Saturday, October 8, 2022, Malaika Handa

 Saturday Themeless by Malaika Handa

This is my second themeless puzzle by Brooklyn resident Malaika Handa. Malaika is a software engineer who has been making puzzles for two years. You can see an archive of all her puzzles on her website: https://www.girlbosswords.com/ She has a puzzle in the upcoming Boswords fall league.

Here is a link to a playful but instructive interview with Malaika that includes this wonderful quote from her: 

Also, when you’re solving, look up entries that you don’t know! It’s a game, not a test.

I added by subtracting on Malaika's challenging puzzle. SUGAR COATED medicine instead of CANDY COATED, DEW drop instead of MIC drop. Those changes opened up COMIC CON, RAVIOLI and NO MSG.

 

Across:

1. Closing pieces: CLASPS - Oh, that's how that works.

7. Trademarked sandwich: MCRIB - McDonalds seems to make a big deal of when they are and are not available.

12. Long, thin fish also called a grenadier: RAT TAIL - Not the comb this time

14. Worth giving up on: DOOMED - The wording of this clue was fun, uh, eventually! 😏

16. Fla-Vor-Ice rival: OTTER POP - I learned this in two recent puzzles

18. Settle early: PREPAY.

19. Hot items at a bakery: OVENS.

20. "Mario Party" dinosaur: YOSHI.

22. Slip-__: ONS - Skechers? ✔ Golf shoe? ✔  Slip ONS? ✔ 

23. "Duérmete __": Spanish lullaby: NINO - Rock-a-Bye Baby in Espanol. Duérmete translates as "Go to sleep" which a parent 1. Sings a lullaby, say: CROONS to a baby NIÑO or NIÑA

24. Cut: SAWED.

25. Destiny's Child, e.g.: TRIO - Beyonce : Destiny's Child :: Diana Ross : Supremes

         

26. Melancholy: SAD.

27. One making a bundle on a farm: BALER - This BALER is a machine not a person

28. "__ Morgen!": GUTEN and 43. "Buona __!": SERA - We have German for "good morning" and Italian for "good evening".

29. Adds: CONTRIBUTES.

31. Easy to swallow: CANDY COATED - Spoonful Of Sugar jumped into my head and so I smugly entered SUGAR COATED. Oops.

32. High tied activity?: ROPES COURSE - Malaika! 

33. Charlie and Lola: NAMES - Charlie is a perfume and Lola is a showgirl. What, that's not relevant?

34. Passionate: LUSTY.

35. "The Magicians" novelist Grossman: LEV.

38. "Ars Amatoria" poet: OVID - Written in 2 A.D. This 9th century transcript of The Art Of Love is the oldest known copy

39. Fools: DUPES.

40. Dove home: COTE - Am I the only one who put SLID? 

41. __ drop: MIC - "So there!"

42. Speaks in Spanish: HABLA - ¿HABLA inglés? (Do you speak English?)

43. Temaki or futomaki: SUSHI.

44. Becky Sauerbrunn's sport: SOCCER.

46. Gossamer: ETHEREAL - We saw this two weeks ago

48. Far-reaching: GLOBAL.

49. Fish in stargazy pie: SARDINE - Wanna see this pie which has sardine heads sticking out of it? I wonder where Malaika learned about this pie or if this is Patti's clue?

50. Place to share stories, for short: INSTAgram

51. Had: TASTED - I have never seen or TASTED stargazy pie.


Down:

2. Baltic state with a maroon and white flag: LATVIA - Geographers and vexilollogists will know the LATVIAN flag is below the flag of Estonia and above the one of Lithuania 

3. Go: ATTEND.

4. Legal brief writer?: STENO.

5. Links data: PARS - You can see what PAR is for each hole I play on my home course/links

6. Bit of a draft?: SIP - A SIP of draft beer

7. Letters for a research scientist: MD-PHD - I struggled for this one

8. Bush who is part of "The Squad" in Congress: CORI - Speaking 

9. Ingredient that makes she-crab soup orange: ROE - Obviously missing in he-crab soup 

10. Brought in: IMPORTED - In school meetings, anyone brought in from over 100 miles away is an "expert".

11. Skullcaps: BEANIES.

13. Program that rewards super users: LOYALTY CLUB - Here's one for a casino in Germany

15. Maker of the Corrale straightener: DYSON.

17. Popular item: POWER COUPLE.

21. Blog with "The Food Lab" columns written by J. Kenji López-Alt: SERIOUS EATS.

24. Historic Vegas hotel: SANDS - Once the home of  "The Rat Pack". I wonder if Malaika has ever heard of them.

25. Private pupil: TUTEE.

27. Series starring Emily Deschanel as a forensic anthropologist: BONES.

28. Daring: GUTSY.

29. Like some 31-Down attendees: CAPED and 31. Event where folks may be super dressed up?: COMIC CON. Lots of hints in the clue and one Malaika told me she really liked!

