich before the puzzle was finally accepted. 

Saturday May 14, 2011 Victor Fleming

Theme: None

Total words: 70

Total blocks: 29

This puzzle is anchored by two grid-spanners:

19A. Was left out, facetiously : DIDN'T GET THE MEMO. Orderly A, E, I, O, U, Y in the word "facetiously". Very unusual.

50A. Man, to Aristotle : POLITICAL ANIMAL. He said "man is by nature a political animal".

The two 15s are then crossed by two 9s each. All great entries. I especially liked GOOD CATCH (35D. Matrimonial prize).

Tough cluing overall, typified by:

45A. Case, for instance: Abbr. : SYN (Synonym). Case is a synonym of "instance": in this case/in this instance.

Across:

1. "American Pie" actress : TARA REID. Always nice to see a full name.

9. Leading, usually : ON BASE. Leading off base.

15. Refinement : ELEGANCE

16. Goes without saying? : MOUTHS. Great clue.

17. Subtle differences : NICETIES

18. "Where ignorant __ clash by night": Matthew Arnold : ARMIES. I just freeze when seeing a quote clue.

21. Round-topped topper : TAM. Scottish topper.

22. Ticked : IRATE

23. Duchamp contemporary : ARP (Jean)

26. Nursery employee : NANNY. Not plant nursery.

28. Milky way? : UDDER. Fun clue.

32. Rye server : DELI

34. Trifle : TOY. Verb.

35. It's good to be in one : GROOVE

36. Something taken by a shooter : DEAD AIM. Take dead aim.

38. Some incentives : BONUSES

39. Non-acidic vitamin brand : ESTER-C. So other brands might be acidic?

40. Labor gp. that initially supported FDR : CIO. Who knows?

41. Jack's wife in Season 1 of "24" : TERI. No idea.

42. Therapy goal : REHAB

43. Bridge units : HANDS. Game, Dummy! Not river bridge.

46. Last straw : LIMIT

48. Video end? : CAM. Oh, Video camera.

57. Throws : AMAZES. This throws me.

58. "Sure, why not?" : LET'S DO IT. Clue & answer sound very Dennis.

59. Meet people? : RACERS. "Meet" is a noun then.

60. Pedigree : ANCESTRY

61. Black-tie : DRESSY

62. Diamond gem : NO-HITTER. Baseball diamond. Two no-hitters this season. One by Twins' Liriano.

Down:

1. Keep an eye on : TEND

2. Et __ : ALII

3. Like most mailed pkgs. : REC'D

4. Deal maker : AGENT

5. Palm prevalent in Indonesia : RATTAN

6. Hard to figure out : ENIGMATIC. Like Mona Lisa's smile.

7. Frozen pop brand : ICEE

8. Fortune : DESTINY

9. It's across the Missouri from Council Bluffs, Iowa : OMAHA. Happy fill for Husker Gary.

10. Point from which one must proceed? : NO RETURN. Another tricky clue.

11. Disappointed, slangily : BUMMED OUT

12. End in __ : A TIE

13. Noah's eldest : SHEM. One of his brothers was called Ham.

14. Sinclair Oil rival : ESSO

20. Subject to strain : TRY

23. Puff __ : ADDER

24. Eponymous candy company founder : REESE

25. "Lady Lazarus" poet : PLATH (Sylvia). What a tragic life she had.

27. Henri, e.g. : NOM. Just a name.

29. Doctor's orders : DOSES

30. All possible : EVERY

31. Mastic, for one : RESIN. Did not know Mastic is plant resin.

33. Puts on a pedestal : IDEALIZES

37. Judges : ARBITERS. The constructor is a judge.

38. Storage unit : BIN

40. Pablo Casals, e.g. : CATALAN. Dali also.

43. Sound heard after a lot of shots? : HIC. Bar "shots".

44. Third-generation Japanese-American : SANSEI. San = Three/Third. Same as Chinese. Sei means "birth".

47. Rapper Elliott : MISSY

49. Core : MIDST

50. Frontier friend : PARD

51. Shortstop Vizquel : OMAR. He was with the Indians for a long time.

52. Oxford fastener : LACE

53. Star seen around midnight : LENO (Jay)

54. Suffragist Lucretia : MOTT. I forgot. I think we had her before.

55. Leeds's river : AIRE. Another stumper.

56. Astron. distance : LT-YR (Light year)

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday May 13, 2011 Gary Lowe

Theme: Quasi-Spoonerisms. This puzzle was a blushing crow for me (Marti), as my burst flog on The Corner. Top that off with a major glog blitch, and I am a wervous neck. Sorry, but there are no links today because of the blog problems…just insert your own, where desired.

In this puzzle, common phrases are sort of “Spoonerized” ( swapping of consonant sounds. Wanted a link here…) with nackey whew meanings.

