Theme: vowel progression - Monday starts with B-vowel progression-D.
17A. Shuttlecock swatter : BADMINTON RACKET
23A. Footwear with pajamas : BEDROOM SLIPPERS
40A. Competitive struggles at Sotheby's : BIDDING CONTESTS
50A. Collective expertise in a field : BODY OF KNOWLEDGE
62A. Spending plan approximations : BUDGET ESTIMATES
Argyle here. So...we have five grid spanners, a Q short of a pangram, and decent fill but it was still 22-Across for me.
Across:
1. "Hooked on Bach" record co. : KTEL
5. Cool cat's music : JAZZ
9. Sudden muscle contraction : SPASM
14. "Rule, Britannia" composer Thomas : ARNE. Clip(3:32)
15. Suffix with sock or smack : EROO. sockeroo - a notable success / smackeroo - 1. a hard slap or swat, 2. a dollar, 3. a noisy kiss.
16. Scrumptious : TASTY
20. Concert hall : ODEUM
21. Hat tipper's word : MA'AM
22. "I'm underwhelmed" : "MEH"
27. Org. for marksmen : NRA. (National Rifle Association)
28. Last word of "Gone With the Wind" : DAY
29. French lady friend : AMIE
33. Take __: doze : A NAP
36. Pie cover : CRUST
43. Online business : eTAIL
44. Capital of 42-Down : OSLO and 42D. Neighbor of Swed. : NORWay
45. TV warrior princess : XENA
46. Sunshine State rapper __ Rida : FLO
48. Tax-collecting agcy. : IRS. (Internal Revenue Service)
59. Bird: Pref. : AVI
60. Actress Sorvino : MIRA
61. Figure skating leaps : AXELS
66. Otherworldly : ALIEN
67. Face hider : MASK
68. "__ Lisa" : MONA
69. Rips to shreds : RENDS
70. Sommer of Hollywood : ELKE
71. PlayStation maker : SONY
Down:
1. Shish __ : KABOB
2. Baseball transaction : TRADE
3. Wrapped up : ENDED
4. Madagascar tree climber : LEMUR
5. Actress Garner, familiarly : JEN. CIA officer Sydney Bristow in the ABC series Alias, 2001 - 2006.
6. Museum display : ART
7. Goes like heck : ZOOMS
8. Broken into regions : ZONAL
9. 1765 statute imposing a tax on printed documents : STAMP ACT
10. Oregon's ocean: Abbr. : PACific
11. "I welcome your questions" : "ASK ME"
12. Range rover : STEER
13. Urban legends, e.g. : MYTHS
18. "That's my cue!" : "I'M ON!"
19. Fridge foray : RAID
24. Algerian seaport : ORAN
25. Tropical fruit : MANGO
26. Oven-safe glassware : PYREX
29. Civil War prez : ABE. (Abraham Lincoln [1809 - 1865] 16th President 1861 - 1865)
30. Cambridge sch. : MIT. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
31. State east of Wash. : IDAho
32. Spiritually enlighten : EDIFY
34. Apt. coolers : ACs. (air conditioners)
35. Salk vaccine target : POLIO
37. Draw upon : USE
38. Dot on an MTA map : STN. (station)
39. Bag-screening org. : TSA. (Transportation Security Administration)
41. Foreboding phenomena : ILL OMENS
47. "Think nothing __" : OF IT
49. Close with force : SLAM or 57D. "Fatal Attraction" actress Close : GLENN
50. Elephant in picture books : BABAR
51. Elementary seed : OVULE. Wiki.
52. Brought to ruin : DID IN
53. Doughnut brand word : KREME. (Krispy Kreme)
54. Twangy-voiced : NASAL
55. Academic hurdles : EXAMS
56. Artoo's "surname" : DETOO
58. Opinion piece : ESSAY
63. H.S. equivalency test : GED. (General Educational Development)
64. "That's a no-no" : "TSK!"
65. Cold War prez : IKE. (Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower [1890 – 1969] 34th President 1953 - 1961.)
Argyle
