"Artificial Replacements"
17. Minty green cocktail?: ASTROTURF HOPPER. Grasshopper.
27. Easier to swallow?: ASPARTAME COATED. Sugarcoated. Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth: Alternative Sugars
49. Puritan preacher involved in the Salem Witch Trials?: POLYESTER MATHER. Who ? Cotton Mather.
65. 1934 Oscar-nominated film whose title hints at the wordplay in three other long answers: IMITATION OF LIFE.
Library of Congress - National Film Preservation Board - The importance of the film
Learning moments: Cotton Mather and his father Increase Mather, and then reading various articles about the film Imitation of Life.
Across:
1. Sticking point?: CRAW.
5. Mixed __: MEDIA. " The term “mixed media art” is a broad definition that covers many arts and crafts, including collage, assemblage (both 2D and 3D), altered objects, including books and boxes, handmade greeting cards, artist trading cards (ATCs) and tags, art journalling and book making.
The “mixed media” used includes paints, papers and board of all descriptions, glues, buttons, fabrics, found objects, photos, metal bits, fibres, things from nature, inks, pencils, crayons, markers, pastels and polymer clays, to name a few." - Mixed Media Art . Net
10. Surveillance network, briefly: CCTV. Closed Circuit TV
14. Adonis: HUNK.
15. Finals, e.g.: EXAMs.
16. Vibe: AURA.
20. Plunging neckline type: DEEP V.
21. Island chain: LEI.
22. Annoying: PESKY.
23. Not an exact fig.: EST.
25. __ King Cole: NAT.
36. Panache: ELAN.
37. Número after cero: UNO. Numbers zero and one, in Spanish.
38. "Gypsy" (2008) Tony winner: LUPONE. At the point in time, I was missing the last two vowels, so I and O went in. Fortunately worked out Lupone instead of Lupino.
39. Airs: SONGs. Back in the early days of my solving experiences, we had a clue Troubador' s offering and the answer was AIRS. Here are the responses in the blog comments that day.
41. Pinnacle: TOP.
43. "The Goldfinch" novelist Donna: TARTT. No idea. Perps. The 2014 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Fiction
44. Code prohibiting singing?: OMERTA. The Mafia code of silence, to anyone outside of the organization, but especially to authorities.
46. Trashy newspaper: RAG.
48. Hard to find: RARE.
52. Old records: LPs.
53. Bobs and weaves: DOs. Female hairstyles. Butches and flattops for males.
54. Eye color: HAZEL.
58. "Barry" channel: HBO. No idea, but the O was in place, so it was probable that it would be SHO or HBO.
"Barry follows Barry Berkman, a former Marine from Ohio who works as a hitman. Lonely and dissatisfied with life, he travels to Los Angeles to kill a target and ends up "finding an accepting community in a group of eager hopefuls within the L.A. theater scene"
60. Major religion of Indonesia: ISLAM.
68. Rackets: DINs. My father nicknamed my niece Rachael "Racket" when she was about two.
When Madame Defarge referred to her granddaughter as "The Blonde Tornado" back in 2016, I immediately understood.
69. Yankee Candle emanation: AROMA.
70. Retailer with a meatball recipe to make at "höme": IKEA.
OK, then let us translate from Finnish as well:
The Swedish version sounds more appealing.
71. Nervous: EDGY.
72. Frisky swimmer: OTTER.
73. Whimper: MEWL.
Down:
1. Libya neighbor: CHAD. Testing your geography knowledge, as well as country names.
2. Deceptive ploy: RUSE.
3. Poker entry fee: ANTE. "Feed the kitty" followed by "Pot's right. Deal."
4. Sitcom radio station: WKRP. The show was inspired by a Harry Chapin song.
5. Brave adversary?: MET. For the non sports solvers: Major League Baseball. Each is a player or coach on one of the two National League East teams.
6. Over the moon: EXULTANT.
7. Take a risk: DARE.
8. "Feeling good": I'M FINE.
9. E-cig's lack: ASH. First thought was tar.
10. Sleeveless garment: CAPE. First thought was vest.
11. Starbucks stack: CUPs. First thought was lids, then CapS, then finally CUPS.
12. Cause of blisters, perhaps: TREK.
13. Your mileage may __: VARY. In text: YMMV.
18. Word after bowl or blow: OVER.
19. Decline to participate: OPT OUT. Last Thursday, we had "Refuse to participate" in Stella Zawistowski's crossword.
24. Early Beatle Sutcliffe: STU. In the very early days, when they were a five-piece band.
26. Oft-torn knee part: ACL. Anterior Cruciate Ligament. The ACL is tissue that connects the thighbone to the shinbone, at the knee.
27. "Lion's share" originated from a story of his: AESOP. The moral is "Might makes right" and the fable is The Lion's Share
28. NBA replay aid: SLO-MO.
29. Group of pundits: PANEL.
30. Seeing red: ANGRY. Irritably needing food ? Hangry.
31. Demi of "Ghost": MOORE.
14 Things You Might Not Know About Ghost
32. Separated: APART. Role to play: A PART.
33. Word from the Hebrew for "teaching": TORAH.
34. __ nous: ENTRE. Listen, do you want to know a secret ? Do you promise not to tell ?
35. Discourage: DETER.
40. Designer McCartney: STELLA. Daughter of Paul and Linda McCartney. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2013 for services to fashion.
42. "Please repeat that?": PARDON ME ?.
45. Egyptian viper: ASP.
47. Controversial food letters: GMO. Genetically Modified Organism
50. Many a souvenir: T-SHIRT.
51. "That'll be the day!": AS IF. "You have to be kidding me !"
54. Conceal: HIDE.
55. Surrounded by: AMID.
56. "Oh snap!": ZING.
57. Handmade goods website: ETSY.
59. Abrupt dismissal: BOOT.
61. __ to none: bad odds: SLIM. Muhammad Ali famously quipped about Joe Frazier's chances, "Frazier's got two chances. Slim, and none. And Slim just left town."
62. Go for: LIKE.
63. Several: A FEW.
64. Event with courses: MEAL. No-brainer, but my mind strayed to golf. Specifically, The Pebble Beach Pro-Am, played on three different courses: Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course, and Monterey Peninsula Country Club.
66. Eastern "way": TAO.
67. Shell mover: OAR. Rowing 101
