"I, uh..."
17. A vat, some cloth, etc.?: DYER NEEDS. Dire needs.
24. One in a Mesoamerican cleanup crew?: MAYAN SWEEPER. Mine sweeper.
38. Apothecary's concern?: PHIAL MANAGEMENT. File management. As Canadian Eh would tell us, phial is just another name for vial.
47. Large cat romantically interested in opposite-sex large cats?: STRAIGHT LION. Straight line.
60. Surprisingly genteel outbreak of lawlessness?: CIVIL RIOT. Civil right.
Had to ask for help to get the theme on this one. The common phrases follow the 5 theme answers. Just not sure that I agree about 17A, but the others all change a long I sound to an uh sound. Dyer and Dire sound like the same pronunciation to me.
Across:
1. Stop lying: RISE. Get out of bed, perhaps.
5. Suburban expanse: LAWN.
9. Comes impressively into view: LOOMs.
14. One may be pitched to a publisher: IDEA.
15. Canal that helps connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic: ERIE. Excellent story and photos in this PBS article.
16. Capital SSW of Damascus: AMMAN. The capital of Syria is Damascus. The capital of Jordan is Amman. The currency of Syria is the Syrian Pound. The currency of Jordan is the Jordanian Dinar.
19. Surprise in a bottle: GENIE.
20. Shade tree: ELM.
21. Jazz saxophonist __ Cobb: ARNETT. No idea. He was known as "Wild Man of the Tenor Sax." JzB probably nailed it. I would have known war correspondent Peter Arnett.
23. Angle or angler's necessity: LINE. LurE first. Should have paid attention to both parts of the clue.
26. Not from around here: ALIEN.
29. Any of four palindromic emperors: OTTO. I wonder if any of them were nicknamed Desper ?
30. Gels: SETs.
31. Moody: IN A PET. I read that "in a pet" can mean a fit of peevishness, sulkiness, or anger.
35. Object of podiatric study: TOE.
41. Serious misdeed: SIN.
42. Not on the fence: OPTING.
43. Túpac Amaru, e.g.: INCA. Perps. There was a rapper named Tupac Shakur, so Tupac struck a bell. Amaru did not.
44. Beige look-alike: ECRU.
46. Big celebrations: FETEs.
53. Oxen group: TEAM. The yoke's on them.
54. Ex __: out of nothing, in Latin: NIHILO. Thank you perps.
55. Saddlebag carrier: ASS.
58. Make over: RENEW. A variant for the typical redo.
62. Being dragged behind: IN TOW. There goes Jinx !
63. Largest human joint: KNEE.
64. Not doing anything: IDLE.
65. No longer hip: PASSE. Huey Lewis sang to us that "It's hip to be square."
66. Fax button: SEND.
67. Like some pockets: DEEP. Deep pockets are required for the fitted sheets on some thicker mattresses. In your gums, they are bad for the health of your teeth. And as we all know, it's another term for being financially well off.
Down:
1. Lift: RIDE.
2. Pastoral verse: IDYL. Hey ! What happened to the other L ? Either way, after listening to some pronunciation clips, it sounds like idle or idol to me.
3. Appear: SEEM.
4. Facial projection: EAR.
5. Not sure (of): LEERY.
6. Sports venue: ARENA.
7. Increase in girth: WIDEN.
8. Fits one within another: NESTs. Nesting dolls, boxes, bowls, tables, measuring spoons... What else ?
9. Hang back: LAG.
11. Capable of anything: OMNIPOTENT. A powerful word.
12. Nearly half of New England: MAINE.
13. Express contempt: SNEER.
18. Indian bread: NAAN.
22. With 10-Down, breakfast choice: TWO EGG, and 10-Down: See 22-Down: OMELET. Two egg omelet. How adding cheese, diced ham, green bell peppers and onions ?
24. Tableland: MESA. Devils Tower, pictured at 9A, is considered a butte, not a mesa.
25. Suffix with cigar: ETTE.
26. Egyptian serpents: ASPS.
27. City near Provo: LEHI. I've never been to Utah. I thought the 4 letter city near Provo was Orem, since that is what we most often see in crosswords. People from the state are called ?????
28. Nomadic sorts: ITINERANTS. Nailed it with the IT start.
31. Call into question: IMPUGN.
32. Member of the 2019 World Series champs: NAT. The Washington Nationals.
33. Request from a Midwestern cheerleader, maybe: AN I. Take your pick from Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, or Iowa State. I watch when the Ohio State marching band dots the i. I haven't heard any college cheers where the name is spelled out. High school, yes.
34. God with a flute: PAN. Didn't know Jean Pierre Rampal or James Galway from a couple of puzzles in the last few weeks, but Pan was a gimme.
36. Barely at all: ONCE. Sometimes, barely at all is once too often.
37. LAX postings: ETAs.
39. Actress Petty: LORI. No idea. But then I learned she played Geena Davis's little sister in "A League of Their Own"
40. Comportment: MIEN.
45. Hitchcock was known for them: CAMEOs. Here's 20 of the documented 39, but I couldn't spot him in a few.
46. Deluded one: FOOL.
47. Denude: STRIP.
I would have loved to see the clue simply as Delude, followed by Denude, but it was still fun.
48. Singer __ Marie: TEENA. The "Ivory Queen of Soul" here singing "Square Biz"
"In 2004, while Teena Marie was sleeping in a hotel room, a large picture frame fell and struck her on the head. The blow caused a serious concussion that caused momentary seizures for the rest of her life." - Wikipedia
49. 2006 "American Idol" winner Taylor __: HICKS. Nailed it with Taylor. DW is a fan of Idol.
50. Yours, once: THINE.
51. Animate: LIVEN.
52. Sheepish admission: I LIED. Until I finally decided to stop lying and get out of bed.
55. Assistant: AIDE.
56. Cobbler's concern: SOLE. You can get sole year round from New England fishmongers, and you can probably find an old-timey cobbler to resole your shoes if needed.
57. Dance part: STEP.
59. "SmackDown" org.: WWE. World Wrestling Entertainment. SmackDown is a brand for this professional wrestling and sports entertainment corporation.
61. Unburden: RID.
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