Saturday, February, 10, 2024, Rafael Musa

 Saturday Themeless by Rafael Musa 

After exactly 364 days, I got another Rafael Musa themeless puzzle to blog. This one was a delightful slog as little pieces of it came together to earn me a "got 'er done". I felt like I was in QUITE A PICKLE for a while as I struggled with his clever cluing and other reasonable, though wrong, options. A prime example of the latter is entering SITS for Poses at 1 Down.

Rafael did not litter his puzzle with obscure names that are the bane of my solving existence. Like Sisyphus, I just kept moving the boulder up, the hill, slid back and eventually I ran out of blank cells. AMATEUR was my last fill, I got the Congratulations icon and felt relieved. 

Across:

1. The worst: AWFUL.

6. Clicking sounds?: AHAS.

                

10. "Um, sure": OH, OK.

14. Excelled: SHONE.

15. Firm message?: MEMO 😀

16. First woman to serve as attorney general: RENO - Janet RENO was appointed after two other women withdrew because of issues with gov't regs over nannies they hired. Ms. RENO immediately was confronted with the horrible standoff with David Koresh and his followers in Waco, TX.

17. Kangaroo Island critter: KOALA - As you might expect in the land down under. It is 11 hrs WNW from Melbourne by car and ferry.

18. __ argument: ORAL.
 
19. Something to draw before bedtime: BATH - 😀 Oh, that use of the word draw.

20. Basis of some bonuses: SALES QUOTA.

22. FedEx rival: DHL.

23. Startling revelation: STUNNER and 41. Startling revelation: EYE OPENER.

They didn't fit!

24. 'Tis in the past: TWAS 😀 

                Jabberwocky

• 
• 
• 
• 

                                  Lewis Carroll

1832 – 

1898

                                 ’TWAS brillig, and the slithy toves
                                  Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
                                  All mimsy were the borogoves,
                                  And the mome raths outgrabe.

25. Chiding clicks: TSKS.

28. Aid in avoiding viruses: IT SUPPORT - I quickly got off the medical idea and finally the correct answer appeared.

30. AP competitor: UPI.

31. Decisive periods, briefly: OTS - Unlike the regular season, during the NFL playoffs  and tomorrow's Super Bowl, play will be continued until someone wins in OverTime.

32. On the move: ROLLING.

34. Scientific journal that published the initial sequencing of the human genome: NATURE.

36. Name on the business school at the University of Arkansas: WALTON and 50. Back: FUND. The family of Wal~Mart founder Sam Walton donated fifty million dollars to the University's business school and henceforth it was named The Sam M. WALTON school of business.

37. Mopes: ACTS SAD.

39. Lead-in to X, Y, and Z: GEN - Am I the only one who tried UVW (correction-hg)? 😗

40. Uber stat: ETA.

43. All hands on deck: CREW - The CREW of the U.S.S. Arizona in 1928.

44. Nonhumans that quickly buy up concert tickets: BOTS -  Ticketmaster et al. use BOTS to get so many tickets to resell at their markup, it makes it very hard and/or very expensive to get tickets.

45. Some flavored drinks: ICE TEAS.

47. Earth Day mo.: APR.

48. Gets carried away at a concert?: CROWD SURFS.

52. Consider: DEEM.

54. Flat-topped hat: KEPI - Captain Renault is wearing his KEPI in this famous scene near the end of Casablanca 

55. Keep busy: TIE UP - Brave soldiers of the French First Army kept the Germans TIED UP until over 300,000 men were evacuated at "The Miracle Of Dunkirk".

56. __ school: GRAD - Most of my drives to The University Of Omaha to get my GRAD degree could have been eliminated today by doing most of the work online. 

57. Cask sediment: LEES.

58. Rock memoir with the chapters "Nut Bush" and "River Deep": I TINA - BTW, she was born in Nut Bush, TN

59. "Good __": Alton Brown series: EATS.

60. Ciudad del __: Paraguay's second-largest city: ESTE.

61. Splits: RENDS.

Down:

1. Poses: ASKS.

2. "Stop right there": WHOA and 49. Means of control: REIN.

3. Stable baby: FOAL - Not colt

4. "What if ... ": UNLESS - "UNLESS we work together, we are doomed." "What if we cooperate?"

5. LCD component?: LEAST - We all learned in grade school that to add 1/2 + 1/3 we have to use the Least Common Denominator which is 6; thus 3/6 + 2/6 = 5/6.

