The New York Times Crossword
GIVE ME A BREAK! By Robert Ryan / Edited by Will Shortz
Robert Ryan of London is an economist. He grew up in Ireland where he used to sit on his father’s knee and “help’’ him solve the cryptic crossword.
ACROSS
1 Texas terminus of I-35
7 Place for a plug
14 Sport coached by Ted Lasso 20 Relative of a June bug
21 Animal farm facility
22 Shining intensely
23 Zone out?
25 Milton who designed the “I
[heart] NY’’ logo
26 Off
27 A handful
29 Channel for watching NCAA
games
30 Aid for a novice guitarist
33 Fool, from the Yiddish
34 Beginner’s edition?
37 Home of Bahla Fort, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site 39 German article
40 Certain vaccine target
41 Big mouths
42 Fairy look-alike
44 God who lent his name to a
weekday
45 Bruce Wayne in the Batman
comics, e.g.
47 Seat at the dining table?
50 Meds often come in them,
for short
51 Identifying statement
54 Real name that becomes a fake one by changing its first letter
55 Tranquil state of mind
56 Character at the center of
“Dunkirk’’?
57 Without holding back
58 Kicked out of school, say
60 Atop
62 Beverage that can be served
hinata-kan (“sun-bathed’’) 63 Beauty that runs in the
family?
66 Family member
71 Brazilian currency
72 Price of ignorance, so to
speak
78 Like much baby food
79 U.S. agcy. originally set up to
fund war expenses
80 Words of praise
81 “Psycho’’ mother
82 Search blindly (for)
83 Some significant others, for
short
84 Boys’ club?
87 Shape of a certain bean
89 Expose
90 Bounded
91 Result of some bargaining 93 Words to a pet at the door 95 Dollop
97 Greasy garage job
98 Swindle by instant
messaging?
100 Reproductive cell
102 Something to aim for on a
golf course
103 Irish name meaning “lover
of hounds’’
104 Toronado or Cutlass,
informally
105 Pointed at, say
107 Tone deafness, medically 109 Use a family crypt? 115 Like Halley’s comet every 75
or so years
116 Not tell a soul
117 House floor manager?
118 Formal
119 Adventure-seeking
travelers, in old usage
120 Polynesian language
DOWN
1 Supposed influence on Pink Floyd’s “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn’’
2 One in the hand?
3 Knock
4 The ____ Tour (2023 Taylor Swift concert series that broke Ticketmaster)
5 “Pride and Prejudice’’
surname
6 Becomes unduly prominent 7 Forty winks
8 When said three times,
mantra for some accused
9 Completed collection
10 Conspicuous kissing, e.g.,
for short
11 Like some casts
12 Orange and peach, for
example
13 Word has it!
14 Droop
15 One giving creepy looks
16 Yearbook signers
17 World’s largest inland body
of water
18 Thus far, poetically
19 You might see them now and
again 24 Fortune 500 company whose
logo is a blue infinity symbol 28 Wisconsin politico Tony
30 Cornhole attempts
31 Lab vial
32 Long, narrow piece of
jewelry
34 “If u ask me ...”
35 He can be found above it
36 Particularly: Abbr.
38 Pester with little bites
43 “Rubbish!’’
44 Food container
46 Jazz great Al
48 Third-largest city of Turkey 49 It comes after nine but not
after 10
50 Flowing tresses
52 Subject of D.C.’s Stone of
Hope memorial
53 Word before tooth or candy 56 Chancellor who oversaw
Germany’s reunification
57 Centers of attention
59 Gave a thumbs-up
60 Exploits
61 Organizer of a school field
day, for short
62 Extra-crisp, informally
64 Goofs up
65 Sea change?
66 Dealership stat
67 The “Noster’’ in “Pater
Noster’’
68 Rhinoplasty target, maybe 69 Some vintage photo tints
70 Got started, with “off’’
73 At some point
74 Come to 75 Cause to stumble
76 It divides and multiplies
77 Friend of Buffy on “Buffy the
Vampire Slayer’’
79 “So to speak’’
80 Shout heard in the Plaza
México
83 _ _ _ _ box (lunch option)
84 Long-handled hammer
85 Affectedly creative
86 Pink Floyd’s light-refracting prism, for one iconic example
88 Cancel
89 Reinforce
91 Predecessor of a USB drive 92 Like a screw after being
turned counterclockwise
94 Gilda of the original “S.N.L.’’
cast
95 Clay figures in Jewish lore 96 Like the Toyota logo
99 People of western New York 101 “Same’’
105 More than just a sec?
106 One-named singer with the 1961 No. 1 hit “Runaround Sue’’
108 Word with where and how,
but not usually why
110 Org. established by 111Down
111 Prez who established the
110-Down
112 Initial shock?
113 Suns setting, for short
114 Japanese honorific