Sunday February 20, 2022 Fred Piscop

Theme: "On the Job" - Each theme entry is humorously reinterpreted as if it's a job fitting the person in the clue.

23A. M.D. on "Wheel of Fortune"?: SPIN DOCTOR.

25A. Fast-working "Downton Abbey" woman?: MINUTE MAID.

43A. Painter in prison?: CON ARTIST.

63A. CIA operative in the Arctic?: NORTHERN SPY.

88A. One rating singles bar come-ons?: LINE JUDGE.

109A. Gofer at a ballpark?: SPORTS PAGE.

111A. Displayer of truck-stop equipment?: SCALE MODEL.

37D. Bank worker with lots of stories?: TALE-TELLER.

42D. Farmland tour giver?: FIELD GUIDE.

Here's the article about Fred Piscop in case you missed it last time I linked. 

For Sunday grids, Fred often uses a pinwheel design, 5 or 7 theme entries in Across, two in Down. Don't be misled by easy fill. It takes longer time and effort to create such a clean grid.

Across:

1. With 21-Across, marching band instrument: BASS. 21. See 1-Across: DRUM. Fred is a musician.

 

5. Feline weapons: CLAWS.

10. Vineyard measure: ACRE.

14. Valuable find: TROVE.

19. James who co-wrote and sang "I'd Rather Go Blind": ETTA.

20. Monsieur __: classic Jacques Tati role: HULOT. Learning moment for me.

22. Had one's fingers crossed: HOPED.

27. Indian menu word: TANDOORI. Amazing tandoori chicken.

28. "... a grin without a cat!" thinker: ALICE.

30. How aspirin is taken: ORALLY.

31. Restful state: REPOSE.

32. Promising moment, as of wit: SPARK.

33. Till stack: ONES.

34. Madness: IRE.

35. Coward's lack, figuratively: SPINE.

36. Aparicio in Cooperstown: LUIS. First Venezuelan in Cooperstown.

37. Dress (up): TOG.

40. Float like smoke rings: WAFT.

45. Crime novelist Paretsky: SARA. From Ames, Iowa.

46. Crop up: ARISE.

48. "Nixon in China" role: MAO. Here's the second wife Yang Kaihui and her two kids, one of them died in the Korean War.

49. Mutual influence: INTERPLAY.

51. Speak like a rug?: LIE. Ha.

52. Ideal for farming: ARABLE.

55. Quilting events: BEES.

56. Hurricane of 2011: IRENE.

57. The Who co-founder: DALTREY (Roger)

59. Prepare for a race: TRAIN.

61. Hot rod?: SPIT. Another nice clue.

62. Shoppe preceder: OLDE.

67. Dry run: TEST.

70. Happy cap tosser: GRAD.

72. Delete: ERASE.

73. "And Still I Rise" poet: ANGELOU. Maya.

75. Unacceptable, as punishment: CRUEL.

77. Caramel-topped dessert: FLAN.

78. Exodus obstacle: RED SEA.

81. Chem class part: LAB.

82. Partied hearty: ROISTERED. Not a word I use.

84. Site for used cars: LOT.

85. Short-vowel mark: BREVE.

87. "The West Wing" Emmy winner, 2006: ALDA (Alan)

92. Smelter metals: ORES.

93. __ hours: WEE. The hospital stay messed up Boomer's sleep routines. Now he gets up at 3:30 every morning, sometimes earlier.

94. "Don't play" music notation: REST.

95. Gazetteer stats: AREAS. I only know "gazette".

96. Drink from a snifter: SIP.

98. Wall map marker: TACK.

99. Princeton mascot: TIGER. 2022 is the Year of the Tiger!

100. Cell feature: CAMERA.

103. Trip up: ASCENT. Noun "trip".

106. Derby drink: JULEP.

107. Hill hundred: SENATORS. The Capital Hill.

113. Flirt with, say: TEASE.

114. Sign of spoilage: ODOR.

115. Marquesses' inferiors: EARLS.

116. 100-year-old chip brand: WISE. Never tried this brand.

117. Ran standing still: IDLED.

118. Digs for pigs: PENS.

119. Surprise ending: TWIST.

120. Put one over on: SNOW. More snow is coming on Monday and Tuesday.

Down:

1. Awards adjective: BEST.

2. For face value: AT PAR.

3. "Fear Street" series author: STINE. R. L. Stine, the "Stephen King of children's literature", according to Wikipedia.

4. Kids' play places, across the pond: SANDPITS.

5. Settle on: CHOOSE.

6. Ill-gotten loot: LUCRE. Always with "filthy".

7. Some choir members: ALTI. Altos.

8. Try to win over: WOO.

9. Secure for the trip: STRAP IN.

10. Fan: ADMIRER. You're amazing, Jinx!

11. Pain in the neck: CRICK.

12. Mystical character: RUNE. Alphabetic character.

13. Liberty's LiMu, for one: EMU.

14. Beatles' "__ a Place": THERE'S.

15. Oblong tomatoes: ROMAS. Have you heard of "Reisetomate"?

16. Birthstone after sapphire: OPAL.

17. Bridal shop buy: VEIL.

18. Hot tub feature: EDDY.

24. One of a coupe's pair: DOOR.

26. Time on a marquee: TONITE.

29. Clark's teenage crush: LANA. Kent Clark. Lana Lang.

32. Fishing line holder: SPOOL.

33. Gives the heave-ho: OUSTS. You guys probably don't remember Zhao Ziyang. Such a confusing time when he was ousted.

35. Nature's bandage: SCAB.

36. White sale purchases: LINENS.

38. City across the Mediterranean from Cartagena: ORAN. As shown in this map.

39. Marvin of Motown: GAYE.

40. Guy hiding in a red-and-white striped shirt: WALDO.

41. Sans-serif font: ARIAL.

44. Advertising gimmick: TIE IN.

45. Elf: SPRITE.

47. Melodic sense: EAR.

48. Eponymous surgical family name: MAYO. The Mayo Clinic.

50. Tear: RIP. And 53. Tear: REND.

54. Hawke of "Sinister": ETHAN.

55. Less carpeted: BARER.

58. One of Barbie's best friends: TERESA. Here are more.

60. Hi-__ graphics: RES.

61. Seasonal song word: SYNE.

64. Back off: RELENT.

65. Give this for that: TRADE.

66. Historian's subject: PAST. When I was a kid, this bag was hugely popular. So surprised to see Cameron Diaz wore it.

68. Dry Italian wine: SOAVE.

69. Straws, e.g.: TUBES.

71. Cockpit gauge fig.: ALT. Altitude.

74. Be a chatterbox: GAB.

75. Metaphorical sticking place: CRAW.

76. Auditioner's goal: ROLE.

77. Pat down: FRISK.

79. English composer of the symphonic study "Falstaff": ELGAR (Edward)

80. "That __ it!": DOES.

83. Awards a seat to: ELECTS.

86. Skiers' aids: ROPE TOWS.

89. Corrections staffers: JAILERS.

90. Push for: URGE.

91. Like Jennifer Aniston's eyes: DEEPSET. Not as these two.

94. Typed in ALL CAPS, maybe: RANTED.

96. Least wacky: SANEST.

97. Mosque leader: IMAM. Fred could have used "Muslim leader" to trick you with EMIR.

98. Not given to speeches: TERSE.

99. Yank at: TUG ON.

100. Amoebae, e.g.: CELLS.

101. "The Kiss" sculptor: RODIN.

