Tuesday, November 9, 2021

QOD:  However much you knock at nature’s door, she will never answer you in comprehensible words.  ~  Ivan Turgenev (Nov. 9, 1818 ~ Sept. 3, 1883), Russian novelist

Chopped Salad with Sliced Veggies.  The letters in the circle spell out a vegetable that is "sliced".  I'm not sure I would consider "slicing" maize, but the word itself is sliced in half.

20-Across. December holiday mailing: CHRISTMAS CARD.  CHARD.

28-Across. Orca: KILLER WHALE.  KALE

46-Across. Significant other: MAIN SQUEEZE.  MAIZE.

And the unifier:

57-Across. Salad crudités ... and a hint to each row of circled letters:  SLICED VEGGIES.

Across:

1. "__: Ragnarok": 2017 superhero film: THOR.  I just learned from watching the sit-com Ghosts, that the word Ragnarok basically is interpreted to mean the "final destruction of the world."

5. Mob boss: CAPO.

9. Popular pudding brand: JELL-O.  If you want to know more about Jell-O and its various products, you can visit the Jell-O Museum in Le Roy, New York.

14. Fit for harvesting: RIPE.

15. Six-sided state: UTAH.

16. Be of use to: AVAIL.

17. Suitable for all __: game rating: AGES.

18. Actress Petty: LORI.  Lori Petty (b. Oct. 14, 1963) was in the 1992 movie A League of Their Own, and more recently in the Netflix show Orange is the New Black.

19. Event site: VENUE.

23. "__ do it": "Sorry": I CAN'T.

24. Arthur with two Emmys and a Tony: BEA.  Be Arthur (née Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 ~ Apr. 25, 2009), makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.  She also served as a Staff Sergeant in the Marines.

25. CO winter hrs.: MST.  As in Mountain Standard Time.

33. Indian music style adopted by the Beatles: RAGA.

37. "All in favor" vote: AYE.  //  And 30-Down. Bleaching agent: LYE.  I liked how these two rhyming words crossed.

38. Undercover cops may wear them: WIRES.  Did anyone watch The Wire?  We binged on this show during the Covid shutdown.

39. Flowerlike sea creature: ANEMONE.  They are beautiful creatures.

41. Airport kiosk printout: E-TICKET.  They are convenient when they are working properly.

43. Prefix with state or net: INTER-.  As in Interstate and Internet, both of which I seem to use daily.

44. __ Kippur: YOM.  Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement in Judaism.  Yom means "day" in Hebrew.  Kippur is translated to mean "Atonement", however, there is actually no literal translation to this Hebrew word.

45. Former fast fliers: Abbr.: SSTs.  We used to see these SuperSonic Transports in the crossword puzzles on a frequent basis.

50. Overnight option: INN.

51. Pence and Harris: Abbr.: VPs.  Mike Pence (né Michael Richard Pence; b. June 7, 1959) is the IPVP  (Immediate Past Vice President) and Kamala Harris (née Kamala Devi Harris; Oct. 20, 1964) is the current Vice President.  Enough said.

52. Letter after beta: GAMMA.

62. "Piece of cake," e.g.: IDIOM.

64. Diner sign element: NEON.

65. Actor Guinness: ALEC.  That's Sir Alec, to you.  Alec Guinness (né Alec Guinness de Cuffe; Apr. 2, 1914 ~ Aug. 5, 2000) was a great stage actor, but most of us recognize him as Obi Wan Kenobi from the Star Wars movies.

66. Patient no longer: FED UP.  I am Fed Up with FedEx!  Packages are delayed, and when they are delivered, the packages are all dented and partially ripped open.

67. Tyne of "Judging Amy": DALY.  Tyne Daly (née Ellen Tyne Daly; b. Feb. 21, 1946) asp stared in Cagney & Lacey.  Her brother is actor Tim Daly (né James Timothy Daly; Mar. 1, 1956).

68. Fascinated by: INTO.

69. Luge vehicles: SLEDS.

70. Mex. miss: SRTA.  Today's Spanish lesson.  Hi, Lucina!

71. Tree house: NEST.

Down:

1. "Baywatch" actress Bingham: TRACI.  I never watched Baywatch and I don't recognize Traci Bingham (b. Jan. 13, 1968).

2. Note for a soprano: HIGH-C.  //  Not to be confused with 32-Down. Minute Maid drinks: HI-Cs.

3. Rossini work: OPERA.  Gioachino Antonio Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792 ~ Nov. 13, 1868) wrote nearly 40 operas before he was 40 years old.

4. Varnish component: RESIN.

5. Like many midnight movies: CULT.  The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a classic cult film.

6. Quark place: ATOM.

7. Sunday school story: PARABLE.

8. "Yes, it's clear now": OH, I SEE!

9. Morning cup: JAVA.  Hi, Java Mama!

10. At any point: EVER.

11. Big Ben and the Golden Gate Bridge, e.g.: LANDMARKS.  How many world landmarks have you seen from this list?

12. Greater N.Y. school: LIU.  As in Long Island University.

13. Bullring "Bravo!": ¡OLÉ!  More of today's Spanish lesson.

21. NASDAQ buy: STK.    As in Stocks.

22. Jeep or Jetta: CAR.

26. Dangerous precipitation: SLEET.

27. What the doctor ordered: TESTS.

29. Golf commentator __ Baker-Finch: IAN.  Ian Baker-Finch (b. Oct. 24, 1960) is an Australian golfer and sports commentator.

31. 1910s conflict, briefly: WWI.  World War I lasted from July 28, 1914 until November 11, 1918.

33. Spider-Man films director: RAIMI.  Sam Raimi (né Samuel Raimi; b. Oct. 23, 1959) has been directing films since the late 1970s.

34. Kofi of the U.N.: ANNAN.  Kofi Annan (Apr. 8, 1938 ~ Aug. 18, 2018) served as the 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations, from January 1997 through December 2006.

35. Pick a lock, say: GET INSIDE.  Hmm... So it's not a crime?

36. "__ to that!": AMEN.

40. Surg. areas: ORs.  As in Operating Rooms.

41. Want-ad letters: EOE.  As in Equal Opportunity Employer.

42. Harvey Levin's online tabloid: TMZ.  Who knew?

44. Sighed agreement: YES, DEAR.

47. Home shopper's channel: QVC.  Quality Value Convenience.

48. Flips: UPENDS.

49. Silly Putty holder: EGG.

53. "Let's take it from the top": AGAIN.

54. Pooh creator: MILNE.  A.A. Milne (né Alan Alexander Milne; Jan. 18, 1882 ~ Jan. 31, 1956) write the Winnie-the-Pooh stories.  The backstory.

55. Runs into: MEETS.

56. Knotted neckwear: ASCOT.  This neckwear is becoming a crossword staple.

58. Overly bright, fashionwise: LOUD.

It's just wrong!

59. Rascals: IMPS.

60. Battery unit: VOLT.

61. Irish New Ager: ENYA.  Enya (b. May 17, 1961) makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.  Her given name is Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin, so you can see why she goes by Enya.

62. They aren't sure things: IFs.  If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I will go for a run.  NOT!

63. Ctrl-Alt-__: DEL.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה