Theme: A made to ORDER puzzle. As you will soon see, there's a place for everything, and everything is in its place.
20 A. *Fried fare traditionally wrapped in newspaper: FISH AND CHIPS. A dinner ORDER at a sea food restaurant; typically breaded ocean fish served with French fries and coleslaw.
31 A. *Missing nothing: FROM A TO Z. Not only thorough, but in proper ORDER.
37 A. *With 40-Across, defenders of the Holy Grail: KNIGHTS. 40 A. See 37-Across: TEMPLAR. A christian military ORDER that was founded in 1119, headquartered on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and existed for nearly two centuries during the Middle Ages. They became rich and powerful, and King Phillip IV of France was deeply in their debt. He had many of them tortured to yield false confessions, and they were executed. Under political pressure, Pope Clement V disbanded the order in 1312.
47 A. *Monkeys, e.g.: PRIMATES. Not to be confused with British clergy, these are any members of an ORDER (Primates) of mammals that are characterized especially by advanced development of binocular vision resulting in stereoscopic depth perception, specialization of the hands and feet for grasping, and enlargement of the cerebral hemispheres, that include humans, apes, monkeys, the Librarian at Unseen University, and related forms (such as lemurs and tarsiers.)
54. "Do it now!," and what can be said about the answers to the starred clues: THAT'S AN ORDER! An emphatic statement from someone expecting obedience -- and the clever unifier for this puzzle. Each theme answer describes a type of ORDER, and each is quite different from the others.
Hi, Gang - JazzBumpa here to keep everything in ORDER as we wend our way through today's offering. Let's wee what we can find.
Across:
1. Monastery figure: ABBOT. The leader of an order of monks. Certainly a primate, but not necessarily a primate.
6. Move quickly, as clouds: SCUD. Move fast in a straight line because or as if driven by the wind.
10. Speak up?: PRAY. Assuming that up is the direction in which prayers go.
14. Jazz singer Vaughan known as "The Divine One": SARAH.
15. Despise: HATE. Feel contempt or a deep repugnance for.
16. Lingerie trim: LACE. A fine open fabric, typically one of cotton or silk, made by looping, twisting, or knitting thread in patterns and used especially for trimming garments.
6. Move quickly, as clouds: SCUD. Move fast in a straight line because or as if driven by the wind.
10. Speak up?: PRAY. Assuming that up is the direction in which prayers go.
14. Jazz singer Vaughan known as "The Divine One": SARAH.
15. Despise: HATE. Feel contempt or a deep repugnance for.
16. Lingerie trim: LACE. A fine open fabric, typically one of cotton or silk, made by looping, twisting, or knitting thread in patterns and used especially for trimming garments.
17. Speak from a lectern: ORATE. Make a speech, especially pompously or at length.
18. "C'est la vie": ALAS. Oh, well . . .
19. Bronze, Iron, et al.: AGES. Distinct historical periods.
23. "Allow me": MAY I. Watch, and learn.
24. Pal: AMIGA. Female friend, in Spanish.
28. Rx: SCRIP. A doctor's order to provide a specific medication to a certain patient.
34. Colorful South Asian garments: SARIS. Garments consisting of a length of cotton or silk elaborately draped around the body, traditionally worn by women from South Asia.
35. Veer off course, as a rocket: YAW. A twisting or oscillation of a moving ship or aircraft around a vertical axis.
36. __ Dhabi: ABU. Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, sits off the mainland on an island in the Persian (Arabian) Gulf.
43. Golf hole meas.: YDS. Yards.
44. "Bingo!": AHA. Eureka!
46. Straight up: NO ICE. A way to serve hard liquor.
50. Pfizer rival: MERCK. Drug companies.
51. Lightens up: EASES.
52. Grocery cart unit: ITEM. Becomes easier or less strict.
61. __ carotene: BETA. An organic, strongly colored red-orange pigment abundant in fungi, plants, and fruits. It is a member of the carotenes, which are terpenoids, synthesized biochemically from eight isoprene units and thus having 40 carbons.
64. Travel aimlessly: ROAM. Wander about.
65. Clamor: NOISE. Racket
66. Depleted Asian lake: ARAL. An endorheic [having no outflow to other bodies of water] lake lying between Kazakhstan in the north and Uzbekistan in the south which began shrinking in the 1960s and had largely dried up by the 2010s.
67. Journey: TRIP. Travel from hither to yon.
68. Familiar "Who's there?" reply: IT'S ME. Do you recognize my voice?
69. Jokes: GAGS. Jests, quips, japes.
70. __ cracker: SODA. A thin, usually square cracker usually made from white flour, sometimes yeast, and baking soda, with most varieties lightly sprinkled with coarse salt. It has perforations over its surface, as well as a distinctively dry and crisp texture.
