Saturday, April 23, 2022, Robyn Weintraub

 Saturday Themeless by Robyn Weintraub 

Hi Gary,

I’m excited to have a puzzle in the L.A. Times again, and particularly honored that my puzzle is running in the first week of Patti Varol’s new tenure as editor. Congratulations to Patti— and Christina-- on their new assignments. I was lucky enough to meet both of these talented women at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in Stamford CT earlier this month. Not that you need me to confirm what is plainly obvious, but the LAT puzzle is in very capable hands going forward.

I’m a fairly regular contributor for my hometown (okay, home state) paper The New York Times, and a member of the in-house constructing team at The New Yorker. For those who may not be aware, The New Yorker recently upgraded their puzzle offerings to 5 puzzles per week (four themeless and one themed) and I contribute 2 each month, typically of the ‘easy’ themeless variety. Those two venues keep me pretty busy.  And once spring finally decides to stick around on the east coast (temps here are currently in the 30s as I write this) you can usually find me playing in my garden.

As for today’s grid, I made it a few years ago, so looking at it with older and wiser eyes there are a few entries in there I’d like to take back if I could. But the long stuff is all pretty fun—perhaps one might be so bold as to say a CROWDPLEASER—so hopefully that’s the part of the puzzle that solvers will enjoy and remember. 

Happy solving,

Robyn

I am very grateful for Robyn's lovely response and since it's spring time, I hope Robyn will give me license for this image with an alternate spelling.

Across:

1. Cutting-edge name?: ATRA - Ginsu wouldn't work for this cwd regular

5. Scenery in Road Runner cartoons: MESAS.

10. Polite address: MAAM.

14. "Sorry, my hands are tied ... ": WHAT CAN I DO - Probably said by constructors when they have to settle for fill they don't like.

16. Price for hand delivery?: ANTE - Oh, a poker hand!

17. Musical arrangement?: RECORD DEAL - This shows a young truck driver from Memphis signing his first RECORD DEAL with RCA. How did that work out?

18. Revolution: GYRE - Same root for Elvis' GYRATIONS

19. "I rock!": YAY ME.

20. Class stat: GPA - Did kids suddenly get smarter?

21. "Can confirm": IT IS.

22. Mystery that may have a stirring message?: SECRET RECIPE - 23 products with SECRET RECIPES

26. Bon __: MOT - Example: ''I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.'' Clarence Darrow

29. Place: PUT.

30. Unpredictable jerk: SPASM.

31. Checked: ARRESTED - Synonyms for stopped

34. Aegean capital: ATHENS - The preferred capital in this capital is the Euro

54. Bread machine: ATM - Here's one dispensing EURO "bread"  

37. Folk dance: REEL - The Virginia REEL

38. Like all tigers: ASIAN - What could possibly go wrong here?

40. Draft status: ONE-A - In the 60's: Next stop - Vietnam 

41. Continues: GOES ON.

43. Run ragged: OVERWORK - Competence is often punished

45. "__ Gabler": HEDDA - One critic wrote: "Fans of Diana Rigg will enjoy a jackpot in her remarkable performance as Ibsen's icy, manipulating, despairing bitch."

47. U.N. agency: ILO.

48. Misery: WOE.

49. Popular performer: CROWD PLEASER - Tiger Woods had no chance of winning the Masters this year but his gallery in person and on TV were very large

53. "Yeah, no": UH UH.

55. Source of some lumber: PINES.

59. Audio brand: BOSE.

60. Bridal store event: SAMPLE SALE.

63. Central German river: EDER - In red below

64. "Deep breaths ... ": TRY TO RELAX.

65. Ms. enclosure: SASE - Viking Press probably stuffed this rejection letter into a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope to Alice Walker when they rejected The Color Purple. Oops!

