Dave Cuzzolina & Patti Varol

Title: Add a letter - find an animal

Well it seems that we have a new Patti Varol (Rich's assistant) mentee debuting on a Friday. The gimmick is simple but I have not seen it before. The adding a letter to a word to make it into an animal related fill is skillfully done. CATTITUDE is my favorite and LAMBITION, not so much, but they are all good.




17A. Know-nothing swine? : PIGNORAMUS (10). Do people say Ignoramus any more? I guess so; LISTEN at your own risk.

22A. Puppet's desire to manipulate Shari Lewis for a change? : LAMBITION (9). This takes knowing LAMB CHOP was her lead sock puppet.

35A. Sass from a young lion? : CATTITUDE (9). I leave this for CED to go wild with.

51A. Lazy lady's man? : SLOTHARIO (9). Yes this is REAL.

58A. Cephalopod wizard's game? : SQUIDDITCH (10). The only one that has no google life. It is a portmanteau of SQUID and QUIDDITCH.

Finding five which could be placed symmetrically was great.


Across:

1. Actress Kaczmarek or Krakowski : JANE. It took me a minute, but I think the first was from Malcolm in the Middle and the latter from Ally McBeal and 30 Rock.

5. Friends abroad : AMIS. French.

9. Resigned words : AH ME.

13. Chihuahua cheers : OLES. Chihuahua, Mexico.

14. Point of view : SLANT.

15. Creep : TOAD. Not a meaning I know.

16. Woodshop tools : SAWS.

19. "Conan" channel : TBS. Turner Broadcasting System.

20. Baja vacation spot : CABO. Both spring breakers and high end travelers go HERE.

21. Co-owner of the Pequod : PELEG. I do know Moby Dick. But is he FUNNY?

25. Yale founder Yale : ELIHU. Hence Eli.

27. Come to light : EMERGE.

28. Cry of fright : EEK.

or 18D. Raise a stink? : REEK. Game of Thrones?

30. GoPro product, briefly : CAMera.

31. Before thou know'st : ANON. Popular Shakespeare word.

32. The teensiest bit : A TAD.

34. One filling in : TEMP. Temporary help.

38. Conceal : MASK. The movie?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phWOcrG7sCQ

41. Piano recital piece, e.g. : SOLO.

42. Marine predator : ORCA.

45. Lead-in to roll or spree : ON A.

46. Moll's leg : GAM. Two words from the gangster world; moll has meant gangster's girlfriend since the 1500's. Gam appeared in the 30's.

47. Fast entry : IN RUSH.

49. Mink relative : OTTER. I knew this, not sure why.

54. Long Island airport town : ISLIP. I flew into Islip with my wife two years ago on our trip to my childhood haunts.

56. __ Domani: Italian wine brand : ECCO. Where is Chairman Mao, our wine expert?

57. Issuer of nine-digit ID nos. : SSA.

60. Tale spinner : LIAR.

61. Sport whose champions are called "yokozuna" : SUMO. A great MATCH featuring two champions.

62. CoverGirl competitor : ALMAY.

63. Car rental giant : AVIS. We this more often than Hertz.

64. Suckling spot : TEAT. Oh My!

65. Come off as : SEEM.

66. Formally relinquish : CEDE.

Down:

1. Elbow one's way : JOSTLE.

2. "To Kill A Mockingbird" setting : ALABAMA.

3. Ones turning in stories : NEWSMEN.

4. Small opening? : ESS. The S starting Small.

5. "I was home alone," perhaps : ALIBI. That is not much of an alibi.

6. Myopic Mr. : MAGOO.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8GTHXTEvIc

7. Roadside retreat : INN.

8. "Knock it off!" : STOP.

9. One bit : AT ALL. I used say that so much in the 70's and 80's.

10. Hockey advantage : HOME ICE. The cold version of home field advantage.

11. "The Razor's Edge" novelist : MAUGHAM. An interesting MOVIE as well.

12. Mad men? : EDS.

14. Flood : SPATE. I did not know this definition.

20. Aetna rival : CIGNA.

23. Lou who stole 938 bases : BROCK.

24. "Sweet!" : NEATO.

