Sunday March 15, 2020 Pam Amick Klawitter

Theme: "No Rhyme, No Reason" - The two words in each theme entry have similar spellings but different pronunciations.
  
23. Costuming choice for a "Cats" performance?: LEOPARD LEOTARD.

37. Proctor's nightmare?: GREAT CHEAT.

41. Tree surgeon's challenge?: TOUGH BOUGH.

51. One skilled at squandering?: MASTER WASTER.

70. Sweeping thoroughfare?: BROAD ROAD.

84. Expert on current energy options?: SOLAR SCHOLAR.

95. Dud of a car that Stephen King might write about?: DEMON LEMON.

100. Chophouse bandit?: STEAK SNEAK.

118. Lazy son, vis-à-vis his lazy dad?: YOUNGER LOUNGER.

Are these called eye rhymes?

I feel English pronunciations are mostly rational, but the above are great examples of the exceptions. And of course, the classic set of Bough, Cough, Through & Dough.
 
Across:

1. Just one of the fam: SIS.

4. Quayle successor: GORE. Not much climate talk lately.

8. Part of PBR: PABST.

13. Brazilian dances: SAMBAS. Rio Carnival goes on.

19. 1881 face-off spot: OK CORRAL.

21. "... only God can make __": Kilmer: A TREE.

22. How some bills are paid: IN CASH.

25. Move to protect a king: CASTLE. Oh, chess move.

26. Put away: EATEN. Look at the empty shelves at the toilet paper section at our local grocery store. Just can't find sushi rice in any of the stores.

27. Mag. edition: ISS.

28. "Hulk" director Lee: ANG.

29. Retired flier, briefly: SST.

30. Fair-hiring abbr.: EOE.

31. Narrow inlets: RIAS.

33. Crowded subway metaphor: SARDINE.

36. Prince in "Frozen": HANS.

44. Just right: TO A TEE.

45. Yucatán's yesterday: AYER. Opposite "Manana"'.

47. Reeves of "Point Break": KEANU.

48. Self-descriptive adjective: OLDE.

49. Prof's assistants: TAS.

57. "Mamma Mia!" song: SOS.

58. See 87-Down: BELT. 87. With 58-Across, area with severely declining industry: RUST.

59. Midori in a rink: ITO.

60. Brother of Macaulay and Rory: KIERAN. I only know Macaulay.

61. Like each succeeding eye chart line: TINIER.

63. Butterflies: NERVES.

66. Broad bean: FAVA.

67. Fathered, biblically: BEGAT.

72. Mont Blanc's range, to its west: ALPES.

73. News source, perhaps: LEAK.

74. Pool slip-up: MISCUE.

75. Author of kids' Busytown books: SCARRY (Richard). Not a familiar name to me.

77. Showing faith in: TRUE TO.

79. Bit of animation: CEL.

80. "We're gonna be late!": C'MON.

81. Utter: SAY.

88. Classic ending?: IST. Classicist. 109. Piece of TNT?: TRI. Trinitrotoluene. 127. Self starter?: ESS.

89. "Mi __ es tu __": CASA.

90. Wide receiver Don who played in five Super Bowls: BEEBE.

91. Shanghai money: YUAN. All have Mao's face.

93. Part of a Norwegian-sounding ice cream name: HAAGEN. I visited Haagen-Dazs Shanghai ages ago.

102. All over: ANEW.

103. Lasagna layer: RICOTTA.

105. More than half: MOST.

106. H.S. dropout's goal: GED.

107. Small shot: BBS.

110. First lady Hoover: LOU.

112. Garlicky spread: AIOLI.

116. "Aladdin" backdrop: ARABIA.

