Friday, Feb 20th, 2026 ~ Benjamin Panico

RECIDIVIST

  Offender Criminal "Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog" - and, yes, he's NSFW insulting

No Comment.  Alas, I must comment - it's the "krow" I do here at the Corner - and I am going to "crow".  This was just too much of a stretch to be enjoyable, and the solve itself was fraught with ALOT of meh/vague/cringe. It looks to be the author's debut LA Times crossword; I found one other, I believe, a NYT here, and a blog review of said puzzle.  Methinks he is a very cerebral constructor.  Names slowed me down, and unlike last week, getting any "?" themer did not necessarily help me elsewhere in the grid.  A scarce nine 3LWs, and no circles, at least.  The themers, and reveal;

20. *Aircraft marshaling?: PROJECT RUNWAY - "Runway Project" - but this clue~? Meh.  "Tarmac resurfacing" - now that's more like it.  The actual fill is about this show

The Wiki of the show

34. *Lifeguarding?: LABOR POOL - this is the only themer that makes sense, too me - "Pool Labor".  The actual fill is  "the source of trained people from which workers can be hired"

40. *Bounty hunting?: JOB SEARCH - "Search Job" - i.e., "skip trace"; Cletus Purcell, a character in the Dave Robicheaux books, does this sort of work as a P.I.  The actual fill is, well, a job search

54. Advice to a problem solver, or an apt description of the answers to the starred clues: WORK BACKWARDS - and the title of a self-help, motivational, life-affirming book as well

The website is here

Did I miss some deeper meaning~?

But Wait, unfortunately, There's More


ACROSS:

1. "Catastrophe" writer/star Delaney: ROB - speaking of catastrophe, name #1 - not a good start, but I begin by doing the DOWN clues, so that I might have some perps for the themers - didn't help today. His IMDb 

4. Power unit: WATT - a measure established by James Watt who adopted "horsepower" to compare to his steam engine, which improved on the existing design; more here

8. School assignment: ESSAY - I want you to write . . . a "theme"  Awww

A Chrstmas Story

13. Filter target: SPAM - my NW was a mess; I had SMOG

15. 2025 Pixar film about a boy who meets aliens: ELIO - name #2, never heard anything about this movie

16. Hollers: YELLS

17. Nix: VETO - my vote.

18. Big pig: BOAR

19. Windows shopping: eTAIL - Ah.  a subtle play on "window" shopping - OK, a good one

23. Grammy winner Baker: ANITA - name #3, but we see her frequently in crosswords

24. Thus far: AS YET

25. Lara Croft target: TOMB - the "Raider" from the video games, and movies; name(ish)

27. Taoism founder: LAO TZU- name #4 - more here

31. Couch surfer's spot: FUTON - Ugh.  Even IF you accept this definition of couch surfing, still makes me cringe as a clue/answer

37. Ore. neighbor: IDAho - it seems that the Cornerites are not fond of three-letter state abbrs

38. Pressed sandwich that's part of a friendly rivalry between Miami and Tampa: CUBAN - too local to be a fair clue/answer, IMHO, but here's a newsletter/blog for your perusal

39. Quaint quarters: INN - it's Friday; the slight mismatch of singular/plural is a bit meh.

43. Accordion-heavy music: POLKA

45. Latin for "as originally positioned": IN SITU

"Hey, what is that~?"

46. One on the Mohs scale: TALC - The mineral talc rates a low "1" on the hardness scale - I don't have to tell you what this crossword rates on the Moe's scale

48. Spills the beans: TELLS

51. "Let's maybe take it down a __ or two": NOTCH - can we maybe bring it UP a notch~?

