And away we go

Theme: 59. First out of the gate, and what 17-, 22-, 38- and 51-Across all get: OFF TO A FAST START.

Each theme begins with a word meaning FAST.

17A. It may be drawn without thinking: HASTY CONCLUSION.

22A. Sylvester Pussycat nemesis: SPEEDY GONZALES. A little undercurrent of cartoons in today's effort, including a second appearance for 60D. Sylvester, to Tweety: TAT.

38A. Dubious diet ad promise: RAPID WEIGHT LOSS.

51A. Mentally agile: QUICK ON THE DRAW. One of my favorites QUICK DRAW .

Happy hump to you all; Lemonade here with my second Dan Naddor; it has been more than 6 months since his passing, and it does not get easier. His theme answer are all unique and long, while not too difficult, they show his creativity. He also uses most of the tough letters in the alphabet, missing only J, V and X.



Across

1. Turkish title: AGHA.

5. Kind of appetizer platter: PUPU. I believe this is an Hawaiian word that means appetizer; help me out here our Hawaiian contingent.

9. Refs throw them: FLAGS.

14. Nobleman's mistress: COURTESAN.

16. Artist Neiman: LEROY. The best sports artist ever, you can go and see his work at ORIGINALS .

19. In the know: HIP. With 8D. Not 19-Across: UNCOOL.

20. Buck's partner: DOE. Did you ever think that a Buck is a dollar, and Dough (DOE) is also money? No? Oh well, I did.

21. Emergency PC key: ESC.

27. A/C unit: BTU. British Thermal Units. I know they say Brits are cold, is that why they named the A/C measurer after them?

28. Paul's "Exodus" role: ARI. Paul Newman, and amzing book and MOVIE , which was produced by MGM. which coincidentally (?) is next. 29A. MGM co-founder: LOEW. His story was interesting, MARCUS LOEW . And then we have, 64D. Early MGM rival: RKO.

30. Fridge or freezer: Abbr.: APPL. It is amazing how clues are seen in bunches.

32. Pollution-policing org.: EPA.

34. Fountain orders: SODAS. The days of soda fountains are long gone....

42. Record needles: STYLI. Now we know the rest of the story on our yesterday boo boo.

43. Response of feigned innocence: MOI. Of course you must think of HER .

44. Spill the beans: SING. Often done by criminals, who are also known as CONS....

45. Con: ANTI.

48. Powder parter: SKI. Alliteration and trickery all wrapped into one clue, wonderful.

50. Asian occasion: TET. Follwed by a wonderful rhyme, even if the reference is offensive to some (Dennis?).

56. Network absorbed by The CW: UPN.

57. Long-jawed fish: GAR.

58. ICU test: EEG.

66. Synagogue scroll: TORAH.

67. First felony conviction, in some states: ONE STRIKE. More alliteration.

68. Poet's Muse: ERATO. A real crosswordese, we all should have this one down.

69. Certain squad member: GEEK. Some say Best Buy has spent all the money on ads, and not training for their MEMBERS , I am prejudiced because my nephew is one.

70. "__ off?": ON OR. Dan really liked the word strings as answers.

DOWN

1. German cry: ACH. This is for you Windhover, SING A LONG .

2. ___ few rounds: GO A.

3. Item in a fried side with catfish: HUSH PUPPY. Was the fried necessary?

4. "The Sopranos" chef Bucco: ARTIE. Did anyone remember his last name, which in hidsight sound like OSSO BUCO.

5. Delt neighbor:PEC. Muscles, shoulder and chest...

6. GI entertainers: USO. Gee, we can get Jayne Mansfield again with BOB HOPE .

7. Co. that has sponsored many soaps: P AND G. Proctor and Gamble; I wonder if I will ever do the "AND" words easily.

9. __ shot: FLU.

10. Guitarist Paul: LES. Just BEAUTIFUL .

11. The Little Mermaid: ARIEL. MB, Jeannie, ladies, is she a role model?

12. Ninny: GOOSE. Or just a silly...

13. Matches audio to video, say: SYNCS.

15. Aggressive sort: TYPE A.

18. He preceded and followed O'Brien: LENO.

22. March VIP: ST PAT.

23. Attracted: DREW. This ONE?.

24. "Holy Toledo!": YIPE.

25. Energy: ZEST.

26. Mil. truants: AWOLS.

27. Ivory units?: BARS. Loved this ones, could not figure out how to squeeze tusks in here.

31. The purple one is New Hampshire's state flower: LILAC.

33. Fire preceder?: AIM. Another Naddor left fielder.

35. "Encore!": DO IT AGAIN.

36. Good __: repaired: AS NEW.

37. USMC rank: SSGT.

39. Drop shot, in tennis: DINK. Like this MEMORY .

40. "No kidding!": GOSH.

41. Increase: HIKE. Another one that took a while to see.

46. Frat party attire: TOGA.

47. Dazed: IN A FOG.

49. Latin clarifier: ID EST.

51. Bit of term paper color: QUOTE. Okay he fooled me again.

52. Enthusiastic about: UP FOR.

53. Prefix with structure: INFRA.

54. Big name in air conditioning: TRANE. They used my friends' SONG .

55. In once more: RETRO.

61. "So that's your game!": O HO.

62. "What'd I tell ya?": SEE.

63. "That wasn't nice!": TSK.

65. Three times, in Rx's: TER. I actually remember TID, but all in all a fun Wednesday, that perhaps was softened by the editor. Keep the cards and letters coming, especially you newbies, tell us what you think, your humble servant....