Monday June 7, 2021 John R. O'Brien

Theme: Hitting for the CYCLE (38. With "the," rare batting feat whose components begin the answers to starred clues)

 17. *Selling point for a used car: SINGLE OWNER.

 28. *Going out with another couple: DOUBLE DATING.

 44. *High club in a deli: TRIPLE DECKER.

 58. *Metaphor for the perfect person for the job: HOME RUN HIRE.

Boomer here. 

I hit .477 to lead my Babe Ruth Baseball League as a 15 year old. But I can honestly say I never hit for the cycle.  I believe you need to be a fast runner to get a triple.  

This morning as you all solve this Monday puzzle, I am on the golf course testing to see if golf balls fly further in 90 degree heat.  The weather man is very strange though.  Our neighboring state to the Northwest, North Dakota is enduring triple digits!

Across: 

1. 10-year-old Oscar winner O'Neal: TATUM.  "You know it's only a Paper Moon" 

6. Head lock: TRESS.  I used to watch pro-wrestling for hours and I never heard it called a TRESS.

11. Title for Lee or Grant :Abbr.: GEN. An interesting pair of Generals. Lee was a West Point scholar, while Grant was so so.  However when the civil war ended, Lee surrendered to Grant.

14. The Colosseum, e.g.: ARENA.

15. Beyond bad: WORSE.  I think our Twins have gone from bad to WORSE.

16. Messenger molecule: RNA.  I am no doctor but this is some kind of acid.

19. Homer's "rosy-fingered" dawn goddess: EOS.

20. Jacob's twin: ESAU.  Incredible story of thousands of years ago.  One guy sold his birthright to the other but I can never remember who was who.

21. "Young Sheldon" network: CBS.

22. Beauty's beau: BEAST.  C.C. is the Beauty and I am the BEAST.  Grrr!

24. Part-time player: SEMI-PRO.  The Twins have a few of these playing.  About 10 of the original roster are now on an injured list.

26. Raise, as sails: HOIST.  We have a bracket near our garage door, so we do not need to HOIST it.

32. In the stars: FATED.

35. Lena of "Alias": OLIN.  Were these the original OLE and LENA ??  I have heard a few stories about them.

36. Expected in: DUE.  I believe rain was DUE in Minnesota today but it may have evaporated before it hit the ground.

37. Old-school "OMG!": EGAD.

40. Note to the staff: MEMO.

41. Villain Luthor: LEX.  Mean old LEX hated Superman.

42. Work bound to sell?: BOOK.

43. Former Swedish cars: SAABS.  I never owned one.  I believe they stopped making them in 2014, SOB!

48. Krall of jazz: DIANA.

49. Power failures: OUTAGES.  Nothing recent here.  Keeping our air conditioning running.

53. Former senator Lott: TRENT.  From Mississippi.

55. Bad firecracker: DUD.  4th of July is coming.  These things are illegal in Minnesota, but people import them from other states. Not me though.

56. Hair clump: TUFT.  I wish I had enough to call a TUFT.

57. Anthem contraction: OER.  OER the land of the free, and the Home of the brave.

62. Printer problem: JAM.  I like Strawberry.  Sugar-free please.

63. Chris of "Captain America": EVANS.  DALE of Roy Rogers fame.

64. Arnie __, Don Draper's neighbor on "Mad Men": ROSEN.

65. Suffix with direct: ORY. Directory.

66. Dentist's request: RINSE.  Then spit.

67. Wind: Pref.: ANEMO.

Down: 

1. Uses a stun gun on: TASES. I knew a stun gun was called a TASER.  We had an incident just south of us in Brooklyn Center a few weeks ago when a lady police officer killed a man with her gun because she mixed it up with her taser.  We had a few protests in our city but things have settled down.

2. Come about: ARISE.

3. Coffee break hr.: TEN AM.  After coffee.  This is my tee time, "Fore!".

4. Like a tour without a leader: UNGUIDED.

5. Prefix with ware: MAL.

6. Pair of shillings, in British slang: TWO BOB.  I thought it was all EUROS across the pond.

7. Uses oars: ROWS.  Been there, Done that.  14 foot cedar strip fishing boat.

8. West end?: ERN. Western.

9. Fresno-to-L.A. dir.: SSE.  Yup, California coast line runs Southeast.  Actually, Reno Nevada is further west than L.A. 

10. Belgrade native: SERBIAN.

11. "Wish I'd thought of that!": GREAT IDEA.