66. Unlikely assignment from a math teacher: ESSAY.

67. Pinch at the table: SALT.

Down:

1. A bit off: AWRY.

2. Australian novelist Astley: THEA - Wikipedia's take on her

3. Somewhat blue: RACY and 58. Have a heated exchange?: SEXT - Be careful...

4. Cyclotron units: ATOMS - This cyclotron at Cal Berkley was used to discover Plutonium, Neptunium and other transuranium ATOMS. in the 1950's

5. Publication credited to the "Usual Gang of Idiots": MAD - Mad Magazine Archive

6. Wrap: END.

7. Military blockade: SIEGE - The 47-day SIEGE at Vicksburg, MS gave the Union control of the Mississippi River

8. Makes fit: ADAPTS.

9. Array for catching rays: SOLAR PANELS.

10. Disappearing act?: MAGIC SHOW - I don't think he fooled the kitty

11. "I'm waiting ... ": ANYTIME NOW.

12. Aweigh: ATRIP - ATRIP is an obscure (to me) synonym for aweigh which both describe when the anchor is no longer touching the bottom.

13. "With Reagan" memoirist: MEESE - He held high positions in Governor and President Reagan's administrations 

15. Advances slowly: CREEPS.

23. Relocation option: CUT AND PASTE - I type my daily musings in Word and then CUT AND PASTE them into the blog.

24. USPS assignments: RTES.

25. "Have some": EAT.

26. Helgenberger of "CSI": MARG - A mile from my golf course 

27. Cookie with the same colors as a crossword: OREO.

28. Construction projects guaranteed to get off the ground: TREE HOUSES - Wow!

32. Neither here nor there: ELSEWHERE.

33. "Rainbow in the Dark" metal band: DIO - Here ya go

35. Fictional Wolfe: NERO - The author's name dominated this early novel

36. Drink that may be served warm: SAKE.

39. Brand with Vanessa Hudgens workout collection: AVIA.

42. Like 2021: ODD - Not just numerically 

44. Educator Annemarie who co-founded a school in Greater Detroit: ROEPER.

46. Sites for some rites: ALTARS.

49. Products with triple the power?: CUBES - 4³ = 64

50. Sitcom whose 1974 pilot episode was titled "Joe": RHODA - Where RHODA meets Joe

51. Awards won by 50-Down: EMMYS.

52. Climbs: RISES.

56. Beyoncé voice role: NALA. 

57. Airline whose first flight was from Geneva to Tel Aviv: EL AL - A frequent cwd flier

61. School org.: PTA.

62. "The Thin Man" star: LOY - Myrna LOY poses with Thin Man costar William Powell and a dog whose name appears here quite often too.

Friday, April 22, 2022, Karen Lurie

 Title: No "IT" girl here!

Karen makes a speedy return for her second 2022 LAT puzzle, not long after her February 25, 2022, debut here. In her initial offering she added an "H" to phrases and clued them with wit and charm. Now we have a classic Friday grid that removes the two letter word "IT" from phrases and then clues the resulting new fill. She has a reveal, and uses a symmetrical 10/12/12/10 pattern. The majority of the fill is 4 or letters, leaving me no long fill to highlight. Since the difficulty in the puzzle does not come from long fill lets address the theme and then talk about why this a late week puzzle.

21A. Former spouse who never lets things get awkward?: GRACEFUL EXIT. (10). How nice if you can end a marriage and still get on, even if it is just for the sake of the children. Removing the "IT" in this case does not change much as the understanding ex must have also left nicely.

26A. Outcome when a salon student makes waves?: LEARNER'S PERMIT. (12). On the other hand, when an aspiring stylist is entrusted with the hair of poor soul, the result may be really bad. This is quite different from the ritual of obtaining a driver license.

46A. Luring an academic to the dark side?: TURNING A PROFIT (12). Another school setting, this time your teacher becomes Darth Nihilus rather than running a successful business. 

And the reveal, for real

52A. Taylor Swift hit song about defying the haters, and an apt title for this puzzle: SHAKE IT OFF (10).

On to the rest.

Across:

1. Frito pie ingredient: CHILI. Does anyone make/eat this TexMex dish? Fritos® Pie. I wonder if puzzles will become like game shows where money is paid to promote products...

6. Percussion-based theater troupe: STOMP. They are quite famous.

LINK.