102. Recess rebuttal: ARE SO.

103. Piedmont wine region: ASTI.

104. Hustled: SPED.

105. Longtime Kentucky resource: COAL.

106. Green hue: JADE. I've mentioned before, girls in Guangzhou like to wear jade on a red string for good luck.

107. Bollywood attire: SARI.

108. Whole lot: SLEW.

110. Uncorking sound: POP.

112. Rook's call: CAW.

Last week was a bit stressful. The side effects from the new chemo seem to have made Boomer weaker. He was not really up to do any extra activities suggested by the PT & OT ladies.

Hopefully things get better next week. We have four more appointments to deal with.

C.C.

Saturday, February 19, 2022, Evan Kalish

 Themeless Saturday by Evan Kalish

I had to walk away several times to get this one to unfold corner by corner. I'll tell you where I struggled as I go through the write-up. Here are Evan's generous comments:

Hey Gary, 

When I first developed this puzzle in May 2020 I thought this grid was a great for developing interesting—and intersecting—stacks. The seed was the final across entry (clued as: [A masterpiece!]), which was a fairly novel entry at the time and, in my mind, perfectly placed. I always try to incorporate as many unique answers as possible in my themeless grids without sacrificing fill quality. While this 66-word grid meant I couldn’t include as many novel entries from my personal word list as I might like, I was pleased by XWord Info's Freshness Factor analysis of the grid!Clue-wise I was pleased that my proposals for COMING OUT, MOUNT SINAI, and EMPTY NESTS made the cut. Re: the latter, while I’m not a parent I’ve found that I often try to incorporate some aspect of the parenting experience into my cluing. I was a bit sad that a couple of my other angles didn’t make the cut, but that comes with the territory. Rejected clues included:

— Figures considered nobility in “Flatland” (OCTAGONS)

— Sources of unattended towels, to some hotel "souvenir” seekers (POOL AREAS)

— Occasions for some high-profile appearances? (BAD HAIR DAYS)

Finally, I liked the mirroring clues of BLEH and ICK, as well as the reference to “Arrival” for ETs.

Thank you for all for solving. I hope you enjoyed the puzzle!

Evan

As many of you will remember, Evan's hobby is collecting photos of post office around the country and he has visited over 10,000 of them. Here's his website: Postlandia. 

CBS recently did a CBS Morning piece of disappearing post offices which included a lovely interview with Evan.

Answer

Across:

1. Store sign words suggesting longevity: OPEN SINCE - This clothing store in our town just closed last December after having been OPEN SINCE 1925.

10. Confess: OWN UP.

15. Ellen Morgan's revelation in a 1997 episode of "Ellen," e.g.: COMING OUT - Hilariously!

16. Awesome relative: NEATO - NEATO seems a little less emotional and more dated than the much-overused Awesome

17. The blue ribbon: TOP HONORS - Not always

18. Activation key: ENTER.

19. Genre qualifier: ALT - My dad and his brothers loved Country Music growing up. ALTernate Country of today would not work for them

20. New __: drink that made a comeback in 2019: COKE - It was reintroduced in limited quantities to support its use in the Netflix series Stranger Things

21. Chem class measuring technique: PH TEST - New Coke has a pH of approximately 2.5

22. New Orleans' Cafe Lafitte in Exile is one of the oldest of these still operating: GAY BARS.

24. Fiddler, for one: CRAB.

25. Baroque: ORNATE - GILDED? Nope.

26. Aleichem who created Tevye: SHOLEM - Aleichem SHOLEM's stories of Tevye And His Daughters formed the basis for the very successful play and film Fiddler On The Roof. More background

28. Obligations: NEEDS.

29. Surpass by skipping: LEAP FROG 

31. Badge holder: SASH.

He has all 135 Merit Badges

32. Sheds: MOLTS.

33. Bottom lines, often: SUMS - The SUM for our 55th anniversary dinner Thursday night was $91 with no appetizers and a free dessert

35. Big parks: STADIUMS.

37. Apt rhyme for "cents": PENCE - A British PENCE = $0.0138

38. Time out: SIESTA.

39. Role played by a sufferer, maybe: MARTYR.

40. "Phooey!": RATS

41. Adds to the cost of: MARKS UP.

42. Hardly lasting: SHODDY - A SHODDY Nebraska soddy. 

45. Paycheck signer: BOSS.

46. #34, familiarly: IKE - Between HST and JFK

47. Notes featuring Atatürk: LIRAS - This drove me crazy until it dawned on me.

200 Turkish LIRA is about $14.80

48. Threaten to isolate: CLOSE IN ON.

50. Terse farewell: OK BYE 

51. Drying agent: DESICCANT.

52. Thompson of "Westworld": TESSA.

53. Satisfied cook's gesture: CHEF'S KISS 

Taylor must have really
liked something

Down:

1. Stop signs, usually: OCTAGONS.

Even in Montreal
and Paris

2. Places where you might see butterflies: POOL AREAS - Oh, that butterfly!

3. Sources of some college-years woes: EMPTY NESTS - Oh, from the parent's point of view. 

4. Bethesda research org.: NIH and 48. Org. in much recent news: CDC are searching for a 8. Solution: CURE for Covid

5. Arctic travelers: SNOCATS.

6. Mute, say: IGNORE - Find it

7. Secluded spots: NOOKS.

9. Arrivals in "Arrival" (2016): ETS - Can Professor Louise Banks communicate with the ETS and save the world?

10. Fair share, at times: ONE HALF.

11. Wigged out: WENT BERSERK.

12. "Mom" actor Corddry: NATE - His IMDB

13. Colorado tribe: UTES - Were they all underage?

14. Left on a liner: PORT - Not starboard

21. Respect, in slang: PROPS - Proper respect

23. Personal management problems: BAD HAIR DAYS 

24. Text exchanges, say: CHATS 

26. Film that ends with a King's speech: SELMA.

27. Big name in tablets?: MOUNT SINAI - Oh, those tablets! No electronics or pills.

29. Big lugs: LOUTS.

30. Chevy Tahoe counterparts: GMC YUKONS - They're both huge

32. Like eyes betraying nostalgia: MISTY.

34. Caduceus pair: SERPENTS - Hawkeye hardly ever wore his

36. Israeli border lake: DEAD SEA.

37. Interstellar measures: PARSECS - What is a PARSEC?

39. Mountain formation: MASSIF - What is a MASSIF?

41. Bullwinkle J. __: MOOSE - Best friend of Rocket J. Squirrel

42. __ car: toy racer: SLOT - A SLOT for every car and every car in its SLOT

43. Raise: HIKE 

44. Travelers in distant circles: ORBS - We are finding out that some of those distant travelers are Earth-like ORBS going around distant suns. 

45. "Keep that away from me!": BLEH.

49. "Keep that away from me!": ICK.

Friday, February 18, 2022, Dick Shlakman & Fred Geldon

Theme: Stuck in the Middle

Puzzling thoughts:

FIR with a w/o in 12-Down, Gulf War support gp.: USA/USO

Otherwise, this was a pretty easy solve; lots of three-letter words (15, altogether if I counted correctly) and 26 four-letter words. That's a lot for a Friday puzzle. But there weren't a lot of abbr's or proper names, so the fill was clean. 4 twelve-letter "themers" which used "THE" at the beginning of the phrase

I chose "Stuck in the Middle" as the theme, despite the fact that the puzzle had no reveal. I suppose that if this puzzle gave you fits, you could also have been "Stuck in the Middle": (a one-hit wonder by Stealer Wheels)

All four of the phrases - literally - had the key word in the middle of the phrase, and omitted the word "IN". How so, you ask?

20-Across. Naivete personified, literally: THE BABE WOODS. The word "BABE" is in "THE WOODS". The phrase, "BABE IN THE WOODS" refers to ones naivete or innocence

33-Across. Abandoned, literally: THE LEFT LURCH. "LEFT IN THE LURCH" is an old phrase meaning abandoned.

