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Freestyling

New York Times, Sunday, December 3, 2023

Author:
Tracy Bennett
Editor:
Will Shortz
Blog:
42-Down : Use a divining rod
TotalDebutLatest
67/21/201312/3/2023
SunMonTueWedThuFriSatVariety
20101101
ScrabDebutFresh
1.574079%
Tracy Bennett

This puzzle:

Rows: 21, Columns: 21 Words: 126, Blocks: 55 Missing: {QXZ} Puzzle has duplicate clues. This is puzzle # 6 for Ms. Bennett. Sunday freshness: 100%
Will Shortz notes:
Tracy Bennett is a digital puzzles editor for The Times. She manages Wordle and helps with the crossword. In this themeless puzzle, she took a bold grid pattern with lots of white ... read more
Jim Horne notes:
This puzzle ties the record for the fewest blocks in a 21x21 grid. The seed entries Will Shortz mentions in his notes are ESTROGEN PATCH, WACKADOODLE, HELLSCAPE, and REMIND ME ... read more
1
W
2
H
3
A
4
T
5
E
6
L
7
S
8
E
9
I
10
S
11
N
12
E
13
W
14
C
15
L
16
O
17
N
18
I
19
N
20
G
21
H
E
L
E
N
A
M
O
N
T
A
N
A
22
A
I
R
A
S
I
A
23
E
S
T
R
O
G
E
N
P
A
T
C
H
24
D
R
A
G
O
N
S
25
T
S
A
R
S
26
L
I
E
N
27
L
L
28
B
E
A
N
29
G
E
T
30
S
E
R
A
31
P
L
A
N
32
R
O
B
O
T
S
33
D
O
H
A
34
T
E
E
N
35
M
A
S
E
R
S
36
T
E
N
O
N
37
O
38
S
39
W
A
L
D
40
S
A
T
I
R
E
41
P
R
T
A
L
K
42
D
O
L
I
K
E
43
I
N
N
I
N
G
44
M
E
A
S
L
E
S
45
O
L
I
N
E
46
T
R
Y
I
N
G
47
J
U
A
N
48
W
A
C
K
A
49
D
O
O
D
L
E
50
H
E
L
L
S
51
C
52
A
53
P
54
E
55
S
L
E
E
P
A
P
N
E
A
56
F
O
R
C
E
F
I
E
L
D
57
E
A
R
D
O
C
T
O
R
58
F
I
R
S
T
D
E
G
R
E
E
59
W
H
E
N
60
T
O
N
N
E
S
61
R
A
I
N
N
62
R
63
A
64
M
65
A
D
A
N
66
C
R
I
K
E
Y
67
A
R
R
E
T
S
68
E
L
I
T
E
S
69
M
A
U
L
E
D
70
C
L
A
S
S
Y
71
D
O
N
O
R
72
T
E
R
M
E
D
73
T
A
I
L
74
C
O
I
N
75
S
O
G
L
A
D
76
J
I
L
T
77
S
78
I
79
V
80
A
81
E
G
G
82
B
E
T
S
O
N
83
H
U
L
U
84
H
U
R
O
N
85
D
O
O
86
R
O
N
E
87
R
E
88
M
I
N
D
M
89
E
A
G
A
I
N
90
A
B
L
E
I
S
M
91
F
R
O
N
T
E
N
T
R
A
N
C
E
92
R
I
F
F
L
E
S
93
F
A
N
T
A
S
Y
S
E
R
I
E
S
© 2023, The New York Times12/3/23 ( No. 27,053 )
Across
1
Sarcastic response to an unsurprising development : WHATELSEISNEW
14
That makes two of us! : CLONING
21
Gold rush camp that became a state capital : HELENAMONTANA
22
Carrier out of Kuala Lumpur : AIRASIA
23
Hormone therapy product : ESTROGENPATCH
24
They're seen on the flags of Bhutan and Wales : DRAGONS
25
Alexanders I-III : TSARS
26
Legal claim : LIEN
27
Retailer headquartered in Freeport, Me. : LLBEAN
29
"___ Up Offa That Thing" (1976 hit) : GET
30
"Will be," in Spanish : SERA
31
Map out : PLAN
32
The Stepford wives in "The Stepford Wives," it seems : ROBOTS
33
Host city of the 2022 FIFA World Cup : DOHA
34
___ Vogue : TEEN
35
Acronymic devices in atomic clocks and radio telescopes : MASERS
36
Part of a woodworking joint : TENON
37
___ the Lucky Rabbit, character in early Disney shorts : OSWALD
40
Much sketch comedy : SATIRE
41
"Media impressions," "influencer marketing," etc., informally : PRTALK
42
Emulate : DOLIKE
43
Diamond division : INNING
44
Sore spots for kids? : MEASLES
45
QB-protecting group : OLINE
46
Difficult : TRYING
47
San ___, capital founded in 1521 : JUAN
48
Super-sillyous? : WACKADOODLE
50
Apocalyptic scene : HELLSCAPE
55
What nocturnal polysomnography may detect : SLEEPAPNEA
56
Mainstay of a sci-fi defense system : FORCEFIELD
57
Canal inspector : EARDOCTOR
58
Most serious, in law : FIRSTDEGREE
59
It's a question of timing : WHEN
60
Metric weight units : TONNES
61
Actor Wilson of "The Office" : RAINN
