Jeffrey W

Title: Merry Christmas from a Beautiful Mind

Moe is back from visiting his adorable grandbaby, yet here I am doing a back to back for Christmas. First, I want to wish you all the best of holidays this year, be it Christmas, Festivus, Kwanza or those that have already passed. I also want to wish the world better health for the rest of this year and all of next. I especially want to bring a year of good tidings to all the Cornerites starting with C.C. and Boomer. I won't be back here to blog until January 14, 2022. I also want to wish myself less dyslexic and other typing issues. 

On with the show. As is often a hallmark of JW's puzzles this has much going on with some diabolic cluing and a visual theme wrapped inside a word theme. All of this in his not uncommon 16 x 15 grid to allow room for all that is going on. And surprise, it all relates to Christmas.  The first level is the yuletime classic:

3D. Start of a seasonal title: THE TWELVE. 6D. Title, part 2: DAYS OF. 9D. End of the title: CHRISTMAS.

39D. With the contents of this grid's circles, part of the refrain in 3-/6-/9-Down: PARTRIDGE.

                     THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

I really love this innovative interpretation by PENTATONIX. We also have the first verse PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE which becomes the visual theme of the Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum) come to life by joining the circles with the central clues/fill like this:

That is brilliant work which he augments with some new and fun fill  BIG MOMENT,  INLAND SEA, I'VE SEEN IT, MADE A RULE and PAPERLESS none of which have ever been in the LAT and the only one to appear in the NYT in 1971 was INLAND SEA. I hope he tells us how long this construction took.

Across:

1. Tbsp., for example: AMT. Abbreviation begats abbreviation.

4. Touchy monarch?: MIDAS. Touchy feely, watch out for the Me Too movement, gold or no gold. 

9. "United States of Al" network: CBS. Unless you knew the show it is all perps.

12. "Very droll": HA HA. Ho ho!

14. Representation: IMAGE. Or perhaps ICON?

15. Edible seed: CHIA. Chia seeds contain quercetin, an antioxidant that can reduce your risk of developing several health conditions, including heart disease. But, they may cause an increased risk of choking

16. Port near the Red Sea: ADEN.  It is a city of Yemen and its temporary capital. It is situated along the north coast of the Gulf of Aden and lies on a peninsula enclosing the eastern side of Al-Tawāhī Harbour. This area is beset by pirates.

17. To date: AS YET.

18. Wild party: ORGY. This was wilder than the rave I began with.

19. Near-EGOT winner Midler (she's missing the O): BETTE. The O is for Oscar but she is special.

21. Org. with admirals: USN. United States Navy.

22. Reviews briefly: SKIMS. Or a politicians retirement plan.

23. Gets gasps from: AWES. 

24. Bit of rebar: ROD. I thought of him as a douche bag not a rebar.

25. Philippine currency: PESO. The long term influence of the Spanish in the Philippines. Remember, one L two Ps.

26. Word often contracted: ARE.  We're challenged here. 

27. Text lead-in: PREFACE. A literal clue/fill.

30. "Oversharing!": TMI. Too Much Information.

32. Home of the Green Wave: TULANE. I began my days as a poster at the Corner because someone suggested all college sports team mascots were plural.

34. Shrewdness: ACUMEN. Business skills which is guess why it was used to name this COMPANY.

36. Inventing middle name: ALVA. I doubt his middle name invented anything. 

37. Short two-pointer: TIP IN. This was a stumbling block as I wanted LAY UP. The crossing letters just would not work.

41. "Critique of Judgment" author: KANT. This was his third "Critique" and in it he distinguishes the beautiful from the sublime. Paraphrasing, the appeal of beautiful objects is immediately apparent, while the sublime holds an air of mystery and ineffability. A  statue or a pretty flower is beautiful, the movement of storm clouds or a massive building is sublime: they are, in a sense, too great to get our heads around. 

42. Animals drawn in the Lascaux caves: DEER. This fits the fill but I believe they were APEX.

43. Opposite of après: AVANT. Simple after and before en francais.

44. Madrid pronoun: ESTO. On to some masculine Spanish.

45. Like email notifications: PAPERLESS. I get some free stuff for going paperless.

48. 33-Down members: Abbr.: SRS. 33S. Organization for 48-Across: AARP. I was disappointed during my time as a member.

51. Update follower, perhaps: RESTART. Yes, the plight of modern technology; they keep updating which makes your restart your computer which requires that you forget what you know how to do. This blog is a perfect example.

52. "'And when I __ my lips let no dog bark!'": "The Merchant of Venice": OPE. It is a trademark of Jeffrey's to include some Shakespeare but now it seems all the Friday constructors do it.

55. Old TWA competitor: PAN AM. Who cares?

57. Coastal raptor: ERN. Birds and dinosaurs.

58. Shady place: ARBOR. You can ask Ann.

60. Signs: OMENS. Do you take them seriously?

61. __ al-Fitr: end-of-Ramadan feast: EID. Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fiṭr means "to break fast"; and so the holiday symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period, after the end of the Islamic month of Ramadan, on the first day of Shawwal.

62. Greek letter: THETA.

63. Apple product: i-PAD.

64. "Therefore ... ": AND SO.

66. Natural resources: ORES. When is an ore a rock? The BBC says an ore is a rock that contains enough of a metal or a metal compound to make extracting the metal worthwhile: low-grade ores contain a small percentage of the metal or its compound. high-grade ores contain a larger percentage.

67. "Star Wars" role: LUKE. If you do not know Skywalker you probably do not know...

68. Star in Orion: RIGEL. This is a big boy Star

69. "That's that!": DONE. Not quite.

70. 1974 CIA spoof: S*P*Y*S. This was a failed attempt to capitalize on the popularity of Gould and Sutherland in M*A*S*H.

71. Word with home or bed: STEAD. Homestead I know not beadstead:the framework of a bed on which the mattress is placed.

72. Tiny crawlers: ANTS.

Down:

1. Obsessed mariner: AHAB. Poor guy, they never leave him alone.

2. Added to the official playbook: MADE A RULE. This was vey hard to parse but the perps were fair.

4. Fla. NBA team, on scoreboards: MIAmi. A gimme for which...

5. "Not a doubt in my mind": I'M SURE.

7. Chair's prep job: AGENDA. The Chairman of the Board has his/her/their staff prepare it, let's be honest.

8. Wimbledon division: SET. Tennis anyone? I do worry about Peng Shuai.

10. Drumroll follower: BIG MOMENT. 

11. Comments: SAYS. Says you...

13. Part of a pot: ANTE. Followed by ...

15. Smelting fuel: COKE. Hmm.

20. "Around the Horn" airer: ESPN. 

22. It's risky to work on it: SPEC.

26. Slightly: ATAD.

28. Fix a messy package, say: RETAPE.

29. Certain rider's pace: CANTER.

31. Grooving on: INTO.

35. Short strings?: UKES.

38. Comment about a familiar film: I'VE SEEN IT.

40. Salton, for one: INLAND SEA.

46. __ control: ARMS.

47. RBI, e.g.: STAT.

48. Booty: SPOILS.

49. Increase: RAMP UP.

50. Not at all up-front: SNEAKY.

52. Puck handler?: OBERON.

53. Strong: POTENT.

54. Gets rid of: ERASES.

56. Long range: ANDES.

59. Mary's upstairs neighbor: RHODA.

64. MGM motto word: ARS.

65. Stale: OLD.

Gary Larson

 Title: Cinderella, what are you wearing to the ball? (See later inspiration)

Today our constructing phenom, Gary don't call me Far Side Larson,  presents me with his 6th Friday that I have blogged in 2021 (along with 2 for Moe) to go with his 7 Sundays. We have slang for 'clothing' which are the second word in a two-word in the language expression as the theme. I would say this is a whimsical effort overall. I am sure you missed Gary since his most recent LAT was all the way back on Sunday. In keeping with modern Fridays, this has more words and fewer empty spaces but the theme is tight and the amusement factor high. The longish non-themers BETRAYS,  BLAME ME, CALYPSO, CAPSULE, DINGBAT. DOGBANE,  ECOCIDE, ENDRUNS, FASTENS. FLAILED, LABORED, MADISON,  RISES UP  and TEHRANI are quite a diverse field. They are each 7 letters long. So we start:

15A. Outfits for a climber?: HIGH GEAR (8). A climber goes up wearing his climbing gear and his friend cruises in his car in high gear. LINK

18A. His-and-her outfits?: BINARY NUMBERS (13). The binary numbers (0 and 1) are how computers work. Per the Oxford English Dictionary, “number” has been used to mean “an article of clothing." gender specific clothing is binary. LINK

35A. Outfits for tourist town natives?: LOCAL  RAGS (9). When I was in boarding school the locals were the "townies." I think of our hometown newspaper as the local rag, but it can also be a worthless piece of cloth, especially one that is torn or worn. rags, ragged or tattered clothing.

