09.30 Fri

F R I D A Y
September 30, 2011
David Poole

Theme: Left to Right — Familiar phrases change an L to an R.

Theme answers:

• 17A: Halloween tricksters' route? (FRIGHT PATH).
• 23A: Best place to watch "Animal House"? (FRAT SCREEN TV).
• 45A: Feathers? (FROCK OF BIRDS).
• 56A: Work the late shift at the diner? (FRY BY NIGHT).
• 35A: How most reading is done, and this puzzle's title (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT).

Excuse me, but how the hell did it get to be September 30 already? Man! Time really does fly. Even when you're not having fun.

Closing out the month with a tough one. I had trouble here and there throughout the grid, but it ultimately felt more like a romp than a struggle. The theme is pretty cool. I wondered if the initial F on each theme answer was significant somehow, but didn't come up with a good answer. FRY BY NIGHT is clearly the marquee entry. Can't you just picture it?

I had the most trouble in Northern California where I plopped in AC/DC where AM/FM was supposed to go (25D: Like some switches). Many other factors contributed to the confusion there. First, I've never heard of this Kate person (29A: Kate of "Ironclad" (MARA)). Never heard of the movie either. Second, the clue for ACTRESS (25A: Close, for instance) was so deliciously deceptive that I had No Idea what was going on there. Even with the A in place, I was at a loss. I also thought MADEIRAS (39A: Sherry alternatives) might be CASSIRES (sp?) … something like that? … anyone? It was a big mess is what I'm saying.

Only one other place that really made me tear my hair out and that was at the cross of MACERATE and MTS. (30A: Soften by soaking /
30D: Summer escapes: Abbr.). I must have run the alphabet three times. I guess using an L in that square would have been too obvious.

Bullets:

• 14A: "The Wolf and the Crane" author (AESOP). With the SO in place, I thought the name would be something-SON, but then it just clicked somehow that the title sounded like a fable.
• 20A: Roy Halladay stat (ERA). Halladay is a pitcher for … the Phillies? … Yes, the Phillies.
• 40A: Albany's father-in-law (LEAR). This is another one that just clicked in from nowhere. As you continue to solve puzzles, that will start happening more and more.
• 58A: "__ no kick from Champagne": song lyric (I GET). Sure, we could listen to Frank Sinatra right here, but this lyric reminded me of a Keb' Mo' song, so let's listen to that instead. It'll be funkier, I promise.



• 4D: Dress finely, with "out" (TOG). This word comes up occasionally in puzzles and I'm just about to the point where I can just accept it without wincing first.

• 26D: Word spoken with amore (CARA).
• 27D: Put one's foot down (TROD). In this clue, the word "put" is in the past tense. You always have to be looking out for that.
• 49D: Two-time loser to McKinley (BRYAN). Could have been just about anybody here as far as I knew.

Crosswordese 101: There are a couple of ERNOs worth knowing for crossword purposes. There's a pianist/composer named Dohnanyi, a cosmetics maker named Laszlo and an architect named Goldfinger. By far the most popular ERNO in CrossWorld, though, is [37D: Cube creator Rubik]. And the clue for this particular ERNO is likely to include the words "Rubik" and "cube," so he should be pretty easy to spot.

Other crosswordese in the puzzle that we've already covered:

• 6A: 1940s-'50s Israeli UN ambassador (EBAN).
• 21A: Sister of Calliope (ERATO).
• 51A: Noted Beethoven interpreter (ARRAU).
• 32D: "The African Queen" co-screenwriter (AGEE).
• 34D: Raison d'__ (ÊTRE).

