Friday, January 8, 2021, Dylan Schiff and Mark McClain

Theme: Are you betting the OVER or the UNDER?

Hello Cornerites! Chairman Moe here blogging his second 2021 Friday puzzle, after swapping with Lemonade last month. Beginning the 15 January, Jason and I will go back to alternating Fridays.

Adding this to my blog @ 3:00 pm EST****SPOILER ALERT****

In case it wasn’t obvious, we bloggers get our puzzles days in advance of the actual publish date. So, I had this blog prepared, edited, and ready to publish on Tuesday of this week.

In the case of today’s puzzle, the “on-line” version that I solved and recapped was different than what appeared today on other websites and in print edition, with reference to both the clues and their clue numbers. My version used the clue “ - - - “, and assigned it a number, in all of the four entries. And in my Arizona Republic print edition it did not do this. I have no idea why.

The blog recap goes live @3:00 am EST. I didn’t realize the confusion between the answers I got ahead of time (and how, actually, they were numbered) and what many of you saw today. In a lot of cases the clues and numbers didn’t match. It would take a whole lot of editing to correct this now. To no fault of the constructor nor the blogger, this occurred. All I can do is to say I wish we didn’t have this confusion.

Hope this explains it ... for those of you just now about to read the recap ...

****SPOILER ALERT OVER****

How interesting and coincidental that the collaborator of today's puzzle, Mark McClain, is someone with whom I began chatting, regarding xword puzzles, late last year. Dylan and Mark threw a doozy at us for the second of five January Friday editions. And in my best Husker Gary impression, I emailed Mark to ask him about the puzzle. I think his words capture so much more than I could offer ... and I did "resolve" to post shorter blogs in 2021!! But for what it's worth, the OVER/UNDER for reading today's blog is 30 minutes ...

Chris, Thanks very much for reaching out! Glad to chime in on this puzzle.

First and foremost, the theme idea was all Dylan's. We "met" through the Facebook "collaboration" group this past July, and I offered to collaborate with him on the puzzle because he was having a bit of trouble molding this excellent theme idea into a finished puzzle. The theme is more like a Schrödinger puzzle in that the theme entries have two possible answers which are both correct. However, unlike the traditional Schrödinger puzzle, the solver doesn't have to decide which is correct, because both answers are there. So, not quite like a rebus, which typically has something other than a single letter in a square.

I believe this may be Dylan's first published puzzle, though he told me that he had received an approval from another venue while we were working on this, but that one hasn't been published yet. Coincidentally, my first published puzzle was in LA Times, just over six years ago (this one will be number 50-something for me in LA Times).

The key to this theme is that you have a word that, if a letter somewhere near the middle is changed, becomes different word. That per se is commonplace, but the difficulty is finding such a pair of words that can have the identical clue in a crossword. That's rare, and it was really tough finding four such words.

I'm fully aware that one of the main reasons that solvers dislike a puzzle is because it turns out to be harder for them than they thought it should be. This is especially true of solvers who track their solving times (which I don't). There is also a body of solvers who just don't like really gimmicky themes, of which this puzzle is decidedly an example. So, I will not at all be surprised if there are some complaints from the crowd on this one. Most of the solo puzzles I'm doing nowadays are in the "easy" category with straightforward themes and clues. In LA Times I've had more Mondays and Tuesdays than any other day. But I have had several Fridays, mostly add/drop/switch letter themes.

Will look forward to reading your comments, and those of the "Corner" crowd.

Best,

Mark McClain

The Grid:

OK, so Chairman Moe wasn't too far off from the theme. When I sent Mark MY email, I had correctly identified the unifier: 38-Across. Sports bet based on total points scored ... or a hint to answering four puzzle clues: OVER / UNDER. And while at first the concept was not very clear, once the puzzle was completed, it was pretty obvious. The 8 circled letters were all positioned OVER/UNDER the "entries", as the following clues suggest:

20-Across. Source of some TV content: MINIS 22-Across "---": RIES. The circled "E" and "T" letters above and below the black/block square separating these two answers, can be inserted into that square to make two different meanings for the same starting clue: MINI-SERIES vs MINISTRIES. Both are the source of TV Content, as pictured below:

One of the first Mini-Series (debuted in 1977), and one of the first Ministries shown on TV (1952, I think; year before I was born):

Blogger's note: I was at first "puzzled" by the use of the clue, "- - -". So I asked Mark, what up? And he replied:

That business of the "- - -" clue is pretty standard for this theme gimmick (themer is spread across two words separated by a block, with only the first one being clued). It's a red flag to solver that something is fishy.

