Sunday, Jun 28, 2020 Paul Coulter

Theme:  "Breakfast with Your Sunday Puzzle" - Phrases are humorously interpreted as if they're breakfast-related.
 
23. Wry suggestion at breakfast about what to feed the cat when you're out of milk?: GIVE IT SOME JUICE.
 
34. Suggested which breakfast bread to brown?: PROPOSED A TOAST.

52. Sign of a sloppy breakfast eater?: EGG ON ONE'S FACE.

71. Secure a breakfast supply?: BRING HOME THE BACON.

92. Breakfast complaint about getting the oolong by mistake?: NOT MY CUP OF TEA.

 107. Breakfast go-with that comes from a plant?: CREAM OF THE CROP.

124. Reference with rows and columns covering all varieties of a breakfast drink?: COFFEE TABLE BOOK.

See, Paul sure loves food and loves play with food. He's made a few puzzles with food themes.

Today's seven theme entries are all quite long and take lots of squares, but the fill is smooth.

Paul Coulter

Across:

1. Kind of pool: TIDAL.

6. Arthur Ashe's alma mater: UCLA.

10. Clyde cap: TAM.

13. British bakery buy: SCONE. Breakfast item.

18. Antipasto morsel: OLIVE. Food again.

19. Insulted smack: SLAP.

20. Asian nurse: AMAH. I've mentioned before. Many households in Hong Kong have amahs. Most of them are from the Philippians and they have regular gatherings on Sundays in Central Hong Kong.

22. Welcome words to a hitchhiker: HOP IN.

26. "A Passage to India" heroine: ADELA. Played by Judy Davis. I watched it ages ago. So glad the guy was cleared in the end.

27. Nostradamus, e.g.: SEER.

28. Seagoing force: ARMADA.

29. Thumb-and-finger sounds: SNAPS.

31. __ center: REC.

32. Retired flier: SST.

37. Strike out: DELETE.

40. R&B's Boyz II __: MEN. Loved their "End of the Road".

41. Story featuring Paris: ILIAD. Not the city.

42. Choice group: ELITE.

43. A, in Arles: UNE.

46. Title sitcom bookstore owner: ELLEN. Turns out she's pretty tough in in real life.

48. Columnist Bombeck: ERMA.

56. Nine-digit ID: SSN.

58. Chit: IOU.

59. Code word: DAH.

60. "The Seinfeld Chronicles," e.g.: TV PILOT.

61. @@@@: ATS.

63. Intensified: AMPED.

65. Mex. miss: SRTA.

67. Brain scan letters: EEG.

68. Make __ of: botch: A HASH.

70. Mantegna's "Criminal Minds" role: ROSSI. Never saw the series.

76. Somewhat, informally: SORTA.

78. Beast of Borden: ELSIE.

79. One of the Reagans: RON. Remember Air America?

80. First-rate: TOPS.

83. Introduction: PROEM.

84. St. with a panhandle: IDA.

85. Monterey County seat that's the birthplace of John Steinbeck: SALINAS. We also have 8D. Truman's Missouri birthplace: LAMAR.

88. 50 Cent piece: RAP.

89. Handful: FEW. Still lots of buds in our lilies. So beautiful.
 

90. "__ voyage!": BON.

95. Family lads: SONS.

97. Advances: LENDS.

99. "Come again?" replies: EHS.

100. Apprehension: DREAD.

101. Video store section: SCI-FI.

103. It's game: TAG.

106. Damon appears as him in five films: BOURNE (Jason)

113. Sundial marking: III.

114. Curtain holder: ROD.

115. French Alps river: ISERE. Merges with the Rhone.

116. Humble: MENIAL.

118. Not that: THIS.

122. Like many elephants: ASIAN.

127. Cheesy snack: NACHO.

128. 1984 Peace Nobelist: TUTU.

