Friday, Aug 14, 2020 Jerry Edelstein

 
"Sounds Like: Fun With Homophones"

17. Drove by the campsite?: PASSED TENTS.    Past Tense

25. Johann Sebastian and Johann Christian?: MALE BACHS.    Mailbox

35. Carpenter's work station?: PLANE SITE.    Plain Sight

49. Bird popularity surveys?: FOWLPOLLS.    Foul Poles

58. Wildebeests coming to a screeching halt?: BRAKING GNUS.    Breaking News 

This answer was flat out funny to me.   Couldn't find a suitable picture of gnus braking, but did find this happy boy.

 

Jerry should win a pullet surprise for creating these new homophones and definitions. 

Across:

1. Peak on the 1,000-yen note: FUJI. 

5. Kicked: BOOTED.

11. __ bod: DAD.    Here's the blog post that went viral in 2015 and brought national attention to the term dad bod:    Why Girls Love The Dad Bod

14. Sign not always recognized: OMEN.    

15. "Sanford and Son" son: LAMONT.   I loved that show.   Aunt Esther was always sticking her nose in Fred and Lamont's business.   Lamont would try keep the peace, but Fred always had some funny reply to get her even more fired up.  

16. Wool coat wearer: EWE.

19. Hist. majors' degrees: BAs.

20. Half a cocktail hour pair: TONG.

21. Needlefish: GAR.  2 minute YouTube video   on the needlefish.  

22. Winery sight: CASK.   If the answer was only three letters, we would most likely answer "tun".    A tun is 252 gallons.    That's the largest cask shown below.

If you look closely at this graphic, you'll see that the name for the cask that holds half of a tun is called a butt.  

So if it was fully loaded with wine, you would have a buttload.   Who knew that a buttload was a real measurement ?

23. It may be proven in court: GUILT.

27. Soap opera plot staple: AMNESIA.

29. Kemper who plays Kimmy Schmidt: ELLIE.   No idea, but the perps were kind.

30. Car stat: MPG.

31. Buckle: GIVE.   Buckle as a verb rather than as a noun.   As in, buckle under pressure.   But if you buckle down, you are not giving in.   And if you buckle up, the life you save may be your own.

34. Big game, say: EVENT.

38. Scotch-Brite cleaning product: DOBIE.

41. 9, at times: Abbr.: SEPT. ember.

42. Race unit: LAP.

45. First name on a 1945 bomber: ENOLA.   Second name on a 1945 bomber: Gay.

46. Polite response: YES MAAM.

53. Presidents take them: OATHs.

54. Song and dance: ARTs.   As are Carney and Linkletter.

55. Pod resident?: PEA.

56. "Picnic" dramatist: INGE.   A 1953 play written by William Inge.   Paul Newman had his Broadway debut in this play.

57. Fifth-century date: CDI.    401 in Roman numerals.   About the time of the beginning of the fall of the Roman Empire.   (I like looking things up)

62. Get ready to drive, with "up": TEE.  

63. Place for a shot: TAVERN.

64. Distasteful: ICKY.

65. Surg. facilities: ORs.

66. Location query opener: "WHERE'S  the beef ?",  asked Clara Peller.

67. Viewed warily: EYED.

Down:

1. Dandy: FOP.   A Beau Brummell. 

2. Thurman of the 2005 film "Prime": UMA.     I watched most of this movie sometime in the last six months.   Uma played a newly divorced 37 year old that falls in love with a 22 year old recent graduate.   She is seeing a therapist to help her deal with her divorce.  She confides to her therapist about her young lover.   The therapist soon realizes the young lover is her son.   Her therapist is played by Meryl Streep.   

The film started strong and hooked me in, but the story line quickly grew weak and somewhat dragged.   The only thing that kept me from turning it off earlier was watching Meryl Streep.    Love her subtle expressions of emotions.   

3. Having fun: JESTING.   WGN anchors Robert Jordan and Jackie Bange having some fun during a commercial break back in 2009.