56A. Outfits for the masses?: COMMON THREADS (13). Know your threads will not help you here. This is the simplest of the fill.

62A. Outfits for dairy farmers?: MILK DUDS (8). My favorite and the silliest. Duds as clothing come from Middle English dudde, originally meaning worn-out or ragged clothing. Dairy farmers milk their cows and we all know

MILK DUDS Candies were introduced by F. Hoffman & Co. of Chicago in 1928. The Candiesgot their name because their maker found it impossible to get the chocolate-covered caramels to form perfectly round balls, so he called them “duds.” He wanted candy symmetry but failed. Gary did not. This very symmetrical set of five themers has 51 spaces of the 225 in this 15x15 with no reveal. 

Across:

1. Follower of Jefferson: MADISON. President number 4 followed number 3.

8. Turn on: START. This works well for machines, but is more complicated with humans.

13. Polluter's crime: ECOCIDE. I put in ___CIDE  and ruminated for a while. 

14. Mountaintop home: AERIE. This variant of eyrie is the bird nest of an eagle, falcon, hawk, or other bird of prey.

17. Refuse: TRASH. I refused to be tricked.

21. The first "A" in A.A. Milne: ALAN. Alan Alexander was more than the creator of Winnie the pu pu platter (oops)...anyway, he studied under H.G. Wells and played cricket with J.M. Barrie, A.C. Doyle, and P.G.Wodehouse.

23. Fictional 1847 autobiographer: EYRE. Oh Jane you fictional woman.

24. __ Paulo: SAO. Brazil. 

25. Typographical ornament: DINGBAT. No this is not ...

but in the computer industry, a Dingbat font is a font that has symbols and shapes in the positions designated for alphabetical or numeric. Wingding is very popular.

29. Evasive tactics: END RUNS. To circumvent from the Football play.

31. Spot: SEE.  I got this right away.

32. Infuriates: IRES. I am irked.

34. Polynesian capital: APIA. Apia, town, port, and capital (since 1959) of Samoa. It is located on the northern coast of Upolu Island, in the South Pacific Ocean. Many famous athletes and actors come from Samoa. 

39. Jessica of "Dark Angel": ALBA. She played a genetically enhanced government superhuman prototype, Max Guevera who teamed with a journalist, played by Michael Weatherly (NCIS and BULL) in a post-apocalyptic Seattle to right wrongs. Seattle also was the home of iZombie another SciFi series. 

42. Long-gone time: YORE.

43. Tiger, e.g.: CAT. Deceptively simple.

46. Belafonte #1 album on which "Day-O" was the first track: CALYPSO. 

50. Turns on: BETRAYS.

52. Corp. alias letters: DBA. Doing business as.

53. Subway fare?: HERO. Not the price of travel...

55. Sword with a three-sided blade: EPEE.

61. They hold your horses: REINS. Literal but amusing.

65. Deejay, at times: EMCEE. DJ MC ...

66. Swung wildly: FLAILED. Facing a famed Twins pitcher...

67. Transfers, as a house: DEEDS. My bread and butter.

68. Secures: FASTENS.

Down:

1. Not so hot: MEH. The bloggers' safe word.

2. Handel's "__, Galatea e Polifemo": ACI. A most emotional TALE from the mists of myth. I will await comments from all of our musically educated posters.

3. Poisonous plant reputed to repel canines: DOGBANE. It is poisonous to dogs and looks like milkweed to which I am extremely allergic. It  does feel like a CSO to John Lampkin.

4. Chinese book of divination: I-CHING. My late brother David studied these rituals.

5. Register, with "up": SIGN. Be cause you ...

6. Music halls of old: ODEA. If you look up ODEA in the dictionary it tells you noun:the plural of odeum. Helpful.

7. Close: NEAR.
 
8. Ring bearer?: SATURN. A debut for this clue/fill combo. Very clever.

9. Called: TERMED.

10. Many an Omani: ARAB. And 12D. Like many "Argo" militants: TEHRANI. The capital of Iran.

11. Revolts: RISESUP. They have had their share in that part of the world.

16. White alternative: RYE. Just bread but it does rhyme with...

19. Emmy-winning scientist: NYE.

20. '90s-'00s Cubs star: SOSA. No indication of his being one of many being blackballed by the Hall of Fame voters. This ARTICLE is very long but should be of interest to our dedicated baseball fans.

21. GEICO highlights: ADS. Most of their's are funny. I see you LIMU!

22. Tell tales, maybe: LIE. Maybe, baby?

26. Book jacket text, often: BIO.

27. Semicircle, say: ARC. 

28. Leaves for a spot: TEA. A CSO to many at the Corner who enjoy a spot of tea, but not a cup. It is a more confusing IDIOM.

30. Student housing VIPs: RAS. Resident Assistants.

33. Wily: SLY. Sly E Coyote just didn't work.
 
35. Set down: LAY. Two versions: I set down the book on the desk. Or, I laid down stricter rules for my...

36. Take badly?: ROB. A now common clue/fill to deceive the audience.

37. "__ you done?": ARE. No, we have many clues left.

38. Perceive: GET. I perceived Gary's meaning.

39. Like some appliances: AC/DC.

40. Worked: LABORED.

41. Words of confession: BLAME ME. Meh. That is not a confession.

43. Tablet alternative: CAPSULE. Not computer but pills.

44. Supportive response: AYE. Nay!

45. "The Waste Land" monogram: TSE. The best link I could find for those interested in THOMAS STEARNS ELIOT.

47. Called: PHONED. Someday this to will be gone from the lexicon.

48. It's sometimes necessary to come to them: SENSES.

49. Food bit: ORT.

51. Website with "Ask Me Anything" interviews: REDDIT.

54. Unit of resistance: OHM.

57. Laptop navigation aids: MICE.

58. Jazz phrase: RIFF.

59. "Enchanted" movie girl: ELLA. Recently this version

60. Aliases: AKAS. Also Known As.

63. Thieves' place: DEN. A concept from the Christian Bible.

64. Radical '60s org.: SDS. Students for a Democratic Society. Very active at my college alma mater.

Jeffrey Diton

Title: A timely tribute to Broadway.

We all know (or should know) that puzzles are scheduled long before publication. However with the recent death of Broadway ICON Steven Sondheim, it seems some outside influence created this time slot for our entertainment and reflection. And dramatically none of the eight (8) huge hits were created by Sondheim. I am however, foreshadowing the write-up, so it is time to get to work.

My internet sleuthing located Jeffrey Diton both at the Crossword Collaboration Directory* and on Facebook.  It seems he is "retired and living the dream in Cary, North Carolina" though I know not his vocation.  This is his world wide debut puzzle so let's give him a round of applause. (too much foreshadowing)? Not unexpectedly this puzzle does not check all the usual Friday difficulty boxes - too many words, word lengths too short - but he does bring some pizzaz.  PET MD, ICEMAN,  KRAUSS, LOW-RES, MIDORI , YASGUR, ALL YEAR,  MISTRIAL and SLEEPERS are all solid fill. The ones in red are new. If you did not trek to Western NY on August 19, 1969, you probably don't know Max Yasgur and his farm in Bethel. N. Y. but those are stories for a different day. What he does do is include in each theme answer 2 one-word Broadway musicals. I find no commonality within the selection that determines which he chose, I hope he comes by and explains. 

