Friday, April 9, 2021, David Alfred Bywaters

Theme: Take the FIFTH

Hello Cornerites, Chairman Moe here after a two-week hiatus from blogging. And wouldn't you know that the puzzle I got to recap was a bit crunchy; though once I saw the "reveal" (66-Across: What's taken in some court proceedings, and also (in two ways) from the answers to starred clues: FIFTH), I knew that the constructor meant "take the FIFTH letter from the entries" and you'll spell the word FIFTH!

Not on board? Well, let's look ...

17-Across. *French cheesemonger's luggage?: BRIE CASES. Put the letter "F" next to BRIE and you form BRIEFCASES. F is the FIFTH letter in the entry, which has been "taken" to form a punny phrase.

Brie cheese does have a "case", so to speak . . . I call it a "rind". And I am one of those who eats it! Yes, the bloomy rind is completely safe to eat and even keeps the inside safe from any potentially unwanted microorganisms during production. The rind on Brie not only protects and encases the cheese – it also adds a subtle, earthy flavor.

22-Across. *Potemkin village?: REALTY SHOW. Put an "I" in the FIFTH spot in this entry and you have "REALITY SHOW". There are far too many to list here, but pre-pandemic, the CBS hit "Survivor" had some 40 straight episodes of what I always imagined to be a "staged" reality show.

As for the pun, I found that the word "Potemkin" means: "having a false or deceptive appearance, especially one presented for the purpose of propaganda". But the proper name, Grigory Potemkin, was known for his love of women, gambling and material wealth. He oversaw the construction of many historically significant buildings, including the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg. Does "REALTY" then refer to "the industry term which most accurately describes the services rendered by real estate agents, property managers and brokerages related to the purchase, sale, leasing and managing of real estate?"

35-Across. *Top performer who's hopelessly off course?: LOST ACE. Put an "F" in the FIFTH spot and the phrase "LOST FACE" appears. This was my last solve and one of my favorite puns from DAB. LOST FACE means: "to lose other people's respect". An "ACE" is also known as a "top performer". Quite clever

48-Across. *Heresies?: HOLY ERRORS. "Heresy" is defined as "belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious (especially Christian) doctrine." Literally, a HOLY ERROR! Put a "T" in the FIFTH spot and the phrase "HOLY TERRORS" appears. Which also defines: 10-Across. Teacher's handful: IMP. Not sure if this was intentional, but it is certainly clever!

55-Across. *PETA protester's emotion?: COAT ANGER. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an animal rights organization that opposes the abuse of animals in any way, such as for food, clothing, entertainment, or research. My first recall of that organization was when their followers protested, and at times, sprayed paint onto fir garments (think mink) as people were wearing them in public, thus causing COAT ANGER. But if you add an "H" in the FIFTH spot of this entry, the new phrase is "COAT HANGER"! I'm not sure if this "Sex and the City" co-star had to put her stained COAT on a HANGER, in ANGER!

But if you looked at my initial picture of my blog, you'll know that the word FIFTH has an entirely different meaning to me! And perhaps, a CSO to our Tampa Bay area imbiber, Tinbeni!

Let's see how the rest of the fill evolved ...

Across:
1. Lab kit supply: SWABS. Over the past 12 months I'm sure that the number of SWABS used to test for the Corona Virus 19 exceeded the billions . . . but this image suggests killing two birds with one stone!

6. Highland hats: TAMS. As in "TAM-O-SHANTER", the name for a Scottish hat. Highland also refers to an area within Scotland that is well known for producing wonderful Whisky. Here is MY favorite from that area:

13. "Uncalled for!": NOT OK. Or maybe this could've been clued: "if you're a Longhorn fan you're from TX, _____!" CSO to Dash T

14. Missouri's __ de Terre Lake: POMME. As Splynter would've said, "Frawnch"! Geography learning lesson. The lake is located in southern Hickory and northern Polk counties, about 50 miles north of Springfield. In the middle of nowhere. Its name is the French language word for potato. I guess this is a harder clue than using "_____ Frites"

15. Revival prefix: NEO. This was a WAG for me

16. Game millions can play: LOTTO. This is taken from an article in Time Magazine about 5 years ago: Americans spend a lot of money playing the lottery. Approximately 370 million lottery tickets were sold between Saturday and Tuesday before the Mega Millions drawing, according to a lottery official. The U.S. generated nearly $73 billion in lottery sales in 2016 and CNN reports that in 2017, U.S. residents spent about $73.5 billion on tickets. The average American spends about $223.04 per year on lottery tickets, loan marketplace LendEDU found in a report that calculated its average by dividing the 2016 lottery revenue by the U.S. population (325.7 million).

