Thursday, March 28, 2024, Emma Lawson, Amie Walker

 WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

Today's veteran constructors Emma Lawson and Amie Walker present us with another vertical theme, sans circles or stars, but this one is a little dark. The reveal starts on the first row at 10D, so we know what's going on pretty much out of the gate ...

 10. Creedence Clearwater Revival hit with the line "I see trouble on the way," or what can be found in three long Down entries: BAD MOON RISING.  A song all about what could go wrong -- this MOON is not only BAD, it's RISING! (well maybe) ...

Credence Clearwater Revival
(things eventually went wrong with them)

8. Return correspondence?: RANSOM NOTE.  Clever clue, terrible business ...

Kidnap and Ransom

18. Bella Hadid and Precious Lee, for two: FASHION MODELS.  Fashion models with last name Hadid are becoming crosswordese -- last Thursday we had Gigi (see 59D), this week we have Bella.  Here is Bella ...

Bella Hadid

... and here is Precious ...

Precious Lee

28. Key information for a hotel guest?: ROOM NUMBER.  A true story about what could go wrong ...

We recently stayed in mid-priced hotel in a small town in Ohio and when we checked in we were issued  the usual key cards, which had our ROOM NUMBER digitally encoded in them.  The second morning after returning from breakfast, we made several attempts to get into our room and concluded that for some reason the cards had stopped working -- so we went back to the front desk.  The desk clerk knew exactly what had happened and explained  that the circuitry that detects the key card was powered by a battery inside the door (presumably to guard against power failures to the hotel grid).  When a battery ran down, it could be remotely recharged from the hotel front desk and new key cards would be issued.  The BUG (remember BUGS from last Thursday?) in the system was that the key card had be used  within 2 minutes of the recharge or it was invalidated.  The clerk recharged the battery from the front desk and headed off to our room -- unfortunately we were on the 3rd floor on the far end of the hotel and it proved to be physically impossible for anyone other than Usain Bolt to reach our room within 2 minutes.  After several attempts to do this he said that the IT Guy had a way to override the system -- but that it was after hours and he wasn't there, but that  they would page him and would let us know when he arrived. In the mean time the hotel offered us a different room, but all of our stuff was in that room, including my CPAP machine, without which I cannot sleep.  So we went to lunch, came back, read USA Today, solved the crossword (which SS could probably knock off in 30 seconds), tried to nap on the lobby sofas, etc, etc.  Eventually the IT Guy showed up and was able get the door open  and we were good to go.

We usually visit this small town in Ohio at least once a year and they don't have a lot of hotels, but if we have to stay at this one again, it will be contingent on the desk clerk demonstrating that he/she can reach our room within two minutes (or if Usain happens to be staying in the hotel that weekend!).

I guess it's pretty obvious by now what's going on with the theme.  I have a slight NIT about that, as unlike the UPSIDE DOWN CAKES in last Thursday's puzzle you can't really tell whether these MOONS are RISING or SETTING.  Nevertheless they ARE ALL BAD.

Here's the grid ...
 

Across:

1. Tap: PAT.  A CSO to PAT.

4. Garment that may be draped in the nivi style: SARI.  The true Story of the Nivi Drape.

Sari à la Nivi

8. Buyer's incentive: REBATE.

14. Hoopla: ADO.

15. Jeff Bridges sci-fi franchise: TRON.  The franchise began with the 1982 film TRON staring Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer and video game developer who is transported inside the software world of a mainframe computer where he interacts with programs in his attempt to escape.  It back then it had SOTA animation for 1982. I believe that there were other films as well. Hand up if you saw the original? 

16. Toyota sedan since 1994: AVALON.  They looked like this, but Toyota is discontinuing them.

Toyota Avalon, RIP

17. Gets just right: PERFECTS.  Someone once said that "the perfect is the enemy of the good".

19. Silently agreed: NODDED.

20. Places to pray: ALTARS.  A famous place to pray.

21. __ de deux: PAS.  Here's the Pas de deux from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet ...

23. Physics quantity: MASS.  Also a RITE than can be said at a 20A.

24. Rental agreement: LEASE.

25. Get off the partner track?: GO SOLO.  It's not all it's cracked up to be ...

27. Car alarm: HORN.  Here's the 3rd movement of Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 2 in E-flat major, K. 417, Rondo - allegro ...

