NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE
Sam Trabucco is an American cryptocurrency trader based in Hong Kong. When he’s not working, he enjoys playing board and card games, especially Magic: The Gathering and poker. Sam says one of his top priorities as a crossword constructor is to make his puzzle relatable to younger solvers. ‘‘I want this hobby to remain relevant forever!’’ This is his 25th puzzle for The Times. — W.S.
ACROSS 1 Something blurred to avoid trademark infringement 5 ‘‘Well, that’s ridiculous!’’ 9 One method of coffee-making 13 Fully intends to 18 Reason for people to hide 20 Bit of ancient text
21 Home of Roma 22 Expert on nutrition 23 Bantering remark 24 Feature of Captain Ahab 25 Many M.I.T. grads: Abbr. 26 End of many a name on the periodic table 28 Doctor’s hand covering 30 Tokyo, before it was Tokyo 31 Not wanted 34 Pop star Grande, to fans 35 French movie theaters 37 ‘‘Ki-i-i-i-nda’’ 38 ‘‘You’re on!’’ 41 Black-market, say 43 Occasion for male bonding, in modern lingo 46 Pressing need when on the go? 48 Part of a media-sales team, informally 49 ‘‘Agreed’’ 53 Philosopher who tutored Nero 55 Message made with cutout letters, stereotypically 57 Chowder ingredient 60 Game in which each player starts with a score of 501 61 West Bank grp. 62 Social-media avatar, for short 65 Thing given as a concession 66 Castle defense 67 Nobel winner Morrison 68 One who has a lot to offer? 71 Yellow variety of quartz 73 Norse troublemaker 76 Spotted 77 Fenway team, familiarly 78 ‘‘However hard I try...’’ 81 Child-care expert LeShan 82 Parts of ziggurats 85 Twin of Jacob in the Bible 86 Lifetimeachievement ceremonies, e.g. 91 Bequeaths 93 Difference between dark and light, in a way 95 Bacterium in some raw meat 96 Center of a cobbler 99 Clorox cleanser 101 Leaves alone 102 Uses a modern engine 106 Kenan’s partner on an old sitcom 107 The ‘‘L’’ of B.L.M. 108 ‘‘Geaux Tigers!’’ sch.
110 Love of money, per I Timothy 6:10 113 Brand of nail polish 114 Appeasing 117 School closing? 118 One of the former Big Three information services, along with CompuServe and Prodigy 119 Words from a present giver 121 Sweetheart, in Rome 123 ‘‘That one’s mine!’’ 128 Word often confused with ‘‘least’’ 129 Frenzied 130 Sweet Mexican dessert 131 Backsides, to Brits 132 Certain sneak 133 Caesar’s accusation 134 Like a fox
DOWN 1 Counterculture drug, for short 2 Geneva accord? 3 Newbie 4 Chose
5 Bit of butter 6 Govt. org. with the motto ‘‘Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity’’ 7 Dramatic touches 8 Comedian Judy 9 Nickname for basketball star Julius Erving 10 Is sorry about 11 Photo-sharing app, familiarly 12 14th-century king of Aragon 13 Written using an outline 14 Witch 15 Basketball star nicknamed ‘‘The Answer’’ 16 Kind of test with unproven accuracy 17 Largest city of Nigeria 19 Word ladder, Part 1 21 Big milestone for a start-up 27 Slangy ‘‘I messed up’’ 29 Word ladder, Part 2 31 Old food-label std. 32 Where an auto racer retires? 33 Enjoyed home cooking, say
36 ‘‘I Love It’’ duo ____ Pop 37 Letter-shaped beam 39 When repeated, king of Siam’s refrain in ‘‘The King and I’’ 40 Result of peace talks 42 Some smartphones 44 Oppressive ruler 45 Lacking + or -, electrically 47 ‘‘____ and Janis’’ (comic) 50 Whirlybirds 51 Óscar’s ‘‘other’’ 52 Gas that’s lighter than air 54 Nile danger 56 Fire in ‘‘Jane Eyre,’’ e.g. 58 Like most lions 59 Mrs., abroad 63 Word ladder, Part 3 64 Subsided 66 ★, ★★★ and ★★★★★, say 69 Where to find some cliffhangers? 70 Unpopular legislation of 1773 71 N.F.L. referee, at the start of overtime 72 ____ Valley (San Francisco area) 74 Gem that’s also a name
75 New Zealander 77 Start of some Quebec place names: Abbr. 79 French filmmaker Jacques 80 Celebrity chef Eddie
83 Way to go 84 Hot-cocoa brand 87 Sublease
88 ‘‘Be sharp!’’ 89 Frequent tabloid cover subject 90 Spot for a houseplant 92 Letters on a Cardinal’s cap 94 Greenpeace or the W.W.F., for short 97 Word ladder, Part 4 98 Optimistic assertion 100 ‘‘____ Beso,’’ Paul Anka hit 103 Prospector’s find 104 Start streaming, e.g. 105 Internet meme with grammatically incorrect captions 107 Shower scrubber 109 Eel, on a sushi menu 111 Word ladder, Part 5 112 Prospectors’ finds 115 Mel of baseball 116 Understand, informally 120 Clarifying word on a schoolreunion name tag 122 Tinder bio info 124 Amazon worker 125 ‘‘Kill Bill’’ co-star Lucy 126 Jazz composer Beiderbecke 127 Like a fox