Theme: Three letter scramble - Janice OPTed to Stir the POT, not Spin the TOP.
17A. Dice roller's exhortation: COME TO PAPA
40A. Actor with near-synonymous first and last names: RIP TORN
11D. Pretty darn simple: IDIOT PROOF
25D. Toaster snack: POP TART
29D. Verses by Allen Ginsberg, e.g.: BEAT POETRY
61A. Cause trouble ... and a hint to this puzzle's circled letters: STIR THE POT
Argyle here. Puzzle has both 90- and 180-degree crossword symmetry. I'm not sure what that means; I just cut and paste what they tell me. Not having circles shouldn't have been much of a detriment to the solve.
Across:
1. Doofus: DOLT
5. Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant: K-CARS. Trivia - First Chrysler car to be produced in the metric system with metric screw threads and components.
10. Smack on the mouth: KISS
14. Letter-shaped support piece: I-BAR. The real deal, 46D. Steel girders: I-BEAMS
15. "For real!": "NO LIE!"
16. Pop singer Brickell: EDIE. Easy listening.
19. Scrabble piece: TILE
20. TV preview: TEASER
21. Taken as a whole: ALL TOLD
23. Satchel feature: STRAP
26. Margarita glass rim coating: SALT. Where is my lost shaker of salt?
27. Curved sword: SABER and CW sword of choice, 57D. Weapon with a tip guard: EPEE
30. Application info: Abbr.: DOB. (date of birth)
32. Pool measure: DEPTH
35. What soccer shootouts resolve: TIES
36. Peaceful state: REPOSE
38. P-like Greek letter: RHO
39. Actress Thurman: UMA
41. Museum hanging: OIL
42. Amount after costs: NET
43. Suitcase attachments: ID TAGS
44. Yuletide: NOEL
45. Not so hot?: TEPID
47. __ Lanka: SRI. Was there a bridge to Sri Lanka? Link
48. Swollen: PUFFY
49. Upper, in Ulm: OBER. Ulm is a German city on the River Danube.
51. Male voice range: TENOR
53. "Toodle-oo!": "CHEERIO!"
56. Evaluate for tax purposes: ASSESS
60. Wee bit: IOTA
64. Time in office: TERM
65. Emulate Vesuvius: ERUPT
66. Scarlet letter of fiction: RED 'A'
67. Slow Churned ice cream brand: EDY'S
68. Hagar of Van Halen: SAMMY. Funny video.
69. Wine bottle number: YEAR
Down:
1. Random House vol.: DICTionary
2. Woodwind instrument: OBOE
3. Dalai __: LAMA
4. Locks on heads: TRESSES
5. Soup mix brand: KNORR
6. "Blue Bloods" extra: COP. Tom Selleck as Frank Reagan, New York City Police Commissioner.
7. Pie-mode connection: À LA
8. TV host Kelly: RIPA. With hubby.
9. Applies weatherstripping to: SEALS
10. Stovetop whistler: KETTLE
12. Housecat's perch: SILL
13. Watermelon eater's discard: SEED
18. Four: Pref.: TETR. From the Greek word for four.
22. Saddled (with): LADEN
24. People with skill: ADEPTS
27. Publicity ploy: STUNT
28. Evangelist __ Semple McPherson: AIMEE. Maybe this clip will help me remember her but I doubt it.
31. Shake it on the dance floor: BOOGIE
33. Burglar: THIEF
34. "Deck the Halls" greenery: HOLLY
36. Free (of): RID
37. Yearbook gp.: SRs. (seniors)
40. One on horseback: RIDER
44. Room with a crib: NURSERY
48. Luxurious: POSH
50. Greets the judge: RISES
52. Well-dressed: NATTY
53. Mention in a footnote: CITE
54. Broke up some clods: HOED
55. Senorita's "other": OTRA
58. Scotch go-with: SODA. Ironic; a manhattan singing about a scotch
59. Walk of Fame figure: STAR
62. Periodic table suffix: IUM. lol, where'd that come from? I didn't see it when solving.
63. Turntable no.: RPM. (revolutions per minute)
Argyle