19. Like a storied equine statue: TROJAN. TROJAN horse, perhaps? FWIW, my HS team mascot and nickname were the TROJANS, and our school colors were Orange and Black. Lots of jokes were made, too, surrounding the branded product with the same name

21. Fire alarm?: SMOKE. Where there's SMOKE there's fire??

26. __ bargain: PLEA.

27. Female monster: OGRESS. Fiona didn't fit

28. Unoccupied ones: IDLERS. Moe-ku:

When self-driving cars
Are stopped at a red light, are
They idling IDLERS?

30. Word in a kids' game recommendation: AGES. As in what's printed on many game boxes. See the SW corner

31. Heroic collie: LASSIE. Here is a short video with a lot of information

34. Bks. in progress: MSS. Abbr for ManuScriptS

37. Hydroelectric project: DAM. One example: Hoover DAM can produce over 2,000 megawatts of capacity and a yearly average generation of 4.5 billion kilowatt hours to serve the annual electrical needs of nearly 8 million people in Arizona, southern California, and southern Nevada

40. Prodded: GOADED. Our Thesaurussaurus doesn't list it but that doesn't mean it isn't so. Otherwise we would not be able to provide you with a Friday-level clue . . .

41. Romcom subject: LOVE. Romcom is a portmanteau for Romantic Comedy. LOVE fits the Romantic side . . . and here is an earworm for you to carry for awhile ...

42. Chartbuster: BIG HIT. If you were curious to know which chartbuster was a BIG HIT over the decades, please visit this site. I just happened to highlight my HS graduation year

45. Lyric poems: EPODES. I wondered what was different between EPODES and ODES and found this: EPODE, a verse form composed of two lines differing in construction and often in metre, the second shorter than the first. In Greek lyric odes, an EPODE is the third part of the three-part structure of the poem, following the strophe and the antistrophe. The word is from the Greek epōidós, “sung” or “said after.” And now you know

47. Memo heading: IN RE:. This one had too many "IN RE's" methinks ...

52. Cardiologist's implant: STENT. How might a Cardiologist insert a STENT into a clown's heart?

54. Old-style "Listen up!": HEAR YE. The things you can find on the internet . . .

57. Of yore: OLDEN. Shouldn't songs from the past be called Golden OLDEN's then?

61. Hill builder: ANT. Where would crossword puzzles be without the word ANT?

62. Sneerer's sentiment: SCORN. This image creeped me out a bit

63. False move: FEINT. A homophone for the word "faint". Remember that faint is to lack perception or consciousness while FEINT is to deceive opponents

64. Word of assent: YES. Or the name of a band with multiple BIG HITS, including this one:

65. Lays down the lawn: SODS. Cute play-on-words which of course triggered another Moe-klu*:

Lawyer's landscaper
Wanted no interference
He laid down the lawn

*A Moe-klu is a haiku that parodies the clue, not the solve

Down:
1. NBC show with Ego Nwodim: SNL. Ego who? Been a long time since I've watched Saturday Night Live. Here is Ego

2. Try to win: WOO. A bit "dated" definition of the verb, as in: try to gain the love of (someone), especially with a view to marriage. "he WOOed her with quotes from Shakespeare"

3. Verizon competitor: ATT. I am a Sprint subscriber but they're now part of T Mobile

4. Wine orders: BOTTLES. Although ordering by the glass (BTG) is so much easier

5. Tennis wear: SKORTS. Another portmanteau - this time, a combo of Skirts and Shorts - worn by many women tennis players. Why? Initially called "trouser skirts," SKORTS were developed to provide more freedom to do activities (such as sports, gardening, cleaning, or bike riding), and give the appearance of a skirt. I hear that many male tennis players from Scotland prefer wearing SKILTS for the same reason . . .

6. Hebrew scripture: TORAH. Another Moe-ku: (sort of)

World War II movie remake:
Jews plan surprise attack on Hitler
Crying, "TORAH, TORAH, TORAH"

OK, hope that one doesn't get me in too much trouble . . .

7. __ acid: AMINO.

