Taylor Johnson

Title: After Thoughts

Welcome back Taylor to the LAT where we just solved your Saturday themeless collaboration with your mentor, the prolific Christina Iverson. Let me tell you some more  about our little patch which our werowance (Zhouqin "C.C." Burnikel) dubbed Crossword Corner when she premiered this site on January 8, 2008. It started as a blog about the Tribune Media Daily, switching to the LAT on March 23, 2006 with this PUZZLE.  

I enjoyed solving your debut puzzle on December 4, 2021 in the Universal site. Your wordplay there helped prepare me for this write-up. Also, you have launched your own site 

So let's get to work.

17A. Teacher's request, literally?: CLASS SEE ME. This took a while to grok (see 23A below) See Me AFTER Class. 

29A. Like falling dominoes, literally?: THE OTHER ONE. One AFTER the Other. 

47A. Note to a spy, literally?: READING BURN. Burn AFTER Reading. 

63A. Enticing ad words, literally?: REBATE FREE. Free AFTER  Rebate. 

Across:

1. "Sure, no __!": PROB. I plunked this right in and was happy it turned out to be correct, as a colloquial does not need to be an abbreviation.

5. Common bugs: COLDS. Nice misdirection; is that all COVID is?

10. __-bitty: ITTY. Had itsy-bitsy/

14. Weird sensation before some migraines: AURA. I have read about the sensation, never experienced it. For met migraines were just pain.

15. Sag: DROOP. A n aggressively mean word.

16. Cuisine with green curry: THAI. Wow, thanks for the Coincidental Shout Out, Taylor. (see explanations to the right).

19. Part of many a lunch special: SOUP. I used to like the soup and 1/2 sandwich at Panera Bread.

20. Belief: TENET. Synonyms. 

21. Bar bowlful: BEER NUTS. Beer Nuts is an American brand of snack food building on the original product, peanuts with a sweet-and-salty glazing. The ingredients include peanuts, coconut oil, corn syrup and salt. varous.

23. Grok: GRASP. This is a word I did not know until C.C. taught it to us years ago and it really comes in handy. 

26. Corp. head: CEO. Chief Executive Officer.

27. "That's all __ wrote": SHE.

35. "The Handmaid's Tale" Emmy winner: MOSS. This ACTRESS has had a busy and successful career.

37. Taj Mahal city: AGRA. Can I still say, Man's greatest erection for woman?

38. Binds: FUSES.

39. "Star Wars" critter who lives on Endor: EWOK.

He/she/it looks too cuddly and doesn't

40. Stare angrily: GLARE. Though he may suggest you...

42. "Make tracks!": SCAT.

43. Helped: AIDED. Ms. Iverson has helped many in the puzzle world.

45. Sister who sings "Into the Unknown" in "Frozen II": ELSA.  

46. Abhor: HATE. I recall this as my first grown up word. 

50. Eggs in a chirashi bowl: ROE. LINK.

51. Drink that may be brown, blonde, or red: ALE. Once again my sons and their extensive and continuous involvement in the liquor field made this easy.

52. Eat inelegantly: SLURP. This seems a bit regional and judgmental.

54. Bringing up the rear: DEAD LAST.
                            
59. Coped (with): DEALT. It has been a year for many of us, none more so than C.C. and Boomer. 

62. Enthusiastic: AVID. From the Latin avidus meaning to crave.

66. Cash drawer: TILL. noun (1) \ ˈtil \ Definition of till (Entry 4 of 5) 1a : a money drawer in a store or bank also : cash register. b : a box, drawer, or tray in a receptacle (such as a cabinet or chest) used especially for valuables.

67. Short on flavor: BLAND. Is it true about British cuisine? Bill, Joseph, anyone?

68. Like some emphasized text: Abbr.: ITALicized.

69. Option word: ELSE. Or...

70. Fabric measures: YARDS. At least here in the US...

71. Kind: TYPE. If you are kind, you are more likely to find someone your type, so says Confusedcious. 

Down:

1. Agreement: PACT. Pact sounds so much more serious like you have to bleed.

2. "No cellphones at dinner," say: RULE. A wonderful rule never to be followed.

3. Fizzy ingredient in a Creamsicle float: ORANGE SODA. This just needs you to close your eyes and imagine where you put the vanilla ice cream that would make you think of a Creamsicle.

4. More wicked: BASER.

5. Low-risk IRA components: CDS. Certificates of Deposit.

6. Some Minecraft blocks: ORE.

7. "Feel What U Feel" Grammy winner Lisa: LOEB.

8. Planetarium roof: DOME.

9. Address: SPEECH.

10. "At your leisure!": IT'S NO RUSH.

11. The old you?: THOU.

12. At a breaking point, maybe: TAUT.

13. Pound sounds: YIPS.

18. Fantasy league no.: STAT.

22. Colorful ecosystem: REEF.

24. __ carpet: SHAG.

25. Stereotypical pirate feature: PEGLEG.

27. Spread messily: SMEAR.

28. Singer Dorough who co-founded the Backstreet Boys: HOWIE.

30. Sonicare rival: ORAL-B.

31. Ankle bones: TARSUS.

32. Awards night gathering: OSCAR PARTY.

33. "Groovy!": NEATO.

34. Big name in cosmetics: ESTEE.

36. Make tracks: SKEDADDLE.

41. House of Lords figure: EARL.

44. Egg salad herb: DILL.

48. Close: NEARBY.

49. Hose shade: NUDE.

53. Provide new equipment for: REFIT.

54. Palm fruit: DATE.

55. Pernicious: EVIL.

56. Feels crummy: AILS.

57. Ward of "Gone Girl": SELA.

58. Way up the slope: T-BAR.

60. Big advance: LEAP.

61. Start to commute?: TELE.

64. "Your point being ... ?": AND.

Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: Shh, I am trying to think, and I lost an H. 

Jeffrey is back with a puzzle that mostly plays very easy for a Friday. I do remind you that all final clue/fill pairings are up to the editor(s) so don't heap too much praise or too many complaints on JW. It is nice to know we will still get puzzles from our veterans like Jeffrey, Doug Peterson, Rich Norris, Gary Cee, and others. Today is a Friday staple, adding letters to a word in a phrase and cluing the created combination with wit and charm. Today we have a bi-gram (2 letters)  added- SH. RABBIT SHEARS and HOCKEY SHRINK  are both laugh out loud fill. The puzzle is also a symmetrical one with 13/12/12/13 themers. 

19A. Storage area for Christmas toys?: SANTAS SHELVES (13).  I think it is perfectly natural that Santa's helpers who are all elves, would store their work product on SHELVES. We do not even need to debate whether Santa himself is in fact an elf.

24A. Clippers used by Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail?: RABBIT SHEARS (12). If you not know Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail from the Beatrix Potter books you might be stumped, but I imagine all would recognize a cotton-tail as a type of rabbit.

