NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE
David Steinberg, of Pacific Grove, Calif., is the puzzles and games editor for the Andrews McMeel Universal media company. The Universal Crossword, which he edits, appears in many newspapers, including The Seattle Times, The Boston Globe and The Philadelphia Inquirer. David’s first crossword for The Times appeared in 2011, when he was 14. This is his 101st for the paper. — W.S. Note: The middle letter of the answer to each starred clue can be replaced by a different letter to form two new words across and down. Read the new letters, in order, for a bonus.
ACROSS
1 Bank offerings,
in brief
4 Twists
9 Losing roll at dice
13 In itself
19 Piece played with four hands
21 Tart sorbet flavor
22 Kind of bed
23 *Opposite of endearing
24 *Freely expressive
26 Winter eaves dropper
27 Some attacks on castles
29 Día de ____ Muertos (Mexican holiday)
30 Stories that may or may not be true
31 12-year-olds, e.g. 34 Ballerina’s bend
35 App whose icon features a camera, in slang
37 Aimee with two Grammys
38 Plank targets
41 Only trisyllabic rainbow color
43 Ferrari of automotive fame
46 *Communicating (with)
49 *Contracting
52 Acceptance principle of improv comedy
53 2-year-old, e.g.
54 What may connect the parts of a school assignment?
55 ‘‘Who ____?’’
58 Relative of an alpaca
60 ‘‘A Christmas Carol’’ cry
61 Dress in
62 Things people catch and then ride
63 Fifth sign
64 Actress Hepburn
67 Poke
68 Nickname in baseball and gossip columns 69 *Harsh language
71 Up
72 Loses firmness
73 Country with the most archaeological museums in the world (110+)
74 Brand seen at speedways
75 Cut off
76 French menu phrase
77 Sushi chef ’s eggs
78 Uncle for whom an annual award is supposedly named
80 Not so many
81 When nothing goes right
83 Dutch name starter
85 Frank Robinson or Brooks Robinson of the Baseball Hall of Fame
87 *Watered artificially
89 *Goes well with
94 Turn in a game
95 Canine coat
97 Instant, informally
98 Island with a trisyllabic name
99 Sat around
101 In the thick of
103 Ending remark that’s surprising
105 Starting point 108 Suffix with labyrinth
109 Czar known as ‘‘the Great’’
112 Once called
113 *Noisy disagreement
116 *Ordered
120 Service with a Capitol Corridor route
121 Promote aggressively
122 Without accompaniment
123 Crows
124 Ones in hills or farms
125 Luxury vessel
126 The dark side
DOWN
1 Brains of a tech start-up?
2 Racket
3 Noticeable
4 Roused from a nap
5 Neighbor of Nev.
6 Barely usable pencils
7 ____ sandwich
8 Like some roller coaster drops
9 Task for a crossword constructor
10 Washed quickly
11 Bon ____
12 Instrument used in a medical checkup
13 Out of whack
14 Vessel with a hatch, informally
15 The ‘‘teardrop of India’’
16 Not exceeding
17 ‘‘Dark Lady’’ hitmaker, 1974
18 ____ Park, N.Y. 20 Christianity’s ____ Creed
25 Word with code or card
28 Good witch in Oz
31 ‘‘That’s enough about your sex life!’’
32 Pallid
33 Some have combinations
36 Like J, alphabetically
39 English majors’ degs.
40 Having three unequal sides
42 Equal: Prefix
44 Outmoded storage device
45 Witness
47 Some breads
48 Smitten
50 British exclamation
51 One of three for German nouns, or one of four for those in Africa’s Zande language
53 Like a tug-ofwar rope
55 One may go off in the middle of
56 the Scientist night whose name associated is with a number
57 Wine list section
59 Heavy medieval weapons
60 Robot sound
62 Hot condiment
63 Italian bread that’s no longer made
65 Comply with a peace treaty, maybe
66 Some camping excursions
67 ‘‘I’m relieved!’’
70 H.S. subject
73 ‘‘La Tauromaquia’’ artist
75 Come off as
77 Went ballistic
79 ‘‘Easy there!’’
80 Small particle
82 Binder inserts with tabs
83 Literally, ‘‘revenge’’
84 Org. that evaluates toothbrushes 86 Good cheer
88 Singer ____ Marie
89 Joins firmly
90 Epoch when palm trees grew in Alaska
91 In an obvious way
92 All-time connector
93 Big ____
96 Plan in detail
100 Puppy ‘‘kisses’’
102 Rot
104 Ill suited
105 9-5 automaker, once
106 Muppet who refers to himself in the third person
107 ‘‘At Last’’ singer James
110 Almond ____ (toffee brand)
111 Computer with a Pro model
114 Ship pest
115 H+ or I
117 A ticket may be given for a high one: Abbr.
118 Man’s name derived from the Bible
119 Man’s name derived from the Bible