8. Toulouse title: Abbr.: MME. More Frawnch ... abbr. for MadeMoisellE; translated as "miss" or an unmarried woman. Interesting find on the Internet from 2012: French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has ordered all regional and local governments to remove the title “Mademoiselle” -- used for unmarried women and implying a youthful immaturity -- from official documents

9. Brief intervals: SECS. Another Moe-ku:

HBO remake
That features only "quickies":
SECS in the City

10. Arch support: INSOLE. These:

11. More likely to give: MEEKER.

12. Pretend to be: POSE AS. Some folks would say that Chairman Moe tries to POSE AS a blogger . . .

14. Two-spread sandwiches, for short: PBJS. Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches. I still eat 'em. Love them on toasted rye bread . . .

18. Sufficient: AMPLE. My blogs and use of pictures and ku's are more than AMPLE! ;^)

20. Yiddish cries: OYS. Probably muttered by several readers here after my Moe-ku for 6-Down

22. Travel here and there: ROAM. Wasn't this a BIG HIT once upon a time? Dion DiMucci ROAMed around around around

23. Coop collections: EGGS. At first I thought this was CO-OP, not COOP ...

24. Son of Zeus and Hera: ARES. ARES is the god of war, one of the Twelve Olympian gods and the son of Zeus and Hera.

25. Ill. neighbor: WISC. Home of the Cheeseheads (aka, Packer Fans)

29. Run out of juice: DIE. One of my "go-to" Karaoke songs . . . wait for the final line

31. Vehicle for some '60s trips: LSD. This was another vehicle for some '60's trips that could've fit the clue:

32. Fed on: ATE. Crossword fill

33. Depressing: SAD. Can you even imagine Chairman Moe being SAD??!

35. Napoleonic Code part: LOI. WAG and perp. Learning moment . . . and more Frawnch . . . LOI is French for "law". The Napoleonic Code (as a rule of laws) was established in 1804 and is in use today - with several amendments

36. Swearing-in custom: OATH. Only a Stooge could find this clip

37. Birdbrain, or an extinct bird: DODO. DODO as in rhyming with MOE MOE. Birdbrain? Moi?

38. Claim with confidence: AVER. More crossword-ese

39. Confusion result: MESS. Our Thesaurus.plus character agrees

40. Home to the van Eycks' "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb": GHENT. Wikipedia has more info

41. Rhine siren: LORELEI. LORELEI (aka Loreley) is legendary German siren (often depicted with a mermaid tail), who was created by Clemens Brentano in 1801.

42. Europe's Bay of __: BISCAY. Bordering France, Iberia, and the Atlantic Ocean. It's known for its rough seas and violent storms and much of this is thanks to its exposure to the Atlantic ocean. ... Swell waves can be felt in the Bay of Biscay if you're still in deep water 100 miles out. See map below

43. Chant: INTONE. An example, courtesy of Monty Python

44. Record setters: GREATS. Moe-ku, and more WISC humor:

Trio of Cheeseheads
Shred six pounds in two minutes
The GREATS of all time

45. "And all that beauty, all that wealth __ gave ... ": Gray: E'ER. We almost always see EER clued as a contraction of EVER; rarely do we see it as a suffix, as in MountainEER

46. Remove with difficulty: PRY OFF. Hungry Homer

49. "My Lord!": OH GOD. Remember the movie?

50. Wanton gazes: LEERS. Another Moe-klu:

At Chinese Rest'rant
Diners heard soup was gone and
Had Wonton gazes

51. Story to spin: YARN. When I tried to spin a story to my kids when they were growing up they'd just yaWn! ;^)

53. Soviet news agency: TASS. Lots to learn at this Wiki site

56. Sgt., e.g.: NCO. Sgt as in Sergeant. NCO as in Non Commisioned Officer. I hear that when ex-Sergeants become civilians and go to work as a car salesman, they prefer to be paid a salary . . .

58. "What's the __?": DIF. Is it DIF or DIFF? Or both? I'm outta touch, but how about a "what's the DIFF Gif"?

59. Sinus doc: ENT. Ear Nose & Throat doctor's (aka, an Otolaryngologist) are among the highest paid medical specialists - see chart below

60. Unnamed degree: NTH. Unlike the degree I graduated college with (a B.A.), though I'm sure many of you would've thought it was a "B.S."!!

Here is the grid, and thanks again David for a fun and frantic Friday puzzle. Please add your thoughts and comments ...

