The New York Times Crossword
Simeon Seigel is an architect at the Turrett Collaborative in New York City. He uses his subway commute to ‘‘trainstorm’’ theme ideas — including this one, which has been in the works since 2018. He writes, ‘‘The best themes, to me, are the ones that hinge on breaking ‘rules’ that I hadn’t thought of as rules until they were broken.’’
ACROSS
1 Pear variety
5 Universal, as a motor
9 Short hedge?
13 Turner on the radio
17 Farm machine equipped with twine
18 More crafty
19 The right one is usually slower
20 Eclipse
21 Title character for Tyler Perry
22 Bright pink shade
24 Literary friend of Sam, Merry and Pippin
25 ‘‘____ With Marc Maron’’ (podcast)
26 Like a stock quote?
28 Attraction in 69-Across that once froze over for 30 hours in 1848
30 Informally agree to
32 Stick in a cup
34 Buyer
35 Sudden arrival
37 Attraction in 69-Across that withstands dozens of lightning strikes a year, familiarly
39 Didn’t swipe right?
40 Mail insert: Abbr.
42 What prices can do
43 Turning on the waterworks
46 Either end of America?
47 ‘‘I goofed,’’ in slang
48 Fish fittingly found in ‘‘anemone’’
50 Music genre that emphasizes the offbeat
51 Stumbler or bumbler
52 Name that sounds like a letter
54 Actor Kutcher
60 General meeting place
62 School subjects?
65 Steel boot feature
67 Occasion for fireworks: Abbr.
68 Capital city founded by King Harald
69 Locale of this puzzle’s attractions (really, all eight of them!)
72 Spa service, in brief
76 Pro ____ (for now)
78 Bleep out
79 Unwrapped eagerly
81 Voicer of Olaf in ‘‘Frozen’’
85 Typical sock hopper
87 British throne room?
88 Not a good guy
89 Handled thing
90 Handling things
92 Curt reprimand to a dog
94 Wood used to make chess pieces and pool cues
96 Scarfs (down)
98 Caribbean music genre
101 Name of two ‘‘Groundhog Day’’ characters
103 Little rascals 104 Attraction in 69-Across overseen by the Navajo Nation 107 ‘‘Life would be ____ if it weren’t funny’’: Stephen Hawking 109 French eatery 111 Noted name in 2005 news 113 Cause of a driveway stain 116 Attraction in 69-Across on the Extraterrestrial Highway 118 ‘‘Nature of a ____’’ (1991 Queen Latifah album) 120 Originally called 121 Children’s author Eric 122 Biggest portion 124 A little crazy 126 Colonized, as bees might 127 Directional heading? 128 Skipjacks and bluefins 129 Perfect places 130 Be on the decline? 131 Spanish for ‘‘weight’’ 132 Former L.A. center 133 Clinic liquids
DOWN
1 Political party founded in Syria 2 Attraction in 69-Across that’s part of America’s first national park 3 Picture 4 Attraction in 69-Across that’s almost 2,000 feet deep 5 Often 6 Gives as a reference 7 Many a lib 8 Heady? 9 Owners of an infamous cow 10 Citrus with a portmanteau name 11 Person living in London 12 Consider 13 Comedian Jimmy with a self-described ‘‘schnozzola’’ 14 ‘‘Shoulda listened to me!’’ 15 Confuse 16 One way to be cut 17 Some German rides 18 They’re very attached to their calves 20 Collection during a church service 23 Prepare (oneself) for a challenge 27 Debauchee 29 ‘‘Hail,’’ in old Rome 31 Have down 33 Special attention, for short 36 ‘‘Sup’’ 38 Steep 39 Improvises in a jazz group 41 Jazz group, for short 44 Distributor of 1933’s ‘‘King Kong’’ and ‘‘Little Women’’ 45 Nigerian staple food 46 Nothing special 47 ‘‘Bulls get angry when they see the color red,’’ for one 49 Meditation aid 53 Small role for Paul Rudd 55 Marble, e.g. 56 Word before fly 57 Wyoming’s ____ Range 58 Yellowish pigment 59 ‘‘No,’’ in a certain dialect 61 Default consequence, perhaps 63 ‘‘The lady ____ protest too much ... ’’ 64 Brut-ish? 66 Touch gently 70 Division for a tennis match 71 Persuaded 73 Attraction in 69-Across designed to be a ‘‘city of the future’’ 74 Academic figures 75 Fictional archaeologist with a whip, familiarly 77 Googled oneself, e.g. 80 Attraction in 69-Across where crocodiles and alligators uniquely coexist 81 Quick boxing move 82 Tic-tac-toe loser 83 Buffet style 84 Part of the spine 86 Diamond stat 91 Deliberated (on) 93 Subgenre prefix 95 Flake, so to speak 97 Came to 99 Supply for kindergarten drawers 100 Eponymous saint of ‘‘Alamo City’’ 101 Some clerical workers 102 Seller of over a billion Huggable Hangers on TV 103 It’s a trap! 105 Profitability metric, for short 106 Sea eagles 108 Wine-menu section 109 The two wives and 20 children of Johann Sebastian 110 Letter-shaped beam 112 Yoga pose 114 Insurance company whose name contains a diphthong 115 ‘‘Ivories’’ 117 Bomb 119 Where dinars are spent 123 ‘‘Wait . . . what?’’ 125 Work on something you love?