12. Grandson of Adam: ENOS.  The only ENOS that I remember is ENOS Slaughter of the Cardinals.  I believe he was a many times All Star.

13. Creator of the GOP elephant: NAST.

18. Hosiery hue: ECRU.

23. Approx. number: EST.  Earlier, due to Covid, I think the Twins were allowing 8,000 fans in at Target Field.  I think they are now drawing about 6,000.

25. Whale group: POD.  We did not plant peas this year.  A few green peppers and cucumbers only. 

26. Satan's realm: HELL.

27. "Garfield" canine: ODIE.

29. Age of Reason philosopher John: LOCKE.

30. Anesthetized: NUMB.  After our two mile walk at Lake Harriet a couple of weeks ago, My legs were already numb.  No Anesthetic needed.

31. Most '90s Prizms: GEOS.

32. Pool table surface: FELT.  Also Craps and Black Jack tables.  How do I know this? I think I read about it somewhere.

33. Stress or worry, it's said: AGER.

34. Wildlife preservation method: TAXIDERMY.  After many, many years of hunting in Minnesota, my father shot a 12 point buck.  Of course he had the head mounted, but Mom was kind of so so about the whole thing.

38. Either "Fargo" director: COEN.  Many trivia shows ask the question about where the movie "Fargo" took place.  Of course the contestants answer North Dakota but I know better. 

39. Film wise man with his own grammar: YODA.

40. Very long race: MARATHON.  Never ran one of these.  They have a big one in Minnesota each year.  Not 2020 and we all know why.  The 26 mile route goes around three lakes plus. 

42. Nonsense: BLATHER.

43. Wimbledon unit: SET.

45. Bowling target: PIN.  This clue is right up my alley. -- I mean LANE!

46. Golfing venue: COURSE.  I am there right now.  By the way, you can "Go Bowling" but you "Play Golf".  You do not GO GOLFING or PLAY BOWL.

47. Spiral-horned antelope: KUDU.

50. Pretense: GUISE.

51. Zimbalist Jr. of "77 Sunset Strip": EFREM.  "Kookie, Kookie, lend me your comb".

52. Shorthand pro: STENO.

53. WWII Japanese general: TOJO.  Sorry, I am not old enough for WWII history.

54. Raise, as kids: REAR.

55. Animal lairs: DENS.  Also we met there when I was in "Cub Scouts".

59. Egg: Pref.: OVI.

60. __ cave: MAN.  We do not have one in our house.  I have to go to the Bowling Center.

61. New Deal agcy.: NRA.

Boomer

Sunday June 6, 2021 Pam Amick Klawitter

 

Theme: "Deactivated" - DE is added to each familiar phrase.

22A. Explanatory words on a map of dictators' homes?: X MARKS THE DESPOT. X marks the spot.

39A. Shipping delivery headache?: PACKAGE DETOUR. Package tour.

63A. Media barrage for Garcia's band?: DEAD BLITZ. Ad blitz.

84A. Northeastern fishing fleet?: LOBSTER DETAIL. Lobster tail.

105A. Valuable painting hanging in the potting shed?: GREEN HOUSE DEGAS. Greenhouse gas.

15D. Why the housing development was postponed?: DELAY OF THE LAND. Lay of the land.

45D. Post-rush hour elation?: TRAFFIC DELIGHT. Traffic light.

Veteran constructors like by D-Otto and Agnes might have gotten the theme before they even started solving. Sometimes title can be very helpful.

Our standard Sunday grid. Seven theme entries. Total 93 theme squares. My comfort level. No other fill is longer than 9-letter long. I think Pam purposely avoided that. She put two theme entries in Down slots and she did not want any theme entry confusion.

Across:

1. Thompson of "Westworld": TESSA.

 

6. 30 minutes at Lambeau Field: HALF.

10. Tabloid twosome: ITEM.

14. Dire March time: IDES.

18. Trade shows: EXPOS.

19. Hanoi's home: ASIA. You probably should remember "Ao Dai", their traditional dress. Someday you might see it a LAT grid.

20. Miffed: SORE.

21. That is, in Latin: ID EST.

25. Type of wheel or chart: COLOR.

26. Diplomat's asset: TACT.

27. Square root of nueve: TRES.  Uno, dos, tres.

28. Handshake alternatives: DAPS. Like this.

29. Way to heat up your sushi?: WASABI. I tried some on my Thanksgiving turkey last year. So good. I used tubed Wasabi of course. Never used fresh one. Very pricey.

