Sunday August 13, 2017 Paul Coulter

Theme: "Past Due"- One word in each common phrase is replaced by its past tense.

22A. Chant by lumberyard workers during a lockout? : LONG TIME NO SAW. Long time no see, which originated in Chinese, right?  好久不见 is literately "long time no see".

37A. Citi Field shortstop or second baseman? : MET IN THE MIDDLE. Meet in the middle.

53A. Timid FBI agent? : CHICKEN FED. Chicken feed.

67A. Bunch of cattle reading menus? : DROVE IN RESTAURANT. Drive-in restaurant.

83A. One evoking yawns on an Alaskan island? : KODIAK BORE. Kodiak bear.

97A. Help when it's time to give up? : LENT ASSISTANCE. Lend assistance.

119A. Provide with surfacing material, as a pool parlor? : GET THE FELT FOR. Get the feel for.

Of the seven theme entries, two changes happen in the front, three in the back, one is in the middle. A nice mix. Consistently putting the changes in front or back are quite daunting, as Paul's choices are rather limited. 

MET IN THE MIDDLE and LENT ASSISTANCE are a bit different, as they themselves are solid in the language phrases. 

So many sparkling long fill in the Down slots, Paul!

Across:       

1. Make out : NECK

5. Barley brew : ALE

8. Swedish cinematographer Nykvist : SVEN. Unfamiliar to me. Wiki says he was nominated for Academy Award for Best Cinematography for The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

12. Candy mogul Harry : REESE

17. Brazilian berry : ACAI. This Acai Bowl looks amazing. Trader Joe's now carries frozen acai puree packets.

18. Subject for a bar discussion : LAW

19. Pew's place : NAVE

20. Certain Ukrainian : ODESSAN

25. Brunch cocktails : MIMOSAs

26. Scene of sworn statements : ALTAR

27. Finish second : PLACE. Win. Place. Show. We also have 23. Horse race pace : TROT

28. Gothic architecture feature : GABLE

30. You can dig it : ORE

31. Chop off : LOP

33. "Be __": "Help me out here" : A PAL

34. Like real estate moguls : ACRED. Not a word I use.

35. Hit hard : SMITE. Not a word I use.

43. WWII org. that froze food costs : OPA. Googled afterwards: Office of Price Administration.

44. Ring spot, maybe : TUB. Nice clue.

46. Old Nair competitor : NEET

47. "Manhattan" Oscar nominee Hemingway : MARIEL

48. Hound : NAG

49. Anti: Abbr. : OPP. Followed by 50. Adversaries : FOES

52. Advisories : ALERTS

56. Beverage with a lizard logo : SoBe. Short for South Beach

60. Moore of "G.I. Jane" : DEMI

61. Pen : ENCAGE

62. Oft-quoted auth.? : ANON

64. Fall lead-in : PRAT

66. Canadian capital? : CEE. Canadian.

72. Lith., once : SSR

74. To be, in Tours : ETRE

75. It may be raised at a party : CAIN. Raise Cain. I was thinking of toast.

76. Accustomed (to) : INURED

79. Jack of "Rio Lobo" : ELAM. He's a gimme to me now.

81. Narcissus' love : SELF. Ah, not ECHO.

85. Chinese temple : PAGODA. This Giant Wild Goose Pagoda is very close to our home. It was built in 652 to to store the Buddhist scriptures.

88. Bring down : RUIN

90. Flue residue : ASH

91. Church kitchen server : URN

92. Hunk : ADONIS

93. British submachine gun : STEN. We saw this entry a lot in the old Wayne R. Williams days.

95. ER personnel : RNs

96. Crib sheet user : TOT. Cute clue.

101. Hidden : INNER

104. Sarducci in early "SNL" skits : GUIDO

105. Pastoral plaints : BAAs

106. Iowa campus : COE. Coe College.

107. Entrepreneur's deg. : MBA

110. Like Cheerios : OATEN. I like overnight oats. Just can't get into Cheerios.

111. Pays to play : ANTES

113. "Transcendental" Liszt piece : ETUDE

117. Place with care : ARRANGE

122. Fountain treats : SUNDAES. What's your favorite dessert?

123. Sheltered at sea : ALEE

124. Baseball rally killers, briefly : DPS (Double Plays)

125. Hang loosely : LOLL

126. Counter seat : STOOL

127. Lays down the lawn : SODS. Also 95. Tends to a lawn's bare spot : RESEEDS

128. '60s radical gp. : SDS. Students for a Democratic Society.

