SUNDAY NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD
Adam Wagner, of Oakland, Calif., is a creative lead at Patreon, a monetization platform for content creators. This is his 16th crossword for The Times. Adam is part of a large community of Bay Area puzzlemakers. He speculates the overlap between tech and crossword construction might be the reason for the concentration. Or maybe it’s just something in the water? — W. S.
ACROSS
1 Chat chuckle
4 Less than one’s best, in sports lingo
9 ____ Stadium, venue with a cushioned acrylic surface that is the largest of its type in the world 13 Wholesale
17 Inits. associated with accessibility
18 Submitted after the deadline
20 Some ring finishes, for short
21 ____ research, source of “dirt” on a political rival 22 Dickens clerk DETOUR: Theatrical success 25 Formidable-butawesome behavior 27 DETOUR No. 1
28 It comes out on top 30 Family name in folk music
31 Parts of some choral arrangements?
32 Boosler who was the first woman to have an hourlong comedy special on cable TV
34 Big name in health care 35 What a sleepy head might do
36 Stagger
37 Dentist’s command 39 “That sucks” 40 Composer Strauss, the brother of Johann 43 “Glass Onion” director Johnson
45 Homeland Security concerns DETOUR: Computer-port inserts 48 Cry stressed on its second syllable 49 Purpose
51 Bygone auto inits. 52 DETOUR No. 2 53 Present-day auto inits. 54 Pharaoh who founded Egypt’s 19th dynasty 56 “Get out!”
58 Things settled over drinks
60 Shakespearean verb 62 A head
63 Mums’ mums
67 ____ cloth (sandpaper alternative)
68 They’re laid in Australia DETOUR: They feel your pain
70 Gas whose name comes from the Greek word for “foreigner” 71 Common first word for an infant
72 Taxpayer’s ID 74 DETOUR No. 3
75 Lose one’s balance? 77 Hebrew greeting 80 “It’s a thumbs down from me”
82 “O patria ____” (Verdi aria)
83 Metropolis with a Little Havana neighborhood
84 Major ref.
86 Mineral used in glass production
87 Texted shrug 88 Photographer’s setting DETOUR: Come in handy 90 Grps. that liaise with superintendents 91 Fermented drink from Russia
93 Embargo
94 DETOUR No. 4
95 Bird embodied by the Egyptian god Thoth 97 Cells are covered in it, in brief
98 Studio Ghibli genre 100 Trickster
102 What some emails, checks and balls do 105 Wholesale
107 Jane who says, “I need not sell my soul to buy bliss”
108 Golden
110 Classic game of bluffing
112 Feature of some sweatpants DETOUR: 1 Titration station 2 Something typically found in a barnyard 3 Lead-in to delivery 4 Hunt-and-peck types? 5 Chewed (on)
6 Meeting spot for a union
7 Company that owns Bloomingdale’s 8 Neighbor of Djibouti: Abbr.
9 In check
10 Reggae forerunner 11 Jumble
12 Early victim of identity theft?
13 Israel’s Dayan 14 Photographer’s setting
15 Suddenly appears, with “up”
16 “And, uh, that’s what happened”
19 “Come On ____” (1982 hit)
23 Michael who was knighted in 2000 24 Related thing 26 Substitute
29 Face ____
33 Noggin
36 Containing graphic content, say
38 Diamond imperfection? 40 Vaccinated, to Brits 41 “Wowza!”
42 Seethed
43 Parts of drinking or reading glasses
44 Access points 46 Express some intense emotion
47 Goal that sends a game into overtime
50 Bit of cereal
51 CVS competitor 55 Make more powerful, with “up”
57 Series segments, informally
59 Five-time winner of the Copa do Mundo 61 “Love It or List It” airer 64 Inability to recall the names of everyday things 65 Restriction on some wedding invites 66 Running kicks? 68 William Phelps ____, inventor of the stop sign and the crosswalk 69 Henrik Ibsen play 70 Motion-sensing Microsoft gaming devices 72 Literary character who transforms into an insect 73 Backyard toy that attaches to a hose 75 Some hair products 76 Busy time at a cafeteria
78 Small towns
79 “Calvin and Hobbes” character based on “every jerk I’ve ever known,” per Bill Watterson
81 ____ Maria
83 Bite-size Tex-Mex snack 85 Enlighten
88 Elle or Dakota of Hollywood
89 Slippery sort 90 Resolution units 92 Flashcard words 93 Leave high and dry 96 Snoozefest
97 Not easily accessed 99 Conventions
101 “Ooh, that’s bad” 102 Iraqi city near the
Tigris and Euphrates 103 Peripheral
104 Amazon’s domain 106 Lambert or Levine of pop
109 Sin that sounds like two letters
111 Many ’90s music purchases
113 Code of the world’s busiest airport
114 Stain, maybe