Nothing Fancy today. The Beginning word of each theme answer is another word for Humble.
18-Across. * Unembellished facts: PLAIN TRUTH.
27-Across. * Soda and candy, metabolically: SIMPLE CARBS.
51-Across. * Indie rock band with the hit single "Float On": MODEST MOUSE.
61-Across. * No-frills TV choice: BASIC CABLE.
And the unifier:
38-Across. Part of a rags-to-riches story, and what the answers to the starred clues literally have: HUMBLE BEGINNINGS.
I now humbly present you with the rest of the answers to today's puzzle.
Across:
1. Play people: CASTS. Actors had too many letters.
6. Light-tube gas: NEON.
10. Forehead hider: BANGS.
15. Très très: ULTRA.
16. Prefix that means 2-Down: OMNI. // And 2-Down. 2. The whole shebang: ALL.
17. Easy-to-read font: ARIAL. This clue and answer is written in Arial.
20. Japanese lunchbox: BENTO. They look like so much fun.
21. Boo-Boo's buddy: YOGI. [Name # 1, fictional.]
22. Bryant of "Shrill": AIDY. I am familiar with neither Shrill nor Aidy Bryant (née Aidan Mackenzy Bryant; b. May 7, 1987). Aidy was also apparently a cast member on Saturday Night Live. [Name # 2.]
24. Clairvoyant's gift, for short: ESP. As in ExtraSensory Perception.
25. PC alternatives: MACs. As in an Apple computer. // And 55-Across. Apple platform: IOS.
31. Mobile's st.: ALA. Mobile is on the Gulf Coast of Alabama. If you are traveling on Interstate 10, you are forced to go through the George Wallace Tunnel which runs under the Mobile River in Mobile, Alabama. It always causes a huge traffic jam, especially in the summer as tourist try to make their way from the west to the Florida beaches. Little piece of Mobile trivia.
32. "Kim's Convenience" actor Paul Sun-Hyung __: LEE. Hi, CanadianEh! Kim's Convenience is a sit-com about a Korean-Canadian family who run a convenience store in Toronto. Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (b. Aug. 16, 1972) portrays the patriarch in the television show. [Name # 3.]
33. Like some forest ground: MOSSY.
34. Coke or Pepsi: COLA. Soda fits into the spaces provided also.
36. __-rock music: ALT. Everything you wanted to know about Alternative Rock but didn't know to ask.
37. Cruise stop: PORT. Mobile, Alabama is a cruise port / terminal.
44. Yawn inducer: BORE.
45. Good times: UPS. 
46. Gather, as crops: REAP.
47. Former "American Gladiators" co-host Ali: LAILA. Did you know that Laila Ali (née Laila Amaria Ali; b. Dec. 20, 1977) also wrote a cookbook? If not, please review the answers to last Tuesday's puzzle. [Name # 4.]
49. Ante-: PRE-. Think Antebellum, which means before a particular war. In the United States, it refers to prior to the American Civil War.
50. Hoppy draft choice, for short: IPA. India Pale Ale has become a crossword staple.
54. Forevvvvvver: AGES.
56. Fuel from a bog: PEAT.
57. Sound of relief: SIGH.
59. Word before time or tire: SPARE. Spare Time and Spare Tire.
66. Oscar winner Swinton: TILDA. Tilda Swinton (née Katherine Matilda Swinton; b. Nov. 5, 1960) won an Oscar for her role as Karen Crowder in the 2007 legal thriller Michael Clayton. [Name # 5.]
67. GPS figures: ETAs. Your Global Positioning System will give you the Estimated Time of Arrival to your destination.
68. Give a wide berth: AVOID.
69. Move on tiptoe: SNEAK.
70. __ Ness monster: LOCH. Everything they want you to believe about the Loch Ness Monster. [Name adjacent. Real or fictional?]
71. Really, really into crosswords, say: NERDY. Do you consider yourself a nerd just because you enjoy doing Crossword puzzles?
Down:
1. Trophy shape: CUP.
3. "Deep breath ... ": STAY CALM.
4. TLC and HAIM: TRIOS. // And 5-Down. Performed like TLC and HAIM: SANG. Both TLC and HAIM are female bands. TLC is (was?) a R&B pop group that was big in the 1990s. HAIM is comprised of three sisters whose surname is Haim. [Names # 6 and 7.]
