Thursday, May 10th 2018 Jeff Stillman

Theme: Career Path. Navigating the shark-infested corporate world.

17A Start of a business journey: ENTRY-LEVEL

24A. Way to get from 17- to 39-Across: CORPORATE LADDER. Here's a different take - fortunately I don't think I was in that word:

39A. Pinnacle of the journey: EXECUTIVE OFFICE. I wanted "CORNER OFFICE", except that corner was three letters too short. That was a clue.

52A. Way to get from 39- to 63-Across: GOLDEN PARACHUTE

63A. End of the journey: RETIREMENT

I enjoyed this theme from Jeff. The trick with these types of puzzle is to get enough crosses that one of the entries becomes apparent - in my case I got RETIREMENT when about six crosses were completed. From there it was a question of working backwards to guess at or solve the rest.

I like how the three "stages" were linked by two "how to get there" entries. Very elegant.

Across:

1. Bookie's concern: ODDS

5. Wedge-shaped bones: SACRA. Took me ages to tumble to this one.

10. Elite Eight org.: N.C.A.A. From the March Madness college basketball tourney organized by the N.C.A.A.

14. Bygone depilatory brand: NEET

15. Cantilevered window: ORIEL. I didn't know these were cantilevered. I do now.

16. Panhandler's income: ALMS. I see alms as more given to a charity, rather than an individual. I guess it's fine.

19. Watery defense, perhaps: MOAT

20. Hustle: HIE

21. First name in bike stunts: EVEL. Knievel.

23. Phased-out Secret Service weapon: UZI. I never knew the Secret Service used these. Wasn't there an acceptable US-made alternative?

29. Doce meses: ANO. Twelve months, one year. Spanish lesson for the day.

30. Roll of bills: WAD

31. Woolly mammal: EWE

32. Seasonal song ender: SYNE. I tried "TREE" as in the Partridge in a Pear one at first. I was wrong.

34. Proceed tediously: PLOD

37. Like pals who go way back: OLD

44. Three Gorges project: DAM. A big-assed dam spanning the Yangtze in China.

45. Wail: BAWL

46. Former autocrat: TSAR. __AR and wait for a cross to decide between TS and CZ

47. Stat for Miguel Cabrera: R.B.I. Runs Batted In. Baseball, natch.

59. Site with digging: RUIN

60. Witty remark: MOT. Doesn't it have to be a "bon mot"? I'm not convinced by "mot" flying solo here.

61. Word with work or play: BOOK. Workbook, playbook.

68. Field of work: LINE

69. Food poisoning cause: E. COLI. Nasty.

70. Times past: ERAS

71. Place of bliss: EDEN

72. Summer Triangle star: DENEB. Thank you crosses, completely unknown to me. Per Wikipedia:

"Deneb, also designated α Cygni, is the brightest star in the constellation of Cygnus. It is one of the vertices of the asterism known as the Summer Triangle and forms the 'head' of the neck-less Northern Cross."

73. WWI battle river: YSER

Down:

1. Top 40 title for Metallica or U2: ONE. Here's the U2 version.

2. Resting place: DEN

3. Overthrew: DETHRONED

4. Las Vegas feature: STRIP. Las Vegas Boulevard, officially. I'll be back in Vegas for another conference in a couple of weeks.

5. Peruvian currency: SOL. I swear I'll never remember this. I always rely on crosses.

6. Occur: ARE

7. Catlike carnivore: CIVET. I can never see "catlike" without "With catlike tread ... " from the Pirates of Penzance playing in my head.

8. "Deathtrap" actor: REEVE. Christopher Reeve in the 1972 movie adaptation of Ira Levin's stage play.

9. Gene variant: ALLELE. Thank you, crosses.

10. '60s hot spot: 'NAM

11. Data storage medium: CLOUD. Nice! With the C in place I was sorely tempted by CD-ROM but curbed my enthusiam.

12. Render speechless: AMAZE

13. On the move: ASTIR

18. Cry of pain: YEOW! That's my toe! A rather fun trait of the English is their tendency to apologize when some steps on their toe.

