Saturday, August 27, 2022, Rich Norris

 Saturday Themeless by Rich Norris

Our former LA Times Puzzle editor returns as a constructor and is even using his real name and not an anagram. You will be fascinated by this C.C.'s 2009 interview with Rich and also by the pseudonyms and anagrams he used as aliases when posting puzzles. The fact that I have a lifelong problem of spelling AMATEUR and no knowledge of RARE GEM and VEGA were a speed bump. All's well that ends well.  Are you like me in wondering if any of Rich's clues got changed?

Across:

1. File: ARCHIVE.

8. Go as low as: STOOP TO - what one does if he/she 15. Tightens, say: RELACES.

16. Observation when Porky leaves: PIG TAIL.

17. Ready: ON ALERT.

18. "I'll do it": ALLOW ME - Is this okay these days?

19. Pass with a wave?: SAIL BY - Fun clue about a boat on a wave

20. Up to one's eyeballs: IN DEEP.

21. "Street Scene" playwright Rice: ELMER - More. Bugs Bunny's nemesis Fudd ain't cuttin' it on Saturday. 

22. Water line?: WAKE.

23. D.C. United's first home: RFK - That stadium is now deserted and will be torn down

26. Obscures: BEDIMS.

28. Belinda Carlisle album with French songs and Irish musicians: VOILA - Are this and  Chutzpah the most mispronounced/misspelled words in fairly common use in America?

30. Corkers: BEAUTS and 51. Humdinger: RARE GEM - I'm familiar with the former but the latter, not so much

31. Pub freebie: BAR NUT.

32. Confection that reportedly improves heart health: DARK CHOCOLATE.

34. Small tower: TURRET - Here's a Turret on the USS Monitor, the North's iron clad in the Civil war

35. Lots: DOZENS.

36. Companion of Dionysus: SATYR - Here ya go

37. Fit: BELONG - A goal for school kids and, uh, adults too.

38. TY preceder, maybe: PLS - When saying Thank You and PLeaSe just take too much time. Last week Matt and Christina had IT ME substitute for IT'S ME

39. "Never __ the comments": READ.

40. Scoring instructions: TEMPI - Tina Turner's version of Proud Mary has two TEMPI. starts slow and then, BOOM... (4+ min)

44. Saved for later, in a way: TIVOED.

The First One

47. One of the Istari, in Middle-earth: WIZARD - I'll admit I don't know any of them but the fill had to be WIZARD.

48. Tinkerer: AMATEUR - If there's a spelling bee, I hope I don't get this word

50. Disinfectant distilled from needles: PINE OIL - Pine-Sol was based on PINE OIL from Mississippi pine trees when it was created in 1929 and during its rise to national popularity in the 1950s. However, as of 2016, Pine-Sol products sold in stores no longer contain pine oil, which was done to reduce costs. You're welcome.

52. Feature of an assured fit: ONE SIZE - ONE SIZE does not always fit all

53. On point: GERMANE.

54. Scottish dogs: WESTIES - WESTIES and Scottish Terriers are both from Scotland and are closely related but WESTIES are always white and Scottish Terriers are never white.

Down:

1. Stopped lying?: AROSE - STOOD was the right idea but wrong word

2. __ artery: RENAL - The RENAL artery (red) bring oxygenated blood to the kidneys and the RENAL veins take the deoxygenated blood (blue) away

3. Maintain: CLAIM.

4. "Bruised" director: HALLE BERRY - She directed and starred and says she doesn't think she'll do that double duty again.

5. Party exercise: ICE BREAKER - The answers to these questions could be 6. Rather: VERY funny or at least interesting.

7. Suffix for records: EST - The winner of the Olympic 100 meter dash is considered to be the fastEST man in the world

100 meter records since 1900

8. Defeats soundly, in sports slang: SPANKS.

9. Piñata feature: TILDE - Meta cluing. The word Piñata has a TILDE

10. Look that causes discomfort: OGLE.

11. Member of the Siouan family: OTOE.

12. Images on Clemson Tigers merchandise: PAW PRINTS.

13. Cook with a lot of Apples?: TIM - Tim Cook has been the CEO of Apple since 2011

14. Shout of support: OLE.

20. "My goose is cooked": I AM SO DEAD - Do all of you know this lyric: "The movie wasn't so hot, It didn't have much of a plot, We fell asleep, our goose is cooked, Our reputation is shot"?       (* answer at bottom of write-up)

22. Lead-in to draw or hold: WITH - If you WITHDRAW from your job, they will WITHHOLD your pay.

24. Furnace part: FLUE.

25. Dennings of "2 Broke Girls": KAT - After ten minutes I realized that streams of sarcasm and low grade sexual innuendos are not my cup of TV. YMMV.

