Theme: Auto Body Basics - Four minor imperfections to your car's finish that can finish your deductible.
17A. Cocktail party mouthful : CHIP AND DIP
25A. 1950s kiddie show hosted by "Miss Frances" : DING DONG SCHOOL
43A. They frequently shoot par or better : SCRATCH GOLFERS
58A. Very last moment : NICK OF TIME
Argyle here. A tight theme but the range of fill, oh my! From "Miss Frances" to an R&B artist. And out of the blue, a pun. All in all, a strange Tuesday but what is your take on it?
Across:
1. Argentine dance : TANGO
6. Move a little : STIR
10. Peak measurement: Abbr. : ELEV. Elevation
14. Abraham nearly sacrificed him : ISAAC
15. Right-hand person : AIDE
16. Curtain material : LACE
19. Unsullied : PURE
20. Woo with a tune : SERENADE
21. Fill, as a moving van : LOAD UP
23. Swallowed : ATE
24. New Mexico art community : TAOS
33. Dundee demurrals : NAEs. The fourth-largest city in Scotland is Dundee.
34. Horror film franchise : SAW. Started with "Saw" (short film)(2003) and now is in "Saw 3-D"(2010).
36. "So Sick" R&B artist : NE-YO. Clip.(3:29)
37. Collect compulsively : HOARD
39. It may begin with "Knock knock" : JOKE
40. Bird that can hold its coffee? : ERN. A homophone for URN. A pun of a sea eagle as a coffee pot leaves me 32A. Bewildered : AT SEA
41. Many Christmas trees : FIRS
42. Steakhouse order : FILET
47. Word often sighed : ALAS
48. Big Band __ : ERA
49. Whacks on the bottom : SPANKS. The Child Protective Services will investigate you nowadays.
52. On cloud nine : ECSTATIC
57. Yale Bowl rooters : ELIs. Students at Yale University.
60. List heading : TO DO
61. Buck suffix : AROO
62. Bunsen burner cousins : ETNAs
63. Did laps, perhaps : SWAM
64. Hair care products : GELS
65. Put into effect : ENACT
Down:
1. Eccentric mannerisms : TICS
2. 1968 U.S. Open champ Arthur : ASHE. Perennial tennis player on the crossword courts.
3. Solution for a hairy situation? : NAIR
4. Show astonishment : GAPE
5. National anthem in Nunavut : "O CANADA". Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999. Wikipedia link.
6. Depress : SADDEN
7. It waits for no man, purportedly : TIDE. I foolishly didn't wait for it and stuck in TIME first.
8. Dictator Amin : IDI
9. Stepped in for : REPLACED
10. Sun Bowl site : EL PASO. Texas.
11. Praise : LAUD
12. Beigelike shade : ECRU. Perennial crossword shade.
13. Prez's next-in-line : VEEP
18. Brussels-based defense gp. : NATO
22. Fireworks reactions : OOHS
24. Title of the first Fabergé egg owner : TSAR. The first Fabergé egg was crafted for Tsar Alexander III in 1885.
25. Copenhagen native : DANE
26. Anatomical canals : ITERS. A passageway that leads from one part of the body to another. Iter is Latin for "a way." As such, this is a later in the week clue and made a nasty "Natick Principal" crossing NE-YO. Oops: "Natick Principle"
27. "Bye Bye Bye" boy band : *NSYNC
28. Prefix with thermal : GEO
29. Grind together, as one's teeth : GNASH
30. "__ Mio" : O SOLE. I'm not familiar with these guys but it's one for the ladies. Clip.(3:37)
31. California hoopster : LAKER
35. Dampens : WETS
37. Run into trouble : HIT A SNAG
38. Warriors in Warcraft games : ORCS
39. The PB in a PB&J, maybe : JIF
41. Columbo portrayer : FALK. Peter.
42. Fixed price : FLAT FEE
44. Kidnapper's demand : RANSOM
45. Long-tailed tropical wall climbers : GECKOs
46. Approximately : OR SO
49. Tennis match parts : SETS
50. Oxen's burden : PLOW. Unless the beast is carrying it on its back, it's not really a burden.
51. Enslaved princess of opera : AIDA. Perennial slave girl.
52. Earth sci. : ECOL. Ecology.
53. Business envelope abbr. : ATTN. Attention.
54. Turner on stage : TINA. On stage with Mick. Live. Japan. Hot. Clip.(4:49)
55. Apple product : I-MAC
56. "__ Magnifique": Porter tune : C'EST. Jazzy clip.(1:23)
59. Anger : IRE
Argyle
