NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Along with Big Bird, role for puppeteer Caroll Spinney on “Sesame Street” 6 Fall fruit

10 ___ piece

14 Rental contract 15 Actress Fanning of “The Great” 16 Where Henrik Ibsen is buried

17 E.M.T.’S apparatus, informally 18 Alfresco drinking establishment 20 Seers? 21 Workplace, e.g. 22 Actress Fisher of “Eighth Grade” 23 Certain freestyle competition

25 Kind of error or attraction

26 Ones who couldn’t be further from the truth?

27 Ride that might have a hot tub 28 “There was no other choice!” 30 According to

31 Org. that is often referred to by just its first letter 35 Designer Anna 36 Pseudoscientific process hinted at by four squares in this puzzle

39 Poke bowl protein 40 URL opening 42 Illumination unit 43 Made out 45 Radiate

47 “If ___ Street Could Talk” (James Baldwin novel) 48 Reputation ruiner 50 Undergarment

providing a lift 53 Blueprint bits 54 Authors

55 Persian suffix

meaning “land” 56 Soda containers, in

the Midwest 58 Bitten sharply 59 Vegetable sometimes called “ladies’ fingers” 60 Loomed?

61 Giraffe gatherings 62 Camp sight 63 Available

64 “… OK, maybe I was

wrong”

DOWN

1 Less green, in a way 2 “Toodle-oo!” 3 Alternative to a latte or flat white 4 “To repeat …” 5 Talmudic honorific 6 Dangers

7 Grilled corn, as a Mexican street food 8 Plant with “teeth” 9 One may cry foul 10 Noodle, e.g. 11 Patriotic World Cup chant

12 Swing wildly and helplessly

13 Prow’s position

Take this Super Quiz to a Ph. D. Score. 1 point for each correct answer on the Freshman Level, 2 points on the Graduate Level and 3 points on the Ph. D. Level.

Subject: U.S. CITIES “S”

Each answer is the name of a U.S. city that begins with “S.” (e.g., The city’s motto is “Home of President Abraham Lincoln.” Springfield.)

FRESHMAN LEVEL

1. “The City by the Bay.” Answer________

2. The city is named after a lake. Answer________

3. On the Pacific Ocean coast immediately adjacent to the Mexico-united States border. Answer________

GRADUATE LEVEL

4. It is the second-largest city in Missouri. 19 Play group? 21 Arrive nonchalantly 24 “Toodle-oo!” 25 Quality by which mattresses are classified

27 Harper who wrote “Go Set a Watchman” 28 Kinda

29 “Survivor” dwelling 30 Code for Sky Harbor Airport 32 Reverse course 33 Subject of the classic photo “Guerrillero Heroico” 34 Assistance

37 Word with clean or clear 38 “Mm-hmm” 41 Wool wear for winter

44 Group, as of stars 46 Waterfall effect 47 Dr. ___ Honeydew, Muppet partner of Beaker

48 Wheel part 49 Caterer’s container 50 Pet problem? 51 Complete stranger, in slang

52 Agita

53 Locate

54 Plunk (down) 57 First prime 58 “Yellowjackets” network, for short

The Cryptoquip is a substitution cipher in which one letter stands for another. If you think that X equals O, it will equal O throughout the puzzle. Single letters, short words and words using an apostrophe give you clues to locating vowels.

Fill all the empty squares, using numbers 1 to 9, so the sum of each horizontal block equals the number to its left, and the sum of each vertical block equals the number on its top. No number may be used in the same block more than once.

Answer________

5. It is noted for the infamous witch trials of 1692. Answer________

6. The city is named for the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Answer________

PH.D. LEVEL

7. Like Rome, the city is said to lie on seven hills. Answer________

8. Its nickname is “The Lilac City” and its motto is “Creative by Nature.” Answer________

9. The city is named after its founder Winfield Scott. Answer________