Thursday, April 8, 2021, Jeffrey Wechsler

Good morning, cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with his friend Shaun the Sheep.  Shaun seems in fine fettle on this spring day.  Easter, Passover and Flauschink have all come and gone (until next year) and it's a good time to sit back, relax, sip a piña colada, or two, and contemplate today's theme.  After giving the matter some thought, Shaun has suggested that we start with the reveal:

34 Across: Palm fruit ... or what the creator of this puzzle's theme apparently is?: COCONUT.  As in COCONUT Palm.  Watch for falling objects!

Theme:  I've Got A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts

Merv Griffin

 

Jeffrey Wechsler is a name quite familiar to those who hang out at the LAT Crossword Corner.  To say that he has constructed a shipload of puzzles published by the L.A. Times would be an understatement.   If I am not mistaken, this is his second within one week and his one hundred seventy-ninth overall.  For today's puzzle, Jeffrey has elected to riff on COCONUTS.  As he suggests in the reveal, Jeffrey has apparently gone cuckoo-for-cocoa-puffs due to all the research and writing and punning and cluing and re-writing.  Then he has to sit back as editors second guess everything he has done.  Oy!  There certainly exists a correlation between all of this and one's mental well being.  Whether or not there is causality is a matter best left to the judgement of you, dear reader.

14 Across:  Attempted coup participants: CO-CONSPIRATORS.  A coup d'etat (French for "blow of state" as used, also, in final blow or "coup de grace") often shortened to "coup" is the seizure of a government and its powers.  In 1799, Napoleon and his CO CONSPIRATORS staged a successful coup against the ruling French Directory.  Napoleon was, himself, the intended target of a coup.  Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.

Napoleon Bonaparte et Amis

20 Across:  Many an 18th-century painter: ROCOCO ARTIST.  ROCOCO is an elaborately ornamental style of painting.

42 Across:  Environmentally concerned: ECO CONSCIOUS.   ECO, ECO-friendly, and ECOlogical were added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2008.

51. Source of an organic fiber: SILKWORM COCOON.

Silkworm Cocoons on a Mulberry Leaf

Let us now take a look at the other clues and answers.  Puzzles are sort of like responsive reading, aren't they?

Across:

1. #1 Toto song that mentions the Serengeti: AFRICA.  Toto is a band originally formed in Los Angeles in 1977.  Depending on the source cited, the name came either from the canine in The Wizard of Oz or from the the phrase "in toto" meaning all encompassing and which was scrawled by the band, as a means of identification, on some of their early demo tapes.  The Serengeti is a region of AFRICA renown, among other things, for its large lion population.

7. Whittling, for one: CRAFT.

12. Wavy patterns in some op art: MOIRES.  Although it is a word that few of us have occasion to use, and as a plural on even fewer occasions, we do come across MOIRE not infrequently in puzzles.

13. Cool one's feet at streamside, say: DANGLE.  A shaman gave a man a potion for erectile dysfunction.  The instructions were to take only a single teaspoon and then count out loud:  one, two, three.  "How do I stop it from working?" asked the man.   "Say one, two, three, four" replied the shaman.   That evening when he and his wife were in the bedroom he followed the instructions.  His wife became quite excited and, while taking off her clothes, asked "What was the one, two, three for?"  This is why we should never end our sentences with a preposition.  We might end up with a dangling participle.

 

17. Stretching muscles: TENSORS.   Today's other anatomy lesson.

18. Iowa State city: AMES.  Alternatively, a State University location often seen in crossword puzzles.

24. Low-quality: POOR.

26. CFO's degree: MBA.  A company's  Chief Financial Officer might, or might not, hold a Masters of Business Administration degree.

UCLA Anderson School of Management

Class of 1979

27. Intelligence org.: NSA.  National Security Agency.  We need to be careful, and not be too hasty, because sometimes it turns out to be the National Security Council.

28. Form close ties (with): BOND.

29. "Let's have at it!": GAME ON.

Wayne's World

32. Point: AIM.

33. Circle segment: ARC.

35. __ dog: TOP.  TOP Dog means someone who is dominant, or apex, in their field.

36. Classic Pontiac: GTO.  Gran Tourismo Omologato loosely translates to Grand Touring Homologated (a vehicle, or engine, approved for sale or for a particular use).  I had a 1999 Suzuki SV650 motorcycle that was homologated  for sale in California.  When I went back to the dealer to ask why the owner's manual had me in shifting into sixth gear at 35 miles per hour when you could hit about 50 mph in first gear, the salesperson just smiled silently.

