Theme: Unless I miss something, it's just a set of "What To What" answers.
17. How canvassers usually work: DOOR TO DOOR.
27. How page-turners are often read: COVER TO COVER.
48. How apartment leases sometimes run: MONTH TO MONTH.
62. How pistol duelers typically stand: BACK TO BACK.
Boomer here.
My feel good story of the week. I help coach the varsity and JV bowling teams of my alma mater high school. We have four members who are on student visas from China, so I asked C.C. if she could give me a "Nice shot" or "Way to go" in Chinese language. C.C. gave me a short phrase that sounds like "hen hoa" and I used it a few times and you should see the smiles I lit on the young folks faces. (They also won their first match on Friday).
Across:
1. Answer with attitude: SASS.
5. Female WWII gp.: WAAC. This is the Women's Army corps. They dropped the A for Auxillary sometime after WWII.
9. Ink cartridge color: CYAN. A fancy name for Turquoise.
13. " ... calm, __ bright": "Silent Night": ALL IS. If you had trouble with this clue, you have no mistletoe in your home.
15. Stone of "La La Land": EMMA.
16. Revolutionary spy Nathan: HALE. He was hanged by the British during the Revolutionary War.
19. Correct a script, say: EDIT.
20. Satisfied sounds: AHS. The sound you may hear when new Vikings kicker Dan Bailey kicks a field goal.
21. Golf's "Big Easy" Ernie: ELS. High trains in Chicago.
22. Raised-baton strokes, in music: UPBEATS. I would much rather have upbeats than be beat up.
24. Sauce with falafel: TAHINI.
26. Desk tray words: IN OUT. Yes and no matter what, "IN" always has a higher pile.
32. Prop for Chaplin: CANE. "Ain't no more cane on the Brazos, we done ground it all in molasses, Oh, Oh, Oh."
35. Lodge logo animal: ELK. A brotherhood organizations that advances organized youth activities, And a good place to buy pull tabs.
36. Total failures: LOSERS. Those who bought pull tabs at the Elks Lodge.
37. Novelist Tolstoy: LEO. Not to be confused with Sven's buddy "Ole".
38. Tallahassee sch.: FSU.
40. Thanksgiving mo.: NOV. Sometimes Monday clues are easy, Oops, I said that last week.
41. Blows volcano-style: ERUPTS.
45. "Double Fantasy" collaborator Yoko: ONO. Oh No, Why is her surname not Lennon.
47. At the peak of: ATOP. Old Smokey was covered with snow.
51. Prepare (oneself), as for a jolt: BRACE.
52. Hebrew greeting: SHALOM. Sometimes good by or Peace.
56. "Definitely!": NO DOUBT.
59. "__ the ramparts ... ": OER. "Were so gallantly streaming."
60. Org. that publishes the newsletter GoGreen!: EPA. Had some problems this year. Director Pruitt considered the US Treasury his personal bank account.
61. Fictional estate near Atlanta: TARA.
65. Close tightly: SHUT.
66. At any time: EVER.
67. Count who composed "One O'Clock Jump": BASIE.
68. Depresses, with "out": BUMS. Mindful of the old Brooklyn Dodgers.
69. Boxer Oscar __ Hoya: DELA. I never was a boxing fan, but I have heard of Oscar.
70. Catches on to: GETS.
Down:
1. 1978 Egyptian co-Nobelist Anwar: SADAT.
2. "Welcome to Maui!": ALOHA. In Hawaii, I believe this greeting is similar to "Shalom".
3. Wade noisily: SLOSH.
4. Round Table title: SIR. "To Sir with Love", Sidney Poitier grossed over $42 Million.
5. Ties the knot: WEDS.
6. Latin "I love": AMO. I think that was the first Latin I ever learned, but I did not love it.
7. Invoice figure: AMOUNT.
8. Use the HOV lane: CARPOOL.
9. Frito-Lay snacks with a speedy cat mascot: CHEETOS. The punch line in a lot of "turned orange" jokes.
10. When said thrice, "and so on": YADA. Did "Seinfeld" start this or just make it popular??
11. Touched down: ALIT. So if Tom Brady completes a pass in the end zone, is it alit?
12. Hockey targets: NETS. Also basketballs, soccer balls, and butterflies.
14. Courtroom transcript pro: STENO.
18. Antipasto morsel: OLIVE. Ms. Oyl, Popeye's girlfriend.
23. Osso __: veal dish: BUCO.
25. Cooler cubes: ICE. Sheets for Zamboni to repair every 20 minutes.
26. Annoying: IRKSOME.
28. Keebler sprite: ELF. A good old Santa helper.
29. Blow off steam: VENT.
30. Suffix with switch: EROO
31. Answer the invite, briefly: RSVP. French acronym for "Are you coming or not?"
32. Skelton's Kadiddlehopper: CLEM. I miss "Ol Red. He was a classic entertainer.
33. Prefix with dynamic: AERO.
34. Grammar, grammatically, e.g.: NOUN. Knock, Knock, "Who's there? … No Un.
39. Crazy Eights cousin: UNO.
42. WWII vessels: PT BOATS. Most famous was JFK's PT109
43. No __ traffic: THRU. Turn around.
44. Pierced with a fork: STABBED. Met her on a mountain, there I took here life. Hang down your head Tom Dooley.
46. Initial stage: ONSET.
47. "Eureka!": AHA.
49. E to E, in music: OCTAVE. So an Octave is eight notes, and an octagon has eight sides. So why is October the tenth month?
50. Pulsate: THROB. Be still my heart.
53. Car dealer's offering: LEASE. Sometimes this will fit your budget better than a purchase, but it usually better for the dealer than the consumer.
54. Ref. to a prior ref.: OP CIT.
55. Manufactures: MAKES. Sometimes I manufacture a mess.
56. Govt. accident investigator: NTSB.
57. Island near Maui: OAHU. Island location of Pearl Harbor. I lived through the assassination of JFK, and 9/11/2001. I was not yet born on December 7, 1941, and happy to say.
58. Percussion instrument: DRUM. Come they told him pa rum pa pum pum.
59. Pod in gumbo: OKRA.
63. "Snow White" collectible: CEL.
64. Grocery sack: BAG. Paper or plastic? Some cities are now prohibiting plastic bags. All Right! Back to the fifties!!
Boomer
