Saturday, July 24, 2020, Jake Houston

Saturday Themeless by Jake Houston

Jake is another new constructor and his puzzle was fun to solve. It featured proper names that spanned generations from Luke Wilson to Georgie Jessel. Wow!

Here is a note from Jake with some personal information:

Hi Gary!

I’m a writer, musician and soon-to-be tech project manager from New Haven, Connecticut. I graduated Yale College (Husker - He is an  6. New Haven alum: ELI) in 2019 with a B.A. in American Studies, and have been constructing crosswords since shortly after graduation. I got really into making themelesses during the pandemic, and this one, from June 2020, was one of my favorite early grids. 

Jake added info about this particular puzzle:

Triple stacks are easier to work with than other themeless formats (at least for me), because the grid has a focal point which provides an easy place to start. I built the grid and left Crossfire alone for a few minutes so that it could find some nice combinations for the center stack, and I was happy with this particular trio (31-Across is particularly relevant for Los Angeles!). I then worked outward from there, adding cheater squares when needed. There are a few entries that aren’t ideal (I wouldn’t be in a hurry to use 32-Down in a grid nowadays), but I think there’s a pretty nice density of juicy phrases, and even some one-word entries that I like (who would have known how meaningful 37-Down would become in our lives?). I was also pleased that my original clues for 37-, 39-, and 53-Across survived the editing process - and thanks to the LA Times team for the additional great clues

-Jake

Across:

1. Original airer of "The Flintstones": ABC - The first primetime cartoon show for adults. TV Guide for September 30, 196o: 

4. Frat Pack brother of Luke: OWEN - The Wilson brothers are in the top row - Owen is second from the left and Luke is on the right

8. Where a queen may be crowned: PROM - Let's not talk about the movie Carrie

12. Swedish aerospace giant: SAAB.

14. __ system: SOLAR - We learned last Sunday that a mechanical scale model is called an ORREY

16. Emmy winner Ward: SELA - She has a recurring role in crosswords 

17. Metaphor for nonstop action: THRILL RIDE - My first big one was the incredible Hulk at Universal Studios Orlando.

19. Throws in: ADDS.

20. Former capital of Myanmar: RANGOON - The new capital, Naypyitaw, is a 4 1/2 hours drive north of the old capital of RANGOON (Yangon), Burma (Myanmar)

21. Beemer alternative: JAG - I would say "JAG whar" but in the U.K. they would say "JAG you whar"

23. Insurance ad woman: FLO - Haven't we seen enough of her?

24. Prayer leaders: IMAMS.

25. Coach's strategy: GAME PLAN - The great coaches change their GAME PLAN when the original isn't working

27. "I am not strange. I am just not normal" artist: DALI - 15 things about his most famous painting

28. UFC sport: MMA - Mixed Martial Arts is part of Ultimate Fighting Championship

30. Boots, in a way: LOADS - When a computer boots up, it LOADS the operating system. More

31. Hubbard movement: SCIENTOLOGY - L. Ron Hubbard. Old Mother Hubbard moving to the cupboard leapt to my feeble mind first.

35. Reality show with auctioneers: STORAGE WARS - They bid on unclaimed storage lockers. Like many other "reality" shows, there is a debate whether this is real or staged.

36. Illustrations on some old maps: SEA MONSTERS.

37. Uses a lot?: PARKS - Badly below

38. Talk acronym: TED - The TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Foundation is a non-profit that offers live talks and TED Talks online

39. It's behind you: PAST.

43. Emergency building section: FIRE AREA.

46. Transform: MORPH 

47. Gilbert and Sullivan princess: IDA.

48. Theater pickups, on signs: TIX - Broadway tickets

49. Multitalented Jessel of vaudeville: GEORGIE - A gimme for those of us with some miles on our tires who might struggle with some contemporary names. His IMDB

GEORGIE seen here in the 40's
with a girl named Norma Jean Baker

51. Italian tubes: ZITI.

53. Higher education?: BIBLE STUDY - Fun clue

55. U.K. prime minister during the Suez Crisis: EDEN - Lying about what happened cost him his job. How it was handled on BBC's The Crown

56. MIT __: business school: SLOAN.

57. Forward thinker: SEER.

58. Fishing boat tools: RODS - The oars and nets were in the other boat

59. Marine hazard: EDDY.

60. Lock-changing aid?: DYE - Locks of hair

Down:

1. Lindgren who wrote the Pippi Longstocking tales: ASTRID - It will cost you $1,200 for a 1945 first edition that is 5. Showing signs of age: WORN.