29. Slick: SMOOTH. Or the Jefferson Airplane vocalist singing White Rabbit? 

32. Final Four game: SEMI.  March Madness is upon us!

35. Yahoo: OAF.

37. "Thanks, I got it": NO NEED.

39. Handi-Snacks cookie: OREO.  See 60A.

40. Have a loan from: OWE TO.

42. Like a dragon egg in Minecraft: RARE.  According to the Minecraft Wiki "A Dragon Egg is a decorative, egg-shaped block, which is dropped after defeating the Ender Dragon in the End. It is only dropped by the death of the first Ender Dragon, not by respawned Ender Dragons. It is also not possible to get from the creative inventory without commands. This do not apply [sic] to Bedrock Edition".  They look like this ...

Dragon's Egg

Egg shaped, but in a low-res digital sort of way.  Hand up if you're a Minecraft maven and can explain why they're so valuable?

43. Jackman's "The Greatest Showman" role: BARNUM.  The Greatest Showman, starring Hugh Jackman, is a 2017 American fictionalized biographical musical drama about the life of P.T. Barnum.   I can never get enough of this portrayal by Rebecca Ferguson of BARNUM's love interest, the legendary Swedish Soprano Jenny Lind singing Never Enough (but actually sung by Loren Allred) ...

Not Loren Allred

45. "__ your heart out!": EAT.  Hearts were a favorite food of the Egyptian goddess Ammit, 'devourer of the dead and hearts' -- Chacun à son goût! 😀

46. Apple computer: IMAC.

47. Siete días: SEMANA. Today's Spanish lesson -- "Seven days" make a "week".

49. Centipede's multitude: LEGS.  A word with a multitude of synonyms ...

Plus  a CSO to MOE.

51. Body of work: OEUVRE.  Today's French lesson:

or an hors-d'oeuvre .

53. Firm: RIGID.

57. Chatted privately, briefly: DMED.  Digital Messaging not in an open "chat room"

60. "It's not really working for me": MEH. This doesn't really work for me either -- but conductor Zubin MEHTA does -- here he leads the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in the last 3 minutes of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2, "The Resurrection" ...

61. Admonition to bickering kids: BE NICE.
 
62. Electric guitar effect: REVERB.  Not a new thing -- back in the Renaissance the stringed instruments had reverb, and in this Dr. Who clip from The Magician's Apprentice episode, time traveling Peter Capaldi shows off his REVERB chops on the electric lute (no stunt double), while treating us to a few bad puns  ...

64. "Back so soon?": YOU AGAIN.  Yeah, it's Thursday again. 😀

66. Audrey Tautou role: AMELIE.  Amélie is a 2001 French-language romantic comedy film, a whimsical depiction of contemporary Parisian life, set in Montmartre. It tells the story of a shy, introverted and quirky waitress, played by Audrey Tautou, who decides to change the lives of those around her for the better while dealing with her own isolation ...

67. Long for: MISS.

68. Vox populi, vox __: DEI.  Today's Latin lesson: "Voice of the people, voice of God".  A metaphor for democratic government used in a 1709 English political tract titled with this phrase.

69. Flexor counterpart: TENSOR.  Both are types of muscles.  It seems that the EXTENSOR has a stretch on today's fill.  Here are some examples ...

70. "Who __ could it be?": ELSE.

71. Parka part: ARM.  HOOD didn't fit.

Down:
1. Vatican-related: PAPAL. E.g. PAPAL BULL. It's not widely known but most Popes DO have a sense of humor ...

2. "I Drink Wine" singer: ADELE.  Not until the end of Lent we don't!  I don't think ADELE is observing Lent 😀 ...

Lyrics

3. Sandwich on a bolillo: TORTA.  In Mexico a TORTA is a kind of sandwich served on  white sandwich rolls similar to a small baguette called a bolillo.  A CSO to Lucina -- anything to add?

Torta on a bolillo

4. Typical opening?: STEREO.

5. Story shapes: ARCS.

6. Deteriorate: ROT.

7. What a mood board might provide, informally: INSPO.  A mood board is a collection of visual materials that evoke a particular theme, style or concept. Designers, illustrators, photographers, filmmakers and all types of creative professionals create mood boards to communicate and give them inspiration or "INSPO" (also a vaccine! 😀) and vision for a project.  Here's how to make mood board using a product called Milanote.  Here's an example ...

