Saturday, Gareth Bain, October 6, 2018

Themeless Saturday Puzzle by Gareth Bain

Ach du lieber! Today we celebrate National German-American Day which is very noteworthy in Arlington, NE where I was born and now sub. Arlington was settled by many families from Germany who started many farms and the St. Paul's Church which was a true cultural force for generations.  This very strict Missouri Synod group forbid kids to dance, drink or smoke and girls were not allowed to play athletics. Needless to say this became a losing battle as the years rolled on - shades of the movie Footloose. My dad said that St. Paul members made great beer during prohibition!

Today's constructor is South African veterinarian Gareth Bain. In a very nice email from him, he has told me, " I am a shelter medicine veterinarian currently working in Gordon's Bay just outside of Cape Town and previously worked in East London". I sailed through Gareth's lovely offering in just over 20 minutes but the computer said I had a bad cell. A thorough search got me to finally change KASA/SO DUH to KANA/NO DUH

As a proud parent of a rescue animal, I am glad to blog Gareth's fun puzzle: 

Across:

1. Soap-drop indicator: PLOP - NASA shows the fizz you get when you PLOP an Alka-Seltzer tablet into a water sphere in weightlessness

5. Prepared for pie, in a way: CORED  - Here's what we use

10. Trunk extension: LIMB - Bartering tools

14. Buddhist priest: LAMA - Tibetan for high priest or chief  

15. The "A" in the Tokyo studio AIC: ANIME.

16. Stargazing subject?: IDOL - My stargazing involves astronomy 

17. Rural stopovers: INNS - This plaque proudly announces that George Washington slept in this Georgia INN belonging to Stephen Calfrey Pearce in 1791

18. Retro filter choice: SEPIA - My SEPIA wife and I at a famous venue

19. Importunate solicitor: TOUT  - Persistent salesman

20. Spin-off with a bluesy theme song by John Lee Hooker: NCIS NEW ORLEANS - Spinoff

23. 2000s political slogan: YES WE CAN - President Obama's catch phrase

24. Initial payments: ANTES  - Otherwise you want get any cards! ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠

26. European hub: ORLY  - Once your flight lands at ORLY, it's a 21 min trip to the Eiffel Tower

27. Industrious type: BUSY BEE - I married one

29. Nut: WEIRDO.

32. Ritual heap: PYRE - "Try now we can only lose, and our love become a funeral PYRE"

33. Rapper will.__: I.AM - Okay

34. Half a piano duo?: HAND - A beautiful four-minute video about playing piano with one HAND and dealing with a handicap

35. Chaparral plant: SHRUB - Here's some east of Colorado Springs

37. Longfellow's "The Bell of __": ATRI.

38. Iwo Jima flag-raiser Hayes: IRA - This first flag raised on Iwo Jimo was done by SSgt. Harold Schrier. Later the iconic Joe Rosenthal photo with Ira Hayes was staged

39. Half a classic cowboy nickname: KEMO.

40. Top of the order?: ABBESS - She's the CEO of the Abbey

42. DNA units: STRANDS  - Watson and Crick won the 1962 Nobel prize for discovering this structure of DNA

44. 1990s game console release, initially: SNES.

45. Strong feeling: THROE  - Many things are done in "the THROES of passion"

46. '60s-'70s singer born Ellen Cohen: MAMA CASS - John Phillips thought Mama Cass did not fit the image of the other Mamas and Papas who were string beans but he relented

50. Catcall?: HERE KITTY KITTY - What does a 500 lb canary say? 

53. Circumstances, idiomatically: BOAT.

54. Hilarious: A RIOT - Not usually a teacher's favorite student

55. Look for: SEEK.


56. Certain something: AURA - Captured with Auric or Kirilian Photography

57. "Obviously!": NO DUH - Rude!

