Saturday, August 20, 2022, Matthew Stock and Christina Iverson

 

Themeless Puzzle by Matthew Stock and Christina Iverson 

This challenging puzzle was a collaboration with our new Florida 8th grade math teacher Matthew Stock and Patti's assistant puzzle editor from Ames, Iowa, Christina Iverson. Names and modern slang might have made this a "37. Tough going: SLOG" for some.

Across:

1. Sign of shock: GASP.

5. __ shop: MALT - Sandy, Danny and the crew at one

9. Pottery and printmaking: ARTS.

13. World Golf Hall of Famer Lorena: OCHOA.

15. Jelly that may be added to boba tea: ALOE - What does ALOE jelly taste like?

16. Device with threads: LOOM.

17. Skirt: SHIRK - Liza Doolittle's dad Alfie's philosophy in My Fair Lady

18. Dark days or long days: SOLSTICES - The day is the same length on the Winter and Summer SOLSTICES but the amount of daylight is the least around December 21 and the most around June 21 for those of us north of the equator.

20. Woman whose immortalized cell line was used in developing the polio vaccine: HENRIETTA LACKS - The amazing story of her HeLa cells

22. "I feel seen": IT ME - Recent slang for "It's me". 

23. "RuPaul's Drag Race Live!" regular O'Hara: ASIA - Here ya go

24. Taxing time?: MID APRIL.

28. __ bar: TAPAS - Last Saturday we had 54. Patatas bravas, por ejemplo: TAPA - "Spicy Potatoes" in a TAPA bar

31. Big finish: BANG - You certainly know the classical musical piece that uses these for its big finish

32. Go for the win, in Clue: ACCUSE - Matthew and Christina at their desks with a computer

34. "__ Luna": Allende novel: EVA - A Chilean author

35. Accutane target: ACNE.

36. Inseparable: THICK - THICK as thieves 

38. "Awkward Black Girl" creator: RAE.

39. Insolent: CHEEKY - Add to the list

40. French dip?: PLIE.

41. Traditional Islamic garment: BURQA.

43. Navajo taco base: FRY BREAD.

45. Trick: DUPE.

47. __ noodle: POOL.

48. "That's what you're bragging about? You do you ... ": WEIRD FLEX BUT OK - Weird (or odd) flex but OK is a snarky, mocking internet slang response to when someone brags about something deemed unusual, bizarre, baffling, or questionable.

54. "Say what?": COME AGAIN - I would have said that if I heard the phrase above

55. Japanese mushroom: ENOKI - In many crossword dishes

56. Smudge: BLOT.

57. Emily Oster's subj.: ECON - This professor of ECONOMICS also writes books on this topic

58. Court apparel: SKORT - A portmanteau of SKirt and shORTs

59. Bonus rooms: DENS - Sometimes a byproduct of "empty nest syndrome"

60. Disallow: DENY.

61. Shutter part: SLAT.

Down:

1. "Goodness me": GOSH.

2. Heating pad target: ACHE - I prefer ice on my back ACHE

3. One guarded on a soccer pitch: SHIN - They're usually worn as a pair

4. Fabled food that's bear-ly eaten?: PORRIDGE - Fun

5. Competition series that features Mystery Box and Pressure Test challenges: MASTER CHEF - You've got 45 minutes to make a dish out of what's in this box. Go!

6. So much: A LOT.

7. "Mozart in the Jungle" star Kirke: LOLA - Based on a true story of an oboe player trying to get into the NY Philharmonic. 

8. Electric company?: TESLA.

9. Keys on a piano: ALICIA.

10. "She put the Miss in misdemeanor when she stole the beans from Lima" singers: ROCKAPELLA - Another portmanteau - ROCK and A CAPELLA

11. Low digits: TOES.

12. Texting inits.: SMS - We set up Joann's mother's 100th birthday via texting (Short Messaging Service). It makes for a lot less phone tag.

14. Breed from Honshu: AKITA.

19. Work with one's buds?: TASTE - Fun cluing

21. Mantis of "Guardians of the Galaxy," for one: EMPATH - More

24. Gambling mecca near Hong Kong: MACAU.

25. Dark aspect of one's persona: INNER DEMON.

26. More aloof: ICIER.

27. Change of fortune?: LUCKY PENNY - Find a penny, pick it up...

29. Skirt: AVOID.

30. Mint family herb: SAGE - So is catnip

31. Fence-sitter's deterrent: BARB - Uh, I'm not sitting on that fence

33. Stadium suite: SKYBOX - One from which you can watch the Dallas Cowboys

37. Goes underground: SPELUNKS - No Way!

39. Three-time Best Director of the 1930s: CAPRA - Frank also got three other nominations

42. Mollifies: QUIETS - HUMORS and QUELLS at _ U _ _ _ S? Nah.

44. Court apparel: ROBES.

46. Having clear boundaries: EDGED - Sidewalk/lawn grooming

48. Soyinka who was the first Literature Nobelist from sub-Saharan Africa: WOLE.

49. Head space?: FACE.

50. Sword-wielding animal on Sri Lanka's flag: LION - Your assignment: Find it in this group of 20 Asian flags (answer at bottom of write-up)

