Saturday, February 3, 2024, Grace and Greg Warrington

  Saturday Themeless by Grace and Greg Warrington

What a lovely Saturday puzzle by high school student Grace Warrington and her  University of Vermont math professor father Greg. I zoomed through this one and really enjoyed the clever cluing and the very helpful long and "gettable" fills. Here is a very nice article about Grace, her dad and getting their first puzzles published.

Across:

1. Tells: BLABS.

6. Randall Munroe webcomic: XKCD  - I had no idea but this looks really fun! XKID made more sense to me at first.   

 

10. In a tizzy: AGOG.

14. Instant success?: RAMEN - I don't remember these being popular when I was a struggling college student.

15. Move, informally: RELO.

16. Athletic brand that makes Scoot Zeros: PUMA.

17. "So ... you're not saying no ... ?": IS THAT A YES?

19. Conditionally give: LEND.

20. "My mistake": OH SORRY - Not always sincere...

21. Contamination process: OSMOSIS.

23. Drab shade: OLIVE 

25. Pet brand since 1946: IAMS.

26. "Rock'n Me" group: STEVE MILLER BAND - A very worthy musical interlude. Rock on!

32. Worked on the road: PAVED or tarred like they did in Cool Hand Luke

33. "Good thinking!": SMART.

34. Congressional auditing org.: GAO - Their charge is to monitor and limit government spending. No, really!

35. Squeezes (out): EKES.

36. Devout: PIOUS.

37. Some recyclables: CANS.

38. __ Lingus: AER - There appears to be a dominant color inside and out

39. For company: ALONG.

40. Actress Tazel of "Justified": ERICA.

41. Correct: RIGHT ON THE MONEY - It had to do with surveyors placing a shiny coin on top of a time aged marker to help them view their target. When the coin was centered in their sights, they knew they were on target - or “right on the money”. You're welcome.

44. Thé addition: LAIT - Thé indicates the French word for tea, LAIT is French for milk and so we get tea with milk. (correction - hg)

45. Singer who never toured outside North America: ELVIS - "Colonel" Tom Parker was the reason Elvis never toured

46. Spots for fireside chats: HEARTHS.

49. "You must let me": I INSIST - The initial two "I's" took some parsing

53. Actor who hosted "Scientific American Frontiers" from 1993 to 2005: ALDA.

54. Editorial piece, perhaps: OPEN LETTER.

56. Side hustle option: UBER.

57. Peignoir frill: LACE.

58. __ wafers: NILLA.

59. Hit with an intense beam: LASE - Name 

Bond: Do you expect me to talk?
Goldfinger: No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!

60. First asteroid landed on by a NASA craft: EROS - NASA's NEAR Shoemaker vehicle traveled the 160 million miles to EROS and landed within three feet of its target. It has remained there in the dark and cold for over twenty years.

61. Wimbledon set?: TELLY - British television. I did not bite on the red herring of Wimbledon tennis. 

Down:

1. Con __: with vigor, in music: BRIO - Allegro also means cheerfully

2. Word in some mascara names: LASH.

3. Receipt figs.: AMTS.

4. Is incumbent upon: BEHOOVES.

5. Congested, in a way: SNARLED.

6. Penetrating gaze?: X-RAY VISION - A PSA for the man from Krypton

7. Escape room find: KEY - Here's such a game room in NYC

8. Jazz singer Laine: CLEO - Name the 1940 Disney cartoon that had a character named CLEO (*answer below)

9. Files: DOSSIERS.

10. Grace under pressure: APLOMB.

11. "Still wrong": GUESS AGAIN.

12. Hotel chain headquartered in Dallas: OMNI - A pretty good guess for a 4-letter hotel chain

13. __ about: GADS - What my wife says I do at parties

18. Short cut: TRIM.

22. Outlet: MART.

24. San Gabriel Valley city north of Whittier: EL MONTE  - It's about a 23 minute drive from EL MONTE to Pasadena for the Rose Parade

26. Pike, e.g.: SPEAR - Standard issue to the Vatican's Swiss Guard

27. "Oh Myyy! There Goes the Internet" memoirist: TAKEI - Mr. Sulu's catchphrase 

28. Largest subtropical wilderness reserve in North America: EVERGLADES.

29. Wrinkles in time?: LAUGH LINES - Getting rid of them

30. Actor Jack who often collaborated with David Lynch: NANCE.

Lynch (director) NANCE (actor)

31. "If I __ so myself": DO SAY.