121. They bite: MOLARS.

122. Sleep disorder: APNEA.

123. Fib: TELL A LIE.

124. Prominent Syrian family: ASSADS.

125. Bette's "Divine" nickname: MISS M.

126. Editor's backpedaling: STET.

Down:

1. What's underfoot?: SOLE.

2. DIY furniture brand: IKEA. Has any of you tried their cod roe?

3. Robbie Coltrane, e.g.: SCOT.

4. Curling stone: GRANITE.

5. Hockey great: ORR.

6. Salad slice: RADISH. I love daikon.

7. Some annexes: ELLS.

8. Kung __ chicken: PAO.

9. Rose oil: ATTAR.

10. 1971 Peace Prize awardee: BRANDT (Willy). Unknown to me. He looks friendly.

11. Golfer Garcia: SERGIO. His daughter is named Azalea.

12. Talks acronym: TED. Ted talks.

13. Unleashes (on): SICS.

14. Med school subj.: ANAT.

15. Mic wielders: MCS.

16. Flat-bottomed boat: BATEAU. Here is the pic from Wiki.

17. Comparable in distance: AS LONG.

18. "Blimey!" cousin: SHEESH.

20. Run or work: OPERATE.

24. English homework: ESSAY.

29. Rocker Bob: SEGER.

32. Blackjack holding: ACE TEN.

34. "Up and __!": AT 'EM.

35. Zap in the kitchen: NUKE.

36. Indoor buzzer?: HOUSEFLY.

37. Sporty muscle cars: GTOS.

38. Milk Dud rival: ROLO.

39. "CSI" actor George: EADS.

40. Egg-hunt holidays: EASTERS.

42. Sells aggressively: HAWKS. So glad Amazon deleted many accounts of of those price gougers.

43. __ B'rith: BNAI.

46. Deluge result, perhaps: RAIN DELAY.

50. The best one is airtight: ALIBI.

52. Ending for hip: STER.

53. Bilbao bulls: TOROS.

54. Con game, say: TRAP.

55. Roof edge: EAVE.

56. Genetic strands: RNAS. Odd pluralized.

58. Trace: BIT.

61. "Brava!": TAKE A BOW.

62. Cookbook author DiSpirito: ROCCO. What's his signature dish?

64. Protective shot: VACCINE.

65. Dutch wheels: EDAMS.

67. Diner menu staples: BLTS.

68. MIT Chapel designer Saarinen: EERO.

69. Caesar's France: GAUL.

71. Writer of really old stories?: AUEL. Read more here.

72. Valiant's son: ARN.

74. German wine region: MOSEL. Must be gimme for Marti.

76. Abstract expressionist Mark: ROTHKO.

78. Chihuahua choo-choo: TREN. And 96. Juarez winter months: ENEROS. 89. Bar in Baja: CANTINA.

81. Stuffing stuff: SAGE.

82. Well offshore: ASEA.

83. Reb's rival: YANK.

85. Transmitting truckers: CBERS. Thought or Argyle.

86. Sphere opener: HEMI.

92. Dickens title starter: A TALE.

94. Verbal attack: ASSAULT.

95. First European to sail to India: DA GAMA.

97. Gold and silver: MEDALS.

98. Well-armed swimmers?: OCTOPI. Cute clue.

99. Shutout feature: NO RUNS.

101. Good luck charm: AMULET. My friend Roberto used to wear an evil eye.

104. Fork "fingers": TINES.

107. Frequent flier: BIRD.

108. Singer Lance, or the part he sang with *NSYNC: BASS.

111. Leftover scraps: ORTS.

113. Check out creepily: OGLE.

114. Island chains: LEIS.

115. Ticks off: IRES.

117. Barnyard bleat: BAA.

118. Thanksgiving tuber: YAM.

119. Whale group: GAM.

120. World Cup cry: OLE.

C.C.

Saturday, March 14, 2020, Debbie Ellerin

Themeless Saturday by Debbie Ellerin


This is my fifth Saturday with a Debbie Ellerin puzzle. Debbie was nice enough to answer my email that I sent to her via an address she had completely forgotten. I reminded her that in her previous Saturday puzzle she used HEN COOP as fill and that that phrase had generated some discussion in this forum (Chicken Coop and Hen House? Ok, but...). Debbie said she was going to revisit that clue/fill and read the comments. She's a great sport! 

