New York Times Crossword Puzzle
Answers on the next page
ACROSS
1 Speedway brand 4 West Indies native 9 Bounds along 14 “Just a ____!” 17 Drain opening 19 Chip away at 20 Symbol of the National Audubon Society 21 Colorado tributary 22 Plot device in “The Shining” that has significance when spelled backward 23 Restaurant chain founded by the Raffel brothers (hence the name) 24 Elevator choice 25 Turns briefly? 26 Some Carnaval performances 28 Called from the cote 30 Telephotos, e.g. 32 Ancient Greek 34 Male that might be in a rut? 35 Stymies 37 Relative of a birch 38 College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa 39 Country singer Crystal 40 Screwy 43 Pitch 46 One of the Wayans brothers 50 Wine: Prefix 51 Christmas ____ 52 Prince, e.g. 54 A, in Austria 55 Base supporting a statue 57 Branded baby carriers 61 Symbols on 10 state flags 63 They might be thrown around in a rodeo 65 Digitally endorse 66 Sleigh-bell sounds 67 Terminate 68 “____ God” (psalm words) 69 Chemistry exam? 70 Skin art, informally 71 Descartes’s conclusion 72 Clear 73 Yule sound? 75 ____ guerre 77 Range grp. 78 & 80 One of TV’s Property Brothers 82 “Really!” 83 Spotted 84 Nicholas, e.g. 86 Give a ring? 88 Hallmark.com suggestion 90 Divan 92 “____ welcome!” 93 Cow poke? 94 Avoid a bogey, barely 97 Neighbor of a bishop: Abbr. 98 Souped-up cars 102 Mahershala ____, Oscar winner for “Moonlight” 103 One of the record industry’s former Big Four 104 Carpenter’s aid 106 Hypotheticals 107 “Just kidding!” 108 Airer of “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” 109 Sanctuary 111 “Hey ____” (1963 #1 hit) 113 Mobile home: Abbr. 114 Actress Audrey of “Amélie” 117 Animal on Scotland’s coat of arms 119 Kind of cabinet 122 Written history 123 Who’s depicted in this puzzle when the circled letters are connected from A to Z and back to A 124 Games of chance 125 Prison part 126 Sorts, as chicks 127 Downsize?
DOWN
1 Tears to smithereens 2 It’s read from a scroll 3 Large column of smoke 4 Terminated 5 Opposite of dep. 6 Heists 7 Description of rustic life 8 Importune 9 It moves a cursor back 10 Body check? 11 Whiz kids 12 Want-ad abbr. 13 Having streaks 14 W.W. II ordeal at Leningrad 15 Notably nonunionized workers 16 Mama of song 18 Decorates brilliantly 21 One of a dozen good things? 27 Friend 29 Oodles 31 Vulcan mind ____ 33 Beginning to do well? 36 Kind of skirt 40 “Fanfare for the Common Man” composer 41 Hair straighteners 42 Licorice-flavored brew 44 Singer with a No. 1 hit about 123-Across 45 Feature depicted in the upper left of this puzzle 47 Hatmaker 48 Like van Gogh, in later life 49 Les ____, “WKRP in Cincinnati” news director 51 & 53 123-Across, in song 56 One of many in a Swiss Army knife 58 Letters on some Navy carriers 59 Infantry members, briefly 60 Alternative to J.F.K. 62 1990s tennis great Huber 64 Align 66 First name at Woodstock 74 Political org. since 1854 76 Shout of approval 79 Three ____ Men 81 Didn’t hedge one’s bets 82 Starting point for an annual flight 83 ____ City (Baghdad suburb) 85 “In your dreams!” 87 Result of a sack on third and long, maybe 89 Bunks in barracks 91 “Brava!” elicitor 93 Punxsutawney prognosticator 94 Deliverer of Christmas packages 95 Capital whose name ends in its state’s postal code 96 Cousin of an alpaca 99 Functioning robotically 100 Repetitive bit of computer code 101 A-listers 104 Boy in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” 105 Tombstone marshals 110 California’s Big ____ 112 Durham sch. 115 Roofing material 116 ____ Father Christmas 118 Crew member 120 Games org. 121 Fiscal-year part: Abbr.