Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here. I am happy to say that Janice Luttrell is back with another one of her Monday delights.
Theme: 
1. Words to a bride and groom: TOAST. Here's one Hugh Grant gave in the 1994 film, Four Weddings and a Funeral (3 min.).
6. Actress Ferris: PAM. her IMDb page
9. "All I Want for Christmas Is You" singer Mariah: CAREY. How fun to have a holiday tune this time of year!
14. Mole sauce chile: ANCHO. Blogger says chile is misspelled so I looked it up. One source said that chile is the Spanish spelling and that chili used to be the preferred English spelling but now people tend to write chile so as to avoid confusion with the spicy stew chili. Fair enough.
15. Short "As I see it": IMO. Writing "IMO" is shorter than writing "In My Opinion".
16. Urgent: ACUTE. This made me think of ACUTE care in the medical world.
17. Ross who ran for president twice: PEROT. (1930-2019) He ran as an Independent in 1992, losing to Bill Clinton. Perot again lost to Clinton in 1996 but this time as the leader of the Reform Party.
18. Petty peeve: NIT. I liked the cute play on pet peeve.
19. Downton Abbey staffers: MAIDS.
23. Younger "ManningCast" brother: ELI. ELI and his older brother Peyton were both successful NFL quarterbacks.
24. Team's adjective: OUR. Remember, there is no "I" in "team".
25. Govt. ID issuer: SSA. Government...identification...It is clear we need an abbreviation here. Social Security Administration
28. Stool supports: LEGS.
31. Surf shop array: BOARDS.
39. Gooey campfire treat: S'MORE. It is short for "I want some more."
40. Crafts partner: ARTS.
41. Draped garments in Hindi films: SARIS. Sorry, I do not know which film this is.
43. Boo-boo: OWIE.
44. Stand in good __: STEAD. Merriam-Webster says this is an idiom that means to be useful or helpful to someone or something. The entry has this example sentence: His language skills will stand him in good stead when he is traveling.
48. Vice president Kamala: HARRIS. Vice Presidents since Walter Mondale have lived with their families on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.
50. Horse's foot: HOOF.
51. Golf hole meas.: YDS. Golfers may correct me but I think this means that they measure the distance from their ball to the holes in yards.
52. "Cheers" bartender: SAM. ...not to be confused with a 3-letter word for the actor who played a bartender on Cheers -- Ted.
54. Nonprofit org. with a Directors Series: AFI. The American Film Institute was not on my radar so my last box was a mental alphabet run for something that might work for the crossing of this answer and 42-Down. SLOAN seemed like my best option.
64. Greek fable writer: AESOP.
65. Party bowlful: DIP.
66. See 68-Across: CARTE. and 68-Across. With 66-Across, like some menus: À LA.
67. Airline based in Atlanta: DELTA. In 1941, DELTA's headquarters moved to Atlanta from Monroe, LA where the company started as a crop dusting business over - you guessed it - the Mississippi River Delta region. Delta Airlines history
69. Fill with joy: ELATE. On the other hand, if you fill with helium, you infLATE.
70. Classic theater name: ODEON. Def. (noun): a building used for musical performances (especially in ancient Greece or Rome).
1. Scotch __: TAPE. This 1:37 min. video shows how to wrap a present without tape!
33. Loud and disorderly: ROWDY. This brought to mind Roderick George Toombs, better known as the Canadian wrestler and actor, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (1954-2015).
34. Toweled (off): DRIED. To towel off is to dry oneself (or something) with a towel.
35. Clairvoyants: SEERS.
37. Former Russian ruler: TSAR.
38. Stitch's pal: LILO.
42. Memorial __ Kettering: SLOAN. This is a cancer center with multiple locations. It is named for Alfred P. Sloan and Charles F. Kettering. They were two former General Motors executives who donated large sums towards cancer research and treatment.
45. Portable washing receptacle: DISHPAN. In the '70s, Madge taught us that DISHPAN hands were a fate worse than death. There were multiple versions of this scenario:
61. Tehran's country: IRAN.
The themed questions are:
20 Across. Above-the-street rumblers: ELEVATED TRAINS. 
36 Across. Possibly unattainable entry on a bucket list: LOFTY GOAL.
46 Across. Really big ask: TALL ORDER. 
And the reveal:
56 Across. Like most televisions, and what can be found at the start of 20-, 36-, or 46-Across: HIGH DEFINITION.
HDTVs became ubiquitous on June 12, 2009 when the FCC required all high-power analog U.S. television stations to turn off their signals and move to a digital-only transmission. This Nielson article has the data on American viewers at that time.
