Joe Kidd

Title: There may be no I in "team", but the I must be added!

After being confronted with a 4 letter addition last week, we only have one little letter and some very amusing clue/fill combinations. This is my first exposure to Joe Kidd, perhaps a Nom de Plume of a shy constructor who likes Clint Eastwood. It is also his 6th LAT to go with a single NYT, for which no picture was run. He sticks in some nice fill like  HOGTIED, I MADE IT, NATALIE and TURN OFF but shines with two that are new to the Corner since the change to the LAT - CREATE A STIR and INCOME TAXES. I do not think I have had a puzzle with 5 eleven space theme fill before. Overall, it seemed easy, with many toeholds, but YMMV.

17A. Cheeky server?: FRESH WAITER (11). The base phrase - FRESH WATER -  I like the cheeky server.

26A. Bro on the go?: MOBILE HOMIE (11).  The base phrase - MOBILE HOME - I love mobile homie!

37A. European auto left out in the rain?: SATURATED FIAT (13). The base phrase - SATURATED FAT -Cute.

49A. Food for thought? : BRAIN MUFFIN (11). The base phrase - BRAN MUFFIN - A RECIPE. Or THIS.

58A. Result of a yank prank?: WEDGIE ISSUE (11). The base phrase - WEDGE ISSUE - a divisive political issue, especially one that is raised by a candidate for public office in hopes of attracting or alienating an opponent's supporters. I have seen nothing but attack ads, with no attempt to put forth a platform. If you have never had your underwear tugged, this would be obscure.

Across:

1. Decision-making tool: COIN. I flip you for it.

5. Slips in pots: CHITS. A chit is a tab or an IOU, a record of money owed. Your neighborhood deli might give you a chit the end of each week, letting you know how much you owe for your daily bagels.

10. Assure, as victory: ICE.

13. One of four on a keyboard: ARROW. Just to the right of the letters.

15. Comics unit: PANEL.

16. Nice handle?: NOM. The French city misdirection.

19. Call from a cote: COO.  I think they mean the birdhouses built for doves (pigeons) but I would prefer this cooing.

20. Former Rocket Ming: YAO. My Oo is actually Thongyao.

21. Hanoi holiday: TET. More Asian information.

22. "NBC Nightly News" anchor Lester: HOLT.

23. Sgt.'s underling: PFC.

29. Alienate: TURN OFF. Extreme.

31. Creator of many word lists: ROGET. Mr. Thesauras.

32. Sailing: ASEA.

33. Stately shaders: ELMS.

36. '40s Giant manager: OTT.

41. Draw at a pub: TAP.

42. Weight adjustment factor: TARE.

43. One no longer serving: EX-GI.

45. Prove to be untrue: BELIE.

47. Late arriver's cry: I MADE IT.

52. Airport near OAK: SFO.

53. Outwit, as a tail: LOSE.

54. Taker of ppm measurements: EPA.

55. Dorm room, perhaps: STY.

57. Bad picnic omen: ANT.

63. B.S. part: Abbr.: SCI.

64. Oven setting: BROIL.

65. Put an end to: CEASE.

66. Rocky outcropping: TOR.

67. AAA and NRA: ASSNS.

68. Bar shelf lineup: RYES.


Down:

1. Half-__: coffee choice: CAF.

2. Nine-time NHL All-Star: ORR.

3. Aran Islands country: Abbr.: IRE.

4. Prone to prying: NOSY.

5. Many an IRS e-file user: CPA.

6. 1492 landing site, now: HAITI.

7. Gathering of spies: INTEL.

8. Show instability: TEETER.

9. Hasselblad product: SLR.

10. 5-Down's concern: INCOME TAXES.

11. "Chillax!": COOLIT.

12. Act to excess: EMOTE.

14. Hula Hoop manufacturer: WHAMO.

18. Sound system component: WOOFER.

22. Rendered immobile: HOGTIED.

23. Student advocacy gp.: PTA.

24. Ruckus: FUSS. Next to

25. Shake things up: CREATE A STIR. Quite a nice phrase, though all I can find online is  Cause a Stir.

27. Key of Beethoven's Second Piano Concerto: B-FLAT.

28. Horseshoe holder: HOOF.

30. Merchant of 10,000 Maniacs: NATALIE. And much more. LINK.

34. Kingston Trio hit with the lyric "Fight the fare increase!": MTA. Poor Charlie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7Jw_v3F_Q0

35. Letter enhancement: SERIF.

38. Go __ smoke: UP IN.

39. End that may be untimely: DEMISE. An odd clecho with...

40. End-of-week exclamation: TGIF.

44. Midori on the ice: ITO.

45. Bouncy ride, to say the least: BRONCO.

46. Arab bigwigs: EMEERS.

48. Bit of tomfoolery: ANTIC.

49. Rollicking good time: BLAST.

50. Prom night coifs: UPDOS.

51. Dickens bad guy: FAGIN.

56. River in western Belgium: YSER.

58. Org. for pugilists: WBA.

59. They, in Tours: ILS.

60. "Suppose ... ": SAY.