57. Country singer Rimes: LEANN - name #5

59. Lemon-shaped: OVAL - when the LA Times gives you lemons . . .

60. Choose yea or nay: VOTE - Nay.

61. Bright and airy courtyards: ATRIA

62. Relocate: MOVE

63. Icicle locale: EAVE - I see just one icicle hanging from my gutters - blessed with no ice dams

64. Streisand film with the song "The Way He Makes Me Feel": YENTL - name #6

65. Imp: BRAT

66. Scolding sound: TSK

DOWN:

1. Choose yes or no: RSVP - Ugh.  Vague

2. Place for binoculars: OPERA - I tried VISTA - like this 

James Bond using them in "The Living Daylights"

3. Track and field handout: BATON - handout~?  Ugh . . . better = hand OFF

4. Zoom lens?: WEBCAM - Zoom, the internet meeting app; we used it for AA meetings during COVID

5. Bundles: A LOT - Atwurd

6. Quinceañera crown: TIARA - good WAG on my part; the Español part, which refers to a 15year-old girl's passing into womanhood, was 'irrelevant'; I ran with a crown synonym

7. Doughnut shape: TORUS

8. Monocle, for one: EYEWEAR - that it is, I guess; so spectacles & glasses are EYES wear~?

9. Put on: SET ATOP - No comment; technically, it's a unique fill

10. "You __ me!": "SLAY" - Friday vague

11. Actor Mahershala: ALI - I'll have to add this name, #7, to the Muhammad / Laila list - and a Tuesday dupe

12. Fashion monogram: YSL - Yves Saint Laurent, a double whammy abbr/name, #8

14. Cocktail garnished with mint: MOJITO - I tried GIMLET first; but that's a lime garnish - Gimlet showed up on Tuesday, too

A different kind of "spirit" from Minnesota~!

21. __ collar: ETON - Dah~! Not BLUE

22. Synthetic fabric: NYLON - goes without saying . . .

26. Fuzzy memory: BLUR - I tried HAZE

28. Slog away: TOIL - like during this solve

29. Pass (out): ZONK - Ah.  Another clever clue; I was in DOLE/METE mode

30. Fibula counterpart: ULNA - leg-to-arm bone comparison; semi-deceptive, but four letter bone~?

I like the other leg pic . . . 

31. Pacific nation that exports water: FIJI - I did not know that this was the actual case; some interesting environmental info here; I'll stick with the 5gal jugs from BJs - and geo-name(ish)

32. Nagoya noodles: UDON - crossword staple

33. Pop-top tops: TABS - I found several pieces of art made from these, including "chain mail"...

...and a cool dragon

35. Pre-K sequence: ABC - yeah but meh.

36. Thai coin: BAHT - name(ish), but I knew this from doing crosswords

38. Sealing substance: CAULK - Catchy Clue - alliteration

41. "Happy Days" retort: "SIT ON IT~!" - Two 70s sit-coms in one week ( Welcome Back, Kotter )

42. Everlasting: ETERNAL - Excellent Entry - alliteration

43. Bulldoze: PLOW - I tried RAZE

44. Interval of eight notes: OCTAVE

47. Jewelry often worn with sandals: ANKLET - I put in TOE RING but ran out of spaces; I've seen anklets with heels, so a bit of a 'meh' clue.

49. Relationship-deepening word, informally: L BOMB - did this get dropped last Saturday💕~?😜

50. Really relish: SAVOR

52. Slovenian neighbor: CROAT - name(ish), but I nailed it; the 'inhabitants'

53. Man cave fixtures: HDTVs

54. Alert: WARN

55. Vena __: major blood line: CAVA

56. Switch roles after hiding: SEEK - the kid's game of HIDE & SEEK

57. __ of the land: LAY

58. Beach season in Marseille: ETE - ah, there's my Frawnche~! Summer on Cote d'Azur

Splynter

Forgot to start the timer; it took about 10 minutes that

I can't get back

Grid Flow 27.9

BC Rich Warlock 1990

 This has been severely modified, and I love it~!

