66. Head Out on the Road

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Hello hello! I hope everyone is having a great August as school begins to get back in session (and I go back to my 14th year of instructing!). I'm doing well because, of course, my Cubbies have soared in the Power Rankings from 20th to 11th, their highest ranking in years. They're playing good baseball when it counts, so let's see if it continues!

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1. Puzzle #64 answer: You can get a detailed behind-the-scenes explanation of this wild Week 5 and how it came to be here.

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2. Puzzle #65 answer: TONY BENNETT

Correct entries: 62

Shortest explanation: The four theme entries are two-word phrases (technically TORCH-BEARER is hyphenated or one word) whose words begin TO* BE*. The middle row is a visual representation of the song "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (a HEART in the city's nickname CITY BY THE BAY). This is the trademark song of arguably the most well-known TO* BE* not in the grid: the late, great TONY BENNETT, our meta answer.

Thanks to Gridmaster T for the graphic!

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3. Leaderboard (I know I'm behind! I'm recalculating this as soon as Puzzle #66 goes live for the last two!)

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4. This is the second Saturday in August, and this should clock in at no more than a Level 2 (if anything, Level 1.5).

Good luck, and may all your solves be beautiful!

Mikey G

The answer to the meta is my message to you if you solve it.