51. A crow's twig, e.g.: TOOL.

52. Cajun staple: OKRA.

53. Catwoman player: KITT - Here are the players

54. Oil in some pet treats, for short: CBD -  Cannabidiol (CBD) is an active ingredient in cannabis that is derived from the hemp plant, but it does not cause a high and is not addictive.

I'm sure you saw the Sri Lankan flag is second from the left on the bottom row.

Friday, August 19, 2022, Rebecca Goldstein

Title: Liar Liar pants on fire!

With our new editorial staff we are seeing a stream of new female constructors bringing their perspective to the puzzle world. Today is a classic Friday theme where rather than add letters we remove letters and then clue the result to make witty sense. Rebecca's choice is the ambitious trigram LIE, which she supplements with the uncommon Friday reveal. Since her mainstream puzzle debut on Groundhog Day 2021, she has more than 20 published efforts. She shows her skills by including a bunch of long non-theme fill ASSAILS, RAMPS UP,  EGG TIMER, GOLD STAR, SLED RACE, WE'RE HOME, POPS WHEES, SHOE HORNS, SORRY CHAR and SWEATSUIT.  Impressive. Let us move to the theme.

18A. *Sounds when Dad is on the roller coaster?: POPS WHEELIES. Your father screaming on the roller coaster expands to his making his bike (motor or not?) doing wheelies. I could not find a good video.

24A. *Football official who makes the absolute worst calls?: DISASTER RELIEF. An incompetent referee becomes the center of humanitarian aid.

47A. *Extremely poor student?: LORD OF THE FLIES. This is my favorite as dubbing a bad student as the Lord of the Fs and then referencing a classic book read in school was great. 

56A. *Woefully inadequate crust on a steak?: SORRY CHARLIE. Another fun reference to the old Star-Kist TV commercial though what a lacking crust might be. 

And the reveal:

35A. "You can't deny it," and a good question about the answers to the starred clues: WHERE IS THE LIE. Not crazy about this clue or the placing a reveal in the middle of the puzzle, but it certainly tells the story.

Now that we have done part I, lets see the rest.

Across:

1. Diamond-studded watch, e.g.: BLING. This filled immediately but I can see it might have made some unhappy.

6. Drama award: OBIE. Off Broadway equivalent of a Tony. 

10. Greek peak: OSSA. Rising from a broad, steep-sided plateau to a pyramidal peak of 6,489 feet (1,978 m), the mountain is noted in mythology for the attempt of the Aloads, sons of the sea god Poseidon, to climb to heaven by placing Ossa on Olympus and the Pelion (Pílios) Mountains on Ossa. Britannica.
            

14. "On the Media" medium: RADIO. On the Media (OTM) is an hour-long weekly radio program hosted by Brooke Gladstone, covering journalism, technology, and First Amendment issues. Wiki.

15. Underwhelming: SO SO. So what?

16. Temple athletes: OWLS. This Philadelphia University has produced some successful graduates. A LIST. To honor Temple's beginning as a night school for ambitious young people, the nocturnal owl was adopted as its mascot. 

17. Former NBA center who made only one three-point shot in his career: O'NEAL. He tried 22 times .
                            
20. Tower of note: AAA. The company that tows cars, hardy har har.

21. "You wouldn't __!": DARE. I already did!

23. Adjective on taco truck menus: ASADA. From the Spanish for grilled I think. 

28. Start to cycle?: TRI. Cute, tricycle.

29. Minute: ITSY. Bitsy teenie weenie...

30. Ingest: EAT. This makes the process seem awful.

31. Margarita condimento: SAL. Spanish for salt.

32. Span. title: SRA. Continuing the trend, Senorita, a miss.

33. Business closing?: INC. This is the last part of a business name e.g. Crossword Corner, Inc.

34. Florida NFLers: BUCS. We have three NFL teams, The Jaguars from Jacksonville, the once mighty Miami Dolphins and the Tom Brady led Tampa Bucs.

39. Old Royale 8's: REOS. A car made by that company.

Pretty classy.

40. "I hate it": UGH. Also 46A. Response from the underwhelmed: MEH. 61A. "Yeah, don't think so": UM NO. The flowery speech of modern times.

41. "Trust your __": GUT. This has become an accepted way to live, why?