129. Sitcom sign-off word: NANU.

130. Pan-fry: SAUTE.

131. Relatively cool heavenly body: K STAR. C/S STAR is cool too, right.

132. Damascus is its cap.: SYR.

133. Detect: SPOT.

134. Scarecrow stuff: STRAW.

Down:

1. Clothes: TOGS.

2. Tennis great Nastase: ILIE.

3. One may be done from a cliff: DIVE.

4. Put off by: AVERSE TO.

5. Floral necklace: LEI. My fresh lei from JimmyB.

6. World power initials until 1991: USSR.

7. Walk noisily: CLOMP.

9. Tarzan's realm: APEDOM.

10. Upsilon preceder: TAU.

11. Awry: AMISS.

12. Longtime Lehrer partner: MACNEIL.

13. Cascades peak: SHASTA.

14. Atlantic catch: COD.

15. Palais Garnier performance: OPERA. Palais Garnier was mentioned in "The Phantom of the Opera".

16. "Frasier" character: NILES.

17. Legislate: ENACT.

21. Like Irving's horseman: HEADLESS.

24. London art gallery: TATE.

25. Jest: JAPE.

30. What careful people take: PAINS.

33. Surgical tube: STENT.

35. Ten sawbucks: ONE C.

36. Gray's "The Progress of Poesy," e.g.: ODE.

37. Accomplishments: DEEDS.

38. "Enigma Variations" composer: ELGAR (Edward)

39. Jeanie's hair color, in an old song: LIGHT BROWN.

43. Allow to fluctuate, as a currency: UNPEG.

44. Whinnied, say: NEIGHED.

45. Immigrant's class: Abbr.: ESL.

47. Boxer's director: LEASH. Great clue.

49. Humdinger: RIPSNORTER. I've yet to use this word in my daily conversation.

50. Homer's hangout: MOE'S.

51. Autobahn auto: AUDI.

53. Baker: OVEN.

54. Brewery heads: FOAMS.

55. Believer's antithesis: ATHEIST.

57. Bust maker: NARC.

62. Storied Robin Hood target: THE RICH.

64. Debatable: MOOT.

66. Johnson of "Laugh-In": ARTE.

69. Elite unit: A TEAM.

72. Foot in a poem: IAMB.

73. Chan portrayer Warner __: OLAND.

74. Perk: BONUS.

75. Take __: rest: A NAP.

76. Nos. affecting UV exposure: SPFS.

77. Crumbled sundae topper: OREO.

81. Song of joy: PAEAN.

82. Fictional falcon seeker: SPADE. Sam Spade.

84. Essentially: IN EFFECT.

86. Alkaline solution: LYE.

87. "Same here": SO DO I.

91. Blends: OLIOS.

93. Bone head?: OSTE.

94. Large flying mammal: FRUIT BAT.  Bats makes me nervous.

96. Govt. benefits org.: SSA.

98. Laughing gas, familiarly: NITROUS.

102. Key of Brahms' First Symphony: C MINOR.

104. Pinnacle: ACME.

105. Targets marked with flags: GREENS.

106. Tab: BILL.

107. Annoying, as a call: CRANK.

108. Gift for el 14 de febrero: ROSAS.

109. Decree: EDICT.

110. Substantial: HEFTY.

111. Ready to pour: ON TAP.

112. Instrument for Joel or John: PIANO.

117. Adjoin: ABUT.

119. Rush __: HOUR.

120. Letter before kappa: IOTA.

121. Bias: SKEW.

123. "Bingo!": AHA.

125. Cat coat: FUR.

126. Capital of Switzerland?: ESS. Just the starting letter: Switzerland.

C.C.

Saturday, June 27, 2020, Kyle Dolan

Saturday Themeless by Kyle Dolan

Kyle Dolan returns for another themeless puzzle and the solve went very nicely for me. Here are Kyle's comments on this puzzle: 

Hi Gary, 

We're doing well too, thanks.

Here are some thoughts on this puzzle:

I began constructing this grid in March 2019 and I sent it to Rich Norris a couple months later. In October 2019 Rich asked for some revisions in the short fill. Soon after I completed these, he accepted the puzzle. 

DANCE LESSONS was the seed entry for this grid, inspired by the fact that at the time I wrote it, my wife and I were learning how to rumba for our wedding dance! REGINA KING was another early entry, as she had just won her Oscar for "If Beale Street Could Talk". My research indicates that, as of this writing, her full name has never appeared in a newspaper crossword grid before; if that's true I'm very happy to debut it and I hope solvers enjoy seeing her in the grid.