30. St. __: Caribbean island: BARTS - It's about a 7 hr flight from Miami to St. BARThelemy 

32. Filling dish?: RAVIOLI - RAVIOLI does have filling

 
33. Chinese take-out order?: NO MSG.

35. Finally crack: LOSE IT.

36. Colorless gas: ETHANE.

37. "The __ Virgin": Strazza statue in Newfoundland: VEILED - A beautiful and amazing statue sculpted by the genius Giovanni Strazza in the 1850's showing the beauty and translucence of Carrera marble. 

39. Youngest girl in the Shazam Family: DARLA - If you're interested

40. Poutine topper: CURDS - Topping French fries

42. Qualifying race: HEAT.

45. Paramount+ network: CBS.

47. Feature of some uniforms: HAT - A big deal in Kim Jong Un's army

Friday, October 7, 2022, Robin C Stears

Theme: Cheery O's

Puzzling thoughts:

Hi gang, C-Moe here getting a rare opportunity to recap a puzzle from one of his crossword puzzle constructor mentors, Robin Stears. Robin is no stranger to either this blog or blogger; (see my Jan 1, 2021 recap) at last count she must have at least ___ puzzles (fill-in-the-blank, someone!) published at the LAT, and perhaps 1,000+ puzzles published in total. Maybe she will stop by today and help me with my math!

Tapping into my inner "Husker Gary", I emailed Robin to get a few comments from her about today's puzzle, her inspiration, etc. Here's what she said:

"This crossword was actually inspired by a rejected crossword, which sounds weird but c'est la vie! I overheard a sports announcer say, "He's oh-for-two..." and I thought it would be fun to turn a double OO into a single O -- O for two. My favorite theme entry in that set was KINKY BOTS, but I think COWBOY BOTS with a Westworld clue would have worked just as well.

Patti Varol wasn't impressed.

So, I thought I'd try it the other way around -- turning a single O into a double OO.

Every once in a while, a puzzle just comes together almost by itself. This was one of those puzzles. The theme entries were super easy to find, they fit into the grid perfectly, and it filled like a dream. Sometimes, I'll spend days trying to work a puzzle, but this one practically put itself together, and in record time! I don't think it took me more than two hours to make this crossword, and that includes writing the clues.

Not only did Patti like the theme, she called my grid "squeaky clean"! For the first time in my entire career (spanning 30 years), she accepted the grid "as is" with no changes at all. Not a single one! Of course, I'll have to wait and see if the published clues are the same ones I wrote, but I absolutely trust Patti's judgment if she changed any of them. She's smart and savvy and knows her audience."

Well, I certainly can't add much more than that!! I agree that this puzzle was super clean although a couple of words were unknown to me: (12-Down. "Just Dance" game company): UBISOFT and (16-Across. Wikipedia articles that need expanding): STUBS, as clued. And if those stumped you, too, here is a link for UBISOFT, and here is a link for Wikipedia STUBs.

Five of the "double O's" made the cut, and no reveal was necessary. Here are the entries:

17-Across. Filming that takes place in a vault?: BANK SHOOT. BANKSHOT (one word) can mean a carom in pool/billiards, or a goal made in basketball when the ball hits the backboard before going through the net

25-Across. Revenue for the Witch Museum?: SALEMS LOOT. SALEM'S LOT is both a movie and a Stephen King novel

36-Across. Blast from a tugboat powered by spuds?: TATER TOOT. A TATER TOT looks like this:

While a TATER TOOT might be described as:

50-Across. Fantastic display of hustle?: GREAT SCOOT. "GREAT SCOT" was a favorite line from this "Back to the Future" co-star:

60-Across (and C-Moe's favorite of the five). Footwear worn in a meatpacking plant?: SPAM BOOTS. And while the image below doesn't match the pun, it certainly brings back memories of the "Spiced Ham in a Can". According to the company's Spam Museum, Ken Digneau, the brother of a Hormel executive, came up with the name — a portmanteau word for “spiced ham” — in a naming contest and got $100 as a reward. The new product was introduced on July 5, 1937

Here's the grid; and then on to the rest of the clues!

Across:
1. Fiddler's supply: ROSIN. Isn't this the waxy stuff that violinists use to condition their bows? As a kid, though, who was into baseball, the ROSIN bag was a thing of interest ... it's the white object on the pitcher's mound ... wait a darn minute! Didn't we already have this word this week? Wednesday? And then, it WAS clued as the baseball "equipment" ... this is Moe "paying attention"!! ;^)

6. "Sex Education" actor Butterfield: ASA. What did they call "Sex Education" before it became a "thing"? On-the-job-training! ;^) Here is ASA in the official trailer ...

