Boy, was this puzzle rough for me. I used to give up on Thursdays, but I haven’t recently, and I’m glad I didn’t today. Doing it on my phone didn’t make it any easier.

I pulled out 32D Superficial inspection: SMELLTEST because that seems like a comically bad idea to do when COVID is ripping us apart.

I was super confused at today’s theme until I realized what was going on. That helped me solve the rest.

16A Siding?: SILICONCHIP
27A Oration?: OXYGENSUPPLY
36A Female?: IRONMAN
43A Aground?: SILVERBULLET
57A Cold?: CARBONDATED

It was 57A that did it for me and helped me figure out the other ones from what I had filled out already.

16A Siding? -> Si (silicon) + ding (chip like a chipped plate): SILICONCHIP
27A Oration? -> O (oxygen) + ration (supply): OXYGENSUPPLY
36A Female? -> Fe (iron) + male (man): IRONMAN
43A Aground? -> Ag (silver) + round (bullet like ammunition): SILVERBULLET
57A Cold? -> C (carbon) + old (dated): CARBONDATED

Honorable mention today is 22A Sound track?: EARCANAL. Because it’s the path the sound takes.

Finished this one in a whopping 55:17.