NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE

PLAYING THE HITS

Derrick Niederman, of Charleston, S.C., teaches mathematics at the College of Charleston. This is his 12th crossword for The Times, not counting variety puzzles, beginning in 1983 — all Sundays. On March 7 last year, the paper published an amazing novelty challenge by Derrick, “Two-for-One Crossword,” that had two completely different solutions. After you finish this puzzle, it’s worth looking up, if you haven’t done so yet. — W.S.

ACROSS

1 Symbol of authority,

informally 7 Compañero

12 Delhi issue

16 Reaction to puppy

pics

19 Water buffalo, for one 20 French ____ (tricktaking game)

21 Land of blarney

22 Pass during the N.F.L.

playoffs

23 THE LADY VANI____

____

(No. 2, 1964)

25 Who infamously boasted ‘‘They can’t collect legal taxes from illegal money’’ 27 Luxurious

28 Suffix in some pasta names

29 BILLE (No. 3, 1972) 31 He gave Starbuck’s

orders

34 NATO members, e.g. 35 Adorable sort 36 x0 (No. 1, 1985) 41 Barnyard baby

42 Keep one’s mouth

shut?

43 Porky Pig’s girlfriend 44 It cost 5¢ in 1965 47 Home of Iowa State 49 Help with a crime 50 Google web browser 53 Laser-pointer chaser

54 Like the Balkans in

the 1990s

57 Certain peaceful

protest

58 Country singer McEntire 59 Captivate 60 VAUDEVILLIAN (No.

2, 1988)

65 Become more complicated, say 66 Getting together 67 Sheen

71 LOST, E.G. (No. 1, 1984) 73 Glacier-scaling tool 74 Yard tool

77 Private student

78 Figure it out

79 ____ Lilly (pharmaceutical giant)

80 ‘‘Jeez!’’

82 Actress Garr

85 Beach shaper

86 Only player to win the U.S. Chess Championship with no losses or draws 88 Darling

91 Harbor helper

92 ____ story (tale of a car company’s bankruptcy?)

93 CHAN__E __PPEA__ ANCE TO CONCEA__ ____D MISLEA__

(No. 1, 1968) 97 Islamic spirit

99 Brand of insecticide strips

100 Madhouses 101 TITTLE-TATTLE (No. 16, 2011) 103 Opposite of post105 Airline posting 109 Furnace for calcium oxide production

110 ENT I CEMENT (No. 1, 1983)

114 Big club in Las Vegas?

115 The final word

116 Give a lift 117 Know-it-all

118 ‘‘____ Como Va’’ (Santana hit) 119 Female Olympian of note

120 Palindromic battlers 121 Place of worship whose third, fourth and fifth letters are appropriate

DOWN

1 One of eight in a stick

of butter: Abbr.

2 Jolly laugh

3 Dec. 24 and 31, e.g. 4 Minor accident

5 Mary ____ Evans a.k.a.

George Eliot 6 Opposite of paleo7 Memo abbr.

8 When doubled,

Hawaiian food fish 9 Pique

10 Terk in Disney’s

‘‘Tarzan,’’ e.g.

11 Opera with the aria

‘‘Ave Maria’’

12 Naval engineer

13 Air traveler’s

accumulation

14 Quint’s boat in ‘‘Jaws’’ 15 Enclosure for a bike

chain and sprockets 16 180

17 Arthur who invented the crossword puzzle (1913)

18 Overgrown, say

24 Kind of terrier

26 Young chicken, e.g. 30 Actress Tyler

32 Move barefoot across a scorchingly hot beach, maybe 33 Shock’s partner

34 Throw ____ (rant and

rave)

36 No longer frozen

37 Kind

38 Crop up

39 Chafe

40 Out of gas, informally 41 Internet ending that’s also an ending for inter

44 Part of the brainstem 45 Chatter

46 Greek letter that

might follow ‘‘z’’ 48 Affix, in a way 50 Eyelashes

51 Ketchup brand

52 ‘‘One ____-dingy’’ (Ernestine the operator’s catchphrase on ‘‘Laugh-In’’)

55 Arch type

56 Landlord’s due

57 Petrol unit

58 Surgically remove 60 Unearthed

61 Mi, in a C major scale 62 Number twos 63 Pelvic bones

64 Air carrier

68 Island where Paul Gauguin painted 69 Book that’s the source of the phrase ‘‘a land flowing with milk and honey’’

70 Go back (on) 72 Instruction in an

oatmeal recipe 74 ‘‘Zebra’’

75 Slugger from

Louisville 76 Florida city whose name has three pairs of doubled letters 78 Upscale watch brand 80 Annual eight-day

celebration 81 Basketball stat: Abbr. 82 Numbskull

83 Poetic dusk

84 Color of traffic on a GPS

87 Craft carried over a

portage

88 Rhythmic part of a

heartbeat 89 Same: Prefix

90 Sense of self 93 Protagonist in ‘‘The

Stepford Wives’’ 94 FedEx competitor 95 Clears for takeoff ? 96 Old Glory

97 1964 Tony Randall

title role

98 Like oranges and some gossip

99 Duck or Penguin 102 Frost 103 Davidson of ‘‘S.N.L.’’ 104 Richard and Jane in court

106 Commercial prefix with postale

107 Out of office?: Abbr. 108 One-named Irish hitmaker

111 Tops

112 Madrid’s country, in the Olympics

113 Song lead-in to ‘‘Believer,’’ ‘‘Loser’’ or ‘‘Survivor’’