The story behind ... epic commercial break handshake 

4. Shoe part: INSOLE.

5. Apt. house: BLDG.

6. __ grass: OAT.

7. Breitling competitor: OMEGA.

Jerry Seinfeld has a collection of Breitling watches.  

8. Relating to pitches: TONAL.   There are four tones in Mandarin Chinese, with a fifth neutral tone.     Kevin Salat, the constructor that introduced us to the word tauromachy on Saturday, August 1st, speaks Mandarin.

9. Between, in Brest: ENTRE.    For those of us that do not parlay voo French but do solve crosswords, it's just a matter of remembering some of the common phrases we see in clues and answers.  e.g.,  entr'acte (between the acts) and entre nous (just between us).

Of course you would have to assume we are talking about Brest, France and not Brest, Belarus.    In Belarusian, between would be паміж.

10. Drying-out hurdle: DTs.    Delirium Tremens.

11. Total disaster: DEBACLE.

12. Loaded with: AWASH IN.

13. It might contain an inbox: DESK SET.   Not related to the clue, but I thought of Desk Set, starring Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.  IMO, it was one of their better movies.    The screenplay was written by Phoebe and Henry Ephron.   Harry was also the producer.    Yes, you are correct.   They are the parents of Nora.    We often see her here with clues related to her RomComs Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally.

18. Tolkien creatures: ENTs.

22. Have a cow: CALVE.    This fun clue did not fool PK or Spitzboov.   I would not be surprised to learn that she helped deliver a few.

23. School of whales: GAM.   Sometimes it is a pod.

24. Foul line watcher, at times: UMP.   Sometimes with ire.    Double entendre.   Umpire and ump ire  :>)  

25. Water conduits: MAINS.

26. Red-rooted plant, usually: BEET.  

28. Food chain letters: IGA.  "Hometown Proud"

32. Flying formation: VEE.

33. Athletic awards: ESPYs.   Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly awards.

35. Some tablets: PILLs.

36. It may be quantum: LEAP.

37. Resident's suffix: ITE.

38. In reality: DE FACTO.

39. Awaiting shipment: ON ORDER.

40. Donald Duck and Winston Churchill wear them: BOW TIEs.   

42. Bulbs' pre-bloom condition: LATENCY.

43. Sound of delight: AAH.

44. U.K. leaders: PMs.

47. Musical number: SONG.

48. Smith who played Violet on "Downton Abbey": MAGGIE.   I was clueless.  The answer  perped in. 

50. Part of OWN: OPRAH.   The Oprah Winfrey Network.

51. Go: LEAVE.

52. James, since 2018: LAKER.   Lebron James,  NBA superstar playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. 

56. 1,000+ Holidays: INNs.   Tricky clue, easy answer.   Just looked it up to get a real count.  As of Sept 2018, there were 1173 Holiday Inns.

58. Texter's "just so you know": BTW.     By The Way.   

59. Wrath: IRE.   Sometimes directed at umps.

60. Hawaiian strings: UKE.    Ukulele.   Spelled out to reinforce the spelling.  

61. Barrett of Pink Floyd: SYD.    A founding member of the English band before they became really popular. 

Thursday August 13th 2020 Jeffrey Wechsler

Before we start, a reminder that if you wish to comment on the puzzles, we have three requests on this blog - no politics, no religion and no personal attacks. Not too difficult, right? Right! Moving on ...

Theme: Vowel Virtuosity - the four theme entries have their vowel progressions exactly as described in the reveal:

34A. Children's song refrain featured in the four longest answers: E-I-E-I-O.

And so we find:

15A. Good ideas that don't always pan out: BEST INTENTIONS. An online dictionary uses "organizing a family reunion" as an example, which makes me a little sad.

26A. "Carpe diem!": THE TIME IS NOW! The more literal translation "Seize the day!" breaks all the vowel progression rules for the theme. And it doesn't fit.