8. [Theme clue]

9. Former Bolivian president Morales: EVO.  Juan EVO Morales Ayma (Spanish pronunciation: [xwan ˈeβo moˈɾales ˈajma]; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero (coca leaf) activist who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. He was his country's first president to come from its indigenous population.  Not to be confused with a Rachel Ray favorite 😀 ...

Evo Morales

10. [Theme reveal]

11. "M*A*S*H" star: ALDA.  Alan Alda (born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor, author, screenwriter, podcast host and director. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner and a three-time Tony Award nominee, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the CBS wartime sitcom M*A*S*H (1972–1983). He also wrote and directed numerous episodes of the series. But he's done a LOT of other things as well.

Alan Alda

12. The ten in "hang ten": TOES.  Prehensile TOES that is.  "Hang ten" is slang for any of several maneuvers used in sports where all ten toes or fingers are used to accomplish the maneuver. In basketball it's hanging on the hoop after dunking the ball.   In surfing, the sport it's most commonly associated with, it's also called "nose riding", as it's done by perching on the very front of the surfboard ...

"Hanging ten"
How does she do that!!!?

13. Split __: ENDS.

18. [Theme clue]

22. Burro: ASS.  And the origin of the word burrito (the clue not the fill!)

25. Chew (on): GNAW.

26. Lav: LOO.  British slang.

28. [Theme clue].

30. Cubs or Bears: TEAM.

31. Juno's Greek counterpart: HERA.  While HERA and JUNO played the same role in Roman and Greek mythology, they were very different goddesses.

Hera vs. Juno

32. Cry loudly: SOB.

33. "-zoic" periods: ERAS. Here is simplified chart of Earth's geological ERAS, courtesy of the British Geological Survey ...

Nowadays when people hear the word ERAS they're more likely to think of this (Ms Swift has better PR men than the geologists😀) ...

34. No more than: MERE.  Could also be clued as "French for Mother".

36. Extra charge: FEE.

38. Advent mo.: DEC.  It can actually begin in late NOV. --  Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas (always falling between 27 November and 3 December), and ends on Christmas Eve on 24 December.  It is the beginning of the liturgical New Year.

41. Yarn: TALE.

44. Dubai's fed.: UAE.  Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the country's seven emirates.

48. Madison in NYC: AVE.

50. Axle coating: GREASE.  Messy.  How about a 1978 film about a sheila from Down Under who becomes hopelessly devoted to an American greaser instead? ...

52. Pay to play, e.g.: RHYME.

54. Food Network chef De Laurentiis: GIADA. Giada Pamela De Laurentiis is an Italian American chef, entrepreneur, writer, and television personality. She was the host of Food Network's program called Giada at Home (2008–2015) .  Here's her recipe for Pasta with chicken and broccoli rabe.

Giada De Laurentiis

55. Less friendly: ICIER.

56. "Canadian tuxedo" fabric: DENIM.  So why is it called a "Canadian tuxedo"?

57. "Dang!": DRAT.

58. Many a viral post: MEME.  The word MEME is a portmanteau of mime and gene and first appeared in a book by biologist Richard Dawkins.  Here was Dawkins' first attempt, but for some reason it didn't go viral ...

59. Level: EVEN.

61. Peck: BUSS. Often seen in PDAs.

63. __ de Janeiro: RIO.  Sadly, last year we lost Astrud Gilberto, an icon of RIO culture.  Here she is singing Stan Getz's arrangement of The Girl from Ipanema ...

65. Cruet liquid: OIL.

Cheers,
Bill

And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley

Wednesday, March 27, 2024. Matthew Faiella

 Theme:  Unfitness Routine for the Lazy.  The second word of a two word in-the-language phrase also had a different meaning in a physical activity context.  The result, from a certain oblique perspective, is a humorous wordplay in which the activity is negated

20. Exercise done by making a grilled cheese sandwich?: PANINI PRESS.  A PANINI PRESS applies weight and toasts the top and bottom of the sandwich without cutting, shaping, or forming the sandwich in any way other than to compress it a bit.  A PRESS is a weight lifting exercise in which weights are lifted vertically over the head.

34. Exercise done by lounging on the couch and bingeing a new show?: TV MARATHON.  A TV MARATHON or watchalong, aka binge watching, is an event in which viewers engage many hours' worth of television, in a condensed time period.

