Theme: Something to bite, chew, and champ on - Good thing I got m'teeth yesterdy.
62. Dine together, and a hint to this puzzle's circles : BREAK BREAD
17. Hard-to-please diva : PRIMA DONNA and 19. Money for the pot : ANTE. NAAN.
23. Holder of odds and ends : CATCHALL and 25. "Bless you!" trigger : AHCHOO. CHALLAH.
36. Pueblo-dwelling tribe : HOPI and 39. Tart taste : TANG. PITA.
53. Spot to enjoy oysters and clams : RAWBAR and 55. Way back when : YEARS AGO. RYE.
Argyle here with another C.C. creation. She delivered a change up today. Instead of breaking a word into a single two-word phrase entry, she has broken it across two separate entries. Those of you without circles may have had a harder time seeing it but probably didn't impede the solve.
Across:
1. Gobbled down : ATE UP. Appropriate lead off.
6. IRS enforcer : T-MAN. (treasury agent)
10. Galaxy Tab rival : iPAD
14. Memory slip : LAPSE
15. Lifeboat movers : OARS
16. Indian bridal dress : SARI
20. Beast of burden : ASS
21. TriCLEAN gasoline brand : CITGO
22. Skin ink, casually : TAT
28. Penne __ vodka: pasta dish : ALLA. Wiki.
29. Hider in a haystack : NEEDLE
31. Former "Tonight Show" announcer Hall : EDD
32. Religious offshoot : SECT
34. Like pages worth bookmarking : DOGEARED
40. Pesto thickeners : PINE NUTS
44. Short race : DASH
47. Hubbub : ADO
48. Full of pluck : GRITTY
51. Bring up : REAR
57. Have : OWN
58. Origami bird : CRANE
59. Windy City superstation : WGN. Originally referred to the Trib, "World's Greatest Newspaper".
60. Bear whose bed was too hard : PAPA. We had MAMA and now PAPA; all that's left is BABY.
64. Deadlocked : EVEN
65. In __: with all judges present : BANC
66. Diciembre follower : ENERO. (December/January)
67. Granny : NANA
68. Help, as a fugitive : ABET
69. Cheryl and Diane : LADDS
Down:
1. Llama cousin : ALPACA
2. Ankle bones : TARSALS
3. New Testament letter : EPISTLE
4. Branch of the mil. : USM. (United States Marines)
5. Cobbler fruit : PEACH
6. Play the flute : TOOTLE. "And Hennessey Tennessee tootles the flute"
7. Botched up : MANGLED
8. River under the Ponte Vecchio : ARNO. Florence, Italy
9. Federal hush-hush org. : NSA. (no such agency)
10. Sci-fi writer Asimov : ISAAC
11. Cat with black fur : PANTHER. The lion may sleep tonight but the panther's on the prowl.
12. Statues and sculptures : ART. ^Black Velvet art^
13. Conk out : DIE
18. Gorilla expert Fossey : DIAN
22. Famous last words? : THE END. Cute.
24. Hidden store : CACHE
25. Pond plant : ALGA
26. Poem of tribute : ODE
27. Like 2015 : ODD
30. Point : DOT
33. Polynesian archipelago native : TONGAN
35. Lab gelatins : AGARS
37. Contented kitty sound : PURR
38. "Lord, is __?" : IT I
40. Target score in "Mario Golf" : PAR
41. Mrs. McKinley : IDA
42. Sign on a new store : [NOW OPEN]
43. Synthetic rubber compound : STYRENE
45. Kelp, e.g. : SEAWEED
46. Gaunt from exertion : HAGGARD
49. Law that incited a 1773 Boston revolt : TEA ACT
50. Pull hard : YANK
52. Sonata movements : RONDOs
54. Master, in Swahili : BWANA
56. One resisting authority : REBEL
58. Chesapeake Bay crustacean : CRAB
60. Cattle holder : PEN
61. "Selma" director DuVernay : AVA. Wiki
62. Marketing major's deg. : BBA. (Bachelor of Business Administration)
63. "Messenger" molecule : RNA
Argyle
