Saturday, April 24, 2021 Ed Sessa

 Saturday Themeless by Dr. Ed Sessa

Our retired doctor from San Sanibel Island in Florida makes yet another clinic call for us here at the Crossword Hospital. I found Ed's puzzle to be just what the doctor ordered for this cold weather that is persisting here in the heartland. Ed is seen here with his beloved, late dog Tug. Here is Ed's commentary on the construction of this Saturday's offering:

Hi Gary,

Thanks for your inquiry and for all the hard work you and others do to make this site a success. I like doing themeless grids  because I enjoy the challenge of thinking up clues. If a word hasn't appeared much before then  there is a good chance to come up with a fun clue that is novel. With more commonly used words that is really hard to do. The seed for this grid was POPSICLESTICK and it was used only once before. The fact that it had 13 letters lent it well to the triple 13 pattern which I really like, especially if I can cross the bundle with a few longer downs. With this work Rich spotted the "POP" dupe but felt the two weren't related and so they stood.

Thanks to Rich for cleaning up the clues wherever he thought appropriate. I was happy I could avoid using too many proper names with this one.  Best wishes for a better summer than last year.

Ed

Across:

1. Yielding no interest?: HO HUM.

6. Fight stopper: KAYO - Pronunciation of KO, which is a gramogram (that we had in Julian Lim's 4/14/21 puzzle) which is the abbreviation of KnockOut. OK?

10. Beginning on: AS OF.

14. Vonnegut literary device: IRONY 

15. Old-fashioned leaves?: HIES - Macbeth Act I, scene V: Lady Macbeth: "Hie thee hither" (Come here)

16. Polynesian beverage: KAVA - Benefits, side effects and dosage

17. Comic-Con attendees: NERDS.

18. Happy: ALL SMILES.

20. Self-declared republic in Ukraine: DONETSK - A 12 hr drive from Kiev

22. Breakfast on the go, perhaps: POP TART.

23. No real friend: USER - To George, Biff was a USER. Betcha know this movie! *

24. Shop __ you drop: TIL - For me it's computers and golf equipment 

26. Lacked alternatives: HAD TO - What some parents feel (:06)

27. Blue Jays, in crawls: TOR - Watching the TORonto Blue Jays play from your hotel room looks pretty cool to me!

29. Omega, to an electrician: OHM - Jeffrey Wechsler had FARAD yesterday 

32. Bass appendage: FIN - Sea Bass

33. Residential cliché: HOME SWEET HOME - Be it ever so humble...

37. How a close race may go: DOWN TO THE WIRE - and 64. Barely avoided tying: EDGED - It took some close examination of this photo finish to determine that the runner in the red and yellow top EDGED out the others

38. It gets last licks: POPSICLE STICK - Doctor Sessa's seed entry

39. "__ dreaming?": AM I.

40. Ad trailer?: HOC - Latin: "For This" - Created or done for a particular purpose as necessary. I was on an AD HOC committee to investigate gum chewing in our school. No, really!

41. Rival sch. of Duke: UNC - It's 16 minutes on the Hwy 501

42. What closers often open, with "the": NINTH - Mariano Rivera was perhaps the best closer in baseball for the NINTH inning

45. Cool: HEP.

47. Some fancy sheepskin boots: UGGS - Speaking of pitchers, Tom Brady did a pitch for UGGS

51. Make an impression on?: ENGRAVE - All players and staff on an NHL team that win the Stanley Cup get their name ENGRAVED on one of the bands.  The next year the next team gets the same treatment until the band is filled and then that band is removed and flattened for display to make room for more bands on the cup.

