The New York Times Crossword
ACROSS
1 Drops the ball big-time 8 Home to about 60% of the
world’s population
12 One with a whistle … who
sometimes 1-Across? 15 Soccer superstar Cristiano 16 Sporty car roof option 17 Genre of Death Cab for Cutie 18 Tot’s mount
20 Cold War jet
21 Cover, as tasks 22 Connecticut Ivy Leaguer 23 Willy Wonka prop 24 Practically forever
25 Jim Beam competitor
28 Gun
29 Auction action
30 Thinks the world of
31 Hard to swallow, in a way 34 Shake a leg, in Shakespeare 35 Chinese poultry dish
marinated in wine
40 ___-fi
41 Torments
43 Residents of ancient Minos 47 PC key
48 Windy City rail system, in
brief
49 1980 boxing film for which
De Niro won Best Actor 51 Criticize harshly
53 “Couldn’t agree more!” 54 Name, as a price
55 ___ bear
56 Flat refusals
57 They’re always ready for a good time … or a description of 18-, 25-, 35- and 49-Across? 61 Tree creature of Middle-earth 62 Brothers Grimm villain 63 Legislative bodies 64 Marx’s “___ Kapital” 65 Cherry or walnut 66 Recliner feature
DOWN
1 Remark from one having cold
feet, perhaps
2 Bit of unfinished business 3 Cursory appraisal
4 Rouse
5 Pita pocket cuts, e.g. 6 Passport fig.
7 Dress (up), quaintly
8 Island like Kiritimati
9 Jazz piano style played by Fats Waller and Mary Lou Williams
10 Siri’s platform
11 Copy
12 Fresh take on a classic,
perhaps
13 Slim Shady, by another name 14 Some old-timers
19 Eric ___, 1980 Olympic
speed skating gold medalist 23 Streaming sites? 24 Cardinals’ home, in stats 25 Illusionist’s skill
26 Part of a casual
layered look 27 College city in upstate New
York
29 Blues legend with a guitar
named Lucille
32 Hoffman who played Captain
Hook
33 Early quinoa cultivator
36 Like chewable calcium, often 37 Place for a concert or lecture 38 Get really serious really
quickly
39 Pitching statistic?
42 Rode the bench
43 Stretched to get a better look,
say
44 ___ Quimby, Beverly Cleary
heroine
45 Discharges
46 Pizzeria chain
50 Formal “you,” in Spanish 51 Sound of spring?
52 Former L.A. Laker Odom 55 Banjo spot, in song
57 “Right in the kisser!”
58 Fourth word in the “Star Wars”
prologue
59 Communication method in much of the 2021 film “CODA,” for short
60 Bygone Mach 1 breaker, in
brief