L.A TIMES CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Department concerned

with wages

6 “Word”

10 Kazakhstan's

North __ Sea

14 D-Day beach name

15 Sushi wrapper

16 Get a better

rate, for short

17 *Opera buffa by Mozart

20 “Your point being?”

21 They mean nothing

22 End zone marker

23 Leaves at the altar

24 Tropical trees

25 Vegan milk source

28 Mountainous region

of the Levant

29 *Landscape options

in dry climates

32 “CSI” evidence

35 __ in handy

36 Missay, say

37 God of love

38 Swanky hotel amenity

39 *One skilled at

manipulating characters

43 Memos

45 Crow's-nest cry

46 Race town near

Windsor Castle

47 Red carpet brand

49 Pertaining to bees

50 __ Sound Machine

51 Explosive letters

54 “Not quite!,” and what can be said about a letter string in the answer to each starred clue

57 “Get your own!”

58 Free of fizz

59 Protein-building acid

60 Online crafts site

61 __ up: tell all

62 Lite

DOWN

1 Kirke of “Mozart

in the Jungle”

2 “Preach!”

3 Boston or Chicago

4 Cry of discovery

5 Poking fun at

6 Like noble gases

7 Long-extinct flightless

birds

8 Eye part

9 Many a moving meme

10 Sock pattern

11 La Liga team that plays in Santiago Bernabéu Stadium

12 Curly hairstyles

13 Wildebeest hunter

18 Nintendo princess

19 Tablets at some

checkout counters

23 Routine element

24 Many a 23-Down

25 Circle parts

26 Roller coaster feature

27 Supersize suburban

homes

28 Ryan of “Bosch”

30 Suggestions, informally

31 Soft & __

33 Have a snack

34 Apropos of

37 Sicilian mount

39 Back up an apology, say

40 Gel

41 Avis rival

42 Far beyond the norm

44 Irish dramatist Seán

46 College-level HS English

course

47 Falafel holders

48 Tirades

49 Cartoon maker of Invisible Paint and Instant Road

50 Stubborn beast

51 “Yay, the weekend's

almost here!”

52 Grandmother's nickname

53 Moderate gait

55 Lifelong pal, briefly

56 “If u ask me ... “