Fun Fact: (according to Dictionary dot com) This expression alludes to a 16th-century French dice game, lourche, where to incur a lurch meant to be far behind the other players. It later was used in cribbage and other games, as well as being used in its present figurative sense, by about 1600

41-Across. Low, literally: THE DOWN DUMPS. "DOWN IN THE DUMPS" means being in a depressed mood, or low; but NOT this:

And last, but not least, 56-Across. Metaphor for a sitting-pretty situation, literally: THE MADE SHADE. Definitions dot net says: "In a condition characterized by comfort, success, easy living or general well-being. Etymology: Possibly from a children's rhyme: "ice-cold lemonade, MADE IN THE SHADE, stirred with a spade, by an old maid."

But if I had to "Moe-ku" this:

Producing sun tea
In a forest is tough; can't
Be MADE IN THE SHADE

I did a cursory check on the constructors: Dick Shlakman, 82 years young, is a retired lawyer and corporate executive from Plano, Texas. Fred Geldon, who appears to be much younger than Dick, has been published in the NY Times; as has Shlakman. This may be their first collaborative puzzle

The grid:

Across:
1. Ketch pair: MASTS. Moe-ku two:

The sailing boat stalled
When no wind blew. The MASTS failed
If you ketch my drift

6. Pre-weekend letters: TGIF. Appropriate for today's puzzle

10. Damson or Mirabelle: PLUM. I forgot another "w/o"; I had PEAR/PLUM. Damson and Mirabelle are types of PLUMS

14. On the lookout: ALERT. Not as tough a clue as I would expect for a FRI puzzle

15. Decimated sea: ARAL. Crossword staple

16. "All __": RISE. What a judge might say, or what fans of the NY Yankees say when THIS guy comes to bat (sorry WC for the Yankees reference, but clearly a CSO to tinbeni)

17. "It's the truth!": NO LIE. Do you think that Moe enjoys blogging? NO LIE!!

18. Old comics character who said, "We have met the enemy and he is us.": POGO. Moe-ku three:

Walt Kelly's comics
Are layered with sarcasm
It's his POGO schtick

19. Apple product: IPOD. My missed guess in 12-down also led to this being IPAD at first

23. It's needed, but often "not included": AA CELL. Great clue, although recently most of the items that I buy that need an AA CELL (or two) are included

24. Many a Nora Ephron film: ROM-COM. Nora Ephron shows up often in crossword puzzles. Some of her more famous "ROM COM's" can be found here

28. Old speedster: Abbr.: SST. More "crossword-ese" fill, but a good clue; not sure that this one has been used for SST

29. Ice cream holder: TUB. I tried CUP first but that didn't cross well

31. Bother: AIL. When I googled "bother" synonyms, the word AIL did not appear. When I googled AIL synonyms, "bother" DID appear

32. Co-founder of Artists Against Fracking: ONO. Another different way to clue Yoko ONO

36. Angry: SORE. It takes a lot to get me SORE (angry), but when I (42-Down; Hammer-strikes-thumb reaction), I'm likely to utter an OATH. And it will probably be more of an expletive!

39. Doce meses: ANO. 12 months = one year. Year in Spanish. CSO to Lucinda

40. Equal: PEER. Good clue

46. Medium power: ESP. Or as we crossword folks might say: Every Single Perp

47. Give a hand: AID. CLAP didn't fit

48. Tennis strategy: LOB.

49. Rte. finder: GPS. Global Positioning System

52. Presumes: POSITS. Not an oft-used word but great crossword fill

54. Feature of some Birkenstocks: T-STRAP. Not their most iconic feature; this one can be had for a cool $125. I think they throw the left sandal in for free

60. Modern diary: BLOG. This recap, e.g.

63. Like father, like son?: MALE. Another great clue, although with gender identity, this clue might not fly at some point in the future

