Thursday, January 2nd 2020 Derek Bowman

Theme: Sewing class - the theme entries all refer to the reveal answer later in the puzzle:

17A. One who leaves garments 50-Across: SEAMSTRESS. Probably a little old-fashioned now; I'd probably use "tailor" to describe needle-wielding men or women.

25A. One who leaves audiences 50-Across: STAND-UP COMIC. I worked with a guy once who was an IT consultant and had a stand-up comedy act riffing on  .... IT consulting. It didn't strike me as something that would exactly leave you rolling in the aisles.

38A. One who leaves patients 50-Across: BRAIN SURGEON. Very, very small ones, I hope.

and the unifier ...

50A. See 17-, 25- and 38-Across: IN STITCHES

A high-quality puzzle from Derek for the second day of the New Year. There's some real sparkle in the fill and some very elegant construction with the stacked 9's and 8's in the downs in the northeast and southwest. Nary a clunker to be seen, there's plainly a lot of effort that's gone into this one. A lot of the markers for this puzzle are more "Saturday-like" - average word length, number of blocks, those kind of things.

Let's see what else jumps out:

Across:

1. Common email attachments: PDFS

5. Fired (up): AMPED

10. Tablet with Siri: IPAD

14. Singer between Melanie and Joan at Woodstock: ARLO. Arlo Guthrie appeared between Melanie and Joan Baez's sets at the 1969 festival at Yasgur's Farm, which was actually nowhere near Woodstock being a good 60 miles away.

15. Drag one's feet: TARRY

16. Prepared-salad seller: DELI

19. www addresses: URLS

20. Feel compassion for, with "on": TAKE PITY

21. Some are imperfect: TENSES

23. "Louisiana Real & Rustic" chef: EMERIL. One of his first cookbooks, published in 1996. Lagasse and his mentor, Paul Prudhomme were responsible for the creation and development of what was described as "New New Orleans" cuisine.

24. Plot: CONNIVE

28. "It's all false!": LIES!

30. Chilling: EERIE

31. Yoga surface: MAT

32. Kid around: JEST

33. Formerly employed by The Company: EX-CIA. I think this might have been my favorite clue of the day.

34. Campsite bunks: COTS

35. Longship propeller: OAR. Hopefully more than one.

36. Playwright Chekhov: ANTON

37. Cold Stone buy: CONE. The Cold Stone Creamery ice-cream parlor franchise, not without its critics in the franchise world.

41. Approach stealthily, with "on": SNEAK UP

42. Can't-miss: NO-LOSE

46. San Diego County racetrack: DEL MAR. "Where the surf meets the turf". It certainly is a lovely spot, but I think Santa Anita, with its backdrop of the San Gabriel mountains is prettier.

47. Violent storms: TEMPESTS

“Full fathom five thy father lies;

Of his bones are coral made;

Those are pearls that were his eyes:

Nothing of him that doth fade,

But doth suffer a sea-change

Into something rich and strange.

Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell: Ding-dong

Hark! now I hear them,—Ding-dong, bell.”

- William Shakespeare, The Tempest

49. Point after deuce: AD IN. Advantage to the server in tennis. I didn't know this before crosswords taught me.

52. He reveals the Wizard: TOTO

53. Bite like a puppy: NIP AT

54. Air filter acronym: HEPA or High Efficiency Particulate Arrestance, which his something of a mouthful. This fixed my "CON LECCE" mistake at 34D. Not quite sure what I was thinking there.

55. Several: A FEW

56. Full of hot air: GASSY

57. "Not so fast!": EASY!

Down:

1. Tomato __: PASTE. Had PURÉE first. Was wrong.

2. Fantasize: DREAM

3. Raisin bran tidbit: FLAKE

4. Bath's county: SOMERSET. You can't bathe in the baths in Bath, sadly. They say the water quality is not safe as it's untreated. Didn't seem to do the Romans any harm though.

5. Number one Hun: ATTILA. I don't think I could name another Hun if my life depended on it.

6. Convenience store: MART

7. Salmon, to bears: PREY

8. Ambulance destinations, briefly: E.R.'S

9. "The Hunger Games" setting: DYSTOPIA. A great word, but I'm not sure I'd use it to describe the "setting" for the Hunger Games movies. I'd say the setting was the locale, which may have been dystopian. Minor niggle.

