NEW YORK TIMES DAILY CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1 Protection of a protagonist for narrative purposes, in slang 10 Rum-soaked treats
15 Get in the pool, say
16 Actress Grant of “Weeds” 17 “Not always” 18 Water from a water fountain 19 Judge
20 Help out with a job 21 Frequent book setting
22 Elicit an “Oops!,” maybe
23 Goad
24 Chuck at a high speed 25 Timely question? 27 Hot Chelle ___, rock group with the 2011 hit “Tonight Tonight” 28 Have a sneaking suspicion 29 Tuck’s partner 30 Nickname for a toy 31 All knotted up 33 Key arrangements made for house sitters?
35 Lose one’s vigor 36 Latin possessive 38 Subj. for the 2009 Nobel Prize winner Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to receive it 39 Typical taxi toppers
40 Big names in the news
42 Really into 44 Father of Jörmungandr 45 Inflation stat, for short 48 Source of honeydew 49 Ginger at a sushi bar 50 Ones who’ve split 51 Who can get in the way of what Alicia Keys feels for you, in a 2007 hit 52 Rude question following an unsolicited idea
54 Dummkopfs 55 Aid in getting a smooth shot 56 Email ___ 57 Lines of communication in schools?
DOWN
1 Annual June celebration 2 About two-thirds of a 7-Eleven Double Gulp 3 Farther out there 4 Brim 5 Spreader of venom 6 Four-time Emmy winner from Coney Island, N.Y. 7 Bunch of hipsters?
8 Use Uber Eats or DoorDash, say 9 Break α
10 ___ hound 11 12 Like some tropical seas
13 Caulking might prevent them
14 Release 23 Carpet type
24 Exclamation popularized by “Die Hard” 25 Said, informally 26 Start of a cheer 28 Blind optimist’s downfall 30 Goad 31 Habitat for a starfish 32 Roger’s equivalent 34 Fruit rich in antioxidants and vowels 35 Source of Vibranium in the Marvel universe 37 Home to the world’s busiest airport 40 Low-key 41 Packs 43 Montana, e.g., informally 45 “Ciao”
46 “Get out!” 47 Subjects for gossips
49 [I’m in shock!] 50 Fit
53 Some ER cases