LEFTY

Friday, The 13th, 2026 ~ Barbara Lin

 CATWALK-ING

Superstitious~?  The Quadruple Whammy

THIS is what a real crossword looks and solves like - with gratitude from my heart to our constructor, whose last appearance for the LA Times was here.  The puzzle has a standard 15 x 15 grid, no gimmicks, no circles, a level of difficulty hinting at what's to come with the Saturday themeless ( I'm looking at you, 11D. ).  Just six names, maybe a few too many abbrs ( and a high 3LW count ), with two pairs of nines in the Downs, and enough vagueness/deception to make me have to think about the answers.  The themers, "add-ING" to common phrases, are all unique, and such that if a solver can get a hold on one, they can go back and get some assistance for the others; no contrived reveal or 'forced' fill, either.  I give it Four Moe ⭐ stars~!  The themers;

19. Reservation with impeccable timing?: THE GOOD BOOKING - The Good Book, better known as The Bible; add ING, and you get the last room available at Comic Con - I so want to dress up and go~!

27. Task for a pet store with too many cats?: KITTY HAWKING - I thought this might be an outlier, with Kittyhawk being one word, but no - the town in North Carolina is Kitty Hawk - more here

A kitty hawking "real estate"

45. Sport that combines football and sparring?: TACKLE BOXING - Sounds like this could be fun - but then again, I think we have this sport already - it's called MMA

54. Night when one leaves the closet?: COME OUT EVENING - Gaming, gambling, etc., where one "buys in" and leaves at the end with the same 'investment'; I have had many a poker night where I was glad to have "come out even"

But Waiting, There's Moreing

ACROSS:

1. Elevator choice: FLOOR - Ah.  Clever; I was thinking brand name, then "LOCAL", as opposed to express; overthinkING it, so my NW was messy

6. Tech giant headquartered in Armonk, N.Y.: IBM - I did not know the home office was residING in my old state; name(ish)

9. Mixes in: ADDS - no mixing, just tackING on ING

13. Future family member: FIANCÉ -  Ah. The groom side of the equation; fiancée is the lass

14. Cal. neighbor: ARIzona

15. Sniffed item in some tastings: CORK - I pondered "NOSE"  - more here - the aroma ( not odor ) of a wine at a tasting; cork sniffer has a negative connotation these days

16. Intelligence, sense of humor, etc.: ASSETS

17. Aunt's sis: MOM - my step-grandfather married my grandmother and his brother married her daughter, my mother's sister - figure that one out 😜

18. Like half of an MLB team's games: AWAY - not just baseball, most team sports have half their season played at another team's arena, not on/at their home field

22. Med. nation: SYR - I had the "Y" in place from doing the Downs first; Mediterranean / Syria

23. WNBA player: PRO - clever deception; NBA players are PROfessionals, too - I was overthinkING again, that the "W" factored into the answer

24. Forensic drama franchise: CSI - totally misread this clue, put in NSA 😝

25. "Christopher Robin" hopper: ROO - from Winnie The Pooh, name #1

30. "Frozen" character with antlers: SVEN - The reindeer in the Disney animated film; name #2

33. "Told you!": "SEE~!"

34. One metal in bimetallism: SILVER - LearnING moment for me; I thought bimetallism referred to the two metals, typically brass and steel, that make an old thermostat work - more on the financial "standard" here

Technically, I am correct - help me out here, HuskerG

35. Peninsula between the Gulf of Thailand and the Strait of Malacca: MALAY - geo name #3

37. Fuel additive brand: STP - crossword staple

39. Prolonged battle: SIEGE

40. Polar mass: ICE CAP

42. Facial twitch: TIC

44. Indoor rowers: ERGS - I knew this because my brother has one in his basement

48. Sinus specialist, briefly: ENT - Ears, Nose, Throat - crossword staple

49. Not well: ILL

50. "Or so __ heard": "I'VE"

51. Soccer great Hamm: MIA - name #4, but a frequent visitor to crosswords

58. Drive: FIRE - Friday cluING; drive has several definitions; cars, golf, passion, etc

59. Ironman competition, for short: TRIathlon; SwimmING, CyclING, RunnING 

60. Brainstorm: IDEATE - $2 word

61. Light up: BEAM - think facially, like 'happy' tics

62. Crew blade: OAR - Crüe Axe

Mick Mars - Mötley Crüe - I have a similar BC Rich "axe"

