L.A. Times Crossword Wednesday, April 24, 2024 Alex Rosen & Brad Wilber

Theme:  I Get A Rise Out Of You [or maybe not.] We have a circled letter theme, where the circles are contiguous, but not aligned - except for the last one.  And 4 of the 5 spell words with something in common.  The last one is the opposite.  Let's start with the 80% unifier.

7 D. Unlike bread on Passover, and like four of the five sets of circled letters in this puzzle:  LEAVENED.   Containing yeast or another substance that will cause the dough to rise - we'll get back to this.  I understand the best place to get a fast food Passover diner is Seder Rapids.

17 A. Hoodwink: FOOL.  Trick somebody, out of playfulness, malice or greed.

and

20 A. Fad toy with unruly hair: TROLL.  A troll doll is a type of plastic doll with furry up-combed hair depicting a troll, also known as a Dam doll after their creator Danish woodcutter Thomas Dam. The inspiration came from trolls in old Scandinavian folklore. The toys are also known as good luck trolls.

Reading left to right across the two lines, the red letters [circled in the grid] spell ROLL.  A bread roll is a small, usually round or oblong individual loaf of bread served as a meal accompaniment. 

19 A. Analogous: AKIN.  Of a similar nature or character.

and

23 A. Impertinence: CHEEK.  lack of respect; rudeness.

Reading these in a manner akin to that used with 17 and 20A, we get CAKE.  Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked.  The most common ingredients include flour, sugar, eggs, fat (such as butter, oil, or margarine), a liquid, and a leavening agent, such as baking soda or baking powder. 

49 A. Lack of waste: ECONOMY.   A careful management of available resources.

and

56 A. Amplify, as on social media: SHARE.  To repost on a social media platform.  Often this is done to broaden the audience.  Sometimes I'll do it to ridicule the original post.
The red letters here give us a tasty SCONE.   A scone is a traditional British baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans.

52 A. Not just irks: ENRAGES.  Incites extreme anger.

and

59 A. Court for King James, briefly: B-BALL.  LeBron and Basketball, no doubt.  Clever clue.

This combination gives us a BAGEL.  A bagel is a bread roll originating in the Jewish communities of Poland. Bagels are traditionally made from yeasted wheat dough that is shaped by hand into a torus or ring, briefly boiled in water, and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior.

Now, last, but not yeast --  61. Passover cracker: MATZO.  Matzah, matzo, or maẓẓah is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which chametz [leavening] is forbidden.  So this is a bread that does not rise.

Some features of this very elegant grid --

Perfect bilateral symmetry;

Perfectly symmetric placement of the leavened theme entries;

Central location of the vertical unifier;

Central across placement of the 5th, unleavened theme entry.

And the most clever of all - each of the leavened entries, located in two adjacent across lines, rise in the middle, as good leavened fill should.   And the MATZO, of course, does not.  WOW!

By the way, Passover this year started at Sundown on Monday.  Chag Pesach kasher vesame’ach.

Hi, Gang - an awestruck JzB here to illuminate this highly elevated puzzle.    Let's see what else comes up.

Across:

1. Doughy: SOFT.  Well, this was an extremely doughy puzzle, but I thought it was kind of hard, or maybe bagelish.

5. Ramsey of "The Last of Us": BELLA.   Isabella May Ramsey [b 2003] is a non-binary English actor. They are known for their break-out role as young noblewoman Lyanna Mormont in the HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones and Ellie in the HBO drama series The Last of Us. They received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the latter. 

10. Actor Epps: OMAR.  Omar Hashim Epps [b 1973] is an American actor, rapper, and producer. He has been awarded nine NAACP Image Awards, two Teen Choice Awards, one MTV Movie Award, one Black Reel Award, and one Screen Actors Guild Award. Epps's film roles include Juice, Higher Learning, The Wood, In Too Deep, and Love & Basketball.

