The New York Times
ACROSS
1 Blows 7 Like some R-rated movies 13 Top secrets? 15 Plant with fragrant leaves 16 Most pretentious 17 Ingredients in a Jamaican stew 18 School basics, informally 19 Ability of some of the heroes on NBC’s “Heroes” 21 ___ Aviv 22 Trim the fat 23 Planes, old-style 24 Word before or after Alexander 25 ___ piece 27 Mine, e.g. 29 Kidder’s cry 30 George who sang “I Want Your 7-Down” 33 Lottery ball containers 36 Liability for a political candidate … as depicted four times in this puzzle? 38 Bill Haley’s backup band 39 Blu-ray forerunner 42 “True Detective” airer 43 Swab 46 Sister company of Applebee’s 47 Native-born Israeli 48 Ring 49 Kiss ___ 51 Looks for ganders, e.g.: Abbr. 53 Wash. neighbor 54 Modifier on a dessert menu 57 You might empty it into a bucket 60 Gives a new handle 61 Leader targeted in 1989’s Operation Nifty Package 62 Visit 63 Cloth insert
DOWN
1 Celebrity 2 Awful 3 Public relations effort 4 Economic benchmark, briefly 5 Retain 6 French possessive 7 See 30-Across 8 Groening who created “The Simpsons” 9 Actress Hagen 10 Musical intervals from F to B, e.g. 11 Travel sci-fi style 12 “Count me in!” 14 They present hurdles 15 Cork opener? 20 Title that anagrams to another title 26 Satirist ___ Baron Cohen 28 Sched. listings 31 Worked (up) 32 Stretch (out) 34 “Coronation ___” (Elgar composition) 35 They bring speakers into classrooms, briefly 37 ___ Mook, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign manager 39 Flock leaders 40 Place to come in from the cold 41 Asiago alternative 43 Patterned fabrics 44 “The most unexpected of all things that happen to a man,” per Leon Trotsky 45 Do unseriously 50 Many a monument 52 Source of the Amazon 55 Plot 56 Actress Susan 58 Part of the works 59 “___ the Voice of the Lobster” (“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” poem)