UNIVERSAL CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Kermit’s greeting

5 Political TV channel

10 Important IDS

14 Unpleasant aroma

15 ___ acid (protein part)

16 Small particle

17 With 4-Down, British singer of “Poison”

18 Skating venues

19 ___ log (holiday cake)

20 Homer’s utterance

21 *Brewery offerings

23 Aunt, in Mexico

24 Symbol such as Thinking Face

26 Garden tool

27 It flows in a fountain

29 Packs (down)

31 “Bro,” for “brother”

33 Longtime “PBS Newshour” anchor Jim

35 Partake (in)

38 ___ Jima (WWII battle site)

39 Bench warmer?

43 D&D, e.g.

44 Soft flower part

46 Cinque + uno

47 Feature of many a dog collar

49 “Go get ’em!”

52 *Handles with skill

54 Experimentation site

55 Perfect places

56 Candy that is dispensed

58 Islamic religious text

60 Nemesis

61 Desert lifeline

63 Deer of film

64 “O Canada! ___ home and native land!”

65 “Winnie-the-pooh” author

66 Lazy ___ (kitchen cabinet feature)

67 They protect 58-Down

68 Elegance

DOWN

1 Large crowd

2 “Once in a blue moon,” for one

3 *Santa’s hearty declaration

4 See 17-Across

5 Roman sweetheart

6 Professional forgers?

7 Bean type used in chili

8 Joints “broken” by a good deke, in hockey

9 Rudolph’s red feature

10 Declare

11 *It may sweeten the pot

12 “It’s the truth, I swear!”

13 Dirty kind of campaign

21 Window in a schedule

22 Smooth entry to a pool

25 Baby food container

28 ___ Lee (Taiwanese filmmaker)

30 Opposite of post

32 Grazing ground

33 Back talk

34 Farm mother

36 3.0, maybe, for a B student

37 Item that a prankster throws

40 Requested

41 Disentangle ... or a phonetic hint to interpreting the starred clues’ answers

42 Some light brews

45 E-commerce giant

48 Hopeless feeling

50 Number of stars in our solar system

51 “___ not your fault”

52 Cultivates

53 Electric car brand

54 Hawaiian party

57 Metal whose atomic number is 30

58 Many NFL stars

59 Author Anais

61 Texter’s “What in the world?!”

62 Use your eyes