The New York Times Crossword
Natan Last, 28, is a student at Columbia University. He has been a frequent crossword contributor to The Times. For this puzzle’s theme, Natan says, “I wrote a computer program to help me find words that [ ] once you [ ].” You’ll know what goes in the blanks once you’ve finished it.
ACROSS
1 World capital with the historic Temple of Hercules 6 Responses to an offer, colloquially
11 ____ Dunphy, “Modern Family” matriarch
12 Slow Wi-fi woe
15 Actor Don of old Hollywood 17 Uninteresting and selfabsorbed 18 One-named electronic musician and D.J. with multiple Grammys 20 Paranoid types, slangily 22 Futon alternatives 23 Stand that an artist might take
24 Villainous brother of Prospero in “The Tempest” 25 E-sports enthusiast 26 Melt down, as fat 29 Occasion to sing “Dayenu” 30 Long narrative poem 31 Ice-skating spot
32 Crew
34 Faux pas
35 Picasso’s “____ Demoiselles d’avignon” 36 Baseball hit just beyond the infield
37 “No kidding!” 39 Malawi-to-kenya dir. 40 Element used in old television tubes 42 Creator of a philosophical “razor”
46 Best friend of Potter and Weasley
48 Banquet vessels 49 Speechify
50 One frequently saying “Sorry, I missed that” 51 Like classic Disney films 54 Golfer’s vehicle
56 “No fighting!” 60 Geologic period
61 Eye roll accompanier, often 63 Muscle Beach sight 64 Their eggs are incubated by males
66 Eldest of the “little women” in “Little Women” 67 Wettish
69 It’s always something 71 What may follow bigger or better
72 Farrah Fawcett’s signature do
73 Sikorsky of aviation 74 “Message received” 76 Rabid enthusiast 77 Warrior, e.g., in yoga 78 Actress Roberts of “Everybody Loves Raymond” 80 Homeowner’s need
82 Like most standardized tests
83 Tribe famous for weaving and sand painting
85 Cr me de la cr me
86 Really tickles 88 Russian ruler known as “the Moneybag”
90 It’s in the bag
91 Fruit in an often-parodied William Carlos Williams poem
92 Dark forebodings 96 N.B.A. franchise whose mascot is the fireball Burnie
100 Kind of tuna 101 Troglodyte
105 Base of a column
106 Juul, e.g.
107 It can open a lot of doors for you
110 Historical role for Peter Lorre in “The Story of Mankind”
111 Party that might not start till midnight
112 Classic kids’ game involving removal of body parts ... with a hint to this puzzle’s theme
113 Qatari leader 114 102-Down, affectedly 115 Minuscule, informally
116 “It is the ____, and Juliet is the sun”
117 Actress Cannon
DOWN
1 Top celebs
2 Red wine from France 3 Middle-distance runner 4 Nickname for an ESPN baseball commentator 5 Post production locales?
6 Weapons thrown by the Dark Knight 7 Volunteer’s phrase 8 Sights on many music festival grounds 9 Seconded, so to speak 10 Karaoke selection
11 Gift that grows on you? 12 Fabulist 13 Semidomed church area 14 Secluded valley 16 Saint-____, capital of the Loire department
17 With wisdom 18 Wisecracking Marvel superhero 19 Experienced one 21 Worker at a recycling plant 27 British rocker Brian
28 Cry of terror 31 Contact electronically 33 Middle of a diamond 36 Hawks, e.g.
38 They might be hawked 41 Lament
43 Mobile home? 44 Ukulele accessory
45 Not much
47 Writer Ana•s
51 Fixed up
52 Old kingdom of Spain 53 Author Pierce of the fantasy series “The Song of the Lioness”
54 Way down 55 Response to tickling 57 “Hi, honey!” follower 58 Finishes
59 Urged (on)
62 “Now that was funny!” 65 Peace Nobelist who went on to become president 68 Outhouses
70 Well, I’ll be dammed! 71 Drain
72 Treated meanly 75 Inclination 76 Brine-cured cheese 79 Classic Harlem ballroom, with “the”
81 Go (for)
82 Language from which “curry” comes
84 King who lent his name to a Bible
87 Like most oatmeal 89 Plant, as an idea, modernstyle
91 Communist sympathizers, pejoratively
92 He was “thumb” critic! 93 Bishop’s deputy 94 “Mercy!”
95 Metric of corporate success 96 Frenzy
97 Other side
98 Features of many malls 99 Part of an acacia tree 102 See 114-Across
103 Subj. of a “Delayed” sign 104 Speck
108 Decorative fish
109 “The Lord of the Rings” tree creature