54. It helps a mouse communicate: USB PORT - Here's a mouse with a retractable cable plugged into a USB PORT

56. Candy in a roll: LIFESAVER.

58. Difficult high school sci. course: AP BIO - A sample question from an AP BIO test

59. Subj. for Janet Yellen: ECON - Ms. Yellen has held many government posts that deal with the ECONomy. 

60. Pixar clownfish: NEMO.

61. Latin lover's declaration: TE AMO - "I Love you"

62. Pointed missile: DART - All three darts in the triple 20 band for a max score of 180! Wow!

63. Fangorn Forest creatures: ENTS - From LOTR (Lord Of The Rings). EFTS yesterday and ENTS today. Maybe I'll catch on soon.

Down:

1. Many an Indian: HINDU.

2. Two-wafer snacks: OREOS.

3. Mezzo Marilyn: HORNE - Marilyn Horne

4. Sneaky currents: UNDERTOWS.

5. Computer game title island: MYST - Do players of this game go to Comic-Con?

6. Base shade?: KHAKI - A dominant color on many military bases

7. Afflict: AIL.

8. It acquired SeatMe in 2013: YELP - Here ya go

9. Bone on a menu: OSSO - Often on our cwd menu

10. Husky relative: AKITA.

11. Piece of silver: SALAD FORK.

12. Extended work period: OVERTIME - I was always on salary and never got extra for my extended hours

13. Bit of deceit: FAST ONE.

19. Letters on a dashboard: MPH - Or in a heads-up display

21. Period of time: STRETCH - If you don't beat the rap, you'll do a STRETCH in prison

25. Like landlines, nowadays: LOW TECH - Shh.,  we still have one

28. Official hotel of the PGA Tour: OMNI - This one is in PA

30. Sneaky snickers: HEHS.

31. Informal get-togethers: MEETUPS.

33. Anticipating: HOPING FOR.

34. With no assistance: SOLO - 14-yr-old Mansour Anis prepares to fly SOLO in a Cessna 152

35. __ bed: TWIN.

36. Slightly malfunctioned: HICCUPPED.

37. Caribbean island country: DOMINICA - It is about 650 miles from The Dominican Republic to the island of DOMINICA

38. Like some office walls: PANELED.

43. 16th-century council setting: TRENT - A 1565 product of that council. How'd that work out?

44. Attacks, with "at": HAS.

46. Mark replacements: EUROS - Since 2001, a Euro is worth 1.95583 Deutsch Marks

48. Evacuee's emergency kit: GO BAG - Here's what's in this $119 model

49. Tide target: GRIME.

50. Got off one's rocker?: STOOD.

52. Windmill part: VANE - Were you amazed when you first saw the size of a wind generator VANE?

53. Tied up: EVEN.

55. Lessen in intensity: BATE  - I am unable to BATE my enthusiasm for Ed's puzzles. (A sentence, while accurate, is not how I would ever say it.)

57. Home delivery asst., perhaps: EMT - Or even in the ambulance 

*Biff Tannen was George McFly's USER in the Back To The Future franchise 

Friday, April 23, 2021, Jeffrey Wechsler

 Title: We must eliminate CR gas (dibenzoxazepine).

Once again I am blogging a Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle. (Thank you Moe for graciously offering to let me blog the April 2 and you would blog the the 9th and 16th so we would be on schedule for sharing the duties 50/50) and it turned out the 23rd is another JW).

Also, like last time, I am assigning a meaningful title to the puzzle, whether intended or not, because if you know of the risks of CR TEAR GAS  which is 10 times stronger than the original tear gas, you will understand the importance of a ban. I am very much against violence. Particularly if the often irreverent, sometimes entertaining comments offend and you want to beat the crap out of me. Back to real entertainment, as Jeffrey has removed the bigram - CR - from the beginning of four/five in the language phrases and the resultant phrases are clued to amuse. There are none better at this style. Once again to meet the creative need, Jeffrey uses a non-square grid this time 15 columns by 16 rows. I guess that the extra row was the result of double themers in the middle, but that is just a guess. This lead to a plethora of 5 and 6 letter fill and left the theme fill as the only long word or phrases. Which means it is time...

