UNIVERSAL CROSSWORD

Universal Freestyle 115 by Marshal Herrmann, edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Mental breakthrough

10 Car registration fig.

13 Certain parent and business owner

15 Cold stuff at a bar

16 Chocolatey cafe offerings

18 Animal on Ben & Jerry’s packaging

19 Approves

20 Twitches

21 “Available” or “busy,” e.g.

23 “___ ___ a word” (grammar pedant’s ironic statement)

24 “Kindly help me ...”

25 “Mind blown!” 26 Retired supersonic passenger jet

27 Already watched

28 Rice field

29 Vote of approval

30 Chicken ___ (trattoria dish, informally)

31 New Mexico’s White ___ National Park

32 Anti-aircraft fire

33 Old-fashioned whiskey

34 Wander off

35 Served without

15-Across

36 Thoroughly

38 Pozole, e.g.

39 They preceded Gen Alpha

40 Show flexibility

41 Hammed it up

42 Exploding star

43 Nicki Minaj’s music genre

46 Fluffy dog, for short

47 Bygone Mediterranean superpower

50 Mine material

51 Many a mentalist, purportedly

52 Kennedy known as “The Lion of the Senate”

53 Run out of energy

DOWN

1 Arsenal supply

2 What the letter J resembles

3 Some theaters

4 Dashboard fig.

5 Toastmasters’ skill 6

Actress Kanakaredes

7 Put into law

8 Clears after taxes

9 Famed Egyptian king

10 Auto racer’s celebration

11 “Food sounds fine”

12 What breaks before it should?

14 Forwards, perhaps

17 Her mom has got it going on, in a song

22 Hullabaloo 23 Throat-clearing sound

24 Mr. ___ (aptly named “Clue” victim)

25 “All hope is lost”

26 Artificial waterway

27 “I’m sold!”

28 Tour de France’s terminus

30 Winner’s winnings

31 Influencer’s aspiration, often

32 “Family ___” (game show)

34 Take the wheel

35 Z-listers

37 CPR pro

38 Intense

40 Alternatives to stocks

42 More micro than micro

43 ___ or die (really loyal friend)

44 Word before “rug” or “code”

45 Long-lasting hair wave

48 Army’s domain?

49 Bit of butter