36. Glitch in "The Matrix," maybe?: PLOT HOLE.

37. Rail yard piece: CROSS TIE - Replacing without moving the rails

39. Busy, busy, busy: AT IT.

40. Celebrated: EMINENT - It is not necessarily imminent that you will become EMINENT

42. Capital of Zimbabwe: HARARE - A 19-hr flight from NYC

43. Pernicious: EVIL.

46. Spoils: HAUL.

47. Heimdall player in Marvel's "Thor" films: ELBA.

Idris ELBA

48. Box: SPAR.

50. "__ come to me ... ": IT'LL - Wait a minute, IT'LL come to me.

51. Pitch well?: SELL 😀

52. Buffet surface: TRAY.

55. Prefix with footprint: ECO.

*Cleo was Gepetto's goldfish in 1940's Pinocchio 

Friday, February 2, 2024 - Amie Walker and Matthew Stock

Theme: "Slow down, you move too fast ..."

Puzzling thoughts:

Happy Groundhog Day, Cornerites! More on this, later ...

Thanks again for all of your kind comments on my puzzle this past Wednesday (Jan 31)

It took the Chairman (15-across. Re:) ABOUT 12 minutes to complete today's puzzle; less than my normal solving time for a Friday

I was expecting a Groundhog Day-themed puzzle, but this one did not disappoint

Amie Walker and Matthew Stock collaborate on this very enjoyable puzzle (whose grid is asymmetric, BTW) that uses four words/phrases as synonyms for "no running". Each of the entries - three down and one across - are "in the language" terms. Let's examine them further, shall we?

3-down. "No running" to an incumbent: TERM LIMITED. Blog rules strictly prohibit me (or any of all y'all) from discussing politics, so I will let the image below speak for itself ...

11-down. "No running" at a cosmetics store: SMUDGE PROOF.

She obviously didn't use a smudge proof mascara!

25-down. With 26-Down, "No running" to a newspaper reporter: OFF THE RECORD. Two things struck me about this entry:

1) How skillfully placed this was in the grid
2) How amazingly clever to come up with this phrase to signify "not running"

55-across. "No running" on a pool deck: SLIPPERY WHEN WET. All sorts of images crept into the Chairman's devious and puerile mind but this is the one that will be published!!

Let's get on with the other clues and entries, including the plethora of 3-letter words (sorry, Irish Miss!) ... the picture of the grid will be at the end of the blog

Across:
1. Body art: TATS, with its "clecho": (57-down. Body art:) INK. (one of the plethora of 3-letter words)

5. Split __: HAIRS. Neither "ENDS" nor "PEA SOUP" fit

10. Soft "C'mere!": PSST. This "word" is showing up often, recently, in xword puzzles

14. Begin to form: BREW. Interesting clue for this word

16. Chicano poet Luis __ Salinas: OMAR. "___ the tent maker" would've worked as a clue, too

17. World of Warcraft beast: OGRE. This filled via perps

18. Zelle alternative: VENMO. I use PayPal

19. Herding dog from Hungary: PULI. A learning experience for me, although when I went to "save" the image, I already had it in my pictures folder. Perhaps this word was used once before @ LA Times? This looks like a dog that Bob Marley would own ...

20. Veinte, por ejemplo: NUMERO. A CSO to Lucinda. Veinte is twenty, no?

22. Athena's domain: WISDOM. A bit of misdirection, as the word "domain" also means the area in which she might preside. Here is what [wikipedia] says: "Athena was the goddess of battle strategy, and wisdom. Identified in the Roman mythology as the goddess Minerva. She was always accompanied by her owl ..."

24. Fast-food chain with Epic Burritos: DEL TACO. This filled easily via perps; I don't regularly frequent DEL TACO restaurants but we have some in our area; you?

