Friday, Aug 14th, 2026 ~ Katie Hale

 FOURTH SUNDOWN & INCHES

Actually, it's #5, and Across, but . . .

LA Times assistant editor Katie Hale is back - her last crossword offering was a month ago, on a Monday, here.  The last one I blogged was a co-authored puzzle that had too much of a cringe factor ( for me ) to be enjoyable.  Today, however, was a pleasant, and partially humorous construction, with four themers, including two grid-spanners, that added our star, the three-letter word SUN, to common phrases, giving them 'solar' power.  There were maybe a few too many 2-word entries, especially in the Downs, but it was Friday-level, if not easier.  Standard grid, no "outlier add-ons" this week, with 10 names, no circles, and a near-perfect balance of 3-, 4-. and 5-letter words.  The themers and reveal;

18. *Action figure at the bottom of a pool?: SUNKEN DOLL - I first thought maybe G.I. Joe~?

I had the 80's "action figures" the same size as the Star Wars ones

23. *Naval officer's very quiet "ahoy there"?: LITTLE BOSUN PEEP - Bosun, the shortened version of "boatswain" - 

35. *Jokes about miscellaneous items?: SUNDRY HUMOR

48. *Essential for authors who work at the beach?: WRITER'S SUNBLOCK

56. Clean energy option, or a hint to what the answers to the starred clues have?: SOLAR POWER

But Wait There's More~!

ACROSS:

1. "Cor, blimey!": "I SAY~!" - Brit-speak

5. Oxygen co-creator: OPRAH - Oxygen, the network, not the element, from "THE" Creator -  name #1

10. Mascaron image: FACE - filled via perps, WAGed the "C" - this architectural detail

14. Drive-__: THRU

15. Tricky tennis serve: SLICE - meh.  It's called an "ace" where I play tennis

16. Traffic-dependent figs.: ETAs

17. Azaria of "Brockmire": HANK - I know him from the Simpsons; name #2

20. WSW reversal: ENE

21. Virtual citizenry: SIMS - Another good guess on my part - but I have played Sim City & The Sims

22. Dad's sister: AUNT

28. Outdoor dining spot: PATIO

29. "Oh, now I see": "A-HA~!"

30. TV controller?: FCC - The Federal Communications Commission - I cound not recall what the second "C" stood for 

31. 19th Greek letter: TAU

33. Cryptography org.: NSA - Thursday dupe

34. Mineralogist who created a scale: MOHS - this puzzle's themers gave me a laugh, so I am giving it the "other" kind of star, a 4 / 5⭐ from on the "other" Moe's Scale - name(ish)

38. 2025 WNBA champions: ACES - I follow no basketball at all, tried the SUNS - but knowing the theme after the fact meant it could not be - plus I missed the "W" part of the clue as well . . . 😜

40. Solstice mo.: DECember - Monday, the 21st of this year, 12:50pm on the LA Times coast

41. Live and __ live: LET - in 1973, Wings "used to say . . ."

Live & Let DIE~!, Mr. Bond - James Bond

42. "Starship Troopers" backdrop: WAR - had it, filled it in, then took it out . . . tacky, with egregious graphic violence, loved it; the IMDb

43. Zing: PEP

44. Gives, but not forever: LENDS - I had perps from doing the Downs first, so it was not LOANS

53. Olympic swimmer Torres: DARA - name #3 - her website

54. Cruising: ASEA

55. __ leaf: stew herb: BAY - why you shouldn't eat one~!?

The YouTube link

59. Snitch (on): NARC

60. "Copacabana" bartender: TONY - had this Barry Manilow reference three weeks ago; name #4

61. Hugo or Edgar: AWARD - Both for literature, one Sci-Fi, the other Mystery and other genres

62. Wayfair rival: IKEA - I have bought home items from Wayfair, only shopped once at an Ikea

63. Referendum side: PROS

64. Like some buns: MESSY - Ah.  Those kinds  of bun

There's a red-haired beauty at my gym,

always on the Stairmaster when I am

65. Join (up): TEAM

DOWN:

1. Networking assistance: IT HELP - 2-word #1 - AND - 51D. 1-Down callers: USERS

2. Grammy winner Twain: SHANIA -  name #5 

A knock-off of Robert Palmer's video, which has more leg in it

3. "Is This Thing On?" star Will: ARNETT - name #6

4. Big laugh: YUK

5. Activist/actor Davis: OSSIE - learned by doing crosswords, name #7

6. Straight up: PLUMB - the same client with the pantry doors just got a new pocket door installed

7. Classic laundry soap: RINSO - I have heard of this brand, but I used Tide, but switched to soap flakes as suggested in the book "Laundry Love" that sumdaze suggested - name(ish)

8. "Jeepers!": "ACK~!" - Dah~! Not EEK

9. Little laugh: HEE - waited on perps; HEE, HAW or TEE~?

10. Beyond irritated: FED UP - the name chosen for the new merger of Federal Express and UPS 😜

11. Try to make right: ATONE FOR - 2-word #2

12. Pasadena research univ.: CAL TECH - 2-word #3

13. Pre-naturalization test course, for short: ESL - "English as Second Language" - Do you have to take the test/course these days~?

19. Meemaw alternative: NANA - no one in my family has ever used either term for "Granny"

21. "McSorley's Bar" painter: SLOAN - John, name #8

24. "__ Andronicus": TITUS - T.I.L. this is a Shakespeare play, name #9

25. Ceremonial accessory: SASH - I tried VEIL first

26. Rental after closing, maybe: U-HAUL - I was thinking a place to sleep after closing on the sale of a house, but you haven't bought a new one, like "HOTEL"

27. Hardware for Xbox: PCs

32. Cow's milk source: UDDER - this is udderly true . . . 🙄

33. US Open locale: NYC - I figured it was the tennis Open

34. Interstate stopover: MOTEL - so my HOTEL was looking wrong now . . .

35. Fig. for ordering replacement parts: SERIAL No. - 2-words, yeah, but I like this fill, #4

36. Set pieces: REPS - at the gym.  I am now 193.0lbs - I took a pic of the scale last Saturday; my trainer allows 3lbs for sneakers and clothes - when I picked up the phone for the image, it added .5lbs~!

Now my trainer thinks I can get down to 160lbs - Yikes~!

37. Peach __: MELBA - Pie & Cobbler didn't fit the dish

38. "So sweet!": "Aww. . ."

39. Side mirror spot: CAR DOOR - I clipped the one on the passenger side on my Dodge Grand Caravan, bought a replacement unit, but to get to the screws I have to strip out half the dashboard - I'm in no hurry, and the mirror isn't actually broken - just the remote motor doesn't work - 2-word #5

43. Cider source: PEAR - never heard of cider from pears - it's called Perry; a recipe here

45. Like some cheesecake: NO-BAKE - technically, there's a hyphen, so not a 2-word answer

46. Region with many Nats fans, briefly: D.C. AREA - 2-word(ish)

47. Overview producer?: SKYCAM - Big Brother is watching . . . 😶

49. Canteen stack: TRAYS

50. Perceived to be: SAW AS - aaaand Twurd~!

52. Uncool: NERDY

56. Auto care brand: STP - Crossword staple

57. Actress Grier: PAM - two mentions in three weeks for me, name #10

58. Come up short, maybe: OWE

59. Minor quibble: NIT - "can't you see that man is a nit~!"

No, dagnubbit~!

Splynter

Grid Flow an even 30.0 - and it was the puzzle I blogged

where I first introduced this parameter

Friday, Aug 7th, 2026 ~ Gali Ellenblum & Tal Wagner

"Park Drive is always jammed"

"I said THROUGH the park"

We're taking the scenic route today, a walk in, uh, drive through the park for yours truly.  I do believe this is a debut construction for both authors - I did a Google search of the names, and the one thing I found they had in common ( if I picked the correct people ) is a "machine learning" education/understanding.  We'd love to get some feedback from you - drop in & visit our Crossword Corner~! ( merge left here )  There were no delays today, just a cruise through the clues & answers, including several one-word types - twenty-one, in fact, which I like; that's how Fridays should be.  Yet another "expanded" grid for your Friday host, two in a row now.  The "ST" abbr. for 'street', tacked on to four in-language phrases, outside the box, on the "side", with humorous cluing - sounds like a coffee or restaurant order.  Standard grid initially, a few names, no Twurds, a balance of 3-, 4-, and 5-letter words, with several car clues & Frawnche fill.  The four themers and reveal;

17. "Our previous recommendation stands"?: STILL ADVISED

25. "My peacock's tail is the best!," e.g.?: FEATHER BOAST

49. Record of one's attempts to enter a hedge maze?: START HISTORY

60. Promise made by a serial dater who aspires to commit?: ONE MORE TRYST - "One More Try" is a unique fill 

38. Features of some detours, or what four answers in this puzzle need in order to match their clues?: SIDE STREETS - and a unique fill, too~!

Grid Flow a low 24.9

🚧But Wait, ⛔There's More~!🏁

ACROSS:

1. Sheer: UTTER - One-word clue, one-word answer; letting me start with SHEER~?  Priceless~!

Utterly beautiful

6. Walrus kin: SEAL

10. Waffle over in the freezer aisle: EGGO - Too easy for Friday

14. Bête __: NOIRE -Frawnche #1, "black beast"

15. Shoestring: LACE

16. Infuriate: ROIL

19. Explore Mars, perhaps: ROVE - As Spirit & Opportunity did for NASA; I love the science success stories these two travelers gave us 

20. Ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet: TET - new clue for this old answer; learning moment for me

21. Reaction to lions and tigers and bears: "OH MY~!" - never gets old - 😁

22. Vein of ore: LODE

23. Genesis locale: EDEN - AND - . . .

29. Genesis locale: SODOM - straight clecho

31. Accessory often tipped or used for tips: HAT

32. "Dee-lish!": "YUM~!"

33. French bean: HARICOT - straight Frawnche translation, #2, not a "?" clue for "tête"

37. "We are not alone" subj.: SETI - Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence

40. "Shoo!": "SCAT~!"

42. "Call Me" band: BLONDIE - name(ish) - they were just a hint before my time

Oui amie - more Frawnche, #3~!

43. Bud: PAL

44. Refuse to settle, perhaps: SUE - Last week, it was a "boy named SUE" . . .

45. Sticker: DECAL - Ah.  There's where it goes - I had it here - 26D. Sticker: THORN. . . 😜

54. Mountain lion: PUMA

55. "Yer killin' me!": "C'MON..."

56. Utah city near two national parks: MOAB - mostly perps, I just had to fill in the "B"; geo-name #1

58. Fishing pole: ROD

59. Drops from above: RAIN - not the "bomb" kind of drop . . . 😏

63. Early Bond foe: DR. NO - The earliest, in movies, name #2

64. Actor Auberjonois: RENÉ - name #3, knew him from "Benson"

65. :-( : I'M SAD - Thursday dupe - the "original" way of using typed characters for emotions - and plain "sad" is actually not available through the blogger, as R-Brain showed . . . and that makes me sad

66. Fortuneteller: SEER - AND - 60D. Sphere consulted by a 66-Across: ORB

67. Spanish kiss: BESO

68. Touchscreen tappers: STYLI - FINGER was a 'digit' too much . . . 🙄

DOWN:

1. Marries: UNITES

2. Home of the El Greco Museum: TOLEDO - Spain, geo name #4, more here

3. Pitching: TILTED - Dah~!  Not the SELLING, HAWKING or VENDING kind of pitching

A video about "Pitching" in nautical terms

4. Pitching stat: ERA- aaaand yet another definition of pitching - baseball

5. Make over: RE-DO

6. Substance celebrated by the Sloomoo Institute: SLIME - Learning moment for me - more here

7. Smooth course: EASY A - crossword staple

8. Best club in Vegas?: ACE - But the best Ace is of Spades . . . 

Motörhead - another "umlaut" band

9. Was up: LED - think sports, not out-of-bed

10. Bad move: ERROR

11. Peace offerings?: GOOD-BYES - I, and a couple of friends, usually sign off  with "Peace."

12. Buckle: GIVE OUT - Like this bridge did - the verb, not the noun

give IN works, too, but doesn't fit

13. The Grand __ Opry: OLE

18. TV broadcast band: VHF - sssss, close, I tried UHF

22. Allow: LET

24. Like a 2024 Blake Snell game: NO-HIT - the only name I had no clue about, but in retrospect, the answer couldn't be much else, really.  More baseball, name(ish)

27. Despised: HATED

28. French friend: AMI - Frawnche #4, the masculine friend

30. Steamed: MAD - Dah~! Not HOT

34. Symbolic puzzle that dates to the Middle Ages: REBUS - good WAG on my part

35. Key: ISLET - Didn't fool me this time - I count about two dozen definitions of the word "key"

36. Cybersecurity exec: CTO - Chief Technology Officer

37. Very much inclined: STEEP - I am one house, or about 500ft, from CT rte. 195, and I can tell when a semi is either lumbering up the 6% incline, or jake-braking on the down-side

Burrrr-bur-bur-bur-bu-bu-bur . . . .

38. Source of some pink seasoning: SALT MINE - I knew we were looking for "SALT", but "SEA" was not going to work . . .

39. Ramadan-ending holiday, informally: EID - filled via perps

40. Cocoa scrub venue: SPA - it's a "thing" - more on the benefits here

41. Auto maintenance: CAR CARE - TUNE-UP was too short, OIL CHANGE too long

44. Transgression: SIN

46. Respectful dip: CURTSY

47. Virtually indifferent?: AMORAL - clever

48. "The People's Princess": LADY DI - killed in a car crash, Paris, 29yrs ago this month - no one was wearing a seat belt; name #5, Frawnche #5

50. Show respect for: HONOR - nailed it

51. Signs: OMENS - and again

52. Shakespeare lover: ROMEO - name #6 -  Stelvio lover - ALFA Romeo

The 33 Stradale

53. Former NBA star Ming: YAO - at 7ft6, basketball was a good choice . . . name #7

57. Jewish rite: BRIS

59. Hwys.: RDs - It couldn't be "STs"

61. Born abroad: NÉE - the Frawnche 'definition', not the "act" - #6

62. CPR expert: EMT - pray you don't need one if you make an "error" or "transgression" on that road

Splynter

Uhhh . . . 

 ACROSS & . . .

DOWN  - ON THE CORNER

I do like an "outside the box" kind of puzzle - we had a similar Friday with "Sides Add LE" on April 24th this year from James Mattina.  Today we have a crossword from constructors Betsy O and Andrew G - this is their third LA Times collaboration; the others were (1) on Thursday, and (2) on Monday, both with Naomi at the helm to guide us.  Today's themers can be resolved by adding corner "around" the corner(s) of the grid, and Bob (Feller)'s Your Uncle.  Standard size, no Twurds, typical run of proper names, with TWO Leslies & Penguins today. The themers, reveal, and an expanded graphic of the grid:

1. *Executive space with great views: [ corner ] OFFICE - Here's a "great view" of my executive blogging command center, taken from the corner at the ceiling 😜

I'm not done with the space yet - still working on the closet area

and a cool set of shelves for the opposite wall

7. *Area in Westminster Abbey where Chaucer is buried: POETS [ corner ] - More from their website

65. *Place to find a date?: [ corner ] STONE - ah.  That kind of 'date'

66. *Stop sign locale: STREET [ corner ] - "Hey, baby, what's your sign~?"   "Stop."

12. *Scoring opportunity in soccer: [ corner ] KICK

14. *Defensive player who's often the fastest on the football field: [ corner ] BACK - The NY Jets used to have ESPN's #9 choice, Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner, but he's with the Colts now

47. *Eeyore's home: POOH [ corner ] - Winnie and friends' website

53. *Challenging stretch at Augusta National: AMEN [ corner ] - more from the PGA Masters, here

37. Not far off, or where to look to make this puzzle's starred clues match their answers?: 

AROUND THE CORNER

And a shout-out to the Crossword CORNERITES~!

Grid Flow 34.5

    W
     a
     i
But
          There's
                   M
                    o
                    r
                    e(s)~!

ACROSS:

-

-

12. Quaint term for "patella": KNEEPAN - Google says it's one word, and a learning moment for me

13. Supporting Mideast unity: PAN-ARAB - I got stuck on NON-arab, which cost me 2 minutes of looking for my mistake; the Wiki

15. Björk's country: ICELAND - sssss, close - I know of her, went with FIN-land; name #1

16. Ferrera of "Ugly Betty": AMERICA - name #2

Her Harness page

17. Winnow: CULL - ah; I was thinking M innow

18. Simple shelters: TENTS - made my "RIM OF FIRE" at 19 Down Bzzzzt

20. Rat (on): NARC

21. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" novelist: KESEY - I knew of Ken, name #3

23. Period: DOT - not the "ERA" kind of dot, this one . . . ↙

24. Albanian currency: LEK - Friday.  Vague.

25. "Tubular!": "RAD~!" - two weeks in a row for me

27. Fire (up): REV

29. Texter's "Just a sec": BRB - Be Right Back - I gotta "P"

30. Atlanta-based health agcy.: CDC - Centers for Disease Control

33. String of dried chile peppers: RISTRA - filled via perps - and a unique fill 😁

35. Reign: RULE

40. Jazz singer Sylvia: SYMS - no clue, name #4 - more here

41. One on parental leave, perhaps: NEW DAD

42. "A Boy Named __": Johnny Cash hit: SUE - name (ish)

43. Navy noncom: CPO - Chief Petty Officer

44. Simple shirt: TEE

45. Pained cry: "YOW~!!"

47. Kung __ chicken: PAO

48. Trippy drug: LSD - LySergic Acid Diethylamide - "acid"

50. Molten rock: MAGMA

Liquid Hot MAG - MA

54. Luxury hotel chain: OMNI

56. Label again: RE-TAG

58. Word: TERM

59. Wedding crasher's destination, perhaps: OPEN BAR - Crossing - 31D. College with an alcohol ban: DRY CAMPUS (a unique fill ) - how's that for a "mixer"~?

61. Pen pal's signoff: "WRITE ME." - Penguins (#1) pal sign off - "White Me"

63. "House __": longtime HGTV series: HUNTERS - Here's an episode about a village near my old stomping ground of Long Island - about 20mins south of where I lived

Setauket to Patchogue

64. "Airplane!" star Leslie: NIELSEN - A gimme Leslie #1, name #5 - "I just want to tell you both good luck, we're all counting on you . . ."

DOWN:

1. At just the right moment: ON CUE

2. Senses: FEELS

3. Hall of Fame pitcher Bob who won the World Series in 1948 with Cleveland: FELLER - also no clue, name #6, more from the Hall of Fame here

4. Bitter brew, briefly: IPA - was not working with my FINLAND

5. Jargon: CANT - def.  #3b

6. Over and done: ENDED

7. Tennis player Shriver and actress Grier: PAMs - know both "names", #s 7 & 8

Pam #7 is not quite square to the net, but still a pretty cool A I image

8. Low digit: ONE - Dah~!  This time, it was not TOE

9. Merit: EARN

10. Dress rehearsals: TRIAL RUNS

11. French cry of surprise: "SACRE BLEU~!!" - Frawnche expletive

13. Spoke rapidly: PATTERED - I was not giving up N-attered

19. The Pacific __: NORTHWEST - not the "Rim of Fire"

Ah.  Pacific RIM was the movie . . .

22. Knitter's ball: YARN

26. Neglected to: DIDN'T

28. Holiday, casually: VACAY

29. Cool remark: "Brr~!" - I think this may have benefitted from a "?", but it filled via perps, so . . . 

30. __ in Charlie: 'C' AS . . . meh.  CHarlie is a "chuh" sound, not a "kuh", as in Careless editing mistake

32. Part: COMPONENT - solid vague 8-letter one word clue + answer

34. Pittsburgh team: STEELERS - PENGUINS (#2) fit, too, name(ish)

36. Afore: ERE

38. GI show gp.: USO - United Service Organization

39. Leslie __ Jr. of "Hamilton": ODOM - Leslie #2, name #9

46. Turkey appendage: WATTLE - for some reason, I went with GIBLET, but thought it was spelled GIBBET - that's something else that "hangs" . . . 

49. New beginnings: DAWNS

51. Gaggle birds: GEESE

52. Mascot Hall of Fame inductee from Queens: MR. MET - I knew "him", thought he was NY MET

I grew up with the Mets, did not know he had a "wife"

55. A fan of: INTO - I am more into hockey . . . The NHL Eighty-Four game season starts Sep 29th

56. Uncommon: RARE

57. Spunk: GRIT

60. "Severance" director Stiller: BEN - name #10, I "neglected to" know ( 26D. ) he directed; sounds like a thrilling TV series

62. Suffix with front or cash: IER - frontier, cashier

Splynter

Friday, Jul 24th, 2026 ~ Kelsey Dixon & Sarah Sinclair

 "MAKEUP" YOUR MIND

Generations, and as a consequnce, the Gaps

and I did NOT wear ( Grunge ) plaid 

Today's puzzle comes to us from two "younger" generation constructors; their last LA Times was here, in 2024, with TTP at the helm.  I did not recall solving that one, but I got a laugh from TTP's link to the "dap".  As for this one, it wraps up a week of dreadful crossnames constructions, and made me feel I am either too old, or too cynical; it feels more like an Tik-Tok post than a crossword, but YMMV.  Four theme answers where one needs to turn a "blind" eye to the 'blush' synonym in the common 'phrase' answers in order to make sense of the * clue; the reveal is definitely not in my wheelhouse, but I think I got the gist of it . . . an under-sized grid, 15 x 14, with a more than a blush of abbrs and names, Twenty-six 3LWs, and a 21st century-speak Twurd, but I can relate to it.  The themers, and the short-spanning reveal;

16. *Lesser: SECONDARY COLOR - a 14-letter spanner, this is the 'tone / tint' definition of blush

20. *Fit for a queen: ROYAL FLUSH - this is the 'verb' definition of blush

33. *Home of the Magic and the Magic Kingdom: ORLANDO BLOOM - also verb, name #1(ish)

46. *Relay rod: BATON ROUGE - and last, the actual noun 'makeup' definition of blush

53. Tendency to overuse a certain cosmetic, or what has caused a mismatch between the starred clues and their answers?: BLUSH BLINDNESS

Sabrina Carpenter may be suffering from blush blindness - and perhaps 

even over-doing the lipstick, too - but I still find her attractive 😁

But Wait There's More~!

ACROSS:

1. 7-Eleven convenience: ATM - same fill, different clue; abbr #1

4. Bubble tea "bubbles": BOBA - becoming a popular clue/answer

8. Influencer devices, for short: MICs - I am aware that "influencer" is now a "thing", dare I say a "career" in the Social Media Digital 21st Century~? A millennials clue

12. Olympic sprinter Richardson: SHA'CARRI - name #2, no clue; filled via perps - when I Googled, her Instagram link came up before her Wiki; born in 2000, so . . . millennial (ish) 

14. ID on a map: IDAHO - Dammit.  Got me.  I just could not get past "I Dentity" - geo name

18. Transcript fig.: GPA - abbr #2

19. Beyoncé song about the joy of human existence: BE ALIVE - millennial

24. Corp. title for Jane Fraser of Citigroup: CEO - I had C_O, so it was either F, E, I, O, or T; name AND abbr #3

25. BBC competitor that airs "Love Island": ITV - Learned about this TV channel when I watched the history of Top Gear - the Gen X series started in 2002; the orignal show dates back to 1977; abbr #4

My, how it changed; I think the 2002-Grand Tour version may have been

the best TV show ever - funny, informative, dramatic, and entertaining

26. 1980s cool: RAD - I was an 80's kid, but by no means was I "Rad"(ical) - or maybe I was - a long-haired 'headbanger nerd' . . . how's that for outcast~?  The cigarette-smoking heavy metal fans hated me for being "smart" and doing well in school, and I simply terrified the geeks . . . Gen X, & abbr #5

27. Unspoken agreements?: NODS

28. "You wish!": "DREAM ON~!" - Gen X would have gone with Aerosmith on this one

The "Toxic Twins", 1973

31. Fed. south of Iran: UAE - United Arab Emirates, abbr #6

37. With 30-Down, Paul Rudd role: ANT - AND - 30D. See 37-Across: MAN - I thought it was THE Ant, which wasn't going to work - I have seen parts of the movies

38. Pride symbol: RAINBOW

40. 1975 thriller with a two-note leitmotif: JAWS - A John Williams composition for Steven Spielberg's movie, which does sound "borrowed" from Igor Stravinsky; we saw 'leitmotif' yesterday - Gen X

EEEEE f . . . . eeeee F . . . . E F E F E F . . . .

43. Roughly: "ISH" - AND - 34D. Roughly: OR SO . . . clecho #1

44. Ring spot: TOE - A whole three-letter word~!  EAR would work, too

45. Accessibility law, for short: ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act - 1990 

50. Online friends, colloquially: MUTUALS - must be 21st century-speak, so millennial

52. Apple platform: iOS - AND - 60. Apple assistant: SIRI - clecho #2; I tend to think the younger you are, the more likely you'll be an Apple person - see the first image above.  I'm Android, as all of the Apple products I ever came into contact with crapped out on me at critical moments . . .

58. Far from shore: AT SEA

59. Like farmers market produce: IN SEASON

61. Title derived from "caesar": TSAR

62. Smallest prime number: TWO - Jeez, math again on Friday~!

DOWN:

1. Donkey: ASS - How's that for a whole three-letter word . . .

2. English article: THE - THE English scored SIX goals in the World Cup, four to France - total 10, yet NOT the record

3. Jury-rig with what's on hand, informally: MACGYVER - today's Friday highlight clue/answer for me

4. Not just unoriginal: BANAL - I tried BLASÉ; 60% of the correct letters

5. Chicago airport code: ORD - I was close - I put in ORL, but that's the smaller field in the "other" Orlando - Florida - not Bloom.  ORD comes from the original name of O'Hare, Orchard Place; abbr #7

6. Bandeau, e.g.: BRA

7. "Ain't no rule say the dog can't play basketball" film: AIRBUD - Didn't see this movie - IMDb

8. Parsons who was NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2021: MICAH - I knew this name, #4, because he was a Dallas Cowboy hold-out last season - his Wiki

9. Megastar: IDOL

10. Multicolored cat: CALICO

11. Pushed: SHOVED

13. Club in a Manilow hit: COPA - sheesh, pick a Generation already - "makeup" your mind~!

Copacabana, 1978, Barry Manilow

15. Cookies with a "design your own" option: OREOs

17. Ouija board word: YES

A little history

20. Free (of): RID

21. Bad Bunny's "__ Atardecer": OTRO - aaand back to millennials - Español, "Another Sunset"

22. Phony persona: FRONT - much of Social Media, IMHO

23. Touch down: LAND - Dah~!  Not ALIT

27. Gas in an inner tube?: NEON - trying too hard to be witty, this one fell flat

29. "Welp!": "ALAS~!" -  I learned today that "welp" is "sadly", in texts; millennial

31. German equivalent of the Tube: UBAHN - short for untergrundbahn, the subway

32. Romance novelist Hazelwood: ALI - Friday vague name #5

35. Most dense: OBTUSEST - just saying this is obtuse

36. Synthesizer pioneer: MOOG - name #6, more here

39. Atomic: WEE - ah; size-related

40. Brand that dropped "Juice" from its name in 2019: JAMBA - name(ish), and Friday vague-ish, but maybe that's on me because there's only two locations in CT - I've never heard of this "refreshment" store

The name ( #6 ) change story

41. Grown-ups: ADULTS - I'm Gen X, and I still don't care for "adulting" . . . 😜

42. 1960s dance: WATUSI - aaaand back to Baby Boomer

"Luci Watusi"

43. Party line?: "IT'S LIT" - aaaand millennial again, aaaand Twurdish; here's the slang definition; back in my drinking days, "I " was lit . . . 😵

46. Faith based in Haifa: BAHÁ'Í - No clue; more here

47. Clerical tunic: ALB - Another whole three-letter word, and I nailed it~!

48. One subject to a height requirement, say: RIDER - think amusement parks

49. Chaplin of the Netflix miniseries "Treason": OONA - not the OONA this Gen Xer was thinking of; name #8

51. App ad target: USER - meh.  vague.

54. Geico's bus.: INSurance - abbr #8

55. Intel org.: NSA - "No Such Administration", abbr #9

56. Piglet's mother: SOW - I got my Piglets mixed up; I went with ROO - the other Pooh character

As a goalie, I loved the incredible World Cup final saves

on the part of the Agentina netminder . . . and look - 

I can Instagram~!

57. __-cone: SNO

Splynter

Grid Flow 22.9