15A. Judicious use of an Egyptian goddess?:  {CR}ISIS MANAGEMENT  (14). I am not sure how you "use" a goddess but she was an interesting deity, the daughter of GEB and NUT.

20. Source of some cruise ship beer?:  {CR}AFT BREWERY (10). I think there are actual ships with breweries on board. CARNIVAL VISTA.

35A. With 40-Across, good advice for correcting a manuscript?: {CR}EDIT WHERE (9).

40A. See 35-Across:  {CR}EDIT IS DUE (9). Giving credit where credit is due. 

52A. What a theater hopes its "Bus Stop" revival will be?:  {CR}INGE WORTHY (10). William Motter Inge the author of BUS STOP was an American playwright and novelist, whose works typically feature solitary protagonists encumbered with strained sexual relations. In the early 1950s he had a string of memorable Broadway productions, including PICNIC, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize.

58A. Audiophile's flat, say?: {CR}AMPED APARTMENT (14) Now that the theme is out there, I am amped to get to the rest, so away we go. 

Across:

1. Opening for recorded music: CD-SLOT. I hear the grumbling already when 1A is not simple. (Sorry D-O). The term seems clunky but it has about 76,200,000 results from Google. 

7. Pass: ELAPSE. Time, oh good good time

13. Placid: SERENE. Hopefully while the time passes.

14. Cheese-making sites: DAIRIES. Yes, you need milk.

                                  

17. In concert: AS ONE. We acted together.

18. Scott who played Danno on "Hawaii Five-0": CAAN. Son of James Caan this 5'5" actor has made his own way in Hollywood.

25. Caesar's last gasp: ET TU. I should have et only one.

26. Most exposed: BAREST. Maybe like THIS?

27. Like microbes, before microscopes: UNSEEN. Sneaky little guys.

29. Lover of Aphrodite: ARES. The war god; she was the ISIS of her people.

30. 39.37 inches, in Ipswich: METRE. Where are the Duke and Duchess hiding? SUFFOLK COUNTY. 

33. Really enjoy: SAVOR. No dinosaur but LINK.

42. Some brass: TUBAS. Don't confuse them with the SOUSAPHONE.  

43. Frisbees, e.g.: DISCS. Do you remember the PLUTO PLATTER? Growing up in Connecticut I knew that the Frisbee's name is a spin-off from a defunct Connecticut bakery, Frisbie Pie Co. New England college students often tossed empty pie tins around for fun, a habit that led them to refer to the Pluto Platter as a "frisbie."

44. Salon supply: GELS. Not for me.

45. One on a regimen, perhaps: DIETER. Or maybe a PILOT.

49. Mountain guide: SHERPA. A clear CSO to C.C. and her affectionate appellation for us.

51. Cornerstone word: ANNO. Latin year placed in building cornerstones. 

56. Evidence of surgery: SCAR.

57. Soffits are under them: EAVES. 

65. Big 12 rival of the Longhorns: SOONERS. Texas and Oklahoma.

66. Knowledgeable (in): VERSED. OKL is well versed along with others here.

67. Indications of humanity?: ERRORS. Who said "to err is human, to forgive divine" ? Answer below if I remember. 

68. Upper crust groups: ELITES. 

Down:

1. Franchise whose opening themes are songs by The Who: CSI.

2. Paris' Rue __ Martyrs: DES. Street of martyrs

3. Indian honorific: SRI. Not Indian but a Hindu honorific, do you think it is related to 41D. "Hey" assistant: SIRI?

4. Guitarist Paul: LES. Mr. Electric Guitar

5. Where Mark Watney was stranded for about 560 sols, in a 2015 film: ON MARS. Played by Matt Damon. Interesting movie.

6. Wonderland service: TEA SET.

7. Raring to go: EAGER.

8. Rest: LIE. 

9. Tentacle analog: ARM. Back in the day my young female friends would complain that their date was like an octopus.

10. Fragments: PIECES.

11. Law group: SENATE. Oddly this was hard.

12. Passed-down property: ESTATE. A common misconception.

14. Kierkegaard, e.g.: DANE. Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (b. 1813, d. 1855) was a profound and prolific writer in the Danish “golden age” of intellectual and artistic activity. I kept trying to find a 4 letter word that meant philosopher. Eventually after rejecting many incorrect 4 letter words of frustration, the correct one surfaced.