58. Put away: SAVE - The ant put away food for the winter while the grasshopper frittered away his summer

59. Highland language: ERSE - Inniu Dé Sathairn (Today is Saturday)

60. Irritations found in clouds: GNATS

61. Iowa Department of Transportation city: AMES - Straight down I-35 from  C.C. in Minneapolis


Down:

1. "Naturalis Historia" author: PLINY - The largest surviving publication from the Roman Empire 79 A.D.

2. Poker for knights?: LANCE - On March 10, 1524 Henry VIII was knocked from his horse by a LANCE in a joust

3. Old Dodges: OMNIS  - Along with the Plymouth Horizon, Chrysler's first front-wheel drive vehicle

4. It often looks like gibberish: PASSWORD - Programs generate these until you can put in something intelligible 

5. "No more discussion": CASE CLOSED.

6. Like turnpike ramps: ONE WAY - NO DUH!

7. Wisconsin college: RIPON - Their alumni include Harrison Ford, Al Jarreau and Spencer Tracy

8. Abu Dhabi bigwig: EMIR - Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

9. Shaking event: DEAL - A recent historic one

10. Prolonged list, as of complaints: LITANY.

11. "It's safe to sit next to me": I DON'T BITE.

12. Onetime accessory for Britney Spears and Keri Russell: MOUSE EARS - Britney during and after

13. Nonkosher sandwich, usually: BLT - A 2015 Pew Poll showed 57% of Jews eat pork

21. Techie stereotype: NERD.

22. "Hakuna Matata" lifestyle: EASE - For your listening pleasure 

25. Ones in it for the long haul: SEMIS - Need a job,? They're all hiring!

27. Mitt Romney's alma mater: Abbr.: BYU.

28. Modern folklore: URBAN MYTHS - Some thought this curse dogged the Red Sox until they won the World Series in 2004 against the Yankees

29. Card game played by Phileas Fogg: WHIST - An illustration done for a printing of the Jules Verne classic

30. Annual observance celebrating commitment to the planet: EARTH HOUR - A world-wide event where lights and appliances are turned off for one hour at 8:30pm local time. The next one is 3/30/19

31. Behind: IN ARREARS

32. __ tem: PRO - PRO tem(pore) presides over the U.S. Senate when the V.P. is not in the building. John Tyler is the only one who ever became president

36. Darwin's __ Beagle: HMS - His work while traveling on that boat changed the world

37. Graph point's x-coordinate: ABSCISSA - A bit of arcana for us math peeps

39. Low joint: KNEE - A joint whose injury ends may athletic careers

41. Turtle's mouth: BEAK - Having this BEAK look back at you on the 9th hole on my golf course is scary

43. Vital vessels: AORTAE - Okay, okay ERSE showed me AORTAS is wrong

44. Didn't play: SAT OUT which is usually not done by the 47. Top squad: A TEAM.

46. Crete's highest elev.: MT IDA - Here's a hiking map in the local language

48. Martin or Miller: STEVE.

49. "I'ma Be Me" stand-up comic Wanda: SYKES - Yes, female comics can be profane also

51. Kodos' alien cohort on "The Simpsons": KANG - Okay, just not interested enough to look it up

52. It can be pumped: IRON - or...

53. Honey, in slang: BAE - a meh diminutive of Baby I guess

DA GRID:

Friday, October 5, 2018, Paul Coulter

Title: I see the sea, see?

More Corner prescience, as Steve referenced the difficulty in putting theme fill next to each other. Paul is back with one of the most difficult Fridays for me in a very long time.  It is a strange puzzle, with 84 words, 60 of which are 3 or 4 letters long. Just because the fill is not long does not mean it was easy. HENNAING and  LIE-ABEDS are the only long fill outside of the grid-spanning reveal  - 42A. Result of polar ice melt graphically shown by the second part of six two-part puzzle answers: RISING SEA LEVELS (15). This made the theme sort of easy to spot, and I saw that if 63A BAL  moved up next to 57A TIC, it named a sea I was familiar with (BALTIC). Likewise, ARAB and IAN (ARABIAN)  but from there it was a learning experience made more challenging by the US failure to teach geography. The (2) and (1) made finding the remaining pairs easy. There are six pairs, and I only was sure of those two. Well, I really look forward to Paul's comments today, and all of yours. My information is from various sources online.

