The New York Times Crossword

ACROSS

1 Mail inits. since 1971 5 ___-Carlton (hotel chain) 9 Lettuce or cabbage

14 Small recess

15 Drill (into)

16 Hero of Narnia in

C. S. Lewis novels

17 Evidence of a

day at the beach

19 In a deadpan manner 20 Spleen

21 Middle of a classic

boast from Caesar 22 Spanish girlfriend 23 “Phooey!”

25 Chocolate confection with a molten core 28 Partner of “ceases” 31 “Science is like ___: Sometimes something useful comes out, but that is not the reason we are doing it”: Richard Feynman 32 Cleric’s title, for short

33 Tiki bar drink

35 Part of a decent-sized plot 36 Effect of secondhand pot smoke

39 Uber-fan

41 Ted ___, author of the best-selling short-story collection “Exhalation” 42 Make a mistake

43 “Well, lah-di-___”

45 Made an irreverently

sarcastic comment

49 Flight of fancy

52 Crooner Mel who was called

“The Velvet Fog”

53 Common sight along

the Norwegian coast

54 Male admirer

57 Signature Obama

achievement, in brief

58 Held on (to)

59 Description of 17-, 25-, 36- and 49-Across, in different senses? 61 Where it’s at

62 Afghan’s place

63 Bottom of a boat

64 Army squad leaders: Abbr. 65 Rudely “welcome” the away team

66 “Toy Story” boy

DOWN

1 Remove the fastenings from 2 Evening party

3 Tools for fireplaces

4 Winter item on a

car’s roof rack

5 Hank Aaron holds the M.L.B. record for these, for short (2,297)

6 Smidgen

7 Fishing net 8 Mindfulness-based practice 9 Cop-turned-vigilante in a postapocalyptic film 10 Courtier who oversees Hamlet’s duel with Laertes 11 Member of a

powerful ruling elite 12 B-baller in California 13 “___ takers?”

18 Altima maker

22 “___ Maria” 24 Shakespeare’s

“___ of Athens” 26 “Given the way things appear ...”

27 12/24 or 12/31

29 Small songbird

30 Upper part of a Vandyke

beard, informally

34 German “Geez!” 35 Belligerent, in British slang 36 Swiss founder of analytical psychology 37 Largest Chinese ethnic group 38 Like “three men” of nursery rhyme

39 Patch things up, say? 40 Unimportant things 43 Funereal compositions 44 Chip in

46 N.H.L. team with a

mythological eponym 47 Presided over a roast, say 48 Lethal

50 Dunkable edible

51 Degrade

55 Nobelist Wiesel

56 Miles away

58 Big name in pharmacies 59 One of Islam’s Five Pillars 60 Inits. before a nickname