4. *Round before the Elite Eight : SWEET SIXTEEN. Sweet talking. Elite Eight are the eight final teams in the NCAA regional finals or national quarterfinals.
6. *Ball carrier's maneuver depicted by the Heisman Trophy : STRAIGHT ARM. Straight talking.
26. *Two over par : DOUBLE BOGEY. Double talking.
23. Pundits ... and what the first words in the answers to starred clues literally are : TALKING HEADS
Four wrong answers snagged me until I got those untangled, aside from that, very do-able, just right for a Tuesday.
melissa here.
Across:
1. Tostitos dip : SALSA
6. #, in music : SHARP
11. Swabbing need : MOP
14. Makes furrows in fields : PLOWS
15. Universal donor's group : TYPE O
16. Sports drink suffix : ADE
17. Roof overhangs : EAVES
18. Check the total of : RE-ADD. Tried ADDED first.
19. Musician's booking : GIG
20. Gallic gal pal : AMIE. Tried LASS first.
21. Paving goo : TAR
22. Adorable ones : CUTIES
24. Thor Heyerdahl's raft : KON-TIKI. I had no idea of this interesting story.
26. Lady of Lisbon : DONA. Portuguese title of address equivalent to Mrs. or Madam.
27. Beijing skyline haze : SMOG. Awful.
28. Home of the Raiders : OAKLAND
32. Video game brother : MARIO
35. High, in the French Alps : HAUT
37. Swiss painter Paul : KLEE. Very recognizable and colorful style.
38. Green card in the credit world : AMEX
39. Wild guesses : STABS
40. Brainchild : IDEA
41. Breathe heavily : PANT. Tried GASP first.
42. Hair clipper brand : WAHL
43. Twist into knots : GNARL. Tried BRAID first.
44. More vertical : STEEPER
46. Periodical with a URL : E-MAG
48. Oater actor Jack : ELAM
49. Chess pieces that move only diagonally : BISHOPS
53. Venus, e.g. : PLANET
56. Dress for success, with "up" : TOG. If this is common crosswordese, I didn't remember. So out of practice.
57. Gardner of mystery : ERLE.
58. Old nuclear agcy. : AEC
59. Repair, as faulty software : DEBUG
61. Morocco's capital : RABAT
62. Pixar collectible : CEL
63. Loon kin : GREBE
64. Official command : EDICT
65. Nonstandard product-tracking no. : SKU. Stock Keeping Unit.
66. College paper : ESSAY
67. "Bone" prefix : OSTEO
Down:
1. Command to Fido : SPEAK
2. "Drive Happy" rental company : ALAMO
3. "Good __": 1966 Young Rascals hit : LOVIN
5. Biblical mount : ASS
7. Martha of "Some Came Running" : HYER. 1959 Movie.
8. Therapists' org. : APA. American Psychological Association.
9. Revolutionary soldiers : REDCOATS
10. Middle-of-nowhere town : PODUNK
11. Star-struck trio? : MAGI. Nice clue.
12. Drooly toon dog : ODIE
13. Cribbage pieces : PEGS
21. Bout decision : TKO
25. Texter's "I think ..." : IMO. "In My Opinion."
29. "M*A*S*H" star : ALDA. Hawkeye Pierce. IMO, Radar is the most endearing character.
30. At no time, in poems : NE'ER. Fare thee well, for ne'er shall we meet again ...
31. Negotiation ender : DEAL. Sneaky clue.
32. Plans (out) : MAPS
33. Amo, amas, __ : AMAT
34. Philosopher Descartes : RENE
36. Contented sigh : AAH
39. Cool weather clothes : SWEATERS
43. Fun time : GAS
45. Telethon promise : PLEDGE
47. Russian fighter : MIG
50. Heavenly path : ORBIT
51. "Peyton __" : PLACE
52. Spat : SET-TO. Got hung up here, thinking of Spat as a verb. The first T, crossing RABAT was my last to fill in.
53. Lobbying orgs. : PACS
54. Scallion kin : LEEK
55. First Amendment defender: Abbr. : ACLU
56. Oom-pah maker : TUBA
60. Wanna-__: pretenders : BE'S
61. Popular Roaring Twenties auto : REO
