Wed., Jun 26th, Shannon Rapp & Will Eisenberg

THAT'S A WRAP

A not-too-difficult-level Wednesday for yours, "verily", but upon finishing, stared at the theme answers for too long a time, trying to determine what the reveal had to do with the other four answers.  I finally decided that it had something to do with the first and last few letters of each fill, but was not thrilled with the results; the end letters "wrap" the answers and reveal a "party".  Meh.  Nevertheless, I checked in with our host, and she agreed that I was, in fact, correct.  Sigh.  Three 11-letter and two 10-letter themers, which took up a lot of squares, and left us with some fresh fill, but also a ridiculous amount of three-letter-words (3LW).  The theme answers/reveal;

17. *Swimmer that can expand to three times its normal size: BALLOON FISH - BASH - I am shocked that BALLoon was acceptable, considering that the next theme is "BALL"

26. *Dreamhouse occupant: BARBIE DOLL - BALL - seems like a dupe to me

38. *Employee responsible for minimizing negative outcomes: RISK MANAGER - RAGER - had to look this one up; I have heard of a "RAVE" party, but a "RAGER" is new to me - and I noted, too that "SARAN" was scrambled in the answer, which is also a "wrap", so to speak. . . . .

51. *Greek salad component: FETA CHEESE - FETE - Meh.  Feta & Fete are just too close for me

61. Postshow cast celebrations, and what can be found in the answers to the starred clues: WRAP PARTIES - Parties that "wrap" the theme answers, but not really; more like bookend...

I like this "Wrap Dress" party better

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. "Good heavens!": "EGAD~!" - O God, I can't believe this puzzle passed muster~!

5. Novelize, perhaps: ADAPT - Meh.  Isn't it the other way, adapting a novel TO a screenplay~?

10. Old-school cool: HEP - 3LW#1

13. Star-nosed diggers: MOLES - not pretty, but I guess it gets the job done~!

15. Skin care brand: NIVEA

16. United: ONE - 3LW#2

19. Boy of the fam: BRO - 3LW#3

20. Not needing an MD's script: OTC - Over-The-Counter; I see now that birth control AND the "little blue pills" are available without a prescription;  Hmmm - coincidence~? - And 3LW#4

21. "Black-ish" father: DRE - perps - And 3LW#5

22. Like some arcade games: COIN-OP - should there be an abbr. in the clue, or is this in the vernacular~?

24. Ego: SELF

29. Prognosticator: SEER - I am merely a proCRASTINator

30. Bath bathroom: LOO - British city Bath, British bathroom  - And 3LW#6

31. Skilled: ABLE

32. Put in a little oil, say: SAUTÉ

35. Back tooth: MOLAR

41. Front-end alignment: TOE-IN - if you're "10A." like me, when you took your car to the mechanic, there were three things to correct, Toe-in/out, Camber, and Caster

42. "Veep" role for Louis-Dreyfus: MEYER - Meh.  Talk about vague - last name for a last name from a sit-com that was only on HBO five+ years ago - I just happened to recognize the name, due to the popularity of Seinfeld, but that didn't really help much

44. Many a Jordanian: ARAB

47. CGI-heavy superhero franchise: MCU - Marvel Comics Cinematic Universe - totally not my wheelhouse, and the reason why I missed "Brie" last Wednesday - my apologies to waseeley et. al. - And 3LW#7

49. Intl. oil cartel: OPEC

55. "The Possibilities Are Beautiful" retailer: ULTA

56. Contributing element: FACTOR

57. Catan resource: ORE - Catan is a board game; I invented a board game that uses "resources" as well; now I am trying to find someone who knows code, so it can be converted to a phone/tablet app; I'm willing to split the profits - And 3LW#8