9. Magazine copy: ISSUE. Do you know that if you split the word ISSUE 40%/60% you get "IS SUE". Listen (at least up to the 1:17 mark) to this classic song

14. Like lambs: OVINE. "Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy ..." are the beginning words to the 1943 hit song "Mairzy Doats". And now that explains it! Ivy grows on a VINE and lambs eat it. OH! VINE!

15. ICU staffer: LPN. According to [Nursing Licensce Map Dot Com], "Registered Nurses (RN) provide direct care to patients, while Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) typically provide assistance to doctors or registered nurses. Licensure as a registered nurse is generally sought after graduation from a 4-year undergraduate nursing program and successful completion of the NCLEX-RN"

So after reading this, I dove a little deeper into my Google search, and wondered if the clue (ICU staffer) was accurate. You decide

19. Comet's path: ORBIT. Actually, isn't Comet's path directly behind Prancer and Vixen; alongside Cupid?

20. Delivery guess, briefly: ETA.

21. Tribeca neighbor: SOHO. So first, a bit of a nit to pick: The clue should've been spelled out TriBeCa (note the other two capital letters), as it stands for "Triangle Below Canal" Street. It's an acronym. And SOHO is one of its neighbors.

In NYC speak, SOHO is the acronym for "SOuth of HOuston". [Google] confirms this: "The name "SoHo" derives from the area being "South of Houston Street", and was coined in 1962 by Chester Rapkin, an urban planner and author of The South Houston Industrial Area study, also known as the 'Rapkin Report'" And of course, there is a video that explains why New Yorkers don't pronounce "HOuston" the same as those in Texas

22. Peak southeast of Olympus: OSSA. I had ETNA in here for some unknown reason, which made it impossible for me to get STROLL, SUBSOIL and UBISOFT

23. Cracker with seven holes: RITZ. Haiku/Moe-ku:

Song title about
Russian Prez that went crackers?
"Putin on the RITZ"

Don't like that one? How about this instead?

Fancy cracker shrugged,
Jerked, twitched, and barked. I guess it
Has Tour-RITZ Syndrome

29. Unwrapped with excitement: TORE AT. This makes sense once you split the entry 2/3-1/3. "TOREAT" was a head scratcher. I notice that some of the easier puzzle publications (Penny Dell, e.g.) add to the clue "(two words)". Do you, as crossword solvers, sometimes want to know that an entry is actually a multiple word phrase? Curious to YOUR thoughts. In the case of this particular clue, I'd say yes

31. Reprobate: LOWLIFE. Is the opposite of LOWLIFE/reprobate, HIGHDEATH/angel??

32. Sign above a studio door: ON AIR. "Quiet, please!"

33. Horned herbivore: RHINO.

35. Mil. officers: LTS. This clue, and the one below (39-Across) are examples of abbreviations made plural. LieutenanTS. There are some crossword editors that frown upon the use of them

39. U.K. lawmakers: MPS. Never could understand the position of the "S" in the pluralization of some abbreviations. It's MemberS of Parliament, so shouldn't that be MSP? Of course, CC and Boomer would argue that MSP is the airport code for Minneapolis/St Paul. Gawd, we have a strange language!!

42. "Incorrect!": FALSE. No, this is TRUE!

43. Cavalry blade: SABER. How many of you spelled this with the ending, "RE"? In case you wondered, [Brittanica dot com] says: "sabre, also spelled SABER, a heavy military sword with a long cutting edge and, often, a curved blade. Most commonly a cavalry weapon, the sabre was derived from a Hungarian cavalry sword introduced from the Orient in the 18th century; also a light fencing weapon developed in Italy in the 19th century for duelling"

47. Negroni ingredient: CAMPARI. As a sommelier I am supposed to know (in addition to wine) the basics of all forms of alcoholic beverages (Beer, wine, Saki, any and all spirits), as well as the corresponding cocktails. So what's in a Negroni, Moe? Equal parts of Gin, Sweet Vermouth, and CAMPARI; served in a "rocks" glass and garnished with an orange slice. Given its popularity I might go out on a limb and say that this has replaced the "Cosmo" as the new, hip cocktail

49. __ Tuesday: SHROVE. Here is a thorough report on this "holiday". Occasionally my birthday falls on SHROVE Tuesday; but then, so does ASH Wednesday

53. Back up on the job?: ABET. Many clues for this entry

54. Restaurant freebie: ROLL. Really? Free? Don't you have to be sitting at a table and ordering a meal to get one? Hmm. Should I try that? I will go into a restaurant and say something like, "May I have just a ROLL please? Nothing else; and I expect that since it has no price on your menu that it's a freebie, yes??!"