KAT is on the left

27. Tear __: DUCT.

28. Midwinter honorees: VALENTINES.

29. Grated ingredient in cranberry relish, often: ORANGE ZEST - Three ingredients you see here. Ready? Set on grate.

30. MVP of the first two Super Bowls: BART STARR - Packer QB

31. Clown whose voice inspired Krusty of "The Simpsons": BOZO.

32. Binary: DUAL.

33. Down __: COLD - I may never have the spelling of amateur (thanks auto correct) down COLD.

34. One of six in a fl. oz.: TSP - My physics lab never used oz. or TSP's

37. "Toss a can my way": BEER ME - Give me another brew

39. City on the Seine: ROUEN - The other more famous 5-letter French city on the Seine is only a 1hr 40min drive to the SE on theA13.

41. Don DeLillo title inspired by an Andy Warhol print series: MAO II.

42. Hold dear: PRIZE.

43. Runs without moving: IDLES - Tach reads 900 rpm but the speedometer says 0 mph. To paraphrase Matt and Christina, "You idling"

45. Market unit: ITEM.

46. Singer-songwriter Suzanne: VEGA - Here's a sample

47. "Sideways" subject: WINE.

48. S.A. country bordering five others: ARG.

49. Novelist Rita __ Brown: MAE.

50. Sound of a sock: POW - When you think of campy TV...

*That "cooked goose" was a lyric from Wake Up Little Susie the Everly Brothers' first #1 song in 1957 

Notes from C.C.:

1) So nice to see you back, Rich!

2) Happy birthday to Lemonade (Jason), our faithful Friday Sherpa! Despite his health issues, he never missed a Friday writeup and continues to bring out the best in every crossword. Thank you, Lemonade!

Lemonade and his sons and nephew

3) Happy birthday to our kind and caring guru Vidwan also!

Friday, August 26, 2022, Christina Iverson and Beth Rubin

Theme: "Book 'em, Danno!"

Puzzling thoughts: OK, I got it. But I don't know what to call it. In four of the across entries, a "down" entry, which is also a BOOK title, intersects to complete the across clue. But I don't know what to call it. Maybe one of our other Crossword Corner members "knows" the name of this sort of puzzle and will comment. Confused? Let's explore:

As you look at the grid, follow the red letters: 15-across. *Folded brunch dish: FRENCHLET, when intersected by (16-down. [Robinson]: HOME, reveals "FRENCH OMELET." "There are four main types of OMELETs, distinguished by their cooking methods. There are American-style, French-style, Frittata, and Soufflé omelets ..."[clan kitchen dot com] Author Marilynne Robinson's book "HOME" was published in 2008. There's a bit of "poetic license" here, as the French spelling for OMELET is OMELETTE, but I digress ...

21-across. *Ethical challenges: MORALDILES, when intersected by (25-down.) [Austen]: EMMA, reveals "MORAL DILEMMAS". EMMA, written by Jane Austen, is a well-known BOOK/novel published in 1815

36-across. *Fleet operator headquartered in Montreal: AIR CANA, when intersected by (38-down. [Nabokov]: ADA, yields "AIR CANADA"(CSO to our neighbor from the north, CanadianEh!). ADA, or Arbor is one of Nabokov's greatest masterpieces, the glorious culmination of his career as a novelist. Published by Amazon in 1990

49-across. *Planet in the Super Mario Galaxy: MUSHRWORLD, when intersected by (50-down. [Donoghue]: ROOM, reveals "MUSHROOM WORLD". Author EMMA Donoghue published the novel ROOM in 2010. She is of Irish-Canadian descent

Which of course leads us to the puzzle's reveal: 60-across. Places to return library materials, and a hint to how the authors in four Down clues help complete the answers to the starred clues: BOOK DROPS. Pretty self-explanatory

Across:
1. "__ arigato": Japanese "thank you very much": DO MO. どういたしまして (Dō itashimashite)

5. Tats: INK.

8. Collars: NABS.

12. Pop by: BOP IN.

13. Aromatic neckwear: LEI.

14. "J'accuse!": GOT YA. Why use a French phrase for this clue?