59. Century divs.: YRs - 3LW#9

60. That, in Spanish: ESO - 3LW#10

65. Trig function: COS - sin, cos, tan, cot, sec, csc - take your pick - And 3LW#11

66. One holding things back?: LEVEE - I have to include this song

Did you catch the missed hi-hat~?  John Bonham - prob my fave drummer

67. Gulf of Suez peninsula: SINAI -the "incident" from three years ago; $540million fine~!

68. Explosive material: TNT - 3LW#12

69. Reproduce like salmon: SPAWN

70. Boot camp figs.: SGTs


DOWN:

1. Create a design that stands out?: EMBOSS - I did this a long time ago using the "emboss" tool from Photoshop

2. Small beards: GOATEES

3. Safe call: ALL CLEAR

4. "Doin' Time" singer Lana __ Rey: DEL - WAG - But the video is pretty cool.  A remake of a song that was already a remake of a classic song.  And 3LW#13

5. Strengthen, in metallurgy: ANNEAL

6. "What's the __?": DIFference~? - Slang - And 3LW#14

7. Pic above a username: AVI - Meh.  Avatar, abbr. - And 3LW#15

8. Joe of "Casino": PESCI - the one name I DID know

9. Largest North American alpine lake: TAHOE - HURON fit, but that's not the largest of the Great Lakes; "so what's an alpine lake~?" I wondered . . . .

10. Mingle (with): HOBNOB - Spellcheck is OK with this as one word

11. Join the club: ENROLL - meh.  "Signed up" is better suited to "clubs", IMHO

12. Folks: PEOPLE

14. Roll on the lawn: SOD - 3LW#16

18. Planet, e.g.: ORB - 3LW#17

23. Goading words: I DARE YOU - I triple DOG dare you~!

25. Frugivorous flying mammal: FRUIT BAT - I sussed frugivorous meant fruit; see the "Flying Fox"

27. Colleen Hoover's genre: ROMANCE - no clue, filled via perps - Goodreads

28. Godsend: BOON

33. General on American Chinese menus: TSO - 3LW#18

34. Scrape (by): EKE - 3LW#19

36. Quick getaway: LAM - Meh. 3LW#20

37. Number on a birthday card: AGE - 3LW#21

39. Silent actor: MIME - are you aiming for these people~?

Maybe that mime

40. Getting back (to): REPLYING

43. Opposite of charge: RETREAT - not the "deplete" of a battery, but the fall-back of a military group

44. Have an impact on: AFFECT

45. Motivation: REASON

46. For neither profit nor loss: AT COST

48. Tournament won by Coco Gauff in 2023: US OPEN - no clue, but a fairly safe WAG

50. Black currant liqueur: CASSIS

52. Some sweater necks: COWLS

53. Corp. employee in charge of recruitment: HR REP - interesting fill

54. Cy Young stat: ERA - 3LW#22

58. Triage ctrs.: ERs - 3LW#23

62. Filmmaker DuVernay: AVA - filled via perps; her IMDb - And 3LW#24

63. Syllable in a blaster imitation: PEW - there's a bird ( I believe ) that I hear every morning - I am up typically at 4am - and its call is "pew-pew, pew-pew", and it makes me think of a laser blaster every time; anyone know which bird I mean~? - And 3LW#25

64. "Verily!": "TIS~!" - think "Old English" = truly - And the final 3LW#26

 I am following Chairman Moe's lead from Fri Jun 14th, and rating this puzzle at just 1⭐

Splynter

Wednesday, Jun 19th, 2024, Daniel Hrynick

POPCORN

 Today's puzzle is NOT from Rebecca, and NOT 16x15 - but still about food. Hey, I'm getting there, slowly but surely - "and don't call me Shirley".  Five foods, or "snacks", with movie title adjectives, and no reveal.  The themers: 

17. Wrapped movie snack for a Rowan Atkinson comedy?: BEAN BURRITO

23. Spicy movie snack for a Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze fantasy romance?: GHOST PEPPERS

I like this Ghost better

38. Roasted movie snack for a Leslie Nielsen disaster comedy?: AIRPLANE PEANUTS

 

