Theme: Swing! - The unifier may be hit by first word in the themed entries.
18A. *Hangman drawing : STICK FIGURE
24A. *Layered lunch : CLUB SANDWICH
40A. *Actor's prompt : CUE CARD
51A. *Colleague of Wyatt Earp : BAT MASTERSON
61A. *Feature of Fulton's Clermont : PADDLE WHEEL
57D. Object that may be struck by the starts of the answers to starred clues : BALL
Argyle here. Very similar to yesterday's. We had a visit from Gareth this past Friday and here he is again, proving he's good on any day of the week. And before anybody says anything about not swinging a cue, think about all those bar room brawls you've seen on TV and in the movies.
Across:
1. Doctrine suffix : ISM
4. Predatory cat : LION
8. Swiss bread? : FRANC
13. ABBA's home country: Abbr. : SWE. (Sweden)
14. Sewing cases : ETUIs
16. Defamatory text : LIBEL
17. Live __: 1985 charity concert : AID. Abba didn't perform at "Live Aid" so can't link them. Some of you are probably glad of that. (You know who you are.)
20. Pisces follower : ARIES
22. Centuries on end : AEON
23. Excessively : TOO
28. Cabbage : MOOLA
29. Resident of a city at nearly 12,000 feet : LHASAN. Geography lesson. Map.
33. Chance in a game : TURN
35. "__-dokey!" : OKEY
38. Overplay a part : EMOTE
39. Words with price or premium : AT A
42. Endearing tattoo word : MOM
43. Slowly, in scores : LARGO. What is the difference between LENTO and LARGO? (breit und langsam, in German notation) LENTO and LARGO have the same BPM but LENTO means slowly and LARGO means broadly, an indication to play with a very slow, wide tempo; to play slowly with broad, stretched out beats; “slow and dignified”.
I have little idea about what I just wrote; can I get a little help here?
45. "Dumb" girl of old comics : DORA. Drawn by Chic Young, Dora "wasn't as dumb as she looked", à la Gracie Allen. He went on to create "Blondie".
46. Message from the boss : MEMO
47. Inferior and inexpensive : CHEAPO
49. Deduce : INFER
56. Karate belt : OBI. Much narrower than the traditional sash.
59. Inside info : POOP
60. Rental agreement : LEASE
65. Strings in Hawaii : UKE
66. École enrollee : ÉLÈVE. French.
67. Baker's device : SIEVE
68. Address at a Scottish pub : LAD. Aye, but what's a laddie doing in a pub?
69. First American Red Cross president Barton : CLARA
70. Venison source : DEER
71. Effort : TRY
Down:
1. "I, Robot" author Asimov : ISAAC
2. Artistic ice cream blend : SWIRL. Variegated, in ice cream jargon.
3. Filet mignon order : MEDIUM RARE
4. Not as much : LESS SO
5. Derby-sporting Addams : ITT. Cousin but on whose side?
6. "Yes, mon ami" : "OUI"
7. Rechargeable battery : NICAD
8. Shrank in fear : FLINCHED. Remember we had QUAILED awhile back; much the same meaning.
9. Oil-drilling equipment : RIG
10. Be up against : ABUT
11. "Quo Vadis" emperor : NERO. "Quo Vadis" A novel that tells of a love that develops between a young Christian woman, Ligia (or Lygia), and Marcus Vinicius, a Roman patrician. It takes place in the city of Rome under the rule of emperor Nero around AD 64. per Wiki.
12. Mark's love, casually : CLEO. Antony and Cleopatra.
15. Distort, as facts : SKEW
19. Microwave no-no : FOIL
21. Black, to Blake : EBON. William Blake (1757–1827), British poet, painter, and printmaker.
25. Six-time baseball All-Star Moises : ALOU
26. Like a newborn : NAKED
27. Holiday entrée : HAM
30. Trampoline maneuver : SOMERSAULT
31. Physics particle : ATOM
32. Jules Verne captain : NEMO
33. Powder on a puff : TALC
34. Sundance Film Festival state : UTAH
36. Green prefix : ECO
37. Toyota subcompact : YARIS. Debut in 1991. The name,"Yaris", is loosely derived from the name of the Greek goddess of grace, Charis.
40. Compromise with the district attorney : COP A PLEA
41. Tirade : RANT
44. Chew the fat : GAB
46. For a __ pittance : MERE
48. Plains native : OTOE
50. Gal's guy : FELLER. Was Paul Bunyan a feller?
52. Trims the lawn : MOWS
53. Green-bellied sap sucker : APHID
54. Schindler of "Schindler's List" : OSKAR
55. Clingy, in a way : NEEDY
56. Oil acronym : OPEC
58. Thought : IDEA
62. TiVo, for one : DVR
63. Wide shoe letters : EEE
64. Morn's opposite : EVE
Argyle