1969 Pontiac GTO

37. Not moving: AT REST.

38. Desires: YENS.

39. Bellows of "The Agency": GIL.  "The Agency" was a television show about the CIA.  GIL Bellows is an actor who appeared in that show and who also, among other roles, played Tommy in "The Shawshank Redemption" motion picture.

40. Dessert order: PIE.

41. Flower holders: BEDS.  A reasonable attempt to device us but the use of the plural meant the neither VASES nor STEMS was going to fit.  URNS would have fit but . . . .

47. Old Venetian judge: DOGE.  The DOGE's Palace, en Venezia Italia has many murals on its walls painted by Tiziano Vecellio who we know as Titian.  He was famous for his use of reds (the colors, not the barbiturates).

Doge Andrea Gritti by Titian

48. Catching a glimpse of: ESPYING.

There was a young lady named Hannah

Who slipped on a peel of banana

As she lay on her side more stars she espied

Than there are in the Star Spangled Banner

56. Most cunning: SLIEST.

57. When Rome wasn't built?: IN A DAY.  Per the old saw.  Rome was not built in a week either or, for example, was it built in the 10th century BCE.  It was, according to legend, founded on April 21st 753 BCE.

58. Weighty reading: TOMES.

59. Guiding principles: TENETS.

Down:

1. Film lover's TV option: AMC. Originally known as American Movie Classics, AMC Network debuted in 1984 and originally focused on airing motion pictures made prior to 1950.  As of 2015, almost 95,000,000 American households received the channel.

2. Pay, as a bill: FOOT.  The idiom "FOOT the bill" is derived from an earlier idiom: to "foot up" or total the items on a bill at the bottom, or foot, of the bill.  By the 1800's it had come to mean to pay the total at the foot of the bill.

3. It may be fried or puffed: RICE.

Fried

4. Piece of rebar, essentially: IRON ROD.  Rebar is short for reinforcing bar.

5. Suppress, in a way: CENSOR.

A Hayes Code Certificate

See 44 Down

6. Part of NAACP: Abbr.: ASSOC.   NAT'L would have left us a bit short so National ASSOCiation for the Advancement of Colored People it was.

7. Jaguar, e.g.: CAR.  It could have been CAT but Co Coconspitators would have been a real stretch.  Jeffrey used a different clue for CARs last Friday.

8. Genetic molecule: RNA.  RiboNucleic Acid acts as a messenger carrying instructions from DeoxyriboNucleic Acid.

9. Actor's rep.: AGT.  AGENT  One of about a dozen abbreviations in this puzzle - depending on what you chose to include.

10. Parade staple: FLOAT.

The "Animal House" Classic - 1978

11. Closed: TERMINATED.

The Terminator

13. Data storage medium: DISC.

15. Country club employee: PRO.   As in golf PROfessional.

16. Stretches on a couch?: SESSIONS.  A bit of misdirection.  Not stretches such as one might do before exercising but stretches as in lengths of time.    In this case, at a psychiatrist's office.

19. Some can be used forever--but only once: STAMPS.  A nice riddle.

21. Signs: OMENS.

22. In the neighborhood of: ABOUT.

23. Overblown critique: RANT.

What Have The Romans Ever Done For Us?

24. Elaborate entryways: PORTICOS.

25. Physician wearing a pink ribbon, perhaps: ONCOLOGIST.  

28. Like potato chips, often: BAGGED.

What's In The Bag?

29. Showed up: GOT IN.  Appeared wouldn't fit nor would arrived.  In fairness, showing up and getting in are not quite the same thing . . . except, perhaps, on Saturdays.

30. Farm measures: ACRES.

31. Curly slapper: MOE.  Hmmmm. let's see.  As clued, MOE Howard from the Three Stooges.  MOE Szyslak from "The Simpsons"?  Moe Green, Moe Drabowsky?  Naaah.  Let's go with our very own.

Chairman Moe

34. Crime boss: CAPO.

Carmine Sabatini and the Stock Market

38. "That's well within my abilities": YES I CAN.

