20A. Exhortation to the engine room : FULL SPEED AHEAD
25A. Had some wallop : PACKED A PUNCH
49A. Self-important sort : STUFFED SHIRT
58A. Interviewer's booby trap : LOADED QUESTION
Argyle here. Our constructor has many LAT puzzles though none lately. The rather dated TV reference may mean this puzzle has been in the queue for some time. It shares several entries with some we've seen recently. A smooth start to the week.
Across:
1. Cpls.' superiors : SGTs
5. EMT's skill : CPR
8. "Cultured" gem : PEARL. (not, strictly speaking, a gemstone)
13. Spy novelist Ambler : ERIC. I haven't read him but he looks like a spy.
14. Bread buy : LOAF
16. Exhorts : URGES
17. __ IRA : ROTH
18. SeaWorld attraction : ORCA. The killer whale.
19. Fathered : SIRED
23. Prepare, as tea : STEEP
24. Down Under runner : EMU. The fugitives refuse to pull over.
33. Dreamer's acronym : REM. (rapid eye movement)
36. House division : ROOM
37. Loud cry : SHOUT
38. Inventor's starting point : IDEA
40. Princess's headgear : TIARA
43. Worry : FRET
44. Ford of the '70s : PINTO
46. Festive affair : GALA
48. Cause of Cleopatra's undoing : ASP
53. Brother in a monastery : FRA
54. Phi Beta __ : KAPPA
64. Kind of jacket named for an Indian leader : NEHRU. And made popular by these boys.
65. Ambiance : AURA
66. Way to get out : EXIT
67. Send payment : REMIT
68. Give some lip to : SASS
69. Shine partner : RISE. Rise and shine.
70. Test for purity, as gold : ASSAY
71. Doris who sang "Que Sera, Sera" : DAY
72. Burpee product : SEED
Down:
1. Feudal workers : SERFS
2. Tile installer's need : GROUT
3. Information on a book's spine : TITLE
4. Carry with effort : SCHLEP
5. Hoofbeat : CLOP
6. Minute skin opening : PORE
7. Event at a track : RACE
8. Exercises done in a prone position : PUSH-UPS. Somebody else can post a picture of the other push-ups.
9. Southernmost Great Lake : ERIE
10. Indian tourist city : AGRA. Home to the Taj Mahal.
11. Clarinetist's need : REED. Licorice stick need. (Remember licorice stick in a pit?)
12. Drug "dropped" in the '60s : LSD
15. Lost luster : FADED
21. Train in a ring : SPAR
22. Dr.'s group : AMA
26. Simple bed : COT
27. Colorful Japanese carp : KOI. Koi ponds were the rage for a while.
28. Some Kindle reading, briefly : eMAGs
29. TV dial letters : UHF. Back in the day. Very high frequency (VHF) and ultra-high frequency (UHF)
30. Romance writer Roberts : NORA. Guilty pleasure? BOOKS
31. Sticks by the pool table : CUEs
32. Web address letters : HTTP. (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
33. Tears : RIPS
34. Work on a column, say : EDIT
35. Restaurant host's handout : MENU
39. Justice Dept. enforcers : ATF. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)
41. Part of a cheerleader's chant : "RAH!"
42. Baba of folklore : ALI
45. Taxi's "I'm not working now" sign : [OFF DUTY]
47. Ships like Noah's : ARKS
50. Prior to, in poems : ERE
51. Mamas' mates : DADAs. (baby talk)
52. Spuds : TATERS
55. Impish fairy : PIXIE
56. Model's asset : POISE
57. Tossed a chip in the pot : ANTED
58. Popular jeans : LEE'S
59. Units of resistance : OHMs
60. Soprano's chance to shine : ARIA
61. Campus area : QUAD. The open quadrangle green often formed by the dormitories.
62. __ Minor: constellation : URSA. The Lesser Bear or the Little Dipper.
63. "No problem" : "EASY"
64. Second Amendment backer: Abbr. : NRA. (National Rifle Association)
Argyle
