Tracy Bennett and Victor Fleming

Title: Themeless Friday

I have been doing puzzle blogging here for close to nine years, Friday for 7 years, I think. I have never been faced with a themeless puzzle, so I have spent a very long time looking for a theme in this cooperative effort from Tracy Bennett and Victor Fleming. We had our debut for TRACY on a Wednesday blogged by Steve. He commented she was getting into themeless puzzles. She had one here on a Saturday with Erik Agard recently. In a comment on xwordinfo, she mentioned that Victor Fleming was her "mentor." I really do not know how to write-up a themeless. There are lots of long, sparkly fill FINITUDE,  IT CAN'T BE, NOT A HOPE, TRAWL NET,  PULLAPART, SATIN DOLL, BULL MARKET FAIR ENOUGH and the mini-theme ALMOST HEAVEN /WEST VIRGINIA. Splynter, where are you when I need you? Here he is suggesting that concept in a C.C. SATURDAY.  So here I go...

Across:

1. Caesar's fault: CULPA. For those who did not study Latin for many years, this might be tough, but the phrase mea culpa is pretty well known.

6. Big box office success, slangily: BOFF. I do not like this fill, as I always thought it was BOFFO, but dictionary.com says "Theater. a box-office hit.; a joke or humorous line producing hearty laughter. a loud hearty laugh; belly laugh."

10. PC scroll key: PGUP. Page up.

14. Rental brand with a hyphen: U-HAUL. Rental was so unhelpful. 

15. Like the 1998 Pikachu Illustrator card: RARE. There’s an old saying, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” and this card sold at auction in 2016 for more than FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS.

16. Source of fizz: SODA. That is backasswards to me.

17. Stock up time?: BULL MARKET. When stocks are going up it is considered a bull marker; when down a bear market.

19. Does sum work: ADDS. A tiny pun.

20. Hebrew wishing well?: SHALOM. שלום is such an important word in Hebrew, and the pun here is wonderful, worth the 25 cents you need to throw in.

21. Shrimper's catcher: TRAWL NET.

23. More than dream: ASPIRE. To direct one's hopes or ambitions toward achieving something

25. Atlanta campus: EMORY. The University.

26. Dreamt, perchance: SLEPT. Shakespeare.

29. Monument Valley features: MESAS. A natural wonder in Utah.  and the clecho 53A. Hilly terrain features: RIDGES.

31. Zero chance: NOT A HOPE.

33. Starfleet Acad. grad at the helm: LT. SULU. Our friend...

38. Woman in the picture: ACTRESS. A tricky generic clue.

39. Old duple-time dances: PAVANES. Duple meter (or duple metre, also known as duple-time) is a musical metre characterized by a primary division of 2 beats to the bar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=B10z9b_PRXw

40. Some religious sculptures: PIETAS.

41. Limited state: FINITUDE. A finite state or quality. For example, one quickly senses the finitude of his patience.

42. Event with a horse: VAULT. Actually, this is no longer true, as it has been replaced with the vault TABLE.

44. "How Do I Live" singer: RIMES. LeAnn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=MUFasKZcH_c

45. Binary pronoun: HESHE. Is this now an accepted unique pronoun?

49. Quit: RESIGN.

51. "Unbelievable!": IT CAN'T BE. It reminds me of a commercial but I can't remember the product. 

57. Retreat: LAIR.

58. Negotiation-ending words: FAIR ENOUGH. This is ridiculously hard, as I have never seen a negotiation end this way.

60. __ hack: LIFE.

61. Hathaway of "Rachel Getting Married": ANNE. Very popular actress, not so much the MOVIE.

62. Willing offer: I'LL GO. Also not easy. But with 64A...

63. Not likely: SLIM. And none. 

64. Big name in little bricks: LEGO. We see GO often in this puzzle;  55D. "Too good not to share" breakfast brand: EGGO.