Would you have preferred a haiku/Moe-ku instead?

No one likes Dad jokes
Don't butter him up when he
Thinks he's on a ROLL

55. Concluded: OVER.

57. Rapper Dr. __: DRE. Hey! A rapper I've heard of. Remember MC Ren from my last blog??

58. "Solutions and Other Problems" writer Brosh: ALLIE. If this were Boomer blogging, might you think he'd want her name to be "LANE" instead?? Note, if this comment "went over your head", Boomer prefers calling this image a LANE

62. Quite small: TEENY. I'm guessing that the "itsy-bitsy, TEENY-weeny [sic], yellow polka dot bikini" was TEENY for its day

63. Communication sys. at Gallaudet: ASL. We had ASL in my recap a couple weeks ago; it was clued: "Communication syst. used in the film 'CODA'"

64. Minor channel: INLET. Did anyone else think of these "minor" channels?? Cartoon Network, PBS Kids, Sprout, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon

65. Equivocate: HEDGE.

66. Bad start?: DYS. Ha! Good wordplay clue. As in "DYSfunctional"; a word that many psycho-therapists often hear during therapy sessions

67. Pips and pits: SEEDS. This is a first-time clue for the word SEEDS! Speaking of SEEDS, I wonder which, if any, of the five entries for today's puzzle was the SEED entry for Robin?

Down:
1. The MLB's __ Clemente Award: ROBERTO. There is more to say about ROBERTO Clemente than I could possibly fit into this recap. I was lucky enough to have seen him play - in person - when I was studying at Pitt in the early '70s

That he died in an airplane crash just three months after his final season as a baseball player, and whose final at bat was achieving his 3,000th hit (a rare feat for MLB players), and considering that the circumstances of his death was that he volunteered to fly onboard an overloaded supply plane, bound for Nicaragua, and carrying provisions for suffering people in that country. The plane crashed into the sea shortly after take-off on December 31, 1972. His caring actions were felt far beyond the baseball community. The award is bestowed annually to the player who best represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field

2. Hand: OVATION. I gave ROBERTO Clemente many standing OVATIONS, though he remained quite humble

3. "From Here to Eternity" Oscar winner: SINATRA. Who knew that? Not I. I was still in diapers at the time this picture was released. And oddly, SINATRA won for his supporting actor role, not for the Best Song. But here is the song along with lyrics for your enjoyment

4. Printer cartridges: INK. No reference to a tattoo??

5. Loch near the Moray Firth: NESS. Home of "Nessie" the monster

6. "Welcome to Hawaii!": ALOHA. Also the word used when you're leaving the state

7. Wire holder: SPOOL. Should we overlook an word/fill that has the same double-letter combo as the entries? SPOIL fits the spaces but would require a re-make of that portion of the puzzle

8. Industrious insect: ANT. I hear they live in colonies. So are nudists, then, really ANTs??

9. Kin of equi-: ISO. Puzzles with 5 "theme" entries (in a standard 15x15 puzzle grid) usually produce a lot of three-letter words. I know that Robin was both pleased and shocked that Patti accepted her puzzle with no edits. That said, there were a lot of three-letter abbreviations in today's puzzle, and I know that can be frustrating for some of you out there

10. Recreational walk: STROLL. I may be forced to take only STROLLs as part of my walking routine. I've been using a power walk (at about 4 MPH) for my aerobics, but now that my knees are feeling some arthritis, I may have to lessen the pace

11. Layer above bedrock: SUBSOIL. Also another word for dirt in a hoagie??

13. Grand properties: ESTATES. Here are some in Arizona. Note: none of these were on our list to buy! ;^)

18. One expecting an RSVP: HOST.

24. Time, in German: ZEIT. CSO memory to Spitzboov who clearly knew the meaning of this word. As did I. I had a double major in college: Economics and German. Sadly I can no longer communicate "auf Deutsch"

26. Not for the hoi polloi: ELITE. "Hoi polloi" is the ELITE's way of referring to we common folks

27. Hi-fi setting: MONO. Also the common name/word used for the "kissing disease"

28. Sports logo since 1972: SWOOSH. Some interesting history about the Nike logo

30. Oslo Accords participant: ARAFAT. Not too many other last names fit

33. Smithsonian artifact: RELIC.

34. Appt. book divisions: HRS. More pluralizing of abbr's

37. Patches up, as a driveway: TARS. I've never used old sailors to patch up my driveway

38. "Teen Titans Go!" voice actress Strong: TARA. Without even looking this up, I knew that the clue was targeted at a different generation than mine. TARA Strong plays the character, "Raven"

