N.Y. Times Crossword Puzzle

Across

1 Formal

affirmative 8 Home of the prehistoric Ggantija temples 13 Absolute drivel 15 Longtime TV news colleague of Pelley, Cooper and Whitaker 16 Queso, e.g. 18 Prestigious award established after its founder purportedly read his premature obituary

19 One in a hundred 20 Whoops, e.g. 22 Whence the

phoenix

23 Queer identity whose flag is green, white, gray and black, for short

24 Wrote an

exposé, say 26 Unreliable news

source

27 It has high-end

tastes

29 Isn’t finalized 30 One of more than 300 for “S.N.L.” 31 “Sonnets to

Orpheus” poet 32 Predispositions 33 Something

unoriginal 35 Drain away 36 Had to recant 38 Sign of a sellout 39 What you might

get at the gym 40 Network for

15-Across 43 “Dear ___” 45 Singer Marie 46 Singer Michaels 47 For real 49 Stealing from the collection plate, for example 51 Outmaneuver, in

a way

52 Covered in ink 53 Fleming who was the first opera singer to perform the national anthem at the Super Bowl (2014)

54 They resemble

boas

Down

1 State flower of

New Mexico 2 Early number? 3 Device used by a court reporter, informally

4 Word with swim

or swap

5 ___ nova 6 Question asked outside a bedroom

7 Tin lizzies 8 Competitor of

AOL

9 On

10 Windy location of

myth?

11 Defunct health technology company that once had a $10 billion valuation 12 So-called

14 Baño feature 17 Identify 21 Occasion when one might choose truth 24 Swimsuit

portmanteau

25 Greenish drink 27 “Is anybody

home ...?” 28 Matches, as

watches 29 Instrument that includes ranks and divisions 31 Get back 33 One who grapples, in dialect 34 Tuchuses

35 Borrower’s limit 37 Major export of

Ukraine 40 Liturgical chant 41 Kicked off 42 Flight

components 44 Team

46 “Ugh!” 48 Beethoven’s

fourth? 50 Ignatius ___, figure on Netflix’s “Wednesday”