Debbie is a retired computer programmer who has made stops at The University of Michigan, Boston for 30 years and, after tiring of winter weather, now lives in Los Angeles. She wrote to me that she likes constructing themeless puzzles and of this one she wrote: I wrote this puzzle back in April of 2019 so my memory is a bit hazy on how it came to be. Pretty sure that JACUZZI was my seed entry because of the collection of interesting letters. I then got the center area to work and from there worked on each corner.  I like the entries BIGASK, ZENSTATE, and ROBOCALL (although not receiving them!)

Let's see what the former Michigan Wolverine has for us today:

Across:

1. Hardly a routine favor: BIG ASK - Are you more likely to make a BIG ASK or receive a BIG ASK

7. Rubs out: BUMPS OFF - Think mobster not marker board

15. Project that led to the first moonwalk: APOLLO - If you need a presentation about this, email me!

16. "And how!": IS IT EVER 

17. Rounds of shots: SALVOS - A painting of one battleship firing SALVOS onto Iwo Jima before the 1945 invasion

18. Meditation goal: ZEN STATE - In the words Paul McCartney, Let It Be

19. Money in music: EDDIE - Here 'ya go

20. "__: a Dog": 1962 film based on a 1919 novel: LAD - Wanna read it online for free?

21. Fruit with a Medjool variety: DATES - This company sells Jumbo Medjool DATES but also have Halawi, Khadrawy and Thoory varieties.

22. Fathers and sons: MEN and 26. Fathers and sons, say: KIN.

23. Portable Asian dwellings: YURTS - Jane Fonda helped finance the building of YURTS near Canon Ball, North Dakota where the Standing Rock Sioux are protesting an oil pipeline

25. "Live at Red Rocks" musician John: TESH - A sample

27. Tiny resistance unit: MICROHM - A portmanteau for MICRO-OHM (a millionth of an OHM)

29. Petrol measure: ONE LITRE - These fuel prices in Euros/LITRE can be changed to dollars/gallon by multiplying them by 4.56

31. Start of a Seuss classic: I AM SAM.

36. Galleria degli Uffizi city: FIRENZE - We visited that museum in Florence, Italy. Besides FIRENZE we also went to Roma, Venezia and Napoli and others 

37. Range in which 7 is neutral: PH SCALE - Didn't we all have this in H.S. Chem? If not...

38. "Swords into plowshares" prophet: ISAIAH - 27 versions of this passage

39. Had difficulty: HIT A SNAG - What the 2020 run for the presidential candidacy did for most of the original Democrats 

40. Maker of many jets: JACUZZI - This looks very pleasant.

42. Fields of cookies: MRS.

43. __ entry: DATA.

47. Plant that has become invasive in much of the Eastern U.S.: KUDZU - When we took a tour of the south, the guides pointed out the KUDZU invasion 

48. One acting badly: HAM.

49. "Swan Lake" maiden: ODILE - Ballet's bad girl. Hmmm... I wonder which one she is in this picture?

51. Vitamin bottle abbr.: RDA.

52. Marathoners' sources of energy: CARBS.

54. Telemarketing tactic: ROBO CALL - My lovely bride has given to some charities online and now... "No good deed goes unpunished"

56. "Scream" scream: SHRIEK.