44. Exercise done by hitting the snooze button and staying in bed?: SLEEP CYCLE.  When you sleep, you cycle through two phases of sleep: rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep. The cycle starts over every 80 to 100 minutes. Usually there are four to six cycles per night. You may wake up briefly between cycles.  If you're old like I am, "briefly" might not apply.  To CYCLE is to peddle a stationary or movable bicycle

56. Exercise done by lying around doing nothing all day?: DIDDLY SQUAT.  A SQUAT is a strength exercise in which the trainee lowers their hips from a standing position and then stands back up.  DIDDLY SQUAT means little or nothing.  

So what have we accomplished, a little nourishment, a little entertainment, a nap, and nothing more.  Sounds like an ideal day in retirement,

Hi, Gang - JazzBumpa here, hoping to exercise a little brain power and see what else we might accomplish.  Let's get moving!

Across:

1. Sudden impulse: WHIM.  A capricious or eccentric and often sudden idea or turn of the mind :

5. Patatas bravas, croquetas, etc.: TAPAS. In Spanish, small plates of food - snacks.

10. "SOS" quartet: ABBA.  The Swedish singing group.

14. Pre-migraine phenomenon for some: AURA.   A feature of a migraine (= a condition that can cause a type of severe pain in the head)  that involves problems with vision, especially seeing lights that flash or move:

15. Make up (for): ATONE.   Make amends or reparation.

16. Round vegetables: PEAS.  A spherical green seed that is eaten as a vegetable or as a pulse when dried.

17. Smelting waste: SLAG.   Stony waste matter separated from metals during the smelting or refining of ore.

18. Sulks: POUTS.  Is silent, morose, and bad-tempered out of annoyance or disappointment.

19. Quick kiss: PECK.  A quick light kiss, perhaps by reference to the pecking motion of a birds beak.

23. Sea urchin delicacy: ROE.  The fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooked ingredient in many dishes, and as a raw ingredient for delicacies such as caviar.

24. Microsoft's Satya Nadella, e.g.: Abbr.: CEO.  Chief Executive Officer of a corporation.

25. April birthstone: DIAMOND.  Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic.

27. Letters before xis: NUS. In the Greek alphabet.  

30. Royal flush cards: ACES.  A royal flush in a card game consists of the 10.jack, queen, king and ace, all in a single suit. 

33. Intl. oil cartel: OPEC.   Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. 

37. "While we're on the subject ... ": ALSO.  In addition.

40. Pair on a tandem bike: SEATS.   Things made or used for sitting on

41. __ Lingus: AER.   Aer Lingus is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary of International Airlines Group.

42. How onion rings are fried: IN OIL.  

43. Milhouse's pal: BART.  Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a recurring character in the Fox animated television series The Simpsons voiced by Pamela Hayden and created by Matt Groening. Milhouse is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at Springfield Elementary School.  I assume everyone knows who Bart is.  If not ---

46. Native American tent: TIPI.  A tipi or tepee is a conical lodge tent that is distinguished from other conical tents by the smoke flaps at the top of the structure, and historically made of animal hides or pelts or, in more recent generations, of canvas stretched on a framework of wooden poles.

48. Horseback game: POLO.   Polo is a ball game that is played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports.[9] The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ball through the opposing team's goal. Each team has four mounted riders, and the game usually lasts one to two hours, divided into periods called chukkas or chukkers.

49. Some boxing match finales: KOs.   A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, as well as fighting-based video games. A full knockout is considered any legal strike or combination thereof that renders an opponent unable to continue fighting.

50. Greek currency used in "Percy Jackson" novels: DRACHMA.   The Greek drachma was the currency of Greece before it was replaced by the euro in 2002. It was also the ancient money of the Greek empire and city-states. Drachma note denominations ranged from 10 to 500 over much of its existence, while smaller denominations of 1 and 2 drachmae were issued earlier.

53. Short reply?: ANS.   An abrv. [hence "short" for ANSWER.

55. Unagi, in sushi: EEL.   Unagi is the Japanese word for freshwater eel, particularly the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica. Unagi is a common ingredient in Japanese cooking, often as kabayaki. It is not to be confused with saltwater eel, which is known as anago in Japanese. 

62. Emulates: APES.  These words both mean imitate, but "emulate" implies in a inspired way, while "ape" implies in a mocking way.

