PARTING WAYS
David, Karen and Paul Steinberg live in Pacific Grove, Calif. David is the puzzles and games editor for the Andrews McMeel Universal media company. Karen and Paul, his parents, are longtime puzzle enthusiasts. The idea for this one was Paul’s. David wrote a program to generate possible themed entries. When the standard 21-by-21-square grid didn’t work for the theme, Karen suggested changing the grid size, which was successful. Karen and David did the fill, and Paul look the lead on the clues. This is The Times’s first all-family crossword collaboration. — W.S.
Note: When this puzzle is done, read the circled letters line by line from top to bottom to get an appropriate word.
ACROSS
1 Dual degree for a physician/scientist 6 ‘‘My man!’’ 9 D.C. figure 12 Impulsive desire 16 An avian abode 17 Janis ____, main role in ‘‘Mean Girls’’ 18 One’s time in office, maybe 19 ‘‘For ____ is the kingdom . . . ’’ 20 See 5-Down 22 See 12-Down 24 Parts of a machine 25 Creep (along) 26 ‘‘Me too’’ 27 Destroy internally 28 Get rid of 29 Trap 31 They’ll give you more of the same 33 Kidney-related 35 Tuckered (out) 36 Straddling 37 Places of refuge 39 ‘‘Love ____,’’ Pet Shop Boys dance hit of 2009 41 City between Chicago and Milwaukee 45 Cry while plugging one’s ears 46 What cobblers cobble 48 ____ de deux (ballet dance) 49 See 29-Down 53 Like Hitchcock’s ‘‘Curtain’’ 54 Passionate feeling in Spain 56 Wall molding 58 Weaken, as support 59 Untrustworthy paper 60 Publication with an annual ‘‘Power 100’’ list 62 See 53-Down 64 Social worker? 65 Olaf Scholz’s country: Abbr. 66 Wireless-network std. 67 Its life span is short 68 See 61-Down 72 Kind of pear that resembles an apple 74 Exploit 75 It has thousands of openings 76 Laugh at, say 78 Ride in ‘‘Calvin and Hobbes’’ 79 ____ Pro, tech release of 2017 80 See 73-Down 83 Capital player, for short 84 ‘‘Rotten’’ indicator on Rotten Tomatoes 86 Eastern honorific 87 Source of some leaks 90 There was Noahcounting for it 92 Verse’s partner 96 Gospel singer Winans 97 You might speak under this 99 Earth, in some sci-fi 100 Works on oneself ? 103 Fit 105 Little annoyance 106 Bad way to go 107 Many a summer TV show 109 Title for Mozart 110 Make an oopsie 111 See 84-Down 113 See 104-Down 115 Like the sea 116 Bother 117 European World Cup team, on scoreboards 118 ‘‘Beep!’’ maker 119 Word with tag or tax 120 Parking space 121 Online feed letters 122 Deep, dark hole
DOWN
1 It may run when you cry 2 Cleanses, in a way 3 Offspring 4 They ‘‘don’t lie,’’ per a Shakira hit 5 Tyrants/Patterns 6 ‘‘We’re pregnant!’’ e.g. 7 Southwestern spread 8 No longer at sea 9 In and of itself 10 Snack item that’s partly foreordained? 11 Dessert of molten chocolate 12 Anyplace/From which place 13 Turning point 14 Rack up 15 Zooms with, maybe 19 Stumble over 21 Division ____, lowest level of the N.C.A.A. 23 Chews the scenery 29 Made puffier, as cushions/Very desirable job 30 Admits 32 Start-up’s announcement, for short 34 Take in, say 38 ‘‘O ____ babbino caro’’ (Puccini aria) 40 Group of vocal people 42 Amounts of sugar, perhaps 43 Person not easily swayed by sentiment 44 Prescription directive 47 Never again 49 Rewards for staying, maybe 50 Point person? 51 It’s written with a + or - 52 Take a shot at 53 Tourist, e.g./Hypnotic state 54 Italian rice balls 55 ‘‘Hoo-boy!’’ 57 Actor Page 58 Uniform 60 Parts of a clutch 61 Tom who hosted ‘‘Dancing With the Stars’’/Brimless caps 63 Second letter after epsilon 69 Alt-____, PC command to switch between windows 70 Relative of turquoise 71 Capital of Yemen 72 $$$ taker 73 Endurance/Subway map info 77 Fruit with a thick peel 78 Take potshots 81 Sorta 82 Give an address 84 Tryst partner/Discharging, as a liquid 85 Like the motions before a hearing 88 Unfriendly 89 Very much 91 Disputed Asian region 92 River next to Boston’s Esplanade 93 ‘‘The Divine Comedy,’’ e.g. 94 Weasel family members 95 Eric B, Pimp C and Chuck D 98 Nonbinary possessive 100 Pointed remarks 101 Best ____ recording (Grammy category) 102 Who may care, so they say 103 Bit of gold reserves 104 Qualifying match, for short/Big name in antifreeze and brake fluid 108 Take back 110 Sudden feeling, as of remorse 112 ‘‘Good ____!’’ 114 Relaxation spot Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 4,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).