40A. Analyst for Ducks and Penguins?: HOCKEY SHRINK.(12). This challenged my link finding ability and made me cry "oncle." Is there are psychiatrist for hockey players would they work to make them meaner? You my reading audience are welcome to find a perfect link and make me look foolish.

46A. Earthquake-resistant?: FIT FOR SHAKING (13). This a very cerebral fill, which made me think before getting the clue/fill. Many new tall buildings are constructed to withstand major tremors. More than half of the world's 7.8 billion population live in cities and urban areas, and 2.5 billion more are expected to join them within the next 20-25 years.(arch daily). The world has had the horror of the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York City and in SoFla, we had Champlain Towers South, a 12-story beachfront condominium in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida, United States, partially collapse. Ninety-eight people died. 

Now that Jeffrey has lightened the mood, let us examine the rest.

Across:

1. __ Cass: MAMA. Cass Elliot was a member of the successful 60s band The Mamas & the Papas. They only were together from 1965 to 1968, but since that was the end of high school and start of college for me, I recall them fondly. As far as who I would have fondled...never mind. 

5. Some Sappho poems: ODES. JW has brought his whole artistic side to this puzzle, first music then poetry, though I doubt he was in high school when she was writing. 

9. Not great, chancewise: SLIM. And his partner, NONE.

13. Malicious: EVIL. MAL is a root word in many languages for bad and has been used by writers, poets and movie makers forever. Oo love musicals, so we recently watched the Disney series of movies called the DESCENDANTS which was based on the premise that all of fictions bad people had children were were equally bad. Or were they? 

The CAST.

14. Ruminant with striped legs: OKAPI. The okapi, also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal that is endemic to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. Although the okapi has striped markings reminiscent of zebras, it is most closely related to the giraffe. Wiki.

15. Locks in a stable?: MANE. Staying in four legged mammals for $800 Alex, where do horses mainly live?

16. Chimney concern: NEST. Birds however can live anywhere, except maybe in a... 

17. Horror movie locale: CRYPT. Which freedom...

18. Rankles: IRKS. the bees.

22. "The Comedy of Errors," for one: FARCE. I love how JW sneaks in his Shakespeare with this play. It is the story of the farcical misadventures of two sets of identical twins. Many years earlier, the Syracusan merchant Egeon had twin sons, both named Antipholus. At their birth, he bought another pair of newborn twins, both named Dromio, as their servants. Why name both sons the same? For comedy of course. One son, and one servant were lost at sea, eventually reunited leading to much laughter of confusion.

23. Prepped: READY. Past participle? This not getting ready but already ready.

29. Cookies that once came in collectible tins: OREOS. This is a replica of a 1918 can.

30. Flying things: WINGS. Cute misdirection as wings are very often integral to flying. 

31. Basic nutrient: FAT. Despite what Jack S. thought fat is important in a human diet. What HARVARD RESEARCHERS found.

34. Hors d'oeuvres carrier: TRAY. Not the waiter but his instrument, but not a

35. Hand-picked instrument?: BANJO. Very cute visual clue.

36. Arrived: CAME. Boomer told me NOT to comment on this though it might be...

37. Very popular: HOT. No pictures, sorry.

38. Canine that preys on red kangaroo and swamp wallaby: DINGO. I know nothing of the RED KANGAROO or the SWAMP WALLABY   I know DINGOS are from Australia and like to eat babies. "A dingo ate my baby!" is a cry popularly attributed to Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, as part of the 1980 death of Azaria Chamberlain case, at Uluru in the Northern Territory, Australia. The Chamberlain family had been camping near the rock when their nine-week-old daughter was taken from their tent by a dingo. Maybe?

39. Après-ski drink: COCOA. Ahh. chocolate.

42. Initial phase: ONSET. I am waiting for this to be the WORDLE word. (I wrote this Monday, August 28 at 8:13 PM, life can be amazing!)

45. Cy who pitched the first perfect game of the modern era: YOUNG. Again I could find no film of this all time great (511 victories!) but here is a retrospective on Cy and other baseball greats.

                                    

51. Touched down: ALIT. Like a mosquito on your arm.

52. Still in the game: ALIVE. It is imperative to be alive to play the game.

53. Dish (out): DOLE. Bob failed in many triesto become President.

56. Inheritance factor: GENE. My first wife's uncle Gene was not nice.

57. Records, in a way: TIVOS. All you would want to know and more as TiVo has its own site. TiVopedia.

58. Aerial enigmas: UFOS.

59. Set up: Abbr.: ESTD. ESTablisheD. Good for businesses and buildings.

60. Pour out forcefully: SPEW.  I use this word with rhetoric or vitriol not volcanoes.

61. Some lit. degrees: MFAS. Masters of Free Association? I recall when I used to get lit my mind wandered; oh it is doing it again.

Down:

1. Guys: MEN. 

                                        

2. Hail, in a hymn: AVE. Do you think of  Ave Maria? Or  Avē Imperātor, moritūrī tē salūtant  ?

3. Falter: MISS A BEAT.

4. Assistant in Mass production: ALTAR BOY. The capital M gives it away; Boomer was an Altar Boy, not just for the wine.

5. Pod that may be fried or pickled: OKRA. Such a debated food, but I married a woman raised in Birmingham who loved it. Maybe try this RECIPE.

6. Diary pages: DAYS. So simple it was hard.

7. Actor Omar: EPPS. He has had a good career for a young man. His IMDB.

8. Order of Darth Sidious: SITH. There are many here who scoff at the STAR WARS epics, and there are many who love them. Sidious is a most central character but he died. Or did he?

9. Shows satisfaction: SMILES. There are happy smiles. relieved smiles and satisfied smiles which are not all nice.

10. Silk source: LARVA. You probably all know silk comes from a silkworm. Bombyx mori, the domestic silk moth, is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of Bombyx mandarina, the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth.

11. Tatted up: INKED. I grew up in a religious home where marking your body was s sin because you had to be too arrogant to improve on the perfection creation had been. 

12. Out of order?: MESSY.

14. Chamber group: OCTET.

20. CBS military drama with regional spinoffs: NCIS.

21. __ on the side of caution: ERRS.

22. Grain of emmer, spelt, or einkorn: FARRO.

24. "Divergent" novelist Veronica: ROTH.

25. "Boys Don't Cry" Oscar winner: SWANK.

26. Trunk hardware: HINGE.

27. "Have a ball!": ENJOY.

28. In the past: AGO.

31. Going head-to-head: FACING OFF.

32. "You're __ friends": AMONG.

33. Deck chair wood: TEAK.

35. Shaving brand: BIC.

36. Mineral in abrasives: CORUNDUM.

38. Inflict upon: DO TO.

39. Woo-shik of "Parasite" and "Train to Busan": CHOI.

40. Hoisted: HEFTED.

41. Wanda who plays Dr. Karl in the "Bad Moms" films: SYKES.

42. Old enough to vote, say: OF AGE.

43. "Frasier" role: NILES.