64. Like early PC graphics: LORES.  I'm completely baffled by this and cannot find anything that explains it.

65. Desire: URGE.  A srtong desire or impulse.

66. Secure skates, say: LACE.   Tighten and then knot the shoe strings.

67. Subside: ABATE.  Reduce in activity, quantity or severity.

68. Bit of inspiration: IDEA.  A thought or suggestion as to a possible course of action.

69. Lil' one: TYKE.  A small child.

70. Bender of "Futurama," for one: ROBOT.  A machine resembling a human being and able to replicate certain human movements and functions automatically.

71. Nightfall: DUSK.   The state or period of partial darkness between day and night

Down:

1. Winged stinger: WASP.   Any of numerous social or solitary winged hymenopterous insects (especially families Sphecidae and Vespidae) that usually have a slender smooth body with the abdomen attached by a narrow stalk, well-developed wings, biting mouthparts, and in the females and workers an often formidable sting, and that are largely carnivorous and often provision their nests with insects or spiders killed or paralyzed by stinging for their larvae to feed on

2. Dance taught at some Oahu hotels: HULA.   Hula is a Hawaiian dance form expressing chant or song. It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visual dance form.

3. Country whose emblem resembles a tulip: IRAN.   Iran, also known as Persia and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), is a country located at the crossroads of West, Central and South Asia. It is bordered by Iraq to the west and Turkey to the northwest, Azerbaijan, Armenia, the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan to the north, Afghanistan to the east, Pakistan to the southeast, the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south. With almost 90 million people in an area of 1.648 million square kilometres (0.64 million square miles), Iran ranks 17th in the world in both geographic size and population. 

4. Orlando team: MAGIC.  Team in the National Basketball Association.

5. Bubble tea pearls: TAPIOCA.  Tapioca is starch obtained from the root of cassava, a plant that mostly grows underground (like a potato). In many parts of the world, it's a food staple. Cassava is a native vegetable of South America and grows in tropical and subtropical regions.

6. At the peak of: ATOP.  On top of something.

7. Rain heavily: POUR.   Heavy, continuous rainfall; it's a figure of speech that's supposed to remind you of the way water pours out of a large pitcher.

8. Chipped in?: ANTED.   Contributes the money each player puts in the pot before the hand begins in a game of poker.

9. Word with jam or cram: SESSION.  A period of time devoted to a particular activity, such as playing music or intensely studying.

10. Tablet download: APP.   Short for application - a software program that's designed to perform a specific function 

11. Time to grab a brewski: BEER O'CLOCK.  An appropriate time of day to start drinking beer.  This may be open to widely varying interpretation.

12. Club ingredient: BACON.  For a club sandwich - consisting of bread, sliced cooked poultry, fried bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise.

13. Sought, as a price: ASKED.  Refers to the lowest price which the seller is willing to accept.

21. Gets closer to: NEARS.  Approaches

22. Tree goo: SAP.   This sticky liquid runs through the tree and down to the branches to help generate energy while new buds are forming during springtime. Due to photosynthesis, sugars are created which are fed back into the tree and acts as food for the tree during its growth period.

26. No-good jerkface: MEANY.  An unfriendly hostile or oppressive person.

27. Fed. crash investigator: NTSB.   National Transportation Safety Board,  an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine accidents, pipeline incidents, bridge failures, and railroad accidents.

28. Eye layer: UVEA.    The middle layer of the eye. It lies beneath the white part of the eye (the sclera). It is made of the iris, ciliary body, and choroid. These structures control many eye functions, including adjusting to different levels of light or distances of objects.

See it here

29. Know-it-all: SMART ALECK.   A person who is irritating because they behave as if they know everything.

31. Footnote abbr.: ET AL.   Short for the Latin term “et alia,” which means “and others.” It is used in academic citations when referring to a source with multiple authors.

32. Source of wool: SHEEP.   A domesticated ruminant animal with a thick woolly coat and (typically only in the male) curving horns. It is kept in flocks for its wool or meat, and is proverbial for its tendency to follow others in the flock.

35. Room with a slanted ceiling, often: ATTIC.   A space or room just below the roof of a building.

36. Cookie with a Blackpink collaboration: OREO.   Look here if you want to know more.

38. Grain tower: SILO.   A cylindrical tower structure commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. 

39. Spanish cheers: OLÉS.  A cry of approval, joy, etc.

42. Tappable images: ICONS.   Pictograms or ideograms displayed on a computer screen in order to help the user navigate a computer system. 