14. On a bye week: IDLE.  Said of an NFL team with no game scheduled on a given week.

15. Squad suiting up for opening day, presumably: A-TEAM.  The best players on a particular team.

16. Bahama __: MAMA.  A tropical drink made from mixed fruit juices and rum.

18. Shampoo target: SCALP.   Soft tissue layers that cover the cranium. It is an anatomic region bordered anteriorly by the human face, and laterally and posteriorly by the neck. It extends from the superior nuchal lines and occipital turbulences to the supraorbital foramen.

22. Actress Mendes: EVA.

23. Impertinence: CHEEK.  Being sassy

24. Old-Fashioned choice: RYE.  Rye whisky is the characteristic component of the classic Old Fashioned cocktail.  

25. Hill, in Hebrew: TEL.  Literal.

26. Hem and __: HAW.  To stop often and change what one is saying during speech because one is not sure of what to say or because one is trying to avoid saying something.

27. Org. with flag bearers?: NFL.  Officials in the National Football League have flags used to indicate rule infractions.

29. Third No. 1 hit for Bruno Mars: GRENADE.

32. "The Gilded Age" airer: HBO.  Home Box Office, an American pay television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

35. "Sorry, but ... ": ALAS.   Used to express unhappiness, pity, or concern.

37. Olympic sprinter Szewinska: IRENA.  Irena Szewińska [1946 - 2018] was a Polish sprinter who was one of the world's foremost track athletes for nearly two decades, in multiple events. She is the only athlete in history, male or female, to have held the world record in the 100 m, the 200 m and the 400 m. 

38. "I'm convinced!": SOLD.  I agree with what you're proposing.

39. Gas station station: PUMP.  A two-sided fuel dispensing station, generally customer operated.

40. Family nickname: DADDY.  Affectionate term for one's father.

41. Lip balm additive: ALOE.   The juice extracted from the leaves of the ALOE plant.

42. Dramatic segment of 44-Across: EXPOSE.   A video, report or piece of writing that reveals the truth about a situation or person, especially something involving shocking facts. 

44. David Muir's field: TV NEWS.   Scheduled programming designed to report on significant current events

46. Cassini of fashion: OLEG.   Oleg Cassini [1913 -2006] was a fashion designer born to an aristocratic Russian family with maternal Italian ancestry. He came to the United States as a young man after starting as a designer in Rome, and quickly got work with Paramount Pictures. Cassini established his reputation by designing for films.

48. Dom Pérignon maker, informally: MOET.   Moët & Chandon, also known simply as Moët, is a French fine winery and part of the luxury goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE. Moët et Chandon is one of the world's largest champagne producers and a prominent champagne house.

57. Bolted: RAN.   Suddenly and quickly run away from something.

60. Diving position: PIKE.   The body is bent at the waist with legs straight, lower legs in front of the diver's face. 

63. "Angel eyes" band: ABBA.    a Swedish pop supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's name is an acronym of the first letters of their first names arranged as a palindrome.

64. __ Saint Laurent: YVES.   Yves Saint Laurent SAS, also known as Saint Laurent and YSL, is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1962 by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. The company specializes in haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather accessories, and footwear. Its cosmetics line, YSL Beauty, is owned by L'Oréal.   Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent [1936 - 2008] referred to as Yves Saint Laurent or YSL, was a French fashion designer who, in 1962, founded his eponymous fashion label. He is regarded as being among the foremost fashion designers of the twentieth century.

65. Express in words: UTTER.  Speak.

66. Dollop: BLOB.  A small indefinite quantity of a viscous or semi-solid substance.

67. Message status: SENT.  Transmitted from the writer.

68. Many holiday events: MEALS.  Events where people eat food together.

69. Some evergreen shrubs: YEWS.  Any of a genus (Taxus of the family Taxaceae, the yew family) of evergreen gymnospermous trees and shrubs with stiff linear leaves and seeds surrounded by a fleshy red aril

Down:

1. Aerate, as flour: SIFT.  Move a granular material through a sieve.

2. Impetus to clean the fridge: ODOR.  A quality of something that stimulates the olfactory organ, in this case unpleasantly. 