129. Direction in Durango : ESTE

Down:

1. "The Lion King" lion : NALA

2. Earth Day subj. : ECOL

3. Prominent angle : CANT. Can you give me an example?

4. Capital of Rwanda : KIGALI. Got via crosses.

5. Ring master? : ALI. Great clue as well.

6. Spot for a bulb : LAMP

7. Young female sheep : EWE LAMB

8. Vehicle with caterpillar treads : SNO-CAT. I did not know there's a term for those continuous treads.

9. Healing aid patented in 1872 : VASELINE. Great fill.

10. Actress Mendes : EVA

11. Historic London prison : NEWGATE. Wiki says "The gate/prison was rebuilt in the 12th century, and demolished in 1904. The prison was extended and rebuilt many times, and remained in use for over 700 years, from 1188 to 1902."

12. Like some summer school classes : REMEDIAL

13. Spaniard's "that" : ESO

14. "Happy Motoring" company : ESSO

15. Moselle tributary : SAAR. Not ORNE.

16. Bay State motto opener : ENSE. This will appear again. You just need to remember it.

20. Old card game named for the Spanish for "man" : OMBRE. Helpful clue.

21. Fix : DILEMMA. Noun "Fix".

24. Where small animals may be picked up : NAPE

29. Eight, in Essen : ACHT

32. Bugbear : PET PEEVE. Another great fill.

35. Hall of Fame pitcher Warren : SPAHN. This is the original Hartland statue. He was with Milwaukee Braves then. We have a copy made in the 1980s I think.

36. Puff, notably : MAGIC DRAGON. Puff is the only Magic Dragon I know. Chinese are often called "Descendants of the Dragon". You'll see dragon dance in Chinese Spring Festival. "Hoping one's son will become a dragon" is an idiomatic saying, meaning you hope your son succeed.

38. Capone nemesis : NESS

39. 1856 Stowe novel : DRED

40. Beeline : DIRECT ROUTE

41. "I can help" : LET ME

42. Dinsmore of kid lit : ELSIE. Learning moment for me.

43. First word of "The Raven" : ONCE

45. "Buffy" airer after The WB : UPN

49. Rock band known for quirky, viral videos : OK GO. Unfamiliar with the band.

50. Aromatic herb : FENNEL

51. Carbon monoxide's lack : ODOR

54. Wheels : CAR

55. Laissez-__ : FAIRE

57. Alternative : OPTION

58. Stigmatize : BRAND. Oh, I learned a new word from my eye doctor the other day: Astigmatism.

59. Evian, e.g. : EAU

63. Japanese computer giant : NEC

65. Period of the first dinosaurs : TRIASSIC. New word to me also.

68. Sci-fi staples : ETs,. Also 114. Roswell sightings : UFOS

69. Storytelling pseudonym : SAKI. I sure need "H.H. Munro" in the clue.

70. Pharaoh's symbol : ANKH. Chinese emperor's symbol is dragon. All emperors wore dragon ropes.

71. Essence : NUB

72. Flower part : SEPAL

73. English glam rockers since the '70s : SLADE

77. Diamond flaw : ERROR. Baseball.

78. Bad impression? : DENT

80. Alpes sight : MONT

82. Guitar line : FRET

84. "At Seventeen" singer Janis : IAN

86. Slash : DIAGONAL

87. Soften : ASSUAGE

89. With sustained force : UNABATED

93. Pro or con : SIDE

94. 1992 presidential also-ran Paul : TSONGAS. No idea. He lost to Clinton. 

98. Positions : SITES

99. 1598 edict city : NANTES. Edict of Nantes. I learned from doing crosswords.