26-Across. Genetic connection: LIN 28-Across ---: AGE. The circled "K" and "E" make the words "LINKAGE" and "LINEAGE",, both of which are "genetic connections". Of course, when seeing the circled K I thought of:

52-Across. Impediment to walking down a hallway: CLU 53-Across ---: TER. Add the circled "T" and "S" and you get "CLUTTER" and "CLUSTER". After seeing 55-Across. Bleeping editor: CENSOR, I wondered if that person would've censored this popular military expression:

58-Across. Recommendation for better health: MEDI 61-Across.---: ATION. The circled "C" and "T" make the words "MEDICATION" and "MEDITATION" fit the clue for ways to better health. My three MEDICATIONS all fall into either Tier 1 or Tier 2, so my Medicare Advantage Plan charges me a $0.00 co-pay. My partner enjoys doing a daily MEDITATION to provide an inner calmness; I swear it's to help her live with Chairman Moe ...!

Let's see how the rest of the puzzle developed ...

Across:
1. Architectural recess: APSE. Crossword-ese #1

5. Good enough: OKAY. Crossword-ese #2; although the past tense for this could be either OKD for a 3-letter fill, or OKAYED for a 6-letter space. And sorta related to 16-Down, Green lights: YESES.

9. Grad: ALUM. Is this a spice/food additive only used by Grad's?

13. "A New Day Has Come" singer: DION.

14. Like Erté's art: DECO. Romain de Tirtoff (23 November 1892 – 21 April 1990) was a Russian-born French artist and designer known by the pseudonym Erté

15. Compensate: REPAY. Moe-ku #1:

When Popeye's buddy
Promised to REPAY, he used
A Wimpy "gif" card

17. Full of anticipation: AGOG. Word of the day!

18. Subject to being wiped out: ERADICABLE. This would've been the word of the day ... but AGOG eradicated it from my list ...

23. Kardashian matriarch: KRIS. Kristen Mary (née Houghton), born 11-5-1955; the former Mrs. Robert Kardashian and Mrs. Bruce Jenner (now Caitlyn), and mother to Kourtney, Kim, Klohe, Robert, Kendall, and Kylie. How did Robert (her son) miss out on having a name beginning with the letter "K"?

24. "We __ alone": ARE NOT. Perhaps?

29. Bridge protectors: NOSE PADS. Ahh, THAT bridge! NOSE PADS are the little doo-hickeys that the opticians always have to adjust on my eyeglasses

32. Promotional giveaways: TIE-INS. This one stumped me at first; not sure what exactly I pencilled in, but I was thinking more along the lines of spiffs ... Mark, was this your or Dylan's clue, or did Rich edit it?

34. Explosive initials: TNT. Crossword-ese #3

35. "Bob's Burgers" sibling: TINA. This was "either you know it, or you don't". I didn't. Never heard of the TV animated sit-com, but after doing a brief internet check, I found that TINA is indeed one of the siblings. The show centers on the Belcher family — which consists of Bob, his wife Linda, and their children TINA, Gene, and Louise. TINA, a shy awkward "tween" is voiced by actor Dan Mintz. Here's a clip:

37. Fellows: LADS. Short for Laddies

41. Chamonix peak: ALPE. Not to be confused with a "Chow-Chow" treat --> ALPO! But Chamonix (as shortened from Chamonix-Mont Blanc) is quite spectacular

43. Retro ski resort sight: T-BAR. Ray-O-Sunshine, you're up!!

44. Inexact no.: EST. abbreviation for ESTimate. I think this was my reply when I searched how much it would cost to replace a light bulb in my car ...

47. Like a busy chimney sweep's clothes: SOOTED. Moe-ku #2:

Dick Van Dyke's role as
Bert (Mary Poppins). He was
Well-SOOTED for it

49. Collide with: SLAM INTO. One of my favorite carnival/State Fair rides

56. Hawkeye State campus town: AMES. A bit of misdirection here, as AMES is the home of Iowa State University of the Big 12 College Athletic Conference (nickname the "Cyclones"), while the University of Iowa (nickname the "Hawkeyes") play in the Big TEN Athletic Conference. Iowa - as the entire "state" - is also nicknamed "Hawkeye" ... BTW, Moe did all of that without any internet help!! ;^) But my favorite AMES reference is shown in the clip below:

62. Evil fairy played by Angelina Jolie: MALEFICENT. Including a "haunting" song from decades ago in its Soundtrack

65. Kurylenko of "Quantum of Solace": OLGA. OLGA Konstiantinivna Kurylenko born November 14, 1979. 41-yr old Ukraine born, French actor. Former "Bond" girl.