26. One working at a base : UMP.

29. Kin of gov : EDU.

32. Molecular particles : ATOMS.

33. Up to, briefly : TIL.

34. __ firma : TERRA.

36. Org. with body scanners : TSA.

37. "Tiny Bubbles" singer : DON HO.

38. Farm sound : MOO.

39. It's not new : ANTIQUE.

40. Asian citrus fruit : SATSUMA.

43. Gettysburg Address feature : CURSIVE.

44. "Let me repeat myself ... " : AS I SAID.

46. Graph paper design : GRID.

47. Like a mosquito bite : ITCHY.

48. Raspy : HOARSE.

50. "Adam Bede" novelist : ELIOT.

52. "Here, I'll do that" : LET ME.

53. Non-shaving razor name? : OCCAM.

55. BlackBerries, e.g. : PDAS.

58. Former JFK lander : SST.

59. French landmass : ILE.

60. Fond du __, Wisconsin : LAC.

John Lampkin

TITLE: Let's go camping!

John Lampkin is back with another delight. The theme answers in this letter exchange puzzle are all silly and clued with John's special wit. The base phrases are an odd set, but they work. The grid is a bit different with symmetrical 9 letter fill (NW- SE) around a 7 letter middle word and 11 letter downs set out in opposite corners. This makes one work a bit more. He also includes DEEP END, ALL TIME,  RATTLER,  FUSSPOT,   COURAGE,  LEAD DOG as sparkly fill.  Well, let us see how he built this Friday.

16A. Vermicelli for the greedy or lustful? : VICE-A-RONI (9). RICE-A-RONI the San Francisco TREAT.

38A. Energy drink? : VIMSHOT (7). RIMSHOT.  Who is your favorite comedian? LINK.

10D. Practical approach to preparing saltimbocca? : VEAL POLITIK (11). REALPOLITIK. You want to STUDY?

24D. Pamplona preeners, with "the"? : VAIN IN SPAIN (11). RAIN IN SPAIN. LISTEN.
the reveal
61A. Camper upgrade, literally seen in four puzzle answers : RV TRADE IN (9). A really fun reveal which tells us the we trade our beginning R for a V.

Across:

1. Clumps or chumps : CLODS. It takes a mind like JL to realize this relation.

6. Wall Street Journal co-founder Charles : DOW. Along with Messrs Jones and Bergestresser. LINK
They started the Dow Jones Bergestresser averages.

9. 2013 Zipcar acquirer : AVIS. Another sharing venture started in Miami. LINK.

13. Word on mail from Madrid : AEREO. Is there still airmail?

14. Have to shell out : OWE.

15. Break the silence of the lamb? : BLEAT. Such an appreciation for words and humor.

18. Get high : ELATE.

19. Get going : PROD. Like they do with cattle, or tigers.

20. Threat in old Westerns : RATTLER. My brother and I bought a house in Gainesville after law school. We were very surprised when we saw many diamondback rattlers sunning in the middle of the street. Turns out before it was leveled for development, the area was called rattlesnake hill.

John was nice enough to provide this pic.

22. Knuckle under : GIVE.

25. Bungler : OAF.

27. Import : SHIP IN.

28. Nutty : INANE.

30. Slam __ : DUNK.

32. Clever comment : MOT. Bon mot.

33. Word with gown or wreath : BRIDAL. I was not an expert on SPIREA.

35. Sandra's Supreme Court successor : SAMUEL. Ms. Day O'Conner and Mr. ALITO.

37. What's big in London? : BEN. Cute.

40. Texting qualifier : IMO. In My Opinion.

43. Glacial mass : ICECAP. Politics.

45. __ milk : MALTED. Malted milk shakes were very popular when I was young.

47. Dedicatee of Lennon's "Woman" : ONO. Not really up on Yoko years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyEn9LIR9cI

48. Barrel band : HOOP. And staves.

50. 1937 Shirley Temple title role : HEIDI. Do you remember the MOVIE? 80 years ago!

