THE NYT CROSSWORD PUZZLE

ACROSS

1 Percussion instrument in a marching band

7 Prefix with sexual 10 Prefix with sexual 14 Animals in a pod 19 Start of a playground taunt 20 Kitchen brand with a palindromic name

21 What an article may come with? 22 Drain, as from soil 23 Fatsis who wrote ‘‘Word Freak’’

24 Most feathery, as clouds

26 ‘‘Thong Song’’ singer, 2000

27 Sharp, in a way 28 Early tie

30 The ones over here

32 In the capacity of 33 Some Ivy Leaguers 34 Born yesterday, so to speak

36 Calm

38 Comfy slip-on, in brief

39 What an outstretched arm with an open palm can mean 41 Fleet org.

42 It means business 43 Stakes

44 Narrow

46 Group tour vehicle 49 Playground comeback

52 Build up

53 Sci-fi publisher of ‘‘Ender’s Game’’ and ‘‘The Wheel of Time’’ 54 Popular beer brand, briefly

57 With 3-Down, one of the Avengers 59 ____ smear 61 Reduced 63 Opposite of a standing order?

64 ‘‘Do me this one favor .?.?. ’’

67 French vineyards 68 Prats 69 Contrariwise 71 North African capital 72 Nongendered, as language: Abbr. 73 Sui ____

74 Kind of dash 76 Best Supporting Actor winner for ‘‘Dallas Buyer’s Club’’ 78 Prefix with friendly

79 Rules out? 80 West Coast beer brand, in brief 81 ‘‘____ ruled the world .?.?. ’’

83 :

86 Capital of Yemen 87 Kind of modern office plan

89 Smell of a rose 92 Smell of a rosé 95 ____ Fridays 96 Barrister’s deg. 97 Bench tool 99 Quibble

101 Student’s bonus points

103 Drawn-out campaigns

105 When doubled, another name for dorado

106 Call ____ night 107 Eighth letter 109 British tennis champ who invented the sweatband 111 ____ impasse 112 Guardian spirits 114 Especially 116 Soubise sauce is made from them 118 Greenish-brown 119 ____ cake (dim sum dish)

120 Suffix with social 121 ‘‘Wheel of Fortune’’ freebies

122 Sharp

123 Label for Otis

Redding and Isaac Hayes

124 Latin king 125 Sea lion, for one

DOWN

1 Word with sound or solar

2 Few

3 See 57-Across 4 Subsequent versions 5 Thurman of ‘‘Kill Bill’’

6 Word before and after ‘‘a’’

7 Turned on

8 Kind of symmetry 9 A pretty capable sort

10 Singer Difranco 11 Big name in bubbly

12 Small woodland songbird

13 ‘‘Town square for the global village of tomorrow,’’ per Bill Gates

14 Jimmy of the Daily Planet

15 L. L. Bean competitor

16 Medieval helmet 17 Exonerate

18 Prime snorkeling spots

25 Like many stuffed animals

29 PX shopper

31 The Quran, for one

35 Mango Madness and Go Bananas, for two

37 Ones initiating handoffs, for short 39 Some mattresses 40 Indulgence 45 Capital of French Polynesia

47 Show again 48 Caterer’s container 50 A fine mesh this is! 51 Debussy prelude inspired by a water sprite

54 Outcast

55 Out of focus 56 Surface anew, say 57 Post production 58 Without a doubt 60 Turkish officers 62 Timid sort 63 Instrument in ‘‘O! Susannah’’ 64 They’ll be mist 65 Super Bowl of 2022

66 Place with robes and sweaters 70 Seasick sea serpent of old cartoons 71 Bank posting 73 Words after throwing a ball 75 Grams 77 Unbalance 82 Packaging list 84 ‘‘L’chaim!’’

85 (a, b), e.g. 87 Anthem contrac- tion

88 Suit perfectly 90 France from France

91 Singer who founded Fenty Beauty 92 What ponies express? 93 Field-plowing duo 94 Poem piece 97 Notable point in geometry

98 U.N. member since 1949: Abbr. 100 Glittery decoration

102 Listing

104 Beau ____ 105 Ones with plenty of reservations 108 Blade brand 110 Days of old 113 Suffix with court or cash

115 Deli supply 117 Surveillance org.