64. Accord creator: HONDA. Good play-on-words; if "accord" were a verb the words "yield", "award", and "grant" would fit

65. Bridges of Los Angeles County: BEAU. BEAU Bridges is an American actor who was born in Los Angeles County California some 81 years ago; a year younger than one of today's constructors

66. Fourth letter in a famous mnemonic: ERIE. HOMES is a mnemonic (device such as a pattern of letters, ideas, or associations that assists in remembering something) for the 5 Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, ERIE, and Superior

67. Like Barbara Bush, vis-à-vis Jenna: OLDER. Barbara Bush is Jenna Bush's grandma, and she was OLDER. Elton John used the words "OLDER than me" in this classic:

68. Lincoln or Jackson: CITY. Another great clue! Lincoln, Nebraska (CSO to Husker Gary) and Jackson, Mississippi. Two of the 50 state capital CITYs

69. Twice-monthly tide: NEAP. Another familiar crossword word

70. Works in a garden: WEEDS. HOES wouldn't fit

Down:
1. Rays that can live 50 years: MANTAS. Unlike these Rays that have been "alive" for only 24 years

2. Island exchanges: ALOHAS. Goodbye? Hello? Yes, ALOHA means both. Enjoy this old Beatles hit

Clecho (of sorts): 61-Down. Island greeting: LEI.

3. Handpicked: SELECT. Not a verb; an adjective

4. "Survivor" group: TRIBE. The 42nd "installation" of Survivor (the CBS series) begins soon. The participants are divided into "TRIBES" as they try to Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast their fellow TRIBE-mates.

Fun Fact: Moe used to be a fan of "Survivor", but no longer. I think it's interesting that the "grand prize" is still just $1,000,000. But then I checked what $1M back in the year 2000 (approx when Survivor first aired) would be worth today. Surprisingly it's only a bit more than $1.6M, so maybe the prize amount is still an incentive

5. Cat burglar's asset: STEALTH. Moe-lick:

The cat burglar desired more wealth
So they paid more attention towards health.
Just by losing some weight
Burglar muffled their gait
And improved their potential for STEALTH

6. It's broken at many races: TAPE.

7. Become: GROW. Number 22 on this website's list of synonyms for "become"

8. Classic stage betrayer: IAGO. Crossword staple. Constructors LOVE four-letter words with three vowels; if they're proper names, even better. ISAO AOKI is another example of two proper names each with three vowels

9. Request for maximum speed: FLOOR IT. How many of us would've answered this correctly if the clue were: "#1 song title on Kadooh's EP album"?? CanadianEh! are you a fan?

10. Light bender: PRISM. An optical PRISM is a transparent optical element with flat, polished surfaces that are designed to refract (bend) light. At least one surface must be angled

11. Sass: LIP. Fun Fact: According the "The Idioms" dot com, the phrase "none of your LIP" originated in medieval English times when people spoke more literally. There is an argument that the phrase could have originated in the American region, but it does not have a confirmed literary source to trace this fact. The mannerism of speaking is from earlier than the 1800’s and reflects the fact that “shut up” in that time was stated as “none of your lip”. The times called for using more words than what we would use currently to express something

13. Pill, say: MED. Don't we always ask, "Did you take your MEDS"? Not sure I've ever heard the word "pill" referred to in the singular ...

21. Word with collar or chip: BLUE. What are BLUE chips worth in Vegas? The denominations of the chip colors are:

White or BLUE chips are one dollar
Red chips are five dollars and are called nickels
Green chips are twenty-five dollars and are called quarters
Black chips are one hundred dollars
Purple Chips are five hundred dollars and are called Barneys

Of course BLUE chip is also a stock market term meaning a corporation with a national reputation for quality, reliability, and the ability to operate profitably in good and bad times

And as for BLUE collar? Well, as many of you might recall, yesterday was the Chairman's birthday. He shares the date (2/17) with this BLUE collar guy:

22. American Girl purchase: DOLL. Click here for more info

25. Abs are part of it: CORE. Moe's CORE (don't I wish!):

26. Some time ago: ONCE. "ONCE upon a time ..."

27. Comic Jay: MOHR. Scenes from one of his earlier movies, Jerry Maguire

30. Lacking pizzazz: BLAND. I first thought about using "blasé"; similar meanings yet different

31. On the wrong side (of): AFOUL. Moe-ku four:

The rogue hen got loose;
Laid eggs outside the nest box.
Was clearly AFOUL

33. Rocker Nugent: TED. Theodore Anthony Nugent (December 13, 1948 [age 73 years]) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock and hard rock. After dissolving the band, he embarked on a solo career.

34. One who may go deep: END. Cooper Kupp (an END, or wide receiver) went just deep enough to help the LA Rams secure their first Super Bowl win for the team as based in LA. When the franchise was located in St Louis, the Rams won the Super Bowl in 1999

35. Good times: UPS. In this context, UPS is not an abbreviation. Had the clue read:" 'What-can-brown-do-for-you' company", then UPS would be an abbreviation

36. Aerobic bit: STEP. STEP aerobics are still quite popular

Another workout reference is found at 38-Down (Gym set: REPS)

37. Quite: OH SO. But here in the greater Phoenix, AZ area, the letter combination "OHSO" can also refer to this. O.H.S.O. is an acronym for "Outrageous Homebrewer's Social Outpost"

43. Guys with gifts: WISE MEN. Cute clue. But why does my mind wander into a comic hole when I see the words "WISE MEN"?? Can Moe possibly break both the "no religion" and "no politics" Crossword Corner rules in one comment?? Let's try:

The Supreme Court ruled that there could not be a nativity scene on Capitol Hill. This was not for religious reasons. Rather, no one was able to find three WISE MEN anywhere in the nation’s capital. They also had no luck finding a virgin. There was no problem, however, finding enough asses to fill the stable

44. Particle in a beam: MOTE. Your Dictionary dot com defines MOTE as: "a speck or a very small piece of something. An example of a mote is a particle of dirt or dust"

45. "Sesame Street," e.g.: PBS SHOW. Only the second time this fill has been used in a major crossword puzzle. We often see the three-letter, "PBS"; but PBS SHOW? Only once before

49. About half of Trenta, at Starbucks: GRANDE. Well, as perhaps one of the few coffee drinkers who is NOT a fan of Starbucks, Chairman Moe could've been fooled by this clue. But somehow he came up with "GRANDE".

If it had been clued: "Rio___", we could've given a CSO to OwenKL

50. Protected, in a way: PADDED. I guess using the clue, "Word with bra or cell" didn't pass muster

51. "Femme Fatale" artist, 2011: SPEARS. Britney SPEARS. All that needs to be said about her has already been said or captured in YouTube or TikTok videos

53. PC fixer: IT GUY. I had IT REP at first, so technically, another w/o for C-Moe

55. Oar fulcrum: THOLE. Moe-ku five ... a stretch, perhaps!

Sailor with a lisp
Was blessed by priest when he said:
"Save my rotten THOLE"

57. HBO's "__ of Easttown": MARE. I'm not an HBO subscriber so this one was not familiar to me. According to IMDb, "MARE Sheehan, an office police investigator in a small Pennsylvania town, investigates a brutal murder as she tries to keep her life from falling apart." This show/series debuted last year

58. Latin "others": ALIA. As in the abbreviated phrase, "et al", where 'al' = ALIA (others)

59. Like some pockets: DEEP.

60. "Doctor Who" airer: BBC. Series on BBC. Series 13 "Teaser Trailer"

62. Bit of horse feed: OAT. I was thinking ORT when I first read the clue. Could ORT be used instead of OAT, and would it be used correctly? Let's let WikiDiff decide

Thanks again to Dick and Fred for the Friday fun-filled puzzle; thanks again for all the birthday greetings yesterday. Next orbit around the sun will see the Chairman turn 70 ... ouch!