11. Back in the day: AGO. It is not easy to make a three letter fill hard but this not jump into my mind.

14. TV signal part: AUDIO. Video fits as well.

15. SAT prep help, often: TUTOR. We return to education, I taught an LSAT prep course back in the day.

16. Like beach volleyball players: TAN. Another three letter fill that took thinking to fill.

17. Casino array: SLOTS. 

18. See 6-Down: ANISE. 6D. With 18-Across, ingredient in five-spice powder: STAR. Illicium verum is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to northeast Vietnam and southwest China. wiki.

                        

19. Trellis growth: IVY. More plants. When I was teaching briefly in Gainesville I had a student named IVY CREAM. Were here parents progressive or mean?

20. "Freeze!": HALT. Hands up!

23. Serpentine fish: EEL.  A CSO for C.C.

25. Streisand film based on a Singer story: YENTL. Isaac Bashevis Singer was a Nobel Prize winning author who wrote in Yiddish. The story was published in Mayses fun hintern oyvn (1971; “Stories from Behind the Stove”).

32. Holy __: OIL. I don't think this combination has been used before. COW and SEE are much more likely.

33. Cleared for takeoff?: DEICED. The PROCESS.

34. Low nos. for aces: ERAS. Earned Run Averages. Baseball ace pitchers.

38. Many Egyptians: ARABS. Did you know about 1% of the world's population is Egyptian? 

40. Domino dot: PIP.  "Pip" has been used not only to denote the dots on dominoes, but also the dots on dice, as well as the marks on playing cards and sometimes as a synonym for "dot" in morse code. Information.com.

41. Day of the Dead drink: ATOLE.  A coffee and cornmeal combination part of the TRADITION.

42. Arizona locale for spring training fans: MESA. The city. Hi Lucina and Moe.

43. Suits: BEFITS. 

45. Silent communication sys.: ASL. America Sign Language.

49. "The City & the City" novelist Miéville: CHINA. I no longer read science fiction nor graphic novels, so the author and the book are complete unknowns.  LINK. 

51. WSJ news topic: IPO. Initial Public Offering. 

56. Cause of inflation?: PUMP. Oh, how fun, not a tired old saw, but and old tire needing air!

60. "Nailed it!": YES. Another CSO to C.C.

61. Miyazaki's genre: ANIME.  A master.

62. Binge: SPREE. When you sit at your tv, do you think of it as a spree.

63. Snare: NET.

64. Four-time Australian Open winner: SELES. Monica. She appears often not only because of her tennis but also for being stabbed on court.

65. Piano part: PEDAL. I must stop looking at every 5 letter word as a possible WORDLE

66. Weep: CRY.

67. Utopias: EDENS. The name Eden is of Hebrew origin meaning "place of pleasure." It brings to mind this DISCUSSION.

68. Mature: ADULT. I do not see these as synonyms, C.E.D.? And, 29D. Mature: RIPEN a clecho.

Down:

1. "Hurt" singer: CASH. "Hurt" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from its second studio album, The Downward Spiral (1994), written by Trent Reznor. Why did he record this in 2002?

2. Dance for a lei person: HULA. Ha ha!

3. TV competition, familiarly: IDOL. This year's superstar find quit mid-season after signing a lucrative deal.

4. Kitten caboodle: LITTER. One of the clue writers really has some home runs today. Kit and Kaboodle is a fun phrase.

5. Apple platform: iOS. No pesky capital is here.

7. Fish in salade niçoise: TUNA. A French delight, which probably does not delight most. 

8. Ear-relevant?: OTIC. This is from the mid 17th century: from Greek ōtikos, from ous, ōt- ‘ear.’

9. Sauntered: MOSEYED.  A popular word in the old westerns on TV but its origin is unknown.

10. Want more: PREFER.

11. Listing: ATILT. An "A" word; do not worry she is just getting started.

12. Chairperson's hammer: GAVEL.

13. Black stone: ONYX.  It is a variety of layered chalcedony that belongs to the quartz family. As indicated by the name, this semi-precious gemstone is characterized by its dramatic black body color. Angara.

21. Series set at McKinley High: GLEE. A jinxed series?  Glee Stars That Have Died · Cory Monteith – Drug Overdose · Mark Salling – Suicide · Naya Rivera – Accidental Drowning?? · Nancy Motes – Suicide and Robin Trocke who died of alzheimers at age 63.

