NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE
Paolo Pasco is a recent Harvard graduate, now working in data science in San Diego. He’s been making puzzles for The Times since he was 15. His job interview was partly about crosswords and included a programming problem to find words, Boggle-style, in a grid. How lucky was that? He says he thought of this puzzle’s theme during a class back in April and fleshed it out while walking back to his dorm. — W.S.
ACROSS
1 ‘‘Te quiero ____’’ (Spanish words of endearment)
6 ____ axis, half of an ellipse’s shorter diameter
15 See-worthy?
20 Volume on an iPad, say
21 Singer of ‘‘Fame’’ fame
22 ‘‘____: Game Over’’ (2014 video-game documentary)
23 Grown-up efts
24 Old-fashioned letter opener
25 Turn into confetti
26 12/25, e.g.
28 ____ Lewis, singer of the 2007 No. 1 hit ‘‘Bleeding Love’’
29 Tennis star Naomi, who was born in 29-Across
30 ‘‘I’m gonna tell you something huge’’
33 Mossy growths 36 River with a ‘‘White’’ counterpart
38 Lil ____ Howery (‘‘Get Out’’ actor)
41 Stuffs into a hole, say
44 F-, for one
45 Ritual with bamboo utensils
48 God, in Italy
49 Repeated word in an ‘‘Animal House’’ chant
51 Pastry with the same shape as an Argentine medialuna
52 Attorney general before Garland
53 Online promotions, collectively
56 What businesses go by
59 Cut down
60 ‘‘Eureka!’’
61 Word with easy or stop
64 Provide change in quarters?
68 Long, tragic stories
72 Up to this point
74 Best supporting actress nominee for ‘‘The Power of the Dog,’’ 2021
75 Letter opener, pencil cup, inbox tray, etc.
76 Phanerozoic ____ (what we live in)
77 Classroom aides, for short
79 British term of address
80 Currency for the prize on ‘‘Squid Game’’
81 Reddit Q. and A. session, in brief
82 Most unpleasantly old and mildewy
85 Letters before Constitution or Enterprise
86 Popular subcompact hatchback from Japan
89 Rock commonly used in asphalt
91 Part of a hotel with décor fitting a certain motif
93 Video-game series with settings in Liberty City and San Andreas, for short
94 Gobsmack
95 Scottish interjection
96 ‘‘Everything Everywhere ____ at Once’’ (Michelle Yeoh movie)
97 R.&B. artist whose name sounds like a pronoun
99 Eats
101 Travis of country music
105 One of 2,297 for Hank Aaron, for short
107 Annoyance for a Twitch streamer
110 Figure with equal angles
112 Sunday ____ (end-of-week anxiety, casually)
114 Country whose flag depicts a machete
116 With 121-Across, company that sells scuba gear
117 Certain furniture-store purchases
120 Missing
121 See 116-Across
122 ‘‘Be My Baby’’ group, 1963
123 Bygone Microsoft media player
124 The lights in fairy lights
125 Some travel considerations, in brief
126 Tarnish
127 Donkey Kong and others
DOWN
1 Bachelors, e.g.
2 ____ Eats
3 Ninja Turtle’s catchphrase
4 One who’s supergood-looking
5 Affirmative gesture
6 *Baseball pitching style...oraweapon
7 Afore 8 Dining-hall offerings
9 About, on a 10-Down
10 See 9-Down
11 Volunteer’s words
12 Tennis’s ‘‘king of clay’’
13 Hour, in Italy
14 *Big name in hotels
15 Access providers
16 Within reach
17 Actress who played ‘‘Jessica’’ in ‘‘Parasite’’
18 No-go ____
19 Something to pry or twist off
27 Volunteer’s words
29 [Gasp!]
31 Chooses
32 More run-down
34 Period in ancient history
35 Like a defeatist’s attitude
36 *Indentation on a chew toy
37 Textile-making device
38 *Light again
39 ‘‘I mean . . . ’’ sounds
40 *Whom Holmes tells, ‘‘You do find it very hard to tackle the facts’’
42 Telegram
43 *Many a Viking
46 Pulled a fast one on
47 College near Vassar
50 WherevanGogh and Gauguin briefly lived together
52 Dyeing method using wax
54 Chief ____ (rapper with a rhyming name)
55 Where feudal workers worked
57 French equivalent of ‘‘Stephen’’
58 ____ van der Poel, Olympic speedskater
61 Academic acronym
62 *Grand
63 Hits shore unintentionally
65 *Early French Protestants
66 Burden
67 *Basic rivalry
69 ‘‘Continuing where we left off last time . . . ’’
70 *“G.I. Jane’’ star, 1997
71 Field goal avg., e.g.
73 Believers in Jah, informally
75 Fatalistic sort, in slang
78 Place in an overhead bin
80 No ____! (punnily named dairy-free chocolate brand)
83 Explosive stuff
84 U.S. ID?
87 Bad place to pour grease
88 ‘‘Have ____ make my email stop’’ (Destiny’s Child lyric)
90 Cable in the middle of a tennis court
92 Would really rather not
97 ‘‘What’s up, everyone!’’
98 -ish
100 *“Encore!’’
102 Fidel ____, 1990s Philippine leader
103 Tehran’s home
104 Fork prongs
106 *Actress Angela
108 How to play solitaire
109 They have high ratings on the Beaufort scale
111 Jokester’s arsenal
112 ‘‘Leave it,’’ on paper
113 Alien-seeking org.
115 Strip near Tel Aviv
118 Beverage at un café
119 Business-card abbr.