3. Torchiere, for one: FLOOR LAMP.   A lamp with a tall stand of wood or metal.

4. Sesame Street worrywart: TELLY.  Telly Monster is a furry pinkish-purple monster with an orange nose from Sesame Street. He is a recurring character from 1979 to 1990, a major character from 1991 to 2015 and a minor character from 2016 to present.

5. Humanities degs.: BAs.  Bachelor of Arts Degrees.

6. "You get the idea": ET CETERA.  Meaning "and other things," used to indicate not everythign relevant has been mentioned.

8. Film mistakenly announced as Best Picture at the 2016 Oscars: LALA LAND.   Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) are drawn together by their common desire to do what they love. But as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.

9. Psych (up): AMP.  To excite, arouse, or work up a person's emotions.

10. Nebraska city: OMAHA.   Omaha is a city in the U.S. state of Nebraska, on the Missouri River close to the Iowa border. A stop on the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail, it's known for its pioneer history, museums and cultural centers. 

11. Pay restitution: MAKE WHOLE.  Financially compensate the victim of a crime or recipient of another legal settlement.

12. Paris pal: AMIE.  Friend in French.

13. Relative standing: RANK.  A position in an ordered hierarchy.

21. Journey segment: LEG.  A portion of a journeym generally between two stopping points.

23. "Weekend Update" comic Michael: CHE.   Michael Che Campbell [b1983]  is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. Che is best known for his work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, where he has served as co-anchor on Weekend Update alongside Colin Jost, and the two were co-head writers from 2017 until 2022.

27. Part shaded by a backward cap: NAPE.  The back of one's neck.

28. State of change: FLUX.  The action or process of flowing. 

30. Rodeo cry: RIDE 'EM.   Shout of encouragement to one riding a rodeo animal.

31. Burial city of the Wright brothers: DAYTON.  Dayton is a city in western Ohio. It’s home to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, with a vast collection of aircraft from early 1900s planes to a space shuttle exhibit. Carillon Historical Park contains a Wright Brothers plane, 19th-century buildings and antique trains. 

33. Squander: BLOW.   Waste something, especially money or time, in a reckless and foolish manner.

34. Poems to things: ODES.   A lyric poem in the form of an address to a particular subject, often elevated in style or manner and written in varied or irregular meter.

36. One with a supporting role in the kitchen?: SPOON REST.    A piece of kitchenware that serves as a place to lay spoons and other cooking utensils, to prevent cooking fluids from getting onto countertops, as well as keeping the spoon from touching any contaminants that might be on the counter.   Another clever clue.

38. Eartha Kitt song with the lyric "Been an angel all year": SANTA BABY.

43. Fruit in the liqueur Bargnolino: SLOE.   Prunus spinosa, called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania, and the Pacific Northwest and New England regions of the United States.

45. Cast or oil, sometimes: VERB.   This seems a bit strained to me, for the sake of a pun.  I'm never fond of a part-of-speech reference clue.

47. Use a hula hoop: GYRATE.   Move in a circle or spiral, especially quickly.

48. Tony winner Idina: MENZEL.   Idina Kim Menzel [b. 1971] is an American actress and singer. Particularly recognized for her work in musicals on Broadway, she has been nicknamed the "Queen of Broadway" for her commanding stage presence, powerful mezzo-soprano, and reputation as one of the most influential stage actors of her generation.   Here is a list of her awards

49. Best Play and Best Game, for two: ESPYS.  An ESPY Award is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC except 2020, and previously ESPN, to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony.

50. Leek kin: CHIVE.   Chives, scientific name Allium schoenoprasum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae that produces edible leaves and flowers. Their close relatives include the common onions, garlic, shallot, leek, scallion, and Chinese onion.

51. Like cognac barrels: OAKEN.   Make from oak wood.

53. Triangular part of a house: GABLE.   The generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesthetic concerns.

54. Recommended spot to catch a sneeze: ELBOW.   I would think a tissue in one's hand would be more effective.

55. Marble hunks: SLABS.  Large, thick, flat pieces of stone, concrete, or wood, typically rectangular.

58. "__ girl!": ATTA.   An informal expression of encouragement or admiration to a woman or girl.

