Theme: IN THE MIDDLE (17D. Like this answer's position, and what can follow the starts of 16-, 24/51-, 38-, 60- and 69/1-Across) - IN THE MIDDLE can follow all the below green-highlighted words.
1A. See 69-Across : AROUND. And 69A. With 1-Across, spend time frivolously : MONKEY. Monkey in the middle is a children's game a la Wiki. Not familiar to me.16A. Breakfast option : SOFT-BOILED EGGS. Soft in the middle.
24A. With 51-Across, Presley hit with "glue" in the lyrics : STUCK. And 51A. See 24-Across : ON YOU. Stuck in the middle.
38A. "A Clockwork Orange" star : MALCOLM MCDOWELL. "Malcolm in the Middle".
60A. End the chat room suspense, in a way : MEET FACE TO FACE. Meet in the middle.
C.C. here. Are you missing Al? I am.
The unifier IN THE MIDDLE is easily placed in the very heart of the grid. But quite a feat to cross it with the other three long theme entries. 14's are always a challenge and you don't see them on Row 3/13 often, same with 12's and 13's.
I've yet to become a fan of split theme entries. I'm OK with 1A Across and the last Across entries to bookend the grid, even with the reverse order. But the 24/51 style split distracts me.
Across:
7. Catch-22 : PARADOX. Nice scrambly entry.
14. Retro headgear : BEANIE
15. Quintessence : EPITOME
18. Mountain Dew producer, informally : PEPSI. "For those who think young".
19. Slight winning margin : NOSE. By a nose.
20. Not divided : ONE
21. Easy melodies : LILTS
29. Mediterranean smoker : ETNA. The volcano.
31. "__ Coy Mistress": Andrew Marvell poem : TO HIS. I'll let Clear Ayes comment.
33. Uffizi display : ARTE
34. "Big Love" actress Sevigny : CHLOE. Here she is. I like the name Chloe.
36. Asylum seeker : EMIGRE. Some lie to get accepted. Ex-IMF chief accuser, for example.
42. Gushed on stage : EMOTED
43. Massey of "Rosalie" : ILONA. She does resemble Dietrich, no?
44. Talk with one's hands : SIGN
45. Like days of yore : OLDEN
47. "Great shot!" : NICE
53. Professional pitcher? : AD MAN. One who pitches stuff. We've seen similar clue before.
55. Edit out : CUT
56. Comedian Hartman : PHIL
58. Excludes : OMITS
66. Chaplin's tramp, e.g. : PERSONA
67. Boorish sorts : CHURLS. And 3D. Dumbbells : OAFS
68. Non-specific : GENERAL
Down:
1. Out of the picture : ABSENT
2. Start up after a fire, say : REOPEN. Like a nightclub. I suppose.
4. Before : UNTIL
5. Tip for a writer? : NIB. "Writer" here refers to pen, correct? It writes.
6. __ gratiam habeamus: Kentucky's Latin state motto : DEO. "Let us be grateful". Unknown to me.
7. Boehner's predecessor : PELOSI (Nancy). Man, they often make me speechless, both.
8. Plays Simon says with : APES
9. Harley outings : RIDES. Here is Harley model Marisa Miller, who has the best abs in the world.
10. Got fed up? : ATE. Awesome clue.
11. Follow : DOG. Verb.
12. Texting exclamation : OMG
13. Cancels (out) : X'ES
18. Macabre master : POE. True.
22. Tepid response to "How's this?" : IT'LL DO
23. Tower (over) : LOOM
25. Home of Nationals pitcher Chien-Ming Wang : TAIWAN. He was with the Yankees for a few years.
26. Try to convince : URGE
27. PC key : CTRL
28. Nautical spine : KEEL
30. Passbook ID : ACCT NO. Wow, did not come to me readily.
32. Sonoran Desert resort city : SEDONA
35. Plot device? : HOE. Oh, garden plot.
37. Work wk. start : MON
38. Prefix with -zoic : MESO
39. "The Last King of Scotland" tyrant : AMIN
40. Lethargic : LOGY. Here it comes again.
41. Skelton persona Kadiddlehopper : CLEM
46. Not of the cloth : LAICAL. We see LAIC more often.
48. Standoffish one : ICICLE
49. Like Care Bears : CUTESY
50. "Avatar" extras : ETs
52. Ready and willing to do : UP FOR
54. Like a stick-in-the-mud : NO FUN. Nice answer.
57. '80s tennis great Mandlikova : HANA. Faintly rings a bell.
59. New Testament figure : MARK
60. Sticker stat : MPG
61. Shoe spec : EEE. Somehow I feel it's a cop-out to put SSS in the grid, but not EEE. Weird.
62. Coastal raptor : ERN
63. Prufrock poet's monogram : TSE (T.S. Eliot)
64. Cable sta. for vintage films : TCM
65. "Gotcha!" : OHO
Answer grid.
And yes, yesterday's mystery boy is Red State Democrat, Matt in real life. The photo was cropped due to my sensitivity towards a recent event. Maybe he will link the full photo in his own website someday.
C.C.