71. Like dry mud on cleats: CAKED. Encrusted on a surface.
Down:
1. Starting from: AS OF. Beginning at a certain date or time.
2. Italian port on the Adriatic: BARI.
3. Garments with hooks: BRAS. A bra, short for brassiere or brassière, is a form-fitting undergarment that is primarily used to support and cover women's breasts.
4. Part of a swearing-in ceremony: OATH. The actual swearing part.
5. Community with barn raisings: THE AMISH. a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches, another Anabaptist denomination. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, Christian pacifism, and slowness to adopt many conveniences of modern technology, with a view neither to interrupt family time, nor replace face-to-face conversations whenever possible, and a view to maintain self-sufficiency. [Wikipedia]
6. Suitable for hosta: SHADY. Shetered from direct sunlight.
7. Turn to stone: CALCIFY. Specifically, if it involves the presence or addition of calcium containing compounds. A more general term would be petrify.
8. Four Corners state: UTAH. The locality in the southwestern United States at the intersection of 37°N with 109°W where four states—Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah—come together, the only such place in the country.
9. Javier's "Being the Ricardos" role: DESI. A role in the movie about Desi and Lucy Ricardo.
10. Flat panel TV type: PLASMA. A television display technology in which each pixel on the screen is illuminated by a tiny bit of plasma (charged gas). The plasma is encased between two thin sheets of glass. Plasma displays are generally considered to offer better dark-room viewing and wider viewing angles than LCD.
11. Ride (on): RAG. Not sure I understand this. It might mean to harshly criticize someone. Help me out if I'm missing something.
12. Card worth four points in evaluating a bridge hand: ACE. Kings are 3, Queens 2, and Jacks 1. Traditionally it takes 12 or more high card points and a sufficiently strong suit to open the bidding.
13. "Bingo!": YES. You nailed it!
21. Snooze: NAP. Daytime sleep session.
22. Cooking spray: PAM. A mixture of vegetable oil and other ingredients intended to prevent cooking food from sticking to a pan or skillet.
25. Slanted, as some writing: ITALIC. It looks like this.
26. "Retreat!!": GO BACK. Withdraw from a position or location for strategic or tactical reasons.
27. Sky blue: AZURE. Bright blue in color like a cloudless sky.
28. Oh of "Killing Eve": SANDRA. Sandra Miju Oh [b. 1971] is a Canadian–American actress. She has received numerous accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards and four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and twelve Primetime Emmy Award nominations. In 2019, Time magazine named Oh one of the 100 most influential people in the world
29. Urgent event: CRISIS. A time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.
30. Fix badly?: RIG. Cobble up a non-standard way of repairing or constructing something.
32. Tell (on): RAT. Sing, squeal.
33. Be in debt: OWE.
34. Zoom alternative: SKYPE. A computer program that you can use to make voice calls or video calls on the internet.
38. Tit for __: TAT. An English saying meaning "equivalent retaliation".
39. __ shed: SHE. Like man cave, she shed is a term used to describe a place a woman can escape to, usually a small building placed in the backyard. Never hear this term before.
41. "Super heroes must eat oats" for the Great Lakes, e.g.: MNEMONIC. A device such as a pattern of letters, ideas, or associations that assists in remembering something.
42. __ favor: POR. "Please" in Spanish.
45. "Let me repeat ... ": AS I SAID.
48. Bronze, iron, et al.: METALS. And a clecho!
49. Fire pit residue: ASH. Burnt wood residue
50. Chaps: MEN. Dudes.
53. Super Bowl LV city: TAMPA. In Florida.
55. The "A" in many degrees: ARTS. As I'm B.A. or M.A.
56. Fatty tuna, at a sushi bar: TORO. A pale, fatty cut of tuna used for sushi and sashimi. Not to be confused with a lawn mower of the same name.
57. Personnel list: ROTA. A list showing when each of a number of people has to do a particular job.
58. Spine component: DISK. The soft pad positioned in between each of the vertebrae of the spine. The vertebral disc acts as a spacer, shock absorber, and part of the cartilaginous joints that allow movement in the spine.
59. "Twilight" vampire Cullen: ESME. Ported by Elizabeth Reaser. You can read about her here.
60. Wetlands plant: REED. A tall, slender-leaved plant of the grass family, which grows in water or on marshy ground.
61. Sack: BAG. a flexible container made of a strong material such as burlap, thick paper, or plastic, used for storing and carrying goods.
62. "It's the end of an __": ERA. A long and distinct period of history with a particular feature or characteristic.
63. Label: TAG. A small piece of paper, fabric, plastic, or similar material attached to an object and giving information about it.
We can always count on Jeff for a quality puzzle. Looks like this is Alexander's first entry in the L.A. Times - so congrats, good job, and we hope to see you again!
Cool regards,
JzB
