puzzle

 ACROSS



  1 Liveliness

  4 Country famous for its cigars

  8 Simple earring

 12 Rosso or bianco drink

 13 ___-and-mortar

 15 Hollow stem

 16 High horse?

 18 Big Apple computer

 19 Flinch, perhaps

 20 Take forcibly

 22 "Te ___" (2009 Rihanna hit)

 23 Often-torn knee part, briefly

 25 Dead ___ (spitting image)

 27 High spirits?

 33 Apartment, for one

 34 ___ monster (large lizard)

 35 Opposite of "tether"

 37 Waze suggestion: Abbr.

 38 ___ languages (Italian, Spanish and others)

 40 Includes on an email

 41 Color of many smart casual pants

 43 Swedish furniture giant

 44 Laker who was 1999-2000's NBA MVP

 45 High rollers?

 48 Tattered

 49 III, to Jr.

 50 Metaphorical pinch

 51 Tiny truck manufacturer

 55 Physician-scientist's dual deg.

 59 Reason to hold your nose

 61 High maintenance?

 63 Lyft offering

 64 Contest submission

 65 Like broccoli, to many kids

 66 "___ it matter?"

 67 Double-reed woodwind

 68 Casual top

DOWN

  1 Heap

  2 One-named Irish singer

  3 Audio show

  4 "Survivor" channel

  5 Language in Pakistan

  6 What's often in the news?

  7 Rights org.

  8 ___-fi

  9 Digital pet that became a fad

 10 Like a monarchy, as opposed to a presidency

 11 Look inside?

 12 Ancestor of a DVD player

 14 Strug of 1996's Magnificent Seven

 17 Inscribe

 21 Stimulate, as interest

 24 Danish toymaker

 26 Religious sister

 27 Istanbul resident

 28 Where people heard fireside chats

 29 Dessert whose topping often melts

 30 Boundary

 31 Blow off a commitment

 32 Like a highway

 36 Titles for J.D. holders

 38 Transfix

 39 Musical based on T.S. Eliot poems

 42 Crucial

 44 Grainy quarry

 46 Really love

 47 It wasn't built in a day

 48 Feature of Norway's coast

 52 Thing you shouldn't do

 53 "Today" co-anchor Hoda

 54 Hairdo under a Soul Cap swimming cap, perhaps

 56 Walk while deep in thought

 57 Walk while deep in nature

 58 Word with "humor" or "cleaning"

 60 Lo-___ image

 62 Whiskey type

solution