Monday September 10, 2018 Matt McKinley

Theme: STRING TRIO (62. Composition for violin, viola and cello ... and what the starts of 17-, 29- and 47-Across comprise) - The first words are all synonyms of string.

 

17. Job: LINE OF WORK.

29. Switching from cable TV to streaming, say: CORD CUTTING.

47. Bedsheet buyer's concern: THREAD COUNT.

Boomer here. I am not stringing you along. I may have mentioned that I play a little golf in the summer, and I also watch the PGA on TV.  I have noticed two differences between the Pros short iron approach shots and my own:

1) No one shouts "Go in the hole" when I hit my shot.

2) When the pro hits his shot, the divot flies farther in the air than my golf ball.  

Tomorrow, I hope you will join me in pausing to reflect on the tragedy on this date in 2001.  Like most folks, I remember where I was and what I was thinking nearly every minute.

Across:

1. "We Create Music" org.: ASCAP.

6. "You're a riot": HA HA.  I think we had this last week.  (It wasn't funny then either.)

10. Sportscaster Albert: MARV.  Mostly basketball.

14. Diner counter alternative: BOOTH. It's been awhile since I have seen a counter in a diner.  Usually it's a choice of a table or booth.

15. Hasn't paid yet: OWES.  I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.  7 Dwarfs??

16. Jai __: ALAI.

19. Govt. crash investigator: NTSB. National Transportation Safety Board.

20. Weather-affecting current: EL NINO.  The claim is that the climate change can cause milder, warmer winters.  Stop kidding me, I live in Minnesota.  However Storm products named one of their bowling balls El Nino.  (I have one).

 21. Give up all expectations: LOSE HOPE.

23. __ Strauss, female touring guitarist for Alice Cooper: NITA.

25. Greek "i": IOTA.  Certainly have to love these four letter words with three vowels.

26. BB-shaped legume: PEA.  When I was a kid, I remember having a pea shooter.  But we did not shoot real peas unless they were those dried up hard things from the dime store.

34. Relaxing time in the chalet: APRES-SKI.  As opposed to Alps Ski, which cannot be relaxing.

36. Skin ink: TATTOO.  "Ze plane Ze plane"  Remember "Fantasy Island"?  I think Tattoo's real name was Herve. 

37. Four-time '60s-'70s A.L. All-Star __ Powell: BOOG.  At one time, Boog was the only player to play in the Little League World Series and the Major League World Series.  His real name is John.  Booger was in "Animal House"

38. 42-yr.-old skit show: SNL.  Loved it when Tina Fey did Sarah Palin.  I don't stay up that late anymore.

40. Regarding: AS TO.

41. Not at all abundant: SCARCE.

44. Totally loses it: GOES NUTS. Tyrrell Hatton is gaining this reputation when he misses a short putt.

49. Observe: SEE.  He joined the navy, to see the world, but what did he see, he saw the sea.

50. Pop's Lady __: GAGA.  Many have gone GAGA over this lady.  Not me.

51. 1982 Disney sci-fi film: TRON.  Huge Disney success

53. Most ordinary: PLAINEST. Tattoo - "Ze plainest, Ze plainest !"

57. Hydrocodone, e.g.: OPIATE.  I don't like this word.  It stands for a product that has caused so much heartache in our country.

61. Like un maníaco: LOCO.

64. Color of raw silk: ECRU.  Is raw silk, silk that has not been cooked?

65. Sights from la mer: ILES.

66. Longtime senator Specter: ARLEN.  From Pennsylvania. Could not decide if he was a Republican or a Democrat.

67. Vintage Jags: XKES.  The last thing I remember Doc, is that XKE did not come back from Dead Man's Curve.

68. Not e'en once: NEER.  Clever clue for never.

69. Wall Street's Standard & __: POORS.  Interesting name for an investment company.  Do you want to be Standard, or Poor ?