Some interesting similarities to one of C-Moe's offspring: OLGA's birthdate and my son's are exactly one day apart; she is 5'9" tall and so is he; she had COVID-19 virus in 2020 and so did he; she is single and so is he; her net worth is $18M and . . .

66. In a heap: PILED. I think it's laundry day . . .

67. Bravo preceder: ALFA. Was I the only solver who was trying to parse a four-letter word for "encore"? Oh, it's that Bravo. ALFA, BRAVO, CHARLIE, DELTA, ECHO, FOXTROT, GOLF, HOTEL, INDIA, ...

68. It's not optional: NEED. We NEED air to breathe; it's not optional. Unlike 38-Down, Go (for): OPT, where it's a choice

69. Tibetan honorific: LAMA. As in the Dalai LAMA. LAMA in this song by the Edsels is pronounced differently ...

70. Alka-Seltzer jingle word: PLOP. "PLOP PLOP, fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is ..."

71. International gas brand: ESSO. Crossword-ese #4 ... was about to give a CSO just to Canadian "Eh" until Dylan and Mark clued it "International"

Down:
1. Hardheaded: ADAMANT. I am ADAMANT about squeezing as much info into these blogs as I possibly can! So much for my New Years Resolution?!

2. Blast furnace output: PIG IRON. Not this; "fore!"

3. With the least delay: SOONEST. Another word with "EST" in it, but I guess that's acceptable

4. Word with steam or fire: ENGINE. In 1698 Thomas Savery patented a pump with hand-operated valves to raise water from mines by suction produced by condensing steam. In about 1712 another Englishman, Thomas Newcomen, developed a more efficient steam ENGINE with a piston separating the condensing steam from the water. Thomas Lote built the first fire ENGINE made in America in 1743. These earliest engines are called hand tubs because they are manually (hand) powered and the water was supplied by a bucket brigade dumping it into a tub (cistern) where the pump had a permanent intake pipe.

5. Many a poem by Sharon Olds: ODE. Sharon Olds (born November 19, 1942) is an American poet.

6. NBA coach Steve: KERR. His biography courtesy of Wikipedia

7. Amazon berry: ACAI. Crossword-ese #5

8. Alpine song: YODEL.

9. Continuing story line: ARC. OK, perps solved this for me as the clue did not immediately make me think of ARC. But the third definition listed does say this: "(in a novel, play, or movie) the development or resolution of the narrative or principal theme". Friday clue

10. Source of inside info, perhaps: LEAK. OK, this might violate our blog's "no politics" position, but it certainly fits the clue and is historical

11. Criticize severely: UPBRAID. As in, TTP might UPBRAID C Moe for posting something political! Hopefully not

12. Casts in a bad light: MALIGNS. MALIGNS after UPBRAID? Hmm ... we need some cheery clues and fill soon for Moe

19. "You sure of that?": IS IT?.

21. Soak (up): SOP. I love using a piece of bread to SOP up the gravy on my plate

25. Thames gallery: TATE. The TATE museum is located on the River Thames

27. African river to the Mediterranean: NILE. Home of Cleo's asp?

30. Topsoil: DIRT. Moe-ku #3:

To heck with the soil,
I want to know more! Please Moe,
Just give me the DIRT

31. Treats with disdain: SNUBS. Let's hope that we don't have too many SNUBS show up - in their "anonymous" posts - to pan today's puzzle or the constructors

33. Hammer home?: EAR. LOL! Brilliant clue! This hammer's home:

36. Uptight: ANAL.

39. Nair rival that originally had "N" as its first letter: VEET. If I hadn't looked up the image I would've never guessed . . . although using this product is not something with which I am too familiar! The "back story" is that VEET was the brand name internationally, and NEET was the brand name in Canada and the U.S. In 2002 the name VEET became universal

40. Horror icon, for short: DRAC. As in short for Count DRACula

41. Web service since 1993: AOL MAIL. This was one of the clues/fills that I felt was "forced". I think we are all familiar with AOL as a Web Service; the MAIL part seemed redundant. Sorry, Mark

42. Parsons of old Hollywood gossip: LOUELLA. Louella Parsons (born Louella Rose Oettinger; August 6, 1881 – December 9, 1972) was an American movie columnist and a screenwriter.

