The New York Times crossword puzzle

Across

1 Like the Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliance, in science fiction

6 Dutch Golden Age painter

10 Big ___

14 Statement of admiration after someone’s impressive feat

16 Fruit whose name is three-quarters vowels

17 Annual New Year’s Day event

18 “Freak on a Leash” band

19 “Mm-hmm”

20 A whole bunch

21 It’s there by default

23 Loudly lachrymates

24 Calm

25 What to do?

28 Statement that is, in fact, not part of the Hippocratic oath

30 High-protein paste

31 Plain and blunt

33 Pace

34 Covert influencer

37 Air pollution portmanteau

38 Still a contender

39 It may be raised at a table

40 What’s spread all over southern France?

42 Wing alternatives

44 Hands off (to)

45 Reason to run in circles?

46 Still

47 Less than hardly

48 ___ punk (genre for No Doubt)

51 Life sentences?

52 Constantly posting pictures and news about one’s kids on social media

55 Beyond regulation, for short

56 “Hold your horses”

57 Rice and Curry

58 ___ ginger, a.k.a. galangal

59 Takes orders

Down

1 Sideways

2 Grand

3 The fairyfly (the smallest known insect in the world) is one

4 Took something with a grain of salt, maybe

5 Boastful Eminem title with the Guinness world record for “most words in a hit single” (1,560)

6 Ingredients pronounced differently in American and British English

7 Thin cell types

8 Stuff in microdots

9 Squash or smoosh, maybe

10 Fall for a trick, say

11 Criticizing a refusal to recycle, e.g.

12 Work in progress?

13 When doubled, comment made with a wink

15 “The Little Prince” trees

22 They get down and dirty

23 Bores

24 “Likewise”

25 Something critical to have

26 Two-ingredient cocktail usually served with an olive or lemon twist

27 Breakout site

28 Tackling group, for short

29 Second-most frequently mentioned individual in the Quran, after Jesus

32 One side of a chemistry scale

35 Spanish little ones

36 Said

41 Kit for creative types

43 “Whoa, calm down!”

45 Daughter of Catherine of Aragon

46 “Ish”

47 Launch party?

48 “Ciertamente!”

49 Close-___

50 Some Hollywood workers: Abbr.

53 Taunting cry

54 It’s typically taken in the afternoon