Overall I'm pleased with the way the long fill in this puzzle turned out, but I think now there are a few too many clunkers in the short fill for my liking: A DUB, A TEST, SPAKE, and the like. If I were constructing this puzzle today, I'd try to reduce the number of these kinds of entries if not eliminate them entirely.

By the way, this is my 10th LA Times puzzle, all of which have been Saturday themelesses--including my very firstnewspaper crossword back in 2009.  My thanks to Rich Norris, Patti Varol, and the editorial team who have given me the chance to share my puzzles in this venue; to the bloggers at Crossword Corner and elsewhere, thanks for sharing your thoughts on my puzzles; and to the solvers reading this, I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks again,

Kyle

Across:

1. Gym supplies: MATS.

5. Affectionate-poke-on-the-nose word: BOOP.

9. Cut souvenirs: SCARS - Some SCARS don't show

14. Without instruments: A CAPPELLA - "In the manner of the chapel" Usually two words, two P's and two L's. The A CAPPELLA group, Pentatonix, provides some instrument-like voice accompaniment in this haunting piece.

16. "Haystacks" painter: MONET - This time it was MONET

17. "What?": COME AGAIN.

18. Soaked: SOGGY.

19. "The Twilight Zone" (2019) host Jordan: PEELE - Much more familiar with the guy on the right who created the series in 1959

Jordan PEELE                     Rod Serling

20. Distress: VEX.

22. Ballet move: PLIE.

23. Two-step tutorials, say: DANCE LESSONS - Kyle's seed entry - Let's see a lesson

26. Take a bad turn: GO SOUTH - Some people have seen their businesses GO SOUTH this year

29. "Semper Fidelis" composer: SOUSA - Oorah!

30. "Concord Sonata" composer: IVES - Wow, Charles!

31. Race units: LAPS.

34. Talked like Moses or Abraham?: SPAKE - And thus God SPAKE unto Noah,"Uh, you're gonna need a bigger boat"

36. Tart finish?: LET - A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. 

37. In actuality: DE FACTO - I may be listed as "head of household" but...

39. The last pope named Clement: XIV (1760 - 1774) Obverse: Clement XIV. Reverse: Jesus, Peter and Paul expelling the Jesuits which Clement did in their name

40. Cleaner brand with a macron on its first vowel: DRANO which makes the drain 42. Circulate: FLOW better

1950's Can

43. Cornmeal product: PONE.

44. Ones known for excellent service: ACERS - 163mph tennis serve is the record

46. Many people make them at work: LIVINGS.

48. Blizzard portmanteau: SNOWMAGEDDON - A news media image after a 6" snow was predicted

51. "Rub-__ ... ": A-DUB - Three men in a tub

52. Root that may be cubed: YAM - We math peeps appreciate the two red herrings

53. Big battery: D-CELL.

56. Realm of Tolkien's Dwarves: MORIA - Here 'ya go!

58. Are useful: FILL A NEED - For good or ill, I do that here on Saturday

61. Cleared in a diner: BUSED.

62. Proverbial nonexistent meal: FREE LUNCH.

63. Nuclear trial: A-TEST.

64. Pamplona pronoun: ESOS. ESOS pantalones están sucios (Those pants are dirty)

65. BFN alternative: TTYL - Bye For Now vs Talk To You Later


Down:

1. Buddy: MAC and 32. Buddy: PAL.

2. "Rent-__": 1988 film: A COP - This turkey had some big name stars

3. Unlikely to titillate: TAME.

4. Small trunks: SPEEDOS - Google if you must

5. "Go easy on me": BE GENTLE when correcting any 49. Faux pas: GAFFE I make here

6. Copacabana greeting: OLA and 48. Copacabana steps: SAMBA - OLA. ¿Te gustaría SAMBA? (Hello. Would you like to SAMBA?)

7. Tree sacred to Athena: OLIVE - What's that all about?

8. "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" group: PANEL - Here is Tom Hanks serving as a guest host

9. Texting format, briefly: SMS - I use Short Message Service for texting and love it when people respond quickly. 

10. Confines: COOPS UP - We've all had months of this recently

11. Norman Conquest victim: ANGLO SAXON - When the last ANGLO SAXON king, Edward the Confessor, died childless in 1066, William of Normandy (later The Conqueror) invaded to take the British crown from two others 3-minute summary

