Dance to the Music! The last word of each theme answer is a music genre.
18-Across. Drywall material: SHEET ROCK. Rock Music.
24-Across. Freezer aisle treat: ICE CREAM POP. Pop Music.
49-Across. Similar but unspecified things: ALL THAT JAZZ. Jazz Music.
56-Across. Peepers of a certain color, affectionately: BABY BLUES. Blues Music.
And the Unifier:
36-Across. Instruction to start playing ... or a hint to the end of 18-, 24-, 49- and 56-Across: CUE THE MUSIC.
And a musical bonus:
1-Down. Jamaican genre: SKA.
Across:
1. Technical details: SPECS.
6. Roadie's load: AMPS.
10. World's best-selling cookie: OREO.
14. Superhero sound effect: KAPOW!
15. Are in the past?: WERE. We are at the store. We were at the store.
16. Home to il Colosseo: ROMA. Did you know that the Colosseum in Rome, Italy was also used to stage naval battles? It could be filled with
water due to an elaborate plumbing system.
17. Ouzo flavoring: ANISE. Anise has a licorice-like flavor.
20. "Won't you be __ and ... ": polite request words: A DEAR.
22. School fundraising gp.: PTA. Time for a musical
interlude.
23. Filmmaker Brooks: MEL. Mel Brooks (né Melvin Kaminsky;
b. June 28, 1926) is a comic actor and film director. Some of his films
include Young Frankenstein and The Producers.
He was also a co-writer on Get Smart, the television series.
27. Spelling showdown: BEE. Spellbound was a
movie that followed 8 competitors in the 1999 Scripts National Spelling Bee.
28. Sleep stage: REM. Rapid Eye Movement sleep is the phase where the sleeper is believed to have vivid
dreams. The phenomenon occurs in mammals and birds. Do you often
awaken at 3:00 a.m.? It is not all that uncommon.
29. Sound like an ass: BRAY.
30. "Piece of cake!": EASY. Probably not easy to make and
quite time-consuming.
31. Chill: LAID BACK.
34. Syrup source: SAP. My grandparents had friends who
tapped maple trees and boiled the sap to syrup. If you pour the heated syrup
onto fresh snow, it will immediately harden. We called it Sugar on Snow,
and it was such a treat.
39. Eagle or evil organ: EYE.
40. Unrecoverable expense, in economics: SUNK COST.
43. Cat's warning: HISS.
46. Seek, as a compliment, with "for": FISH.
47. "Argo" spy org.: CIA. As in the Central Intelligence Agency. The 2012 movie Argo was loosely based on
the rescue of 6 Americans following the Iran Hostage crisis in 1979.
48. Total: Abbr.: AMT. As in Amount.
53. Unwinding spot: SPA.
54. 2016 Olympics city: RIO.
55. Outline, maybe: TRACE.
60. Lyric poem: EPODE. According to Webster's, an Epode is:
(a) a lyric poem in which a long verse is followed by a shorter one; or (b)
the third part of a triadic Greek ode following the strophe and the
antistrophe.
62. Get up in arms: RILE.
63. Crafts go-with: ARTS.
64. French greeting: SALUT. Today's French lesson.
65. Finds in mines: OREs.
66. Ink cartridge color: CYAN. Cartridge colors come in
Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. When mixed in the appropriate combinations, we
get blue, green, red and black.
67. Digital "I've got it!" gestures: SNAPS.
Down:
2. Cure-all: PANACEA.
3. Marked by widespread growth: EPIDEMIC. Or if it is really
wide spread, it becomes a Pandemic.
4. Trig ratio: COSEC. Short for Cosecant.
5. Promise with one hand on the Bible: SWEAR.
6. Cuteness reactions: AWs!
7. "I could go either way": MEH!
8. Like Ivy League clothing styles: PREPPY. In case you need
to know how to look Preppy, there is a handy handbook on the style.
9. Sort out: SEE TO.
10. "Catch-22" pilot: ORR. Orr was the roommate of Yossarian
in the 1961 novel Catch-22, by Joseph Heller. He was a pilot
who was also nearly crashing his plane, or getting shot down, but somehow
managed to survive.
11. iRobot vacuum: ROOMBA. It can also be used as
transportation for your pet cat.
12. Award show hosts: EM CEES. Short for Master of Ceremonies.
13. Buffalo Bill show shooter: OAKLEY. Annie Oakley (née Phoebe Ann Mosey; Aug. 13, 1860 ~ Nov. 3, 1926) was an American
sharpshooter.
19. Select, as for a job: TAP.
21. Money-back offer: REBATE.
24. Not online: Abbr.: IRL. In Real Life.
25. Structure with a keystone: ARCH.
26. Finally arrives: MAKES IT. It could be parsed as Make
Sit, but that answer wouldn't fit the clue.
30. Totally rad, in modern lingo: EPIC.
32. Club fees: DUES.
33. Queen __: "Lemonade" star's nickname: BEY. As in Beyoncé
(née Beyoncé Giselle Knowles; b. Sept. 4, 1981).
34. Summery headwear: SUN HAT.
35. Pose a question: ASK.
37. Sled dog command: MUSH.
38. Soda since 1886: COCA~COLA. It is listed as KO on the
New York Stock Exchange. Dr. John Pemberton first sold his beverage creation in May 1886.
41. Evaluated, as competition: SIZED UP.
42. Looney toon?: TAZ. As in the Warner Brothers Tasmanian
Devil.
43. Monopoly maker: HASBRO.
44. Get in the way of: IMPAIR.
45. Horse house: STABLE.
46. Like a baker's apron, probably: FLOURY.
49. Wall St. trader: ARB. As in Arbitrage.
50. Purple hue: LILAC. I love Lilac trees and their flowers.
51. Lock on the head: TRESS.
52. Country made up of 6,852 islands: JAPAN. Everything you
wanted to know about the Japanese archipelago.
57. "Sure": YES.
58. GPS approx.: ETA. As in Estimated Time of Arrival. This is a crossword staple.
59. Taxpayer's ID: SSN. As in Social Security Number. This has become a crossword staple, but do you know how
to decode the number?
The Number is divided into 3 parts: the Area, the Group, and the Series.
The Area is the first 3 digits. Prior to June 25, 2011, the first
three digits indicated where the Social Security number was issues.
After that date, numbers were issued randomly.