26. Tips over one's king, e.g.: RESIGNS. Chess reference when a player realizes that they are going to lose and/or face "checkmate"

27. "__ be my pleasure": IT'D. #2 of the 18 three-letter words

28. Usage charge: FEE. The third of the three-letter words

30. Dry __: ICE. The fourth of the three-letter words; Dry ICE is actually the solid form of carbon dioxide (CO2), a molecule consisting of a single carbon atom bonded to two oxygen atoms [wikipedia]

31. "Thus with a kiss I die" hero: ROMEO. I sensed a Shakespeare quote here, and ROMEO fit

33. TV watchers?: F.C.C. Fifth 3-letter word, and another abbr.

34. Beta preceder: ALPHA. In the Greek ALPHAbet

37. Bird-related: AVIAN. It's "for the birds"

38. Howe'er: THO'. Sixth 3-letter word; another abbr.

39. "Great blue" or "little blue" bird: HERON. A HERON would be AVIAN, no?

40. Obtain: GET. Seventh 3-letter word; I "GET" it; there are a lot of them today

41. Free of wool: SHORN. I had SHEAR first before the perps corrected it

43. Not available at the moment: OUT. #8; and I am OUT of explanations!!

44. Seasoned vet's opposite: NEWBIE. Nice clue

47. Part of JD: DOCTOR. Juris DOCTOR; a legal term; "A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law is a graduate-entry professional degree in law. The JD is the standard degree obtained to practice law in the United States, where there is no undergraduate professional law degree" [wikipedia]

50. Fizzled out: DIED. What happened to your car after you drove with a "Check Engine" light illuminated

51. Playing surface: TURF. Term used for both football and golf

52. Ooze: SEEP.

54. Sizable plot: ACRE.

62. Small horse: PONY. Or, a small beer bottle

63. "Now __ talking!": YOU'RE.

64. Line graph display: DATA.

And of course, there is another "clecho": (49-down. Line graph display:) TREND.

65. Look for answers: ASK. #9; ASK me (or Irish Miss) again, "how many 3-letter words are OK for a puzzle?"

66. Awards for "Abbott Elementary": EMMYS. One of our favorite "major" network shows

67. Break: GAP. #10 ... maybe a better clue would've been from the old commercial jingle: "Fall into the ___"

OK, it's "halftime" at the blog. Remember when I said that there would be more about Groundhog Day?? Well, I read an interesting article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this past Sunday. The person writing the article began by saying that perhaps PETA would someday put an end to this annual celebration, where Punxsatawney Phil (the groundhog) is no longer the focal point of whether we do or don't have 6 more weeks of winter. She said that maybe they have a gold coin with a "heads" or "tails", and the citizens of that sleepy little Western Pennsylvania town just flip the coin ... heads = more winter; tails = an early spring. But at the end, despite so many ARGUEments for why Phil should be allowed to return to the wild, she realized that this is a huge event for the townsfolk. And, it gives all of us who don't live there a reason to celebrate. I'm all for that. Plus, it also gives us a chance to watch a little clip from the movie starring Andie MacDowell and Bill Murray. Enjoy!

Down:
1. Govt. security: T-BOND. Did anyone else try T-BILL instead? Not I

2. Go back and forth: ARGUE. One thing I have learned: you can either be right or be happy ... no ARGUEment here, eh guys??!! 😅

4. Lemonade alternative: SWEET TEA. CSO to all of our southern friends who have probably consumed more gallons of this than can be counted. The "trick" is to BREW the tea with the sugar already in the water

5. Chaos: HAVOC. Another Bill Murray clip with a reference to chaos/HAVOC

6. Dad on "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel": ABE. An Emmy Award for actor Tony Shalhoub as ABE Weissman

7. + or - particle: ION. #11

8. Pirate song spirit: RUM. #12. "Spirit" as in an alcoholic libation; RUM

9. Madeleine of "Revenge": STOWE. Harriet Beecher ___ would have been too obvious (for me)

10. Stick in the freezer?: POPSICLE. A nice play-on-words clue

12. Place where one might leave tips for tips: SALON. Another nice play-on-words clue; tips (as in gratuities) for tips (as in highlights for ones hair)

13. Cuts back: TRIMS. Another SALON job

21. Hazardous gas: RADON. Are RADON detectors still mandatory in homes with basements?

23. "Da 5 Bloods" actor Whitlock Jr.: ISIAH. A Biblical prophet, perhaps? Nope. Him:

29. Helpful Amazon gadget: ECHO. We have one; it's called a "Dot"

31. Joplin work: RAG. #13

32. "The Great British Baking Show" appliance: OVEN. Even if you didn't know the show, what else COULD it be??