20A. Red-hot entrée? : HELLS CHICKEN. Hell’s Kitchen. The location of “West Side Story”. Once a depressed area, it is now the home of many actors because of its proximity to the Broadway theaters and the Actor’s Studio school.

33A. Bather using magnesium sulfate? : SALTED TUBBER. Salted Butter. Many recipes call for “Unsalted Butter”. Why, when the recipe then calls for the addition of salt? Maybe Jeannie Knows…

42A. Avoidance of chewy candy? :NON-TAFFY DIET. Non-fatty diet. Like Jack Sprat’s fare…

58A. Best man's moment of uncertainty? :TOAST STAMMER. Toast Master. Is this the guy who can cook the breakfast bread perfectly?

Across:

1. Newspaper section :DESK. Hands up for those who penned in “Op-Ed”?

5. Deafening : AROAR. Aaah..the “A” list.

10. Drop hints, say :: FISH. As in, fish for compliments.

14. Required payment : ANTE. “Ya gotta pay to play.”

15. Regional woodland : SILVA. I know the term “sylvan”, but this one totally escaped me. Anyone?

16. Strength : AREA. Forte.

17. Shipmate of Starkey : SMEE. From “Peter Pan”, Starkey was the first mate on the Jolly Roger.

18. Donny and Marie's hometown : OGDEN. Utah. Donny and Marie Osmond. Who didn’t know?

19. "In my opinion ..." : I SAY…a little prayer for youuuuu! (Insert link here.)

23. Night class subj. : ESL. English as a Second Language.

24. Observance : RITE

25. Book before Job : ESTHER

29. Siskiyou County peak : SHASTA. Fifth-highest peak in California. (Insert google map link here).

31. "Life __ a Highway": 1992 Tom Cochrane hit: IS A. I thought it was a bowl of cherries?

32. Charlottesville sch. :UVA. University of Virginia, home of the Cavaliers. Their cornerback, Ras-I Dowling was just taken in the second round draft by the N.E. Patriots. Welcome to Massachusetts!

37. It's heard around the water cooler: GLUG. Or at the bar…

40. Schiller's "An die Freude," e.g. : ODE. An die Freude means "to joy", in German (Kazie, confirm?). “Ode to Joy” is best known for its musical setting in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Sorry, no link…(it was a really good one!!) (You would have been happy all day...)

41. Roman existence : ESSE. Sum, es, est, sumus, estis, sunt…Latin 101.

47. "Aladdin" monkey : ABU. Voiced by Frank Welker, who has appeared in 93 films, with a combined gross income of $5.7 billion!

48. Actor Gulager: CLU. Kind of obscure actor…his most notable role was as “Billy the Kid” in a 1960-62 series called “The Tall man”. Never heard of it....or him.

49. Nats division: NL EAST. National League East. Baseball division, and the Washington Nationals. C.C. could write an essay, I’m sure…

53. Beefsteak, for one: TOMATO. Yummm…I can’t wait for my recently planted beefsteaks to produce fruit!

55. Sign of disrespect: SASS.

57. Sweater letter: RHO. Rho, rho, rho your boat…

61. Altar neighbor: APSE. This one really got me for a while. Different clue from the usual “church recess”.

64. Associate with: TIE TO. Hmmmm…I don’t usually tie to questionable characters…

65. Phone button letters: OPER. PQRS? WXYZ? Nope!

66. Bantu language: ZULU.

67. Matrimony, for one: UNION. “All marriages are happy. It’s the living together afterwards that causes all the problems…”

68. Tannin source: WINE.. Also the source of resveratrol. In some experiments, resveratrol has been shown to be a source of anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, blood-sugar-lowering, and other beneficial cardiovascular effects. So, “Cheers!” at sunset, Tinbeni (with a glass of wine).

69. "Smokey and the Bandit" vehicle feature: T-TOP. Sorry, I was going to link Sally Field in sexy jeans and a t-top.

70. Rigatoni alternative: PENNE.

71. Hang: STAY. Stay in there!

And now for the “physically lower” ones:

Down:

1. Bolts: DASHES. Or dits…

2. Get tangled: ENMESH, Oh, what an enmeshed web we weave…

3. Designer McCartney: STELLA. “STELLL-AAH!!!” (insert link to “A Streetcar Named Desire”).

4. Nautical beam: KEEL. Not “lighthouse”?

5. Not prone to making small talk: ASOCIAL. Laconic, like my dad. But when he did speak, we listened!

6. Entitlement: RIGHT

7. Classic number: OLDIE. But “goodie”. (Insert link to your favorite oldie but goodie here...)

8. "Voulez-vous coucher __ moi?": "Lady Marmalade" lyric: AVEC. Believe it or not, this song was considered “risqué” in its day! The phrase also appeared in the play “Streetcar Named Desire”. (“STELLL-AAH!!! – voulez vous coucher avec moi, ce soi?”)

