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Why, Why Not?

New York Times, Sunday, July 31, 2022

Author:
Jesse Goldberg
Editor:
Will Shortz
Blog:
2-Down : Tick off
TotalDebutLatest
46/2/20218/28/2024
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
2002000
ScrabDebutFresh
1.562154%
Jesse Goldberg

This puzzle:

Rows: 21, Columns: 21 Words: 140, Blocks: 69 Missing: {JKQVZ} Puzzle has duplicate clues. This is puzzle # 3 for Mr. Goldberg. Sunday freshness: 41%
Will Shortz notes:
Jesse Goldberg is a software engineer in San Francisco. This is his third crossword for The Times. His most recent one, in July 2021, involved quips from Julia Child. Jesse loves word ... read more
Jesse Goldberg notes:
This theme came about serendipitously. Luckily, I happened to notice the wordplay potential when the revealer phrase popped up in something I was reading. It might not be the most ... read more
Jeff Chen notes:
Plenty of regular solvers Y-ne about simple single-letter addition or subtraction themes, but this is far from simple. You probably noticed that "Why? Why Not?" hints at some themers ... read more
1
S
2
R
3
I
4
R
5
A
6
C
7
H
8
A
9
W
10
I
11
M
12
P
13
E
14
D
15
D
16
E
17
F
18
E
19
R
20
W
I
D
E
S
H
O
T
21
E
L
A
I
N
E
22
E
N
O
L
A
23
A
L
L
S
T
A
T
E
24
B
E
L
L
Y
B
25
O
T
T
O
M
S
26
M
E
Y
E
R
S
27
R
E
D
T
E
A
28
B
A
R
T
29
C
O
M
30
B
31
A
T
R
E
A
D
32
B
R
I
E
F
33
E
34
D
35
S
36
A
37
L
T
38
A
L
E
39
O
L
I
N
40
A
X
E
41
P
P
E
42
C
43
A
G
E
44
E
45
S
46
C
47
A
P
E
E
48
L
U
T
E
49
L
O
A
50
D
U
P
51
C
52
A
M
P
Y
C
O
U
N
53
S
E
L
O
R
54
A
L
G
E
R
I
55
A
56
D
I
O
D
E
S
57
T
I
T
L
E
58
S
L
U
M
B
E
R
59
P
A
R
T
60
S
61
A
62
M
O
A
63
H
O
E
64
S
C
L
A
S
S
65
S
66
P
U
R
O
N
67
S
68
S
69
W
70
L
I
E
O
N
71
G
R
I
M
Y
R
E
72
A
P
E
R
73
A
74
C
75
T
E
D
76
A
77
T
78
T
E
S
T
79
A
R
A
C
H
N
E
80
T
H
R
E
E
81
T
82
I
M
E
S
A
L
A
83
D
84
I
G
U
E
S
S
85
P
A
I
R
86
O
R
A
T
O
R
Y
87
E
88
A
S
E
89
R
E
T
90
A
R
C
91
A
M
E
S
92
N
A
H
93
S
E
I
S
94
R
O
O
95
M
B
A
S
96
F
97
A
98
I
99
R
Y
F
I
100
G
101
H
T
102
R
O
U
T
103
A
L
L
S
E
T
104
L
E
A
105
S
106
T
107
S
108
M
109
A
D
I
S
O
110
N
C
O
U
N
T
111
S
112
T
A
R
T
O
U
T
113
P
A
E
S
E
114
E
N
A
M
O
R
115
W
I
S
E
U
P
T
O
116
H
A
R
T
S
117
G
E
T
S
T
O
118
F
E
S
S
E
S
U
P
© 2022, The New York Times7/31/22 ( No. 26,563 )
Across
1
Condiment at a pho shop : SRIRACHA
9
Got too scared, with "out" : WIMPED
15
Shelve : DEFER
20
Big picture : WIDESHOT
21
Author/journalist Welteroth : ELAINE
22
"The ___ Holmes Mysteries" (young adult detective series) : ENOLA
23
Nationwide competitor : ALLSTATE
24
Places where some belts are tightened? : BELLYBOTTOMS
26
Longtime surname on late-night TV : MEYERS
27
Rooibos by another name : REDTEA
28
Simpson imp : BART
29
Stephen Crane's "The Red Badge of Courage," e.g.? : COMBATREAD
32
Gave the scoop : BRIEFED
35
Its presence on Mars offers a clue to life : SALT
38
Growler's contents : ALE
39
Actress Lena : OLIN
40
Can : AXE
41
Medical gloves and N95 masks, for short : PPE
42
Pen : CAGE
44
Andy Dufresne in "The Shawshank Redemption," e.g. : ESCAPEE
48
Pear-shaped instrument : LUTE
49
Buy a lot of, with "on" : LOADUP
51
Lawyer with absurdly exaggerated humor? : CAMPYCOUNSELOR
54
Where Camus's "The Plague" is set : ALGERIA
56
Circuit board components : DIODES
57
Count, e.g. : TITLE
58
Sleep phase? : SLUMBERPART
60
Coconut-covered cookie : SAMOA
63
It might get the weed out : HOE
64
Flagship vehicle line for Mercedes-Benz : SCLASS
65
Encourage : SPURON
67
Dallas-to-Austin dir. : SSW
70
Test, as a new mattress : LIEON
71
Harvesting machine that needs cleaning? : GRIMYREAPER
73
Didn't just sit there : ACTED
76
Vouch for, with "to" : ATTEST
79
Mythical weaver : ARACHNE