41. How to receive a freebie, perhaps: BUY ONE.  A BUY ONE GET ONE Free offer sometimes appears in our puzzles.

43. Yo-Yo strings?: CELLO.  Yo-Yo Ma is a world-renown cellist.  I have had the pleasure of seeing him perform in person.  My favorite recordings are the ones he did with Mark O'Conner and Edgar Meyer.  O'Connor is a National Fiddle Champion and Mayer is the only  bassist ever to be awarded the Avery Fisher Prize for outstanding achievement in classical music.

Chief Sitting In The Rain / College Hornpipe

44. Official doc.: CERT.  A candy mint?  A breath Mint?  Oh, it's a necessary-evil-let's-truncate-a-word-to-fit-the-grid moment.  Hey, it happens.  Official Document = CERTificate.  See, for example, 5 Down.

45. Belief system: ISM.  What is the correct way to pronounce nihilISM?  Doesn't matter.

46. In the previously mentioned work, briefly: OP CIT.  An abbreviation for OPus CItatum or OPere CItato.

49. Connection point: NODE.

50. Initialism for Tom Brady, according to most: GOAT.  GOAT is often used to denote the player who's  blunder causes a sports team to lose a game.  In another context, as used here, it becomes the acronym Greatest Of All Time.  Polar opposites.

52. 2000s toon heroine __ Possible: KIM.  I am familiar with many animated series but I did not know this one.  Fortunately, the answer was only three letters.  Thanks, perps.

53. Tiny: WEE.

Wee Willie Winkie

54. CIA predecessor: OSS.  The Office of Strategic Services

55. Finger Lakes locale: Abbr.: NYS.  New York State.  For the second time in a row, the puzzle I recap ends with a punt.

____________________________________

____________________________________

MM OUT

Wednesday, April 7, 2021 Jeff Stillman

Theme - today we have a broken word theme, with FALL getting fractured in three different ways,

16 A. *Second Commandment prohibition: FALSE IDOL.  "Thou shalt have no strange gods before me," is how I remember it.

22 A. *Old-fashioned parting words: FARE THEE WELL. Bye, now.

37 A. *"Cheese stands alone" kids' song title guy: FARMER IN THE DELL.  This children's song probably originated in Germany, and was brought to America by immigrants.  It is popular in many countries and languages.

49 A. *Metaphorical insect observer: FLY ON THE WALL.  Said of one who wishes to listen in on secret conversations.

60 A. Go to pieces, or what's literally hidden in the answers to starred clues: FALL APART. The word is divided in each theme entry and the presentation is elegant.  The first division is after the F, the next two bisect the word after the A, and the last one splits the two Ls.

Today's theme song --

 

Hi Gang,  JazzBumpa here to pull things together.  Let's get going.  We might have to solve this piecemeal.

Across:

 1. Go __: hit to right field batting right-handed, say, in baseball lingo: OPPO.  Is this in the sports language?  If so, I've missed it.  I've heard this in politics as doing research on your opponent.

5. Trying to block: ANTI.  Voting against.

9. Performs like Missy Elliott: RAPS.  I do not know her.

13. Ruckus: FRAY.  Ado

14. Eve's opposite: MORN.  No, not Adam.  Shortened evening and MORNING.

15. Sun: Pref.: HELIO. As our local HELIO-centric planetary system.

18. Heroic sagas: EPICS. Long stories about the great deeds of heroic figures.

19. "Awake and Sing!" dramatist: ODETS.  Clifford [1906-1963]  was an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, and director. As a playwright he was extremely influential in the 1930's and 40's.

20. South Carolina state tree: PALMETTO.  It is native to the southern U.S., Cuba, and other Caribbean islands. 

25. See stars: REEL.  To REEL is to lose one's balance and violently lurch or stagger.  One sees stars from a low to the head.  This could also make one REEL, but that does not make them equivalent.

26. Widen, as pupils: DILATE.  To become wider or more open.  I've been putting off my eye exam for almost a year.

30. Fri. preceder: THU.  THURSDAY and Friday on the calendar.

33. "Oh dear!": ALAS.  Too bad.

36. Sherpa's home: NEPAL. A land-locked Asian country between India and Tibet.  It is mostly mountainous, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain.  

41. When some dinners are served: AT SIX.  We usually start a few minutes earlier.

42. Delhi wrap: SARI.  A garment consisting of a length of cotton or silk elaborately draped around the body, traditionally worn by women from South Asia.   Read about it here

43. "Narcos" org.: DEA.  Narcotics agents in the Drug Enforcement Agency.