57. Rule that keeps you from spelling weirdly?: I BEFORE E - Hmmm...Read the print on this mug

58. With great intensity: KEENLY.

59. Colonists: SETTLERS.

60. Dr. Scholl's product: INSOLE - Took care of my plantar fasciitis 


Down:

1. Stalwart political group: BASE- Pols can't win without theirs.

2. Apples since 2012: IPAD MINIS - Now it supports the Apple Pencil

3. The best of times: GOLDEN ERA - Health-wise for me it was when I was young. Intellectually it is now (hard as that is to believe) 

4. Harmonica-playing chipmunk: ALVIN - David Seville got the Chipmunk voices by recording at half-speed and then playing back at normal speed. He did this first when he sang OO-EE-OO-AH-AH for his song Witch Doctor

5. Gin flavoring: SLOE.

6. Ring decisions: KO'S.

7. Off-the-wall: BIZARRE - Cross Eyed Dave's, uh, unique links!

8. No longer fazed by: USED TO 

9. Time meas.: MIN.

10. VA concern: PTSD.

11. Mount an attack on: SET AT.

12. Kiwi-shaped: OVATE - Some tomatoes as well

13. Bashes: FETES - Big parties not big strikes 

14. Just baked, say: FRESH.

20. Riches: LUCRE - Biblical use

23. 1994 co-Nobelist with Yasser and Shimon: YITZHAK.

Yasser Arafat          Shimon Peres      YITZHAK Rabin

24. Fluffy toy: SHIH TZU - Toy dogs don't fool me anymore (much)

26. Ex-U.N. chief Annan: KOFI.

27. "Anaconda" rapper Nicki: MINAJ - If you think female rappers can't also have filthy lyrics, Google her

28. Kenyan tribe: MASAI - Cody Willnerd from the University of Nebraska (note the N on the hat) interviewing members of the MASAI tribe in front of one of their homes (boma)

30. Worn welcome symbol: LEI.

32. Game show VIPs: MC'S - We here are all thinking of Alex Trebek 

33. Enclave in Italy: SAN MARINO - It takes over 4 hours to drive between Italy's two sovereign countries within its borders

34. Warning signal: ALARM BELL 

35. High-tech capacity units: MEGS.

37. Pie sometimes topped with pineapple: PIZZA - An acquired taste?

39. Gatherings before snaps: HUDDLES - Players now wear wristbands like this to make calling plays in the HUDDLE easier

41. Salon device: CURLER.

43. Day of films: DORIS - America's sweetheart at 20 and 90

44. Brick of the Southwest: ADOBE.

45. High land: TIBET - The route from Lhasa, TIBET to Everest Base Camp 

46. Up in the air: ALOFT.

48. Long-eared critters: HARES.

50. Biol. branch: ECOL.

52. "Big Brother" host Julie __ Moonves: CHEN - The wife of former CBS president Les Moonves and host of a show that holds no interest for me

53. Terrier breed from Scotland: SKYE.

55. "What __ the odds?!": ARE.

56. Go downhill fast: SKI - The record is 158 mph!

Now, how about some comments for Debbie:

Friday, March 13, 2020 Winston Emmons

"PR Blitz"

Winston puts a PR spin on some common phrases in this fairly easy Friday solve.



17. "It's been a while since I shopped till I dropped"?: LONG TIME NO SPREE.   
LONG TIME NO SEE.

27. Pastoral exhortation to a graffiti artist?: SPRAY THE WORD.
SAY THE WORD.

48. Bargain hunter's forte?: PRICE FISHING.
ICE FISHING.

62. Trojan king struck dumb?: PRIAM SPEECHLESS.
I AM SPEECHLESS.

69. Ad guy responsible for four long puzzle answers?: PR MAN.


What's the difference between a rat and a squirrel ?

PR.

Despite being a fairly easy Friday solve,  miscues were made along the way.   Gotta get out of the habit of just throwing in the first crosswordese answer that pops into my head.
Sometimes it works:
- 4 letters to fill with a Norse clue would be either ODIN, Loki, or Thor.  ODIN popped in first.
And sometimes it doesn't:
- 5 letters to fill "Present to an audience" was not orate.  STAGE better fits the clue.

Fortunately, none of the initial errors created an insurmountable logjam.