Down:

1. Having the skills: ABLE.

2. Window box dirt: SOIL.

3. Hartford's st.: CONN.  Great College Women's Basketball State,

4. Had food delivered: ATE IN.

5. "Hooked on" language teaching method: PHONICS.  Wow, do they still have this.  I remember having Phonics in first grade.

6. In what way: HOW.  "Hello" Clayton Moore from Jay Silverheels

7. GI on the run: AWOL.  Absent Without Leave.  Saw a bit of that in the States.  No so much in Germany - nowhere to run except a beer joint.

8. Valiant: HEROIC.

9. Invites to the prom, say: ASKS OUT.

10. Borough across the Harlem River from the Bronx: MANHATTAN.  Home of "Law and Order".

11. Voice above tenor: ALTO.  I disagree.  Tenor is a male voice, Alto is female,  I would clue voice below soprano.

12. Abrasive tool: RASP.

13. Hard-to-explain feeling: VIBE.  Pontiac SUV 10 years ago.  No more Pontiacs these days.

18. Pics: FOTOS.  Spelling ???

22. Bluesy James: ETTA.  Ms. Kett was a manners expert.

24. Boats like Noah's: ARKS.  I heard they are 300 cubits.  What's a cubit?

26. Brew brand with a blue-ribbon logo: PABST.  What'll you have ?

27. Pleistocene period: EPOCH.

28. Cheering and yelling, as a crowd: AROAR.  I watched a bit of football at Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday TV.  What a display of nearly 80,000 fans in red shirts cheering for the Badgers.  Then on Saturday night, I tuned in to the Gopher game vs. Fresno State.  Maroon and gold tee shirts and jerseys.  About 60,000 of them.  Amazing the drawing power of college football.

30. Down Under dog: DINGO.  Maybe your Dingo ate it.

31. "Who's there?" response from a couple: IT'S US.

32. Naples night: NOTTE.

33. Golden-egg layer: GOOSE.  Mr. Goslin - Hall of Famer for the C. Griffith Washington Senators, Also Mr. Gossage - Relief pitcher, mostly for the Yankees.

35. Flagrant: EGREGIOUS.

39. Rude dude: LOUT.  If he gets too loud, kick him out.

42. Actor Scott or his dad James: CAAN.  I really liked James in the TV Series "Las Vegas".

43. Enters sneakily: EDGES IN.

45. 2001 scandal company: ENRON. I still have some Enron Golf balls I bought on ebay a few years ago

46. Temporary solution: STOPGAP.

48. Structure protected by a moat: CASTLE.  Europe still has lots of these.  They are built like a ton of bricks with a ton of bricks. 

52. The "N" in "TNT": NITRO.  Also "Network" on Cable TV.  245 on Direct TV.

53. Theater suffix: PLEX.

54. What a key opens: LOCK.

55. Farmland measure: ACRE.   What a dentist fixes.

56. One in a forest: TREE.  If it falls in the forest and no one is around, you cannot hear it.

58. Woody Guthrie's son: ARLO.  You can get any thing you want, at "Alice's Restaurant".  I'll bet they had a counter there. 

59. Stadium section: TIER. A little bitty tier let me down

60. Many millennia: EONS.

63. Dead Sea country: Abbr.: ISR.

Boomer

Partials in Crosswords

Lemonade just asked if OF A (32. __ sort) in last Friday's puzzle was a partial. Yes, it is. Little multi-word entries with Fill-in-the-Blank clues are called partials.

In this Sunday September 9, 2018 puzzle, there are three:

44. "... but maybe I'm wrong": OR NOT.

82. "Are you __ not?": IN OR. 

33. "Can __ now?": I GO. 

  

"Long, long ___" for AGO is not a partial, though it has a Fill-in-the-Blank clue, but "Give it ___" for A GO will be a partial. Just remember "multi-word", normally less than 5-letter long.

Rich allows four partials in a 21*21 grid. Two for a 15*15 grid.

