The New York Times Crossword

1 Formal affirmative

8 Home of the prehistoric

Ggantija temples

13 Absolute drivel

15 Longtime TV news colleague of Pelley, Cooper and Whitaker 16 Queso, e.g.

18 Prestigious award established after its founder purportedly read his premature obituary 19 One in a hundred

20 Whoops, e.g.

22 Whence the phoenix

23 Queer identity whose flag is green, white, gray and black, for short

24 Wrote an exposé, say 26 Unreliable news source

27 It has high-end tastes

29 Isn’t finalized

30 One of more than

300 for “S.N.L.”

31 “Sonnets to Orpheus” poet 32 Predispositions

33 Something unoriginal

35 Drain away

36 Had to recant

38 Sign of a sellout

39 What you might

get at the gym

40 Network for 15-Across 43 “Dear ___”

45 Singer Marie

46 Singer Michaels

47 For real

49 Stealing from the collection plate, for example 51 Outmaneuver, in a way 52 Covered in ink

53 Fleming who was the first opera singer to perform the national anthem at the Super Bowl (2014) 54 They resemble boas

1 State flower of

New Mexico

2 Early number?

3 Device used by a court

reporter, informally

4 Word with swim or swap 5 ___ nova

6 Question asked outside

a bedroom

7 Tin lizzies

8 Competitor of AOL

9 On

10 Windy location of myth? 11 Defunct health technology company that once had a $10 billion valuation

12 So-called

14 Baño feature

17 Identify

21 Occasion when one

might choose truth 24 Swimsuit

portmanteau 25 Greenish drink

27 “Is anybody home ...?” 28 Matches, as watches 29 Instrument that includes

ranks and divisions 31 Get back

33 One who grapples,

in dialect

34 Tuchuses

35 Borrower’s limit

37 Major export of

Ukraine

40 Liturgical chant 41 Kicked off

42 Flight components 44 Team

46 “Ugh!”

48 Beethoven’s fourth? 50 Ignatius ___, figure on

Netflix’s “Wednesday”