44. Stores on a farm: ENSILES. As to put grains into a SILO

45. Trio in funny shorts: STOOGES. A CSO to yours truly! One of my favorite clips which uses dialog referring to the "TRIO" is in this link, and happens around the 1:00 minute mark as well as at the end. Classic Three STOOGES

46. Storm often chased: TORNADO. This 1996 movie brought the term "Storm Chasers" to the fore

47. Mischief-maker: SCAMP. Moe-ku #4:

A Disney Remake
About a mischief-maker?
Lady and the SCAMP

48. "Sorry Not Sorry" singer Lovato: DEMI. Demetria Devonne Lovato, born August 20, 1992 in Albuquerque, NM, is the daughter of a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. Here is her song:

50. "Give __ break!": ME A. C'mon Moe! I can't spend a half hour reading your blog. Give ME A break!!

51. Chant: INTONE. Technically, a recitation where the pitch of ones voice neither rises nor falls

54. Summarize: RECAP. THIS! My RECAP of today's puzzle!

57. Come across as: SEEM. Does this RECAP SEEM too lengthy?

59. Inspiron maker: DELL. Moe-ku #5:

An Insurance APP
On ones laptop might be called:
"Farmer's in the DELL"

60. Lowdown: INFO. Just the facts; just the INFO, Moe

63. HHS agency: FDA. The United States Department of Health & Human Services was a re-naming of the Department of Health Education and Welfare in 1979. The The United States Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, is one of its branches, and is headquartered in White Oak, MD

64. Touchscreen touch: TAP. TAP, TAP, TAP, are the sounds of many fingers of our readers today, as they patiently wait for this blog to end!

Thoughts? Comments? See you in a couple of weeks ...

Thursday, January 7, 2021, Paul Coulter

Today we have another outing with Paul Coulter, as he shares with us his favorite drinks and mixers.  The themers might be a bit easier to follow if we start with the Grid.  As there are 4 pairs of related theme clues, I've shown the pairs here connected by red lines:

The first answer set consists of four beverages, 3 alcoholic (1A, 5A, and 60A) and one a mixer (45A).  These respective beverages are then "mixed" in anagrams embedded in 4 two word answers (46A, 27A, 17A,  and 66A).  The anagrams don't seem to have any particular relationship to the drinks in the first set of clues, but EDAM cheese (in 46A) might pair nicely with a CLARET (5A).  Paul, please feel free to stop by and comment if I'm missing something.  Here are the paired theme clues:

1. Ancient beverage "mixed" in 46-Across: MEAD. A drink fermented from honey. Also the name of the famous anthropologist Margaret Mead, best known for her seminal book Coming of Age In Samoa and for her autobiography Blackberry Winter.  The anagram here is EDAM.



46. "Give me time to collect myself": I NEED A MOMENT.  I needed a lot of MOMENTS to suss all of the above! 

5. Dinner beverage "mixed" in 27-Across: CLARET.  The British term for the dry red wines vinified just across the Channel in the Bordeaux region of France.  Clarets are generally BLENDS (mixes) of the VARIETALS Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. The anagram here is CARTEL:

27. Driver's aid, once: CAR TELEPHONE. Hands up if you've ever used one.  Bluetooth links to your cellphone don't count.

45. Fountain beverage "mixed" in 17-Across: SODA.  The anagram here is ADOS.  I guess all that fizzin' stirs up a fuss!

17. Air Force Academy city: COLORADO SPRINGS.  Also known for The Garden of the Gods:

and for The Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun: 

66. After-dinner beverage "mixed" in 60-Across: PORT.  All ports are made from a blend of grapes grown throughout Portugal's Douro valley. There are two kinds of port: TAWNY and RUBY.  Beyond that I've got to issue a CSO to C Moe for any additional exegesis on PORTS.  The anagram here is TROP:

60. Balancing act: TIGHTROPE WALKER.  Here French tightrope walker Bongonga completed a stunt on a cord hanging 35 meters from the ground at Paris' picturesque Montmartre hill, with no security cable attached to her costume.  I can barely bear to watch this. Sacré-Coeur! 