39. "Supergirl" actress Katie: MCGRATH. Ditto 38-Across; this clue was also targeted to a younger generation methinks. [wikipedia] "Katie McGrath is an Irish actress. In television, she gained recognition for portraying ... her role as Lena Luthor on the superhero series Supergirl (2016–2021)"

40. One on conditional release: PAROLEE.

41. Sensed, in a way: SMELLED. The nose knows

44. 1996 also-ran: BOB DOLE. Robert Joseph Dole ran against incumbent President William Jefferson Clinton in the 1996 Presidential election

45. Turned inside out: EVERTED. Upon examination, I found that this word refers to the position of the ankle during a sprain. If you don't believe me, then Google it yourself!! :^)

46. Tries again: RE-TESTS. Or as my folks used to say, "a do over"

48. Losing color: PALING. As in turning white?? As a footnote, I often use this reference when writing my clues for a puzzle submission. Most of the clues for PALING refer to a fence or picket

49. Much of a sunflower: STEM. Indeed

51. "__-daisy!": OOPSY. Hmm, another word/fill that has the double O's, yet is not one of the entries ... OOPS!! ;^)

52. Shapes formed by angled spotlights: OVALS. Let's see ... yup!

56. Hitting stat: RBIS. Once again, shouldn't this be RSBI? As in RunS Batted In?

59. Word with private or public: EYE. Margaret and I recently watched a movie on one of our streaming channels called "EYE in the Sky". It's quite a riveting movie. Here's the trailer if you're interested:

60. Pathetic: SAD. A rather harsh definition, but certainly "Friday-worthy"

61. Pacific Coast Highway's route number: ONE. Too many iconic views along Hwy ONE to choose from, so I came up with another "ONE" that I hope you'll recall:

Final thought: As I completed the puzzle and blog, I realized I forgot a very important CSO to my fellow Friday blogger, Lemonade714, whose lovely wife and partner Oo is featured in today's puzzle!

As always, YOUR comments are appreciated. See u again in a couple weeks, hopefully from our new home ...

Thursday, October 6, 2022 - Catherine Cetta

If the shoe fits...

Happy Thursday! A certain aquatic mammal took off to Europe so y'all are stuck with me again.

Today we have a bit of a rebus. The words that fill the circles are only connected to the theme by the letters in the circles.
Let's just look at the theme-reveal and the grid and not clutter the LEDE with shoe-fitting fill.

63a. Stack at Famous Footwear, and a hint to the sets of circled letters: SHOEBOXES.

The Grid

If you didn't have the circles, finding the BOXES of SHOEs would be another puzzling challenge. Here they are, color-coded, for later discovery:

BOOT - Hopefully after today's Blog, C.C. won't give me one.
FLAT - An apartment in London
PUMP - Gets water out of the ground
MULE - Beast that comes with 40 acres
HEEL - C.C., if she gives me the BOOT ;-)

Ok, we all know that's not what Catherine was going for...
All the 'boxes' contain, read clockwise, types of shoes the Famous cobbler-shop offers.
Wait a minu... The store's not Famous; it's that it sells Famous-branded footwear, right?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Across:
1. Isabel Allende's "In the __ of Winter": MIDST. A 2017 novel about three people who find themselves together during a winter storm and tell of their tragic pasts.  That's all the internet would tell me in less than 10 minutes.

6. Albumen container: EGG. Albumen is the white of a egg. It contains Albumin.
Albumen is the white of an egg. It contains albumin proteins. It is the scientific name for the white of a cooked egg.   Albumin is a class of several hundred proteins. #Learning

9. Blades on a small 12-Down, for short: PROPS. PROPellerS. It took me a while to figure out what type of blades (grass?, rotors?, knives?) we were looking for.

14. Words said with a shrug: I'VE NO IDEA. I never do.

16. Biathlete's equipment: RIFLE. Ski then shoot. Rinse & repeat.

17. Tosses a monkey wrench into: SABOTAGES.

Foo Fighters - Monkey Wrench

18. Site for a rite: ALTAR. I like the clue's alliteration.

19. Catch or latch follower: ONTO. When I catch onto that she latched onto another fella...

20. R&B's Boyz II __: MEN. Clue/Answer says it all.

21. Like some auctions: SILENT. I won a baseball signed by Lance Berkman at a silent auction.
I got home, Googled, and found I paid >1.5x what it was worth. Oh well, it was for charity (and I have a cool ball).
 

