Theme: Ithena - First part has an I, last part has an A.
20. Original Ice Follies slapstick skating duo : FRICK AND FRACK
28. Retaliatory equivalent : TIT FOR TAT
39. Happy heartbeat sound : PIT-A-PAT. How apt.
48. Knickknacky stuff : BRIC-A-BRAC
Argyle here with a Marti Monday. Neat how the sound of the target vowels match. Nothing forced with any of the entries and they're fun to say, too.
Across:
1. Injury reminder : SCAR
5. Pet adoption gp. : ASPCA. Some people bypass the The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and get their cats off the streets.
10. Environs : AREA
14. Nobel Peace Prize winner Wiesel : ELIE
15. U.S.-Canada defense letters : NORAD. (North American Aerospace Defense Command) More than just tracking Santa on Christmas.
16. Having a hard time deciding : TORN
17. Hard to find, to Caesar : RARA. Latin.
18. __ Gay: WWII bomber : ENOLA
19. Thom __ shoes : MCAN
23. "Just one darn minute!" : "SEE HERE!"
24. Amazed reactions : GASPS
27. Three in a deck : TREY
32. Found really groovy : DUG
34. Bud : PAL
35. Challenge : DARE
36. Part of WW II : WAR
42. Like veggies on a veggie platter : RAW
43. Expected landing hrs. : ETAs
45. Prohibition : BAN
46. Opposite of post- : PRE
51. Bible bk. with a sea crossing : EXOD.us
54. Trite : BANAL
55. Opie Taylor's caretaker : AUNT BEE
62. List-ending abbr. : ET AL.
64. 11th-century Spanish hero : EL CID
65. Give off : EMIT
66. Lo-cal : LITE
67. It divides the Left and Right Banks : SEINE. Ah, Paris!
68. Pal at the barbie : MATE. Are the shrimp ready?
69. Run into : MEET
70. More quirky : ODDER
71. Being, to Ovid : ESSE. More Latin.
Down:
1. Feudal farmers : SERFS
2. Red wine from Bordeaux : CLARET. More French, sorta.
3. Better ventilated : AIRIER
4. Got through to : REACHED
5. Lend __: listen : AN EAR
6. 14-line verse : SONNET
7. Cattle poker : PROD
8. Ranch newborn : CALF. 56D. 8-Down's milk source : UDDER
9. Purim month : ADAR. The sixth month of the Jewish calendar.
10. Use of one requires a PIN : ATM CARD
11. Groupie's idol : ROCK STAR
12. Significant period : ERA
13. Raggedy doll : ANN
21. Make excited : KEY UP. A rock star's appearence will key up the groupies.
22. Gone by : AGO
25. Prefix with legal : PARA
26. Ladled-out meal : STEW
29. Bucky Beaver's toothpaste brand : IPANA
30. Pub spigot : TAP
31. Envelope part : FLAP
33. Bee Gees family name : GIBB. Close to the theme. "Spicks and Specks" by the Bee Gees.
36. "Dragnet" star Jack : WEBB
37. Gillette razor brand : ATRA
38. Bad weather contingency : RAIN DATE
40. Paving goo : TAR
41. Sales manager's concern : TREND
44. Like the "A" in a Hawthorne classic : SCARLET
47. At the outer edges of the normal curve : EXTREME
49. "Sting like a bee" boxer : ALI
50. Bloodhound or boxer : CANINE
52. White House family : OBAMAs
53. Ledger entries : DEBITS. The red ones.
57. Cosmetician Lauder : ESTÈE
59. Spanish kiss : BESO
60. Iditarod transport : SLED. Dallas Seavey came from behind to win the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Story
61. Battery fluid : ACID
62. Good name for a tree-lined street : ELM
63. Dead heat : TIE
Argyle
