Friday, October 22, 2021, Alexander Liebeskind and Jeff Chen

Theme: There are two of them actually, and the first is one of the entries:

19-Across = *Failed-delivery words: RETURN TO SENDER

And for the record, I am not nor never have been an Elvis Presley fan. But somehow after solving this clever puzzle (a collaboration between Alexander Liebeskind and Jeffrey Chen) and getting the ACTUAL reveal, an earworm of Elvis' hit single just wouldn't subside

So let's follow the other entry clues and see if we can get on the right path:

37-Across = *Arrives back at square one: COMES FULL CIRCLE.

53-Across = *Bamboozled ... and what the circled letters, when connected in the proper sequence, can be?: THROWN FOR A LOOP

As for the SECOND "theme", it's what the reveal shows when you connect all of the circled letters after following the clues. And if you're really good at Scrabble or Jumble or any other "letter-unscramble" game, you might have looked at the letters randomly and come up with it. But if you actually "follow" the circles using the clues, you see that the letters form the word: BOOMERANG! And while the shape of the circles isn't a perfect boomerang it's pretty close. And looking back on the "hints" it makes perfect sense. (BTW, if I were a betting man I'd have wagered that OMK saw this immediately!)

Now if your on-line or paper/printed version contained no circles this would be a difficult puzzle to solve.

And instead of an earworm this second theme word made me think of this:

When blogger's (C.C.'s) husband
Leaves her a message, Siri
Says that BOOMERANG

The grid:

Across:
1. Spec. for tires: PSI.

The Brit's bamboozled;
Thought he was rich when he saw
There're POUNDS per SQUARE INCH . . .

4. Alphabetical lunch: BLT. So is a PBJ, just FTR

7. Show stoppers: ADS. Margaret and I differ in how we view and absorb ADS when they interrupt our TV shows. I pretty much ignore them, but I do agree that they're a nuisance

10. PC component: CPU. Wait, WHAT? Three abbr.'s in a row to start this puzzle? Hmmm

13. Close to a delivery: IN LABOR. One of my favorite clues in this puzzle. Almost made me break my water . . .

15. Searches, like a pig does for truffles: ROOTLES. I thought the word for this was ROOTS. But after checking one of the on-line dictionaries I stand corrected

And for those who prefer a video to a cartoon:

17. Attending: GOING TO. Seems too formal a clue for this phrase. GOING TO the prom, e.g., should feel a bit different than just "attending"

18. Starts up again: REBOOTS.

NFL Video game's main pursuit
Is just to let every player compute
So it should come as no shock
When punt's about to be blocked
You can unplug and then let him REBOOT

21. Perfect spot: EDEN. A crossword staple

22. Lease alternative: OWN. Consumer Reports has an article that compares leasing vs owning for new cars

23. Bond, say: ASSET. Not JAMES? Ohh, as in a Municipal Bond, e.g.

26. Home of Triple-A baseball's Rainiers: TACOMA. For the non-baseball fans here, "Triple-A" is the highest level for the "development" of players for Major League Baseball. Tacoma has a long baseball history and has been the playing venue for many recognized baseball stars. From Wikipedia: The team (TACOMA Rainiers) became associated with the nearby Seattle Mariners in 1995, whose Triple-A team for the previous ten seasons had been the Calgary Cannons. Tacoma adopted the Rainiers name in part as a tribute to the Seattle Rainiers minor league teams that played in Seattle from 1938 to 1964 in the Pacific Coast League, and again from 1972 to 1976 in the Northwest League (NWL). The Tacoma Rainiers play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which hosted the baseball portion of the 1990 Goodwill Games. The Mariners' T-Mobile Park is about thirty miles (50 km) to the north.

Since their affiliation began with the Mariners in 1995, nearly all of the organization's home-grown prospects have passed through Tacoma, including Alex Rodriguez, Raul Ibanez, Felix Hernandez, J.J. Putz, Kyle Seager, Ken Griffey, Jr. (on rehab assignments), and more.

32. Order to leave: SCAT. Could you use this same "order" to Ella Fitzgerald when asking her to stay?

35. Eyeroll inducer, perhaps, briefly: PDA. "Public Display of Affection". Margaret and Moe

36. Not seen as much: RARER. It's RARER to see my hair now that I've decided to go totally bald

41. Worship: ADORE. I did a double-take when I first read this clue as I thought it said "Warship"!

42. Dubai's fed.: UAE. Fed. meaning "federation". United Arab Emirites

43. Information: DATA. Is TMI (too much information) DATA overload?

44. Diddles (around): MESSES. Hmm. We had "diddles" as a clue and "ROOTLES" as a word entry. I guess what goes around comes around (!)