22. Not fulfilled: UNMET.

24. Winds down: ENDS. Meh, winds down is a process.

26. Rich soil: LOAM. And a famous song, Loam Loam on the range.

27. Word on some European postage stamps: EIRE. A touch of Irish trivia too late.

28. "That's a shame": ALAS.  Alack. It applies to author...

30. Octavia Butler's genre: SCI-FI. I used to read lots of sci-fi but in the culture of the 60s, 70s and 80s I never knew this AUTHOR.

31. "Fast Food My Way" chef Jacques: PEPIN. A French chef other than Julia Child. Below is a video from when he was younger, he is now 86.

35. Have a good laugh: ROAR. Yay!

36. Besides: ALSO.

37. Mirror image: SELF. Mirrors reflect backward images; is that how you see yourself.

39. Dyeing art: BATIK. Another clue with a pun to amuse.

41. PDQ: ASAP. As Soon As Possible.  PDQ is an abbreviation of the phrase “pretty damned quick.”

43. Clocked: BRAINED. Apparently this is BRITISH to hit (someone), especially on the head. "someone clocked him for no good reason."

44. "What a long week" sigh: TGIF. An appropriate clue.

47. Trepidation: UNEASE.

48. Burst: POPPED. My balloon? Bubble?

49. Pull (for): CHEER.

50. Impulsive: HASTY. 

52. Out of __: SYNC. I order mine from Amazon so I never run out.

53. Bananagrams piece: TILE.  Bananagrams is an anagram puzzle built for speed — think of Scrabble with no board or complicated scoring. It was developed in Rhode Island. 

54. Sign: OMEN.

55. Own (up): FESS. 
                                    
57. Lahore tongue: URDU. This Pakistani CITY has a very long and complicated history. If you take some time to read the entire wiki article you will understand my comment. I hope our resident expert will stop by and give his input. I learned much I did not know from a Sikh gentleman who worked in a store I frequented.

58. Repast: MEAL. English is so rich from stealing from so many other languages. Re-past is just from the Latin word repascere, which means "to feed." 

59. Hide: PELT. No, I am here with my skin still on.

62. Après-ski option: SPA. Also a choice one can make after, or during solving an LAT Friday crossword. It did not work for me as I kept falling asleep. I trust none of you wonderful people did as you anxiously solved this dynamic, distaff dish. The world continues to spin. Thank you Patti and Karen. Lemonade out.

 

Here's the grid:

Thursday, April 21, 2022, Stella Zawistowski

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists, Malodorous Manatee here with the post-puzzle summary.  Today marks my first puzzle recap featuring a puzzle for which Patti Varol served as the Editor instead of as the Assistant Editor and I am looking forward to taking a look at this puzzle.  Here is a link to the Tribune syndicate announcement:

Patti Varol Announcement

Patti obviously has a wealth of experience as does today's puzzle setter, Stella Zawistowski.  Here is a link to an August 2021 interview with Stella:

Browser Interview With Stella Zawistowski

We'll go with Ernie Banks' oft' cited quote to introduce today's puzzle:

LET'S PLAY TWO.  

At three places within the grid our constructor has placed the names of two popular tabletop games back-to-back.  The reveal employs a baseball reference - Doubleheader (two games played on the same day) - to clue us in as to what is going on.  The reveal:

58 Across:  Doubleheader feature, and what are literally found in 17-, 23-, and 44-Across: BACK TO BACK GAMES.

...and the application of this clever theme:

17 Across:  Mission to go after imaginary germs?: COOTIE OPERATION.  Cooties being imaginary germs and operation being a synonym (more or less) for mission.

23 Across:  Military vessel in terrible condition?: SORRY BATTLESHIP.  A warship in a SORRY state.  I always think of Bill and Ted when the Battleship game is mentioned.

44 Across:  Antitrust lawsuit, perhaps?: MONOPOLY TROUBLE.

And now for the rest of the story:

Across:

1. Epic __: FAIL.  A relatively modern bit of slang.

5. Family unit: CLAN.

9. App with Social and Promotions tabs: GMAIL.  The clue is a bit obscure but, hey, it's Thursday.  Adding Primary to the two listed categories would have made things a bit less obscure.  GMAIL sorts email into various piles.  