The theme:

Pair one- 25A. Univ. aides (1): TAS (3). 20A. "Wow!" (2): MAN (3). The TASMAN SEA is a section of the southwestern Pacific Ocean, between the southeastern coast of Australia and Tasmania on the west and New Zealand on the east; it merges with the Coral Sea to the north and encloses a body of water about 1,400 miles (2,250 km) wide and 900,000 square miles (2,300,000 square km) in area.

Pair two- 28A. Damage (1): MAR (3). 22A. Actress Kate (2): MARA (4). The MARMARA SEA is an inland sea located entirely within Turkey's borders. It separates Turkey's Asian and European parts by connecting the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea. It does so by connecting the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea via the Bosphorus Strait and the Aegean Sea to the Marmara Sea via the Dardanelles Strait. The Marmara Sea is the world's smallest sea covering only 4,380 square feet.

Pair three- 30A. Helpless? (1): SOLO (4). 24A. Cal. column (2): MON (3). The SOLOMON SEA is a portion of the western South Pacific Ocean, bounded on the west by New Guinea, on the north by New Britain, and on the east by the Solomon Islands. With an area of 280,000 square miles (720,000 square km), the sea contains the Louisiade Archipelago, New Georgia, and Guadalcanal Island.

Pair four- 58A. Happy hour spot (1): BAR (3). 54A. Sinusitis docs (2): ENTS (4). The BARENTS SEA, a marginal sea of the Artic Ocean, was once known as the Murmanskoye Morye by the Russians. It appears as such in a 1595 atlas. The basin countries of the Barents Sea are Russia and Norway (they drain into this body of water).

Pair five- 61A. Many an Omani (1): ARAB (4). 56A. Author Fleming (2): IAN. The ARABIAN SEA's largest islands include Yemen's Socotra, Oman's Masirah Island, India's Lakshadweep, and Pakistan's Astola Island. Countries that have coastlines along the Arabian Sea include India, the Maldives, Pakistan, Oman, Yemen, and Somalia.

Pair six- 63A. Remaining loan amt. (1): BAL (3). 57. Sign of nerves, maybe (2): TIC (3). The BALTIC SEA is the youngest sea on our planet, emerging from the retiring ice masses only some 10,000-15,000 years ago. Governed by special hydrographical and climatic conditions, the Baltic Sea is one of the planet’s largest bodies of brackish water. It is composed of salt water from the North East Atlantic and fresh water from rivers and streams draining from an area four times larger than the Sea itself

Again the reveal:
42A. Result of polar ice melt graphically shown by the second part of six two-part puzzle answers: RISING SEA LEVELS (15).

Well if you are not all worn out, let's solve all the rest.

Across:

1. Take to the cleaners: HOSE. We start with a tricky slang verb- slang : to deprive of something due or expected : TRICK, CHEAT.

5. Lay low: HID. After hosing them you need to.

8. Pretty companion?: PLEASE. With a cherry on top.

14. Windows alternative: UNIX. UNIX is an operating system which was first developed in the 1960s, and has been under constant development ever since. By operating system, we mean the suite of programs which make the computer work.

15. Drop the ball: ERR.

16. Dragster's wheels: HOT ROD. Some history. LINK.

17. Wedding ring?: HORA. Very tricky, but literally a dance in a circle and popular at Jewish weddings.

18. Class-conscious org.?: NEA. More tricky cluing, class like in school. National Education Association

19. Charge: ACCUSE. For me, it brings to mind J'ACCUSE.

32. Infamous Amin: IDI. Amin (in Arabic أمين) is an Arabic and Persian male given name that means "faithful, trustworthy"

33. Constriction of the eye's pupil: MIOSIS. I did not know this. I think of plants.

35. Apple's apple, e.g.: LOGO. Another fun clue.

39. Hail, to Hadrian: AVE. He built a wall in Rome.




40. All over again: ANEW.

41. "I'll second that": AMEN.