Everything — 1A: Shoots the breeze (CHATS); 6A: 1940s-'50s Israeli UN ambassador (EBAN); 10A: Game __ (PLAN); 14A: "The Wolf and the Crane" author (AESOP); 15A: Cross off (X OUT); 16A: Piece of one's mind? (LOBE); 17A: Halloween tricksters' route? (FRIGHT PATH); 19A: Awestruck (AGOG); 20A: Roy Halladay stat (ERA); 21A: Sister of Calliope (ERATO); 22A: It may be icy (STARE); 23A: Best place to watch "Animal House"? (FRAT SCREEN TV); 25A: Close, for instance (ACTRESS); 28A: Unburden (RID); 29A: Kate of "Ironclad" (MARA); 30A: Soften by soaking (MACERATE); 35A: How most reading is done, and this puzzle's title (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT); 39A: Sherry alternatives (MADEIRAS); 40A: Albany's father-in-law (LEAR); 41A: "Piers Morgan Tonight" channel (CNN); 42A: Eisenhower library site (ABILENE); 45A: Feathers? (FROCK OF BIRDS); 50A: Nigerian seaport (LAGOS); 51A: Noted Beethoven interpreter (ARRAU); 52A: CIA's ancestor (OSS); 55A: Cancel (UNDO); 56A: Work the late shift at the diner? (FRY BY NIGHT); 58A: "__ no kick from Champagne": song lyric (I GET); 59A: Steady (BEAU); 60A: Response to a skeptic (NO LIE); 61A: Gets into (DONS); 62A: Employee IDs (SSN'S); 63A: Third shift hr. (ONE A.M.); 1D: Champs …lysées feature (CAFE); 2D: Bach title? (HERR); 3D: Land east of the Urals (ASIA); 4D: Dress finely, with "out" (TOG); 5D: Field of influence (SPHERE); 6D: Americans in Paris, maybe (EXPATS); 7D: Tug and junk (BOATS); 8D: Overlord (AUTOCRAT); 9D: Ultimate (NTH); 10D: Home at the park? (PLATE); 11D: Airport whose code is BOS (LOGAN); 12D: Decide not to finish (ABORT); 13D: Desert bordering the Sinai Peninsula (NEGEV); 18D: Choral syllables (TRAS); 22D: Feast in the month of Nisan (SEDER); 23D: Position in a viewfinder (FRAME); 24D: Moneyed, in Monterrey (RICO); 25D: Like some switches (AM/FM); 26D: Word spoken with amore (CARA); 27D: Put one's foot down (TROD); 30D: Summer escapes: Abbr. (MTS.); 31D: Little streams (RILLS); 32D: "The African Queen" co-screenwriter (AGEE); 33D: Instead of (THAN); 34D: Raison d'__ (ÊTRE); 36D: Trounces (LICKS); 37D: Cube creator Rubik (ERNO); 38D: Royal introductions (FANFARES); 42D: France-based jet maker (AIRBUS); 43D: Sound from Eeyore (BRAY); 44D: "Beats me!" ("I DUNNO!"); 45D: Not fixed (FLUID); 46D: Title chameleon voiced by Johnny Depp in a 2011 animated film (RANGO); 47D: Osmonds' hometown (OGDEN); 48D: Codgers (COOTS); 49D: Two-time loser to McKinley (BRYAN); 52D: Look like a creep? (OGLE); 53D: Branch of Islam (SHIA); 54D: Check (STEM); 56D: NFL ball carriers (FB'S); 57D: Fluoride, for one (ION).

07.22 Fri

F R I D A Y
July 22, 2011
David Poole

Theme: THEME — "ST" is changed to "TS" in familiar phrases, creating new wacky phrases clued "?" style.

Theme answers:

• 18A: Scene in "The Hustler"? (FATS BREAKS).
• 23A: Adam's apples? (EATS OF EDEN).
• 38A: Tubby tabbies? (BROAD CATS).
• 52A: Visitors to the Winter Palace? (TSAR GAZERS).
• 58A: Tusk warmers? (IVORY COATS).