12. 2019 Best Supporting Actress winner for "If Beale Street Could Talk": REGINA KING - Kyle is happy to have introduced her name into crosswords. Her IMDB

13. They may be treated with compresses: STYES - Saturday cluing for a staple

15. Country in the Caroline Islands: PALAU - Peleliu is a small island in the PALAU archipelago and saw bitter fighting in WWII

21. Strike symbols: XES - Here's the last two XES on Boomer's twentieth 300 game

24. Source of livestock feed: CHAFF - Dried chopped forage used to add bulk to animal feed

25. Okay: SO SO.

26. Deceptively adorn: GILD - There's no need to GILD the lily

27. Transmission conclusion: OVER AND OUT 

28. Start of typical "Star Trek" navigation orders: SET A COURSE 

33. Admonish: SCOLD.

35. Tense times, maybe: EVES - This dystopian song came to my mind

37. School house: DORM - My first DORM room was #237 in Morey Hall in 1964

38. Turns idly, as a pencil: TWIDDLES.

41. Green ones: NEWBIES.

43. Pesto ingredient: PINE NUT - among other ingredients

45. For example: SAY.

47. Inclined to opine: VOCAL.

50. Mideast dignitaries: EMIRS.

54. Advanced: LENT - I LENT/advanced a family member a lot of money to help adopt a child from China and in my heart I knew I would never get it all back. BTW, she was worth it!

55. Goranson of "The Conners": LECY - Then/now

57. Big name in home security: ADT - Is the sign enough to deter criminals?

59. Summer sign: LEO.

60. FedEx rival: DHL 

Comments for Kyle?

Friday, June 26, 2020 Mark McClain

Straight Fs

If you've never been able to solve a Friday, today should be your lucky day.


20. Avian athletic contest?: GAME OF FINCHES.

28. Advanced degree for a gemologist?: DOCTOR OF FLAWS.

47. Metropolis, thanks to Superman?: CITY OF FLIGHTS.

57. Flunk out ... and what three long answers do?: GET STRAIGHT FS.


Straight Fs would be bad for your GPA.   No one should flunk out today. 

I always enjoy solving Mark's puzzles.   He's definitely in my top 5 favorite constructors.   Today was no different, and each of the the three theme answers made me smile. 

But IMHO, this was way, way too easy for a Friday.   A scheduling error ?  What do you think ?  Oh, and I'm sorry if I burst your bubble.

I was confounded by the answer to 9D, IN A HUFF.   It obviously doesn't fit with the theme answers of the added F.   The two Fs still gave pause. 

Across:

1. President before Wilson: TAFT.

5. Sign of shock: GASP.

9. Classical inspiration for the 2004 film "Troy": ILIAD.   Troy ?   Hello, Irish Miss !   Hope you are feeling a little better. 

14. Another, in Mexico: OTRO.   Fill in OTR and check the perp to decide if it will be A (feminine) or O (masculine).   Oh no !  The perp is also Spanish.   Good thing we all know the Spanish word for bullfighter.

15. __ ID: USER.   You can make your USERIDs complex, but there's no need.   Keep them simple.  Make your passwords complex, and change them frequently. 

16. Chip in a bowl: NACHO.   Doritos Nacho Cheese are favored chips in this casa.

17. Almost at: NEAR.

18. Long vehicle: LIMO.  A conversation starter for your Limo driver ?  It's derived from Limousine.   From Limousin, a region in France.  A Gallic tribe (Celtics on the continent) lived there in the time of Caesar.   They were known as Lemovices, which means "those who vanquish by the elm."  Lemo - elm, and uices - victors.   In the end, their elm bows and lances were no match as Caesar's armies laid siege.  Even though the Roman Army was outnumbered 4 to 1, they won the battle and claimed Gaul once and for all as a Roman province.   If you driver has no interest,  just talk about the weather.

19. It has no subs: A TEAM.   Loved this clue.

23. Like a disciplinarian: STERN.

24. Torque symbol, in mechanics: TAU.

25. RV chain: KOA. 

33. Ominous: DIRE.

34. Destinies: FATEs.  There were three Goddesses of Fates, as we learned in Steve's write up on June 18th.  They were Clotho the Spinner, Lachesis the Alloter, and Atropos the Inflexible.   Speaking of destinies, the all girl group Destiny's Child consisted of Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams.