16. "Get on it!": NOW. Make it so!

19. Field role of early TV: NUN. Silly Sally role.

20. Demean: ABASE.

21. Capacitance unit: FARAD. Named after Michael Faraday, this is the SI unit of electrical capacitance, equal to the capacitance of a capacitor in which one coulomb of charge causes a potential difference of one volt. Huh?

22. Roman fountain: TREVI. Much nicer than the one by our pool.

23. Stupefy: BESOT.

24. Nomadic shelter: YURT. 

28. Mature eft: NEWT. Cute reversal clue/fill. 

30. Just what the doctor ordered: MEDS. Nice!

31. U.S. Cabinet-level dept.: EDUC.

32. Family __: TIES. Poor Michael J. Fox, from Teen Wolf to physical struggles.

34. Theme park offering: RIDE. Charging a $100.00+ per day, sounds like being taken for a ride.

36. More vast: HUGER.

37. "The Great Movies" series author: EBERT.  His OBITUARY.

38. Actor Fiennes: RALPH. Actor Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes was born on December 22, 1962 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. See 30A if you do not believe how much thought goes into finding entertaining fill.

39. One of ten in Baldwin's "Notes of a Native Son": ESSAY. A book I found profoundly moving while in college, and now, in my dotage I ponder his words as I observe the division in our people. “You can not describe anything without betraying your point of view, your aspirations, your fears, your hopes. Everything.” This may be what keeps us apart.

45. Court figs.: DAS. District Attorneys.

46. If: IN CASE. My little Georgia boys learned "for case."

47. Captivate: ENAMOR. 'N AMOR? The Submariner?

48. Lethargy: TORPOR."lethargy, listlessness," c. 1600, from Latin torpor "numbness, sluggishness," from torpere "be numb, be inactive, be dull" (from PIE root *ster- (1) "stiff").

49. Sharp turn: SWERVE. Onomotopoeia? LIST. I left out the fifth O until the final run through.

50. Hiker's stopover: HOSTEL.

53. Gets closer to: NEARS. Relax, I am almost done.

54. Openings: GAPS.

55. Mendes of fashion: EVA.  To SPANK or not?

59. Brian of Roxy Music: ENO. ENOugh is ENOugh!

60. "__ Rosenkavalier": DER. Literally the red knight (Spitzboov?) a complicated OPERA with Strauss' music.

61. CT scan relative: MRI. Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Mine for later today has been canceled as the blood work showing my levels for Bun and Creatinine was not reported in writing.

62. January Ga. hours: EST. Eastern Standard Time.

63. Previously called: NÉE. Only if you are a female; so many languages are gender specific. Does that make it harder for the new generations?

64. NFL scores: TDS. Or FGS.

We have slogged our way though another Friday with the help of the 24 plus fonts available as I solve and write. Jeffrey always manages to not only find and interesting and chalaenging theme, but he packs the rest which such variety. I had a great time, I hope you did. Until next time, I remain Lemonade.

Notes from C.C.:

Chairman Moe and  Mark McClain made today's Universal puzzle. Click here to solve. Congrats, Chris!

Thursday, April 22, 2021, Grant Boroughs

 

Ah, Spring!  Just when some of us thought that warmer weather might be here to stay, the cold weather makes a return appearance.  Malodorous Manatee, here, with a puzzle from Grant Boroughs who must have experienced a brain freeze because he used the same wintry clue three times.

I Don't Wanna Sound Complaining but Freeze, Freeze Me, Oh Yeah, Like I Freeze You.

