N.Y.TimesCrosswordPuzzle

Across

1 “Well, that much

was clear” 12 Sequence of

steps 13 Present-day

request? 14 Don’t match 15 Cheat 16 Poet ScottHeron 17 God who is destined to slay the serpent Jörmungandr 18 “Beowulf” and “Gilgamesh,” for two 20 Drain 21 “You there!” 22 “His ___ little mouth was drawn up like a bow” (line from “A Visit From St. Nicholas”) 23 City planner, at

times 24 Forest giant 26 Right on a map 28 Disney villain inspired by the drag queen Divine 29 Anxiety 33 Mulligan 35 Betray nervousness, in a way 36 Shift, for one 39 “High five!” 41 ___ End (setting in “The Lord of the Rings”) 42 Dutch scientist with an eponymous “cloud” 43 Word with boot

or spaghetti 44 Mark’s

replacement 45 NewLeaf potato,

e.g., in brief 46 “Anything Goes”

writer Porter 47 “Skip me” 49 Flinches, but

only a little 52 Study of riddles 53 Absence excuser

Down

1 They’re offered seven times a year

Puzzle by Ben Tolkin

2 Classic Beat Generation roman à clef 3 Rocks 4 Popular pet originally from Mongolia 5 A, for one 6 Saw and punch 7 Outer ear? 8 GPS guess 9 Celebrate, as a

new year 10 Total 11 One holding all

the cards 12 First word in a

13-Across 13 London-based insurance company 14 Say “Yay!,”

say 17 Via, on signs 19 Peeved, for

short 20 Ancestral

emblem 22 Dispenses, with

“out” 23 Sassy, lettershaped gesture accompanying a retort 25 German food that’s better than it sounds? 27 “George,” in

aviation slang 30 Certain surprise

party? 31 Department store that once sold mail-order houses 32 So 34 Holes in the

wall? 35 Subway stop:

Abbr. 36 Certain creature

comfort? 37 Ray on one’s

TV 38 Like some

N.S.F.W. content 40 Hunt 43 Bat signal 44 What one star

may represent 46 Fatigues,

familiarly 48 Royal attendant 50 Pepper, for one:

Abbr. 51 Chess ranking system named for a Hungarian physicist