The anagram here was TROP, which imported from French into English still means TOO MUCH.  It might describe the throbbing in your head the next morning if you mixed "TOO MUCH" MEAD, CLARET, and PORT on New Years Eve!  Cheers, and here's all the rest ...

Across:

11. Cooking meas.: TSP.  It couldn't be the abbreviation for tablespoon, as that's four letters.

14. Part of a pot: ANTE.  On the other side of the pond it's pronounced ONTIE, as in your mother's sister.

15. On a smaller scale: LESS SO.

16. Bit in a horse's mouth: OAT.

20. Abbr. between names, perhaps: AKA.  An author's PSEUDONYM or perhaps more often an ALIAS for someone suspected of figuring out a crossword answer from the intersecting answers.  But who might get BUSTED by the dreaded NATICK.

21. Gulf of __: OMAN.  Could be the Gulf of ADEN.  You might have to perp it.

22. Starkers, on this side of the pond: NAKED.  On this side of the pond we have a similar sounding noun STREAKERS, but on the other side of the pond the former word is an adjective.  Here's a TV frame of a breathless Benedict Cumberbach (AKA Sherlock Holmes) being Scandalised in Bohemia by his STARKERS nemesis Irene Adler.  While this image is RATED PG, the one on the BBC was definitely RATED R:



23. Not fooled by: WISE TO.

25. City blight: SLUM.

33. Sneeze syllable: CHOO.  Doubled this becomes a kiddie TRAIN.

36. It's a wrap: SARAN.  I'll make mine with a TORTILLA thank you.

37. Bond was kicked out of it: ETON. If it's a four letter English school, you can count on it being ETON.

38. Fireplace shelf: HOB.  Dw will be happy to know we have one on our gas grill.  It's also "a machine tool used for cutting gears or screw threads".  CSO to Dash T, I know you've got a SONIC SCREWDRIVER, but do you have a HOB?  TAPS and DIES don't count.

39. Berkeley sch.: CAL.  CALs are something we've all resolved to avoid for at least another mo.

40. Effort: TRY.

41. ESPN MLB analyst: AROD.

43. Drive: MOTOR.  These have been known to throw A ROD from time to time.

49. Animal rights gp.: PETA.  Also a homo-phonic pocket bread used to serve FALAFELS with TAHINI and shredded lettuce.

50. Make more powerful: SOUP UP.  Like I did with the ham HOCK left over from Christmas dinner.  A bit salty though.

54. Gut feeling?: AGITA.

57. Simon Says player: APER.  So Simon was a simian?



59. That, in Oaxaca: ESA.

64. Artist Yoko: ONO.  Yoko was in the last puzzle I blogged and I'm happy to report that she is still with us.

65. Filling out forms, often: HASSLE.

67. Make a dent in: MAR.

68. Drove off: SHOOED.

69. Costner role: NESS.  A much more famous NESS is the LOCH in Scotland, the home of NESSIE, the MONSTER who warms the hearts of the Scottish tourist industry:



Down:

1. Rainforest parrot: MACAW.

2. Mushroom in Asian cuisine: ENOKI. 



Not to be confused with these cuddly creatures on the planet ENDOR. 

   

3. World record?: ATLAS. Cute clue.  OTOH Icelandic actor and strongman Hafthor Bjornsson set a world record for the deadlift last May, when he lifted 1,104 pounds (501 kg) at Thor's Power Gym in Iceland.

4. "Gloria in Excelsis __": DEO.  The beginning of the hymn from the Latin Mass.  Here is Antonio Vivaldi's setting:



5. Demands loudly, with "for": CLAMORS  Wannabe OYSTERS if you ask me.

6. Helen of Troy's mother: LEDA.  An early #METOO victim.

7. John Irving's "__ of the Circus": A SON.  I have but one.  And 8 grandchildren.  And sometimes it IS a circus!

8. __ feed: online news aggregator: RSS.  "Really Simple Syndication" is a web protocol that allows users and applications automatic access to website updates in a standardized, computer-readable format. These FIFO feeds can give you a pull down menu on your browser listing any new posts to a site.  In order for this to work the site must support the RSS protocol.

