Theme: SPIN DOCTOR
Melissa here. This would be nearly impossible to see without the circled letters. There are five word groupings (one in each corner plus one in the center) in which the circled letters, read from the top and SPINning around to the right, spell the name of a doctor.
NW Group: Dr. JEKYLL
1. __ d'art: OBJET.
14. Move furtively: SLINK.
17. Rite of Christian ordination: HOLY ORDERS.
NE Group: Dr. DOOM
10. Axlike tool: ADZE.
16. Cow conversation: MOOS.
19. Hip '60s Brits: MODS.
SW Group: Dr. PHIL
62. Mall directories: MAPS.
67. "Ick!": BLEH.
70. Director Kazan: ELIA.
SE Group: Dr. WATSON
63. 1850s Eurasian conflict: CRIMEAN WAR.
69. Salty expanse: OCEAN.
72. Celestial red giant: SSTAR.
And the reveal in the center ...
71. With the circled word in the grid's center, what each circled word is?: SPIN.
Center Group : DOCTOR
35. Carries out: DOES.
38. Fabric ponytail holder: SCRUNCHIE.
43. Foldable beds: COTS.
Across:
6. It's sold in bars: SOAP. Nice clue - and timely, too, especially if it's disinfecting soap.
15. "In memoriam" bio: OBIT. Shortened word "bio" indicates shortened word for obituary.
20. Rodeo ropes: LASSOS.
21. Honeybunch: DEARIE.
23. Montréal mate: AMI. French for male friend. Amie for female friend.
25. Fights (for): VIES.
27. "Cold Mountain" hero played by Jude Law: INMAN.
28. Bolster: PROP UP.
31. Enhance, as an expense report: PAD.
33. Whiz: ACE.
34. Sticking points: TINES. Like on a fork.
37. ER personnel: RNS.
41. Chinese menu surname: TSO. From Wikipedia:
a sweet deep-fried chicken dish that is served in North American Chinese restaurants. The dish is named after Zuo Zongtang (also romanized Tso Tsung-t'ang), a Qing dynasty statesman and military leader, although there is no recorded connection to him nor is the dish known in Hunan, Zuo's home province.
a sweet deep-fried chicken dish that is served in North American Chinese restaurants. The dish is named after Zuo Zongtang (also romanized Tso Tsung-t'ang), a Qing dynasty statesman and military leader, although there is no recorded connection to him nor is the dish known in Hunan, Zuo's home province.
44. Pet store enclosures: CAGES.
48. Dismissive syllable: FEH. Don't see this as much as meh, but seems to have the same meaning.
49. Hasty escape: LAM. Nice cluing. According to the Online Etymological Dictionary, lam means: "flight," as in on the lam, 1897, from a U.S. slang verb meaning "to run off" (1886), of uncertain origin, perhaps somehow from the first element of lambaste, which was used in British student slang for "beat" since 1590s.
50. Computer key: DELETE.
51. Bounded: LEAPT.
53. Quite: OH SO.
56. Leaves in the afternoon?: TEA.
57. Irritate by rubbing: ABRADE.
59. Supermarket walkways: AISLES. I haven't been to one in over a week - a little reluctant to go this week, even though I need to. What's it been like for you?
68. Spanish cat: GATO.
Down:
1. __Kosh B'gosh: OSH.
2. Rain-__ bubble gum: BLO.
3. Word whose meaning wouldn't change if it began with "z": JILLION. From vocabulary.com: Similar to words like zillion, tons, or oodles, jillion is perfect for talking about a huge but vague number. It's also hyperbolic — in other words, it's an exaggeration. The word is modeled on actual numbers like million and billion, so it almost sounds like a real quantity. But like zillion, jillion is imprecise.
4. One-named singer: ENYA. Not Cher.
5. Boxing decisions: TKOS. Technical Knock Outs. A TKO is declared when the referee decides during a round that a fighter cannot safely continue the match for any reason.
6. "Me too": SO DO I.
7. Corpulent: OBESE. Rarely used word, needed perps.
8. Ultrathin MacBook: AIR. Who has one? I shy away from anything that thin when it comes to a laptop.
9. War affliction, for short: PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A little suprised this passed the breakfast test - but we've probably seen it before, it's a great crossword entry.
10. Jordan's capital: AMMAN.
11. Entry-level job?: DOORMAN. Great clue.
12. Astrology diagrams: ZODIACS.
13. Ancient ascetic: ESSENE. A member of an ancient Jewish ascetic sect of the 2nd century BC–2nd century AD in Palestine, who lived in highly organized groups and held property in common. The Essenes are widely regarded as the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
18. Invite letters: RSVP. French - Répondez s'il vous plaît; please reply.
22. __ al-Fitr: end-of-Ramadan feast: EID. Eid al-Fitr, also called the "Festival of Breaking the Fast", is a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan.
23. Fitting: APT.
24. Hosp. scan: MRI. Magnetic resonance imaging.
26. MS format details: SPECS. One of the regulars can explain this better than I.
29. Mexican money: PESO.
30. L.A. school: USC. University of Southern California, in Los Angeles.
32. Tray filler: ASH.
35. Milano cathedral: DUOMO. Closed to tourists right now for the Coronavirus alert.
36. Prov. bordering four Great Lakes: ONT.
37. Authentic: REAL.
39. Early TV maker: RCA.
40. Freezer cubes: ICE.
41. Game for little hitters: TEE BALL.
42. Wrinkly dog: SHARPEI.
45. Jumps in the lake: GETS WET.
46. Summer in la ville: ETE.
47. Vast quantity: SEA.
48. Served like cherries jubilee: FLAMBE.
49. British co. letters: LTD.
50. A teaspoon, say: DOSE.
52. Ottoman title: PASHA. A higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitaries and others.
54. French-speaking Caribbean country: HAITI.
55. Colorful memory game: SIMON. Players take turns repeating a sequence of lights and sounds. Play in your browser here.
58. Heart tests, briefly: ECGS. An electrocardiogram — abbreviated as EKG or ECG — is a test that measures the electrical activity of the heartbeat. With each beat, an electrical impulse (or “wave”) travels through the heart. This wave causes the muscle to squeeze and pump blood from the heart.
60. Golden Triangle country: LAOS.
61. SASEs, e.g.: ENCS. SASE = Self-addressed stamped envelope. ENC = Enclosure. So a SASE is a type of enclosure.
64. Missy Elliott music genre: RAP.
65. Battery for small electronics: AAA.
66. GI's furlough: RNR. Hm. If you say so, but I usually see R&R, which is military slang for rest and recuperation. RNR is how it's pronounced, so maybe that's why ..?