65. Permit: ALLOW.


Down:

1. Chicago's "North Siders": CUBS. Baseball- CUBS to the North, WHITE SOX to the South. 

2. "Don't think so": UH UH.

3. __ land: LA LA. A CSO to ur friend Linda who I hope is doing well now.

4. Separate: PULL APART.

5. Like 22-Down, according to a song by John Denver (born 12/31/1943): ALMOST HEAVEN. 22D. See 5-Down: WEST VIRGINIA. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=1vrEljMfXYo

6. Cold reaction: BRR.

7. Symbol of might: OAK TREE. There have been many POEMS extolling the Oak.

8. Famille members: FRERES. Brother, in French families.

9. Cheese served with kalamata olives: FETA. Made from sheep and goat milk. READ.

10. One of a Biblical 150: PSALM. These are poems of praise originated in Hebrew literature and revered also by Christians. 

11. "What terrible news!": GOD NO. Oddly placed.-

12. Whence milk: UDDER. A very literal answer.

13. Irish pub pie: PASTY. A pie or turnover, especially one with a savory filling including seasoned meat, fish, or vegetables. These are popular in more places than Irish pubs.

18. Energize: AMP. If you think of being "amped" this makes sense. 

24. Provocative little ones: IMPS. Next to amp, this is a cute use of a common fill.

26. __ bean: SNAP.

27. Math points: LOCI.

28. Marion's conclusion: ETTE.

30. Actor Thicke on Canada's Walk of Fame: ALAN. Alan Thicke was born on March 1, 1947 in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada as Alan Willis Jeffrey. He died in 2016. 

32. Mountain near Pelion: OSSA.  Tough unless you are up on your Greek geography or mythology. Pelion a wooded mountain in Greece, near the coast of SE Thessaly, which in Greek mythology was held to be the home of the centaurs, and the giants were said to have piled Mounts Olympus and Ossa on its summit in their attempt to reach heaven and destroy the gods. This story has given rise to the phrase pile Pelion on Ossa, meaning to add an extra difficulty or task to something which is already difficult or onerous.

34. Ellington classic: SATIN DOLL.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=TrytKuC3Z_o


35. Coined word?: UNUM. E pluribus...cute clue.

36. News article intro: LEDE. Often mistaken for "lead" 

37. Avails oneself of: USES.

39. Drupe remains: PITS. A drupe is any fruit, such as a peach, cherry, plum, etc., consisting of an outer skin, a usually pulpy and succulent middle layer, and a hard and woody inner shell usually enclosing a single seed, or pit. 

41. Hardly turning oneself in: FLEEING. The fleeing felon. 

43. Polished: URBANE. Thin David Niven. 

45. Roman septet: HILLS. Septet = 7. Seven Hills of Rome, group of hills on or about which the ancient city of Rome was built. The original city of Romulus was built upon Palatine Hill (Latin: Mons Palatinus). The other hills are the Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, and Aventine (known respectively in Latin as the Mons Capitolinus, Mons Quirinalis, Mons Viminalis, Mons Esquilinus, Mons Caelius, and Mons Aventinus).

46. Much cashless commerce: E-TAIL.

47. Ursula K. Le Guin's genre: SCI-FI. This acclaimed AUTHOR died in 2018.

48. Polyamorous anime subgenre: HAREM. I understand the words but knew nothing about this graphic genre of anime where there is a possibility of a polygamous romantic relationship. It is a reverse harem when it is more than one boy involved. You can look it up yourselves.

50. Wrath: IRE. Maybe the most common fill in crosswords.

52. Pan name: T-FAL. Also very common fill. Lots of hyphens today.

54. Seaside soarer: GULL.

56. Take third: SHOW. WIN/PLACE/SHOW. Easy if you bet on horses. 

59. __ Speedwagon: REO. I will leave you with some music and a sincere thanks to Tracy and Victor providing my fist themeless review, C.C. and the rest of our bloggers for help and reassurance in my efforts and to all of you I wish healthy, happy, successful 2019.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpOULjyy-n8

Paul Coulter

Title: Where the 'ell is the L? There is no end to it!