61. Play for a fool: USE.

62. Some MIT grads: EES.

Craig Stowe

Title: STER the pot.

How funny, here I am writing up a Craig Stowe puzzle so soon after his Saturday. This is Craig's 20th  LAT publication, but his 11th in 2018!!!! Like I said, he has turned it on. I blogged the PUZZLE which was his debut in December 2015. Today, as befitting a Friday, features the impressive add, not 1 letter, not 2 letters, not 3 letters, but the 4 letters -STER- to common two word-phrases. We have seen this before from our Friday stalwart JW, but once again it is an impressive creation. And the inclusion of  À LA MODE,  COMPETE,  DATA SET,  ENOUNCE,  PARADOX,  RHOMBUS, CHEAP SHOT,  DERELICTS,  HORSEHIDE and  I'M ON A DIET shows the skill Craig has developed in less than 5 years. Okay let's examine the result.

16A. Physician for Dickens' Miss Havisham?: SPINSTER DOCTOR (14). Do I play SPIN DOCTORs or explain the Great Expectations character? Spinster is such a fun old-fashioned word.

25A. Station for exercisers on wheels?: HAMSTER RADIO (12). If I were a hamster I would find this clue hurtful; these days HAM RADIOS are not that popular.

43A. Expert guard dog?: MASTER BARKER (12). MA BARKER was an infamous gangster head of a crime family. She and her son Fred were killed in Central Florida. 

56A. Cool cat's affectionate friends?: HIPSTER HUGGERS (14). Hip huggers fueled my adolescent fantasies along with mini-skirts.

On to the rest:

Across:

1. Trendy:  À LA MODE. Not only for pie and ice cream. We have a lot of French from our Canadian Constructor.

8. No longer outstanding: REPAID. "Does he still owe you money? No, he repaid me."

14. Catch-22: PARADOX.

15. "Am I the problem?": IS IT ME? One of the multi-word fill.

18. Morales of "Ozark": ESAI. This role is very far from his days on NYPD.

19. Canada's Buffy Sainte-Marie, by birth: CREE. She was born in Canada and was also a musical idol in my adolescent year when I listened to her, Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Joan Baez and so many more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wgZmVvs-Xk

20. Math functions: SINES.

22. Fleur de __: sea salt: SEL. French - this means "flower of salt." Kazie, do you think it should be Sel de Mer?

23. Clever remarks: MOTS. Bon mots, also French. I guess this is all colloquial, perhaps influenced by Quebec?

24. Sedate: CALM.

29. Earth tone: OCHER. Ochre or ocher is a natural clay earth pigment which is a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in color from yellow to deep orange or brown.

32. Ancient colonnade: STOA. Stoa, plural Stoae, in Greek architecture, a freestanding colonnade or covered walkway.

33. "Disgusting!": ICK.

34. Diamond figure: RHOMBUS. A square is also a rhombus.

37. Play seriously: COMPETE.

39. "... this night, being __ my head": Shak.: OER. Romeo and Juliet: ACT II, Scene 2
O, speak again, bright angel! For thou art
As glorious to this night, being o'er my head,
As is a wingèd messenger of heaven
Unto the white, upturnèd, wondering eyes
30Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him
When he bestrides the lazy-puffing clouds
And sails upon the bosom of the air.

40. Hideout: LAIR. This was very big in the old Westerns.

42. Soft touch: PATSY. Last week, it was a sap.

47. Foil relative: EPEE.

48. Couple: DUAD. Another odd coincidence, as this was in Wednesday's puzzle. That was its second appearance the first being in 2012.

49. Andean stew veggie: OCA.

52. Rapper Ice Cube's first name: OSHEA. O'Shea Jackson Sr., known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, writer and actor. Ice Cube initially gained recognition as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A.

54. Clothes to clean: WASH. Hi honey, I will do the wash tonight.

55. Zipcar parent company: AVIS. ZIPCAR is a car-sharing service, where you can rent a car for an hour or two, and pay by the minute or the hour. It is the response to the success of UBER, LYFT, and Airbnb.

59. Texas oil city: ODESSA.

60. State: ENOUNCE. Not in my vocabulary but inferable.

61. Waver: TEETER. Back and forth; cannot make up my mind.

62. Computer input: DATA SET. This is a collection of related sets of information composed of separate elements but can be manipulated as a unit by a computer.


Down:

1. Stained glass settings: APSES. A familiar church part also in Wednesday, right next door to ...

2. Slip: LAPSE. No, I am sure it was deliberate.

3. Type similar to Helvetica: ARIAL. One of many sans serif types.

4. Nail treatment: MANI. But no pedi?

5. Has too much: ODS.

6. One involved in a memorable "bubble": DOT COM. An insightful ARTICLE explaining the bubble and the burst.

7. Puts forth: EXERTS. Effort.

8. Tease: RIDE.

9. Juan's "that": ESO. Spanish one.

10. Selfies, e.g.: PICS.

11. Ancient region ruled by Athens: ATTICA. Some HISTORY.

12. Small portion explanation: I'M ON A DIET. Makes sense but not easy to get this multi-word fill.

13. Ones neglecting their duties: DERELICTS. I have only seen the word used to mean a person without a home, job, or property. I do know the term dereliction of duty, though.

17. Score marks: RESTS. Musical score.

21. Soul singer Robinson's debut album: SMOKEY. This was after he left the Miracles. LINK.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNNCNCuCfv0

23. Material for Michelangelo's "David": MARBLE. David is a 5.17-metre (17.0 ft) marble statue of a standing male nude. The STATUE.

25. Train bottom: HEM. Train on a dress; very tricky for a three letter fill.

26. Series-ending abbr.: ETC.

27. Pal of Piglet: ROO.

28. Stepped (up): RAMPED.

29. Words from a balcony: O ROMEO. This is the response to 39A.
O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name.
35Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.

30. Unsportsmanlike conduct: CHEAP SHOT. Some from FOOTBALL.

31. Baseball, in old slang: HORSEHIDE. Footballs were pigskins and baseballs...

35. Former Mideast gp.: UAR. United Arab Republic.

36. Member of the fam: SIB.

38. __ value: PAR. A securities term.

41. Control tower device: RADAR.

44. Mobile home?: TEEPEE. Cute, as you roll them up and go.

45. Hurried: RUSHED.

46. Islands VIP: KAHUNA. We do not often get Hawaiian words, this means a wise man or shaman.

49. Some Viking appliances: OVENS. Viking Range Corporation is an appliance company that manufactures kitchen appliances for residential and commercial use. Viking originated the "professional" segment of kitchen appliances with its introduction of the first professional-grade range for home use in 1987. wiki.

50. "Odyssey" sorceress: CIRCE. In Greek, it is pronounced KIRKE. She was a goddess of sorcery (pharmakeia) who was skilled in the magic of transmutation, illusion, and necromancy. Not to be confused with CERSEI.

51. Plus: ASSET.

53. Kind of D.A.: ASST.

54. Diminish slowly, with "off": WEAR.

55. Líquido para café: AGUA.  Spanish two to finish language lesson.

57. "The Cocktail Party" monogram: TSE. Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM, was an essayist, publisher, playwright, literary and social critic

58. Grasped: GOT. I hope you all grasped the theme and solved with a smile on your face.

Ed Sessa

Title: Sub-chapter C? No, we need an S Corporation to solve this.

One of the many very successful constructors who emerged since we moved to the LAT, Dr. Sessa, a pediatrician presents us with his 86th LAT to go along with 36 NYT publications, hitting for the cycle in both venues. My first time blogging him was the same day his INTERVIEW with C.C. was published in 2011. Today we have a very simple and getable theme, merely adding a cedilla. It is a mark ( ¸ ) written under the letter c, especially in French, to show that it is pronounced like an "s" rather than a "k" (e.g., façade ). Here we just change the C to S. As Ed said in his interview, he wants to amuse and to make the theme an aha moment. I saw the theme with BRISK LAYER which made the solve much easier. As a seasoned professional, he adds a variety of sparkly fill. ACTUALLY, BATH SOAP,  COROLLAS,  DIAMETER,  OVERLAPS, and SHIMMIES. The themers-

17A. Eggs-uberant hen?: BRISK LAYER (10). My Uncle Harold taught BRICK laying in trade school. The clue is funny to me.

24A. Loon, at times?: DUSK CALLER (10). The change from DUCK caller would not help unless you know Loons (the official bird of the Corner) was famous for its night CALLING.

36A. Do some '80s Sochi sunbathing?: BASK IN THE USSR (13). This 1968 Beatles song -BACK IN THE USSR - is repurposed with memories of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

49A. Hitchhiking and texting?: THUMB TASKS (10). Thumb TACKS and hitchhiking are not as popular as they used to be, but it is amazing how fast young people maneuver their thumbs while texting. 