44. Stretch: STINT.

47. "Phooey!": RATS.

48. Intimate apparel item: SLIP. 

49. Bee flat?: HIVE. Very cute, the apartment where the bees live.

50. State openly: AVOW. AVOW = AVER another APEX ACME choice.

54. Mauna __: LOA. I tried for years to get my clue, "it's higher than LOA" in a puzzle, no chance.

55. Start of spring?: ESS. Silly end to the puzzle but the word SPRING does start with an S.

Chapter Two

 I am still trying to get a handle on how to populate "my blog" with things other than the prepublication of the commentary on Crossword Corner. So I am going to add some content here and see what you can see, and then we will see what we will see together.

My earliest memories of life in Putnam are not my memories but stories I was told and some pictures I have still in my possession. I will return to the journey my paternal grandfather made which led the family (Hyman, Herman; Leona, Lee; Morton, Unc; and my favorite, Ralph, Roy, Dad) to the small town in the northeast corner of Connecticut where my brothers and I were born. 

Roy and Irene were star-crossed lovers; he was older and Jewish and she was young a superstar for the local nuns who had taught her and let her teach younger kids once she was 11 years old. Her entire schooling until she finally went off to nursing school at 18 was in the Catholic schools run by the priests and the nuns. The nuns adored her and assumed she would one day join their ranks and become a brilliant teacher and Mother Superior. I have to do more digging to get those pictures out, but today we will begin as she was off to Nursing School.

As you can see, she made friends there and clearly looked the part of very serious nurse to be standing in front of the 1930s Pierce-Arrow. She was not allowed to start nursing school until she was 18 (September  20, 1940) so she need a job. Her mother who knew how smart her daughter was and who taken her family see Dr. Morton Chapnick since the early 30s mentioned to the Doctor the problem she had with Irene unable to go to nursing school for two years. The Doctor who had been Irene's doctor since she 10 or 11, suggested that he he could use her as a receptionist in his Main Street office. and yes you guessed it, that is how she met Dad. We will relish more details but this was not a happy event for the Chapnick pr LaBrec families. Both tried forbidding them to see each other. Didn't work. Both thought that once Irene went away to school, the romance would end. Didn't work. The war in Europe was raging and both Irene and Roy enlisted. Didn't work. Dad had flat feet and Dr. Chapnick interceded preventing Irene from enlisting as necessary personnel for the safety of the community. Thus began the odd role mother would have in the Chapnick family even before she was committed to Roy. 

They did not see each other for a year or so, but passion burns bright even in the dark times of war. They wanted to marry, but how to overcome the religious and age difference. Luckily, my father had an "error" on his license which made him younger, so the age difference could be ignored, but what about raising children? It was the end of 1944, and her brother Harold (Uncle Brec) was home on leave from serving in France and North Africa. He told her he had seen what the Nazis were doing to Jews, blacks, the Gypsies and he knew it did not matter if the people were religious or not, if they were thought to have any Jewish blood they had to be "exterminated." She told her, if you marry him and you really seem to love him, you must raise the children as Jews so they will learn their heritage and if they face oppression or bigotry, they will understand why and be proud of their heritage.

So the decision was made, and on the anniversary of my grandparents wedding, February 1, 1945,Roy and Irene went off to the Courthouse at the Windham County seat in Willimantic and in a foyer (described by mother as a coat closet) they were wed. Since they were both still living at home, they agreed not to tell the family until they could find an apartment and move in together. They each went to their parents' home and mother kept the secret for almost 45 minutes. The shit hit the fan and they moved into 30 Gilman Street. It was bumpy but 13 months later David was born, and so the story continues.

                                                                

JW

TITLE: Not OK, just O.

Jeffrey Wechsler is back! So is standard puzzle symmetry! I am so ... glad.  I am so ... sad.  , no ID required. All votes will be counted

Happy first Friday puzzle of June and the blend of the past and the future. A letter removal puzzle which is certainly a common Friday approach, but ramped up by the extensive wit and wisdom of our most published producer, JW. For anyone wondering if his work would be part of the new order, here is a hint that a fun nicely put together puzzle will always be part of the LAT world. I for one cannot imagine the LAT without JW. 

Before the theme we have some other fun words, LENDERS, LESOTHO, NO MERCY, PARASOL, SCRIMPS,  TREATED,  WATERED, POOH POOH  and  VARIABLE. We also have much new stuff, so let us get to solving.

The themers:

20A. Medic with an office at Fisherman's Wharf?: THE DOCK OF THE BAY (14). Ignore the crossed out K and the humor of the clue/fill shines through. It reminds me of the series ROYAL PAINS shot in Miami. 

25A. Leaders inclined to work as a group?: BLOCKHEADS.(9). A bloc is a combination of countries, parties, or groups sharing a common purpose according to the dictionary and they all require a leader. 

When I think of BLOCKHEADS I think of Gumby the 1956 clay animation star who had a primary sidekick  Pokey, a talking orange pony. He also had nemeses, the G and J Blockheads, a pair of antagonistic red humanoid figures with cube-shaped heads, one with the letter G on the block, the other with the letter J. 

45A. Captain Hook's incredulous assessment of his nemesis?: WHAT A CROCK (9). We all know the ending of the phrase with the implied K, but we will let you fill in that blank.  Another childhood favorite from the 50s (1953), Captain Hook's nemesis, tik tok (hmm where have I heard that phrase?) CROCODILE. 

50A. Puts comfy shoes through rigorous testing?: HOLDS A MOCK TRIAL (14). This is my favorite as the combined picture of someone trying out a MOCASSIN  and then having a practice open court trial hits my funny bone buttons. I can see call the toes to the stand to testify.

All in all a tight theme that delivers the joy we expect on Fridays. But what else doe this week bring?

Across:

1. Sarah Spain's network: ESPN. There are not many 4 letter networks so this proper name should not have unsettled many, and it is a true CSO to Bill G and other Cornell graduates who stop by the Corner. Sarah at 6' tall played basketball, field hockey and was a pentathlete from Illinois before becoming a broadcaster. Clearly not the person about whom to use a cheap casting pun about broads. A very specific reference which does not sound like JW.

5. Percussion set: HI-HAT. There is so much more to these set-up than just cymbals.
LINK.

10. Cards: WITS. A Friday pairing of a very simple word, and an uncommon but real definition. Merriam-Webster (M-W) has it at number FIVE.

14. "Go on, git!": SHOO. All I can think of is Louboutin shoes for $25,000.00. Is this where the soul of America has gone?

