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Opposites Attracting

New York Times, Sunday, June 25, 2023

Author:
John Westwig
Editor:
Will Shortz
57-Across : Secret service member?
TotalDebutLatest
97/20/20151/21/2024
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
2110203
ScrabbleFresh
1.7481%
John Westwig

This puzzle:

Rows: 21, Columns: 21 Words: 132, Blocks: 72 Missing: {QXZ} This is puzzle # 8 for Mr. Westwig. Sunday freshness: 97%
Will Shortz notes:
John Westwig is a software engineer in Seattle. He got into crosswords when he was very young, solving Games magazine on car trips with his family. Constructing came soon after. He sold ... read more
John Westwig notes:
This puzzle has an interesting property: I've "stolen" one of the theme answers from another puzzle with an entirely different theme ! Tom McCoy adds "AL" to common phrases, so "Spring ... read more
Jeff Chen notes:
OPPOSITES ATTRACT attracts a lot of constructors! This is the third one we've seen in less than a year, with a Sunday and a Tuesday riffing on the same idea. I appreciated that John ... read more
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J
A
B
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118
C
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S
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© 2023, The New York Times6/25/23 ( No. 26,892 )
Across
1
Tiny trunks : SPEEDO
7
Party person : HOST
11
"Are you freaking kidding me?" : FORREAL
18
Rural greeting : HOWDEDO
20
Many a "Survivor" setting : ISLE
21
Bit of doubling down from a parent : ISAIDNO
22
Event at a hot new club? : INOUTING
24
"I wish I were under four feet tall," e.g.? : SHORTLONGING
26
M.S.G. team, on scoreboards : NYK
27
Lot lot : AUTOS
29
Name found on a calendar : APRIL
30
For whom the bell tolls : THEE
31
Tactical reductions in lighting, as during W.W. II : DIMOUTS
33
Sommelier's superlative : OAKIEST
35
Great garage sale find : STEAL
38
Career for a scammer? : PROCONNING
40
Scissors' sound : SNIP
44
Muse of comedy and idyllic poetry : THALIA
46
German "village" : DORF
47
Bubbly, in a way : FOAMING
49
Forwards : RESENDS
51
How Cassius looks to Caesar, in Shakespeare : LEAN
53
Muscle relaxers : HOTPACKS
54
Dripping in jewelry, slangily : ICY
55
Real dope : GOOF
57
Secret service member? : ELOPER
59
Choler : IRE
60
What's said in passing? : NAH
61
Test subject : LABANIMAL
63
Repeated small role for Paul Rudd : ANTMAN
66
Transcript fig. : GPA
67
Slinky? : SPRINGFALLING
69
That's in Seine! : EAU
70
Six-winged biblical being : SERAPH
72
Famous drawing of a ship? : SIRENSONG
73
Theater rival of Regal and Cinemark : AMC
74
Double-helix material : DNA
75
Food fight sounds : SPLATS
76
Sight along a country road : SILO
78
Score on a clean sheet : NIL
79
Lead guitarist of Queen, who has a Ph.D. in astrophysics : BRIANMAY
82
Black humor : BILE
84
Kind of race that's not quite a half-marathon : TENMILE
86
Kicks down the road : PUNTSON
87
Kate of "House of Cards" : MARA
89
___ Troi, character on "Star Trek: T.N.G." : DEANNA
90
Kind of lily : SEGO
91
Dinner date that makes a good story? : ODDEVENING
96
Richard Parker in "Life of Pi," for one : TIGER
97
Like much prized blue-and-white porcelain : MINGERA
99
Crab or lobster : DECAPOD
101
Texter's toodle-oo : TTYL
103
"Bleeding Love" singer Lewis : LEONA
105
1970 hit for Neil Diamond : SHILO
106
Ad Council output, in brief : PSA
109
A kiss, a hug, a wave, the works? : WHOLEPARTING
112
Title of an essay by a hit man? : ONOFFING
114
Weeks, in Oaxaca : SEMANAS
115
Analogy words : ISTO
116
Common pet name : SWEETIE
117
Goes on and on and on : JABBERS
118
Bet bit : CHIP
119
Work-from-home wear, informally : SWEATS
Down
1
It's guarded in soccer : SHIN
2
Carnival ride : PONY
3
Jedi ally from Endor : EWOK
4
End of a college search? : EDU
5
Some work at a car wash : DETAILING
6
Public hatred : ODIUM
7
Adjective often capitalized in the Bible : HIS
8
Org. concerned with plants : OSHA
9
Serve, as messy cafeteria food : SLOPON
10
Earthling, in sci-fi : TERRAN
11
Act on behalf of : FILLINFOR
12
Bear, in Bogotá : OSO
13
Diatribes : RANTS
14
Considerably large, in Appalachian dialect : RIGHTSMART
15
Rock's ___ Brickell & New Bohemians : EDIE
16
One of two for six of VIII? : ANNE
17
Record : LOG
19
Leading : ONTOP
23
Thanksgiving table decoration : GOURD
25
The first man ever created, in Maori lore : TIKI
28
You might see one upside down on a bar : STOOL
31
Broad valley : DALE
32
Still shot of a moving image, in tech-speak : SCREENGRAB
34
"Grand slam" in showbiz : EGOT
35
Relationship conditions, so to speak : STRINGS
36
New England vacation destination, familiarly : THECAPE
37
"Whoa there, Warren G.!"? : EASYHARDING
39
That one will never have again : OFALIFETIME
41
Compliment for a lexicographer? : NICEMEANING
42
Squid squirt : INK
43
Family-friendly ratings : PGS
45
Coors of brewing fame : ADOLPH
48
Making an impression? : APING
50
What prices and hearts may do : SOAR
52
Unclaimed area : NOMANSLAND
53
Greetings : HELLOS
56
Certain government agent, informally : FBISPY
58
Friend group : PALS
62
Kapoor who played the game show emcee in "Slumdog Millionaire" : ANIL
63
Tried to engineer an advantage : ANGLED
64
Author who wrote "Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them" : AAMILNE
65
Energy option : NUCLEAR
67
Touches on both sides : SPANS
68
Still fighting : INIT
71
Cutting class in med school? : ANATOMYLAB
75
Old timer : SANDGLASS
77
Not quite enough : ONETOOFEW
79
Some gas stations, in brief : BPS
80
Regret : RUE
81
Stop hiding behind? : MOON
83
Former Indigenous inhabitants of modern-day Buffalo : ERIES
85
Word after Minute or meter : MAID
88
Chili variety that means "wide" in Spanish : ANCHO
92
Some of the wildlife in the 20,000-year-old paintings in Lascaux Cave : DEER
93
Hot : EROTIC
94
Go "poof!" : VANISH
95
Increases : GAINS
98
Good name for a political pundit? : ILENE
100
Street clearers : PLOWS
101
Nickname for Atlanta : THEA
102
Resting place : TOMB
104
Prefix in the names of many causes : ANTI
106
Pocket at a restaurant : PITA
107
Bit of a fit : SNIT
108
For-eh-ver : AGES
109
Publication co-founded in 1889 by Dow and Jones, in brief : WSJ
110
Course number : PAR
111
Red grp. : GOP
113
Late ___ : FEE

Answer summary:
20 unique to this puzzle, 1 debuted here and reused later, 5 unique to Modern Era but used previously.

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