Today's themed answers are all two-word phrases such that the first word is a synonym for the word "high". But what about the DEFINITION part? Well, as adjectives, ELEVATED, LOFTY, and TALL further DEFINE their respective nouns (TRAINS, GOAL, and ORDER). For example, it is not just any ORDER. It is a TALL ORDER.
Works for me!
It's high time we looked at the other clues....
Across:
1. Words to a bride and groom: TOAST. Here's one Hugh Grant gave in the 1994 film, Four Weddings and a Funeral (3 min.).
6. Actress Ferris: PAM. her IMDb page
9. "All I Want for Christmas Is You" singer Mariah: CAREY. How fun to have a holiday tune this time of year!
14. Mole sauce chile: ANCHO. Blogger says chile is misspelled so I looked it up. One source said that chile is the Spanish spelling and that chili used to be the preferred English spelling but now people tend to write chile so as to avoid confusion with the spicy stew chili. Fair enough.
15. Short "As I see it": IMO. Writing "IMO" is shorter than writing "In My Opinion".
16. Urgent: ACUTE. This made me think of ACUTE care in the medical world.
17. Ross who ran for president twice: PEROT. (1930-2019) He ran as an Independent in 1992, losing to Bill Clinton. Perot again lost to Clinton in 1996 but this time as the leader of the Reform Party.
18. Petty peeve: NIT. I liked the cute play on pet peeve.
19. Downton Abbey staffers: MAIDS.
 |
| I saw every episode of this show. |
23. Younger "ManningCast" brother: ELI. ELI and his older brother Peyton were both successful NFL quarterbacks.
24. Team's adjective: OUR. Remember, there is no "I" in "team".
25. Govt. ID issuer: SSA. Government...identification...It is clear we need an abbreviation here. Social Security Administration
28. Stool supports: LEGS.
31. Surf shop array: BOARDS.
39. Gooey campfire treat: S'MORE. It is short for "I want some more."
40. Crafts partner: ARTS.
43. Boo-boo: OWIE.
44. Stand in good __: STEAD. Merriam-Webster says this is an idiom that means to be useful or helpful to someone or something. The entry has this example sentence: His language skills will stand him in good stead when he is traveling.
48. Vice president Kamala: HARRIS. Vice Presidents since Walter Mondale have lived with their families on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.
51. Golf hole meas.: YDS. Golfers may correct me but I think this means that they measure the distance from their ball to the holes in yards.
52. "Cheers" bartender: SAM. ...not to be confused with a 3-letter word for the actor who played a bartender on Cheers -- Ted.
54. Nonprofit org. with a Directors Series: AFI. The American Film Institute was not on my radar so my last box was a mental alphabet run for something that might work for the crossing of this answer and 42-Down. SLOAN seemed like my best option.
64. Greek fable writer: AESOP.
65. Party bowlful: DIP.
66. See 68-Across: CARTE. and 68-Across. With 66-Across, like some menus: À LA.
À LA CARTE menus list the prices for each item separately. For example, if a salad does not come with your entrée, you can order one separately or À LA CARTE.
67. Airline based in Atlanta: DELTA. In 1941, DELTA's headquarters moved to Atlanta from Monroe, LA where the company started as a crop dusting business over - you guessed it - the Mississippi River Delta region. Delta Airlines history
69. Fill with joy: ELATE. On the other hand, if you fill with helium, you infLATE.
Note: If you are new to solving crossword puzzles, this one, 72-Across, 2-Down, and 10-Down are good to memorize for future solves. (I'll highlight them, for your convenience.)
71. Young chap: LAD. "Chap" tips us off that a British expression will be spot on.
72. Church council: SYNOD. A SYNOD can be the governing group (as in this clue). It can also refer to the district governed by a SYNOD.
Down:
71. Young chap: LAD. "Chap" tips us off that a British expression will be spot on.
72. Church council: SYNOD. A SYNOD can be the governing group (as in this clue). It can also refer to the district governed by a SYNOD.
Down:
1. Scotch __: TAPE. This 1:37 min. video shows how to wrap a present without tape!
(This seems like something CED might like.)
2. Law school newbie: ONE-L.
3. Land measure: ACRE.
4. Push rudely: SHOVE.
5. In all respects: TOTALLY.
6. Cone-bearing tree: PINE. I come bearing a guide to the most popular Christmas trees of 2024.
7. Bundled in with: AMID.
8. Inspirational slogan: MOTTO.
9. Chevy muscle cars: CAMAROS. The first generation of the Chevy Camaro hit the showrooms in 1966 as a 1967 model. Here is the 1969 model:
10. Berry in some purple smoothies: ACAI.
11. Wreckage: RUIN.
12. Takeoff guesses: Abbr.: ETDS. An airplane pilot can provide Estimated Time of Departures.
13. "Absolutely!": YES.