6. Comes (to): AMOUNTS.

7. Bitterns, e.g.: HERONS.

8. "You clearly have no idea what you're doing": AMATEUR 😀

9. Light run?: SOLAR POWERED - These huge SOLAR cells POWER the International Space Station

10. __-weaver spider: ORB.

11. Lead role in a TV show: HEAD WRITER: Dick Van Dyke played the lead role in The Dick Van Dyke Show where he played the HEAD WRITER Rob Petrie.

12. Transition phrase: ON THAT NOTE.

13. Retailer that began as a grocery store in Milwaukee: KOHL'S.

21. Spot of bother: QUITE A PICKLE.

24. Congestion pricing charge: TOLL.

25. Product auctioned at Tokyo's historic Tsukiji Market: TUNA.

26. Sci-fi subgenre: SPACE OPERA.

27. Burmese food?: KITTY TREAT - Not as difficult as I feared. Here's a cute Burmese KITTY having a TREAT!

29. "What's the __?": PLAN.

31. Ish: OR SO - I am seventyish 

33. Nibble: GNAW.

35. Finds a place for: USES.

38. Pronounces: DECREES.

39. Mouth off: GET WISE - Sometimes you should GET WISE not to GET WISE

42. Virtual companion: NEO PET.

43. Executive level: C-SUITE.

44. Access card: BADGE

46. Buzzing: ASTIR.

51. Spring break destinations?: SPAS - Uh, not bars?

53. Anatomy experts, briefly: MDS.

Friday, February 9, 2024, Caroline Hand and Katie Hale

 

Good morning, Cruciverbalists.  Malodorous Manatee here with a recap of  today's puzzle which, fittingly, was constructed by not one but two puzzle setters.  If you woke up feeling poorly this morning then this puzzle may not have been for you.  However, if you woke up fooling peerly then you may have found that the solving went smeethly and agrooably.  Let's start with the reveal:

66  Across:  Tennis match with teams of men and women, or what 18- and 25-Across and 42- and 55-Across literally have: MIXED DOUBLES.

At two places (for a total of four clues/answers) Caroline and Katie intentionally mix up the double vowels (OO and EE) found in two common "word combinations" and, thereby, create amusing responses to the carefully worded clues.  The first pair is at:

18 Across:  Plays a trick on Miami's basketball team?: FOOLS THE HEAT     and

25 Across:  Spring occasion when people get really emotional?: APRIL FEELS DAY

FEELS THE HEAT and APRIL FOOLS DAY have traded double vowels

The second pair is at:

42 Across:  Orange rinds of epic proportions?: OLYMPIC SIZE PEELS and

55 Across:  Wagers about how many ingredients are in a bottle of shampoo?: CHEMICAL POOLS

OLYMPIC SIZE POOLS and CHEMICAL PEELS have engaged in a bit of vowel swapping.

Here is how this all looks in the grid:

.... and, now that we've participated in the vowels' key party, let's have a look at the rest of the clues and answers:

Across:

1. Baldelli who was AL Manager of the Year in 2019: ROCCO.  Things start off with a reference to the Minnesota Twins baseball team.

6. Leave the dishes for tomorrow, say: SOAK.   Here in the SOAKing Southland this seems, somehow, appropriate:

Box Of Rain (1972)

10. Fistful of dollars: WAD.

Clint Probably Got This Answer Quickly

13. Nook purchases: E-BOOKS.  NOOK is Barnes and Noble's electronic reading platform/device.

15. Subject: TOPIC.  Current events are a fish's favorite TOPIC of discussion.

17. Spa brand: OPI.  Usually clued with a reference to nail polish.

20. Molecular messenger: RNA.  A crossword staple.

21. Dump, as stock: SELL.

22. Breakdown helpers: AAA.

23. Monarch: RULER.

30. Cuban dance: MAMBO.  O, possibilmente, italiano

33. Comforts: SOLACES.  

34. Rita on Avicii's "Lonely Together": ORA.

35. UFC fighting style: MMA.  Mixed Martial Arts

38. Prefix with gender: CIS.

"Mongo CIS" Just Does Not Seem Right

39. Some UPenn degs.: MBAS.  Many schools offer MBA degrees.  The UPenn bit was not very helpful.

46. Hands together time: NOON.  Analog, not digital.  Not applause.

47. Not awesome: MEH.

48. Big fuss: ADO.

49. Writer Joe Hill, to Stephen King: SON.   A man gave his three boys a cattle ranch.  He named the ranch Focus because that is where the sun's rays meet.