17. Chose: OPTED.

18. Dalmatian with a red hat, maybe: FIRE DOG.

19. Gunk: GOO.

20. Walk of Fame figure: STAR.

27. Where to see Chicago touchdowns: OHARE. Airport in Chicago - MIDWAY wouldn't fit

29. Long opening in poetry?: ERE.

30. Handle: NAME. A CB-radio reference; also a Crossword Corner reference, as many of us choose "handles"/NAMEs to protect our identity. My "handle" is Chairman Moe. My real name is just Chairman

31. Hand-me-down: OLD. I have one OLDer sister, so I didn't get any "hand-me-downs"

32. Nuisance: PAIN.

33. Not for kids, in short: TV MA. When TV shows use foul language and/or sexual references which are not suitable for children

34. Capote nickname: TRU. Short for TRUman

39. Break a fast: EAT. The word "breakfast" literally means to "break a fast", and EAT

40. Optimistic: ROSY.

42. Earns after taxes: NETS. Also the nickname for the NBA team in Brooklyn

43. Grayish-brown: DUN. You know how lately many of us have cringed at so many proper names' clues? Well today, having the clue: "Bradstreet's partner" would've actually been more helpful (for me, anyway). DUN (as a color) is not a word I use - ever. But I see that it was widely used in the early 1900's. Maybe the editors were trying to appease our older crowd; REALLY old crowd ...

45. "Unböring" furniture chain: IKEA. This was solved using perps and a WAG. IKEA

46. Earlier: AGO.

47. "500" initials on Wall Street: S AND P. Standard & Poors. Does anyone remember "A AND P"? If so, please comment below

52. Tree whose seeds yield an organic insecticide: NEEM.

54. Small digit: TOE. I went out on a limb and found this answer ...

And it's "clecho": 61-down. Small digit: ONE. I went into my wallet and found this answer ...

55. Cox of "Orange Is the New Black": LAVERNE. This is the only LAVERNE that I immediately knew. For the benefit of those who are Gen Z's/Millennials, LAVERNE is the one on the right

57. __ ball: MATZO. "What do matzo balls taste like? It's incredibly similar to chicken noodle soup minus the noodles, while they taste a bit like dumplings but are meatier and have a bit more flavor due to the garlic, onions, eggs and chicken fat (schmaltz)." Here is a recipe for MATZO [also spelled "MATZAH"] Ball Soup

62. Pulitzer-winning composer Ned: ROREM. The video below is quite long

63. "__ volunteers?": ANY. This was answered by (5-down. "Send me!":) I'LL GO

64. Some running shoes: AVIAS. ASICS are my favorite shoes for running; OBOZ are my favorite shoes for hiking

65. Terrier breed: SKYE. Named for an Isle in Scotland, where they also craft some pretty fine whisky

66. Light shade?: RED. As in the RED light district? Here's TripAdvisor's take on it

67. Shout: YELL. Otis Day and the Knights - Animal House, c 1976

Down:
1. Flamin' Hot chip: DORITO.

2. Places where things often end on a high note?: OPERA HOUSES; and it complements (23-down. Solos in 2-Down:) ARIAS.

This was not a high note at the end of the OPERA, but it was still plenty high enough

3. __ water: MINERAL. These are just a sampling of all of the seven-letter words that could have been used instead of MINERAL

4. How some mixtapes are really stored: ON CD.

6. Once called: NEE. Well, we had a tree in this puzzle called NEEM. And now, NEE. Shouldn't we also have this:

7. Harington of "Game of Thrones": KIT. Alas, I never watched "GOT" so this one didn't resinate with me

8. "Ugh, why bother?": NO POINT. What many LA Times Crossword Puzzle solvers are saying lately; especially on Saturdays

9. NFL stat: ATT. Short for ATTempt - usually a passing ATTempt by the QB, but could also refer to the PK who ATTempts both XP's and FG's

10. "Later!": BYE.

11. Blue: SAD.

12. Close chums, for short: BFFS. Text speak

14. "I approve": GOOD.

