The New York Times Crossword Puzzle: The Final Frontier

ACROSS

1 Visitor-center handouts

5 Crew supervisor on a merchant ship 10 QB Patrick who was 2018’s N.F.L. M.V.P. 17 Like a pub crawler’s breath, perhaps 18 *Embarrassing pants mishap?

20 Set apart

21 Relative of “ciao” 22 “I never met a ____ I didn’t like”: Garfield 23 Like some tans 24 *Shipper of British toilets?

26 Something you might use just for the halibut?

27 ____ Plaines, Ill. 28 Hill worker 29 Modern-day

groundskeeper? 30 Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall and Amy Schumer, for the 2022 Oscars 31 Divides into sectors 33 5-Down, in Spanish 34 “I’m not impressed” 35 Some sci-fi effects 37 Fast line at the airport, informally 41 Small figures? 44 *Big fight for a Disney heroine from Polynesia?

47 Some track-andfield races

48 “They tell me ... “50 Impulsive sorts? 51 Spanish gentlemen 52 Standing at the ready 54 Affectionate attention, for short 55 Neither blows it nor crushes it 56 Grabs lunch, say 59 Word with cane or cone

61 As a friend, in French

64 “That hits the spot!” 65 Voyage by rocket ... or a feature of the answers to the 12 starred clues? 68 U-haul offering 69 One rounded up in a roundup

72 A car that won’t start is a common one in horror films 73 Ties again 76 Pulitzer-winning novelist Lurie 78 Extreme vexation 80 Alliance 81 Symptom of burnout

83 Take up a notch 86 Singer Abdul

87 Keg attachment 88 *Shortage of slime? 90 Appear

91 “Is that a challenge?!”

92 Part of E.S.L.: Abbr. 93 Voice of dissent 94 Scratch (out) 96 Film brand 98 Seoul singers? 99 Component of some high-tech dog collars 103 Kind of card sold in many international airports

106 Metric for a Met, for short

107 Diane Sawyer’s real first name 109 *Rest spot for a tabby?

110 Angry and impatient 112 Parent who’s fluent in emojis and modern slang, maybe

114 “Your ____ ran over my dogma” (classic dad joke) 115 Sovereign’s singular 116 *Brew that’s both bitter and fruity? 117 Tiny arachnids 118 Cries feebly

119 Do some barbering on 120 Language of the Emerald Isle

DOWN

1 French wine region 2 Series of trade discounts? 3 Portmanteau invitations

4 Website overseers, in brief

5 Image on a postcard from Yellowstone 6 Western Hemisphere treaty grp. 7 *Painting of potatoes, e.g.? 8 Exhorts 9 ____-Down (what this is)

10 Botch

11 *Main course featuring Egyptian snake meat? 12 Street smarts 13 Portuguese greeting 14 “S.N.L.” alumna Rudolph 15 Boarding school where tailcoats are part of the dress code

16 On its way 17 Show some reluctance

18 Item tossed into a fire at the end of “Citizen Kane” 19 Buddy 25 “Va-va-____!”

30 Set of options 31 Acne spot, informally 32 Brawl site in old westerns

34 West of Hollywood 35 Agree

36 ____ Goose, cousin of Donald Duck 38 *Iditarod, for one? 39 Bourbon alternative 40 The start of something? 41 Byproduct of composting 42 “Wow, super!” 43 *Staging of a narc sting?

45 How a parent serving as the tooth fairy might walk 46 Supported 49 Stephen of “The Crying Game” 51 Anguish following a dance marathon 53 N.F.L. positions that sound like a fast-food chain 55 “I’m sorry, ____, I’m afraid I can’t do that” (line from HAL in “2001”) 57 Mountain lake 58 Green prefix 60 Fish with a long snout

62 Layer beneath the earth’s crust 63 Something made off the cuff? 66 Closing words 67 Office PC setup 70 One-percenters 71 Frustrating process 74 Noted speedway sponsor

75 What a beehive is made of 77 *Terrific messenger at Hogwarts? 79 *Friend in a competition? 81 Furbys or fidget spinners, e.g.

82 In the manner of 83 Many millenniums 84 Small batteries 85 “Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you ____!”: Dr. Seuss 88 Lead-in to X, Y or Z 89 Substance

95 Sign unlikely to have been written by the person it is attached to

97 Hill workers 98 Swell

99 Hindu embodiment of virtue 100 Stolen treats in “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” 101 Mann of music 102 Mardi ____ 103 Knights and noblemen

104 Privy to 105 Request for permission

107 TV screen option, for short

108 Chits 109 Manage

111 Dallas hoopster, for short

113 Lotta money