21. Supermodel Cheryl: TIEGS. Cheryl was born on September 25, 1947 in Breckenridge, MN. Some say she was America's first supermodel. It feel like that term is used a lot more loosely nowadays.
22. Barbecue chef's spice blend: RUB. There are a lot of opinions on this topic. Here is an article that seemed informative.
3. Land measure: ACRE.
 |
| 'Tis the season! |
4. Push rudely: SHOVE.
5. In all respects: TOTALLY.
 |
| This is Crush, the sea turtle in Finding Nemo (2003). |
6. Cone-bearing tree: PINE. I come bearing a guide to the most popular Christmas trees of 2024.
7. Bundled in with: AMID.
8. Inspirational slogan: MOTTO.
 |
| from Ripley's Believe It or Not! |
10. Berry in some purple smoothies: ACAI.
11. Wreckage: RUIN.
12. Takeoff guesses: Abbr.: ETDS. An airplane pilot can provide Estimated Time of Departures.
13. "Absolutely!": YES.
21. Supermodel Cheryl: TIEGS. Cheryl was born on September 25, 1947 in Breckenridge, MN. Some say she was America's first supermodel. It feel like that term is used a lot more loosely nowadays.
22. Barbecue chef's spice blend: RUB. There are a lot of opinions on this topic. Here is an article that seemed informative.
25. Reduce, as prices: SLASH. 
26. "More or less": SORTA. I kinda got this one. 😜
27. Photo caption following a makeover: AFTER. Makeovers usually have before and AFTER photos so we can appreciate the changes.
29. Farm animal with horns: GOAT. Speaking of farm animals with horns....
30. Comedian Silverman: SARAH. (b. December 1, 1970) You have probably seen SARAH on various late-night comedy shows. Here are 30 seconds of her act that do not include swear words.
26. "More or less": SORTA. I kinda got this one. 😜
27. Photo caption following a makeover: AFTER. Makeovers usually have before and AFTER photos so we can appreciate the changes.
29. Farm animal with horns: GOAT. Speaking of farm animals with horns....
 |
| (Yes, I realize that a Venn diagram showing the population of readers who like both math and cattle will have a slim overlap.) |
30. Comedian Silverman: SARAH. (b. December 1, 1970) You have probably seen SARAH on various late-night comedy shows. Here are 30 seconds of her act that do not include swear words.
32. Love, in Spanish: AMOR.
33. Loud and disorderly: ROWDY. This brought to mind Roderick George Toombs, better known as the Canadian wrestler and actor, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (1954-2015).
 |
| Rowdy (left) with Hulk Hogan |
34. Toweled (off): DRIED. To towel off is to dry oneself (or something) with a towel.
35. Clairvoyants: SEERS.
37. Former Russian ruler: TSAR.
38. Stitch's pal: LILO.
 |
| This movie came out in 2002. |
42. Memorial __ Kettering: SLOAN. This is a cancer center with multiple locations. It is named for Alfred P. Sloan and Charles F. Kettering. They were two former General Motors executives who donated large sums towards cancer research and treatment.
45. Portable washing receptacle: DISHPAN. In the '70s, Madge taught us that DISHPAN hands were a fate worse than death. There were multiple versions of this scenario:
Even as a kid I thought, "How do they not know that
their hands are in dish soap? Haven't they seen her other commercials?"
47. Workplaces: OFFICES.
49. Bummed out: SAD. 😞
53. Olympian's prize: MEDAL.
49. Bummed out: SAD. 😞
53. Olympian's prize: MEDAL.
The Making of the Paris 2024 medals explained (1:45 min.)
55. Country shaped like a boot: ITALY. 
56. Pay attention to: HEED. Think "HEED the warning signs".
57. Cruise stop: ISLE. Cruise ships sometimes stop at islands.
58. Attend, as a party: GO TO.
59. Sportswear brand: FILA. Fila became primarily associated with tennis after it signed an endorsement deal with Björn Borg in 1975.
56. Pay attention to: HEED. Think "HEED the warning signs".
57. Cruise stop: ISLE. Cruise ships sometimes stop at islands.
58. Attend, as a party: GO TO.
59. Sportswear brand: FILA. Fila became primarily associated with tennis after it signed an endorsement deal with Björn Borg in 1975.
60. Apple tablet: iPAD.
61. Tehran's country: IRAN.
62. __ the Orange: Syracuse mascot: OTTO. A bit of a squeeze, but perps left little room for error on this one.
63. "__ I go on?": NEED. Just one more, if you don't mind.
64. Hubbub: ADO. Without further ADO, I present the grid:
64. Hubbub: ADO. Without further ADO, I present the grid:
