The New York Times Crossword Puzzle: What A Character!

ACROSS

1 They come with bouquets 6 Away 11 “____ put our heads together ... “15 Singer/drummer Collins 19 Cell component 20 Pal, in Peru 21 Put one’s nose where it doesn’t belong 22 Tilt-a-whirl, e.g. 23 One arm held up with bent elbow and wrist, in a children’s song 24 Move obliquely 25 Phenomenon such as the tendency to see human forms in inanimate objects 27 Any of the groupings of circled letters in this puzzle 30 Gin product 31 Incredible bargains 32 “Sorry, Charlie!” 33 Fits together 34 Savory Chinese snacks 37 Jump over 41 Smoking and swearing, e.g. 44 They await your return, in brief 45 Have a good cry 46 Syracuse Mets and Worcester Red Sox, for two 50 “Music’s most maligned genre,” per the critic Tom Connick 51 Word with level or lion 52 “Everything happened so fast!” 54 Farm female 55 “____ Gone Wrong” (2021 film) 57 Brunch beverage 59 One of the brothers on “Malcolm in the Middle” 60 Room in Clue 61 Cause of undue anxiety 63 It may be smoked 64 Hogwash 65 Munch, in modern slang 66 “____ 17” (W.W. II film) 67 One of two in a jacko’-lantern? 70 Where charity begins, in a phrase 73 Table part 74 Title for Tussaud: Abbr. 76 “Midsommar” director Aster 77 Digs up 78 Carpenter’s wedge 80 Does gentle stretching post-exercise, with “down” 82 Amp knob 84 Die like the Wicked Witch of the West Give zero stars Ne’er-do-wells E.R. inserts 89 By birth 90 Plant said to repel bugs 93 ____ Ryerson, insurance salesman in “Groundhog Day” 94 French pronoun 95 Quarter ____ (when the big hand is at three) 97 No-longer-current source for current events 99 Hot, mulled punch traditionally drunk around Christmas 101 Bacteria destroyer 104 French port on the English Channel 106 Like the Minotaur legend 110 University of Oregon site 112 How to see the image formed by this puzzle’s circled letters 115 What’s formed by the circled letters in this puzzle 117 “We’re live!” studio sign 118 Ancient land in Asia Minor 119 Domino, e.g. 120 Martinez with a statue outside the Seattle Mariners’ stadium 121 Makes less powerful, in video-game slang 122 Domino, e.g. 123 “To ... “things 124 Dino’s tail? 125 Muse of love poetry 126 Arises (from)

DOWN

1 Eastern cicada killers, e.g. 2 Suggestions 3 “... said ____ ever” 4 School 5 Resolves out of court 6 Org. that flew a helicopter on Mars in 2021 7 Fail to mention 8 Information, old-style 9 Rounded quarters 10 Without stopping 11 How Alaska ranks first among the states 12 It’s often left on the table 13 What “vey” of “Oy, vey!” translates to 14 ____ Games, company behind Fortnite 15 Rey, to Luke Skywalker 16 Sword handles 17 “Einstein,” sarcastically 18 Puts pressure (on) 21 What can make men swear from men’s wear? 26 “____ pass Go ... “28 Leading medal winner at the Tokyo Olympics 29 Forman who directed “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” 35 Farm refrain 36 Weight of a paper clip, roughly 38 Ancient: Prefix 39 Soul-seller of legend 40 Half-baked? 41 Duck and goose, at times 42 “See ya” 43 Group dance popularized in the U.S. by Desi Arnaz 45 77-Down is on the most collected one in U.S. history 47 Epiphany 48 Voice actor Blanc 49 Show with over 1,000 handwritten cue cards each week, for short 51 City hazard 52 “My word!” 53 Pol in the “I am once again asking ... “meme 56 City whose police cars are adorned with a witch logo 58 Card game with a Pg-rated name 60 Boring 62 Purse 65 High degree 68 Not at all popular 69 Messes up 70 x,yandz 71 Chaotic skirmish 72 Fragrant compound 74 Saturn has more than 80 of them 75 Golf-course machine 77 He performed 636 consecutive sold-out shows in Vegas from 1969 to ’76 78 Burn-prevention meas. 79 The future Henry V, to Falstaff 80 Fight tooth and nail 81 One who consumes a ritual meal to absolve the souls of the dead 83 Bits on book jackets 87 Roc-a-____ Records 91 Part of U.C.L.A. 92 Fashion designer Geoffrey 94 It may run from an emotional situation 95 [Mwah!] 96 Departed by plane 98 Green vehicle 99 Frank 100 Duke’s org. 101 Pasta topper 102 Like the dog days of summer 103 Acrobatic 105 Make restitution 107 Faint color 108 “Take me ____” 109 Approaches 111 Where the lacrimal glands can be found 112 Pasta topper 113 Pump some weights 114 Not exactly 116 Vaccine-approving agcy.