30. Business address abbr.: STE.

31. Notable stretches: ERAS.

32. MLB VIPs: MGRS.

33. Sled-pulling pooch: SAMOYED. Unfamiliar to me. So fluffy.

34. Strikingly strange: EXOTIC.

36. Geometry product: AREA.

37. Read carefully, with "over": PORE.

38. Verb attachment: OSE.

42. Corp. money execs: CFOs.

43. Medieval musician: LUTIST.

46. Grafton's "__ for Noose": N IS.

47. Plum kin: APRICOT. Can't wait for the peach & pluot season.

49. Memo start: IN RE.

50. House attachment: LIEN.

52. One may be a lot: ACRE.

54. Garden center brand: ORTHO.

56. Author LeShan: EDA. Learned her name from doing crosswords.

57. "Whadya know!": MY MY.

58. Pub orders: ALES.

59. In a heated way: IRATELY.

61. Disney princess of the kingdom of Enchancia: SOFIA.The series is called "Sofia the First". She's voiced by Ariel Winter.

66. Guy found in kids' books: WALDO.

67. Set-up punch: LEFT JAB. Solid fill.

69. Heavy hammer: MAUL. Never heard of it.

70. Stir up: ROIL.

72. "Aladdin" monkey: ABU.

73. Do what he says: SIMON. Simon Says.

74. Goals: AIMS.

75. Cheryl of "Charlie's Angels": LADD.

76. Pizza chain, familiarly: UNOS.

77. Fords' White House successors: CARTERS.

79. Ref. work that added "livestream" in 2021: OED. Oxford English Dictionary.

80. Pre-Easter purchase: EGG DYE.

82. In order: TIDY.

88. Alp ending: INE. Alpine.

89. Man caves, e.g.: DENS.

90. End of an ultimatum: ELSE.

91. Support groups: ALLIES.

94. Storm refuges: CELLARS.

96. O'Rourke of Texas: BETO. Wiki says this is a nickname for "Alberto" or "Roberto". Will be an interesting race if he runs for governor.

97. Barbecue rod: SPIT.

98. "Not interested": NAH.

100. They make an effort: TRIERS.

101. Glee club voice: ALTO.

102. She followed Guthrie at Woodstock: BAEZ (Joan)

103. Kunis of "Black Swan": MILA. Also 110. Ballet attire: TUTU.

104. Noble gas that sounds like a French forest: ARGON. Forest of Argonne.

108. Harry and Jack who co-founded Columbia Pictures: COHNS. Learning moment for me.

109. Poet Khayyám: OMAR.

111. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" character: COMMA. I bet this tricked some. We've seen ["I, Claudius" character] clue in the past.

 112. Span. miss: SRTA.

113. Sounds of scorn: TSKS.

114. Part of a plan: STEP. TTP is great technical writer. I always solve those blog glitches if I follow his steps.

115. Anticipate: AWAIT.

Down:

1. Uses WhatsApp or Viber: TEXTS. Not familiar with Viber. Owned by Rakuten, Japanese online giant.

2. Split result: EX-MATE.

3. Musk's Starship developer: SPACE X.

4. Organize by size, say: SORT.

5. Show curiosity: ASK.

6. Panama's place?: HAT RACK. Panama hat.

7. Firepit contents: ASHES.

8. Fairway considerations: LIES. Uphill lies are easier than downhill lies.

9. It's hot for a while: FAD.

10. "Insecure" actress: ISSA RAE. Nice to see her full name.

11. Company whose signature product resulted from a plan to sell more chewing gum: TOPPS. We sold many packs of old 1987 Topps cards at the flea market over the years. Once a guy ripped open the pack and popped the gum into his mouth. I was so afraid that he'd get sick.

12. Bow-toting god: EROS.

13. Came together: MET.

14. Kid's comeback: I DO SO.

16. Anka hit with a Spanish title: ESO BESO.

17. Big steps: STRIDES.

21. Start of Caesar's boast: I CAME.  The "Veni" in "Veni, vidi, vici".

23. "__ speaking ... ": STRICTLY.

24. Narrowly beat: EDGED.

29. Golden State NBAer: WARRIOR.

31. GPS calculations: ETAS.

32. C-ration successors: MREs. Meals, Ready to Eat.

33. Go bad, as milk: SOUR.

35. Pre-Richie TV role for Ron: OPIE. Ron Howard.

36. Opposite of fer: AGIN.

37. "An Essay on Man" poet Alexander: POPE.

