Theme: Someone's on our Trail - A TRACK has been tacked on the back of our theme entries.
17A. Long-running musical variety TV show : "SOUL TRAIN". Train track.
25A. Pre-playoffs baseball drama : PENNANT RACE. Race track.
38A. Final triumph after apparent failure : LAST LAUGH. Laugh track.
56A. Offensive in the First Gulf War : DESERT STORM. Storm track.
66A. Retrace one's steps, and what ends of 17-, 25-, 38- and 56-Across can literally have : BACKTRACK
Argyle here and sort of somewhere else. C.C. and I have a puzzle in the NYT today. I'd say this is the tougher of the two. Look at those seven packs in the corners.
Across:
1. Actor Damon : MATT. "Good Will Hunting" was his break-out role.
5. Like unfizzy soda : FLAT
9. Relatively cool heavenly body : S STAR
14. Suffix with buck : AROO
15. Grocery section : DELI
16. "All done!" : "THERE!". "Fini!" (Oops, not yet)
19. Hunter's hides : PELTS. More like trapper's pelts.
20. Spiral-shaped __ fries : CURLY. Food.
21. Fair-hiring abbr. : EEO. (Equal Employment Opportunity)
23. Wiesel who said, "Indifference, to me, is the epitome of evil" : ELIE. He is currently an advisor at the Gatestone Institute, a think tank based in New York City.
24. "Just __ suspected!" : AS I
29. Work on, as a vintage auto : RESTORE
31. Sudoku grid line : ROW
32. Honorary legal deg. : LL.D. Legum Doctor, a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary doctorate.
33. '30s-'40s film dog : ASTA
34. Logger's tool : AXE
36. Man and Capri : ISLES
42. Fancy mushroom : MOREL
45. Metric distances: Abbr. : KMs. (kilometre)
46. Roadies' loads : AMPS
50. Prefix with sex : UNI
51. Yale student : ELI
54. Kevin Kline's "French Kiss" co-star : MEG RYAN
59. __-Caps: candy : SNO
60. Bug-killing brand : d-CON
61. Deer daughter : DOE
62. How some stock is sold : AT PAR
64. Sent to the unemployment line : LET GO
69. Key in : ENTER
70. Mine, to Mimi : À MOI
71. Java Freeze brand : ICEE
72. Swiped : STOLE
73. Tree anchor : ROOT
74. Breakfast, e.g. : MEAL
Down:
1. Eyelash application : MASCARA
2. Stirs to action : AROUSES
3. One of a vacationing busload : TOURIST
4. Turnpike fee : TOLL (mildly offensive language)
or this LINK if you have just a big blank above.
5. Pres. on a dime : FDR
6. "Glee" actress __ Michele : LEA. (not out in a pasture)
7. Sci-fi invader : ALIEN
8. Karaoke singer's ineptitude, to the chagrin of the audience : TIN EAR
9. Gas additive letters : STP
10. See-through : SHEER
11. Revealing, as a celeb interview : TELL ALL
12. "An" or "the" : ARTICLE
13. Tends to a lawn's bare spot : RESEEDS. one for pk.
18. AutoCorrect target : TYPO
22. John's Yoko : ONO
26. Distinctive periods : ERAs
27. Bagel shop call : "NEXT!"
28. Itty-bitty branch : TWIG
30. Fish story : TALE
35. Moose relative : ELK
37. __-Pei: wrinkly dog : SHAR
39. Angel or Athletic, briefly : ALer. NLer, ALer, these things are here to stay.
40. Rifle range need : AMMO
41. Laptop operator : USER
42. Confuses : MUDDLES
43. Price of bubble gum, once : ONE CENT
44. Trattoria rice dish : RISOTTO. Food.
47. Leader in social networking until 2008 : MY SPACE. Does it still exist?
48. Cure-all : PANACEA
49. Enjoy coral reefs : SNORKEL
52. Inc., in the U.K. : LTD.
53. Meteorologist's pressure line : ISOBAR
55. Future MBA's exam : GMAT. (Trademark. Graduate Management Admissions Test.)
57. Actress Georgia of "Everybody Loves Raymond" : ENGEL. Best known for her role as Georgette on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. On "Everybody Loves Raymond", she is a recurring character: Raymond's brother's wife's mother.
58. Julio's "I love you" : "TE AMO". Spanish
63. Quick haircut : TRIM
65. Profitable rock : ORE
67. Suitor's murmur : COO
68. Model-ship-to-be : KIT
Argyle
Notes from C.C.:
1) Major surgery on the lower left corner from Rich. Below is my originally submitted grid. As you can see, Rich improved it considerably (he always does). Delicious RISOTTO. I had ROSE TEA there with the tired ANO, ENERO & EYERS. The ELF in 35D was also changed to ELK. Thanks, Rich!
2) As Argyle mentioned earlier, he and I made today's NY Times crossword. You can also read more here at the Xword Info. Argyle succeeded on his very first try with Mr. Shortz. He was also successful on his first try with Rich. Congratulations, Argyle, you rock!