44. Like wining and dining?: SIMILAR.   Resembling without being identical.

45. Backyard swings, slide, and sandbox, e.g.: PLAY SET.   Themed collections of similar toys designed to work together to enact some action or event. 

47. Research grant?: PhD.  A doctoral degree granted to a scholar recognizing her/his research work.

50. Handed out: DEALT.  As cards in a game.

51. Terminate a debt: REPAY.  Pay back (a loan, debt, or sum of money).

52. Mexican marinade made with chili peppers: ADOBO.  The immersion of cooked food in a stock composed variously of paprika, oregano, salt, garlic, peppers and vinegar to preserve and enhance its flavor.

54. Calamari: SQUID.  Typically referring to squid dishes.

57. Boring: DRAB.   Lacking brightness or interest; drearily dull.

58. Mother of Artemis: LETO.   In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Leto is a goddess and the mother of Apollo and Artemis. She is the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, and the sister of Asteria.

In the Olympian scheme, the king of gods Zeus is the father of her twins, Apollo and Artemis, whom Leto conceived after her hidden beauty accidentally caught the eye of Zeus. Classical Greek myths record little about Leto other than her pregnancy and search for a place where she could give birth to Apollo and Artemis, since Hera, the wife of Zeus, in her jealousy ordered all lands to shun her and deny her shelter.

59. Pakistani language: URDU.    An Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan, where it is also an official language alongside English.

60. Range listed on video games: AGES.  The time of life at which some particular qualification, power, or capacity arises or rests.  Or, in this case, is age appropriate.

61. Tropical tree: TEAK.   A tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. Tectona grandis has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicles) at the end of the branches.    Teak wood has a leather-like smell when it is freshly milled and is particularly valued for its durability and water resistance. The wood is used for boat building, exterior construction, veneer, furniture, carving, turnings, and various small projects.

63. "Happy now?": SEE.  Told ya so!  Words of admonishment spoken after someone did something that had been warned against.  Fool around and find out.  

Well, we had a little song, a little dance, and some eye-ball anatomy [prior to my upcoming cataract surgeries] and a few snacks.  Hope it wasn't too much of a work out.  Happy and blessed Easter to those who celebrate.  Happy Springtime to all.  See y'all next month.

Could this be Matthew's first appearance in the L.A. Times?  If so, congrats, and keep 'em coming!

Cool regards,

JzB

Tuesday, March 26, 2024 Ed Sessa

Slo-MO.  The Modus Operandi of today's puzzle was to have each theme answer be a two-word phrase where the first word begins with M and the second word begins with O.  Working this puzzle, however, was anything but Slow.

17-Across. *  Consider carefully: MEDITATE ON.

21-Across. *  Transformative beauty treatment: MAKE OVER.

54-Across. *  Talk back (to): MOUTH OFF

59-Across. *  Divvy up: MEASURE OUT.

And the unifier:

36-Across. Plan of action, as "initially" found in the answers to the starred clues?: MODUS OPERANDI.  The phrase Modus Operandi is a Latin phrase meaning Method of Operation.  I would narrow the definition provided in the clue to mean an established habit of working.  It is frequently in the context of a business or criminal endeavor.  Modus Operandi, or MO, is often used in detective/cop television shows.

Across:

1. Goal of much medical research: CURE.

5. Like a baby with pudding, probably: MESSY.

10. Floor model, e.g.: DEMO.

14. "That'll be the day!": AS IF.

15. Jazz great Earl "__" Hines: FATHA.  Earl Kenneth Hines (Dec. 28, 1903 ~ Apr. 22, 1983) was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was considered one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano.  He apparently earned his nickname "fatha" after giving a drunken announcer some "fatherly" advice to limit his drinking.  [Name # 1.]

16. Woeful word: ALAS.

19. Home in the sticks: NEST.  Cute clue.

20. Fluster: ADDLE.

23. Fancy timepieces: ROLEXES.

26. Luthor of DC Comics: LEX.  He is the supervillain and archival of Superman.  His full name is Alexander Joseph Luther.  [Name # 2, fictional.]

27. Stand-up comedian Shaffir: ARI.  I am not familiar with Ari David Shaffir (b. Feb. 12, 1974).  [Name # 3.]

28. Undivided: ONE.

29. Removes soap from: RINSES.

31. Tic-__-toe: TAC.

32. Maytag sister brand: AMANA.  How the two companies are related.  [Name adjacent.]

34. Tusks, e.g.: TEETH.

40. Writer Sir Arthur __ Doyle: CONAN.  Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (May 22, 1859 ~ July 7, 1930) is best known for being the creator of Sherlock Holmes.  Doyle tried to kill Sherlock Holmes, but his readers protested so much that Holmes was resurrected.   [Name # 4.]