17 Across. In the event of a freeze, ...: RESTART COMPUTER.  When our computers completely stop responding we might say "My computer froze."  Restarting sometimes helps.

40 Across. In the event of a freeze, ...: WEAR WARM CLOTHES.  When it's  so very cold that water turns to ice, well, that's a deep freeze.  Bundle up to stay warm.

59 Across. In the event of a "Freeze!," ...: DON'T MOVE A MUSCLE.  When the cops, or the bad guys for that matter, tell you to stop right where you are they might yell "Freeze"!

Across:

1. Toddler's call: MOMMY.

6. The universal language, some say: MATH.

Tom Lehrer Explains It

10. "Time __ transfix the flourish set on youth": Shak.: DOTH.  In his works, Shakespeare used a grand total of 31,534 different words thus providing crossword constructors with a vast pool from which to select something that will fit in their grids . . . . even if the word hasn't been heard in four hundred years.

14. Red tide cause: ALGAE.

15. Bio, in a way, is aptly part of it: OBIT.  OBITuary.  Both the clue and the answer are abbreviations that have become accepted usage.

16. Most populous Hawaiian island: OAHU.  Maui is another four-letter Hawaiian island.

20. Little pigs or blind mice: TRIO.  . . . . and the Oscar goes to

21. Smelting residue: SLAG.

22. Lowland: VALE.

25. Title choice on a form: MRS.  Other options include Miss, Ms., Mr.  and decline to state.

27. Destroy, as files: SHRED.

31. Bitterroot Range st.: IDA.      "State" is abbreviated so the answer will be an abbreviation - even if it's not the (post-October, 1963) USPS abbreviation.  But, you knew that.  A segment of the Rocky Mountains, the Bitterroots run for approximately 300 miles along the IDAho and MonTana state border.

32. Take on: ASSUME.  As in "to assume the role of".

35. Close: NEAR.  As in close the door?  Nope, as in close at hand.

36. Rye fungus: ERGOT.  This fungus seems to have developed a symbiotic relationship with crossword puzzles.

38. Underestimate, say: MISJUDGE.  A woman asked her husband to take a spider outside instead of squashing it.  He did.  He and the spider walked a bit and then had a chat over a couple of beers.  Upon returning home, the husband told his wife that he had MISJUDGEd the spider.  "He's a nice guy," said the husband "and he wants to be a web developer."

43. Shelter securely: ENSCONCE.

44. Tech support callers: USERS.

45. Like those who leap before they look: RASH.  At the drug store, I could not decide between the Lotrimin and the Tinactin.  I mulled it over for a while because I did not want to make a RASH decision.

46. More evil: DARKER.

49. Brown brew: ALE.

50. Aerodynamic: SLEEK.

52. Parker's wind: SAX.  Charlie "Bird" Parker was a world-renowned saxophone player

53. Ice cream brand: EDYS.  West of the Rockies, and in Texas, it's called Dryer's.  In the other parts of the country the same ice cream is called EDY'S.

54. Farm skyline sight: SILO.

57. Sharp barks: YAPS.  Sometimes, YIPS.

66. Jug: EWER.  Often seen in crossword puzzles.

Jim Kweskin and the Ewer Band

67. Michael Douglas' middle name: KIRK.  Hmmm.  Isn't that his father's name?

68. Daily delivery: PAPER.  As in newspaper.  A fast-fading ritual.  Pew Research reported in January, 2021 that 86% of Americans now get there news online using their smartphones.  The remaining 14% seem to get their news from "The Daily Show".

69. Sky and Storm org.: WNBA.  Two teams in the Women's National Basketball Association.  Organization is abbreviated so . . .

70. Mid-month day: IDES.

71. Turkey neighbor: SYRIA.  Neither Yams nor Stuffing would fit.

Down:

1. Deface: MAR.  Freddy Mercury, Venus Williams and Bruno MARs all walked into the same bar . . . but they didn't planet that way.

