"SOCIAL GATHERINGS"
20. Soirée for woodchip manufacturers?: SPLINTER PARTY. Splinter group just flew off my fingertips. Bzzt !
26. Soirée for certain divers?: PEARL JAM.
37. Soirée for spreadsheet creators?: CELL RECEPTION.
47. Soirée for fake coin makers?: SLUGFEST.
55. Soirée for army enlistees?: PRIVATE AFFAIR.
LET'S SOIRÉE ! - The last word of each theme answer is a type of social gathering. OK, slugfest is one word, but you get the idea.
This is Andrew's third LA Times puzzle. His first was a Wednesday. His second was a Thursday. He's back to party with us on Friday !
Across:
1. Component of an Olympic bronze medal: ZINC. The metals used in this year's Olympic medals have been primarily sourced from recycled electronics. Japanese citizens donated over 6 million discarded and unused cell phones !
5. Off-road vehicle maker?: TONKA.
10. Peddle: HAWK. First thought was sell.
14. Brand in a studio, maybe: IKEA. Studio apartment.
15. Chooser's choice: EVENs.
16. Onetime capital of the Mughal Empire: AGRA. It was the first four letter city name that came to mind. Never did think of a second city name...
17. Seats facing the altar: PEWs.
18. Alley button: RESET. Boomer uses this button when the rack didn't set the pins down correctly. He also uses it to clear the pins left standing after the prior bowler finished (e.g. after a third ball in the 10th frame.)
19. Genesis problem: RAIN. CAIN was a problem too. Just not with the perps in this puzzle.
23. Energized: AMPED.
25. Inspection: LOOK SEE. Formal and then informal.
30. Govt. stipend: SSI. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a Federal income supplement program funded by general tax revenues (not Social Security taxes):
 | It is designed to help aged, blind, and disabled people, who have little or no income; and |
| It provides cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. |
31. Angel dust letters: PCP. Phencyclidine (PCP) is a mind-altering drug that may lead to hallucinations (a profound distortion in a person’s perception of reality). - Drugs.com
32. Neural transmitter: AXON.
34. Powerful 2017 hurricane: IRMA.
41. Solo number: ARIA.
42. Gear for Lindsey Vonn: SKIs. American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She won four World Cup overall championships—one of only two female skiers to do so, along with Annemarie Moser-Pröll—with three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010, plus another in 2012 - Wikipedia
43. Service reward: TIP.
45. PETA concern: FUR.
50. Need for big dos: CATERER.
54. Spherical extremities: POLEs.
59. Green hue: LIME. Not exactly lime, is it ? But too cool to pass up.
60. Louvre Pyramid architect: IM PEI. How I.M. Pei’s Louvre Pyramid Broke the Mold
61. Chatroom spammers: BOTs. They've been pounding this blog lately, but most are routed to the moderation folder.
64. Manipulates: USEs.
65. Really funny ones: RIOTs.
66. City-circumventing road: LOOP. Loop 610:
67. Hot message: SEXT.
68. American in Paris, perhaps: EX PAT.
69. One of 11 for Julia Louis-Dreyfus: EMMY.
Down:
1. 12345, for Schenectady, NY: ZIP. Evan Kalish knows this. Postlandia
2. Turner on a turntable: IKE. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Ike and Tina Turner at # 2 of the "20 Greatest Duos of All Time" in 2015. # 1 were the Everly Brothers. I'd never heard of some of the duos.
3. Times, at times: NEWSPAPER.
4. Spirited toon?: CASPER.
5. Actress Hatcher: TERI.
6. "Top Chef" set piece: OVEN.
7. Building project for cranes?: NEST.
8. Get down to earth?: KNEEL.
9. First pro team to play on artificial turf: ASTROs. It was 1965. NY Yankee Mickey Mantle hit the first homerun in a spring exhibition game shortly after construction ended. Dick Allen of the Phillies hit the first regular season homerun. The natural grass died, and was replaced by the first iteration of Astroturf for the 1966 season.
10. Samurai ritual: HARAKIRI. No images. Doesn't pass the breakfast test.
11. Lab gelatins: AGARs.
12. Pen: WRITE.
13. GOOD Music record label founder: KANYE. Kanye West created the GOOD Music record label in 2004. It is a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams.
21. Cholesterol letters: LDL. Waited to see if HDL (high-density lipoproteins - the "good" one), or LDL (low-density lipoproteins - the "bad" one).
22. Presume: POSIT.
23. Common 99-cent purchase: APP.
24. Hajji's destination: MECCA.
27. Potter's creation: JAR.
28. Plot lines: AXES. Thought of arcs at first , but that's more of story lines.
29. Imitates derisively: MOCKs.
33. "American Gods" author Gaiman: NEIL. No idea. Perps.
35. Traveler's overnight spot: MOTEL ROOM. Waited to see if Motel or Hotel.
36. Seasoning seed: ANISE. Anise, also called aniseed, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. Its flavor has similarities with some other spices, such as star anise, fennel, and liquorice. - Wikipedia
38. Buoyant protection: LIFEVEST.
39. Actress Dern of "Twin Peaks": LAURA.
40. Sch. with a Harrisburg campus: PSU. Penn State University.
44. NBA stat: PTS. Points.
46. Hang up the spikes: RETIRE. Hung up mine in 2015.
48. 2.3, perhaps: Abbr.: GPA. Grade Point Average.
49. Slight character flaw: FOIBLE.
50. 2.3, roughly: C PLUS. Grade
51. Come up: ARISE.
52. Big name in stopwatches: TIMEX. John Cameron Swayze told us, "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking" and the TV ads seemed to prove it.
53. Compilation album add-on: REMIX.
56. Per item: APOP.
57. Spanakopita cheese: FETA.
58. Solidarity symbol: FIST.
62. First of a generic trio: TOM. Tom, Dick and Harry. Hi Tom !
63. Expert on bugs?: SPY. Bugs are covert listening and recording devices.