15. Tickle: AMUSE. We have made it to definition 2b at M-W, which if you do not believe me you will need to look up.

16. __ were: AS IT. Dictionary.com says,  "A shortening of “as if it were so,” this idiom has been in use since Chaucer's time (he had it in his Nun's Priest's Tale, c. 1386)." It is so nice to work Chaucer in here so Joseph and Bill might keep reading.  

17. Textile machine: LOOM. Encyclopedia Britannica suggests these have been around for more than 7000 years! It also said they appeared independently in various parts of the world. We really need that way back machine. Mr. Peabody, a little help...

18. Nigerian seaport: LAGOS. Would it surprise you to learn Lagos (pronounced Lay-goss) had a population of 15.2 million people as of 2015 with both over-population and poverty and a rich cultural history and a plan for the future?

19. "Ciao": TATA. A strange blend of an accepted foreign word and a slang for goodbye made most popular by Tigger.

23. Expert: PRO. And we have an actual easy fill.

24. Extremely chill: SERENE. Serenity is one of the most published virtues now. The serenity prayer written by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

31. Extremely cold: GELID. A Friday word derived from the  Latin gerundive GELIDUS brought into English in the 17th century.

32. Channel marker: BUOY. The definition is an anchored float serving as a navigation mark, to show reefs or other hazards, or for mooring. This is derived they say from Portuguese, which makes sense to help you find any Port in a storm. 

33. Picked up the tab: TREATED. If you come visit us in So. Fla. we will pick up the tab or feed you at our place.

35. BYU or NYU: SCH. If you know Brigham Young and New York Universities this is a gimme.

36. Sun screen: PARASOL. Since it is two words, it cannot be Coppertone. Thailand has a wonderful Umbrella Factory. 

37. Strive (for): VIE. Vy is this not vee?

40. African country in the Maloti Mountains: LESOTHO.  The Maloti Mountains are a mountain range of the highlands of the Kingdom of Lesotho. They extend for about 100 km into the South African Free State. Skiing in Africa anyone?

41. Drains: SAPS. Think of one's energy or bank account.

42. Summits: ACMES. A word mostly associated with Wile E. Coyote, but we were just up in the mountains. 

47. Statue base: PLINTH. Back to wiki to learn this is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. It is the same thing as a pedestal.

49. Melber of MSNBC: ARI. There are so many Aris but this one is an attorney who has become the chief legal analyst for MSNBC, and hosts his own shows and podcasts.

56. Tropical spot: ISLE. A classic vague Friday clue.

57. Safari equine: ZEBRA. There are many Horse Safaris offered but equines are of the mammal family of Equidae (order Perissodactyla) that includes the modern horses, zebras, and asses, as well as more than 60 species known only from fossils. 

58. Most CFOs: MBAS. Chief Financial Officer  = Master of Business Adminstration. 

60. Some game: DEER. Back to hunting...

61. "Middlemarch" novelist: ELIOT.

62. Bend at a barre: PLIE. Ballet. 

63. Retired boomers: SSTS. Ha ha, sonic boomers not baby boomers.

64. Action: STEPS.

65. Blood bank fluids: SERA. 

Down:

1. Subj. for those wishing to be bilingual: ESL. English as a Second Language. 

2. Utterly beyond repair: SHOT.

3. Play down: POOH POOH. 

4. Motto for the ruthless: NO MERCY.

5. Meteorological effect caused by refraction: HALO.

6. Desktop with an AppleCare option: i-MAC.

7. Literary award with a spaceship logo: HUGO.

8. Starting on: AS OF.

9. Lab work: TESTS.

10. Thinned (down): WATERED.

11. Pulitzer-winning journalist Wilkerson: ISABEL.

12. Early ICBM: TITAN I.

13. Hung around: STAYED.

21. Play-__: DOH.

22. "Science of Logic" philosopher Georg: HEGEL.

25. Small ammo: BBS.

26. Director Jean-__ Godard: LUC.

27. LAX postings: ETAS.

28. Superhero once played by Stephen Amell on The CW: ARROW.

29. "__ Comes to Pemberley": P.D. James novel: DEATH.

30. Obama daughter: SASHA.

34. Friendly honk: TOOT.

36. Rats, gnats, and brats: PESTS.

37. Element in an algebraic equation: VARIABLE.

38. Wall St. event: IPO.

39. Key that exits full-screen mode: ESC.

40. Brand of packaged bagels: LENDERS.

41. Is extremely frugal: SCRIMPS.

42. Ladybug prey: APHIDS.

43. Shuts: CLOSES.

44. "The Gleaners" painter Jean-François: MILLET.

46. River that rises in the Bernese Alps: AAR.

48. Fuzzy states: HAZES.

51. Move to a warmer state?: MELT.

52. Drama honor: OBIE.

53. Cut short: CROP.

54. Ink: TATS.

55. Place to hibernate: LAIR.

59. "Wide Sargasso __": Jean Rhys novel: SEA.

Friday May 20

Title: Welcome to the New Age

I am here for my second Friday for the Varol/Iverson regime today welcoming back MaryEllen Uthlaut who recently appeared here on March 6 with a Sunday (her specialty) discussed by C.C. ME burst on the constructor scene with a puzzle in the NYT followed by many LATs. My last count has this as her 35th over time. Her theme is one frequently used on Friday with a trigram (3 letters) removed from a phrase, re-clued for maximum hilarity. We do not have circles but we do have the asterisk which should have sped up the solve, if D-O noticed them. Nah. 

But first, there are some sparkly fill which include words longer than some of the themers. We have AGELESS, DISCORD, SPRAYER, CHARADES, ERUPTIVE, ELEMENTARY, and SKY MARSHAL all of which are worthy of some discussion. But not now, as it is time talk about the theme which is a classic Friday remove letters from known phrases to make new phrases which are then clued to promote hilarity. ME removed three letters (AGE) also known as a trigram, from the end of one word of four two word phrases. Generously we have a central reveal which is quite cute but makes this a somewhat easy solve. 

17A. *Appendage capable of kicking a 60-yard field goal?: RARE FOOTAGE.(8). The before and after of this fill mirror each other. We have the unique toeless foot of Tom Dempsey who kicked the first 60 yard field goal in 1970. We also have the rare video (FOOTAGE) of the accomplishment. 

It was not until 14 years later that there was another 60 yarder, but now the record is 66 yards in a LIST of 26 such feats. Haha!

23A. *Result of a computer virus?: INTERNET MESSAGE (12). Viruses in people and machines wreak havoc, and they computer variety are often malicious bugs planted by hackers. This LIST is maintained by those trying to protect computers.

54A. *Purpose of a phone booth, to Clark Kent?: GARBAGE DISPOSAL .(12). This both the funniest and an outlier as the AGE is added to the first of the two words. Making a kitchen device morph into where Superman changes was extra special.

