Greetings, Cruciverbalists. Anomalous Moderate here with a recap of today's puzzle by Katie Hale. As was the case with the puzzle reviewed by yours truly this past December 29th, Lisa Simpson leads the way to anagram-ville (well, it's kinda close to being an anagram of Margaritaville).
At five places in the grid Katie has a bit of fun by rearranging the initial three or four letters of everyday vocabulary and thereby produces humorous themed answers. After the first few of these were figured out by this solver (not in top-to-bottom order) I thought that the theme would also have an electronics angle (STEM, USB, RCA) but this was not to be.
Here are the five he terms, er themers:
18 Across: Shirts for a coders vs. physicists softball game?: STEM JERSEYS. (New York) METS JERSEYS has been rearranged. A tech reference.
24 Across: Break-even transactions involving vintage TVs and turntables?: RCA WASHES. CAR WASHES RCA was an early brand of TVs and other electronic gear (although I do not recall ever seeing an RCA turntable). A break-even transactions is sometimes referred to as "a wash". Six of one a twenty-fourth of a gross of the other.
38 Across: One issuing tickets to the over-50 crowd?: AARP TROOPER. PARATROOPER If anyone here needs AARP explained please drop me a line.
51 Across: Animated image of an apple falling on Sir Isaac?: GIF NEWTON. FIG NEWTON A popular cookie morphs into an animated illustration of an aha moment in the history of physics. Here, now, a GIF:
59. Lab work focused on data storage devices?: USB CULTURES. SUBCULTURES
This is how all of this appears in the grid:
Here are the rest of the clues and answers:
So, Cars: Oops, Across:
1. Trailhead posting: MAP. My hiking friends and I used to rely heavily on the USGS contour maps.
4. Courtroom drama on NBC from 1986 to 1994: LA LAW. Today's first TV show reference.
9. Lariat: ROPE. Drop the L from the clue and we could form RIATA.
13. Spring mo.: APR. APRIL. This could have been clued with a credit card interest rate reference.
14. Vague afternoon time: ONE-ISH. Probably not Katie's favorite fill.
16. Multicolored gem: OPAL. We have all seen some so-so posts on blogs but here are some gems: emeralds, sapphires, OPALs, rubies
17. "Gotta __!": JET. New to this solver. "I gottaJET is, apparently, a phrase that means "I have to go (quickly)".
20. Miner concern: ORES. Often found in crossword puzzles but rarely seen pluralized.
22. Water coolers: ICE. The use of the plural in the clue lead to a bit of head scratching but, I guess, ICES would not be not used in this context.
23. Water movers: MAINS. Not the first water conduit that came to mind but the clue is on target.
27. Dead set on: WED TO. Pairing Dead with WED might be perceived as a slippery slope.
29. Tangy red spice: SUMAC. Popular in middle-eastern cuisine.
30. "Jingle Bells" contraction: O'ER.
32. CSNY's "__ House": OUR. It was very, very, very fine house with two cats in the yard.
33. Making one's hair stand on end?: TEASING. A clue to be taken literally.
37. Doesn't take well?: ROBS. Don't take this wrongly . . .
40. Mark left by a bumper: DENT. If a plane has a small DENT does that make it an airline fracture?
42. Afternoon rests: SIESTAS.
43. Sprint: RUN. Did the clue jog your memory?
44. Dudes: MEN. By definition.
45. Romance novelist Dare: TESSA. Unknown to this solver although I am aware that Romance Novels exist and I have heard such books referred to as "bodice rippers".
49. Make space on the whiteboard: ERASE. Clued many ways.
55. "__ you a barrel of laughs": AREN'T. See also 63 Across.
57. Nintendo character option: MII. Completely unknown to this solver. Thanks perps. MII is a customize-able avatar used on several Nintendo video game consoles.
58. Artemis org.: NASA. With Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon. The first manned, excuse me, the first crewed lunar landing is scheduled for 2026.
62. Gov. or sen.: POL. POLitician. We often encounter POLs in our puzzles.
63. Barrel of laughs: RIOT. See also 55 Across.
64. Big-box shop: COSTCO. I was in one just prior to starting to work on this write-up.
65. 68-Across restroom: LOO. We often go there in our puzzles.
66. Drummer Ulrich: LARS. Of Metallica.
67. "Anything Goes" star Merman: ETHEL.
