Wednesday, June 17, 2020, Gail Grabrowski & Bruce Venzke

Theme: ONE FOR THE ROAD?

18. Organic gardening staple: COMPOST HEAP.  Who remembers the car rental company, "Rent a Cheap Heap?"

24. One experiencing too much stress: NERVOUS WRECK. "A vehicle, airplane, etc., that has been badly damaged or destroyed. 

51. Shipping need: PACKING CRATE. I did not know this, but CRATE is slang for an old rickety vehicle, especially a decrepit automobile or aircraft.

59. Aggressive male gorilla, for one: CHEST BEATER. A beater car is a vehicle that you run into the ground. They are typically older, high-mileage cars that still run well.

38. Jalopy found at the ends of four other long answers: BUCKET OF BOLTS. "A piece of machinery that is not worth more than its scrap value, often an old car."

Melissa here. On the downside to the weekend now. This was clever - I'd heard of all of these except CRATE. Who knew there were so many words to describe junky cars.
 

Across:

1. Drug used in microdosing therapies: LSD. What is microdosing LSD?

4. Corkboard item: TACK.

8. Whoop it up: PARTY.

13. Prefix for a lifesaving "Pen": EPI.

14. WWII wolf pack unit: UBOAT.

16. Irish actor Milo: OSHEA. He played the chief justice of the Supreme Court on “The West Wing.” Died in 2013 at 86.

17. __-relief: BAS.

20. Crafts, in Sevilla: ARTES. Spanish.

22. So yesterday: OUT.

23. Donkey: ASS.

29. Former province of eastern Cuba: ORIENTE.

30. Cry like a baby: WAIL.

32. Calligrapher's tip: NIB.

33. Post-WWII alliance: NATO.

36. Bend at the barre: PLIE. 

42. Texas ALer: STRO.

43. H.H. Munro's pen name: SAKI.

44. DDE's WWII command: ETO.

46. Many, many moons: EONS.

48. Ensnared: IN A TRAP.

54. Jazz horn: SAX.

57. Part of a Swiss skyline: ALP.

58. Movie with gunslingers: OATER.

64. Stage legend Hagen: UTA.

65. OB/GYN test: AMNIO.

66. Dickens' "The Mystery of __ Drood": EDWIN.

67. Word before or after pack: RAT.

68. Like some pasta sauces: MEATY.

69. Male deliveries: SONS. Nice.

70. Application file suffix: EXE.

Down:

1. Israel's northern neighbor: LEBANON.

2. Slab on the grill: SPARERIBS.

3. Hand out: DISTRIBUTE.

4. Seat of Pima County, Arizona: TUCSON.

5. Blood-typing letters: ABO.

6. URL ending: COM.

7. "Bam!": KAPOW.

8. Greenhouse vessel: POT.

9. __ Wednesday: ASH.

10. "Better Call Saul" actress Seehorn: RHEA.

11. Herbal brews: TEAS.

12. Shrill barks: YAPS.

15. Take in the sights: TOUR.

19. Crock-Pot dish: STEW.

21. "Not a creature was stirring" time: EVE. From 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

25. Magazine founder Eric: UTNE.

26. Senate posts: SEATS.

27. Consigliere's boss: CAPO. A Consigliere is an adviser, especially to a crime boss. Capos, short for caporegimes) are the appointed heads of crews, and are usually given responsibility for delicate tasks (like infiltrating union locals) Dons, Capos, and Consiglieres: The Structure of the American Mafia.

28. Decide not to run: KILL. Unexpected answer.

31. English major's field: LITERATURE.

34. Come __ standstill: TO A.

35. Next __: close relative: OF KIN.

37. Levy put on heirs: ESTATE TAX.

39. Farm output: CROP.

40. Hawaiian coffee district: KONA.

41. Microsoft search engine: BING.

45. Manage: OPERATE.

47. Sign of healing: SCAB. Or SCAR? Waited for the B in BEATER to be sure.

49. Future oaks: ACORNS.

50. __-la-la: TRA.

52. Swiss abstractionist Paul: KLEE. This is his Castle and Sun.

53. Tablets at a Genius Bar: IPADS. Cute.

54. Bogus offer: SCAM.

55. Sighed lament: AH ME.

56. Princess played by Lucy Lawless: XENA.

60. "Take a load off": SIT.

61. Hasbro product: TOY.

62. Couple: TWO.

63. A, in German class: EIN.

Tuesday, June 16, 2020 Frank Virzi

My House is Your House (If you can find it).  A type of an abode can be found "divided" in the circles of each theme answer.

20-Across. Tenderloin often served with Béarnaise sauce: CHATEAUBRIAND.  CABIN.

A Chateaubriand is a very expensive filet mignon.  It was named after a French aristocrat and writer named François-René de Chateaubriand (1768 ~ 1848).

33-Across. Rockies resort town: VAIL, COLORADO.  VILLA.

41-Across. Sub on a plate: HERO SANDWICH.  RANCH.

There are many variations on a RANCH style house.

And the Unifier:

56-Across. Biblical phrase in Lincoln's historic 6/16/1858 speech, and what each set of circled letters contains: A HOUSE DIVIDED.  This bibilcal reference appears in the Gospel of Mark (3:25) where Jesus said, "If a House be Divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand." (Revised Standard Version).  I am familiar with Lincoln's speech.   I did not know, however, that it was a Biblical reference.