14. Instrument for a Swiss mountaineer: ALPENHORN.  A clever bit of misdirection.  Not gear for a mountain climber.  A musical instrument.

16. "The Big Bang Theory" co-creator Chuck: LORRE.  The first of (too?) many proper nouns used in this puzzle (YMMV).  The prolific Mr. Lorre also created Mom, Two and A Half Men, Dharma & Greg, Young Sheldon, Bob Hearts Abishola, Grace Under Fire, Cybill, Disjointed and The Kominsky Method.  If you take a meeting with him, allow him to pick up the lunch tab.

19. Perfume samples: TESTERS.  The small spray bottles.  Not the people checking out the scents.

20. Loads: OCEANS.  Not the transitive verb.

21. Old French coin: ECU.  A rare coin that turns up (more often than rarely) in crossword puzzles.

22. "I'm so mean, I make medicine sick" boxer: ALI.  Muhammad ALI.  A pugilist often seen in crossword puzzles.

32. Calendar col.: TUE.  A bit of a punt.  One of seven days.

33. Sporty Camaro: IROC.  International Race Of Champions.  My auto racing friend, Eric, uses Iroc in lieu of his name as his online "handle".

34. Huge herbivore: RHINO.  Elephant would not fit.  Hippo would fit but would not work out . . . except for the last letter.

35. Site to find a handmade wedding dress, perhaps: ETSY.  Site to find a handmade anything.  We've seen this type of cluing before where the clue refers to something very specific but the answer demands something far less so.

37. Powerful sharks: MAKOS.

39. Ventura County tourist town: OJAI.  Obscure, perhaps, unless you're familiar with SoCal geography.  Sometimes we see "Oh, Hi" as an answer to a clue such as "greeting upon running into someone unexpectedly."

40. Parting word: ADIOS.  We had to consider, and then discard, ADIEU although the first three letters worked just fine.

42. Epic party: BASH.  GALA   RAVE   BALL   FEST   FETE

43. __ Toy Barn: "Toy Story 2" shop: AL'S.

48. Hard water?: ICE.  Nice (not Nice, France) wordplay.

49. Abbr. on a pill bottle: USP.  A unit of potency.  United States Pharmacopeia.

50. Crowning point: ZENITH.  Also, a brand of electronics.

54. Break down: ANALYZE.  Not as in an emotional state.  More like, in current jargon, to do a deep dive and unpack it.   Still, evocative of this:

Tom Petty - Live At The Wiltern Theater Los Angeles, 1985

61. Benefit: AVAIL.  A computer teacher asks the class to turn to page 404.  The students search feverishly.  To no AVAIL.

62. Feature of many a TV show summary: SCREENCAP.  Screen Capture.

63. Aptly named novelist Charles: READE.  Born 08 June 1814 -  Died 11 April 1884.  Having failed to recall his appearance ten days ago (in precisely the same location within that grid) I was forced to suss this one out.  Fortunately, doing so was not difficult.

64. "I feel __": "It's like you know me!": SEEN.  A new idiom to this marine mammal.  Quite zen.

65. "Madam Secretary" actor Tim: DALY.  Sister of Tyne.

Down:

1. No mere opinion: FACT.  Where do facts come from?  The factory.

2. Part of a sunburn treatment, often: ALOE.  Often, indeed.

3. Deprivatization events, for short: IPOS.  Initial Public OfferingS.  Selling shares of stock in a company.   I had never before come across the word deprivatization but it was self defining.  Reminded me of antidisestablishmentarianism.  Another instance of a pluralized abbreviation.

4. Alphabet soup bite: LETTER.

5. Guardians of the Tree of Life: CHERUBIM.  The Tree of Life is a motif referenced by multiple cultures.

6. "Gigi" playwright Anita: LOOS.  A true pioneer.

7. Dada pioneer Jean: ARP.

Head With Mustache - 1926

8. 22.5 deg.: NNE.  North North East on the 360 degree compass.