2. Grand __: BAHAMA.

3. Earthly: CARNAL.

4. "Hedda Gabler" setting, now: OSLO - Ibsen's 1891 play was set in Kristiania, Norway which was renamed Oslo in 1925. Learning for me but easy to fill. Talk about your Saturday cluing! 

7. Title woman in an André Breton novel: NADJA - Talk about needing perp help!

8. MADD ad, e.g.: PSA - Public Service Announcement 

9. Warnings: RED FLAGS - 14 relationship RED FLAGS for women so they don't make a 13. "Not a good idea at all": BIG MISTAKE.

10. Noted fly swallower: OLD LADY - A fun read if you've forgotten it

11. Stonewallers?: MASONS.

15. Set of sheets: REAM.

18. Head of the LAPD?: LOS - Not ELL, but the whole word

22. Actress Sarah Michelle __: GELLAR.

25. Rap genre: GANGSTA and 46. Rapper __ Def: MOS 

26. Rude losers: POOR SPORTS and 29. Nasty: MEAN.

28. Barcelona-born surrealist: MIRO - Mira el MIRO (Look at MIRO)

32. Global networking pioneer: COMSAT - Jake regretted this entry but it was right in this NASA guy's wheelhouse. One of the first COMmunication SATellites was called Telstar and inspired this funky 1962 song.

33. Parisian bean?: TETE - Two French athletes competing against one another can be said to be going TÊTE à TÊTE

34. Due: OWED.

35. Like some knives: SERRATED.

Plain vs. SERRATED

36. Got hitched: SAID I DO - Married? No, but thanks for playing!

37. Xanax maker: PFIZER - Common name for tranquilizer alprazolam

40. Contended: ARGUED.

41. __-sense: superhero asset: SPIDEY.

42. "__ here": "Poltergeist": THEY'RE.

44. Kids: RIBS - The verb not the noun

45. Kick out: EXILE - "Napoleon, pack your bags for St. Helena"

49. Smiling, probably: GLAD.

50. Choice word?: EENY - ELSE was the, uh, wrong choice 

52. Helpful connections: INS - I've never had an "IN" to help me get a job but two former students who are police officers did let me off with a warning instead of a ticket.

54. Gym specimen: BOD - Jake probably didn't mean Dad BODS.

Friday, July 23, 2021, Ed Sessa

Title: 

IOU an A, E

Dr. Ed is back with a letter substitution (A to E) sound-alike puzzle that plays a little easy for a Friday. The themers are all pretty funny puns. Ed is a master of entertaining no matter what day of the week. The puzzle does not have much long fill - EMPERORS and FACELIFT are the only over 6 letter non-themers, though it is sprinkled with some difficulty.  Cluing is Friday vague in places and having a central gridspanner always adds a touch of class to the effort. The icing on this cake is all the changes are from EA to EE.

Yummy. Enjoy.

17A. Double vision?: TWIN PEEKS (9). TWIN PEAKS is a cult CLASSIC 

23A. What EEE signifies?: NO SMALL FEET (11).  No small feat is an expression that can be found in many FORMS.

39A. Cesar Millan's gift?: THE HEELING TOUCH (15). My favorite pun, as the dog whisperer substitutes for this  TREATMENT.

49A. Blind date?: MYSTERY MEET (11). As someone who went to boarding school I have eaten more than my share of unidentifiable meat products.

61A. His-and-hers concert souvenir?: TEE FOR TWO (9). TEA for Two is a song composed by Vincent Youmans with lyrics by Irving Caesar and written in 1924. 

The fun is done and now to work. 

Across:

1. Japanese car whose name means "reward" in early German: MIATA. Don't we all hate it when 1 across is an unknown. In Japan it is called Roadster, but here it comes from the Old German 'miete' for reward.

6. Infielder in a comedy routine: WHO. He is on first!

9. Conviction: FAITH. A place for this FAITH  52D. Group's belief: TENET.

14. Joins, as a team: YOKES. Oxen anyone.

15. On fire: HOT.

En fuego!

16. Big name in foil: ALCOA. My June 18 comment was "15A. Portmanteau metal producer: ALCOA. No, no, no! AL CO A, aluminum company of america is not words mashed together!

