20. Place at the track?: FINISH SECOND.
28. Hard-to-fold bed linens: FITTED SHEETS.
44. Senior British military rank: FIELD MARSHAL.
55. Phrase including hand gestures symbolized by the puzzle circles: IT WAS THIS BIG.
OK, these fish weren't hidden very well, especially given the circles, but (and I hope you saw it), if you count the letters between FI and SH, you'll notice that the distance is increasing by 2 each time. The span from the head to the tail of the fish is getting progressively bigger ! Like those "Top this !" fish stories. Neat !
I believe this to be a debut for Joe Deeney at the LA TIMES Crossword. I didn't struggle to complete the puzzle, but did have to check or fill in perps to get more answers than usual.
Across:
1. Uneducated guess: STAB.
5. Recreation in which players become characters, for short: RPGS. Role Playing Games. Know what they are, but have never been in or played one.
9. Get rid of: SCRAP.
14. Word before or after brand: NAME. McDonald's is a name brand in the fast food industry. The Big Mac is a McDonald's brand name. Not a fan, but McDonald's will do in a pinch. Haven't had a Big Mac since I was a preteen, so about 50 years. Eins ist genug ! Test your Drive-Thru Diet. Anyway, as you know, many brand names get adopted into our everyday language, such as kleenex, scotch tape, popsicles, q-tips and chapstick.
15. Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity chain: IHOP.
17. Figure skating leap: AXEL.
18. Launched at great speed: CATAPULTED.
22. Calf's suckling spot: UDDER.
23. Stuntman Knievel: EVEL. Watched the documentary Being Evel about him a few weeks ago. That guy was nuts.
24. Lioness of film: ELSA.
31. Airport rental: CAR.
34. Have title to: OWN.
35. Mexican pyramid builder: AZTEC.
36. Herb in Italian seasoning: OREGANO.
39. Lively, musically: UPTEMPO. Unlike "old country," many "new country" hits have more of an upbeat, uptempo, almost pop sound.
41. Ready to bloom: IN BUD.
42. No. on a grad's résumé: GPA.
43. Va. winter hours: EST.
49. Unload for cash: SELL.
50. Yale students: ELIs.
51. "Better in Time" singer Lewis: LEONA. No idea. 118M views of this YouTube:
58. Russian ballet company, familiarly: THE BOLSHOI.
61. Deadly shark: MAKO. Typed in orca. Typed over with MAKO. No smudges or wite-out needed.
62. Bad-tempered: SURLY.
63. Mario __: Nintendo racing game series: KART. Had to let perps solve it.
64. "It's my time to shine!": I'M ON.
65. Leg joints: KNEES.
66. Iowa State city: AMES.
67. Screwball: ZANY.
Down:
1. Major mess: SNAFU. Situation Normal - All Fouled Up
2. No. on an IRS form: TAX ID.
3. Make changes to: AMEND.
4. "You are beyond __!": "Incredible!": BELIEF.
5. High in calories: RICH.
6. Early stage of a clinical trial: PHASE TWO.
7. Avenged a wrong: GOT EVEN. Getting even is not a good way to live a life, but it is a plot line of many westerns.
8. Completely forgot, in slang: SPACED.
9. Created, as a web: SPUN.
10. Portmanteau brand for flu symptoms: COLDEEZE. Never used it. May have seen a commercial. Perps needed.
11. Nonsense: ROT. URL Rot is one term for when you try to link to a page that no longer exists.
12. Blackjack half: ACE. Had to check perps. Could have been ten.
13. Scholar's deg.: PHD.
19. Campaign pros: POLS. Politicians.
21. __ Lanka: SRI.
25. "I got this": LET ME.
26. Dance moves: STEPS.
27. Fancy necktie: ASCOT.
29. Truck weight unit: TON.
30. Fedora, e.g.: HAT.
31. Elaborate dos: COIFS.
32. Golfer Palmer, to fans: ARNIE. Fierce competitor. Adored by his fans, who became known as "Arnie's Army."
33. Billy Idol's "__ Yell": REBEL. I like the song. Probably the only one in this crowd that does.
37. Easily fooled: GULLIBLE.
38. Use an abacus: ADD.
39. FedEx Office alternative: UPS STORE. The local UPS Store was opened as "Mail Boxes Etc" but then rebranded to The UPS Store. Officially, the article The is part of the trademarked name.
40. Dismissive sound: PAH. Or a tuba sound. Hi Abejo !
42. "A Time to Kill" novelist John: GRISHAM. Most of his book titles start with an A.
45. Kitten cry: MEWL. I started with meow.
46. "North to the Future" state: ALASKA.
47. Actor Mahershala of Netflix's "Luke Cage": ALI. Remembered his name from the last time.
48. B'way show with the song "Valjean's Confession": LES MIZ. Never heard of the song, but the perps made it the only possible answer.
52. 44th president: OBAMA.
53. Canon competitor: NIKON. Canon, hmm. Camera or copier/printer device ? Epson (printer brand) will be the answer on another day.
54. Terrible pain: AGONY. Also, the name of one of the three hills that basic training soldiers marched up and down at Ft Knox. The other two were Misery and Heartbreak. I believe we did a 20 mile and 15 mile night march. Grueling in combat boots with all the gear.
56. Hasbro specialty: TOYS.
57. Oldies, in their day: HITS. Song hits.
58. "Shame on you!": TSK.
59. Attila the __: HUN.
60. Bard's "before": ERE.