9. Montana's __ National Park: GLACIER.  I have been lucky enough to ride the Going to the Sun Road on a motorcycle.

10. Sunbeam speck: MOTE.  Not photon.

11. Number for soprano Pretty Yende: ARIA.  An opera reference.

12. Hemoglobin mineral: IRON.  The combination of this answer and ORGAN MUSIC (as an answer last Saturday) brought this to mind:

The Simpsons -  "In The Garden of Eden" by . . .

13. Optometrist's concern: LENS.  Hand up for first thinking EYES.

15. Nash of "When They See Us": NIECY.  Unfamiliar with her.  Thanks perps.

18. Hand __: sushi order: ROLL.  An option other than a cut roll.

Cut Roll and Hand Roll

22. With no overhead added: AT COST.

23. Cook, as bao buns: STEAM.

24. One-up: OUTDO.

25. Piney ooze: RESIN.

26. Good for farming: ARABLE.  By definition.

27. Hungarian wine: TOKAY.  Also spelled TOKAJI.  A naturally sweet wine from the Tokaj district of northeastern Hungary.

28. "The Chi" airer, briefly: SHO.  A television/streaming reference.

29. Traditional religious garment: HIJAB.

30. As a whole: IN ALL.

31. Composure: POISE.

36. Fashion designer Jenny: YOO. Who?  Seems to be big in bridal gowns.

38. No longer large: SHRUNKEN.  Perhaps no longer as large.  Whatever was SHRUNKEN could still be quite large.  A star with a mass equal to our sun will leave behind a remnant white dwarf about the size of Earth.  Bigger than a bread box.

41. Angry speaker's droplet: SPITTLE.  Discomforting imagery to start the day.

45. Tres y cinco: OCHO.  Our combined Spanish and mathematics lesson for the day.

46. "August: __ County": OSAGE.  A book.  A play.  A motion picture.

47. Plateau: UPLAND.  Also a city in San Bernardino County, CA.

50. Energy snack brand for kids: ZBAR.

51. Nesting site: EAVE.  A bit of not-quite-misdirection.  Tree?  Limb?  Often clued with a reference to wasps.

52. Frozen Four org.: NCAA.  The Final Four refers to the NCAA basketball playoffs.  Frozen Four riffs on that for the NCAA ice hockey championship.

53. "Joke, joke": I KID.

Triumph The Insult Comic Dog

54. Hobby farm measure: ACRE.  Or a "real" farm measure.

55. Where it's fun to stay, per the Village People: YMCA.  I will pass on posting an audio/video clip of this bit of Americana.

56. Evangelist's quality: ZEAL.

57. 2021 award for Naomi Osaka: ESPY.  An award frequently handed out in crossword puzzles.  It helped if you knew that Naomi is a tennis player.

59. Degrees for EEs: BSS.  I didn't get this one.  I took EE to mean electrical engineer.  BSS most often refers to Bachelor of Specialized Studies or Bachelor of Social Studies or Bachelor of Social Sciences.  There are, I am sure, people here who are far more familiar with the application of the BSS designation than I am.

60. Unreturned serve: ACE.  A tennis reference.

I hope everyone had a good Easter week and/or is having a good seven (or eight) days of pesach or month of Ramadan. 

____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

- This Year's Seder Plate -

Exhibiting A Bit Of Improvisation

From the X (word) Files:  Last night I picked a NYT puzzle book off the bookshelf.  The collection contained 250 puzzles originally published in 2000.  I randomly opened it to puzzle number 199.  The constructor?  Rich Norris.

... and on that note

Wednesday, April 20, 2022 C.C. Burnikel

Theme:  Challenges!  Here, the theme is displayed in the clues rather than the fill.  Each clue can be interpreted as a challenging expression, or perhaps a dare.  But then the associated fill responds to a quite different sense of the clue.  A very clever twist by our own fearless leader.

17. Top that!: WEDDING CAKE.  Do better if you can! [You can't.] A wedding cake is topped with frosting, of course, and often with little bride and groom statues.