47. Isn't idle: ACTS.

48. Deep blue: ANIL. The indigo shrub; or the indigo dye obtained from the plant

49. Track meet segment: LAP.

50. Authenticity emblem: SEAL. Still used by courts and clerks.

51. Parlor furniture item: SETTEE. The settee, a precursor to the sofa and type of love seat, is characterized by a straight back, room for two people, and founded atop four legs.

53. Hot time in Haiti: ETE. Summer.

65. Individually: APIECE.

67. Dug, with "up": ATE. Did you eat up this puzzle?

69. Big times: ERAS.

73. A through E, at times: WIDTHS. Shoes.

74. Sprout: LAD. Two very old-fashioned words.

75. Courteous: NICE.

76. Snares with a loop: LASSOS.

77. Med. show locales: ERS.

78. Serve sparingly, with "out": DOLE.


Down:

1. "Say what?": HUH.

2. Dedicatee of Lennon's "Woman": ONO. Yoko next to...

3. McCartney's title: SIR. Paul.

4. Checkup: EXAM.

5. Applying a temporary tattoo: HENNAING. Very big in Key West.

6. Boiling state: IRE.

7. Scotch serving: DRAM. Poor Hamish Macbeth has to dole out many a wee dram.

8. Seven Wonders lighthouse: PHAROS. A long HISTORY.

9. One from town: LOCAL. We always called them townies.

10. "Yada yada yada" letters: ETC. Thank you George Costanza.






11. Jack-in-the-pulpit family: ARUM. We are talking PLANTS not about a preacher named Jack.

12. Fair: SO SO.

13. First place?: EDEN. Not leading the league, but where it all began.

21. Mideast capital: AMMAN. Jordan.

23. Faulkner's "__ Lay Dying": AS I. His writing is very respected and his novel the subject of much DISCUSSION.

25. Pageant toppers: TIARAS.

26. It may be unsolicited: ADVICE.

27. Daybreak?: SIESTA. More misdirection, a break during the day not dawn.

29. Agile deer: ROES. This is a small, agile Old World deer, Capreolus capreolus, the male of which has three-pointed antlers. CUTE.

31. Norse patron: OLAV.

34. Hard work: SWEAT. Blood, sweat and tears.

36. Fare filled and folded: OMELET.

37. Trattoria desserts: GELATI. The plural. Gelato is simply the Italian word for ice cream, but in English, it has come to mean specifically Italian or Italian-style ice cream.

38. With no guarantee of payment: ON SPEC. Spec homes are still popular here in South Florida where an older home is torn down and replaced with a much bigger house.

43. Cartography dot: ISLE.

44. Against: ANTI.

45. Reluctant risers: LIE-ABEDS. An old-fashioned word that has appeared in much literature.
LINK.

46. Barack's 2010 High Court appointee: ELENA.  Please no more politics. KAGEN.

51. Emphasize: STRESS.

52. That, in Tijuana: ESA.

55. Snack chip: NACHO.

58. Much more than a sniffle: BAWL.

59. Samoa's capital: APIA. A better clue than, "Either Lindstrom or Zadora."

60. Purges (of): RIDS.

62. One may be stored in a barn: BALE. Is that anyway to treat this man?

64. Advance: LEND.

66. Sci-fi staples: ETS. Extra-terrestrials.

68. Blacken, in a way: TAR. Not La Brea today.

70. Copacabana city: RIO.

71. Commonly torn ligament, briefly: ACL. The anterior cruciate ligament is one of the key ligaments that help stabilize your knee joint. The ACL connects your thighbone (femur) to your shinbone (tibia).

72. Note: SEE.

A very different puzzle from our own PC, and of course I am curious to know what you all think. I always enjoy a when a constructor combines visual elements. I found it hard but satisfying. Happy week-end all. Lemonade out.

Thursday, October 4th 2018 Wendy L. Brandes and Martha Jones

Theme: Car Wars - auto-fighting for parking spots.

20A. Spotify category for courageous Motown lovers?: INTREPID SOUL. Dodge Intrepid (Thanks for the correction, Big Easy) and a Kia Soul. I like the fresh "Spotify" reference in the clue - a music streaming service where you can pick your flavor of playlist.

28A. One hiking in a Maine national park?: ACADIA EXPLORER. GMC Acadia and a Ford Explorer. I'm not sure I was familiar with "Acadia", neither the park nor the vee-hick-el, but crosses filled it in for me just fine. Beautiful spot here in the park:

47A. Weekend in the Hamptons, say?: SUBURBAN ESCAPE. Chevy Suburban, Ford Escape. Dearborn gets 50% of the auto sales in this puzzle, I'm sure they'd be delighted if that was the case in the real world.

53A. Like a delivery truck blocking your car, maybe ... and a hint to 20-, 28- and 47-Across: DOUBLE-PARKED

Oh no - things were going so well until the reveal. There are two cars, fore-and-aft in each theme entry and .. they're tandem parked, not double-parked. Double-parked in the puzzle would be stacked, above and below. Still possible in a crossword construct - tricky, but possible. Just changing the reveal entry to TANDEM PARKED and everyone (well, pedants like me!) would be even happier.

Wendy and Martha are, I believe, a mother-daughter partnership and are certainly debutants in the LAT. They were published this last August in the WSJ which I'm pretty sure was their first "major". Congratulations to them on their LAT opening salvo - we look forward to many more. Stop by and introduce yourselves if you have time!

Across:

1. Abruptly end a relationship with by ignoring texts, calls and such: GHOST. A fresh new term from the "yoot". But "... with by ..."? I thought that was a typo at first. If the relationship involved a Norwegian named "Frøm", you could have said "... end a relationship with Frøm by avoiding ..", thus making more sense and nailing the ablative with a trifecta. Maybe a comma for readability would help?

6. European airline: SAS. Scandinavian Air Services. Not the only airline to do this, but they had a chain of hotels in Europe also; they figured if they needed hotels to overnight their aircrews, they might as well own the hotels.

9. Uninspiring: VAPID

14. Pizazz: OOMPH

15. Flightless bird: EMU

16. Not in the dark: AWARE

17. Prickly shrub: BRIAR

18. Prefix with match or fire: MIS-

19. One with no hope: GONER

23. Alpine lake: TARN. More a pond, but I'll let it go. Tarn Geneva?

24. Fair-hiring initials: EOE

25. "The Waste Land" monogram: TSE. T.S. Eliot - "Let's not be narrow, nasty and negative". Wise words, pay attention out there.

32. Org. for the Williams sisters: W.T.A. Women's Tennis Association. Founded by the redoubtable Billie-Jean King in a bid for more equitable prize money as offered to the men. That certainly worked out.

33. Blood fluids: SERA

34. Damascus native: SYRIAN

35. Says 22-Down, perhaps: ERRS

37. Octane Booster brand: STP. Is every car and driver in NASCAR sponsored by STP? Or just my brief forays into that world make it appear so?

39. Loan figs.: A.P.R'S Annualized Percentage Rates. I've never fathomed out the difference between interest paid annually at a certain rate, and an APR, but that's just me finding more interesting things to do.

40. "Field of Dreams" actor: LIOTTA. Actor Ray.

43. Cy Young stats: ERA'S

46. Final: Abbr.: ULT

50. Pinafore letters: H.M.S. Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta, one of their most popular, certainly on the "Greatest Hits" list. I'd pay good money to see a performance of "The Pirates of Penzance" if any impresario is reading. If only for the Major General with an sly reference to "Pinafore".