The hospital, what is it~?    Airplane~! Trailer

50. Cold movie snack for a Disney princess musical?: FROZEN YOGURT

62. Sweet movie snack for an Arnold Schwarzenegger comedy?: JUNIOR MINTS

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Like a bad Goodyear: BALD - and, unfortunately, a "good" Splynter, as well

5. Media network based in Ontario: THE CBC - the Wiki, and a shout-out to our friends up north

11. Tanqueray liquor: GIN

14. After-lunch sandwich: OREO - I really like BJs chocolate-chip cookies

15. Nickelodeon toon tyke: RUGRAT

16. Blackjack card: ACE

19. Not quite break, as a record: TIE

20. Seasonal mall worker: SANTA

21. Exam: TEST

22. Slough off: SHED

26. Monastery leaders: ABBOTS - I recommend the "Cadfael Chronicles" by Ellis Peters, Cadfael being a Crusader turned Benedictine monk, set in 1100 England, and a great set of mystery novels

29. Christian name?: DIOR - Christian Dior, designer, very clever

30. __ Lanka: SRI

31. "Very funny": HA-HA

35. Shasta and Fanta: SODAS

42. __ dish: lab container: PETRI - Spellcheck doesn't like this

43. Graph lines: AXES

44. Ready to go: SET

45. LP player: Hi-Fi

 

I don't think the music has the dog's attention

47. Eases: ABATES

55. Passed-down tales: LORE

56. Mower brand: TORO - Mine is a Massey-Ferguson, and I am getting better at driving it~!

57. On the open ocean: AT SEA - I ordered a piece of art from China, and the website supplied the tracking info for the vessel it was loaded on, then I found this site, which is incredible - the number of ships AT SEA. . . .

61. Not even: ODD

64. Itty-bitty: WEE

65. Apply a cipher to: ENCODE

66. "__ quote you on that?": "CAN I~?"  OK boys, let's get some pictures

67. Den. neighbor: NORway - sorta; Sweden is much more "neighborly"

top left corner - Norway is peekin' a teensy bit

68. Itty-bitty: TEENSY - Spellcheck doesn't care for this, either

69. Bridge distance: SPAN

DOWN:

1. "And __ your uncle": Brit's "Voilà!": BOB'S - my parents were born and raised in England; while I did not hear this phrase often, one that did come up on a day of thunderstorms was "It's a bit black over Bill's mother's" = more here

2. Field: AREA - think "expertise"

3. Favor one side: LEAN - like that tower in 25D.

4. "Stay!": "DON'T GO~!"

5. Hilton brand: TRU - On my first trip with the pipe organ company to Lynchburg VA, we had to stay at a different hotel for ONE night due to some convention at the usual place; the second spot was a "Tru", sort of like the "trendy", wacky color scheme, odd art, Millennial vibe version of Hilton

6. Causes pain: HURTS

7. Wading bird found in salt- and freshwater marshes: EGRET

8. Crunchy: CRISP

9. Swung for the fences, maybe: BATTED

10. Engineering exec at a startup, e.g.: CTO - Chief Technology Officer

11. Sit untouched: GATHER DUST - my drum set has been sitting untouched the whole time I have lived in CT; I am planning a music room in the basement - complete with pipe organ - once my new kitchen is done - but that can't happen until the side porch gets done, and so on and so on....

12. More slick: ICIER

13. Requires: NEEDS

18. Thai currency: BAHT

22. Sour cream utensil: SPOON - I prefer the newer squeezee bottle

A dollop of 63D.~?

24. Plant inspection org.: OSHA - the National Cathedral insisted on steel-toe boots for all who work at the pipe organ company, so we went shopping at Skechers last week, and I got some new, free kicks~!