61. Kate Middleton, to Prince George: MUM.   One's mother.

62. Suturing ctrs.: ORs.   Operating Rooms in hospitals or surgical centers.

So ends this clever and timely puzzle.  And speaking of hospitals, I have my first cataract surgery next Monday.  Rally looking forward [so to speak] to seeing more clearly.

Cool regards!

JzB

L. A. Times Crossword Wednesday, April 10, 2024 Trent H. Evans

Theme:  How does your garden grow?  Chaotically, as it turns out.  But in an unremarkable way.  Can we separate the crops from the weeds?  Grab your hoe and lets dig in.  Best to start with the unifier, I think.

59 A. Run-of-the-mill, or what can be found in the answers to the starred clues?: GARDEN VARIETY. Ordinary.  Not special or unusual.  But what is unusual is the use of the word "VARIETY" to indicate a scrambled letter, hidden word theme.  Here, the word is GARDEN.  Don't feel bad it you found this theme to be opaque.  I couldn't suss it, and had to appeal to my fellow corner bloggers for assistance.  I'm bad at anagrams, too.  I guess my brain doesn't work that way

 

20 A. *Splashy arrival: GRAND ENTRANCE.  To appear in or enter into some place in a very dramatic, ostentatious, or conspicuous manner.  But that is not what this is about.  I was wondering what a " GRAND GARDEN" might be.  Sounds plausible, especially in, frex., an English manor.  But, no.  That's also not what this is about.  Our GARDEN is discontinuous.

37 A. *Like a conversation covering many topics: WIDE RANGING.  Extending over a large area; extensive or diversified in scope.  A wide garden would have expansive with and not much depth.  But, instead, the GARDEN is scattered.

44 A. *Friendly signoff: KIND REGARDS.   A common sign-off in emails and other forms of correspondence.  It's used to wish the recipient well without being overly familiar.  By now we should be familiar with the various locations of our GARDEN.

Hi, Gang, JazzBumba here, green thumb at the ready.  Let's head out to the GARDEN and see what we can harvest.

Across

1. Bit of quick inspiration?: GASP.  An indrawn breath, not a clever thought.

5. Saucy dance?: SALSA.  Salsa encompasses a variety of sauces used as condiments for tacos and other Mexican and Mexican-American foods, and as dips for tortilla chips. But that is not what this is about. On the other hand - or perhaps foot - Salsa is a Latin dance, associated with salsa music, which was first popularized in the United States during the 1960s in New York City. Salsa is a mixture of Cuban dances, such as mambo, pachanga, and rumba, as well as American dances such as swing and tap.

10. Personalize a trophy, say: ETCH.  Engrave a name or other information.

14. Gone but not forgotten: AWOL.  Absent Without Official Leave, for a military location.

15. Far from skilled: INEPT.  Incapable.

16. Organ part: PIPE.

17. Webb designer?: NASA.   The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. Its high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments allow it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope.  The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) led Webb's design and development and partnered with two main agencies: the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).   This is not about spiders or computer engineers.

18. Like music with traditional harmony: TONAL.   Relating to music written using conventional keys and harmony.   Salsa, por ejemplo.

19. Big name in big screens: IMAX.   A technique of widescreen cinematography which produces an image approximately ten times larger than that from standard 35 mm film.

23. Meal that features a retelling of the story of Exodus: SEDER.  a Jewish ritual service and ceremonial dinner for the first night or first two nights of Passover.

24. ID-issuing org.: SSA.   Social Service Administration.

25. Org. that says no to some drugs: FDA.   The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation's food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation.

28. Paint finish: SATIN.  Satin is a paint sheen or finish that falls directly in the middle of the range of interior or exterior paint sheens. Satin paint is glossier than eggshell finish paint, but flatter than semi-gloss paint.

32. Lion of Narnia: ASLAN.   Aslan  is a major character in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series. Unlike any other character in the Narnian series, Aslan appears in all seven chronicles. Aslan is depicted as a talking lion and is described as the King of Beasts, the son of the Emperor-Over-the-Sea, and the King above all High Kings in Narnia.

34. Synthetic drug similar to psilocybin: LSD.   Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD, and known colloquially as acid or lucy, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, visual, and auditory hallucinations.

40. Côte d'Ivoire pal: AMIE.  The official language of the republic is French, mes amis, with local indigenous languages also being widely used that include Baoulé, Dioula, Dan, Anyin, and Cebaara Senufo.

42. Triglyceride, for one: LIPID.   A lipid is any of a class of organic compounds that are fatty acids or their derivatives and are insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents. They include many natural oils, waxes, and steroids.   A triglyceride is an ester formed from glycerol and three fatty acid groups. Triglycerides are the main constituents of natural fats and oils,

43. Côte d'Ivoire head: TETE.   The official language of the republic is French, with local indigenous languages also being widely used that include Baoulé, Dioula, Dan, Anyin, and Cebaara Senufo.  Now we're getting a head.

47. "To be," in Spanish: SER.  Ser o no ser, esa es la cuestión.

48. Chosen few: ELITE.   A select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of a group or society.  Or so they would have us believe.

49. Naughty and nice: LISTS.   Santa's record keeping.

51. One of a D.C. 100: SEN.  Senators.

52. Bring out in the open: AIR.  Show something publicly.

55. Existential dread: ANGST.  A feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity.

64. Social finesse: TACT.  A keen sense of what to do or say in order to maintain good relations with others or avoid offense.

66. Message in a drafts folder: E-MAIL.

67. Air Force Two exec: VEEP.  Air Force Two is the air traffic control designated call sign held by any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the vice president of the United States, but not the president

68. Hoax: SHAM.  Malicious deception.

69. Singer-songwriter Mann: AIMEE.   Aimee Elizabeth Mann is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyrics about dark subjects.  Still - she sounds friendly.

70. Salinger heroine: ESME.  From the short story For Esmé With Love And Squalor.

71. Norms on the links: PARS.  The expected numbers of strokes to complete golf holes.

72. Ruminates bitterly: STEWS.  Thinks hard or worries about something, not necessarily bitterly.

73. End to end?: LESS.   I do not understand this at all.  Anybody got a clue? 

Down:

1. Factions in "West Side Story": GANGS.  Sharks and Jets.

2. Already informed: AWARE.  Having knowledge or perception of a situation or fact.

3. "Such a shame": SO SAD.  Alas.

4. Piper Cubs, e.g.: PLANES.   American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance.

5. Place to build: SITE.   An area of ground on which a town, building, or monument is constructed.

6. In a sec, quaintly: ANON.  Soon; shortly.

7. Pre-Easter time: LENT.    The solemn Christian religious observance in the liturgical year commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, before beginning his public ministry.

8. Dukes it out in practice: SPARS.  Engages in a practice or exhibition bout of boxing

9. Sky supporter of myth: ATLAS.    In Greek mythology, the Titan Atlas was responsible for bearing the weight of the heavens on his shoulders, a burden given to him as punishment by Zeus. Father of many stars and a protagonist in one of Hercules' famous labors, Atlas was also known as a wise man and the founder of astronomy.

10. Big picture: EPIC.  A movie of large scope, rather than an image of large dimension.

11. "Can't believe it's been that long!": TIME FLIES.  When it seems to pass quickly.  Time flies like an arrow.  Fruit flies like a banana.

12. Balancing pro: CPA.  A Certified Public Accountant balances the financial books. 

13. Bad spelling?: HEX.  An evil spell, bringing bad luck and trouble.  Clever clue, spelt correctly.

21. Tie: DRAW.  A game or team event in which the final score is even, so there is no winner or loser. 

22. Bread brushed with ghee: NAAN.  A round flat leavened bread especially of the Indian subcontinent.

26. Poet who was guided through paradise by Beatrice: DANTE.  Dante Alighieri  [c. 1265 – September 14, 1321], most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante, was a Florentine poet, writer, and philosopher. The referenced poem is Dante's Divine Comedy.

