Sunday June 21, 2020 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: "Back to Basics" - CBA spans across each theme entry.

23. "Match Game" host: ALEC BALDWIN.

29. The mariachi's guitarrón is one: ACOUSTIC BASS.

45. Whole Foods fruit: ORGANIC BANANAS.

66. Pollution concerns: PLASTIC BAGS.

72. Stretchable loop: ELASTIC BAND.

92. Widespread adverse reaction, as to a new policy: PUBLIC BACKLASH.

108. Item in Manet's "Luncheon on the Grass": PICNIC BASKET. Rich's clue. Vivid visual. Wish I had thought of it.

118. Pungent deli choice: GARLIC BAGEL.

Reveal:

114. Basics appearing in reverse in eight puzzle answers: ABCS.

Hope this one achieved the Gail Grabowski effect. Simple theme that's never been done. She made many of my favorite LAT puzzles.

Been a long time since I made a LAT Sunday. Good to be back to basics.

Across:

1. "True Detective," e.g.: DRAMA.

6. Worshippers of the sun god Inti: INCAS. Do you use "worshiper" or "worshippers"?

11. Chinese smartphone brand: OPPO. Ah, Rich's clue also. I'm surprised that he knows the brand. Not as big as Huawei or Xiaomi, but very well-known in China.

15. Organization with an ElderWatch program: AARP.

19. Dollar, to Enterprise: RIVAL.

20. Snookums: DEARY.

21. Rice, for one: CROP.

22. "That explains it": I SEE.

25. Arenal Volcano home: COSTA RICA.

27. Crash site?: BED.

28. Blonde __: ALE.

31. Settled on a papasan, say: SAT. Here is a nice papasan chair.

33. Senegalese-American actress __ Rae: ISSA. Her father is from Senegal.

36. Idealistic sort: DREAMER.

37. Stick up: ROB.

39. Taste in kombu kelp: UMAMI. Japanese and Koreans all use kelp or bonito or sardine for their stock. Umami-rich.

42. Team to play in SoFi Stadium: LA RAMS. SoFi Stadium is supposed to open in July 2020.

51. Do figure eights: SKATE.

53. Sarge's boss: LOOIE.

54. Unthinking: HASTY.

55. Preliminary race: HEAT.

58. Hungarian town known for its baroque buildings: EGER.

59. Bank transaction: LOAN.

60. Code creator: MORSE.

61. Comes to an end: CEASES.

63. Actress Vardalos: NIA.

64. Polite words while entering: AFTER YOU.

68. Cause of goosebumps, maybe: FEAR.

69. Called from the flock: BAAED.

71. Chip dip, casually: GUAC. Looks tasty.

76. Parents not related by blood: STEPDADS.

80. Bygone space station: MIR.

81. Last bit: TAG END.

82. Wealthy heir: SCION.

84. Mötley __: CRUE.

85. Press (down): TAMP.

87. Paleo __: DIET. Sounds better than keto diet. Still, I can't imagine a diet without lots of carbs.

88. Classic Ford, familiarly: STANG.

89. Stuffs to the gills: SATES.

90. Move furtively: SNEAK.

95. Off the mark: ERRANT.

98. Major artery: AORTA.

99. Well resource: OIL.

100. Iris rings: AREOLAS. Wish I had a better fill this area.

103. Beyoncé, to the Beyhive: IDOL.

105. "That's a shame": SAD.

113. Hamm from Alabama: MIA.

115. Black widow's creation: WEB.

117. Savory pastry: ONION TART. Well-caramelized.

122. Indian flatbread: ROTI.

123. Thickener in Asian desserts: AGAR. Our Asian grocery store is already selling the Florida lychees.

124. Rub it in: GLOAT.

125. Beckoning elision: C'MERE.

126. "Watermark" musician: ENYA.

127. Parks in American history: ROSA.

128. Snow vehicles: SLEDS.

129. Moving measurement: SPEED.

Down:

1. Uninteresting: DRAB.

2. Ticks off: RILES.

3. Minnesota-based cosmetics company: AVEDA. Shortened from "Ayurveda".  Now owned by Estee Lauder. It's based in Blaine, MN. Not far from our home. The clue is Rich's also.