10. "Search me": I DUNNO

11. Orangey fruit: PERSIMMON. The wood of the tree was used to make golf clubs back when woods were made of wood. Would Woods' woods be wood? Tiger should tell us.

12. Make easier to bear: ALLEVIATE

13. Studies in detail: DISSECTS

18. Rods for roasting: SPITS

22. Suffix with persist: -ENCE. Least favorite of the day, but sometimes you need a crutch.

24. Smokehouse process: CURING

26. On deck: NEXT UP. Baseball.

27. House Beautiful subject: DECOR

28. Got word about: LEARNED OF

29. Biblical descendant of Jacob: ISRAELITE. And a great excuse to listen to some ska courtesy of Desmond Decker and The Aces.

32. Employment statistics: JOBS DATA

33. Not leaving to chance: ENSURING

34. How café is often served: CON LECHE. Usually espresso and scalded milk mixed 50/50.

36. "My Way" lyricist: ANKA

37. Appropriate: CO-OPT. Later-in-the-week example of cluing. Are we looking for the verb or the adjective?

39. Grumpy response to "Are you awake?": I AM NOW

40. Bad blood: ENMITY

43. Actor Milo: O'SHEA

44. Pedometer count: STEPS

45. Long exam answer: ESSAY

47. Baking amts.: TSPS

48. Greek vowels: ETAS

51. Long of "Third Watch": NIA. A very useful name for crosswords. There were only four three-letter entries today, as I mentioned at the top of the blog word lengths tend to get longer as you progress through the week.

And that wraps things up for this Thursday. I hope you all had a good New Year, onwards to 2020!

Steve

Friday, July 5, 2019 Derek Bowman

Thoroughbred Racing

Three grid spanners in the middle give us a thoroughbred racing mini-theme.  Nothing else that I could see.   

32. New York city with a historic race course: SARATOGA SPRINGS.

37. 2015 Triple Crown winner: AMERICAN PHAROAH.

38. California race that's a stepping-stone to Kentucky: SANTA ANITA DERBY.

As a 3 year old, American Pharoah won the Kentucky, Derby, then the Preakness and Belmont to become the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown.  He ended his career with a 9-1 record and became the only horse in history to win the "Grand Slam" of thoroughbred racing when he won the Breeders Cup Classic.

He also won at Santa Anita as a 2 year old in the FrontRunner Stakes,  but didn't he didn't run in the Santa Anita Derby.   The FrontRunner Stakes has been renamed the American Pharoah Stakes in the horses's honor.

His only loss came in Saratoga Springs at the Travers Stakes.   


Across:

1. Jimmy Choo shoe brand co-founder Mellon: TAMARA.    No idea, but it is Friday.  Thank you perps.   

7. Athlete's feint: HEAD FAKE. 

15. Cast out: EXILED.

16. Dander, e.g.: ALLERGEN.

17. "Sadly, that's not the case": ALAS, NO.

18. Not just requested: IMPLORED.  Beseeched.  To my ears, implored sounds more modern than beseeched.

19. Duff Beer server: MOE.  The Simpsons

20. Gives the go-ahead: OKs.

21. Sources of renewed energy: NAPS.  Our friend WikWak must have a lot of energy.  I think I'm going to follow his model and see if it works for me.

22. "Who, me?": MOI.   Miss Piggy was famous for asking, "Moi ?"

24. Wise teacher: GURU.

26. Pull (out): OPT.

28. Historic time: ERA.

29. Unified: ONE.

30. Muse with a lyre: ERATO.

39. Minute Maid Park player: ASTRO.    Astro Alex Bregman was MVP in last year's All Star game.  His 10th inning home run put the AL'ers ahead of the NL'ers 7 to 6.   His Astro teammate George Springer followed with another round tripper as an insurance run. and the AL won the game 8-6.    In 89 games, the AL leads the summer classic 44-43-2.    That's pretty even.   Also pretty even ?  Runs scored in the All Star games.  The AL leads 769 to 767.  Tuesday, July 9th will be the 90th game.  It would be neat if the NL won by 2 runs.

40. Denver-to-Omaha dir.: ENE.

41. Completely: ALL.

42. Talks acronym: TED.  Technology, Entertainment and Design.

43. Country in a Beatles title: USSR.   It's where I learned B.O.A.C.


45. 1992-2001 Expos manager Felipe: ALOU.