C.C.

Sunday September 9, 2018 Ross Trudeau

Theme: "TV Partners" - Two different TV shows are merged.

23. Show in which the Tanners move to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.?: FULL HOUSE OF CARDS. Full House. House of Cards.

37. Show in which Daenerys questions her suitors?: DATING GAME OF THRONES. Dating Game. Game of Thrones.

53. Show in which Gloria and Lois commiserate about lazy husbands?: MODERN FAMILY GUY. Modern Family. Family Guy.

65. Show in which a Time Lord becomes a live-in domestic worker?: DR WHO'S THE BOSS. Dr Who. Who's the Boss?

76. Show in which zombies invade an 1870s South Dakota town?: WALKING DEADWOOD. Walking Dead. Deadwood.

90. Show in which Richie and the Fonz write a soap?: HAPPY DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Happy Days. Days of Our Lives.

112. Installment of each of the "shows" in six puzzle answers?: CROSSOVER EPISODE.

Great to see Ross back. He just gave us this creative theme last month. This is his first LAT Sunday. 

DOCTOR WHO'S THE BOSS would be better for 65A, as the official name is DOCTOR WHO. Sometimes symmetry would not cooperate. 

Only 7 entries, but they're all fairly long, occupying total 113 theme squares. Quite dense.

Across:

1. Thin Mint cousins: SAMOAS.

7. Music-playing Apple: IPOD. Lost my precious free Marc Maron episodes during last factory re-set.

11. Campus residence, maybe: FRAT.

15. "I touched your nose!" sound: BOOP. This is new to me.

19. Luke's mentor: OBIWAN.

20. Choice: VOTE.

21. Casino city near 32-Down: RENO. 32. Western resort: TAHOE.

22. Part of A.D.: ANNO.

26. "All __ are off": BETS.

27. Had: ATE.

28. Usual method: Abbr.: SOP. OK, Standard Operating Procedure.

29. Selena's music style: TEJANO. Named after Texas.

30. Block: STYMIE.

32. "Star Trek" actor: TAKEI (George)

34. Big name in foil: ALCOA.

36. Justice Kagan appointer: OBAMA. He appointed two female justices.

41. "Phooey!": PAH.

42. Doofus: DOLT.

43. Knighted Irish rocker: BONO. So happy he got his voice back.

46. Twin Cities campus, informally: U OF M. University of Minnesota.

49. Old horse: NAG.

50. "The A-Team" actor: MR T.

58. Half a comedy duo: MEARA. Stiller and Meara. 

60. Riviera saison: ETE. Season.

61. One-eighties: UIES.

62. People couple: ITEM. People magazine.

63. Better ventilated: AIRIER. Someone said that Michael Jordan is paid 5 cents for each pair of Air Jordan.

64. Insole material: GEL.

69. '60s war zone: NAM.

70. Panini cheese: ASIAGO.

72. Inlets: RIAS.

73. Lamb pen name: ELIA. Charlies Lamb. We also have 67. Literary pen name: SAKI.

74. Civil War letters: CSA.

75. Lifted: STOLE.

80. Program named for its broadcast day, for short: SNL.

81. Lower, as lights: DIM.

83. Beloved 1981 bride: DIANA.

84. Thor's father: ODIN.

86. Cambodia neighbor: LAOS. Their traditional skirt is called Sinh. 

89. Sgts.' superiors: LTS.

99. Silent and amazed: AGAPE.

100. Anklebone: TALUS.

101. Scourges: BANES.

102. Went up again: RE-ROSE. Also 12. Put new shingles on: RE-ROOF.

104. Chop shop wheels: HOT CAR.

107. Strain: TAX.

108. Show ending?: BIZ. Showbiz.

111. They may be inflated: EGOS. See the clue in 10. Kanye West label: DEF JAM.

116. Like blokes: MALE.

117. "I know! Call on me!": OH OH.

