PUZZLE

HEAD START

ACROSS 1 Hollow, cylindrical item 5 Skin opening 9 ___ and cheese (pasta dish) 12 Welcome benefits 17 Sits alongside 19 Commerce site with bidding snipers 20 Daily essay 22 Stoned 23 Therefore 24 “Beauty” among fruits 26 Like bodybuilders 27 wikipedia.___ 28 One who may take part in speedrunning 30 Opposite of content 31 Relative of an anemone 32 Carry out, as a plan 34 Ye ___ shoppe 36 Divide into parts 38 “My Brilliant Friend” novelist Ferrante 39 Bit of blowgun ammo 40 “Ted Lasso” Emmy winner Goldstein 41 Convenience store that “Mare of

Easttown” star Kate Winslet said

“almost felt like a mythical place” 43 Olympian Midori 45 Reply to a compliment in Calais 47 To boot 51 Pale in color 52 Secret agent hired by a samurai warrior, maybe 54 Count ___ (Lemony Snicket antagonist) 56 Hot and sweet drink 57 20 percent of XV 58 Duels, in a way 59 Nicolas Cage film set on a plane 61 “___ about now?” 62 ___ Wolf, butcher toasted in the song “To Life” from “Fiddler on the Roof” 64 Belly 65 Shooting star setting 66 Fire company? 68 Rolls-___ (luxury auto) 70 Auntie, to one’s mom 71 Apt surname for a librarian 72 Drink similar to sparkling water 75 “Caught you!” 76 Sound in a meadow 77 “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen” actress Lindsay

81PCB watchdog 82E-flat major work 84___ skating 86Happy hour selection 87Military exploration, for short 89Wedding gown designer Vera 90Like an equilateral triangle’s angles 91Martin Luther’s “Ninety-Five Theses,” e.g. 92“I’ll have another,” at a bar 94“Body” rapper ___ Thee Stallion 96When the clock hits zero 97Psyche’s mythical lover 98Exhibits gumption 100Basketball court site, for short 102Employing 104“Help yourself” 107Comedic entertainer Martha 108Illuminated holiday symbol 111Illuminated once more 112Philosophers’ offerings 114World capital that’s home to Hassan Tower 116“Play It by Trust” designer Yoko 117Like baaing creatures 118Spike in the woods 120Hubble who received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1940 122SI unit of length 123Smoky atmosphere 124Move a little, in bed 125Dream ticket activity? 126Snow day gliders 127Uno, ___, tres ... 128Devices that may have erasable ink 129Blacken, as a brisket

DOWN 1 Thunderbird Lodge’s lake 2 Basic service offered by a ride-hailing company 3 Expert at thrill-seeking jumps? 4 And others: Abbr. 5 Black bird that’s spreading everywhere? 6 Jennifer Paull’s instrument 7 Muzzleloading need 8 Peer group member? 9 Headline about an awesome youngster? 10 Home screen array 11 Portmanteau for a famous woman who has come out of the closet 12 Newborn mountain feline’s bed? 13 Not that many 14 Company product? 15 Jack Sprat’s dietary rule 16 Chicago-___ pizza 18 Conversational link 21 Try to prevent 25 “A Poem for Women in Rage” writer Lorde 29 When the workday, or nightly news, may start 33 Terra cotta material 35 Some spiritual teachers 37 Aloo matar vegetable 41 Let out a loud cry 42 Kyrgyzstan’s continent 44 Not missing a beat 46 Be insufferably sweet 48 Zoom call annoyance 49 Canadian coin bird 50 What justices interpret 53 Hangar craft 55 Songs that don’t conclude suddenly? 58 Icy aces? 60 Investment plan initials 63 “The magic mirror you make to reflect your invisible dreams in visible pictures,” per George Bernard Shaw 65 “Cheap Thrills” singer, 2016 67 Prefix with centric or logic 69 “___ killin’ me here!” 70 Charges for hiring Scooby-Doo’s buddy? 71 Rascally sort 72 Many a student at the University of Novi Sad 73 Blade with a fuller 74 String not often found on a slipper 75 Condition affecting sebaceous glands 76 Speaker’s aid, for short 78 Development on one’s head, and a hint to this puzzle’s theme 79 First word of a.k.a. 80 Fish-catching items 83 “Oh no!” 84 Like formal dresses 85 What the Israelites crossed, in the Bible 88 Made into a minister 91 Jay who was joined on stage by Kevin Eubanks 93 “It will be long ___ the marshes resume”: Robert Frost 95 Collect 99 Classics scholar Hamilton 101Expose to oxygen, as wine 103Goal of 87 Across 104Where some kings and queens are crowned 105Word with ground or water 106Like members of the establishment 109“You Bring Me Joy” singer Baker 110Hall of Fame induction, e.g. 113Ferrari founder Ferrari 115Similar (to) 119Unit that’s equal to about 4.9 ml 121One ordering an MRI

Solution to this month’s puzzle on page 29