Across:

1. 2019 Pan American Games city: LIMA.  "Best Pan American Games ever" and  A New World Record in Archery

5. Present to an audience: STAGE.   Orate flew off the fingertips.   After a few seconds, the backspace key erased the letters.

10. Nat's hat: CAP.   MLB's Washington Nationals / baseball cap.

13. Norse deity: ODIN.

14. Syndicated show, say: RERUN.  21 Interesting Facts About Television Syndication

15. Smooth-talking: OILY.  Threw in glib. 

20. Revise: ALTER.   Not amend today...

21. Bud: PAL. 

22. Annually: A YEAR.   Once a year is enough. 

23. __ Cruces: LAS.    Zoom in, zoom out.


25. Convent figure: ABBESS.

32. Belgian __: ALE.    Chimay Grande Reserve is worth every penny. 

33. Special ops acronym: SEAL.  SEa, Air, and Land. 

34. Some bank jobs: HEISTs.   I associate this word with the original "The Italian Job" starring Michael Caine.   Actually, both heist and caper.

38. Lack: WANT.   Here you go, Wilbur Charles !

For Want of a Nail

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

40. Set down: PLACE.

42. Bender: TOOT.   Didn't know of toot as a synonym of bender (drinking spree), but know of a  bender as a tool.   Here's one for bending EMT thin wall.   The Building (electrical) Code requires metal conduit here in Cook and DuPage counties.

Double checked to make sure that second T was correct. 

43. Meddles: SNOOPs.

45. Pack (down): TAMP.

47. Mauna __: LOA.  Tried Kea.

51. Moby-Dick, e.g.: ALBINO.

53. Vote in favor: AYE.  Had the right letters in the wrong order with yea.

54. Many Oscar night attendees: STARs.

55. Sun, for one: ORB.

58. Social division: CASTE.

65. Sources of cones: FIRs.    Plants that bear cones are conifers.  Conifers doesn't fit.   Firs and yews fit.   Firs matched the crosses.

66. Dabbling ducks: TEALs.

67. Cable car: TRAM.

68. Fabled beast: ASS.

70. Roll call call: HERE.

Down:

1. Kinks title woman with "a dark brown voice": LOLA.   Jinx linked Lola just a few days ago, so here's another Kinks hit:


Dave Davies slit the amplifier speaker to produce the distinctive sound.

2. Word after fallen or false: IDOL.

3. Like new: MINT.  Often used in coin grading.

4. Actress Kinsey of "The Office": ANGELA.   She played Angela Martin.  Recognized  the character after looking up the actor's name for the review. 

5. Asian honorific: SRI.  Shri, Shree, Sri, or Sree, is an Indian word denoting wealth and prosperity, primarily used as a honorific.

6. Census worker, for one: TEMP. 

7. Location: AREA.  Not site.

8. Legislation that varies from state to state: GUN LAW.

9. Eclectic musician Brian: ENO.

10. Prepare for print: COPYEDIT.   "I say copyedit, you say copy edit"

11. Buenos __: AIRES.

12. Earnest requests: PLEAs.

16. "__ Blues": Beatles "White Album" song: YER.   My least favorite of the White Album tracks.

18. Cafeteria stack: TRAYs.

19. Buffalo skater: SABRE.   Canadian Eh should be happy with the British English spelling.

24. Intervenes: STEPS IN.

26. Prague's region: BOHEMIA.

27. Maxims: SAWs.

28. It often undergoes changes: PLAN.

29. First female attorney general: RENO.  Janet Reno at Biography.com

30. Burt's musical collaborator: HAL.   Bacharach and David.   You know their songs.   Here's someone's Top Ten Ranking.   As expected, Dionne Warwick figures prominently in the hit songs.

