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.

Jeffrey

Title: A memo from the desk of Jeffrey Wechsler

For this last puzzle edited by Rich Norris, a most accomplished and prolific LA  Times constructor was chosen. Our leader, a most accomplished and prolific constructor, has chosen me to prepare my very first Sunday blog to mark this occasion. I am thrilled. 

As with all Sunday LAT puzzles, this is the only day of the week where the constructors provide their own title. JW's is "In re" a Latin phrase used as the start of most American memoranda. I hope Tom (desper-otto) bothered to read Jeffrey's choice as it really helped pinning down (a CSO to Tom's early career) the themers. Simply, you put RE in various phrases and the new phrases are clued with whimsy and charm. With JW, there is always more to his plan, as he is very careful to avoid adding the RE as either a prefix, or a suffix to a word. That extra layer makes this 8 themer puzzle just a bit more special.

My tried and true blogging approach does not fit a Sunday as there are many more words and many long ones but I point to a few of the 7 and 8 letter fill I liked: DEMO CDS, HEROINE,  LAMENTS, ODOROUS, SET ROLE,  STROBES, AGITATOR, GATORADE, STEERAGE, STIRRERS, TASTE BAD, SEND IT IN, and TYPING IN.

22A. All caps in an angry blog?: INTERNET SCREAM (14). With what we charge for blogging, this is obviously not a SCAM, and I assume you all know that using all caps in a post or text signifies yelling, this is a perfect place to begin the adding RE and letting everyone know the theme. 

32A. "Untoward behavior shall call for appropriate countermeasures," e.g.?: FANCY THREAT (11). FANCY THAT is a British English spoken phrase used to express your surprise or shock about something. (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English). Plug in your RE and you can hear the British accent making that warning. 

47A. Wiseacre mom and dad?: SMARTY PARENTS (13). SMARTY PANTS is a British English phrase to describe someone who always says clever things or always has the right answer, in a slightly annoying way. (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English). Wiseacre is an old fashioned way to say wise guy. 

63A. Type of dog that does origami?: FOLDING BREED (12).

A folding bed is a rather mundane image, but a dog who using his paws to create classic Japanese paper art is extremely silly and a nice image for our dog lovers.

74A. Farsi editor's mark?: PERSIAN CARET (12). For a Sunday themer, this requires some specialized knowledge. First, FARSI is the Persian word for the Persian language. And a ^ caret is a universal mark which shows where an additional or corrected or substituted letter, word, or phrase is to be inserted in or above the line. (University Style Guide). A Persian Cat may be a mascot for this blog

84A. Finishing touch for foppish painters?: PLACING A BERET.(13). Who here has never PLACED A BET, for money or otherwise? Here if you want to be stylish (not foppish), you can wear a beret. 

104A. 1932 presidential election victory?: HOOVER DREAM (11).
HERBERT HOOVER was not only the President from 1928 until his defeat by FDR in 1932 because of the depression, but he was optimistic and probably did dream of winning that election. He also was President when the Boulder Dam was commissioned and it was named after him unofficially. It became official in 1947, by act of Congress. This is a more serious themer. It is the largest damn dam in the world.

118A. Hush-hush lamasery topic?: BUDDHIST SECRET (14).

Do you all realize you know the definition of a lamasery? It is a place for Lamas, yes the one Ls. Like a monastery,  a nursery or a surgery it is where the lamas hang out. SECT becoming SECRET paints a great picture of these holy people whispering and probably gossiping.  

We also have a return to classic (rotational) symmetry with 14, 11, 13, 12, 12, 13, 11, and 14 themers. 

Now time for the rest...

Across:

1. Beat decisively: DRUB. This is probably not a popular 1A, as this is not a common word, though I do hear the sports announcers referring their teams giving/receiving a drubbing. What I found interesting is the etymology sources disagree completely about the history of this word.

5. Evoke an "Eww!," maybe: TASTE BAD. The verb set.

13. Venetian Renaissance painter: TITIAN. He was an Italian painter during the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. 