51. Cover, in a way : INSURE. Not put a top on.

53. Pot leaves : TEA. Not ASH.

55. Comparable : AKIN.

56. Subsequent edition with no changes : REPRINT.

58. Flew : SPED.

60. With 12-Down, Carnegie Hall icon : ISAAC. 12D. See 60-Across : STERN. Cue the VIOLINS.

66. Skeptical sound at Belmont? : NEIGH. Horsies.  The Belmont was a snooze fest this year.

67. Crude stuff : OIL.

68. Dry Italian white : SOAVE. Considered cheap wine when I was younger.

69. Sebaceous gland issue : ACNE.

70. One of several found in a golf cart : TEE.

71. Graceful wader : EGRET. More expertise from JL, beautiful bird.

Down:

1. James, for one, briefly : CAValier. 8 NBA championship appearances, 3 titles. He appears to be getting better and better but still not winning it all as much as he would like.

2. Hilo hello accompaniment : LEI. What beautiful alliteration!!!

3. Hobbit hunter : ORC.

4. Where it's not good to go off? : DEEP END. I am seeing more and more of this type of misdirection, like last week's " Bad thing to draw during a test."

5. Birds do it : SOAR. So do butterflies.

6. Thingy : DOODAD. Fun word.

7. Routinely trounce : OWN.

8. Small dam : WEIR. No relation to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CTuA5fXZHc

9. Never surpassed : ALL TIME.

11. Unwelcome response to "Where's the leftover pizza?" : I ATE IT. Who likes cold pizza?

15. Kiss classic : BETH.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5RnWg5qehU

17. Milne marsupial : ROO. Kanga too.

21. Referral from dad? : ASK MOM. Such a wonderfully phrased clue.

22. The "Gee" in Bee Gees : GIBB. This is not true, as explained in wiki "They were introduced to leading Brisbane radio DJ Bill Gates by speedway promoter and driver Bill Goode, who had hired the brothers to entertain the crowd at the Redcliffe Speedway in 1960.... Gates renamed them the BG's (later changed to "Bee Gees") after his, Goode's, and Barry Gibb's initials—thus the name was not specifically a reference to "Brothers Gibb", despite popular belief

23. About : IN RE.

26. Fuddy-duddy : FUSSPOT. I have not heard this word in years.

29. Igloo's lack : EAVE. No shed dormers either.

31. "Nope" : NAH.

34. Fungus/alga symbiosis : LICHEN.

36. Bryce Canyon locale : UTAH.

39. Red Guard leader : MAO.

41. Prefix with -terranean : MEDI. Sub?

42. Master of the Valkyries : ODIN.

44. Grit, but not grits : COURAGE. Too true. How many like eating grits? Shrimp and grits are popular.

46. It's never a poodle in the Iditarod : LEAD DOG.

47. "Be right there!" : ONE SEC.

49. Chef's crusher : PESTLE. My wife has two like below. Very important for Papaya Salad.

51. "The Three Sisters" sister : IRINA. Olga and Masha were older.

52. Loaded : RICH.

54. Busy time for CPAs : APRil.

57. Relaxed pace : TROT. A mini-clecho.

59. Relaxation : EASE.

62. Strive : VIE.

63. Temple neighbor : EAR. Cute, not the University where Bill Cosby graduated.

64. Mass ending? : IVE. Because  neither Adoro te devote nor -pike fit.

65. A daredevil might eschew it : NET. Yes, neither C.C nor any of her minions ever works with a NET, even though we might fall. But it is summer now, so enjoy. Lemonade out.

Christopher Shaw

Title: Friday quip

Our first new constructor in a while presents us with a quip puzzle. This one has 60 spaces and nice symmetry with 4 seven letter fill. I like Mitch Hedberg who is a regular on the comedy channels on Sirius XM so the humor of the quip appealed, but YRMV.  Not much room left for long fill, but we do get POOL CUE,  SWAHILI, LET'S DO IT and DRUMMING.  There were some learning moments and some old memories dredged up. As Christopher says, LET'S DO IT. I love the the sevens.

20A. Start of a one-liner by 54-Across : MY FAKE PLANTS (12).

25A. One-liner, part 2 : DIED (4).

29A. One-liner, part 3 : BECAUSE (7).

38A. One-liner, part 4 : I DID NOT (7).

40A. One-liner, part 5 : PRETEND (7).

46A. One-liner, part 6 : TO WATER (7).