25. Tuscan tower town: PISA

26. Rush job letters: ASAP

27. "The Marvels" star Larson: BRIE - no clue, filled via perps

28. Factor in sibling relationships: BIRTH ORDER - I am first born, have but one sibling, a brother, and he has some sort of inferiority issue with me - so he comes across as the Alpha male in most instances; it doesn't make any difference to me

32. The NHL's Ducks, on sports tickers: ANAheim - Florida may have hoisted the Stanley Cup last night

33. Bad spell: HEX - ah.  Missed this.  A "?" would have helped.

34. Large primate: APE

36. Fit to __: A TEE - Crosswordese

37. Old fleet fleet: SSTs - I am fascinated by the TV Show "Air Disasters", mostly because of how the show depicts the investigation progresses, and how a very tiny part failure can make a very big tragedy

39. Cherish: PRIZE - Dah~! not ADORE

40. Word with hack or coach: LIFE - Life-hack, Life-coach; I like watching the mini Life Hacks and carpentry tips on Facebook

41. Biblical twin: ESAU

46. Not sharp or flat: IN TUNE - Meh.  "Natural" did not fit.  Being musical, I am not entirely in agreement with this clue; e.g. Van Halen songs are all tuned a half-step down, or "flat", but they are "in tune"; pipe organs can be sharp and/or flat and still be "in tune" - the temperament Wiki

48. Gothic horror novelist Stoker: BRAM

49. Rooms that often have little room: ATTICS - Meh.  My attic is huge, and I plan to make it into a loft one day; I prefer the "top floor" kind of clue for this answer

50. __ the coop: escaped: FLOWN

51. Event with clowns and bulls: RODEO

52. Part of the Queen Bey song "Partition": YONCÉ - Beyoncé - her Wiki, and that's as far as I go

53. Hunter in the night sky: ORION - this is more like my musical tastes

R.I.P. Cliff Burton, bass player, Metallica - Orion

54. Merchandise: GOODS - I tried WARES first

58. Pic: SNAP - semi Meh.

59. Volcano on Sicily's east coast: ETNA - ah, trying to throw us for a loop with the whole "east coast" thing~?  I wasn't fooled~!

60. Q __ Quebec: AS IN - more Canadien, Eh~?

62. East Coast NFLer: JET - yes, us long-suffering NY Jets fans. . . . can we get a quarterback in here~?

63. Daisy Ridley's "Star Wars" role: REY - I am a huge Star Wars fan - saw the original at a drive-in when I was six - but the last trilogy was lacking, sadly

Splynter

And a Juneteenth to all~!

Wed, Jun 12th, 2024, Rebecca Goldstein

 TOFU~!?!?

Or maybe Liver~?

Another Wednesday, another Rebecca Goldstein puzzle, another 16x15 grid; I need more FLAVOR~!

That about sums up today's crossword, with four theme answers and one reveal; four "places" preceded by four, uh, flavors~?  Am I missing something~?  Sure, (sour) apple-flavored Jolly Ranchers are the best, sesame chicken I recognize ( I even throw in some seeds on my General Tso's ) and there are several waffle flavors I did not know about, but I would definitely pass on anything that was "olive-flavored'.  Here are the spanners;

18. Workplace for some Geniuses: APPLE STORE - I am PC.  Period.

26. Breakfast chain with a museum in Decatur, Georgia: WAFFLE HOUSE - I have said before that my favorite "greasy spoon" is the Waffle House

38. Home to Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus: SESAME STREET - Yup-yupyupyup; I was just talking with my supervisor about these guys - and it's hysterical to watch them for the first time in like, 45 years

Brrrrr-ring.....Brrrrr-ing

53. Restaurant with a Never-Ending Pasta Pass: OLIVE GARDEN

63. Tasty location associated with Guy Fieri, and where to find 18-, 26-, 38-, and 53-Across?: FLAVOR TOWN

I don't watch any Food shows, so. . . .