42. Exist: ARE. To be or not to be.

43. For: PRO. Against: Anti.

44. Pen pals?: HOGS. Cute, in their pigpen.

52. Prefix meaning "light": PHOTO. word-forming element meaning "light" or "photographic" or "photoelectric," from Greek photo-, combining form of phōs (genitive phōtos) "light."

54. Bread served with saag paneer: ROTI. We must first learn that saag paneer is a spinach based dish popular in Indian culture, then the fill is easy.

55. Maracanã Stadium city: RIO. Maracanã Stadium, officially named Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, is an association football stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

59. Single-sex group of experts: MANEL. An appropriate feminist portmanteau for Man (only Pan) el. 

62. The Hawkeye State: IOWA. Most sources say that Iowa's Hawkeye State nickname was inspired by a Native American warrior named Black Hawk and/or the character of Hawkeye in James Fenimore Cooper's novel The Last of the Mohicans. Though the exact history of the name is debated, most Iowans proudly refer to themselves as Hawkeyes.

63. Banish: EXILE. 

64. Younger sibling, stereotypically: PEST. I was the youngest so I guess I was the pest.

65. Study __: SESH. Dictionary says / (sɛʃ) / noun. slang short for session.

66. Pond plants: REEDS.  Reeds and rushes are pond plants that will attract wildlife such as hummingbirds, dragonflies and butterflies to you water feature.

Down:

1. Far-reaching: BROAD. I think this is very insulting and unfair as women deserve respect even if they are ... oh, sorry. 

2. Poipu patio: LANAI. A very pretty area in Hawaii.

3. Notes app entries: IDEAS. I guess that is the idea but I imagine most just put in reminders.

4. Actress Long: NIA. Actress, Producer, Singer SUPERSTAR. This impressive lady.

5. "Well done, you!": GOLD STAR. Did you get these in school?

6. Hawk in a duet: OSPREY. This sounds so familiar but refuses to come to the surface. Help musicians, please.

7. Bronx cheer leader: BOOER. The term Bronx cheer is named for a borough of New York, the Bronx, and presumably the inhabitants' propensity to employ their tongues to express derisive feelings when a sports team does not perform up to par. See Yankees.

8. Co. for surfers: ISP. Internet Service Provider.

9. Maker of The Hero and The Fixer lip care products: EOS. Two of their lip balm products.

10. Sounds of awe: OOHS. And aahs? 

11. Work-from-home attire, for many: SWEAT SUIT. I no longer own any, but in Florida it is shorts and flip flops.

12. The Iditarod, e.g.: SLED RACE. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, more commonly known as The Iditarod, is an annual long-distance sled dog race run in early March. It travels from Anchorage to Nome, entirely within the US state of Alaska. WIKI.

13. Goes after: ASSAILS. A fancy word for attacking someone. Etymology  "attack violently," c. 1200, from Old French assalir "attack, assault, assail." 

19. Drift, as an aroma: WAFT. I love the smell of coffee brewing when I am getting up. Sadly for Oo she does not.

22. @ signs: ATS. a gimme.

25. Buenos __: AIRES. We are back in South America.

26. Flat bread?: RENT. Another classic misdirection with flat = apartment and bread = money.

27. A throw: EACH. A piece. 

32. Makes fit, in a way: SHOE HORNS. A picture clue.

33. "Thereabouts": ISH. I will see you 7ish.

34. Rosé: BLUSH. Don't whine, this is wine. I defer to C Moe to discuss this blend. My d-i-l use WHINE as her WORDLE word every day; last two days the answers were WHILE and TWANG = two 2s.

35. "Did you miss us?": WE'RE HOME. We are the 'us' here so we don't get to say this often.

36. 100 cents: EURO. Did you know the EURO used cents?

37. Rangers goalie Shesterkin: IGOR. Goodbye Igor, Eyegor here is a very New York clue/fill. In the 2021–22 NHL season he won the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender.

38. Kitchen counter?: EGG TIMER. Another nice pun.

39. Increases quickly: RAMPS UP.

43. Ruse: PLOY. In the top 5.

44. "Yippee!": HOORAH. Very marine...

45. O'er and o'er: OFT. 

48. Doodles: DRAWS.

49. "Rubber Duckie" singer: ERNIE. Not Bert, but...
                            

50. Sally of "Brothers & Sisters": FIELD. Even multiple Academy Award winners must work.

51. Red parts of Louboutin shoes: SOLES.
                        

53. Moderate pace: TROT. Don't rush. 

57. Prefix with gender: CIS. Cisgender, or simply cis, is an adjective that describes a person whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth.

58. Gardener's tool: HOE. Ho, ho, that is a trap to which I will not go. I think Erle wrote about Perry Mason, among others.

60. Logger's tool: AXE. What are logging tools?

Cant Hooks. Steel Cant Hooks. Aluminum Cant Hooks.