16A. Nightclub for seasonal workers?: ELF CABARET (10). Malls hire elves to accompany Santa and we all enjoy a night out at a cabaret, old chum. LINK 1 and LINK 2

22A. Reaction to opening a can of Whiskas?: CATS APPLAUSE 

(12). I do not know any kitties who applaud but maybe you all have videos. LINK 1 and LINK 2

47. Like the Charles River in February, to a local?: WICKED FROZEN (12). You need to know the Charles flows through Boston where wicked is a catch all adjective and its does get f.... I mean wicked cold. Watching WICKED  on Broadway starring Idina Menzel with my two sons is a great memory for me. This group also is the only one of the themers I know of in which a star (IM, not ours) stars in both. I have not seen the  FROZEN musical.

56A. Styling gel for a '50's teenager?: HAIR GREASE (10). HAIR with it's nudity was very bold for Broadway and GREASE  a wonderful tribute to WEST SIDE STORY a Stephen Sondheim musical.

And the unusual Friday reveal:

34. Hit shows, and a hint to four puzzle answers: BROADWAY SMASHES. I am not sure if this was Jeffrey's intention, but I parse the clue for the show with individual names as Broadway Smashes, but for the entire answer Broadway's Mashes. YMMV.

Across:

1. Some model home residents: DOLLS. A very cute beginning.

6. Wrinkle, as one's brow: KNIT. HISTORY.

10. Rocky greetings: YOS. From the movie, not a bad romance. 

13. '40s-'50s "Giant Brain": ENIAC. This is the 48th appearance of this fill in the LAT.

14. Streaming biggie: ROKU.  Read all about IT.

15. Gas station convenience: MART. This one was slow in coming for me. 

18. Capital on a fjord: OSLO. Norway here we come.

19. Easter supply: DYE. Of course EGG fits also.

20. Watson portrayer opposite Jonny Lee Miller's Holmes: LIU.

21. California athlete: ANGEL. Baseball in Anaheim.

26. Hardly well: RARE. Very nice Friday deception, not ill but not cooked much.

29. Surprise hits: SLEEPERS. This sense of the word may have originated in the world of gambling in the nineteenth century. When a card player unexpectedly drew a winning card, the card was called "a sleeper."

30. Pontificates: OPINES. C.C. has mostly eliminated that from this blog's posts.

33. Narrow strip of wood: LATH. The name derived from the spreading action, which is like pulling an accordion open. wiki

40. Top-notch: A-ONE. From astronauts HG?

41. Note in the key of B major: D-SHARP. I know nothing but B major (or the key of B) is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯, and A♯ are all part of the B major scale. more wiki

42. Hung jury result: MISTRIAL. A victory for a criminal defendant.

46. Pop of pop music: IGGY. An 80's phenomenon.
                             

50. Nice thoughts?: IDEES. The French Connection.

51. What "W" may mean: WIN. L loss.

52. Pilot or Explorer: SUV. The world has been overrun by this vehicle choice. The fact that they now can get 30 to 50 mpg or are electric has helped.

55. Gold rush town where Wyatt Earp ran the Dexter Saloon: NOME.  LINK.

60. "Dagnabbit!": DRAT.

61. Wind from the French for "high wood": OBOE. The name oboe was originally hautbois, or "high, loud wood" in French, also sometimes spelled hoboy in English. The Italians transliterated the French name to oboè, and the English followed around 1770 with oboe. Oo has friends called Bo which leads me to many bad musical puns.

62. Baseball VIP: OWNER.

63. Half of a Chinese pair: YIN. I wouldn't YANG your chain about that.

64. Conference giveaways: PENS. I have so many free pens in my house but they do not last long as they are very...

65. Demanding attention: NEEDY.

Down:

1. Act: DEED. Do a good one. It

2. Just: ONLY. Takes a moment and can improve someone's

3. Long sentence: LIFE. A strined bit of incarceration humor.

4. Lakers rivals, on NBA scoreboards: LAC. The Clippers

5. Milan's La __: SCALA. Charlotte has her Ballet debut this coming Sunday.

6. Alison of bluegrass: KRAUSS. An intersting Duet.
                                        
7. Scand. land: NORway. It's back.

8. Prez after Harry: IKE. Nicknames noy initiala

9. Tsk relative: TUT. King?

10. Max who owned the Woodstock farmland: YASGUR. An interesting HISTORY.

11. Discount phrase: OR LESS. Is it ever less?

12. Pinched: STOLE.

15. "Hidden Figures" actress Janelle __: MONAE. This MOVIE

17. Tiny amount: BIT.

21. Top dogs: ALPHAS. They no longer are just males.

22. Wrestler-turned-actor John: CENA. Thank you all for last week, as I was unsure if "S" or "C."

23. Not seasonal: ALL YEAR.

24. Pod residents?: PEAS.

25. Website for animal owners: PET MD.

26. Hold up: ROB.

27. Fig. in lending: APR.

28. 2016 Olympics city: RIO.

31. Tinder outings: E-DATES.

32. There's a point to it: SWORD.

35. "It's not __, it's a when": AN IF.

36. __ guard: SHIN.

37. Crone: HAG.

38. Unit of energy: ERG.

39. Bond, for one: SPY.

42. Olympic skater Ito: MIDORI.

43. Certain clutch player, in sports parlance: ICEMAN.

44. Shooting competition: SKEET.

45. A bit fuzzy, as an image: LOW RES.

47. Blowing a lot: WINDY.

48. Evasive maneuver: ZIG.

49. 2001 scandal subject: ENRON.

52. Sound: SANE.

53. Secondhand: USED.

54. To a high degree: VERY.

56. Bunny __: HOP.

57. White House nickname: ABE.

58. Charged particle: ION.

59. Farm mom: EWE.

Jeffrey Wechsler

 Title: F as in Factor

As luck would have it, by switching with Moe to blog a JW puzzle, I am blogging another of his Friday frolics. One of his classic styles is an add a letter to create many punny places. Today is a simple exercise in adding an "F" to the beginning of an in the language phrase. The result is some serious frivolity, he said ironically. There may be more to it, but I have had an incredibly hectic week. The puzzle is sprinkled with so much yummy fill DIG THIS, LATERAL, PC DESKS, UNLINED, ADRIAN II, CEREMONY, DARKSIDE, DOG BRUSH, MEANNESS, PREPARED, RED NOSED and  STEMWARE. If you do not like the introduction of PC Desks it generates about 244,000,000 results (1.29 seconds) on google.The feel is much more of a traditional Friday with fewer words and more open spaces and no abstruse gimmick. I am not suggesting it is an easy puzzle, certainly 1A was not a gimme but it is a Friday crossword.

19A. Like one hiding contraband on his person?: FRISK AVERSE.(11). Perhaps some LSD? You can't be risk averse if you are carrying.

24A. First-time hot-dog griller?: FRANK AMATEUR (12). By far my favorite of the themers, as I picture someone who keeps losing the dogs between the grill parts. The phrase “rank amateur” employed this sense to mean, as the Oxford English Dictionary puts it, “a person who is completely inexperienced or inept at a particular activity” 

44A. Like designers of Halloween costumes?: FRIGHT MINDED.(12). Right minded is probably too political and Fright minded missed the deadline. 

55A. Campus anti-hazing policy, basically?: FRAT CONTROL (11).

Some might say RATs and FRAT boys are hard to tell apart.

On to the rest

Across:

1. Takes over: CO-OPTS. One meaning is to assimilate, take, or win over into a larger or established group: The fledgling Labor party was co-opted by the Socialist party.

7. Set: PREPARED. Are you ready? I am all set.

15. Mendeleev's homeland: RUSSIA. This clue is used periodically.

16. Nobel Prize presentation, say: CEREMONY. More 8 letter fill  COURTESY, EXERCISE, FUNCTION, HOLY RITE,  OCCASION, PRACTICE, PRIMNESS and PROTOCOL that are synonyms. 

17. Fix: ATTACH. Really?

18. Vader's choice: DARKSIDE. Actually it was Ani's choice for love.

21. "Dropped" drug: LSD. Why is LSD the only drug that is dropped?

22. Texas __: oil: TEA. 

23. Notable times: ERAS.

32. Aqua relative: TEAL. 

35. Flutes, for example: STEMWARE. Drinking glasses

36. Notepad option: UNLINED. 

40. Gridiron maneuver: LATERAL. 

41. Like some allergy sufferers: RED NOSED. No reindeer here.

43. __ Stone, co-star of the "Jacques Brel" musicals: ELLY. 
LINK

48. Scout in "To Kill a Mockingbird," e.g.: GIRL.

49. Peninsular U.S. st.: FLA. CSO to all of us Flo-ridians

52. Org. with briefs: ABA. A CSO to all of us with law backgrounds
 
59. Lab neatener: DOG BRUSH. Not the laboratory but the puppies.

61. Face: VISAGE.

62. Ninth-century pope: ADRIAN II. You might not think this would be hard but there were twenty-one, yes 21 9th Century Popes!

63. Fill with love: ENAMOR.

64. Bully's trait: MEANNESS. Too many in the world.

65. Supremely irked: SOREST. It makes me sore.

Down:

1. Boats: CRAFT.

2. Quite odd: OUTRÉ. I always liked this word.

3. Harbor city of ancient Rome: OSTIA.

4. Useful TV spots: Abbr.: PSAS. Public Service Announcements

5. Wall Street crawl: TICKER. When I began watching the stock market with my father when I was 12, that was literally how the prices came into the Hempill Noyes office.

6. Much of Algeria: SAHARA. Are desert their just desserts?

7. Modern office furniture: PC DESKS. This has billions of hits

8. With 13-Down, has a fender bender with: REAR. 13D. See 8-Down: ENDS. 

9. Isn't correct: ERRS.

10. Toy since ancient times: PEKE. More very difficult cluing, as we are looking for a toy dog!

11. KLM hub letters: AMS. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (IATA: AMS), known informally as Schiphol Airport is the, myself. main international airport of the Netherlands. If you know where KLM is based this is inferable. I like to call the airline Koninklijke Luchtvaartmaatschappij. 

12. Agitate: ROIL. The word roil is often confused with rile, which has a slightly different meaning. If you roil someone you're stirring them up but not necessarily annoying them. To rile someone is to deliberately provoke or antagonize them. Dictionary.

14. Like gumdrops: DYED. Gumdrops are notoriously unhealthy, but I never thought about the food colorings being dyes.

20. Ute relative: VAN. I do not equate the colloquialism for a utility vehicle for a van which is an abbreviation of caravan.

24. It often includes trysts: FLING. Not on the football field.

25. Falcons' home: Abbr.: ATL. American Football.

26. "Give __ break!": ME A.  

27. Qty.: AMT. Amount.

28. Wool fabric: TWEED. All you need to KNOW.

29. "Downton Abbey" title: EARL. 

30. Long border range: URAL.

31. Bank (on): RELY.

32. Gang land: TURF. Slang; the neighborhood over which a street gang asserts its authority.
                                       
33. Dept. formed under Carter: ENERgy.

34. German family-owned discount market: ALDI. There is so much more to this STORY than just cheap prices. TRADER JOE'S anyone?

37. Kabuki relative: NOH. Japanese theater alternatives.

38. Nov. NJ setting: EST.

39. Rep. foe: DEM.

42. "Oh, man, check it out!": DIG THIS. Another flashback Jeffrey?

45. Actor Cage, casually: NIC. Is he ever casual?

46. Large numbers: DROVES. They will come in droves comes from cattle drives. Makes you think.

47. Climate-disrupting phenomenon: EL NINO.

49. Home-building stage: FRAME.

50. Colonel Sanders' head, and its ilk: LOGOS. I like this.

51. Watchful: ALERT. 

52. Driver with lines: ADAM. Have you seen his sex scenes with Lady Gaga?

53. "This was my dream. What it doth __, God knows": "Henry VI, Part 2": BODE. Jeffrey will always include some Will in his puzzles, it just depends if Rich leaves it in.

54. India tourist city: AGRA.

55. Writer Lebowitz: FRAN. Xtra, xtra, read all about it.
HER UPDATE. 

56. Early writing symbol: RUNE.

57. Sale condition: AS IS.

58. Past 15-Across leader: TSAR.

60. Receptacle: BIN. Laden?

And so we continue our trek toward so many holiday for so many, one for everyone and early present from our own Jeffrey W. I was too busy, but I had fun. Love to hear from you. Lemonade out.

Gary Larson

Title: Furniture $1,000.00 Mayim.

I had to resist my inclination to be sad when I finished solving this Friday from Gary "Taking over the World" Larson because for me it is a take off on JEOPARDY . Naturally I do not

Across:

1. Simple starts: ABCS. 

5. Move unsteadily: LURCH.

10. Mex. title: SRTA.

14. Yawn-inducing: SLOW.

15. "That's __": 1953 Top 10 hit: AMORE.

16. Close relative, often: HEIR.

17. Stuffing ingredient: SAGE.

18. Furniture for an angler?: WATER TABLE.

20. German article: EINE.

21. Kind of barbecue: OPENPIT.

22. Furniture for an efficiency expert?: SNAPPY DRESSER.

26. Worldly: SECULAR.

27. Highways: Abbr.: RTES.

30. Small game pieces: PAWNS.

32. Alphabetically fifth of Santa's reindeer: DASHER.

34. Phone download: APP.

37. Hidden: CLOAKED.

39. One attached to a binding, perhaps: SKI.

40. Organized set: SERIES.

42. Family group: MAFIA.

44. Cheat, in a way: PEEK.

45. Gather dust: LIE IDLE.

49. Furniture for a military officer?: SERVICE BUREAU.

54. Against: NOTWITH.

55. Anna Pigeon mystery series writer Nevada __: BARR.

56. Furniture for an event planner?: PARTY CHAIR.

59. Plus: ALSO.

60. You won't get cards without it: ANTE.

61. Actress Knightley: KEIRA.

62. Barely go (through): SEEP.

63. Red ink: LOSS.

64. Touch, say: SENSE.

65. White-tailed shore bird: ERNE.

Down:

1. Weigh: ASSESS.

2. Illusionist David known for death-defying stunts: BLAINE.

3. Hennessy product: COGNAC.

4. Remove with a broom: SWEEP UP.

5. __ of diminishing returns: LAW.

6. First name in "Pulp Fiction" credits: UMA.

7. Turbine part: ROTOR.

8. __ paper: CREPE.

9. "__ a bottle and an honest friend!": HERE'S.

10. Woodworking tools: SHAPERS.

11. New beginnings: REBIRTHS.

12. List: TILT.

13. Equals: ARE.

19. Heavy wts.: TNS.

23. Word after fire or first: PLACE.

24. Two-masters: YAWLS.

25. 1962 villain played by Joseph Wiseman: DRNO.

28. Startled cry: EEK.

29. Hindu title: SRI.

31. Short beer order: SAM.

32. Emergency room treatment, for short: DEFIB.

33. Parting word: ADIEU.

34. Hieroglyphics creature: ASP.

35. One of a peppery trio?: PEE.

36. Does a laundry task: PRESORTS.

38. Mustard family member: KALE.

41. Aptly named backing group for the Turners: IKETTES.

43. Flight center: AIRBASE.

46. Place to get wheels: DEALER.

47. Yankee Don who pitched the only no-hitter (a perfect game) in World Series history: LARSEN.

48. Iceland is in it: EUROPE.

50. Letters after either Cowboy St. senator's name: RWY.

51. Maker of NyQuil and DayQuil: VICKS.

52. "... __ wed": ITHEE.

53. Mountain __: CHAIN.

54. Technology start: NANO.

56. Amigo: PAL.

57. Org. that takes many forms: IRS.

58. Issa of "Awkward Black Girl": RAE.

Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Jeffrey was playing with a YoYo again!

Welcome to a double dose of me. Chris (MOE) thought it would be fun if I decifered another JW puzzle and the request really fit into my near future as I will be busy on the 22nd and 29th out of town. I was tasked with one of Mr. Wechsler's visual themes, which without the circles would have been a near impossible challenge, but we have them so here we go. 

