Wednesday, Nov 6th, 2024 ~ Sala Wanetick

  CRISS-CROSS-EYED

This appears to be Sala Wanetick's first solo effort for the LA Times - I found three other puzzles with a co-constructor, Emily Biegas.  The grid is size 15 x 16, and the theme is two-word formations known as reduplication.  Some really vague clues/answers today, 18 TLWs, just two less than the number of four letter words, and a handful names, some of them totally obscure.  The themers;

18. Drag one's feet: DILLY-DALLY

27. Idle banter: CHIT-CHAT

40. Indecisive: WISHY-WASHY

57. Mixed bag: MISH-MASH

69. Tchotchke: KNICK-KNACK - I learned the word "tchotchke" ( CHOCH-key) from the terminal manager at Roadway Express - he was referring to the truckload of Home Interiors goods we had to sort every Friday night

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Loose-fitting: BAGGY

6. Hiker's snack mix: GORP  - AND -  32A. Tidbit in 6-Across: NUT - Good Ol' Raisins & Peanuts

10. New England fish: SCROD

15. Tunisian couturier Azzedine __: ALAÏA - Wow.  On a Wednesday.  Beyond obscure.  His Wiki.  Name #1

16. Is short: OWES

17. __ Troopa: Mario Bros. turtlelike foe: KOOPA - I grew up with Atari 2600; 

this was the "next generation" of video gaming - Name #2

Sort of theme-ish, too

20. "All good here": "I'M SET."

21. Italian sub slice: SALAMI

22. Unleash (on): SIC

23. Management level: TIER

24. Seeking, in ads: ISO - the old newspaper classified dating section - In Search Of . . . .

25. Organic lip balm brand: EOS

30. Cabinet-level div.: DEPartmenT

34. Drops in on: VISITS

35. Petro-Canada rival: ESSO - Name #3, but a common fill

36. Play areas?: STAGES

39. __ rally: PEP

44. "Silent Sunday Nights" cable network: TCM - filled via perps

47. Hangs loose: CHILLS - how 'bout some Chillaxing music~?

Rapture At Sea

48. Presidential terms, maybe: ERAS - did we go back to another era~?

52. "Got it": "OH, I SEE" - a bit meh.

54. Secret agent: SPY

56. Knitting loop: PURL - I used to watch several women in AA meetings knit, to the point where my curiosity got the better of me, and I asked Carol to teach me. 

60. Slangy greeting: 'SUP

I made my own UPS logos, too

62. NYC bus org.: MTA - the Metropolitan Transit Authority - some history

63. Like those on a world cruise: ASEA - Rapture~?

64. Float filler: AIR - I was not sure what "float" this referred to - I am guessing this . . . .

My brother once participated in the parade, holding on to Garfield

66. Out of this world: COSMIC - AND - 11D. Funny pages: COMICS - same letters

68. Hybrid piece of flatware: SPORK

71. Neutral shade: TAUPE

eBay Vintage

72. Easter haul: EGGS

73. Aerie nester: EAGLE

74. Counterpart of "ser," in Spanish: ESTAR - I had no idea - I used Google translate; both mean "be"

75. "Save me a __!": SEAT

76. Track athlete's asset: SPEED


DOWN:

1. Less photogenic angle: BAD SIDE - my "top side" is bad; the field manager is obsessed with taking pictures of my bald spot

My "bad side" at Washington National Cathedral

2. Names on falsified papers: ALIASES

3. Runs fast: GALLOPS

4. __ monster: GILA

5. Self-congratulatory cheer: "YAY ME~!" - cute, but a bit meh.

6. Smallest state in India: GOA - learned by doing crosswords; name #4

7. Parliament birds: OWLS - a 'parliament' being a group of owls - very clever

8. Piece of history: RELIC - this was my nick-name when I worked at Winn-Dixie; I was 27yrs old, roughly 10 years older than the rest of the stock crew - I was actually enamored of the moniker

9. "Gotcha!": "PSYCH~!"

10. Like some newly rescued dogs: SKITTISH - understandable

12. Fruit from a flowering shrub: ROSE HIP

For more, here's the Wiki

13. Manage: OPERATE - manage/operate is more Saturday clue/answer, IMO

14. Who __ Nation: New Orleans Saints fans: DAT - I have heard of this; it appears from the Corner map that Hahtoolah and Big Easy might be fans of this NFL team . . . .