I continue in pig heaven with today's fun, challenging puzzle from one of Rich's stable of consistent Friday winners. Very simple theme but it took unraveling HELIOSTAT to get me going in the right direction. I love that the reveal was both tricky and very helpful. It also was a parsing of words that took a skilled eye.


FITNESS,  NEWAGER,  ONESHOT,  SHINDIG, HELIOSTAT, and  MISS ELLIE




17A. Cartoon drawing of Rip Van Winkle?: SLEEPER CELL (10). Cartoons are made up of cels, very different from a terrorist cell whose members work undercover in an area until sent into action, as featured in this TV SHOW. I never heard of it, but I do know this ACTOR from NCIS. Since he has lots of credits, maybe he can replace the awful OD'ed in puzzledom. He really was born in Tel Aviv.

24A. Decoration for a Tinseltown party gift?: HOLLYWOOD BOWL (12). A Bow is a common part of packaging a gist. Since its opening in 1922, the Hollywood Bowl has been the premier destination for live music in Southern California, hosting everyone from Billie Holiday to The Beatles to Yo-Yo Ma under the iconic silhouette of its concentric-arched band shell. It was renovated in 2000.

39A. Dismiss a disobedient film computer?: FIRE HALL (7). In the US and Canada is more commonly called a fire station, but they are the same thing. I like the image of firing this out of control 2001 Space Odessey whose full name is HAL (Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer) 9000. 

51A. Dixie hospitality, e.g.?: SOUTHERN DRAWL (12). This is fun, I guess it means that hospitality is the reason why people are Drawn to visit the South. 

64A. Allowing use of, as a library does ... or, in three parts, a hint to four puzzle answers:  L ENDING OUT (10). They often are called  Lending libraries; here, however, it the "L" as the ending of each of the theme phrase that comes out. Brilliant!

Across:

1. Spite: VENOM. Isn't there a movie? I still can't believe Stan Lee is gone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=u9Mv98Gr5pY

6. Don't believe it: MYTH. Is as good as a mile?

10. Lying lion in "The Lion King": SCAR.

14. Colleague of Samuel and Sonia: ELENA.
Alito, Sotomayor, and Kagan of the SUPREMES. The clecho, 12D. Colleague of Kagan and Kavanaugh: ALITO. 1st names, then last names.

15. Yorkshire river: OUSE. A CSO to Steve and a challenge as there are 4 rivers in the UK with this name.

16. In fine fettle: HALE. And often hearty unless you are a golfer, then you are just HALE.



19. Camera part: IRIS. Like any eye, it opens and closes. LINK.

20. Blackens: TARS. Meh.

21. "We need to get a cat!": EEK. A cute clue for a mouse.

22. Set off: IGNITE.

27. Seat for a shot: STOOL. In the doctor's office?

30. Piedmont province: ASTI.

31. Orchestral gong: TAM-TAM. I see it written both with and without the hyphen, Chau gong (Tam-tam) The familiar "Chinese" gong is the Chau gong or bullseye gong. Large Chau gongs, called tam-tams have become part of the symphony orchestra. Wiki. This one is made by the same people who make the best cymbals.

33. Salem winter hrs.: PST.

34. Hat-removing event: GUST.

38. Be off base: ERR.

42. Future fish: ROE.

43. "Oliver Twist" type: WAIF.

45. Farm mom: SOW.

46. It may be held or bitten: TONGUE. Generally a good idea.

48. "Insecure" Emmy nominee __ Rae: ISSA. I was not aware of this TV series which she created, produces, writes and stars in much like a modern-day George Burns. She did change the character name from Issa Rae to Issa Dee.

