New York Times Crossword
Brandon Koppy works for a digital ad agency in Austin, Texas. His daughters are 2 and 4 years old — which he calls “black-hole ages” that seem to consume all his time. This puzzle started with a general idea and a title (above). Once he decided on the puzzle’s ‘‘meta’’ answer, he was off and running. After you’ve finished solving, look for an appropriate bonus phrase. — W.S.
ACROSS 1 You say it when you
‘‘get it’’
4 Cell connection inits.
7 Dope
12 Sorta
15 Writing tip
18 Film critic with a cameo in 1978’s ‘‘Superman’’
20 Safe bets
22 ‘‘Levitating’’ singer,
2020
24 Stuffed up, in a way
25 Northern New Jersey
town
26 Literally, ‘‘father of
many’’
27 2020 No. 1 hit for Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion
28 Longtime cooking show hosted by Alton Brown
30 They may be
classified
31 Resident of the second-largest U.S. city
35 Like some bulls
36 Dangerous part of
a tour
41 Fan of the album
‘‘Aoxomoxoa,’’ say
43 Dress (up)
44 Flings without strings
45 Yogurt-based Indian
drink
46 The Blue Marble
49 ‘‘Ditto!’’
50 Part of ‘‘fwiw’’
51 Sit in stir
53 Good people to ask
for directions
55 Grok 56 Clothing store sign
58 Owed
59 Parts of many
skyscrapers
63 Med. care option
64 South ____
65 Wilson of film
67 Loud and clear, as a
call to action
69 First name among
billionaires
71 Demean
74 Woolly ma’am
76 Chats over Twitter, for
short
77 ____ al-Fitr (holiday)
79 Lump sum?
83 Hawaiian home parts
85 Grabbed the reins
88 The barber of Seville
89 Singer Grande, to
fans
90 Diverse ecosystem
92 Christine of ‘‘The
Blacklist’’
93 French 101 verb
95 Mustangs’ sch.
96 Back tracks?
98 Made bubbly
100 Not stop talking
about
102 Supreme Court appointee before Thurgood Marshall
104 ‘‘Dios ____!’’
105 Firm
107 Pin points?
108 Spacecraft’s reflective attachment
111 Ominous
112 Flexible spade, say
113 Like werewolves
116 Hairsplitter
120 Late actor Eisenberg
121 In which belts are
worn
123 Ideal beta tester 127 Gives a boost,
informally
129 Roger ____, first film critic to win a Pulitzer for criticism
131 Boots
132 Algebra I calculation
133 Worries
137 Calendar mo.
138 Captain’s log entry,
maybe
142 Quinceañera feature
143 2013 Bong Joon Ho
thriller
146 Hear out, say
147 N.Y.C. mayor after
de Blasio
148 Alien’s line of
communication?
149 Speedy travel option
150 Precept
151 John, abroad
152 Young ’uns
153 Cares for
DOWN
1 Pioneer in Dadaism
2 ‘‘That’s amusing’’
3 Rose of Guns N’ Roses
4 Passport, for one
5 Vegan protein source made from fermented soybeans
6 Big name in ice cream
7 1993 Salt-N-Pepa hit
8 Heart-shaped, as
leaves
9 Entree with boiling
broth
10 Dash figure
11 No.1 N.B.A. draft pick
in 1992
12 Journalist ____ B.
Wells
13 Outback, e.g.
14 Stereotypical football
coach
15 Org. with grants
16 It’s got hops, for short
17 Superhero comics
sound
19 Ties another knot
20 Bay Area airport code 21 Tennis division 23 Victor ____, role in
‘‘Casablanca’’ 28 Professional saver? 29 Fad accessory of the
1980s
31 It comes off the top of
one’s head 32 ‘‘Cool beans!’’ 33 Verbose
34 The eighth of eight 37 Feeling bad, in a way 38 ‘‘August: ____ County’’ (Tracy Letts play)
39 Site of Hercules’ first
labor
40 Ramps up or down? 42 Leave it to beavers
44 ____-Magnon 47 Author Gaiman
48 Plus
52 Pablo Neruda wrote one ‘‘to a large tuna in the market’’ 54 Has online? 57 Slugger with 609
homers
60 Bit of cosmic justice 61 Unlikely feature for competitive swimmers
62 Some trattoria
offerings
64 All tucked in
66 Eccentric
67 Top dog, for short
68 Wedding-notice word
70 Basket-weaving
materials
71 Home of Gulf State
Park
72 Behind-the-counter
helper
73 Licorice-flavored
quaff 75 ‘‘____ With Marc Maron’’ (popular podcast)
78 Rage
80 Main connection?
81 Some antique
furniture
82 Like 100 vis-à-vis 99,
say
84 The Trojan priestess
Cassandra, e.g.
86 Two-syllable cheer
87 Contest
88 Softened expletive on ‘‘Battlestar Galactica’’ 91 Cutesy ending with
most
94 Marijuana compound,
for short
97 Some coding
statements
98 United
99 Having less
vermouth, say
101 Air or Ear ender, in
tech
103 ‘‘____ live and
breathe!’’
106 No longer funny
109 Jay with jokes
110 Does the same as
113 Blood typing, e.g. 114 Runnin’ ____ (N.C.A.A. basketball team)
115 In and of itself
117 Shining brightly
118 Former Jordanian
queen
119 Formal accessory
122 Text file in a
software package
124 Inundate, as with
work
125 Runner Bolt
126 Like some parking
128 Attract while exploiting someone’s weakness 130 Shades
132 Cuts off the flow of
133 ‘‘P.D.Q.’’ in the O.R.
134 Way off the mark
135 Flair
136 Imbibe, old-style
138 Scrooge McDuck,
for one
139 Last word of the
New Testament
140 ‘‘All ____ . . . ’’
141 Chapters in history
144 ‘‘Hunh?’’
145 P