63. Tickled pink: ELATED - This one cost me two minutes trying to find my error;  I went with "S" at the end, not "D", never noticed the "tense" of either crossing

64. Spot in the sea: ISLE - this corrected my other messy corner; I had "ATF" for 63D.

65. Bill addressing climate change?: NYE - filled via perps, but "Bill Nye, the Science Guy" is also a regular visitor to crosswords; name #5

66. Flower part: SEPAL

DOWN:

1. Suspicious: FISHY - Ah.  I was thinkING human perspective, went with LEERY - this is somethING generally soundING questionable - but not my "Y"

2. Hair-removal option: LASER - HOT WAX did not fit.  Ouch.

3. Thou: ONE G - the slang for a thousand, one Grand, not the Biblical thou / thee / thine

4. Army creatures?: OCTOPI - Clever, but perhaps this is better clued as Arm-y~?   I did get it

5. Vacation spots: RESORTS

6. Foot that's part of a meter: IAMB - poetry, e.g.

7. Jewelry box item: BROOCH - Earring, Necklace, Bracelet were too expensive in terms of letters

8. Brunch cocktails: MIMOSAS

9. Nutrient-rich berry: ACAI

10. With the current: DOWNRIVER - Dictionary says it's one word

11. Unhatched prize in Naomi Novik's "Temeraire" series: DRAGON EGG - name(ish), complete unknown, but I had enough crossings to figure it out; here's the Wiki

I'm going to try out this read

12. Much of a sunset photo: SKY - Dah~!  I went with "RED"

Surreal - and a contest winner - more here

13. Jazz legend Waller: FATS - name #6, no clue.  We are in Feb, Black History Month; more here

20. Lavishes affection (on): DOTES

21. Auckland residents, informally: KIWIS - Aussies are too fat to fit

26. Big brutes: OGRES - unless you're Shrek

27. Special skill: KNACK - I have a knack for complicatING simple things

28. "__ Come": BTS hit song: "YET TO" - no clue; here's the video link if you care to watch

29. Big name in bright lights: KLIEG - this one I knew, from working on movies - more here

30. Dispatch, biblically: SMITE - lots of Bible today

31. Openings: VACANCIES

32. __ college: ELECTORAL

36. New Haven undergrad: YALIE - Ah.  Eli didn't make the grade . . . 

38. Short cut: PIXIE - Haircut - I call my Pruis C 2 "Pixie"

Short cut - Short car - both cute

41. Pack of cyclists in a race: PELOTON - Tour de Frawnche taught me this word

Now that there's a piece of equipment called Peloton, it's

all that comes up on a Google search 😜

43. Out-of-uniform garb: CIVVIES - Ha~! Nailed it, the rare double "v" spelling and all; civilian attire

46. DVD alternative: BLU-RAY - I have a Blu-Ray player and a few movies

47. Pine leaf: NEEDLE - Yup, that's what the needles are - leafs; they're Leafs in Canada, Eh~?

51. Mazda roadster: MIATA - One of the employees of the pipe organ company has a 2005 model - he let me drive it to get coffee; no power steerING, and manual shiftING - a true drivING experience~!

I'll have the 2026 - in blue, with the fold-away hard top - Vroom-Vroom~!

52. Recon acquisition: INTEL - GatherING whilst spyING

53. Like wine and cheese: AGED - PAIRED didn't work - DUET~?

55. Eager volunteer's cry: "ME~! ME~!" - not the internet meme

56. Lose steam: TIRE - It's Friday, I pondered "FLAG"

57. Semimonthly tide: NEAP

58. DOJ arm: FBI - Department of Justice, and "Fart, Barf & Itch" ( from the Dave Robicheaux series books ).  Also possible were ATF and DEA; not fitting in were the Bueau of Prisons and the US Marshals

** Thanks to all at the Corner for the B-day comments, and I truly appreciate "Eh!" who had me down for five years younger 😁 I am surprised at the number of folks who said that "double nickel" was in the rearview mirror for them - keep solving crosswords~!  I do miss the pipe organ job - such a cool place to work, and I am still planning on getting my very own Cooper - loved the links and pics; my brother's card said "I can't drive 55~!" **