19. Pop diva Celine: DION - Name #5, but I knew this one

26. Food that may be served via conveyor belt: SUSHI - I did not understand this clue; when I did an internet search, I discovered that there are restaurants that have sushi dishes going around on a belt - fascinating~! 

Here's a site about eating at one

28. St. __ Fresh Skin Apricot Scrub: IVES - fresh cluing for an old fill

29. Seasoning amt.: TSP - teaspoon

31. Auto club service: TOW - I toyed with AAA first, but that would be the club, not the service

33. Texting farewell: TTYL - text-speak, Talk To You Later

37. Knob-handled stickers: AWLS - stickers has different meanings in different places.  I was asked by an associate of the Pipe Organ company to get a couple of "stickers"; growing up on Long Island, "stickers" are the self-adhesive images that went on your books and binders - here in New England, it would seem that they are the "chocks" for under lumber stacks.  Go figure.  In this clue/answer, the term "sticker" is more like "poke-r"

Get it~?

38. Sounds of awe: GASPS - Like your reaction to the above image

41. Spot with falling rocks?: ICEMAKER - very clever clue / answer

42. Former home of the Mets: SHEA - name #6, but I grew up a Mets fan on Long Island, so . . . . 

43. "Reckon so": "YEP."

44. Actor Holland: TOM - name #7; his IMDb

45. Mexican state bordering Guatemala: CHIAPAS - name #8, no clue; tough for a Wednesday

Bottom right-hand corner

46. Lose an opportunity: MISS OUT - YOLO, ICYMO

49. Riffle (through): RUMMAGE

50. Thing: ARTICLE - ITEM was way too short

51. Didn't bring one's A game, say: SLACKED

53. Ethnic group native to Nepal and Tibet: SHERPA

55. "Ew! Gross!": "YUCK~!"

58. Fermented brews often served warm: SAKES - Sock-EEs, to drink with your conveyor belt sushi

59. Shutter hardware: HINGE - Shutters SHUT; I have "fake" shutters that would not come close to protecting the windows on my house

The "shutters" on the picture window are absurd -

they will come off when I do stucco in the future

61. Prods: POKES - you mean, with a sticker~?  Or an awl~?

65. Latvia's capital: RIGA - learned by doing crosswords

67. Onesie feature: SNAP

I just don't know who - yet

68. Sault __ Marie: STE - crossword staple

70. Winter hrs. in Tulsa: CST - the clocks are "normal" again

Splynter

Wednesday, Oct 30th, 2024 ~ Marshal Herrmann

"THE HEAT"

Labor Statistics on cooks, chefs & bakers

It would appear that today's crossword from Marshal Herrmann is his debut for the LA Times, and it's the closest we are going to get to a "Halloween" themed puzzle, as far as I can tell.  Three Across theme answers, plus the reveal, with two equally long 11-letter non-theme fills in the Down as well.  Double the number of four-letter words over TLWs, no circles, and a mere handful of names - though I did not know half of them.  I note, too, that several answers are straight definitions of the clues.  The theme answers;  

20. Chiles near the top of the Scoville scale: GHOST PEPPERS

36. Hard-boiled hors d'oeuvres: DEVILED EGGS

42. Citrus with red pulp: BLOOD ORANGE

56. Gordon Ramsay cooking competition that sounds like it should involve 20-, 36-, and 42-Across?: HELL'S KITCHEN - Devils, yes; Ghosts, likely; Blood, not so much . . . .

I actually watched the show, way back when it first aired

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Supermodel Banks: TYRA - name #1, but learned from Crosswords

5. Ritalin target: Abbr.: ADHD - Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder

9. The real deal: LEGIT

14. Zig or zag: VEER

15. Darling: DEAR

16. Many a resident of the Fertile Crescent: IRAQI - I tried iraNi first

17. Treadmill setting: PACE - I do the Downs first; the "P" made my 1D. wrong

Cat on a hot tread mill

18. Gumbo ingredient: OKRA - regular crossword ingredient

19. So last year: PASSÉ

23. Plant anchor: ROOT

24. Cornea locale: EYE

25. Concealed: HID

28. __ and reel: ROD - made my 28D. wrong

30. One of a set needed for a monopoly in Monopoly: DEED

This is the first time I have paid attention to the "Connecticut" square since

I moved to the state - right next to "jail"

33. Landform generally bigger than a gully but smaller than a valley: RAVINE

35. Curved path: ARC

38. Ernie's bestie: BERT - name #2, but who doesn't know this duo~?

40. Halloween night, to All Saints' Day: EVE - it's the Eve of the Eve - but not the theme

41. "Hot Girl Summer" rapper Megan __ Stallion: THEE - no clue, filled via perps, name #3

47. Not close: FAR

48. "Honest!": "I SWEAR~!"