Log Peaveys. Steel Log Peaveys. Hookaroons. Steel Hookaroons. Log Arches. Junior Log Arch. Buck Arch Log Arch. Log Carriers. Timber Tongs. 2-Person Log Carrier.

Axes are for wimps, but they are cute and my personal favorite band.

Handicapped by a hand that was assailed by my grand puppy, Remus the Jack Russell, I did not get to start until tonight and I hope we had a good time and I made enough sense as I ploughed through. This was a fun puzzle from an impossibly busy new constructor. I look forward to your comments and thank you Rebecca, all who read, all who write, C.C. and Boomer and keep good wishes flowing for them and the whole 

world. Lemonade out.

 

Thursday, August 18, 2022 Chase Dittrich

 

  School Crossings

With 4 LAT puzzles under his belt, Chase Dittrich definitely qualifies as a Corner veteran.  He is also a Marine Corp veteran and has had 4 puzzles published in the New York Times, including a Sunday.   And be sure to check out Husker's review of Chase's and Jeff Chen's February 12, 2022 themeless outing for Jeff Chen's lavish praise of Chase. (😄)

Today Chase's theme schools us in a bit of  "circular reasoning", something he apparently learned as a math major in college.  So we don't get too lost, we'll start with the reveal and the grid.

37A. Places with guards, and what can be found six times in this puzzle: SCHOOL CROSSINGS. Does your school district have formal training for its crossing guards?  The splash video above will give you some tips about how they operate.

The "six times" Chase refers to are the 6 circles in the grid where the answers to 10 theme clues intersect.  The answer to each of the themers has a double-meaning with the second being a type of school.  Thus we have 10 SCHOOL CROSSINGS:  
 

Here are the themers:

1D. Captivate: CHARM.  To entice.  Or a CHARM SCHOOL, aka a finishing school for teaching "social graces" to young women.  I think young men might need them more. 

23A. T-shirt size: Abbr.: MED.  Baltimore has 2 top flight MED SCHOOLS: at Johns Hopkins University and the University of  MD.  I  use to work as a lab tech at both and in IT at the latter.

7D. Sous-chef's work: PREP.  The character Everton in the "Chef" clip at 1A below is a sous-chef.  Or an abbreviation for an academic finishing school, i.e. a college PREParatory SCHOOL. 

10D. Not permanent: ACTING.   Someone filling a position temporarily or until they are officially confirmed. OTOH, if you're interested in getting your name in lights, here are the 25 top ACTING SCHOOLS in the world.

18A. Uncomplicated: ELEMENTARY.  Looks can be deceiving.  Until 1964 physicists thought that protons and neutrons were uncomplicated.  OTOH ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS are simply for children in grades 1-6.

55D. Swap: TRADE.  Barter.  OTOH a TRADE SCHOOL, (also known as a technical or vocational school) is a post-secondary educational institution designed to train students for a specific job in a skilled trade career.  They are generally far less costly than 4 year college programs and depending on the specialty can pay very well (had any plumbing work done lately?).  Here are some programs in the Maryland area.

53A. "How Great Thou __": ART.   "How Great Thou Art" is a Christian hymn based on an original Swedish hymn.  It is often sung at funerals.  For those who'd like to hear it, here's a powerful performance by CW singer Carrie Underwood (make sure you get out your hankies!).  OTOH an ART SCHOOL is a place to hone the skills needed for fine arts professions such as painting, sculpting, graphic design or teaching art.  The Maryland Institute College of Art, aka "MICA" (see also 62A ) is the Baltimore school where some of my ceramics teachers studied.

46D. Dead Sea Scrolls language: HEBREW.   The Israel Museum in Jerusalem has an exhibit of the scrolls and their relationship to the Hebrew Bible.  A HEBREW SCHOOL, also called a Yeshiva is a Jewish parochial school that does much more than just teach the Hebrew language.

58A. Air conditioner setting: HIGH.  AC setting these days in many parts of the country, or a HIGH SCHOOL for grades 9-12, unless your district has Middle schools for grades 7-9.

60. "Literature in a hurry," per Matthew Arnold: JOURNALISM.   Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. I think that Arnold expected journalism to be something that it was never intended to be. But according to this author, that is no reason why journalism can't be well written.  Here's a review of 12 US JOURNALISM SCHOOLS that can improve the odds of that happening.  The rise of the Internet has seen the advent of a lot of amateur journalists, not always to good effect.

IMHO, sussing the theme from just the reveal would have been tricky without the circles, especially the 4 schools above and beyond the 6 implied in the reveal (a red herring if I ever saw one).  That said I think this puzzle was very clever and its construction, with or without circles, must have been a real bear.