68. U.K. part: ENG. United Kingdom. ENGland
Down:
1. Focuses in college: MAJORS. If marine biology was the right MAJOR for you then your grades were probably above c-level.
2. Brief sketch: APERCU.
3. Comms experts: PR TEAM. COMMunicationS experts - Public Relations TEAM
4. Rock's __ Lonely Boys: LOS.
5. Opposition parties: ANTIS. ANTIS is a word not often heard, seen or used.
6. Hanger-on: LEECH. Idiomatically and literally. Ugh.
7. Teegarden of "Friday Night Lights": AIMEE.
8. Financial paper, for short: WSJ. Newspaper. The Wall Street Journal
9. "The Jetsons" maid: ROSIE. That's ROSIE in the back. You know the other names from the theme song. Another TV reference.
10. What love is, per a "Frozen" song: OPEN DOOR.
11. Earnings report: PAY STUB. Of a sort, I suppose, for an individual but not for a company.
12. Lapel edges?: ELS. Lapel begins and ends with the letter L.
15. Take up, in a way: HEM. See also 37 Down.
19. Playful "grr" alternative: RAWR. Used to express anger, flirtation or affection.
21. Try to hit: SWAT AT.
25. Lenovo rival: ACER. DELL and SONY would also have fit the allotted space.
26. Wireless speaker brand: SONOS. Hand up for ANKER.
31. Elton John accomplishment, briefly: EGOT. Emmy Grammy Oscar Tony. Elton John is the most recent person to complete this feat and, of all who have done so (less than twenty people) he was the oldest at "completion".
34. Basilica alcove: APSE. Do you struggle to find domed recesses in cathedrals? There's an APSE for that.
35. Result of angering a wasp, probably: STING. Not the ethnic kind of WASP.
36. Fury: IRE.
37. Taken up, in a way: RE-SEWN. See also 15 Down.
38. University of Michigan city: ANN ARBOR. Go Blue!
39. Spread out at a cocktail party: PATE. Not splayed. An edible spread that might be put out (served).
40. Rap's Dr. __: DRE.
41. "1984" superstate: EURASIA.
44. Maitre d' offering: MENU.
46. Paper clip alternative: STAPLE. Alternatively: You shouldn't eat stationery. It might become a dietary STAPLE.
47. "Time to go already?": SO SOON.
48. Like a watch with hands: ANALOG.
50. Factions: SECTS.
52. "You can't stop me": I MUST.
53. Colin of "1917": FIRTH. An actor/motion picture reference.
54. Extended family member: NIECE. In Nice, nièce.
56. "No Scrubs" group: TLC. A music/"girl group" reference.
I found this puzzle a little harder to solve than last week's, but at
least the only round things in it are slices of pineapple (see recipe above).
😀 Today constructor Robin Stears, last seen here on February 16th, returns to challenge us with a vertical theme. These almost always have
something to do with the order of the words or letters in the clue, which the
reveal tells us ...
10. Desserts flipped after baking, and what can
be found in the answers to the starred clues:
UPSIDE DOWN CAKES. Here are the themers, but you'll have to turn your head 90 degrees to
the left to see the CAKEs in these fills ...
3D. *Act the mediator:
SEEK A COMPROMISE. Today this might be
clued -- "Negotiation strategy now out of fashion".
8D. *Illinois alma mater of Ronald Reagan:
EUREKA COLLEGE. It is also the
home of the
Reagan Museum
honoring its most distinguished alumnus.
Eureka College Campus 300 E College Ave, Eureka, IL 61530
17. *"Malcolm in the Middle" actress:
JANE KACZMAREK.
Malcolm in the Middle
is an American sitcom series that ran for 7 seasons starting in 2000, running
for 151 episodes. The series is a dark-humored family comedy that follows the
Wilkersons, a dysfunctional lower-middle-class family, and stars
Frankie Muniz in the lead role as Malcolm, a child prodigy. The
ensemble cast included Jane Kaczmarek and Bryan Cranston as
Malcolm's parents, Lois and Hal. Apparently Lois had some anger management
problems ...
You can relax your neck now and see that the
CAKES are revealed to be
UPSIDE DOWN ...
The rest of this stuff is RIGHT SIDE UP (well maybe not all of it)
... Across:
1. Puzzle (out): SUSS. It's what we do!
5. Synonymous: SAME.
9. Software glitches: BUGS. I'm reminded of a few of the "rules" of
programming --
"If carpenters built buildings the way programmers build programs, the first
woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization".
"Any sufficiently complex program contains at least one BUG". This is
the sine qua non for a program to be called complicated..
"If you find one BUG in a program, there are undoubtedly more."
15. Fall birthstone: OPAL.
OPAL is a hydrated amorphous form of silica
(SiO2·nH2O); its water content may range from 3% to 21% by weight, but is
usually between 6% and 10%. Due to its amorphous property, it is classified as
a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms of silica, which are considered
minerals. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the
fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most commonly found with limonite,
sandstone, rhyolite, marl, and basalt. It's the birthstone of people
born in October.
Opal
16. Thing: ITEM.
17. Wag: JOKER. A species commonly seen around the Corner, but I'm not
naming any names. 😁
18. Like an unswept hearth: ASHY.
19. Watering hole where servers may wear leis: TIKI BAR. The term
TIKI is the
Maori
word for the first human. A
TIKI BAR
is a themed drinking establishment that serves elaborate cocktails, especially
rum-based mixed drinks such as the Mai Tai and Zombie cocktails. These
"watering holes" are a part of
Tiki culture, an American-originated art, music, and entertainment movement inspired by
Oceanian art with influences from Australasia, Melanesia,
Micronesia, Polynesia, the Caribbean Islands, and
Hawaii.
A typical Tiki mug
21. Animal Planet's "Crikey! It's the Irwins" co-star: TERRI.
Terri Raines Irwin
AM (née Raines, born July 20, 1964) is an American-Australian conservationist,
television personality, author and zookeeper who is the owner of Australia Zoo
in Beerwah, Queensland. She is the widow of conservationist Steve Irwin.
23. Dead __ Scrolls: SEA. The
Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of ancient Jewish
manuscripts from the Second Temple period. They were discovered over a period of
10 years, between 1946 and 1956, at the Qumran Caves near Ein Feshkha in the
West Bank, on the northern shore of the Dead Sea, here ...
Dead Sea Scrolls Location
24. "The Memory of Trees" singer: ENYA. I remember the miles and
miles of woods behind my home, where we used to play when we were young.
As a first step toward building the ring road around Baltimore (I 695),
those woods were cut down and turned into acres and acres of logs stacked 30'
high. Then we played by climbing up the piles and tunneling thru them for
a few months. Then they were hauled away and gone. I've never heard this
piece by ENYA. Thank you Robin.
26. Youngsters: KIDDOS.
29. Quote: CITE. Coincidentally here are some quotes by Albert
Einstein that I ran across just today. He has often been CITED, so
you may have already heard some of them ...
31. Linguist Chomsky: NOAM.
Avram Noam Chomsky
(born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known
for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes
called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a major figure in
analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive
science. OTOH,
he has his critics. Perhaps his most famous critic is novelist
Tom Wolfe
(March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)
who, while not a linguist, did make over $60 million in his lifetime, so he
arguably knew something about words. In his book
The Kingdom of Speech, Wolfe takes to task not only Chomsky, but another cultural icon that I've
vaguely referred to in clue 70A below. While Wolfe got a lot of
heat from the intelligentsia for this book, it was rated by readers with a
majority of the ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐reviews, including mine. 😀
34. Language related to Czech: SLOVAK.
Some sources suggest that Czech has 94% of the intelligibility of
Slovak
meaning that if you have a strong base in Czech, understanding
SLOVAK should be doable, but speaking it is another thing entirely.
I've always wondered why the musical opus that put Czech composer
Antonin Dvorak
on the map is called the
Slavonic Dancesand now we know. He wrote 16 altogether and here is
No.1, Furiant, C major, conducted by German maestro
Wolfgang Sawallisch
...
36. SHO subsidiary: TMC.
The Movie Channel
(TMC) is an American premium television network owned by Showtime
Networks, a subsidiary of Paramount Global operated through its Paramount Media
Networks division. The network's programming mainly features first-run
theatrically released and independently produced motion pictures, and during
promotional breaks between films, special behind-the-scenes features and movie
trivia.