 25A. With 38-Across, what the highlighted squares suggest: AROUND THE (9). 38A See 25-Across: WORLD (5).

47A. With 49-Across, author of the novel suggested by this puzzle's theme; the movie debuted 10/17/1956: JULES (5). 49A. See 47-Across: VERNE (5). 80 days anyone?

Oh and the circled squares (doesn't that remind you of HOLLYWOOD SQUARES?

 
Back to the puzzle...the circles spell the magic magellan word CIRCUMNAVIGATION! Nifty!

Of course now you have to solve the entire grid to fill in the circles so that leaves work to do and a grid to examine. This one is chockful of longer words AFFIRMS, CURE ALL, NAILS IT (a C.C. favorite) RUNAWAY, SNIDELY, SONATAS (for Waseely and JzB)  SWOLLEN, TAURINE (we all need vitamins and supplements) ADHERENTS, and MISJUDGED which has appeared only once before in puzzledom. HERE in one of Splynter's first blogs.  Also, DREFT making its LAT debut though we have seen it in reader comments HERE which includes one of Boomer's first blogs. We continue our trend of non-traditional Fridays, and I look forward to reading your thoughts.

Off to the races.

Across:

1. "More matter, with __ art": "Hamlet": LESS. This is obvious unless it isn't. Not one of Will's more famous quotations which some may find IRING at 1 Across.

5. Early music label: RCA. Radio Corporation of America.

8. Indulgent places: SPAS.

12. Playwright Chekhov: ANTON.

14. See 15-Across: OUT. I do not favor these reverse referentials.

15. With 14-Across, deal-breaking words: I WANT. Take you cup and clang it on the bars, works everytime.

16. Combined: IN ONE.

17. Play area: SET. Play as in production, not where you children go.

18. Partially, informally: SORTA.

19. Take off: RUN AWAY. A human would run away, and airplane would just yse the RUNWAY.

21. Gets an A+, say: NAILS IT. Yes, that is doing pretty well.

23. Cut back, in a way: DIETED. So much talk about diets...

24. Spite: MALICE. 

29. Added things: SUMS. simple clue/fill.

32. Brief alarm: SOS. Save Our Ship.

33. Parents can relax during them: NAPS. Anyone can.

37.  "Enough!": TMI. Too much information.

40.   Joanne of film: DRU. She was another Howard Hughes discovery.

41.  Daytona Beach-based sports org.: NASCAR.

44.  Bacon serving: RASHER.

50.  Bullish?: TAURINE.

52.  Validates: AFFIRMS.

55.  Quaint store sign word: OLDE.

56.  Tapir feature: SNOUT.

58.   Campus figure: DEAN.

59.   Try to expose: DIG AT.

61.   Sick: ILL.

62.   Prefix with meter: PENTA.

63.   Dagger-shaped symbols: OBELI.

64.   Bran type: OAT.

65.   Vary: ALTER.

66.   Sneak, maybe: SIDLE.

67.   Natl. park sights: RVS.

68. Disinfectant brand: LYSOL.

Down:

1. Scottish estate holder: LAIRD.

2. Been-there-done-that feeling: ENNUI.

3. Pit: STONE.

4. Brahms piano trio: SONATAS.

5. Optimistic: ROSY.

6. Prompt: CUE.

7. Routing abbr.: ATTN.

8. In danger of flooding, as a river: SWOLLEN.

9. Indian follower of Zoroastrianism: PARSI.

10. Bit of silliness: ANTIC.

11. City-__: STATE.

13. More of a surprise: NEWER.

15. NBA legend Thomas: ISIAH.

20. Disturbance: ADO.

22. Receipt fig.: AMT.

26. It offered soldiers Hope: Abbr.: USO. The capital H tells us it means Bob's TOURS 

27. Fish-fowl link: NOR.  This has a long HISTORY. 

28. Web transmission technology: Abbr.: DSL.  Digital Subscriber Line.

29. An express might skip yours: Abbr.: STN. 

30. Thurman on screen: UMA. Constructors love her letters, movie goers love her...

31. Didn't read right: MISJUDGED.

34. Followers: ADHERENTS. The stick to their guns.

35. Face front?: PRE. PREFACE.

36. Face front?: SUR. SURFACE. Nice misdirection for a clecho.

38. Small songbirds: WRENS.

39. P&G detergent brand: DREFT. It is interesting as we have had two references to this old-timey detergent recently but it never appeared as fill before.

42. Snake oil, purportedly: CURE ALL. Also an old-timey product that was marketed as a panacea. When I was very little I wondered where they found the "cea" to put in the pan. 

43. __ Ewoldt, first Asian-American to play Christine in Broadway's "Phantom": ALI.

45. Boxer's speech?: ARF. Three letters, it can't be woof.

46. Dudley's toon foe: SNIDELY. Mr. Whiplash.


48. __ moment: SENIOR.

49. Events for Biles: VAULTS.

50. Chore list items: TO DOS.

51. Criminal defense: ALIBI.

53. San __, Northern California city: MATEO.

54. Cur's warning: SNARL.

57. Name of five Norwegian kings: OLAV.

60. Secure (to): TIE.

62. Sidekick: PAL.

Jennifer Lee & Victor Galson

 

MICDROP, ODD JOBS, CAL STATE, SLOTHFUL, BINGE WATCH and TATA FOR NOW.

