1019-25 NY Times Crossword 19 Oct 25, Sunday

Constructed by: Daniel Grinberg
Edited by: Will Shortz

Today’s Theme: Same Difference

Themed answers work with and without the included letter circled in the grid:

  • 26A Business traveler’s convenience : COMPANY CARD & COMPANY CAR
  • 28A Divisions on a map : COUNTRIES & COUNTIES
  • 65A Pop culture hit about dystopian technology : MR ROBOTO & MR ROBOT
  • 69A Eliminators of some teams : PLAYOFFS & LAYOFFS
  • 109A Injection associated with a certain toxin : ANTIVENOM & ANT VENOM
  • 112A Annoyances for ticket holders : TRAIN DELAYS & RAIN DELAYS
  • 9D Go downhill fast, say : SKID & SKI
  • 22D Ruptures : BURSTS & BUSTS
  • 44D Competitive athlete’s goal, perhaps : TOP SPEED & TOP SEED
  • 49D Fuel source : GASOLINE & GAS LINE
  • 90D “Sorry, I’m unavailable!” : NO TIME! & NOT ME!
  • 112D Decorative auto upgrade : TRIM & RIM

Bill’s time: 18m 27s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

My wife and I are traveling right now in Europe, and so are in a very different time zone. As a result, I get to the puzzle a lot “later” than usual. I am posting this abbreviated post for now, and will get to the full post just as soon as I can.

Apologies, and thank you for your understanding.

Bill

PS: We fly home today, so blog posts should be back to normal starting tomorrow.

Complete List of Clues/Answers

Across

1 Huge success : SMASH
6 Seal, say : CLOSE
11 From the beginning : ANEW
15 ___ sequencing (lab technique) : DNA
18 Lively Bohemian dances : POLKAS
20 Alternative to a tissue, informally : HANKY
21 Bit in a hippie’s necklace : LOVE BEAD
23 Poker declaration : I RAISE
24 Remove, as a ribbon : UNTIE
25 Share confidences with : OPEN UP TO
26 Business traveler’s convenience : COMPANY CARD & COMPANY CAR
28 Divisions on a map : COUNTRIES & COUNTIES
29 Brian ___, songwriter who popularized the term “generative music” : ENO
30 Second volume : BOOK II
31 😂😂😂 : ROFL
32 Broadband inits. : DSL
33 Fights back tears? : DARNS
34 Michelle Obama, to Princeton : ALUM
36 Indulge (in) : PARTAKE
40 National Arab American Heritage Month : APRIL
43 Place to hang at home? : CLOSET
45 Oppressive political regime, so to speak, with “the” : SYSTEM
46 Have an ominous presence : LOOM LARGE
50 Sound of a joke going over one’s head : WHOOSH!
52 Giant Middle-earth creature : ENT
53 Arched recess : APSE
54 Person I truly am : REAL ME
56 “Hey!” from on high : UP HERE!
59 Word with pack or rug : RAT
60 Senior, informally : OLDSTER
61 Org. that confiscates liquids : TSA
62 Knocked out of the park : ACED
65 Pop culture hit about dystopian technology : MR ROBOTO & MR ROBOT
67 Former parent of NBC : RCA
69 Eliminators of some teams : PLAYOFFS & LAYOFFS
72 Corn chip with a “Fuego” flavor : TAKI
73 In the vein of : A LA
75 Smallish batteries : AA CELLS
77 Rapper ___ Milli : FLO
78 Get involved : STEP IN
80 Perceptive : SHREWD
81 Hawaiian shindig : LUAU
82 Clothes for a doze, in brief : PJS
85 Native of the Delaware Valley : LENAPE
87 Pursuers of utopian goals : IDEALISTS
89 Coffees that aren’t single-origin : BLENDS
92 Self-admiring sort : EGOIST
94 Major Ukrainian seaport : ODESA
95 Sisterly : SORORAL
97 Sneaky plot : RUSE
98 Pilgrims in Saudi Arabia : HAJIS
101 Ear-related prefix : OTO-
102 Not fully open : AJAR
104 Hybrid pastry : CRONUT
106 P, to Pericles : RHO
109 Injection associated with a certain toxin : ANTIVENOM & ANT VENOM
112 Annoyances for ticket holders : TRAIN DELAYS & RAIN DELAYS
114 Palm Springs or Puerto Vallarta, notably : GAY MECCA
115 Brown songbirds : WRENS
116 Tale-telling brothers : GRIMMS
117 Turned up : APPEARED
118 “Strike up the band!” : HIT IT!
119 Neighbor of a Saudi : YEMENI
120 Nickname for Rachel : RAE
121 Verbally expresses disdain : TUTS
122 Warning signs : OMENS
123 Tightly packed : DENSE

Down

1 Food enlivener : SPICE
2 Hardly a genius : MORON
3 Home to a chapel with the Texas flag flying beside it : ALAMO
4 Spotify button : SKIP
5 Loves, loves, loves the occasion : HAS A BALL
6 Hurls : CHUCKS
7 Feature of a Hawaiian house : LANAI
8 Being prosecuted : ON TRIAL
9 Go downhill fast, say : SKID & SKI
10 ___ candy : EYE
11 Chilly : ALOOF
12 Orange juice preference : NO PULP
13 With no one ahead or behind : EVEN
14 Lost all liquid resources : WENT DRY
15 Remove hair from : DEPILATE
16 Main antagonist on HBO’s “Euphoria” : NATE
17 Clamors : ADOS
19 Mexicali mister : SENOR
22 Ruptures : BURSTS & BUSTS
27 Over there, poetically : YON
28 Openly reveal one’s sexuality : COME OUT
31 Process for would-be Greeks : RUSH
33 It’s over a quarter of a quarter : DIME
35 Features of the names of many Apple products : LOWER CASE I’S
37 N.Y.C. stadium eponym : ASHE
38 Doll of a guy? : KEN
39 Vitals checker, in brief : EMT
40 Interrupter of dreams, maybe : ALARM
41 Genre for Keith Haring : POP ART
42 Political platforms? : ROSTRA
43 Saxon’s foe : CELT
44 Competitive athlete’s goal, perhaps : TOP SPEED & TOP SEED
47Guthrie who sang “Alice’s Restaurant” : ARLO
48 Bureaucratic barriers : RED TAPE
49 Fuel source : GASOLINE & GAS LINE
51 “Care to dance?” : SHALL WE?
55 Sea, to Seurat : MER
57 They may be caught in the summer : RAYS
58 Prefix with sphere : ECO-
60 Tribute in the Tribune, say : OBIT
63 Flow out : EFFUSE
64 Keys above C’s : D-FLATS
66 Blesses : OKS
68 “That feels ama-a-azing!” : AAH!
70 Alan with six Emmys : ALDA
71 Composer who led the U.S. Marine Band : SOUSA
74 Canniest, for instance : ANAGRAM
76 Artist’s feedback session, informally : CRIT
79 Olaf’s creator in “Frozen” : ELSA
81 Tops : LIDS
82 Channel supported by pledge drives : PBS
83 “Jenny From the Block” singer, to fans : JLO
84 Immune cell variation : SEROTYPE
86 Flow (out) : POUR
88 Hung around idly : LOITERED
90 “Sorry, I’m unavailable!” : NO TIME! & NOT ME!
91 Tried to convey : DROVE AT
93 Hide : SECRETE
96 Surgical instrument : LANCET
98 Lifts with a pulley : HOISTS
99 “Dear ___” (greeting in an old advice column) : ANN
100 Overly fault-finding : JUDGY
103 “The Grapes of Wrath” family : JOADS
105 Entered quickly : RAN IN
106 Food traditionally eaten with chopsticks : RAMEN
107 Songs on Sundays : HYMNS
108 Actor Davis who delivered Malcolm X’s eulogy : OSSIE
109 Gelatinous thickener : AGAR
110 ___ Valley : NAPA
111 Shade lighter than cappuccino : ECRU
112 Decorative auto upgrade : TRIM & RIM
113 Mojito garnish : LIME
115 50,000-watt clear-channel radio station in Iowa : WHO