19. Close in theaters: GLENN. Not seats. If anything, today's movie theaters make it very difficult to "make out", as the seats are much larger than when I was a zit-faced teenager

22. Nuclear plant: REACTOR.

24. Calming aromatherapy option: LAVENDER OIL. I have found - since living in the SW - that LAVENDER OIL is also a natural repellent for scorpions

26. Plane reservation: SEAT. Unlike in theaters, airline SEATs are getting much smaller

28. Nutritional amt.: RDA. Recommended Dietary Allowances

32. Ragú rival: PREGO. It also means, "you're welcome" - as something said in Italy after you say, "Grazie". See my comment in 1-Across for "you're welcome" in Japanese

34. Cut to fit: TRIM.

35. Device for cord cutters: ROKU. I will never go back to cable now that I have a ROKU

37. Floored: IN AWE.

41. Triumphant cry in a dice game: YAHTZEE. Margaret plays this on her Android phone, just to pass the time when Ch Moe is doing a blog or constructing a puzzle ...

44. Rattle: UNNERVE. Did this puzzle and/or its clues UNNERVE you today?

47. Neb. neighbor: S. DAK. IOWA also fit, but that's not an abbr. OKLA - an erstwhile college football rival of NEB - does not share a border with them. Neb. is a CSO to Husker Gary - our Saturday blogger

48. Foreign correspondent?: PEN PAL. Cute clue; compared to the epistolary one a few days ago

51. Two-time Olympic soccer gold medalist Carli __: LLOYD. I recall her but her name was not on the tip of my tongue. This LLOYD was popular back when TV sets weren't equipped with a remote control. I've never asked her, but I wonder if IM is a fan of his?

53. Extreme clutter: MESS.

56. Feb. 14: V-DAY. For lovers. Valentine's Day

57. "The Marvelous __ Maisel": MRS. Another entry targeted toward the under 35 year old crowd?

58. Just peachy: A-OK. Speaking of peaches ... has anyone else here ever tried a Palisade's Peach? They're amazing!

59. "Give it a go!": TRY. What we all should do tomorrow when the Saturday LAT puzzle publishes; if for no other reason than to read Gary's blog. Tomorrow's puzzle is by someone we all know

60. Soap unit: BAR. I use BAR soap; period

Sorry, OMK; no haikus or Moe-kus today. Nor kudos. Remember a week or so ago I asked if it was OK for we bloggers to just say "Thumper"? Well, I took the higher road and didn't, but this puzzle really didn't give me any warm and fuzzy feelings, nor did it spark any wordplay. But YMMV, so please comment below. See you in a couple weeks ...

Thursday, August 25, 2022, Hoang-Kim Vu

 

Good Morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee, here, with the recap.  Our puzzle setter today is Hoang-Kim Vu who sometimes constructs/publishes with his wife, Jessica Zetzman.  A web search will return quite a few hits for each/both of them.

Today's puzzle does not have a "reveal" but it does contain four themed answers and the theme could be dubbed Job Descriptions.  At four places in the grid, the answers are tasks required of an employee.  Each of those four clues employ a bit of paranomasia - punning, playing on words.  The job descriptions are also all presented in a somewhat Tarzan (or Tonto)-esque manner in that gerunds are eschewed.

Tonto, Tarzan and Frankenstein

Here are the four themed clues and answers:

17. Part of a DJ's job description?: KEEP RECORDS.  The clue riffs on recorded music.  

28. Part of a matchmaker's job description?: PLAN MEETINGS.  Matchmakers PLAN (potentially) romantic meetings.

50. Part of an umpire's job description?: WORK FROM HOME.  In this case Home plate.

65. Part of a squire's job description?: DELIVER MAIL.  MAIL as in chainmail armor.   A squire was a young man who hoped one day to become a knight himself.

Here are the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Savory jelly made with meat stock: ASPIC.

6. Focus of many HGTV shows: DECOR.

11. Animal that brays: ASS.

14. Animal native to the 54-Down: LLAMA.   Ogden Nash having been invoked last week, let's go with this:  What did the mama LLAMA say to her children as they got ready for a picnic?  Alpaca lunch.  Maybe I should have gone with the LLAMAS and the Papas.

15. Produce concern: E-COLI.  Produce used as a noun.  Fruits and vegetables.  A hand up, here, for trying to work out something ripeness-related.

