The New York Times Crossword
MAPLE LEAF By Stephen McCarthy / Edited by Will Shortz
Stephen McCarthy of Vancouver Island, B.C. is a Ph.D. student in Stockholm. “I was homesick and this was a way of connecting to my home,’’ he said. This is his Stephen’s first published puzzle.
ACROSS
1 Writer who created Oz
5 “Obviously,” in slang
10 First word of “A Visit From
St. Nicholas”
14 “... with possibly direr
consequences”
17 ____ Berliner, pioneer in
phonograph records
18 Lex Luthor, to Superman
22 Raised
23 Bit of asparagus
24 Alternately
25 Lines up
26 Agitated
29 Pricey
30 M.L.B. team with a big “W”
in its logo
31 Rx order
32 “Revolution,” to “Hey Jude”
34 Space-scanning org.
35 It may be bitter
36 Like bees
37 Not ____ (mediocre)
39 Clear weeds, in a way
40 Part “missing” from p.s.i.
41 Mystery writer Deighton
42 Words cried after “Go”
46 Abbr. after a price in a
Craigslist ad
47 Lt.’s inferior
48 Decidedly
51 Québec’s ____ St.-Jean
52 Soft drink since 1905
54 Young hombre
56 Biblical verb ending
57 Instruments for Israel
Kamakawiwo’ole
60 German auto since 1899
61 “That’ll teach you!”
62 Pigeon English?
63 Basketball champions’
“trophy”
64 Gillette brand
65 Leader of the house?
67 “Love is love,” e.g.
70 Pallid
71 Outlets, e.g.
73 Something that might
lengthen a sentence?
74 Moneybags
75 High school hurdle whose first two letters, phonetically, sound like one of its former components
76 Like all the answers with pairs of circled letters, punnily
81 Programming pioneer
Lovelace
82 Seasons in Québec
84 15th birthday celebration
85 Tomtit is another name for
it
86 Talks up
88 Classical Icelandic literary
work
89 Title letters chanted in a
2011 Katy Perry hit
90 Oldsmobile Cutlass model
91 Financial org. once deemed
“too big to fail”
93 Newfoundland, e.g.: Abbr.
94 Serpentine swimmer 95 Root-beer brand
96 Veterans
100 Range within which you can answer the question “Can you hear me now?”
104 Six-time winner of the N.H.L.’s Art Ross Trophy, born in Saskatchewan
108 “24” and “Suits” actress,
born in Halifax
111 Princess who says “Why, you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder!”
112 Dish served on a skewer
113 Congresswoman Omar
114 Actress Lena
115 Suppliers of the milk for
Roquefort cheese
116 Singer Mary J. ____
117 Moves quickly and lightly
118 Not only that
119 Rehearsal, e.g., in slang
120 Approvals
121 You can believe it
122 “Likewise”
DOWN
1 Pears with a sweet-spiced
flavor
2 Part of B.A.
3 Deploy
4 Alberta city named for an
eagle-feather headdress
5 Like some birds or dolls
6 Excite
7 Rank
8 Stops talking, with “up”
9 Mettle that may merit a
medal 10 Two-player game invented
in Toronto
11 Sardonic
12 ____ of Parliament
13 Stops talking, with “up”
14 “Nice burn!”
15 Battle ____
16 Seasonal destination near
Quebec City
19 Program introduced by the Trudeau government in 1984, colloquially
20 Approximate weight of the
Liberty Bell
21 Spots
27 Advocacy grp. that filed for
bankruptcy in 2021
28 Words at an unveiling?
31 Cry after an award is
announced
33 Woman’s short hairstyle
36 Portrayer of Senator Vinick
on “The West Wing”
38 Level or bevel
43 Like some outlets
44 Desert planet of “Star
Wars”
45 Be batty, in a way?
49 Canuck, e.g., for short
50 Capital of Qatar
52 Like bells in carillons
53 Part of L.C.D.
54 Some salon supplies
55 Like Rochester and Syracuse, but not New York City
58 Novel convenience?
59 Band whose 1999 hit “Smooth” spent 12 weeks at No. 1 66 Sleep stage
68 Overturns
69 “Very high,” on a firedanger scale
70 Iowa Cubs baseball
classification
72 Et ____ (footnote abbr.)
74 Federal regulatory org.
77 Rose or lilac
78 “Where ____ go wrong?”
79 Novelist Gaiman
80 Pound sound
83 Thrown together
85 They might help with
changing your locks
87 One with a phony
personality?
90 Snake oil, purportedly
92 Passes
95 Central route thru town
96 Leers at
97 Frederick who composed
“Camelot”
98 Helps a dishwasher, say
99 One source of oil
100 Cheer
101 Shout, informally
102 ____ Wars, conflicts of
1839-42 and 1856-60
103 It may be perfect or simple,
but not both
105 Big elevator maker
106 $15/hour, e.g.
107 What most spiders have
eight of
108 Hitchhiker’s need
109 International fashion
magazine
110 Climb, as a rope