PUZZLE

Team Pursuit

ACROSS 1 Sharp conflict 6 “This ___ what I had in mind” 10 Spurs 15 Bygone Iranian ruler 19 Cliffside habitat 20 Style of fiction that Catherynne M. Valente called “a fairy tale with guns” 21 Part of a geographical chain 22 “___ on Eileen” (hit for Dexys Midnight Runners) 23 Winning streak for Seattle’s WNBA team? 25 Greek letter denoting the heat capacity ratio in thermodynamics 26 ___ predators 27 Rum ___ Tugger (cat from “Cats”) 28 Parishioners’ donations 30 Do something without help 32 Programs sending junk mail 35 Hall of Famers who played for St. Louis’s NHL team? 37 Little battery type 38 “For ___ purposes ...” 39 First two words of a “Hamlet” soliloquy 40 Winning and excellence, to Utah’s NBA team? 47 Discombobulates 52 Spiny houseplants 53 Yucky substance 54 Mini-golf club 57 The R of P.R. 58 Mobile studio for a news station 59 Cylinders in sewing kits 62 Tablet software, maybe 63 Mani-pedi place 64 Request 66 Chicago’s NFL team winning a second championship in a row? 70 Moisés once on the Cubs 72 Rockets Hall of Famer 73 DEA employee 74 Happy players on Tampa Bay’s MLB team? 81 Desert that was a backdrop for the sci-fi planet Tatooine 85 Sits next to 86 Australia Zoo bird 87 Chvrches singer Mayberry 89 Corn unit 90 “A cruel thief to rob us of our former selves,” per Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey 91 Dehydration symptoms 94 Test administered by ETS 95 Arctic fox’s fur color 97 Name that’s an apt anagram of ASTRAL 99 Buffalo NFL players who deserve praise? 102 Mobile device features 105 In addition 106 Drummer Blaine 107 Applause for Oklahoma City’s NBA team? 112 Take a seat quickly 117 Where one might grab a cab 118 Vacuum ___ (device for preserving food) 120 Subject involving DNA 121 Tie up loose ___ 122 Chilling signs 124 Ambitions among friends ... or what seven answers in this puzzle represent? 127 Adjust, as a paragraph 128 “Holy smokes!” 129 Put to bed, with “in” 130 “Lucifer” actress Garcia 131 Informal attire? 132 “Pop” band, 2001 133 Acorn sources 134 What pitchers may be made of

DOWN

1 Sends out, as shadows 2 Slacken 3 Flower shop emanation 4 “Please, ___, I want some more” (line from “Oliver Twist”) 5 T-shirt edge 6 People who celebrate the new year with the Quviasukvik festival 7 Arranges alphabetically, say 8 Approaching, in a poem 9 Constrictor seen on a branch 10 Performance job 11 Great Plains people 12 “You’re not that far off” 13 Venus ___ (sculpture in the Louvre) 14 Group with a practice exam? 15 Set of musical notes 16 Board, as a motorcycle 17 Adjust, as a constitution 18 Sorcerer’s spells 24 Relative of a ferret 29 Suck in a big way, like a food critic might? 31 Improved, like Edam or Gouda 33 Hedge ___ (outdoor puzzle) 34 Musical highlights for Bootsy Collins and Tina Weymouth 36 Language spoken in Peshawar 40 Informal term for coffee 41 “Such a pity!” 42 Pass out, with “out” 43 “Several years ___ ...” 44 Gaming beginner 45 Pass out, with “out” 46 Mix up, in the kitchen 48 Comedian Rachel who played Barbara Walters on SNL and “30 Rock” 49 “Factotum” actress Taylor 50 Class involving analysis of fiscal policy, for short 51 Piece from a composer 55 Digit on the floor 56 Channel for many who fill out college basketball brackets 60 Dissertation committee figure, briefly 61 Utters out loud 63 Film that covers food 65 Chase scene outburst 67 Cheer for a team 68 Flower bed surface 69 “At ___!” (Army order) 71 Discord channel visitor 74 Animals that help free the narrator in “The Pit and the Pendulum” 75 Kinda 76 Arizona Western College city 77 Thurman of “Prime” 78 Like one’s arm after sleeping on it, often

79 Reminds over and over 80 Slovenian currency 82 Base’s counterpart 83 Bread made with atta 84 Aid and ___ 88 NBA, NFL or NHL official 91 Locale of South Africa’s Parliament 92 Greek food truck bread 93 Overflows, with “over” 96 Had in one’s grasp 98 Aberdonian boys 100 Is bested by 101 Set of musical notes 103 Teasers for shows 104 Ludicrously strange 107 Fabric of some jackets 108 Like many Rig Veda readers 109 Nullified 110 Fledglings’ dwellings 111 Leader depicted in statues at the Muzeon Park of Arts in Moscow 112 Boldness 113 Disclosures of secret government activities 114 First sitting U.S. president to visit Cuba since Coolidge 115 Sly skills 116 Externally visible parts of respiratory systems 119 Latin word for “water” 123 “Got a ___?” (“Do you have a moment?”) 125 Comedian’s delivery 126 Refined substance

Solution to this month’s puzzle on page 29