16. Deep __: CUT.  SLEEP and STATE were both too long.  Never cared much for PURPLE and $H#T was not going to appear in an LAT puzzle.

19. Gene messenger: RNA.

20. Belt-maker's tool: AWL.

21. Pop-folk singer Williams: DAR.  Dorothy Williams.  The first of many proper nouns in today's list of clues/answers the abundance of which in recent puzzles has been  previously discussed.

22. Celebrated: EMINENT.

24. Some car deals: LEASES.  As opposed, one supposes, to SALES.

27. Gift to new parents: ONESIE.  Actually, wouldn't it would be more of a gift for the infant?

31. "Look alive!": HOP TO.  HOP TO IT.  Begin to do something quickly and energetically.

32. Have a life: ARE.  Often this is clued with "exists".

33. Snooty sort: SNOB.

37. Pitching stat: ERA.  A baseball reference.  Earned Run Average

38. Sport for Amanda Nunes, briefly: MMA.  Mixed Martial Arts.  Her nickname is The Lioness.  Ronda Rousey might have been the clue earlier in the week.

41. Single, for one: Abbr.  SYN.  Thanks, perps.  This marine mammal  scratched his head over this one for a while. . . and flippers aren't the best for scratching.  Then came an aha moment:  Single can be a SYNonym for one.

43. "Hadestown" Tony nominee Noblezada: EVA.  Two unknowns in a row.  Thanks, again, perps.

44. Pitching stat: WINS.  Nice job repeating the clue.  A record of WINS and losses is kept for baseball pitchers.

46. "Christopher Robin" hopper: ROO.  Roo also visited us two Thursdays ago.  Christopher Robin is a character in A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh stories.  So are Kanga and her child, ROO.

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

48. Portend: AUGUR.

54. "Mother of Democracy," to Filipinos: AQUINO.  Corazon AQUINO is best remembered for being associated with the revolt which overthrew Ferdinand Marcos.

57. Least possible: FEWEST.  By definition.

58. Tricky soccer moves: NUTMEGS.  I am not completely ignorant when it comes to soccer but I had never heard this term.  Here is what the move is and how it is done:

60. "__ Mubarak": holiday greeting: EID.  HOSNI would not fit.  Arabic.  Roughly, "have a blessed holiday".

61. L'eau land: ILE.  C'est la leçon Français d'aujourd'hui.  Eau = water.  ILE = island.

64. "The Chronic" rapper, familiarly: DRE.  This time, at least, it wasn't Lil Nas X.  Rap culture is a good source for constructors because it offers additional letter combinations outside of established usage.

68. Tuner's asset: EAR.  For tuning instruments, it is better to have a good EAR than a tin EAR.

69. Elegance: GRACE.

70. One "She's Gone" vocalist: OATES.  Daryl Hall and John OATES.

71. __-Cat: SNO.

72. Best Upset and Best Driver, e.g.: ESPYS.  ESPY awardS seem to be handed out quite frequently in our puzzles.

73. Pet __: PEEVE.

Down:

1. __-Seltzer: ALKA.

Plop Plop Fizz Fizz

2. Boatload: SLEW.  We sift through those other four-letter alternatives - among which are TONS, ALOT, LOTS, GOBS, and MANY - to find the one that works.

3. Redundantly named equipment for a rice-and-seafood dish: PAELLA PAN.  From the old French for frying pan.  In Spanish, PAILA refers to certain metal or clay pans.

4. Little troublemaker: IMP.

5. Spice in many chai mixes: CARDAMOM.  Alternative clue: Identify A Matron.  CARDAMOM is an accepted alternative to CARDAMON which is what I always thought it was called.

6. Edict: DECREE.

7. Fuel-saving mode in some cars: ECO.

8. Plank target: CORE.  ABS was too short to work.

9. Nouveau riche counterpart: OLD MONEY.  Hand up for first trying to think of something having to do with being needy.

Randy Newman - It's Money That Matters

(with Mark Knopfler on guitar)

10. On the up and up?: RISING.  

11. Griffith Park's 4,210+: ACRES.   Located in Los Angeles.

12. Largest division of Islam: SUNNI.

13. Condition: STATE.

18. Slide (into): EASE.

23. Loch in hoax photos: NESS.

The Loch Ness Monster?