9. Medium gift: ESP.  IMHO there is some statistical evidence that there is something to this.

10. Ripped to shreds: TORN UP.

11. Honky-__: TONK.  I read somewhere that COVID-19 has really wreaked havoc on these convivial watering holes.

12. Wise one: SAGE.  A very wise man indeed. Without him there would be no SAUSAGES.

13. Condition once called "shell shock," for short: PTSD.  My father suffered from this for 10 years after WWII.  But he recovered and managed to raise a family of 5, four very bright girls and a boy.

18. Membership list: ROTA.

19. "You found the right guy," formally: I AM HE.

24. Novelist Umberto: ECO.  He was much more than a novelist, but is perhaps best known for his first novel, "The Name of the Rose", which was later made into a movie.



25. Go this way and that: SLALOM.  Sort of a gentle ZIG and ZAG.

26. Actor Cariou: LEN.   Canadian[Eh!] actor and stage director, best known for his Tony award winning portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the original Broadway cast of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.



28. City near Seattle: TACOMA.  From the Salish Indian word for the mountain that provided water to their tribe (later changed to Mount Rainier - I have no have no idea what that means in Salish.  Rainer maybe?).

29. Muse for Shelley: ERATO.

30. "The Simpsons" bus driver: OTTO.

31. North of Paris: NORD.

32. One-named New Ager: ENYA.  Please forgive the recursion but ...  I used to like this singer, but as time went by she became increasing derivative of ENYA.

33. Spiced tea: CHAI.

34. Cornucopia shape: HORN.  An almost clecho to 35B next. Both BRASSES and WOODWINDS have HORN shaped instruments, but they have different timbres and belong to different orchestral groups.

35. Bassoon kin: OBOE.  One of my favorite pieces for this instrument is Ennio Moriconi's "Gabriel's Oboe" for the film "The Mission" starring Jeremy Irons:

  

52. Computer operators: USERS.  The oft overlooked system "component".  I prefer the term STAKEHOLDER.   And when the computer is a personal computer, USERS are the chief stakeholders.

53. Labor go-with: PARTS.

54. Tiny bit: ATOM.  But not the tiniest.  There is ample evidence for SUBATOMIC PARTICLES, like the familiar ELECTRON, the PROTON, and the NEUTRON  But the latter two are further composed of even smaller particles called QUARKS.   Physicists, despairing of describing them in terms that we mere mortals might understand, assign them bizarre names like UP, DOWN, CHARM, STRANGE, TOP, and BOTTOM, , with a total of 17 denizens  in the particle zoo known as The Standard Model.  And if that's not STRANGE enough, there is a whole theory of near infinitesimally smaller particles called STRINGS, for which there is no experimental evidence whatsoever!  And I'm not stringing you along.  But the theorists might be.

55. Carano of "Deadpool""Deadpool": GINA.  I've never seen it, but it does get a lot of press, whatever it is.  Sounds like a scary place.

56. Horror movie assistant: IGOR.  Sometimes you have to perp it for the first letter, which may be a Y.

57. Lhasa __: APSO.  This breed originated in Tibet. How they could survive Tibetan winters I have no idea.  I knew one of them once,  and I know I shouldn't generalize on a sample of one, but my impression of it was that it was a warm. cuddly, white furry lizard with a ganglion in place of a brain.  A CSO to any Lhasa Apso owners on the Corner - as a dog lover I'd be happily disavowed of my prejudice if you've had a different experience.

58. Soccer great: PELE.

61. "Go team!": RAH.

62. Spanish bear: OSO.  I don't think I can bear that again.

63. Hosp. staffer: LPN.  A CSO to the LPNs, RNs, LAB TECHS and DOCTORS (inanehiker, Ray-O and any I've missed)  on the Corner.  YOU ARE HEROES!!!

 waseeley

Note from C.C.:

Here are two lovely pictures of JD's family. JD lives close to her two daughters and she often helps with the grandkids' school work.

Wednesday, January 6, 2021, Jerry Edelstein

Theme: ROLL CALL

17. Soda debut of 2002: VANILLA COKE.

23. "Ain't Misbehavin'" Tony and Emmy winner: NELL CARTER.

38. Security guard Paul Blart, in a 2009 film title: MALL COP.

50. Judge's research aide: LEGAL CLERK.

61. Station identifiers, and a hint to each set of circles: CALL LETTERS.

Perfect reveal phrase. The letters CALL are rearranged and span (spun?) across two words. 

