The New York Times Crossword

ACROSS

1 Drops the ball big-time 8 Home to about 60% of the

world’s population

12 One with a whistle … who

sometimes 1-Across? 15 Soccer superstar Cristiano 16 Sporty car roof option 17 Genre of Death Cab for Cutie 18 Tot’s mount

20 Cold War jet

21 Cover, as tasks 22 Connecticut Ivy Leaguer 23 Willy Wonka prop 24 Practically forever

25 Jim Beam competitor

28 Gun

29 Auction action

30 Thinks the world of

31 Hard to swallow, in a way 34 Shake a leg, in Shakespeare 35 Chinese poultry dish

marinated in wine

40 ___-fi

41 Torments

43 Residents of ancient Minos 47 PC key

48 Windy City rail system, in

brief

49 1980 boxing film for which

De Niro won Best Actor 51 Criticize harshly

53 “Couldn’t agree more!” 54 Name, as a price

55 ___ bear

56 Flat refusals

57 They’re always ready for a good time … or a description of 18-, 25-, 35- and 49-Across? 61 Tree creature of Middle-earth 62 Brothers Grimm villain 63 Legislative bodies 64 Marx’s “___ Kapital” 65 Cherry or walnut 66 Recliner feature

DOWN

1 Remark from one having cold

feet, perhaps

2 Bit of unfinished business 3 Cursory appraisal

4 Rouse

5 Pita pocket cuts, e.g. 6 Passport fig.

7 Dress (up), quaintly

8 Island like Kiritimati

9 Jazz piano style played by Fats Waller and Mary Lou Williams

10 Siri’s platform

11 Copy

12 Fresh take on a classic,

perhaps

13 Slim Shady, by another name 14 Some old-timers

19 Eric ___, 1980 Olympic

speed skating gold medalist 23 Streaming sites? 24 Cardinals’ home, in stats 25 Illusionist’s skill

26 Part of a casual

layered look 27 College city in upstate New

York

29 Blues legend with a guitar

named Lucille

32 Hoffman who played Captain

Hook

33 Early quinoa cultivator

36 Like chewable calcium, often 37 Place for a concert or lecture 38 Get really serious really

quickly

39 Pitching statistic?

42 Rode the bench

43 Stretched to get a better look,

say

44 ___ Quimby, Beverly Cleary

heroine

45 Discharges

46 Pizzeria chain

50 Formal “you,” in Spanish 51 Sound of spring?

52 Former L.A. Laker Odom 55 Banjo spot, in song

57 “Right in the kisser!”

58 Fourth word in the “Star Wars”

prologue

59 Communication method in much of the 2021 film “CODA,” for short

60 Bygone Mach 1 breaker, in

brief