Theme: FOUR OF A KIND
17. *Pay for your online purchases, say : CHECK OUT
31. *Skip work because of illness : CALL IN SICK
37. *Cause a ruckus : RAISE CAIN
47. *Go out of business : FOLD UP SHOP
62. "Care to wager?" ... and a question answered, one way or the other, by
the first words of the answers to starred clues : WANNA BET?
Melissa here. Raced right through this one, and though the theme was obvious I had everything filled in before I noticed it. I love that RAISE CAIN is right in the middle.
Across
1. Prefix with deed, feed and read : MIS
4. Fave texting buds : BFFS. Best Friends Forever. Technically I suppose this should be BFsF, like Mothers-In-Law, instead of Mother-In-Laws.
8. One looking for something : SEEKER
14. Gorilla, for one : APE
15. To whom Rick said, "We'll always have Paris" : ILSA. Casablanca.
16. Mode of dress : ATTIRE
19. Admirers, as a group : FANDOM
20. Actress O'Donnell : ROSIE
21. Caspian, e.g. : SEA
23. Nick and Nora's dog : ASTA
24. Ancients, for instance? : ANAGRAM. That was sneaky. Three anagrams of ancients are: Canniest, Insectan, and Instance.
27. Big Band __ : ERA
29. White wine apéritif : KIR
30. Kitten cries : MEWS
34. Double curve : ESS
35. One to say "G'day" to : MATE. Cute.
36. Grandmas : NANAS
40. Once more : AGAIN
43. Deal with it : COPE
44. "How cute!" cries : AWS
50. Coin named for a continent : EURO
51. ER staffers : RNS
52. Frying __ : PAN
53. Movie double : STAND-IN
55. Sport shirt brand : IZOD. Not POLO.
57. Male cat : TOM
59. Santa __ racetrack : ANITA
60. Tenor Enrico : CARUSO
65. Tennis great Andre : AGASSI
66. Gung-ho : AVID
67. __ Fáil: Irish coronation stone : LIA
68. Port on the Loire : NANTES. In France.
69. Dickens' Uriah : HEEP. From David Copperfield.
70. Junior nav. officer : ENS. Lowest level of commissioned naval officer.
Down
1. Knot-tying art : MACRAME.
2. Siri speaks on them : I-PHONES. She speaks on iMACs too, now.
3. Up-and-down playground boards : SEESAWS
4. Hog rider : BIKER. Hog = Harley Davidson motorcycle. Where did the nickname "HOG" come from?
5. Perky spokeswoman in Progressive ads : FLO. Played by Stephanie Courtney. In this commercial, she plays every member of the family.
6. Seminoles' sch. : FSU. Florida State University.
7. Pre-coll. exams : SATS
8. Jungle adventure : SAFARI
9. Approx. touchdown hour : ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival.
10. Italian volcano : ETNA
11. Glove leather : KIDSKIN
12. Racy literature : EROTICA
13. Comments : REMARKS
18. Smokes, briefly : CIGS
22. Slippery as an __ : EEL
25. Berry rich in antioxidants : ACAI
26. Wrestling surfaces : MATS
28. Broadway orphan : ANNIE
32. Parasite : LEECH
33. __ Andreas Fault : SAN
35. "Don't be a wimp!" : MAN UP
37. Unburdened (of) : RID
38. Lovey-dovey exchange : COOS
39. Date bk. entry : APPT
40. Like some violets : AFRICAN
41. Spokane school with a strong basketball program : GONZAGA. New to me.
42. Beaten candidate : ALSO RAN
44. Loud enough to hear : AUDIBLE
45. Unlisted vote-getter : WRITE-IN
46. Piano works : SONATAS
48. Regional dialect : PATOIS
49. __-Caps: candy : SNO
50. Sicilian resort city : ENNA
54. Food retailer named for two oceans : A AND P
56. Clean with Pledge : DUST
58. [Air kiss] : MWAH
61. Opposite of NNW : SSE
63. Prop. often named for a state in Monopoly : AVE
64. Nietzsche's "never" : NIE
