CROSSWORD HOW SWEET IT IS! By MICHAEL Paleos / EDITED By Will Shortz
Across
1 Iraq War concern, in brief
4 An earl outranks him 9 Billiards maneuver 14 Exclaim “@#%!” 19 Tilling tool 20 QB defenders, collectively 21 Relating to a certain arm bone
22 ____ Kenyatta, president of Kenya starting in 2013 23 Something set by a stove
25 Year of the final flight of the Concordes 26 French-speaking African nation 27 Eyedropper, essentially 28 Submission to a record label, once 30 Rodeo loop
31 Accessory with a bass drum
32 Major fuss 33 Wedding bands? 34 Way out there 38 Hand over
39 Take a mulligan on 40 “<<” button: Abbr. 41 Ricochet like a hockey puck
43 To a certain extent, colloquially
45 Ad phrase indicating higher pricing tiers 49 Amtrak stop: Abbr. 50 Infomercial imperative
52 Pill bug, biologically 54 Intake suggestion, briefly
55 Unlock, to Shakespeare 56 Third-longest river in Europe, after the Volga and Danube
58 Tear to shreds 59 Partner of 46-Down in the frozen-food business
60 Brown seaweeds 63 U.S. island owned almost entirely by the billionaire Larry Ellison 65 Manic-looking, in a way
67 Neutral response from a therapist 68 Pattern once used for hospital volunteer uniforms, with a hint to this puzzle’s theme 70 Loser of a beauty contest, in myth 71 Birds known to mimic car alarms and human speech 73 Graduate’s “honor” 74 Carousel mount, to a tot
75 Mark of a scam artist 76 Hooked on
77 Laura of “Big Little Lies”
78 Emulate Johnny Appleseed
79 H, to Hellenes
80 “Ya dig?” in more modern slang
82 Get up in the face of 85 Emma Stone’s role in “La La Land” 88 Protagonist in Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” 90 Skate-park features 92 Place for regulars 93 Handel’s “____, Galatea e Polifemo” 94 Glenn Frey’s “The Heat ____”
96 Bad thing to come up in a title search 98 Total failure 100 Important members of the community, so to speak
103 Where menisci are found
105 What socks usually do 106 Bitter green 107 Regards covetously 108 Display piece for tchotchkes 110 Virtual sticky 111 Battling it out 112 Boondocks
114 One of 11 in a Christmas carol 115 Provide an address 116 French novelist Zola 117 Bit
118 Company that once offered “the Thrift Book of a Nation” 119 Excited, with “up” 120 Foil alternatives 121 Meditative syllables
Down
1 Big fat lies 2 Where you might need to get a grip 3 In one’s heart of hearts
4 Pop covers 5 Stopped a flight 6 Frosty encrustation 7 Its square equals its square root 8 Types who think school is too cool 9 They’re kept under wraps for a long time 10 Nut extract used in skin care 11 Derisive chuckles 12 Didn’t just hint at 13 Verdi’s “____ tu” 14 Gold digger’s goldmine
15 Alma mater of Tesla’s Elon Musk 16 Jazzman Blake 17 Like a crowd when the headliner takes the stage 18 Pipsqueaks
24 Like some servings of Scotch
29 “You get the idea” 30 New Guinea port that was Amelia Earhart’s last known point of departure 33 Large, purple Hanna- Barbera character 35 Campaign … or a campaign topic 36 Original N.Y.C. subway line
37 Nonpro
42 Heaps
44 Steamy 46 Partner of 59-Across in the frozen-food business
47 Dairy sources 48 Biweekly occurrence, for many 51 Actress Fay of the original “King Kong” 53 Neuf + deux 55 Abbr. between * and # 57 Separation at a wedding?
60 What x’s sometimes represent 61 Executor’s charge 62 Pounce on, as an opportunity
63 The “two” in “two if by sea” 64 Portuguese-speaking African nation
65 What lettuce lends to a sandwich 66 Popular
D.I.Y. site 68 Endeavor recognized by the César awards 69 Reid of “The Big Lebowski”
72 They come through when you need them most
74 Total stunners 77 Sketch out
78 W-2 IDS
81 Its closest neighbor is Andromeda
83 Mr. Wrong 84 All-vowel avowal 85 Carry some relevance for 86 Mode, on a menu 87 Scatterbrains 89 Neon marker 91 Is blinded by rage 95 Cent : euro :: ____ : krona 97 Modern, in Munich 99 Epic narrative 100 Tiny objections 101 What many a navelgazer gazes at 102 Treatment for Parkinson’s
104 Jag
107 Word repeated in “____ ou ne pas ____” 108 Lake bordered by four states and a province 109 Yarn
111 Just ducky 113 Person who might call you out