46. __ opposite: POLAR. Named for the North and South POLES I would imagine. Despite my privilege of being "spam-immune" as a blogger, I will NOT bring up politics with this phrase. But maybe a cartoon instead?

48. Granola bit: OAT. Dunno why I penciled in ORT before OAT . . .

50. Folk tail?: LORE. Another great clue. Tail and tale are homophones, but in this context the word LORE can truly fit as it is the "tail" end of FOLKLORE

60. Incredulous response to an unexpected revelation: YOU WHAT?!.

61. Oxford campus: OLE MISS. When Margaret and I went on our cross-country road trip earlier this summer we stopped for a visit to this author's residence. OLE MISS is about the only "game in town" in this bucolic setting that is Oxford MS

63. Blow off some steam, maybe?: POLLUTE. As I was matriculating at the University of Pittsburgh, this was the image you got. Now that the steel mills no longer populate the city, the POLLUTE rate has gone way down

64. Many a door opening: KEY SLOT. Learning moment for me. I always thought it was called a KEY HOLE

65. Neruda wrote one to "things": ODE. So even if you didn't know who Pablo Neruda was, the clue is very helpful. Most ODEs are written "to" a thing, as in ODE to a Grecian Urn

66. Many a golfer's aim: PAR. A CSO to Husker Gary, TTP, Boomer, WC, et al. PAR is the "normal" score to shoot on any given hole on a golf course. The basis for this is the sum of how many shots you're expected to hit to reach the green (aka, putting surface) plus two putts. For an "average" golfer, a hole that measures 581 yards in length (a PAR 5) might require the use of a Driver, a Three Wood (now called a "metal"), and some iron club (4-Wedge) to reach the green. But if your name is Bryson DeChambeau, and you're able to hit a Driver 417 yards and cut the corner of the hole, you reduce this to a PAR 4. Open the link and you'll see how he managed to stun even his peers at the 5th hole at Whistling Straights during the Ryder Cup matches

67. Naval initials: USS. A CSO to Spitzboov (as well as any others who served in the Navy); The letters USS, or U.S.S., are short for UNITED STATES SHIP

68. 46-yr.-old satire: SNL. Short for SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. A brief history is embedded below

Down:
1. Wilbur of "Charlotte's Web," e.g.: PIG. I wonder if Wilbur the PIG was able to spare himself from slaughter because of his ability to ROOTLE for truffles?

2. It might keep you up: SNORE. Not I. A CPAP is great for both the user and the partner!

3. "Fine, you got me": I LIED. I am a believer that it is often better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission

4. Many air rifles: BB GUNS. Jean Shepherd wrote 'A Christmas Story' and the main protagonist, Ralphie, coveted a Red Ryder BB GUN from Santa

5. Trilogy with hobbits: Abbr.: LOTR. Another abbr.? Lord Of The Rings

6. 1982 sci-fi film set in a computer: TRON. This seems pretty lame when you consider how far computer technology has progressed over the past four decades

7. Common keyboard symbol: ARROW. Yup, they're "flying" everywhere!

8. "It __ add up": DOESN'T. You could've fooled me!

9. Iced tea brand named for a Florida neighborhood: SOBE. SOuth BEach. This:

10. Lump: CLOD. Two definitions found. Wonder about synonyms? The Thesaurusaurus makes his cameo appearance

11. Best on drums: PETE. I got this little word play immediately. PETE Best was The Beatles drummer from 1960-1962. Some guy named RINGO took over. I guess he's better than Best?

12. Cold War initials: USSR. Short for UNITED STATES SHIP REPAIR. Ok, I just made that up!

14. Predators named for their prey: ANTEATERS. Another clever clue. ANTEATERS also eat termites, in case you thought they were monophagous

16. Overwhelming homework amount: TON. How come we never see the word "HYPERBOLE" in crossword puzzles? Or is it only reserved for clues?