50. Amends last year's tax return, say: RE-FILES.

53. The Chi-__: R&B quartet: LITES.  A pun-ish name.

59. Titan, once: OILER.  The Tennessee Titans football team started out in 1960 as the Houston Oilers before relocating to Nashville in 1997.

60. Prefix in some genre names: ALT.

61. __ Rios, Jamaica: OCHO.

65. School opening?: PRE.  Some solvers might feel that the southwest, with its PRE, SEC and EST stack, was a bit 47 Across.

71. Wall St. regulator: SEC.

72. Cutting: SNIDE.  A fairly ambiguous clue.

73. Writes to: EMAILS.  Can we read EMAILS on our EBOOKS?

74. D.C. hrs.: EST.  Anybody remember Werner Erhard?

75. African antelopes: GNUS.

76. Teaser: PROMO.  As in teaser ad.

Down:

1. Bowl game officials: REFS.  A football reference.

2. Cor anglais kin: OBOE.  Clued many ways but not as many ways as OREO

3. Awesome: COOL.  Slang.

4. Work together briefly?: COLLAB.  A punt (or slang depending on your perspective).  COLLABoration "in brief".

5. Allows: OKS.

6. Gets home, in a way: STEALS.  Another baseball reference.

7. __ and aah: OOH.  What goes OOH OOH?  A cow with no lips.

8. Imitate: APE.  Used as a verb.  See also 36 Down.

9. Telluride maker: KIA.  An automotive reference.

10. Advertising exaggeration, perhaps: WORLD'S BEST.

11. CPAP target: APNEA. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure used to treat breathing problems.  Philips Respironics recently recalled some of their CPAP machines.

12. Log with a lock: DIARY.

14. Guest __: STAR.

16. Copy shortcut: CTRL C.  A computer user's technique.

19. Japanese "yes": HAI.

24. "I can help!": USE ME.  We have seen this several times in our puzzles.  Has anyone actually heard a person say "USE ME" ?

26. Pageantry: POMP.

27. Areas of interest: FOCI.  Plural of FOCUS.

28. "Hamilton" role for Phillipa Soo: ELIZA.

29. Made less harsh: EASED.

30. Eclipse participant: MOON.

31. "Hope" singer Parks: ARLO.

32. City executive-to-be: MAYOR ELECT.

36. Imitate: MIMIC.  See also 8 Down.

37. Amtrak choice: ACELA.  A train ride often taken in our puzzles.

40. Healing plant: ALOE.  A constructor's friend.

41. Bank acct. application digits: SSNS.  Another crossword staple.

43. Greek muse of memory: MNEME.  Inspiration for:

44. "Where the Sidewalk Ends" poet Silverstein: SHEL.

45. Straw __: POLL.  An unofficial vote.

51. Gels: FIRMS.  Used, here, as a verb.

52. Some kings and queens: SPADES.  A playing card reference.

54. Weather map line: ISOBAR.  Where do meteorologists relax after work?

55. Grove: COPSE.

A small COPSE set among a field of dandelions.

56. Brings on: HIRES.  They could have gone with the root beer.

57. Far from current: OLD.

58. Chiwere speakers: OTOE.  OTOE visit us often.  All About These Indigenous Friends of Crossword Constructors

62. Advertiser's honor: CLIO.  The CLIO awards are named for the Greek goddess CLIO, the mythological muse known as "the proclaimer, glorifier and celebrator of history, great deeds and accomplishments.

63. Big wheel at sea: HELM.  Not the idiomatic "big wheel" which might have led to trying to fit ADMIRAL or CAPTAIN into the allotted space.  A big steering wheel.  

64. __ buco: OSSO.  A food reference.

67. Dutch bank: ING.

68. Mark, as a box: X IN.  Punt

69. Part of a prof's address: EDU.  The ending for a university's email address.  dot EDU

70. Plate official: UMP.  Yet another baseball reference.

Y'er Out!

Okay.  If you say so.

Everyone have a wonderful Superb Owl weekend.

___________________________________________________________

Notes from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Splynter, who turns 53 years old today. I'm so happy and grateful that you're back to blog for us again. 

Baby Splynter and His Parents

Thursday, February 8, 2024 ~ Jon Daly

Domestic Flights of Fancy

Hi All!
Today Jon offers us four U.S. carriers as part of common things. Let's take a look:

17. Sadness that sets in after missing a flight?: DELTA BLUES. Blues from the Mississippi Delta; Delta is an airline based in ATL.