25. Tolkien talking tree: ENT.  ENTs and ORCs often come from Middle earth to visit us.

26. Metro stop: Abbr.: STA.  Okay, is it going to turn out to be STN or STA?

28. "That was close!": PHEW.  Okay, is it going to turn out to be WHEW or PHEW?

29. Greiner of "Shark Tank": LORI.

30. Org. to report tax fraud to: IRS.

34. Discuss terms: NEGOTIATE.

35. Certain gamete: OVUM.  Why do Romans use more eggs in their omelets than do Parisians?  Because in Rome they feel that as far as eggs go you can never have too many OVUM while in Paris the feel that one egg is un ouef.

36. Austere: BARE.

39. Neighborhood guy: MR ROGERS.  Clever cluing.  The TV show is beloved by millions . . . and often spoofed.

40. Hunky-dory: A OK.  Having not gone with Eddie Murphy (Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood), just above, this seems appropriate.  What do you say, Eddie?

42. Try to impress by association, say: NAME DROP.  Today's construction drops several (perhaps too many) actor/actress/singer/athlete names.

45. Triathlon part: SWIM.  SWIM, bike, run.

47. Switch position: OFF.  ON was too short.

49. Stumbling blocks?: UHS.  ERS? Hmm.  Punt.

51. Jittery: ON EDGE.  A Dachshund and a Labrador are walking together when the former suddenly unloads on his friend.  “My life is a mess,” he says. “My owner is mean, my girlfriend ran away with a Pomeranian and I’m as JITTERY as a cat.” “Why don’t you go see a psychiatrist?” suggests the Labrador.  “I can’t. I'm not allowed on the couch.”

52. Actor who plays himself in "Always Be My Maybe": REEVES.

53. Boo-boo: OWIE.  Not Boo Boo the cartoon bear.

54. Chilean range: ANDES.  The ANDES mountain range is over 5,500 miles long, extends through seven countries and averages more than 13,000 feet in elevation.

55. Sacred text read during Tarawih: QURAN.  Hand up for first trying KORAN.

56. In __: not yet born: UTERO.

59. Put (on) hastily: SLAP.  SLAP on a coat of paint and call it done.

62. Actor Schreiber: LIEV.  The penultimate name in this list of clues/answers.

63. Besides: ELSE.

66. Needing salt, maybe: ICY.  Hand up for first thinking it had something to do with food.

67. Actress Whitman: MAE.  The final proper name in this list of clues/answers.

Here is how all of this looks in the grid:

________________________________________

Wednesday, August 24, 2022 David Alfred Bywaters

Theme:  Double or NO thing.  Each theme answer is a unique phrase that you might never see anywhere else; and it contains a duplicated word.  But you have to surgically remove a certain letter combination: that NO thing, in order to see it.  Let's start with the unifier.

69 A. "Find another way out" sign and a feature of four answers in this puzzle: NO EXIT.  The type of wording you might see over an entrance-only doorway.  And here it indicates that the "NO" letter combo must be excised from the answer.

20 A. Teatime treat topped with shaved ice?: SNO-CONE SCONE.  This is a frosty treat you're not liable to find any time soon.  But it might be good.  Let me know.  Maybe have two, for a SCONE SCONE

33 A. Feature of King Arthur's court?: NOTABLE TABLE.  The notable thing about King Arthur's table was that it was round.  So nobody was seated at the head nor the foot; and all were equal.  So anyone at the TABLE could TABLE the discussion.

41 A. Gaggle native to northern Italy?: GENOESE GEESE.  Genoa is the northern-most city on the western shore of the Italian peninsula.  Do GEESE there mate for life?  Maybe I'm thinking of swans.  Anyway, you get a pair of gaggles here.  And maybe a giggle or two.

54 A. Trainee's bad habits?: NOVICES' VICES.  A NOVICE is a person new to or inexperienced in a field or situation.  I've been playing the trombone for decades and, sadly, still have bad habits.  Perhaps the novice can overcome hers.  Or she might double down and Get caught in the VICE'S Jaws.

Hi, gang. JazzBumpa, your humble blogger for the day, is in awe of this theme.  It combines the duplicated word idea with the removable syllable technique, with a resulting variable degree of silliness.  I can't imagine how David found these examples.  Seriously -- Wow!

Let's move on and see what else is notable.

