The New York Times Crossword

WORDS, WORDS, WORDS By Sam Ezersky / Edited by Will Shortz

Sam Ezersky is the digital puzzles editor for The Times. This themeless grid is his 40th construction for the paper. Nearly 25 percent of the answers have never appeared before.

ACROSS

1 Major crop of North Carolina

8 Is already booked

16 Pen pal?

17 CARES, for Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, e.g.

18 Easy trucking distance 19 White House daughter whom the Secret Service called Rosebud 20 First-ever Super Bowl M.V.P. (1967) 21 Flower whose name sounds like a branding iron

22 ____ Sound, record label co-founded by Drake 23 Faced off 25 Industrial conglomerate or its symbol on the New York Stock Exchange 26 Agreement

28 Ants : colony :: ____ : plague

29 Flower with a “face’’ 31 “Get ____, you two!’’ 32 Listing of recent phone history 33 Nickname that omits -eron

34 Step outside for a bit 37 Fortunetelling decks 40 Not as thick

43 Rather thick 44 Price-tag caveat (buyer beware!)

46 How, in Oaxaca 47 Philosopher who wrote “Critique of Pure Reason’’ 49 Mont-Saint-____, France 51 Make warm and add spice to, as wine 52 Excited cries 53 Related to part of the small intestine 55 Words before corner or profit

56 Turf

57 Grp. with barrels

58 Port city in Spain’s Basque Country 60 Serving two purposes 61 Garbage-disposal spot 62 Doesn’t hide anything 64 Sch. in Albuquerque 66 Detritus from a hospital 68 Guard

69 Harmful aquatic overgrowth

71 Poetic contraction

DOWN

72 Managed just fine 73 Sharply dressed 77 Onetime Ringling Brothers employee 80 More pathetic

81 Beer brand with a bicycle in its logo

83 Lead-in to puncture 84 Root vegetable in Asian cuisine

86 ¼: Abbr.

87 Joker’s catchphrase 90 Going on extravagant trips, as a politician might

92 101

93 Like some chocolate 94 Minor players? 95 Where drivers might wait in line 96 Modern-day antiviolence slogan

97 “To summarize …”

1 Call from a tugboat 2 Some boat-crew members

3 Stick in the fridge? 4 Close by

5 Data analyst’s creation 6 A&E docuseries with footage of criminal trials 7 The Magic, on scoreboards

8 Status symbol? 9 Elicitors of some blessings

10 Move on ice 11 Macbeth’s dagger or Desdemona’s handkerchief, e.g. 12 Spanish for “wolf’’ 13 Winner of the podrace in “Star Wars: Episode I’’ 14 Team seen in Queens, in brief 15 Know-it-all

16 Prefix meaning “time’’ 17 Foul smell

18 Really relish

19 Draw the line somewhere, say 20 South Florida city, to locals

21 Take back 24 De-squeaked 27 Expert, from the Italian 29 Pal in cowboy-speak 30 Trio in a Latin learner’s lesson

32 Ivy seen among cliffs 33 Caribbean stew 35 Beachside watering holes 36 Marine animal that resembles a flower 37 Pedicure target

38 Yiddish trouble 39 Cellphone setting 40 Shaggy’s dog, to Shaggy 41 Turtlelike foes in the Mario games 42 “Present’’

44 Like some dense foliage 45 Satisfy, as thirst 48 Caps Lock neighbor 50 What can be a lot to stomach?

54 Brew holders, maybe 59 Underway 63 Kerfuffle

65 Ending with taste or trouble 67 Ultimately emerged victorious 69 [Mwah!]

70 ____ Covey, heroine of the hit book/film series “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’’

72 “Is this such a good idea?’’

74 Cleaned (up)

75 Site of a historic church council

76 Burglar, in older slang 77 Neighbors of Afghans 78 Boxy window installation, in brief 79 Requirement 80 Pathetic bunch 81 Cross the line, say 82 Extends an invitation for 84 Authoritative pronouncements 85 Makes simple, with “down’’

88 Snare

89 Former New York City mayor Ed

91 Camp sight

93 Comp ____ (college discipline, informally)