Theme: Huh? I must have dozed off - which might be excused because of all the Z's.(9)
17A. Teen's budding facial hair, informally : PEACH FUZZ
56A. Speculation leading up to a February 22 awards extravaganza : OSCAR BUZZ
11D. Semi-autobiographical 1979 Fosse film : "ALL THAT JAZZ"
25D. Bubbly plum-flavored drink : SLOE GIN FIZZ
Argyle [yawn] here. Garry returns after his debut back in July last year. That was a Sunday but now he tackles the always tough Monday. Two 3-word 11's in the verticals and two 2-word 9's in the horizontals. I do wonder if the timely reference to the Oscars was the seed entry or just Rich's reason to publish it now.
Across:
1. Ray Charles' genre : R AND B. (rhythm and blues)
6. "Thank God" day: Abbr. : FRI.
9. Swedish autos : SAABs
14. Borden mascot : ELSIE
15. Cereal grain : OAT
16. Come from behind : RALLY
19. Place for a perm : SALON
20. One of many in a Lipton bag : TEA LEAF
22. Home buyer's debt: Abbr. : MTGE. (Mortgage)
23. Ceases : DESISTS. Cease and Desist partners; stop what you're doing and don't try it again.
26. Sister of Rachel : LEAH. Rachel and Leah were two sisters who married the same man - Jacob. Their father, Laban, was Jacob's uncle.
28. Distributes by shares : ALLOTS
29. Group nickname for Ringwald, Sheedy, Lowe, Estevez et al. : BRAT PACK
33. "Let's go!" : "C'MON!". "What do I have to do? Goose you?"
34. Name of 18 French kings : LOUIS
35. "Toto, __?": Dorothy : TOO
36. Caviar, e.g. : ROE
37. Country-drive view : SCENERY
39. Jam holder : JAR
40. Nonprofit URL ending : .ORG (organization)
41. Carpentry bit : AUGER. Type of drill.
42. Uncommon : RARE
43. Next-door resident : NEIGHBOR
45. Gabor with an echoic name : ZSA ZSA
47. Florida State player, for short : NOLE. (Seminoles)
48. Native : CITIZEN
49. Living room piece : SOFA
51. "No chance of that happening!" : "DREAM ON!"
54. Relax, in slang : CHILL
60. Open, as a jacket : UNZIP
61. Tex. clock setting : CST
62. Theater offering : MOVIE
63. Takes a nap : DOZES
64. Fancy carp : KOI
65. Former Steeler star Lynn __, who ran for governor of Pennsylvania in 2006 : SWANN. Swann ran as a Republican against the Democratic incumbent Ed Rendell. He lost by almost 850,000 votes.
Down:
1. Sales agent : REP. (Representative)
2. Bass brew : ALE
3. Govt. intel org. : NSA. [no such agency]
4. Style of wording : DICTION
5. Command : BEHEST. It would behoove you to remember this word.
6. Hoops ref's calls : FOULS Hoops=basketball
7. Demolish, as a building : RAZE
8. Chichén __ : ITZÁ
9. Yearbook sect. : SRs
10. Road travel org. freebie : AAA MAP
12. Opinion website : BLOG
13. "Auld Lang __" : SYNE
18. Pool legend Minnesota __ : FATS
21. Natural aptitude : FLAIR
23. Wrinkle-resistant synthetic : DACRON
24. Author Leonard : ELMORE. Elmore John Leonard, Jr.
Raylan - Get Shorty - Three-Ten to Yuma - Mr. Majestyk
27. Online market for handmade crafts : ETSY. Link
29. Dumb mistake : BONER
30. Penitent sort : RUER
31. Like a woodworker's rasp : COARSE
32. Seoul native : KOREAN
34. Toy block brand : LEGO
37. Humorist Mort who wrote jokes for Kennedy : SAHL
38. To the third power : CUBED
42. Colorful post-cloudburst phenomenon : RAINBOW
44. Hockey mask wearer : GOALIE
45. Alcopop brand : ZIMA
46. Hurricanes, e.g. : STORMS
48. Spiny desert plants : CACTI
49. Gulf War missile : SCUD
50. "Don't tell me!" : "OH NO!"
52. Relax on a porch chair, perhaps : ROCK
53. Standard Oil brand : ESSO
55. Hi-fi platters : LPs
57. Charlottesville sch. : UVA. (University of Virginia)
58. Red or blush wine, familiarly : ZIN
59. Buddhist sect : ZEN
How many CSO's did you count?
Argyle