40A. GPS suggestion to avoid a tie-up: NEW DIRECTION.  I was going to link a catchy little tune from the British band, then I discovered they were called One Direction, and then I discovered, after watching a boy band for a couple of minutes, that I didn't mean them at all, I was thinking of One Republic. So there endeth the search for a musical link.

53A. "Both options are practical": EITHER WILL WORK. Usually followed by "but ..."

Thank you Jeffrey. The key point with this theme is that the entries have only E-I-E-I-O in that order and no other vowels. Not an easy trick to pull off, but Jeffrey did a great job with it.

Now let's point out a strange coincidence in Crossworld. This exact same theme-reveal was the center of the NYT Tuesday puzzle earlier this week. Obviously, the rest of the puzzle was completely different, but Will Shortz probably scheduled his Tuesday at the very least nine months ago, and Rich Norris maybe scheduled this one four months ago. Sheer coincidence, but I thought I was having a bout of déjà vu when I got to the reveal today! My first thought was "Did I already do this puzzle and forget that I did?" Thankfully no.

Let's go roaming through the gloaming and see what jumps out:

Across:

1. Freebies: COMPS.

6. Charity sale goods: RUMMAGE. This took a while, it wasn't my first thought but the crosses filled it in slowly.

13. Undefeated Ali: LAILA. She went 24-0 in her pro boxing career, and is a knockout chef to boot. A great lady.

14. Cradle-rocking site of rhyme: TREE TOP.

17. Eduardo's east: ORIENTE. Not sure about this. "East" is "este" in Spanish. "The East" might be rendered as "El Oriente" I suppose, but "The Orient" is now archaic in English. All kinds of uncertainty, but makes for a slightly tricky crossword clue/entry.

18. Only: SOLE.

19. Gives the go-ahead: OK'S.

20. Championship ice dancer __ Virtue: TESSA. Who? Thank you, crosses.

23. Depressed areas: SLUMS.

28. Fountain output: SODAS.

31. Fuel for a fire: LOGS.

32. Vatican's higher authority: DIO. I'd have liked some hint in the clue that we were looking for the Italian translation for "God". The Italian for "Vatican" is "Vaticano", so I'm calling this a mistake in cluing/editing.

33. Puts on TV: AIRS.

36. Monsieur across the border: HERR. Pick your French border - Belgium, Lichtenstein, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Spain or Andorra. I think that's all of them, but I might have missed a couple. Or added one in that doesn't belong. Not bad for a country that's at least 50% coastline.

37. Land in la mer: ÎLE.

38. Give a heads-up: WARN.

39. Rams QB Goff: JARED. Local boy. Now.

44. Characteristic: TRAIT.

45. Looks: SEEMS.

46. Nor. neighbor: SWE.

49. '90s Polish president Walesa: LECH. Leader of "Solidarnosc", the shipyard labor union, who became president of the country. The union was instrumental in the ending of communist rule in Poland.

51. Group of groupies: RETINUE. I suppose so? I let the crosses fill this in for me.

56. Show contempt for: SNEER AT.

57. Objects of fondness: DEARS. As in "my dears".

58. Ones of interest, perhaps: PERSONS.

59. Thing of worth: ASSET.

Down:

1. Register user: CLERK.

2. Spring for a drink?: OASIS.

3. Somewhat, with "a": MITE.

4. Architectural column bases: PLINTHS.

5. South Carolina river to the Atlantic: SANTEE. Thank you, crosses. Very reliant on these today.

6. GPS datum: RTE. I learned my lesson with "STS" last week, so I'll leave all y'all to figure out what a RTE is.

7. Decorative container: URN.

8. Team whose mascot's head is a ball: METS. Not exactly the most inventive of mascots. His name is "Mr. Met" and he's basically a baseball with arms and legs. His co-mascot is .... wait for it ... Mrs. Met. I'd have a bit of a mascot re-think if I was part of the Mets marketing organization.

