The New York Times Crossword Puzzle: Wait, What?

ACROSS

1 Aid for a small business

10 Dev of “Slumdog

Millionaire”

15 Part of a prairie skyline 19 Strict commitment 20 Sidestep

21 “Way ahead of

you” 22 Compliment to a

runway model? 24 Low card in Texas

hold’em

25 Some donations 26 Stable supply 27 Starting piece on

a1 or h8, say 28 ____ Slam (tennis

feat)

30 Drain

31 Easily offended

by foul language? 34 Kind of high

ground

37 Trial

38 Breaks down 39 Spanish “sun” 40 Axel ____, protagonist of “Beverly Hills Cop”

41 X 42 Japanese roadster since 1989 44 Residence that might be named for a donor 45 Question to a tantrum thrower? 49 Costly cuts 51 First two words of “Green Eggs and Ham”

52 ____ fixe 53 Malbec and syrah, e.g.

54 Role model 55 Wet-nap, for one 57 Friend with a rhyming description 59 Sighting aptly found in “Are you for real?” 61 “Anything you’d like to ____?” 63 Relics proving how Noah steered his boat? 68 Something to do for recovery? 69 Pacific island ring 70 Neil with the hit “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” 71 Carries out 73 Actor Elwes of “The Princess Bride”

75 Trade blows 77 Mild 79 Driver’s org., no matter how you slice it? 80 Relent 83 Prepared for a field trip? 86 Interjections akin to “Yeah, su-uure!” 87 Bygone forensic spinoff 89 Android alternative

90 Quits at the last minute

91 Org. that awards the Safer Choice label

92 World capital established in 1535 93 Jackanapes 94 Rap producers’ favorite vegetables? 95 Masters of slapstick?

100 Retinal receptor 101 Drink after drink? 102 “To live without ____ is to cease to live”: Dostoyevsky 103 Sign of summer 104 Stow cargo 108 Get into gear 109 Title for an oral surgeon’s handbook? 113 Certain sexual preferences 114 Italian automotive hub 115 Subject of many an off-season rumor 116 “Young Frankenstein” character played by Teri Garr 117 Tee type

118 4th order?

DOWN

1 ____ Rudolph, portrayer of Kamala Harris on “S.N.L.”

2 Role model

3 Amigo 4 Rules’ partner, for short

5 El Dorado treasure

6 Like apple seeds, if eaten in huge quantities 7 Fresh from a keg 8 Sore

9 Org. that sponsored the design competition for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial 10 MXN, on a currency chart 11 Adele and Cher, e.g.

12 ____ and Caicos 13 Part of a dean’s address

14 “I’d rather pass” 15 Shooting sport 16 All together now 17 Farm-to-table consumer 18 Word that sounds like its first letter 21 Elba who played Macavity in 2019’s “Cats” 23 One end of the Politifact meter 29 Willing subject 30 “Don’t be rude

... greet our guests!” 31 Loonie or toonie 32 Some are named for kings and queens

33 Stately street liners

34 Coat from a goat 35 High point of Greek civilization? 36 Emeritus: Abbr. 37 “It’s me ... duh!” 40 “Just sayin’,” in shorthand 41 Needless to say 42 Mississippi ____ pie 43 Released 44 Thingamabob 46 Brink

47 World No. 1 tennis player between Navratilova and Seles

48 Lived in a blue state?

50 One might be hard to sit for 54 Pipes at some bars

56 Brings out 58 Downfall in many an Agatha Christie novel 60 Buzzed hairstyle 62 Stops harping on something 64 Like a sparsely attended party 65 See 66-Down 66 With 65-Down, “Ditto” 67 Pelvic exercises 72 Give attitude 74 Instruction for a course? 76 Earnings 78 Drew back

80 “Sorry to intrude …” 81 Certain monkey … or monk 82 “Jackpot!” 83 One needing new, unburned pants? 84 De-lights? 85 Oil-rich state, for short 88 Appliance with apps 92 Yearns (for) 93 Fashionable pair 94 Cover for “little piggies” 96 “Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk” is the last short story he wrote 97 “Take that!” 98 Kind of chemical bond in salts 99 Vivacious quality 100 What a meta clue

might do to itself 103 Chicago mayor

Lightfoot

104 Brick made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene 105 New ____

106 Showy basket 107 Lifesavers, for

short

108 Piece of equipment for gold medalist Lindsey Vonn 110 Marauder of old 111 Lifelong bud, slangily 112 Partner of hem