50. Bad looks: LEERS. Deceptive.

57. Dig: TUNNEL.

58. Macabre monogram: EAP. Edgar Allan Poe.

59. Name of two of Henry VIII's wives: ANNE.

63. Massachusetts motto opener: ENSE.  This has appeared very often.

67. First-rate: ACES.

68. Angry: IRED.

69. Busybody: YENTA.

70. Two-time World Series champs: METS.

71. Like falling off a log?: EASY.

72. Boorish: CRASS.


Down:


1. Protective wear, often: VEST.

2. Self-titled 1969 jazz album: ELLA.

3. Poetic negative: NEER.

4. Not to be repeated: ONESHOT.

5. Blueprint: MAP.

6. Culinary mushroom: MOREL.

7. Foul: YUCKY.

8. "Ash Wednesday" poet's monogram: TSE.

9. Device that generates solar power: HELIOSTAT.

10. Bash: SHINDIG.

11. West Indies native: CARIB.

13. Alter with thread: RESEW.

18. Unagi, e.g.: EEL.

23. Nabbed: GOT.

25. Kiddie lit count: OLAF.

26. Clean with soap: WASH.

27. Brood: STEW.

28. Twelve Oaks neighbor: TARA.

29. Katz of "Dallas": OMRI. He played John Ross III. It is an adjoining clecho to help parse...32. Mother of J.R. and Bobby: MISS ELLIE.

33. Row of seats: PEW.

35. Advocate: URGE.

36. Whiskey __: SOUR.

37. Cafepress.com offerings: TEES. And so much more.

40. Big laugh: ROAR.

41. 1970 Kinks hit: LOLA.

44. Gym goal: FITNESS.

47. Hard-to-define spiritualist: NEW AGER.

49. Cow, for one: SHE.

51. Cook, as clams: STEAM.

52. Not a heavy weight: OUNCE.

53. Up in the air: UNSET.

54. Bogotá babies: NENES.

55. Family nickname: DADDY.

56. N.Y. engineering sch.: RPI.

60. Actress Gaye of "Ali": NONA.

61. Bar freebies: NUTS.

62. Itinerary info: ETAS.

65. Victorian __: ERA.

66. 9/11 Memorial site: Abbr.: NYC.

Ed Sessa

Title: Fooey, we do not need them both. Why do we have PH and F both for the /f/ sound? The Greek letter φ (phi) started it. In Classical Greek this was pronounced as an aspirated [pʰ], which the Latins wrote as phwhen they borrowed the words from Greek. Later this sound changed into an [f] in both Greek and Latin, and was passed as such into French, and then into English. Once the idea that ph was pronounced [f] was established, it spread to a few other areas, as well. Borrowings from Hebrew and other Semitic languages sometimes use ph, especially since the Hebrew letter פ can be [p] or [f] depending on context. Vietnamese regularly uses ph for [f], because the modern Vietnamese orthography was designed by the French.

Hello everyone; hopefully, you are happy to see the puzzle author, our once again prolific retired Dr. Ed who plays beautifully and amusingly with sounds. In a very consistent theme, where F becomes PH, then PH - F, F - PH, PH - F and finally F - PH to complete the perfectly symmetrical and consistent theme. I loved the reversing of the PH/F F/PH as the puzzle gimmick, but I began looking for the A, also. To make the theme work, Ed had to widen the grid and place his grid-spanning central fill with a cheater square on each side to make this all work. Friday, home of the 16 x 15 grid. Also, it is the home of  IT WORKS. SLAMS ON, DOMESTIC, HOT WIRES, iPOD-MINI,  and UNION MAN. Ed is a pro, so let us this effort.

19A. Paramount paramour?: ALPHA ROMEO (10). ALFA Romeo automobiles.  Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili. I had the hardest time of thinking past Paramount Pictures and the many leading early stars developed there, including Mary Pickford, Marguerite Clark, Pauline Frederick, Douglas Fairbanks, Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, and Wallace Reid.

24A. Greek goddess carrying a pick?: AFRODITE (8). APHrodite, was the ancient Greek goddess associated with love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. She is identified with the planet Venus, which is named after the Roman goddess Venus, with whom she was extensively syncretized.