41. Still-life pitchers: EWERs.

42. GOP gp.: RNC.

43. Bearded spring blooms: IRISES.  Vincent van Gogh (Mar. 30, 1853 ~ July 29, 1890) was known for his numerous paintings of Irises.  If you are ever in Amsterdam, a visit to the Van Gogh Museum is well worth a visit.

46. Many an email attachment: PDF.  Portable Document Format.

49. Earlier: AGO.

50. Intentionally mislead: CON.

51. "Don't let that woman get away!": STOP HER!

57. Garlicky mayonnaise: AIOLI.  This vowel-rich condiment is fast becoming a crossword staple.

58. Angry: SORE.

62. Rae of "Insecure": ISSA.  Issa Rae (née Jo-Issa Rae Diop; b. Jan. 12, 1985) makes frequent appearances in the crossword puzzles.  She had her own television show, Insecure, which ran from 2026 until 2021.  [Name # 5.]

63. Industry honcho: BARON.

64. Surrender, as territory: CEDE.

65. __-do-well: NE'ER.

66. "You __ sweet!": ARE SO.

67. Potato buds: EYES.

Down:

1. Chevrolet that will be discontinued in 2024: CAMARO.  The Camaro was first sold in 1966.  It had a long run.  [Name adjacent.]

2. Applied to: USED ON.

3. Brain-breaking question: RIDDLE.  Here's an ancient riddle that dates back to 18th Century BCE in Samaria:  There is a house.  One enters blind and comes out seeing.  What is it?  For the answer, you must read this article.  

4. Paperless option for taxpayers: E-FILE.  We just had our annual visit with our CPA.

5. Curator's deg.: MFA.  Master of Fine Arts.

6. Take in: EAT.

7. Women in __: educational advocacy org.: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.  

8. Sandbars: SHOALS.  This makes me think of the Isle of Shoals, which are a group of small islands and tidal ledges situated approximately 6 miles off the east coast of the United States that straddle the border of the states of Maine and New Hampshire.  Writer Anita Shreve (Oct. 7, 1946 ~ Mar. 29, 2018) wrote The Weight of Water, a historical novel about a murder that takes place on the Isle of Shoals

9. Big Apple MLB player: YANKEE.

10. Paul of "The Batman": DANO.  Paul Dano (né Paul Franklin Dano; June 19, 1984) portrayed the Riddler in the 2022 version of Batman.  [Name # 6.]

11. Like some beachside homes: ELEVATED.

12. GranTurismo automaker: MASERATI.  Maserati is an Italian manufacturer. The company was established in December 1914 in Bologna, Italy.  [Name adjacent.]

13. Bird with a powerful kick: OSTRICH.

18. __-Mex cuisine: TEX.

22. Celeb who's no longer in the limelight: EX-STAR.

24. Important ages: ERAs.  Taylor Swift (née Taylor Alison Swift; b. Dec. 13, 1989) is on her Eras Tour.

25. Chinese: Pref.: SINO-.

30. Kitten-lifting spots: NAPES.

32. Oral health org.: ADA.  American Dental Association.

33. German city that hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics: MUNICH.  The 1972 summer Olympics were overshadowed by the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes.  

35. Napkin corners?: ENs.  I suppose this means that the word Napkin begins and ends with the letter "N".  Rather like last Friday's clue about Label Edges = ELs.  I didn't care for that clue, either.

36. Ferretlike carnivore: MONGOOSE.

37. Proceeding as planned: ON COURSE.

38. Lambs' moms: EWEs.

39. Take a break: REST.

40. Adds to an already full suitcase, say: CRAMS IN.

44. Saucer-shaped vacuum: ROOMBA.

45. With trepidation: IN FEAR.

46. "Nuts!": PHOOEY.

47. Intentionally mislead: DELUDE.

48. Steak __: bistro dish: FRITES.

52. Rowboat blade: OAR.

53. Component: PIECE.

55. Run like heck: TEAR.

56. Cab charge: FARE.

60. Letters sent in emergencies: SOS.

61. Game with colorful cards: UNO.  This game has become a crossword staple.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה