Wednesday, Feb 26th, 2025 ~ Rebecca Goldstein

THE ENGINEERING COMEDIAN...

...was "technically funny"
Don McMillan - technicallyfunny.com

Another RG puzzle on a Wednesday, a standard 15 x 15 grid with no circles, 18 TLWs, seven of which are abbrs, along with three out of the 28 4LWs in the construction.  Lots of "quoted" clues and answers, too, only three(ish) names, but one still got me; I shoulda known via the crossing theme perp.  Sigh.  That said, the theme is a punny one with the opening line of 

At the amateur comedy night...

17. the omelet chef had the audience __: CRACKING UP - an eggs-cellent joke

24. ... the personal trainer had the audience __: BUSTING A GUT - I ABs-olutley loved this one

38. With 51-Across, ... the professional bowler had the audience __: ROLLING - AND - 51A. See 38-Across: IN THE AISLES - "Aisle" never see bowling the same way again

60. ... the tailor had the audience __: IN STITCHES - this one is SEW funny

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Mosque leader: IMAM - Crossword staple

5. Get ready quickly?: PREP - abbr, the "short" version of prepare

9. Tapioca pearls: BOBA

A recipe site

13. Zilch: NADA

14. Sweeping stories: SAGAS - palindromic

16. Russian mountain range: URAL - name(ish)

19. Deli spread: MAYO - I like mayonnaise, even for my fries - like in Pulp Fiction

** Note:34A. F-bomb coming **

20. __ facto: IPSO - Latin, "by the fact itself"

21. Hear about: LEARN OF - Did you hear about Van Halen~?

Hear About it Later - from the album "Fair Warning"

23. Industrious insect: ANT

28. Scented accessory: LEI - trying for some alternate cluing here

29. Oscar winner Stone: EMMA - name #1 - her IMDb

30. Guacamole or baba ghanoush: DIP

31. Vacay: PTO - I am enjoying some Personal Time Off currently, but not quite by choice

32. "And for my __ trick ... ": NEXT

34. Warning letters in a subject line, maybe: NSFW - Not Suitable For Work

37. Part of MYOB: OWN - Mind Your Own Business

40. "It just clicked!": "A HA~!"

42. Org. with ergonomic guidelines: OSHA - Occupational Safety and Health Administration

44. __ Liberty: LADY - La statue de Frawnche

The copper clad Colossus is French - more here

45. Neither/__: NOR - I neither speak Frawnche, NOR write it

46. Little devil: IMP

48. Stinger in a swarm: WASP - this one is NOT an abbr. 😜

50. CBS show with the theme song "Who Are You": CSI - Crime Scene Investigation

55. Pay stub letters: YTD - Year-To-Date

56. Home to the Hockey Hall of Fame: TORONTO

57. Dark side force: SITH - the "anti" Jedi

59. Word with deep or dive: SKIN - Skin deep, Skin dive

65. Silent performer: MIME

66. Edmonton NHL player: OILER - Hockey again

67. "I'm all __!": "EARS~!"

68. "No sweat!": "EASY~!"

69. One of Canada's First Nations: CREE - filled via perps, name(ish), but common in crosswords

70. Recipe that may call for a bay leaf: STEW - I have a crock pot and a bay leaf; I should make me a stew

DOWN:

1. Company abbr.: INC - Ever wonder what it means, exactly~?  More here

2. Helicopter carrying the Vice President: MARINE TWO - I knew it was named something similar to "Air Force One", but waited on perps; I found the history quite fascinating

3. Films that have been formatted to fit a smaller screen, e.g.: ADAPTIONS - this just sounds wrong; adapTAtions seems more common, and better yet, adapted to fit your screen

4. Apples that are inedible: MACS - I figured it was a computer reference

5. Tired initials?: PSI - I knew the gag, but could not think of a three-letter radial tire brand - turns out to be the recommended pressure in Pounds per Square Inch 

6. Aired: RAN

7. Caviar bit: EGG - I tried ROE - Bzzzt~!

8. Theoretical physicist Wolfgang: PAULI - name #2 - I knew we needed a name, so I tried PAULA

9. Negative charges?: BUM RAPS - "I was framed, I tell ya~!"

10. Chimp relative: ORANGutan

This one fits the "stalker" description

11. Boggy biome: BAYOU

12. Floating: ALOFT

15. Toss a coin?: SPEND - you'll need more than just coins these days . . . .

18. Region known for Wagyu: KOBE - took the "K" to remind me; everything Wagyu from Wiki  - name #3

"You're sick, Jerry~!  . . . Sick, sick, sick"

22. Growing old: AGING - I am definitely getting old-ER . . . sounds like I'm maturing, but not really

23. Beagle's bowlful: ALPO - I tried CHOW, but we were looking for a brand name(ish)

25. "Yeah, guess again": "UM, NO."

26. Catch a whiff of: SMELL

27. Withholding information?: TAX LAWS - I owe money this year, but I'm still waiting on a mess the IRS created two years ago

33. Current-ly?: TIDAL - Har-har

35. "Well, I'll be!": "FANCY THAT~!"

36. Question from behind a closed door: "WHO'S THERE~?" - AND - 51. Potential reply to 36-Down: "IT'S ME."

38. Japanese broth dish: RAMEN

39. Trading letters: NYSE

41. Dry as the desert: ARID

43. "I'm home, dear": "HI, HONEY~!"

47. Al fresco dining area: PATIO - eating outdoors

49. Soft "Hey, you": "PSST~!"

52. Early mobile phone manufacturer: NOKIA - I think my first cellular phone was a flip-open Nokia, and I had this one, as well

It had the game "Snake" on it

53. Haircuts that may not be noticeable: TRIMS - what's left of my hair takes so long to grow that it's hard to tell I'm into heavy metal

54. Type of chemical bond: IONIC - Such as Sodium and Chlorine = salt

58. Numbs, maybe: ICES - my knee is better, thank you for asking

61. High-end camera initials: SLR - Single Lens Reflex

62. Undershirt, for one: TEE

63. Fury: IRE

64. NNE opposite: SSW

Splynter