The New York Times crossword puzzle
Across
1 Skirt bottoms 5 Ticklish Muppet 9 Gets thin on top 14 With: Fr. 15 Banquet 16 Lewis and ___ Expedition 17 GARFIELD + U = Beach V.I.P. 19 “___ at the Bat” 20 City NW of Detroit 21 “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi,” e.g. 23 Home for Nixon and Reagan: Abbr. 24 “It’s a date!” 26 MADISON + A = “Me, too!” 29 Shakespearean cries 30 Bounding main 32 Pathetic group 33 Mysterious sighting in the Himalayas 35 Some rulings on PolitiFact 38 Mortgage, e.g. 39 FILLMORE + V = Movie buff 42 Like racehorses’ feet 44 Who asks “What can I help you with?” on an iPhone 45 Author Silverstein 49 Soccer blocker 51 President pro ___ 53 Lab eggs 54 HARDING + P = Squeezable exercise tool 57 Actor Snipes of “White Men Can’t Jump” 59 Approves 60 Famous ___ cookies 62 River of Cologne 63 Uncle Sam’s land, for short 66 COOLIDGE + P = Narc’s fourfooted helper 68 Humdingers 69 Panache 70 Pistol sound 71 Hybrid picnic utensil 72 Philosophies 73 First half of a Senate vote
Down
1 Two-year mark, in a presidential term 2 Wicked look 3 Egoistic demand 4 National Mall, for a presidential inauguration 5 Six-foot bird 6 ___ years (when presidents are elected) 7 Maples formerly married to Donald Trump 8 Like the days of yore 9 Send covertly, as an email 10 Leader in a state roll call: Abbr. 11 Milan opera house 12 “You wish!” 13 Like atria 18 Onetime Pontiac muscle cars 22 What a majority of campaign spending goes toward 25 Dickens’s Little ___ 27 Store sign on Presidents’ Day 28 Aromas 31 Gets ready to shoot 34 “Too rich for my blood” 36 QB Manning 37 Separate, as whites from colors 40 “Got it!,” beatnik-style 41 ABC show on weekday mornings, with “The” 42 Absorbs 43 “Star Wars” pilot 46 There’s one to honor presidents every February 47 The slightest amount 48 What hens do 49 Grave robbers 50 Word after many presidents’ names 52 Bygone Ford make, briefly 55 Celebrated Chinese-born architect 56 Diving venues 58 Queen of ___ (visitor of King Solomon, in the Bible) 61 Poetry competition 64 Mink or sable 65 Query 67 Political connections