27. Fury: ANGER.  At an extreme degree.

29. Backsplash piece: TILE.  A backsplash is, essentially, an extension of your countertop. It can extend as low as a few inches off the wall or as high as the ceiling. The purpose of any kitchen backsplash is preventing water, grease, and other messes from damaging your walls, particularly behind stoves and sinks.  Typically, it is made from ceramic tiles.

30. "Got it, daddy-o": I DIG.    To like or understand something. It could also mean a combination of the two, as a general verb of approval for something. The term was particularly popular during the 1960s-1970s and is today considered slightly old-fashioned.

31. Nation between China and India: NEPAL.   Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, and India to the south, east, and west, while it is narrowly separated from Bangladesh by the Siliguri Corridor, and from Bhutan by the Indian state of Sikkim. Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the largest city. Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural state, with Nepali as the official language.

33. Lt.'s underling: SGT.  Military ranks Lieutenant and Sergeant.

34. Finger __: LAKES.  The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located directly south of Lake Ontario in an area called the Finger Lakes region in New York, in the United States. 

35. Look happy: SMILE.   A facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses delight, sociability, happiness, joy, or amusement

36. Place to eat while on the go: DINING CAR.   A part of a train in which passengers are served meals

38. "Disturbia" singer, familiarly: RIRI.   Robyn Rihanna Fenty (born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, actress, and songwriter. She is widely regarded as one of the most prominent recording artists of the 21st century.  This song has no connection to the movie of the same name.

39. Does some kindergarten math: ADDS.  Combines one number with another to get a total.  I don't remember doing this in kindergarten.  But that was a long time ago.  This garten is not connected to the theme.

41. N.H. summer hrs.: EDT.  Eastern Daylight Time in New Hampshire.

45. __ admiral: REAR.  In the navy, Rear Admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral.   The term originated in the days of naval sailing squadrons and can trace its origins to the Royal Navy. Each naval squadron was assigned an admiral as its head, who commanded from the centre vessel and directed the squadron's activities. The admiral would in turn be assisted by a vice admiral, who commanded the lead ships that bore the brunt of a battle. In the rear of the squadron, a third admiral commanded the remaining ships and, as this section was considered to be in the least danger, the admiral in command of it was typically the most junior. This has continued into the modern age, with rear admiral the most junior admiralty of many navies.   Bo butts about it!

46. Guide for the Magi: STAR.   The Gospel of Matthew (2:1–12) speaks of Magi, or wise men, who followed a star from the East to Bethlehem in search of a newborn king. There they found Mary and the baby Jesus and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

50. Whine: SNIVEL.   Cry and sniff in a feeble or fretful way.

53. Creative sparks: IDEAS.   The other type of inspiration.

54. Pay: REMIT.   A transfer of money, typically to pay a fee or defray a debt.

56. "The Twelve Days of Christmas" half-dozen: GEESE.  And all of them laying eggs.

57. Watch and wineglass features: STEMS.   1) The thin rod that attaches the crown to the watch's movement; 2) the slender part of a winglass between the base and the bowl. 

58. Classifies: TYPES.  Determines to which category something belongs.

60. Bread machines?: ATMS.  Automatic Teller Machines - dispensers of cash, i.e "bread."  Ya dig?

61. Appoint: NAME.   Specify an individual to occupy a certain position.

62. Opinion: VIEW.   Regard in a particular light or with a particular attitude.

63. Pub orders: ALES.  Types of beer with a bitter flavor and higher alcoholic content.  Cf 58 D.

64. Seasoning meas.: TSP.  A teaspoon, about 2.5 to 7 ml, depending on the spoon.

65. "Now I get it!": AHA.   Used to express satisfaction, triumph, or surprise.

Hope you found this puzzle satisfying, and perhaps providing an AHA moment or 2.  It's what we try to cultivate here at the corner.

Kind and Cool Regards!
JzB