37. Yemeni port: ADEN.
Aden
(Arabic: عَدَنْ, romanized: ʿAdan, Old South Arabian: 𐩲𐩵𐩬) is a port city
located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, positioned near
the eastern approach to the Red Sea. With its strategic location on the
coastline, Aden serves as a gateway between the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea,
making it a crucial maritime hub connecting Africa, Asia, and the Middle
East.
Aden, Yemen Gulf of Aden
38. Residence: HOME.
39. Pal: AMIGO. Today's Spanish lesson.
41. F-150 maker: FORD. Great trucks. We recently gave ours to
our son. Given the amount we were using it it just didn't justify the
insurance costs. When we need it we just borrow it back from him -- along
with a grandson (or granddaughter) to do the heavy lifting. It looked sort of
like this (without the view)...
49. President __: PRO TEM.
The president pro tempore of the United States Senate
(often shortened to president PRO TEM) is the second-highest-ranking
official of the United States Senate, after the vice president. According to
Article One, Section Three of the United States Constitution, the vice president
of the United States is the president of the Senate (despite not being a
senator), and the Senate must choose a president pro tempore to act in the vice
president's absence. The Honorable Patty Murphy of Washington
is the incumbent PRO TEM of the Senate.
Senator Patricia Lynn Murray
51. Pedicure targets: TOES. And a CSO to
Lucina.
53. Saturn or Mercury: CAR. Not a god and not a planet.
56. Asia's __ Peninsula: MALAY. The MALAY Peninsula is a
part of
Malaysia, a country of Southeast Asia, lying just north of the Equator, that is
composed of two non-contiguous regions: Peninsular Malaysia, also called
West Malaysia, which is on the Malay Peninsula, and East Malaysia,
which is on the island of Borneo ...
58. Verification tool for online alcohol retailers, e.g.: AGE GATE.
One may have popped up if you tried to open 7D's website.
60. Not that: THIS.
62. Way to go: ROUTE.
64. Furniture retailer that sells FIXA tool kits: IKEA. Two
IKEA drawers in my office are jammed shut. I don't think they have
a kit for that.
65. Remove from power: OUST. Should OUST be
OUSTED from the crosswordese dictionary?
66. Lip: EDGE.
67. Clockwork part: GEAR.
68. __ of life: TREE. The
Tree of Life
is a widespread archetype common to many religions, mythologies, and folktales.
The tree of life is a common idea in cultures throughout the world. It
represents, at times, the source of life, a force that connects all lives, or
the cycle of life and death itself. Common features of various myths include
supernatural guardians protecting the tree and its fruits that grant those who
eat them immortality.
69. "Clue" actress Madeline: KAHN.
Madeline Gail Kahn
(née Wolfson; September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999 -- her early death from
cancer was a big loss to American comedy) was an American actress, comedian, and
singer. She is known for comedic roles in films directed by
Peter Bogdanovich and Mel Brooks, including
What's Up, Doc? (1972), Blazing Saddles (1974),
Young Frankenstein (1974), High Anxiety (1977),
History of the World, Part I (1981), and her Academy Award–nominated role
in Paper Moon (1973). Here Madeline plays Mrs. White in
Clue and we're treated to all her big scenes ...
Here's a bonus clip of
Madeline Kahn teaching Grover to sing -- compliments of Chairman Moe -- it popped up after his
Muppets Letter S video last Friday.
70. Systems of principles: ISMS. There are many, many
ISMS, but I can think of only one that consists simply of the name of a
scientist + ISM. Hand up if you can name a second one?
Down:
1. Funny sketches: SKITS. Mr. Bean seems to draw a crowd
wherever he goes ...
The above image is
Copyright: (c) ADAGP, Paris, although why anyone would want to
plagiarize it I haven't a clue.
27. Judith Weir composition: OPERA.
Dame Judith WeirDBE HonFRSE* (born 11 May 1954) is a British composer serving as
Master of the King's Music. Appointed in 2014 by
Queen Elizabeth II, Weir is the first woman to hold this office.
While I was tempted to include one of her operatic works, I decided instead on
this lovely setting of the first seven verses of
Psalm 42 - Like as the Hart
that she composed for the Queen's funeral ...