Here are the rest of the clues:

Across:

1. Stylish eatery word: CHEZ.  A pretentious way of saying "at the house of" and today's premier leçon français.  This reminds me of the hilarious BBC series "Chef!" about Le Chateau Anglais,  a French restaurant in the English countryside.  The Chef is Gareth Blackstock, played by comedian Lenny Henry, as a talented, arrogant, tyrannical obsessive who has endlessly inventive insults for his staff, unknowing customers, and almost anyone else he encounters.  Here he locks horns with his wife Janice over the price of turkeys (2:18 min):

5. Irish icon, informally: ST PAT.  A storied saint, who seems to be the patron of  crossword puzzle constructors.  His feast day is March 17th, a good day to plant peas, or so the story goes.
 

St Patrick
Cathedral of Christ the Light,
Oakland, California

 

10. Many moons: AGES.

14. "Buenos días": HOLA. Today's Spanish lesson, and a double CSO to Lucina!

15. Google __: EARTH.  Brought to you by the creators of Blogger, Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery (see also 9D). The program maps the Earth by superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and GIS data onto a 3D globe, allowing users to see cities and landscapes from various angles.  Here's a snippet from a Google Earth view of the LA Times roof  (if you look closely you can just make out Patti's office on the top floor right Corner):

LA Times Offices
11th Street NW

16. Bit of thunder: CLAP.  Please hold your applause (or raspberries) until I'm finished.

17. Roguish: ARCH.  I don't think our Archbishop is.  He seems like a nice person to me.

20. Shower unit?: RAINDROP.  Technically speaking it would be an H2O molecule.

22. Litmus reddeners: ACIDS.  And BASES make litmus paper bluer.   Litmus papers indicate whether a solution is ACIDIC (e.g. Hydrochloric acid) or BASIC (e.g. Lye):

But these are "either/or" tests.  If you need to determine the specific degree of ACIDITY or BASICITY (aka alkalinity), then you need to determine its pH, a scale with a range of 1 (most acidic) to 14 (most alkaline).   Rather than a simple binary RED/BLUE response, pH papers such as the product shown below, give you a reading of the specific pH.  This is very useful, e.g. for testing the soil of a vegetable garden.  Most garden vegetables like a pH of about 7, but some have specific preferences.  pH can also be tested electronically.  Here's some information on pH testers for gardens.
 

pH paper

24. Kylo __: Ben Solo's chosen name: REN.   I don't speak Star Warsese, but this might help you understand this obviously conflicted person.
 

Ben Solo
played by Adam Driver

25. Before thou know'st: ANON  Also a famous and very prolific author.

26. Unexpected blessing: GODSEND.  A Deus ex Machina, or one of these ...?
 

28. Places to get in shape: GYMS.

32. Corp. shuffle: REORG.  This happened to me a couple of times.  One minute you're IN THE LOOP, the next you're not.

35. Half of deux: UNE.  Two divided by two = one and today's deuxième leçon français.

36. Small battery: AAA.

42. Old tape type: VHS.

43. "Shine a Little Love" band, familiarly: ELO.  The Electric Light Orchestra (or at least their acronym) is a favorite of puzzle constructors.  Here's the song  and lyrics (4:12 min):

44. Joplin's "Me and Bobby __": MCGEE.  Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970 - sadly a member of the 27 club) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known female rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage presence.  She started out as lead singer for Big Brother and the Holding Company and rose to fame after playing at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.  Here's my favorite (3:31 min),  lyrics:

45. "Hunny" bear: POOH.  One of the great things about being a grandparent is getting to watch all of those old shows over again (and over, and over ...!)
 

Pooh and his hunny

47. Flub, as an easy grounder: MISPLAY.

50. Kitchen initialism popularized by Rachael Ray: EVOO.  A frequent ingredient in crossword puzzles because of its high vowel content.  Here's everything you'd want to know about extra virgin olive oil .  The freshly pressed olive oil we once bought at an olive grove in the Texas hill country actually had a peppery taste, unlike any we've had since.

52. West Coast NFL team, on scoreboards: LAR.  Los Angeles Rams.

56. Plane area: CABIN.

58. Big blow: HAYMAKER.

62. Layered mineral: MICA.  When I was about 12 I found a very large piece of MICA in a gully.  It appeared very exotic and extraordinarily different from anything I'd ever seen before (12 year olds are easily impressed).  Here is the transparent variety of the mineral (known as Muscovite), large sheets of which were used in the past as windows in furnaces and horse drawn carriages:

Muscovite Mica

63. Gala: FETE.  According to WikiDiff these are not exact synonyms:

64. Doctrine: DOGMA. While this term is generally associated with religion, Etymology Online defines this as "a settle opinion, a principle held as being firmly established, e.g. "settled science", an oxymoron if I ever heard one.