4. Big __: MAC.

5. The Honest Company co-founder Jessica: ALBA.

6. Lollygags: IDLES.

7. "Game of Thrones" patriarch Stark: NED.

8. Cornfield cry: CAW.

9. Diva's time to shine: ARIA.

10. Good thing for teammates to be in: SYNC.

11. Take place: OCCUR.

12. Everyday language: PROSE.

13. __ Service: POSTAL.

14. Kia sedan: OPTIMA.

15. Bus stopper: AIR BRAKE.

16. Iraq is about 1% of it: ASIA. Interesting trivia. Rich's clue also.

17. Suggestions, for short: RECS. Recommendations.

18. Samosa veggies: PEAS.

24. Excuse in court: ALIBI.

26. Taiwanese laptops: ACERS. Also our monitor. Great quality.

30. Father of Thor: ODIN.

32. Office newbies: TRAINEES.

34. Legacy creator: SUBARU.

35. Stockpile: AMASS.

38. Number of Scrabble X-tiles: ONE.

40. Initial fee: ANTE.

41. Star Wars Day month: MAY.

43. 805-year-old document: MAGNA CARTA.

44. "Shrek!" author William: STEIG.

45. Paella pot: OLLA.

46. Place for solar panels: ROOF.

47. Billy's caretaker: GOAT FARMER.

48. High-fashion shoemaker Jimmy: CHOO. His original name is Chow, but misspelled on his birth certificate as Choo. Jimmy Choo is Malaysian Chinese. Chow, Chou, Zhou are all the same Chinese character. So Zhou qin = Chou Chin (C.C.). 

49. Winning: AHEAD.

50. They're often choppy: SEAS.

52. Periods of note: ERAS.

56. Winter hrs. in Halifax: AST.

57. "Lip Sync Battle" commentator Chrissy: TEIGEN. Married to John Legend.

60. Numerous: MYRIAD.

61. A.L. Central team: CLE.

62. Fish commonly known as a porgy: SCUP.

65. Band named for a rodent: RATT. Rich added the "rodent" hint.

66. Launch site: PAD.

67. They might be game changers: BAD CALLS.

69. Language group including Zulu: BANTU.

70. Furthermore: AND.

72. Defib experts: EMTS.

73. "Big Little Lies" novelist Moriarty: LIANE. Here she is with Reese Witherspoon plays a main character in the TV series.

74. Sci-fi film FX: CGI.

75. Clown car noise: BEEP.

76. Mythical mariner: SINBAD.

77. Forum wrap: TOGA.

78. Cost of belonging: DUES.

79. Meeting, casually: SESH. Session.

82. Tend to the sauce: STIR.

83. Mojave natives: CACTI.

86. "Knowing all the facts": Woody Allen: PARANOIA. Also Rich's clue.

88. __-pitch: SLO.

89. Stick in the snow: SKI.

91. "Grant County" crime novelist Slaughter: KARIN. She also wrote "Pieces of Her".

93. Lie in the sun: BASK.

94. Baby's ailment: COLIC.

96. Hummingbird food: NECTAR.

97. Island near Trinidad: TOBAGO.

101. "__ Theme": "Doctor Zhivago" tune: LARA'S.  "Doctor Zhivago" is such a classic.

102. Stars, to Cicero: ASTRA.

104. Skips: OMITS.

106. "Shucks!": AW GEE.

107. Tractor giant: DEERE.

108. Study, with "over": PORE.

109. Privy to: IN ON.

110. __ limits: CITY.

111. Breakfast staple: EGGS. Not in our home. Boomer's breakfast is always cold cereal.  I've been on a red bean congee kick.

112. 12 ounces, at Starbucks: TALL.

116. Ran: BLED.

119. Blini topping: ROE.

120. Young chap: LAD.

121. Increase, with "up": AMP.

Best wishes for Abejo in your cancer treatments in the next few weeks. Boomer had some bad side effects, but his pain subsided considerably after the radiation.

Take good care of yourself, Agnes (the other April 5 baby on our blog), you were brave to get yourself into the house. 

C.C.

