NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD

Hoang-Kim Vu, of Washington, D.C, works in global public health. This is his 10th crossword for The Times — fitting, given the theme! — and his first Sunday. He wanted a theme that made full use of the larger grid, which resulted in this ambitious and impressive interlock. As a born-and-bred New Jerseyan, he hopes solvers will excuse 34-Down, with which he’s ‘‘probably more comfortable’’ than most.

ACROSS

1 Loosefitting garment

8 Things packed for a sleepover, informally

11 Cavs, on a scoreboard 14 Effects seen on FX,

perhaps

17 Nation on the Red Sea 18 Helmsman on ‘‘Star

Trek’’

20 High times for the

petroleum industry 23 X, but not Y

24 It might help you keep up with old classmates

26 Big-eyed baby

28 Excerpted passage

29 China’s Sun ____-sen 30 Carrier of goods by

rail

34 Player of 45s

35 Haim of ‘‘Licorice

Pizza’’

37 Iconic role for

Carrie Fisher

38 Certain porter

40 ‘‘Right you are!’’

43 Contest

45 Some Kiwis

47 Stop on a publicity

tour

50 When repeated,

gung-ho

51 Dish often topped

with marinara sauce 54 Dorm décor, often

56 Rave

58 Trivial

59 ____ Paz, 1990

Literature Nobelist 60 The ‘‘e’’ of i.e.

61 Chosen name of five

popes

63 ____ Equis

65 Prepare (oneself)

66 Fundamentals

69 Alternatives to

Pumas

71 Break for a bit

73 Ctrl-Z command

74 Does some fieldwork 76 ____ Rose of Guns N’

Roses

77 Standings column

78 Leb. neighbor

80 French desserts whose name translates as ‘‘small ovens’’

82 Flair

84 Thor, e.g.

88 Makeup of some

sleeves

89 TV chef who wrote ‘‘Semi-Homemade Cooking’’

92 ____ Sremmurd

(hip-hop duo)

93 White Russian

ingredient

94 Playwright Eugene 95 Michelangelo

masterpiece

97 Camelot figure

100 It can be written in scripts known as naskh and ruq’ah 102 Require

103 Tree with ‘‘eyes’’ on

its bark

106 They can be tapped

out

108 Concern at the end of a space journey

110 X

111 Ambitious sort

114 ____ Cherry, 1989 Grammy nominee for

Best New Artist

115 ‘‘Take it easy once in

a while!’’

118 Sonny and Fredo,

for two

123 They’re all pulling in

the same direction 124 Keep it in mind!

125 Classy

126 Chinese-dish

eponym

127 End of days?

128 You might take them out for a quick spin, informally

129 Rages

DOWN

1 –

2 ____TV (network for ‘‘Impractical Jokers’’)

3 Lower, as lights

4 Hwy.

5 Coding headache

6 Naval engagement

7 One taking interest in

your education?

8 H.S. exam

9 7/

10 Heaps at

publishing houses

11 Edward Jenner used it when developing the world’s first successful vaccine 12 Sigmatism,

by another name

13 The blonde in

‘‘Legally Blonde’’

14 What might unfold

at camp

15 Exclamation on April

Fools’ Day

16 Words of clarification 19 ‘‘Yeah . . . pass’’

21 Checks for bugs

22 Mlle., in Madrid

25 –

27 Wrap up by

30 Distress signal

31 Put on the air again 32 –

33 Letter after sigma

34 Borough of New Jersey noted for its indoor shopping malls

36 Landed on a licorice space in Candy Land, say

39 Male swan

41 Put side by side

42 Relative of a gator

44 Their eggs are dark

green

46 Camera spec

48 –

49 Brought before a jury 52 This, in Spanish

53 Malibu, e.g.

55 One way to go 57 ‘‘This guy? We’re

together’’

61 –

62 Accounts

64 Greenlights

66 Schedule slot filler:

Abbr.

67 Grim

68 Terra ____

70 One doing the

lord’s work?

71 Birch bark and pine

cones, e.g. 72 –

75 Missing work?

77 Exchange words? 79 Trickle (through)

81 –

83 Language spoken in

Luang Prabang

84 Government bonds? 85 Welcome

86 Consumer

87 Set . . . or word said

before set

90 Estuary 91 ‘‘Three Tall Women’’

playwright

96 Overnight site

98 Cold feet and cold

shoulder, for two

99 Emperor before the Year of the Four Emperors

101 Louisiana cooking

style

103 ‘‘Flick of the Switch’’

band

104 Curt

105 Aches (for) 107 Classic soda brand 109 –

112 ____-Ball

113 Education orgs.

114 Hush-hush pacts, in

brief

116 –

117 Good name,

informally

119 Some smartphones 120 Something bent or

lent

121 –

122 Norm: Abbr.