118. Curds in blocks: TOFU. When I lived in Xi'an, we went to the market every day to get fresh Tofu.

119. Hardened (to): INURED.

120. Raced: SPED.

121. Too curious: NOSY.

122. Little branch: TWIG.

123. Way out: EGRESS.

Down:

1. One may be L-shaped: SOFA.

2. Be flush with: ABUT.

3. Race distance: MILE.

4. Hogwarts mail carrier: OWL.

5. Expresses awe over: AAHS AT.

6. JWoww's title pal in a "Jersey Shore" spin-off: SNOOKI. This girl. Glad you had a wonderful vacation, Yellowrocks!

7. Hosp. hookups: IVS.

8. Burns, e.g.: POET.

9. Great Plains tribe: OTOE.

11. Italian director Zeffirelli: FRANCO. Unknown figure. Wiki says he's "known for several of the movies he has directed, especially the 1968 version of Romeo and Juliet, for which he received an Academy Award nomination. His 1967 version of The Taming of the Shrew with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton remains the best-known film adaptation of that play as well."

13. "Your point being?": AND.

14. Trash: TOSS. Hey, this fill could be easily ROSS.

15. Gen Xer's parent, perhaps: BABY BOOMER. Here is our Baby Boomer.

16. Solo: ONE-MAN.

17. As scheduled: ON TIME.

18. Impersonate: POSE AS.

24. Overturn: UPEND.

25. NASCAR's Yarborough: CALE.

31. Ripped: TORN.

35. Good way to keep an enemy: AT BAY.

37. Unwelcome flower: DANDELION. I like dandelions and yellow rockets in open fields. Always reminds me of the pretty canola flower fields in my childhood.

38. Feeling down: GLUM.

39. Yours, in Tours: A TOI.

40. Swine: HOG.

41. Sits in, say: PROTESTS.

44. Swatch Group products: OMEGAS.

45. Plod: TRUDGE.

47. Enters daintily: FLITS IN. Sure sounds dainty.

48. Folk story: MYTH.

49. Prepared for a filling: NUMBED

51. Slickers: RAINCOATS.

52. Traitorous acts: TREASONS. Did not know this word is plurable, D-Otto! Very observant comment of Thursday puzzle, by the way!

54. Robert De __: NIRO

55. Not many: FEW. Gary, I'm so sorry about your niece Lauren. What a courageous woman!

56. Guru's lodging: ASHRAM.

57. "Golly!": GEE.

58. Have sum trouble: MIS-ADD

59. Fleet: ARMADA.

63. China setting: ASIA. Picard, I've not seen "Crazy Rich Asians". The plot is so far away from my world.

66. Surprisingly, what the "O" in OPEC doesn't stand for: OIL. It stands for Organization.

68. Soccer cheer: OLE.

71. Naysayers?: ALL OPPOSED. Nice clue.

76. Succeed in: WIN AT.

77. __ contendere: court plea: NOLO.

78. 1965 Pulitzer author Shirley Ann __: GRAU.  Unknown name to me. Also German for "gray". Here we have 88. Gray shade: SLATE.

79. Charms: WILES.

81. Accomplished: DID.

85. Easter supplies: DYES.

87. Earth, for one: ORB.

90. Seraglios: HAREMS.

91. Possible barrier to romance: AGE GAP.

92. Way out of jail: PAROLE.

93. Bumpkins: YAHOOS.

94. Like melting snow puddles: SLOSHY.

95. Contract exceptions: OUTS.

96. __ Fitzgerald: F SCOTT. Born here in Minnesota.