80
Doctor's description of the birth of triplet sons? : THREETIMESALAD
84
"Well, maybe" : IGUESS
85
Connect, as two devices : PAIR
86
Rhetoric : ORATORY
87
Relax : EASE
89
No longer active: Abbr. : RET
90
Golf ball's path : ARC
91
City north of Des Moines : AMES
92
Slangy turndown : NAH
93
Cinco + uno : SEIS
94
They might get all over the floor : ROOMBAS
96
Battle between Tinker Bell and Princess Ozma? : FAIRYFIGHT
102
Cream : ROUT
103
"Ready?" : ALLSET
104
Some Guinness records : LEASTS
108
Census-taking of a Midwest capital? : MADISONCOUNT
111
Begin : STARTOUT
113
Bel ___ (Italian cheese) : PAESE
114
Charm : ENAMOR
115
Become aware of … or a homophonic description of four letter shifts in this puzzle's grid : WISEUPTO
116
Partners of hinds : HARTS
117
Reaches : GETSTO
118
Comes clean : FESSESUP
Down
1
Proceeded down a lane, maybe : SWAM
2
Tick off : RILE
3
Without much thought : IDLY
4
Excise surgically : RESECT
5
Household robot from Amazon : ASTRO
6
Abyss : CHASM
7
Like some towels and topics : HOT
8
Put away : ATE
9
Big name in grills : WEBER
10
___ la Cité, home of Notre-Dame : ILEDE
11
Smallest country in the E.U., by area : MALTA
12
Stacked : PILED
13
Musical artist known as the "Queen of New Age" : ENYA
14
Interior secretary Haaland : DEB
15
Hold in custody : DETAIN
16
___ nous : ENTRE
17
Server error : FOOTFAULT
18
The Liberty Tree, e.g. : ELM
19
Some free housing recipients, for short : RAS
25
Longtime surname on late-night TV : OBRIEN
27
Fwy. or expy. : RTE
30
Clutch, e.g. : BAG
31
Name hidden in "global economy" : ALEC
32
Couleur de l'océan : BLEU
33
Rhapsodize over : EXTOL
34
Caterpillar alternative : DEERE
35
Disruption for a poolside sunbather : SPLASH
36
God associated with the moon : APOLLO
37
American ___ : LEAGUE
39
Marsupial that goes into shock when frightened : OPOSSUM
42
Kind of parking : CURBSIDE
43
Each : APIECE
44
Arab leaders : EMIRS
45
"I spilled ___ remover on my dog. Now he's gone": Steven Wright : SPOT
46
Dancer Charisse of "Singin' in the Rain" : CYD
47
Wizard : ACE
48
Sci-fi daughter of Padmé : LEIA
50
D as in D.C.?: Abbr. : DEM
52
Some prosecutors, for short : ADAS
53
Primeval : STONEAGE
55
First name in folk : ARLO
59
Some wide-brimmed hats : PANAMAS
61
Killer of the Night King on "Game of Thrones" : ARYA
62
___ Day, early collaborator with Prince : MORRIS
65
"r u 4 real?" : SRSLY
66
Serving with a meze platter : PITA
67
It's a ball : SPHERE
68
Japanese honorific : SENSEI
69
Pries (from) : WRESTS
70
Icky look : LEER
71
Boots, helmets, rope, etc. : GEAR
72
Prefix with puncture : ACU
73
For face value : ATPAR
74
One-named entertainer from Spain : CHARO
75
Hand-held device used by Mr. Spock : TRICORDER
77
Lunar New Year : TET
78
General name for a dish? : TSO
81
Shade of red : TOMATO
82
Ticks off : IRES
83
Like Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts : DEAF
88
Fish in a poke bowl : AHI
91
Unfairly takes advantage of, as a policy : ABUSES
92
WaPo alternative : NYT
93
Square figure? : STATUE
95
Like a tasty cake : MOIST
96
Ice cream treat : FLOAT
97
They might hold on to their caps, for short : ALUMS
98
"Failure ___ an option" : ISNOT
99
Back in style : RETRO
100
You can see right through it : GLASS
101
Beginning of a toast : HERES
103
What concealer might conceal : ACNE
105
Soaks (up) : SOPS
106
Co-author of 2016's "The Book of Joy," along with the Dalai Lama : TUTU
107
Break … or brake : STOP
108
Inits. on the road : MPH
109
Inits. on the road : AAA
110
Darkroom item, in brief : NEG
111
Personal ad abbr. : SWF
112
No-win situation : TIE

Answer summary:
11 unique to this puzzle, 1 debuted here and reused later.

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