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New York Times, Monday, December 13, 2021

Author:
Tomas Spiers
Editor:
Will Shortz
46-Across : Listening device for an undercover officer
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
312/13/20215/15/20231
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
0201000
RebusScrabbleFresh
11.5629%
Tomas Spiers

This puzzle:

Rows: 15, Columns: 15 Words: 78, Blocks: 36 Missing: {JQX} Spans: 2 This is the debut puzzle for Mr. Spiers. Jeff Chen's Puzzle of the Week pick. Monday freshness: 19%
Tomas Spiers notes:
Last week, my father told me that one of his first memories of crosswords was identifying the word OBOE in a Sunday Times puzzle that ... read more
Jeff Chen notes:
I haven't been so happily stumped by "Name That Theme" in ages. RAILROAD STATION … MARKET CRASH … CINNAMON BUN? Could it be a "words ... read more
1
E
2
B
3
B
4
S
5
C
6
R
7
A
8
B
9
D
10
E
11
T
12
E
13
R
14
A
E
R
O
15
F
O
I
E
16
I
M
A
G
E
17
R
A
I
L
18
R
O
A
D
S
19
T
A
T
I
O
N
20
S
T
E
V
E
21
M
E
T
A
L
22
L
S
D
23
L
E
A
24
P
25
I
C
E
26
T
27
A
28
N
A
29
M
A
30
R
31
K
E
T
C
R
32
A
33
S
34
H
35
F
A
R
36
S
W
A
N
37
T
O
N
Y
A
38
L
O
S
39
S
40
S
P
O
41
R
42
T
43
T
O
R
T
44
A
M
O
U
45
R
46
W
I
R
47
E
48
T
I
E
49
C
I
N
N
A
50
M
51
O
N
B
U
N
52
H
A
D
53
S
P
A
N
54
E
D
55
G
E
56
P
57
A
58
Z
59
I
W
I
60
S
61
H
62
E
U
R
63
O
64
S
65
S
T
O
66
P
D
R
O
P
A
67
N
D
R
O
L
L
68
S
T
O
O
L
69
N
I
L
E
70
U
N
D
O
71
T
A
S
T
Y
72
S
N
O
W
73
S
E
E
P
© 2021, The New York Times12/13/21 ( No. 26,333 )
Across
1
Flows out, as the tide : EBBS
5
One who's always complaining, complaining, complaining : CRAB
9
Prevent through intimidation : DETER
14
Prefix with -naut : AERO
15
___ gras (goose or duck delicacy) : FOIE
16
Contents of a .jpeg file : IMAGE
17
Grand Central, for one : RAILROADSTATION
20
Host Harvey of "Family Feud" : STEVE
21
Music genre often labeled "heavy" : METAL
22
Psychedelic substance : LSD
23
___ year (2020 or 2024) : LEAP
25
Actor/musician whose name sounds like a drink : ICET
27
Santa ___ winds : ANA
29
Event of October 1929 : MARKETCRASH
35
A long way away : FAR
36
Bird symbolizing grace : SWAN
37
Figure skater Harding : TONYA
38
Spoiler of a perfect record : LOSS
40
Skiing or skating : SPORT
43
Legal wrong : TORT
44
Love on the Loire : AMOUR
46
Listening device for an undercover officer : WIRE
48
Inconclusive score : TIE
49
Pastry with a swirl : CINNAMONBUN
52
"I've ___ enough out of you!" : HAD
53
Bridge : SPAN
54
Narrowly defeat, with "out" : EDGE
56
La ___ (Bolivian capital) : PAZ
59
"If only!" : IWISH
62
€€€€€ : EUROS
65
Fire safety technique ... or 17-, 29- and 49-Across together : STOPDROPANDROLL
68
Where to sit for the bar? : STOOL
69
Where baby Moses was found : NILE
70
Go back, when editing : UNDO
71
"Yum!" : TASTY
72
Mother Nature's blanket : SNOW
73
Ooze : SEEP
Down
1
Elves have big ones, stereotypically : EARS
2
Musical rhythm : BEAT
3
Star of "Room" and "Captain Marvel" : BRIELARSON
4
Do a crossword, say : SOLVE
5
Money manager, in brief : CFO
6
Wander about : ROAM
7
Right-hand person : AIDE
8
Closest pal : BESTIE
9
Cockney vis-à-vis English : DIALECT
10
An essential worker, for short : EMT
11
A sea horse has a prehensile one : TAIL
12
Big heads : EGOS
13
Tear up : REND
18
Printing paper units : REAMS
19
What you may use when turning down an invitation : TACT
24
Canine "handshake" offerings : PAWS
26
Gait for a horse with a buggy : TROT
27
Fortune 500 company whose name rhymes, appropriately, with "quack" : AFLAC
28
Tennis champ Osaka : NAOMI
30
Grammy genre since 1988 : RAP
31
In the public consciousness : KNOWN
32
Terse request to a bartender : ANOTHERONE
33
Damascus is its capital : SYRIA
34
Word repeated in Roger Ebert's "I ___, ___, ___ This Movie" : HATED
39
Phoenix N.B.A. team : SUNS
41
Poke fun at : RIB
42
"You're right" : TRUE
45
With haste : RAPIDLY
47
Came to a close : ENDED
50
Bryn ___ (women's college) : MAWR
51
Liver and ___ (dish) : ONIONS
55
Spiritual guides : GURUS
56
[Hey! Over here!] : PSST
57
Lead-in to boy or girl : ATTA
58
They have everything from aardvarks to zebras : ZOOS
60
Whirl : SPIN
61
Sign of saintliness : HALO
63
Ye ___ Shoppe : OLDE
64
Pigs' supper : SLOP
66
What calls the kettle black, in an expression : POT
67
Fresh : NEW

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

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