49. Arise (from): STEM

50. Gallery collection: ART - I am slowly building a collection of art in my home

51. Fictional coach Lasso: TED - name #4, I know, but never watched the show

52. Light touch: TAP - not DAB

54. Pine for: MISS 

61. Off the cuff: AD LIB

64. Comparable (to): AKIN

65. Word on an Irish passport: EIRE - AND - 7D. Symbol on an Irish passport: HARP

66. Small crown: TIARA

67. Casserole pasta: ZITI

68. Eggy seasonal drinks: NOGS - with EGGS in a theme answer, I would have preferred a different clue for this fill

69. Taxi fare calculator: METER

70. Primatology subjects: APES

71. Grandson of Adam: ENOS - name #5


DOWN:

1. Common sitcom rating: TV-PG - I figured it was a little more mature; TV-MA . . . . 

2. "Sure," informally: "YEAH..."

3. Feature of a 2023 women's volleyball match at Nebraska's Memorial Stadium: RECORD CROWD - they moved the game to the football stadium to beat another record; watch to hear why . . . .

Did you make it to the game, HuskerG~?

4. Playground retort: "ARE SO~!" - oops, not AM TOO

5. Rescued dog, e.g.: ADOPTEE - I SO want to adopt a dog, but going on the road to install Pipe Organs, like I did for the last two weeks, this week, and next week, is not fair to the animal, even with a dog-sitter.  Here is the progress of the organ we are installing at St. Peters in Harwich, MA

Note the bourdon wood pipes laying flat against the back wall

6. Hockey feint: DEKE - I'd like to find a deck hockey league and play goalie again 

8. Hang, as a curtain: DRAPE

9. Watch what one says?: LIP READ - great clue / answer

10. Notable times: ERAS

11. Neon or xenon: GAS - noble, no less

12. Educ. testing data: IQs

13. Deadlock: TIE

21. Welker's "Meet the Press" predecessor: TODD - name #6, no clue

22. Brontë's "Jane __": EYRE - name #7, but a crossword standard

25. Haute couture: HIGH FASHION - Frawnche for "high sewing", according to Google translate

26. Ready to go: IN GEAR

27. Climate for Utah's "Mighty Five" national parks: DESERT - the website for Utah parks

28. Protein in a traditional paella: RABBIT - ah.  Not SHRIMP - rabbit in Spanish is coneja

29. Vague warning: OR ELSE - or else what~?

31. At any point: EVER

32. Prima donnas: DIVAS

34. Nov. honoree: VETerans Day - The History of why it's the 11th

37. Pre-Easter period: LENT

39. __ the line: TOE

43. Baked snack with dried fruit: DATE BAR

A recipe here

44. Spoken: ORAL

45. Some June babies: GEMINIs - Ha~!  CANCERS fit, too

46. Give off: EMIT

53. Public square: PLAZA

55. Part of an act: SCENE

56. Put on the payroll: HIRE

57. Button that plays the next song on a playlist: SKIP - ah.  Stumped me at first

58. Toy on a string: KITE - I toyed with YO-YO

59. Thus: ERGO

60. Loch __ monster: NESS

61. 20s dispenser: ATM

62. Stop working, as a battery: DIE

63. Long. counterpart: LAT - Longitude and Latitude

Splynter

Wednesday, Oct 16th, 2024, Rebecca Goldstein

 INGREDIENTS

Today's construction from RG was not a great one for me - I find the theme answers to be vaguely tied to the reveal at best, and we had a handful of names again, one of which was an 'ingredient' in the recipe for my disaster.  20 TLWs and 24 four-letter words, but we get a reprieve from circles, at least.  Sadly, I 49A. "flubbed" the middle left of the grid today, so I have to admit to cheating; though in hindsight, I shoulda known - maybe that's why I am not a fan of this puzzle.  The Themers;

16. Fruit given to Snow White by the Evil Queen: POISON APPLE

21. Rabble-rouser: BAD EGG

He's been "sEGGregated"

26. Youthful rebelliousness: WILD OATS - I missed my error here - I had Wild Rats, the "R" from DRS, which didn't jibe, and then a Wild Cats "C", which made no sense at all in the Down

45. Unrefined petroleum: CRUDE OIL

I cave in and put gas in my Prius once every six weeks

50. With 58-Across, conditions likely to lead to catastrophe, or what 16-, 21-, 26-, and 45-Across are ingredients for?: RECIPE - AND - 58A. See 50-Across: FOR DISASTER - with these "four" ingredients, I think you end up with a McDonald's Apple Pie

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Rapid transit vehicles?: RAFTS - Rapid(s) as in white water, and "rafting" upon them

6. "Dancing Queen" quartet: ABBA - CrossWord Staple, still a name - #1

10. Weep loudly: SOB

13. Introverted, maybe: ALOOF - I am definitely introverted

14. Watering can part: SPOUT

15. Actress Thurman: UMA - CWS, still a name - #2

18. Write: PEN

19. Bombard, as with snowballs: PELT

20. Cribside coos: AWS - Meh.  I would have preferred "Amazon Web Services" for this clue; plus, it's usually AWW in crosswords

23. Tosses in: ADDS - AND - 34A. Much of magazines: ADS - meh on the semi-dupe

25. Turkish dough: LIRAS

 $1 US = 34.31 Lira

30. __ party: sudsy celebration: FOAM - I am not familiar with this "type" of party, but it makes sense - I stopped drinking (beer) 20yrs ago, and essentially stopped partying the same time as well. . . . Sigh

31. Literature Nobel laureate Bashevis Singer: ISAAC - No clue, waited on perps, and that didn't help either - note my little black triangles in the cel corners in the grid below; I just could not be bothered to think about finding the answers - just cheat and reveal the letters. . . . AND name - #3

32. Off-balance: ATILT

AWW, cute

37. Put down: DISS - Meh.  Usually has just one "S", as in DISrespect

38. Comrade: CRONY

39. First Nations people of Canada: CREE - had the last "E", but it's not OTOE - CWS and name #4

40. Rough no.: ESTimate

41. Hits upon the answer: HAS IT

42. Relaxed: CHILL

43. Look to be: SEEM

47. Gush with naches: KVELL - All I can say about seeing this in a Wednesday crossword is "What?!?"  21st century-speak for spewing pride.  P.S. naches is also the rump of a cow, and one might say I am leaning towards that definition in context. . . .

49. Flubs: ERRS

52. Prefix with -logue: EPI - epilogue, the wrapping up,  "last chapter", in a novel - this does SEEM to be trying too hard to avoid being the 'usual' crossword clue/answer. e.g. Epi Pen

53. Fries or tots: SIDE

57. Latin for "I": EGO

61. End of many superhero names: MAN  - let me count the ways. . . .

62. Reversed: UNDID - I am truly grateful for the "UNDO" button on several pieces of software, including the Blogger

63. Home of the Kaaba: MECCA - no clue, but I had M_C_A, so...name #5

64. Come to a close: END

65. Future AG's exam: LSAT

66. Oldest of the Three Musketeers: ATHOS - name #6

DOWN:

1. Reneé of "Mean Girls": RAPP - no clue, name - #7 - her IMDb

2. Succulent genus: ALOE - A shout-out to Hahtoolah

3. Wrap for leftovers: FOIL  - SARAN didn't fit

4. Open-faced dishes with crispy tortillas: TOSTADAS - my last fill, and I toyed with the last vowel - "A" or "O"~? even tho I knew it was an A

5. Hub across the Bay from OAK: SFO - San Francisco airport code; my closest airport code is BDL

6. Starters, casually: APPS - APPetizerS, trying again to NOT be typical, but it just doesn't work on Wed, IMHO

7. Danceable song: BOP - we (I) just learned this last Friday

8. Glowing object on a marquee: BULB - Meh.  IN a marquee seems better

9. Went back for thirds, maybe: ATE A LOT - Ugh.  I don't care for ALOT in puzzles to begin with

10. Nintendo platform game series: SUPER MARIO

11. Seamaster watchmaker: OMEGA - it was either this or ROLEX, as Audemars Piguet doesn't fit - I was a CAD designer for their Southampton store, which required bullet-proof glass - their most expensive piece is $430K, almost twice the cost of my house

NOTE: the website selling this watch is

offering $100 off your first order - ooh, good deal~!

12. Fringe on some foreheads: BANGS - A shout-out to our host C.C.

She likes the BANGS in this picture

14. Reacted to something striking?: SAW STARS

17. Absolutely nothing: NADA

22. San José day: DIA - Spanish lesson

24. OB or GYN: DOCtor - I knew DRS (plural) didn't match with the "or" in the clue

26. Broad: WIDE

27. Egyptian goddess: ISIS - name, #7

28. Stressful time for a procrastinator: LAST SECOND

29. Showing no fear, maybe: STOIC

30. Wing it?: FLY

33. Boldly brave: INTREPID - and then we have great fill like this

35. Market with a pickle barrel: DELI - Um, OK - when I did an internet search, I expected to find A LOT of B&W images, but no

36. Move merchandise: SELL

38. Laptop lens: CAMera - I have one at work for Teams meetings

39. Drawing board?: CHESS SET - a "draw" in chess is rare, but not unheard of; I plan to make a table for my living room with a chess board in the center

41. Advantageous: HELPFUL

42. Sr. officer: CDR - commander; I happen to know it's the abbr. for these, too

44. Nickname that drops -jah: ELI - again, trying to NOT be the typical "Yale" clue/answer

46. Novelist Leon: URIS - name #8

47. Krispy __: KREME - Mmmm, Donuts. . . . 

48. Plant-based: VEGAN - Do donuts count~?  I mean, the sugar comes from a plant, right~?

51. Many millennia: EONS - or AGES~?

52. Resolve a tense disagreement?: EDIT - correcting verb tenses - clever

54. Burning desire: ITCH - I have a "burning desire" in the form of poison ivy (oak, sumac) all over my arms from the yard work I did two weeks ago.  Yay.

55. Miami Beach style: DECO - Had something similar yesterday

56. Distinct periods: ERAS - is it going to be ERAS or AGES~?

59. Dietary amt.: RDA - Recommended Daily Allowance - my Daily Allowance these days is totally UN-recommended; I need to stop eating and start exercising - this is my New Year's Resolution

60. 24-Down's org.: AMA - American Medical Association

Splynter

Wednesday, Oct 9th, 2024 ~ Blair Hassett

ANONYMOUS EPONYMOUS

I do not recognize the constructor of today's puzzle, and congratulations are in order if this be their LA Times debut~! I am not entirely sure I grasped the theme - can't be sure I get how it connects with two of the "*" starred clues exactly.  Add to that over a dozen proper names, and I have to give this a mere "⭐⭐" rating, despite the fact that it's a shout-out to yours truly, Splynter, who in the "real" word is "Rich".  The theme answers;

17. *Layered dessert with coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache: OPERA CAKE - pretty much THE definition of a RICH cake

A recipe for you

25. *Evergreen used to make incense: SANDALWOOD - the plant wood is RICH in fragrant oils, and highly aromatic - also used in perfumes, and expensive

I not sure I even know what the scent smells like. . . . 

36. *Silicon Valley success story: TECH BILLIONAIRE - my last fill was the "B", which I had as "M", so a Natick of a theme crossing a name. . . . "BOO~!" - the better use of this 14A. word

The "original" tech billionaire, IMHO, Bill Gates, $106.1B-worth RICH

46. *Triangular landform: RIVER DELTA - A river delta is RICH in sediments; a river is rich because it has TWO BANKS~!  Ba-dum-tiss

Kachemak Bay, Alaska

56. "You're one to talk!," or what can be said about the answers to the starred clues: THAT'S RICH - THAT'S RICH (Splynter) on the left in the picture above, with Seamus, loading a pipe organ case in Glens Falls NY

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. All the rage: HOT

4. "Same here": "DITTO." - from the Latin dictus, "said"

9. "CBS News Sunday Morning" correspondent Mo: ROCCA - name #1, but I do know of him

14. Sweetie: BOO - not a fan of this type of "abbreviation".  Period. 

15. Strike caller?: UNION - I read that the East  & Gulf coast Dockworkers went on strike, but then suspended it until January - which seems to defeat the purpose of a strike, but it means our economy won't collapse before the upcoming Christmas season. . . .😜