65A. *LEGO minifigure of Emmet Brickowski, e.g.?: MICRO MANAGE (8).You have to RESPECT this Master Builder despite his lack of stature. I did not know his name despite watching the movies with the grands.

Then we have the Friday reveal which was witty, but seemed too much and too soon as it appeared at:

39A. Like someone who appears untouched by time, and like the answers to the starred clues?: AGELESS. If you did not notice the missing letters, this should tip the scales to SOLVED!

Now to dissect ME's clue/fill.

Across:

1. Routine: ACT. Mort Sahl did political satire, that was his routine, his act.

4. Agitate: RILE. Like Lenny Bruce it did upset some people as neither had any...

8. Snob __: APPEAL. Do you think the word come from the Latin  "Sine NOBilitate" which means without nobility? 

14. Guessing game: CHARADES. I do not know  either, just guessing.

16. Metal framework: GRILLE. Do you like this?

18. Successfully lure: ROPE IN.

19. List-ending abbr.: ET AL. Al is really busy.

20. "Act Like You Don't" country singer Brooke: EDEN.

22. Like a March hare: MAD. A little Lewis Carroll. 

28. Communications platform that began as a chat service for gamers: DISCORD. The ironic concept and its HISTORY.

31. Deck out: ADORN.

32. Calligraphy supply: INK. Do you have ink in your pen?

33. Latvian seaport: RIGA. This is very close to the Ukraine action so please read their NEWS.

35. Uneducated guess: STAB. 

38. Farm house: STY.

43. Blonde __: ALE.

44. Browser button: HOME.

46. China setting: ASIA. Where we can get some...

47. Maki topping: ROE. maki is the entire Sushi offering including the Nori, the rice and the filling.

48. Subside: ABATE.

52. Hose attachment: SPRAYER. Very important when washing the car or watering plants.

57. Uncertain sounds: UMS. Ah, ok. 

58. Quash: VETO. 

59. Be without: LACK.

63. Sweater wool: MOHAIR. Merino?

69. Slow-cook, in a way: BRAISE. This is to fry (food) lightly and then stew it slowly in a closed container.

70. Volatile: ERUPTIVE. A new clue/fill for the LAT. 

71. Cried out: YELLED.

72. "I __ to recall ... ": SEEM. Usually by some bigwig forced to testify after being recorded. 

73. Wet blanket: DEW. A nice but common clue/fill.

Down:

1. Animal Crossing unit: ACRE. Is there more here than I see?

2. Zoom option: CHAT.

3. Strong who voices Miss Minutes on "Loki": TARA.

4. U.K. fliers: RAF. Royal Air Force.

5. Binding words: I DO. And you had better

6. Zodiac sign: LEO. Part August part September.

7. Aromatic compound: ESTER. Perfume

8. "It's settled, then!": AGREED.

9. Right away: PRONTO.

10. Apple seed: PIP.

11. Miller/Liu TV drama: ELEMENTARY. The show was okay and Lucy Liu was a fun twist for Dr. Watson, but Johnny Lee Miller was even less Sherlockian than Robert Downey Jr.

12. Assumed name: ALIAS.

13. Takes interest, maybe: LENDS. A great clue/fill.

15. Museum item: RELIC.

21. Genetic letters: DNA.

24. Bollywood dancer/actress Fatehi: NORA. This Canadian (yes another one) born actress was endowed with much including Indian heritage and a career in Bollywood.

25. Pre-calc course: TRIG. For all of out math people.

26. Periphery: EDGE.

27. Dash of flavor?: MRS. Do you splash a dash of Mrs. Dash in your dish?

28. Chef's creation: DISH.

29. Passionate about: IN TO.

30. In-flight officer: SKY MARSHAL.

34. __    provençale:  À LA.  Some fonts just do not cooperate. This mean a dish prepared prepared in the style of Provence typically with garlic and olive oil                                                                                                                     

36. The Body Shop balm: ALOE. For sunburn this is the bomb.

37. Ingredient in some batter: BEER.  A RECIPE for WASEELY and others who want what they but also want to be healthy.

40. Canadian gas brand: ESSO. Complicated? Esso is ExxonMobil's primary gasoline brand worldwide except in Australia, Guam, Mexico, Nigeria, and New Zealand, where the Mobil brand is used exclusively. In Canada (since 2017), Colombia, Egypt, and formerly Malaysia (until 2013, when Petron acquired ExxonMobil's Malaysian operations)[29] and Japan (until 2019), both the Esso and Mobil brands are used. In Hong Kong and Singapore, Mobil brand is applied on Esso fuel tank after Mobil service stations began to merge with Esso since 2006.

Mobil is ExxonMobil's primary retail gasoline brand in California, Florida, New York, New England, the Great Lakes and the Midwest. Exxon is the primary brand in the rest of the United States, with the highest concentration of retail outlets located in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas and in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern states

41. Nurses: SIPS. A drink or ?

42. Indie pop duo Tegan and __: SARA. Their website tells us Tegan and Sara are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta, composed of identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin. Canadian Eh, on your playlist?

45. Flow back: EBB. EBB keeps coming back here as well.

49. Counsel: ADVISE. My first solo business card read, "Counselor and Adviser of Law."

50. In layers: TIERED. When I get tired I feel like a cake.

51. Superlative suffix: EST.

53. Dole out: ALLOT. 

54. Claymation character with a horse: GUMBY.  They are now support toys for kids.

55. Love, in arias: AMORE. Because the sing in Italian

56. Apples, pears, etc.: POMES. Not de terre

60. Surrounded by: AMID.

61. Finally give: CAVE.

62. Had down cold: KNEW.

64. Feel sick: AIL.

66. Fury: IRE.

67. Shuffleboard stick: CUE. We have a relatively new court (de rigeur for 55+ communities in SoFla) and I do play some. I never called the stick anything but a stick.

68. Record no.: RPM. We spin out of here on a nice deception, not a record number but the number of revolutions per minute for record being played.

Non-puzzling puzzle

I realize that I already have my own blog, but have never used it as such. Tonight is the night. While I have not finished creating a complete blog where my friends and family can gather and wonder about me. I will get there. Baby steps for me. In the meantime, we will start with Chapter One.

Topics run around in my head at all times similar to my hero Hedley Lamarr who said : "My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives."

I do not have a picture of the Manchester home yet, but above is the home where I grew up, though the picture was taken in 2011.

My grandfather, Hyman Chapnick (a transliterated name often shown as Herman) was born in an area of Poland that was disputed by the surrounding countries, but that did not matter to him as none of those places considered Jews citizens. The only highlight of his childhood which I heard about, when he contracted polio as a boy. They dug a hole in the yard (front, back??) And each morning they would carry him to the hole, place the afflicted leg in it and then bury it so he could not move his leg. I have no detail about bathroom activities eating etc., but each night they would carry him into the house and put him in bed, with each following day the same. He walked with a distinct limp by the time I met him, but by then he mostly sat in a chair and brooded.