9. Cell division that produces gametes: MEIOSIS. Thank you, grade school biology.

10. Common Pacific groupings: ATOLLS.

11. Failed, as a business: GONE UNDER. I had "Went Under" first, but backed out of that pretty quickly when the crosses didn't work.

12. Four-song discs, briefly: EPS. Extended Play Records. They were fun, the same size as a regular '45 but two songs on each side.

15. Frightening word: BOO!

16. Trial: TEST.

21. Library ambience: SILENCE.

22. Madame's mine: A MOI.

24. Optically active pattern: MOIRE. You've seen the TV presenters or guests in plaid jackets or certain stripey ties which make moire swirls - you'd have thought by now the producers would step in before they went in front of the camera.

25. Excalibur, for one: SWORD. We've been slowly captivated by "Forged in Fire" on the History Channel. I can confidently tell you that Excalibur is a hardened steel blade of approximately 46 inches, with a fuller on each side of the blade, a quillion and a recasso, a grip over the tang and a pommel.

Now I just need to convince myself I can make one, build myself a forge and set fire to the house.

26. Prof's helpers: TA'S.

27. A star may have a big one: EGO.

28. Venerated figure: SAINT.

29. Gulf of Oman vessel: OILER.

30. Set boundaries: DREW A LINE.

34. Protuberant organ: EAR.

35. Elicits a "Grrr!" from: IRES. OK. "He ired me!" said no-one, ever. Maybe Dick Van Dyke in "Mary Poppins":

Sweep: 'e ired me, Mary Poppins!

Nanny: What, he gave you a job?

Sweep: Nah, 'e ticked me right orf!

Nanny: Why, did he comment on your terrible cockney accent?

Sweep: 'ah did yew know? I was ired, I was. Makes me want to dahnce wiv me broom. Oi fink oil get a bo'le o' beer and practice me glo'al stops.

36. Solo in space: HAN. The "Millenium Falcon" pilot in Star Wars. See, I've been catching up on my LucasFilms sci-fi.

38. First group seen in "Macbeth": WITCHES.

39. Fights (through), as a crowd: JOSTLES.

41. One with something to lose: DIETER. A German who needs to lose weight? Dieter the dieter. Confusing.

42. Polo usually not on horseback: TERI. An actress. Thank you, crosses.

43. Former Filipino first lady Marcos: IMELDA. She of shoe closet fame.

46. Sleep soundly?: SNORE.

47. Hot dog, to a Hamburger: WURST.

48. "That scared me!": EEK! Boo! and Eek! Scary puzzle today.

50. Often-shared sandwich: HERO.

52. "Methought __ enamour'd of an ass": Titania: I WAS. A Midsummer Night's Dream. 

53. Debatable ability: ESP. Apparently no longer worthy of periods. Do we pronounce it "esp" now?

54. Headed for the hills: RAN.

55. Lb. and oz.: WTS. Weights, but of course you all knew that.

And lo, we find ourselves at the end of our roam. Here's the grid!

Steve

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Spitzboov's lovely wife Betty! Here's a picture of Spitzboov, Betty and Argyle at the Washington County Fair on August 23, 2014. Argyle was eating blooming onions.

Wednesday August 12, 2020 Gabrielle Friedman

Theme: Best place to COURT?  Right in the middle, so to speak.  Different types of COURTS are embedded in the middle - or CENTER, actually - of in-the-language phrases.

Today's theme song --

Let's start with the unifier for clarification.

59 A. Site of a tennis focus match ... and a hint to what's hidden in 16-, 30- and 45-Across?: CENTER COURT.  In an array COURTS, that's where the most important match will be played.

16 A. Go off without a hiccup: RUN SMOOTHLY.   Everything is A-OK.  A MOOT COURT is an extracurricular activity at many law schools. Participants take part in simulated court or arbitration proceedings, usually involving drafting memorials or memoranda and participating in oral argument.  [Wikipedia]  I did not know that.