22. __ gravity: LAW OF

24. Wholesale quantity: CASE

25. Figurine material: ONYX

26. Mesmerized: RAPT

27. Wing it: AD LIB

28. Dutch earthenware city: DELFT. Why did I think it was DELPH? It's not, obviously.

33. High-tech greeting: E-CARD

35. Fertility clinic specimens: OVA

36. Big name in whisky: DEWAR. They make Teacher's. I mean Bell's. I mean Dewar's.

38. Naysayers: DISPUTERS

40. Darker-than-ocher pigment: UMBER. My watercolor paints sets as a kid always had "burnt umber".

41. Cantina cooker: OLLA. Big clay pot.

42. Threw: CAST

43. Pelee Island's lake: ERIE. Yay! Nailed it!

48. Toughened: INURED

50. Top of the heap: ACME

52. Triangular part of a house: GABLE. There's a mountain in the Lake District in England called Great Gable - you can see the triangular resemblance. I hiked up it a few times back in my youth.

53. Roundish: OVOID

54. Sierra __: LEONE. I stuck on MADRE and couldn't let it go for a while.

55. Pizza slice, say: PIECE. Also gable-shaped, if you think about it.

56. Playwright Chekhov: ANTON

57. Comfortably familiar: HOMEY. I'm more familiar with the British English variant "HOMELY".

62. Understanding: KEN

64. Seine site: ILE. The natural islands île Saint-Louis and île de la Cité and the man-made one île aux Cygnes

65. Corduroy feature: RIB

66. "Dream on, laddie": NAE

67. Original Dungeons & Dragons co.: T.S.R. Thanks, crosses. We've seen this before but it doesn't want to stick in my mind.

Here's the grind - I mean grid! (I'm on the daily grind). EWR to LAX later today. Home for the weekend!

Steve

Wednesday, May 9, 2018 Mark McClain

Theme: I'M OUTA HERE! The first word of two-word entries is a synonym for some kind of void.

17. Horror film setting: VACANT HOUSE.  I'm not a maven of this genre, but it seems like an appropriately scary choice.

24. Rural "Out of the office" sign: GONE FISHING.  Alternatively, in slang, oblivious or unconcerned about the realities of daily life.  Also, this:

37. Ammo for a starter pistol: BLANK CARTRIDGES.  Contains gunpowder, but no bullet or shot.  When fired, the blank makes a flash and an explosive sound (report), the wadding is propelled from the barrel of the gun, and the firearm's action cycles. [Wikipedia]

48. One whose "chicks" have flown?: EMPTY NESTER.  Parents in the house, after the children are grown and gone.  Tough transition for many.  Our kids are approaching that point in life.

59. Explanation for an evolutionary transition: MISSING LINK. Presumed gap in the evolutionary fossil record.  Most scientists find the term to be cringe-worthy.

Hi gang, JzB NOT absent today, and here to lead the way through - well - nothing, really.  The irony is that, with 5 entries, a theme built around absence is so full of thematic richness.  Let's see if we can poke holes in the rest of the puzzle.

Across:

1. Bullpen hero: CLOSER.  The pitcher who is usually brought in for the 9th inning of a game when his team has a small lead he is supposed to protect.

7. Technical opening?: PYRO.  PYRO-technical refers to fireworks displays or a brilliant performance of some specific skill.  Fireworks and affix clues generally leave me cold.

11. Juan or Jose lead-in: SAN.  City names.  SAN Jose is the capital of Costa Rica.   SAN Juan is a town in Trinidad and Tobago, located in the San Juan-Laventille Region in Saint George County.

14. Mom's sis: AUNTIE.  My Mom's twin sis is still alive and will be 97 in a few days.

15. Semi warning: HORN.  Beep-beep.

16. Asian menu general: TSO.

19. Physicist with a law: OHM.  His law states that the current through a conductor is equal to the voltage divided by the resistance: I = V/R.  R is a constant property of the conducting item, and the current flow depends on the applied voltage.

20. Bird feeder cake: SUET.  White animal fat.  The fat is white.  The color of the animal doesn't matter.

21. Common math base: TEN.  The base is the number of symbols [numerals or letters] that a counting system uses to represent numbers.  In base TEN, these symbols are the digits 0 through 9.