2. Spanish shout: OLE.

3. Old British sports cars: MGS.  Some good friends of mine are purchasing this fully restored MG:

1950 MGTD

4. Finish choice: MATTE.  Obviously not Poronkäristys (sautéed reindeer) - as that would have required a double n in the clue.  A photo finish, or paint, choice.

5. Orbital period: YEAR.  Different planets have YEARs of different lengths.  It always irks me when, on Star Trek, far, far away and centuries from now, they refer to (Terra-based) minutes, hours, days or YEARs - lengths of time that are defined by the movements of a single, infinitesimal spec of the universe: planet Earth - as if those units are the intergalactic standards.

    

6. Drives: MOTORS.  Aahhh, memories of waiting for the day when I would be tall enough to reach the sign at the Disneyland Autopia.

Circa 1955

7. Elementary sequence: ABC.  If you headed down the Periodic Table rabbit hole then this one might not have been as easy as ABC.

8. Spanish relatives: TIOS.  Uncles en ingles.

9. Web page standard: HTML.  Hyper Text Markup Language

10. Baker's dozen: DOUGHNUTS.  The preferred spelling.  For some reason this made me think of The Bangles.

11. Cereal grain: OAT.

12. Start of many band names: THE.  Why "band" ?  Why not?  Must be why 10 Down made me think of a band.

13. "Ben-__": HUR.  Ben Gay?  Ben Affleck?  Ben There Done That?

18. Crater borders: RIMS.

Crater Lake, Oregon - Rim

19. Faux __: PAS.  An embarrassing or tactless act or remark in a social situation.

22. Nielsen ratings units: VIEWERS.  The Nielsen TV Ratings attempt to measure ratings share and the total number of VIEWERS of a TV show.

23. Epinephrine-producing gland: ADRENAL.

24. "Cooking With Power" author: LAGASSE.

Emeril Lagasse

26. Seasons in the sun: SUMMERS.  This marine mammal referenced Jacques Brel and the Terry Jacks song the last time this situation arose.

28. Member of a league in a Sherlock Holmes title: REDHEAD.

29. With enthusiasm: EAGERLY.

30. Ballroom attire: DRESSES.

32. "Love on __-way Street": 1970 hit: A TWO.  Originally recorded by Lezli Valentine.  I was a student at U.C. Berkeley in 1970 and this is not the music to which we all listened.  Grant (or Rich) could have gone with Lawrence Welk's much satirized  "and a one and A TWO."

33. Open __ night: MIC.  It's part of the lexicon, I guess, but here it's a truncated answer (MICrophone) to a non-abbreviated clue.

34. Non-native speaker's subj.: ESL.  English as a Second Language

37. Theater section: ORCHESTRA.

39. Soup du __: JOUR.  Soup of the Day, en français.

41. "What else?": AND.  Yes . . . ?

42. Electronics pioneer: RCA.  Radio Corporation of America

47. Vessels with cockpits: KAYAKS.

48. Final, say: EXAM.  LAST would have fit in the allotted space.  As would TEST.

51. Kipling title orphan: KIM.

53. A 48-Down may include one: ESSAY.

55. Norse prankster: LOKI.  I first learned about LOKI  by reading Marvel comic books.

56. Poet banished by Augustus: OVID.  Banish cOVID.

58. Baby seals: PUPS.

59. Beads on blades: DEW.  As on blades of grass.

60. Have title to: OWN.

61. State east of Wyo.: NEB.  So. Dakota also adjoins Wyo on the east but, since the clue did not specifically ask for an adjoining state, it could also have been many others.

62. Afore: ERE.  Both the clue and the answer are considered to be archaic.

63. First aid skill, for short: CPR.  "For Short" suggests an abbreviation.  Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation

64. 16-Across garland: LEI.  In Hawaii, May First is Lei Day.

