Wednesday, Sep 4th, 2024, Prasanna Keshava

 BACK WORDS

 Another Wednesday, another crossword with circles, another ton of proper names ( I lost count ) again.  Today's puzzle has 21 TLWs, and 20 four-letter ones.  I am not familiar with author Prasanna Keshava, last seen here in March 2023.  We do get two unique crossword fills, at 22 & 35A.  Found inside the circles are the words ORATE, CHAT, UTTER and SAY, "reversed", to define our theme reveal at 56A.  The theme answers; 

18. Recommendation called to lovebirds: "GET A ROOM~!"

Captain Picard says that's an order

22. Fast spotted kitties: CHEETAH CUBS

Smithsonian National Zoo - their site

35. Routes taken in some great escapes: SECRET TUNNELS

The Great Escape - the history, not the perfume

51. Super simple: AS EASY AS PIE

 yeah, simply add 3.14159265358~lbs of cherries....

56. Sass, and what can be found in this puzzle's circled letters?: BACK TALK - TALK synonyms, spelled BACKwards

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Canada's capital city: OTTAWA - Name #1; I know this from watching NHL hockey - the Senators, CanadianEh~!

7. "History of the World, Part II" writer/producer/narrator Brooks: MEL - Name #2; I loved the 1981 movie HotW part ONE, but I am chagrinned to say, I have not watched the new series - tsk tsk tsk.  

10. Utah ski resort: ALTA - Name #3; learned by doing crosswords

14. Driver's lic. with added security: REAL ID - I was issued a Real ID by default when I "converted" to CT from NY

15. "__ Maria": AVE - Name(ish) #4; more crosswordese

16. Phobia: FEAR - I am claustrophobic & agoraphobic; some others fears I don't suffer from include dromophobia, triskaidekaphobia, and gephyrophobia - see the end of the blog for these fears defined *

17. Not on the dot: BEHIND - meh. "LATE" sounds better

20. Perform penance: ATONE

21. Muse's bestowal, casually: INSPO - 21st century-speak for "inspiration"

25. Word with pocket or socket: HIP - hip pocket, hip socket - it's Hip to be 8D.

Huey Lewis & The News

28. Fellows: HEs - not a fan of these clues/answers

29. Ergonomic kitchen gadget brand: OXO - learned by doing crosswords

30. Petulant: PEEVISH

32. Tutu fabric: TULLE

34. Baby-voiced red Muppet: ELMO - Name #5

40. Green one, in slang: NEWB - short for newbie, someone just starting out, but willing to learn; NOOB means you're a 'hacker' who doesn't care to improve

If you don't REVIT, you don't "get it"

41. Brownstone porch: STOOP - strangely, there are TWO front doors on my house; the one I rarely use has a "stoop", while the other, on the sunroom, has a "porch" - and when my brother visits, he always uses the "wrong" one....

42. Car part that helps prevent rollovers: SWAY BAR

Pick-up lines to "Sway" you at a "Bar"~?

46. Probable fig.: ESTimate

47. Unmatched: ODD - like socks

50. Novelist Patchett: ANN - Name #6

54. Zodiac ram: ARIES- technically, a name, but there's only 12 ( or 13, if you believe in them )

55. Relay stick: BATON

59. Large juicy fruits: MELONS

60. "Didn't think you'd be here!": "OH, HI~!"

61. Precious stone: GEM

62. Not off-key: IN TUNE - I am learning how to tune pipe organs - it's way more difficult than you'd think; the first reason being, you have to be partnered, as the 'keyboard' can be hundreds of feet from the pipes

63. Make a profit: GAIN - think stock market

64. Poem of praise: ODE - ODD and ODE in one puzzle

65. Perfume sample: TESTER

To me, the most tantalizing scent - Calvin Klein's "Escape"
The science of perfume

DOWN:

1. Briscoe player on "Law & Order": ORBACH - Name #7; I am a huge L&O fan, so I knew this one; he was one of the most convincing TV characters ever; their best seasons ran when he was a cast member

2. Show signs of growth?: TEETHE - I do the DOWNs first, and I had no clue on this one - I had kids for all of two years, and not infants

3. Chevrolet SUVs: TAHOES - Name(ish)

4. Dress with flare?: A-LINE

It's definitely got "flare"

5. Sonoma Valley excursion: WINE TOUR - over the last 10+ years, WINE TOURs have become very popular on the North Fork of Long Island; there are so many wineries and farm stands that traffic on the three one-lane roads during autumn is insane

6. Insert: ADD - the verb, as to add one's opinion

7. Orlando NBA team: MAGIC - Name(ish); not a basketball fan - but football is here, and hockey in a month~!

8. Square: EVEN UP - meh.  this doesn't quite jibe for me, even in a "financial" sense

9. Doesn't disturb: LETS BE

10. Curly hairstyle: AFRO

11. Sign of summer: LEO - one of the "other" twelve names in the Zodiac

12. "__ Te Ching": philosophical text: TAO - Ektorp; the "text" was a hint

13. Radius locale: ARM - I filled in LEG for some ODD reason

19. Church nook: APSE - The comments last week about Pipe Organ lingo brought a smile to my face - It did not occur to me that I may sound obtuse

Click to Zoom

23. Bridge toll unit: AXLE - one's car is typically two axles; a semi, five

24. Victoria __: pen name in gothic romance: HOLT - Name #8, and no clue

25. Sledding spot: HILL - Back in the 80s, when we got snow, my father would take us sledding on the HILLs of St. Georges Country Club, across the way from SUNY Stony Brook on Long Island

26. Belief systems: ISMs - crosswordese

27. Soup eaten with a large spoon and chopsticks: PHO - no clue, filled via perps

31. Political satire starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus: VEEP - I did not know this; name(ish) 

32. 16 Handles rival: TCBY - I've not heard of 16 Handles - The Country's Best Yogurt  - that one I know; name(ish)

33. UFO riders: ETs

35. Stitched up: SEWN

36. Actor McGregor: EWAN - Name #9

37. Great Basin Natives: UTES - it's either OTO or UTE

38. Overly interested in someone's business: NOSY

39. Latin phrase that means "mark well": NOTA BENE

40. Intelligence org.: NSA - oops, not CIA

43. Fourth grader voiced by Nancy Cartwright: BART - Name #10; The Simpsons

44. Italian cheese: ASIAGO - Hah - I tried ROMANO, which did fit, and 33% correct

45. Whirled in confusion: REELED

47. Click "unsubscribe," say: OPT OUT

48. Warwick who sang "Do You Know the Way to San Jose": DIONNE - Name #11

49. More tightly packed: DENSER

52. "Shoot!": "ASK ME~!"

53. Seasons, as popcorn: SALTS

54. Related: AKIN

56. Soggy spot: BOG

57. "I see now!": "A-HA~!"

58. T'ai __ ch'uan: CHI - Oof.  On a Wednesday

59. Cambridge sch.: MIT - Ah.  Knew this, but I've not seen it in a crossword for a long time

Splynter

* crossing the street, the number 13, and bridges