Saturday, June 20, 2020, Sid Sivakumar

Themeless Saturday by Sid Sivakumar

Happy Summer Solstice! Today's constructor is Sid Sivakumar. Here is Sid's gracious reply to my request for info about him and this puzzle:

Hi Gary, 

I'm excited to make my LAT debut with a themeless puzzle! I'm an MD/PhD student based in St. Louis, MO and I've been constructing crossword puzzles for a couple of years. This was one of the first themeless grids I ever successfully built, though it went through several revisions before submission. I initially constructed this in the midst of the 2018-19 NFL season, so I started in the center with a football-shaped collection of black squares [NOW I SEE IT! hg] and the football-related entry CALLED AN AUDIBLE. After filling the center (anchored by the fun stack of READS PALMS / GREEN ROOF / MAKE IT RAIN), I tackled the NW/SE corners, and finally the NE/SW corners. I'm happy with the stack of K-CUP POD / BE ASSURED / RELAY RACES, although STOPPED in the opposite corner isn't quite as sparkly. 

I can definitely say that my themeless constructing philosophy has changed since when I made this puzzle, as evidenced by the themeless puzzles I've since published for free on my indie blog, Sid's Grids. Nowadays, I try to maximize the number of long slots (8+ letters) in my themeless grids, and find juicy entries for each of them, while keeping the short fill clean. This LAT grid has only twelve long slots, and many 7-letter slots with neutral entries like IMPINGE and RESEALS — I don't think I would submit it today. But I hope there is enough color in the longer entries here to make for an entertaining solve. (I'm at least glad that the short fill is reasonably smooth.)

Hope solvers enjoy the puzzle! 

- Sid

Okay, let's explore this Sid Grid which I definitely found entertaining:

Across:

1. Stress marks: ACCENTS - These ACCENT marks show to place the stress on the penultimate syllable 

8. Result of melted crust: MAGMA.

13. Kind of cable: COAXIAL - Our city is trenching everywhere to replace the old copper COAXIAL cable

14. Little one on a slide: AMOEBA.

16. Make an impression (on): IMPINGE - Flooding definitely did IMPINGE on my golfing last summer

17. Nephrology focus: KIDNEYS - My nephrologist friend Dr. Lund has established his practice on the ground floor of an historical house here in town. He and his family live in the fully remodeled upstairs

19. "Mind your own business": DON'T JUDGE - Walk a mile in their shoes

21. "Immediately!": STAT.

22. Poppycock: PAP.

23. Split between personalities: RIFT - A ten-year RIFT developed between Don and Phil and then they had a reunion concert in England in 1983

26. First woman to land a triple axel in competition: ITO - Regular and slo-mo with Japanese commentary

27. Super Mario __: BROS 

29. Back in: RETRO - These are the same shoes I wore when Eisenhower was president except girls wear them now

30. Sponge (up): SOP.

31. Shipbuilder's starting point: KEEL - Laying the KEEL for the Titanic in 1909 in Belfast, Ireland

32. Heckled: JEERED.

33. The Zugspitze, e.g.: ALP - Germany's highest mountain 

34. Changed plans at the last second: CALLED AN AUDIBLE - Sid's seed entry. Peyton Manning famously yelled OMAHA before he CALLED AN AUDIBLE

37. Ryder Cup team: USA - Current players for 2020

38. Iberia hub: MADRID - Non-stops out of MADRID

39. Renaissance faire quaff: MEAD - The majority of its fermentable sugar comes from honey

40. "Gentleman" singer: PSY - Korean techno-pop song with a lot of tasteless pranks. Google if you must

41. "Challenge accepted!": IT'S ON.

42. Proving field?: MATH - What we MATH peeps did to get degrees

43. Brita competitor: PUR 

44. Defaulter's risk: REPO.

45. A, in the key of D: SOL - Here 'ya go, sing it with me: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, SOL, La, Ti, Do

46. Kind of will: ORAL - It's better in writing

48. Subject in the film "Ghost": AFTER LIFE - A fun movie speculating about the AFTER LIFE

53. Sound measure: DECIBEL - Some claim K.C. Arrowhead Stadium is the loudest NFL stadium at 142.2 DECIBELS

56. Sun-on-skin concern: AGE SPOT - Last Saturday, Michael Wiesenberg had "50. Too much sun, they say: AGER"

57. Warp, e.g.: DEFORM.

58. Zips again, as a Ziploc bag: RESEALS - I prefer the ones with a slide

59. Night lights: STARS.

60. Foe of Stalin: TROTSKY - Stalin's simple solution was to send a member of his secret police to kill TROTSKY who was in exile in Mexico


Down:

Sid's mini-theme: ROCK

1. __ rock: ACID.