His family produced a number of tailors, and at about age 10 or 11 he was apprenticed to an established tailor. As one of eight children, seven boys one whom had a fraternal twin sister, having חיים leaving home with someone else feeding him was not a bad thing. But this is not about grandpa, it is about my immediate family.

My father  was raised in an Orthodox Jewish home (sort of, more about that later) and was raised in Springfield Massachusetts, Manhattan, Chicago, Brooklyn while his father sought work. There were also apparently rough patches between Hyman and "Leona" her American name. She was only 16 and he was 28, which led to some of that travel. Grandpa finally made good in New York working in a shop on Park Avenue with one of his brothers or cousins and accumulated enough money to move the family to a house in Connecticut.

They  moved with Morton (Unc to us), dad's only sibling (maybe?)  to Manchester Connecticut, near where my grandmother's family lived and thrived and not far from New Haven where many related family lived. I have some lovely photos of the tailor shop and the young boys growing up in a nice town where they were picked on by Protestants and Catholics equally accepting, but those stories must come after we arrive in the smaller  small town, Putnam, Connecticut, where they all ended up after my grandfather's tailor shop went under as part of the bank crash of 1933. 

My father had this house built on a lot next to the Johnson sisters, who taught piano, violin and singing. This is almost ironic since everyone in the small town in Blazing Saddles was named Johnson, though none were black. This is where my father, Ralph "Roy" Chapnick brought us up and taught us

about life...his version. He could look serious, but except when he lost his temper, he made us laugh. He loved sports and all the Chicago teams, which was a challenge since we lived in an area where the fan base were rabid Red Sox or Yankee fans.  He married a beautiful smart shikseh (non-Jewish girl) just as WWII was ending and together they banged out three boys in three years. Here is an awful picture taken on their 25th anniversary. I have more and better I promise.

To prove the existence of children here we are outside the house in 1961, with Dad hanging on to David, Barry scowling and I am the handsome one. Kennedy was president and Jackie the first lady, and here my mother is channeling that look. We were all Democrats. 

Time to research Chapter 2 and find more pictures. Thanks for listening.

Chapter 2:

So I left off with unanswered questions about the move to Putnam, and my ancestors' time in Manchester Connecticut. I was told by my father that my grandfather and grandmother moved there to get the boys away from the violence of the city.

I was told by my brother David that in his conversations with Jean Shiner the family had been moving back and forth across the country but when brought the family back to New York he had some success in Manhattan in Tailor shop on Park Avenue. One of Hyman's brothers was also a tailor who worked in the shop on Park Avenue and his daughter, Jean, was David's source of information. Her father was the brother with the fraternal twin who's name was Michael in New York but his Yiddish name was Abbash. 

To supplement what little I have learned from family I have been supplementing my knowledge using 23 and me and Ancestry.com. Since it seems Grandpa arrived in 1896, I have read the census information for 1900, 1910 and found no Chapnick, nor similar name. The 1920 census told a different story as it located Herman and Niona (Leona) Chapnick living at 26 Birch St. Manchester, Connecticut ! Yay.

Since my uncle was born in 1903 and Dad was born in 1906 they would be teenagers then, and so they were.

Naturally when they got to Manchester, my grandfather opened his tailor business. My uncle is the tall one with a sort of blank scowl but since he was 16, he had on long pants. My father was the smiling cutie pie wearing knickers. Grandpa did not look thrilled to be  in the picture either. As you can see they were surrounded by fabric and clothing in various stages. You can make the picture bigger when you download it. Then you can decide if you see David, Barry or I in their faces or if you see your self.

1920 Census

Click here and you will be redirected to the page from Ancestry which confirms what I have said, and again you can make the various information bigger once you download. 

Notable aspects are that they were renting and had moved their recently. Moving on, the generic part of Hyman (Herman's) history reads:Hyman Chapnick was born on September 17, 1875, in Poland. He had two sons with Leona Greenberg Chapnick between 1903 and 1906. He died on April 11, 1958, at the age of 82, and was buried in Manchester, Jamaica.

Hyman’s family

Children

Morton H. Chapnick

+ 1 child

Selected person

Hyman Chapnick

Spouse

Leona Greenberg Chapnick

Parents

Unknown father

Unknown mother

Hyman’s map

Show mapBirth: 17 Sep 1875 • Poland; Burial: Manchester; Obituary for Hyman Chapnick (Aged 83): 13 Apr 1958 • Hartford, Connecticut; Obituary for Hyman Chapnick (Aged 83): 13 Apr 1958 • Hartford, Connecticut; Residence: 1930 • Manchester, Hartford, Connecticut, USA; Residence: 1906 • Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, USA

Life Events

17 SEP

1875

Edit

Birth

Hyman Chapnick was born on September 17, 1875, in Poland.

17 Sep 1875 • Poland 

1896

AGE 21

Edit

Arrival

1890

29 NOV

1903

AGE 28

Birth of son

His son Morton H. was born on November 29, 1903, in New Haven, Connecticut.

Morton H. Chapnick

1903–1976

29 November 1903 • New Haven, Connecticut, USA

22 AUG

1906

AGE 30

Birth of son

His son Ralph H was born on August 22, 1906.

Ralph H Chapnick

1906–1973

22 Aug 1906

1906

AGE 31

Edit

Residence

Hyman Chapnick lived in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1906.

1906 • Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, USA

1930

AGE 55

Edit

Residence

Hyman Chapnick lived in Manchester, Connecticut, in 1930.

Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head: Head

1930 • Manchester, Hartford, Connecticut, USA

11 APR

1958

AGE 82

Edit

Death

Hyman Chapnick died on April 11, 1958, when he was 82 years old.

So this brings us to the 1930 census:

1930 Census 

Same deal as before but some major changes:

1.    Owns the home.

2.    Value of the home $14,000.00 which becomes more than $250,000.00 in current dollars.

3.    His bankbook, which I must get out my files showed he had $33,000.00 in the bank in 1930 - $855,000.00.

That is how he sent one son to medical school, and one to law school. 

But that is Chapter two, Before I forget.

Christina Iverson

Title: Two themes for the price of one? 

We had the pleasure of C.C. blogging the first Patti V. puzzle since she became editor; now we have the first post-change puzzle from her new assistant. Christina has been a very active since she DISCOVERED crossword puzzles for fun and profit four years ago.  If you click on the link above it is an interesting and helpful introduction if you want to follow in her footsteps, or word steps. I became aware of her with the reading of the CROSSWORD PUZZLE COLLABORATION DIRECTORY   a Facebook group. Perhaps Moe will share his experience with them. Anyway, on with the puzzle.