Melissa here. I'm sure it was unintentional, but this grid was full of references to the arts. Film, TV, stage, literature, music.

Across:

1. Capital of Morocco: RABAT. Visiting Rabat.

6. Green military symbol: BERET.

11. Energy one might run out of: GAS. Nice.

14. Humiliate: ABASE. "To lower in rank, office, prestige, or esteem."

15. Napoleon on St. Helena, e.g.: EXILE.

16. Squeeze bunt stat: RBI. Runs Batted In.

19. Consume: EAT.

20. Cadillac's answer to the Navigator: ESCALADE. Luxury SUVs.

21. Table input: DATA.

22. Useless, now: SHOT.

27. Froze, with "up": ICED. 

29. Foreign: ALIEN.

30. Harry Potter nemesis Malfoy: DRACO. Unusual for the 'good' guy to have dark hair and the 'bad' guy to have blonde hair.

33. Fishing spot: PIER. Not LAKE or POND.

34. Wane: EBB.

37. Feel bad: AIL.

41. Anguish: WOE.

42. Holiday tuber: YAM.

43. Stratagem: PLOY.

44. Mork's leader on Ork: ORSON.

46. 1943 penny metal: STEEL.

48. Fuss: TODO.

53. West Point, briefly: USMA. United States Military Academy.

57. Way out: EXIT. 

58. "Her résumé is clean and checks out": NO ISSUES.

60. Off-road transp.: ATV. All-terrain vehicle.

64. Historic start?: PRE. Prehistoric.

65. Tatum of "Paper Moon": ONEAL. The film starred real-life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O'Neal. Tatum holds the record for the youngest actor to win an Oscar - Best Supporting Actress.

66. Send payment: REMIT.

67. Road crew's supply: TAR. Smells awful.

68. Rolls to the runway: TAXIS.

69. "Golden Boy" author Clifford: ODETS. Play that  charts the swift rise of a gifted twenty-one-year-old violinist, Joe Bonaparte, who is corrupted by fame and fortune when he chooses to become a professional boxer.

Down:

1. Cast-pleasing reviews: RAVES. Another art reference.

2. Disconcert: ABASH. One letter different, and similar to ABASE. "To destroy the self-possession or self-confidence of (someone)."

3. Place to save in Sevilla: BANCO. Sevilla is a capital city in Spain. Banco is Spanish for bank.

4. Like some elephants: ASIATIC.

5. Relate: TELL.

6. Adorned with tiny spheres: BEADED.

7. Get all A's: EXCEL.

8. Spain's Ebro, por ejemplo: RIO. More Spanish. Rio = River.

9. Lodge member: ELK.

10. Top with a slogan: TEE.

11. "That's wonderful to hear!": GREAT NEWS.

12. Wane: ABATE. ABASE, ABASH, and now ABATE.

13. Indian strings: SITAR.

18. HOV __: LANE.

21. "The Chronic" Dr.: DRE. His debut studio album.

24. Secular: LAIC.

25. Role for Liz: CLEO. Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra.

26. Apple earbud: AIRPOD.

28. Force: COMPEL.

30. Labor __: DAY.

31. Narrow waterway: RIA.

32. Charitable sort: ALMS GIVER.

33. Perform diligently: PLY. "Work with (a tool, especially one requiring steady, rhythmic movements)." A tailor delicately plying his needle.

35. Sound meant to startle: BOO.

36. Big __: BEN. So beautiful.

39. d'Urberville rake murdered by Tess: ALEC. Book and movie.

40. Laze about: LOLL.

45. Forced out of bed: ROUSTED.

47. Ankle art, often: TAT.

48. Internet troublemakers: TROLLS. 

49. "The Grapes of Wrath" character: OKIE. Another movie reference.

50. Jumped: LEAPT.

51. Face in the crowd, in film: EXTRA. Amazon Prime is streaming a 2007 documentary called Strictly Background, about extras.

52. Zhou who hosted Nixon: ENLAI. Nixon's 1972 visit to China.

54. "See if I care!": SUE ME.

55. Be worthy of: MERIT.

56. Aides: Abbr.: ASSTS.

59. Space City ALer: STRO. Short for a Houston Astro.

61. Foldable bed: COT.

62. "SNL" alum Gasteyer: ANA.

63. Evil Luthor: LEX. From Superman.