20. Equal, as a sum: TOTAL UP TO. 8-Down clearly says that it DOESN'T!

24. Beach lotion meas.: SPF. SPF stands for 'sun protection factor' and the 50 in SPF50 refers to the amount of protection the sun screen offers compared to unprotected skin. ... For example, when applied correctly, SPF30+ allows 3.3% of UVB rays to reach your skin while SPF 50+ allows only 2% to reach your skin

25. School URL ending: EDU. Here is a link to my daughter, the professor, at music dot uga dot edu

27. NFL's Cardinals, on scoreboards: ARI. Six and Oh, baby! I'm a Steeler fan at heart, so of course I loved watching the Cards knock off the Cleveland Browns this past Sunday! I've officially jumped on the ARIzona Cardinals "bandwagon". Of course there are probably less than 1% of you reading this who could care less!! ;^)

28. Bridge locales: CARDROOMS. I first put CARD TABLE but realized that the clue was plural; and therefore the answer should be, too. Oh, and CARDROOMS is one word, not two

29. Penguin predator: ORCA. The JETS and WILD also fit. Wonder who might "get" what Moe is referring to? Look at 27-Across for a hint . . .

30. Tuna __: MELT. A diner staple. Believe it or not I have never ordered one. Tuna Salad sandwich yes; Tuna MELT, no

31. Geometry figure: AREA. Here are a few "formulas" for calculating AREA, geometrically

32. Bit of trickery: SCAM. My iPhone (through T-Mobile) is set up to silence any call that appears to be "SCAM likely". I like that. But it's been awhile since a Moe-ku; and here's a different "take":

Engineer likes shrimp.
When he learned how to catch prawns
Did he just SCAMPI?

33. JavaScript lines, say: CODE. I may be the least geeky of our bloggers. But I knew this answer without hesitation. Though I'll be damned if I know why! For geeks or non-geeks

34. "Famous" cookie guy: AMOS.

38. "Get the picture?": SEE. Yes

39. Asian language: LAO. Just a snippet

40. Road Runner frame: CEL. Too easy for a Friday. Enjoy Wile E Coyote, sans Road Runner

45. Beethoven's "Waldstein," e.g.: SONATA.

47. Where to see strikes but not strikeouts: ALLEYS. Another CSO to our "themer" du jour BOOMER! Hoping that he is getting his share of strikes at one of his favorite Bowling ALLEYS

49. Subsequently: AFTER. But of course!

51. Stirs up: ROILS. ROILS the Royals

52. One of three companies in the Seiko Group: EPSON. The others?

53. This clue has on: TYPO. This is another VERY CLEVER clue! It most certainly does have a TYPO. I see one, do ewe?

54. Rain protection: HOOD. Not a rain protector, but I thought this "HOOD" cartoon was clever:

55. "No shirt, no shoes, no service," e.g.: RULE. "No politics, no religion and no personal attacks. Please limit your posts to FIVE per day." That's the RULE here

56. Symbol of wisdom: OWL. Not sure that I was too "wise" when I began smoking these instead of cigarettes. I don't do White OWL anymore but I do enjoy a stogie now and again . . .

57. Demolish: WHUP. Only in Jumanji!

58. Amazon Fire TV Stick alternative: ROKU. It's been 2-1/2 years since I "pulled the plug". No cable, no dish; just my little ROKU streaming device. Love it!

59. Brew choices: ALES. They're my favorite "brewski"

62. MLB's Cardinals, on scoreboards: STL. Only in Major League sports can a team get to the playoffs - as did the STL Cardinals this year - and still find reason to fire their manager

And with that, I am OUT! See you NEXT Friday, too, as Lemony and I will then be back on schedule. Cheers!

Thursday, October 21, 2021, Sam Acker

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee, here, with a canine friend to present today's recap.

While our collie friend is excited about the ovine references in the puzzle and in the write up, s/he is not our puzzle setter.  Today, that would be Sam Acker.  I was able to locate a Crossword Corner write up of one of his puzzles from May, 2019 and perhaps there are others.  For today's challenge, Sam has designed what I believe is called a "Designated Squares" puzzle.  Let's start with the reveal:

56 Across:  You may not need a bookmark for one . . . and a hint to this puzzle's circles: PAGE TURNER.  Page turner, of course, being a term for a book that you, or our friend above, just cannot stop reading.