30 A. Paranormal power: PSYCHOMETRY.  Another word that is probably not in your daily vocabulary.  Specifically, the supposed ability to discover facts about an event or person by touching inanimate objects associated with them.  HOME COURT is a sports team's arena where they host visiting teams, and - presumably - have an advantage.  With no fans in that stands, that might be a MOOT point.

45. London-based credit brand: BARCLAYCARD.  Is there any good reason for anyone here in the states to know or care about a foreign-issued credit card?  I have my doubts.  A CLAY COURT is one type of venue for a tennis match.  The other is a hard court.  The bounce off a CLAY COURT is higher and slower, and players can slide into their shots instead of having to come to a stop when hitting a return.

Hi, Gang, JazzBumpa here -- So today we have a theme that's well constructed, but containing three obscurities. Is this Gabrielle Friedman's maiden voyage? Let's hope the rest of this well done puzzle RUNS SMOOTHLY

Across:

1. "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," e.g.: FABLE.  A story that teaches a lesson.

6. __ bean: NAVY.  A variety of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) native to the Americas.

10. "Gee whiz!": OMG.  Expressions used in circumstances of astonishment, wonder or dismay.  Though I don't think they are both likely to be said in the same situation.

13. Name on a sweetener packet: EQUAL.  Brand name for  aspartame artificial sweetener.

14. AprËs-ski drink: COCOA.  A hot chocolatey beverage.

15. IOC country two before NZL, alphabetically: NOR. Norway.  Probably the only place on earth where you can do this.  I'll pass, thank you.

18. Still, in verse: THO.  Despite that fact.

19. Needs for 3-Downs: BATS.  The implements in baseball games used to strike the balls.

20. WSJ headline topic: IPO. Initial Public Offering of a company's common stock, as mentioned in the Wall Street Journal.

21. Tobacco plug: CHAW.  How the word "CHEW" comes out when one is speaking around a plug of tobakky.

22. Singapore makeup: ISLANDS.  It has one maim island, 63 satellite islands or islets and one outlying islet.  It is home to a multi-racial population of 5.7 million people

26. Complain (about): RAIL.  Typically used with the word "against."

27. PC corner key: ESC.ape.  It is used to halt a current operation or change the interpretation of another key.

32. Hawaiian Congresswoman Gabbard: TULSI.  Since 2012 she had represented Hawaii's 2nd district.  But no more.  She lost her primary to Kai Kahele.

34. 50 minutes on a couch, say: SESSION.  If you have an appointment with a psychiatrist, frex.

35. Going out with: SEEING.  In a relationship.  Probably not going out much these days, though.

37. Divvies up: ALLOTS.  Apportions quantities of something according to an agreed protocol.

40. Harsh: ACERBIC.  Tasting bitter or sour, or figuratively referring to sharp commentary.

44. Big name in insurance: AETNA.

48. List-ending abbr.: ETC.

49. "A Death in the Family" author James: AGEE. [1909-1955] American author, playwright and film critic.  This autobiographical novel was published in 1958, after his death.

50. Crack shot: DEADEYE.  In a brief search I was unable to find an explanation for this term.

52. Comic Foxx: REDD. [1992-1991] John Elroy Sanford was an American stand up comedian and actor.  He had a rauchy night club act in the 50's and 60's and then a popular TV show.

53. New Deal agcy.: NRA. National Recovery Administration.  Some New Deal Ideas were successful.  This one - not so much.

54. Baseball's Rose: PETE. [b 1941] A serious contender for best player of all time, but permanently banned from baseball and made ineligible for the Hall of Fame due to his gambling on his team's games while managing the Cincinnati Reds.

58. One might be under a selfie: BIO.  Story or facts about one's life.

63. The Cyclones of the Big 12 Conf.: ISU.  Iowa State University.

64. Spanish 41-Down: ADIOS.  Word of departure.

65. Bitter-tasting: ACRID. More or less so than ACERBIC?

66. Lifesaver, briefly: EMT.  Emergency Medical Technician.

67. Water ___: POLO.  Sure needed perps for this one.  A game played in a pool, treading water, throwing a ball towards the opponents goal.

