Theme: Jackson Five hit song(1970) Clip (3:31) - ABC spans each theme answer.
17A. It arranges pickups : CAB COMPANY
25A. Emir : ARAB CHIEF
36A. Simple ... or a hint to the hidden puzzle theme in 17-, 25-, 50- and 59-Across : AS EASY AS ABC
50A. Maryland seafood fare : CRAB CAKES
59A. Sit-up relatives : AB CRUNCHES
Argyle One here. David provided us with a test of general knowledge today with entries gleaned from all over the place and all ages.
Across:
1. Dark, to a poet : EBON
5. Tony who played a sitcom 17-Across employee : DANZA. He was in "Taxi".
10. Sitters' charges : TOTS
14. Lee with frozen desserts : SARA
15. Barkley who served under 41-Across : ALBEN. Served as Vice-President to 41A. FDR's successor : HST. Harry Truman. We've had him before but you can be forgiven if you don't remember him.
16. "... thunder, lightning, __ rain?": "Macbeth" : OR IN. Act 1, Scene 1 "When shall we three meet again? In ..." "When the hurly-burly’s done, When the battle’s lost and won."
19. Modest dress : MIDI
20. Like a crowd in awe : HUSHED
21. End-of-week exclamation : "TGIF!"
22. Vagrants : HOBOs
28. Mocedades hit whose title means "you are" : "ERES TU"
30. Golf units : ROUNDS
31. Slippery swimmer : EEL
32. How Dennis Eckersley pitched : SIDEARM. No, he didn't pitch wearing a side arm.
40. Desexes : NEUTERS
44. Outbursts that provoke blessings : ACHOOs
47. Harley alternative : YAMAHA
54. The Lusitania, e.g. : LINER. On May 7, 1915, the Lusitania, the British passenger ship, was sunk by a German U-boat off the Irish coast.
55. Sidewalk border : CURB
56. Guitarist, slangily : AXEMAN
58. Carlisle's wife in "Twilight" : ESME. Portrayed by Elizabeth Reaser. The loving couple.
63. It may be barred or bolted : DOOR. It may be barred by Katy.
64. Songs for two : DUETS
65. English aristocrat : EARL
66. __, meeny ... : EENY
67. Muslim god : ALLAH
68. June 6, 1944 : D-DAY
Down:
1. Key to the left of F1 : ESC
2. Sheepish reply? : "BAA". Shout out to WH? Or would that be a "bleat out"?
3. Heavenly body : ORB
4. Cheese-topped snacks : NACHOS
5. Electricity generators : DAMS. Oh please, the dams don't do anything except hold back water. It's like saying dams sawed wood or ground grain.
6. ___-Bits: cereal : ALPHA. Cereal for cruciverbalists.
7. Pro hoopster : NBAer
8. "The Prisoner of __" : ZENDA. An adventure novel by Anthony Hope, published in 1894.
9. Vague quantity : ANY
10. Tiny fairy tale hero : TOM THUMB. OK, give us another Tom Thumb but not one that's already been given. I'll start.
11. Starting point : ORIGIN
12. Cleaned (up) : TIDIED
13. Searches like a detection dog : SNIFFS
18. Give the boot : OUST
22. Donkey syllable : HEE - haw.
23. Cinnabar or magnetite : ORE
24. Lugosi of "Dracula" : BELA
26. Having a lot of nerve : BRASSY
27. Chef Cat __ : CORA. She is featured as an "Iron Chef" on the Food Network.
29. Patriotic Olympics chant : "USA!, USA!"
33. Believer's suffix : IST
34. Gray hair disguiser : DYE
35. Place for a ring : EAR
37. Elitism : SNOBBERY
38. Fed. anti-discrimination org. : EEOC. (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)
39. Biggers's detective : CHAN. Earl Derr Biggers (1884 – 1933)
42. 54-Across pronoun : SHE
43. Pit goo : TAR. Most famous are the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits in the heart of Los Angeles.
44. Acquiesce : ACCEDE
45. Defoe title surname : CRUSOE. (Robinson)
46. Longtime Tiger Woods coach Butch __ : HARMON. Master's tie-in?
48. Astronaut Shepard : ALAN
49. Chopped, as garlic : MINCED
51. Afghan capital : KABUL. Today's geography lesson. Map.
52. Stand out in a field : EXCEL
53. Mattress giant : SERTA
57. Sled dog command : MUSH
59. Drillers' org. : ADA. (American Dental Association)
60. "I've been __!" : HAD
61. Important time : ERA
62. Surreptitious : SLY
Argyle
