Wednesday, Mar 6th, 2024 Rebecca Goldstein

  SOMETHIN' FISHY

A pretty straight-forward puzzle, although I fumbled in the SW corner with a "bad name" - at least there were just a few to contend with today.  Lots of clues that were merely clever definitions*, I thought - YMMV.  At first I surmised that the theme may have something to do with the "I" situated in the center(ish) of the theme fills - but no, it's three things that can be found "in the tank" - and I have added a fourth at the end of the theme answers.  I do not have the crossword comparison tools, but I recognize the constructor from previous grids.  The theme answers;

17. Family member with a heat lamp: PET IGUANA - I had a pet iguana - his name was Zeus, and he did NOT have a tank - he roamed my apartment freely, but due to some personal changes, he had to go to a zoo in Texas

The black thingy is his heat lamp

28. Military unit with mechanized forces: ARMORED DIVISION - this doesn't quite jibe for me - I suppose the personnel would be "in the tank"

47. Fuel that typically has an octane of 91 or higher: PREMIUM GASOLINE

63. On a losing streak, or where to find 17-, 28-, and 47-Across: IN THE TANK

Just add soothing music

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Subject with angles and equations: MATH - the only thing I studied in "math" was the teacher....

Van Halen - "Hot For Teacher" - OK, maybe not soothing....

5. Proofreader's catch: TYPO

9. Cork citizens: IRISH - and - 42A. __ Lingus: AER - their local airplane people

14. Juárez water: AGUA

15*. Collect crops: REAP

16. Accordion-heavy genre: POLKA

19. Got the fire going again: RELIT

20. "Indeed": "SURE" - One of Nero Wolfe's frequent comments is "Indeed"

21. "Greetings!": "HELLO~!"

23. Bring into play: USE

24. Beaver's building: DAM

26. Mosque leader: IMAM

36. Small touches: DABS

37. Like most highlighters: NEON

38. PBJ or BLT: SANDO - This must be regional, as no one I know refers to a sandwich as a sando - I have been known to call it a "sa'mich"

39. Double helix molecule: DNA

40. "Show me!": "CAN I SEE~!?"

43*. Milk source: UDDER

45. Like some JFK flights: INTernationaL

46. Classic Pontiacs: GTOs - I was more of a Mercury Cougar fan

They had rotating headlight doors and sequential tail-lights

50*. Inner workings: GUTS

51*. Sense of self: EGO

52. Golfer's goal: PAR

54. Tuesday fare: TACOS - I like tacos any day of the week~!

58. __ and file: RANK - us paycheck-to-paycheck types

61. Public meltdown, maybe: SCENE - as in to "make a ___"

66. Smudge: SMEAR

67. Pajama tops: TEES - that's what I wear

68. Pentathlon blade: EPEE

69. Trying times?: TESTS

70. "SportsCenter" channel: ESPN

71. First light: DAWN

DOWN:

1*. Travel guide: MAP

2. Forever and ever: AGES - EONS, AEON, nope.

3*. Ballet costume: TUTU

4. Side braids or side shaves: HAIRDOs

5. "Ur not wrong": TRU - text-speak

6. "Uh-huh": "YEAH."

7. Cut glass: PANE - an intended glass piece - unintentional, and it's a "shard"

8. Gem with a honey variety: OPAL - my first thought, but I waited for perps

Not so different from Amber

9. "Scout's honor!": "I PROMISE~!"

10. Ikura at the sushi bar: ROE - perps

11. Enlightenment-era secret society: ILLUMINATI - Part of the plot in the movie "Angels & Demons", and the first 10-letter non-theme Down fill

12. Travels cross-country?: SKIS - on my first pass, I missed the "s" at the end of travelS

13*. Abhor: HATE

18. Backpack contents: GEAR - uh, well, yeah - kinda vague

22. Tyler of "Empire Records": LIV

25. Actress Suvari: MENA -this actress - I had her confused with Mira Sorvino

27. Cute __ button: AS A

28. Make sense: ADD UP - if you saw my math teacher, it would "add up"

29. Short time off?: R AND R - clever; I like this one - Rest & Relaxation

30. C-suite qualifications: MBA DEGREES - the other 10-letter non-theme Down fill

31. Jorts fabric: DENIM - learning moment - I did not 60D what Jorts are - but in retrospect, it's pretty obvious now - Jean Shorts, and from what I read, sort of derogatory if men wear them - but on women, they're "Daisy Dukes"

The Dukes of Hazzard - and I loved the theme song

32. Word before or after nothing: DOING - doing nothing, or "nothin' doin'"

33. App with stories, familiarly: INSTAgram - I keep planning to do one for the Pipe Organ company, but I can never seem to get started

34. Ancient Greek theater: ODEON

35. Language on a longship: NORSE

Truth is, I'd really like to do a Viking Cruise

40. Beasties: CRITTERS

41. Ultimate word of an ultimatum: ELSE

44. Australian avian: EMU - I had to cheat on Saturday, and look up the word "Ratite"

46. Was a poor winner: GLOATED

48. Suni Lee's Olympic team: USA - her Wiki - born in our blog host's state of Minnesota~!

49. Brute: OGRE

52. Hissed summons: PSST

53. Top: ACME - had to wait on perps - this or APEX, for one

55*. Offer as proof: CITE

56. Individuals: ONES

57. Put one foot in front of the other?: STEP - I started with "WALK" - Bzzzt~!

59. Auto parts chain that shares a name with a California valley: NAPA

60. Didn't need to guess: KNEW

62. William Styron's "The Confessions of __ Turner": NAT - oops, not IKE

64. Where to watch for deals?: HSN - Home Shopping Network - never watched it myself

65. "I'm Just __": song sung by Ryan Gosling in "Barbie": KEN

Splynter