Theme: Hometown, USA - The last word of the unifier (VILLAGE) can precede the first word of the theme entries.
37A. 1996 Hillary Clinton best-seller, and what might be said about the start of 17-, 24-, 48- or 59-Across : "IT TAKES A VILLAGE"
17A. "American Idiot" punk band : GREEN DAY. Video(4:48) - (village green, the open square in many NE towns.)
24A. Performer who is heard but not seen : VOICE ACTOR. They give voice to cartoon characters, i.e. - (Village Voice, an alternative weekly paper in NYC)
48A. Table scraps, to the dog : PEOPLE FOOD. (Village People gave us YMCA)
59A. Boob tube : IDIOT BOX. TV - (village idiot, some get elected)
Argyle here. The strong theme must be why IDIOT was allowed in a clue and an answer. Other than that, nothing jumps out at me. A nit nibbles at me on 67-Across.
Across:
1. Terrible grade : EFF
4. Don of radio : IMUS. He has generated many controversies.
8. Got smart with : SASSED
14. Not feel well : AIL
15. "Brave New World" drug : SOMA. Brave New World is a novel written in 1931 by Aldous Huxley and published in 1932. Still relevant?
16. Developed a liking for : TOOK TO
19. James of "Gunsmoke" : ARNESS. There is lots of trivia about him.
20. Most insignificant : LEAST
21. Hopefully helpful track info : HOT TIP
23. Once, formerly : ERST
28. Thames school : ETON
30. QB's successes : TDs
31. "__ were you ..." : IF I
32. Meat-and-potatoes bowlful : BEEF STEW. If it is really good, I would 65A. Patronize, as a restaurant : DINE AT
36. Mil. school : ACAD. (academy)
41. "High Hopes" lyricist Sammy : CAHN
42. One printing defamatory text, in England : LIBELLER. Two "L's"
43. Prefix with gram : EPI. A smart remark.
44. Bars to scan, briefly : UPC. (Universal Product Code)
47. Boy of la casa : NINO. 49D. Father of la casa : PADRE Spanish
51. Zero-calorie protest : FAST
55. War hero played by George C. Scott : PATTON
56. Sitcom sergeant : BILKO
57. Like citrus juices : ACIDIC
62. TV's "__ & Greg" : DHARMA
63. Remove from power : OUST
64. Sch. in the smallest state : URI. (University of Rhode Island)
66. Source of some psychiatry grants: Abbr. : NIMH. (National Institute of Mental Health)
67. Whitney or Washington: Abbr. : MTN. My nit is these are both called Mount and that is abbreviated MT. Geographically they are mountains, I suppose.
Down:
1. Apollo 11 moon lander : EAGLE
2. Pink-slip issuer : FIRER
3. Bugs with bounce : FLEAS
4. Fails to be : ISN'T. Devilishly simple.
5. Stylish, '60s-style : MOD
6. Hollywood's Thurman : UMA
7. Greet someone casually : SAY HI
8. Uttered : STATED
9. Major heart vessels : AORTAs
10. Former Seattle NBAer : SONIC
11. Doubtful : SKEPTICAL
12. UFO pilots, in theory : ETs
13. Hair styles : DOs
18. Grammy winner Gloria : ESTEFAN
22. Halloween mo. : OCT.
24. Cast a ballot : VOTE
25. Dollar bills : ONES
26. Old enough : OF AGE
27. Bill attachment : RIDER
29. Sound of disdain : [TSK!]
32. __ tendonitis: arm muscle ailment : BICEP
33. Daylong military march : ÉTAPE. from French.
34. Addis Ababa native : ETHIOPIAN
35. Mart opening : WAL
36. The whole thing : ALL OF IT
38. Ristorante carafe contents : VINO. "A bottle of white, a bottle of red / Perhaps a bottle of rose instead" - Billy Joel
39. Footnoter's "ditto," briefly : IBID. (Latin, short for ibidem, meaning "the same place")
40. Deighton of spy-fi : LEN
44. Final syllable : ULTIMA
45. Scratcher on a post : PET CAT. If only it was just the post!
46. Corp. money manager : CFO. (Chief Financial Officer)
50. Hamburger topper : ONION
52. Wedding memento : ALBUM
53. Hybrid tennis garment : SKORT
54. Wasp venom, for one : TOXIN
56. "The other one, too" : "BOTH"
57. Throw in : ADD
58. Cubs' home: Abbr. : CHI. (Chicago)
60. MADD concern : DUI. (driving under the influence)
61. Doctrinal word ending : ISM
Argyle
Notes from C.C.:
1) Below are two beautiful photos from our Corner Northeast Contingent & Montana (Darlene) gathering yesterday. Please click here for more. So nice to finally "see" Hondo, who met with Irish Miss at a card show before. Irish Miss met with Santa Argyle a couple times.
This one has the clearest image when enlarged.
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| Left to Right: Marti, Dudley, Hondo & Montana |
Everyone smiles in this one, lovely!
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| Left to Right: Marti, Dudley, Hondo & Montana |
2) For those who had trouble getting D-Otto's birthday puzzle yesterday, please click here for direct download of the PDF file; (Thanks, Erik Agard, for teaching me how).