31. Send: ELATE.   Some readers may be old enough to remember this song:



35. Arias, usually: SOLI.

36. Animation product: TOON.

37. Unattached: STAG.   Not solo.

39. Joint Chiefs, for example: TOP BRASS.   Pentagon bigwigs.

41. Joltin' joe?: CAF.   I've never heard of just "caf", but have heard of half-caf.    Accepted it since it fit. Later googled.    Not sure that this is what the clue is referencing, but there's a veteran owned company named Black Rifle Coffee that has a brand name,  CAF,  that "...delivers twice the caffeine punch of an average coffee with a rich smoky flavor.   Made for the professional coffee drinker..."    Twice the caffeine ?   Yes, I'd say that's a cup of joltin' joe !  They're getting a little unanticipated PR here. 

Perhaps CAF is commonly used when ordering at Central Perk or Café Nervosa or Starbucks or Peet's ?   I know for sure that I've been in a coffee shop on two occasions, but there may have been a third time. 

44. Refracting polyhedron: PRISM. 

46. Intimidate mentally, with "out": PSYCH.

49. "The Last of the Mohicans" author: COOPER.    Cooper crafted a unique form of literature writing historical romances about frontier and Indian life.

50. Toast word: HEALTH.

51. Heart chambers: ATRIA.

52. Hideouts: LAIRs.

54. Banana Boat letters: SPF.   Sun Protection Factor.

56. Copy room unit: REAM.

57. One sometimes seen with Boris: BELA.   Karloff and Lugosi. 

59. Withered: SERE.

60. Romanov title: TSAR.  

61. Salinger character who says, "I prefer stories about squalor": ESME.

63. "The Racer's Edge": STP.   Scientifically Treated Petroleum.

64. Gp. that sometimes has an added "Y":  CSN.  Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) are an occasional folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills, and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash.   They are titled Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (CSNY) when joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member.  

An example without:


An example with:





Check your grid here:

Thursday March 12th 2020 Michael Paleos

Theme Happy Days - if you remember the date. Unhappy days if you forget!

17A. First anniversary gift for a zookeeper?: PAPER TIGER. 

38A. 10th anniversary gift for a musician?: TIN HORN. There's a bar near me called the Tinhorn Flats in Burbank, used often for location shoots for commercials. It's got those great saloon doors that swing back when you push through them.

57A. 50th anniversary gift for a fast-food worker?: GOLD NUGGET

11D. 15th anniversary gift for a golfer?: CRYSTAL BALL

25D. 25th anniversary gift for a chef?: SILVER SPOON

Cool theme from Michael today. Plus, if you thought that you'd never seen GOLD NUGGET in a crossword before, you very likely haven't. None of the major puzzles have used it before. Yay! Something new!

Let's go roaming through the gloaming and see what we turn up:

Across:

1. Soft end of the Mohs scale: TALC. Diamond is at the other end.

5. Old Toyota models: ECHOS

10. Order to go: SCAT. Get outta here! Fun clue.

14. Squiggly lines in the funnies, maybe: ODOR

15. Hot day refuge: SHADE

16. "Him __?": love triangle ultimatum:  OR ME

19. Like eyes "you can't hide," in an Eagles song: LYIN'

20. Ring loudly: PEAL. I've been in a bell-tower while the bells were being rung, and they're quite muffled. It's outside that you get full volume. I'm sure that you know a true cockney has to be born within the sound of Bow Bells - the bells of St. Mary-le-Bow on Cheapside in the City of London. A full peal of eight bells must have at least 5,000 changes, that's a lot of bell-ringing.

21. It can spice things up: TABASCO. Avery Island, where the sauce is produced, it very pretty. I was making a dish at the weekend which called for Louisiana Hot Sauce. I've got about 20 types of hot sauce, but did I have Louisiana? Then the penny dropped - Doh! Tabasco!

23. Prescription specs: DOSES. Another fun clue - "specs" as in specifications.

26. 2000 Gere title role: DR. T.

28. Gere, for one: ACTOR. Shifting into second "Gere".

29. Super Mario Galaxy consoles: WIIS. I did a little digging on this one, and a lot of the "gaming community" say the the plural is Wii, just like fish or sheep.