Splynter

Grid Flow a low 23.7

Friday, Feb 6th, 2026 ~ Brian Callahan & Geoffrey Schorkopf

 GRAPH WHERE SOLUTION HID

- OR -

Clever Hints; Answers Due 

Today's accomplished authors have teamed up on a clever theme, with a handful of impressive clues & answers somewhat lost among other, crummier ones.  The three, even-length four-letter words of the reveal required an oversized, 15 x 16 grid, with only two fills that are unique (°).  We have circles that, IMO, might not have been necessary in this instance, as the "ends meet" hint seems to be enough - and it's Friday; so let us solvers work through the challenge~!  A mere ten 3LWs, a handful of names,  a couple that did not need to be clued as such, no Natick crossings as far as I can see, but a little too much dreck - and I can't fault the constructors, since some of the clues may have been "editorialized".  The themers and reveal; 

17. *Get one over on: PULL A PRANK ° - "PU-NK" - I am not a fan of shows that belittle people for the sake of a gag; while Candid Camera was light and funny, the current "in that vein" kind of shows such as Punk'd  or Jackass, just seem cruel and immature - another commentary here

23. *Action blockbuster with several sequels: THE TERMINATOR - "TH-OR" - I have seen most of the Aaaahnald series movies, none of the MCU ones - I find the excessive use of CGI waaay too much

46. *Antioxidant-rich treat: DARK CHOCOLATE - "DA-TE" - the fruit, but the 'going out' meaning of "date" could be interpreted as "a treat" - not sure about the antioxidant part though . . .

56. *Chin-wag: CHEW THE FAT - "CH-AT" - I almost went with this as my title last week, on the "speak up" crossword theme, but "chew" doesn't quite have a homonym I could effectively use

35. With 36- and 37-Across, get by, or how to find a second answer to each starred clue: MAKE

36. See 35-Across: ENDS

37. See 35-Across: MEET - as the two-letter 'ends' of the themers 'meet' to create a second word with the same meaning - I did enjoy this as a theme concept

Bure Mot Theit Ware's 

ACROSS:

1. Android, for one: ROBOT - I do the Downs first, ONUS was in place; "PHONE" was not gonna work

My two favorite androids - C-3PO and Marvin, from The Hitchhiker's Guide...

6. Cat's eye, often: SLIT - At first I thought "meh.", but it turns out that the species at 25D. has round pupils; so does the Pallas Cat of Asia

10. Genesis name: ADAM - AND - 33D. Genesis name: SEGA - clecho, but not the same Genesis; the second one is the gaming console - names #1 & #2

14. Dazzled: IN AWE - Twurd - and our weekly dupe, this time from Wednesday.

15. Goals for some Olympians: TENS - Score.  Golds, Silvers, Medals, etc., did not fit

16. Frozen Four game: SEMI - vague; Friday - a round in college hockey finals. Thanks for the SO Moe~!

19. Mountain abode: CABIN - another negative temperature day here in Tolland, CT - which is giving me CABIN fever - I can't get certain projects done when it's this cold, even down in the garage . . .

20. Bilingual subj.: ESL - English (as a) Second Language

21. Touch off: CAUSE

22. Handle: MANAGE - this filled entirely via perps for me

25. Going-out outfits?: PAJAMAS - as in putting "out" the light and sleeping

28. World-weary: BLASÉ - Frawnche

29. Annual Queens sporting event: US OPEN - Ah. I read this as "Queen's", as in the royal persona, thinking maybe POLO . . . but no~!  It's the borough of NYC, where the tennis tournament is played

30. "Let's see if you're bluffing": "I CALL." - poker

32. Wanders around ORD?: TSA - Good one - the Wand-ers of the Transportation Security Admin., working at Chicago's O'Hare airport, code abbr (ORD)

38. Big primate: APE

39. Enclosures in a 19-Down: LOCKS - AND - 39D. Highlands waters: LOCHS - I am ambivalent on words spelled this closely in crosswords

41. Nutty Alpine cheese: ASIAGO - filled via perps

43. Rushing sound: WOOSH - my spelling is WHOOSH, Wich is WHrong

45. Women's liberal arts college in Atlanta: SPELMAN - name #3, spelled wrong (😜); author Geoffrey works in Atlanta - here's his last LA Times contribution and the write-up from HuskerG

50. Actress Cuthbert: ELISHA - name #4

51. Lingering scents: ODORS

52. Penny prez: ABE - abbr in the clue, abbr in the ans - name(ish)

55. Ultrasound subject: FETUS - First Extra-Terrestrial of the United States~?

GORT, from The Day the Earth Stood Still

58. Done: OVER

59. Went down: FELL

60. Doctoral hurdle: ORALS - Dah~!  I read this as "doctor's", so I put in MCATS

61. "Razzle Dazzle" singer in the 2002 film "Chicago": GERE - Richard, name #5

62. Just: ONLY

63. Running behind: TARDY

DOWN:

1. Rank: RIPE - Like the lingering scents of 51A.

2. Weight: ONUS

3. Sitcom pioneer: BALL - could have been LUCY, or DESI, so I waited - name #6

4. Parliament member: OWL - Ah - parliament, the "animal grouping" - good one

5. "I want to learn how to do that!": "TEACH ME~!" - Twurd

6. Walks with confidence: STRUTS

Watch Sheena Easton "Strut" in Tokyo, back in 1989, singing "Strut"

7. Crib sheet?: LEASE - semi-clever; the 'paper' one signs to rent a 'crib', slang for the place one lives

8. __ beauty: INNER - vague, Friday

9. Judgy sound: TSK - judgy~?  The river 'meh' is rising

10. Yoga poses: ASANAS - I think I have had this fill now in three of my Fridays

11. Student group that may encourage members to go pro?: DEBATE TEAM° - this one was clever.  The "side" in a debate, that being either "pro" or "con" 

12. Compañero: AMIGO - Español lesson

13. Worker in a rush?: MINER - Gold rush, that is

18. Hymn of praise: PAEAN - Its etymology here

19. Waterway with 39-Across: CANAL

22. Move (about): MILL

23. End of some races: TAPE

He's across the finish line~!

24. Chicago Booth degs.: MBAs - I had no idea what "Booth" meant; the university website; name(ish)

25. Big mountain cat: PUMA - A.K.A. "cougar" - two others 'cats' that fit: Lion and ???? - see below

26. "Right this second!" letters: A.S.A.P. - again, the blasé, cliché, mis-representation of STAT

27. Part of a crack team?: JOKE WRITER - OK, kinda funny

30. Doodle medium: INK - meh

31. LP successors: CDs - or, did cassette tapes, and even eight-tracks, 'succeed', as in "follow"~?

34. Oodles: A TON - one of the two the most over-used crossword Twurds - ALOT being the other

36. Fun word to shout into a canyon: ECHO

37. Unit with Roman and "country" varieties: MILE - I know about a "country mile", as in 'longer than a typical distance', but was curious about the Roman one - the Wiki

40. Gp. concerned with NSFW material?: OSHA - I took the OSHA 30 hour course, and while it does have a harassment section, the government 'group' is more about safety; hence the "S" in the acronym Occupational Safety and Health Administration, so 'meh'

41. In pieces: APART - in keeping consistent, this should be: one piece = A PART

42. Free throw, e.g.: SET SHOT - Basketball, which I don't care for

44. "Fine, whatever": "OK SURE." - Twurd

45. At a snail's pace: SLOWLY

46. Clear up, as a windshield: DEFOG - I had DE-ICE

47. Naproxen brand: ALEVE - it was a toss-up between this WAG and ADVIL; name(ish)

48. Poet Leonard: COHEN - name #7 - his Wiki

49. Scott who wrote "Island of the Blue Dolphins": O'DELL - I had no clue; more here - name #8

52. Way off: AFAR - "The sheriff is A NEAR~!" - Blazing Saddles

"No, dagnubbit, the sheriff is . . . " Now that's NSFW~!

53. Like Mr. Johnson on "Abbott Elementary": BALD - oof.  Friday cluing, his IMDb - name(ish)

54. Site with a Home Favorites section: ETSY - good WAG on my part

Highlighted in red

56. Fiscal exec: CFO - Chief Financial Officer

57. Flop __: period of setbacks, in slang: ERA - no clue, but I shoulda guessed; at least it's a new clue for this tired answer.  Below is what came up first in a Google search - commentary on our Social Media obsession; it's a bit annoying, but spot on . . .

Flop Era - Akita Neru

Splynter

Grid Flow 33.4

From 25D. - "Lynx"

Friday, Jan 30th, 2026 ~ Zachary David Levy

E

N

O

R

D

STRIKE

The previous LA Times "Z-D-L" puzzle was one I blogged on Wednesday back in November - the Monty Python and the Holy Grail "just a flesh wound" masterpiece - if you happen to be a fan . . . Today Mr. Levy's construction features four themers that have a synonym for "speak" going UP the Down fills, but defined as its homonym; I was perplexed as to why I could not get the answer for 9D to gibe with the crossings, until - the V-8 can.  Not too difficult for a Friday, IMO, but we get a bit bogged down with the names again; a standard 15 x 15 grid, more than double the number of four-letter words to 3LWs, no circles, and missing only the "Q" for a pangram *.  The themers and reveal; 

4. Fast service: SSERPXE MAIL - Express is spelled "up" in the grid

9. Seize-the-day type: OG GETTER - here's where I sussed the theme, as I knew it had to be "GO"

27. Many a land-grant university: ETATS SCHOOL - State, going "up"

40. Hogwash: RETTU ROT - Utter, going "up"

25. Comment to a low talker, or what is found in 4-, 9-, 27-, and 40-Down: SPEAK UP - here's the collection of scenes from the "low talker" episode of  Seinfeld

She appeared in court for the finale, too

         's
         e
     t   r  e
t    i   e  r
u   a  h  o
B W T M

ACROSS:

1. Sticks (out): JUTS - AND it's crossing - 1D. Talked and talked: JAWED ( and a theme Easter Egg )

Now there's a juts/jawed combo

5. Site of an 1836 siege: ALAMO - starting with a geo name, #1

10. Got 100% on: ACED

14. Latin 101 word: AMAS

15. Enter again, as data: RELOG - a bit meh

16. Opera star: DIVA

17. Rouse: WAKE

18. Greg Maddux's record 18: GOLD GLOVES - I know so little about baseball, I started with NO HITTERS, but it didn't fit - name #2

20. "Self-Reliance" essayist: EMERSON - ah - Ralph Waldo; learning moment; more here - name #3

22. __ urchin: SEA

23. Sorta: "ISH" - many crossword clues/answers of late have drifted too far towards "ish"

24. Challenges, as a credit card charge: DISPUTES

26. Neutrogena product: T-GEL

It "appears" you need glasses to use the product

28. Crosses (out): X'ES - to "E" or not to "E"; that is the question - "X's" looks correct to me; but then again, "X'ed" seems OK

29. Stone fruit center: PIT - I've never eaten a stone - are they any good~?  Sounds crunchy

31. Lean: TILT

34. Department with direct marketing campaigns: SALES

37. __ noire: BETE - Frawnche, literally "black beast"; i.e., one's bane or bugbear

38. Côte d'__: AZUR - plus Frawnche; "azure ( blue ) coast" = French Riviera

39. Teen dance: PROM

40. Put on again: RE-AIR - pump in again; re-air

Now how's she gonna pedal in those shoes~?

41. Actress Garr: TERI - I liked her in "Young Frankestein" - name #4

Now listen very carefully . . . 

