The New York Times Crossword
TODAY: FOOD FOR THOUGHT (0116)
Timothy Polin, of Central City, Pa., has been making crosswords for The Times since 2011. This is his 55th one for the paper and his eighth Sunday. He specializes in puzzles with visuals in the grids — like a ‘‘Jaws’’-themed crossword in 2018, in which you could connect five squares in the solution containing the letters F-I-N to form a picture of a shark’s fin. Today’s puzzle isn’t quite as unusual, but it’s close. — W.S.
ACROSS
1 Disseminated 5 JPEG alternative 8 Quick-witted 14 ‘‘Forbidden fruit is the sweetest,’’ e.g.
19 Kind of writing 21 Hurting more 22 Mineral used as
a flame retardant 23 Aromatic herbal
drink
24 Carmen McRae or Anita O’Day, notably 26 Disorganized 27 Sound in the
Serengeti
29 Tying words? 30 Horrible boss,
say
31 Neighbor of S.
Sudan 32 Endpoint of a
Shinto pilgrimage 36 What’s going up
in Chicago? 38 And so forth 40 Munchkin
41 Spade with a
short handle? 42 Morse morsel 43 You can have a
blast with this 44 ‘‘Yes, indeedy!’’ 47 ____ volente 49 Makes clearer, in
a way
51 1997 pop hit with a nonsensical refrain
52 Fete
56 Anago, on a
sushi menu
57 In ____
fertilization
58 & 59 Flag bearers, for short?
62 Clap back 63 Many moons 64 Chaired
66 Many, many,
many moons 68 Subj. line
heading 69 Birthplace of five U.S. presidents, with ‘‘the’’
73 German title 74 Like discriminatory employers, often 75 Just roll with it! 76 See 88-Across 77 Eliminates, mobstyle
79 Driving stick? 81 ____ out a victory 83 Pack (in) 84 Fracases
85 Start of some conventional wisdom
88 With 76-Across, Mexican business magnate who was once the world’s richest person
89 Means of a quick
recharge 92 ‘‘____ funny!’’ 93 Fab
94 Akin to
95 Rapper ____ Cudi
or DJ ____ Loco 97 Comprehension 99 Domain of Mars 100 Boise-to-Spokane
dir.
102 Post-default
event
104 ‘‘Eureka!’’ 108 ‘‘That’s the
spot’’
110 Kinda
111 Lunkhead 113 Court order 114 Red accessory for cartoondom’s Huckleberry Hound
116 Scientific contribution from 98-Down, discovered in a manner
suggested by this puzzle’s theme
120 Crow’s-nests,
e.g.
122 One living in the
rial world? 123 Lingerie fabric 124 Blights
125 More mirthful 126 Defiant refusal 127 ____ Plaines, Ill. 128 Start of a story,
in journalese
DOWN
1 Cause of a jolt 2 Really busy,
perhaps
3 It’s nothing to
joke about
4 Artist known for his lampooning cartooning 5 Startin’ place 6 ‘‘____ moved on’’ 7 Calming words 8 Holy city near
Baghdad
9 Hardly a lover of
hot wings? 10 Radio-frequency
meas.
11 Ad or show
follower
12 ____ P. Morton, Benjamin Harrison’s vice president 13 Lost deposits, as
a bank? 14 Attorney’s org. 15 Sorrow
16 Thank you, in
Tokyo 17 Stovetop device 18 Breadths 20 Sled dogs, e.g. 25 Word in some
cocktail names
28 Baseball’s
‘‘Master Melvin’’ 33 Westernmost sch. in Conference USA 34 Actress ____
Pinkett Smith 35 ‘‘Er . . . umm . . .’’ 37 Nonbinary
possessive 39 Game-show
invitation 45 Modern lead-in to
‘‘X’’
46 Got out fast 48 Exit
50 Tom Petty hit with the opening line ‘‘She’s a good girl, loves her mama’’ 51 Rendezvous 52 Nickname for
Virginia 53 Declare
54 Is beaten by 55 You might take a
lift to one 56 Married mujeres:
Abbr.
57 All-in-one purchase from a smoke shop 60 Unforgettable,
unstoppable sort 61 They’re not to be
trusted
65 Julie who played Catwoman on old TV
67 Puzzle (out) 70 Personal bearing 71 Strong pan 72 Hard thing to do? 78 German title 80 Capital of
Bangladesh 82 Mushroom in
miso soup 86 Afterword 87 Nicolas who directed ‘‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’’
88 Lab where the Higgs boson particle was discovered 89 Inventory
90 ‘‘My Cousin
Vinny’’ setting 91 Airport route 93 Squealed 96 Opposite of a
glut
98 Who was famously hit over the head with inspiration?
99 Tech release of
2006
101 Didn’t act rashly,
say
103 Pit
105 Words before relax or remember 106 Small section of
a pit
107 Bowl-shaped
cooking vessels 109 German state that includes Frankfurt 112 Manage
115 What’s got ewe
covered? 117 Hemlock relative 118 Old ____ (London
theater)
119 Gag line? 121 Spanish ‘‘hey!’’