22. Ocean dots: ISLES.  Dots represent small islands on maps.

27. Acting twins Mary-Kate and Ashley: OLSENS.  Former child actresses, born in 1986, they shared the roll of Michelle Tanner on the TV series FULL HOUSE.  They have had several other acting projects, and are now fabulously wealthy fashion designers.

30. Feel some pain: ACHE.  Day-after-yard-work syndrome.

31. Send forth: ISSUE.  Emit.

32. Hotshot: ACE.  High-level performer.   What you want your CLOSER to be.

33. Easy gait: LOPE.  A long, bounding stride.

41. Zingers: MOTS.  Short for Bon MOT, which is French for "good word," said of a witticism or biting retort.

42. Vote, say: OPT.  Make a choice from among a range of options.  Also from French, and ultimately Latin optare, choose or wish.

43. Title Kazakh in a 2006 spoof: BORAT.  More low humor.

44. Big heads?: EGOS.  In psychoanalysis, the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity.  More loosely, a person's sense of self esteem and importance.  In context, an overweening self-importance.

46. Revolver?: PLANET.  Each PLANET in the solar system rotates on its axis and revolves around the sun.

52. Color separator: PRISM.  This video, just under 6 minutes, gets pretty deep into the weeds.  I suspect Gary, at least, will like it.

53. __ Gang: OUR.   Kids comedy team from back in the day.  There are lots of long vids on YouTube, if you want to go down that rabbit hole.  Here's a short excerpt.  Evidently the piano was over-dubbed later, so this 7-yr-old did a really good job of staying in tune on this great old song.

54. Minimally: A BIT. Not too much off the top.  It's thin there.

58. Many times, in poems: OFT.  Because "frequently" is hard to work into the metric scheme.

63. Pointillism unit: DOT.  A neo-impressionist painting technique that uses tiny dots of pure color that become blended in the viewer's eye.  Interesting counter-point [so to speak] to the prism we encountered not so very long ago.

Georges Seurat - A Sunday on La Grande Jatte -- 1884

64. Stirring solo: ARIA.   An operatic song, not mixing alone in the kitchen.

65. Rio Grande city: EL PASO.  In far west Texas, across from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

66. George Strait's "All My __ Live in Texas": EXS.  As long as we're in Texas, why not.   George Strait is one of the few country singers I can tolerate for more than about 12 seconds.  Here's a link.

67. Watch over: TEND.

68. Bird hangouts: ROOSTS.  Birds' resting spots.  They usually sit upright on roosts.  Bats, however, will hang.  Just sayin'  .  .  .

Down:

1. LeBron et al., briefly: CAVS.  LeBron James and his team mates on the Cleveland Cavaliers professional basketball team.

2. Waikiki party: LUAU.  A traditional Hawaiian party or feast that is usually accompanied by entertainment. It may feature food such as poi, Kalua pig, poke, lomi salmon, opihi, haupia and beer, and entertainment such as traditional Hawaiian music and hula. [Wikkipedia]

3. Back in the day: ONCE. Frex, when the OUR GANG kids were kids.

4. Saves, for a 1-Across: STAT.  If the lead is 3 runs or fewer in the expected final inning of a baseball game when the CLOSER enters, it's a save situation.  If he then shuts down the inning without the opposing team either tying or going ahead, his team wins, and the save is recorded.  Otherwise, there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

5. Strauss' "__ Heldenleben": EIN.  "A Hero's Life," an 1898 tone poem by Richard Strauss.  In it's entirety, it lasts ca. 50 minutes.  Here is a short low brass excerpt - and, oh, boy, are these guys good!

6. 1984 Olympics gymnastics standout: RETTON.  Mary Lou [b 1968] won a gold medal, along with 2 silver and 2 bronze, back in the day.

7. LG product: PHONE.  LG Electronics Inc. is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea, and is part of the LG Group, employing 82,000 people working in 119 local subsidiaries worldwide. [Wikipedia]

8. "That's so __!": YOU.  Said of clothing or a situation that seems to suit a person perfectly.