51. Hebrew for "day": YOM

52. Small fruit pie: TART

58. Gulf States inlet: BAYOU. Linda Ronstadt is going back to a blue one.

61. Bagel go-with: LOX

62. Flower child's greeting: PEACE

63. Track meet part: EVENT

64. Cooperstown winter hrs.: E.S.T.

65. Legally bar: ESTOP. Seen the word, understand it, still hate it.

66. Sees regularly: DATES

67. Rehab issue: DT'S

68. Angioplasty implant: STENT

Down:

1. Mongolian desert: GOBI

2. Traffic sound: HORN. Hoot, honk, howl (of an engine?) would also fit, so wait for the crosses.

3. Jump over: OMIT

4. Ancient Peloponnesian state: SPARTA

5. Winds (one's way) through: THREADS

6. Some advanced college courses: SEMINARS

7. Surrounded by: AMID

8. Prince Harry's dukedom: SUSSEX. Sussex had to stagger along, dukeless, between the death of Prince Augustus Frederick in 1843 and Prince Harry just this year picking up where Fred left off. Now Sussex is proudly re-Duked, with a Duchess thrown in for good measure. I'm sure the honest burghers of Brighton are dancing on the streets, on the pier, and jauntily on the nude beach.

9. Without much detail: VAGUELY

10. MPs' concern: AWOL

11. Bad review: PAN

12. Steam: IRE

13. German article: DER. The D on it's own isn't enough to choose which gender article you need.

21. __-dieu: PRIE. I call it a kneeler. I like that you can get padded versions to take the pain out of prayer.

22. Unwelcome word from a barber: OOPS

25. Catch in a lie, say: TRIP UP

26. NutraSweet developer: SEARLE

27. Accounting giant __ & Young: ERNST

28. Courtyard that may feature glass elevators: ATRIUM. A bank I worked at in London was owned by a Scottish family, the Flemings (Ian Fleming was part of the family). The building had a lovely glass-enclosed atrium where a bagpiper would play each morning to serenade you into work. The building also had it's own pub, the "Scottish Pound", with a street entrance for the general hoi-polloi, and a back entrance directly from the offices into the bar for the staff. Ah, happy days ... the pub is no more - the bank was sold to Chase in the early 2000's.

29. Pod-bearing trees: CAROBS. Carob is turned into a quite pleasant chocolate substitute to be ...

30. Consumed: EATEN

31. 60 minuti: ORA

32. __ corgi: WELSH

36. R-V link: STU. You either like this one, or dislike it intensely. An alphabet progression with the subtle misdirection in the R-V clue.

38. Excuses: PRETEXTS. Very nice.

41. Casting calls: TRYOUTS

42. "__ Ben Adhem": ABOU

"What writest thou?"—The vision raised its head, 

And with a look made of all sweet accord, 

Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord." 

"And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so," 

Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low, 

But cheerly still; and said, "I pray thee, then, 

Write me as one that loves his fellow men." 

The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night 

It came again with a great wakening light, 

And showed the names whom love of God had blest, 

And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest. 

Leigh Hunt

"Write me as one that loves is fellow men" is the epitaph on Hunt's gravestone in Kensal Green cemetery in London. It's not the most peaceful place in the world, the main railway line from London to the midlands and Manchester is just over the fence.

44. "Stat!": ASAP!

45. Skins, as a knee: SCRAPES

48. Strolled: AMBLED

49. Taking it easy: AT REST

53. Finished: DONE. At rest when you're done. Some nicely-done proximal answers today.

54. In need of guidance: LOST

55. "This Is Us" role for Chrissy Metz: KATE. No clue, thank you crosses.

56. Micro or macro subj.: ECON. I took an Economics class at school and loved it. Back then, an economics degree was a BA, not a BSc. It wasn't viewed as "proper" science, more, as Disraeli put it, "Lies, damn lies and statistics".

57. Cabinet div.: DEPT. Dept. of Econ?

58. __ Bath & Beyond: BED. They send me "20% Off" coupons every week. They officially have an expiry date, but in actual fact they never expire.