97. Where "the birds began to sing": IN A PIE.

98. Annoying: VEXING.

103. Nobel Prize subj.: ECON.

105. Swear: AVOW.

106. Better mtge. deal: RE-FI

108. Real snoozefest: BORE.

109. Dire March time: IDES.

110. London jazz duo?: ZEDS. Just the two letters in jazz.

113. Pi follower: RHO.

114. Shag or throw: RUG.

115. Big __: SUR.

Lemonade just asked if OF A (32. __ sort) in last Friday's puzzle was a partial. Yes, it is. Little multi-word entries with Fill-in-the-Blank clues are called partials. In this puzzle, there are three:

44. "... but maybe I'm wrong": OR NOT.

82. "Are you __ not?": IN OR. 

33. "Can __ now?": I GO. 

  

"Long, long ___" for AGO is not a partial, though it has a Fill-in-the-Blank clue, but "Give it ___" for A GO will be a partial. Just remember "multi-word", normally less than 5-letter long.

Rich allows four partials in a 21*21 grid. Two for a 15*15 grid.

C.C.

Saturday, September 8, 2018, Ryan McCarty

Themeless Saturday Puzzle by Ryan McCarty

Today is a very special day for us at the corner as we recognize one of the true foundations of our activities at this site - Literacy. Today is International Literacy Day.

We denizens of this site greatly value literacy and contribute to each other's store of this virtue as we blog here. I lift my glass to all of you today to celebrate this noteworthy day.

Our constructor today is Princeton grad Ryan McCarty ’14. The Princeton Pride says of Ryan - "He started doing crossword puzzles at Princeton: “I have always had a penchant for word games, but I can’t say I was too great at crosswords at first,” he says. When he tried creating puzzles from scratch, the music major (with a certificate in applications of computing) found both his creative and analytical skills helpful. McCarty, now a technology consultant at the Securities and Exchange Commission, began submitting puzzles for publication only last year — since then, his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times."

My solving experience was typical for a Saturday as some of the long fill and  crossword staples proved to be very helpful.


Now let's see what else this Ivy Leaguer has for us today

Across:

1. Way to get up in Gotham: BAT ROPE -  How they filmed the BAT ROPE for the TV show (note Batman's cape) and then how it looked when played back including Sammy Davis Jr. providing one of the many cameos on this campy production.

8. Obeyed a laryngologist: SAID AH - Anyone else have a "gag reflex" issue?

14. Ones on the left: LIBERALS  - The 1789 French Assembly seated the conservatives who supported the King on the President's right and the liberals that opposed the monarch on his left

16. In a showy way: ARTILY - Any port in a literary storm

17. Aptly named barbell brand: IRON GRIP.

18. Furniture wood named for its color: RED ELM 19. "Hah!": TOLD YA red elm makes beautiful furniture 

20. Activewear shoe brand: AVIA.

22. Fig. targeted in some hacks: SSN - Mine starts with 50- like many around me. How 'bout yours?

23. Humble abodes: HUTS - Ginger or Mary Ann?

24. Knight clubs: MACES - Or perhaps one for a damsel 

26. "Oye Como Va" songwriter Puente: TITO  - "Hey? Hows it goin'" Santana's version

27. Superman and Supergirl: ET'S - Both hailed from Krypton

28. Crony of Captain Bildad, in "Moby-Dick": PELEG - These two owners of the Pequod are featured on cards in this game 

29. Jaguar spot?: CAR AD - Car name chicanery again. The number syllables in this car name depends on which side of the Atlantic you reside

30. 2014 title role for Mia Wasikowska: MADAME BOVARY - Flaubert's 1857 novel was immediately banned on sexual grounds 

32. Works that are up and down?: TRAGICOMEDIES - My nomination in this portmanteau category

34. Where some get sloshed at sea?: BOOZE CRUISES - I'd like to cruise but not on one of these 

35. Onetime members of the Winnebago Nation: OTOES - Nebraska has a city named Winnebago and a county named OTOE

36. Put to rest: INTER - Brando's turn as Marc Antony in his speech with the most famous use of the word INTERRED 

37. Put up: BET - I'd have to give 5pts if I BET on the Huskers today against Colorado

40. Pickup line?: RAMS  - Dodge pickups are now called RAM. Ryan went to the vehicle name well twice.

41. River critter: OTTER.

42. Pair of British puzzles?: ZEDS - Z is ZED in Britain and puzzles does indeed have two of them

43. Minolta Maxxum, e.g.: SLR - A ground breaking Single Lens Reflex Camera introduced in 1985

44. "Dragonwyck" novelist Seton: ANYA  - First published in 1944

45. Film with Manny the Mammoth: ICE AGE.

47. Escape __: CLAUSE - If our marriage license had one, Joann could/should have exercised it years ago

49. "Yeah, right": I DOUBT IT

51. Offers?: HIT MEN - They will "off" someone for a price 

52. They're free of charge: NEUTRONS - Ryan threw us science guys a bone

53. Disc golf starting point: TEE PAD - From the TEE PAD, through the woods, off a tree, off the ground and up into the "hole" (metal basket). Wow!

54. WikiLeaks editor: ASSANGE - A hero or villain ,depending on your point of view, who has asylum in Ecuador for now


Down:

1. Buoyant: BLITHE - In Noel Coward's BLITHE Spirit a medium conjures up long-dead Elvira by accident and her light heartedness is a big part of the play. I think you can surmise which character below plays Elvira who who can only be seen by former husband Charles in the middle back

a

2. Ventilate: AIR OUT  - Do politicians have to AIR OUT their clothing and their consciences after making decisions in a smoke-filled room

3. Hardware with crosspieces: T-BOLTS.

4. Rips: RENDS - _ E _ _ S gave me TEARS first. You?

5. Frenzied revelry: ORGY - Google at will

6. Accident scene arrival: PARAMEDIC- Our hometown PARAMEDICS saved my good friend's life

7. Drug company founder Lilly: ELI - He was a Civil War colonel who founded a pharmacy company that pioneered gelatin capsules and fruit flavoring

8. One-piece garments: SARIS - कैसे साड़ी है in Hindi

9. Bailiwick: AREA - From Middle English Bailiff meaning sheriff and wik meaning dwelling place. Today means "sphere of superior knowledge"

10. "__ better be good!": IT'D 

11. Second section of Verdi's "Requiem": DIES IRAE - (Day of Wrath) - Our multi-voweled crossword buddy 

12. League's best: ALL-STARS.

13. Sacred song collection: HYMNODY and 25. Eagerness: ALACRITY into each life a little learning must fall 

15. Tomorrowland attraction: SPACE MOUNTAIN - SPACE MOUNTAIN is lower and slower than most all other coasters but its dips and turns are COMPLETELY in the dark which makes it terrifying (shown here at the start)

21. Australian food spread: VEGEMITE  - Vegemite is a thick, black Australian food spread made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives. Yum?

26. Smiley formerly of PBS: TAVIS - He is currently caught up in the "He, she said" swirl of the #METOO movement

28. House helpers: PAGES - Here are the House PAGES in the state capitol in Olympia, WA

29. One with app-titude?: CODER - Here is some AppCODE for the OSX platform

30. Confusing tourist attractions: MAZES - Cornfield MAZES are popular this time of year here on the Great Plains

31. "Don't kid around!": BE SERIOUS - or "You can't  BE SERIOUS" (:13)

33. Hotel door posting: ROOM RATE has to be posted but are always a 32. Real whopper: TOTAL LIE 

34. Soup often served with sour cream: BORSCHT. Борщ часто подается со сметаной (Borscht is often served with sour cream)

37. Pummel: BEAT ON - Most big time FB schools BEAT ON an inferior opponent to begin the season

38. Bed border: EDGING  - We use landscape bricks in our yard

39. Sub-Saharan menace: TSE TSE  - This mosquito is the most dangerous animal in Africa

41. Without stopping: ON END - Principals can talk ON END to staff who want to go do something useful

42. Eyeball-bending critter: ZEBRA.

44. Between ports: ASEA.

46. Stops shooting: CUTS  - "Frankly Scarlett, I don't give a damn!" CUT!

48. Masked worker, perhaps: UMP  - A foul ball caroms off one masked worker to another

50. Org. featured in TV's "Weeds": DEA.

I would invite the very literate members of our cadre to comment at will about Ryan's puzzle.