65. Egg on: PROD. I try not to get EGG ON my face, but sometimes I duck fast enough.

66. Don't have to assume: KNOW.  If you want to know how we KNOW, this might help.

67. __ Allen furniture: ETHAN.  A reference to this company, which took its name from this Revolutionary War hero.

Ethan Allen 1777

68. Levelheaded: SANE.  From the Latin sanus "sound, healthy".  More etymology.

Down:

2. Goddesses of the seasons: HORAE.  As the Greeks recognized only three seasons: spring, summer, and autumn, there were only three main HORAE, but there were others who represented the "natural positions of time".  Their naming and genealogy seems a bit complicated.
 

Horae Serenae
Edward Poynter, 1894

3. Iberian folk hero: EL CID.  Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043 – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and warlord in medieval Spain. Fighting with both Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific al-sīd, which would evolve into El Cid ("the lord"), and the Spanish moniker El Campeador ("the champion").  By all accounts he was a remarkable warrior and a master strategist and tactician.

El Cid

4. Journalist Paula: ZAHN.  Paula Ann Zahn (/zɑːn/; born February 24, 1956) is an American journalist and newscaster who has been an anchor at ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, and CNN. She currently produces and hosts the true crime documentary series On the Case with Paula Zahn on the Investigation Discovery channel.  And a CSO to Husker.
 

Paula Zahn

5. Get sore: SEERED.  SEETHED wouldn't fit, but "Singed" would have fit as a clue.

6. Claws: TALONS.  The weapon of choice of birds of prey.  Here's everyone's favorite raptor on this side of the pond:

 American Bald Eagle

8. NCR device: ATM.  NCR Corporation, previously known as National Cash Register, is an American software, consulting and technology company providing several professional services and electronic products. It manufactures self-service kiosks, point-of-sale terminals, automated teller machines, cheque processing systems, and barcode scanners.

9. Highest mountain range outside of Asia: THE ANDES.  They may not be the highest in the world, but they are the longest.  You can display them from Google Earth by clicking on this link (if you're prompted for which app to use, click on Earth)   Zoom in and rotate the globe with your mouse if you like.  Don't forget to take along some oxygen!  [NOTE: running this on a smartphone requires the Google Earth app].
 

The Andes Mountain Range

11. Pleased: GLAD.

12. Hearing things: EARS.

13. View: SPY.

19. Sgt. or cpl.: NCO.  Non Commissioned Officer.

21. Khal __ of "Game of Thrones": DROGO.  This is all about Jason Momoa, who played Drogo.  This is all about Drogo.

Khal Drogo

25. Dating profile word?: ANNO.  Swipe right if you thought this was a Kinder reference?

26. Miracle-__: GRO.  My father swore by it.  We like the kinder, gentler organic fertilizer Epoma Garden Tone:

27. Continental capital: EUROS.  Dollar wouldn't fit, so it couldn't have been Australia.

29. "Fire Island" actor Bowen: YANG.   Fire Island is a 2022 American romantic comedy film directed by Andrew Ahn, and written by and starring Joel Kim Booster. The film co-stars Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora, James Scully, and Margaret Cho. Inspired by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, the story follows a group of gay friends who go on vacation to Fire Island, only for things to become complicated by classism and romance.

Bowen Yang

30. World of Warcraft class: MAGE.  World of Warcraft (WoW) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment.  A mage (also called magus, magician or wizard) is a damage-dealing spell-caster.  Scary looking!

Mage Crest

31. Enc. for a 32-Down: SASE.  Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope.

32. Invitation letters: RSVP.  Répondez š'il Vous Plaît.  "Please respond".  The troisième leçon français.

33. Zoom meeting annoyance: ECHO.  LAG was too short.

34. Extremely: OH SO.

38. Beyoncé album and film of 2016:  LEMONADE.  A CSO to our Corner Historian.  Also  the sixth studio album by American singer Beyoncé. It was released on April 23, 2016 and was accompanied by a 65-minute film of the same title. It's her second "visual album" and also a concept album with a song cycle that relates her emotional journey after her husband's infidelity.  I was not familiar with her work and found it impressive. Here's the first track, Pray You Catch Me (3:16 min); lyrics:

39. Award named for a Muse: CLIO.  The Clio Awards (also simply known as the Clios) is an annual award program that recognizes innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design, and communication.  The program was named for Clio, the Greek Muse of history.  I'm not sure what the connection is, but I think they could put a little more "creative excellence" into their logo:

40. Insincere flattery: SMARM.  I suspect we'd see a lot of this at the 39D awards ceremonies.

41. Less than friendly: ICY.  The 39D losers would probably be ICY.

48. Red Cross supply: PLASMA.  PLASMA is one of 4 major components of the blood.  IIRC you can donate plasma only and get your RED CELLS back, if you don't mind waiting for them to spin the whole blood down and transfuse the cells back into your system. 

