The New York Times crossword puzzle

Across

1 Southeastern Conference football powerhouse, for short 5 Pretentious

sort

9 Charlie Brown

lamentation 13 Ones making a case for drinking? 14 Cork’s land 15 Mr. ’iggins in “My Fair Lady” 16 It creates an opening at the dentist’s office

19 Leave en

masse

20 “Old MacDonald” cry

21 River isle 22 News inits. 23 ___ Family Singers (group that inspired “The Sound of Music”) 24 Works, as

dough

27 Gets

comfortable 29 Cause of

a cold 30 Cheers for

toreadors 32 One who talks on the phone a lot?

33 It might involve x, y and z 36 Buffoon 37 When repeated, “Old MacDonald” cry

40 With glee 42 Egyptian

menaces 44 Section of a

clothing catalog 45 Auction units 48 Central Asian

plains

50 Loudly mourn 52 Flynn of film 53 Apt name for a

worrier 55 Alphabet run 56 Beverage for a

flu sufferer 58 Part of party

mix, often 61 Much-covered 1956 Screamin’ Jay Hawkins song … hinting at what happens three times in this puzzle’s solution 63 Raced 64 Adjust, as a

piano 65 Day-Glo colors 66 Raced 67 “Fat chance!” 68 ___ Reader

Down

1 Taking off, as

business

2 Pet from a pet

shelter, e.g. 3 Groening who created “The Simpsons” 4 Wan

5 Make more

alluring

6 Frank who was a cohort of Al Capone 7 Hockey great whose jersey number rhymed with his name 8 Headlight

9 “Fat chance!”

and others 10 Kingdom that’s spread throughout the world 11 Highway

patrollers 12 Quick rundown 13 Tuna cut 17 Suffix with

right

18 Items at an emergency shelter

25 Get ready to

fight, say 26 Key of Pachelbel’s Canon: Abbr. 27 Meeting point 28 Those, in

Madrid 30 “Definitely!” 31 Rock’s

Kings of ___ 34 Weighty work 35 Swiss miss,

maybe: Abbr. 37 Singles, doubles and triples 38 Colorful, conical candy on a stick 39 Camera

setting

41 “That HURTS!” 43 Like leopards

and dominoes 46 Hypothetical particle that travels faster than light 47 Location of “Yellow Submarine” on the album “Yellow Submarine” 49 Court

proposition 50 Lump on a

trunk

51 BMW

alternative 53 Public spat 54 Flat sign 57 Italian province known for sparkling wine

59 Like Cockneys, in British lingo 60 Popular tech

news site 62 ___ crawl

No. 0418