30. Japanese ice cream flavor: GREEN TEA. Tea grown in the shade has the best flavor, such as matcha or gyokuro.

32. "It's __ good": ALL

33. Livid: IRED

34. Lots and lots: OODLES

37. Race in place: REV

40. Wire-concealing garment, perhaps: BRA. Professional male soccer players in the major leagues now wear what looks like a sports bra - it "conceals" a tracking device so that sports scientists can analyze the movement, speed and distance traveled on the pitch during a game.

41. Least encumbered: FREEST

43. Musical work: OPUS

44. "A lie that makes us realize truth," per Picasso: ART. Pablo had a bit of a mean streak. This is another of his: "I'm a joker who understands his epoch and has extracted all he possibly could from the stupidity, greed and vanity of his contemporaries". Ouch!

45. Adds insult to injury: RUBS IT IN

47. Hair gel squirt: GLOB

48. Bow ties, e.g.: PASTA

50. The Spartans of the NCAA: M.S.U. Michigan State.Their mascot, a Spartan, is creatively named "Sparty". They really went out on a limb with that one.

51. "Well, I'll be!": GOLLY

52. Totally jazzed: AMPED UP

54. Like many 45 records: MONO.

56. Jordanian queen dowager: NOOR

62. Stop discussing: DROP

63. Hail: GREET

64. Passion: LOVE

65. __ pool: GENE

66. __ pool: STENO. Fun cluing today. A close-proximity clecho.

67. Biblical spot: EDEN

Down:

1. Cover: TOP

2. Nicole's "Cold Mountain" role: ADA. Thank you, crosses

3. Hack: LOP

4. Brunch choice: CRÊPES. Food! Strictly speaking, crêpes are sweet and galettes are savory (unless you come from a certain part of Brittany, but let's not get into that, it causes a lot of argument!).

5. "¿Cómo __?": ESTA

6. Kids: CHILDREN

7. "Macbeth" role: HAG

8. "Swan Lake" princess: ODETTE

9. Blood fluids: SERA

10. Comforted: SOLACED

12. Palermo pal: AMICO

13. Barbershop part: TENOR

18. In medias __: RES. A narrative device where you open a story in the middle of it, then go back and fill in the bits as you go. Shakespeare was fond of its usage, such as in Hamlet.

22. Relay sticks: BATONS

23. Middle-earth figure: DWARF. Might be small, but definitely not to be messed with.

24. Gulf ship: OILER

27. Fiery candies: RED HOTS

30. South side?: GRITS. Another cracking clue.

31. Like a shutout: NO-RUN

33. "I'm not gonna sugarcoat this": IT'S BAD

35. Screen legend Flynn: ERROL

36. Failed to act: SAT BY

39. Long-outlawed smoking establishment: OPIUM DEN

42. Greek Muse of music: EUTERPE. I didn't know this, but the crosses were solid.

46. Oil, for many: IMPORT. Via your 24D

47. Look-up aid: GOOGLE

48. Herbal Essences maker, for short: P. AND G. Proctor and Gamble. "I supervised the exam and then hit the casino. I proctored and gambled" Pa-da-ching! I'll be here all week.

49. 64-Across, at La Scala: AMORE

51. Serengeti herbivore: GNU

53. Fleece-lined footwear brand: UGGS. These things were all the rage not too long ago. They even convinced Tom Brady to wear a pair.

55. Not duped by: ONTO

58. Two-time Emmy-winning actress __ Grant: LEE

59. OMG part: GOD

60. 67-Across outcast: EVE. Quite a bit of cross-reference and clue play today.

61. Number of Canadian provinces: TEN. I tried to recall them, I missed British Columbia and Alberta, but invented Victoria, so I was roughly on the right track, and thought Newfoundland and Labrador were seperate. So I had ten, just not the right ten.

With that little geography challenge out of the way, here's the grid!

Steve