Mars, Venus and their son from last week AMOR.

19. He played Klaatu in "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (2008): KEANU. This was a remake of the classic version starring Michael Rennie.

20. Inferior accommodations: STEERAGE. The  part of a ship providing accommodations for passengers with the cheapest tickets. Most of my forbears arrived that way to the US. 

21. Common cone color: ORANGE. Not a common cold.

24. Glutinous: VISCID. Viscous is such an evocative word.

25. Christmas in Rome: NATALE. The Italian word. Buon Natale -T!

26. Etna output: ASH. Etna again.

27. Nonsense: ROT.

29. Artist friend of Dalí: SERT. Josep Maria Sert i Badia was a Spanish muralist, the son of an affluent textile industry family, and friend of Salvador Dalí. (wiki).

30. They usually have frames: GLASSES. Movies did not have enough letters.

36. Trig function: SINE. No math today.

37. Word with tax or L.A.: DODGERS. A droll combination.

41. __ martini: DRY. Shaken not stirred? A wonderful link yesterday by HG to explain it all. Or 126A. Sticks in drinks: STIRRERS. 

42. Put away: ATE.

43. Fruity, so to speak: BANANAS. I do not get this clue/fill. I know a banana is a fruit...I guess fruity can be a bit "barmy."

44. Absorbs, with "up": SOPS. Picture a thick, juicy steak and a fresh yeast roll. NO! Not during Passover!

46. Barfly: SOT. Nice placement.

53. Hider's hissed revelation: IN HERE. My eyes deceived me and I read this as "Hitler's hissed revelation."

55. Biblical spy: CALEB. Along with Joshua, he was faithful to his belief and told Moses that the Israelites could take over Canaan. The other 19 sent out were afraid, irritated the divine, and caused the 40 years of wandering the dessert.

56. Means: AVENUE.

59. Skilled at painting, say: ARTISTIC.

69. Perjurious testimony: LIES. Spellcheck does not like it, but it is a word. 

70. 81-Down friend: ROO. 81D. Storied bear: POOH.

71. Astonish: AWE.

72. 23rd Greek letter: PSI. The Greek ALPHABET is back. The letters of the Greek alphabet are: alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta, eta, theta, iota, kappa, lambda, mu, nu1, xi, omicron, pi, rho, sigma, tau, upsilon, phi, chi, psi, omega.

73. Capital NNW of Copenhagen: OSLO. To our Norse scions.

77. Submit a crossword, say: SEND IT IN. An inside joke I guess.

79. Nytol competitor: UNISOM. To sleep, perchance to DREAM.

80. "I'm not __ brag, but ... ": ONE TO. Always said by braggarts.

81. Urban park snack snitcher: PIGEON.

92. __ roll: ON A. I like sesame. 

93. Long-running CBS drama: NCIS. Gibbs is gone, get used to it!

96. Nose-wrinkling: ODOROUS. Ponderous.

97. Prov. bordering four Great Lakes: ONT. Hey Canadian Eh.

98. Formicidae family member: ANT. You knew The Formicidae is an unequivocally monophyletic group, previously defined by Bolton (1994, 2003) as eusocial, sexually dimorphic aculeate Hymenoptera bearing metapleural glands and geniculate antennae. Sure.

 

99. Mourns: LAMENTS.

100. Meat serving: CHOP. Steaks are basically beef chops. Pork chops and lamb chops are basically pork steaks and lamb steaks. Why? Why not?

108. Fixed function: SET ROLE. Help techies, all I can find is it is a command which sets the current user identifier of the current SQL session to be role_name . The role name can be written as either an identifier or a string. ???

110. Gator relative: CROC. Gator-Alligator as Croc-Crocodile.

111. White team: SOX. My childhood heroes.

112. Shout: CRY.

115. Heat units: THERMS.

116. "Tear down this wall!" speaker: REAGAN.

                            

122. Keep going: ENDURE. These Sundays are long. 

123. Higher than normal, maybe: ELEVATED.

124. Cal State city: CHICO.

                        

125. Joust participants: STEEDS. Let's hear it for the horses. 

127. Brings together: WEDS. People, or ideas.

Down:

1. U.S. peak officially renamed in 2015: DENALI. Bad enough to be shot, but President McKinley lost that honor.

2. Palm used in furniture: RATTAN.

3. Angst: UNEASE.

4. Rounded, knotty tree growths: BURLS.  These are not related to MR. IVES, or are they?

5. Follower of Mao?: TSE. Or Chris.

6. "__ girl!": ATTA.

7. Congressional mtg.: SESSion. 

8. Worker with mice: TECH. 

9. Go left instead of right, say: ERR. No Politics!

10. One inspiring PDAs: BAE. The new it word for your it girl.

11. "F Troop" corporal played by Larry Storch: AGARN.

12. Musicians' garage creations, maybe: DEMO CDS. Garage bands. That really is where more successful bands start out.

13. "Mazel __!": TOV. I hope you are all having a great Passover. (פסח), Holy Week, Ramadan or whatever you enjoy.

14. "Fighting" Indiana team: IRISH. Notre Dame.

15. It's shocking: TASER. Ha Ha.

16. Go up: INCREASE. Prices.

17. Washer component: AGITATOR. I said no politics.

18. "Spider-Man" reporter __ Leeds: NED. Not a major character.

19. Board members who might become mated?: KINGS. Chess board.

23. Supplies order phrase: NEED BY.

28. Beginner: TYRO.

31. Ivory, for one: SOAP.

32. Viking great Tarkenton: FRAN.

33. No. 2: ASST.

34. Entering, as data: TYPING IN.

35. Head of France: TETE. Just French.

38. Significant archaeological find: DNA. 

39. Long-nosed fish: GAR.

40. Boise-to-Fargo dir.: ENE.

45. Brush off: SNUB. Not to be confused with DRUB.

47. Make a killing on, in a way: SCALP. Tickets.

48. Skyler's sister on "Breaking Bad": MARIE. Never watched it. 

49. Redo: ALTER. I am sure the pets do not like this.

50. Come out with a more current version of: REISSUE. Not for me.

51. "Chad" network: TBS. Chad? Never heard of it.

52. "A pity": SAD.

54. Most any Disney princess: HEROINE. All of them.

57. Ones often seen in restricted lounges: VIPS.

58. Massachusetts motto starter: ENSE. Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem. Seek peace but only in freedom.

60. Sleeper, for one: TRAIN CAR.

61. Electrolysis products: IONS. 

62. Pixar film set in Mexico: COCO.

                        

63. Distant: FAR.

64. Need to pay: OWE.

65. Permit: LET.

66. Fragrant compound: ESTER. We had this recently. Looks like a WORDLE word.

67. Top names: ELITE. And another.

68. Prohibition words: DO NOT.

75. Privy to: IN ON. Gossip?

76. Concert piece: AMP. Tricky and not true of all concerts.

78. Pt. of an age calculation: DOB. Date of Birth.

82. Unworldly: INNOCENT.

83. PepsiCo sports beverage: GATORADE. More CSO to me and my alma mater.

85. 1970 Kinks hit: LOLA.

86. Driver of "BlacKkKlansman": ADAM.
                            
87. Dot follower?: COM.

88. Choler: IRE.

89. Prefix with event or issue: NON.

90. Nerve: GUTS. They are related. LINK.

91. Valuable things: ASSETS.

94. Swing voters: Abbr.: INDS. Is that really an abbreviation for independents?

95. Lightning simulators: STROBES.

100. Yuletide display: CRECHE. More religion.

101. Really awful: HORRID.

102. Early Mexicans: OLMECS. Talk about a gimme after this week's puzzles.

103. Basil-and-pine-nuts sauce: PESTO.

105. Lauren Hutton has been on its cover 26 times: VOGUE. Why?

106. Modern greeting: E-CARD.

107. Rejoice: EXULT. Lots of reason to do this now.

109. "Superman & Lois" network: THE CW.

112. Burn a bit: CHAR. My oldest granddaughter.

113. Solemn event: RITE. Lots  of them this week and next.

114. Belgian river: YSER. Look at your list of four letter European rivers.

116. Hi-__ image: RES. Not to be confused. 

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

119. Agnus __: DEI. Lamb of G-d. Timely for all Judeo-Christians.

120. Binge-watcher's device: DVR. Not so much anymore.

121. Ideal NFL drive endings: TDS. Touchdowns which is the perfect place for me to end this tour and return control of your computer to each of you.

Rich we all appreciate everything you have done for C.C., this blog,  for C.C.,  and for Jeffrey Wechsler one of our heroes. 

Patti, we know you will continue all the grand traditions of the LAT making this site such a special place for new constructors like all who C.C. brought in, as well as so many experienced and prolific setters like Jeffrey. We look forward to the future together.

Jeffrey Wechsler

 Title: I spy a little l in my I. 

So guess who is back again before you, this time as himself? It is I the lemon in iced tea. This played hard in many places with the cluing (his or the editors?) opaque and the structure different. If I am correct this is a puzzle with east/west symmetry...more about that later.  First, I want to acknowledge some fun sparkly fill - FAUCETS, RANGOON, ROSEBUD, SUITS ME, WRESTLE, SECTIONS, THE BIRDS, ATE A LITTLE, and GERIATRICS. Part of being sparkly is that they are longer and if you do not get the clue/fill combination, the puzzle becomes exponentially harder. Which brings us to the theme. Today JW gives a classic letter substitution puzzle, where the letter L at the end of a word in a familiar phrase is replaced with the letter I. Then it is clued to suggest the new meaning of the phrase. Clever - one of the arrows in his creative quiver. I said we have left/right symmetry with the themers going from 15 to 11 to 9 and finishing at 13. If you were looking for convential 17A to start symmetrical theme placements, it could be a long Friday.

The themers:

17A. Field worker having a pastrami on rye?: FARMER IN THE DELI (15). We begin with a gridspanner linking working in the fields to going to a delicatessen and ordering a pastrami on rye, which is a very popular order in most delis. This changes the children's nursery rhyme Farmer in the Dell just a little. The beauty is the simplicity, yet subtlety of such a tiny change causing such a completely new image.

27A. Prominent part of a Tex-Mex chain's logo?: THE BIG CHILI (11). This may be my favorite because it also has added imagery (the Big Chili in the chain's ads).  The movie, also was

an amazing introduction to many who became major stars, including the late William Hurt who just passed on March 13, 2022. Not updated, but here is the CAST. This does not list the very famous actor who was hired to play the friend who died, but whose footage was cut. It was...(        ) fill in the blank.

49A. Indonesian dive bar?: BALI JOINT (9). Next, ball joints which are spherical bearings that connect the control arms to the steering knuckles, and are used on virtually every automobile made are repurposed as a cheap bar on a key island that is part of Indonesia. When I owned a travel agency it was a favorite honeymoon spot for clients. I have never been. Anyone?

51A. Memory of the 1996 Olympic flame lighting?: ALI IN YOUR MIND (13). Do many of your remember when Muhammed Ali lit the Olympic Torch to begin the 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta? 

It was very significant in many ways. It was a time of healing and hope after many traumatic summer games. It was time of inclusivity after murder and mayhem had dogged the games. It was a time to acknowledge Ali and his spirit, as he was in the grips of Parkinson's brought on by years of being hit in the head. He also had been villified as a draft dodger rather than an observant Muslim. But there is no sentiment in baseball or the LA Times so on we go. 

Across:

1. Mumbai melody: RAGA. Raga , also spelled rag (in northern India) or ragam (in southern India), (from Sanskrit, meaning “colour” or “passion”), in the classical music of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, a melodic framework for improvisation and composition.

5. Group playing mind games: MENSA. When this blog started everyone wondered who among the solvers belonged. Now we so not care. 

10. Criticizes: RAPS. They gave him a bad rap. 

14. Mocks: APES. Is aping always mocking?

15. Poem of 15,000+ lines: ILIAD. Aren't you glad they didn't make you memorize that one in school.

16. And more of the same, in brief: ET AL. It comes in most puzzles.

20. Like the Godhead: TRIUNE. A very Friday word. Since we do not discuss religion here, I will merely quote the Brittanica "There is One God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Other ways of referring to the Trinity are the Triune God and the Three-in-One. The Trinity is a controversial doctrine; many Christians admit they don't understand it, while many more Christians don't understand it but think they do."

21. Fantasized: DREAMT. 

22. Diplomacy: TACT. Not my strong suit.

23. "Isle of Dogs" director Anderson: WES.  Here is a GUIDE to his films.

26. Tom or jack: MALE. Designation for animals, e.g TOM CAT, JACK ASS.

30. Bygone Mideast gp.: UAR. United Arab Republic (U.A.R.), Arabic Al-Jumhūriyyah al-ʿArabiyyah al-Muttaḥidah, political union of Egypt and Syria proclaimed on February 1, 1958, and ratified in nationwide plebiscites later that month. It ended on September 28, 1961, when Syria, following a military coup, declared itself independent of Egypt. More Brittanica. 

32. Capital of colonial Burma: RANGOON. It is now part of Myanamar and known as YANGON. These renamings passed on 18 June 1989 to reflect the fact that the "r" sound is no longer used in Standard Burmese and merged with a "y" glide.

33. Bill: TAB. Short for tabulation.

36. "No objection here": SUITS ME. I like blogging. Though I...

38. Try to deal (with): WRESTLE. with scheduling my time.

40. Sharply outline: ETCH. They use acid. 

41. Israeli-born designer Tahari: ELIE. 45 years i

42. Kane's boyhood sled: ROSEBUD. Does anybody not know this from Orson Welles' classic Citizen Kane?

46. Taps: FAUCETS. It is CONFUSING.

55. Lucretius' love: AMOR. Titus Lucretius Carus was a Roman poet and philosopher, he wrote Latin where Amor is the word for love.

56. Spry: AGILE. Synonyms: easy moving, more acute, most easy-moving, sprighter, most sportive, mercurial, most easy moving, quick trigger, quick the draw, sprightest, quick witted, quick draw, more easymoving, more easy moving, easymoving, sportive, most easymoving, more easy-moving, quick on draw, quick the trigger, quickwitted.

57. Rowers: OARS. Not the people, the instrument.

59. Pastoral group: HERD. Not an actual Pastor but related to the keeping or grazing of sheep or cattle.

60. Sly tactics: RUSES. This is an action intended to deceive someone; a trick.

"Eleanor tried to think of a ruse to get Paul out of the house"

61. Simone of song: NINA.
                        
62. Revolution constant: AXIS. If it is revolving, it does so on an axis.

63. Since Jan. 1: YTD. Year To Date.

64. Impede: SLOW. Block.

Down:

1. Passel: RAFT. JW or the editors are wearing out my synonym dictionary-  raft, including: craft, mint, (slang) lot, mass, mess, batch, heap, mickle, mountain, muckle, passel.

2. Besides, with "from": APART. Apart from watching the Masters, do you watch golf on TV?

3. Job field that embraces seniority: GERIATRICS. Sounds like fun for this geriatric.

4. To an equal extent: AS MUCH.

5. Bog: MIRE.

6. Ivy attendee: ELI. Not to be confused with our Israeli designer.

7. "Collages" novelist: NIN. Anais, author of many books and way more appearances in crosswords.

8. Couldn't stand anymore?: SAT. Ha ha, not anger but tired legs.

9. Condition treated by Ritalin, briefly: ADHD. We did not have this condition or Autism when I was a kid.

10. Overturned card consequence, perhaps: REDEAL. 

11. Nibbled: ATE A LITTLE.

12. ___ d'Or: Cannes award: PALME. Here are some favorite winners of this AWARD.

13. Cut: SLIT. Like someone's throat if you watched all those movies.

18. Records: ENTERS. A CSO to our accountants.

19. Fur that's a symbol of royalty: ERMINE. From a glorified rat.

23. Its nose says a lot about its quality: WINE. Hi Chairman.

24. __ roll: EGG. My wife prefers making fresh roll.

25. Refuse craft: SCOW. Another Asian treat.

28. Cartoon ruckus sound: BAM.

29. Old TV knob: HOR.izontal. TV abbreviation= 

30. One often paying a fee: USER.

31. Soul, for one: AUTO. By KIA.

34. Came down: ALIT.

35. They work in cells: BEES. Funny, but true. A new clue, is it yours JW. 

37. 1963 film that was a 1991 Horror Hall of Fame inductee: THE BIRDS. Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren. I was 14, it did not haunt me, I love birds. 

39. Strings, woodwinds, etc.: SECTIONS.

43. Keurig Dr Pepper brand: BAI.

44. Like the "funny bone" nerve: ULNAR. Not like, it is the nerve.

45. Mr. Fixit, casually: DIY GUY. Do It Yourself Guy. 

46. Made illegal contact with, in some sports: FOULED. In pretty much all sports. 

47. Buenos __: AIRES. Argentina.

48. Albuquerque sch.: UNM. Hey OKL, how are you doing?

50. Floor support: JOIST. A joist is a horizontal structural member used in framing to span an open space, often between beams that subsequently transfer loads to vertical members. wiki.

51. Visa competitor: AMEX.

52. Actress Petty: LORI. Best known for this movie. 
                            
53. File target: NAIL.

54. Bond baddie: DR NO. Joseph Wiseman was a Canadian-American theatre, film, and television actor, well known for starring as the villain Julius No in the first James Bond film, Dr. No in 1962.

55. "Eureka!": AHA. Aha we are almost done.

58. Bromide: SAW.  Guess what? Another synonym. 

Jeffrey Wechsler

Title: I am nobodys fool! I am going to rock your world!

Sadly, the Chairman had to bow out of this write-up as he was not up to the challenge. All his years as a slapping us around never prepared him to have, let alone use an imagination. So appropriately on this first day of April, known as April Fool's Day, he called on me, Curly Joe , the reincarnation of the fourth and final performer to share stage with Moe and his cousin Larry Fine, to save his bacon (they were not observant of the dietary laws). Naturally I am relied on to unravel a Friday fun fest from the overly-productive Jeffrey Wechsler who lives to hear his audience whimper. I am new to this so bear with me, I am going to begin with the one and only theme answer. 

37A. Architectural marker, or what can be found four times in this puzzle: CORNER STONE (11). A cornerstone is a ceremonial building block, usually placed ritually in the outer wall of a building to commemorate its dedication. They have been aound for millenia.

If I knew puzzles would be so easy to make... what does that mean? I left no stone unturned in contemplating these building blocks, which brings me to my first Joe-sho:

Well back to what it all meant. To prepare I went back and reread many of Mr. Wechsler's prior puzzles and concluded the man is whack. I could not stop there, as I knew that would not be much of a write-up. So this is what I decided...it is another of those damn visuals Lemony talked about last week. 

In the top right corner if you go up continuously from MARB and turn right to BLE you have MARBLE,  a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. This is the"stone in the corner" a corner stone. The words spins around the B. 

In the top left corner if you go right from BAS and then down to SALT you see BASALT which is an aphanitic extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron. This time S is the pivot. 

In the bottom left you go down from SHA then turn left to ALE you will see SHALE which is a soft, finely stratified sedimentary rock that formed from consolidated mud or clay and can be split easily into fragile slabs. This time A is the pivot. 

Lastly in the bottom right corner if you start with the PUM and turn right and combine with the MICE you get PUMICE  a very light and porous volcanic rock formed when a gas-rich froth of glassy lava solidifies rapidly. We have one that spins on the M. It all spells MBSP which means nothing to me. 

The constuctor uses these in a rather haphazard way, three 6 letter rocks and only one 5 letter; we have 2 rocks formed from lava, 1 metamporphic and 1 sedimentary rock; but the most telling flaw is the flow, or rather absence thereof. Basalt is the hardest, Marble next, Shale and then poor porous Pumice. Why didn't we get these in the proper order? Hardest to softest...maybe the clues could be scaled not by the day but by their place in the grid.

He tries to show off and distract us with so many long shiny words like BRAMBLE,  ETERNAL, LITERAL, NATASHA, SPURTED, WAHINES, ECONOMIC, EMIGRATE, SAIL AWAY,  THE BRAVE, BROTHERLY, and the most appropriate  I'LL FORGET which I certainly will this puzzle. I am done, I am out of here. 

Wait, Moe says I have to do the whole thing! What did I get myself into? 

My first limerick

There was an old man who performed,

But sadly his body was deformed.

So his jokes were hurtful and mean,

And none could ever be called clean.

He died on stage, never reformed.

Now that you all are in the proper mood for a day of fun...

Across:

1. Came out in the wash?: BLED. If you stab someone use a thin knife like a stiletto, the cut does not bleed much. Oh, he meant the fabric color bleeds, why didn't he say so?

5. Support pieces: STUDS. Some of my best lady friends are supporting their young men. 

10. Execs' wall displays: MBAS. I doubt that, maybe they have diplomas on the wall but not random letters.

14. Houston campus: RICE. I did not know they grew rice in Houston? I thought that only grew in watery swamp like areas? Why build a school there?

15. Fiddlers follower, in verse: THREE. I know this one...

16. Soft drink opener?: COCA. I never mix chocolate or cocaine with soda.

17. Small step: A TO B. I do have small feet.

18. Flight maintenance word: DEICE.  Limerick 2...

I am told I have to be nice,

And eat my chicken and rice.

Do not drink too much wine,

We'll have fun while we dine

Only if Tinbeni's drink I deice.

19. Worldwide: Abbr.: INTL. International, at least he tells us this one is an abbreviation.

20. Lists for patrons: MENUS. Which ones? Merriam-Webster tells us the definition is:

1a: a person chosen, named, or honored as a special guardian, protector, or supporter

a patron of the arts

  b: a wealthy or influential supporter of an artist or writer

  c: a social or financial sponsor of a social function (such as a ball or concert)

2: one that uses wealth or influence to help an individual, an institution, or a cause

a patron of the city library

3: one who buys the goods or uses the services offered especially by an establishment

a restaurant's patrons.

We finally made it to a restaurant...

22. Toucan's pride: BEAK. Did you know it is made of keratin, like human hair and is quite light and cannot be used for protection?  This brings me to my second Joe-sho:

            

23. I.M. Pei alma mater: MIT. Where else could he go?

24. Like much love: BROTHERLY. I love Moe like a brother. 
See how he pushed Cousin Larry out of the picture?

26. Word with board or mentioned: ABOVE. I hope you are not bored with my stooge mentions which brings me to my limerick 3.

The Stooges were supposed to be three;

Moe Larry, first Shemp and then Curly.
Shemp left and came back when Curly got sick

But those three could never together stick;

They tries other Curly but ended up with me.

28. Sudden flight: LAM. Rack of lam is one of my favorites, but I usually have it with the b? . 

29. Actress Longoria: EVA. Is she related to Eva Braun? Ooo ooo, I looked at her picture. maybe she could relate to me!
30. Came out suddenly: SPURTED. I might just!

32. Romance novelist Hilderbrand: ELIN. She has written about NANTUCKET  which reminds me of a classic limerick...sorry it was censored.

34. Natural climber: IVY.

36. SUV part, briefly: UTE.

41. WWII org. with a Pallas Athene symbol: WAC. Before my time. 
Women's Army Corps

42. __ Paulo: SAO. Saint Paul.

43. Govt. agents: T-MEN. My grandson plays t-ball.

46. Some surfers: WAHINES. The word wahine came into English in the late 18th century from Maori, the language of a Polynesian people native to New Zealand; it was originally used for a Maori woman, especially a wife. The word is now used for a woman or a young girl in Hawaiian. In the US we call them surfer girls.  

Limerick 4

Like MLK I too had a dream,

I saw a surfboard that did gleam;

Riding the board was a wahine

So I whispered something obscene,

Before long I awoke with scream!

50. "It depends" components: IFS. Ands and butts!

52. Give-go link: IT A. Give it a go; that is what I am doing.

53. Ain't like it oughta be?: AREN'T. The gramma police are out in force.

54. "Please remind me": I'LL FORGET. I already did

57. VII x CCC: MMC. I don't do math.

58. Ottoman honorific: AGHA. Fancy words for a foot stool.

59. Hall of Famer who was a Yankee manager and a Mets coach: BERRA. This clue must have been written by Will Sortz, I mean Shortz. He loves the Yankees but he does not know the whole history.

LINK.

60. Canapé delicacy: PATÉ. I think this is what the rappers are singing about when I hear "paté time". Foie gras is foie gross to me.

62. Astonished: IN AWE.

64. Keeps out: BANS.

65. Yard, for one: UNIT. It makes you need to pee so bad.

66. 67-Across sites: MESAS. Ours in Arizona are more better.

67. Rockies state: UTAH.

68. Modern navigation aids: MICE. I should have used this for Limerick 2.

69. Court orders: STAYS. That's what I tell my dog. Man I am tired, 

70. Ward of "FBI": SELA. She left the show years ago.

Down:

1. Berry bush: BRAMBLE. Isn’t that where Bre’er  Rabbit went?

2. True to the original: LITERAL.

3. Like Paul Samuelson's field: ECONOMIC. Paul Samuelson? Wiki says: Paul Anthony Samuelson was an American economist, who was the first American to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

4. Rollout: DEBUT. This is my debut as blogger; I had no idea how much work it was going to be.

5. Criterion: Abbr.: STD. This is standard abbreviation fill I am told.

6. Key ending words?: THE BRAVE. So cute, Francis Scott and land of the...

7. Archangel of repentance: URIEL. I watched Lucifer on Netflix and he did not seem very repentant.

8. Falls into ruin: DECAYS. I know, I have to take care of my teeth.

9. Try to locate: SEEK. I am looking for a dentist who likes Nitrous Oxide.

10. Defunct AT&T rival: MCI. Is't that where IMP worked?

11. Witticism: BONMOT.

12. Still at it: ACTIVE. I am but I am tired.

Joesho 3

13. Like roads in winter, at times: SALTED. Or the rims of the margarita glass.

21. Maritime pronoun: SHE. 

25. Expose: EVINCE.

26. Road runner: AUTO.

27. Spiner of "Star Trek: T.N.G.": BRENT.

31. Postpone: PUTOFF.

33. Bad sort of situation: NOWIN.

35. Annual arrivals: Abbr.: YRS.

38. Tirade: RANT.

39. Subtitle of Enya's Grammy-winning "Orinoco Flow": SAILAWAY.

40. Settle in a new country: EMIGRATE.

44. Always there: ETERNAL.

45. Boris' sidekick: NATASHA.

46. Old Native American currency beads: WAMPUM.

47. Luxury fashion name: ARMANI.

48. More than busy: HECTIC.

49. Seal on a ring: SIGNET.

51. Blubber: SOB.

55. Capital at 12,000 feet: LHASA.

56. Picture puzzle: REBUS.

58. Intentions: AIMS.

61. Summer at the Sorbonne: ETE.

63. Start to snow?: ESS.