68. Hits hard: WHOPS.  More then smacks, then?

Down:

1. Stepbrother of Phineas on a Disney animated series: FERB.  This show, the hight of absurdist animated humor, is an absolute hoot.  You can check it out on Disney+.

2. Shade of blue: AQUA.  A bit on the watery side.

3. Hit close to home?: BUNT.  A baseball play in which the batter deliberately plunks the pitch into the dirt, generally leading to an out, but hoping to advance the runner(s) to the next base.  Statistically, this is ineffective, since giving up the out costs more than advancing the runner(s) gains under most circumstances.  Further, there are possible bad outcomes, such as popping the ball up, in which case the runner(s) can't advance, or, even worse, hitting into a double play.

4. Indian yogurt drink: LASSI.   I know what you're thinking - but this is not made with dog's milk.  It is a blend of yogurt, water, spices and fruit.

5. Nightmare street: ELM.  From a series of horror movies.

6. Never ever: NOT ONCE.  Don't even think about it.

7. "Bah!" in Bavaria: ACH. Exclamations of disapproval.

8. Tennessee athlete, briefly: VOL.  Short for Volunteer.

9. Joyous shout: YAY.  Short for Yippee?

10. "Speaking of which ... ": ON THAT NOTE.   Now - where was I . . .  oh, yes!

11. Sweater material: MOHAIR.  A fabric or yarn made from the hair of a mo -- I mean an angora goat.  Bah!

12. Guttural: GROWLY.  Gravelly sounding.

14. HMO outlays: COPAYS. Additional payments for medical services beyond the premium.

17. Works on walls: OILS.  Paintings.

21. Bayou cuisine: CREOLE. Food originating from a people of multi-ethnic descent in the Caribbean and the American south

23. Rubylike gemstone: SPINEL.   The magnesium/aluminium member of the larger spinel group of minerals. It has the formula MgAl₂O₄ in the cubic crystal system.

24. Post-9/11 cabinet agcy.: DHS.  Department of Homeland Security.

25. Slugging Sammy: SOSA. [b 1968] He played baseball in the major leagues for 19 years, most of that time with the Cubs.  He is one of the greatest power hitters of all time.  Controversy about alleged use of performance enhancing drugs has kept him out of the hall of fame.

27. "The War of the Worlds" villains, for short: ETS.  Extra-Terrestrials.

28. Bring an action: SUE.  Institute legal proceedings, typically or redress; or appeal formally for something.

29. Decamped, say: CLEARED OUT.  Picked up and moved away.

31. Address for a noblewoman: MILADY.  Or MILORD, as the case may be.

33. Urged to attack, with "on": SICCED.  As of a guard dog, frex.

36. Former senior: GRAD.  Aka, ALUM.

38. Wile E. Coyote purchase: TNT.   Never ends well.

39. Pouch: SAC.   A soft-walled anatomical cavity usually having a narrow opening or none at all and often containing a special fluid.

41. English 64-Across: BYE.  See ya.

42. "Just watch me!": I CAN TOO.   Dare acceptance words.

43. Close-knit groups: CADRES.  A CADRE  is a small group of people specially trained for a particular purpose or profession. or a group of activists.

45. She's a doll: BARBIE.  A toy fashion doll made by Mattel since 1959, modeled after the German fashion doll BILD LILLI, introduced in 1955, and based on a popular comic character.

Ach du Lieber!

46. Discrimination based on years: AGEISM.

47. Raise: REAR.  Bring up and care for, as a child.

51. Many, many years: EPOCH.  Only as used in geology.  Otherwise a significant period of time in history or one's life.

55. Spanish coin: EURO.  From anywhere in Europe, actually.

56. Fall lead-in, maybe: TRIP.  Fall, as an uncontrolled drop, not the season following Summer.  Trip as in catch one's foot against something and lose balance, not a traveling experience - though, in  a sense, it is.