Big thanks to Doug for stepping in yesterday. I finally got my van into the shop to get the air conditioning fixed. That's right, I've been driving around with no air conditioning in this God-forsaken heat. It's been unbearable. Anyway, with both kids going to camps in different directions we had some logistical "issues" which made yesterday a little stressful (plus the day started rather earlier than I would have liked). The good news is I have AC now. It's like heaven. So let's talk about this puzzle ….

Took me a while to get the hang of this theme. With one or two crosses in place, reading the clues to the first three theme answers allowed me to come up with half the answer, but I didn't know what was going on with the other half. Oh, and that's not totally true because I had the first E on 23A and plopped EDEN down at the front instead of the back of that answer. Created some problems, but it all worked itself out.

Several people I didn't know in today's grid:

• 9A: "The Maltese Falcon" actress (ASTOR).
• 15A: 1970 N.L. batting champ Carty (RICO).
• 8D: Arens of Israel (MOSHE).

Good thing MOSHE looks like an Israeli name to me — it occurred to me that Carty might be a first name and that his last name might be RICE. I'm guessing that cross probably caused problems for some. It would have been much better had RICO been clued as Lola's love interest in "Copacabana," right? Wait, what? That clue would have gotten the song "Copacabana" stuck in your head all day? You wouldn't have been able to stop yourself from singing "Her name was Lola / She was a showgirl / But that was 30 years ago / When they used to have a show …."? Yes. That would have been unfortunate.

No entries jump out at me as particularly sparkly, but the cluing was definitely jazzed up in places to make up for that. My favorites include:

• 65A: Lima's home (OHIO). I started to enter PERU but I had this nagging feeling ….
• 10D: Northerners with a lot of pull? (SLED DOGS).
• 39D: Cheaters, to teachers: Abbr. (ANAG.). The letters in the word "cheaters" can be ANAGrammed to "teachers."
• 53D: Bar goer's option (STOOL). You wanted this to be a drink, didn't you? I know I did.
• 61D: Thing that comes to those who wait (TIP). Can't believe I found this clip. The part I was looking for doesn't happen until the end, but it's short (plus this is a great movie — if you haven't seen it, check it out.)
  
  

Bullets:

• 1A: Penicillin source (MOLD). Ew.
• 17A: Debussy's dream (RÊVE). I assumed this answer would be the word "dream" in French (French!), but I didn't know that particular word off the top of my head. That V might have caused some trouble, but I just thought of the word "reverie" and decided it must be right.

• 47A: "The Tempest" king (ALONSO). Saw a production of "The Merchant of Venice" last weekend and promptly downloaded a bunch of Shakespeare onto my Kindle. Such good stuff and it's been way too long since I've read it.
• 66A: Start of an intermission? (ENTR). More French! ENTRE'acte is a French word we use to mean "intermission." So ENTRE is the "start" to an intermission.
• 1D: His clown alter ego was Bip (MARCEAU). How is it possible that I was just reading something about Marcel MARCEAU the other day and now can't for the life of me remember what it was. Thank goodness the "Bip" part stayed in my head anyway.
• 7D: The planets, e.g. (OCTAD). Never sure if this word is going to be OCTAD or OCTET so you need to check the crosses.
• 29D: Roy Halladay or the Red Baron (ACE). For some reason, my brain read "Roy Halladay" or "Doc Holliday." Me: "Did Doc Holliday … fly??"

• 38D: Voice of Puss in Boots in "Shrek" sequels (BANDERAS). ::Sigh:: It's a crime for him to be in a movie where we can't look at him.
• 41D: Thrilla in Manila winner (ALI). If you missed the discussion about Muhammad ALI in yesterday's comments, go check it out. Rojo told an awesome story about seeing him in an airport once.

Crosswordese 101 Round-up:

• 33A: "A Challenge for the Actor" author Hagen (UTA).
• 9D: Pearl Mosque setting (AGRA).
• 54D: Popular Japanese beer (ASAHI).

