PUZZLE

Themeless #17

ACROSS 1 Thief involved in DC plots 9 She sang “Hot Right Now ” in 2012 16 Central Institute of Hindi locale 20 Chocolate cookie-flavored ice cream holder 21 Put into force 22 Like bricks 23 “Let me be really clear ” 26 Org. with employees whose goals are goals 27 Kalamata stone 28 2014 film based on the

New Testament 29 Penny prez 30 Says “ coulda, woulda, shoulda, ” e.g. 32 Yak nonstop 33 Symbol of happiness 36 Ancient flier 38 Kendrick who earned a

Pulitzer for his album

“DAMN. ” 39 Instruments featured in many Vivaldi concertos 41 Recommendation well before

Election Day 46 Khareef Festival nation 47 82 Down ’ s goals 48 Comparatively kind 49 Waiting for the other to drop 50 Hikes taken at work? 52 Attempts to locate 53 Expression from one who ’ s incensed 54 Fairway Rock in the Bering

Strait, e.g. 55 Rotating rotisserie rods 56 “Easy ” songwriter Richie 57 Places where people pick up pumpkins 60 Thick hairstyles 61 Free from corruption 62 Returns from one ’ s dream trip? 63 ___ for the stars (aim high) 64 Did some road repair 65 Anatomical places for crib notes 66 Exhibit fear 67 Passages in sci-fi books 71 Home to the vast majority of the Hmong 72 “ ___ little cubby all stuffed with fluff” (lyric in the theme song to Winnie-the-

Pooh films) 73 Regards 74 When a star may shine 75 Mystical valley in the novel “Lost Horizon ” 77 Piece of the pie, perhaps 78 One unlikely to ever make a charitable donation 79 Like capitalism in its final form, to modern socialists 81 Abandon a federation 82 Frequent filming location for

“The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters ” 85 Car dealer ’ s offerings 87 Sport___ (large car, informally) 88 “The Aviator ” director 90 Coop clamor 92 Illusionist Geller 95 “All good things come to an end” 98 Piggies, so to speak 99 Of a numerical ranking 100 Zapatistas ’ leader Zapata 101 Needs auto-correct, say (unless auto-correct is itself wrong) 102 Work on, as an old painting 103 Breaks of

DOWN 1 Circulating circle, often 2 Structure seen in M.C.

Escher ’ s “Relativity ” 3 Crystal ___ (shade akin to celadon blue) 4 Edged by a point, say 5 Month for World Vegetarian

Day 6 Former boxing champ Shane 7 ___ -glare screen (monitor that minimizes reflections) 8 Chutzpah 9 Short breaks 10 Core components 11 Rip to shreds 12 “Rats!” in a Platz 13 Redding on the album “The

Dock of the Bay ” 14 Has an emotional impact 15 West German leader whose name is an anagram of

NUDE AREA 16 Up in the air 17 Accelerometer, e.g. 18 Intellectual ___ (careful reasoning that holds up to scrutiny) 19 Neurodevelopmental condition 24 Traps for morays 25 ___ Dame (university near

South Bend) 29 Hans Gruber ’ s portrayer in

“Die Hard” 31 Launchers of Sputnik 33 Sty sustenance 34 One celebrated in the spring 35 Words from one who ’ s on the

fence 37 Apparel pair 39 Wet spots in dry areas 40 Wrestler Hart nicknamed

“The Hitman ” 42 Unfriendly and then some 43 River through Geneva 44 Home improvement chain that turned 100 years old in 2021 45 Emulates some fans 47 Stacks 48 Affirmed statement? 51 Detritus left over from an eruption 52 Race venue of old? 53 Muscle-bone connector 55 Not solid, as idiomatic ground 56 Second word of BLM 57 Parental pair in some families 58 Covered (in) 59 “Culture Warlords ” author

Lavin 60 Fish related to the grouper 61 1998 NL MVP Sosa 63 Bank note whose 100 denomination shows the

Bolshoi Theatre 64 Angling platform 66 Completely certain 67 Stamp who played General

Zod in Superman films 68 2019 World Cup star Lavelle 69 Argued before a judge 70 Tender after yoga class, say 72 Get in exchange, as from another team 73 French leader who governed during Les Trente Glorieuses 76 Lab flask material 77 Person who can ’t make things up to you? 78 Event called “ a jewel in New

York City ’ s social crown ” in

Town & Country magazine 80 Music genre influenced by

Cybotron during the 1980s 81 Bright, like an atrium 82 Take one? 83 Oar handler 84 Like crude humor 86 Went on a black diamond run 88 ___ map (diagram of webpages) 89 Some NFL blockers 91 “That hits really close to home, ” online 92 45th Union member 93 Russo who played Natasha in

“The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle ” 94 Nuptial affirmations 96 Zinger characteristic 97 [Typo in the original]

Solution to this month’ s puzzle on page 29