45. "Like a Rock" rocker: SEGER  - Chevy Truck's  anthem

51. __ rock: FOLK - A prime purveyor this genre is next:

8. Repeated phrase in the coda of James Taylor's "Shower the People": MAKE IT RAIN.

2. Perry with five Emmys: COMO - Mellow, non-rocker Perry COMO won five in the late 50's

3. Commander in brief?: CAP'N.

4. It's taken on the way out: EXIT POLL 

5. Deadly agents: NINJAS.

6. Prepare to go after a fly: TAG UP - You can TAG UP and try to go after a fly ball is caught but don't do it on Bo Jackson! Bo wags his finger at the guy who tried it!

7. Downhill traveler: SLED.

9. "What __ missing?": AM I.

10. Krishna, e.g.: GOD - All you need to know

11. __ room: MEN'S 

12. "We did wager, didn't we?": A BET IS A BET - Derek Jeter paid off a $100 lost bet in pennies

15. Islamic leader: AYATOLLAH Khomeni Some say his hostage taking 18. Prevented: STOPPED Jimmy Carter from being reelected 

20. Eco-friendly housetop: GREEN ROOF - University of Nebraska professor Richard Sutton tending his GREEN ROOF in Lincoln

24. Neurologist who redefined "libido" to fit his theories: FREUD Here 'ya go!

25. Broadway barber: TODD - Sweeney TODD

27. "I promise you ... ": BE ASSURED - "You will not have lunchroom duty for more than one year." Yeah, right!

28. Contests with four legs: RELAY RACES - When you're handing off to Usain Bolt for the last leg, you're in pretty good shape

29. What a chiromancer does: READS PALMS - New word for me

31. Single-serve coffee container: K-CUP POD.

32. Singles network logo with a partly outlined Star of David: JDATE - Mazel Tov

35. Islamic leader: EMIR

36. "Ready!": I'M ALL SET

42. Beyond that: MORE SO.

47. Raise: LIFT.

49. Sharp-tasting: TART.

50. Pub orders: IPAS.

52. E-tailer with a "Vintage" category: ETSY - Here 'ya go

54. Feathers on a runway: BOA.

Comments for Sid?

Friday, June 19, 2020, Pam Amick Klawitter

Title: Puzzle was done ere there were four.

I am a great admirer of Pam's many Sunday publications here, and I did blog a Friday of her creation way back on New Year's Day, 2016. This effort was cute, the three themers are all nice homonyms of AIR. They are consistent with all the homonyms the first word of each fill. They are 12, 15, and 12. They each are amusing repurposing of the "air" phrases. Another three theme fill after Monday, this week. The rest of the puzzle does not seem like a Friday, with very few long words outside of the theme. ARRESTED,  PARAGONS, SIXPACKS, and TEAR INTO being the set. I await your comments.
The theme:

19A. What "You're not leaving me enough!" demonstrates?: HEIR PRESSURE (12). Part of my job has exposed me to all too many unfeeling avaricious progenies. The worst so far was the son who ran home to steal his father's coin collection so he would not have to share with his sister.

36A. Learning to live with your mistakes?: ERR (again) CONDITIONING (15). They say you can be conditioned to do anything.

52A. Malady caused by overexposure to a Brontë work?: EYRE SICKNESS. Jane returns; have we been overexposed? And there you have the theme.

The rest.

Across:

1. Shopping club: SAM'S. The club created by the Walmart people named for the founder.

5. Assist, in a way: ABET. (again) Abet is often heard in the legal sense of "aiding and abetting" a crime and often has a negative implication. Although this is the most common use, abet is also used in a positive sense and is a more sophisticated way of saying "help."

9. With 43-Across, shipshape: NEAT. 43A. See 9-Across: AS A PIN. Also fitting with our Monday pin setting discussion.

13. Settled: ALIT. Picture a butterfly.

14. __ parade: PRIDE. Well placed as this month is Pride month. The month of June was chosen for LGBT Pride Month to commemorate the Stonewall riots, which occurred at the end of June 1969. FIB 1.