9. $200 Monopoly props.: RRS.  The Rail Road properties.

10. Vague lunch date time: ONE-ISH.  Approximately 1:00 pm.  Hold a spot for me.

11. Skyy alternative, familiarly: STOLI.  Vodkas. Skyy, now available in at least 17 flavors, is owned by the Campari Group of italy.   Stolichnaya [for long] comes from the former Soviet Union.  Ownership is disputed between a Russian state owned company and a private company owned by a Russian billionaire.

Now vodka is fine in its place;
in martinis, though, never a trace!
It’s swilled on the docks,
Can be used to clean clocks,
The gearwork, the hands and the face.

12. Looking drained: ASHEN.  Pale from shock, fear or illness.

13. Chinese menu promise: NO MSG.  MonoSodium Glutmate, a flavor enhancer.

18. Coop residents: HENS.  Not sure if they are allowed to occupy the ROOSTS.

23. Jim's role on "The Big Bang Theory": SHELDON.

24. Best Buy "Squad" member: GEEK.  Computer experts.

25. It's true: FACT.  Something that is indisputably correct - though you can always find somebody who will dispute it.  Cf, Flat Earth Society.

26. One piping frosting: ICER.   Cake decorator.

27. Kon-Tiki Museum city: OSLO.  The museum presents a broad selection of Thor Heyerdahl's life work.

28. Hurdle for atty. wannabes: LSAT. Law School Admission Test.

29. Stereotypical Western-ending backdrops: SUNSETS.

31. Watson's company: IBM.  Watson is a computer designed to answer questions asked in natural language.

32. National Gallery attraction: ART.  The Gallery is an ART museum located on the National Mall in Washington D. C.

34. Meanie: OGRE.  A mythical man-eating giant, or, figuratively a mean-spirited boss, or bully.

35. Fuel used in some whisky production: PEAT.  An earthy material made of partly decomposed vegetation.  It's used in Scotland for whisky production.  Anywhere else?

36. Md. winter hours: EST.  Eastern Standard Time.

38. Masked critter: COON.  The raccoon is the largest animal of the procyonid family,

North American Mammal

39. Holy recess: APSE.  Usually the semi-circular or polygonal shaped end of a church, where the altar is located.

40. Building girder: I-BAR.  A metal structural beam shaped like the letter I.  this shape maximizes stability in all dimensions.

45. Floor exercise surface: GYM MAT.

46. Spitting sound: PTUI.  Erm  .  .  .

47. "My Fair Lady" lyricist: LERNER.    Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe also collaborated on Camelot, Brigadoon and Paint Your Wagon.

48. Lyric poem: EPODE.  A form written in couplets, with alternating long and short lines.  Another meaning is the third and final part of an ode, following the strophe and the antistrophe  Last time out, I had EPOS, and didn't know that, either.

49. "Fantastic" Dahl character: MR. FOX.    Eponym for the 1970 novel, and then 2009 movie.  A rare story, in which a predator is the hero, and the farmers and their live stock are the enemy.

50. Pulitzer-winning columnist Leonard: PITTS.  His home paper is the Miami Herald.  He won his Pulitzer in 2004.

51. "Alas!": SO SAD.  [sigh]

54. Lunch for Spot, maybe: ALPO.  A dog, and his dinner.

55. Fairness obstacle: BIAS.  A skewed point of view that enables interpreting new information as confirmation of existing beliefs, even when it isn't.

56. Brookings, e.g.: Abbr.: INSTitution, a century-old American research group on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C. It conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and global economy and development. [Wikipedia] 

57. Boxing stats: TKO's.  Technical Knock Out.  A decision by the referee or ring physician that the boxing match cannot safely continue.

60. Fury: IRE.  Anger.

61. Ignore a Commandment: SIN.  A transgression of divine law.

62. Day-__: GLO.  An American paint and pigment company, and it's registered trademark for luminescent decorative products.

That wraps up another Wednesday, in a bright and colorful manner.  Here's the filled-in grid, then I really am outa-here.

Cool regards!

