Theme: Bill of Rights - "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
20. 2010 Best Picture about a stammering royal : "THE KING'S SPEECH"
35. United Nations budget overseer : GENERAL ASSEMBLY
41. Gospel classic : OLD TIME RELIGION
52. Where the freedoms that end 20-, 35- and 41-Across are found : FIRST AMENDMENT
Argyle here. Some slight nits can be forgiven to provide us with two spanners and two near spanners. I didn't have the theme before the unifier but I didn't need it anyway. In fact, I didn't see several answers until I did the write-up.
Across:
1. Abbr. in an abbreviated list : ET AL.
5. In the dumps : GLUM. I discovered I still had the red letter help on when I entered BLUE.
9. Tore down, as a building : RAZED
14. Lucy Lawless role : XENA. TV series.
15. Not often seen : RARE
16. Verdi aria that means "It was you" : "ERI TU". Robert Merrill- live 1955 "Eri tu" (Verdi, "Ballo")(6:21)
17. Stevie Wonder's "__ She Lovely" : ISN'T. Stevie Wonder - Isn't She Lovely (Live in Japan, 1990)(3:23)
18. Oklahoma city : ENID
19. "Network" actor Peter or a songbird : FINCH
23. Lawyers' org. : ABA. The American Bar Association.
24. 1040-issuing org. : IRS
25. Followers of els : EMs. Alphabetically.
28. Newspaper revenue source : AD SPACE
32. Massage reaction : "AAH"
38. Like the Reaper : GRIM. Note that Reaper is capitalize, indicating a particular REAPER.
39. Georgia summer hrs. : EDT
40. Up to the task : ABLE
46. Born, in bridal bios : NEE
47. Party food provider : CATERER
48. Seventh Greek letter : ETA
49. Stylist's stuff : GEL
50. Two-time loser to DDE : AES. 1952 & 1958. Correction:1956 (Thank you, Abejo. Whoever heard of six years between presidential elections?)
60. Old Testament prophet : MICAH
61. "By __!" : JOVE. Interesting pairing.
62. Water color : AQUA
63. __ Lodge: budget chain : ECONO
64. "Planet of the __" : APES
65. Gather selectively : CULL
66. Brand at www.rootbeer.com : A AND W
67. Apartment payment : RENT
68. Pass idly, as time : KILL
Down:
1. Way off the road : EXIT
2. Pianist John : TESH
3. Henry VIII's second or fourth wife : ANNE. Anne Boleyn, m. 1533 - 1536, Executed - Anne of Cleves, m. 1540 Jan. - July, Divorced.
4. Andy Kaufman's "Taxi" character : LATKA. He was a "love him or hate him" individual. Clip.(1:52)
5. Caribbean island nation : GRENADA. Map.
6. "Auld __ Syne" : LANG. Next week.
7. "Battle Cry" author Leon : URIS. His two bestselling books were Exodus, published in 1958, and Trinity, in 1976. "Battle Cry" was his first novel.
8. Pills from docs : MEDS
9. Basketball official : REFEREE. Not sure if I've seen the whole word before. Usually we only get REF.
10. Astrological Ram : ARIES
11. Brass component : ZINC
12. Engrave with acid : ETCH
13. Response to the obvious : "DUH". D'OH! would be Homer's oblivious response.
21. Construction beam : I-BAR
22. Photos : PICS
25. Encourage : EGG ON
26. Country superstar Haggard : MERLE
27. Disparaging, as remarks : SNIDE
29. Wintry mix component : SLEET
30. Military chaplain : PADRE
31. Starlike flower : ASTER
32. Hoffman of the Chicago 7 : ABBIE. Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines, and Lee Weiner. (1968 Democratic National Convention)
33. Distribute in shares : ALLOT
34. Carrion eater : HYENA
36. Ambulance worker, briefly : EMT. Emergency Medical Technician.
37. Cosmo, for one : MAG. Both are shortened words, Cosmopolitan and magazine, but not considered abbreviations.
42. Revue with skaters : ICE SHOW
43. Brewery supply : MALT
44. Least fatty, as corned beef : LEANEST
45. Inflamed : IRED. Did you get caught thinking of a medical condition?
49. Word with jury or piano : GRAND
51. Lips sound : SMACK
52. PR tax with a Medicare component : FICA. PR stands for Payroll. This definition appears very rarely. Per www.acronymfinder.com.
53. Screen symbol : ICON
54. Not quite shut : AJAR
55. Sulk : MOPE
56. Break __: neither win nor lose : EVEN
57. Prefix with distant : EQUI
58. Partner of void : NULL
59. Like difficult orders : TALL
60. "Cry __ River" : ME A. Michael Bublé.(4:28)
Argyle
