The New York Times crossword puzzle

Across

1 One or two chips, maybe 5 Airer of N.C.A.A. March Madness games 8 Choctaw and Chickasaw 14 “Here’s the ___ …” 15 Promise-to-pay note 16 Flower cluster whose name can also be read as a challenge 17 Deceive 18 Bulletin 20 Mob-busting law, for short 22 Get exactly 23 Single-minded religious group 24 Dental problem 26 Remini who co-starred on “The King of Queens” 27 Tax table figure 28 “Beau ___” 29 Romanov leader 30 Make tweaks to 35 Newsman Koppel 36 Nickname 39 “Life of Pi” director Lee 42 Ancestral ruler 43 Big tubs 47 Hired toughs 49 Elevated platforms for speakers 51 Big name in petrol 52 Noted 1950s-’70s D.J. dubbed a “fifth Beatle” 56 Basic idea 57 Start of “The Star-Spangled Banner” 58 Seeks legal recourse 59 “Is everything all right?” 62 Dahs’ counterparts in Morse code 64 Dwindles, with “out” 65 L.A.-to-Denver dir. 66 Castaway’s locale 67 Article of living room furniture 68 Denver-toAlbuquerque dir. 69 Sign for the superstitious

Down

1 Press “+” on a calculator 2 Cells separated by synaptic gaps 3 Starchy pudding 4 Some “college” participants 5 Idiosyncratic habit 6 Aaron ___, Yankees manager beginning in 2018 7 Shrub that might cause a rash 8 In all honesty 9 Scampered 10 One hanging around a house? 11 Inheritance, e.g. 12 Act like 13 Saw red 19 Unaccountedfor soldier, for short 21 Resistance unit 24 Relative of a chickadee 25 Annual horse race 28 “I’m speechless!” 31 Suffix with north or south 32 By way of 33 130 and 140 are high ones 34 Kama ___ 37 Indulges too much, briefly 38 “APPLAUSE” sign locale 39 Features of May-December marriages 40 “Wrong you are!” 41 Actor Louis ___ Jr. 44 Non-prophet foundation? 45 Railroad bridge support 46 Cinch ___ (commercial trash bag name) 48 Still to come 50 Kvetchers’ cries 52 Device that might have a trackball 53 Soldiers’ support grp. 54 Does a bit of lawn work 55 “___ Hope” (classic soap opera) 60 Miner’s haul 61 Plant in an English hedge 63 Politician with a six-year term: Abbr.