57. Flight board listings: Abbr.: ETDS.  Estimated Times of Departure - for that other kind of TRIP.

59. Souvenir shop purchase: CAP.  A hat with a bill, and often some words or a symbol.

Hight of fashion - right, Barbie?

60. Tokyo, formerly: EDO.  The de facto capital of Japan under the Tokugawa Shogunate from 1603 on.  In 1868 the Meiji government renamed it TOKYO, Eastern Capital.

61. Nothing: NIL.  Nada, zilch.

62. Crow cry: CAW.  They are not song birds.

This is the way today's post ends
Not with a bang but with a CAW.

Cool Regards!
JzB

Note from C.C.:

Here is a great picture of Java Mam (left) and Pat (right). They're in front of the shelter where they volunteer. 

Tuesday, August 11, 2020 Paul Coulter

You Get What You Pay For.  The last word of each theme answer is a Public Utility.

17. One who doesn't fit in: A FISH OUT OF WATER.

26. Measure of what you can buy: PURCHASING POWER.

46. Drove faster: STEPPED ON THE GAS.

And the Unifier:
60. Providers of the necessities that end 17-, 26- and 46-Across: PUBLIC UTILITIES.

Lots of names in today's puzzle, which will probably bother some of our solvers.  But let's look at that as a learning experience.  Maybe we will make some new friends.

Across:

1. Really dig: ADORE.

6. Prohibition incursion: RAID.

10. Baking device: OVEN.

14. Coming-out: DEBUT.

15. Grabbing-the-tab words: ON ME.  My treat.

16. "Scream" star Campbell: NEVE.  Neve Adrianne Campbell (b. Oct. 3, 1973) is a Canadian-born actress best known for her roles in horror films.

20. Library sect. for Christie books: MYST.  Dame Agatha Christie (née Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller; Sept. 15, 1890 ~ Jan. 12, 1976) wrote over 65 mystery books.

21. Maiden name lead-in: NÉE.  This word has become a crossword staple.  It is quite appropriate today with all the names.

22. The Governator, as he might pronounce it: AHNOLD.  Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (b. July 30, 1947) got his start as a bodybuilder.  He served as the 38th Governor of California.  He was formerly married to Maria Shriver of the Kennedy clan.

Before and After

23. Rocks in bars: ICE.  Sorry, Tin!!!

25. Oklahoma city: ENID.  I learned of this Oklahoma city from doing the crosswords.

34. Mayo is fifth in it: AÑO.  Today's Spanish lesson.  May is the 5th month in the calendar year.

35. Makes right: AMENDS.

36. Herr's honey: FRAU.  Today's German lesson.

37. Hoof sound: CLOP.

39. Fig. with a radius: CIR.  A circle has a radius.

40. Bother: FUSS.

41. Utensil sticker: TINE.

Anatomy of a Fork

42. Smooth transitions: SEGUES.

45. WSJ competitor: NYT.  As in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

49. Brazilian soccer legend: PELÉ.  Pelé (né Edson Arantes do Nascimento; Oct. 23, 1940) is arguably the greatest soccer player of all time. 

50. Tailor's alteration: HEM.

51. Lampoon: SATIRE.

54. Piece of poetic praise: ODE.

56. Diamond Head locale: O'AHU.  The Hawai'ian name is Le'ahi, which means "brow of the tuna" due to its shape.  The name Diamond Head came about after 19th century British sailors though they had discovered diamonds on the slope and near by beaches.  Turns out, the "diamonds" were nothing more than shiny calcite crystals.

It does rather resemble the fin of a tuna.

63. Face-to-face exam: ORAL.

64. Bad thing to blow on the road: TIRE.

65. Horror or humor: GENRE.

66. Blackens: TARS.

67. It may be reserved: SEAT.

68. Mary of "The Maltese Falcon" (1941): ASTOR.  Mary Astor (née Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke; May 3, 1906 ~ Sept. 25, 1987) portrayed Brigid O'Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon.  She began her movie career in the silent films.