48. Boom source: TNT.

49. "__ Baby Baby": 1965 Miracles hit: OOO.  Smokey Robinson will be playing in Temecula tonight at the Pechanga Summit.   Tickets for the 8 PM concert are $39,  but you might do better if you Shop Around.



51. Has a revelatory experience: FINDS GOD.

54. Many city workers live in one: SUBURB.

57. Like Greenpeace, e.g.: ANTI NUKE.

58. 2017 biopic about a figure skater: I TONYA. Tonya Harding.


59. "Good Day Sunshine" album: REVOLVER.


I also especially like Got To Get You Into My Life from the same album.

60. Called for: NEEDED.   Despite the fact that the Rum Swizzle called for crushed or pebble ice, Tinbeni ordered it straight.

Down:

1. Spot to drink: TEA.

2. Rose of rock: AXL.


3. '80s-'90s Heat home: MIAMI ARENA.

4. Additionally: ALSO.

5. Go back to the table: RENEGOTIATE.

6. Hubbub: ADO.

7. Very short poem: HAIKU.  CSO to our occasional visitor Haiku Harry.

8. Stately trees: ELMS.

9. The Zugspitze, e.g.: ALP.   Been there.    You can not only see Austria from it, you can straddle both countries while doing it.  It is the tallest of the Alps in Germany.   The Zugspitze is not the tallest in Austria though.   That claim belongs to the Grossglockner, which is the second highest of all the Alps, trailing only Mont Blanc.    Just as the Zugspitze shares two countries, so does Mont Blanc, with France and Italy sharing the mountain.  

10. With 44-Across, "Summertime Sadness" singer Lana: DEL. And 44. See 10-Down: REY.   Never heard it before, but the video has 185M views, so either it's popular or there have been some bots at work.


11. It's off the ground during a wheelie: FRONT TIRE.

I would guess circa 1967.

12. Asian shrine city: AGRA.

13. Word with watch or time: KEEP.   Also for quiet and still.

14. Stops: ENDS.

20. Pizza seasoning: OREGANO.

22. Flat-topped lands: MESAS.  Buttes, plateaus...

23. Slangy event suffix: ORAMA.

25. Reverse, for one: UNO CARD.    One of the action cards, of which there are 5 or 7,  depending on your game deck.   There are 4 reverse cards.  You can only use the reverse card if you are playing it on a card of the same color, or on another reverse card.

 UNO RULES

26. Harry Potter and Tom Sawyer: ORPHANS.

27. Procession plan: PARADE ROUTE.

30. 1930s Rhine/Zener experiment: ESP TEST.

31. Circa: ON OR AROUND.

33. Painter's work area: ART STUDIO.  Atelier.

34. Singer DiFranco: ANI.

35. Cape Cod feature: GABLE.

36. With pause, perhaps: SHYLY.

43. Anesthetized: UNDER.

45. A long way off: AFAR.

46. Queue (up): LINE. 

47. Being broadcast: ON TV.

48. Tip in Vegas: TOKE.

50. Orchestras tune to one: OBOE.

52. "Weekend Update" show: SNL.

53. Bloke's address: GUV.

54. Offense: SIN.

55. Manhattan part: RYE.

56. Disobedient, to Fido: BAD.

Tuesday, January 1, 2019 Derek Bowman

"A Classic to Start the Year"

21. With 27-Across, 50-Across classic: THE CATCHER.

27. See 21-Across: IN THE RYE.

45. 50-Across work featuring the two youngest Glass siblings: FRANNY AND ZOOEY.

50. Author born 1/1/1919: JD SALINGER.   CSO to a member of our California Coven contingent,  JD !

68. Title heroine in one of 50-Across' "Nine Stories": ESME.

Great start to the New Year !   It is also the 100th anniversary of the JD Salinger's birth.

I must admit that I've never read The Catcher In The Rye, nor any other of JD Salinger's work.   I knew of Catcher, and have learned that the main character was Holden Caulfield, but that was about it.  I learned of Esme as a crossword staple, but never heard of Franny and Zooey.

See where The Catcher In The Rye ranks on various Ranker listings.  You can add your vote on the various lists.

Across:

1. Language of southern Africa: BANTU.

6. City west of Tulsa: ENID.

Enchanted Learning

10. Gas station machines: PUMPS.  Fuel dispensers.   Tokheim was a leading manufacturer of fuel dispensing systems and point of sale (pay at the pump) that began in Cedar Rapids, grew to dominance while based in Ft Wayne, and fell to bankruptcy in the early 2000s.
  

Petroliana

15. Bran benefit: FIBER.

16. Traditional teachings: LORE.

17. Undersea WWII threat: U-BOAT. English for the German U-boot.  Undersea boat.   On June 4, 1944, the first enemy warship captured by the U.S. Navy since the War of 1812 was the German U-boat 505.   She was captured off the coast of West Africa and towed to Bermuda.    The U-505 is on display at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.   There are also some neat videos on YouTube such as showing her being moved into her final resting place,  as well as a video tour taken by someone that visited the museum and the U-505 exhibit.   Spitzboov might have read about this before, given his background and interests.

18. Pre-euro coin: FRANC.   As in France, Belgium, Luxembourg.   The Swiss franc, not the Euro, is still the official monetary unit of Switzerland and Liechtenstein.  Fair warning: Euros will be accepted, but your change will be given in francs, and you probably won't get a favorable exchange rate.

19. Historical times: ERAs.

20. Email back: REPLY.  

24. "Star Trek" captain Jean-__ Picard: LUC,  looking exasperated here.  Maybe Data just told him he did a Reply All, rather than a Reply.    Crossword shout out to Santa Barbara Picard.

Jean-Luc Picard at FANDOM

28. Dean's list no.: GPA.  I'd wager there were some pretty high ones by the regulars here. 

31. Number that's a square of itself: ONE.  Squaring a number means multiplying that number by itself.  The result of squaring is a square.  For example, squaring 2 (2x2) is 4.  4 is the square of 2.  Squaring 1 would be (1x1) which results in a square of 1.  One is the loneliest number.

Let's do a little more algebra.  Cubing a number means to multiply a number by its square or to multiply a number by itself twice.  So, 2x2x2=8.   Let's try it with a larger number, say 26.   26x26x26=17,576.   Not coincidentally, that result represents the finite number of all possible letter combinations in an English language non-Rebus crossword puzzle three-letter answer.  All you have to do is remember all 17,576 three letter abbreviations and words from AAA to ZZZ, and you'll be on your way to crossword solving stardom. Or maybe not.

(Fermatprime and Bill G subconsciously checked my math on that one.)

32. "Neither snow __ rain ... ": NOR will keep C.C.s blogging team from blogging the daily puzzle.  An occasional mental lapse or technical difficulty might, but not snow nor rain nor holiday.

33. Tags on bags: IDs.  We know that Steve's luggage tags are current.

34. Fishy bagel topper: LOX.

35. Play sections: ACTS.  Hahtoolah is a patron of the arts, enjoying the opera and the theater.

37. Words repeated after "Whatever" in a Doris Day song: WILL BE.  The lovely Doris Day sings Que Sera Sera

40. Halloween garb: CAPE.  Supeman and Batman weren't as big this year, and there were a few other caped characters that sadly I did not recognize, yet still so cute !

41. Because of: DUE TO.  I guess it was due to not having any big Batman or Superman blockbusters in the last few years. 

43. With 59-Across, liver delicacy: FOIE. 
59. See 43-Across: GRAS.

44. Tear up: SHRED.  Dash T would have wanted me to embed a video of Alex Lifeson of Rush shredding his guitar playing Working Man, but I'd already channeled CrossEyedDave.

That cat is keeping time with Alex's guitar and Neal Peart's beat.   Must have an unseen IPOD Air in the far ear.

48. "La Cage aux Folles," for one: FARCE.  A musical play and movie.   Never heard of it.  Just learned that it was the basis of the American remake, The Birdcage, starring Robin Williams.


49. Come up: ARISE.

55. "Assuming that's true ... ": IF SO.

58. John Roberts' group: Abbr.: SCOTUS.  Supreme Court Of The United States.

63. Having regrets about: RUING.    "When tomorrow comes, and we regret, the things we said today"  are lyrics you'll hear in the video at 26D. 

65. Corn cover: HUSK.   Once dried, the traditional wrapping for Mexican style tamales.  I believe Lucina and family use these.  On Saturday, my friend that hails from Honduras brought us some of his mother's Honduran style tamales wrapped in banana leaves.  Chicken, potatoes, rice and an olive encased in the masa. So good !

66. Kitchen strainer: SIEVE.

67. Come to terms: AGREE.  Fair enough. 

69. Trip around the sun: ORBIT.

Planet Facts - The Solar System

70. Adventurous expedition: QUEST.

71. Like pink hair: DYED.

72. And/or divider: SLASH.   Guns N' Roses guitarist: SLASH. 

Down:

1. Bud 4 life: BFF.  Buddy for life / Best Friend Forever.

2. Broadcast: AIR.  Not sure what genre of music aired at KHAK in Cedar Rapids when Desper-otto worked there, but it is now "#1 In Country".   JzB wouldn't be a fan.  He doesn't care for Country music.  

3. Cavs' org.: NBA.  The Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association.   Not getting as much national broadcast air time now that LeBron has packed his bags and moved to L.A.    PK is an NBA fan. 

4. Camp shelter: TENT.   Yellowrocks said she is now past her tent pitching days.  Me too.  A cabin with a fireplace and a comfortable bed appeals to my older bones.  

5. Sea __: spiny critter: URCHIN.  Seems that puffer fish can be spiny as well.  See 56D.

6. Really amaze: ELECTRIFY.

7. "CBS This Morning" co-anchor O'Donnell: NORAH

8. Infuriated: IRATE.   I know of a certain thespian who has been infuriated with the recent delivery  performances of the Los Angeles Times. 

9. Gave details of: DESCRIBED.   Remember when Dudley described one of his contractors as "Ed the Enthusiastic Blaster" ? 

10. Baby food options: PUREES.  Oas traveled last week to see his newest grandchild.

11. Ride-sharing app: UBER.  Husker Gary is a satisfied user of this app, based on his comments upon returning from his trip to Washington D.C.

12. Messy hairdo: MOP.

13. Bud: PAL. Clecho w/ 1D.    Gal Pal: Tinbeni's significant other. 

14. Farmyard pen: STY.

22. Plenty, in old poems: ENOW.  This means ASAP in the internet era, along w/ email, e-tail, eCommerce...

23. Jekyll's bad side: HYDE.

24. "Get a __ of this!": LOAD.

25. Release from shackles: UNCUFF.

26. Part of etc.: CETERA.  Et's brother Peter was a singer, songwriter and bassist for the rock band Chicago, before launching his solo career.   Here's Peter singing a song he wrote when he was still with Chicago:


28. If-looks-could-kill looks: GLARES. I'd probably be a goner from all the glares of the Peter Cetera fans.

29. Olive Oyl's guy: POPEYE.  They were played by Shelly Duvall and Robin Williams in the 1980 musical comedy. 

30. Used a hatchet on: AXED.

36. Original co-host of "The View": STAR JONES.

38. Hawaii's Mauna __: LOA.  Michael Sherline can probably see it from his lanai.

39. "Mary Poppins Returns" actor __-Manuel Miranda: LIN.    inanehiker will have have nailed this one.  She wrote on Sunday that she saw it last week !   BTW,  Miranda is also the name of one of Uranus' 27 moons.   Miranda means "worthy of admiration."

 5 Lessons on Creativity From 'Hamilton' Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda

40. Miss singing on Sunday?: CHOIR GIRL.   Boomer sang in the church choir, but as a choir boy.

42. Like some audiobooks: ON CD.

44. Irritated: SORE.  I think Irish Miss was irritated when she discovered her Discover Card had a fraudulent charge for a airline flight.  An unneeded hassle, for sure.

46. Bitter end?: NESS.   Canadian end ?:  Eh.   She's never shown any bitterness.

47. Turns abruptly: ZAGS.  Some of OKL's lines take abrupt zags that I didn't see coming !

51. Throbbed: ACHED.  Long suffering  Red Sox fans like Wilbur Charles ached for a World Series Championship ring, and were finally rewarded in 2004.

52. Crummy: LOUSY.  Wally, Beaver and Eddie Haskell used the word crummy quite often.

53. "I'm here": IT'S ME.   Pretty song.  Love the piano and horns.


54. Microwaved: NUKED.

55. Baghdad's country: IRAQ.  Abejo worked next door in Iran. 

56. Japanese pufferfish: FUGU.  Almost looks unreal.   Jinx, what say you ?

57. Colt's father: SIRE.

60. Country's McEntire: REBA.   If you look at that graphic of Oklahoma above, she was born and raised southwest of Lake Eufala and northeast of Lake Texoma.  The city of McAlester and town of Kiowa respectively.  


61. Rental car choice: AVIS.   Their catchphrase was, "We try harder."   I had a Hertz gold card.  It was really nice when flying into Minneapolis or New York in the winter months.  The car was always warmed up and running.  Their motto was "Hertz puts you in the driver's seat."   After Hertz failed me, I started renting from Enterprise.   "We'll pick you up" is their slogan.   

62. Actor Rogen: SETH.

64. Understand: GET.

66. Distress letters: SOS.    Save Our Souls (or Ship).   If you didn't care for Reba above, perhaps Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid are more to your liking ?


Here's the grid.

Saturday, November 17, 2018, Derek Bowman

Themeless Saturday By Derek Bowman

Can't you just smell what day it is?  It Homemade Bread Day! The wonderful smell of homemade bread is one the wonders of the world. The assortment you see at the right is  lovely and the various seeds added to some of them sweeten the experience for me even if they wind up stuck in my teeth.

This holiday reminds me of a bakery called Bäckerei Tichelkamp we visited in Oberammergau, Germany. The visit was a delight for all the senses but the olfactory glands definitely got a workout. Since their famous Passion Play is only put on every 10 years, this is the memory I will always have of this quaint village unless I can get back there in 2020 to see their famous event.

We see breads in this venue quite often. This 8/28/18 puzzle by Mike Torch even had a punny bread theme.

Today's puzzle is by Derek Bowman who lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This article about him in the Winnipeg Free Press is a wonderful and witty look into Derek's methods that he has employed to be published around the world.

One nugget from the article relates that Derek loves the word OBAMA which has nothing to do with the former president's politics. It is because it has a vowel, consonant, vowel, consonant, vowel progression that is easier to fit into puzzles than many other names. 

That is the reason he has become a fan of highly ranked tennis player Elina Svitolina because if she becomes very popular, her first name will fit the same progression! 

Now let's venture on to see what else our Canadian friend has for us today in his pangrammatic puzzle that features a stacked set of three horizontal grid spanners and two symmetric vertical grid spanners. 32. "Geez Louise": ME OH MY!


Across:

1. Divided equally: IN HALF - Solomon's proposed, grotesque solution leapt to my mind

7. They're inseparable, briefly: BFFS - Do you have any H.S. Best Friends Forever that you still see?

11. Test subjects: IQ'S - When tests are discussed, the subject of IQ tests will certainly arise. Subjects who take said tests will obtain their IQ score. Any guesses on this IQ test question?  These used to drive me crazy. *Answer is at the bottom of this page.

14. Head scratcher?: NOOGIE - NOOGIES are not 24. Needles: TAUNTS, they're abuse, pure and simple

15. One may be on the house: LIEN - Sometimes filing one of these is the only way a contractor can get his money from the homeowner

16. McDonald's supply item: BUN - Two all beef patties............on a Sesame Seed BUN. Apropos today on bread day

17. Main floor, often: GROUND LEVEL  - In Europe we found elevators where GROUND LEVEL was *G and the first (1) floor was the first floor above the GROUND

19. One-named "Chandelier" singer: SIA - Okay

20. John/Rice musical: AIDA - A fascinating two minute preview of this wonderful play by Elton John and Tim Rice

21. Support for PBS' "The Joy of Painting"?: EASEL - Bob Ross in front of that "support". What a soothing voice he had!

22. Cherokee, for one: JEEP - This 1959 Chevrolet Apache can be yours for $39,000.

23. Hosp. staffers: RNS 

26. Frog foot feature: PAD - A nuptial pad (also known as thumb pad, or nuptial excrescence) is a secondary sex characteristic present on some mature male frogs and salamanders. You're welcome.

29. Disreputable sort: CAD - Some CADS of the 50's also had PADS 

30. Head lines?: EEGS - Electro EncephaloGrams 

31. Sex appeal: ANIMAL MAGNETISM

37. A lot: SOMETHING FIERCE - I need to [insert phrase] SOMETHING FIERCE

38. Therapy appointment, say: ONE-ON-ONE SESSION.

39. Sound: HALE - and hearty

40. Border: HEM - HEMline as a stock market indicator

41. Early Beatle Sutcliffe: STU - The original bassist left the group to pursue his painting career. STU ART?

42. Garlicky dish: SCAMPI 

45. Convened: MET - The first U.S. Congress MET in Federal Hall in NYC on March 4, 1789

46. Like candles: WAXY - How my wife describes Twizzlers

47. Handed out: DEALT - But you can't play cards you are DEALT very well if you have a 49. Gambler's giveaway: TELL.

53. MSNBC host Melber: ARI - Okay

54. Sylvia Plath title woman: LADY LAZARUS - A poem inspired by her accidental and intentional brushes with death

56. Low: MOO - Song of the season lyric, "The cattle are LOWING, the poor baby wakes"

57. What glasses are often for: EYES 

58. Dolores Haze, to Humbert: LOLITA - Yeah, what could possibly go wrong with Humbert's and Dolores' (who he nicknamed LOLITA) relationship?

59. PC pioneer: IBM.

60. Ain't better?: ISNT- Yes, ISN'T ISN'T a better word than ain't?

61. Gift that's heartfelt and often heart-shaped: LOCKET.


Down:

1. "Young Frankenstein" lab assistant: INGA - One of the best lines from Young Frankenstein is addressed to INGA (not IGOR)

2. "Me neither": NOR I.

3. Sweatshirt feature, perhaps: HOOD.

4. Taqueria drink: AGUA  En la taqueria, me gusta beber agua (At the taco restaurant, I like to drink water)

5. Vietnam Veterans Memorial designer: LIN -Maya LIN and her winning design which seems so small in this model 

6. America has ten of them: FEDERAL HOLIDAYS

7. Approve: BLESS.

8. Fin: FIVE - A $5 bill from "finf," Yiddish for "five"

9. Walk on air: FEEL TEN FEET TALL - How I feel when C.C.'s and my puzzles get published 

10. Show with Kate McKinnon, to fans: SNL - A funny bit from this year's Mother's Day Saturday Night Live show

11. Gabler's creator: IBSEN - Hedda Gabler is an IBSEN play I have never heard of

12. Relaxed: QUIET 

13. Ginger treats: SNAPS.

18. Explosive situation, metaphorically: LAND MINE - Avoid these at Thanksgiving!

22. Mots __: perfect words: JUSTES - French for words (MOTS) and right (JUSTES) 

25. Concern in hiring practices: AGEISM.

26. Old El __: Tex-Mex brand: PASO.

27. Right away, in verse: ANON - Juliet: " I come, ANON.—But if thou mean’st not well, I do beseech thee—"

28. Small change: DIME - Ah, vestiges of my yute!

29. Snooze: CATNAP - Now that's a serious CATNAP. Not even Mr. Bunny can disrupt it.

30. Off-white: EGG SHELL 

33. Chemical suffix: ANE - Flammable MethANE leaps to my mind

34. Flower from the Greek for "rainbow": IRIS - Ἶρις (Iota, rho, iota, sigma) - Goddess of the rainbow

35. Annie Lennox, by birth: SCOT - A bonny lass from Aberdeen who is the lead singer for the Eurhythmics 

36. List with starters: MENU - Found as appetizers in a restaurant and as icons on a computer 

42. Pundit: SWAMI.

43. Chocolate substitute: CAROB - CAROB on the left is caffeine free

44. Truism: AXIOM.

45. "That time of year thou __ in me behold": Shak.: MAYST - The title of Shakespeare's Sonnet 73 that speaks of entering old age 

48. Blissful land: EDEN - Richard II said of England - "This other EDEN, demi-paradise..." The third reference to The Bard Of Avon today

49. After-shower application: TALC.

50. Two-time NHL Norris Trophy winner Karlsson: ERIK - A San Jose Shark hockey player from Landsbro, Sweden

51. Minstrel's strings: LUTE.

52. Hurdle for aspiring attys.: LSAT - Sample questions from the Law School Aptitude Test

54. Festive party accessory: LEI - In Crossword Land you frequently have to choose between an obi, a boa or a LEI

55. Wild place: ZOO.

I hope you think the puzzle and the write-up were worth the dough and not too crusty. Comment at will:

I told you it was a pangram!

*The correct answer in the IQ problem is #5