17 A. It may be hard to turn down: NICE OFFER. Not to be confused with an OFFER that you can't refuse. The circled letters, here shown in red, can be rearranged to spell COFFEE. Decaf for me, please - no cream or sugar.
26 A. Stockpiled: LOADED UP ON. Acquired, collected, and kept; amassed. The red letters can be used to spell POUND. Is this puzzle going to the dogs? Probably not.
41 A. Sitting in an assigned seat, e.g.: TAKING ONE'S PLACE. "Everyone take your places," is an in the language phrase. So, have a seat. Perhaps your cushion is a cushy SPONGE rubber.
51 A. Corporate annual report focus: FISCAL YEAR. A 12 month period used for accounting and tax purposes that might not line up with a calendar year. The red letters can spell LAYER - a ply of something in a built-up construction. So what are we to make of all this? Let's consult the reveal.
64 A. Baking conveniences, and a hint to this puzzle's circles: CAKE MIXES. Aha! Each of the words is also a type of CAKE, MIXED into the clue fill. And a CAKE MIX is a store-bought combination of ingredients you can use to make a tasty sweet treat. Are you hungry? I think CAKE is OK, any time of day or night. Though, to be honest, I prefer cookies.
Across:
1. They may be exchanged in anger: WORDS. Description of an argument.
6. Jet stream locale?: SPA. SPA in this case being a whirlpool bath, with jets that stream water onto your aching body.
9. Ziti, e.g.: PASTA. Per wikipedia, Ziti is an extruded tubular pasta that is smaller than rigatoni, but larger than mezzani. Pasta is pasta. Why it comes in so many shapes and sizes is a mystery to me.
14. Scrub, as a launch: ABORT. From the mission control vocabulary of NASA. A decision to stop a planned launch after the pre-launch sequence of activities has begun.
15. Short film?: PIC. An abrv. of [moving] PICTURE
16. Pronouncement platform: ALTAR. "I now pronounce you man and wife," is one of the kinds of pronouncements that can be issued there.
19. Lumps: GLOBS. Solid or semi-sold masses of no particular size and shape.
20. Small flightless bird: KIWI.
21. "Oye Como Va" songwriter Puente: TITO. Hey, how is it going?
23. Barnyard noise: MOO. Cow talk.
24. Low-risk investments: Abbr.: CDs. Certificates of Deposit.
29. Stooped (over): HUNCHED.
32. Beer container: CAN. E pluribus unum.
33. "It matters to me": I CARE. Back in the 60's we said, "Give a damn!"
34. "The Green Hornet" co-writer/star Rogen: SETH. [b 1982] Canadian-American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and director.
37. Scorch: CHAR. Burn the surface of something with heat or a direct flame.
44. Editor's retraction: STET. "Let it stand." (used as an instruction on a printed proof to indicate that a correction or alteration should be ignored).
45. Picnic pests: ANTS. Six-legged invaders.
46. Blows off steam: VENTS. Pssssst.
47. Feverish, say: ILL. Exhibiting symptoms of sickness.
49. Doesn't continue, as an argument: LET'S DIE. It's hard to know when to let up. Sometimes continuing is futile. I was arguing about socialism with some guy on FaceBook. He wouldn't accept the dictionary definition. I finally gave up and told him to have a nice day.
56. "Irreverence is easy--what's hard is __": Tom Lehrer: WIT. Keen mental sharpness and inventiveness.
57. Lime ending: -ADE. The juice of the lime ends up in a fruity drink. In my house, it's far more likely to end up in a spicy guacamole.
58. 12-1 MLB victory, e.g.: ROUT. A lop-sided victory. Or, from the Tigers' perspective, a lop-sided defeat.
59. Davenport setting: IOWA. Or my late mom-s living room. A city and an item of furniture [if you want to couch it in those terms], respectively.
62. Like spinach, say: LEAFY. As rose bushes are thorny, and trees are barky.
68. Tanning site: SALON.
69. Spy org. called "The Company": CIA. Central Intelligence Agency. We learn this vocabulary from a 2003 semi-factual novel by Robert Littell.
70. Hapless: INEPT. Everybody, get yourself some hap, so you can be EPT.
71. North Sea county: ESSEX. Located North and East of London, England.
72. __-country music: ALT. ALTernate. A loosely defined sub-genre of county/rock music. Styles can be significantly different in style from mainstream or pop country.
73. "Get it done!": TODAY. Stat! [Not stet]
Down:
1. Lacking color: WAN. Pale and weak looking.
2. Tokyo sash: OBI.
3. Large python: ROCK SNAKE. A large, non-venemous, but extraordinarily vicious and dangerous snake living in sub-saharan Africa.
4. German trio: DREI. The number three.
5. Put away: STOW.
6. Sunscreen letters: SPF. Sun Protection Factor. Understand it here.
7. Michelangelo masterpiece: PIETA.
8. Sharp: ACRID. Having an irritatingly strong and unpleasant taste or smell.
9. Taoist temple: PAGODA.
10. Every one of: ALL. Don't leave me out.
11. Defeat soundly: STOMP. In other words, a ROUT.
12. Off-limits: TABOO. Forbidden.
13. Fiery crime: ARSON. The crime of deliberately setting fire to property.
18. Computer menu heading: FILE. You can save and print, among other options.
22. Computer fixers: TECHS.
24. Vouchers: CHITS. IOUs
25. Old European coin: DUCAT. Any of various gold and silver coins.
27. Eats too much of, as junk food: ODs ON. Over-Dose, trivializing the real meaning.
28. Family tree figures: UNCLES. What I am to my niece and nephew.
30. Blogger, at times: CRITIC. Or, in my case, almost always.
31. Farm clucker: HEN. And egg layer.
35. Sinusitis-treating doc: ENT. Ear, Nose and Throat specialist.
36. Edison contemporary: TESLA. Nikola Tesla [1956-1943] was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and futurist who is best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current electricity supply system. [Wikipedia]
38. Manually spiffed up at the carwash: HAND WAXED. Manual labor.
39. When the duel occurs in "Hamilton": ACT II.
40. Start over: RESET.
42. Big name in California viticulture: GALLO. Brothers Ernst and Julio.
43. Entry-level GI: PVT. Private.
48. Voice box: LARYNX. the hollow muscular organ forming an air passage to the lungs and holding the vocal cords in humans and other mammals;
50. Scary-sounding lake: ERIE. Toledo's lake.
51. Like many a rumor: FALSE. Fake news?
52. Creative output: IDEAS. Brain storms.
53. Makes airtight: SEALS. Closes up.
54. Desert plant with sword-shaped leaves: YUCCA.
55. Source of net profits?: ETAIL. Electronic - i.e. on-line - retail.
60. Exclude: OMIT. Leave out, elide.
61. Sot: WINO. Alcoholic.
63. Enemy: FOE. Not a friend
65. Dennings of "2 Broke Girls": KAT.
67. Muddy pen: STY. Home for swine.
One more in a long line of Wednesday puzzles, but this one takes the cake. Hope you were able to slice through it without getting frosted.
Cool regards!
JzB