35. 3,600 seconds: HOUR. 60 seconds in one minute x 60 minutes in one hour = 3,600 seconds

36. Crumb-collecting insect: ANT. #14. And I bet that there are more than 14 clues for this industrious insect that have appeared in xword puzzles

41. Skeptical look: SIDE EYE. This:

42. Tally marks: NOTCHES.

45. Thin and wavy: WISPY. Like this HAIR??

How to wear WISPY bangs

46. [Time's up!]: BEEP. [Grammarly dot com] says: "Parentheses and brackets are punctuation marks used to set apart certain words and sentences. Parentheses, ( ), are used to add extra information in text, while brackets, [ ], are used mainly in quotations to add extra information that wasn't in the original quote." In this case, the "BEEP" is the extra information

48. Remedy: CURE. Despite all of the time modern medicine has had to develop one, there still is no CURE for the common cold

53. Formal: PROM. "Formal" as in the participants are dressed in formal attire for this school event

54. Off course: AWRY. Hey Moe! When are we going to get a Moe-ku? Well, this one sort of fits ...

Waggish pastry chef
Opened a new bakery.
Just bakes a wry bread.

55. Escape room?: SPA. #15. Don't people go to a SPA to escape the toils of daily life??

56. __ Gatos, California: LOS. #16. What else could it be, other than "LOS" for a California city??

58. "Delish!": YUM. #17. CSO to Hahtoolah with her pet word: YUMmers!! 😋

59. Tail movement: WAG. #18. Did anyone have to use a "WAG" (wild-assed-guess) to come up with "WAG"??

60. "We'll get there then" approx.: ETA. #19. Another abbr.

61. Water source: TAP. "VEINTE"!! (20) "TAP" as in faucet

And we have reached the "END" (another 3-letter word!). Let's end with a Moe-l'ick:

As your blogger I might be your shill,
And admit, didn't you feel the thrill?
I've got one thing to say
On this year's Groundhog Day
Don't you think that we've gotten our Phil??

The grid:

Comments, please ...

Thursday, February 1, 2024 ~ Emet Ozar

SWF Seeking...

Escape - Rupert Holmes

15. *Device sold with some sheets of hard candy: TOFFEE HAMMER. You say so.

Toffee Hammer

22. *Took from the top: SKIMMED OFF. Taking the cream or a Salami Attack.

47. *"The Irishman" role for Al Pacino: JIMMY HOFFA. Jimmy's still alive, right?

58. *Teenage vampire slayer of film and TV: BUFFY SUMMERS. I didn't know Buffy had a last name.

35. Some partners, and what can be found in the answers to the starred clues?: SAME SEX COUPLES.

All I can figure is MM (male-male) & FF (female-female) are paired up in the themers. Overall, Emet provided a nice Thursday puzzle that wasn't too difficult.

Across:
1. Yogurt-based drink: LASSI.

Recipes

6. Choose: OPT.

9. "The Equalizer" network: CBS. I've seen one or two partial episodes - I think Queen Latifah was (is?) in it.

12. Pins included in many Ikea furniture kits: DOWELS.
 

Who's NOT used these?

13. Oberlin College's state: OHIO. Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second-oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of higher learning in the world. [WikiP]

14. Horde member in Tolkien: ORC. Remember, ENTs (16' humanoids that look like trees) are good; ORCs bad. EFTs are salamander newts and are NOT part of LOTR.

15. [See: theme]

17. "The Marvels" director DaCosta: NIA.

Nia DaCosta

18. Zaftig: ROTUND. Zaftag: Yiddish origins for "pleasantly plump" woman. #Google

19. Genetic strand: RNA. Ribonucleic acid.

20. Happily __ after: EVER. All the Grimm Brothers' tales as told by Disney.

21. Pastoral poem: IDYL.

22. [See: theme]

25. Label: TAG.

26. "Nova" subj.: SCI. Nova, on PBS, is a great SCIence program.