Across:

1. State with conviction: ASSERT.  AVER and AVOW are both too short.

7. Adventurous: BOLD.  Willing to take risks and do new things.

11. Hit the slopes: SKI.  Slide down a hill side on wooden slats attached to your feet.  I tried this once. The slope hit back.

14. Less abundant: SPARER.  A condition of having no excess.  Not sure there can be degrees of spareness.  A comparative based on a root ending in -R always seems awkward.

15. Purple berry from Brazilian palms: ACAI.  The açaí palm, Euterpe oleracea, is a species of palm tree cultivated for its fruit, hearts of palm, leaves, and trunk wood. Global demand for the fruit has expanded rapidly in the 21st century, and the tree is cultivated for that purpose primarily.

16. Midmorning hour: TEN.  That's when I like to be on the treadmill; though the word "like" is used rather ironically here.

17. State that's an archipelago: HAWAII.  Located about 2000 miles from the U.S. mainland, the Hawaiian archipelago contains 137 volcanic islands spanning 1,500 miles. 

18. Went on and on: YAMMERED.  Yadda, yada, yada . . .

22. Bistro: CAFE.  A small restaurant.

25. Spanish article: UNA.  Meaning "one," or the English article "a."

26. Wind quintet wind: OBOE.  A woodwind instrument with a double-reed mouthpiece, a slender tubular body, and holes stopped by keys.  Can also be used as a drumstick -- at least once.

27. Pub order: ALE.  Bottoms up.

28. Played the part of: ACTED AS.  Either in a play, or some real life situation.

32. Put a stop to: END.  Make it quit.

36. Buffet fuel: STERNO.  Flammable hydrocarbon jelly supplied in cans for use as fuel for cooking stoves or chafing dishes.

37. Farfalle shape: BOWTIE.  Small pieces of pasta shaped like bows or butterflies' wings.

45. Augment with superfluous verbiage: PAD.  Lengthen a speech, piece of writing, etc. with unnecessary material.  Hence the admonition to write tight.

48. Runs again: REPLAYS.  As a TV program or sports highlight.

49. "It's __ good": ALL.  Phrase used to express a sense of general approval, despite a perceived slight, sometimes used ironically.

50. Biblical land west of Nod: EDEN.   EDEN is the biblical earthly paradise inhabited by the first created man and woman, Adam and Eve, prior to their expulsion for disobeying the commandments of God.  After killing his brother, Cain was exiled to the land of Nod.  "Nod" (נוד‎) is the Hebrew root of the verb "to wander" (לנדוד‎). Therefore, to dwell in the land of Nod can mean to live a wandering life. Perhaps this suggests that Cain would not know peace.

52. Part of t.i.d., on an Rx: TER.  Three.  T.I. D. is short for ter in die. three times a day.

53. Lover of Aphrodite: ARES.  It's complicated.  Aphrodite was the wife of Hephaestus.  It did not go well.

59. Microscope blobs: PROTOZOA. An informal term for a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris.

60. Excuses: ALIBIS.  An ALIBI is a claim or piece of evidence that one was elsewhere when an act, typically a criminal one, is alleged to have taken place.  An excuse is an attempt to lessen the blame attaching to (a fault or offense); seek to defend or justify.  These are not even close equivalents.

64. Folk singer DiFranco: ANI.  Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (b. 1970) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influences from punk, funk, hip hop and jazz. She has released all her albums on her own record label, Righteous Babe.

65. Champagne designation: BRUT.  The word Brut is French for “dry” which means that Brut Champagne is a dry, sparkling wine. 

66. "That's it for me!": I'M DONE.  Can be literal, meaning some task is finished, or as an expression of  anger or exasperation. 

67. Drug in Michael Pollan's "How to Change Your Mind": LSD.  A synthetic crystalline compound,  Lysergic Acid Diethyl amide, that is a potent hallucinogenic drug.

68. Feed adequately: SATE.  Satisfy (a desire or an appetite) to the full.

Down:

1. Tennis star Barty who announced her retirement in 2022, familiarly: ASH.   Ashleigh Barty (b. 1996) is an Australian retired professional tennis player and cricketer. She was the second Australian tennis player to be ranked No. 1 in the world in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) after fellow Aboriginal Australian Evonne Goolagong Cawley, holding the ranking for 121 weeks overall. 

2. Day __: SPA.   A business that provides a variety of services for the purpose of improving health, beauty, and relaxation through personal care treatments.

