SIMILE IRRESISTIBLE
Rebecca Goldstein, of Albany, Calif., is a research scientist at Merck, developing cancer immunotherapies. An avid crossword solver (typically six to 10 puzzles a day), she started constructing in 2020 at her wife’s suggestion. Her puzzles have appeared in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times and elsewhere. This is her sixth (and first Sunday) for us. Rebecca is excited to debut the modern coinage at 39-Down. — W. S.
ACROSS
1 Gas light
5 Spa garment 9 Hebrew word for
‘‘spring’’
13 Ideal course 18 Chow chow chow 19 Presidential ‘‘pet’’
that sprouts an Afro 21 Challah braids, e.g. 22 Bus?
24 Bowlers 25 Ingredient in un
cortado
26 ____ across the board (perfect score)
27 Subatomic
particles 29 Antiquated,
quaintly
30 Looks to pick
things up 32 Photosynthesize? 35 Some classic Chuck
Taylor All Stars 39 Little Energizers,
say
40 Replay tech. 41 United
42 Volunteer
44 Gift for a budding
myrmecologist 48 Peal?
51 Garments often seen at royal weddings
53 Stead 54 Secondhand 55 ‘‘American Greed’’
network
56 ‘‘Jump’’ duo ____
Kross
57 Finales 58 Disposable sock in
a shoe store
59 Frame of mind 61 Abhor
64 Words stealthily mouthed to a friend while stuck in a boring conversation 65 Photoshop? 68 Olympic
snowboarding event 71 Family-style meal with simmering broth
72 Frolic
73 Intelligence org. 76 Stinks
77 Actress Ward 78 Kristen of ‘‘Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar’’
80 Mama pigs
81 Full house, in poker
slang
82 Exquisitely made
basket
83 Sting?
87 Olympic runner
____ Felix
89 Takes an oath 91 Role on ‘‘Seinfeld’’ 92 Onetime Turkish
title
94 ‘‘What’s the ____?’’ 95 Aggressively
enterprising sort 97 Iron?
101 2006 mockumentary with a 2020 ‘‘Subsequent Moviefilm’’
102 ____ Alto
103 Multiple-choice
choice
104 Drudge
105 It’s-time
connector
110 Tickler’s targets 112 Quenched?
116 Soaks in hot
water
117 Wear white to a chili cook-off, you might say
118 Marathon
segment
119 Setting for ultra
close-up photos 120 For two, musically 121 Crock-Pot creation 122 Collared-shirt
accessory
DOWN
1 Table salt, to a
chemist
2 One of the Hearst
magazines 3 International grp. headquartered in Vienna
4 Comedian Trevor 5 TV brand
6 ‘‘You’re
embarrassing me!’’ 7 Muscles targeted by
curls 8 Brings in
9 Muscles targeted by
planks
10 Large container 11 Cry from someone
who’s disheveled 12 Esteem
13 ‘‘____ qué?’’
(‘‘Why?’’ in Spanish) 14 Passion project,
perhaps
15 Spanish city enclosed within intact medieval walls
16 Food, air, water,
etc.
17 Tushies
20 Yiddish laments 21 Teachers’
teachings
23 Took five 24 23andMe facilities 28 Ending with clip
or slip
31 ‘‘Today’’ co-host
Kotb
32 Chutzpah 33 Commuter option 34 Big Ben hrs. 35 Hosts, as at a
penthouse
36 ‘‘Can’t win ’em all’’ 37 Affixed in a
scrapbook, say 38 Posterior 39 Evidence derived from personal experience and observation rather than systematic research and analysis
42 Recede
43 Ankle bones
45 Help around the
House
46 Paper purchase 47 Think out loud 49 Subject of Queen
Mary
50 Phrase that may be repeated in a long story
52 Course for an English major, informally
56 Stayed toasty 57 Kvetch
59 Scans that may involve dye injections, in brief 60 Anthem
contraction 62 Pseudoscientific
ability, for short 63 Terence who’s known as the ‘‘Mozart of Mathematics’’ 64 Total
65 One who’s no fun
at all
66 Breakfast
centers?
67 Ancient Roman
formal wear
68 Tea served with a
jumbo straw 69 Golden calf, for
one
70 Hockey score 73 Pitch-perfect? 74 Pigs
75 ‘‘____ my last
email . . . ’’
77 Shade providers 79 ‘‘Where’s My
Refund?’’ org. 80 Whack
82 Down B-52s, say 83 Close tightly 84 Signifying symbol 85 Company that created a Sonic boom?
86 Handle at the bar 88 Succeeded at
musical chairs 90 Imagine ____ Peace (Ben & Jerry’s flavor) 93 Campfire
remnant
95 Skilled in 96 Elaborately
decorated 97 Muscle
contraction 98 Kauffman who co-created ‘‘Friends’’ 99 Ancient Mesoamerican civilization
100 Places for some
piercings
101 Objections 104 Winter setting
in S.F.
106 Tushies
107 ‘‘Dealing with
that right now!’’ 108 Campus with
the ZIP code 90095 109 Place to swim or
play b-ball 111Stock launch, in
brief
113 Image on Australia’s coat of arms
114 Donkey Kong,
for one
115 Make final, with
‘‘up’’
Answers will be printed in next week’s crossword puzzle page.