UNIVERSAL CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1 Boo’s partner
5 ___ San Lucas
9 Gregor who “found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect”
14 “Heart” or “stomach” follower
15 Trade
16 “___ showbiz!”
17 *One way to dive in, or a theme hint
19 Peels, as an apple
20 Requested
21 Himalayan cryptid
23 Wordless performer
24 Idle of Monty Python
26 *Slow-cooked beef dish
28 Kerfuffle
30 Coke or RC
32 Addition result
33 Like new
35 Horse’s vote?
36 Beer mugs
40 *Part of, as a secret
42 *Anonymous name in court
43 Falling star
44 Sunbeam
45 Earth ___ (brownish hue)
46 For, in a debate
47 Criticisms might bruise them
49 “Super Mario Bros.” platform 50 *Classic vaudevillian who had a red nose
54 Kilogram, e.g.
56 Feels poorly
57 Filming locations
59 Low-down joint
62 Slump down
64 *Tool used on a metal lid, or a theme hint
66 Slowly undermine
67 Surmounting
68 ___ stick (bouncing toy)
69 Monster with an alluring song
70 Trees used for longbows
71 Infrequently spent bills
DOWN
1 “Joke’s on you!”
2 Covers in frosting
3 Make the deal official
4 Ritual meal whose name means “order”
5 Forensic TV franchise
6 Not as planned
7 Salary before bonuses
8 Choose as an action
9 Race car additive
10 Instant that puzzle lovers crave
11 “Ave ___”
12 Arises (from)
13 Positive feature
18 Banking protection agcy. 22 “What a perfect look!”
25 Non-experimental groups
27 Book after Judges, or a former justice’s first name
28 Alarm clock letters
29 Word before “straits” or “wolf”
31 Southeast Asian language
34 “The One With Joey’s New Brain” from “Friends,” e.g.
37 What a shrug may mean
38 Alternative to all
39 Spies or spots
41 Time long ago
42 Spree
44 Put another way
48 Lose it
50 Walks like a heron
51 Wispy clouds
52 Amaze
53 Become rotten
55 Bumbling
58 Classic reason for a day off from school
60 Company whose name comes from the Danish for “play well”
61 Psyche’s love
63 Its tip is a nib
65 Special ___ (some missions)