DA GRID

Friday, September 7, 2018, David Alfred Bywaters

Title: An empty theme (MT)

Another of our frequent Friday flyers is back with an effort that is all tongue-in-cheek and pretty damn funny. DAB uses a familiar letter replacement theme but focuses on devising very witty clues for the fill that emerged when the letter "M" is replaced with the letter "T." The highlight being the self-deprecatory reveal - Lame justification for the letter substitution in four puzzle answers?: EMPTY EXCUSE. (MT excuse). With the focus on the humor and 55 spaces in the theme, we have only a couple of longer fill  COLLAPSED,  ONIONSKIN. There is still difficulty lurking so let us go look it over.

17A. Skin tone achieved via pure will?: SELFMADE TAN (11). It would be easy to make this into a political comment, but this is just a self-made man.

24A. Ballet performance on skis?: SLAT DANCE (9). This is the most tortured fill, and slam dance the least common initial phrase, but it works.

37A. TV show destined for early cancellation?: BROADCAST TEDIUM (15). There are a number of tedious tv shows, aired in that broadcast medium. 

51A. Horse chatter?: STALL TALK (9). By far my favorite fill. The mental picture of the horses gossiping in the stalls is priceless. Of course, since horses and not tiny, it could never be small talk. 

62A. Lame justification for the letter substitution in four puzzle answers?: EMPTY EXCUSE (11).

On to the rest...

Across:

1. "__ Told Me (Not to Come)": 1970 #1 hit: MAMA. Once again, 1 Across was not a gimme, but I am terrible at song titles.  I do recognize this Randy Newman song as sung by Three Dog Night.

5. Folly: IDIOCY.

11. "Caught you!": OHO. Is this one word or two?

14. River to the Caspian: URAL. Regarded as a divider between Europe and Asia.

15. Spacecraft section: MODULE. This seems very timely coming so soon after our recent visit to Kennedy Space Center.










16. Apprehend: NAB.

19. "__ had enough!": I'VE. Well not yet anyway.

20. Its contents need attention: IN TRAY. It actually took me a moment to understand this fill as my mind thinks of INBOX and OUTBOX, which was never a box or a tray.

21. Mont Blanc, e.g.: ALP. Also a damn fine and expensive pen.

22. Romances: WOOS. I am afraid the word and the techniques are all out of date.

23. Storied engineer Jones: CASEY. An American FOLK HERO.

26. Extinct bird: DODO. A CSO to our own dearly departed one.

28. Forest: WOODS. Can you tell the forest from the trees?

29. List-ending abbr.: ETC.

32. __ sort: OF A. Is this a partial C.C.?

34. Tea variety: PEKOE. So not true, it is a TEA GRADING term.

42. Protuberance: BULGE. A famous battle, and a battle we all face with age.

43. "Glee" cheerleading coach: SUE. I never saw the show but I know the CHARACTER was played by the great Jane Lynch.

44. Small point: NIT. A very common word here.

45. Purple shade: LILAC. We had them growing in our yard as I grew up.

48. Copious quantities: SEAS. This is one of those Friday clue/fill combinations that slow us all down.

54. Kitchen light: PILOT. Especially if have a gas stove.

58. UPS Store supply: TAPE. Another clue/fill that is tough.

59. Mined find: ORE. Or these days bitcoin.

60. Road construction sight: DETOUR.

61. Six-pack components: ABS. The irony of six-packs keeping you from having six-packs.

64. Beluga yield: ROE. Our friend caviar.

65. Serious attacks: SIEGES. So many possibilities.

66. Bone: Pref.: OSTE.

67. Nursery layer: SOD. Not the one laying, but the top layer.

68. Marine group that's well-armed?: OCTOPI. An original very witty clue.

69. Disorder: MESS. Another dis- word.

Down:

1. Clara Schumann works, e.g.: MUSIC. A celebrated pianist and prolific composer. LINK.

2. Large performance venue: ARENA. Most piano concerts are not at arenas.

3. Fountain creations: MALTS.  To a blender, add two large scoops of vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, malted milk powder, and milk. Blend until creamy. Serve in a tall glass, garnished with crushed malted milk balls and whipped cream.

4. "Great" ninth-century English monarch: ALFRED. The ultimate in self-referential Shout Out. I love it! Of course, the fact that this KING was such an outstanding figure must be a source of name pride for David.

5. "Perhaps": I MAY. And I may not.

6. Pentagon org.: DOD. Department of Defense.

7. Perfect: IDEAL.

8. Criminal: OUTLAW.

9. Keep time with manually: CLAP TO. A thought out clue as manually means using your hands.

10. Urge: YEN.

11. Paper named for a vegetable: ONIONSKIN. We used to type certain documents on Onionskin which is a thin, light-weight, strong, often translucent paper. Though not made from onions, it superficially resembles their thin, papery skins. wiki.

12. Chaos: HAVOC. I had some trouble putting this together, but the perps brought it home.

13. More than rotund: OBESE.

18. BLT basic: MAYO. A common add-on.

22. Cooled one's heels?: WADED. This is quite clever as the common answer is: WAITED, which you know is wrong because of the next clue.

24. Waiting room piece: SOFA.

25. Figure (out): DOPE. An odd phrase which may come from 'dope' meaning the inside scoop.

27. Medico: DOC. And the related 36D. Health care worker, briefly: EMT. Emergency Medical Technician.

29. Wane: EBB.

30. Commercial prefix suggestive of accuracy: TRU. We take off one letter to make a prefix, or avoid a lawsuit?

31. Broke down: COLLAPSED.

33. Balaam's mount: ASS. A prophet who appears in the Torah as well as the Christian Bible and the Qur'an. Pretty much impossible to discuss.

35. Paris agreement: OUI. Not one of the many treaties signed there, but the French word for yes.

38. Deft: AGILE.

39. Farmer's habitat?: DELL.
The farmer in the dell
The farmer in the dell
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The farmer in the dell

40. Elephant tooth: TUSK.

41. Souvenir from a concert: TEE. Tee-shirt sales were a big part of the income for touring bands back in the day.

46. __ power: ATOMIC.

47. One may be magic: CARPET. Not only in the stories of Thousand and One Nights, but stories recounted concerning King Solomon who built the temple in Jerusalem.

49. Peak: APEX. Or acme, you need to wait.

50. "2 Broke Girls," for one: SITCOM. So many to choose from, why this one, which often seems sleazy?

51. Garbo and Gable, e.g.: STARS. The old-fashioned Hollywood ones.

52. Like certain subjects in certain company: TABOO. Defined as a social or religious custom prohibiting or forbidding discussion of a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or thing.

53. Free: LET GO.

55. Cad: LOUSE. You would hope that the girl

56. Boots: OUSTS. him from her life.

57. Sources of shade: TREES. Or these days, people. The expressions "throw shade, "throwing shade", or simply "shade", are slang terms used to describe insults. Merriam-Webster defines "shade" as "subtle, sneering expression of contempt for or disgust with someone—sometimes verbal, and sometimes not".

60. He played Ricky in early TV: DESI.

62. Spanish pronoun: ESO. My granddaughter is in a kindergarten that is taught in both English and Spanish.

63. "Sure 'nuff": YEP.

And, sure 'nuff another puzzle is dissected and discussed and now the stage belongs to each of you who read and chose to comment. Thank you, David, and until next time, Lemonade out.