QOD: Every once in a while, someone will mail me a single popcorn kernel that didn’t pop. I’ll get out a fresh kernel, tape it to a piece of paper and mail it back to them. ~ Orville Redenbacher (né Orville Clarence Redenbacher; July 16, 1907 ~ Sept. 19, 1995)
The Answer is Always Chocolate. What was the question? The first word of each theme answer is Chocolate!
16-Across. Arbitrary allowance for error: FUDGE FACTOR. Chocolate Fudge
24-Across. Poker player with the tallest stacks: CHIP LEADER. Chocolate Chip.
47-Across. Rite of passage for a Jewish boy: BAR MITZVAH. Chocolate Bar.
59-Across. Words on a novelty apron: KISS THE CHEF. Chocolate Kiss.
Here's the unifier:
36-Across. Sweet treats for a valentine, or what the starts of 16-, 24-, 47-, and 59-Across are: BOXES OF CHOCOLATE.
And, in keeping with the Chocolate theme:
45-Down. Apt candy for a snack break?: KIT KAT. Yummers! One of my favorite candy bars. I guess it is good for a snack break, because you can easily break the bar into pieces.
Across:
1. "Jurassic Park" resin: AMBER. Everything you wanted to know about Amber, but didn't know to ask.
6. Big name in champagne: MOËT. The perfect beverage for a celebration. The company has been making champagne for over 280 years. [Name Adjacent.]
10. Pigpen: STY.
13. Glacier-climbing tool: ICE AXE.
14. First word of a fairy tale: ONCE. Best opening line in a children's book: "Once upon a time there lived... 'A king! ' my little readers will say immediately. No, children, you are mistaken. Once upon a time there was a piece of wood." *
15. __ vez: again, in Spanish: OTRA. Obviously, this is today's Spanish lesson.
18. Sonnet or ode: POEM.
19. Phony: FRAUD.
20. Margaret of "Fire Island": CHO. Margaret Cho (née Margaret Moran Cho; b. Dec. 5, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. In Fire Island, she portrayed an LGBT Asian-American on vacation with a group of gay friends in Fire Island. [Name # 1.]
21. Play parts: SCENES.
23. Ivy in New Haven: YALE. Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was named after Elihu Yale (Apr. 5, 1649 ~ July 8, 1721). [Name Adjacent.]
26. Out of __ world: THIS.
28. Not online, online: IRL. Textspeak for In Real Life. This appears with some frequency in the crossword puzzles.
29. Dove's sound: COO.
31. Prefix similar to quad-: TETRA. Also the name of an early video game created by Alexey Pajitnov (b. Apr. 16, 1955).
33. 38-Down dispenser: ATM. // And 38-Down: Money: CASH.
35. Talk a big game: CROW.
40. Inning's six: OUTS. Because each baseball team has three outs per inning. Clever.
41. Tyrannosaurus __: REX.
42. Many Omanis: ARABS. The official name of the country is the Sultanate of Oman and it is located on the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula.
43. Shivered syllable: BRR. It was unseasonably cold in Iceland. Temps are normally in the 60s in June, but the first week or so we were there, temps were in the 40s. BRR ...
44. Barinholtz who won "Celebrity Jeopardy!" in 2023: IKE. I recognize his face, but did not know his name. Ike Barinholtz (b. Feb. 18, 1977) starred in The Mindy Project. [Name # 2.]
46. Community FYIs: PSAs. As in a Public Service Announcement.
51. Cheeky answers: SASS.
55. Legal scholar: JURIST.
56. Organ with a lobe: EAR.
57. Desert flora: CACTI.
58. Shortly, shortly: ASAP. As in As Soon As Possible.
62. Piffling: MERE.
63. Uffizi display: ARTE. Today's Italian lesson. The Uffizi Gallery, which is in Florence, Italy, houses many Renaissance masterpieces. It's well worth the visit. Even the building itself, which was built in the late 1500s, is a masterpiece.
64. "Love that": IN TO IT.
65. NNW opposite: SSE.
66. Body positive activist Holliday: TESS. Tess Holliday (née Ryann Maegen Hoven; b. July 5, 1985) is completely unknown to me. [Name # 3.]
67. Brick-and-mortar worker?: MASON.
Down:
1. Honda luxury line: ACURA.
2. Olympian's aspiration: MEDAL. What are the medals made of?
3. French loaves: BAGUETTES. Yummers! When we lived in France, we had fresh baguettes and cheese every day. You had to eat the baguette the day you bought it, though, because if you didn't, you could use the baguette to hammer nails.
4. Struck through: EX'ED.
5. Penalty caller: REF. As in Referee.
6. Sweet rice cake: MOCHI. Everything you wanted to know about Mochi but didn't know to ask.
7. In first place: ON TOP.
8. Prefix with hotel or tourist: ECO-. Everything the Eco-Tourist should know about an Eco-Hotel.
9. Less verbose: TERSER.
10. Crustacean eaten by sea turtles: STONE CRAB.
11. Moving sidewalk creators?: TREE ROOTS. Tree roots can also move driveways.
12. Thanksgiving tubers: YAMS.
13. Not without risk: IFFY.
15. Opinion piece: OP-ED. The term Op-Ed is short for "opposite the editorial page". Apparently, the New York Times began publishing the Op-Ed Page in 1970, and it now refers to the practice of newspapers placing opinion pieces on the opposite side of their editorial page.
17. German cries: ACHs! Today's German lesson.
22. Berkeley, briefly: CAL. Berkeley is a town/city in California.
24. Bologna bye-bye: CIAO. More of today's Italian lesson.
25. Long ride, for short: LIMO.
27. Bits of time?: HRs. As in Hours.
30. Need to repay: OWE.
31. Band wagons?: TOUR BUSES.
32. Like a limited edition: EXTRA RARE.
33. Hardware chain that celebrated "100 Years of Helpful" in 2024: ACE.
34. "appreciate u": THX. More textspeak.
35. Mensches: CLASS ACTS. Mensch, today's Yiddish lesson, and it means a person with integrity and honor. If someone is called a Mensch, it is a real compliment.
36. __ for apples: BOB. [Name adjacent.]
37. Lose sleep, maybe: FRET.
39. "Your Song" singer Rita: ORA. Rita Ora (née Rita Sahatçiu; b. Nov. 26, 1990) was born in what is now Kosovo, but her family moved to England when she was a baby. Her parents changed their surname from Sahatçiu, which means watchmaker, to Ora, which means time, because it was easier for English-speaking people to pronounce. She is married to the New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi (b. Aug. 16, 1975). [Name # 4.]
44. Online convos: IMs. Instant Messages. More textspeak.
46. Take different paths: PART.
48. Like peaches in summer: RIPE. Yummers! I love fresh, ripe peaches.
49. Cocktail twists: ZESTS.
50. Bouquet bearers: VASES.
52. Sneeze sound: ACHOO!
53. Oktoberfest mug: STEIN. Oktoberfest begins in Munich this September 21.
54. Verb in a bread recipe: SIFT.
55. Scone spreads: JAMS. Yummers!
57. John of "Argylle": CENA. John Cena (né John Felix Anthony Cena; b. Apr. 23, 1977) is probably best known for being a professional wrestler, although he has moved into acting. [Name # 5.]
60. Anger: IRE.
61. That guy: HIM.
Here's the Grid:
* Opening line of Pinocchio, by Carlo Collodi.
חתולה
