NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Michael Schlossberg is an internist in Bend, Ore., who has been making crosswords for The Times since 2020. He got the idea for this one after seeing 68-Across as a title at his local bookstore. Although themeless puzzles are Mike’s favorites to solve, he says he doesn’t construct them ‘‘because I get decision paralysis — they’re too much of a blank canvas. I need to have a theme set to build around.’’ — W. S.

ACROSS

1 ‘‘Old man’’ 5 ‘‘Yikes!’’ 9 Child proof bottle contents, for short 13 Purchase at a cannabis dispensary 19 ‘‘Sounds ’bout right to me’’ 21 False ____ 22 Fine parchment 23 It might be pressed before work 24 It might be pressed before work 26 Post concerned with etiquette 27 ‘‘Capeesh?’’ 28 Up-and-down, as a relationship 29 Internet harvesting tool 34 ‘‘On Photography’’ author Susan 36 1918-2004 Fenway Park phenomenon, familiarly 38 Nothing-doing? 42 They’re home to spinners 46 They’re home to spinners 50 Luxury fashion label 51 1990s workout fad 52 ‘‘The Racer’s Edge’’ sloganeer 53 Says, informally 54 Bay Area gallery, for short 59 Late winter/ early spring, weatherwise 63 ‘‘____ and the Night Visitors’’ (opera) 65 Fragrant bloomers 67 Animal that becomes a plant if spelled backward 68 Bandleader’s urging . . . or an alternative title for this puzzle 74 New ____ 75 Guides 76 Athleisure portmanteau 78 Certain beach top 83 Snooty 85 Many a Yemeni 86 Piece de resistance? 87 Tourney round 89 Some goofs 91 One sailing through long passages 95 One sailing through long passages 99 Ready and waiting 100 Gadgets for truckers 102 Porterhouse alternatives 106 Inspiration for many a lottery pick 111 Shame, e.g. 114 The yoke’s on them 116 Chuck ____, TV director/ producer who’s known as the King of Sitcoms 117 Target of many a viral marketing campaign 119 Target of many a viral marketing campaign 123 Lead role in 1978’s ‘‘La Cage aux Folles’’ 124 Kind of terrier 125 Exclamation after a rescue 126 Warm coat 127 Dash 128 Measurable impact, so to speak 129 Bad news for an investor

DOWN

1 Spoke (up) 2 Petrichor, n.: The pleasant ____ of rainfall on dry soil 3 Bird also known as a lapwing 4 150-mile-perhour train 5 Dawn figure, in myth 6 Bovid named for the sound it makes 7 ‘‘____ was saying . . . ’’ 8 Part of an ellipsis 9 Skinflints 10 Novelist Ferber 11 Subject of a subway announcement 12 Remedy for a blink-andyou-missed-it moment 13 First lady? 14 Start of a classic request for advice 15 Bad reasoning 16 Rap’s ____ Chyna 17 Hang in the shadows 18 TV award 20 Actress Ritter of ‘‘Jessica Jones’’ 25 Serene, informally 27 For the lady 30 Country singer Stapleton 31 Remote-button abbr. 32 Hotshot 33 Place for a porter 35 Clip-on, for one 37 Superfund grp. 39 Bit of slander 40 Titan who gave birth on Delos 41 Disney subsidiary 42 Story that isn’t a quick read 43 BOGO, e.g. 44 Words after a verbal gaffe 45 Accessory for a ride-share vehicle 47 ____ cycle 48 ‘‘Aladdin’’ sidekick 49 Amazing woman, slangily 51 ‘‘Agricola’’ author 55 Petal pusher? 56 Peace, in Russian 57 Stadium cheer 58 Big mouths 60 ‘‘Told you so!’’ 61 Ursine : bears :: anguilliform : ____ 62 Dakota tribe 64 Staying power 66 Part of a process 69 ‘‘I’ve seen better’’ 70 Cool, back in the day 71 ‘‘Good’’ day: Abbr. 72 Santa-tracking org. 73 Really annoy, with ‘‘on’’ 77 Lift type 78 Just . . . all right 79 Info in a party invitation 80 Apple variety 81 Stephen of ‘‘Michael Collins’’ 82 ‘‘Eww! Enough!’’ 84 Bittern, e.g. 88 Bimonthly business magazine 90 Election-night news 92 Plant that may be mistaken for a dandelion 93 Landlocked province 94 Grp. once led by Arafat 95 Kind of lily 96 Hoover, for one, in brief 97 ‘‘No idea,’’ in a text 98 Like Ikea furniture assembly, for short 101 Sports jacket 103 ‘‘As if!’’ 104 Live and breathe 105 Feed 107 Storybook ending? 108 ‘‘Nice job!’’ 109 People of western New York 110 Sunders 111 Tourist mecca in southern Asia 112 ‘‘Never ____ Kissed’’ (1999 Drew Barrymore film) 113 Part of A.D. 115 Singer with the album ‘‘Watermark’’ 118 Hunky-dory 119 Email-chain abbr. 120 Min Jin ____, author of the 2017 best seller ‘‘Pachinko’’ 121 You can dispense with this 122 Complete collection