49A. End of the one-liner : THEM(4).

54A. Standup comic known for one-liners : MITCH HEDBERG (12). A very funny man in the Steven Wright mold. LINK.

Across:

1. Snake, footwise : APOD.  noun. zoology. an animal with no feet or whose feet are rudimentary. 

5. Instagram and Pinterest : APPS.

9. Bad thing to draw during a test : BLANK. Cute clue.

14. Saboteur, e.g. : MOLE. Am infiltrator.

15. Fruit used in alcohol flavoring : SLOE. Used in a sloe gin fizz and a singapore sling.

16. Home for 66-Across : AERIE. I wonder if they really do, or the sea eagle nickname made this answer seem correct. I am no expert on Erns. 

17. Criticism : FLAK. So don't give me any....

18. Wedding dress insert : HOOP. Are they still worn? 

19. Impatient : ITCHY.

23. Tiresome type : PILL. This is a very old fashioned word. 

24. Cavaliers, on scoreboards : CLE. Amazing.

32. Paella pot : OLLA.

33. NFL receivers : TES. Tight Ends, like Gronk.

36. Actress Skye : IONE. She used to be a crossword regular for the three vowels in her name. While she has worked professionally for more than 25 years, she will always be the daughter of  Donovan (Leitch). LINK.

37. Upset : RILED. From roil, getting the waters all turbulent.

42. Stands for funerals : BIERS.

43. Black and Red : SEAS. You needs perps to get this.

44. "__ of Light": 1998 Madonna album : RAY. This was very infer-able even if you do not like Madonna. The ALBUM was well received. 

45. Words to a traitor : ET TU. Brute.

50. Andean root vegetable : OCA.  It is available in a range of colors, including yellow, orange, pink, apricot, and the traditional red.(Wiki). Very popular in New Zealand, where they refer to it as a yam.

51. California tourist attraction : NAPA. Where is the "Valley?"

59. Stereotypically haunted area : ATTIC. Not so much in Florida.

62. One-eighties : UIES.

63. Flash, maybe : IDEA.

64. Absorbed eagerly, with "in" : DRANK.

65. It may affect a sentence : PLEA. An attempt to misdirect the grammarians. 

66. Sea eagles : ERNS.

67. "__ Stardust": David Bowie song : ZIGGY. The album, the Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was a concept album that reflected Bowie's self-image.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXq5VvYAI1Q

68. Chihuahua sounds : YIPS.

69. Afternoon fare : SOAP. Ah the fading operas.

Down:

1. Switch letters : AM FM.

2. Tentacled creature : POLYP. While familiar with polyps in the colon, this was either a learning moment or something I forgot. A polyp is a solitary or colonial sedentary form of a coelenterate such as a sea anemone, typically having a columnar body with the mouth uppermost surrounded by a ring of tentacles. (dictionary).

3. Start of a Norwegian line : OLAF I. Not and NCL ship but monarchs.

4. Northern Illinois University city : DEKALB. See it?

5. "Off the Court" memoirist : ASHE. Tennis great who died so sadly after a blood transfusion.

6. Splash sound : PLOP. From my youth...

"Hasten Jason

Get the Basin

Oops, Plop

Get the Mop"

7. A pro brings his own to the table : POOL CUE. This took lots of work, but I love it.

8. Flower parts : SEPALS. Petals, sepals, stamens....

9. Switch partner : BAIT. Car dealer staple,

10. "Ready if you are" : LET'S DO IT.

11. Circle segment : ARC.

12. Med. research agency : NIH. National Institutes of Health.

13. One in, or on, a chain : KEY. Island?

21. Calvin and Anne : KLEINS. Poor Robert gets forgotten. 

22. Born, in France : NEE.

26. Not as healthy : ILLER. Are you all sick of this fill?

27. Colleague of Ruth and Sonia : ELENA. SCOTUS.

28. Source of some issues? : DADDY. Psychobabble.

30. Comforting sound : COO.

31. Bad picnic omen : ANT. Omen?

33. Area sometimes called "The Roof of the World" : TIBET. Learning moment. READ.

34. "Downton Abbey" lady : EDITH. Edith Pelham (nee Crawley) has her own FANS.

