The New York Times Crossword Puzzle: Initial Impressions

ACROSS

1 Advantage 6 Tony, e.g. 11 Plunder 18 Weighed in 20 Cow : herd :: ____ : troop 22 One with a discerning palate 23 C-span? 25 Start brawling 26 Drink-name suffix 27 Earth goddess 28 Going from Point A to Point B 30 Miss piggy? 31 Class acts? 33 Actress Gershon 34 Put back on the market, as real estate 37 Feel bad 38 Champagne name 40 P-trap? 44 G-force? 47 Union concern 48 Setting for C. S. Lewis’s “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” 49 NPR host Shapiro 50 Words said in passing? 51 Deliberate betrayal 53 Butt 54 Father figures? 57 Guam or the U.S. Virgin Islands: Abbr. 59 Surgeons’ professional org. 60 2012 Best Picture winner 61 Anastasia ____, protagonist of “Fifty Shades of Grey” 62 Make mention of 63 Top supporter? 64 Susan who portrayed the youngest child on “The Brady Bunch” 65 G-flat? 69 Deodorant type 72 Be short 73 Make music 74 Like Crater Lake, compared with any other U.S. lake 78 Lebron James in his N.B.A. debut, e.g. 79 Anheuser-busch Inbev’s stock ticker symbol 80 Avocado pit, for one 81 Cause for revolution, perhaps 82 Escort’s offering 83 “Yep, that happened!” 85 [And like magic ... it’s gone!] 87 First of ten? 88 Compete in pursuit of 90 Abbr. on a flight board 91 D-con? 94 E-bond? 96 Conversely, in brief 97 Worry for a Great Depression bank 98 Ladybug, e.g. 99 Cereal box abbr. 101 Strike-out specialists? 105 See 106-Across 106 Out of 105-Across 108 Son of Zeus 109 Bird of legend 110 Fast-food chain with Famous Star burgers 113 C-sharp? 116 Black-and-white dessert 117 Take care of some personal baggage 118 Word after green or smoke 119 Things consumed for psychedelic trips 120 Men in black, say 121 Deck originally known as “carte da trionfi” (“cards of triumph”)

DOWN

1 Kind of news often aired at 6 and 11 p.m. 2 Classical poem form 3 Drives home, say 4 French article 5 Floral archway 6 Pop group with a dedicated museum in Stockholm 7 “____ is mainly a catalog of blunders”: Churchill 8 Means 9 “The Burghers of Calais” sculptor 10 Cruella de Vil, for one 11 Beat oneself up over, say 12 Mimic 13 Little beef 14 ____ kicks (ab exercise) 15 Pitch-correcting devices 16 Tribe of southern Montana 17 Range of knowledge 19 School administrator 21 French for “born” 24 Appalls 29 Aesthetically pretentious, informally 32 ____ card 33 Ruby, e.g. 35 Carter who portrayed Wonder Woman 36 Noncommittal response to “You coming?” 39 Load off one’s mine? 41 Homonym of 39-Down 42 Trace of color 43 Wore 44 Gallivants (about) 45 Part of Q.E.D. 46 Ralph who founded the American Museum of Tort Law 51 Got ready (for) 52 Mosque leader 55 Launched 56 Product once advertised with the line “The splendor of your skin” 58 Datum for a chauffeur, for short 60 Take in, maybe 62 Supporter of Roosevelt’s agenda 63 Actor whose breakout role came as a shirtless cowboy in “Thelma and Louise” 64 Singles 66 Hardly cheery 67 Hoppy request at happy hour 68 Enlighten 69 Wine barrel strip 70 Climate change, e.g. 71 Looked back on 75 Alphabetized, say 76 Wind farm output: Abbr. 77 Stink 79 Split open 80 Lorelei’s lure 81 May honorees 83 Mad (at) 84 ____ Hill (‘90s R&B group) 86 Decoration at el Palacio Real de Madrid 89 Where livestock eat 91 Mastered 92 Divide into three parts 93 Pattern that’s hard to break 95 Nasty looks 100 Lento or allegro 102 Retreats 103 Loggers’ competition 104 Track 105 Rap lyrics, in slang 107 Post-o.r. destination, often 108 Doesn’t just assume 110 The Rockies, on scoreboards 111 Day ____ 112 Sail fixed to a bowsprit 114 “Darn!” in Dortmund 115 Baseball’s deadball ____ (around 1900-20)