9. Most objectionable: RANKEST.

10. Timid: FAINT. I almost timid-ed when I heard that I had finally had a crossword published!

11. Sched. producer: IRS. Sched. 1040.

12. Vast quantity: SEA.

13. Horse power?: HAY. Loved this clue!

21. Sp. title: SRTA.

22. Biblical pottage recipient: ESAU. OK, I had to look this one up. Pottage is a stew: “Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.” Huh? All over a bowl of stew???

26. Nerve centers: HUBS. . Or, airline centers.

27. New Years' highlights: EVES. Yes, the eves are much better than the next day’s hangovers…

28. Like white rhinos and black swans: RARE. I saw a white rhino and her new-born baby at the zoo in Basel, Switzerland. A rare sight, indeed!

30. Certain NCO: SSGT. . Whew! No debate about army vs. marines today.

31. Challenged, in a way: ID'ED. . Hmmm…not sure about “challenged”. Fingered, nailed, labeled…maybe.

34. Meatless protein source: TOFU.

35. Eponymous ice cream maker: EDY.

36. Nice beast: BETE. Literally, “beast”, in French (Nice, France). As in “bête noir” (black beast), or “bugaboo". My “bête noir” is names in x-word puzzles. What’s yours?

37. Punkie, e.g.: GNAT. Punkie, gnat, no-see-ums. Regional nicknames for flying pests.

38. Timber wolf: LOBO. Spanish for “wolf”.

39. Word in a coined phrase?: UNUM. “E Pluribus Unum” on U.S. coins. This was probably my favorite clue in this puzzle!

43. X-__: tool brand: ACTO.

44. Rise, as a balloon: FLOAT UP. Like Ed Asner in the Pixar movie.

45. Not debatable: IN STONE.

46. "The Sound of Music" baroness: ELSA. Elsa Schräder, Maria’s rival for Captain Von Trapp’s affection.

50. Secret spot?: ARMPIT. HaHa. Loved this one too! Secret deoderant, used in the pits.

51. Jungle queen: SHEENA. Queen of the Jungle and comic book heroine. Wanted another link here…

52. Early 20th-century presidential portraitist: TORREY. George Burroughs Torrey, portraitist of Teddy Roosevelt, William Taft, Herbert Hoover, et al.

54. Absorbed eagerly: ATE UP.

55. Hofbrau vessel; STEIN. . When I was in Germany two weeks ago, we went to a hofbrau and lifted a few steins…

56. __ Martin: ASTON. British luxury sports car. I really wanted to link here, as I used to own a Morgan, which looks suspiciously like the 1939 Aston-Martin...

59. Math ratio: SINE.

60. Cuts: MOWS. Reminds me, I have to mow the lawn this weekend…

61. HIV-treating drug: AZT. (Azidothymidine)

62. Bear's option, on Wall Street: PUT.. Put and call options have long been among the most baffling to investors. And crossword solvers...

63. __-pitch: SLO. Slo Long, for now!

Answer grid.

Marti

Notes from C.C.:

1) I'm pleased to announce that HeartRx (Marti) has agreed to blog 1-2 times a month for us from now on.

2) Blogger has been down due to its maintenance glitch. Or maybe it's overwhelmed by Marti's power.

3) Lemonade will back next Friday.

4) Blogger is working hard restoring Thursday post/comments. They're not permanently gone.

5) Happy Birthday, Jeannie!

Thursday, May 12, 2011, Mangesh Sakharam Ghogre

Theme: Machine Language. All the clues are powers of 2: binary numbers, the way computers (or phone texters) communicate.

17A. 8?: HAD DINNER. Ate. (2³ or 0000 1000 in binary)

26A. 2?: EXCESSIVELY. Too. (2¹ or 0000 0010)

50A. 1?: TOOK THE GOLD. Won. (2⁰ or 0000 0001)

62A. 4?: IN FAVOR OF. For. (2² or 0000 0100)

39A. They're not literal, and this puzzle's title: FIGURES OF SPEECH. In math terms, numbers are "figures".

Hi all, Al here on Thursday, Thursday, gotta get down on Thursday... Any Rebecca Black fans? Oh, Friday, you say. Well, I guess that's as close as I'll ever get to being infamous.

I found the puzzle today strangely slow going at first, but it wasn't really all that hard, I just wasn't tuned in. The theme today was fairly modern and enjoyably geeky, even though I refuse to abbreviate my own text like that. I would have liked to see the clues appear in numeric or reverse numeric order though, to give it a third level of complexity, but still pretty tricky.