35. Number of Maravillas del Mundo : SIETE. Seven Wonders of the World. 

37. Email again : RESEND.

39. Showing impatience, digitally : DRUMMING.

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mez2yxGips1rwp47j.gif

40. __ shooter : PEA.

41. Fink : RAT.

43. Linguistic origin of Kwanzaa : SWAHILI. A complicated LANGUAGE with influences from Arabic.

46. Wee one : TOT.

47. Live in : OCCUPY. Hence all the mail to "OCCUPANT."

48. Hydrophobia : RABIES. Not sure why but I have known this term since I was little. 

52. "Napoleon Dynamite" sidekick Sánchez : PEDRO.

https://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9ojkiom2I1qh5n42o1_500.gif

53. Hockey setting : ARENA.

55. Repulsive : ICKY. My brain went HERE. 

56. Dickens schemer : HEEP. Uriah. He later was reincarnated as THIS.

57. Those, in Chihuahua : ESAS.

58. [Horrors!] : GASP.

59. Woodworker's tool : ADZ.

60. Prefix with cycle : TRI. Uni? 

61. It's game : TAG. And now you are it, as my work here is done. I hope you all have a wonderful father's day weekend, and come catch us next week. Lemonade out.

David Alfred Bywaters

Title: Gee, take T and see!


Our second puzzle from David, with his LAT debut a Friday in December last year. He began then by adding "EX" to phrases, and returns with a replace a letter - G becomes T -  which is revealed by the perfect G IS T (gist).  We have no other consistency, with three 3 letter second words, one with the first letter changed in the first word, one with the last letter in the first word and one with a middle letter.  We have six themers and the reveal to give us a packed puzzle, with little room for long sparkly fill.  This filled without any complete unknowns and the long non-theme fill, CRAYOLA, SEATTLE, RAMPANT, SARCASM, PRECINCT and IT'S A DEAL were all gettable.  let's look at the puzzle.

17A. Sports geek get-togethers? : STAT PARTIES (11). StaG Parties are no longer PC.

25A. Halloween decoration? : PAPER BAT (8).  Paper BaG. Want to make your own?

32A. Longhair cat's monotonous routine? : PERSIAN RUT (10). Persian RuG.  Very cute.

43A. Last one left angrily carrying on? : LONE RANTER (10). Lone RanGer. 

48A. Imperfection in a pointillist painting? : STRAY DOT (8). Stray DoG. 

61A. Moral? : TALE WARNING (11). Gale warning. 
The reveal
69A. Essence ... and, read differently, a hint to six puzzle answers : GIST (4). 62 theme squares.


 Across: 

1. Dirt removal method : BATH. Very fun clue, so simple but like the soap, very slippery.

5. Like much religious music : CHORAL. Choral, chorale, choir, and chorus stand in obvious relationship to one another and are in some respects used interchangeably when a body of singers, for example, is referred to as a choir, a chorus (Latin noun derived from the Greek word choros), or a chorale, which properly is a Lutheran hymn tune. (Britannica).

11. Uncooked : RAW.

14. It replaced the Cypriot pound : EURO. I did not even know Cyprus used the Pound.

15. Go back : RENEGE. A word I learned paying bridge, which has nothing to do with the clue here.

16. Stumble : ERR. To stumble is human, just does not have the same ring.

19. Gardening tool : HOE. I wonder if Santa uses one in his garden.

20. Upper part : TOP. Tempting to link something, some would like to...

21. Keep an __ : EYE ON.

22. Pesters online, in a way : SPAMS.

24. Wall St. event : IPO. Initial Public Offering.

27. Western city named for a Suquamish chief : SEATTLE. Apparently he was Chief of this TRIBE.

31. Witness : SEE.

35. Throw : CAST. Your bread upon the water....

39. Early computer : ENIAC. You must know this by now.

40. Hound over a debt : DUN. Do people still refer to dunning letters?

41. Agile : LITHE.

42. Group of two : DYAD. From Latin and Greek root.

45. Job ad abbr. : EOE. Equal Opportunity Employer.

47. Feature of many negative reviews : SARCASM. Sarcasm is not always negative.

53. Corp. leaders : MGT. Management.

54. Greets : HAILS.

55. Feel around : GROPE.

57. Printemps month : MAI. French for Spring and May.

60. Addams family cousin : ITT. I could not find one with Fester wearing a Fez.

64. Tasseled hat : FEZ.

65. Pair of ones? : ELEVEN. I have seen it before but still tricky.

66. Wary of : ON TO.

67. Test : TRY.

68. Fight against : RESIST.


Down:

1. Leading : BEST. The beginning was slow for such easy words, but the nearby fill was fiar.

2. Car : AUTO.

3. Door in the floor : TRAP. Did any of you fall for this clue?

4. Sweating, maybe : HOT. Perfect clue for summer.

5. Tropical Rain Forest seller since 1993 : CRAYOLA. Is this a single color or a set of greens?

6. "__ we go!" : HERE.

7. Leading : ON TOP. See 20A, 21A, 66A....

8. Spanish queen : REINA. I learned this Spanish word from puzzles.

9. Birthday count : AGE. How many put the correct number of candles nthe cake?

10. Car user, maybe : LESSEE.

11. Detox locale : REHAB. I guess, since people are always going to rehab.

12. Draw from the oven : AROMA.

13. Take forcibly : WREST.

18. Digestive : PEPTIC. "...relating to digestion, especially that in which pepsin is concerned." Pepesin being a key digestive enzyme.

23. Administrative district : PRECINCT. There are voting precincts, police precincts....

24. Words spoken while shaking : IT'S A DEAL. Handshaking. Nice clue.

26. Winter hrs. in Berkeley : PST. Pacific Standard Time.

27. Went fast : SPED.

28. Bitty : EENY. My thought...LINK.

29. "Nessun dorma," e.g. : ARIA. I never saw this clue until i was doing the write up; as stated it means nothing so...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ovcNw8xr64

30. Prefix with scope : ENDO. Endoscopy is a very important tool in modern medicine.

33. Race : RUN.

34. Quelques-__: a few, in French : UNES. If you do not speak French this is difficult.

36. "__ boy!" : ATTA.

37. Females : SHES.

38. Period : TERM.

41. Like L vis-à-vis XL, in some cases : LARGER. Did you size this one up?

43. Set the pace : LED. In the race...

44. Widespread : RAMPANT.

46. Bivalve at a bar : OYSTER. I spent way too much time trying to come up with the punch line to, " A bivalve burrowed in to an oyster bar...."

48. Nine to five, e.g. : SHIFT.

49. Spud : TATER.

50. Posh : RITZY.

51. Looks at in a bad way? : OGLES. Okay this matches with 57A. Revealing attire : MINI. LINK.

52. Rome's Fontana di __ : TREVI. This has appeared in many movies.
https://images2.alphacoders.com/471/thumb-350-471259.jpg

56. Is indebted to : OWES.

58. Social climbers? : ANTS. More like anti-social.

59. "__ Rhythm" : I GOT.. This was one of the musicals my sons appeared in during high school.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m94SxmkohvQ

62. Pub offering : ALE.

63. Frothy quaff : NOG. Frothy? RECIPE.

Paul Coulter

Title: It's all backasswards!

4 in the language two-word phrases have the words reversed and are then re-clued to match the new phrase. This is the third Friday from Paul this year and each have featured a a combination of two words. It is also the first time HG did not blog one of these in my stead but I have enjoyed all of them. Paul



19A. *Idle : NOTHING DOING (12). Doing Nothing is what makes one idle.

27A. *Athlete's time-out on a hot day : BREAK WATER (10). A Water Break feels good these days here in sunny South Florida.

34A. *Maestro's signals : BEATS DOWN (9). Down Beat is the downward stroke of a conductor's arm or baton indicating the first or accented beat of a measure. Various.

44A. *Returned : BACK HANDED (10). Handed Back is how you return things.

The reveal:

51A. "Nice" expression ... and a hint to the answers to starred clues : TURN OF PHRASE (12).
I do love a reveal that brings what seems like a meaningless bunch of fill together in a sensible fashion.





Across:

1. Prickly case : BUR. I learned this word from the old westerns on TV where the bad guy would put a BUR under the saddle of the good guy.

