puzzle

ACROSS

  1 They have 36 black keys

  7 Pepper's partner

 11 "The Amazing Race" network

 14 Lead by the arm, say

 15 ___ vera juice

 16 Chop (off)

 17 Kind of sauce with a repetitive name

 18 Yaks

 19 Water quality org.

 20 Mister Rogers' cozy garment

 22 Bottom-line profit

 24 Drying cloth

 26 Word before "coat" or "car"

 27 Childbirth process

 30 Prefix for "favor"

 32 Cereal box 

 33 Friend in battle

 34 Decision

 36 Doe or sow

 39 Dec. 2020 debut for Airbnb

 40 Honest course, or a hint to reading as well as interpreting each starred clue's answer

 41 Game dev's alteration

 42 ___ Jones

 43 Muscle attached to the humerus, informally

 44 Cougar

 45 Cage fighting inits.

 47 ___ the day

 48 Cable 

 49 Show to the door

 52 Association rule

 54 Ticked away

 56 Have humble pie

 60 What a coxswain doesn't do

 61 Math class

 63 Emotional shock

 64 Hoppy drink: Abbr.

 65 Dot in the ocean

 66 A warning

 67 Author Tina

 68 Name within "Prunella"

 69 Use, as energy


DOWN

  1 *Meet a challenge

  2 "No need to describe that"

  3 Land measure

  4 Plastic bag warning

  5 Big talker?

  6 Scatter around

  7 *Fill the tank

  8 Moonwalker Shepard

  9 Piercings' places

 10 Use for flash cards, study guides, etc.

 11 Simile for opaqueness

 12 Toy you can hit

 13 *Grabs immediately

 21 Some population

 23 Zeus or Thor

 25 Source of pride for the pride?

 27 *Like an outdated internet connection

 28 Dog treat brand

 29 "I'm waiting to be impressed!"

 31 Judgmental glance

 34 EMT's specialty

 35 Trophy shape

 37 Plate that's hard to steal

 38 *Imaginary

 40 Longhorns' Lone Star State sch.

 44 Louie is freed from one in "Unbroken"

 46 Perform a floor routine?

 48 Array of numbers

 49 *Makes energized

 50 Run off 

 51 To the point

 53 Foamy coffee order

 55 Pickle variety

 57 ___ Goldberg machine

 58 It's a sign!

 59 *Draft, as a contract

 62 *Slight advantage

solution