JzB

Note from C.C.:

Happy 55th birthday to Yellowrocks' son Alan! Have a wonderful day shopping and visiting places you love. You have the best mom!

Kathy and her son Alan, Costa Ric, 2009

Tuesday, May 8, 2018 Bruce Venzke & Gail Grabowski

"Strong Persuasion"

17. "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" singer: BARBARA MANDRELL.



25. David Bowie genre: GLAM ROCK.


32. Bourbon-making process: SOUR MASH.    TinBeni's favorite answer today.

42. Electromagnetic radiation unit: GAMMA RAY.

49. Cost per night, in hotels: ROOM RATE. Got a great room rate and free upgrade at the Hampton Inn in Pauls Valley, OK on our drive down to Texas.   Thirteen hours drive from Chicago.    Enough for one day.

And the reveal:
58. Using coercion, as shown in this puzzle's circles: TWISTING ONE'S ARM.   Arm was "twisted" in each of the five theme answers.


Across:

1. Swampy spots: BOGS.   Fens.

5. Hopeless case: GONER.

10. Zoo structure: CAGE. 

14. Pinza of "South Pacific":  EZIO.

15. Verdi aria translating to "It was you": ERI TU.

16. Gem from Australia: OPAL.

20. Flying nocturnal predator: OWL.   DW was driving and I was reading clues.  She guessed bat. 

21. Good, in Grenoble: BON.

22. "Makes sense to me": I SEE.

23. Decide not to use: PASS ON.

29. Israeli port: HAIFA.  The other three major seaports are Ashdod, Elat, and Hadera.

31. Sneezer's need: TISSUE.

35. Charlemagne's realm: Abbr.: HRE.  Holy Roman Emperor, 800-814

36. Pampered: DOTED ON.

37. Part of EDT: EASTERN Daylight Time.

41. Juillet's season: ETE.   French for summer or summertime.

44. Online financial site: E-TRADE.

48. Cuba __: rum drink: LIBRE.    TinBeni's favorite clue today. 

51. "The party's been canceled": IT'S OFF.

55. Cocktail party spread: PATE.  pâ·té

56. Seagoing pronoun: HER.

57. Extinct emu-like bird: MOA.

Flightless Birds at Lostzoo.com

63. Northern neighbor of Chile: PERU.

64. "This I Promise You" band: NSYNC.
NSYNC received its name after Justin Timberlake's mother commented on how "in sync" the group's singing voices were. The group's name is also a play on the last letter of each of the initial members' names: JustiN, ChriS, JoeY, JasoN, and JC. (Wikipedia)



65. First chip in: ANTE.

66. Escalator part: STEP.

67. Storied granter of wishes: GENIE.

68. Neither winning nor losing: TIED.

Down:

1. Charlie Parker jazz genre: BEBOP.

2. Longtime Boston Symphony conductor: OZAWA.  Seiji

3. Brownies, e.g.: GIRLS.

4. Weep loudly: SOB.

5. Apache chief: GERONIMO.

6. Algerian port: ORAN.  One of nine major seaports in Algeria, but the one we see most often in crossword puzzles.

7. Matchstick-removing game: NIM.   I'd never heard of this game, except for in crosswords.

8. Internet sales, collectively: E-TAIL.

9. Rushes toward: RUNS AT.

10. Apple pie-making gadgets: CORERS.

11. Wild way to go: APE.

12. Four qts.: GAL. Four quarts make a gallon.   Four fifths make 80 %.

13. Building add-on: ELL.

18. On the ferry: ABOARD.

19. Moore of "Ghost": DEMI.

24. Actress Elisabeth: SHUE.

25. Grill fuel: GAS.

26. Irish actor Milo: O'SHEA.

27. Spicy Indian dish: CURRY.

28. Excited about, with "on": KEEN.  Fervent. 

30. Vampire tooth: FANG.

32. __ voce: softly: SOTTO.

33. Southern New Mexico county: OTERO.

34. Prefix with sphere: HEMI. 

36. Woodland grazer: DEER.

38. Atmosphere, as of a restaurant: AMBIENCE.   Had the best Chicken Genovaise I've ever had at DiBZ in Temple, Texas on Friday evening.  My sister finds the best restaurants.  She says, "I can't cook."   I think she confuses don't and can't. 