Other than the reveal, there are no theme answers per se.  However, at four locations within the grid we find sets of four circled letters, stacked two on top of two.  Each of these sets contains one each of the letters that spell PAGE.  At each location, start with the P and proceed clockwise and they all spell PAGE.  From top to bottom, the P's also rotate clockwise with the first P in the Northeast, the next in the  Southeast, the next in the Southwest and finally in the Northwest.  They TURN, if you will, both ways.   Clever.  Here is how they appear in the completed grid:

. . . and now for the rest of the clues/answers.  I was going to go with an abbreviated blog post today but thought, "Naaahhh!  We have enough abbreviations in the puzzle."

Across:

1. Wildfire prevention ads, e.g.: Abbr.: PSAS.  Public Service AnnouncemetS (abbr no 1)

5. Short video: CLIP.

9. Valentino classic, with "The": SHEIK.

14. Certain sax: ALTO.  Part of the orchestra got kidnapped last week.  Today, the perpetrators were located and arrested for grand theft ALTO.

15. Cocktail garnish: LIME.  Just ask Kermit.

 

16. Redhead of Bedrock: WILMA.  Wilma Flintstone From the Town of Bedrock

17. Top prize: GOLD MEDAL.

19. Highly skilled: ADEPT.

20. Lab eggs: OVA.  Today's Latin lesson.  In school, my classmates and I used to argue all the time about the plural form of the word for female sex cells.  We'd go on and on and wasted a lot of class time.  Eventually, it was resolved.  Frankly, I'm glad that's OVA.

21. Stereotypical baby "words": GOO GOO GA GA.  Ten letters, six vowels.  Helpful for a constructor.

23. Minimal damage: DENTS.

25. Mag. edition: ISS.  Punt!  An ISSue of a Magazine (abbr no 2)

26. Small but distinctive amount: DASH.    -T

28. Mandatory bet: ANTE.  Gotta' pay to play

29. __ Bar: Apple support service: GENIUS.  At Apple Stores (computer, not fruit) they call the help desk the GENIUS Bar.  A bit of foreshadowing for 55 Across.

32. CIA relative: NSA. (abbr no 3)

33. Homer's "Sailing a Dory," e.g.: SEASCAPE.  Winslow Homer is a famous American landscape (and SEASCAPE) painter.

Sailing A Dory

 

35. Insults, with "on": HATES.  Modern slang, I suppose.

37. __ land: LALA.  A state of mind characterized by its lack of  seriousness and/or unrealistic expectations.    More recently, a motion picture (though the leading l of land would have to have been capitalized in the clue to go there).

38. Word with date or dance: RAIN.  In baseball, do we now have Climate Change makeup dates?

40. Pickle unit: SPEAR.

43. Scottish winds: BAGPIPES.  A bit of word play.

 

Dropkick Murphys - Cadence To Arms

47. Number of "Friends" seasons: TEN.  I didn't know that.  I never watched the show.  I would have clued it as "Ardbeg ____ ".

48. Siesta wrap: SERAPE.  One of today's Spanish lessons.

51. NYC gallery: MOMA.  In New York City (abbr no 4)

52. Where women click on the links?: Abbr.: LPGA.  Really didn't get the "click" part unless the reference is to "really clicking" (doing well). (abbr no 5)

Ladies Professional Golf Association

54. Backing: FOR.  As opposed to opposing

55. Course from a bar: SALAD.  Course, of course, is polysemous.  In this case, a part of a meal.

60. Feminine side: YIN.  YIN / Yang  Taoism  Balance

61. Spawn: BEGET.

62. Square, for one: RECTANGLE.  A square is a RECTANGLE with all sides being of equal length.

64. Place for games: ARENA.  

65. Do some craftwork: KNIT.

Valerie Has Been Busy Recently

66. Troubles: WOES.  Pack 'em up, Joe

 

67. CEO's aides: ASSTS.  Punt.  ASSistanTS (abbr no 6)

68. Italian pronoun: ESSA.  Another of today's language lessons.  In English, ESSA can mean she, her, it, thereon or therefrom.

69. Words in many law firm names: ANDS.  Creative cluing.  

Down:

1. Temples with up-curved roofs: PAGODAS.

Near Chang Rai - 2017 - Photo By MM

2. Resident of Ljubljana, probably: SLOVENE.

Residents of Ljubljana - 2018 - Photo By MM

3. Margaret Mitchell's birthplace: ATLANTA.    She wrote GWTW.

4. Gardener's purchase: SOD.

5. Egyptian queen, familiarly: CLEO.  CLEOpatra (abbr no 7)  Not Liz? 

Photo by 20th Century Fox

6.  Venetian Resort.  LIDO

Hotel Excelsior - Venice, Italy - Lido Beach

7. "Just think!": IMAGINE.  

8. She's behind Harris in the current presidential line of succession: PELOSI.

9. Bravado: SWAG.  Usually, in this context, SWAGger.  SWAG is often clued as the free stuff you might get at a convention. (not the abbreviation for Scientific Wild Ass Guess).

10. Greeting from a sideline, maybe: HI DAD.  Usually, Hi Mom

11. Polished: ELEGANT.

12. Deadlock: IMPASSE.

13. Kit __: KAT.  A candy bar or . . . a bar?

18. Classic British sports cars: MGS.  My friends Mark and Diana recently acquired this 1950 MGTD.  (abbr? We'll give 'em a pass on this one because if you mentioned Morris Garages nobody would know what you were talking about)

22. Pac-12's Beavers: OSU.  Pacific 12 Division of the NCAA (abbr no 8)

24. Where Musk is CEO: TESLA.  SpaceX wouldn't fit.  It could have been clued as Inventor Nikola.

Nikola Tesla

27. Owns: HAS.  Patti PAGE had a Grammy.  Jimmy PAGE HAS two.

29. Gadot of "Wonder Woman": GAL.  GAL Gadot, not some random gal.

30. Org. concerned with PCB's: EPA. (abbr no 9)

31. Mail in a box: SHIP.   Repeating "Noun or verb, verb or noun?" can be a useful cruciverbalist mantra.

34. Pixar film in which Paul Newman voiced a Hudson Hornet: CARS.

36. Jung's inner self: ANIMA.

38. 63-Down genre: RAP.   I was eating some green onions when suddenly I started rhyming everything that I was saying.  Turns out they were RAP scallions.

39. It's just a number, they say: AGE. Don't we all wish that this was, in fact, true.

40. Home of the NHL's Blues: STL.  The National Hockey League's Saint Louis Blues (abbr no 10)

41. Pizza topping: PEPPERS.  Pepperoni would not fit.  Some of us enjoy ground hot pepper sprinkled on pizza.

42. Fascinates: ENGAGES.

43. Scrubby wastelands: BARRENS. 

Rocky Point Barrens, New York

44. 62-Across, for one: POLYGON.  What do they make POLYGONs wear when they're on probation?  Angle monitors.

45. Sent a note to, nowadays: EMAILED.  Perhaps the most acceptable of the E-words we now often find in puzzles.

46. Blue state: SADNESS.  Today, the talking heads use Blue State/Red State to denote political divides.

49. Little newt: EFT.  We often see EFTs and newts in our puzzles.

50. Boxer/actor Mickey: ROURKE.

53. Secret __: AGENT.  Secret SANTA? Nope.  Secret CODES?  Nope.

55. Spanish Mrs.: SRA.  Another of today's Spanish lesson - SenoRA (abbr no 11)

57. Flight sked info: ETAS.  Estimated Time of Arrival S  often land in crossword puzzles.  (abbr no 12)

58. TV series for 18 seasons: NCIS.  Naval Criminal Investigative Services.  A TV series often seen in crossword puzzles and the last of a baker's dozen abbreviations in the puzzle if you don't also count 63 Down. 

59. Jazz diva Jones: ETTA.  ETTA, too, often visits us

61. Sheepish remark?: BAA.  With the previous herding-dog/ovine references, Shaun the Sheep seems appropriate.

63. "Straight Outta Compton" group: NWA.  The rap group.

What color are all of the books in the Library?

Red.

On that note let's turn to a new page . . .

__________________________________________________

Wednesday October 20, 2021 Kurt Krauss

Theme: Leave nothing to the imagination.  You might wonder what that means, but all will be revealed.  Meanwhile, here is today's theme song.

 

17 A. *Well-worn, as carpets: THREAD BARE.  Having the nap worn off, so that the thread shows; thus, worn out and shabby.  Does the second word, now taken as a verb, indicate becoming naked, or early nude like Mother EVE?

25 A. *Lawn mower's spot: GARDEN SHED.  An out building used to store garden and yard maintenance tools and accessories.  The second word, as a verb, means to rid oneself of, slough off or lose something.

38 A. *Give the go-ahead from the control tower: CLEAR FOR TAKE OFF.  Assure that a plane may now go airborne with no danger of collision with other departing or approaching aircraft.  But the last two words, taken as a verb form, indicate the removal of something - such as free: clothing.  [I'm detecting a pattern here.]