Lance Berkman

22. Grandpa Walton, to Grandma Walton: ZEB. I inked Paw (? should be Pa, no?) first.  I don't remember watching The Waltons.  His name is Zebulon. #Learning

24. Tag sale reminder: AS IS. No refunds.

26. Teachers' org.: NEA. National Education Association.

27. Apprised (of): ABREAST. ONTO.

31. Accordion fold: PLEAT.

Weird Al

33. Like some chins: CLEFT.

For Irish Miss

34. Word with history or hygiene: ORAL.

36. Puerto __: RICO.
 

Let's not forget these US Citizens after Ian

39. Crass: RUDE. I thought "blue" at first.

40. San Antonio team: SPURS. Texas has 3 NBA (National Basketball Association) teams: [see: c/a], Dallas Mavericks, and, The Houston (my fair city) Rockets.

41. CGI birds in Liberty Mutual Insurance commercials: EMUS. Don't make me link one.

42. Important stretches: ERAS. What separates an ERA from an AGE? An ERA has an epoch (definative start date).

43. Tach stats: RPMS. A Tachometer measures RevolutionS Per Minute.

44. Puff up: SWELL.
 

Lois Lane mocks Kent for saying SWELL

45. Announce: STATE. I live in the "Announce" of Texas?

47. Argentine novelist Sabato: ERNESTO. Ernesto Sabato (June 24, 1911 – April 30, 2011) was an Argentine writer, painter and physicist. #Learning

49. Wanted poster letters: AKA. Also Known As. The Wanted's alias(es).

51. Fill with freight: LADE.

53. __ française: A LA. In the style of the French.

54. Luxury furs: SABLES.
 

Cute little Critter

56. "90 Day Fiancé" cable channel: TLC. The Learning Channel. I can't think of one lesson you can learn from that show.

58. News article intro: LEDE. Lois never buried hers.

62. Gather wool from: SHEAR. Not the SABLE!

63. [See: theme]

65. Put in office: ELECT.  Fingers crossed this still holds...

66. Topic of a note home, perhaps: TARDINESS.  Been there.  School wouldn't ALERT my parents until I was late 8 times.  But!, they only tallied per class.  Lots of library time...

67. Big name in rain gear: TOTES. Macintosh was too long.

68. Terminus: END.  End?  I'm not even getting started... ;-)

69. Reptile with sticky toe pads: GECKO. Another insurance mascot.

Down:
1. Soybean paste: MISO.

Yum! -- And it's easy!

2. Catcher Rodríguez inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017: IVAN.  AKA Pudge. He had a stint with the Houston Astros in 2009 but made his name with the (Dallas) Texas Rangers (1991-2001) and, IIRC, was part of the Florida Marlin's World Series winning team (2003).  //I had to lookup the year(s).

3. Credit report item: DEBT. Make sure you have some debt or FICO dings you.

4. Total yawner: SNOOZE-FEST. Ok, Ok, I'll move it along...

5. Little one: TOT.  Kid, child, snot-nosed brat.

6. Perimeter: EDGE. Also, with The, U2's guitarist.

7. __ Davis Institute on Gender in Media: GEENA.  Geena Davis (Jan 21, 1956 -) is an actor / producer who founded the institute at Mount Saint Mary's University in Los Angeles to research gender representation in media and advocate for equal representation.  #Learning.

8. Fuel for some grills: GAS.
 

Hank Hill's Goth Phase

9. Extol: PRAISE. Hallelujah!
 

Leonard Cohen

10. Tiny stream: RILL. Rill? I looked it up: "A small stream." Um, OK. #Learning

11. Frequently: OFTEN TIMES. Redundant? Doesn't 'often' imply time?

12. See 9-Across: PLANE.   PROPS to me for finally suss'n' the NE corner.

13. Mattress choice: SERTA. The brand with the out-of-work "Counting Sheep."
 

15. Sonnet line quintet: IAMBS. Poetry.  I'll let someone smarter address this 'cuz I never understood counting syl-LA-bles.

21. Opera virtuoso Beverly: SILLS.  Beverly Sills (May 25, 1929 - July 2, 2007) was a soprano.  [Read more]

23. Put away: EAT. Nom, Nom, Nom.

25. Few and far between: SPARSE.

27. 43,560 square feet: ACRE.  AveJoe surveyed a LOT of these.  //See what I did there?

28. Make fuzzy: BLUR.

29. Visibly embarrassed: RED AS A BEET.

30. Bested: TOPPED. Won.

32. Question for an astrobiologist: ARE WE ALONE? Also a question for a significant-other.

35. Ingredient in many tropical cocktails: RUM. If yes to the above, start with a Piña Colada(?)

37. __ classic: CULT.   What's your favorite?   A) UHF, B) The Kentucky Fried Movie, C) The Rocky Horror Picture Show, D) Other (please elaborate).