42. "Casablanca" role: ILSA - name #5

43. Edmonton CFL team: ELKS - no clue; Canadian Football League - more here - geo name(ish)

44. London's neighboring county: ESSEX - geo name #6

45. Terse denial: "NOT I."

46. Letter after sigma: TAU

47. __ Technica: tech news website: ARS - filled via perps and a WAG

48. Stick together: CLOT

50. Conveyances also known as tricycle rickshaws: PEDICABS

The Deluxe Model

55. Energizer size: AAA - ooof; not AAs

57. Run smoothly: HUM

59. Magenta kin: FUCHSIA - spelling moment for me - I had FUSCHIA

60. Spaceflight company based in Kent, Washington: BLUE ORIGIN

Captain Kirk was on a flight - the story here

63. Stalwart trees: OAKS - I could argue that trees in general are "stalwart", by definition

64. In case: LEST

I like this 

65. Eye-shaped windows: OCULI - most of what I find online is round, not "eye" shaped; the Wiki

When I hear 'oculus', I think of the Pantheon

66. Possessive pronoun: ONE'S - e.g. "gird one's loins"

67. Org chart topper: EXECutive

68. Fundamental principle: TENET

69. Countess's title: LADY - Here's Tom Jones, now 85yrs old, married for 59(~!) years until the passing of his wife and lifetime love Melinda in 2016; I grew up listening to his baritone voice, as my parents were born & raised in England - more on Tom from Wiki here

"Never Had A Lady Before"

from "Rescue Me" , his 1979 "disco" album; so many great songs

DOWN:

2. Savory quality: UMAMI

3. Views: TAKES - Friday cluing; as in "what's your ___ on this~?" but pluralized, meh

5. Jargons: ARGOTS - the "lingo" of a (usually secret) social group - the plural is again a bit 'meh'

6. Sierra __, Africa: LEONE - geo name #7

7. "__ set": ALL - vague; Friday

8. Online admins: MODS - moderators

10. Fuss: ADO

11. Makes more sophisticated: CIVILIZES - a weapon from a more "civilized age"

Your father's lightsaber

12. Festive nights: EVES - what are festive days~?  Adams~?

13. Run without saying goodbye, perhaps: DASH

19. Gamer's woe: LAG - think online gaming ( or someone taking too long to play a word in Scrabble )

21. Goes after, in a sense: SUES

30. Terse confirmation: "IT IS."

32. Entice: LURE

33. Cereal coveted by a silly rabbit: TRIX - name(ish) . . .

. . . are for kids~!

34. Whirl: SPIN

35. Folk singer Guthrie: ARLO - name #8, crossword staple

36. Fruitless endeavor: LOST CAUSE - stone fruitless = LOST QUARTZ

37. Dracula player Lugosi: BELA - Here's Bella - one of the other trainers at the gym, wearing the shirt I made for my trainer Brett - that's him on the shirt; he and some of the other members are always mocking me for calling the gym equipment "tools" - hey, I do "work"(out) with them . . . name #9

44. Writer/illustrator Carle: ERIC - Didn't recognize the name - #10 - filled via perps - but I do recognize his work; I see he passed in 2021 at age 91.  His website

47. Marketing space: AD UNIT - I tossed in AD PAGE

49. "What do we have here?": "O-HO~!"

51. IRS convenience: eFILE

52. Mat position: ASANA - yoga~! yoga~! yoga~!

Animal House announces toga party

53. Trained for part of a triathlon: BIKED - good WAG; running and swimming are the other two events

54. Not very respectful: SASSY

55. Up to the task: ABLE

56. Ken's "Jeopardy!" predecessor: ALEX - I watched Mr. Trebek growing up; have not watched any Jennings episodes - name #11

58. Maze runners: MICE - Dah~!  I put in RATS

61. Brief "Blah, blah, blah": etc.

62. Squirt __: GUN - I bought a pair that actually have a pretend, Glock-like "slide" 

You lock the slide back to expose the fill hole, thus "loading" it

Splynter

Grid Flow 43.2

* Which "Q" would you prefer~?

The "Q"s of James Bond, 007