Crossword No. 715:
Lower Your Expectations
ACROSS
1 Ukraine’s National Commission of Language Standards ruled on Sept. 22 that spelling this country’s name without capitalizing its first letter will no longer be considered incorrect
7 ___ Croft (title role for Angelina Jolie) 11 They rock the mic
14 Tack on
15 Rent-___
16 “Now I see!”
17 Grew rapidly
18 Piece in some Happy Meals
20 Pass the threshold of
21 This 1998 Disney hit stylized its title in lowercase letters— fittingly, since it’s about tiny creatures
22 Come (from)
24 Neighborhood next to Covent Garden
25 Employ, as a spell
28 Meeting with a DDS or CPA
30 Org. that gave Titanic a PG-13 rating
34 Get into 36 Tortilla lookalike
39 Tom Lake novelist Patchett
40 This 1980s hit was the first network TV show to use an all-lowercase title
43 This is what it sounds like when doves cry
44 Flaps one’s gums
45 Oklahoman
46 What a goose may let loose
48 The ___ Housewives of Orange County
50 Hot
51 Classic pop
54 Nitpick
56 McDonald’s introduced this all-lowercase slogan in 2003; it was credited with revitalizing the brand among youth 60 Did an archer’s task
64 They have minutes but can take hours
65 Estadio ____ (Mexican stadium that hosted the World Cup final in 1970 and 1986)
66 “___ none of your business!”
67 A loooong time
68 Logical thought
69 Certain NL East player
70 Infamous fiddler
71 This Canadian singer was inspired by poet e.e. cummings to use all-lowercase for her name
DOWN
1 Broccoli ___
2 At the time of
3 Pick out of a crowd
4 Part of a school year
5 Like krypton and xenon
6 Do the math, sometimes
7 Rogan josh ingredient
8 Make used (to)
9 2011 animated Western
10 Make ___ to judgment
11 Biblical trio
12 “My compliments to the ___!”
13 Make happy
19 ___ onto (be inseparable from)
21 A roadie may move it
23 Unflunkable class
25 Hear successfully, as a comment
26 Sound that elicits a blessing
27 Child in a wealthy family
29 Poetry’s counterpart
31 Common Sense pamphleteer
32 Take by force, as land
33 Hot under the collar
35 Messy room, in metaphor
37 Cybertruck maker
38 “Who am ___ judge?”
41 “Trash TV” legend
42 Chicago Hope setting
47 Pretzel shape
49 Congressional output
52 Poland Spring rival
53 It holds the door for you
55 Completely destroyed
56 “Let’s do it!”
57 Like big-picture thoughts
58 “___ we forget...”
59 “This ___ much fun!”
61 Arizona city or feature
62 Nobel Prize category, briefly
63 “Shoot!”
65 Indiana’s title quest