38. Norwegian home of the Fram Museum: OSLO. You had me at Norwegian...

40. Misses overseas: Abbr.: SRTAS. Spanish abbreviation and an 'E' short of a mattress maker.

44. NBC show that inspired "30 Rock," for short: SNL.  Saturday Night Live.  It's had it's ups and downs since '75... The new cast's premier (10/1) was pretty good. Let's see if it holds.
Yeah, I *totes heart* Tina Fey.

Tina Fey (head-writer SNL & 30 Rock) with some guy.

46. Warns: ALERTS.  I hope the above caption doesn't alert @jimmyfallon.

48. Sped: RACED.

49. Plus: ASSET.

50. "Four Inhabitants of Mexico" painter: KAHLO.

Frida Kahlo's Self Portrait with Grandparents, Parents & Me - Four Inhabitants of Mexico

52. Actor Hawke: ETHAN. I briefly met him one morning in New Orleans on the balcony next to ours. I had NO IDEA. He was just a dude cleaning up after a party / having his coffee.  Later I was clued in.

55. Valentine trim: LACE. *looks for links* Um, no. This isn't Splynter's expo :-)

57. "Downton Abbey" title: LORD. Extol, er, PRAISE the?

59. COO, e.g.: EXEC. Chief Operating Officer - a C-Suite suit.

60. Work place: DESK. The COO's DESK is BIG. Mine ain't.

61. Standard Oil brand: ESSO. Hey, Canadian, Eh!, eh?

63. Abbr. in some vineyard names: STE. Some French (wo)men name their vineyards after Saints. I guess(?) C.Moe?

64. Important: BIG. Really important: HUGE   [See: COO's DESK]

Well, that's it.  Here's the TL;DR:

Thanks Catherine for the fun puzzle.  Stop by The Corner; maybe give us some inside-baseball.
The theme helped me break the cross-reference in the NE corner... Gotta be FLATs(?)... Ah, yes, a Biathlon has guns!
WOs: Paw->ZEB, ATE->EAT
ESPs: ZEB, MIDST, RILL, GEENA, KAHLO | TOTES
Fav: SNOOZE-FEST. Something I hope today's expo wasn't.

//To be openly honest with y'all, I FIW.  I had KAHLa | TaTES when I put my pen down. 
Just 'cuz I get to expo (my honor, C.C.), doesn't mean I'm Mensa-smart.

Cheers, -T
Coda: I found some bonus SHOEBOXES in the reveal and surrounding fill: OXEN (why not?; there's MULEs), HORA (what you wear to a wedding dance?), and, um, SHAT...

Wednesday, October 5, 2022, Ed Sessa

Theme: IN THE REAR VIEW

20. *Kitchen fire, for one: HOME EMERGENCY.

24. *Laura Dern's "Little Women" role: MARMEE MARCH.

44. *Lifetime Achievement Award presented to "Sesame Street" in 2009, e.g.: DAYTIME EMMY.

50. Soft-shoe classic, or what can be found in the answers to the starred clues: ME AND MY SHADOW. That phrase is a crossword theme waiting to happen, amirite?

Melissa here. Each theme answer contains the sequence "MEEM," so "ME" followed by it's shadow "EM." There are a few additional answers in the grid with different letters that use the same pattern, I've marked them with the same highlighting as above.

Across:

1. Creates suds: FOAMS.

6. Lettuce variety: BIBB.  Named after John Bibb, a lawyer who developed this variety in Kentucky out of his Frankfort home. More about Bibb Lettuce.

10. Testy mood: SNIT. Or person. SNIT is a valid scrabble word.

14. Patronized, as a diner: ATE AT.

15. __ Bator: former spelling of Mongolia's capital: ULAN. Also spelled Ulaanbaatar, it was originally a nomadic Buddhist center.

16. Security checkpoint device: WAND. I haven't seen the wand at TSA lately, just go through the scanner, followed by a pat down if they see something. Sadly, it has become like a prison visiting room check-in.

17. Crooner Mel: TORME.

18. Tracks on a muddy road, e.g.: TIRE MARKS.

22. To boot: ALSO.

23. __ lodge: SKI.

30. '60s protest gp.: SDS. Students for a Democratic Society, American student organization that flourished in the mid-to-late 1960s.

33. Bed bug?: APHID. Garden bed.

34. Vaio laptop maker: SONY.

35. Game, __, match: SET. Tennis.

36. Kylo Ren's mother: LEIA. Not up on my Star Wars, had to look this one up. Ben is the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, the nephew of Luke Skywalker, and the grandson of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader and Padmé Amidala. After turning to the dark side, he becomes the apprentice of Supreme Leader Snoke, and later renames himself Kylo Ren upon becoming the Master of the Knights of Ren.

