Theme: Fowl Play - And not the cooped-up chicken counting card game.
20. Longtime navigation method: DEAD RECKONING. Dead Duck
36. Rabbit's foot, perhaps: LUCKY CHARM. Lucky Duck
42. Toy sold in eggs: SILLY PUTTY. Silly Goose
56. Kids' game hinted at by the starts of 20-, 36-, and 42-Across: DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE
Argyle here. Nifty Monday from Neville. He is usually later in the week. The four long columns stitch it all together.
Across:
1. Plus: ALSO
5. Kernel-less picnic discards: COBS
9. What judges wear: ROBES
14. In a little while: SOON
15. "Once __ a midnight dreary ... ": UPON. 51-Down. Award named for Poe: EDGAR
16. Kick out of the country: EXILE. Perhaps to end up on the following.
17. Spring break destination, perhaps: ISLE
18. Nevada gambling city: RENO
19. Like thickets: DENSE
23. List of mistakes: ERRATA, in subsequent edtions.
24. Golf scorecard figure: PAR
25. Med. condition with repetitive behavior: OCD. (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)
28. Tries to be heard in a noisy room: YELLs. Because "Psst!" won't cut it.
31. Save: RESCUE. Dogs, cats, winos.
33. Rascals: CADs
38. Geometry calculations: AREAs
40. Small battery: AAA
41. Body part often sculpted: TORSO
45. Paradise: EDEN
46. Et __: CETERA
47. Puts a tight lid on: SEALS
49. First st., alphabetically: ALA.
50. "__ you serious?": ARE
52. "Hold on a second": "NOT YET"
60. Reeves who played "Ted" in "Bill & Ted" films: KEANU. Excellent!
62. High spirits: GLEE
63. Bit of deception: RUSE
64. Clark's exploring partner: LEWIS
65. Author Rice: ANNE
66. Like 2, 4, 6, and so on: EVEN
67. "The Count of __ Cristo": MONTE
68. Charlie Brown's "Phooey!": RATS. Classic.
69. Erotic: SEXY
Down:
1. Parenthetical remark: ASIDE
2. What a two-fingered "L" represents: LOSER. "Let's not be L7." (square)
3. Word with panel or power: SOLAR
4. Limited-time retail offer: [ONE DAY SALE]. But wait! Call in the next 15 minutes...
5. Panacea: CURE-ALL
6. Oil-exporting org.: OPEC. (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)
7. Hit on the head: BONK
8. Poke around: SNOOP
9. Forward, as mail: REDIRECT
10. Plow-pulling animals: OXEN
11. Church game handout: BINGO CARD
12. Golfer Ernie: ELS
13. Recognize: SEE
21. I-95, e.g.: Abbr.: RTE
22. __ a soul: NARY
26. Evil legacy: CURSE
27. Evil spirit: DEMON
29. Maui party: LUAU
30. Sings like Ella: SCATS
32. Retail outlets with many loafers?: SHOE STORES
33. First to stab Caesar: CASCA. Publius Servilius Casca was the first to strike Caesar with a dagger. (Even Lila Cherry used this on a Monday.)
34. Animated film mermaid: ARIEL
35. 1973 #1 hit for Helen Reddy: DELTA DAWN. Remember?
37. "Kiss Me __": KATE. A musical version of The Taming of the Shrew.
39. New York university city: SYRACUSE
43. Picnic area: PARK
44. Baseball's Bronx Bombers: YANKEES
48. Calculator function: LOG
53. "__ Lost That Lovin' Feelin'": YOU'VE. Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, The Righteous Brothers.
54. Devereux's earldom: ESSEX. Obscure reference to an opera by Gaetano Donizetti, 1837, maybe? Link
55. So, so small: TEENY
57. Inch or mile, e.g.: UNIT
58. Forearm bone: ULNA
59. Dollar fraction: CENT
60. Merged Dutch airline: KLM. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. Air France–KLM merger.
61. Fair-hiring letters: EEO. (Equal Employment Opportunity)
Argyle
