New York Times Crossword No. 1127

Sam Donaldson is a law professor at Georgia State University, teaching property to first-year students and federal income tax and trusts and estates to upper-division ones. He’s been making crosswords for The Times since 2008. Typically his grids have lots of lively vocabulary. Sam writes, ‘‘This is one of those puzzles where solvers might not realize the theme until after they’re done, so I wanted the process of getting to the finish line to be as enjoyable as possible.’’ — W.S. 48 It might be stuck on 96 Like a very heavy

the chopping block sleeper 50 Rise, as a steed might 99 Precisely 52 Politico Cheney 102 It’s ‘‘rarely pure and

54 Color-wheel options never simple,’’ per

Oscar Wilde

55 Old yellers?

103 Bit of hairstyling

57 Animal with a prominent proboscis 106 Mop’s partner, in a

brand name

61 Trifling, informally

107 Measures up to

62 Lab-engineered fare, facetiously . . . or 111 Tight (with) a hint to the six 113 Pipes up crossings of shaded 116 Pinkerton who squares founded the

67 Totenberg of NPR Pinkerton detective

68 ‘‘____ at 11’’ (local agency

news promo) 117 Unpredictable

69 Prefix with biology change 70 Thing moving 118 Is delighted by through a tube, the invitation maybe 119 ‘‘Brille Brille Petite

71 Qom home ____’’ (children’s

song abroad)

72 Lenovo competitor 73 Bountiful harvests 120

Mesopotamian for farmers . . . or metropolis another 121 Thinks up hint to the crossings 122 Experience sharer of shaded squares 123 Got in order 77 Grub 124 Fast-sounding

78 What gorillas have freshwater fish

that giraffes lack? 125 Eye-grabbing email

80 Spot for a tattoo subject line

81 Prefix with biology

82 Peter Pan alternative

84 Achieved a flight

training milestone

86 Hiking group?

88 Email symbols,

informally

91 Target of an annual

shot

93 Worker who makes a

ton of dough

94 Terse affirmation

95 Producers of multiple

outs, for short

ACROSS

1 Sell, as bicycles?

7 Coups in journalism

13 What might prompt a

run for Congress?

19 Arctic jacket

20 Hairspray brand since the 1950s

21 Big name in pain

relief

22 Band whose final album, ‘‘Synchronicity,’’ was their most popular, with ‘‘the’’

23 More in need of

practice

24 24 horas from now

25 Big name in pain

relief

26 Disembark

27 Used an unspoken

language

28 One not getting in too

deep

29 Chinese zodiac animal

30 Tiny amount of time:

Abbr.

32 Hella

33 Game typically played

in the dark

37 Become established

39 Calf site

42 Common concert

merch

43 Pronoun for

Frenchwomen

46 Like diamonds

47 It shares a key with

‘‘!’’

Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 4,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).

DOWN

1 Tree of the custard

apple family

2 ‘‘The ____ Holmes Mysteries’’ (young adult series)

3 Gave (out)

4 Claptrap

5 Makes some deep

cuts in

6 Barely squeeze (by)

7 Unlawful occupant

8 Swear word 9 Swear word

10 Garnish for a Gibson

cocktail

11 Jurors, to a defendant

12 Word with food, clothes or entertainment

13 Quick escapes

14 Cry of perfection from

a carpenter?

15 City NW of Bar

Harbor

16 Retort to ‘‘No, you’re

not able’’

17 Has for supper

18 Seeing someone

socially

20 Loud, as a crowd

26 ‘‘For ____, all nature

is too little’’: Seneca

31 Tesla but not Edison

34 Vast quantity

35 Smart ____

36 Bad look

38 Kenan’s comedy

partner

39 Queen commemorated on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

40 Objects from

faraway lands

41 Not so harsh

44 Land of leprechauns

45 Seek, as punitive

payment

49 1993 R.&B. hit with the lyric ‘‘Keep playin’ that song all night’’

51 Seat of Utah County

53 Most off the wall

56 Alphabet ____

58 Illegal, as a download 59 Ensnared

60 Return payments?

62 Totally terrif

63 Go back for more

64 ‘‘Knives Out’’ actress

Ana de ____

65 ‘‘Happy to!’’

66 Contacts via Instagram, informally

74 Singer/songwriter

____ Mai

75 They start in the

corners 76 Bygone magazine for rock music enthusiasts

79 Beast with a mouth

best left unexamined

81 Where you went

83 Longtime Progressive

spokeswoman

85 Vehicle that might have parachute brakes

86 Brand name-checked in Paul Simon’s ‘‘Kodachrome’’ 87 It’s hot right now

88 Some skin care ingredients, informally

89 Relative of a

waterspout

90 More cocksure

92 Sch. for which John

Wayne played tackle

97 Wedding proposal?

98 So-called ‘‘father of

geometry’’

100 Honors in the ad biz

101 Fit in 104 ‘‘The Mary Tyler

Moore Show’’ spinoff

105 Unpopular food that’s rich in minerals

108 A-listers

109 Claw

110 Hägar the Horrible’s

hound

112 Twosome

114 105-Down, e.g.

115 Spanish dirección

119 Source of big green

eggs