35. Push-up targets: PECs.   Pectoral muscles. 

39. Not against the rules: LEGAL.   Licit.

42. Like a hairpin: BENT.

43. Stretched circles?: OVALs.

45. Brewpub array: ALEs. 

52. Corrida cheer: OLE.  For the torero. 

53. Waze suggestion: Abbr.: RTE.   Waze is a GPS app from Google.

54. Estée Lauder subsidiary: AVEDA.   Never heard of it until solving C.C.'s "Back to Basics" crossword puzzle last Sunday.    She remarked in the review that it is a Minnesota based company owned by Estee Lauder.

62. Problematic bacterium: E. coli.

64. The Mississippi forms its eastern border: IOWA.   And the Missouri forms most of its western border.

65. Northern European capital: OSLO.

66. Singer nicknamed "The Velvet Fog": TORME.   I read that at age 19 he composed the music and co-wrote the lyrics for this song made famous by Nat King Cole.


67. Visible pollution: SMOG.   Fog and then smog ? And ice crystals in the air forming a sundog ?

68. Comics icon Lee: STAN.   Marvel Comics. 

69. Vast chasm: ABYSS.

70. Sun dog, e.g.: HALO.  I believe you pretty much have to be in a colder climate like the northern states or Canada to see these when the sun is at the horizon.

71. Carry: TOTE.

Down:

1. Kitchen picker-uppers: TONGs.

2. Patronized, as a diner: ATE AT.

3. Like many museum paintings: FRAMED. 

4. Corrida star: TORERO.   Bullfight star:  Bullfighter.

5. Wide gap: GULF.

6. "Dream on!": AS IF.

7. Big rig: SEMI.   One of my "other duties" in the Army was driving one of these M818  5 ton tractor trucks.   Mine was a -A2 multifuel with  a ragtop and a semi trailer rather than the lowboy pictured.  10 wheels on 3 driven axles with a lot of torque, and no creature comforts in the cab. 

8. Stat relative: PRONTO.

9. Highly annoyed: IN A HUFF.

10. Having missed the deadline: LATE.

11. Item of hockey equipment: ICE SKATE.  Like some potato chips, one is usually not enough.

12. Cry of discovery: AHA.

13. Champagne title: DOM.

21. Like much '80s-'90s music: ON CD.

22. Half-__: coffee order: CAF.

26. Wilson who voiced Lightning McQueen in "Cars" films: OWEN.  Also the first name of our resident poet and host of Jumblehints Blogspot

27. A new exec may hire one: ASST.   The position title is usually ...

29. Shop __ you drop: 'TIL.   "Honey, look how much money I saved !"

30. Hematite, for one: ORE.  Properties, uses, and occurrence of the most important ore of iron. Among others, ballast for ships, protection from x-rays, and jeweler's rouge.  DNK.

31. Fit for a queen: REGAL.

32. Yellow __: LAB.   The most popular dog in the United States is the Labrador.

35. Somewhat, to Schubert: POCO.    When it came to music, he was anything but poco.   He went full-bore.   One of the most prolific composers of all time.  Schubert only lived to age 31.   Steve had poco yesterday in Joe Denney's puzzle yesterday with the clue [Slightly, in scores].

36. Villainous: EVIL.

37. One in a Trivial Pursuit sextet: CATEGORY.

38. Slick: SLY.

40. Big name in Islam: ALI.

41. KFC selection: LEG.

44. Military pilot's missions: SORTIEs.

46. Heavy carpet: SHAG.

48. NBA foul shots: FTs.  Free throws.

49. Magic charm: FETISH.
   1.  any object believed by some person or group to have magic power

   2.  any thing or activity to which one is irrationally devoted to make a fetish of sports

   3.  Psychiatry any nonsexual object, such as a foot or a glove, that abnormally excites erotic feelings

50. Jay Leno, for many years: TV HOST. 

51. Starts: SETS TO. 

55. Key of Chopin's "Minute Waltz": D FLAT.

56. In concert: AS ONE.  Harmony, unity, accord

58. "Slippery" trees: ELMs.

59. Capital SSE of Firenze: ROMA.  Florence  / Rome in Italian.

60. Nowhere to be found: AWOL.

61. "Aladdin" parrot: IAGO.

