Theme: Snakes on a Grid - Six snakes and the unifier. Relax; I am not showing any pictures except through a link.
17. Hosiery support item : GARTER BELT. Garter snake. The Massachusetts state reptile. Link
23. Barbecue veggie eaten with one's hands : CORN ON THE COB. Corn snake. Link
31. Snorkeling site : CORAL REEF. Coral snake. It possess one of the most potent venoms of any North American snake. Link
40. Ice cream drink : MILK SHAKE. Milk snake. An early myth about milk snakes is that they suck cow udders to get the milk. Link
47. 1988 U2 album and movie : RATTLE AND HUM. Rattlesnake. Often a plot device in Westerns. Link
60. Wimbledon feature : GRASS COURT. Grass snake. It is a Eurasian non-venomous snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Link
67. Kind of reptile found at the starts of 17-, 23-, 31-, 40-, 47- and 60-Across : SNAKE
Argyle hisss. I've done Kevin's puzzles before but he seems to have been on a hiatus. A smooth return even if some folk might be a little squeamish about the subject. Missing: {X,Z} Let us snake our way to the bottom.
Across:
1. Find the answer to : SOLVE
6. Chicago mayor Emanuel : RAHM. We had Rahm Emanmuel last month.
10. "The Wizard __": comic strip : OF ID. Last month as well.
14. Bird-related : AVIAN
15. Blue Bonnet spread : OLEO
16. Musical symbol : NOTE
19. Astronaut Shepard : ALAN
20. Jai __ : ALAI
21. Suffix with billion : AIRE
22. Subway entrance : STILE. From turnstile.
26. Southwestern desert : MOJAVE
29. Actor Stephen : REA. Born in Belfast.
30. Washer maker : AMANA
37. "Wheel of Fortune" purchase : AN I
38. Hose nozzle option : SPRAY
39. HDTV brand : RCA
43. Play the coquette : FLIRT
45. Debtor's letters : IOU
46. Award hung on a wall : PLAQUE
53. Be a ham : EMOTE
54. Oboe insert : REED
55. Fancy cracker spread : PÂTÉ
59. 1990s vice president : GORE
62. Curling appliance : IRON
63. Mexican-American War president : POLK. James Knox Polk was the 11th President.
64. Damaging bug : BORER. The emerald ash borer is threatening our nation's ash trees.
65. Cong. meeting : SESSion
66. Dazzles : AWES
Down:
1. It's a long story : SAGA
2. Avocado shape : OVAL
3. Coin once tossed into Italian fountains : LIRA
4. Pope's place, with "The" : VATICAN
5. WSW's opposite : ENE
6. Red-breasted bird : ROBIN
7. Olds model : ALERO
8. Trojan beauty whose face launched a thousand ships : HELEN. Remember the "millihelen".
9. Witty remark : MOT. From French.
10. Painting the town red : ON A TEAR
11. __ acid: prenatal vitamin ingredient : FOLIC
12. "Boot" country prefix : ITALO. Italy is said to be shaped like a boot.
13. Star in the constellation Cygnus : DENEB. "Tail" of the Swan.
18. Red inside : RARE
22. "The Giving Tree" author Silverstein : SHEL
24. Egg cells : OVA
25. Highchair feature : TRAY
26. Sir counterpart : MA'AM
27. Bygone science magazine : OMNI
28. The slammer : JAIL
31. Tax season VIP : CPA
32. Mork's planet : ORK. From the TV show.
33. Arctic explorer John : RAE
34. "ER" actor La Salle : ERIQ. From the TV show.
35. Stationery hue : ECRU
36. Karma : FATE
38. Cage's "Leaving Las Vegas" co-star : SHUE. Elisabeth Judson Shue
41. Little tabbies : KITTENS
42. One and only : SOLE
43. Winter malady : FLU
44. Satirize without mercy : LAMPOON. So what is satirize with mercy?
46. Degrees for many profs. : PHDs
47. Longtime morning co-host, familiarly : REGIS
48. What it is "when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie" : AMORE. Song(3:05)
49. Barcelona bulls : TOROs
50. Archery missile : ARROW
51. Harlem Renaissance writer Zora __ Hurston : NEALE. Biography
52. Classroom fixtures : DESKS
56. Subtle glow : AURA
57. Arduous journey : TREK
58. French I word : ÊTRE. (to be)
60. Student's stat. : GPA. (Grade Point Average)
61. "CSI" network : CBS
Argyle