100. Like the Pope: Abbr. : CATH (Catholic).

102. Carol : NOEL

103. Irritate : NETTLE

107. Come together : MASS. I did not know MASS can be a verb.

108. Champagne designation : BRUT

109. New Yorker cartoonist Peter : ARNO

112. Bay Area cop gp. : SFPD

115. Chowderhead : DOLT

 

116. Agatha contemporary : ERLE

118. Big deal : ADO

120. "Eldorado" rock gp. : ELO

121. Double curve : ESS

Happy Birthday to dear Chickie (Leah), who joined our blog in 2008. So happy to see her stay busy and active.

Chickie & Bill

Happy Birthday to Spitzboov's sweet wife Betty as well! They've been married for 52 years. Does Betty solve crosswords, Al?

Friday, June 2, 2017, Paul Coulter

Title: It's all backasswards!

4 in the language two-word phrases have the words reversed and are then re-clued to match the new phrase. This is the third Friday from Paul this year and each have featured a a combination of two words. It is also the first time HG did not blog one of these in my stead but I have enjoyed all of them. Thank you HG, and I return with lots of short fill that is not easy. There are some nice 7 and longer fill such as BEAN BAG,  FOX NEWS,  ALSO RAN,  IDEA MEN,  LIGATES,  ELUSIVE, KLEENEX,  CABINET,  ELASTIN,  OGREISH but some of the shorter fill are very challenging. MOAS, KIRS, MILOS, SPRIT and GIGUE - I look forward to the crowd response.

19A. *Idle : NOTHING DOING (12). Doing Nothing is what makes one idle.

27A. *Athlete's time-out on a hot day : BREAK WATER (10). A Water Break feels good these days here in sunny South Florida.

34A. *Maestro's signals : BEATS DOWN (9). Down Beat is the downward stroke of a conductor's arm or baton indicating the first or accented beat of a measure. Various.

44A. *Returned : BACK HANDED (10). Handed Back is how you return things.

The reveal:

51A. "Nice" expression ... and a hint to the answers to starred clues : TURN OF PHRASE (12).
I do love a reveal that brings what seems like a meaningless bunch of fill together in a sensible fashion.

Across:

1. Prickly case : BUR. I learned this word from the old westerns on TV where the bad guy would put a BUR under the saddle of the good guy.

4. Retired flier : SST.

7. Wombat relatives : KOALAS. Not sure why but I knew this.

13. Pittsburgh-to-Scranton dir. : ENE.

14. School gp. : PTA. Parent  Teacher Association.

15. "Hannity" airer : FOX NEWS.

16. Loser : ALSO RAN.

18. Thoughtful guys? : IDEA MEN. Mad Men?

21. Crow : BOAST.

22. Protein producer : RNA.

23. "Eldorado" rockers : ELO. Electric Light Orchestra.

26. Communiqué segue : AS TO.

31. "Holy cow" : GEE.

32. Extinct New Zealanders : MOAS. The fooled me for a while making me think of people not the BIRDS.

33. Court call : ORDER.

37. "Amadeus" director Forman : MILOS. An amazing man who directed 8 different actors who were nominated for best actor, three won.  BIO.

40. Sushi kitchen supply : EELS.

41. Albanian coin : LEK. I think I have a few in my pocket.

47. See 20-Down : KILL. 20D. With 47-Across, in a drop-dead gorgeous outfit : DRESSED TO. DRESSED TO KILL.

48. "Go on ... " : AND.

49. In shape : FIT.

50. Lively French dance : GIGUE. I am part French but did not know this DANCE.
.
55. Group that's mostly secretaries : CABINET. The best clue of the puzzle.

58. Protein that allows skin to stretch or contract : ELASTIN. If you know elastic....

59. Monstrous : OGREISH.

60. Get into : DON.

61. Time to prepare : EVE.

62. Scarcity : DEARTH. Nice $5.00 word.

63. Marienbad, for one : SPA. I think only Tinman knew this RESORT.

64. Census datum : SEX.

Down:

1. Dorm room seat : BEAN BAG. We all had them, mine was red vinyl.

2. Let free : UNLOOSE.

3. Put another way : RESTATE.

4. Nautical pole : SPRIT. (nautical) a light spar pivoted at the mast and crossing a fore-and-aft quadrilateral sail diagonally to the peak.

5. "South Park" boy : STAN.

6. Pungency : TANG.

7. Big bear : KODIAK.

8. Big bovines : OXEN. Back again.

9. Course for Crusoe?: Abbr. : ANAGram.

10. The Eagle, briefly : LEM(onade?) Nope, Lunar Excursion Module.

11. Amazement : AWE.

12. 81-yr.-old ID : SSN. Social Security Number.

15. Musical Apple : FIONA.

17. Quite : OH SO.

23. LAX posting : ETD. ETA ETD, flip a coin or wait.

24. "Malcolm X" director : LEE. Spike.

25. "Catch-22" pilot : ORR. A very good read.

27. Fluffy accessory : BOA.

28. Double-crosser : RAT. The best...WATCH

29. Blows away : WOWS.

30. Prince Valiant's son : ARN. A puzzle favorite for many years and last week.

32. Dovetail : MESH.

34. __ choy : BOK.   Bok choy or pak choi is a type of Chinese cabbage. Chinensis varieties do not form heads and have smooth, dark green leaf blades instead, forming a cluster reminiscent of mustard greens or celery

35. Sandra who was the first to play "Gidget" : DEE.

36. Dated : OLD. Some date young.

37. CEO's degree : MBA.

38. McKellen of "X-Men" : IAN. And Harry Potter , the Hobbit, and Beauty and  they Beast and more.

39. TV screen type : LCD.

41. Ties surgically : LIGATES. The root word for ligature.

42. Hard to pin down : ELUSIVE.

43. Soft tissue : KLEENEX.

45. From the top : AFRESH. An A word.

46. Beethoven's __ : NINTH.

47. White wine apéritifs : KIRS. This is a drink made from dry white wine and crème de cassis.

50. Ivory Coast neighbor : GHANA.

51. Bleacher feature : TIER.

52. Ton, for one : UNIT.

53. Govt. enforcers : FEDS.

54. Fall, as into a chair : PLOP.

55. Whiting cousin : COD. The fish of fish and chips.

56. Sensitive subject, to some : AGE.

57. Source of support : BRA. Nice clue. And time to go.

I enjoyed this work out, but it has left me drained, so I bid you adieu. Lemonade out. Thanks Paul.

Sunday May 7, 2017 Paul Coulter

Theme: "French Connection" - Two words of the same meanings & same letter count are placed side by side. The first one is of French origin.

22A. Outcome : DENOUEMENT. Notice all the French-rooted words are English words.   J'AI FAIM & I'M HUNGRY won't work. Wrong letter count also.

24A. Outcome : RESOLUTION

38A. "Win some, lose some" : C'EST LA VIE

41A. "Win some, lose some" : THAT'S LIFE. Same clues too of course.
 
65A. Bare : AU NATUREL

68A. Bare : BUCK-NAKED
  
91A. "Confidentially ... " : ENTRE NOUS. Also the title of this popular book. The author is actually an American.
 

94A. "Confidentially ... " : BETWEEN US
 
110A. Fine dining aficionados : BON VIVANTS

113A. Fine dining aficionados : EPICUREANS. Our Steve is one. Does the new consulting gig mean you've left Oracle?

All the French words are placed in front. Very consistent.

The separate 10 theme entries work like grid-spanners, in a way. I don't believe Paul put those black square stair steps in the middle on purpose. Just the result of grid design restrictions.

Across:    

1. Starbucks serving : LATTE. Not MOCHA.

6. Pound foot? : IAMB. Ezra Pound.

10. Busy co. on Mother's Day : FTD. Our flea markets here officially kick off on Mother's Day. Some open today. Yay!

13. Put forward : POSED

18. Get too close to : CROWD

19. Françoise's friend : AMIE. 98. Coup target : ETAT. Stray French.

20. __ moment : AHA. Not IN A.

21. Capricious : FICKLE

26. It's a long story : SAGA

27. Advanced legal deg. : LLM. Master of Laws. Not LLD today. Also 44. Legal agreement : LEASE

28. Souvenirs with three holes in them : TEES. I was picturing a bowling ball. Pricey souvenir.

30. Is down with : HAS

31. Dr.'s order : MRI. Not EEG/MED


32. Keisters : CABOOSES

35. 640 acres: Abbr. : SQ MI. Drew a blank.

37. Hosea contemporary : AMOS. Biblical prophets. Also 52. Mount delivery : SERMON

 
45. Countryman of Gary Player : ERNIE ELS. George (Big Easy on our blog) has met Ernie Els a few times. Different format at Zurich Classic this year.

47. Training group : CADRE

50. One may be named for a president : ERA

51. Spread out : SPLAY
 
53. Onward in time : FORTH. Not AHEAD.

56. Often elided pronoun : YOU ALL

58. Grandpa Walton portrayer : GEER (Will). Used him in my own grid once.

60. Like Perot in the 1992 pres. election : IND (Independent)

61. The '70s, in a Tom Wolfe essay : ME DECADE

63. "When We Were Kings" subject : ALI

64. __ club : GLEE. Not GOLF.

70. Put __ appearance : IN AN. I had ON AN.

71. Org. with lanes : PBA.  Lisa, one of Boomer's bowling friends, had two perfect games in a row in February. Their Monday league has many top bowlers.

72. Elegantly, to Vivaldi : GRAZIOSO. New word to me. Sounds thankful.

74. Offense : SIN

75. Bell curve figure : MEAN. Got via crosses.

76. Like a quarter's edge : REEDED. Not a word I use.

77. Coagulates : CLOTS

81. Rifled : LOOTED

83. In the cards : FATED

84. Routine first baseman? : WHO. Who's on First?

85. Go after : ENSUE. TTP is chasing morels these days. Do you eat them fresh or do you dry them?

86. Mushers' transports : DOG SLEDS

89. "I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie" author : EBERT

96. Gospel singer Winans : CECE. Same pronunciation as my name, right?
 
99. The 3rd Avenue line was the last of them to operate in Manhattan : EL TRAINS. Drew a blank.

101. Beatle bride : ONO

102. Actress Garner, familiarly : JEN. Wish they were still together.

103. Fill past full : SATE

105. Singer DiFranco : ANI

106. Sorts : ILKS

 116. Senescence : OLD AGE. Senescence sounds old.

117. Even so : YET

118. Take-out order? : DELE. Gimme for regulars.

119. Snowy __ : EGRET

120. Holds up : LASTS

121. News letters : UPI

122. Cheek : SASS

123. Chinese toys, for short : PEKES. Toy dogs.

Down:

1. Some SLR displays : LCDs

2. Side squared, for a square : AREA

3. Chinese secret society : TONG. A bit obscure.

4. Feature of many Broadway musicals : TWO ACTS

5. Email ending : EDU

6. 1975 Jackson 5 hit : I AM LOVE. The answer filled in itself.

7. Autobiographical subtitle : A MEMOIR

8. Time div. : MIN

9. Actress Davis : BETTE

10. Make out : FARE

11. Site of Mount Olympus : THESSALY. Somewhere here.

12. "__ Kapital" : DAS

13. Name of 12 popes : PIUS

14. Fall mo. : OCT

15. Whole alternative, in Nottingham : SKIMMED MILK. Skimmed makes better sense.

16. Ecuadoran province once famous for its gold : EL ORO

17. Patron saint of France : DENIS. Sometimes it's DENYS.

21. Swing wildly : FLAIL

23. Island near Corsica : ELBA. BunnyM is going to her little island in the Mexican Caribbean next week. They go there every year to celebrate their wedding anniversary, I think.