44. Certain Tibetan: LHASAN.  One from Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, lies on the Lhasa River's north bank in a valley of the Himalayas.

46. Sounds of disgust: UGHS.  Along with eeew, and yuck.

55. "Yada, yada, yada": ET CETERA.  And so on and so forth

58. Old copy: MIMEO.  Short for MIMEOGRAPH, a machine that makes copies by forcing ink through a stencil.   From long ago in grade school I remember the pleasant fruity aroma of the ink.

.
59. Little pigs number: THREE.  

 

 63. Tally again: RE-ADD. You can count on it.

64. Skeleton prefix: ENDO-.  means "inside."   You have an ENDOskeleton.

65. Grandson of Eve: ENOS.  The first son of Seth, reckoned to be an ancestor of both Jesus and Mohammed.

66. Geologic spans: EONS.  Generally speaking, non-specific very long time-spans.  In geology, a billion years.

67. __ buco: OSSO.  Cross-cut veal shanks braised with vegetables, white wine and broth.

68. "The Banana Boat Song" opener: DAYO.

 

  Down:

1. No longer using: OFF OF.  As a drug, I suppose

2. Designer bag brand: PRADA.  If you have more than  $1000 you don't need.

3. Not as bright: PALER. More pale is more in the language.

4. Raw bar mollusk: OYSTER.  The common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. 

5. "__ imagining things?": AM I.  Nope.  They really are oysters.

6. Doze: NOD.  Take a nap.

7. Figurative expression: TROPE.  As defined.

8. Eloper's acquisition: IN-LAW.  Member of the new spouse's family.

9. Drove back: REPELLED.  To beat back an attacker.

10. Came down: ALIT.  Landed

11. Early Briton: PICT.  People inhabiting northern Scotland in Roman times.

12. Just okay: SO-SO.  Mediocre, meh.

15. Fashion variable: HEM LINE.  The line formed by the lower edge of a garment.

Variable in time and location

17. Sunrise dirección: ESTE.  En español.

21. Was ahead: LED. 

23. Get wind of: HEAR.  Learn about.

24. MLB pitcher Dock profiled in the 2014 film "No No: A Dockumentary": ELLIS.  Dock Phillip Ellis Jr. (1945 – 2008) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1968 through 1979, most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

27. Parroted: APED.  Copied

28. One shared at a campfire: TALE.  A story that might or might not be true.

29. Jazz legend Fitzgerald: ELLA.

 

 30. Maker of nonstick cookware: T-FAL.

31. Doth possess: HATH. The owneth is upon him.

32. Constellation bear: URSA.  AKA Big or Little Dipper

34. Political commentator Navarro: ANA. Ana Violeta Navarro-Cárdenas [b 1971] is an American political strategist and commentator. She appears on various television programs and news outlets, including CNN, CNN en Español, ABC News, and Telemundo.

35. Walk with a swagger: STRUT.

38. Many printer jams: MIS-FEEDS.

39. Praised highly: EXALTED. Held in high regard and spoken of favorably.

40. Elevation word: HIGH.  Hight wold be more appropriate.

45. "Science Guy" Bill: NYE. William Sanford Nye, [b 1955] popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American mechanical engineer, science communicator, and television presenter.

47. Blood: Pref.: HEMA-.  Mediacal prefix derived from Greek

48. Ran through a reader: SWIPED.  As a credit or ID card.

50. Lover of Euridice, in a Monteverdi work: ORFEO.  An opera from 1607.

51. Tandoori breads: NAANS.  Contrived plural for an unleavened  bread traditionally baked on the outside of a clay oven.

52. Maytag rival: AMANA.  Makers of household appliances.

53. "Bad, Bad" Brown of song: LEROY.

54. Bear voiced by Ned Beatty in "Toy Story 3": LOTSO for short .  Lots o' Huggin' for long 

55. Basic French verb: ETRE.  "To be" in French.

56. "Sons of Anarchy" actor Rossi: THEO. John Theodore Rossi [b 1975] is an American actor and producer best known for his portrayal of Juan Carlos "Juice" Ortiz on the FX series Sons of Anarchy. 

57. Fruit drink prefix: CRAN-.  Because who would buy a drink called Crapple?

61. Mormons' gp.: LDS.  Latter Day Saints.

62. Bath bathroom: LOO.  British English.

That wraps up our legend of the FALL.  Hope you made it through unscathed.

Cool regards!

JzB

(Thanks, Alf)