28. Suffers: AILS.

29. Tokyo, long ago: EDO. Comes up about four times a year in puzzles.

30. Diner patron: EATER. A diner eats dinner at the diner.

33. Yuletide: NOEL.

35. [See: theme]

39. Stew meat: LAMB. Friday, I had lamb curry at an Indo-Pac place. It must be authentic - no pepper icon next to the menu item but it sure had a kick to it.

40. Style: TASTE.

41. Amber, for one: GEM.

43. Brand of kitchen bags: GLAD.
 

Don't get mad, get Glad

45. Dudes: HES. Guys & Bros was too long.

46. "It's __-brainer!": A NO. I didn't even have to think about this one.

47. [See: theme]

52. "Not only that ... ": ALSO. Oh, and, and, and...

53. Neck of the woods: AREA. As Pop [57d] says of his property, "It's my little postage stamp on the globe."

54. Salad dressing base: OIL. EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil) was too long; perps said 'egg' was right out.

55. Crazy about: MAD FOR.

57. Pop: DAD. I call father both.

58. [See: theme]

61. Fig. affected by weather: ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival is just that, an estimate.

62. Lago contents: AGUA. Spanish lesson for the day.

63. Removes, as a knot: UNTIES. Or, how dyslexics gather around a cause.

64. Marina __ Rey, California: DEL.

65. Sighs of pleasure: AHS.

66. Visibility reducers: MISTS. Could affect your ETA.

Down:
1. Ambitious aspiration: LOFTY GOAL. Anyone have any LOFTY GOALs for 2024? Mine is to get a HAM license.

2. Nasty: AWFUL. Mean was too short.

3. Observed: SEEN.

4. Winter coaster: SLED.

5. "More or less": ISH. Or so(ish).

6. "Wowza": OH MAMA. Should I rat-out BIL? He had salted carmel in dark chocolate for the first time. "Oh, damn, Oh, Oh, dude. Oh, Mama! Y'all need to check this out!" //he has a sheltered (meat & potatoes) pallet. Once, the Girls double-dog dared him to eat a blueberry and he was plussed.

7. Thanksgiving dessert: PIE. Being from the South, DW must have pecan; I gotta have pumpkin.

8. The Blue Jays, on sports crawls: TOR. Toronto Blue Jays, eh, C,Eh?

9. Chat sesh: CONVO. A chat ses[h]sion is a conv[o]ersation. #KidsTheseDays

10. Terse: BRIEF. [see: 9d]

11. Beginner's knitting project, perhaps: SCARF. For crocheting too (I made a lot of scarfs :-))

12. Tchotchkes: DOODADS. Thingies on the shelf.

13. Universal opening?: OMNI. Omnipresent, Omnivorous, Omniscient, Omnidirectional.

15. Hackneyed: TRITE. [see: this expo]

16. Genesis boat: ARK.

20. Unsuccessful Ford: EDSEL.

 History [Time]

22. Locale: SITE.

23. Microscopic: MINUTE. Here's a word that, depending on long- or short- "I," has two different meanings. Primer is another.
//chatting with a hacker-buddy HAM on #discord I said I'd like a primer on the cheap-a** Baufeng radio I bought for my LOFTY GOAL. He thought I wanted to paint it :-)

24. Gets together quietly: ELOPES. Cute.

26. Proper: SEEMLY. I don't quite get this... I thought SEEMLY was baudy in a way.

27. World Heritage Site in Algiers: CASBAH. Cue The Clash.

Rock the Casbah

31. Business card no.: EXT. Phone number EXTention within your PBX (Private Branch Exchange).

32. Kelly Clarkson's first record label: RCA. Nipper's recording studio. Hi Misty!

34. Cost of a suit?: LEGAL FEES. Not a three-piece but a lawsuit.

36. Molten rock: MAGMA.

Rock Cycle

37. Federal org. that inspects workplaces: OSHA. Occupational Safety & Health Administration.

38. Features of many alarms: SENSORS. Motion sensors, break-glass noise sensors, magnet switches on the windows & doors, etc.

