The New York Times crossword puzzle

Across

1 Italian scooter 6 Endurance 10 Glimpses 15 Like a necktie near the end of a long workday, maybe

16 Big name in cosmetics 17 Another nickname for the Governator 18 Bass group? 19 Give stars to 20 Prize that comes with 9 million kronor 21 Kidnapper who gets arrested? 24 Page listing 25 Once-over 26 Soccer player Hamm 27 Measure of purity

29 Win a oneon-one game against a Toronto hoops player? 34 Army allowance 37 Gun-shy 38 Spiffy top 39 Even up 40 Partner of pieces 41 Elates 42 Long time out? 43 Not altogether 44 Playwright Sean who wrote “The Plough and the Stars”

45 “I don’t want this house after all”? 48 Japanese box meal 49 Group of traffic cops, for short?

50 ___ economy 53 E’en if 55 Synagogue singer with hokey humor? 59 Pizazz

61 “No problem at all!” 62 Eastern European capital 63 Hoffman who wrote “Steal This Book” 64 What photocopiers do 65 Church chorus 66 Gave a pill, say 67 River whose name comes entirely from the last eight letters of the alphabet 68 Sacred text … or your reaction upon figuring out this puzzle’s theme?

Down

1 Oklahoma’s ___ Air Force Base 2 Attempt 3 FaceTime alternative 4 Confined, with “up” 5 “You’ve got to be kidding me!” 6 Mustang catcher 7 “Dear ___ Hansen” (2017 Tony winner) 8 Dark kind of look 9 Some court wear

10 Oh, what an actress! 11 Tennis ___ 12 Things in the backs of Macs 13 Theater seating info

14 What bears do in the market 22 “The Last Jedi” director Johnson 23 Not a single 28 Show up 29 Galoot 30 How this clue appears 30 How this clue appears 31 ___ yoga 32 Like some shoppes 33 Optimistic 34 Billiards need 35 It’s a relief 36 Ticking dangers 40 Margaret Thatcher, e.g., in her later years 41 Derides 43 James who sang at the opening of the 1984 Summer Olympics 44 “Beetle Bailey” dog

46 Crept (along) 47 Need to speak 50 Many an intern 51 Skater Slutskaya 52 Grind, in a way 53 Mr. with a “Wild Ride” at Disneyland 54 Drifter 56 Savoir-faire 57 Anthem starter 58 Italy’s Lake ___ 60 Pizza delivery