65. Timeline section: ERA.  One of twenty-four three-letter answers in this cwd pzl.

____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

HAPPY EARTH DAY, EVERYONE !

MM Out

Wednesday, April 21, 2021 Matt Skoczen

 Theme: REQUESTS.

This will be easier if we start with the unifier.

56. Tot's sassy demand ... or a hint to the start of the answers to starred clues: GIMME.  Slangy way of saying "Give me." and perhaps more of a demand than a request. So the theme answers are all things that can be requested.

Today's more or less appropriate theme song.

          

17. *Lamb Chop, e.g.: HAND PUPPET. Lamb Chop was Sherri Lewis's sheepish companion. [read more here] GIMME a HAND is a request for help.

31. *Start a number: BREAK INTO SONG.  Spontaneously start singing, possibly with no provocation.  GIMME a BREAK is an expression of exasperation, protest, or disbelief.

48. *Sheriff Woody's sidekick: BUZZ LIGHTYEAR.  Iconic characters from Disney's Toy Story universe.

Frenemies

GIMME a BUZZ is a request for a phone call.

64. *Spoken language, in semiotics: SIGN SYSTEM.  Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols.  I suppose this refers to a system like ASL, which uses hand signals to emulate the spoken word.  Somebody help me if I got this wrong.   GIMME a SIGN can be a prayerful request for guidance, or a more mundane request to another person for clarification.

Hi Gang, JazzBumpa here.  Not really feeling greedy today, so I'll just give you a tour of today's adventure.

Across:

1. Formal ties: ASCOTS.  Neck decorations, not connections.

7. Corp. homes: HQS.  Head Quarters

10. Govt. farming monitor: USDA.  U. S. Department of Agriculture.

14. Symphony type pioneered by Beethoven: CHORAL.  The 4th movement of his 9th and final symphony has a chorus join the orchestra.

 

This takes a half hour - you have been warned!

 15. Agreement that sounds like fun?: OUI.  Wheee - yes!

16. Clogging is one of its two st. dances: N.CAR.  North Carolina.  So - what is the other one?

19. Laura with an Oscar: DERN.  Laura Elizabeth Dern (b 1967) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Her parents are actors Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd.

20. Holiday aide: ELF.  Santa's helper

21. Back: AGO.  Some time in the past.

22. Decisiveness: SPINE.  Being resolute [or stubborn.]

24. Hunk: SLAB.  Chunk of something, not a buff guy in the buff.

26. DJIA listings: COS.  The 30 Companies listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  For anyone interested, I follow it on my blog every business day.  

29. Candy cup creator: REESE.   Chocolate and peanut butter - oh, my.

35. Forbes competitor: INC.  Business magazines.

36. Legal encumbrance: LIEN.  a right to keep possession of property belonging to another person until a debt owed by that person is discharged.

37. Holiday drink: NOG.

38. Lions and tigers and ... not bears: BIG CATS.  The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus Panthera, namely the lion, tiger, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard, as well as the non-pantherine cheetah and cougar.

42. Swap with, as in a player-for-player deal: TRADE TO.  Pro sports team do this.

44. Busy-bee link: AS A.  

45. "TrËs __": BIEN.  It's all good.

47. GPS info: RTE.  Your global positioning satellite system will give you a route. 

52. "Silas Marner" child: EPPIE.  A girl whom Silas Marner eventually adopts. Eppie is the biological child of Godfrey Cass and Molly Farren, Godfrey’s secret wife. Eppie is pretty and spirited, and loves Silas unquestioningly.   [source]

53. Plaza de toros cry: OLE.  An encouraing interjection.

54. Lily pad squatter: FROG.  [ribbit]

57. Sap: PATSY.  A person who is easily taken advantage of, especially by being cheated or blamed for something.

59. Erode, with "away": EAT.

62. Team's lack, in a clichÈ: AN I.  There are no me in team.

63. Scot's swimming spot: LOCH.  The Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Scots word for a lake or for a sea inlet. 