15. Folksy Burl: IVES.

16. Pop opener: SODA. For you midwesterners Soda Pop.

17. Golfing nickname: ARNIE. 8D. Prepare to swing: TEE UP. Go, Boomer, Gary, and George.
18. Mariner org.: NASA. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

22. Saddlebag carrier: ASS.

23. __-been: HAS. never was. FIB 2.

24. __-Locka, Fla.: OPA. The area was originally named by the Native Americans “Opa-tisha-wocka-locka” meaning “a big island covered with many trees and swamps” but the name was quickly shortened to Opa-locka. It sounds like it was named by the Muppets. FIB 3.

25. Obstacle for salmon: DAM. Yes, this is tough when you are swimming upstream.

28. Rutgers' conference: BIG TEN. The famous midwest football conference and a New Jersey school.

30. Tundra neighbor: TAIGA. A Friday word: a swampy coniferous forest of high northern latitudes, especially that between the tundra and steppes of Siberia and North America. Dictionary.

32. Bit of intimacy in a crowd, briefly: PDA. Public Display of Affection.

34. J.R.R. Tolkien did some research for it: OED. Oxford English Dictionary.

35. Backup __: SINGER. A change from Isaac Bashevis. FIB 4.

39. Lock shops?: SALONS. Hah hah, locks of hair. Add an m and you have...

40. Chihuahua neighbor: Abbr.: TEXas. Has the state gone to the dogs?

41. Hill builder: ANT.

42. Ostentatious: SWANK. Hilary? She took three years off to care for her father who needed a lung transplant.

45. Artists Against Fracking co-founder: ONO. Artists Against Fracking is an association of artists initiated by Yoko Ono and her son, Sean Lennon, also including Mark Ruffalo, Robert de Niro, Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, and Deepak Chopra

46. Pitcher feature: EAR. None bigger than Don Mossie's. For you Boomer and HG.

48. Cool relative: RAD. Already passé slang.

49. Bossy comeback: MOO. Cow humor.

55. Preacher's support: AMEN.

58. How much signing is done: IN INK. Also an integral part of my current work, but we use blue ink for a "wet" signature.

59. Coup d'__: ETAT. This is also like putsch: a secretly plotted and suddenly executed attempt to overthrow a government. FIB 5.

60. Rocky __: ROAD. Ice cream. FIB 6.

61. Tars: SALTS. Both names for sailors.

62. Socially conscious: WOKE. Be alert to injustice in society, especially racism.

63. Dieter's count: FATS. Not calories?

64. This, in Toledo: ESTO. Lucina, how are you.

65. Do some parasailing, say: SOAR.

Down:

1. 2000s White House girl: SASHA. No politics, just a college kid.
2. Fleshy-leaved plants: ALOES. 

3. Modest skirts: MIDIS.

4. Symbol for Macy's: STAR.

5. Checked: ARRESTED. We can debate this meaning?

6. Storage aids: BINS.

7. Tesla rival: EDISON. The SKINNY.

9. Important number in Sudoku grid construction: NINE. The key number, as our many Sudokuites would explain.


10. Actress Mendes: EVA.

11. DDE rival: AES. Adlai Ewing Stevenson II.

12. "3-1-1" enforcement gp.: TSA. Transportation Security Administration

14. Perfect models: PARAGONS.

20. 21st of 24: PHI. Greek letters.

21. There's often a colon in one: RATIO.

25. "Mangia!": DIG IN. Today's clecho with 57D. Mangia!":  EAT. Usually heard as mangia, mangia! Italian home cooking can be some of the best meals you ever have whether they use sauce or gravy.

26. Deal maker: AGENT. Think actors and sports stars.
27. Helgenberger of "A Dog's Journey": MARG. China Beach and CSI

28. "Everything Tastes Better With __": Sara Perry cookbook: BACON. Does everyone agree? I do not eat bacon. FIB 7.  She also has one about Garlic.

29. Fixes People, say: EDITS. The magazine, which you can tell by the capital P.

31. Former U.N. chief: ANNAN. KOFI from Ghana. An impressive man.

32. Shrimp kin: PRAWN.

33. 1964 Tony Randall title role: DR LAO. An odd movie.

35. Gym developments: SIX PACKS. I have one, but I keep it safe under a nice layer of adipose cells.

36. Exxon, formerly: ESSO. This is classic crosswordese.

37. Perfectly pitched: ON KEY.

38. Verbally assault: TEAR INTO.

43. Play areas: ARENAS.

44. Texter's "Beats me": IDK. I Don't Know.

47. Come to light: ARISE.

49. Empowerment hashtag: ME TOO. A movement.

50. Universal Studios Japan home: OSAKA. To compete with Disney Japan, I guess. USJ

51. Blender brand: OSTER. I like Oster toaster.

52. Purposes: ENDS.

53. River sediment: SILT. A circular meaning as it is fine sand, clay, or other material carried by running water and deposited as a sediment, especially in a channel or harbor.

54. It breaks quickly nowadays: NEWS.

55. Bit of dogspeak: ARF.

56. Bygone New Zealand bird: MOA. There is no more Moa. A dinosaur descendant. And there is no Moa of me today, but thank you PAK and all who read. Lemonade out, the grid below.

Thursday, June 18th 2020 Adam Vincent

Theme: Kleptomania! This puzzle just can't stop stealing - and we're not talking about baseball:

17A. Steal from a box office?: LIFT TICKETS. Here's an unused box office one:

30A. Steal from a bar?: HOOK SHOTS. Kareem never hooked shots. He just sky-hooked a-plenty.

44A. Steal from a government database?: NICK NAMES. I didn't stop to think about this one, but now wonder as I come to write up the puzzle if this is British English?

What's interesting about the British "nick" is that you can be nicked (arrested) for nicking (stealing) and end up in the nick (jail). If your name is Nick, and you nick your finger in the larceny process, that just adds a whole new couple of dimensions to the sentence.

(The grammatical sentence, not the sentence handed down for nicking). Who says English isn't hard to learn?

59A. Steal from a beauty salon?: POCKET COMBS. I rarely, if ever, used a comb, I just washed my hair, toweled it dry and ran my fingers through it to "style" it. Lockdown locks now demand comb-use, otherwise I look like a deranged sheep as the day wears on. Plenty of product required, too, to calm things down.

I liked this theme from Adam, four synonyms and nothing to upset you in the theme or the fill. I might speculate this might be a tad on the easy side for a Thursday, but everyone's mileage will vary.

Let's see what we've got lurking in the chutes and ladders of the fill:

Across:

1. Actress Gillan of "Guardians of the Galaxy": KAREN. A nod to the gods of crosses right off the bad. No idea.

6. Has a frog in one's throat: RASPS

11. Caps Lock neighbor: TAB. SHIFT doesn't fit, and A isn't exactly long enough.

14. Texas tourist spot: ALAMO. All together now: "It's smaller than you thought it was when you got to visit". Unlike the Grand Canyon; nothing can prepare you for how deep and wide the canyon is.

15. Insistent comeback: IS TOO!

16. "It's __-win situation": A NO

19. Dress to the nines, with "up": TOG

20. Put away: EAT

21. Like a loud crowd: AROAR

22. Bellybutton type: OUTIE. -IE and wait for the crosses.

24. Sources of wisdom: ORACLES. The Delphi oracle is the most well-known. The minor oracles mutter about the unfairness of that.

26. Chincoteague horse: PONY. A breed of pony, of course we all knew that (shhh! - now I know that).

27. Clumsy: GAWKY

32. Ostrich cousin: RHEA. I didn't notice this on the way through, crosses filled it in for me.

33. Got together: MET

34. Sudoku digit: ONE. "Sudoku" is superfluous here.

35. Routine grounder, e.g.: EASY OUT

37. Timber-cutting tool: BROAD AX

41. Bird whose eye is in the Wise potato chips logo: OWL. Never heard of them. Pennsylvania-based, so that might account for it.

42. __ race: RAT

43. Field mouse: VOLE

48. Goddess trio, with "the": FATES. Your fate is assigned at birth by Clotho the Spinner, Lachesis the Alloter, and Atropos the Inflexible. What does the "alloter" do?