62
Month that goes by fast? : RAMADAN
66
"Jeepers!" : CRIKEY
67
Stops over in France? : ARRETS
68
Billionaires and such : ELITES
69
Badly injured : MAULED
70
Elegant and refined : CLASSY
71
See 81-Across : DONOR
72
Given the name : TERMED
73
Peacock show? : TAIL
74
What a token may resemble : COIN
75
Pleased as punch : SOGLAD
76
Abandon without warning : JILT
77
Figure in the Hindu trinity : SIVA
81
With 71-Across, participant in some fertility treatments : EGG
82
Picks to win : BETSON
83
"The Handmaid's Tale" airer : HULU
84
First Nations group of the Great Lakes region : HURON
85
"Let's Make a Deal" option : DOORONE
87
Prompt from the chronically forgetful : REMINDMEAGAIN
90
Accessibility concern : ABLEISM
91
Walk in place? : FRONTENTRANCE
92
Leafs : RIFFLES
93
Set of books with maps, perhaps : FANTASYSERIES
Down
1
Stimulates : WHETS
2
"Siddhartha" author : HESSE
3
Where sacrifices may be made : ALTAR
4
Planet Earth : TERRA
5
Actress Mireille ___ of TV's "Hanna" and "Lucky Hank" : ENOS
6
Trail behind : LAG
7
Made scents? : SMELLED
8
Lasting for an immeasurable time span : EONIAN
9
How legal papers may be signed : INPEN
10
Die-hard fan, in modern lingo : STAN
11
Turner of American history : NAT
12
Wrapped around : ENCLOSING
13
Mark who was the world's highest-paid actor in 2017 : WAHLBERG
14
Military trainees : CADETS
15
Turkish money : LIRAS
16
Port city in Algeria : ORAN
17
Badger : NAG
18
Having equal angles : ISOGONAL
19
Like some golf courses : NINEHOLE
20
They may need fillings : GASTANKS
28
Snooze : BORE
31
Who said "Football is not about one or two or three star players" : PELE
32
Rough fabric with a loose weave : RATINE
33
Investigators: Abbr. : DETS
34
Leave hurriedly, in quaint usage : TAKEAPOWDER
35
Capital on the island of Luzon : MANILA
36
Passage from one party to another : TRANSFERRAL
37
"Va-va-voom!" : OOLALA
38
It cuts the cheese (but not the mustard) : SLICER
39
Got some shut-eye? : WINKED
40
Pulitzer-winning poet Gary : SNYDER
41
Rang, as a bell : PEALED
42
Use a divining rod : DOWSE
43
Like some decals : IRONON
44
Compulsory payments of old : MULCTS
46
List of ranked favorites : TOPTEN
47
Purchase at a sports stadium : JERSEY
49
Seasonal Russian cottages : DACHAS
50
Intruded, with "in" : HORNED
51
Items usually sold in boxes of 25 : CIGARS
52
Mountaintop homes : AERIES
53
Enough to go around : PLENTY
54
Utopias : EDENS
56
Played the rat : FINKED
58
Outschemed, in a way : FOILED
60
Period from 1945 to 1953 : TRUMANERA
62
Evergreen tree with fragrant bark : REDCEDAR
63
Indian dish of potatoes and cauliflower : ALOOGOBI
64
Putt-putt : MINIGOLF
65
Loads : ATON
66
"Carmina Burana" composer : CARLORFF
67
Landed : ALIT
69
Units of RAM, for short : MEGS
70
Character defamation : CALUMNY
72
Family emblems : TOTEMS
73
They're found beside exclamation marks on keyboards : TILDES
75
Inkling : SENSE
76
Coup group : JUNTA
77
Sweet stuff in asparagus (if you read it backward)? : SUGAR
78
Many a Shiite : IRANI
79
It may be raised in an argument : VOICE
80
Auntie ___ (pretzel chain) : ANNES
82
Pasta recipe instruction : BOIL
83
Inkling : HINT
84
Largest of the lagomorphs : HARE
86
Flag thrower, informally : REF
88
Time to get back to work: Abbr. : MON
89
Otherworldly sorts, for short : ETS

Answer summary:
11 unique to this puzzle, 1 debuted here and reused later, 1 unique to Modern Era but used previously.

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