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Warmup in gym class, maybe: LAPS - I preferred to warm up on the rowing machine

5. Dish with a shell: TACO - I make my own tacos at least once a week, and if I choose to eat fast food, it's Taco Bell

I can't wait to try one of these new menu items

9. Unexpressed: TACIT

14. Be a sore winner: GLOAT - nyah-nyah-nyah-NA-nyah-nyah

16. Country on the Arabian Sea: OMAN

17. Clay colour: OCHRE - Meh. I always thought the color was called, uh, "CLAY". . . .

20. Second stringers: B-TEAM

21. Tax Day arrival, astrologically: ARIES - Meh, and questionable; there's a trend to add new signs to the Zodiac, but I could not find one link that had Aries ON 15Apr.  My father was born on 20Apr, which is the "cusp" of the OLD astrological signs; therefore, without a specific birth 'time', he was both Aries and Taurus.  If I were to accept the NEW, then I am no longer an Aquarius, but a Capricorn....

22. Assistant: AIDE

24. Fabric tear: RIP

25. Picture formatted for the small screen?: ICON

30. Walked worriedly: PACED

32. "Sorry, laddie": NAE - and - 43A. Scottish gal: LASS

Oh, Aye, laddie, that's a bonnie lass~!

33. Slammed with customers: MOBBED - I did my time in retail

34. Make a request: ASK

35. Grand in scale: EPIC

37. Gymnast Lee: SUNI - via perps, and yet I am sure I have seen this name before

42. Three-time WNBA MVP Leslie: LISA - via perps; her Wiki

44. Resistance unit: OHM

47. "Cupcake Wars" competitors: BAKERS

50. Frying liquid: OIL

51. Spanish small bites: TAPAS - had this two puzzles in a row

56. Nu metal band since 1993: KORN - I love metal, but this whole generation/genre was just noise, as far as I was concerned; I picked the one song from the decade that I would let play if it came on. . . .

Drowning Pool - Bodies

57. Sanctions: OKs

58. Sponge feature: PORE

59. Artisan association: GUILD

61. African snake: MAMBA

67. Decide (to): ELECT

68. East, in Spanish: ESTE

69. Spanish lakes: LAGOS

70. Ding-dong __: DITCH - I had no clue this was an alternate 'title' for "ring & run"; first learning moment

71. Shoulder muscle, briefly: DELToid

72. Out of __: SYNC

DOWN:

1. JFK alternative: LGA - airport codes - I grew up on Long Island, home to both fields - even though they are associated with New York City

2. Andean grazers: ALPACAS

3. Candy mixed with Coke in a chemistry experiment: POP ROCKS - I'm more familiar with the  Mentos in Diet Coke experiment, but it was too short --

Growing up, the myth was if you swallowed Pop Rocks, your stomach would explode

4. Contact lens solution: SALINE

5. Tater bite: TOT

6. Spanish "I love": AMO

7. Large mimosa order: CARAFE - the one Champagne to have when you're having more than one~?

8. Racer Kitty known as "the fastest woman in the world": O'NEIL - she even got her own action figure - or is it "doll"~!? - more here

9. "Not gonna lie ... ": TO BE HONEST - these days, you don't get 10 letters, just "TBH" - and, TBH, I happen to like Olive Garden

10. Put on a show: ACT - meh.  STAGE is a better verb, IMHO, TBH

11. Angelic being: CHERUB - my personal favorite cherub image; and the best song on the album

Van Halen - 1984 - Drop Dead Legs

12. Confident words at the poker table: I RAISE

13. Filled in at the office: TEMPED

15. Golfing prop: TEE

19. U-turn from NNE: SSW

23. Objects gently: DEMURS

25. Hoppy pub initials: IPA

27. Jungian inner self: ANIMA

28. Stand up to: FACE

29. Off-Broadway award: OBIE - Off Broadway - literally "Oh Bee"

31. Shortcut created by foot traffic: DESIRE PATH - another new learning moment for me

36. Turn a certain corner in Monopoly: PASS GO - GO TO JAIL did not fit

A hotel on Boardwalk = what rent~? See below

37. Like bread for stuffing: STALE

39. -1,412 ft., for the Dead Sea: ELEVation - see 41D.