49. Nonprofessional: LAYMAN.

51. "The Voice of the Dodgers" Scully: VIN.  Vincent Edward Scully (November 29, 1927 – August 2, 2022), the announcer for the Dodgers for  67 (!!!) series.  And not just their voice, but "The voice of baseball".  We lost him just a little over two weeks ago.
 

Vin Scully
1985

Listen to him narrate some of the openings of some classic World Series ...

53. Director Kurosawa: AKIRA.  Akira Kurosawa (March 23, 1910 – September 6, 1998) was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in film history.  Rashomon, which premiered in Tokyo, became the surprise winner of the Golden Lion at the 1951 Venice Film Festival. Kurosawa, is probably best known as the creator of the Seven Samurai, which was later adapted in the American western The Magnificent Seven.
 

Akira Kurosawa
on the set of the
Seven Samurai 1953

54. Intel mission: RECON.

56. Last name of both "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" filmmakers: COEN.  Favorite directors of crossword constructors. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a 2018 American Western anthology film written, directed, and produced by the Coen brothers. It had a limited theatrical release, being primarily intended for Netflix television (this one flew under my radar scope) and features six vignettes that take place on the American frontier.  Here's the trailer:

57. Wheels: AUTO.   Components of a noun used as its synonym.

59. Concert gear: AMPS.  Or units of electrical current.

60. NYC hub: JFK.

61. Auction unit: LOT.  I liked this puzzle a LOT.

waseeley

And thanks as always to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive suggestions.

Cheers,

Bill

Chase Dittrich, you are invited to post anything you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever, in the Comments section below.  We'd love to hear from you.

Wednesday, August 17, 2022, Katherine Baicker & Scott Earl

Theme: 

 

 

20. *Rehearsed reply: CANNED RESPONSE.
 

41. *Knowledge based on empirical evidence: GROUND TRUTH.

35. *Spoke indirectly: MINCED WORDS.

 

52. Something to chew on, and a hint to the answers to the starred clues: FOOD FOR THOUGHT. 

 

I like it.  CANNED, GROUND, and MINCED are all food terms, and here they each pair with a second word to form a phrase about thoughts. 

 

Melissa here. We've seen Katherine Baicker before on May 19th (when Malodorous Manatee linked to her Wiki page), and most recently on July 7th. This appears to be the first collaboration with Scott Earl, who we haven't seen before. Welcome, Scott, and welcome back, Katherine.

Across:

1. Young amiga: CHICA. In Spanish (and also Portuguese), amiga is female friend. Chica is young girl.

6. Austen heroine played by Anya Taylor-Joy: EMMA.

10. Turner in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: TINA. Ageless, along with 50A.

14. Spanish "That's enough!": NO MAS. The expression no más in Spanish means “no more.” Its specific sense can vary depending on context, however, and it can also translate to “enough,” “no longer,” or “just.” In Italian, "that's enough" is basta. I often heard my Italian former FIL say that to his wife.

15. Competed (for): VIED.

16. Willing to talk: OPEN.

17. Brolly carriers: BRITS. The origin of brolly is an alteration of (um)brell(a) dating back to around 1870-1875. Although the term stems from the extracted 'brell,' this is thought to have changed over time as language developed.

18. "Done venting!": END OF RANT.

22. "Mom" actor Corddry: NATE.

23. Dim sum beverage: TEA. Tips for pairing dim sum with tea. 

24. Sporty option: T-TOP.

26. Debonair: SUAVE.

30. Target of some mining: DATA.

34. Omega, to an electrician: OHM. The ohm (Ω) is the SI derived unit of electrical resistance, named after German physicist Georg Ohm. (SI = International System of Units.)

37. Unlikely esports champions: NOOBS. Noob is a slang term that is used to refer to inexperienced players in a multiplayer gaming environment. Noob is derived from “newbie” and is considered to be a derogatory term. A low-level character may also be referred to as a noob regardless of the skill of the player controlling it. Noob may also be spelled as newb or n00b. Certain behavior may also be called noobish.

39. Lithium-__ battery: ION.

40. "The Jetsons" dog: ASTRO.

44. Good times: FUN.

45. Two-time Wimbledon winner Murray: ANDY. Tennis.

46. Soprano Fleming: RENEE. One of the most highly-acclaimed singers of our time, performing on the stages of the world's greatest opera houses and concert halls. Renée's new single, Before the Deluge with Alison Krauss, Rhiannon Giddens, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

47. Less than some: NONE.

48. Island ring: LEI.

50. "Believe" diva: CHER. Known as "The Goddess of Pop," now 76 years old, she's been performing since 1963, and still selling out shows.

59. "Go figure!": FANCY THAT.