16. Cartography collection: ATLAS - Seven syllables : two syllables = clue : answer

19. Barren and severe: STARK - or better yet, a description of Tony

Iron Man

20. Dress style: A-LINE

21. Plug in: CHARGE - like just about everything these days, from candles to cars

Halloween version

22. Quaint cry: EGAD~!

27. Live (in): RESIDE

29. Celtic "The Celts" singer: ENYA - crossword staple, still a name, #2

30. Sambuca flavor: ANISE

I did not know a variety of anise was star-shaped

31. Cooped (up): PENT - I would not mind being cooped up in a PENT house

33. Network that airs many MGM and RKO films: TCM - Turner Classic Movies

40. CIA forerunner: OSS - crossword staple; the Office of Secret Strategic Services

41. Mountain route: PASS

42. Eatery with its own lingo: DINER - A Greasy Spoon List from Wikipedia

43. Bridge: SPAN - I love the architecture of bridges; this one is in Frawnche Bordeaux

Longest Lift Bridge in Europe, the Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas

45. Cashless exchange: BARTER

51. Game with a rhyming name: I SPY

52. Performs penance: ATONES

53. Wheelchair-bound "Glee" teen: ARTIE - name #3, had him once this past year, so I "64A." knew it

55. Up: RAISE - meh.  Give me a sentence with a one-to-one swap of these two words

60. Discovery astronaut Ochoa: ELLEN - I knew this one, but still a name, #4

61. Pigpens: STIES

62. Shade of green: PEA

63. Map lines: ROADS

64. Rather, informally: KINDA - Sorta like, you know, slang

65. Outside the mainstream, genrewise: ALTernative - I like the Vevo video channel Alternative 80s


DOWN:

 1. "House of the Dragon" network: HBO - shoulda known this; my buddy insisted that I watch "Game of Thrones" because I like castles and dragons, but that's not the only thing going on in the series

I don't have HBO, and I've only seen scenes of GoT

  2. Alley-__: OOP

3. Low digit?: TOE - crossword comedy

4. Binary: DUAL

5. Carve: INCISE - dah~! not SCULPT

6. Disney princess voiced by Anika Noni Rose: TIANA - Disney's The Princess & The Frog - name #5

7. Arcade coin: TOKEN

8. "Best Song Ever" singers __ Direction: ONE - name #6, don't know this 'boy band'

9. Without thinking things through: RASHLY

10. Canadian capital: OTTAWA - CanadianEh~!, hockey is here~! ( name-ish)

11. Spanish "Of course": CLARO - Filled via perps; I really should learn a second language

12. __ shorts: garment with lots of pockets: CARGO

THATS NOT "RICH"

13. Inquired: ASKED

18. Peppery salad slice: RADISH - Ah.  Took me two passes before I got it

21. Poem division: CANTO - A long subsection of an epic or long narrative poem, such as Dante Alighieri’s Commedia (The Divine Comedy)

22. Muse for poets: ERATO - crossword staple, still a name #7

23. Part of one's inheritance?: GENES - har-har

24. "Sound Mind, Sound Body" athletic brand: ASICS - name #8

26. "Dune" and "Dune: Part Two" director Villeneuve: DENIS - name #9 - I cannot get into "DUNE"

28. DOI head Haaland: DEB - name #10 - Dept of the Interior - her website 

31. Jet: PLANE 

32. Raised trains: ELs - Seamus, in the Pipe Organ picture above, is from Chicago, known for its ELevated trains

33. Shades: TINTS - as in color tones, not window treatments

34. Advance slowly: CREEP

35. "__ Christmas!": "MERRY~!"

37. Apple tablets: iPADS - I am PC

38. Confidentiality contract, for short: NDA - Non-Disclosure Agreement - I have three board games I have "invented", and would like to get published/produced, but I cannot go to any company without having some sort of  'theft protection' - and a patent costs about $3K

39. Less stuffy: AIRIER

43. Had a feeling: SENSED

"I've A Very Bad Feeling About This"

44. Primps: PREENS - good for "PR" - get it~?

45. Went for a run?: BATTED - baseball reference for C.C.

46. Less common: RARER

47. Novelist Calvino: ITALO - name #11

48. "Behold!": "VOILA~!" - Frawnche

49. Christine of the Paramount+ series "Evil": LAHTI - name #12 - her IMDb

50. Coach: TRAIN - ooh, I got this; I guessed at the 'verb' definition

54. Rae of "Barbie": ISSA - crossword staple, still a name #13

56. Sound of shame: TSK

57. Hoppy brew, for short: IPA - every other crossword

58. Cartoon frame: CEL

59. Pillbox, for one: HAT - standard uniform item in the 60s, for most airlines

They fly "DELTA" 

Splynter