Everything Else — 5A: Wee bit (ATOM); 14A: Say it's so (AVER); 16A: Gather (GLEAN); 20A: Not wilted (CRISP); 22A: In the future (AHEAD); 26A: Duchamp genre (DADA); 30A: Orlon, for one (ACRYLIC); 31A: Hot and humid (TROPIC); 34A: Grover's veep (ADLAI); 37A: Correspond (AGREE); 40A: Faith symbolized by a nine-pointed star (BAHA'I); 43A: Blemish (TAINT); 44A: Off-rd. transport (ATV); 49A: Canal problem (EARACHE); 51A: Even (TIED); 55A: Gives off (EMITS); 57A: Provide with lodging (PUT UP); 63A: Sommelier's selection (ROSÉ); 64A: Plum tomatoes (ROMAS); 67A: Apprehension (ANGST); 68A: Mr. Potato Head piece (LIPS); 69A: Mtg. (SESS.); 2D: Be heavy-handed, in a way (OVERACT); 3D: Viagra competitor (LEVITRA); 4D: Stylish (DRESSY); 5D: Response from 24-Down (ARF); 6D: Familia member (TIA); 11D: Mad Hatter's offering (TEA); 12D: Iowa's state tree (OAK); 13D: Hosp. workers (RN'S); 19D: Proclivity (BENT); 21D: Part of the Little Dipper's handle (POLARIS); 24D: Rover's pal (FIDO); 25D: Fanfare (ECLAT); 27D: Abbr. in car ads (APR); 28D: Gaming cube (DIE); 32D: Fleabag (RAT TRAP); 35D: Nabokov novel (ADA); 36D: More unfriendly (ICIER); 40D: It may be held by one on deck (BAT); 42D: Gardening aid (HOE); 44D: Nail polish remover ingredient (ACETONE); 45D: Fencing moves (THRUSTS); 46D: Evening service (VESPERS); 48D: Suffix with psych (-OTIC); 50D: Common blues (AZURES); 56D: Games magazine's 1994 Game of the Year (MYST); 58D: Author Levin (IRA); 59D: Word in many German names (VON); 60D: Online "Yikes!" (OMG); 62D: "Mamma Mia!" song (SOS).

F R I D A Y November 5, 2010 David Poole

Theme: The Social Network — Puns based on social networking websites.


Theme answers:

• 17A: Favorable time to place an online bid? (EBAY WINDOW).
• 27A: Online networking site trainee? (MYSPACE CADET).
• 44A: Detective's job concerning a personal online relationship? (FACEBOOK CASE).
• 58A: Spinner seen in an online video? (YOUTUBE TOP).

Now this is what I'm talking about with theme answers. Each one starts with the name of a social networking site that's a compound word. The second part of the compound word becomes the first part of a familiar two-word phrase and voilà! You've got yourself a solid, consistent theme! Now, there's nothing particularly flashy about the base phrases BAY WINDOW and BOOKCASE, but TUBE TOP and SPACE CADET are awesome. And I'm willing to overlook the lack of sparkliness because of the elegant consistency. Well done theme, sir!

Now, about that middle section …. Wasn't sure I was even going to finish this puzzle with those blank squares staring at me. I had the AB of ABOU (40A: "__ Ben Adhem"), but couldn't remember the rest of it. I know that's lame. That's why I'll cover it later in CW101, so maybe it will be cemented in my brain. Anyway, without that OU in place, and with no idea about 28D: Actress Aimée's last name, I thought I was doomed. [Oops. Turns out her last name is Aimee and her first name is ANOUK.] Also significant is that I read the abbreviation "coll." to mean "college" in (37A: Coll. of 12 signs ). Reasonable, right? Sure, and yet incorrect. Collection. Collection of 12 signs! So basically what we have here is an awkward abbreviation in a clue for an awkward abbreviation. Not this puzzle's finest moment is what I'm saying.