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| TLC |
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| HAIM |
6. Scand. land: NOR. Norway is in Scandinavia.
 |
7. Down Under bird: EMU. The Emu makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.
8. Recorded, in a way: ON TAPE. That is so last century!
9. Nothing, in Latin: NIHIL. Today's Latin lesson.
10. Small stir-fry vegetables: BABY CORN. What is Baby Corn?
 |
11. "__ You the One?": reality dating series: ARE. I'm not familiar with this show, but it was easy enough to suss the answer.
12. SF NFL team: NINERS. San Francisco's National Football League team is the Forty-Niners. [Name adjacent.]
13. "Great" West Egg resident Jay: GATSBY. I first read The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (né Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald; b. Sept. 24, 1896 ~ Dec. 21, 1940) years ago. It is still a favorite. It has also been adapted into several movie versions. [Name # 8, fictional.]
14. Gets everywhere: SLOPS.
19. "__ the season ... ": 'TIS. I guess the Christmas Season has officially begun, although I began to see Christmas decorations in shops before Halloween. So when does the Season to Be Jolly actually begin?
23. Evil spirits: DEMONS.
25. Supersonic speed measure: MACH. Mach is used as a unit of measurement in stating the speed of a moving object in relation to the speed of sound. A Mach number is the ratio of an object's speed in a given medium to the speed of sound in that medium. Mach 1, then, is the speed of sound, around 761 mph at sea level on a standard day. Thus, if an aircraft is traveling at Mach 1, it is traveling at exactly the speed of sound. Clear as mud, right?
26. Six-time MLB All-Star Moisés: ALOU. Moisés Alou (né Moisés Rojas-Alou Beltré; b. July 3, 1966) makes occasional guest appearances in the crossword puzzles. He was an outfielder and played for a number National League teams, including, but not limited to the Houston Astros, the Chicago Cubs, and the New York Mets. [Name # 9.]
28. "Imagine that!": I'LL BE.
29. Ration (out): METE.
30. Riled up: ASTIR.
35. "Three Billboards ... " actress Cornish: ABBIE. The full name of the movie is Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. It was a rather disturbing film which starred Frances McDormand (née Cynthia Ann Smith; b. June 23, 1957) who posted three billboards to draw attention to her daughter's unsolved rape and murder. I don't recall the role that Abbie Cornish (b. Aug. 7, 1982) had in the film. [Name # 10.]
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| Abbie Cornish |
36. Add bubbles to: AERATE.
37. Plumbing conduits: PIPES.
39. Internet lingo from a cat meme: LOLSPEAK. Hand up if you had heard of Lolspeak. Apparently, it is the intentionally grammatically incorrect text accompanying a cat meme.
40. Hindu mentor: GURU.
41. Person next door: NEIGHBOR.
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| Ned Flanders is Homer's neighbor |
42. Stare in awe: GAPE.
43. Relaxing resorts: SPAS.
47. Add to an email thread, say: LOOP IN.
48. TV revenue source: AD SALE.
49. Side that might be mashed or fried: POTATO. Fun facts about potatoes.
51. Uses a spray bottle: MISTS.
52. Selena's "Only Murders in the Building" role: MABEL. Only Murders in the Building is a comedy mystery about three strangers who live in a ritzy apartment building in New York. They all decide to investigate suspicious deaths that occur in their building. The show stars Selena Gomez (née Selena Marie Gomez; b. July 22, 1992), who portrays Mabel, Steve Martin (né Stephen Glenn Martin; b. Aug. 14, 1945), and Martin Short (né Martin Hayter Short; b. Mar. 26, 1950). [Names # 11 and 12, one real, the other fictional.]
53. Key that exits full-screen mode: ESC. The Escape Key.
54. Tequila plant: AGAVE.
58. "__ hardly wait!": I CAN.
60. Nutrition fig.: RDA. As in Recommended Daily Allowance.
62. Anatomical pouch: SAC.
63. Kinda sorta: -ISH.
64. "Put a __ on it!": LID.
65. Big name in ice cream: EDY. A crossword staple. [Name adjacent.]
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
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