It's What's Inside that Counts. The circled letters spell out things that can make up the inner core.
17-Across. City near the Great Salt Lake: OGDEN UTAH. Nut.
25-Across. "Be yourself," nowadays: KEEP IT REAL. Pit.
36-Across. Casino advantage: HOUSE EDGE. Seed.
51-Across. "Be right with you": JUST ONE SEC. Stone.
And the Unifier:
61-Across. Earth's most central geologic layer ... or what can be found in each set of puzzle circles: INNER CORE.
Across:
1. Watering hole: BAR.
4. African language group: BANTU.
9. Suddenly took interest: SAT UP.
14. Québec street: RUE. Today's French lesson.
15. Future oak: ACORN.
16. Way to go it: ALONE.
19. Has to have: NEEDS.
20. Biceps exercises: CURLS.
21. Hosting a show, briefly: MC-ING. As in being an Emcee, short for Master of Ceremonies.
23. Tennis do-over: LET.
24. Breyers __ Cookies & Cream: OREO. A fresh new clue for our old crossword staple.
27. Arnaz-Ball production company: DESILU. The production company is a combination of Desi and Lu(cy).
29. Muss, as hair: TOUSLE.
30. Magazine VIPs: EDs. As in Editors.
31. Adjust to one's environment: ADAPT.
35. Old fast fliers: SSTs. As in SuperSonic Transport, a crossword staple. Why the Concorde was retired.
39. Fleshy fruit: POME. According to Webster's, a Pome is a generic term for any fleshy fruit "consisting of an outers fleshy layer and a central core with usually five seeds in a capsule." The best known example of a Pome is an Apple. In fact, in French, the word for Apple is Pomme. Other examples of Pomes, include: pears, quince, loquats, and pomegranates.
42. Barbecue spot: PATIO.
43. Can opener: TAB.
46. Feathered friends: AVIANS. The obvious Birds was too few letters.
49. Beethoven's "Tempest," e.g.: SONATA. Time for a musical interlude. This piece is also known as Sonata No. 17 and was composed by Beethoven around 1801/1802.
55. Chimps and gorillas: APES.
56. Furry sitcom extraterrestrial: ALF. Alf was a sit-com ran from the mid-1980s to 1990. I never watched it, but am familiar with it because Alf makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.
57. Chutzpah: MOXIE. Chutzpah is that quality in the man who kills his mother and father, then throws himself at the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.
58. Stick with a pin: PRICK. // And 22. Little point to pick: NIT.
59. Early American crop: MAIZE. Scientists believe that maize was first domesticated in the Americas, probably in Mexico. A large cache of ancient maize was discovered in a cave in New Mexico over a hundred years ago.
63. Geographer's volume: ATLAS.
64. Tokyo-based watchmaker: SEIKO. I had a Seiko watch like this one.
65. No-frills bed: COT.
66. Filters (through): SEEPS.
67. Jacket material: TWEED. I initially tried Denim.
68. "Very cute!" sounds: AWs!
Down:
1. Tacit rules of male friendship: BRO CODE. If it's tacit, why is there a book?
2. Was a sign of: AUGURED.
3. Set right: REDRESS.
4. Passes a law against: BANS.
5. Pressure prefix: ACU-. As in AcuWeather, which allows you to learn of weather conditions where you live.
6. "I'm innocent!": NOT ME!
7. Barely detectable amount: TRACE.
8. Far from cool: UNHIP.
"I recommend hip replacement surgery for men who aren't as hip as they used to be."
9. Serenaded: SANG TO.
10. Stein filler: ALE. Time for another musical interlude.
11. Like many summer shoes: TOELESS. I prefer sandals.
12. Still being shuffled: UNDEALT.
13. Tablet crushers: PESTLES. Tricky clue. I was thinking along the lines of an iPad, which I certainly wouldn't want to crush.
18. "The Time Machine" race: ELOI. A crossword staple. I have never read The Time Machine, but apparently there are two-post humans existing in the future and the Eloi are one.
25. Spiral-horned antelope: KUDU. These animals are native to Africa.
26. Tricky plan: RUSE.
28. Vientiane people: LAO.
32. Poisonous African snake: ASP. It was the death of Cleopatra.
33. Stew morsel: PEA. If you're a princess, it will keep you awake at night.
34. Vietnamese New Year: TET. A crossword staple.
36. Cookbook verb: HEAT. Stir probably used more in the cookbooks.
37. Spinal segment: DISC.
38. Bit of baby talk: GOO.
39. Often-abbreviated attire: PAJAMAS. As in PJs, or as we say in my house: Jammie-Jams.
40. Produce eggs: OVULATE.
41. Put in the wrong folder: MISFILE.
43. Pudding choice: TAPIOCA. I think of Tapioca pudding as a comfort food.
44. Was humiliated: ATE CROW.
45. Laundry holders: BASKETS. Do you use a laundry basket or a clothes hamper?
47. "Easy to clean" ad claim: NO MESS. I initially tried, No Muss.
48. __-Cat: winter vehicle: SNO.
50. DEA agent: NARC.
52. Live: EXIST.
53. Muscular power: SINEW.
54. Start of a counting rhyme: EENIE. A final musical interlude.
58. Cattle poker: PROD.
60. Microwave: ZAP.
62. Squeeze (out): EKE.
Here's the Grid:
Here's the Grid:
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