Theme:WHAT ON EARTH?
17. Flowering plant also called May bells: LILY OF THE VALLEY.
35. 1960 King Coleman dance song: DO THE HULLY GULLY.
25. Pig out: GORGE ONESELF.
43. "Galveston" singer: GLEN CAMPBELL.
59. Title subject of a children's song that ends with "cheese stands alone": FARMER IN THE DELL.
Each theme answer hides a geological feature. The three grid-spanners (impressive) have the hidden word at the end, and the other two at the beginning, which is part of what threw me off in parsing the theme. I also got stuck on the L's, thinking they meant something. Nope. As usual, it seems obvious after the light is turned on.
48. Caveman Alley: OOP.
Also a basketball term. Per Wiki: "an offensive play in which one player throws the ball near the basket to a teammate who jumps, catches the ball in mid air and puts it in the hoop before touching the ground." It also says the term is derived from the French term allez hop!, the cry of a circus acrobat about to leap."
2. Overused: TRITE.
Across:
1. Quite puzzled: AT SEA. I can relate.
6. Often-painted body part: NAIL. Often chipped, too.
10. Those with privileges, briefly: VIPS. When singular, it's Very Important Person. Plural would technically make it Very Important People, so the S is superfluous, no?
14. Sturm und __: DRANG. From britannica.com: (German: “Storm and Stress”), German literary movement of the late 18th century that exalted nature, feeling, and human individualism and sought to overthrow the Enlightenment cult of Rationalism. Goethe and Schiller began their careers as prominent members of the movement.
15. Midshipman-to-be: Abbr.: USNA CADET. US Navy.
19. "That's precious!": ITS A GEM.
20. Big name in riding mowers: DEERE.
21. Actress Arthur: BEA. And then there's Maude.
22. __ Lingus: AER. Irish airline.
24. Leftover food bit: ORT.
31. Equipment: GEAR.
33. Like the light at twilight: DIM.
34. Small, in a small way: LIL. Cute clue.
40. Whitewater rafter's need: OAR.
41. Quarterback Manning: ELI. New York Giants.
42. Proof word: ERAT. Wiktionary says: "third-person singular imperfect active indicative of sum." Sure! Let's try it this way: Sum = “I am.” Erat = “he/she/it was.” For example “Caesar imperator erat” would mean, “Caesar was a general."
48. Caveman Alley: OOP. Also a basketball term. Per Wiki: "an offensive play in which one player throws the ball near the basket to a teammate who jumps, catches the ball in mid air and puts it in the hoop before touching the ground." It also says the term is derived from the French term allez hop!, the cry of a circus acrobat about to leap."
49. Wasn't active: SAT.
50. "A Wrinkle in Time" director DuVernay: AVA.
53. Bewitch: CHARM.
56. Rhodes __: SCHOLAR.
63. Underpass concern: CLEARANCE.
64. Renée's "Chicago" role: ROXIE. Zellweger.
65. Corporate symbol: SEAL.
66. Bit of news: WORD.
67. Floorboard repair nails: BRADS.
Down:
1. Many a Robin Williams bit: AD LIB.
2. Overused: TRITE.
3. Taquería bowlful: SALSA.
4. "Orinoco Flow" singer: ENYA.
5. Flabbergasted: AGOG.
6. Grated spice: NUTMEG.
7. Tree with "helicopter" seeds: ASH. Seeds that spiral through the air during dispersal. Interesting aerodynamics.
8. Suffix with salt: INE. Saline.
9. Loo: LAV. Loo is British slang. Lav is shortened version of Lavatory, is that equivalent? I guess so, both are primarily used by Brits, although one is shortened and one is not. Ew.
10. Restaurant workers with lots of keys: VALETS.
11. Not occupied: IDLE.
12. __ review: PEER.
13. Lid inflammation: STYE.
16. Specially trained group: CADRE.
18. "Then live, Macduff. What need I __ of thee?": Macbeth: FEAR.
23. Facial features in many cosmetics ads: RED LIPS.
24. "__ honor!": "Promise!": ON MY. I will do my duty ...
25. Cry of frustration: GAH.
26. Natural resource: ORE.
27. Natural resource: OIL. Clecho.
28. First name in jazz vocals: ELLA.
29. Bouncy tune: LILT. Don't remember seeing this word as a noun before.
30. Word with house or horse: FLY.
31. Score on the ice: GOAL.
32. French 101 infinitive: ETRE. "Be."
35. 2018 Chinese New Year animal: DOG. 2019 is pig.
36. Disorganized pile: HEAP.
37. Einstein's birthplace: ULM.
38. Salon goop: GEL.
39. Result of Googling: URL.
44. As expected: NORMAL.
45. Rising star: COMER.
46. Like juicy turkeys: BASTED.
47. Mark for good: ETCH. Dig this clue. I bought my son a new iPod for Christmas this year, and discovered you can now get them engraved for free.
50. One taking home orders?: ALEXA. Amazon's virtual assistant.
51. Not expired, as a license: VALID.
52. Van Gogh's "Bedroom in __": ARLES.
53. Ozone-depleting chemicals, briefly: CFCS. Chlorofluorocarbons.
54. Spy Nathan: HALE.
55. Environs: AREA.
57. Catnip, e.g.: HERB.
58. Air Wick target: ODOR.
60. Unprocessed: RAW.
61. Italian diminutive suffix: INO. Bambino - masculine. Feminine is Bambina.
62. ATM giant: NCR.