42. Heath-covered wastelands: MOORS. Emily Bronte comes to mind.

Semaphore Version of Wuthering Heights [Python]

44. Foolish one: DOOFUS.

47. Over it all: JADED. Cynical.

48. Hopping mad: IRATE. PO'd was too short.

49. Purple Heart, e.g.: MEDAL. (Army) Bro has one.

Purple Heart

50. Sports org. based in Zurich: FIFA.  #Soccer

51. Pop __: FLY. Usually an easy catch in #Baseball.

52. Let in or let on: ADMIT. Bouncer ADMITs you or you ADMIT you did it.

55. Public transit system in San Francisco, familiarly: MUNI. I kept wanting BART but perps didn't agree.

56. Tsps. and tbsps.: AMTS. Don't confuse these two AMTS when using baking powder (ask me how I know).

58. Pasture sound: BAA.

59. "Blah": UGH.

60. Dim __: cuisine often served in steamer baskets: SUM.

Yummers!

The Grid:

The Grid

WOs: LOng shO[ts] -> LOFTY GOALS, bart -> MUNI
ESPs: LASSI, ROTUND, MUNI (oh, yeah)
Fav: I'll go w/ OMNI - any one else subscribe to the magazine back in the day?

Toss in your $0.02 below - I'll catch up with y'all later tonight. Have a great Friday eve!

Cheers, -T

Wednesday January 31, 2024. Chris Gross

Theme Buried Culinary Treasures.  Common in-the-language phrases contain, that is to say, have room for,  tasty postprandial delights.

20 A. *Bakery employees who offer free samples?: CUPCAKE HOLDERS. The surface meaning is a person holding cupcakes to be distributed.  A CUP HOLDER is a device for holding a plastic cup or other drinking container, as in the console of a motor vehicle, or an item if furniture.  The hidden desert is a CAKE an item of soft, sweet food made from a mixture of flour, shortening, eggs, sugar, and other ingredients, baked and often decorated. And this fill is a CAKE holder in more ways than one. A bit involuted, but tasty.  Do those bakery folks have frosting on their fingers?

33 A. *Mistakes made while preparing a simple breakfast?: POPTART FOULS.  How wold one foul a Poptart?  By dousing it in pickle juice, perhaps. In baseball, a POP FOUL is a ball hit high in the air for not much distance that lands in foul territory.  Our dessert here is a TART - an open pastry case containing a filling.   Don't mess it up.

43 A. *Comfort food with a high price tag?: POTPIE OF GOLD.   I've heard of gilding the lily. Hmmm. Perhaps made with gold electroplated pastry dough? A POT OF GOLD is a large amount of money, especially one that is unattainable or illusory.  A dessert PIE is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savory ingredients.  As distinguished from a TART, the PIE has a top crust. Probably not made of gold, though

58. Question from a server, or what was needed to create the answer to each starred clue: ROOM FOR DESSERT.   Chris made room in each of these phrases to tuck in a sweet treat.  The server would be asking of you are too full to participate.

Hi gang, JazzBumpa here, in the throes of a dramatic glucose spike.  Let's get going and work off some of those carbs.

Across:

1. Tracks: CUTS.  Album tracks.  Wasn't my first thought.

14. "Pronto" letters: ASAP.  As Soon As Possible.  Take your time, but hurry.

15. Delight: ELATE. Make very happy.

16. Rachel Maddow's field: NEWS.   Information about current events.  What's happening now.

17. Simon or Garfunkel: NAME.  Ditto Smith and Jones.  Again, not what one would expect from the clue

18. Terra __: COTTA.  A clay-based non-vitreous ceramic, fired at relatively low temperatures.  Earthenware.

19. Small valley: DELL.  Often in a wooded area.

23. Purpose: USE.  The reason for which something exists.

24. Shed: LOSE.  Give off, discharge or expel.  During the hurricane my yard shed its shed.

25. Summer hrs. in Portsmouth: EDT.  Eastern Daylight Time

26. Some DEA employees: NARCS.  Slang shorthand for narcotics agent, who specializes in laws dealing with illegal drugs.

28. Smallest state in India: GOA.   Goa is a state in western India with coastlines stretching along the Arabian Sea. Its long history as a Portuguese colony prior to 1961 is evident in its preserved 17th-century churches and the area’s tropical spice plantations.

