MERGER MANIA BY DICK SHLAKMAN AND WILL NEDIGER / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ
Dick Shlakman, who turns 82 next Sunday, is a retired lawyer and corporate executive from Plano, Texas. Will Nediger, 31, is a professional crossword constructor from London, Ontario. Dick saw Will’s offer of crossword mentorship on Facebook and reached out for his help. They’ve now made several puzzles together. “I come up with a theme idea that I think is absolutely perfect,” Dick says, “and Will shows me the error of my ways - then suggests how to take that idea and make it ideal.” This is Dick’s third crossword for The Times and Will’s 37th. - W.S. ACROSS 66 Prefix with 124 Not on Men are pigs thermal 125 Chops up finely (after she’s Bad sound for an 126 Was through with engine uncomfortably them, anyway!) Result of a hot The “A” of James merger between 127 Basil-based A. Garfield Hasbro and sauce 11 Naysayers Nikon? 128 ____ Allen, one of 20 Lower-cost Bird like the the founders of option on a Canada goose or Vermont popular rideshare arctic tern app Lummox Egg: Sp. Cheese offered Frontiersman’s tableside headgear at Italian Result of a restaurants, merger between informally Quaker Oats and Recipe amt. Greyhound? Eagle Maintaining constellation equilibrium Passive 26 Discourage acquiescence 27 Soft drink Voice a view concentrate, e.g. Firm decision “Night on Bald maker? Mountain” or Revolutionary “Finlandia” Guevara With 18-Down, Klum of “Project what has four Runway” legs and sprints? “My love,” in Musician who Madrid was booed in Result of a 1965 for playing merger between electric guitar Procter & Gamble Letters before and Jacuzzi? Gerald R. Ford Result of a and Ronald merger between Reagan Hormel and Luau instrument, Instagram? for short Warehouse Zoom 10 to 10, say Corner ____ reform, Second-longest cause for the human bone, Marshall Project after the femur 100 Middling grade Result of a 101 Pub choice merger between 103 Shot across the Kraft and bow? Hershey’s? 106 ____ Waldorf, the Result of a so-called “Queen merger between B” on “Gossip Google and Girl” Planters? 109 Leaves nothing to Like the wights the imagination on “Game of 114 Measured Thrones” 116 “Been there, done Best of that” feeling the best 118 Disney’s Spelling ____ world What Santa 120 Result of a checks twice merger between R-rated Ralph Lauren and Rulers’ staffs Starbucks? Fire man? 123 “Stop your On the ____ foolishness
Poet Lazarus outside!”
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DOWN ____-de-sac
Ditto, in scholarly journals
Brexit vote, e.g. Home to the Minoan civilization
Shine
“Now I get it!” 2021 Super Bowl champs
Drink up during a timeout, say
Tex who directed the first Bugs Bunny cartoon Iraqi city on the Tigris
Kimono accessory Natural talent ____ YoungWhite, comedian/ correspondent for “The Daily Show”
Lead-in to an Indiana “-ville” ____ Ng, author of the 2017 best seller “Little Fires Everywhere” Piehole
“Oops!”
See 30-Across Part of a musical note
Held forth
“Two thumbs down” review Answer to “Are you asleep?” that can’t be true
Drift off to sleep Ordinary
“Eh, not really” 1981 hit Genesis album whose name resembles a rhyme scheme Balls in the sky Little sounds Muscular
44
45 47 48
49 50 52 55 59 60 62 65
67
68 69 70 71
72 73
74
77
78 79 81
82 83
85
88
90
92
93
95 98
“Who’s there?” response
Nancy who served as the first female member of t he British Parliament
Come together Like some thinking
A.O.C., e.g.
Meets
Evening prayer Come together Raw material? Quintana ____ (Mexican state that’s home to Cancún)
Mayhem
Land governed by the House of Grimaldi Obedience school command
More hackneyed A head
A head
Best-case scenarios
Clipper parts
“You can’t fire me!”
Italian poet Cavalcanti who influenced Dante Procrastinator’s problem [Bo-o-o-oring!] In essence
Where heroes are made
Sass
Co-founder of the N.A.A.C.P.
Word that, when spelled backward, becomes its own synonym
Member of the inn crowd?
One of the Canterbury pilgrims
One doing the lord’s work In which you might do a deep dive
Mistruth
JAMA contributors
No. 0418
102 Tool in a wood
shop
104 Shred
105 ____ hole
107 Battery part
108 Language group
related to Yupik 109 Birkin stock?
110 From scratch
111 Quinceañera, e.g. 112 Man’s name that spells a fruit backward
113 Passed-down
stories
115 “Stop stalling!” 117 “The slightest” or “the foggiest” thing
119 Oscar-winning lyricist Washington
121 Classic
Pontiac
122 Phishing
target, for short