The New York Times Crossword
ACROSS
1 Once ___ a time,
5 not so ___ ago,
9 ___ was a girl named Ava. 14 Ava’s ___ joy was
15 her prized ___.
16 She had ___ her skill in band, 17 despite sitting next to the noisy
____,
19 which were an ___ distraction. 20 One day, after school, Ava called
a ___.
21 It hadn’t come ___ as she
muttered,
22 “___, I guess. At least the week’s
over.”
23 She was ___ with her music, 25 and school was hardly an ___. 26 Just then, Dana, a bandmate Ava was crushing on, walked up lugging a ___.
29 As Ava ___ nearby, gathering her
courage,
31 Dana bent down to ___ the
heavy instrument.
34 Ava ___ at Dana.
36 “Would it be a stretch to say I dig
your ___ T-shirt?,” Ava asked. 38 Dana’s reaction was the start of
an ___ for Ava.
39 Wheezing laughter like an ___ in
an old tire and deep blushing 41 were ___ that Dana was
smitten, too.
43 “That was a ___ joke!,” Dana
sputtered.
44 “I got the shirt from ___; glad
you like it.”
46 Ava mustered every ___ in her
brain
47 and felt her heart ___ as she
blurted,
49 “I’d love to hang out some time,
no ___!”
51 Dana grinned. “Then meditating together in corpse pose ___ an option!” 52 Ava wrinkled her ___ and
laughed.
54 After that spark, the pair bonded
in large ___.
56 Dana learned that Ava loved
chocolate ___ cookies,
57 and Ava learned Dana loved
“Much ___ About Nothing.” 58 Though Dana wanted to visit
Timbuktu in ___
61 and Ava preferred Accra in ___, 62 the pair still felt the ____ of
their connection.
65 One night, after watching “___
Python,”
66 bingeing subtitled dramas from
___, and
67 listening to Nat King ___,
68 Ava and Dana shared their first
kiss over cream ___.
69 And, of course, ___ lived 70 happily ___ after.
DOWN
1 Trojans’ sch. 2 Straw vote, e.g. 3 Skin cream brand 4 Round, squishy toy 5 Actor Chaney 6 Followed
7 With distinction 8 Daring deed 9 Contraction before
“be great” 10 Obergefell v. ___, Supreme Court
decision legalizing gay marriage 11 Conclude miserably
12 Shipwreck site
13 Reds great Roush
18 Figure skater Midori
24 Like buses and bicycles 25 Curtain trims, e.g.
26 Bygone Russian rulers
27 Inuit skin boat
28 It’s a sure thing
30 Dawn goddess
32 Synthetic fabric
33 Never existed
35 Wide shoe spec
37 Just a number, it’s said 40 Alabama governor Ivey
42 Bother
45 Language from which we get
bupkis and shtick
48 Starting place
50 Knuckle-headed gesture? 53 Neuters
55 911 responder
56 When repeated, a toy train 57 Hamlet’s interrogative after “How
now!”
59 Pope after Benedict IV
60 Bali, for one
61 M.L.B. execs
63 Stuff in a loft
64 Title for “Game of Thrones”
knights