spoiler: 46-across is an incredibly unfair clue, but i couldn't help myself. for the uninitiated... in 1999 chicago was awarded a civil engineering 'monument of the millennium' award for the genius feat of flooding the mississippi river and, thusly, st. louis, with our sewage. st. louis filed an injuction against the city for doing so and it went all the way to the supreme court, where they ruled in chicago's favor. die mad, losers!
Very tricky puzzle but lots of fun clueing and long entries. I also knew 46A from a podcast (I believe 99% Invisible) so I was excited to fill it in after just a couple crosses.
yugoslav novelist andric, who beat tolkein, frost, and steinbeck for the '61 nobel prize
23A
gerund end...
24A
goddess of the sunrise
25A
wear out
27A
florida locale to find both alligators and crocodiles
30A
texan prog-rock band the mars _____
31A
fido fiends
32A
family band most recently seen in the film 'licorice pizza'
33A
'____ after magnificent ____'; chicago tourism slogan
37A
russian pop duo that set the queerbait dial to 11
38A
like 2000lbs of something
39A
[hmph!]
40A
ran a red
41A
2009 rihanna banger '_____ boy'
42A
championship bling
43A
unevenly jagged or notched
45A
liverpudlian river
46A
chicago put that thing down, flipped it, and reversed it
49A
chemistry suffix
50A
msn competitor with buddy icons and away messages
51A
boot quality required for goofin'
52A
stainless steel orb in downtown chicago known formally as the 'cloud gate' sculpture
56A
willis tower's original namesake
58A
2020 netflix dramedy starring rosamund pike
60A
starter bike for a tyke
61A
1871 not-quite-natural disaster that destroyed downtown chicago #blazeit
62A
soda can openers
63A
runs with scissors, swims right after eating, etc.
64A
talking trees, to tolkein
65A
a big ol' hunk
Verticali
1D
gordita dough
2D
muslim prayer leader
3D
lamp fuel, in brief
4D
completely 100% american cosmetics company, although it's obvious why one might think otherwise
5D
bother
6D
theatre award that won't help you egot
7D
glee actress michele
8D
sufjan stevens album "come on feel the ____"
9D
having a bad day? a shot of this will make it worse!
10D
reddit Q&A format
11D
early 00s cellphone giant
12D
'i don't own emotion, _____'; thematic song from a jonathan larson musical
13D
notorious louche and french pop icon gainsbourg
18D
as a clarinet girl, i say they can't be trusted
22D
mystery incorporated member who gets her jinkies in a twist
25D
retired heavyweight holyfield
26D
creepy lil blood-sucking mammals who evolved from their fruit-eating cousins so quickly it's considered one of the fastest examples of natural selection among mammals
27D
might as well be jeff koons trading cards bought with chuck e. cheese tokens
28D
racetrack unit
29D
comedian davidson who does NOT date out of his league, you just don't understand the appeal of funny people with tattoos
32D
cast member in orange county, new york, atlanta, new jersey, beverly hills, miami, potomac, salt lake city...
34D
they have positives and negatives
35D
it's all downhill
36D
online marketplace for crochet bikinis, dr. who throw pillows, and human teeth
38D
booty depository
42D
bella's mom in the twilight series
44D
washes out
45D
tunisian locale that is an anagram for shmear
46D
famously and repeatedly misspelled in the lyrics to fergalicious; appetizing
47D
glyphic prefix
48D
i hope this _____ doesn't find you at all...be free...