This Friday effort jibes with the new style, with an emphasis on fun cluing.  The themers are a 9, two 11s and a 9. The longish CONDUCT, DISTANT,  I NEED IT, and VACUOUS are just 7 spaces, though we do have LIFE IS GOOD and MISSED CALL  in the down fill. But wait, there is more! There are also two ten letter fill clued as if they were part of the theme, but are they?

First, 

16A. NVS: GREEN EYED (9). If you have imagination you can see NVS = ENVIOUS, especially if you add IOU to the letters. Jealously is the green-eyed monster. 

23A. TDS: MIND NUMBING (11). TEDIOUS, exhibits an additional insertion of IOU and thus a punnish fill.  A ninety minute organic chemistry lecture was enough brain drain for me.

52A. DVS: UNDERHANDED (11). Ah, good; DEVIOUS = UNDERHANDED. The theme has emerged and is consistent.

65A. ODS: JUST AWFUL (9). ODIOUS is another IOU and completes the symmetry of the main theme.

Meanwhile, you see...

39A. IC: DISTANT. A curve ball as this is another sounds like clue (if you are icy to someone, you will appear distant) but there is no IOU? Then, 

41. MT: VACUOUS. The next clue/fill are exactly the same pattern; if you told someone that their friend was empty headed, they would be vacuous. Hmm.

I hope Christina comes by and unravels this mini-mystery.

Across:

1. Flows back: EBBS. A classic crosswordese clued differently. And 4D. Flow slowly: SEEP.

5. Sci. major: BIO. Many choices here, must wait for perps.

8. Fisher of "Wedding Crashers": ISLA. Goody, a fill that I am sure is correct. Isla Lang Fisher was born on February 3, 1976 in Muscat, Oman, to Scottish parents Elspeth Reid and Brian Fisher, who worked as a banker for the U.N. She spent her early childhood in Bathgate, Scotland, before moving to Perth, Australia with her family in the early 1980. imdb. 

                                                                                   Photo by Richard Cartwright - © 2005 - New Line Cinema

. Eight or nine on the Beaufort scale: GALE. I will try not to give a   long winded answer. LINK12

13. Twinge: PANG. Which sounds exactly like the Thai word for expensive.

14. Hijab and niqab, e.g.: VEILS.

18. Like Keebler's animated bakers: ELFIN. I hit a minor speed bump with ELVIN, the first name of a City Commissioner I know.

19. Daze: STUPOR. No, I was not in a Stupor, not then at least. 

 

20. Serpentine fish: EEL. CSO to C.C.

22. Toy company with theme parks: LEGO. This also is is in Mnnesota.

26. Bound: JUMP. Definition of bound (Entry 4 of 7) 1 : leap, jump cleared the hedge at a xinglebound.

30. Island chain: LEI. This is witty; we used to make all kinds of chains in schools. Then paired with the non-clecho...

31. Parts of an island chain: CAYS. This is pronounced and is another spelling of KEYS, which anyone in Florida is familiar with. 

32. Bagel flavor: ONION. I cannot think of any other five letter bagels.

34. Part of a flight: STAIR. Another nice deception, not running away or going in the air, just stairs.

36. Steve Carell voice role: GRU. I am not sure I knew he was the felonious Gru in the DESPICABLE ME movies.

43. "__ been a while!": IT'S. Did you miss me?

44. Place to have a ball?: DISCO. A cute clue/fill pair; literal but evocative.

46. Smog element: OZONE. Another layered clue/fill.

47. Sweeping: EPIC. The old CBS record company? 

49. Olive extract: OIL. Poor girl, she has had a hard life and they cannot even spell her name correctly. 

51. Some Neruda poems: ODES. A reminder of dear Clear Ayes, our initial poet in residence. The critics list these as his BEST. This is my favorite of his ODES.

56. Costa __: RICA. Female, Puerto Rico, male.

57. Pull the plug on: END. My mind jumped to the horrible choice made in hospice. 

58. Top 10 U2 song from "Rattle and Hum": DESIRE.

63. High-five sounds: SLAPS. A bit musical

67. Totally fine: ALL OK. Or if you want obscure and you are a techie nerd ALLOK

68. Cuatro y cuatro: OCHO. Spanish multiplication/

69. Resale warning: AS IS.

70. "Betsy's Wedding" writer/director: ALDA. Star...
                            

71. Sporty truck, briefly: UTE. Still the movie comes to mind

72. Zero: NONE. Nada.

Down:

1. What some layers cover: EGGS. See, I knew this was intended as a layered puzzle.

2. Toon boy known for chalkboard gags: BART. Young Mr. Simpson.

3. Flag couleur: BLEU. French begets French.

5. __ leaf: BAY. Now we are cooking...

6. "This isn't optional!": I NEED IT. You deserve it!

7. Nash who rhymed "Bronx" and "thonx": OGDEN. The Bronx? No thonx! This - one of the shortest poems ever - is the product of Ogden Nash (1902-1971). It was called a "Geographical Reflection" in his book Hard-Lines (1931). 

8. First-person contraction: I'VE.

9. Date stamp: SELL BY. Are they meaningful? Use By" Dates: "This date is put on by the food manufacturer as the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality. "Expiration" Dates: "The "expiration" date is aimed at consumers and is the last date the product can be considered fresh. "Sell By" Dates: "This date tells the store how long to display the food product.

10. Apparel company with a smiling stick-figure icon: LIFE IS GOOD.

Karen Lurie

Title: No "IT" girl here!

Karen makes a speedy return for her second 2022 LAT puzzle, not long after her February 25, 2022, debut here. In her initial offering she added an "H" to phrases and clued them with wit and charm. Now we have a classic Friday grid that removes the two letter word "IT" from phrases and then clues the resulting new fill. She has a reveal, and uses a symmetrical 10/12/12/10 pattern. The majority of the fill is 4 or letters, leaving me no long fill to highlight. Since the difficulty in the puzzle does not come from long fill lets address the theme and then talk about why this a late week puzzle.

21A. Former spouse who never lets things get awkward?: GRACEFUL EXIT. (10). How nice if you can end a marriage and still get on, even if it is just for the sake of the children. Removing the "IT" in this case does not change much as the understanding ex must have also left nicely.

26A. Outcome when a salon student makes waves?: LEARNER'S PERMIT. (12). On the other hand, when an aspiring stylist is entrusted with the hair of poor soul, the result may be really bad. This is quite different from the ritual of obtaining a driver license.

46A. Luring an academic to the dark side?: TURNING A PROFIT (12). Another school setting, this time your teacher becomes Darth Nihilus rather than running a successful business. 

And the reveal, for real

52A. Taylor Swift hit song about defying the haters, and an apt title for this puzzle: SHAKE IT OFF (10).

On to the rest.

Across:

1. Frito pie ingredient: CHILI. Does anyone make/eat this TexMex dish? Fritos® Pie. I wonder if puzzles will become like game shows where money is paid to promote products...