Bullets:

• 5A: Travis of country (TRITT). The minute I saw Travis in the puzzle, I knew I was in trouble. He's one of my favorite musicians of all time and I knew it would be tough to find the exact perfect video to share with you. So I spent, oh, I don't know, an hour maybe? scouring YouTube and found two videos that I really wanted to use, only to discover they're not embeddable. Argh! If you're interested you should go ahead and watch them anyway. (If I coded that right, the videos will open up in a new tab.) But if you don't feel like wandering off, I hope you enjoy this musical interlude. Turn it up!



• 23A: Wellness gp. (HMO). How about "Claim denying gp." or "Money making gp." or "Gp. with really complicated processes but when you call to figure out what the heck you're supposed to do they won't even let you talk to a real person"? I guess that last one would probably be too long.
• 64A: Ones changing locks (DYERS). Or perhaps changing "hair clusters."

• 1D: Effectiveness (TEETH). Nice clue.
• 2D: "Tuesdays With Morrie" author (ALBOM). I read a Mitch Albom book once for a book club. It wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be.
• 3D: Light smoke (CLARO). This is a type of cigar, right?
• 7D: Chinese leader? (INDO-). When I read the clue, I thought to myself "You can't fool me! This is either going to be HARD C or SOFT C!" and then I realized that the word Chinese doesn't start with either a HARD C or a SOFT C. D'oh!
• 8D: Defeated decisively (TROUNCED). I like the word TROUNCED. Say it a couple times in present tense: trounce, trounce, trounce.
• 10D: "__ By Starlight": jazz standard (STELLA). Here's CrossWorld regular Anita O'Day.



• 25D: Suffix with lip- (ASE). Whoa. I have no idea what that means. Hold on. Turns out it's "an enzyme that hydrolyzes glycerides." Oh that lipase.
• 40D: Put oneself at risk, in a way (ABET). I actually tried ANTE here at first and thought, "That's a pretty clever clue for a common crossword word!" Then I saw 57A: Starting stake and knew I had screwed it up.

• 41D: Messed up a hole, maybe (BOGEYED). Gimme gimme gimme! Love the golf stuff! Keep it coming!
• 45D: He played Marty in "Marty" (ERNEST). Never heard of this. I guess because it was before my time. ERNEST Borgnine played the title role in the 1955 film "Marty."
• 50D: Church area (CHOIR). It always freaks me out a little that the place where the CHOIR sings is also called the CHOIR. Seems like the CHOIR should just be the singers and the place they sing should have a different word. As soon as I'm in charge, I'm going to change that.

Crosswordese 101: ABOU Ben Adhem was an Arab Muslim saint and Sufi mystic. For crossword puzzle purposes, though, you don't really need to know that. You just need to know that a poem was written about him by James Henry Leigh Hunt (often known as simply Leigh Hunt). It doesn't come up an awful lot, but it's the only way you'll ever see this particular string of letters clued, so you just need to memorize it!

Other crosswordese in the puzzle that we've already covered:

• 16A: Poi base (TARO).
• 39A: 2007 honor for Hugh Laurie: Abbr. (OBE).
• 61A: Seaside flock (ERNES).
• 29D: 53-Down's homeland (EIRE).
• 53D: Singer born Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin (ENYA).