49. Workplace standards org.: O.S.H.A. I would have thought by now that OSHA wouldn't need the periods, but I guess with "org." in the clue, I should respect that.

50. Integer: NUMERAL. Like ONE.

52. Moves with the breeze: SWAYS

54. Grenoble greeting: SALUT!

55. Feed bit: OAT. I went for ORT first and had to have a bit of a re-think.

58. Top __: TEN

62. Syncopated work: RAG

63. Where van Gogh's second "Sunflowers" series was painted: ARLES. The first series was painted in Paris. If you're wondering which Van Gogh you've got hanging on your wall, a "Paris" painting shows the flowers lying around on the floor, an "Arles" painting shows them in a vase.

You might think he'd got himself together in Arles, vase-wise, but then one night he and his buddy Paul Gauguin happened to tie one on in an absinthe bar, which ended with angry words and Vincent chopping off his own ear with his razor.

Happy days.

64. St. Teresa's town: AVILA

65. Is for two?: ARE

66. Bobby pin target: TRESS. Tress comes up again within a week. I didn't elaborate on it before, as I thought it was a common term for a hank of hair, but there were some "what?" comments, so once bitten - tress = hair. I need to get my tresses attended to shortly.

67. __ Tots: TATER

Down:

1. Curly leafy green: KALE. People claim to love kale, but really, they don't.

2. Latin "others": ALIA

3. Rapids transit: RAFT. Nice clue.

4. Ambulance pro: E.M.T.

5. Official with a seal: NOTARY

6. Bounce: RICOCHET

7. Set the price high: ASK A LOT

8. Sound system: STEREO. Do people buy a "sound system" which is "stereo" anymore?  Maybe this should be clued with a "once" qualifier. I do very clearly remember my first stereo sound system. I put my headphones on and listened to my new "Dark Side of the Moon" album from Pink Floyd. I still remember my astonishment at hearing a different mix in each ear.

9. Cauldron: POT. Does anyone other than witches use cauldrons?

10. Mediocre: SO-SO

11. Many a clue in the TV series "Blindspot": TATTOO

12. Sanctify with oil: ANOINT

13. Pro golfer's disappointments: BOGEYS. I'm usually quite satisfied with a bogey. I start to sulk at the triple-bogeys.

18. Glass of public radio: IRA

23. Sudden, dramatic disruption: UPHEAVAL

24. "I heard you the last time": OKAY, OKAY!

25. Tennis garment: SKORT. Golf, too. I'd like to see a male golfer on the PGA tour wear one and see what the reaction was from the PGA. Male golfers on the European tour can wear shorts on a tournament-by-tournament basis according to the forecast temperature, but they still can't wear a kilt. Equality for the Scots and Irish! And skorts for men!

27. Higher ed. test: G.R.E.

28. "Yes!": AHA!

29. "Isle of Dogs" director Anderson: WES

31. __ Balls: former Hostess treats: SNO. Currently owned by "Apollo Global Management" which sounds about as appetizing as a private equity firm can.

33. Disney film based on a Chinese legend: MULAN

36. "Queen Sugar" cable station: OWN. Thank you crosses.

37. Unfounded: BASELESS

38. On the __: DOT

39. Tavern tankard: ALE

40. Simple signatures: X'ES. Also known in legal circles as "Signature by Mark". Yes, it's a thing:

42. New film versions: REMAKES

44. Cosa __: NOSTRA. "La Cosa Nostra", literally "our thing".

45. "Cross my heart!": I SWEAR

46. Coins returned: CHANGE

47. Brawn: MUSCLE

48. One of the haves: FAT CAT. "Fat cats have a heart attack" in this catchy 1984-inspired ditty from Muse.

51. Boring routine: RUT

53. Minor disagreement: SPAT

55. Leave unsaid: OMIT

56. Not all thumbs: ABLE

57. Deposed Russian ruler: TSAR

60. "Bobby Hockey": ORR. Bobby Orr retired. His number is retired. It's probably time he was retired from crossword duty too, there is literally no new way to clue his name. Yes, he was a great defenseman, but ...

61. Egg cells: OVA

And here, without further ado, is the grid. Have a great Thursday!

Steve