4. Retired flier : SST.

7. Wombat relatives : KOALAS. Not sure why but I knew this.

13. Pittsburgh-to-Scranton dir. : ENE.

14. School gp. : PTA. Parent  Teacher Association.

15. "Hannity" airer : FOX NEWS.

16. Loser : ALSO RAN.

18. Thoughtful guys? : IDEA MEN.

21. Crow : BOAST.

22. Protein producer : RNA.

23. "Eldorado" rockers : ELO. Electric Light Orchestra.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC_lakXdc-E

26. Communiqué segue : AS TO.

31. "Holy cow" : GEE.

32. Extinct New Zealanders : MOAS. The fooled me for a while making me think of people not the BIRDS.

33. Court call : ORDER.

37. "Amadeus" director Forman : MILOS. An amazing man who directed 8 different actors who were nominated for best actor, three won.  BIO.

40. Sushi kitchen supply : EELS.

41. Albanian coin : LEK. I think I have a few in my pocket.

47. See 20-Down : KILL. 20D. With 47-Across, in a drop-dead gorgeous outfit : DRESSED TO. DRESSED TO KILL.

48. "Go on ... " : AND.

49. In shape : FIT.

50. Lively French dance : GIGUE. I am part French but did not know this DANCE.
.
55. Group that's mostly secretaries : CABINET. The best clue of the puzzle.

58. Protein that allows skin to stretch or contract : ELASTIN. If you know elastic....

59. Monstrous : OGREISH.

60. Get into : DON.

61. Time to prepare : EVE.

62. Scarcity : DEARTH. Nice $5.00 word.

63. Marienbad, for one : SPA. I think only Tinman knew this RESORT.

64. Census datum : SEX.

Down:

1. Dorm room seat : BEAN BAG. We all had them, mine was red vinyl.

2. Let free : UNLOOSE.

3. Put another way : RESTATE.

4. Nautical pole : SPRIT. (nautical) a light spar pivoted at the mast and crossing a fore-and-aft quadrilateral sail diagonally to the peak.

5. "South Park" boy : STAN.

6. Pungency : TANG.

7. Big bear : KODIAK.

8. Big bovines : OXEN. Back again.

9. Course for Crusoe?: Abbr. : ANAGram.

10. The Eagle, briefly : LEM(onade?) Nope, Lunar Excursion Module.

11. Amazement : AWE.

12. 81-yr.-old ID : SSN. Social Security Number.

15. Musical Apple : FIONA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK30r_SIZ-g

17. Quite : OH SO.

23. LAX posting : ETD. ETA ETD, flip a coin or wait.

24. "Malcolm X" director : LEE. Spike.

25. "Catch-22" pilot : ORR. A very good read.

27. Fluffy accessory : BOA.

28. Double-crosser : RAT. The best...WATCH

29. Blows away : WOWS.

30. Prince Valiant's son : ARN. A puzzle favorite for many years and last week.

32. Dovetail : MESH.

34. __ choy : BOK.   Bok choy or pak choi is a type of Chinese cabbage. Chinensis varieties do not form heads and have smooth, dark green leaf blades instead, forming a cluster reminiscent of mustard greens or celery

35. Sandra who was the first to play "Gidget" : DEE.

36. Dated : OLD. Some date young.

37. CEO's degree : MBA.

38. McKellen of "X-Men" : IAN. And Harry Potter , the Hobbit, and Beauty and  they Beast and more.

39. TV screen type : LCD.

41. Ties surgically : LIGATES. The root word for ligature.

42. Hard to pin down : ELUSIVE.

43. Soft tissue : KLEENEX.

45. From the top : AFRESH. An A word.

46. Beethoven's __ : NINTH.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-mvutiDRvQ

47. White wine apéritifs : KIRS. This is a drink made from dry white wine and crème de cassis.

50. Ivory Coast neighbor : GHANA.

51. Bleacher feature : TIER.

52. Ton, for one : UNIT.

53. Govt. enforcers : FEDS.

54. Fall, as into a chair : PLOP.

55. Whiting cousin : COD. The fish of fish and chips.

56. Sensitive subject, to some : AGE.

57. Source of support : BRA. Nice clue.