Wed, Dec. 25th, 2024 ~ Samantha Podos Nowak

 THE STOCKINGS . . .

. . . . HANG in Splynter's "Family Room"

This would be the third publication from Samantha for the LA Times, but my first blog for her as my puzzle constructor.  Not a holiday theme as I expected, but I did my best to add in a seasonal reference.  A 'normal' grid for a change, no circles, a handful of names, and more 4LW than TLW.  The themers;

17. Work space?: ART GALLERY - "Works" of art HANG in a gallery

25. Brew house?: COFFEE SHOP - "Friends" characters would HANG at "Central Perk"

49. TV station?: FAMILY ROOM - watch cartoons and HANG out in the den

59. Jacket pocket?: COAT CLOSET - my jacket, hoodies and heavy coat HANG over the radiator in my kitchen; the clue refers to where one ( at least, I do ) keeps the seasonal hat and gloves - in the "coat closet" - and that pleasant surprise I get every December when I would find a $5 bill jammed in a pocket from last winter

I love putting on a warm coat in the morning

36. "Don't give up," and a suggestion that can apply to 17-, 25-, 49-, and 59 Across?:
HANG IN THERE - Luke says, "Leia, hear me~!"

You weren't expecting a cat, were you~?

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Cherry-picks, perhaps: CULLS - this word had a different connotation when I was an employee at Grossmans Lumber - we would CULL the bowed, cupped, crooked, & checked "27D.'s", etc., so not really "cherry-picking", more like "unsellable" merchandise

6. Exam for HS jrs.: PSAT - the practice SAT

10. Classic road trip game: "I SPY" - "I spy" something in red - Ho-Ho-Ho~!

14. Pickled garnish in a Gibson: ONION - if it didn't start out pickled . . .

. . . swimming in gin & vodka will certainly do it

15. Dayton's state: OHIO - I worked for a cleaning company when I lived in Cincinnati, but on occasion we had some "new construction" homes to tidy up in Dayton as well

Bottom left - not "180° from SSW"

16. Readily available: NEAR

19. Ballpark figures?: FANS - no "abbr", therefore no "ESTS", etc., so I waited 

20. Harden, as glue: SET 

21. Fancy fete: GALA

22. Sneeze inducer: DUST

23. Like a giant redwood: TALL

I'd like to visit

29. What a new parent often craves: SLEEP - I never had the pleasure of sleepless nights and potty-training

31. Spot for the first caller, perhaps: LINE ONE - think landline business phones; "lumber department, pick up line one."

32. PBS funder: NEA - I liked the newbies highlight idea from sumdaze, so I am going to adopt it, too; Public Broadcasting Service, and the National Education Association

34. Bugs: NAGS

35. Account exec: REP

39. Big name in pasta sauce: RAO - never heard of this brand; these onions are getting around....

Does look good

41. Inlet: COVE

42. Chinese menu general: TSO - It's my go-to when I order Chinese - no onions, though

43. Interlace: ENTWINE

45. Where the heart is?: TORSO - um, yeah

53. Tarot reader: SEER

54. Blue or red part of 3D glasses: LENS - reminds me of this secondary character ↙

I did not know that the guy between Biff and George was played by Billy Zane

55. Salon sound: SNIP

57. "Lover" or "Red," for Taylor Swift: ERA

58. Reddish-brown horse: ROAN

62. Jamaican citrus fruit: UGLI

63. Seltzer starter: ALKA - plop-plop, fizz-fizz . . . .

64. Dunne of "Love Affair": IRENE

65. IPO option: NYSE - a dupe from yesterday; Initial Public Offering, and the New York Stock Exchange

66. Tide type: NEAP

67. Abated: EASED


DOWN:

1. Moves effortlessly: COASTS - SLIDES, GLIDES~?  Bzzzt.

2. "That's wild!": "UNREAL~!"

3. Itty-bitty: LITTLE - I was expecting something like "TEENSY"

4. Fireplace fuel: LOG - Ah.  Not "GAS"

5. Fly in the ointment: SNAG

6. __ al ajillo: Spanish chicken dish: POLLO - a recipe, if you care

These onions are everywhere....

7. Bunch of papers: SHEAF

8. Pool float filler: AIR

9. Item on a tot's Christmas list: TOY - but you'll get coal if you're naughty

10. Make chili oil, perhaps: INFUSE - I had to find out more - the Wiki

11. Sandcastle building site: SEASHORE

12. Company whose Color of the Year 2024 is Peach Fuzz: PANTONE - a list of colors in years past

13. Decade divs.: YRs

18. Body of water in the French Alps: LAC - Frawnche for "lake"

22. Like osmium compared to all other stable elements: DENSEST - learning moment for me - the Wiki

24. Olin of "Chocolat": LENA

26. No longer fizzy: FLAT - I can drink flat soda, but flat seltzer is just "weird water"

27. Two-by-four?: EIGHT - literally, 2x4 = 8

28. Zest: PEP

30. Golf course freebies: PENCILS - Mulligans didn't fit . . . .

33. "The __ and the Ecstasy": novel about Michelangelo: AGONY - Goodreads link

34. 180º from SSW: NNE

36. Soup kitchen offerings: HOT MEALS

37. Indie folk artist Bon __: IVER - no clue, 3 of 4 letters filled via perps, and the "V" was my last entry; the Wiki

38. Oz hoppers: ROOS - Kanga - roos -  Oz = Australia

39. Make calls on the court: REF

40. Explanatory tool: ANALOGY - Kissing her was like a garbage truck getting hit by an onion train.   The onions again.  

44. Danica's role on "The Wonder Years": WINNIE

w/Fred Savage as Kevin Arnold

46. __ Peanut Butter Cups: REESE'S - I loves me some PB & chocolate - I bought the "trees"

47. Like a meditation spot, hopefully: SERENE - ah. Not "SILENT", but I was 50% correct

48. Stumped: ORATED - Ah.  That kind of stumped

50. Japanese port city: OSAKA - good WAG on my part: WAG = Wild A** Guess

51. Readily available: ON TAP - Samantha had this answer in her first puzzle

52. Karaoke need: MICrophone - and a little nerve, or liquid confidence

56. Basic barre bend: PLIÉ

58. Manage: RUN

59. __-do attitude: CAN

60. Cheer after un gol: OLÉ

61. Rita featured on DJ Fresh's "Hot Right Now": ORA - note the headline

Rocking the Stocking(s)

From last week: YooperPhil, we do tune those NYC instruments, and we had the opportunity to "bid" on the upkeep of the Radio City Wurlitzer - the man who started my company has a Wurlitzer in his house, so he's partial to those ( they run on higher pressure than most church organs ); Irish Miss - I check weekly to see what dogs have arrived at the local rescue shelter; it's still in the works~!; unclefred, I saw the "60 Minutes" report on Notre Dame - when we rebuild an organ, we wash every pipe - for the National Cathedral, some of those pipes are huge

Pedal Bourdon, 32ft

Splynter

!~ MERRY CHRISTMAS ~ HAPPY HOLIDAYS ~ !