62. Pilot's approx.: ETA.

63. Corn discard: COB.

Thursday, June 25th 2020 Joe Deeney

Theme: Two-fer - the theme entries work together to define two subsets of the theme entries:

17A. Log flume, e.g.: WATER RIDE

23A. Connection need at some coffee shops: WIFI CODE. Code, or password? When you're in the coffee shop, what do you ask for? The wifi code, or the wifi password? I know what I ask for, and it's not the "code". Maybe we can compromise on passcode?

32A. Parking ticket holder, perhaps: WIPER BLADE. Nice clue. Not a nice thing to find under your wiper blade though, the ones here in LA come with $$ signs attached.

40A. Cut into: OPERATED ON. Ouch! Towards the end of his career, when Cal Ripken Jr. discussed his various surgeries at press conferences, he'd always say that he'd been "cut on", it always sounded much more painful than "had a procedure".

50A. Late 19th-century smoking establishment: OPIUM DEN

58A. Start to turn mushy, maybe: OVER-RIPEN

The two reveals working together leading us to OPEN WIDE and WIDE OPEN and what to look for in the other six entries:

64A. With 67-Across, doctor's order ... and a hint to 40-, 50- and 58-Across: OPEN

67A. With 64-Across, like a town lacking restrictions ... and a hint to 17-, 23- and 32-Across: WIDE

I don't recall seeing a theme like this before - the two reveal entries work together and switch the theme halfway down - the first three entries split "WIDE" open, and the second theme entries have OPEN split wide. Very nicely done by Joe. It's always fun to see something a little different and this was a very slick twist on a standard gimmick.

Let's see what else we've got talk about:

Across:

1. Text: PING. The word has moved from tech-speak to common usage - to ping someone is to send a quick message that you're around if they want to respond back. The tech usage was in computer and internet networks. You would "ping" a piece of equipment with a network signal to see if it was alive - if it was, it would send an echo back, much like a sonar "ping" would be echoed back to the origin. The world of sonar is where the term came from, so if one of your geek friends tries to tell you that it stands for "Packet Internet Groper" you can correct them.

5. Nutmeg spice: MACE. The aril of a nutmeg seed is mace - it has a more earthy flavor than the nutmeg itself.

9. Newton trio: LAWS. Laws of Motion, if you recall from your science classes.

13. Bahrain bigwig: EMIR

14. Norse god: ODIN

15. Out of the wind: ALEE

16. Fur wrap: STOLE. A stole could be described as a fashion accessory, and a fashion thief's accessory would sell a stolen stole. All clear?

19. Husky hello: ARF! Huskies don't look like they "arf" to me. More a "grrrr". It's probably all the Itidarods.

20. Whitman's "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," e.g.: ELEGY. So help me out with this "bloom'd" thing. What's with the apostrophes and poets? It doesn't save any space, nor add anything to the word. Why didn't Walt just write "bloomed"? Same amount of ink, same pronunciation.

22. Odds alternative: EVENS

25. Classic 1953 western: SHANE. "Shane! Come back!"

26. Charge: FEE

27. Telluride automaker: KIA. Not based in Telluride, obviously. They're pretty ugly to my eye, but of course your mileage may vary.

28. Direction opp. 8-Down: WSW. I'm not a big fan of the compass-point fill, but at least this pair have a crack at being something different from the stultifying "Random City to Anytown dir.".

30. "Avatar" actress Saldana: ZOË. Let's give her the umlaut back.

36. Iraqi money: DINAR. I tried REALS first, not quite right.

38. Cricket club: BAT. Hmmm. Do you call a baseball bat a "club"? Or a golf club a "bat"? Discuss.

39. That's a wrap!: SARAN. I liked this.

43. "The Last Jedi" heroine: REY. We're watching the Star Wars movies in narrative-chronological order. There are so many crossword references it seemed like the right thing to do. Plus, they are actually pretty good :)

44. Cholesterol letters: HDL. I had my numbers checked pre-lockdown, all good. My bad cholesterol used to be very high, but eating a lot of Asian food has helped considerably.

45. Kid: TOT

46. Alias letters: AKA

48. Like proofed dough: RISEN. You can prove a loaf and it doesn't rise at all, that's why it's called "proving" to make sure that the yeast is active.