30. Beat that!: STEEL DRUM.  Do better if you can! [Nope - It's unbeatable]. But you can beat a SNARE DRUM, my first choice; or, more melodically, the actual given fill.

46. Strike that!: POWER POSE . Take a swing. [You'll miss] But it still might be a great photo op.

63. Take that!: COFFEE BREAK.  Said while delivering a stout clout.  Then we can rest a bit, and have a cup.

Across:

1. Nail tech's layers: COATS.  Of polish

6. Open mic night host: EM CEE.  Master of Ceremonies.

11. Automated Twitter user: BOT.   A software application that runs automated tasks over the Internet, usually with the intent to emulate human activity on the Internet, such as messaging, on a large scale.

14. Fire in the belly: ARDOR.  Enthusiasm or passion.

15. Take one's sweet time: DALLY.  I prefer to dawdle.

16. Dedicated lines: ODE.  A lyric poem in the form of an address to a particular subject, often elevated in style or manner and written in varied or irregular meter.

19. Prefix with binary: NON-.  A negating prefix.  Non-binary is an umbrella term for gender identities that are neither male nor female‍—‌identities that are outside the gender binary.  It's complicated.

20. Fair: SO-SO.  Mediocre.

21. Consider: DEEM.  Make a judgment.

22. Kabocha or pumpkin, e.g.: GOURD.  A fleshy, typically large fruit with a hard skin, some varieties of which are edible.

24. Make-up artist?: LIAR.  Ha!  Someone who contrives untruths.

26. Mike who voices Shrek: MYERS.  Michael John Myers, OC (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, director, producer and screenwriter. His accolades include seven MTV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2017, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada for "his extensive and acclaimed body of comedic work as an actor, writer, and producer." [Wikipedia]
 
28. David Ortiz's 1,768, briefly: RBIS.   Runs Batted In.  You knew there would be baseball!  David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican-American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. He also played for the Minnesota Twins. During his 14 seasons with the Red Sox, he was a ten-time All-Star, a three-time World Series champion, and a seven-time Silver Slugger winner. Ortiz also holds the Red Sox single-season record for home runs with 54, which he set during the 2006 season. [Wikipedia]

34. Park fixture for two: SEE-SAW.  It has its ups and downs.

36. SoFi Stadium player: RAM.  American football.

37. Half and half: ONE.  Simple addition, not from the creamery.

38. Caroline du Sud, e.g.: ETAT.  South Carolina is a State, but not in France.

39. Like some angles: ACUTE.  Less than 90 degrees.

41. Intestinal fortitude: GUTS.  Courage and perseverance; grit; pluck. 

42. __ on the side of caution: ERR.  Be careful.

43. Soon-to-be grads: SRS.  Seniors.

44. Realm entered through a wardrobe: NARNIA.  From the series of books by C. S. Lewis.

50. Miami-__ County: DADE.  In FLA.

51. "Count me out": I PASS.

52. Wee: ITSY.  Teeny tiny.

54. Test versions: BETAS.  A version of a piece of software that is made available for testing, typically by a limited number of users outside the company that is developing it, before its general release.

56. Farm skyscraper: SILO.  A tower on a farm used to store grain.

58. Hairstyle for Nina Simone: AFRO.  Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone, was an American singer, songwriter, musician, arranger, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel and pop. [Wikipedia]

Source

62. "Kinda": ISH. More or less.

66. Hoover, for one: DAM.  Hold back the water.

67. Come about: ARISE. Happen, ensue.

68. Like a foggy trail path: EERIE.  Spooky.

69. Four-time WNBA champion Bird: SUE.  Suzanne Brigit Bird (born October 16, 1980) is an American-Israeli professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).[1] Bird was drafted by the Storm first overall in the 2002 WNBA draft and is considered to be one of the greatest players in WNBA history. As of 2021, Bird is the only WNBA player to win titles in three different decades. She held a front office position for the NBA's Denver Nuggets as their Basketball Operations Associate. She has also played for three teams in Russia. She holds both U.S. and Israeli citizenship. [Wikipedia]

70. Divulge: LET ON.  Reveal.

71. Fine partner: DANDY.  Used to express agreement or approval 

Down:

1. Cornfield calls: CAWS.  Songs of crows

2. Cookie that has a lychee flavor in China: OREO.  Crossword favorite cookie - all over the world.

3. States further: ADDS.

4. Slate of chores: TO DO LIST.  Get busy.

5. __ Lanka: SRI.  Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and southeast of the Arabian Sea; it is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait.  [Wikipedia]

6. Trimming tools: EDGERS. 

7. Nutmeg spice: MACE.  Nutmegs are the actual seeds of the tree while mace is what is known as an airl—the protective coating of the seed.