3. Adage: SAW.  A proverb or short statement expressing a general truth.

4. Wipe out: ERASE.  Remove or eliminate.

5. Halter attachment: REIN.  A long, narrow strap attached at one end to a horse's bit, typically used in pairs to guide or check a horse while riding or driving.

6. Half a sextet: TRIO.  A group of three individuals engaged in a collective activity.

7. Rifle attachment: BAYONET.  A blade that may be fixed to the muzzle of a rifle and used to stab an opponent in hand-to-hand fighting.

8. Anthem with the line "The True North strong and free": O CANADA.   A genuinely great anthem.

  

 9. Fabric with metallic threads: LAMÉ.  Fabric with interwoven gold or silver threads.

10. Turns down: DIMS.  As, frex., a lamp.

11. Flashing light: STROBE.   A type of specialized lamp that produces a continuous series of short, bright flashes of light.

12. Heavily into: KEEN ON.  Very enthusiastic or excited about. 

13. "No doubt": INDEED.   Used to emphasize a statement or response confirming something already suggested.

19. Prefix with friendly: ECO-.    Not harmful to the environment.

21. Adorable: CUTE.   Attractive in a pretty or endearing way.

22. Some recyclables: CANS.  Along with bottles and paper.

23. Much: A LOT.   An indefinite large quantity

24. Big party: FETE.   A celebration or festival.

28. Doubleday incorrectly credited with inventing baseball: ABNER.  Abner Doubleday (1819 – 1893) was a career United States Army officer and Union major general in the American Civil War. He fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter, the opening battle of the war, and had a pivotal role in the early fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg.  In San Francisco, after the war, he obtained a patent on the cable car railway that still runs there.   In 1908, 15 years after his death, Doubleday was declared by the Mills Commission to have invented the game of baseball (a claim never made by Doubleday during his lifetime). This claim has been thoroughly debunked by baseball historians.

29. Knockoff: CLONE.    A product that is very similar to another one that it was copied from.

30. Westminster landmark: ABBEY.   Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United Kingdom's most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and a burial site for English and, later, British monarchs.   Construction of the present church began in 1245 on the orders of King Henry III.

31. Tedious journeys: SLOGS.   A spell of difficult, tiring work or travelling.

34. Bol. neighbor: ARG.  South American countries Bolivia and Argentina.

35. Short-horned bighorn: EWE.  The female of any ovine species.

38. Hot streak: TEAR.  Having great success over a period of time 

39. Land in the water: ISLE.  Not making a splash [a verb], but instead, a part of the earth's surface [a noun] extended above the surface of a body of water.

40. Slithery fish: EELS.  A snake-like fish with a slender elongated body and poorly developed fins, proverbial for its slipperiness.

42. Chooses not to participate: OPTS OUT.  Just so.

43. Raise: ELEVATE.  Move to a higher level, either literally or figuratively.

44. South Asian garb: SARI.   A garment consisting of a length of cotton or silk elaborately draped around the body, traditionally worn by women from South Asia.

Instruction on how to do it

45. Epistolary friend: PEN PAL.   A person with whom one becomes friendly by exchanging letters, especially someone in a foreign country whom one has never met.

46. Festoons: ADORNS.  Decorates.

47. Without, with "of": DEVOID.  Entirely lacking or free from.

51. Minor issue: NIT.   A small imperfection or a minor glitch in a system or piece of software.

53. Out of the way: ASIDE.  Literal.

55. Picnic discards: COBS.  From ears of corn.

56. "The Snowy Day" Caldecott winner __ Jack Keats: EZRA.  Ezra Jack Keats (né Jacob Ezra Katz; 1916 – 1983) was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He won the 1963 Caldecott Medal for illustrating The Snowy Day, which he also wrote. 

57. Adam's eldest: CAIN.  In Genesis, Cain was the first human offspring.  He murdered his younger brother, Abel.  Cf also 50 A.

58. Red Muppet with a pet goldfish named Dorothy: ELMO.

61. Amazon.com delivery: BOX.  A container full of stuff, used for transporting said stuff.

62. Suffix on some pasta names: -INI.  As in rotini, linguini, etc.

63. Good to go: SET.  Prepared to do something.

That wraps up another Wednesday.  Let's get set for whatever the next adventure might be.

Cool regards!

JzB