Across

Musky "cat"	CIVET
Banned antimalarial	DDT
Direction to bow, for a violinist	ARCO
Shifts from neutral, in a way	ACIDIFIES
Lie about	LOLL
What you might have to do for some highway construction … or a first hint to solving this puzzle's theme	MERGELEFT
F in music class?	LOUD
Falco of TV's "Oz"	EDIE
Causes to run without human involvement	AUTOMATES
Loosening, as a joint	OILING
Shiner?	RAY
One who's up to the minutes	STENO
Michigan college or its town	ALMA
Key used for exiting	ESC
Before opening?	ANTE
"Bésame ___" (bolero song)	MUCHO
Dedicatee of "Moby-Dick"	HAWTHORNE
Collect all together	POOL
Pumped metal	IRON
Looked for facts in figures	DATAMINED
"Blinking heck!"	NERTS
Bit	IOTA
[Cluck]	TSK
Geiger of Geiger counter fame	HANS
Slowpokes at the head of a trail	SLUGS
PBS's "___ the Science Kid"	SID
"I never look back, dahling. It distracts from ___": Pixar's Edna Mode	THENOW
Honesty, kindness or respect, for many people	COREVALUE
Sports org. for students	NCAA
Common operating system for supercomputers, once	UNIX
Gradually trims … or a phonetic second hint to solving this puzzle's theme	PARESDOWN
Milk delivery point	TEAT
How things have always been done	TRADITION
IDs since the Great Depression	SSNS
biopic about actor Mineo	SAL
Crapshoots, essentially	ROLLS

Down

Many Stan Lee film appearances	CAMEOS
Sealed the deal	ICEDIT
Strong and energetic	VIRILE
Enter cautiously	EDGEIN
It's no loss	TIE
Hermès, par exemple	DIEU
Expert	DEFT
Sudden source of rain, informally	TSTORM
Temper, as fears	ALLAY
Nose (around)	ROOT
With 12-Down, secretly plots (with)	CLUE
–	OLDS
The Swiss fly a square one	FLAG
Officer's title	MAAM
Creator of an animal shelter	NOAH
With 26-Down, repeated occurrences of things in turn	ATRAIN
–	LENTOS
Major option for a future C.E.O.	ECON
With 29-Down, taught a lesson	SHOE
–	COLD
Signal to proceed	NOD
News letters	UPI
With 35-Down, some common attire for cooks	HINT
–	ARES
Tasks	WORK
Demolition material	TNT
Finish off	EAT
TV series with the all-time most-watched episode	MASH
Prison weapon	SHIV
Novelizes, e.g.	ADAPTS
Bestow upon temporarily	LENDTO
Deploy, as wire from a spool	UNCOIL
Disappear midtour, say	GOAWOL
Proust's "___ Way"	SWANNS
Blue notes?	SEXTS
Set up for a swing	TEED
With 57-Down, noble title	CUTS
–	ONES
Johnson who directed "The Last Jedi"	RIAN
"___ Croft: Tomb Raider"	LARA
Europe's third-longest river	URAL
Officer's title	SIR