Across:

1. Single-celled creature: AMEBA.

6. Cab alternative: UBER.  Oh, literally a cab.  I was thinking of our usual misdirection of a Cabernet wine.

10. Partner of aid: ABET.  Partners in crime: Aid and Abet.

14. Disinterested: BORED.

15. Georgetown athlete: HOYA.  Did you know that a Hoya is a genus of tropical plants?  That is not, however, the origin of the Georgetown Hoya, which apparently derived from Greek and Latin words.  The Georgetown mascot is Jack, the Bulldog.  Anyway, that's their story, and they're sticking to it.  I rather like the flower, though.

16. Hot under the collar: SORE.

17. Pricey violin, for short: STRAD.  A violin Stradivarius violin was created from the shop of Antonio Stradivari (1644 ~ Dec. 18, 1737).

18. Did some weeding: HOED.  This answer appeared in yesterday's puzzle and was clued as "worked the soil".

19. Start of a spell: ABRA.

23. Prince Valiant's boy: ARN.  He appears with some frequency in the puzzles, but I can never remember his name.

24. Highest degree: NTH.  You known the answer has to be either Nth or Ph.D.

25. Kindergarten art item: CRAYON.

28. Squeaked by: MADE DO.

30. Smeltery refuse: SLAG.

32. Inc. kin: LLC.  As in a Limited Liability Company.

36. Rifle range supply: AMMO.

39. Federation in OPEC: UAE.  The United Arab Emirate is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Company.

40. Les __ les autres: one another: UNES.  Today's French lesson.

46. Court players' gp.: ATP.  As in the Association of Tennis Professionals.

47. Disapproving sounds: TSKs!

48. Like a one-lane bridge: NARROW.  I wanted a Covered Bridge, but that was too many letters.

52. Topiary tool: SHEARS.

54. "http" often begins one: URL.

55. Lemon finish?: ADE.  Hi, Lemonade!

60. River seen from the Leaning Tower: ARNO.

62. Old bread problem: MOLD. 

63. Breezing through: ACING.

64. Rain cats and dogs: POUR.

65. "Do it, or __!": ELSE.

66. Eco-friendly word: REUSE.  We saw this word last Friday.

67. Falafel holder: PITA.  Yummers!  Street food in Jerusalem.

68. Letter opener: DEAR.  Fun clue.

69. Those in favor: YESES.

Down:

1. '70s-'80s scandal that inspired "American Hustle": ABSCAM.  Abscam was an FBI sting.

2. Lepidopteran foe of Godzilla: MOTHRA.  This creature has appeared in the puzzles before.

3. Quick post office run, say: ERRAND.

4. Outplay: BEAT.

5. Back-of-the-book supplements: ADDENDA.

6. "You betcha!": UH, HUH!

7. Blockhead: BOOB.  Hmm ...  //  Not to be confused with 34-Down. Blockhead: LUNK.

8. Watcher: EYER.

9. Politically extreme: RADICAL.  In chemistry, a radical is an atom, molecule or ion that has an unpaired valence electron.

10. Yoga posture: ASANA.

11. "Blowin' in the Wind" singer/songwriter: BOB DYLAN.  The answer my friend ...

12. Make a mistake: ERR.

13. Sri Lanka export: TEA.

21. Yours, to Yves: À TOI.  More of today's French lesson.

22. Legendary Greek ship: ARGO.

26. Ye __ Shoppe: OLDE.

27. Some mil. drillers: NCOs.  As in Non-Commissioned Officers.

29. Cruet filler, to Rachael Ray: EVOO.  Extra Virgin Olive Oil also appeared in last Friday's puzzle.

30. Tons: SCADS.

31. MGM co-founder Marcus: LOEW.

Marcus Lowe (May 7, 1870 ~ Sept. 5, 1927)

35. German industrial region: RUHR.

36. Cries of insight: AHAs!

37. Protestant denom.: METH.  As in Methodist.

38. Monocled food mascot: MR. PEANUT.  Mr. Peanut has undergone many changes in his 100 + year existence.  I think this year's Super Bowl did him in.

42. Houston MLBer: 'STRO.  As in the Houston Astros.

43. Took as a given: ASSUMED.

44. 45-Down inscription: INRI.  //  And  45-Down. Site of the Crucifixion: CALVARY.

49. The "r" in pi-r-squared: RADIUS.  Pi-r-squared?  Pi r not squared, pi r round!

50. Danish seaport: ODENSE.

51. Wood-splitting tools: WEDGES.

53. Now, in Nogales: AHORA.  Today's Spanish lesson.

54. Cow's milk source: UDDER.

57. Only: SOLE.

58. Film lioness: ELSA.

Elsa with Joy Adamson

59. Slushy drink brand: ICEE.

60. iPhone purchase: APP.

61. French king: ROI.  Our final French lesson for the day.

Here's the Grid:

QOD:  The greatest value of a picture is when it forces us to notice what we never expected to see.  ~  John Tukey (né John Wilder Tukey; June 16, 1915 ~ July 26, 2000), American mathematician