The New York Times Crossword

ACROSS Drops the ball

1 big-time Home to

8 about 60% of the world’s population

One with a

12 whistle … who sometimes 1-Across?

Soccer superstar 15

Cristiano

Sporty car roof 16 option

Genre of Death 17

Cab for Cutie

Tot’s mount

18

Cold War jet

20

Cover, as tasks 21

Connecticut Ivy 22

Leaguer

Willy Wonka prop 23

Practically

24 forever

Jim Beam

25 competitor

Gun

28

Auction action 29

Thinks the world 30 of

Hard to swallow, 31 in a way

Shake a leg, in 34

Shakespeare

Chinese poultry 35 dish marinated in wine

___-fi

40

Torments

41

Residents of

43 ancient Minos

PC key

47

Windy City rail

48 system, in brief

1980 boxing film 49 for which De Niro won Best Actor

Criticize harshly 51

“Couldn’t agree 53 more!”

Name, as a price 54

___ bear

55

Flat refusals

56

They’re always 57 ready for a good time … or a description of 18-, 25-, 35and 49-Across?

Tree creature of 61

Middle-earth

Brothers Grimm 62 villain

Legislative

63 bodies

Marx’s “___

64

Kapital”

Cherry or walnut 65

Recliner feature 66

DOWN Remark from one 1 having cold feet, perhaps

Bit of unfinished 2 business Cursory appraisal 3

Rouse

4

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

6

Dress (up),

7 quaintly Island like

8

Kiritimati

Jazz piano style

9 played by Fats Waller and Mary Lou Williams

Siri’s platform

10

Copy

11

Fresh take on a 12 classic, perhaps

Slim Shady, by 13 another name

Some old-timers 14

Eric ___, 1980 19

Olympic speed skating gold medalist

Streaming sites? 23

Cardinals’ home, 24 in stats

Illusionist’s skill 25

Part of a casual 26 layered look

College city in

27 upstate New York

Blues legend

29 with a guitar named Lucille

Hoffman who

32 played Captain Hook

Early quinoa

33 cultivator

Like chewable

36

calcium, often

Place for a

37 concert or lecture

Get really serious 38 really quickly

Pitching

39 statistic?

Rode the bench 42

Stretched to get 43 a better look, say

___ Quimby,

44

Beverly Cleary heroine

Discharges

45

Pizzeria chain

46

Formal “you,” in 50

Spanish

Sound of spring? 51

Former L.A.

52

Laker Odom

Banjo spot, in

55 song

“Right in the

57 kisser!”

Fourth word in 58 the “Star Wars” prologue

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

Bygone Mach 1 60

breaker, in brief

PUZZLE BY MICHAEL PALEOS