THE NYT CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 10% donation 6 Makes a to-do about this and that 12 Air ticket abbr. 15 Disney mermaid 16 Because 17 “Seinfeld” uncle 18 *List for some binge watchers 20 Bit of a comic 21 Bearded beast 22 Freeze over 23 Setting of Kubla Khan’s palace 25 *Response to “Who, me?” 27 Body blow reaction 29 *“Balderdash!” 30 Much-used Twitter symbols 31 Line around the globe 33 State firmly 36 “Gil Blas” writer 37 Lou Gehrig’s disease, for short 40 *Lowest point on the earth’s surface 43 *Avon competitor 45 Move low toward the horizon 46 Like a curmudgeon 49 Quaker ___ 50 Sticky-leaved plant that feeds on insects 51 “Six-pack” 53 *Superman’s alien name 56 Longtime U.K. record label 57 *“For what reason, though?” 61 War-torn Syrian city 63 Flexible conjunction 65 Tow job provider, in brief 66 Thither 67 To understand this puzzle’s theme, read the ends of the answers to the starred clues and … 70 ___ Dunham, mother of Barack Obama 71 Marked down 72 First-stringers 73 Crucial 74 Excited, as a crowd 75 “Chocolat” director Hallström

DOWN

1 Having a zesty taste 2 Cara who sang “Flashdance … What a Feeling” 3 Emperor who finished the Colosseum 4 Mag mogul with a mansion 5 Mama Cass 6 Prix ___ 7” 8 Drunken dazes 9 Ship’s pronoun 10 French waters 11 More passionate 12 Fish tank buildup 13 Having bags all packed, say 14 Animal that has strayed from the herd 19Hosp. areas 24 Big Apple inits. 26 Almost a meter 28 Like whitecaps 32 Org. concerned with eagles and birdies 33 First few minutes of many podcasts 34 Geese formation 35 Sup 36 Summa cum ___ 37 Rap sheet letters 38 Muscle below a delt 39 Lead-in to “ops” 41 Rodin, for one 42 Suffix with north or south 44 World Serieswinning manager Ned 47 Spanish weeks 48 When repeated, what little stars do 50 Equinox mo. 51 “___ Ben Adhem” (Leigh Hunt poem) 52 Interment 53 Alternative to Travelocity or Orbitz 54 Without assistance 55 Comedian Bruce 58 Boat trailers? 59 Papa Bear of Chicago Bears history 60 “I rule!” 62 “Egads!” 64 Tossed out of the game, informally 68 The Cyclones of the Big 12 Conf. 69 Windy City rail inits.