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Everything Else — 1A: Tic __ (TACS); 10A: Arrange in a tournament (SEED); 14A: Eliza's greeting ('ELLO); 15A: 2009 Man Booker International Prize winner Alice (MUNRO); 19A: "__ Almighty": 2007 film (EVAN); 20A: Sacred scroll (TORAH); 21A: Silent (SOUNDLESS); 24A: __ de toilette (EAU); 26A: Nobelist Bohr (NIELS); 31A: What odes do (PRAISE); 34A: 1987 Costner role (NESS); 35A: Hope-Crosby destination (RIO); 36A: Pay for periodic use (RENT); 38A: Afghanistan's Tora __ region (BORA); 42A: Warned, in a way (BEEPED); 47A: Bottom bits (DREGS); 48A: Word before or after pack (RAT); 49A: 27-Down, e.g. (SCH.); 52A: Colorful fish (NEON TETRA); 55A: Kirin beer rival (ASAHI); 60A: Bakery buys (RYES); 62A: Bit of Marx's legacy (QUIP); 63A: It may number in the thousands (CAST); 65A: Agile (SPRY); 4D: Milk source (SOYA); 5D: "I didn't need to know that!" ("TMI!"); 6D: Accumulates (RUNS UP); 9D: Student resenters, perhaps (TOWNIES); 11D: Gather information secretly (EAVESDROP); 12D: Some are named for music genres (ERAS); 13D: Slips into (DONS); 18D: Milk by-products (WHEYS); 22D: Winter mos. (DECS.); 27D: 49-Across from which Buzz Aldrin turned down a full scholarship (MIT); 30D: Fly catcher (TOAD); 31D: 27-Down fig. (PROF.); 32D: Sitcom whose theme song was sung by its star (REBA); 33D: Toastmasters' stock (ANECDOTES); 37D: Albee play, with "The" (ZOO STORY); 38D: Buzzer (BEE); 42D: "Hey, ewe!" (BAA); 43D: Cornerstone abbr. (ESTAB.); 46D: Serious depression (CRATER); 49D: Prepared to take notice? (SAT UP); 51D: Wide-haunched (HIPPY); 52D: Cop stopping traffic? (NARC); 54D: Odd character (RUNE); 56D: Movies with "II" in their titles: Abbr. (SEQS.); 59D: Sub letters (USS).

T H U R S D A Y September 30, 2010 David Poole

Theme: Bird Puns — Bird puns!


Theme answers:

• 18A: Bird bonnet? (ROBIN HOOD).
• 24A: Bird boo-boo? (CARDINAL SIN).
• 34A: Bird brain? (CHICKEN NOODLE).
• 50A: Bird backpackers? (EAGLE SCOUTS).
• 56A: Bird bottoms? (KITE TAILS).

Before we get started, can I please get a big round of applause for SethG? I really appreciate it when he steps in for me at the last minute like that and you all probably enjoy the break from my inanity. Speaking of inanity — or is it insanity? — this J-O-B thing is rough! Yesterday was my first day and I had to be up, showered, dressed (up), and ready to head out the door at 7:30am. It's been a long time is all I'm saying. Then last night I went to PuzzleSon's Back to School Night which lasted from SEVEN until NINE. I could barely keep my eyes open driving home. But the job is going well (thank you all for the good wishes!) and the ol' bank account is going to be ecstatic in a couple weeks, so it's all good!

Today's puzzle is solidly in the "okay" category. I really like the theme and especially like the clue for CHICKEN NOODLE. Kinda wish the other theme clues could have been actual phrases but that's easy for me to say since I wasn't the one actually writing the clues. The fill had a couple sparkles with CHESHIRE and HEINIE (!) (34D: Wonderland cat / 9D: Bum), but clunked pretty heavily in a couple sports like OIL COLOR and RESNAP (38D: Artist's choice / 2D: Close again, as a change purse). I was at a complete loss at the cross of NANA (19D: Zola novel) and LINA (22A: Director Wertmüller). Never heard of LINA and would like to say I've never heard of NANA, but that's not exactly true. I've heard of it but, unfortunately, it didn't actually take up residence in my memory. Sigh.

Bullets:

• 10A: "Once I had ... love and it was __": Blondie lyric (A GAS). This clue is a fun twist on some tired crosswordese.

• 20A: Shows scorn (SNEERS). Much better than "sneery"!
• 39A: Author Silverstein (SHEL). I've said it before and I'll say it again. Do Not get me started on "The Giving Tree."
• 40A: First first name in Olympic gymnastic tens (NADIA). Nadia Comaneci. I remember being completely amazed by her. Man that was a long time ago. (1976!)
• 45A: 1,000 G's (MIL). And again with the G = 1,000 thing. Did y'all get it this time? It's easier when it's just a G and not the letter spelled out (gee).
• 46A: Free TV ad (PSA). Here's a good one I saw just the other day.



• 59A: "Tootsie" Oscar winner (LANGE). Have you seen her in "Frances"? One of the top three most depressing movies of all time. (The others would be "Leaving Las Vegas" and, I don't know, I can't think of a third one right now because my brain is fried.)
• 63A: Something to take lying down (REST). Sounds like heaven.

• 12D: Traditional song with the line "Je te plumerai" (ALOUETTE). I can't think of this song without hearing "Ginger Grant" singing it on "Gilligan's Island."
• 31D: Miss's equal? (MILE). What's the saying? "A miss is as good as a mile"? Right. What's it mean again? Hmm. Oh, I got it. If you just barely miss something it's not really any better than missing it by a mile because you still missed it. Something like that.

Crosswordese 101:There are generally three ways of cluing ENT. First, as a suffix (e.g., "Suffix with string" or "Suffix with differ"). Second, as an abbreviation for Ear Nose & Throat (e.g., "Sinus specialist, briefly," "Tonsilitis MD," or simply "MD's specialty"). And finally, there is the dreaded tree-creature. I don't know if the tree-creature is actually dreaded, but it sure sounds like it should be. Clues for this ENT will generally include a reference to J.R.R. Tolkien (like today's 57D: Tolkien's Treebeard is one). Other words to look for include "middle-earth" and "Fangorn Forest."

Other crosswordese in the puzzle that we've already covered:

• 23A: Hound over a debt (DUN).
• 54A: Morlock haters (ELOI).
• 60A: Ireland, to poets (ERIN).
• 10D: Oberhausen "Oh!" ("ACH!").
• 19D: Zola novel (NANA).
• 42D: Depilatory brand (NEET).
• 48D: Autumn blooms (ASTERS).

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Everything Else — 1A: Bouillabaisse base (BROTH); 6A: "Coffee Cantata" composer (BACH); 14A: So out it's in (RETRO); 15A: In unison, musically (A DUE); 16A: Caffeine source (COLA); 17A: One of Israel's 12 tribes (ASHER); 26A: Ruby of "A Raisin in the Sun" (DEE); 27A: Favorable times, as for pics (OPS); 28A: Marshland (FEN); 29A: Afternoon services (TEASETS); 31A: Mazda MX-5, familiarly (MIATA); 33A: Granola grains (OATS); 41A: Cardinal Cooke (TERENCE); 49A: Suffix with expert (-ISE); 53A: Cubs, on scoreboards (CHI); 55A: Clawed (TORE AT); 61A: Cuba, to Castro (ISLA); 62A: Polecat relative (OTTER); 64A: It helps you get up (STEP); 65A: Orchestra section (REEDS); 1D: 1997 Depp title role (BRASCO); 3D: Unlisted ones (OTHERS); 4D: Cornered, in a way (TREED); 5D: Frightful (HORRIFIC); 6D: Milky Way, e.g. (BAR); 7D: "Be __": "Help me out" (A DOLL); 8D: Georges Braque, for one (CUBIST); 11D: Considerable amount (GOOD DEAL); 13D: Blue state (SADNESS); 21D: Furtive type (SNEAK); 25D: Get in the game (ANTE); 30D: 16-Across, e.g. (SODA); 32D: Landers with advice (ANN); 35D: Finder's cry (HERE IT IS); 36D: Title (NAME); 37D: Keats or Shelley (ODIST); 39D: Price that's rarely paid (STICKER); 43D: French city near a Chunnel terminus (CALAIS); 44D: Diva, stereotypically (EGOIST); 46D: Mambo bandleader Tito (PUENTE); 47D: Faked, as a fight (STAGED); 51D: Former French textile city (LILLE); 52D: Use the soapbox (ORATE); 58D: Doofus (SAP).