30. Tony winner Judith: IVEY.
Judith Lee Ivey
(born September 4, 1951) is an American actress and theatre director. She
twice won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play: for
Steaming (1981) and Hurlyburly (1984). She also received
Best Actress In A Play nomination for
Park Your Car in Harvard Yard (1992) and another
Best Featured Actress in a Play nomination for
The Heiress.
Judith Ivey
32. Astonished letters: OMG.
34. Subject of a late-night countdown: SHEEP. 🐑🐑🐑
35. Also-ran: LOSER.
37. Three or four: A FEW.
40. Soccer star Hamm: MIA. Mariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm (born March
17, 1972) is an American former professional soccer player,
two-time Olympic gold medalist and
two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Hailed as a soccer icon, she
played as a forward for the United States national team from 1987 to 2004. Hamm
was the face of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first
professional women's soccer league in the United States, where she played for
the Washington Freedom from 2001 to 2003. She played college soccer for
the North Carolina Tar Heels and helped the team win four
NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship titles.
Mia Hamm
45. Let (up): EASE.
47. Cartoon frame: CEL.
50. Officiate at a cook-off, say: TASTE.
52. Like some granola: OATEN.
54. First-stringers: A TEAM.
55. Brings up: REARS.
57. Jedi with an unusual speech pattern: YODA. Nearly finished I
think is this review.
59. Supermodel Hadid: GIGI.
Jelena Noura "Gigi" Hadid, born April 23, 1995, is an American fashion model and television personality.
In 2016, she was named International Model of the Year by the British
Fashion Council.
Jelena Noura Hadid
60. Small fry: TOT.
61. "Ben-__": HUR.
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
is a novel by Lew Wallace (an American lawyer, Civil War general,
governor of New Mexico Territory, politician, diplomat, artist, and
author!), published by Harper and Brothers on November 12, 1880, and
considered "the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth
century". It became a best-selling American novel, surpassing Harriet
Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) in sales. The book also inspired other
novels with biblical settings and was adapted for the stage and motion picture
productions.
This first edition
can be yours for only $30,000 ...
Wallace's book was the basis for this award winning film starring
Charleston Heston. Here's the famous chariot race scene ...
63. Exasperated cry: UGH. Exasperation lesson #2.
Cheers, Bill
And
as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.
----------------------------------------------
As today is the 339th
birthday of my favorite Lutheran saint, I thought it appropriate to end with a
little bit of Johann Sebastian Bach for the coming celebration of
Easter. Here's his
Sheep May Safely Graze, from the Hunt Cantata, BWV 208, performed at the
Toronto Bach Festival
(and a CSO to CanadianEh!!)
I
had a feeling this was not a "normal" 3- or 4-word 'theme with reveal'
when I scanned the grid before starting and saw two stacks of 8-letter
ACROSS fills ( and after-the-fact, I see Monday's puzzle had double Down 9-lettter fills ), but nothing close to grid spanning; I did not see the
13-letter-long DOWN fill at first. This took me longer than my typical
Wednesday solve time, due to the crummy crossing of a proper name and a
vague abbreviation. SIGH; the struggle continues. I did a search of
the blog, and found a puzzle of Michèle's from Nov 7
last year; thanks to her for today's clever construction. As the clue
for 14A states, the perimeter of the puzzle, in both the across and
down, are words ( highlighted ) that describe sounds - and the "reveal";
14. Audiophile's setup, and an apt description of the perimeter of this puzzle: SURROUND SOUND
YES~!
And Away We Go~!
ACROSS:
1. Half a sit-up: CRUNCH- I just thought this was a "harder" sit-up; here's a quick reference to what is different
7. Commercial tune: JINGLE- what's your most earworm-worthy ad~?
13. "A Wrinkle in Time" novelist Madeleine: LENGLE - proper name fill #1, and I had no clue; the "G" got me
14. Timekeepers that don't work on a rainy day: SUNDIALS
I think the time is "beer-thirty"
16. How baked potatoes may be cooked: IN FOIL - meh, but it is certainly a way to cook a spud
17. Remove, as a seatbelt: UNFASTEN
18. Gina Boswell of Bath & Body Works, e.g.: Abbr.: CEO - I do the DOWNS first, just needed the "O"
19. Sequel to Puzo's "The Last Don": OMERTA
21. "Mean Girls" writer Fey: TINA - this proper name I did know
22. Underwater plant with gas-filled bladders: KELP
24. Wayward: ERRANT
26. Time out?: NAP
27. Playground retort: DID TOO - not the usual ARE too
29. Quirky habit: TIC
31. Cliche: TRITE
33. French noble: DUC - I haven't had Frawnche in a long time
35. Comprehend: GRASP
39. Eurythmics lead singer Lennox: ANNIE - one of my favoritest songs
Here Comes the Rain Again
40. Go from 4x6 to 8x10, say: Abbr.: ENLarge
41. Totaled: RAN TO
42. Busy restaurant's notification device: PAGER
43. JFK predecessor: DDE - Dwight David Eisenhower - IKE - two days in a row; I would have
liked to have lived during his presidency, even with the threat of the
"reds" and nuclear war. I have "Ike", his biography,
and I do like to read about his role in WWII - and he was the man who
enacted the Interstate System; for an interesting take on the pros and
cons of that massive national project, I would suggest reading "Divided
Highways"
44. Like some purchases: IN APP - and - 62A. Are cast members of: APPEAR IN - sort of palindromic
45. "The __ is calm tonight": "Dover Beach" opening: SEA - with a blank grid, I pondered "AIR", but in retrospect, "Beach" might have been a give-away....
47. Mouths off to: SASSES
49. Amtrak stop: Abbr.: STAtion
52. Silky: SMOOTH
54. Guidelines: Abbr.: STandarDs
57. Ultimate: LAST
59. Creative works: OPUSES
61. Goal: AIM
64. Yukon neighbor: ALASKA - "UCONN" is my neighbor, too~!
Ba - Dum - Tss
66. Prop for a rock singer: MIC STAND - drummers who sing
67. Watering hole in TV's "M*A*S*H": ROSIE'S - ah, yes, now I remember....
68. Unnerve: RATTLE
69. 1984 mermaid movie: SPLASH- Tom Hanks, WAY back in his career
DOWN:
1. Hit it off: CLICK
2. Zellweger of "Judy": RENEE - name #5, but I'm not counting....
3. Developing: UNFOLDING - great clue/answer/fill
4. CARE, e.g.: NGO - I had to look this up after I solved the crossword; DAH~! I tried "NPO", for a Non-Profit Organization; nope - it's a Non-GovernmentalOrganization;
not only that, but I was confusing it with GMO - genetically modified
organism, too - hey, it was early in the morning when I did this....
5. Sister of Erato: CLIO - I can never remember my muses....
6. Knight cap: HELMET - punny; that would be an accurate description of such head wear
7. Ruling faction after a coup: JUNTA - I could only think of CADRE or CABAL
8. Baby: INFANT
9. Contract that may prevent bad PR: NDA - Non Disclosure Agreement
10. Crux: GIST
11. Ancestor of the romance languages: LATIN- four years for me in high school, but it does help solving crosswords~!😜
12. Justice Kagan: ELENA
15. Button alternative: SNAP
20. Ate away: ERODED
23. Feels sorry for: PITIES
25. Fertile Crescent river: TIGRIS
28. Some combines: DEERES - John Deere. I want a tractor like this; I have 1-1/2 acres in CT to mow, the snow, a creek, and a LOT of big rocks
NOT a combine, NOT a John Deere
30. Origami birds: CRANES - SWANS was too short
31. Stout spout: TAP
32. Messenger molecule: RNA
34. Soccer equipment: CLEATS - SHIN PADS didn't fit
36. Youngest daughter of Nicholas II: ANASTASIA - mostly perps
37. Valvoline rival: STP
38. Dad: POP - we're missing "CRACKLE" for a Rice Crispies trifecta
46. Unscrupulous: AMORAL
48. Woolgathers?: SHEARS - the "?" suggested "DREAMS" was not the answer, but 50% correct
49. Poetry event: SLAM
50. Piglike rhino kin: TAPIR
51. Pet re-homing org.: ASPCA
53. Provide a view: OPINE - ah - that kind of view
55. Sea walls: DIKES
56. Huge success: SMASH
58. Assessment that may end with "Pencils down": TEST - dah~! Not EXAM
60. Unappealing food: SLOP
63. NFL passing stat: ATTempts
65. Communication syst. with hand motions: ASL - American Sign Language
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