8. Chewy chowder chunk: CLAM MEAT.  

9. Animal on Idaho's state seal: ELK.  The elk, also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America, as well as Central and East Asia. [Wikipedia]

10. Application that may help reduce crow's-feet: EYE GEL.

11. Game show climax, often: BONUS ROUND.

12. Garbage feature: ODOR.  Smell or reek.

13. Mind, as a bar: TEND.  To apply oneself to the care of something.

18. Doc intended to prevent leaks: NDA.  Non-Disclosure Agreement.

23. Windy City airport code: ORD.  Chicago O'hare International Airport.

25. Ariana Grande's "God __ Woman": IS A.

27. Gulf of Aden republic: YEMEN.    A country in Western Asia, on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and shares maritime borders with Eritrea, Djibouti, Somaliland and Somalia.

28. Evoking the past: RETRO.

29. "Just wait a bit more!": BEAR WITH ME.  How much can you put up with?

31. Tie for roasting: TRUSS.  

32. Remove, as a ribbon: UNTIE.

33. Painted Desert landform: MESA.  Flat topped, steep sided hill.

34. Leak out slowly: SEEP.  As though a porous material or small holes/

35. Stinging insects: WASPS.   Winged insects related to the bee and ant that have a slender body with the abdomen attached by a narrow stalk and that in females and workers are capable of giving a very painful sting.

40. Regimen with Workouts of the Day: CROSS FIT.  A high-intensity fitness program incorporating elements from several sports and types of exercise.

41. Ambiguous point: GRAY AREA.  Region of uncertainty.

45. Podcast interrupters: ADS.  Annoyances.

47. Org. regulating pesticides: EPA.  Environmental Protection Agency/

48. Mischief-maker: RASCAL.

49. Freestyle skier Gu who won two gold medals at the 2022 Winter Olympics: EILEEN.  Eileen Feng Gu (born September 3, 2003), also known by her Chinese name Gu Ailing (Chinese: 谷爱凌), is an American-born freestyle skier, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and model. She has competed for China in halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air events since 2019.

Wikipedia

53. Where to wear a metti: TOE.  A toe ring.

54. Auction actions: BIDS.  Offer (a certain price) for something, especially at an auction.

55. Old Testament twin: ESAU.  Older brother of Jacob.

57. "In that case ... ": IF SO.  Well, maybe then . . .

59. Terrarium plant: FERN.   A class of nonflowering vascular plants that possess true roots, stems, and complex leaves and that reproduce by spores.

60. Bust: RAID.  As by narcotics police.

61. "__-dokey!": OKEY.  Phrase of agreement.

64. Foundry delivery: ORE.  To me smelted.

65. Place to retire: BED.  For the night, not permanently.

So ends another Wednesday.  Hope you were up to the challenge.

Afterthought: The last time I blogged I mentioned that granddaughter Amanda had informed me that sit-ups were a disfavored exercise.  This got some push back.  Yes, it's true that sit-ups and crunches have been around for a long time.  But it's also true that with the passage of time we occasionally  learn more and better information; and that the old way of doing things is not always the best.  My first thought was that someone who has recently earned professional certification in a certain field might actually know what she's talking about.  The reality is that a perfectly executed sit up might have some benefit in developing core muscles.  But in terms of risk and reward, it's a bad bargain. The risks are that if not perfectly done, sit-ups can cause a bulge in the lower abdomen - exactly the opposite of what is desired; and, even worse, damage the lower back.  Further, there are more effective exercises that do not pose these risks.  For more information you can google "don't do sit ups" and find several pages of detail.

Cool regards!

JzB