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New York Times, Thursday, February 8, 2024

Author:
Samuel A. Donaldson
Editor:
Will Shortz
Reality checks?
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
3910/2/20082/8/202411
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
10258716
RebusCircleScrabblePGramFresh
241.63168%
Samuel A. Donaldson

This puzzle:

Rows: 15, Columns: 16 Words: 81, Blocks: 42 Missing: {JKQXZ} Spans: 1 This is puzzle # 39 for Mr. Donaldson. Thursday freshness: 53%
Jim Horne notes:
Here's what OPPOSITES ATTRACT means in the italicized theme answers here: 18-Across: [Highway crossing] would normally be OVERPASS. ... read more
1
C
2
A
3
P
4
T
5
C
6
H
7
A
8
S
9
F
10
L
11
A
12
T
13
T
14
E
15
N
16
O
H
B
E
H
A
V
E
17
L
I
N
E
A
G
E
18
P
A
S
S
O
V
E
R
19
U
N
D
E
R
G
O
20
T
I
E
21
A
22
P
B
23
D
O
N
24
O
25
R
26
D
E
R
I
27
N
28
O
U
29
T
30
L
31
A
Y
S
32
T
A
R
E
S
33
E
34
P
I
G
R
A
M
35
T
S
A
36
B
A
R
37
U
S
O
38
F
39
A
40
O
P
P
41
O
42
S
I
T
E
43
S
44
A
T
T
R
A
C
45
T
46
S
E
V
E
N
47
S
M
H
48
N
T
H
49
E
N
G
50
I
51
N
E
S
52
A
53
R
T
I
E
54
H
55
A
N
D
O
F
F
56
O
57
N
L
E
A
V
E
58
M
E
L
59
O
L
60
D
61
A
P
P
62
P
A
T
63
D
64
O
65
W
N
66
U
67
P
C
H
A
68
R
69
G
70
E
71
E
T
H
I
C
A
L
72
S
A
H
A
R
A
N
S
73
G
H
O
S
T
L
Y
74
T
W
O
S
T
E
P
S
© 2024, The New York Times2/8/24 ( No. 27,120 )
Across
1
Reality checks? : CAPTCHAS
9
Raze : FLATTEN
16
Austin Powers catchphrase : OHBEHAVE
17
Family tree : LINEAGE
18
Highway crossing : OVERPASS
19
Fail : GOUNDER
20
N.B.A. impossibility : TIE
21
Perp alert : APB
23
Mob man : DON
24
Sequentially arranged : INORDER
28
Explains in detail : LAYSOUT
32
Container weight allowances : TARES
33
Clever quip : EPIGRAM
35
LAX scanners (but not lax ones, one hopes) : TSA
36
Unit of cellphone reception : BAR
37
Uncle Sam's land, informally : USOFA
40
Dating axiom … or a hint to interpreting four pairs of answers in this puzzle : OPPOSITESATTRACT
46
"Natural" at the craps table : SEVEN
47
"Unbelievable!," in internet shorthand : SMH
48
Hypothetical degree : NTH
49
Road runners? : ENGINES
52
Jazz great Shaw : ARTIE
54
Like an impromptu remark : OFFHAND
56
Keep wearing : LEAVEON
58
Name for two Spice Girls : MEL
59
Well-seasoned : OLD
61
Mobile ___ : APP
62
Rehearsed to perfection : DOWNPAT
66
Excite, as a crowd : CHARGEUP
71
Conforming to accepted values : ETHICAL
72
Some desert dwellers : SAHARANS
73
Eerie : GHOSTLY
74
Many country-and-western dances : TWOSTEPS
Down
1
Admit (to) : COP
2
"Now I remember who sang 'Take On Me'!" : AHA
3
"Washington Week" airer : PBS
4
One being quizzed : TESTEE
5
Conductors may conduct them : CHOIRS
6
"Never ___ ever ..." : HAVEI
7
Boston's Mass. ___ : AVE
8
Lab liquids : SERA
9
It goes viral in winter : FLUBUG
10
Director Justin of the "Fast & Furious" franchise : LIN
11
"Wait, there's more …" : AND
12
Prop used for kickoffs : TEE
13
Entering after the bell : TARDY
14
Food items originally called Froffles : EGGOS
15
It may glow in the dark : NEON
22
Luau side dish : POI
24
Title role for Tom Hanks in 2022 : OTTO
25
Scraping tools : RASPS
26
Arrange loosely : DRAPE
27
Without ice or mixer : NEAT
29
"Agreed!" : TRUTH
30
Where trailers wind up : LAST
31
Spanish love : AMOR
34
Start to fix? : PRE
36
"You got it!" : BINGO
38
Colorful Coke brand : FANTA
39
End of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" : ACTIV
41
Place to put the dough : OVEN
42
Email function depicted with a paper plane icon : SEND
43
Brasilia-to-Rio dir. : SSE
44
Playground retort : AMSO
45
"America" pronoun : THEE
50
"I wish!" : IFONLY
51
Jets pass in it, for short : NFL
52
Lead dogs : ALPHAS
53
Split hairs again? : REPART
54
Where Lear exclaims "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks!" : HEATH
55
Despite the fact that, informally : ALTHO
57
___ cheese : NACHO
58
Video format : MPEG
60
Tidy up, in a way : DUST
63
Bad-mouth : DIS
64
L.G.B.T. History Mo. : OCT
65
Mart start : WAL
67
Dog on a cat? : PAW
68
Emmy-nominated Issa : RAE
69
Economic fig. : GNP
70
End of days? : ESS

Answer summary:
3 unique to this puzzle.

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