36A. Program for young readers, and a hint to five puzzle answers: PHUN WITH FONICS (14).

51A. Online scammer's tool?: PHISH NET (8). Fishnet will always bring to mind dear Splynter and his ladies. Can you name this lady? Anyway, PHISHING is not nice.

56A. Dispensers of horse pills?: FARMACISTS (10). PHarmacists might not find this amusing, but I do.

Across:

1. O on a stand, say: ISSUE. I am not sure I have the slightest idea what this means; music? My wife?

6. "Pokémon: The Series" genre: ANIME. I like it when clues have their accents.

11. Ceremonial exchange: I DOS.

15. "The Nightmare Room" series author: STINE. R.L. who created the GOOSEBUMPS phenomenon. Here is an INTERVIEW. The man has written an amazing number of BOOKS.

16. Misses without exception: WOMEN. Be careful Dr.Ed, gender is no longer that simple.

17. Dirty work?: PORN. I will not follow that thought up here.

18. Scuba diver's destination: WRECK. If you want to try, you can read THIS.

21. Sandwich title?: EARL.  As with the author of this ARTICLE, I grew up listening to Dusty Dick Summer on WBZ. He is a nice man with whom I have corresponded.  There is one named for 24A.

22. Watches kids: SITS. Interesting how this word developed, as little of the process involves sitting.

23. Sit tight: BIDE.

26. Applies with force, as brakes: SLAMS ON. I filled before reading the clue and was trying to think of a Samson reference that would make sense.

29. Jelly bean-munching president: REAGAN.

30. Color gradation: HUE. I didn't know they even went to school.

31. Modest acknowledgment: I TRY. If you do not laugh, at least...

32. Wolverine relative: WEASEL. Wait just one darn minute, you mean THIS is related to THAT? But what about HIM?

35. In the cooler: ON ICE. Not poured over ice, Tin, so this okay. Maybe you keep your chocolate there.

40. Some satellites: MOONS. Defined as a celestial body orbiting another of larger size

41. Back up anew: RESAVE.

42. European wine area: ASTI.

43. Mend, perhaps: SEW.

44. iHeartRADIO fare: OLDIES.

49. Inventor's cry of success: IT WORKS.!

53. Jones of film, familiarly: INDY.

54. Motley: PIED.

55. Real estate unit: ACRE.

59. Bop on the bean: BRAIN.

60. Bulb in a balloon?: IDEA. I like the alliteration, but this was tough. This EXPERIMENT? Or

61. Boffo Moffo performances: ARIAS. A bit misleading use of the rhyme for a wonderful song by Anna Moffo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTGRnNA33Ww

62. "No more for me": I'M SET.

63. Cap'n's mate: BOSN.

64. Stroke in a parlor: MASSE. Billiard, not beauty, nor even massage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmin3exAQL0

65. Boxing family: BAERS. Maximilian Adelbert Baer (February 11, 1909 – November 21, 1959) was an American boxer who was the World Heavyweight Champion from 14 June 1934 to 13 June 1935. His fights were twice (1933 win over Max Schmeling, 1935 loss to James J. Braddock) rated Fight of the Year by The Ring Magazine. Baer was also a boxing referee and had an occasional role on film or television. He was the brother of heavyweight boxing contender Buddy Baer and father of actor Max Baer Jr.

Down:

1. Start of an oath: I SWEAR. To uphold the Constitution...

2. Attack from above: STRAFE.

3. __ Nevada: brewery: SIERRA. We went to their brewery in North Carolina in 2016

4. Clear, as a drain: UNCLOG. Long haired wives...

5. Reaction to a mouse: EEK.

6. Anticipate: AWAIT.

7. "A Walk in the Woods" actor: NOLTE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suK1e_3zNHg

8. Rowdy rug rats: IMPS.

9. "I couldn't care less": MEH.

10. Facilitate: ENABLE.

11. Early Apple audio player: iPod MINI.

12. Made at home: DOMESTIC.

13. Mineral source: ORE.

14. __-Caps: candy: SNO.

