Tuesday, October 21, 2014 C.C. Burnikel & Steve Marron

Theme: Short Order Sandwich - Sound out the first words of the entries and you have one of America's favorite diner sandwich, the BLT.

17A. Scout's motto : BE PREPARED. B is for Bacon.

36A. Actress who is Dakota's sister : ELLE FANNING. L is for Lettuce.

43A. Japanese ritual including an iron pot : TEA CEREMONY. T is for Tomato.

66A. Holders of the sandwich homophonically described by the first words of 17-, 36- and 43-Across : TOOTHPICKS

Argyle here. Hmm, Steve + food...go figure. Actually, surprisingly little food beside the theme and even more amazing, the lack of baseball references. Good thing they published the names of our constructors, I might not have guessed today's Dynamic Duo.

Across:

1. Puzzles on kid-friendly place mats : MAZES

6. 1965 Beatles concert stadium : SHEA

10. FedEx rival : DHL. Interesting origin. Wiki The letters stand for the combined initials of the last names of the founders, Dewey, Huey, and Louie. (I kid)

13. Sheeplike : OVINE

14. Fuse with a torch : WELD

15. "Amen to that!" : "YEAH!"

19. Nevada city on the Humboldt River : ELKO

20. Ho-hum : SO-SO

21. Showed penitence : ATONED

23. Gave permission : LET

24. Indian bread : NAN

26. Like a watch with hands : ANALOG

28. Giant slugger Mel : OTT

31. Tool-hanging spots : PEGs

34. Explorer Sir Francis : DRAKE

35. Soap unit : BAR

39. "Just teasing" : "I KID"

41. Organ with a canal : EAR

42. "Hooked on Classics" record co. : K-TEL

48. Dam-building org. : TVA. (Tennessee Valley Authority)(since 1933)

49. By oneself : ALONE

50. Bela's "Son of Frankenstein" role : YGOR

51. Thanksgiving veggie : YAM

52. Former Seattle team now in Oklahoma City, familiarly : SONICS

54. Where Mandela was pres. : RSA. (Republic of South Africa)

56. DOJ division : ATF. (Department of Justice/Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives)

57. Not-too-bright sort : DIMWIT

60. Coarse file : RASP

64. Not out : SAFE

68. Was aware of : KNEW

69. __ code : AREA

70. Rocker Joplin : JANIS

71. Dr. of rap : DRE

72. Not as much : LESS

73. Took a nap : SLEPT

Down:

1. Rowdy crowds : MOBS

2. Chevy hatchback : AVEO. Also available as a sedan, it started out as South Korean Daewoo.

3. Closes a jacket, with "up" : ZIPS

4. Scandal-plagued energy giant : ENRON

5. "Get my point?" : "SEE?"

6. Whack : SWAT

7. Wartime honoree : HERO

8. Justice Kagan : ELENA

9. Tacked-on sections : ADDENDA

10. Turn red, maybe : DYE

11. Cartoon character with a red bow and whiskers : HELLO KITTY

12. Body of water on the Swiss/French border : LAKE GENEVA. Site of "Smoke on the Water".

16. Fresh from the oven : HOT

18. Group of judges : PANEL

22. "Phooey!" : "DARN!"

25. Big primate : APE

27. Tall and thin : LANK

28. "In memoriam" essay, briefly : OBIT

29. Make one's position known : TAKE A STAND

30. New-customer incentive : TRIAL OFFER

32. TV show about a high school choir : GLEE

33. Like the sordid side of life : SEAMY

37. Pond croaker : FROG

38. Glittery rock music genre : GLAM

40. Anti-mice brand : D-CON. Have you seen their new ads?

44. Oklahoma city : ENID

45. Pianist's concert, e.g. : RECITAL

46. Tulsa-to-Topeka direction : NORTH

47. Many mos. : YRs.

53. Campfire treat : S'MORE

55. Kin of Helvetica : ARIAL. Fonts.

56. Request : ASK

58. Maladies : WOES

59. "Take __ a compliment!" : IT AS

61. Skin breakout : ACNE

62. Leave out : SKIP

63. Hissed "Yo!" : "PSST!"

65. Meadow mom : EWE

67. Slumber party attire, for short : PJs

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

1) I originally had MAYONNAISE as a reveal entry, but it's too weak a unifier to Rich. Naturally I sought help from our foodie Steve, who quickly came up with BOWL OF SOUP/TOOTHPICKS. Rich liked the latter. Thanks for making it happen, Steve!

2) I just noticed why Rich changed our YEAR/ROT for 15A/16D spots to YEAH/HOT. Do you know why? Thanks, Rich!!