Down:

1. Eaton of the Washington Nats: ADAM.  Adam Cory Eaton (b. Dec. 6, 1988) is an outfielder for the Washington Nationals.

2. Buck: DEFY.  Nice misdirection.  I was thinking of the deer.

3. Eastern sashes: OBIs.

4. Backwoodsy: RUSTIC.

5. Horn of Africa country: Abbr.: ETH.  As in Ethiopia.  The Horn of Africa is the peninsula in Africa that is home to Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti.

6. Scoundrel: ROUÉ.

7. Required Hold 'em bet: ANTE.

8. Texter's two-cents intro: IMO.  Textspeak for I My Opinion.

9. Renders harmless: DEFANGS.  Marc Defang is a shoe designer.

10. Intermittent: ON AND OFF.

11. Quash, as a bill: VETO.

12. Daredevil Knievel: EVEL.  Evel Knievel's given name was Robert Craig Knievel (Oct. 17, 1938 ~ Nov. 30, 2007).  He boasted that he could jump the Grand Canyon on his motorcycle.  Shockingly, the Federal Government would not give him permission to attempt this stunt.  He did, however, perform numerous other stunts.  He also was involved in numerous crashes and suffered numerous broken bones.

13. Dorky sort: NERD.

18. An hr. past midnight: ONE A.M.  Also the name of a silent Charlie Chaplin film.

19. Beat into a froth: WHIP.

24. When doubled, a dance: CHA.

25. Evasive maneuver: END RUN.

26. Agreements: PACTS.

27. Lacking illumination: UNLIT.

28. TV sports pioneer Arledge: ROONE.  Roone Pickney Arledge, Jr. (July 8, 1931 ~ Dec. 5, 2002) was the creator of Monday Night Football and 20/20.

29. Formally break away: SECEDE.

30. Architect Jones: INIGO.  Inigo Jones (July 15, 1573 ~ June 21, 1652) is the first significant architects of "modern" times, despite the fact that he lived over 400 years ago.  He was also very instrumental in the theater and stage design.  I always think his first name is Indigo, but of course, that is found in ROY G BIV. 

31. Twisted dry: WRUNG.  My grandmother had a wringer washer.  I always thought it was fun to help her on laundry day because I just loved the wringer.  I was still quite young when she got a more modern washer that had a spin cycle instead of a wringer.

32. Course that helps your GPA: EASY A.

33. Corrodes: RUSTS.

38. Uppers, drug-wise: PEP PILLS.  Saturday Night Live once had a skit with Gilda Radner and Lorraine Newman about Puppy Uppers and Doggie Downers.  This clue reminded me of that skit.

42. Culls: SELECTS.

43. Merman on Broadway: ETHEL.  Ethel Merman (née Ethel Agnes Zimmermann; Jan. 16, 1908 ~ Feb. 15, 1984) had a distinctive voice and was in a lot of Broadway musicals.

44. Pronoun for many an individual: SHE.

47. "Frasier" actress Gilpin: PERI. Peri Gilpin (née Peri Kay Oldham; b. May 27, 1961) played Roz Doyle on Frasier.

48. Chews the scenery: EMOTES.

51. __ card: two through nine in each suit: SPOT.  I was not aware that these cards had a name.

52. Ghostly glow: AURA.

53. Alpine transport: T-BAR.

54. __ vez: another time, in Spanish: OTRA.  Today's Spanish lesson.

55. Losing proposition?: DIET.  Cute clue.

57. "If it __ broke ... ": AIN'T.  Don't fix it even though it should be: If it Isn't Broken ...

58. Protagonist: HERO.

59. Computer operator: USER.

61. One-eighty: UIE.  Last week the turn was spelled correctly!!!

62. "Hometown Proud" supermarket chain: IGA.  As in Independent Grocers Alliance.

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  Fear of failure must never be a reason not to try something.  ~  Frederick W. Smith (né Frederick Wallace Smith; Aug. 11, 1944), Founder of FedEx