The New York Times

ACROSS

1 Hacky ___ (game) 5 Loud, mocking call

9 Wash with vigor 14 Sound of a chuckle 15 Stare at, as a creep might 16 Principle to fight for

17 Z ___ zebra 18 Poetic foot with a short and a long syllable 19 Opposite of rural 20 Popular dog crossbreed 23 Common dog command 24 Coins in India 27 Have an invisible footprint 32 Whimper

35 ___ and tonic 36 Part of a test that may produce a hand cramp 37 Thurman of “Pulp Fiction”

38 Was gentle with 41 Before, in a poem 42 Tinker Bell, for one

44 Locale of the anvil and the stirrup 45 Vehicle that travels in only one direction

46 One version of poker

50 Actor Nielsen of “Airplane!” 51 Pants might burst at them

55 “S.N.L.” offering 59 Commuting option 62 Grand achievement 63 Root used in making poi 64 “Party on, ___!” “Party on, Garth!” 65 Jane Austen novel 66 Lake that feeds into Lake Ontario 67 Newspaper opinion pieces 68 Optimistic 69 Ballpoint points

DOWN

1 Retrieves, as baseballs 2 “The Fox and the Grapes” author 3 Country along Argentina’s entire western border 4 Model and reality star Jenner 5 Connect 6 “Holy moly!” 7 Furry red monster of children’s TV 8 Having a new life 9 Made a bust? 10 Occupations 11 Massage 12 John Cougar Mellencamp’s “R.O.C.K. in the ___”

13 “Big” name in London 21 Barely scrape (by) 22 Batman and Robin are a “dynamic” one 25 Artist’s stand 26 Panic

28 Prior to now 29 YouTube clip, informally 30 Ceased 31 Green-___ monster 32 Botch, as a catch 33 Inbox accumulation 34 Relinquish, as one’s rights 38 Tornadoes 39 “Wee” fella 40 Botch something 43 Take back, as an offer

45 Add sugar to

47 Skill of an archer 48 Marijuana cigarette, in old slang

49 Use a sentence with a “?” 52 Maker of Asteroids 53 Intermittently available fastfood sandwich 54 High heels, e.g. 56 Version that’s just for show 57 Some Thanksgiving side dishes 58 Common dog command 59 Start of every ZIP code in Virginia 60 Genre for Megan Thee Stallion 61 Sailor’s “yes”