40. Biblical words before and after "for": AN EYE.

41. Anklebones: TARSI.

42. Terra __: COTTA.

43. Fictional 16-year-old von Trapp girl: LIESL.

44. Cancels: UNDOES.

48. Constant news channel feature: CRAWL.

51. Film review site: IMDB.

52. Potter son named for Dumbledore: ALBUS.  This always reminds me of Argyle. At one time, this was his Facebook profile picture.

53. Texting vehicle: CELL.

55. Guy in an exclusive network: OLD BOY.

57. Collegiate focus: MAJOR.

58. Actor Driver: ADAM.

59. Big name in polos: IZOD.

60. Brooklyn "y'all": YOUSE.

62. "Could happen": IT MAY.

64. Off the mark: AMISS.

65. It has its tricks: TRADE.

68. Reindeer rack: ANTLERS.

71. Glorify: IDEALIZE.

74. Wall St. figures: ARBS. Arbitragers.

75. It may be buried: LEDE. Buried the lede.

76. Homely fruit?: UGLI. It's quite juicy. Try it.

78. Long stretches: EONS.

79. About: OR SO.

81. Gold-covered: GILT.

82. Low-calorie mints: TIC TACS.

83. By mistake: IN ERROR.

85. Looks unstable: TEETERS.

86. English John: ELTON.

87. Secures, as a carton: TAPES UP.

89. Mends a sock: DARNS.  Boomer really like Wigwam socks. Diabetic-friendly.

92. Real baffler: ENIGMA.

93. Italian sub layer: SALAMI.

95. "Run" singer Lewis: LEONA. British singer.

96. Stark: BLEAK.

97. Cook in a wok, say: SAUTE. The only way I cook. But with a T-fan pan though. We have flat stovetop.

99. Goes after: HAS AT.

101. Pitchers' assets: ARMS.

102. Ring event: BOUT.

103. Kitty comment: MEOW.

105. Picked up: GOT.

106. Cleveland __, OH: HTS. Heights.

107. Reagan Airport, on luggage tags: DCA.

C.C.

Saturday, June 5, 2021, Jeff Chen

 Saturday Themeless by Jeff Chen

Today's puzzle comes from prolific constructor, Jeff Chen. Jeff lives in Seattle with his wife and two children, went to Stanford for his B.A. and thenU DUB for business school. In previous careers, he was a mechanical engineer listed on eight US patents, and then co-founded a pharmaceutical company, Acucela Inc, which went public in 2014. Does it occur to you that really smart people construct these puzzles?

Jeff says he’s an avid rock climber, inconceivably terrible bridge player, and likes ideas, people, and things with nerd cred. He’s about two-thirds of the way toward his lifetime goal of donating 20 gallons of blood (not all at once).

Here is what he had to say about today's puzzle: 

I like to experiment with different themeless styles, and I was curious if I could fill out a wide-open middle. This is roughly my 150th attempt, one that finally seemed to work. Apologies for SBE, that's a tough one to swallow!

 I posted a screen shot above of my embarrassing two cell errors on Jeff's grid. The two tell-tale red triangles show that I never gave up CANE in place of CAIN. I was willing to accept SNA as a singer I did not know and ESFWPICS as a internet abbr. I didn't know. Turns out I did know NSFWPICS even though it is a group of internet initials I knew followed by a slang word. I'm blaming part of this on my favorite fast food chicken place:

Across:

1. "Heck, yeah": SO TRUE - It means someone 15. Says "I'll say," say: AGREES with you along with

7. Area above an eave: FASCIA.

13. Orange-colored snack puff: CHEETO.

14. Game with blanks to fill: MAD LIBS - This was a _______ (adjective) puzzle that took me ____ (number) ______ (unit of time) to complete, after which I exclaimed ____ (cry of triumph) . Make your own

16. What might make some people single-minded?: BAD DATES - Fun cluing Jeff!

17. A baseball era was named for them, briefly: ROIDS - The whole baseball world followed the prolific, pharmaceutically-aided HR race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa during that STEROID era

18. Trig. calculation: COS - Cosine Problem

19. Top seen by churchgoers: SPIRE - St. Francis' in Humphrey, NE is visible for miles

20. Provocative: EDGY.

21. Punch list items: TASKS - When my science lab was renovated, many TASKS on the punch list were left undone

23. Sulk: SNIT - I usually think of Sulk as a verb and SNIT as a noun but they can be used interchangeably 

24. Strands inside a cell?: DNA.

25. Kind of shot or gift: PARTING - "Frankly, Scarlet, I don't give a damn" is a great PARTING shot. Maybe Jeff will have a lovely PARTING gift for me since I had two bad cells.