6. Percussion-based theater troupe: STOMP. They are quite famous.

LINK.

11. Back in the day: AGO. It is not easy to make a three letter fill hard but this not jump into my mind.

14. TV signal part: AUDIO. Video fits as well.

15. SAT prep help, often: TUTOR. We return to education, I taught an LSAT prep course back in the day.

16. Like beach volleyball players: TAN. Another three letter fill that took thinking to fill.

17. Casino array: SLOTS. 

18. See 6-Down: ANISE. 6D. With 18-Across, ingredient in five-spice powder: STAR. Illicium verum is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to northeast Vietnam and southwest China. wiki.

                        

19. Trellis growth: IVY. More plants. When I was teaching briefly in Gainesville I had a student named IVY CREAM. Were here parents progressive or mean?

20. "Freeze!": HALT. Hands up!

23. Serpentine fish: EEL.  A CSO for C.C.

25. Streisand film based on a Singer story: YENTL. Isaac Bashevis Singer was a Nobel Prize winning author who wrote in Yiddish. The story was published in Mayses fun hintern oyvn (1971; “Stories from Behind the Stove”).

32. Holy __: OIL. I don't think this combination has been used before. COW and SEE are much more likely.

33. Cleared for takeoff?: DEICED. The PROCESS.

34. Low nos. for aces: ERAS. Earned Run Averages. Baseball ace pitchers.

38. Many Egyptians: ARABS. Did you know about 1% of the world's population is Egyptian? 

40. Domino dot: PIP.  "Pip" has been used not only to denote the dots on dominoes, but also the dots on dice, as well as the marks on playing cards and sometimes as a synonym for "dot" in morse code. Information.com.

41. Day of the Dead drink: ATOLE.  A coffee and cornmeal combination part of the TRADITION.

42. Arizona locale for spring training fans: MESA. The city. Hi Lucina and Moe.

43. Suits: BEFITS. 

45. Silent communication sys.: ASL. America Sign Language.

49. "The City & the City" novelist Miéville: CHINA. I no longer read science fiction nor graphic novels, so the author and the book are complete unknowns.  LINK. 

51. WSJ news topic: IPO. Initial Public Offering. 

56. Cause of inflation?: PUMP. Oh, how fun, not a tired old saw, but and old tire needing air!

60. "Nailed it!": YES. Another CSO to C.C.

61. Miyazaki's genre: ANIME.  A master.

62. Binge: SPREE. When you sit at your tv, do you think of it as a spree.

63. Snare: NET.

64. Four-time Australian Open winner: SELES. Monica. She appears often not only because of her tennis but also for being stabbed on court.

65. Piano part: PEDAL. I must stop looking at every 5 letter word as a possible WORDLE

66. Weep: CRY.

67. Utopias: EDENS. The name Eden is of Hebrew origin meaning "place of pleasure." It brings to mind this DISCUSSION.

68. Mature: ADULT. I do not see these as synonyms, C.E.D.? And, 29D. Mature: RIPEN a clecho.

Down:

1. "Hurt" singer: CASH. "Hurt" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from its second studio album, The Downward Spiral (1994), written by Trent Reznor. Why did he record this in 2002?

2. Dance for a lei person: HULA. Ha ha!

3. TV competition, familiarly: IDOL. This year's superstar find quit mid-season after signing a lucrative deal.

4. Kitten caboodle: LITTER. One of the clue writers really has some home runs today. Kit and Kaboodle is a fun phrase.

5. Apple platform: iOS. No pesky capital is here.

7. Fish in salade niçoise: TUNA. A French delight, which probably does not delight most. 

8. Ear-relevant?: OTIC. This is from the mid 17th century: from Greek ōtikos, from ous, ōt- ‘ear.’

9. Sauntered: MOSEYED.  A popular word in the old westerns on TV but its origin is unknown.

10. Want more: PREFER.

11. Listing: ATILT. An "A" word; do not worry she is just getting started.

12. Chairperson's hammer: GAVEL.

13. Black stone: ONYX.  It is a variety of layered chalcedony that belongs to the quartz family. As indicated by the name, this semi-precious gemstone is characterized by its dramatic black body color. Angara.

21. Series set at McKinley High: GLEE. A jinxed series?  Glee Stars That Have Died · Cory Monteith – Drug Overdose · Mark Salling – Suicide · Naya Rivera – Accidental Drowning?? · Nancy Motes – Suicide and Robin Trocke who died of alzheimers at age 63.

22. Not fulfilled: UNMET.

24. Winds down: ENDS. Meh, winds down is a process.

26. Rich soil: LOAM. And a famous song, Loam Loam on the range.

27. Word on some European postage stamps: EIRE. A touch of Irish trivia too late.

28. "That's a shame": ALAS.  Alack. It applies to author...

30. Octavia Butler's genre: SCI-FI. I used to read lots of sci-fi but in the culture of the 60s, 70s and 80s I never knew this AUTHOR.

31. "Fast Food My Way" chef Jacques: PEPIN. A French chef other than Julia Child. Below is a video from when he was younger, he is now 86.

35. Have a good laugh: ROAR. Yay!

36. Besides: ALSO.

37. Mirror image: SELF. Mirrors reflect backward images; is that how you see yourself.

39. Dyeing art: BATIK. Another clue with a pun to amuse.

41. PDQ: ASAP. As Soon As Possible.  PDQ is an abbreviation of the phrase “pretty damned quick.”

43. Clocked: BRAINED. Apparently this is BRITISH to hit (someone), especially on the head. "someone clocked him for no good reason."

44. "What a long week" sigh: TGIF. An appropriate clue.

47. Trepidation: UNEASE.

48. Burst: POPPED. My balloon? Bubble?

49. Pull (for): CHEER.

50. Impulsive: HASTY. 

52. Out of __: SYNC. I order mine from Amazon so I never run out.

53. Bananagrams piece: TILE.  Bananagrams is an anagram puzzle built for speed — think of Scrabble with no board or complicated scoring. It was developed in Rhode Island. 

54. Sign: OMEN.

55. Own (up): FESS. 
                                    
57. Lahore tongue: URDU. This Pakistani CITY has a very long and complicated history. If you take some time to read the entire wiki article you will understand my comment. I hope our resident expert will stop by and give his input. I learned much I did not know from a Sikh gentleman who worked in a store I frequented.

58. Repast: MEAL. English is so rich from stealing from so many other languages. Re-past is just from the Latin word repascere, which means "to feed." 

59. Hide: PELT. No, I am here with my skin still on.

62. Après-ski option: SPA. Also a choice one can make after, or during solving an LAT Friday crossword. It did not work for me as I kept falling asleep. I trust none of you wonderful people did as you anxiously solved this dynamic, distaff dish. The world continues to spin. Thank you Patti and Karen. Lemonade out.