30. Stable staple: OAT.   A nutritious breakfast for both horses and people.

38. "Frozen" sister: ELSA.  Elsa is the Queen of Arendelle in the Disney cartoon feature, Frozen.  I think this clue should point to her sister Anna, since Elsa is the star of the show.

41. Misstep: ERROR.  Faux pas, Fingerfehler.  Oops.

42. Water waster: DRIP.  From a not-properly-shut-off faucet.

46. Back: AGO. In the past.

47. "The A-Team" actor: MR T.   Laurence Tureaud [b. 1952] is an American actor. He is known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team and as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III.

48. Abbr. before a year: ESTAB.  Established - referring to the year something was founded. 

52. Fundraising org.: PTA.  Parent-Teachers Association, a network of of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of family engagement in schools.   

54. Gets faint: DIMS.   Reduces in brightness or image clarity.

57. Laundry brand: ERA.  A P&G product.

62. Soap brand: LAVA.  Lava is a heavy-duty hand cleaner in soap bar form manufactured by the WD-40 Company. Unlike typical soap bars, Lava contains ground pumice, which gave the soap its name. The soap and pumice combination is intended to scour tar, engine grease, paint, dirt, grime, filth, and similar substances from the skin.

63. French 101 infinitive: AVOIR.  Meaning to have.

64. Last remarks?: OBIT.  Not a last utterance, but funereal comments about the recently departed.

65. Improves in a cellar, say: AGES.  As wine or cheese.

66. Barbershop quartet part: TENOR.  Unlike choral harmony in which the parts from top down are soprano, alto, tenor and bass, with the melody usually in the soprano part; in barbershop harmony the tenor sings a harmony part that is consistently above the melody, which is sung by the lead.  Below that are baritone and bass.  So the voices from top down are tenor, lead, baritone and bass.

67. Soap brand: DOVE.  A brand of facial soap made by Unilever that comes in a variety of specialized uses.  Dove chocolate tastes better than any of them.

68. Pigeon fancier on "Sesame Street": BERT.  This was not a great success.

69. Adversary: ENEMY.  One that contends with, opposes, or resists.

70. Took a hatchet to: AXED.  Hewed or chopped.

Down:

1. Tourist destination on the Yucatan: CANCUN.   Cancún, a Mexican city on the Yucatán Peninsula bordering the Caribbean Sea, is known for its beaches, numerous resorts and nightlife. It’s composed of 2 distinct areas: the more traditional downtown area, El Centro, and Zona Hotelera, a long, beachfront strip of high-rise hotels, nightclubs, shops and restaurants. 

2. Chant for the red, white, and blue: USA-USA.  Often heard at the Olympics.

3. Mess (with): TAMPER.  Interfere with something in order to cause damage or make unauthorized alterations.

4. Job detail, for short: SPEC.  Specification - a detailed description of the design and materials used to make something.

5. Geico icon: GECKO.  I don't know which I hate more - the Geico adds with the gecko or without the gecko.

6. Medicinal plants: ALOES.   Aloe vera is a succulent plant species of the genus Aloe. It is widely distributed, and is considered an invasive species in many world regions. An evergreen perennial, it originates from the Arabian Peninsula, but also grows wild in tropical, semi-tropical, and arid climates around the world.   The leaves of Aloe vera contain significant amounts of the polysaccharide gel acemannan, which can be used for topical purposes. Aloe skin contains aloin which is toxic. Products made from Aloe vera usually only use the gel.

7. Come clean?: BATHE.   Instead of admitting to some wrong-doing, here we make us of, for example, Dove or Lava soap.

8. "A Man Called __":  OTTO.  Tom Hanks film based on a Fredrik Backman novelm, A Man Called Ove.   When a lively young family moves in next door, grumpy widower Otto Anderson meets his match in a quick-witted, pregnant woman named Marisol, leading to an unlikely friendship that turns his world upside down.