<b>Across:</b><br />

1. Nike competitor: <b>ASICS</b>.<br /><br />

6. "Don't mind __": <b>IFIDO</b>.<br /><br />

11. Popcorn buy: <b>TUB</b>.<br /><br />

14. Shroud: <b>CLOAK</b>.<br /><br />

15. Schlepped: <b>TOTED</b>.<br /><br />

16. Toon storekeeper who was once in a barbershop quartet: <b>APU</b>.<br /><br />

17. Call of the wild?: <b>HOWLINGWIND</b>.<br /><br />

19. Kennel club category: <b>TOY</b>.<br /><br />

20. Postings at ORD: <b>ETAS</b>.<br /><br />

21. Some are considered essential: <b>OILS</b>.<br /><br />

22. Pair to wear: <b>JEANS</b>.<br /><br />

24. Wielder of the hammer Mjölnir: <b>THOR</b>.<br /><br />

26. Sourdough unit: <b>LOAF</b>.<br /><br />

27. Call of the wild?: <b>BABBLINGBROOK</b>.<br /><br />

32. Popular chip: <b>FRITO</b>.<br /><br />

34. Arrests: <b>NABS</b>.<br /><br />

35. Density symbol, in physics: <b>RHO</b>.<br /><br />

36. "Superman" surname: <b>LANE</b>.<br /><br />

37. Vacancy sign: <b>TOLET</b>.<br /><br />

39. Uppity sort: <b>SNOB</b>.<br /><br />

40. Person who's usually good?: <b>EGG</b>.<br /><br />

41. Informal title used seven times in "Bohemian Rhapsody": <b>MAMA</b>.<br /><br />

42. Chap: <b>BLOKE</b>.<br /><br />

43. Call of the wild?: <b>WEEPINGWILLOW</b>.<br /><br />

47. Zippo part: <b>WICK</b>.<br /><br />

48. Barack's 2012 opponent: <b>MITT</b>.<br /><br />

49. Influencer's concern: <b>BRAND</b>.<br /><br />

51. New Orleans' __ Du Monde: <b>CAFE</b>.<br /><br />

53. Try to get the attention of: <b>HAIL</b>.<br /><br />

57. Chow down: <b>EAT</b>.<br /><br />

58. Call of the wild?: <b>ROARINGFIRE</b>.<br /><br />

61. Story __: <b>ARC</b>.<br /><br />

62. Heart, for one: <b>ORGAN</b>.<br /><br />

63. What captions can capture: <b>AUDIO</b>.<br /><br />

64. "I've seen better": <b>MEH</b>.<br /><br />

65. "Get Out" Oscar winner Jordan: <b>PEELE</b>.<br /><br />

66. Endow, as with talent: <b>BLESS</b>.<br /><br />

<b>Down:</b><br />

1. Want a lot, with "for": <b>ACHE</b>.<br /><br />

2. Schedule space: <b>SLOT</b>.<br /><br />

3. __ caucuses: <b>IOWA</b>.<br /><br />

4. Sch. with 23 campuses: <b>CALSTATE</b>.<br /><br />

5. What powderhounds do: <b>SKI</b>.<br /><br />

6. Celeb of the moment: <b>ITGIRL</b>.<br /><br />

7. Turkey, e.g.: <b>FOWL</b>.<br /><br />

8. Medical suffix: <b>ITIS</b>.<br /><br />

9. Super Bowl party site: <b>DEN</b>.<br /><br />

10. Big part of the gig economy: <b>ODDJOBS</b>.<br /><br />

11. Casual parting: <b>TATAFORNOW</b>.<br /><br />

12. In the know about: <b>UPON</b>.<br /><br />

13. Bargains: <b>BUYS</b>.<br /><br />

18. Gamer more likely to get pwned: <b>NOOB</b>.<br /><br />

23. Inner __: <b>EAR</b>.<br /><br />

25. "Last Week Tonight" airer: <b>HBO</b>.<br /><br />

26. Pride letters: <b>LGBT</b>.<br /><br />

27. Catch up on, in a way: <b>BINGEWATCH</b>.<br /><br />

28. Relative challenge for some: <b>INLAW</b>.<br /><br />

29. Half a 2010s dance craze: <b>NAE</b>.<br /><br />

30. "Yeah, sure": <b>OHOK</b>.<br /><br />

31. Asian beef city: <b>KOBE</b>.<br /><br />

32. Passed (by) fast: <b>FLEW</b>.<br /><br />

33. Latest thing: <b>RAGE</b>.<br /><br />

37. Drop precipitously: <b>TANK</b>.<br /><br />

38. Texter's "Wow!": <b>OMG</b>.<br /><br />

39. Lazy: <b>SLOTHFUL</b>.<br /><br />

41. [I'm out]: <b>MICDROP</b>.<br /><br />

42. Classic sandwich, for short: <b>BLT</b>.<br /><br />

44. One standing in an alley: <b>PIN</b>.<br /><br />

45. "Really, no damage": <b>IMFINE</b>.<br /><br />

46. Property claim: <b>LIEN</b>.<br /><br />

49. Gymnastics event: <b>BEAM</b>.<br /><br />

50. Like a double rainbow: <b>RARE</b>.<br /><br />

51. Guinea pig's pad: <b>CAGE</b>.<br /><br />

52. Disappearing Asian sea: <b>ARAL</b>.<br /><br />

54. Staffer: <b>AIDE</b>.<br /><br />

55. Van Gogh subject: <b>IRIS</b>.<br /><br />

56. Some summer newcomers: <b>LEOS</b>.<br /><br />

59. Resource in the board game Catan: <b>ORE</b>.<br /><br />

60. Dubious "gift": <b>GAB</b>.<br /><br />

Gary Larson

TITLE: Ruh Roh? Oh no! SCOOBY vs. ASTRO

Gary in his unstoppable move to take over the cyber crossword world is back with a sounds like puzzle based on a beloved cartoon dog. But which one? But first, lets examine the puzzle. It has a bunch of seven letter fill ANARCHY, AT LARGE, ATTESTS, BRIDGET, IT'S HERE, LAUGH IN, LOANERS, NEUTERS, PONTOON, RECASTS, TROLLEY and TSETSES which are a great basis to solve. The number of 3/4/5 fill are high - 57 and similar grids have appeared on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Those are the bland statistics, but for this effort the question is - was it fun to solve. It was for me and I will explain.

18A. Deception at a dog show?: ROVER RUSE (9). This filled very quickly as ROVER is a common dog name and a RUSE is a deception, making the clue/fill very simple. OVER and USE are both complete words that have the R added. So when I went to the next themer...

23A. Top-shelf whiskey?: REGAL RYE (8). This is obviously a reference to EAGLE EYE, but it does not follow the 18A pattern. EGAL YE are nothing. But the fill sounds good; hmm, look for more info.

34A. Food staple storage areas?: RICE RACKS (9). The perps gave me this pair, another Rxxx Rxxxx answer, but ICE ACKS (ICE AX?) does not make sense and despite my immersion in Thai culture, I do not know of RICE RACKS, as they dry their rice on mats, But I now have learned the Japanese method.

51A. Unexpected lopsided victory?: RARE ROUT (8). ARE OUT is another pair of real phrases but by this time I am convinced the puzzle is built aroud sound (not surround sound) and I am quickly provided a reveal.

56A. Cartoon canine whose speech patterns inspired four puzzle answers: SCOOBY DOO (9). Yes, Scooby Does start his words with the R sound, and now we are ready to move on to the rest of the story.

Across:

1. Musical collectible: ALBUM. My problem has been that they do not travel well or easily. I have ruined too many very valuable records from the heat.

6. Wit: CARD. Boring M-W: Synonyms for card; comedian, comic, droll, farceur, funnyman, gagger, gagman, gagster, humorist, jester, joker, jokester, wag, wit.

10. Cut: SLIT. A throat? More pirates hanging around...

14. Trunk with a chest: TORSO. This is a doubly cute clue/fill as it is tricky and combines TRUNK and CHEST which can be synonyms.

15. Mind: OBEY. Mind has so many permutations, mind your baby sitter, mind your manners, mind your ps and qs etc. but I find no etymology for mind to mean obey.

16. Is gentle with: PATS. This year they will be relying on Mac Jones the QB from Alabama's most recent national championship team. Bye bye Cam.

17. Denny who founded the Moody Blues and Wings: LAINE.
Biography

20. With 21-Across, odds follower: AND. 21A. See 20-Across: ENDS. Odds and ends.
22. Highest unstriped pool ball: EIGHT.  ❽

26. Washes up: BATHES.

27. Samsa of Kafka's "The Metamorphosis": GREGOR. If you have not read the story, it is interesting. I enjoyed the message. The name of the central character appears to derive partly from literary works Kafka had read. A character in The Story of Young Renate Fuchs, is named Gregor Samassa. The Viennese author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, whose sexual imagination gave rise to the idea of masochism, Venus in Furs (1870), a novel whose hero assumes the name Gregor at one point.  Gregor Samsa has hung a picture of a oman in furs on his bedroom wall that he is very sad to see taken away.

28. Roll in the grass: SOD. Wonderful clue/fill introduced to us HERE

29. Steamed state: IRE. I would say someone is irate but I get the idea.

30. Perfume compound: ESTER. Not ESTEE, a chemical answer.

31. Tees, say: TOPS. Yes, many kinds.


33. Video game letters: NES.  Nintendo Entertainment System.

38. Blame: RAP. This has so MANY origins.

41. Wranglers rival: LEES. Jeans, Gene.

42. Big name in health care: AETNA.

46. Ambient music pioneer Brian: ENO. His letters keep him popular.

47. It might be sticky: BUN.
It does not o well with...

48. Bordeaux wine: CLARET. Moe should have had this last week, but Claret is a British term used, unofficially, in reference to red Bordeaux wine. The red wines of Bordeaux are blends, mostly based on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The term “claret” is sometimes used—unofficially, of course—to refer to Bordeaux-style red wines produced elsewhere, such as the United States.

49. Classic light provider: CANDLE. In the wind?

53. "Star Wars" name: ARTOO. R2D2.

54. Fishing boat: DORY. Also a lost blue tang.

55. Wireless standard initials: LTE.  Long Term Evolution.

58. Youngest French Open champ: SELES. To this day Monica, aged 16 and 6 months, is the youngest winner when she won the French Open, to become the youngext in the Open Era. She was surpassed by Martina Hingis seven years later who won the 1997 Australian Open aged 16 years, 3 months. Her career was cut short by a crazed fan.

60. Superhero with a hammer: THOR. He has has too much press lately.

61. Has something: EATS.

62. "At the Movies" co-host: EBERT. Siskel and...

63. Dict. entries: SYNS. The bloggers have discovered so many cute syonym sites.

64. Where Cisco has no "i," briefly: NYSE. I hate to be the one who complains but this company trades on NASDAQ: as CSCO. Be more careful Rich. 

65. Vast chasm: ABYSS.

Down:

1. Loose: AT LARGE. Sounds like aan escapee.

2. Auto repair perks: LOANERS. It certainly helps to have a car in our society. I have not been allowed to drive for 3 years plus and it sucks.

3. One of the Fondas: BRIDGET. 

4. "Top Gun" org.: USN. Navy, not Air Force; the sequel flies into theaters November 19, 2021. Isn't that pirate day not maverick day?

5. Homer's bartender: MOE. Another reference coming a week late.

6. Clichéd: CORNY.  Rustic, unsophisticated; ridiculously or tiresomely old-fashioned or sentimental; trite. colloquial. 

7. Quarters: ABODE. So quadraplex would be Dollars?

8. Guns: REVS. Engines, especially motorcycles and airplanes. See 4D.

9. Salon supply: DYE. A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color

10. Diagonal sail extender: SPRIT. sprit

11. '60s-'70s show with a Joke Wall, familiarly: LAUGH IN. A feature many loved.
                                               

12. "The parcel has arrived": IT'S HERE. 

13. African pests: TSETSES. More cutting remarks.

19. __ lips: READ.This comes in very handy.

21. Blunder: ERR. Is blundering divine also?

24. New __: AGER. An OPINION that may not reflect your ideas, but those of uswere efected by this concep

25. Loughlin of "Full House": LORI. More famous for her children and husband now. 

26. Pear variety: BOSC.

28. Getaway spots: SPAS.

31. Many a "Buffy" character: TEEN.

32. Vein contents: ORE.

35. Solving aid: CLUE.

36. Trendy kind of chips: KALE.

37. Lightly burn: SEAR.

38. Replaces actors for: RECASTS. 

39. Lawlessness: ANARCHY.

40. What may float your boat: PONTOON. Acute literal answer.

43. Transport on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood": TROLLEY.

44. Fixes, in a way: NEUTERS. Ouch.

45. Certifies: ATTESTS. Hardly the same thing.

47. Oozy horror film menace, with "the": BLOB. Two versions; the CLASSIC and the REMAKE.

48. Shout: CRY. Cry out maybe, but not just cry.

50. Metaphorical opportunities: DOORS. If you call the Mayor she can open some doors for you.

51. Underground network: ROOTS. Hence the name of the mini-series.

52. Turned up: AROSE. Our dreaded A-word of the day.

54. WWII turning point: D-DAY. A LESSON for the children.

57. Strong desire: YEN. This etymology might surprise you but NOT C.C.

58. Watery expanse: SEA. Also one of my many great grand nephews by marriage. 

59. Point of decline: EBB. Go with the flow man as I am ebbing my way out of here.

David Alfred Bywaters

Title: HBDTMe

David (DAB) exploded on the 15x15 puzzle scene in December 2016 with a publication in both the NYT and the LAT. I count this to be his 120th puzzle in the major venues NYT, LAT, UC and UCS but my eyes started to cross trying to count them all so YMMV. Add to that all of his work on his own website A little DAB'll Do you and you a creative and dedicated man making his mark. I blogged his initial PUZZLE HERE .   

This theme to me is one of the trickier as it has both verbal and visual aspects. But is Friday so we must work a little harder. This is especially so since all of my fellow bloggers have upped their game so much. 

I wonder if Mr. Bywaters planned this as a Friday, as there are not his usual amount of sparkly non-theme fill with DIADEMS, DINETTE,  MAHALIA and  GIVE OVER the lot. We also have 52 of the 74 words at 5 letters or less and 40 blocks which are many for a 15 x 15. But I liked it and did not find it easy which is my favorite combination for a Friday. Off we go...

7A. Hi?: THIN SKINNED (11). If you take the word THIN and skin it, which is taking its outside layer off, it become HI.

24A. A?: REDUCED FAT (10). This time if you reduce the word FAT, all that is left is A. Again, the outside layer is removed. 

36A. In?: CLIPPED WING (11). Now picture clipping the word WING and remove the ends...

51A. Lower?: CUT FLOWERS (10). If you take away the F and the S... This is consistent, but for me CUT is not as precise as the others.  

58A. Lea?: CLEAN SHAVEN (11). Also clearly part of the theme, and the perfect compliment to 7A, with the work being done to the first word. The 11/10/11/10/11 symmetry also is preserved. 

I also spent some time trying to find a meta from the remaining parts of the butchered words, but nothing came to mind. I hope David stops by again as he often does.       

Across:

1. Ending of a Greek story?: OMEGA. The final letter of the Greek alphabet which we are seeing often.

6. Not just bad: AWFUL. When I was in high school we used to go Friendly's a New England specialty restaurant and order the AWFUL AWFUL. Since fall is approaching it seems a good time to see this drink's HISTORY.

11. Italian word that becomes its English synonym when "h" and "e" are added: TRE. THREE.

14. May and others: CAPES. Using the first letter capital trick made this a very Friday clue/fill. I liked it.

15. Way to go: ROUTE. A literal one to follow just to throw us off.

16. Veer off course: YAW. Didn't we recently discuss THIS?

19. Org. that began as the National Congress of Mothers: PTA. History LESSON. 

20. Head turner: ADONIS. 

Obviously not Jewish.

21. Ways to go: GAITS. Another tricky one as your gait is how you move.

23. Guilty, at times: PLEA. Not guilty, nolo contendre or guilty are the only choics in criminal courts.

28. Purpose: AIM.  

29. Jewish deli specialty: KNISH. An eastern european jewish, or yiddish, snack food consisting of a dumpling stuffed with potato, kasha or other delights.

30. Bit of force: DYNE. This is a unit of force that, acting on a mass of one gram, increases its velocity by one centimeter per second every second along the direction that it acts. Also great for dine puns.

31. Dickensian objects of pity: WAIFS. Meaning "person (especially a child) without home or friends" first attested 1784, from legal phrase waif and stray (1620s), from the adjective in the sense "lost, strayed, homeless."

34. "Fab!": NEATO. Very 60s. 

40. Common bike-lock design: U-BOLT. No, not Usain; or is it?

41. Brief digression: ASIDE. But I digress...

44. "Not likely!": AS IF. Also a popular valley girl phrase of the 80s.

47. Annie who voiced Bo Peep in "Toy Story 4": POTTS. The former Designing Woman, Ghostbusters' receptionist is now:

50. Word on Italian street signs: VIA.

53. Stuff: GEAR. Random.

54. Low bones: TARSI. I always loved when Bones would play with the baby's phlanges.

55. Barefoot: UNSHOD. A hint to the feet?

57. "The Blacklist" agcy.: FBI. What next for Red Reddington?

63. Cheering word: OLE.

64. Mall booth: KIOSK.

65. One can be public or sworn: ENEMY. Or a frenemy.

66. Cabernet or merlot: RED. Quit whining, some have it too easy.

67. Process parts: STEPS.

68. Analyze, in a way: PARSE. My life's work.

Down:

1. It was eighth in old Rome: Abbr.: OCTober. 

2. First name in gospel: MAHALIA.

3. Happening all over: EPIDEMIC. An all too timely clue/fill.

4. Ligurian Sea city: GENOA.

5. Pt. of 19-Across: ASSN.

6. Come up: ARISEN.

7. Captured: WON.

8. Amusement: FUN.

9. Eponymous people of the Southwestern U.S.: UTE.

10. Pigeon's perch: LEDGE.

11. Be exemplary of: TYPIFY.

12. Wicker material: RATTAN. In case you wondered, the word rattan is derived from the Malay "rotan", the local name for climbing palms.

13. Old computers and cellphones, say: EWASTE. Like this fill.

18. Michael Douglas' middle name: KIRK. That makes sense since his father, Issur Danielovitch, had taken the name to become Kirk Douglas.

22. Extras: ADD ONS. Crossing ADONIS.

23. "Give me your __": PAW. How sweet, but I don't know you well enough.

