Aspiration by Fred Piscop

Across 1. Muffin choice 5. Casts off 10. "Pygmalion" dramatist 14. Theater section 15. Secret languages 16. Fish story 17. NYSE counterpart 18. Peter of synonyms 19. Steam up 20. Fans of politico Gary? 22. Youngest 500-homer man, familiarly 23. Be an omen of 24. __-eyed (close to tears) 25. Theater guide 28. Unchecked 32. Goes after 34. Imitation 35. Stick up 38. "__ we forget ..." 39. Air freshener targets 41. Drone's home 42. Fireplace remnant 43. Cookie since 1912 44. Visibly upset 46. Robert Blake series 49. Upturned, as a crate 50. Jell-O formers 52. Social misfit 54. Shirt brand 55. Wrestling champ? 61. A whole lot 62. Really go for 63. "This can't be!" 64. Within: Prefix 65. Cubist Fernand 66. Vaudeville's Seven Little __ 67. Espied 68. Op-ed piece 69. Become threadbare

Down 1. Dull as dishwater 2. Actress Downey 3. Golden __ (senior) 4. Second in preference 5. New England catch 6. Depression-era president 7. Slight lead 8. Salt lick visitor 9. Fliers from De Gaulle, once 10. Muscle problem 11. Salon workers' walkout? 12. Mete out 13. Like a neglected lawn 21. Tribal history 24. Upper limit, informally 25. Pac-12 team 26. The Beatles' "__ Leaving Home" 27. Marilyn Monroe working at a beanery? 29. Under way 30. Scratch up 31. Face, slangily 33. Needing liniment 36. Microwave or Dutch 37. Make concessions 40. NYPD fig. 41. "Don't touch!" 43. Surgery spots, for short 45. Circle dance 47. Builds a new room, say 48. Singer Bocelli 50. Tiny arachnids 51. Makeup of a layer with a "hole" 53. Abrasive stuff 55. Fit as a fiddle 56. Pindaric works 57. Snorers saw them 58. God with a hammer 59. "Watermark" New Ager 60. Optimistic

Solution