40. Lost traction: SLID

41. The lay of the land?: TOPOLOGY - I use a 3D software called Revit for modeling buildings, and it has a topography tool for making the structure "site" as accurate as possible; I can add points of 'elevation'

45. Earned with extreme effort: HARD WON

46. Bing portal: MSN

47. Thundered: BOOMED

48. Basic stuff?: ALKALI - as opposed to "acid" - clever

49. Destiny: KISMET

50. Words of warning: OR ELSE

52. Japanese dogs: AKITAS - learned by doing crosswords

54. Sounded like 52-Down: ARFED - Meh.

55. Habitat for Humanity, e.g., for short: NGO - I've had this before, and still put in NPO, for a Non-xxx-Organization, but not PROFIT; it's GOVERNMENTAL

60. Online address: URL - Uniform Resource Locators - a unique website "residence"

62. Loop in on the DL: BCC - second puzzle in a row, for me, again

64. Emory U.'s home: ATLanta - filled via perps

65. Dog doc: VET

66. Foreign policy gp.: NSC

Splynter

$2000~?  Dammit~!

1984 turns forty

 

Monday, Jun 3rd, 2024, Renee Thomason & Zhouqin Burnikel

 DUCK TEST~?  Bzzzt~!

Splynter, stepping in for sumdaze, as she ascends to the headline of today's puzzle as constructor, along with our well-published blog creator/host C.C.  Way to go~!  Such an honor to be asked to do the summary, so I will do my best to engage & entertain.  A smooth, satisfying solve for yours truly (moi~?), within my typical time limit, at what felt like an "olden days" Monday-level difficulty.  No personal names, yet several geographic ones, and no reveal for our theme in a standard 15x15 grid - hey, that's been unusual for me lately.  Two eleven- and two twelve-letter spanners, each ending with one word and its secondary, three-dimensional definition.  Easy as 1-2-3, or maybe 6Across~?  Here is the "shape of things";

18. What sounds like a disk, but isn't a disk?: FACT CHECKER

28. What sounds like a cube, but isn't a cube?: WRITER'S BLOCK

49. What sounds like a circle, but isn't a circle?: FAMILIAR RING

63. What sounds like a sphere, but isn't a sphere?: CHARITY BALL

That's NO Sphere Moon, It's A...Oh Wait....

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. __ and flow: EBB

4. Gathers from the field: REAPS

A breakdown of the Blue Öyster Cult classic "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"

9. Braid: PLAIT

14. Language of Southeast Asia's only landlocked country: LAO - Geographic #1

15. HS class for aspiring premeds, perhaps: AP BIO - Advanced Placement

16. Stranger, slangily: RANDO - 21st century language - but we've seen it in crosswords

17. Bing's web portal: MSN - I use Mozilla's Firefox

20. Cabinet part: SHELF

22. Backed (away from): SHIED

23. Frito-__ snacks: LAY - which is your favorite~?

I'd go Doritos or Cheetos

24. Lean a bit: TILT

26. Gets up: ARISES - I put in AWAKES first, did not quite jibe, but 50% correct~!

32. Rowboat blade: OAR

33. Like limes: SOUR - and - 7D. White part of citrus fruit: PITH - I did not know this

34. Squads: TEAMS - MY two teams are out of the Stanley Cup playoffs - but go Panthers~!

38. Squeaked (by): EKED

40. Spanish "I love you": "TE AMO"

43. England's largest all-boys boarding school: ETON - Geographic~?

44. Passover meal: SEDER - learned by doing crosswords

46. Uterus: WOMB

48. Barnyard baby sound: MAA - that's the calf, not the lamb, correct~?

53. Unhelpful RSVPs: MAYBES

55. Flatbread served with chana masala: NAAN - Ektorp~?

56. Louisville Slugger product: BAT - wouldn't be a C.C. puzzle without some baseball

57. Real gem: BEAUT

60. "All good on my end": "I'M SET."

