Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here.
Theme: 
We'll start things off with some appropriate background music and a funny dancing dog. Enjoy!
The Tokens ~ The Lion Sleeps Tonight ~ 1961
Constructor Catherine Cetta gives us these four themed clues:
18 Across. Virtual thumbs-up: LIKE BUTTON. 
23 Across. "You can't please everyone," for one: LIFE LESSON.
1. Onesie fastener: SNAP. "Onesies" and "any confusing similar terms" was trademarked by Gerber Childrenswear LLC in 2013.
5. Fourth-down option: PUNT. Seeing SNAP then PUNT makes me think we need an "oof!" video.
9. OshKosh __: B'GOSH. They make clothes for babies and young children. The OshKosh B'gosh brand is owned by Carter's. It looks like OshKosh calls their onesies (See 1-Across.) "Baby Short-Sleeve Bodysuits".
14. "All done!": TA-DA.
15. Puccini's "Nessun dorma," e.g.: ARIA. Here Luciano Pavarotti sings it (with subtitles!).
16. Bank offerings: LOANS. Here are some interesting statistics on the average American's debt.
17. Forgets to add an attachment, say: ERRS.
20. "West Side Story" role for Ariana and Rita: ANITA. Here is Rita Moreno (blue skirt) as Anita singing "A Boy Like That" (1961).
22. Film critic Roger: EBERT.
26. Hawaiian dance: HULA.
30. Did not stand: SAT.
31. Just a number, some say: AGE.
32. Postcardworthy: SCENIC. and 41 Across. 32-Across view: VISTA.
37. South American range: ANDES. The Earth's longest mountain chain is the ANDES.
42. Wringing wet: SOAKED.
43. Baseball unit: INNING.
45. Grassy tract: LEA.
46. "Vous ĂȘtes __": Paris map line: ICI. This is a clever play on the word "line". In this case, it is not a line drawn to represent a street. It is a "horizontal row of written characters" as in "the last line on the page".
49. Security camera letters: CCTV. Closed-Circuit TeleVision, a.k.a. "video surveillance"
54. British Columbia border state: IDAHO. Their border is only 45 mi. (72 k.) long.
56. Parts of Groucho Marx disguises: NOSES.
62. Actress Garr: TERI.
63. Stews (over): FRETS.
64. Weary sigh: AH,ME.
65. Parentheses shapes: ARCS. ( )
66. "Jumpin' Jack __": Rolling Stones hit: FLASH. At first I drew a blank but it's all right now. ♪
67. Ready to eat: RIPE. Oh, the food is ready to eat -- not the human.
68. Editor's "never mind": STET. Never mind always makes me think of Gilda Radner. Anyone else?
Down:
1. Takes an extra base: STEALS. baseball
2. "The Chronicles of __": C.S. Lewis series: NARNIA.
3. Floating aimlessly: ADRIFT.
4. Crafting adhesive: PASTE.
5. Good buddy: PAL.
6. Sch. in the smallest U.S. state: URI. The University of Rhode Island is a school.
7. Sneakers with swooshes: NIKES. Did you notice an abundance of track & field athletes sporting orange shoes during the Olympics? I did and I wanted to know why.
8. Billy Blanks fitness regimen: TAE BO. This is a group exercise class that incorporates some martial arts movements.
9. Make fuzzy: BLUR.
10. Received permission to proceed: GOT THE NOD.
11. Granola morsel: OAT.
12. Nestlé's __-Caps: SNO.
13. Cable channel with daily deals: HSN. Home Shopping Network
19. C-notes: BENS. C is the Roman numeral for 100 and BEN is short for Benjamin Franklin. His picture is on the $100 bill. Is this drug dealer lingo?
21. Nome resident: ALASKAN. Today in Nome the sun will rise at 7:05 a.m. and set at 11:02 p.m., making the day almost 16 hours long.
24. Omelet ingredients: EGGS.
25. Boarding pass assignments: SEATS.
27. Cancel, in a document: UNDO.
28. Property claim: LIEN.
29. Bldg. coolers: A/CS. Air Conditioners cool buildings. The houses in my neighborhood do not have A/C because we get a cool breeze from the ocean.
33. Peninsula northeast of Boston: CAPE ANN. Hand up for first having CAPE COD.
34. Protesters, often: ACTIVISTS.
35. P-like Greek letter: RHO. not to be confused with the Vietnamese soup, pho
38. Partner of Julie and Pete on "The Mod Squad": LINC.
39. "It just __ fair!": ISN'T. another LIFE LESSON
40. __-Ball: arcade game: SKEE.
41. Singer Damone: VIC. (1928 - 2018)
44. Happy: GLAD. "Happy/Glad" made me think of my favorite song from The Addams Family musical. Gomez (Nathan Lane) sings Happy/Sad to describe the complex emotions he feels watching his daughter grow up.
46. Magazine extra: INSERT.
47. Force: COERCE.
48. Refuse to take "no" for an answer: INSIST.
51. "Everybody's saying ... ": I HEAR ....
52. 2014 Winter Olympics city: SOCHI.
53. Itty-bitty bits: IOTAS.
55. Platter: DISH.
57. Amiss: OFF.
58. Latimes.com, for one: URL. Uniform Resource Locator
59. Herbal brew: TEA.
60. Rock concert need: AMP.
61. Casual top: TEE.
Here's the grid:
23 Across. "You can't please everyone," for one: LIFE LESSON.
38 Across. Tastes brownie batter before baking, perhaps: LICKS THE SPOON.
50 Across. Attend while muted, as a virtual company meeting: LISTEN IN ON.
 |
| Click to enlarge. |
And the reveal:
57 Across. Feline user of a pet door, and a feature of 18-, 23-, 38-, and 50-Across?: OUTSIDE CAT.
A LION is a member of the cat family. Also, the letters LI and ON are on the "outsides" of the answers to the themed clues. I noticed all of the LIs while solving; but, strangely, not the ONs.
Next, the lion's share of the grid:
Across:
1. Onesie fastener: SNAP. "Onesies" and "any confusing similar terms" was trademarked by Gerber Childrenswear LLC in 2013.
5. Fourth-down option: PUNT. Seeing SNAP then PUNT makes me think we need an "oof!" video.
9. OshKosh __: B'GOSH. They make clothes for babies and young children. The OshKosh B'gosh brand is owned by Carter's. It looks like OshKosh calls their onesies (See 1-Across.) "Baby Short-Sleeve Bodysuits".
15. Puccini's "Nessun dorma," e.g.: ARIA. Here Luciano Pavarotti sings it (with subtitles!).
16. Bank offerings: LOANS. Here are some interesting statistics on the average American's debt.
17. Forgets to add an attachment, say: ERRS.
 |
| Click to enlarge. |
20. "West Side Story" role for Ariana and Rita: ANITA. Here is Rita Moreno (blue skirt) as Anita singing "A Boy Like That" (1961).
22. Film critic Roger: EBERT.
26. Hawaiian dance: HULA.
30. Did not stand: SAT.
31. Just a number, some say: AGE.
32. Postcardworthy: SCENIC. and 41 Across. 32-Across view: VISTA.
 |
| Big Sur, CA |
34. Realm reached by the rainbow bridge Bifröst: ASGARD. At first I thought this might be a clue for IKEA. đ Marvel Comics Universe Fandom explanation
37. South American range: ANDES. The Earth's longest mountain chain is the ANDES.
42. Wringing wet: SOAKED.
43. Baseball unit: INNING.
45. Grassy tract: LEA.
46. "Vous ĂȘtes __": Paris map line: ICI. This is a clever play on the word "line". In this case, it is not a line drawn to represent a street. It is a "horizontal row of written characters" as in "the last line on the page".
 |
| Translation: You Are Here (ICI) and: Your shoelace is untied. |
49. Security camera letters: CCTV. Closed-Circuit TeleVision, a.k.a. "video surveillance"
54. British Columbia border state: IDAHO. Their border is only 45 mi. (72 k.) long.
56. Parts of Groucho Marx disguises: NOSES.
63. Stews (over): FRETS.
64. Weary sigh: AH,ME.
65. Parentheses shapes: ARCS. ( )
66. "Jumpin' Jack __": Rolling Stones hit: FLASH. At first I drew a blank but it's all right now. ♪
The Rolling Stones ~ Jumpin' Jack Flash ~ (1968)
trippy lyrics video
67. Ready to eat: RIPE. Oh, the food is ready to eat -- not the human.
68. Editor's "never mind": STET. Never mind always makes me think of Gilda Radner. Anyone else?
Saturday Night Live (1:21 min.)
1. Takes an extra base: STEALS. baseball
2. "The Chronicles of __": C.S. Lewis series: NARNIA.
3. Floating aimlessly: ADRIFT.
4. Crafting adhesive: PASTE.
5. Good buddy: PAL.
6. Sch. in the smallest U.S. state: URI. The University of Rhode Island is a school.
7. Sneakers with swooshes: NIKES. Did you notice an abundance of track & field athletes sporting orange shoes during the Olympics? I did and I wanted to know why.
Source: Pretty Purple Track Proves Popular in Paris "Sportswear brands such as Nike, Adidas, and Puma have also prepared for purple, producing shoes in lurid orange and yellow hues to clash with the track."
 |
| Mens' 10K Final (Yeah, I know. The track looks blue in this pic.) |
8. Billy Blanks fitness regimen: TAE BO. This is a group exercise class that incorporates some martial arts movements.
9. Make fuzzy: BLUR.
10. Received permission to proceed: GOT THE NOD.
 |
| Paul Newman ~ The Sting ~ 1973 |
12. Nestlé's __-Caps: SNO.
19. C-notes: BENS. C is the Roman numeral for 100 and BEN is short for Benjamin Franklin. His picture is on the $100 bill. Is this drug dealer lingo?
21. Nome resident: ALASKAN. Today in Nome the sun will rise at 7:05 a.m. and set at 11:02 p.m., making the day almost 16 hours long.
 |
| Hi inanehiker! |
24. Omelet ingredients: EGGS.
25. Boarding pass assignments: SEATS.
27. Cancel, in a document: UNDO.
28. Property claim: LIEN.
29. Bldg. coolers: A/CS. Air Conditioners cool buildings. The houses in my neighborhood do not have A/C because we get a cool breeze from the ocean.
33. Peninsula northeast of Boston: CAPE ANN. Hand up for first having CAPE COD.
34. Protesters, often: ACTIVISTS.
35. P-like Greek letter: RHO. not to be confused with the Vietnamese soup, pho
36. Distributed, as cards: DEALT.
38. Partner of Julie and Pete on "The Mod Squad": LINC.
 |
| I love the tagline: Justice never goes out of style. |
39. "It just __ fair!": ISN'T. another LIFE LESSON
40. __-Ball: arcade game: SKEE.
41. Singer Damone: VIC. (1928 - 2018)
44. Happy: GLAD. "Happy/Glad" made me think of my favorite song from The Addams Family musical. Gomez (Nathan Lane) sings Happy/Sad to describe the complex emotions he feels watching his daughter grow up.
46. Magazine extra: INSERT.
47. Force: COERCE.
48. Refuse to take "no" for an answer: INSIST.
51. "Everybody's saying ... ": I HEAR ....
52. 2014 Winter Olympics city: SOCHI.
 |
| scene from the Opening Ceremonies |
53. Itty-bitty bits: IOTAS.
55. Platter: DISH.
57. Amiss: OFF.
58. Latimes.com, for one: URL. Uniform Resource Locator
59. Herbal brew: TEA.
60. Rock concert need: AMP.
61. Casual top: TEE.
 |
| another LIFE LESSON |
Here's the grid:
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