27. Lincoln's need: GAS 

28. Lifesavers, often: ORGAN DONORS.

31. Creating a disturbance: RAISING CAIN - My downfall (see my chicken place above 😙)! To raise Cain (Cain is always capitalized because it is a person) is to conjure up the murderous spirit of Cain. 

33. Be responsible for: BRING TO PASS - C.C. did BRING this wonderful site TO PASS and we are all grateful

35. Card game for two, usually: WAR.

38. Route for shipping vessels: SEA LANE - Some still use the SEA LANE around the southern tip of Africa to avoid pirates and the $450,000 fee to use the Suez Canal.

39. See 26-Down: FOX 26. Fruit associated with a fabled 39-Across: GRAPE - Critics who pan crosswords they can't solve?

41. Incessantly: EVER.

43. Incline: SLOPE - Math peeps know it's ∆y/∆x

44. Done some freestyle, say: SWUM - I cannot swim, I have never swam and, for the rest of time, I will never have SWUM in my neighbor's pool 

45. Become less green, maybe: RIPEN.

47. Mariner's hdg.: SBE - Jeff already said he was sorry for South By East for a mariner's heading

48. Academy Award-winning director who became an army major during World War II: CAPRA - Here Frank is receiving the Distinguished Service Medal. Frank's movies were instrumental in the conduct of the war and his The Negro Soldier was a "watershed event in promoting racial tolerance."

49. Fruit brandy that translates to "water of life": EAU DE VIE - Even I can translate these French words 

51. Rages: MANIAS.

52. Place to put one's dogs?: OTTOMAN - The history of this footrest for your feet/dogs

53. Software provider sharing a name with a Greek prophet: ORACLE.

54. Liam of "Batman Begins": NEESON - Ra's al Ghul, leader of the League of Shadows and commander of a legion of evil ninjas.

55. Kids: TEASES.

Down:

1. More than a little nervous: SCARED.

2. "Why would you even consider that?!": OH GOD NO!

3. She played Phoebe's mom on "Friends": TERI GARR.

4. Like oboe music: REEDY - An oboe has two REEDs, so...

5. Western natives: UTES.

6. Camera named for a Greek goddess: EOS - EOS is clued as either a camera or a Greek goddess. Here, both options are in the clue.

7. It doesn't last: FAD - Ah, the 70's

8. Sums: ADDS - ∑ is an Excel spreadsheet symbol to SUM a group of numbers

9. Puts (on) hastily: SLAPS - If you speed through Wahoo, NE they will SLAP a fine on you in a heartbeat

10. Using as an example: CITING.

11. Porto's peninsula: IBERIA - The second largest city in Portugal can also be spelled Oporto

12. They may be fixed: ASSETS - At our age they all are

14. Protection against bleeding: MASKING TAPE.

16. Northeast paper with 26 Pulitzers: BOSTON GLOBE.

18. Serious lapse: CARDINAL SIN.

21. Flowers known as golden buttons: TANSIES - New to me

22. Shaved-ice treat: SNO CONE.

25. Hold 'em holdings: PAIRS - You have about a 6% chance of being dealt pairs for your first two cards in Texas Hold 'em Poker

29. Natter: GAB - He resurrected the word natter

30. "Cheap Thrills" singer with Sean Paul: SIA - Many performers need a gimmick to stand out. I wonder what SIA uses? BTW, I did this puzzle before Jeffrey Wechsler had her name in his Wednesday puzzle.

32. Warning on some forwarded emails, briefly: NSFWPICS - Not Safe For Work PICtureS as previously discussed.

34. Mouth-puckering brew: SOUR ALE.

35. "It's go time!": WE'RE ON - or...

36. Move up in the world?: AVIATE.

37. Public stature: REPUTE - In the world of crosswords, C.C. is held in high REPUTE

40. Present times, briefly: XMASES - Oh,  present as a noun and not an adjective 

42. Second tries: REDOS - My oldest daughter's second marriage has been a great success!

44. Capital near the Red Sea: SANAA - Yemen's capital and a Disney restaurant. Jeffrey also had YEMEN LEMON on Wednesday.

46. Verne captain: NEMO - The owner of this "attic find" which is an 1873 version (translated from Jules Verne's French) of Captain NEMO's travels aboard The Nautilus. He will let it go for $1,800.

48. Au pair's concern: CARE - Au Pair is French for "at par" or "equal to" and is someone who is brought in to be a member of the family and usually CARE for children.

50. Wheels for a move: VAN - Moonlighters

51. Zinger: MOT - A good one is a Bon MOT!

Friday, June 4, 2021, Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

  Title: Where is the theme hiding?

For all the "new" people to the blog you are in for a real treat. Don "HARD G" Gagliardo was the magical mentor who opened Zhouqin's eyes to her skill as a wordsmith even though she is still not comfortable speaking English in public. But she creates wonderful, exquisite puzzles using many forms of knowledge from personal to arcane. Today's theme is...? After 11+ years I seldom hesitate in my recognition of a theme, but today I needed to use my "phone a friend" options to pinpoint and confirm what was going on. It was like having a thought on the tip of your tongue...

16A. Big house, hot water: BIG, HOUSE CATS,  AND HOT, WATER DOGS (11). I liked big, house cats, and hot dogs but water dogs rang hollow; but then.

32A. Abstract concept, space needle: ABSTRACT, CONCEPT ARTS,  AND SPACE, NEEDLE CRAFTS (13). This sounded better even if I do not know concept art.

37A. Wee one, parlor game: WEE, ONE BITS , AND PARLOR, GAME PIECES (13).  one bits seems bad and parlor pieces...

59A. Pepper jack, gold dust: PEPPER, JACK POTS.  AND  GOLD, DUST PANS (11). This group also seeemed inconsistent but I am ready to get to the rest. Thank you for all you help

I am now off tothe races

Across:

1. Boxing legend Pacquiao: MANNY. He has held 8 world boxing titles and is still fighting at 42.

6. RxList selection: DRUG. So Don "HARD G" and C.C. are easing us into the solve.

10. Dad __: BOD. I knew it was going to be all right when I plunked this in immediately.

13. Roman playwright who advised Nero: SENECA. I told you guys all those years of Latin helped.  When Nero became emperor in 54, Seneca became his advisor and, together with the praetorian prefect Sextus Afranius Burrus, provided competent government for the first five years of Nero's reign. Seneca's influence over Nero declined with time, and in 65 Seneca was forced to take his own life for alleged complicity in the Pisonian conspiracy to assassinate Nero, in which he was likely to have been innocent. Per wiki.

14. Traveler's need, perhaps: VISA. The passport kind not the credit card.

15. Dr. Cornelius, in a sci-fi film series: APE. One of my favorites.

18. "I like that!": YUM. Is it Onomotopoeia or from the Sanskrit YUM? The word has been in dictionaries since the late 1800s.

19. Recording session rarity: ONE TAKE. That depends on the budget and the Producer.

20. "__ 13": APOLLO. The ill fated flight and the MOVIE. 

22. Swimming aids: FINS. I never found them easy to use.

23. TV forensics letters: CSI. Crime Scene Investigations. There is a revival coming for the fall 2021 SEASON.

26. Wintry mix: SLEET. A popular fill. 

27. Mushy ground: FEN.  FENway Park, which was named by then Red Sox owner John I. Taylor who claimed the name Fenway Park came from its location in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston, which was partially created late in the nineteenth century by filling in marshland or "fens."

28. Los Angeles birthplace of astronaut Sally Ride: ENCINO. No way I knew this trivia but perps to the rescue.

31. Scandinavian demonym: DANE. One from Denmark, as it is the name used for the people who live in a particular country, state, or other locality. For example, demonyms for the residents of Michigan are Michigander and Michiganian but not Michiggenuh.

35. Even one: ANY. Literal.

36. Game for an "it" girl?: TAG. Very cute, not relating to the showbiz it girls, just the kids game.

44. "This looks like trouble": UH OH. There is no known origin story.

45. Shire equivalent: COUNTY. Shire in England and Hobbitland.

46. Letters before an alias: AKA. Also known as.

49. Acidic, in Germany: SAUER. Kraut became a popular insult to Germans in WWI.

51. "Snowpiercer" channel: TNT. I knew nothing of the book, movie or SERIES but three letter channels are limited.

