The New York Times Crossword
ACROSS
1 Close ones 5 Group in which Iceland is the only member without an army 9 “Killer” members of a pod 14 Party in a biblical swindle 15 Get the ball rolling, in a way 16 Not on the dot 17 Kinderklaviers 19 Weird Al Yankovic’s “Amish Paradise,” for one 20 Postseason game played in Phoenix 21 Volleyball maneuver 23 Pamper 24 Tests 26 Wipe out 28 Favorably inclined toward 30 “That’s nice!” 31 Holiday hit by Eartha Kitt 32 Trusted supporter 35 Buddhist scripture 38 Bring down, informally 39 Non-PC? 41 “Despacito” singer Fonsi 43 Step in a mathematical proof 46 Dixieland or bebop vis-à-vis jazz 49 Keeps out 51 “Son of,” in Arabic 52 A founding member of 5-Across 53 Want 55 Audibly blown away 57 All-you-can-eat venues with elbows and bow ties 58 Guru’s honorific 60 Extensive 62 Ready to pour 64 It may have a down side 67 Clip component 68 Traveled to another country 69 Cornfield formation 70 Unit associated with waves 71 Places to rest or sleep 72 Skilled climber in the logo of Italy’s Gran Paradiso National Park
DOWN
1 Favored 2 Starting on 3 “I’m all ears” 4 Tiptop 5 Timberwolves, e.g. 6 Multinational financial services firm 7 Ducks, in poker 8 Twins Mary-Kate and Ashley 9 2021’s Illinois vs. Penn State football game featured nine of these, an NCAA record 10 Rhyming competition 11 Adriatic coast resident 12 Brick material 13 “Resident Alien” channel 18 Pistons great Thomas 22 Some leafy greens? 25 Make-believe 27 Bearded grazer 28 High degree 29 Tackle part 33 One in a skirmish 34 Lil ___ X 36 Accumulate charges … or what you must do to answer four clues in this puzzle 37 Clears (out) 40 Isla de la Juventud locale 42 ___ change (profound transformation) 44 Damage 45 M.M.A. finale? 47 Home run specialists, slangily 48 Log feature 50 Canny 53 Word after circle or square 54 Compound in pheromones 56 “Ditto here” 57 Like V.I.P. accommodations 59 Palm reader’s lead-in 61 Enjoy a bit of downtime 63 Candy originally marketed as a smoking cessation aid 65 ___ Newsroom (daily newscast) 66 Short-armed “Toy Story” character