39. French existential dramatist: SARTRE.

40. "__ chic!": TRES.

43. Many a micro brew: ALE.

45. Excites: AMPS UP.

46. "Doggone it!": DRAT.

47. Enjoying the bistro, say: EATING.

50. Needing a chill pill: TENSE.

52. Muscat native: OMANI.  Muscat is the capital city of Oman. 

Oman is about the size of Kansas.
"The inhabitants of the area of Oman have long prospered from Indian Ocean trade. In the late 18th century, the nascent sultanate in Muscat signed the first in a series of friendship treaties with Britain. Over time, Oman's dependence on British political and military advisors increased, although the Sultanate never became a British colony. In 1970, QABOOS bin Said Al-Said overthrew his father, and has since ruled as sultan, but he has not designated a successor. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world, while preserving the longstanding close ties with the UK and US. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with its neighbors and to avoid external entanglements."  Source: CIA World Factbook

53. Strong point: FORTE.  Lake Charles born, Slidell, LA. raised Matt Forte played played running back for the Tulane Green Wave before having a highly productive career in the NFL with the Chicago Bears.   He retired this year.   JJM's daughter studies at Tulane.

54. Widely known: FAMED.

56. Hägar's daughter: HONI.

58. Adorns with Angel Soft, briefly: TPs. Adorns with toilet paper ?  Made me smile.  Fun clue.  Anonymous T, did you get your TPS Report submitted on time ?... with the right cover letter ?

59. Freshly painted: WET.

60. Hothead's emotion: IRE. 

61. MD for women: GYN.

62. Took it easy: SAT.

Vising in Texas.  That's all from me.  See all y'all later n'at !

Here's the grid:

Monday May 7, 2018 Lila Cherry

Theme: BAR MENU (63. List including nachos, sliders, wings, etc. ... and what the starts of the answers to starred clues comprise?)

17A. *Official emergency status: CODE RED. Bar code.

20A. *Angler's skill: FLY CASTING. Barfly.

33A. *#1 hit: CHART TOPPER. Bar chart.

42A. *One who rats to the cops: STOOL PIGEON. Bar stool.

54A. *Floater in a luxurious bath: SOAP BUBBLE. Bar soap.

Boomer here.  

Hello everyone. I know it has been a long week, but I did read most of the comments on Tuesday and I have to say how impressed I was on the messages of grief and condolence for the loss of our friend.

A bit about myself.  My dear mother did the daily crossword in the Minneapolis paper, and had a Dell paperback to help with the clues. Of course, this was back in the day when a computer was something created by IBM and took up 120 cubic feet in an office building. My older sister, Barbara solves two crossword puzzles daily, but of course she graduated with a magna cum laude degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota.  I, on the other hand, took four years of Latin in high school, so I can spell "magna cum laude" and translate it into English.  I have to admit, I do not have the smarts or expertise that most of you have to solve these puzzles, but I don't mind, because I know I can beat most of you in bowling.

However, I can only say how thoroughly impressed I am with the close-knit family that visit this blog daily, and shared their thoughts of the memory of wonderful Argyle. I share your dismay, and of course the terrible loss felt by C.C. and many of all of you. And if any of you stopped in the bar to drown your sorrow, I hope you enjoyed this puzzle.  

Across:

1. "I'm all __ it": "Yes": FOR.

4. Pennies: Abbr.: CTS.

7. "Later, dude": BYE.

10. Mil. strongholds: FTS.

13. Long Island university: ADELPHI. Impressive University.  I wonder if they teach Latin.

15. Demonic laugh: MWAHAHA. I never have heard of this so I Googled it.  Surprise, it's out there.

18. Month that once was eighth: OCTOBER.  Let's see, Decem is 10, Nova is 9, Octo is 8, Septem is 7, so August must be 6?  Or Caesar might have had something to do with month naming.

19. Walked (on): TROD.

22. One getting private lessons: TUTEE. Or a blow on a flute.

24. Go down to defeat: LOSE.

25. __ Martin: Bond's car: ASTON. I think these run into six figures.