ACROSS:

1. Not quite dry: DAMP. Originally meant "a noxious vapor", the phrase "come in out of the damp" was from the notion of the night air being bad and miasmatic gasses arising from the soil.

5. "Battle Cry" author: URIS. Leon. A tale of a mixed-ethnic group of Marine enlistees coming together as a close-knit fighting unit.

9. Yippie name: ABBIE. Hoffman. Youth International Party, anti-Vietnam protests, the Chicago eight at first, then down to seven when Bobby Seale (Black Panthers founder) was singled out and tried separately.

14. French darling: AMIE.

15. Reduce bit by bit: PARE.

16. Virginia political family: BYRDS. Harry Flood Byrd and son (Jr.).  I prefer the musical group.

19. "Back Stabbers" group, with "The": OJAYS.

20. Ones with dark-spotted faces: DICE. Possibly my favorite clue for the puzzle today. You can always tell, without looking or touching, what the bottom number on a six-sided die is by subtracting the top from seven.

21. Annual draft org.: NBA. National Basketball Association.

23. 46th U.S. state: OKLA.homa.  Wolverine sings!

24. Nuevo __: Peruvian currency: SOL. A lesson in run-away economics, the original currency, the inti became so hyperinflated that new money had to be issued in 1991 at the rate of 1 sol = 1 million inti.

29. Dig up: UNEARTH.

31. "Ain't __ Sweet": SHE.  Some Beatles accompanied with 57A. Its full name means "jumping flea" in Hawaiian: UKE.

32. Pastures: LEAS.

33. Protein building block, for short: AMINO. Amino Acids. Haven't ever seen or heard it used in this shortened form.

36. Animal's stomach: MAW. Learn something new every day.  I used to think this word just meant a gaping mouth.

43. Happy hour order: ALE.  Ale, ale, the gang's all here!

44. Varnish resin: ELEMI.

45. When doubled, a fish: MAHI. I already think I know what JZB will say, half-baked, probably.

46. "Wheel of Fortune" purchase: AN I.

47. Contrary retort: DOES NOT. Playground rhetoric. The height of forensic capabilities.

55. Female rabbit: DOE. Whale? Cow.  Elephant? Cow.  You'd think there would be more original names for those.  At least a female swan is called something different, a PEN.

56. Business head?: AGRI. A prefix clue.  Agribusiness is a portmanteau of agriculture and business, referring to the range of activities and disciplines encompassed by modern food production.

58. Raison d'__: ETRE. French, "reason or justification for existance". Kiss.

60. Insipid: BLAND.  Orig. from Latin blandus "mild, smooth, flattering, alluring".  Current meaning probably influenced by blasé.

66. It's slower than adagio: LENTO. Musical terms, Italian.

67. Somber genre: NOIR. French for black.

68. "Up in the Air" Oscar nominee Farmiga: VERA. With George Clooney, a movie about downsizing, apparently. Why anyone would go to see that is beyond me.

69. First noble gas discovered: ARGON. The third most common gas in the Earth's atmosphere, more common than carbon dioxide.

70. Lake Michigan city: GARY. Indiana.

71. Noted sin scene: EDEN. As in original sin.

DOWN:

1. Morse character: DAH. Or DIT, or even DOT.

2. Org. featuring seasonal flu information: AMA. American Medical Association. Vitamin D3, and probiotics for prevention.

3. Fifties, say: MIDDLE AGE.

4. Start to cure?: PEDI. Another prefix. A Pedicure is foot care.

5. After the current act: UP NEXT.

6. Operated: RAN.

7. Goddess of peace: IRENE. Greek mythology.  Roman equivalent: PAX.

8. Some Bosnians: SERBS.

9. Donor classification letters: ABO. Blood types, A, B, AB, and O, along with Rh+ and - are the most-known, but actually Rh by itself has 50 types, where D, C, c, E, and e are the main 5.  The + or minus only refers to the D form.  And ABO/Rh are only two out of 30 blood group systems. It is much more complicated than you can imagine and has its own discipline called immunohaematology.

10. Exclamation from Colonel Pickering: BY JOVE. Jovis Pater (Jupiter), also linked to a euphemistic shortening of Jehova.

11. Start to stop: BRAKE. As in "apply the". Caught me trying to think of a prefix at first.

12. Pastoral poem: IDYLL.  Latin idyllium, from Gk. eidyllion "a little picture".

13. Common college admissions requirement: ESSAY. Latin exigere "test"

18. Cake finisher: ICER. Didn't get caught thinking about suffixes. There's a video game called Portal that tells you: "the cake is a lie", which basically is a metaphor for unkept promises made to you in an effort to get you to finish some task.

22. Like-minded gps.: ASSNS. Groups, associations.