19. Items often checked: COATS. A fun clue.

20. Flying Solo: HAN. While HARRISON FORD was killed off as Han, he has a new INDIANA JONES movie coming.

21. Brute's rebuke: ET TU. 

22. "Will it play in __?": vaudeville phrase: PEORIA. Origin- (1) The phrase originated during the vaudeville era and was popularized in movies by Groucho Marx, or (2) The question derives from a theme repeated by characters in Horatio Alger Jr.'s novel Five Hundred Dollars; or, Jacob Marlowe's Secret, which was first published in 1890. 

25. Birthplace of St. Francis: ASSISI. Very common fill. 

29. "Who, me?": MOI? I really wanted a Miss Piggy GIF here.

30. Pound product: POEM. Ezra, not a personal hero. POUND HISTORY

31. Fabric with metallic threads: LAMÉ . The earliest historical records of lamé fabric date back to Ancient Assyria, which was a nation in the Middle East that existed between 2500 BC and 600 AD

34. Musical E equivalent: F FLAT. Ron can you explain why?

42. Doomed biblical city: SODOM. What Gomorrah can you say about this biblical city?

43. Calf-length skirt: MIDI. Midcalf.

44. See 36-Down: OAHU. The dreaded random referential set with 36D. Feast on 44-Across: LUAU.

45. Pot pie veggie: PEA. The recipes from Pillsbury, Betty Crocker and Campbell's Soup all use frozen mixed vegetables - corn, carrots, green beans and peas. Nothing fresh.

47. Holds dear: VALUES. 

55. Films partly made in stages: OATERS. Another pun, this one relating to the stage coach scenes in Westerns.

56. Deal with creases: IRON. 

57. Audibly grieve: SOB.

60. Texas HQ of Frito-Lay: PLANO. Frito-Lay North America is the $13 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE, PEP), which is headquartered in Plano, TX. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate website, www.fritolay.com. It was created initially by a merger of Frito and Lay.

63. Articulate: UTTER. The verb.

64. Company abbr.: INC.

65. Texans' neighbors: OKIES. Seems unbalanced as Texans are not a nickname and Okies are.

66. Old times: PASTS. 

67. WWII carrier: LST.

68. "Old" language that gave us "blunder": NORSE. mid-14c., "to stumble about blindly," from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse blundra "shut one's eyes," perhaps from Proto-Germanic *blinda- "blind."

Down:

1. Bit of fiction: MYTH. In college we debated the TOPIC myth is reality and reality is myth.

2. "The Music Man" setting: IOWA. The author Meredith Willson was inspired by his boyhood in Mason City, Iowa.

3. Related: AKIN.

4. First and __: TEN. A football concept and one of the very first HBO original series, I think. It began with JASON BEGHE and and UF graduate DELTA BURKE.

5. Quakers in Colorado?: ASPENS. Ha ha, tree humor.

6. Puts an edge on: WHETS. Sharpens with a stone, from the old days.

7. Poppycock: HOKUM. Derives from Hocus Pocus, but if you google you get all kinds of irreverent images. 

8. Extra NFL periods: OTS. OverTimes.

9. Cosmetic surgery procedure: FACELIFT. I like my face right where it is, but for those with more money than sense, be careful what you wish for. mirror, mirror

10. Distant: ALOOF. Did you know loof (now spelled luff) is the windward side of a ship. Smart sailors wanting to avoid a hazard on the leeward side, who go to the other side, holding themselves aloof.
 
11. Comforting affirmation: I CARE. I really care cornerites about each and everyone of you.

12. Funny Fields: TOTIE. She died young.

13. Starts to fight: HAS AT. Meh.

18. Star over Paris: ÉTOILE. French lesson. 星位 Chinese lesson.

22. Abbas' gp.: PLO. PLO

24. Improve: AMEND.

25. Much urban housing: Abbr.: APTS. Apartments, and condos will probably not sell well in Florida for a while.

26. NYC art district: SOHO. South of Houston (howston in New York).

27. Apple core?: SEED. You think this was his seed entry?

28. Letters before a view: IMHO. In My Humble Opinion. Why Humble?

32. Revlon cosmetics brand: ALMAY. ALMAY 

33. Customizable Nintendo persona: MII.

35. Have on, to a Brit: FOOL.

37. Bleed (for): ACHE.

38. Consequently: THUS. Ergo.

40. Supreme monarchs: EMPERORS.

41. Provide generously, as one's time: GIVE OF.

46. Triage areas, briefly: ERS. Emergency Rooms.

48. When a classic film gunfight started: AT NOON.

49. Attend to a spill: MOP UP.

50. 1945 "Big Three" meeting site: YALTA. Didn't I just link this.

51. E and FG, in sports: STATS. Error and field goal both of which work in various sports.

53. Appearances: MIENS. Like its synonyms bearing and demeanor, mien means the outward manifestation of personality or attitude.

54. Build: ERECT. This name always reminds me of The Taj Mahal.

57. Recipe directive: STIR. Beat; Dice; Sear; Melt; Sift: Bake; Boil...

58. Is beholden to: OWES. More Gary Cooper?

59. Big name in audio systems: BOSE. My bedtime music comes from a Bose.

61. "Open 9 __ 5": TIL. Sing it Dolly!

62. Original "King Kong" film studio: RKO. This is part of the Kennedy family Legacy. LINK.

We have wended our way through another fabulous, fun, Friday Frolic and since Moe is out and about you have me again next, same Bat Time, same Bat Station. Lemonade out!

Thursday July 22, 2021 David Poole

The Case of the Missing Themers

Today's outing is by frequent  contributor David Poole, a mathematician who last appeared on the Corner on July 1 of this year.  Here he was interviewed by C.C. just last September. 

I have to admit that I was initially very perplexed by this puzzle's theme: there is a reveal clue, but no actual theme clues for it to reveal (probably old hat for veteran solvers, but not for this relative newbie).  Here it is:

37A. Place to find a date ... and any one of four in this puzzle (circled letters are hints): CORNER STONE.

Obviously you often "find a date" on CORNERSTONES and they're usually expressed in Roman numerals.  So Bill was off and running, looking for Roman numerals in the corners, and of course found what he was looking for, as  letters like M, L, I, and V are very common in Crosswords.  But pretty soon I was down in the weeds, then began to have the sinking feeling that they were actually "seaweeds".  So I issued a distress call to the blogging team, and before you could say "splash", who bobbed to the surface but my Thursday alter-ego, and our favorite Marine Mammal,  Malodorous Manatee.  He gently explained that (1) my parsing  of CORNERSTONES was incorrect (the fill comes from the factory unparsed and bloggers first have to put spaces between any multi-word entries), and (2) that the reveal answer was really two words: CORNER STONES. With a resounding "DOH", I saw that for the want of a SPACE,  our devious constructor David had thrown me off the scent.   Each circle was the start of the given name of an entertainer, wrapped around a CORNER and the surname of each was STONE.  The grid should make sense of all the above:

Just to round things off, you can find Roman numeral dates in each corner, but they are really misdirections - I'll leave them for you to locate if you  wish.  And here are the STONES in each CORNER, clockwise from the Northwest:

EMMA STONE.  Emily Jean "Emma" Stone (born November 6, 1988) is an American actress.  Stone appeared in my last blog on the cover of ELLE.  This coverage had been part of the hype in the run up to the 2017 OSCARS.  LA LA Land, the 2016 film favored to win Best Picture, didn't get the nod, but Stone landed the Oscar for Best Actress, the first of what are sure to be many more.  Here are capsule reviews, of all of her movies and here is the "Audition (the fools who dream)" scene from LA LA Land:

OLIVER STONE. William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter.  I don't think that Stone makes uncontroversial films.  I'm absolutely certain that most of us, of a certain age, remember these events:

SLY STONE.  Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone.  He is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone and played a critical role in the development of Funk Music, with his pioneering fusion of soul, rock, psychedelia and gospel in the 1960s and 1970s.  And now for a little change of pace ...

SHARON STONE.  Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress, producer, and former fashion model.  Noted for playing femme fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became a popular sex symbol throughout the 1990s. She is the recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as having received nominations for an Academy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.  And to top it off, she's pretty funny.  Here she is opening up for SNL:

Oh yes, and there were other clues:

Across:

1. Sprayed in defense: MACED.  Or whacked with one of these. Ouch!

6. "Your point being?": AND.

9. With 65-Down, toon sister of Castor: OLIVE.  Here are the OYL sibs:

14. Biscayne Bay city: MIAMI.   A bit of misdirection for me, as the Bay of Biscay between France and Spain immediately came to mind.  This is the bay David wanted:

15. Zen garden swimmer: KOI.  Double-click this pic to enlarge it.  I feel more relaxed already ...

16. Richard Parker in "Life of Pi," e.g.: TIGER.  A philosophical novel by Canadian Yann Martel (Hi CanadianEh!) and an award winning film directed by Ang Lee. 

It's too late in life for me to read the novel, but the film is definitely on my bucket list.

17. Critical care MD: ER DOC.

18. Tall or dark: Abbr.: ADJ.  Or perhaps both, and handsome too.

19. Composer who, as it happens, died in March (1932): SOUSA.  John Philip Sousa  (November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era, known primarily for American military marches.  This is a CSO to our Anonymous T ...

20. Browser list: SITES.

22. Luke, to Anakin: SON.  Luke and Anakin (before the latter went over to the Dark Side)

24. Drops off: NAPS.

25. Short jackets worn open in front: BOLEROS.  Also a theme and orchestral variations by Maurice Ravel.  Also used in the movie "10" starring Dudley More and Bo Derek.  As this is a family blog I can only share a clip of the former (15 min):

Bolero is one of the most frequently performed works in the repertoire, but Ravel was not particularly fond of it: "My masterpiece? Boléro? What next?  Sadly there is nothing musical in it!".

27. Oscar night VIP: NOMINEE.  E.g. our three theatrical STONES.

29. Actor Brynner: YUL.  A remarkable and versatile actor who starred in just about every film genre.   If you want the whole scoop, here's a book on Amazon.  The blurb for it sums him up pretty well:

30. Poor, as odds: SLIM.

32. Offer, as a guess: HAZARD.

33. And others, in Lat.: ET AL. Short for ET ALII (plural) and ET ALIA (singular)

35. Broccoli rabe: RAPINI.  In case you wondered.  Also the tender leaves sprouting from the sides of young broccoli plants can be trimmed and substituted for RAPINI.

41. Co-star of Meryl in "Death Becomes Her": GOLDIE.   In this 1992 black comedy, Streep and Hawn are rivals who fight for the affections of the same man.  Kurt Russell may be Goldie's life-long significant other, but she  is still America's sweetheart:

42. Raise, as crops: GROW.  GROW is something crops do all by themselves.  RAISE is something gardeners (and farmers - Hi PK!) do, helping the crops to grow.  And this gardener is not having a good season this year.  But like I always say, I'll do things differently next year.

45. Executor's charge: ESTATE.  My Mother died last December at age 95 and I was named the executor of her estate in her Will.  But as she left no estate, and prepaid all of her burial expenses, there was little for me to do.  Except, that is, for deciding what was correct among all of the conflicting advice that I was getting from various experts.

48. "__ said!": NUFF. 

51. Sculpture medium: ICE.  We tend to think of ICE as a short-lived medium for sculpture.  But in the North of China, where my adopted 17 year old grandson hails from, the winters are long and very cold.  His home city of Harbin, China has for many years hosted an Ice Festival during January and February:

52. Author Elmore __: LEONARD.  Elmore Leonard (October 11, 1925 – August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures:

Here's his official website.  Leonard's works were known around the world, and his homepage starts with an article translated from Italian, comparing him to Honoré de Balzac.

54. Calls the shots: DIRECTS.  Like my 6 year old grandson!

56. Brand at Petco: IAMS.

57. Clue suspect count: SIX.  The game's six characters are Miss Scarlett, Professor Plum, Mrs Peacock, the Reverend Green, Colonel Mustard and the new Dr Orchid.  Memorize that list, as I'm sure one of them will show up in a puzzle soon.

59. Saint __, one of the only two sovereign nations named for women: LUCIA. A CSO from David to our Lucina (Spanish for Lucia I'm sure)!  Saint Lucia is an island state in the Caribbean Sea. It is the second largest of the Windward group in the Lesser Antilles and is located about 24 miles (39 km) south of Martinique and some 21 miles (34 km) northeast of Saint Vincent. 

Any guesses on the second sovereign nation named for a woman? It's IRELAND, named after the Celtic goddess of fertility EIRE.  The latter appears often in Cwds as a clue for Ireland or vice versa.

60. Intimidating look: STARE. A gender neutral look I suppose.

62. Civil War prez: ABE.

64. "Heaven forbid!": GOD NO.

66. Hopping mad: HET UP.  Let's see if our hopping Thesaurus has any synonyms ...

67. "ASAP!": NOW.  Over at 17A they say STAT!

68. Strike zone?: ALLEY.  Whoops! David really dropped the ball on this one.  He's going to have  some 'splainin to do to Boomer about this answer.

69. Pasta product suffix: ARONI.

70. Pink-slip: AXE.  CAMI was too long.

71. Eldest von Trapp child, in the musical: LIESL.  LIESL is presumably the young lady top-center in this number:

Down:

1. Tussaud title: Abbr.: MME.  Marie Tussaud, the original founder of the Wax Museum in Central London: 

2. Ventilates: AIRS OUT.

3. Detroit founder: CADILLAC.  That is Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac.  Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park in Maine is named for him.  Gee, I wonder if those expensive luxury cars from Detroit are named for him? 

4. Ham it up: EMOTE.  Moi?  I would never do that!

5. Chefs, at times: DICERS.  But I do have a great recipe for DICED HAM, noodles, peas and cream.

6. Alias letters: AKA.  Also Known As.

7. Auction actions: NODS.  I never go to auctions, as I am liable to NOD off during the bidding and end up in debt for a lot of stuff I'd have to haul home.

8. City where Grey Poupon originated: DIJON.  Dijon is capital of Côte d’Or département and of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté région, east-central France

:9. NHL tiebreakers: OTS.

10. Putting on a pedestal: LIONIZING.

11. Exotic pet: IGUANA.  These lizards are kind of scary looking, but apparently they are quite docile.  Here's what the Galapagos Conservancy has to say about them and other lizards of the island:

12. "Casino Royale" Bond girl __ Lynd: VESPER.  Played by French actress Eva Green, not your garden variety Bond babe:

13. Undid: ERASED.

21. Costa del __: SOL.

23. Like seven Nolan Ryan games: NO HIT.  He still holds the record for NO HIT games:

25. Tournament edge: BYE.  In sports, BYE refers to a team automatically advancing to the next round of tournament play without competing, and "bye week" refers to a scheduled off week for a given team.

26. Fathered: SIRED.

28. Hand for Julio Iglesias?: MANO.  According to the Wiki "Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful continental European singer in the world and one of the top record sellers in music history, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide in 14 languages.  And here he is giving someone una mano:

31. Bay Area county: MARIN.  Also the name of the departing conductor of the Baltimore Symphony, Marin Alsop.  Here's the county:

34. 1976 Michael York/Jenny Agutter sci-fi film: LOGANS RUN.  American Cinematographer described Logan's Run as "one of the most technically intricate films ever made.  Here are York and Agutter:

Here is Michael York's website where he discusses his affliction with Amyloidosis, a blood plasma disorder.  Jenny Agutter currently plays Sister Julienne in the popular Brit series "Call the Midwife".  My genealogist sister tells me that I have a distant cousin who writes for the series, but I've never met him.

36. Ersatz intellectual: PSEUD.

38. Membership list: ROTA.  An early 17th century term: from Latin, literally ‘wheel’.  Did they have Rolodex's back then?

39. Phils and Nats: NLERS.

40. "Spamalot" co-creator: ERIC IDLE.  Here's an ear worm for you ...

43. Pump numbers: OCTANES. A rating of scale for gasoline.  OCTANE is also a chain of 8 carbon atoms, classed as a hydrocarbon:

44. Jazz guitarist Montgomery: WES.  (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. One of the most influential guitarists of the twentieth century, Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a distinctive sound. Here's his riff on Eleanor Rigby:

45. Inventor Otis: ELISHA.  Otis didn't invent elevators, he just made them safe.

46. Two-__: SEATER.

47. Part of BLT: TOMATO.  Ours are coming  in dribs and drabs.  In August we won't know what to do them all!

49. Chick-__-A: fast-food chain: FIL.

50. Not at all spendthrifty: FRUGAL.

53. Greece : Artemis :: Rome : __: DIANA.   In Roman mythology, Diana was, among other things, the goddess of the hunt, mythologically similar to the Greek goddess Artemis. The daughter of Jupiter and Latona, Diana was born with her twin brother Apollo on the island of Delos.  Here she is depicted with one of her hunting dogs:

55. Food recall trigger: ECOLI.  However certain strains of ECOLI reside in our stomachs and are essential for digestion.   Here's the difference.

58. Console with a "360" second generation: XBOX.

61. Prefix with gram or graph: EPI.  An EPIGRAM is a short, pithy saying, usually in verse, often with a quick, satirical twist at the end.  A CSO to OwenKL for an example!  

An EPIGRAPH is a short statement (a sentence, a paragraph, a poem) that comes at the beginning of a literary text, but the words belong to a different author. Example of an Epigraph: ... At the beginning of The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway quotes Gertrude Stein: "You are all a lost generation."

The prefix can also connote "above", "on", or "beyond", et alii, as in Epidermis, Epitaph, Epigenetics or Epiousios. Here's a cross section of the skin showing the Epidermis:

63. Flock female: EWE.

65. See 9-Across: OYL.

waseeley with special thanks to Malodorous Manatee

Cheers,

Bill