9. Down-to-earth: REAL.   With no illusions or pretensions; practical and realistic.

10. Done: ENDED.  Finished.

11. Excursion where one might see something brewing?: BEER TOUR.   As you visit each brewery, you will learn how they differ from each other, and how their beers make them distinct from the others. You will also get to taste different kinds of beer and know each brewery's bestseller and award-winning beers.

12. Pointed tools: AWLS.    Tools with which holes can be punctured in a variety of materials, or existing holes can be enlarged. They are also used for sewing heavy materials, such as leather or canvas. They have a thin, tapered metal shaft, coming to a sharp point, either straight or slightly bent.

13. Designer monogram: YSL.   The initials of Yves Saint Laurent.  I will wear clothes with his monogram when he wears clothes with the RLT monogram.

21. To boot: ALSO.  The term comes from the Old English to bote, which was once used as part of a legal term in English law, meaning something extra that is added as part of a bargain or compensation.  
You don't hear this expression much here in the States.  But I watch a lot of hockey, and it seems quite common in Canada

22. Like many students at Gallaudet University: DEAF.  Gallaudet University is a private federally chartered university in Washington, D.C., for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children.

27. Sleep apnea apparatus, initially: CPAP.   CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) is a machine that uses mild air pressure to keep breathing airways open while you sleep. Your healthcare provider may prescribe CPAP to treat sleep-related breathing disorders including sleep apnea.

28. High seas quaff: GROG.   A strong alcoholic drink, originally rum, mixed with water

29. Other, in Oaxaca: OTRO.   Spanish.

31. Wong of "Birds of Prey": ALI.    Alexandra Dawn Wong [b. 1982] is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. She is best known for her Netflix stand-up specials Baby Cobra, Hard Knock Wife, and Don Wong. She has also starred in the romantic comedy film Always Be My Maybe, on which she also served as a writer and producer.

I think I'll pass

32. Recipe amt.: TSP.  Teaspoon.

34. Equal: PEER.   One that is of equal standing with another 

35. Relaxed pace: TROT.  A pace faster than a walk

36. Dog park sound: ARF.  Barking.

37. Likelihood: ODDS.  Probability that something will happen.

38. BEACH Act org.: EPA.  Environmental Protection Agency

39. Record: LOG.  Enter (an incident or fact) in the log of a ship or aircraft or in another systematic record.

40. Brief visit: STOP OVER.   To stay at a place for a short period of time on the way to somewhere else or before returning home.

44. Islamic leader: IMAM.   Any of various rulers that claim descent from Muhammad and exercise spiritual and temporal leadership over a Muslim region

45. "Not that much": LESS.  Comparatively not as much.

49. Place to drive: TEE BOX.   In golf,  the start of each hole where you take your first swing.

50. Show up: ARRIVE.  Reach a place at the end of a journey or a stage in a journey.

51. Part of RBI: BATTED.  RBIs are Runs batted in: a run that is scored as a result of a specific batter's hit, walk, sacrifice, etc. 

53. Canapé base, maybe: TOAST.  A canapé is a small piece of bread or pastry with a savory topping, often served with drinks at a reception or formal party.

54. Worker with a monotonous routine: DRONE.   a person who is obliged to do menial, routine or boring work 

55. Cold feet or hot seat: IDIOM.   A type of phrase or expression that has a meaning that can't be deciphered by defining the individual words. Appropriately, the word “idiom” is derived from the ancient Greek word “idioma,” which means “peculiar phraseology.”

56. Full of cheer: MERRY.  Cheerful and lively.

58. Breathe fire, say: RAGE.  Be extremely angry and vocal.  Another example of an idiom.

59. Inevitable end: FATE.  The development of events beyond a person's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power.

60. Pizza place: OVEN.  Where it is cooked, not where it is eaten.

61. Bartender's supply: SODA.  Bubbly water.

62. Chocolate __: LAB.  The Hershey product research facility. No, wait -- The Chocolate Lab is a brown colored variety of Labrador Retriever,  a friendly, confident and loving dog with great character and huge appeal as a pet.

And on that friendly note we draw today's treats to a close.  We had some fun snacks and a few opportunities to clean up.  Hope you found it satisfying.

Cool regards!

JzB