55. Ached (for): PINED

56. Nearly boil: SCALD

57. Wt. units: OZS

60. Artifact: RELIC

62. Part of CPA: Abbr.: CERT. Certified Public Accountant, I suppose.

63. Map line: ROAD

65. Olympus neighbor: OSSA. Nice to see OSSA and ETNA hanging out so nicely. Greeks and Romans, getting along. Mt. Ossa looks volcanic from its shape, although Wikipedia is silent on its vulcan origins.

66. Sicilian volcano: ETNA. There is no doubt that this one goes off every now and again.

Down:

1. Lab glassware eponym: PETRI. Jules Richard Petri developed a shallow, lidded, glass dish to grow cultures in the lab. Alexander Fleming famously used them to isolate the future antobiotic penicillin, and so Jules gets a high-five from the human race.

2. "Gotta go!": I'M OFF!

3. Zilch: NIL

4. Aegean country: GREECE. Go and see Mt. Ossa while you're there. From the top you might be able to see the sea - the Aegean Sea - the coastline is no more than five miles away and the mountain is 6,500 feet high, so it's a fair bet you can on a clear day.

5. Worked in the yard: MOWED

6. "Opposites attract," for one: ADAGE

7. Highway alternative: CITY. Mileage stats for a car.

8. Direction opp. 28-Across: ENE

9. Insect stage: LARVA

10. Dell gaming brand whose name was inspired by "The X-Files": ALIENWARE. Thank you crosses.

11. Camel's favorite time?: WEDNESDAY. A sideways reference to an insurance company commercial - Wednesday is "Hump Day". Thankfully one of the very few (insert insurance company name here) commercials which are actually entertaining, rather than the 99% majority that have you reaching for "mute" button. Don't they have focus groups any more? Or do the focus groups still find someone wearing a white apron or an amphibian with a British accent amusing? I suppose they do.

12. Has eyes on: SEES

16. Toothed tool: SAW

18. Fixes up: REHABS

21. Movie mogul Marcus: LOEW. The theater chain he founded is now a piece of history, following mergers, buyouts, buy-backs and more corporate divestments and acquisitions. The company ended up as part of the AMC group and the brand name was phased out in 2017.

24. "My concern is ... ": I FEAR

25. Elton John's title: SIR

27. __ diet: high-fat, low-carb regimen: KETO

29. Former Chinese Premier __ Jiabao: WEN. Thank you, crosses.

30. Old storage devices: ZIP DRIVES. Funny how these are now "old". When we used to give these away at trade shows, we needed the riot squad on hand so we didn't get overrun.

31. Quips: ONE-LINERS

33. "As if!": I BET!

34. Legal __: PAD

35. Calif. NFLer: LA RAM. The Rams organization have come in for no little criticism recently for their proposed new logo, which look like it belongs more to the Chargers down the street:

36. Cry from Homer: DOH!

37. Not family-friendly: RATED "R"

41. Large load: TON. Depends what's carrying it. It wouldn't work out well in my trunk, but a container ship wouldn't notice the odd ton here or there.

42. __ salon: NAIL

47. "Web Therapy" actress Lisa: KUDROW

49. Sleeping giant: SERTA

50. Heist mastermind of film: OCEAN. I think the movie franchise has mined the "Ocean's" seam to exhaustion at this point.

51. Bamboo eater: PANDA. Is Ron Artest still "The Panda's Friend", or did he move on to another name? I lost track after "Metta World Peace".

52. Meted (out): DOLED

53. Internet issue: E-ZINE

54. Foreign policy advisory gp.: N.S.C. National Security Council. How effective it is at the moment is not for me to say.

55. Slightly, in scores: POCO. Music. Here's some, which I can't read. There appear to be some kick-ass arpeggios in the bass clef, way beyond my left-hand technique.

56. Difficult position: SPOT. You could equally be in a good spot, as opposed to a bad one.

59. Fury: IRE

61. Prefix with center: EPI-

Fittingly, that wraps up another EPI-C journey through the Thursday puzzle. Thanks to Joe again for something a little different, and some thoughtful work with the rest of the grid.

And, right on time, here IS the grid:

Steve