23. Countries listed on a flight board?: UNITED NATIONS. Headquartered in New York, the UN tries to keep the world more or less civilized. United Airlines is HQ'd in Chicago.

47. Rural areas serviced by just one airline?: FRONTIER TOWNS. A township founded by the settlers. Frontier Airlines is based in Denver, CO.

57. Flight that lasts seven days?: SPIRIT WEEK. The week before the big homecoming game #RahRahRah. SPIRIT airlines - the butt of late-night jokes.

Pretty straight forward theme that doesn't require much from me so let's just move on to the fill.

Across:
1. Maze runners: MICE.

"I solved the maze in fifty-three seconds, but it was a Monday level."

5. Formal decrees: DICTA. Puts the DIC in dictator.

10. Help the chef: PREP. Sous in the kitchen.

14. Driver of Hollywood: ADAM. Listening to an interview, I learned he's a Marine Corps vet.

Adam Driver

15. "American Fiction" actress Tracee __ Ross: ELLIS. She's an actress and Diana Ross's daughter.

Tracee Ellis Ross

16. Stray: ROVE. I almost went with roam.

17. [See: theme]

19. Jon Arbuckle's dog: ODIE. Garfield comic.

20. F1 neighbor: ESC.

Standard Keyboard

21. Friction reducer: LUBE.

22. Paint, toddler-style: SMEAR.

23. [See: theme]

27. Minimally: AT LEAST.

29. Spring bloom: IRIS. Blue Iris used to frequent The Corner.

30. Grilled sausages, for short: BRATS.

31. Out in the open: AL FRESCO. When DW & I were in Italy, we ate only one meal indoors. //I had the anchovy pasta.

35. Fun, as a party: LIT.

36. Jewelry retailer: ZALES.

38. Paddle kin: OAR.

39. Hit the gym: EXERCISE.

42. Church donation: TITHE. 10% is literally what it means and suggested by the church.

44. Tennis Court __: French Revolution event: OATH. The OATH that established the National Assembly in the Real Tennis room of Versailles.

45. Some patches: IRON-ONS.

47. [See: theme]

51. Filmmaker George who won five Hugo Awards for Best Dramatic Presentation: LUCAS. Hugos are for Science Fiction / Fantasy. George's are for Star Wars (1978), Empire Strikes Back (1981), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1982), Return of the Jedi (1984), and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1990).

52. __-Free: contact lens solution: OPTI.

53. Honor society letter: PHI. As in PHI Beta Kappa.

National Honor Society

56. Second son: ABEL. Cain killed him.

57. [See: theme]

60. Covered: CLAD.

61. Eagle claw: TALON.

62. Fabled napper: HARE. Aesop reference.

63. Numbers game: KENO.

64. Mantegna's "Criminal Minds" role: ROSSI. Didn't know his name but I know the face. Good Italian boy, him.

Joe Mantegna [WikiP] as Rossi.

65. Pod in Creole cuisine: OKRA.

Down:
1. Took home: MADE. Net. After taxes.

2. Midmonth time: IDES. Beware the IDES of April. #Taxes

3. Do the math: CALCULATE. Take line 47 and subtract from... Ha!, No., just give the Gov't all that's left over and move on.

4. CPR expert: EMT. Needed after taxes :-)

5. Opens: DEBUTS.

6. "Suuure": I'LL BET.

7. Like crosswords: CLUED. Cute. I find clueing is the easiest part; gridding takes C.C..

8. Twist-__: TIE.

9. Saddlebag carrier: ASS.

10. Potential: PROMISE. As in, "-T had a lot of promise | potential..." that I'd get on report cards.

11. Wyoming's state sport: RODEO. Also Texas' state sport. Houston's Rodeo is 27 February through 17 March this year.

12. S.Pellegrino rival: EVIAN. Bottled spring waters. I associate S.Pellegrino with carbonated and Evian with still (though they (Evian) make sparkling now).

13. Coevals: PEERS. Coevals are contemporaries.

18. Misleading handle: ALIAS. Fake name used for mischief.

22. To-do: STIR. A row.

24. Clear: NET.

25. African river to the Mediterranean: NILE. Our Egypt offices are moving from Maadi to New Cairo City in June(ish).

I tried to highlight the Nile in red.

26. Pound sounds: ARFS.

27. Qualified: ABLE.

28. Lucky Charms shelfmate: TRIX. There's an Eddie Murphy bit in this.

Eddie Murphy on Carson

31. Pour choice: ALE. Ha!

32. Figuratively: SO TO SPEAK.

33. Four-time Oscar-winning lyricist Sammy: CAHN. Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. [WikiP]

34. Smelter input: ORES.

36. Tubular pasta: ZITI. Among Rigatoni, Penne, Fileja, Cannelloni, Ditalini, Manicotti, and Macaroni. #KnowYourTubePastas

37. Tennis great Arthur: ASHE.

40. Portuguese soccer great who now plays in Saudi Arabia: RONALDO. Cristiano Ronaldo's WikiP.

41. Musical based on Eliot poems: CATS. Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats is based on T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.

42. Specifically: TO WIT.

43. Overnight stop: INN.

45. PC problem solvers: IT PROS.

46. Corkscrew pasta: ROTINI. Great for pasta salads.

Recipe

47. "Killing Me Softly With His Song" singer: FLACK.

Roberta Flack

48. Moscow money: RUBLE. DW had some left over from her Russia trip that we added to our international monies collection.

49. __ Spray: OCEAN. Cranberry Cooperative.

WikiP

50. Foments: ROILS.

54. Munster mister: HERR. Today's German lesson.

55. KALLAX shelf seller: IKEA.

57. Viola's sect.: STR. A buddy of mine in HS was First STRing offensive line and First STRing Viola in the STRing SECTion.

58. Kung __ shrimp: PAO.

59. Seuss villager: WHO. As in Horton Hears 'em or The Grinch tries to steal their Christmas.

Whos in Whoville. 
(The one on the left (in blue) is The Dr. :-))

The Grid:

The Grid

After I completed the grid I noticed ATL (Delta's hub) in AT LEAST and went hunting for the other airlines' hubs. There's United's ORD (O'Hare), Frontier's DENver, and I think Spirit is HQ'd in MIAmi. I don't think Jon intended this level of silliness but there you are :-)

WOs: Sous -> PREP, ROam -> ROVE
ESPs: ELLIS, ROSSI
Fav: 42d CLUED as "Specifically" is nicer parsing than the slight (at me) "What to do when the Alfa doesn't work." :-)

Cheers, -T

Wednesday, February 7th, 2024, Alan Massengill & Doug Peterson

CHARGE~!

 Today's theme and reveal totaled 60 squares - I don't have the comparison software, but I think that's a pretty high count.  I suppose this was a "typical" Wednesday-level puzzle, but once again, it felt like there were way too many proper names - this is becoming the "Universal Solving Bane" of many LA Times crosswords these days; call it the 'theme' that 'carries over' via 'flash drive' from puzzle to puzzle - but your experience may vary.  OK, I'm done ranting....Since I typically do the DOWN clues first, the reveal at 67D. gave away the theme - when I looked back at my partially filled grid, U, S, & B had already filled in at 24 Across via perps, and therefore verified the "connection".  Ta-DA~!


17. Place that takes care of bad Apples: GENIUS BAR - I have had several disappointing experiences with Apple products in the past, so in my world they're all "bad" Apples; I am 22D.

24. Agency that conducts a decennial count: CENSUS BUREAU - I have changed states since the last census

40. No joke: SERIOUS BUSINESS

52. Congressional economic boost: STIMULUS BILL

66. Top-quality meat: ANGUS BEEF

ANGUS~! (Young, that is) - AC/DC

67. Connection port, and the connections found in 17-, 24-, 40-, 52-, and 66-Across: USB - Short for Universal Serial Bus - the Wiki

And A Name We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Crowd-sourced review site: YELP

5. "Or __ what?": ELSE

9. Tennis star Naomi: OSAKA - considering the number of names ( this is #1) in the grid, could we not have made this clue "Japanese city"~?  Crossing ARRAU is just cruel, as I had to WAG the last "A"

14. See 62-Down: see 62-Down

15. Capital of Qatar: DOHA - I knew this name only because I do crossword puzzles (#2)

16. Henry VIII's house: TUDOR - I happen to like the "style" of Tudor homes, tho there's an argument that it's not actually a "style" - more of a conglomerate of English building details - I plan to do the front of my home in this "style" - and yes, people, I recognize "house" means 'ruling family' here....

Henry the Eighths actual residence

19. Asparagus piece: SPEAR

20. Treats wrinkles: IRONS

Oh, not that kind of iron....

