Theme: Graze on This - Where your herd may be.
20A. Collegian's specialty : ACADEMIC FIELD
39A. Retire : PUT OUT TO PASTURE
57A. Kitchen appliance : ELECTRIC RANGE
Rabbit, Rabbit. Argyle here, no fooling. No fooling with the puzzle either. Straightforward with three long theme entries and a preponderance of 4 and 5 letter words. A pleasant start to the month.
Across:
1. Bart's mom : MARGE. Simpson.
6. Pooch in whodunits : ASTA
10. Super-fast fliers, briefly : SSTs
14. Multiple choice options : A, B, OR C
15. Tater : SPUD
16. Poi base : TARO
17. City on Spain's southwestern coast : CADIZ
18. School semester : TERM
19. Some Neruda poems : ODES
23. Take home the trophy : WIN
24. '70s-'80s TV role for Robin Williams : MORK
25. Bawl out : RAIL AT
28. Make illegal : BAN
29. "Love __ Madly": Doors hit : HER
30. Actor Wallach : ELI
31. "I __ sorry" : AM SO
34. TV athletic award : ESPY. Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly(ESPY) Award is presented by the American cable network ESPN.
37. Surgical beam : LASER
42. Practical joke : PRANK. And 41D. Practical joke : ANTIC. Some concession to the day.
43. Prince William's alma mater : ETON
44. Chooses, with "for" : OPTs
45. Escape : LAM
46. Sound system part : AMP
48. Lid for a lad : TAM
50. Rio Grande city : EL PASO
52. City north of Pittsburgh : ERIE
54. Tank or tee : TOP
60. Turn over : CEDE
62. Reagan secretary of state : HAIG. (General Alexander Haig)
63. Megastars : IDOLS. Could this be the last season for "American Idol"?
64. In excess of : OVER
65. Footwear insert : ARCH
66. Former midsize Pontiac named for a native Mexican : AZTEK. Considered 'ugly' in most reviews.
67. Cancún cash : PESO. "Cancún cash", fun to say.
68. Tiff : SPAT
69. Skeptical : LEERY
Down:
1. Colorful parrot : MACAW
2. Counters with beads : ABACI
3. Flying '50s film monster : RODAN. Both Godzilla and Rodan would fight other Monsters, although initially they had their own spats.
4. Graph paper design : GRID
5. Itchy skin inflammation : ECZEMA
6. Up and about : ASTIR
7. Bit of dust : SPECK
8. Gang land : TURF
9. Look up to : ADMIRE
10. Casual vodka order : STOLI. (Stolichnaya)
11. Prepares for the cattle drive : SADDLES UP
12. Three, in Turin : TRE
13. Distress letters : SOS
21. "Water Lilies" painter Claude : MONET. "Water Lilies" is a series of approximately 250 oil paintings.
22. Ranks below marquises : EARLS
26. Fully attentive : ALERT
27. Loses energy : TIRES
28. Timely benefit : BOON
29. Source of a shot : HYPO. (hypodermic needle)
31. Orchard tree : APPLE
32. Work on a wall : MURAL
33. Cattle drive concerns : STAMPEDEs
35. Ladder lead-in : STEP
36. Greenhouse container : POT
38. Physics particle : ATOM
40. Decree in imperial Russia : UKASE. Used once in LAT back in '08, much more often in NYT.
47. Coffeehouse orders : MOCHAs
49. Old reception aid : AERIAL. (antenna) Still in use.
51. Last Olds made : ALERO
52. Writer Jong : ERICA
53. "Correctomundo!" : "RIGHT!"
54. Govt. security : T-NOTE. (Treasury note)
55. One with an unsettling look : OGLER
56. Irritating : PESKY
58. One may be on a woodpile : TARP
59. Wood-shaping tool : ADZE
60. Badge bearer : COP
61. One who succumbed to a serpent : EVE
Argyle
