N.Y. TIMES CROSSWORD

Note: This puzzle has 16 solutions.

ACROSS

1 British brew since 1777 5 Early challenge for Barack and Michelle Obama, for short

9 Streak 12 Usefulness 13 Bill of Rights defender, in brief

14 Dracula accessory 15 Big fly at the ballpark

16 See 14-Down 18 Mantra chants 19 Underground workers 21 “What’s the ___?”

22 “I, Claudius” role

23 Layers of stone

24 One of the Twelve Apostles 28 Old phone features 30 “___ #1!” 31 Certain rough patches 33 Opposite of masc.

35 Part of Indochina 36 Jargon 37 Palindromic term of address

39 Zenith

40 Bit of baby talk

41 Locale of the 2018, 2020 and 2022 Olympics 42 “You win”

43 Irk

45 Listed 48 Camper driver

50 Joan ___, player of

Pat Nixon in 1995’s “Nixon”

51 Sleeper hits, perhaps 53 A pair

55 See

42-Down 57 Hall-of-Fame hitter Rod 59 Tablet one might take before going to bed? 60 Fearsome part of a Jabberwock 61 Sets straight 62 Crucial 63 A dreadful state, with “the”

64 Leo or Libra

DOWN

1 Sounds that can startle 2 Company division

3 Fruit part that’s thrown away 4 The Kaaba in Mecca, e.g. 5 “Ciao!” 6 Quantum mechanics thought experiment in which contradictory states exist simultaneously 7 Bar orders 8 Popcorn container 9 Item in a beach bag

10 Ivy seen along the Schuylkill River

11 “Darn it!” 12 Pronoun that can ask a question 14 With 16-Across, travel internationally 17 Iridescent stones 20 Recent recruits, so to speak 23 Like the boys in “Lord of the Flies” 24 Hole puncher 25 “Swell!”

26 Sag

27 Hi or lo follower 29 “Aladdin” parrot 32 Amazonas and others 33 Go to extremes, foodwise

34 Buildup during vacation 37 Welcome site?

38 Fannie ___ 40 Hollows

42 With 55-Across, breakup line 44 Puts up 45 Surgery to improve how you look? 46 Go off, but not without a hitch?

47 Big name in cosmetics 49 YouTube data

51 Java neighbor 52 Madras wrap 53 Many a middle schooler 54 Possible reactions to shocks

56 Angel dust 58 Oval thing in the Oval Office