59A. What young elephants do for fun?: NIP AND TUSK (10). The first known usage of 'nip and TUCK' comes from the Arkansas Times and Advocate, August 1838: "It will be a close race in this county - Tully and Cummins, nip and tuck; and I don't know which will have it." 

The rest-

Across:

1. "Ta-ta!": SEE YA. I like this expression.

6. Kaput: SHOT.

10. Musical ending: CODA. JzB can say more about this as the concluding passage of a piece or movement, typically forming an addition to the basic structure

14. Ready for the operation: UNDER. The anesthesia.

15. Dance that may involve a chair: HORA. This is back again! Let's dance. We had a great Simchat Torah party this year with lots of dancing. It is not often you get to dance with a 99-year-old wonder , I was the one with the cane.

16. "Amores" poet: OVID. Publius Ovidius Naso, was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. LINK.

19. Like used books: READ. Well-read I hope.

20. __ Xtra: cherry soda brand: PIBB.
No longer Mr. Pibb. I wonder if Dr. Pepper is next.

21. Apple on a desk: IMAC.

22. Word with ring or book: WORM. Sounds like a puzzle theme.

23. Rights org.: ACLU. American Civil Liberties Union.

27. Butler on a plantation: RHETT. Not the one who opens the door but the one who does'nt give a damn.

29. Like Colbert's show: ON LATE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU9fEm-6Z9w

30. Kiss: SMOOCH.

35. Summit: APEX. Or acme.

40. "The Well-Tempered Clavier" composer: BACH.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezZdbzreNcs

41. Taking medication: DOSING. Does he mean taking LSD? I know he is trained, medical man.

42. Final flight destinations?: ATTICS. Wonderful clue.

44. Kitchen shelf array: HERBS.

54. Tick repellent: DEET. N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, also called DEET (/diːt/) or diethyltoluamide, is the most common active ingredient in insect repellents.

55. __ Club: SAMS.

56. When repeated, fish on a menu: MAHI.

57. "That being the case ... ": IF SO.

58. Letters after E?: COLI. Hard to parse.

61. The third Mrs. Roy Rogers: DALE. I had no idea the Leonard Slye had two prior marriages. LINK.

62. Airer of many NCAA games: ESPN.

63. Farm stray: DOGIE.

64. 1974 CIA spoof: S*P*Y*S. After the massive success of M*A*S*H, this movie which also starred Elliott Gould and Donald Sutherland were marketed with the asterisks to make people think they had something in common.

65. Reasons: WHYS. Why not?

66. Cornered, in a way: TREED. Forced or chased up a tree: a treed raccoon.


Down:

1. Not up to snuff: SUBPAR.

2. Increase the value of: ENRICH.

3. Consumer-friendly?: EDIBLE. A stretch but it actually works.

4. Hedge opening: YES, BUT. Another tricky variation clue; well done.

5. Biblical traveler: ARK.

6. Former SeaWorld attraction: SHAMU.

7. Georgetown athletes: HOYAS.

8. Eponymous vacuum brand: ORECK.

9. Roofer's supply: TAR.

10. Popular Toyotas: COROLLAS.

11. Has in common: OVERLAPS.

12. Line through the middle: DIAMETER.

13. Include: ADD.

18. Pot top: LID.

22. Lacking color: WAN.

25. Ben of Ben & Jerry's: COHEN.

26. "Toy Story" dinosaur: REX.

28. Scolder's cluck: TSK.

31. In the __ of: MIDST.

32. Creator of Iceland's Imagine Peace Tower: ONO.

33. Ties may be broken in them, briefly: OTS.

34. Only half-pretentious?: CHI.

36. Bar by the tub: BATH SOAP.

37. If truth be told: ACTUALLY.

38. Does a ragtime dance: SHIMMIES.

39. "That's disgusting!": UGH.

40. Skeeter eater: BAT.

43. "60 Minutes" network: CBS.

45. One slightly changed this clue: EDITOR.

46. Storm shelter, say: REFUGE.

47. Blues great Smith: BESSIE.

48. Fired up: STOKED.

50. Sect in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County: AMISH.

51. Like maple trees and pigeons?: SAPPY.

52. Ruling descendants of Genghis: KHANS.

53. Thing to confess: SIN.

58. DJ's inventory: CDS.

59. Strange (to): NEW.

60. "Silent Spring" subj.: DDT. The novel by Rachel Carson was published in 1962. I remember it as being very controversial at the time.

Paul Coulter

Title: I see the sea, see?

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. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hdz2oX_yLY

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.

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.

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.

69. Big times: ERAS.

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

74. Sprout: LAD.

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.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFEewD4EVwU

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.