37. Yellowstone bovine: BISON. The Yellowstone Park bison herd is probably the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States, estimated in 2020 to be 4,800 bison. There have been at least two bison attacks this summer in the park, as national park visitors explode post Covid. Here’s a quick bison "rule of thumb:" If you outstretch your arm and hold up your thumb, you should be able to cover the entire silhouette of any bison in the vicinity. If not, you are too close.

39. "I Just Wanna Stop" singer Vannelli: GINO. 1978 memories!

40. Square root of 100: TEN.

41. House overhang: EAVE.

42. Pitcher's bagful: ROSIN. Baseball. A small canvas bag filled with rosin powder (a sticky substance extracted from the sap of fir trees) is used by pitchers to improve their grip on the baseball and keep their hands dry. The rules specifically allow the rosin bag to be kept on the field of play.

43. Pvt. address: APO. Military mail - Pvt. for rank of Private. APO stands for "Army Post Office," and is associated with Army or Air Force installations. FPO stands for "Fleet Post Office," and is associated with Navy installations and ships.

47. Michael of "SNL": CHE. Co-anchor on Weekend Update and co-head writer alongside Colin Jost. Not to be confused with SNL creator Lorne Michaels.

49. Latest: NEWS.

56. Common sweetener: CORN SYRUP.

57. Atlanta Dream co-owner Montgomery: RENEE. Former professional basketball player, sports broadcaster and activist who is currently vice president, part-owner, and investor of the Atlanta Dream.

59. "Oh, sure, whatever you say": UM OK. Alright then.

60. Wolfe of detective fiction: NERO.

61. Try to stop: DETER.

62. Chilean sea __: BASS.

63. Revise: EDIT.

64. Part of an inner circle?: SPOKE. Nice clue. Why Do Bicycles Have Spokes?

Down:

1. Butter or lard: FAT.

2. Brief "Then again ... ": OTOH. On the other hand ...

3. Flight-related prefix: AERO.

4. Jukebox musical featuring ABBA songs: MAMMA MIA. AMMA.

5. Braced (oneself): STEELED.

6. Kid's dismayed cry: BUT MOM.

7. Nastase of tennis: ILIE.

8. Mystery writer Nevada: BARR. She is known for her Anna Pigeon series, which is primarily set in a series of national parks and other protected areas of the United States.

9. Uncommon blood type, briefly: BNEG. B negative red blood cells can be given to both B and AB patients. B negative patients can only receive blood from other B negative donors or from type O negative donors (who are the universal donors).

10. Two-time Best Actress winner Hilary: SWANK. Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby.

11. Self-absorption: NARCISSISM. ISSI

12. Very dark: INKY.

13. NFL scores: TDS. Touchdowns.

19. Like netting: MESHY.

21. Linguistic suffix: ESE. Chinese. Portuguese. Vietnamese.

 
24. Island near Sicily: MALTA.

25. "Not __ out of you!": A PEEP. PEEP.

26. Thick-skinned safari beast: RHINOCEROS.

27. Valuable quality: ASSET.

28. Milne joey: ROO. A.A. Milne is the creator of Winnie the Pooh. Kanga is the doting mother to Roo. A baby kangaroo is known as a joey, which means “little animal” in the Aboriginal language.

29. Christiane Amanpour's channel: CNN. British-Iranian journalist and television host. In the news recently for refusing to wear a headscarf.

31. Durable fabric: DENIM.

32. Poker-faced: STONY.

37. Shearing day sound: BAA.

 

38. Creeping vine: IVY.

39. Hits a homer, in baseball lingo: GOES DEEP. Football lingo, too. ETA: Thanks anon@7:23, you are correct - my brain tried to make that DEED to fit the theme.

41. Idyllic places: EDENS.

42. Loyalty program perks: REWARDS.

45. Trendy place: IN SPOT.

46. "I could take it or leave it": MEH.

48. Tom who voices Woody in the "Toy Story" films: HANKS.

50. NYC cultural center: MOMA. Founded in 1929, The Museum of Modern Art is one of the largest and most influential museums of modern art in the world. Date Night at The Met.

 
51. Unit of force: DYNE.

52. 1960s TV horse: MR ED.

53. Cosmonaut Gagarin: YURI. The first human to journey into outer space. Gagarin was killed in 1968 with another pilot in the crash of a two-seat jet aircraft while on what was described as a routine training flight. His ashes were placed in a niche in the Kremlin wall. After his death the town of Gzhatsk was renamed Gagarin.

54. Not duped by: ONTO.

55. Pay period, for some: WEEK.

56. Baby bear: CUB. Cubs and joeys today.

58. Poetic "before": ERE.