Mini Non-pareils

20. Coastal inlet: RIA.

22. Tendon: SINEW.

25. Occurs to, with "on": DAWNS.

26. Early antibiotic: SULFA.

27. Fictional flesh-eaters: ORCS.

28. TV's "Science Guy": NYE.

30. Sly chuckles: HEHS.

33. Buenos __: AIRES.

34. Crock-Pot dish: STEW.

35. First-year law students: ONE LS.

36. Nutter Butter Cereal maker: POST.

37. Starts without a key: HOTWIRES.

38. True-blue teamster, say: UNION MAN.

39. Dumpty-shaped: OVOID.

40. English R&B singer Ella __: MAI.

43. Overhead stadium equipment: SKYCAM.

45. Greg's sitcom wife: DHARMA.

46. To be safe: INCASE.

47. More spooky: EERIER.

48. Angioplasty implants: STENTS.

50. Nutritional no.: RDA.

51. Greek breads: PITAS.

52. "Steppenwolf" author: HESSE. Herman.

54. Greek letters: PSIS. We started with PHIS, now this Ψ.

56. Little lie: FIB.

57. It may be about nothing: ADO. Muchly.

58. 401(k) relative, briefly: IRA. Individual Retirement Account.

59. Food collector, at times: BIB.  Until I had grandchildren, I was unfamiliar with these high tech bibs. Much neater.

Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: I C said the blind man. 'I see said the blind man' is an old expression, often with "to his deaf wife." My favorite ending is, "... as he peed into the wind. It's all coming back to me now!"

I would reference I.C.E. since the IC replaces E, but that would end up being political. I think I may have exhausted the topic of blindness, but Jeffrey never seems to exhaust his library of wit. In another letter replacement version, he packs in 65 spaces of theme with a central grid-spanner. He uses cheater squares for the 14s, but the rest is just a nice puzzle. Such skill to include IS IT SO, CIERAS, RARE COIN, I'VE GOT TO, TENON SAW all of which are uncommon or brand new for the LAT and the fun word FLAMENCO. The cluing which apparently is too much for CED was fun throughout, so...

16A. Art class model, say?: STATIC EMPLOYEE (14). The STATE employee gets to stand still while being sketched. Some sat they standstill while waiting on you.

25A. Homeowner's extreme reaction to a hailstorm?: WINDOW PANIC (11). Here we all have hurricane-proof window PANES or shutters.

34A. Ancient Roman's suggestion to a sweat-drenched pal?: CHANGE YOUR TUNIC (15). I wonder if finding this grid spanner made JW change his TUNE?

46A. Where sick con victims seek help?: PATSY CLINIC (11). But do they play her hits over the loudspeaker?

59A. Stand-up invited to a holiday meal?: COMIC FOR DINNER (14). Look who is COMING for dinner? I understand most professionals do not like 'performing' for relatives. I am glad I am not a professional.

A really nice set of themers

Across:

1. City in which much of "Moonlight" is set: MIAMI. Academy Award winner; oops. LINK.

6. Lively display of stamps?: FLAMENCO.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRW4J0HyeiY

14. Long range: ANDES. One of those clues CED spoke of, nit far but an extended mountain range.

15. Valuable collectible: RARE COIN. This fill has been in the LAT twice before, introduced to us by Paul Coulter on a Friday I blogged HERE. That puzzle write-ups has two very interesting aspects; pictures of Lucina added by C.C. and the TONSURE of Buddhist monks which I participated in this trip.

18. Singer Jones: TOM.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2TtzDmCQ9s

19. Ashes not caused by fire: TREES. Another deceptive one, where we wanted fire and needed Fraxinus, English name ash, a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae.

20. Notable times: ERAS.

22. Genesis twin: ESAU. When your name is 4 letters and has three vowels, you will live on in xwords.

23. Volcanic rock: BASALT. This is a dark, fine-grained volcanic rock that sometimes displays a columnar structure. It is typically composed largely of plagioclase with pyroxene and olivine. The dictionary makes that so clear, right?

30. Calculating: SLY.

31. Lot unit: ACRE.

32. Sucker of sorts: LEECH. Not the victim, but THIS.

41. Wise guys, maybe: SAGES. Using 'guys' to lead you to mobsters, not smart people. If you notice it is clued as two words, and not as wiseguys, you will not fall in his trap.

42. Hotel worker: MAID.

43. Asian holiday: TET. As the celebration of the lunar new year, Tet is the most important holiday on the Vietnamese calendar.

50. Went from 50 to 40: SLOWED. Because lying about his/her age would not fit.

52. "Put __ on it!": A LID.

53. Bust size?: KILO. Stop looking for boobie, all we have here is a drug bust. Why do we use pounds/ounces for most things but 'keys' for heroin and cocaine?

54. Flynn of film: ERROL. He is back; no buckling a swash today.

56. Attorney's org.: ABA.  American Bar Association. A CSO to Susan and others.

63. "It's my duty": I'VE GOT TO. If you must, you must.

64. Really irk: EAT AT.

65. Cutting tool for making joints: TENON SAW. This full name appeared only once, in 2005, in the LAT. It has never been used in an NYT.

66. Works on a batter: STIRS. No baseball, but cooking. Sorry CED.

Down:

1. It's often rigged: MAST. Another fun clue, right CED?

2. Fascinated by: IN TO.

3. Biblical exile: ADAM. It is so easy to put in CAIN and be wrong. JW! And a mini-clecho 22D. Delightful places: EDENS.

4. Came across: MET.

5. "Can this be true?": IS IT SO? A challenging parse.

6. Clear, as a schedule slot: FREE UP.

7. Fabric with a glint: LAMÉ. You do not get the accent in the clue making it hard to see this fabric with interwoven gold or silver threads.

8. Some dadaist works: ARPS.

9. Brooks with lines: MEL. Not bubbling streams but a shout out to this awesome PUZZLE.

10. Green prefix: ECO.

11. British poet Alfred: NOYES.

12. '80s-'90s Olds models: CIERAS.

13. Score early in the set, maybe: ONE ALL. Tennis anyone?

17. Bird crop: CRAW. Anything about this puzzle stick in your...?

21. Muddy enclosure: STY.

23. Stuttgart suds: BIER. Beer by any other name...German 1.

24. Bank holding: Abbr.: ACCT. Cking or sving?

25. WWII female: WAC.

26. Gigi : je :: Greta : __: ICH. German 2.

27. Org. with frequent firings: NRA.

28. See 57-Down: A LOSS.

29. Fresh, to Franz: NEU. German 3.

33. Like a rainforest: HUMID.

35. Show awe: GAPE.

36. Quaint "Yikes!": EGAD.

37. Equivalent of OTOH: YET. In didactic discourse, perhaps.

38. Photographer Goldin: NAN.

39. Sundial marking: III. Another use of Roman numerals to fill difficult places.

40. Health org. with HQ in Atlanta: CDC. What happened to the "P"; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

43. "Naughty!": TSK. Generally in pairs.

44. Draw out: ELICIT.

45. Queen's "Somebody __": TO LOVE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA2IRoPFIn0

47. Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary: YARROW.

48. Lump of earth: CLOD.

49. Easter display: LILIES.

51. Many suffragists: WOMEN. Hmm, yes women led the movement for women to vote.

54. Young newts: EFTS.

55. "The Godfather" composer Nino: ROTA.

56. Opposition member: ANTI.

57. With 28-Down, persevere despite hardship: BEAR.  Did you write an essay in school about the cross-eyed bear?

58. Liberal follower?: ARTS. JW will go to any degree to confound and amuse.

60. "Can __ forward when my heart is here?": Romeo: I GO.

61. Fool: CON.

62. D.C. ballplayer: NAT. Will Bryce Harper remain a Washington National?