21. Upscale hotel chain: OMNI - been a popular fill lately

23. 47-Across, in Spanish: ELLA - meh.  Not only circumreferential, but a "foreign" word as well; crossing a name I had never heard of = Natick

27. Contemporary of Julius Caesar: CICERO - Name #3

30. "Singin' in the Rain" studio: MGM - I had the first "M"

31. Hubbub: ADO

32. Like paper clips: BENT - uh, well, yeah, I guess they are, in fact, bent....

36. Hawaii's sixth-largest island: LANAI - I've never been to Hawaii, and I didn't pay enough attention while watching Hawaii Five-O to recall which is "Number six" on the largest island list....name #4

And I forget the "Big Island" is named "Hawai'i", too

44. NORAD tracking target: SANTA - target~?  Someone at NORAD is gonna end up on the 'naughty' list....

45. Cab: TAXI

46. Chowed down: ATE

47. Personal pronoun: SHE

49. Raucous bird: MAGPIE

58. NPR's Totenberg: NINA - #5

59. "Thinking about it": "I MAY..."

60. Word with dots or bands: POLKA

64. Radiology study: IMAGE

68. Jeans fabric: DENIM

69. Award-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust: MAUS - name #6, filled via perps, and a WAG at the "A" - I was going to link the Wiki, but it seemed to graphic for the blog

70. Firmly declare: AVER - I had the "R", so it was not AVOW

71. C-suite types: EXECS

72. Metrical foot: IAMB - the poetic "beat"

73. Stitch's buddy: LILO - Disney movie I have not seen; name #7


DOWN:

1. Jellystone Park bear: YOGI - "smarter than your AVERage bear", name #8

2. Of all time: EVER

3. Fallon predecessor: LENO - The Tonight Show hosts; #9

4. Paisley Park Records founder: PRINCE - The "artist formerly known as Name Number 10"

5. Mag honchos: EDs - editors of magazines

6. University of New Mexico athletes: LOBOS - filled via perps

7. Former SeaWorld headliner: SHAMU - name #11 -  I didn't know the history of the show animal

8. Comes by honestly: EARNS

9. Tense sports periods, for short: OTs - overtime, plural.

10. Character who debuted in Action Comics #1: SUPERMAN - this was my guess, but I waited on perps, and, technically, a name

11. Singer known for numerically titled albums: ADELE - and numerically name no. 12

12. __ bear: KOALA

13. Chilean pianist Claudio: ARRAU - Yeah, not much you can do with the "U" at the end of CENSUS BUREAU, so this was a necessary evil - still, name #13

18. __-friendly: USER

22. "Big Blue": IBM - The "anti" Apple - the Personal Computer (PC); or would it be the "Orange~?"

25. Asian fusion chain: NOBU - Never heard of this; it would appear that the closest locations to me are both in NYC - and, technically, a name

26. Jamaican tangelo: UGLI - semi-orange~?

27. Mama of pop: CASS - a name ( #double-digits ) that I did know

28. Notion: IDEA

29. Biofuel source: CORN - You can tell when someone has converted their car to biofuel, because the exhaust usually smells like fast food fries

33. Guessed-at fig.: ESTimate

34. Thunder's org.: NBA - Oklahoma City's National Basketball Association team

35. Gala garb: TUX

37. Tide type: NEAP

38. Province bordering Turin: ASTI - geographic name #, uh...

39. "Makes sense": "I SEE."

41. Cheeky comeback to "How did you do that?": "IT'S MAGIC"

42. Hawaii's third-largest island: OAHU - I found this fascinating reference image of my home state - and - geographic name blah blah blah

43. California's __ Valley: SIMI - geographic - OK, I've lost count of the names....

48. Yalie: ELI - from doing crosswords

50. Range in Europe: ALPS - another geographic na... - oh, never mind

51. Part of GPS: GLOBAL - the other two thirds being "Positioning System"

52. Dripping with sarcasm: SNIDE - like calling a person with 'weight issues' "Shamu" - Brendan Fraser starred in the 2022 film "The Whale" - the trailer

53. Ironman Triathlon watchmaker: TIMEX

54. Silly: INANE - too many clues in name / is just inane    meh.

55. Fifth flavor: UMAMI - from crosswords

56. Largest city in Yemen: SANAA - only because I do crosswords; name #291,971, I think

57. "For dang sure!": "BY GUM~!" - I have been reading Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series, and this is a standard phrase from the books

61. Big name in 68-Across: LEVI - namenamename

62. With 14-Across, collapse: KEEL - and - 14A. See 62-Down: OVER - I'm about to KEEL OVER from the number of names in this grid

63. Curly coif: AFRO

65. Ambulance letters: EMS

Splynter