25. Resistance units : OHMs

29. Co-star of Bea, Betty and Rue : ESTELLE. "The Golden Girls"

33. Amber __ : ALE

34. Erotic : SENSUAL

36. Parts of gals. : QTs

37. A long way off : AFAR

38. Pitch indicator : CLEF. Musical pitch!

39. Architect Saarinen : EERO

40. Coal-rich German region : SAAR

42. Get better : HEAL. Positive thoughts to our Lemonade and a few others. Hope all's good, Spitzboov!


43. Champagne bucket, e.g. : ICER

46. Apple variety : iPAD

48. Actress Blakley : RONEE. Forgot. We had  her a while ago.

49. Cut off : ENDED

52. Watch word? : SEIKO. Tricky clue. Plus, so many five-letter watch brands.

54. Fed after tax evaders : T-MAN

55. Worked (up) : HET

56. __ Buena, town that became San Francisco : YERBA

57. Continental divide? : OCEAN. Great clue.

58. Surgical dressing : GAUZE

59. Castilian hero : EL CID

62. Had : DUPED

64. Canterbury pen : GAOL. Jail.

65. Bridal path : AISLE. Side by side with 66. Wedding : UNION

67. They go by in a flash : NANOSECONDS. Another great clue/fill combo.

68. Banker's bane : BAD DEBT

69. Pres. advisory team : NSC

72. Prepares : GETS SET

73. It holds the line : REEL

75. Face : MEET

76. Popular pasta topping : RAGU. Staple in our household.

78. Actor Wilson : OWEN

79. By way of, briefly : THRU

80. Tipplers : SOTS

82. Air : TUNE

83. One may echo in an alley : FOOTSTEP. The image reminds me of the frequent plot device in Chinese movies about 1940's.

86. Chain letters? : DNA. Fun clue also.


87. Obstructs the progress of : DERAILS

88. Batting positions : STANCES

89. Poetic dusk : E'EN. Evening.

90. Surround : BESIEGE

92. Superman player : REEVE

93. It towers over Taormina : ETNA. Not familial with Taormina. I do know 104. Italian wine center : ASTI

95. 2012 Nintendo debut : WII U

96. Early computer language : COBOL

97. __ Gay: WWII bomber : ENOLA

100. West Yorkshire city : LEEDS

102. Sprightly dances : JIGS

107. Frolic : LARK

108. Cap site : KNEE. Kneecap.


109. Retired fliers : SSTs

111. Winery sight : VAT

112. Manhattan sch. : NYU

114. Patch grower : PEA. No peas in our small garden. I do love sugar peas.

115. Gym unit : REP

Friday, April, 21, 2017, Paul Coulter

Title: CONDENSATION

Husker Gary in today for Lemon who is on the Disabled List, hopefully on a temporary basis! Paul has chosen six two-word phrases where the last letters of the first word are also the first letters of the second word as you can see in the grid below. Then he clues the resulting silly phrase with overlapping letters as an economy of letters in making his ENGAGINGENIOUS theme. 

Let's investigate the PLEASANTICS of Paul's in his six, count 'em,  six, theme answers

17. Compressed "Blue Suede Shoes" as sung by Elvis? : COVERSION - One of Elvis' first big hits was a COVER VERSION of a song originally done by Carl Perkins

28. Compressed piece of hardware? : COMPUTERMINAL -Alan Turig's "Bombe" built to decipher German Enigma codes was a forerunner of the modern COMPUTER TERMINAL

21. Compressed syntax topic? : WORDER - WORD ORDER can be slightly different in Spanish. 

44. Compressed Homeland Security role? : COUNTERRORISM - Both sides of any conflict have COUNTER TERRORISM strategies

52. Compressed carnivore? : MEATER - A MEAT EATER who lives with a vegetarian

57. Compressed gastric complaints? : STOMACHES - Astronauts can get STOMACH ACHES in 0g. They can just swallow this water bubble and its fizzy contents

Now for the rest of Paul's cluing in this FUNBELIEVABLE puzzle

Across

1. African currency : RAND - Who gets the fries in this R99 Durban, South Africa deal?

5. Tater __ : TOTS

9. U.K. equivalent of an Oscar : BAFTA - British Academy of Film and Television Fine Arts

14. Burnt toast indicator : ODOR - A man next to me at a Denny's once ordered burnt toast

15. Heroic poetry : EPOS - A word I learned and forgot in this venue

16. Noble objective : IDEAL 

19. Make happen : CAUSE

20. Imply : GET AT - Speaking of ODOR - "What is she trying to GET AT?"

22. Ecol., e.g. : SCI

25. Traitor : RAT 

26. Canal locale : EAR - The only thing you should put in your ear is your elbow

27. Emerson's "jealous mistress" : ART - "It makes a bad husband and poor provider"

32. Nordic counterpart : ALPINE - Today's puzzle theme inspired me to choose this TV overlapping gimmick composed of two competing ALPINE skiers 

33. Heat source : OIL

34. Judgment concern : BIAS

37. Nothing, in Nice : RIEN

38. On the other hand : BUT

39. Salinger title character with professional singing aspirations : ESME - How do I clue thee? Let me count the ways.

40. Creative singing style : SCAT - Did you forget the words, Ella? :-) 

41. Home sick, say : OUT - Did you ever call in sick and try to sound as sick as you can on the phone? Uh, me either. 

42. Perfumery compound : ACETAL - I never cared for organic chemistry 

47. "That's awful!" : UGH

49. Lush : SOT

50. Tiebreakers, briefly : OT'S - A t-shirt celebrating an Orangemen sextuple OT win 

51. Old anti-Union gp. : CSA  and 57. The CSA's eleven : STS - What if they had won?

54. Manuscript marks : STETS

56. Austrian composer Berg : ALBAN - If Paul says so...

61. Author known for teddy bear stories : MILNE

62. Amos at the piano : TORI

63. The last Mrs. Chaplin : OONA - OONA's celebrated dad, playwright Eugene O'Neill, ended their relationship when she married Charlie who was 36 years her senior. 

64. Latin clarifier : ID EST - ID EST, "That is" we know more familiarly as "i.e."

65. Smart answer, sometimes : SASS  but not 60. KLM competitor : SAS - A follow-up on Wednesday's sassy discussion here

66. Terrible time : TWO'S

Down

1. Elephant predator of myth : ROC - From Arabic   رخ (rukk), an enormous legendary bird of  prey

2. Brouhaha : ADO - Brouhaha seems pretentious to my ear

3. Scorpio mo. : NOV

4. Remnant : DREG - In It Was A Very Good Year, Old Blue Eyes sang, "And now I think of my life as vintage wine, From fine old kegs, From the brim to the DREGS" 

5. Willed? : TESTATE - The lower example

6. Sleep inducer : OPIATE - Not a good long term solution

7. Binge : TOOT

8. Identity thief's target: Abbr. : SSN - He stopped running this ad after his identity was stolen 13 times

9. Crescent-shaped : BICORN - A UNICORN variance

10. Purim month : ADAR

11. Like a Middle Ages social system : FEUDALISTIC 

12. It's a stunner : TASER - These will cover the waterfront

13. It may be red : ALERT

18. "Friends" episode, now : RERUN - How did they have no minority Friends in NYC?

21. Knock 'em dead at the jazz club : WAIL

22. Lasting marks : SCARS - Mine is in a place you will never see

23. Infant illness : COLIC - Col. Potter's horse Sophie had COLIC in a M*A*S*H episode

24. Like high-level treason : IMPEACHABLE

26. Put out : EMIT

29. It's spotted in Westerns : PINTO - Tonto on his PINTO, Scout

30. Way to go : ROUTE

31. "Drink __": 2014 Luke Bryan #1 country hit : A BEER - "So I'm gonna sit right here, On the edge of this pier, Watch the sunset disappear and Drink A BEER". Eat yer out Shakespeare!

35. Gather : AMASS

36. 1965 march site : SELMA - I wonder per cent of people that claim to have been at SELMA or Woodstock actually were

38. Target : BUTT - Of a joke

41. __ about : ON OR

42. Diana's Greek counterpart : ARTEMIS

43. Spanish seashore : COSTA

45. Early online forum : USENET

46. Chopper parts : ROTORS

47. Savory taste : UMAMI 

48. Very cold : GELID - "Eventually boots and socks had to be removed and ankles submitted to the GELID waters" Sunday Times (2013)

53. Beige cousins : TANS

54. Portico for Pericles : STOA

55. Conan Doyle, for one : SCOT

58. The sixth W? : HOW

59. "Ambient 1: Music for Airports" artist : ENO - This would be "TAN music" at ORD

Now it's time for your condensed or unabridged comments. Perhaps you can come up with some variations on Paul's THEMETHOD.