28. Garlicky sauce: AIOLI. - WOW, a FIVE letter word with FOUR vowels. Has to be a constructors dream.

32. Frozen over: ICY. No problem spelling this in Minnesota.

39. Venue for exercise swimming: LAP POOL.

41. Old golf club named for its copper alloy-plated face: BRASSIE. This used to be a nickname for a two wood.  I don't think anyone carries a two wood anymore.

44. Spanish Mrs.: SRA.

45. Selassie worshiper: RASTA.

46. Type in: ENTER. Right above shift on most keyboards.

48. Arduous journey: TREK.

51. In style again: RETRO.

58. "__ end up": THIS. I write this on my cereal box so I don't spill in the AM

62. Existing independent of experience, in logic: A PRIORI. Did we have this last week with an abbrev. of a thirty day month??

65. Another year of Time, say: RENEWAL. Favorite slogan of Andersen Windows.

66. "Canyon With Crows" artist Georgia: O'KEEFFE.

67. '60s radical gp.: SDS. Students for a Democratic Society.

68. Antlered beast: ELK. We have lots of deer in Minnesota, but the Elks are all in the bar at the lodge.

69. Opposite of ENE: WSW. White Sidewalls group similar to Sha Na Na

70. Birthday gift for a tot: TOY. "It went zip when it moved and bop when it stopped and whirrrrr when it stood still.  I never knew just what it was and I guess I never will...."

Down:

1. Almanac item: FACT.

2. Smell often funky: ODOR. Had this word a few weeks ago. Reminds me of Texas Ranger Rougned

3. Decorate anew: REDO.

4. Basic technique in EMT training: CPR.  I think CPR is cardio pulmonary resuscitation, however when I see EMT I still think of thinwall conduit.

5. Stealing: THEFT.

6. Move laterally: SIDLE.

7. Coll. hotshot: BMOC. Bring My Own Cola ??

8. Female leadership org.: YWCA.

9. Grub: EATS. Law and Order - Emil Skoda (J.K. Simmons on the Farmers Insurance commercials) calls food "Grub" 

10. One-named Milanese model: FABIO.

11. If-__: conditional statements: THENS.

12. NCO nickname: SARGE. Many enlisted men had other nicknames for their sergeants.

14. Resulted in: LED TO.

16. "MASH" nickname: HOT LIPS. Great movie, Great TV show, Margaret Houlihan

21. Wine label number: YEAR.

23. 7-Up nickname: UNCOLA.

25. Afflicts: AILS.

26. Ella's style: SCAT.

27. Wrong-key error: TYPO. This was a problem for my big fingers on the old Smith Corona.  No big deal any more with a "delete" key.

29. Beatles' "Let __": IT BE. "When I find myself in times of trouble..."

30. Other, in Oaxaca: OTRO.

31. Car borrowed from a dealer: LOANER. They used to loan them to you, now I think they rent them to you.

34. One-footed jumps: HOPS. Beer ingredient

35. Landed: ALIT.

36. Whispered "Hey!": PSST.

37. The Auld Sod: EIRE. I have not heard of Auld Sod, but I think this is Ireland.

38. Stern area: REAR.

40. Trademark Buster Keaton hat with a culinary name: PORK PIE.  Buster was before my time, sorry

43. Clothing: GARB.

47. "I didn't do it": NOT ME. Wouldn't it be Not I?

48. Nicholas II was the last of them in Russia: TSARS.

49. Caught, as dogies: ROPED.

50. Gets by working: EARNS.

52. "Funny bone" spot: ELBOW. When it gets whacked, it's not too funny

53. Hardwood trees: TEAKS.

55. Boxer Riddick: BOWE.

56. It borders Siberia in the game of Risk: URAL. Reminds me of a Seinfeld where Kramer is playing Risk with Newman.

57. Defraud: BILK.

59. Strain to lift: HEFT.

60. Recon collection: INFO.

61. Chop __: SUEY. C.C. insists that most American so called "Chinese food" has never been served in China.

64. Remote button with left-pointing arrows: Abbr.: REW.

Boomer