61 A. *Slapstick slipper?: BANANA PEEL.  Slapstick is a form of low comedy based around pratfalls and mild comic violence.  The second word, as a verb, indicates the removal of an outer layer, as from a fruit or burlesque actor. 

50 A. *"Dilbert," e.g.: COMIC STRIP.   A sequence of drawings, often cartoon, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative.  The second word, again as a verb, means to remove the coverings from something, or - more specifically - an act of undressing, especially before an audience. Hence, today's alternate theme song.

 

And the unifier -- 69 A. Remove, as clothing ... and a hint to the ends of the answers to starred clues: DOFF.  Well, if you were wondering what this is about, this should remove all doubt.  Anybody up for naked puzzle solving?  Or maybe it's bath time.

Hi gang - it's JazzBumpa, and under my cloths, I'm naked.  Now you know.  Gratuitous verberization - the reckless transformation of innocent helpless nouns into verbs sets my teeth on edge.  The classic example is "parent."  Ugh!  But in this puzzle, we have none of that.  The key words in their fill phrases are other parts of speech; but in a different context are perfectly legitimate verbs.  With that mini-rant out of the way, let's go boldly forth and see what else we can uncover.

 Across:

1. Triangular sails: JIBS.   A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. 

5. Giant among speakers: BOSE.  Brand name.

9. Belfry hangers: BATS.  And you know what is on the belfry floor - crazy stuff.

13. Online money: E-CASH.  

15. Scoville __: chili pepper heat measurement: UNIT - of measurement; a subjective estimate of the heat sensation of the pepper due to its concentration of capsaicinoids.

16. Overly fussy, say: ANAL.  This is a non-technical use of the term which more specifically [since we're revealing all here] is relating to or denoting a stage of infantile psychosexual development supposedly preoccupied with the anus and defecation.

19. Tiny: ITSY.  Minuscule.

20. Bro or sis: SIB.  People who share parents.

21. Desert partly in northern China: GOBI.  And partly in Mongolia.  The GOBI is a rain shadow desert, formed by the Tibetan Plateau blocking precipitation from the Indian Ocean reaching the Gobi territory. It is the sixth largest desert in the world and the second largest in Asia after the Arabian Desert.

22. Put a thin cut in: SLIT.  As with a sharp knife.

23. Greek Mars: ARES.  Gods of war.

29. Internet connection: MODEM.  A combined device for modulation and demodulation, for example, between the digital data of a computer and the analog signal of a phone line.

31. "Friendly Skies" co.: UAL.  United Airlines Holding Company.

32. URL ending of a 37-Across: EDU. As in EDUcation.

33. Least distant: NEAREST.  Where you should keep your enemies.

37. Campus VIP: PROF.  A Professor.

42. To the __: maximally: HILT.  Completely, to the maximum degree, as in The house was mortgaged up to the hilt. This idiom alludes to the handle (hilt) of a sword, the only portion that remains out when the weapon is plunged all the way in. 

43. Oven pan: ROASTER.  A pan for roasting meat.

44. Cooling rocks: ICE.  Slangily.

45. Diddley and Peep: BOS.  Plural of a proper name

46. Core concepts: GISTS. The substance or essence of speeches or texts.

55. Metz milk: LAIT.  Metz is a city in north-east France.

56. Russo of "Tin Cup": RENE.  Rene Marie Russo [b.1954] is an American actress and model.  She has appeared in many comedy, thriller and action-adventure films

57. Loads from lodes: ORES.  Mineral deposits from which metals may be refined, and a nice word play.

59. To and __: FRO.  Back and forth.

60. Marine steering mechanisms: FINS.  Frequently found on fish.

64. Entr'__: ACTE.  Entr'acte means "between the acts". It can mean a pause between two parts of a stage production, synonymous to an intermission, but it more often indicates a piece of music performed between acts of a theatrical production.

65. Writer Harte: BRET. Bret Harte [1836 - 1902] was an American short story writer and poet, best remembered for short fiction featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush. In a career spanning more than four decades,

66. Swiss Miss product: COCOA.  A chocolate powder made from roasted and ground cacao seeds

67. Common awards word: BEST. As in : "Movie," or "In Show."

68. Barrie's nonconformist pirate: SMEE.  Hook's side kick, but I do not understand the clue.

Down:

1. Stuff thrown overboard: JETSAM.   Unwanted material or goods that have been thrown overboard from a ship and washed ashore, especially material that has been discarded to lighten the vessel.

2. 10-time MLB All-Star: ICHIRO.  Suzuki [b 1973] is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played 28 seasons combined in top-level professional leagues. He spent the bulk of his career with two teams: nine seasons with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan, where he began his career, and 14 with the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States. There's a lot more to his illustrious career, and you can read about it here.

3. Like fishhooks, usually: BARBED.    Having a sharp point that sticks out and backward from a larger point 

4. Atlanta-to-Miami dir.: SSE.  

5. Forrest's shrimp-loving friend: BUBBA.   Michael T. "Mykelti" Williamson (b. 1957) is an American actor best known for his roles in the films Forrest Gump, Con Air and Ali, and the television shows Boomtown, 24, and Justified. 

6. Broadcasting: ON AIR.  

7. __ Elton John: SIR.  On Feb. 24 in 1998, Elton John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight) became Sir Elton John, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. He was awarded the title of Knight Bachelor for "services to music and charitable services." 

8. Mont Blanc summer: ETE.  French.

9. Uses a bucket in a boat: BAILS.  Scooping out water.

10. Film noir protagonist: ANTI-HERO.  A central character in a story, movie, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes.

11. Suggested, flavorwise: TASTED OF.  

12. Cunning: SLY.  Having or showing a cunning and deceitful nature.

14. "Macbeth" role: HAG.  The Three Witches, also known as the Weird Sisters or Wayward Sisters, are characters in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth 

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and caldron bubble.

18. Follow closely: DOG.   Follow (someone or their movements) closely and persistently.

22. Kenan Thompson is its longest-tenured cast member, briefly: SNL. Saturday Night Live, broadcast since 1975.

24. Loi maker: SENAT.  The French SENAT makes laws.

26. Uses Pledge, say: DUSTS.    Multi Surface Furniture Polish Spray that works On Wood Granite And Leather. 

27. Patronize, as a restaurant: EAT AT.

28. Behind: DUFF.  The human posterior.  DUFFS may be observed when togs are DOFFED.

30. French sea: MER.  Equally wet in any language.

34. "Hair" styles: AFROS.  Prominent in the musical "HAIR."

35. Fowl pole: ROOST.  Where a bird sits - and a nice word play.

36. Big time: ERA.  

37. Danger: PERIL.

38. In vogue: CHIC.

39. Chewy candy: LICORICE.  A confection usually flavoured and coloured black with the extract of the roots of the liquorice plant Glycyrrhiza glabra.

40. Periodic table items: ELEMENTS.  Each of more than one hundred substances that cannot be chemically interconverted or broken down into simpler substances and are primary constituents of matter. Each element is distinguished by its atomic number, i.e. the number of protons in the nuclei of its atoms.

41. Tap site: KEG.  Container for ale or beer.

45. Dating letters: BCE.  Before the Common Era

47. Mariners' park, familiarly and formerly: SAFECO. Now known as T-Mobile Park.

48. Lose interest in: TIRE OF. 

49. Minn. college: ST OLAF.  St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. The school was founded in 1874 on the land of the Wahpekute Band of the Dakota Nation by a group of Norwegian-American settler colonial pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus.

51. Atlas box: INSET.   An inset map is a smaller map inset within a larger map. Inset maps can show the location of the main map in the context of a larger area or show more detail of a portion of the main map. 

52. Actress Blakley: RONEE.  Ronee Sue Blakley (b. 1945) is an American actress, singer-songwriter, composer, producer and director, perhaps best known for her work as an actress.

53. Steamed: IRATE.  Angry

54. Ballpoint, e.g.: PEN.   Writing implement.

58. Bunt on a scorecard: SAC.  SACrifice.  Deliberately batting the ball a short distance with the expectation of making an out at first base while advancing a runner already on base.

60. Groovy: FAB.  Cool, man.

61. Air rifle ammo: BBS.  Small metal spheres used as projectiles.

62. Chair part: ARM. They also have legs, a seat, and a back.  Hmm - they're almost human.

63. i follower: POD.  An i-Pod is an electronic device for storing and playing back music.

That's it for today.  If you DOFF your apparel and go outside naked, remember your sunscreen, and that you'll need it everywhere, especially on your DUFF, and other places where the sun don't usually shine.

Cool regards!

JzB