25. Kitchen set: DINETTE.

26. Sold for less, as a rule: USED.

27. Tobacco wad: CHAW.

32. Blown lines, say: FLUFFS.

33. Bro, e.g.: SIB.

35. Hermana de la madre: TIA. Sister of your mother in Spanish.

37. Cops, in slang: POPO. Originally from Southern California, where bicycle police, beginning in the 1980s, wore T-shirts marked 'PO', for 'police officer', in block letters. As these officers rode in pairs, their shirts would read 'POPO' when side by side. 

38. Furrow maker: PLOW.

39. Abandon: GIVEOVER.

42. Glittering headgear: DIADEMS.

43. Musical skill: EAR.

44. Represent: ACT FOR.

45. Subject to litigation: SUABLE.

46. Consolatory post-failure reflection: I TRIED.

48. Swimming __: TRUNKS.

49. "Last four digits" IDs: SSNS.

52. The home team gets the last ones: LICKS.

53. Togo neighbor: GHANA.

56. Apt collie name: SHEP.

59. On fire: LIT.

60. Fair-hiring abbr.: EOE.

61. Deadly viper: ASP.

62. Bill promoting science?: NYE.

Bryant White

Title: Sign him up to a long term contract.

Little did I know when I was solving Sunday's puzzle and telling Bryant I was looking forward to his next effort that it would be this puzzle. 

18A. L[INK]: CHAIN SEGMENT (14).

27A. M[INK]: LUSTROUS FUR.(11).

39A. F[INK]: POLICE INFORMER (14).

56A. R[INK]: SKATING AREA (11).

64A. Secret message technique ... and a hint to four puzzle clues: INVISIBLE INK (12).

Across:

1. Suitable for growing crops: ARABLE. Arable land is the land that can be used for agriculture. The term is derived from the Latin word “arare” meaning, to plough. Non-arable land is the land unsuitable for agriculture. For some reason I know this word.

7. Rain unit: DROP. 

                                   

11. 4x4, for short: UTE. ICK

14. Song with a story: BALLAD. 
                                

15. Ephesus' region: IONIA. The HISTORY of [EF][UH][SUHS].

17. Hamburger Hill setting, briefly: NAM. Not our finest HOUR.

20. Long order: SUB. Cute, submarine sandwiches are often long.

21. Teacher's note: SEE ME. Not a note you want to receive.

22. Sparkling flapper accessory: TIARA. Gatsby?

24. Cobblers' tools: AWLS. Not if you are making peach.

31. Dumbledore and Snape, in brief: PROFS. As long we don't see them in their brief; sadly they are both dead.

33. Range rover: STEER. A great alliterative misdirection; everyone join in, "Home, home on the range..."

34. Military meal: MESS. mess (n.). From 1300, "a supply or provision of food for one meal," from Old French mes "portion of food, course at dinner," from Late Latin missus "course at dinner," literally "a placing, a putting (on a table, etc.)," Meaning "a communal eating place" (especially a military one) is attested by 1530s, from the earlier sense of "a company of persons eating together at the same table" (early 15c.),

35. __ rasa: TABULA. The bank slate, more Latin.

37. Clarinet, e.g.: REED. Because you need one to make music with it? Ron?

45. Somewhat, to Salieri: POCO.  This is difficult in so many ways, first ANTONIO SALERI is not as well known as others and POCO means little in both Spanish and Italian.

46. "Circus Sideshow" pointillist: SEURAT.            Georges Seurat, (born December 2, 1859, Paris, France—died March 29, 1891, Paris), painter, founder of the 19th-century French school of Neo-Impressionism                

48. General vibe: AURA.

52. Traditional doings: RITES. Tradition, tradition...hit it Zero!

55. Skylit lobbies: ATRIA.

59. George Harrison's "__ It a Pity": ISN'T. 

60. Kit Kat component: WAFER. It's back

61. Capital served by the Queen Alia International Airport: AMMAN. Jordan.

63. Ballpark fig.: EST. Crowd count.

71. Pulitzer novelist Harper: LEE. From 10 days ago.

72. Strainer: SIEVE. Not Ballesteros. Though I am sure he usually flew on...

73. Madrid-based airline: IBERIA. It is a Peninsula thing.

74. Vehicle for some trips: LSD. Since July 1:

Universal Crossword - Aug. 11, 2021

WSJ Daily - Aug. 2, 2021

Universal Crossword - July 28, 2021

USA Today - July 22, 2021

WSJ Daily - July 20, 2021

LA Times - July 16, 2021

Universal Crossword - July 14, 2021

USA Today - July 12, 2021

USA Today - July 1, 2021

75. It has a head and hops: BEER. Harvey, Jimmy Stewart's friend?

76. Ankle-related: TARSAL. Is this one of those new fangled META clues?

Down:

1. Simple comparison: ABC. In Sunday's effort he used an Agatha Christie Poirot title.

2. Fan noise: RAH. Rah, sis boom bah; rah rah ree , kick em in the knee, rah rah rass, kick em in the other knee

3. Like: A LA.

4. Like ignorance, at times: BLISSFUL.

5. "Stay in your __!": LANE. Clark!

6. Ranger or Corsair: EDSEL. 

7. Compilation: DIGEST. Readers being the most famous.

8. Bulg. neighbor: ROMania.

9. Half of eleven?: ONE. 1    1. see it now?

10. Wall map insert: PIN.

11. Nader's "__ at Any Speed": UNSAFE.

12. Alphabetically penultimate zodiac sign: TAURUS. Next to last, with VIRGO (my sign) last.

13. Places in a cell: EMBARS.Yuck!

16. Alaskan site of the only WWII battle on U.S. soil: ATTU. HISTORY .

19. Layers of big eggs: EMUS. We cannot escape LIMU or his family

23. School of thought: ISM.

24. Quick: APT.

25. Stop shooting: WRAP. 

26. Timber wolf: LOBO. A CSO to OMK and his New Mexico roots. 

28. Fork-tailed flier: TERN. Very aerodynamic

29. Coral habitat: REEF. Staying near the ocean, we have:

30. Some Blizzard ingredients: OREOS. Yummy.

32. Place to park a clipper: SLIP.
More seafaring stuff.

 He is a squirrel...

36. Scrat's obsession in "Ice Age" films: ACORN.

38. De Matteo of "The Sopranos": DREA. I have had this actress amny times. No literally ofcourse, just in puzzles.

40. Juul product, briefly: E-CIG. Probably more dangerous than the cigarettes they are replacing. 

41. Ninth Greek letter: IOTA. abc def ghi in Greek.

42. Fletcher Christian, for one: MUTINEER. Where? On 
the 

43. Does as humans do?: ERRS. But forgiving is divine.

44. Sprinkle, perhaps: RAIN. Purple?

47. Skin pic: TAT.Ooo Ooo

48. In addition to that: AS WELL.

49. Czar's decrees: UKASES. 1. (Historical Terms) (in imperial Russia) an edict of the tsar

50. Traveled like Huck and Jim: RAFTED.

51. Bolted down: ATE. Rush, rush, rush.

53. Tip for fixing mistakes?: ERASER. So cute, tip of the pencil.

54. Highway behemoth: SEMI. How big would a whole one be?

57. Camera part: IRIS. Designed by using the EYE.

58. Gamut: AMBIT.

62. Daughter in "The Time Traveler's Wife": ALBA. The actress who played the 9 year old version, HAILEY McCANN has already retired.

65. Spoonbill's bill: NIB.  The word nib comes from a 16th century word meaning the beak of a bird. 

66. Angled formation: VEE. More birds.

67. "__ gotta run!": I'VE. Not yet, I must finish first.

68. Collection agcy.: IRS. The biggest.

69. Peeples seen in People: NIA. This multitalented multi cultural beauty from her mother Elizabeth Peeples of Filipino, German and Spanish descent and her father Robert has Italian, Scottish, Irish and Native American Heritage. 

70. Actor Penn: KAL. Fascinating young man who 

worked as a real-life White House staffer (as Associate Director of the Obama administration's White House Office of Public Engagement) and played one on TV (as Seth in the TV series Designated Survivor).