17-Across. Fate of one with a cause, perhaps : MARTYRDOM.
9-Down. Monster product : ENERGY DRINK.
11-Down. 33-year "60 Minutes" regular : ANDY ROONEY.
25-Down. Pie preparation : PASTRY DOUGH.
30-Down. James Brown nickname : MR DYNAMITE.
And the unifier gives us the raison d'être for the theme entries:
64-Across. Not leave hanging? (or a hint to the circled letters) : TUMBLE DRY. Great double meaning in the clue. So we mix it up a little, with five anagrams of the word "dry" tumbling all around the grid. How fun is that?
Across:
1. It's usually a left : JAB. In boxing, it's usually a right hook or a left jab.
4. Mideast leadership family name : ASSAD. "Al Assad" means "The Lion" in Arabic.
9. Send to cloud nine : ELATE.
14. Multi-platinum Steely Dan album : AJA. Nice photo montage for the 1977 album. 7:55.
15. Later, to Luis : LUEGO. "Hasta luego!" is the phrase that helped me think of this answer. ("See you later!") UPDATE FROM LUCINA: (And I trust her completely in these matters.) The literal translation is "Until then."
16. Aviator's number : NINER. "Synonym for nine, five letters, starts with "n"..." 0:30
19. Respected figure : ELDER.
20. Cook up : BREW.
21. External layer : VENEER.
23. Distance units: Abbr : YDS. Yards.
24. Mimic's shtick : APERY.
26. Classic doctor's aide : IGOR.
28. Hot-tempered chef Gordon : RAMSAY. Ugh, spelled it RAMSeY at first.
31. Slangy transition word : ANYHOO.
33. Claustrophobe's cry : AIR. "Gimme AIR!!!"
34. Golden St. region : SO. CAL. Southern California.
37. Exmoor heroine : DOONE. From the book "Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor," by Robert Doddridge Blackmore. I like the cookies better than the book.
39. Detachable craft : POD. Hal?
40. "Jerry Maguire" distributor : TRISTAR. Pictures.
42. Video game initials : NES. Nintendo Entertainment System.
43. More wily : SLYER.
45. Actress Watts : NAOMI. I vaguely remember her from "Mulholland Drive."
46. Take a course or two? : EAT. Nice misdirection!
47. Together : IN SYNC. Not to be confused with the boy band "'N Sync."
49. Biological food processor : ENZYME.
51. Fashion's Gucci : ALDO. I have a pair of these.
52. Drink it "and sleep!" beverage : SANKA. "Unleaded" coffee.
54. Jim's wife on "The Office" : PAM.
56. 1998 Masters champion : O'MEARA. Amazing birdie on the 18th hole to win it. Only four golfers have won that way. 0:51
58. "Adeste Fideles," e.g. : NOEL.
62. Yale founder Yale : ELIHU.
66. Mark with a new price : RETAG.
67. "Someone Like You" singer : ADELE. Oh, boy. I get to link one of my favorite singers. 5:10
68. Racket : DIN.
69. Impression makers : TEETH.
70. Better song, usually : SIDE A.
71. Application datum : SEX.
Down:
1. Window segment : JAMB. Hmmm..."segment" steered my mind towards "pane."
2. Open slightly : AJAR.
3. Empty : BARE. Like Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard. (Believe, me, I was looking for something to link, but "naked yoga" might not pass the breakfast test...)
4. Prince ___ Khan : ALY. Third husband of the actress Rita Hayworth.
5. Construction job worker : SURVEYOR.
6. Ritual including bitter herbs : SEDER.
7. Anguish : AGONY.
8. Cathedral cap : DOME. Was thinking of a bishop's "mitre" hat at first.
10. Short, shortened : L'IL.
12. Slightly elevated : TEED. Up, not off. (Think golf.)
13. Hits Reply All instead of Reply, say : ERRS. Oops!!
18. Quaint contraction : 'TWAS...the night before Christmas...
22. Freudian article : EIN. German "one" or "a."
27. "So that's your game!" : OHO.
28. Sings like Snoop Lion : RAPS.
29. Pungent mayo : AIOLI. Didn't we just have this one?
31. Chorus voice : ALTO.
32. Wee hr. : ONE AM.
35. Obama's mil. title : C IN C. Commander in Chief.
36. Sharp-tack center : AS A.
38. 90 degrees from norte : ESTE. Spanish for north in the clue and east in the answer.
41. Willing to please : AMENABLE.
44. Night class subj. : ESL. English as a second language.
48. Manet or Monet, e.g. : NOM. French artists, hinting at the French word for "name."
50. "Titanic" actor Billy : ZANE. He played Kate Winslet's fiancé, Caledon Hockley.
52. Mecca native : SAUDI.
53. Hardly defenseless : ARMED.
54. Brash : PERT. Not my first thought for "brash."
55. Tar's direction : ALEE.
57. SFO postings : ETAs. Estimated Time of Arrival (s).
59. Racing form info : ODDS.
60. Scary-sounding lake : ERIE. Eerie!
61. Northern forest cat : LYNX.
63. Derby, for one : HAT.
65. Grassy expanse : LEA. As we hike off into the sunset...
See you next week!
Marti
