The New York Times Crossword
Scott Hogan, a patent attorney from Midland, Mich., is making his New York Times debut with this puzzle. Christina Iverson is a crossword constructor and editor from Ames, Iowa.
ACROSS
1 [omg haha!!]
5 Left speechless 9 Reward for sitting, say 14 Entice 19 Something we share 20 Rocker John whose surname sounds like a leafy vegetable
21 “____ Man Chant,’’ song by Bob Marley and the Wailers
22 Diarist Nin
23 Where some stable relationships form?
25 San Diego State athlete 26 Verge
27 Name that’s 98-Across backward
28 The sky, they say
29 “All the Light We Cannot ____’’ (2015 Pulitzerwinning novel) 30 Certain Chinese teas 32 Roman emperor after Nero and Galba
34 Heep of “David Copperfield’’
36 Drop the “Donuts’’ from “Dunkin’ Donuts,’’ e.g. 38 Some four-year degrees: Abbr.
39 Kind of attack with no attacker
40 Michael Jackson hit whose title is heard 88 times in the song
41 What might accompany a grave admission? 44 Claws
47 Cheese with a light, nutty flavor
49 Quite an uproar 52 Design style influenced by Cubism
53 Fabric often dyed with indigo
55 Each of its interior angles measures 135 degrees 56 Swing preventer, of a sort 58 Like some vows
60 Run off together 61 Personal ID
62 Like a sweater that shrank in the dryer, maybe
64 Its alphabet includes delta 65 Some Brothers Grimm villains
66 Artless nickname? 68 Tease
70 Sarcastic punch line 71 That guy’s
72 40 winks
75 Threads
77 Tepid greeting 79 Second word of many a limerick 82 Sans-serif font 83 Thesis writer 85 Meaning of a signal flare 88 2021 Aretha Franklin biopic 90 Strained
92 Greek name meaning “golden one’’ 93 Something filmed in Broadway’s Ed Sullivan Theater, with “The’’ 95 Journalist Skeeter in the Harry Potter books 96 Train segment
97 Butt end
98 Name that’s 27-Across backward
99 “Sweet dreams!’’ 101 Rapper ____ Rida
102 It’s not a good look 106 Family/species go-between 107 The last thing you need? 109 Like the community portrayed in Netflix’s “Unorthodox’’ 111 Piercing tool
113 Tickle
115 Evian, in its native land 117 Cruciverbalist’s favorite cookies?
118 “Well, gosh!’’
120 Tipsy trips
122 Teatro alla ____ 123 Takes a car, in a way 124 Lab assistant in “Young Frankenstein’’
125 It may be upper or lower 126 Blue-book filler
127 Much of a sponge
128 Mad, with “off’’
129 Word of surprise
DOWN
1 Santa ____, Calif. 2 Closing section 3 Banana wielded by a maestro in a pinch? 4 Drug that can be microdosed
5 Berry in a bowl 6 Animated short before a Pixar movie?
7 New York resting place for Mark Twain
8 In the stars
9 Give a scathing review of a major camera brand? 10 Demolish 11 Compound with a fruity smell
12 Had a hero, say 13 Mexican street-food mogul?
14 Pair of small hand drums 15 Defunct company of accounting fraud fame 16 Smaug, in “The Hobbit’’? 17 Send an e-message to 18 Makes shame-y noises 24 Does a fad 2010s dance 31 Pro using cutting-edge technology?
33 Movie rating that’s practically NC-17 35 Political staffers 37 Retreat
42 “Fingers crossed!’’ 43 Window units 44 Small amounts
45 God whose name sounds almost like the ammunition he uses
46 Starts to go haywire 48 Where 122-Across can be found
50 Places for placentas 51 Surrounding lights 54 Movement championed by the Silence Breakers 57 Get rid of 59 Light-headed sorts? 63 Word after gas or ice, in astronomy
65 Novelist Achebe 66 Wizard’s name in books and movies
67 Spun things
69 Kind of patch that may create holes instead of repairing them
72 Otis and ____ (1960s R&B duo)
73 Disciplines 74 Response to “Why art thou queasy?’’
76 What Amazon retirees enjoy most? 78 Result of love at first sight? 79 What a dog greets its returning family with? 80 Inter ____
81 Trade jabs
83 Retail takeover scheme? 84 Fix, as laces
86 Nomad 87 Annyeonghaseyo : Korean :: ____ : English 89 Tailgating dish 91 “Tarnation!’’
94 Very, colloquially 100 Compassionate 103 Actress Davis who was the first African American to win the Triple Crown of Acting
104 Start of a guesstimate 105 Like a proverbial beaver 108 Model material
109 Place for a run? 110 Rainbows, e.g. 112 “____ saved!’’
114 Large amount 116 Bookstore sticker 119 “Euphoria’’ airer 121 Excellent service?