52. Just: EVEN. Meh, I think it needs even-handed.

53. Many a news team: TV CREW.

55. Clothing: RAIMENT. c. 1400, "clothes, an article of clothing, vesture" (archaic), shortening of arayment "clothing" (late 14c.), from Anglo-French araiement, from Old French areement, from areer "to array" (see array (v.)).

58. Grassy stretch: LEA. Popular in GB.

62. Augsburg article: EIN. Another German reference.

63. Lake fed by the Detroit River: ERIE. Oh goody, another was to clue the Lake.

64. London-based tea giant: TETLEY. A fascinating history of tea and the COMPANY.

65. City grid nos.: STS.

66. Mardi Gras follower: LENT. This year it began on February 17(Ash Wednesday) and ended on April 3, the day before Easter.

67. "Siegfried __": Wagner symphonic poem: IDYLL. A romantic STORY.

Down:

1. Nasty sort: MEANIE. Not George. 

2. Radio interface: ANTENNA. Interface? 

3. Cardinals' homes: NESTS. I thought they came from St. Louis.

4. Sports org. that evolved from one created under Teddy Roosevelt: NCAA. The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS), now known as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), was formally established on March 31, 1906 to reform the rules and regulations of college sports. Early football games often resulted in injury and even death, prompting some colleges and universities to close their football programs. The reforms were encouraged by President Roosevelt in 1905, after his son was injured while playing football for Harvard.

5. Pull hard: YANK. Don't go there.

6. Data storage device: DVD. Digital Video Discs are obsolete I am told.

7. Kia subcompact: RIO. 

8. Golf rules org.: USGA. More organizations.

9. Expresses shock: GASPS. I wasn't so I did not.

10. Herb from the laurel tree: BAYLEAF. Be careful which Laurel Tree. LINK.  We always had Mountain Laurels in our yard- no no! The use of the leaves as a spice goes back to Roman Days where it was treasured and part of an...

11. Lavish: OPULENT. Lifestyle.

12. Downgrades: DEMOTES. Start with your basic PROMOTE and add "DE" take away "PRO." 

13. Sneeze (at): SCOFF. mid-14c., "jest, make light of something;" mid-15c., "make fun of, mock," from the noun meaning "contemptuous ridicule" (c. 1300), from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse skaup, skop "mockery, ridicule."

17. U.S. record label since 1934: DECCA. Quite a history. LINK.

21. Gerontology focus: OLD AGE. Gerontology is multidisciplinary and is concerned with physical, mental, and social aspects and implications of aging. Geriatrics is a medical specialty focused on care and treatment of older persons.

24. Original __: SIN. Did anyone else watch this                      year's  LUCIFER episodes?

25. Unaffiliated: Abbr.: INDependent.

28. Mediterranean tourist site: ETNA. Why go to an active volcano?

29. "It's Gonna Be Me" band: NSYNC.

30. Mendelssohn's Opus 20, e.g.: OCTET.

33. Bacon portion: RASHER.

34. Suggestive: RACY. 

37. Is astir with activity: BUSTLES. "be active in a noisy and agitated way," 1570s (bustling "noisy or excited activity" is from early 15c.), of uncertain origin, or "padding in the upper back part of a skirt," 1788. 

38. "Aha!": I HAVE IT.

39. Large-billed birds: TOUCANS. They carry around Benjamins?

40. URL component: DOT. How cute, the little period.

41. Carlin's "Atheism is a non-prophet institution," e.g.: PUN.

42. Prefix with dermal: INTRA.

43. Backup command: SAVE ALL.

47. Vacation rental?: KENNEL. Board the pets while you go frolic.

48. Pumped: ANTSY. In the pantsy.

50. Ward off: REPEL. So if you want the guy across the bar to pay attention you would PEL him?

52. Recycled item: EMPTY. You are supposed to empty them, but do you wash them?

54. Sported: WORE. Kim Kardashian sported the 7 carat ring.

56. Pro fighter: ANTI. Not a boxer just and ideologic opponent.

57. Pointed at, say: ID ED. Yeah, he did it!

60. Mint container: TIN. Altoid anyone.

61. Math group: SET. Like my algebra teacher has a nice set?

Golly, all over already and I did get to say what I wanted. Great puzzle and fun wriing

See ya Lemon out

I wish I had OKL's chart when I was solving but I did have the help from my unnamed friends. Happy Friday