Wednesday, November 1st, 2023, Catherine Lammersen

A Clever Collection of Capitals

....of the world - quaintly contained in the continental United States; care to carry on~?  I know of at least two others - Berlin, CT, which we drive through on our way south via I-91, and Rome, New York - my buddy Matt D. from high school got his first 'gig' as a TV weatherman in that city - he is now the 'main man' in Richmond, VA....Anyway, this may be Catherine's debut, at least for the LA Times, and a fairly smooth solve for yours truly, with a bit of a slow-down around say, Oregon.  Two Across theme answers, and two Down theme answers - messed up my 'solve the downs first' method.  I also count five proper names in the grid, and a mini-theme of automotive references, too....

17. Capital of the Midwest?: ATHENS, OHIO

55. Capital of the South?: PARIS, TEXAS

10. Capital of the Northeast?: LISBON, MAINE

24. Capital of the Northwest?: MOSCOW, IDAHO

I also found this

And on tour we go~!

ACROSS:

1. Roulette wheel action: SPIN

5. "Brokeback Mountain" actor Ledger: HEATH - Name #1, but I got it

10. Edelstein of "The Kominsky Method": LISA - Name #2, but I knew her from "House, M.D."

14. Gimlet flavor: LIME

15. Sister company of Enterprise: ALAMO - auto theme #1; also - 

        26D. Sister company of Budget: AVIS - auto theme #2

16. As above, in a footnote: IDEM - Latin, 'the same'

19. "__ help you are!": SOME

20. "Eternally nameless" concept: TAO - not that I have heard of this, but a three letter "existential" clue~?

21. Hieroglyphic snakes: ASPS - my guest blogging is rare, but it's the second time I have had this

Very Dangerous

22. Employee-owned supermarket chain based in Florida: PUBLIX - nailed it; I once lived in Jacksonville, FL, and worked at the competition, Winn-Dixie

24. Marathon unit: MILE

25. Bone, in Italian: OSSO

26. Niche: ALCOVE

29. Power: POTENCY - see 56D.

32. Quran chapter part: VERSE

33. Steady look: GAZE

34. Not worth discussing: MOOT

36. Apple choice: iMAC - the computer, and - 47D. Apple choice: GALA - the fruit

37. More ironic: WRYER

38. German automaker: AUDI - auto theme #3

39. Padres slugger Juan: SOTO - Name #3

40. Düsseldorf dwelling: HAUS - I have never been to Düsseldorf, but see who I know lives there....

It's a Russian dating site, actually

41. Completely drained: WIPED

42. Smartphone source of daily headlines: NEWS APP - meh

44. In need of companionship: LONELY - uhh, not if I can get to Düsseldorf....

45. Antilles landmass: ISLE - and 

    44D. __ Antilles: Caribbean cluster: LESSER

46. Richard of "Chicago": GERE - Name #4

47. Actress Hawn: GOLDIE - Name #5

50. Kiss: BUSS

51. Cy Young stat: ERA - E - R - A, the most common crossword fill, ever, I believe

54. Locale: AREA

58. Mascara recipient: LASH

59. Zinc __: sunblock ingredient: OXIDE

He's got it covered....

60. Eight, on a sundial: VIII

Check this out, too

61. Middle harmony chorus part: ALTO

62. Discourage: DETER

63. Largest active volcano in Italy: ETNA

DOWN:

1. Picket fence piece: SLAT - Uh, isn't it called, ay, um, picket~?

2. Baba ghanouj bread: PITA

3. Texter's "I'm no expert, but ... ": IMHO - In My Humble Opinion....

4. Formerly named: NÉE

5. Big headache: HASSLE

6. Have no reception?: ELOPE - har-har

7. Satisfied sighs: AAHs - the dreaded two "A"s or two "H"s conundrum

8. "OMG, stop sharing!": TMI - Too Much Information

9. Cager: HOOPSTER - B-Baller was too short; it's all basketball slang

11. One inundated with fan mail: IDOL

12. Partly: SEMI

13. Green card co.: AMEX - oh, THAT green card....

Mr. Frost needs to cancel this card ASAP

18. None too worldly: NAÏVE - umlaut~!

23. Adopt: USE

25. Seeps: OOZES

27. Subpar car: LEMON - auto theme #4

28. Subpar car: CRATE - auto theme #5

29. "Fork it over!": PAY UP~! - see 51D.

30. Two-door vehicle: COUPE - auto theme #6

31. Alpine song: YODEL

33. Flavor of much children's medicine: GRAPE

35. Spruce (up): TIDY

37. Group of orcas, e.g.: WHALE POD

41. Superlatively bad: WORST

43. Means-tested govt. assistance program: SSI - this stumped me; never heard of this; Supplemental Security Income

46. Museum employee: GUIDE

48. Interview-style exam: ORAL

49. "__ we forget": LEST

50. One who may keep a spare tyre in a boot: BRIT - both my parents were born and raised in England

        and auto theme #7

51. Parking garage sign: EXIT - we worked on a pipe organ at the Riverside Church in NYC last week; here's a pic I took of the scale model in the elevator lobby, and one of the ornate bench carvings; our hotel was in Times Square, and we parked in a garage there, too - $73 overnight

52. Golf date ruiner: RAIN - it's not the rain, it's the lightning....

53. Bhutan's continent: ASIA

56. Splitting tool: AXE - I now own the 29A version....

57. Morn's opposite: EVE - and to all, a good night~!

Splynter