59. "Selma" director DuVernay: AVA

60. Nevertheless: YET

I'm done - yet, here is the grid:

Steve

Wednesday October 3, 2018, Craig Stowe

Someone Keeps Moving My Chair!

 

The first word of each starred theme answer describes a specific type of chair.

3-Down. *Life of affluence: EASY STREET.   Think of an Easy Chair.  This one doesn't really look terribly comfortable.

9-Down. *Specialty: WHEELHOUSE.  Think of a Wheel Chair.

17-Down. *Magician's riffled prop: DECK OF CARDS.  Think of a Deck Chair.  We called these Adirondack Chairs, but they go on a Deck.

25-Down. *Swimming option: SIDE STROKE.  Think of a Side Chair.  This is a Queen Anne Side Chair.

And now for the Unifier: 27-Down. Perches for tots, and what the answers to starred clues literally contain: HIGH CHAIRS.  If you notice, all of the theme answers go down, so that the "chair" can be "high" in the answer.

This is now an old-fashioned high chair, but looks like the one we had when we were growing up.

Thank goodness, Mr. Stowe didn't slip in the dreaded Dentist Chair!

From where I sit, this was a fun puzzle.  So pull up your favorite chair, sit back and enjoy the ride.

Across:

1. Party with a piñata: FIESTA.  Today's Spanish lesson.  Fiesta is Spanish for Party.

7. Tin alloys: PEWTERS.  Pewter is an alloy of tin and other metals, which may include, silver, copper, antimony or bismuth.  In the olden days, Pewter also contained lead, but that could be toxic.

14. Online icon: AVATAR. Also the name of a movie.  

15. Expo entry: EXHIBIT.

16. Begrudge: RESENT.  Not to be parsed as Re-Sent.

17. 31-day month: DECEMBER.  Or, as my hubby calls it, the Month of Susan.  //  And:  47-Down: Month after 17-Across, south of the border: ENERO.  More of today's Spanish lesson.

18. Jabber: YAK.

19. Surge protector?: LEVEE.  People in Louisiana know all too well about Levees.  The levees ostensibly protect against a storm surge.  In New Orleans, a very complex system of canals and other structures are needed to help protect against potential surges from hurricanes.

20. __-Cat: winter vehicle: SNO.

21. "That wasn't nice of you": TSK!  Often repeated as in Tsk! Tsk!

22. Italian tenor Andrea: BOCELLI. Andrea Bocelli is an Italian singer who just celebrated his 60th birthday on September 22.

24. Cricket club: BAT.  I sat through the 2001 movie Lagaan, which was about a cricket game in India.  The game was played over several days.  It felt like I sat in the movie for several days just watching the film.  Cricket is not a fast moving game!

25. Went down: SANK.  I initially tried Fall.

26. Dander reaction, perhaps: AH CHOO!

30. 1979 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee: ORR.  Bobby Orr (né Robert Gordon Orr; b. Mar. 20, 1948), makes frequent guest appearances in the crosswords.  He had a long career with the Boston Bruins.

31. Shakespearean bad guy: IAGO.  Iago is the main antagonist in Othello.

32. __ the line: TOEING.

33. Word with dating or skating: SPEED.  As in Speed Dating or Speed Skating.  I have done neither.

35. Airport NW of LAX: SFO.  As in the San Francisco International Airport, which is NorthWest of the Los Angeles International Airport.

37. Egged on: URGED.

38. Strainers: SIEVES.  I had a boss who had the attention span of a sieve.

40. 2018 Stanley Cup champs, familiarly: CAPS.  As in the Washington Capitals, which is a hockey team.

42. Yard tool: HOE.

43. Swear (to): ATTEST.

44. Tennis immortal Arthur: ASHE.  As in Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. (July 10, 1943 ~ Feb. 6, 1993).  There is a new biography about him entitled Arthur Ashe: A Life.

45. "Fareed Zakaria GPS" network: CNN.  Fareed Zakaria (b. Jan. 20, 1964), is an Indian-American journalist.  He hosts a television show about public affairs from around the world.

46. Took the helm: STEERED.  Hi, Spitzboov!

48. Revolutionary icon: CHE.  As in the revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara  (June 14, 1928 ~ Oct. 9, 1967).  He went to medical school before becoming a revolutionary.

49. Butter square: PAT.  Why a Pat of Butter?  More than you ever wanted to known.

52. Marmalade morsels: RINDS.  My favorite marmalade is orange marmalade.  I have a kumquat tree in my backyard.  Maybe I will try making some kumquat marmalade.

53. Feathery accessory: BOA.

54. Marine animals named for flowers: ANEMONES.  One is the flower and the other is the sea creature.

56. Nabokov novel: LOLITA.   A 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov (Apr. 22, 1899 ~ July 2, 1977) about a middle aged literature professor obsessed with a young girl.  It was made into a 1997 movie starring Jeremy Irons.  I saw it in London.  That's all I remember of the film.

59. Athletic shoe: SNEAKER.  Do people really call athletic shoes sneakers?

60. Island group that includes São Miguel: AZORES.  My sister frequently vacations in the Azores.

61. Italian Riviera resort: SAN REMO.

62. Triple Crown winners: HORSES.

Down:

1. Many miles: FAR.

2. "Now __ seen it all!": I'VE.

4. It might be rare: STEAK.  My favorite clue of the puzzle.

5. Fail big-time: TANK.  I initially tried Fall.

6. "The creation of beauty is __": Emerson: ART.  A quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 ~ Apr. 27, 1882)

7. Complaint: PEEVE.  A Pet Peeve is not to be confused with a Pet Rock.

8. Show a real talent for: EXCEL AT.

10. "Humble and Kind" singer McGraw: TIM.  Tim McGraw (né Samuel Timothy McGraw; b. May 1, 1967) was born in Delhi, Louisiana.  His father was Tug McGraw (Aug. 30, 1944 ~ Jan. 5, 2004), a major league baseball pitcher.

11. Falls back: EBBs.

12. Nothing, in Quebec: RIEN.  Today's French lesson.

13. Texas ballplayer, to fans: 'STRO.  As in the Houston Astros.

19. Yearns (for): LONGS.

21. La Brea attraction: TAR PIT.  All together, now:  La Brea Tar Pit is redundant.

22. Barnyard bleat: BAA.  As in the sheep.

23. Bakery employee: ICER.

24. __ nova: BOSSA.  The Bossa Nova is a genre of Brazilian music.

28. Common soccer score: ONE / ONE.  I don't believe I have ever seen a soccer game.

29. Nash who wrote "Parsley / Is gharsley": OGDEN.  As in Ogden Nash (né Frederick Ogden Nash; Aug. 19, 1902 ~ May 19, 1971)

34. Big nights: EVEs.

36. Desert refuges: OASES.  Midnight at the Oasis.

39. "Revolution From Within" writer Gloria: STEINEM.  As in Gloria Steinem (b. Mar. 25, 1934).  I can't believe she is 84 already!

41. Prof.'s degree: Ph.D.  As in a Doctor of Philosophy.  What is the difference between an M.D and a Ph.D.?    * Answer below.

48. __ scheme: COLOR.  What is the Color Scheme of your living room?

49. Bridge call: PASS.  I have never played bridge, but I have heard some of the terms.

50. LPGA golfer Nordqvist: ANNA.  Anna Nordqvist (b. June 10, 1987) is a Swedish golfer.

51. Video game rating: TEEN.

53. Nincompoop: BOZO.

55. Spoil: MAR.

56. "Well, __-di-dah!": LAH.

57. Ball holder: TEE.

58. Pack animal: ASS.

Sit back in your comfy chair and give us your thoughts on today's fare.

 

* Answer:  An M.D. buries his mistakes; the Ph.D. must live with his mistakes.