66. Wedding words: I DO - whether you DO or you DON'T ....

Georgia Satellites - Keep Your Hands to Yourself

this is my "warm-up" karaoke song

67. Diamond unit: CARAT - "no hug-gee no kiss-see...until I get a wedding RING" - the other def.

68. Republic in the Himalayas: NEPAL - Geo #2

69. Duck sauce for egg rolls, e.g.: DIP - if it looks, swims and quacks like a duck sauce. . . .

70. Minor mistakes: SLIPS

71. Speechify: ORATE

72. UFO pilots: ETs


DOWN:

1. Shade trees on the National Mall: ELMS - I'm scheduled to transport some of the pipe organ pipes back from the Washington National Cathedral at the end of the month

Tapered Wood Pipes - about 32ft long - look closely; they're mitered, too.  Phew~!

2. Big party: BASH - GALA, FETE, had to wait

3. Exhausted to the core: BONE TIRED

4. Fundraisers with tickets: RAFFLES - Charity Ball~!

5. Clean energy org.: EPA - Environmental Protection Agency

6. Pre-K song subject: ABCs - NOT the Jackson 5 version

8. __ butterfly: one with a busy calendar: SOCIAL - I dream of being a social butterfly, but today I am merely anti-social

9. Give a weather report, essentially: PREDICT - I had a good friend from High School go on to be the TV weatherman in Richmond, VA.

10. Fond du __, Wisconsin: LAC - Geo #3

11. Lower leg joint: ANKLE

12. Mental flashes: IDEAS

13. Parliament conservative: TORY - British politics - some info here

19. Big sandwich: HERO

21. Not dark: LIT - or NOT sober, too

25. Relaxed gait: TROT

27. Trademark in an arcade game name: SKEE

28. Trials and tribulations: WOES

29. Leaf-gathering tool: RAKE - we had LEAF__ on Saturday - all I could think of was "RAKING"

30. Take to court: SUE - what if you were on a date~?  Would that be "courting Sue"~?

31. Barroom fight: BRAWL

35. Welcome sign at a cash-only market: ATM INSIDE - nice to see more than just " A-T-M "

36. Complain: MOAN

37. Minor holdup: SNAG

But a major tragedy

39. Refuse to obey: DEFY

41. "Who, me?": "MOI~?" - Frawnche

42. Saudi Arabia neighbor: OMAN - Geo #4

45. Cottontails: RABBITS

47. Alphabet read with the fingers: BRAILLE - More Frawnche - the Wiki

50. Come together: MEET

51. "Thumbs down from me": "I SAY NO."

52. Ewe's mate: RAM

53. Taj __: MAHAL - Geo #5 - I bought this sign for my dad's shed(s) - now it hangs in my garage

And I figured out how to do 'side-by-side' images~!

54. Pong Quest maker: ATARI - never heard of this; it's like Pong on steroids

56. Covertly includes on an email: BCCs - Blind Carbon Copies

58. Lyft rival: UBER

59. Spanish appetizer: TAPA - frequent crossword visitor, but today I did some research

 

See someone's comment below~!

61. Correct a verb tense, perhaps: EDIT

62. Dreidels, e.g.: TOPS

64. Knock sharply: RAP

65. Long. crosser: LATitude - Geographic bonus~!

And a comment from out debut constructor~!

Hi everyone! I'll be riding my bike and eating TAPAs in the Pyrenees when this puzzle comes out. I just wanted to thank C.C. and the LAT editors for making this happen! My favorite answer is WRITER'S BLOCK. That was C.C.'s idea – so brilliant! Thanks, also, to Splynter for today's blog! I look forward to reading it when I return.

~ sumdaze

Splynter