68. Tennis great who wrote "Days of Grace": ASHE.  Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. [1943-1993] was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles. He was the first black player selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the only black man ever to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open.

69. First lady not married to a president?: EVE.  Evidently, she was the apple of Adam's eye.

70. 1996 slasher film: SCREAM.

 

 

71. "To __ not ... ": BE OR.  Hamlet's dilemma.

72. Lunch bread: RYE.  For sandwiches.

73. Pasta unit: NOODLE.  For soup, maybe.

Down:

1. Workout aftermath: ACHES.  Don'r over do it.

2. Word of intent: SHALL.  

3. Chitchat: CONFAB.  An informal private conversation or discussion.

4. O'Hare, on tix: ORD.   Read about the airport here.

5. Chorizo snack: TAPA.   A tapa is a hot or cold appetizer or snack in Spanish cuisine.  It need not include chorizo.

6. Belt: SLUG.  A powerful punch.

7. Word with hip or bunny: HOP.  Contemporary music or an old-style line dance

8. Hernando's "Huh?": QUE.  Literal, kinda.

9. Has a capacity of, as a diner: SITS.  Seating capacity.

10. Briefs: UNDIES.  Small clothes, in Westeros.

11. 33-Down start, usually: SCENE ONE.  Beginning of the Second Act.

12. Wouldn't dream of it: DARES NOT.

13. Valiant's son: ARN.  From the comic strip.

18. Indented blemish: POCK.  

23. Rotate so the palm faces down or backward: PRONATE.  As defined.

25. __-a-brac: BRIC.  Random non-valuable stuff.

27. Kind of lamp: OIL.  I'm not gas lighting you.

28. Tizzy: SNIT. Todo, when they're at it.

30. French Toaster Sticks brand: EGGO.  A Kellogg's brand of various kinds of frozen waffles, pancakes, french toast and more.

32. Provides with the means: ENABLES.  

33. Intermission follower, perhaps: ACT II. In a play of more than one act.

34. Towel material: TERRY.  A fabric woven with many protruding loops of thread which can absorb large amounts of water.

38. Ruth on a diamond: BABE.  George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935.

39. "Sure, probably": I SUPPOSE.  Tepid agreement.

40. Andalusian vegetable soup served cold: GAZPACHO.   A cold soup made of raw, blended vegetables.

41. Bell-shaped lily: SEGO.  Calochortus nuttallii — known as sego lily — is a bulbous perennial which is endemic to the Western United States. It is the state flower of Utah. 

43. Ignoring, with "to": DEAF.   Nope.  Not listening.

46. Org. with Jets and Flyers: NHL.  National Hockey League, not the USAF. 

49. Instrument laid flat during play: ZITHER.

50. Many a freshman: TEEN.  One between the ages of thirteen and nineteen.

51. Like 70-Across: R-RATED.  Restricted, Children Under 17 Require Accompanying Parent or Adult Guardian. This rating means the film contains adult material such as adult activity, harsh language, intense graphic violence, drug abuse and nudity.

55. "Paper Moon" Oscar winner: ONEAL.  Was it Tatum or her dad?

58. River of Flanders: YSER.  The Yser  is a river that rises in French Flanders (the north of France), enters the Belgian province of West Flanders and flows through the Ganzepoot and into the North Sea at the town of Nieuwpoort.

60. YWCA part: Abbr.: ASSN.

61. 1997 Mattel acquisition: TYCO.  You can read about their complicated history here.

63. Chem class part: LAB.  Laboratory, where you can make things that smell bad or go BOOM!

65. Climbing greenery: IVY.  Plant on the walls of college buildings.

66. "Wow!": GEE.  Good Golly!

67. Sellout letters: SRO. Standing Room Only.

So ends another Wednesday.  Hope you enjoyed it.

JzB over and out.