60. Black-and-white dunkers: OREOS.

61. Black-and-white swimmer: ORCA.

62. "Veep" award: EMMY. Veep won 17 Emmys total, including: 2012 (Lead Actress), 2013 (Lead Actress and Supporting Actor), 2014 (Lead Actress), 2015 (Outstanding Comedy Series, Writing, Lead Actress, and Supporting Actor), 2016 (Lead Actress, and Outstanding Comedy Series), (Lead Actress, and Outstanding Comedy Series), 2017 (Lead Actress, and Outstanding Comedy Series), and 2019 (Lead Actress, Supporting Actress, and Outstanding Comedy Series). Wow. I feel like I should watch it now, since I never did.

63. Cosmic comeuppance: KARMA.

64. Spa treatment: PEEL. Chemical resurfacing procedure that removes the top layer of skin, reduces wrinkles and leaves softer, smoother skin.

65. Sincere: REAL.

66. Sneakier: SLYER.

Down: 

1. "American Greed" channel: CNBC.

2. Wedding ring?: HORA. Nice clue. Hora is a Romanian or Israeli dance in which the performers form a circle, or ring.

3. "Do not push me right now": I'M IN NO MOOD. Well ... a bad one.

4. Revitalizing snooze: CATNAP.

5. Interview talking point: ASSET.

6. "Best. Day. __!": EVER. Great song, although the name of the band is actually Sly and the Family Stone (not Stallone, as youtube decription shows 🤣).

7. "Dibs!": MINE.

8. Rx orders: MEDS. The shortened Rx in the clue indicates the shortened answer meds.

9. Enlarged one's family, in a way: ADOPTED.

10. Storms that may be chased: TORNADOS. I lived through a few tornadoes in Oklahoma as a teen, and chasing one would not be on my agenda.

11. Some "hazy" brews, for short: IPAS. From The Guardian: The initials stand for India pale ale. It was the answer to the problem of providing beer for the British Empire in the east. It was too hot to brew in India, so what was needed was a beer that could survive the grueling six-month journey from Britain intact.

12. State bird that sometimes nests on lava fields: NENE. The Hawaiian name “nene” comes from the bird's soft, almost gentle call. The literal translation of the word in olelo Hawaii (Hawaiian language) means “to chirp, as a cricket; to croak … whimpering, as a sleeping infant.” The look similar to Canadian Geese, and are, in fact, descended from them. 7 Fun Facts About the Nene, or Hawaiian Goose.

13. Tiny toiler: ANT. E. O. Wilson, the famous entomologist and world's foremost expert on ants, passed away in December of 2021. He inspired many young people to learn about ants (including my son, when he was about six). PBS has a documentary about him and his studies, Of Ants and Men, and his memoir Naturalist is wonderful.

 

19. Adversary: FOE.

21. "The Daily Show" correspondent Lydic: DESI. Trevor Noah's show.

24. Fiji neighbor: TONGA.

25. Side issue?: THORN. The worst! Also called a "stitch," doctors sometimes call them exercise-related transient abdominal pain (ETAP).

27. Come together: UNITE.

28. Oak of the future: ACORN. Mighty oaks, from little acorns grow.

29. Locale: VENUE.

31. Museum curator's concern: ART FORGERY. The best movies about fake paintings and forgeries.

32. Successful sprint to the end zone, briefly: TD RUN. Here again, "briefly" indicates the shortened TD for touchdown.

33. Together: AS ONE.

35. Bing company: MSN. Google vs Microsoft Bing: A Detailed Comparison of Two Search Engines.

36. Sound that may wake sleeping parents: WAH. Grandparents, too.

38. Patronize neighborhood shops, say: BUY LOCAL.

42. Vagabond: DRIFTER.

43. Georgia __: TECH.

47. Like some biological networks: NEURAL.

49. Dreyer's partner in ice cream: EDY. Learning moment, ice cream maker William Dreyer, and candy maker Joseph Edy together created Dreyer's and EDY's® Ice Cream. Fromo their FAQ: "Dreyer's and Edy's® proudly market our products under Dreyer's Ice Cream west of the Rocky Mountains and in Texas. On the other side of the nation, we proudly market our products under Edy's® Ice Cream in the East."

51. Catchy parts of pop songs: HOOKS.

52. Uber charge: FARE.

53. "Fool me __ ... ": ONCE.

54. Woeful cry: OH ME.

55. Hindu epic hero: RAMA.

56. Short "Chat again soon": TTYL. Talk to you later.

57. Second novel in Marilynne Robinson's "Gilead" series: HOME. Very popular.

58. Winter Palace monarch: TSAR.

59. Snappy dresser: FOP.

Notes from C.C.:

Melissa's sweet granddaughter Harper turned 3 years old! Her bigger sister Jaelyn are in the last three pictures. I had to smile at Melissa's note:  Jaelyn with her karaoke and unique fashion sense