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Central Perk

New York Times, Sunday, September 28, 2025

Author:
Rich Katz
Editor:
Will Shortz
Blog:
Reasoned conclusion
TotalDebutLatestCollabs
81/29/20239/28/20253
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
5101100
RebusCircleScrabDebutFresh
111.634244%
Rich Katz

This puzzle:

Rows: 21, Columns: 21 Words: 140, Blocks: 78 Missing: {QXZ} Grid has mirror symmetry. Puzzle has duplicate clues. This is puzzle # 8 for Mr. Katz. Sunday freshness: 76%
Will Shortz notes:
Rich Katz does freelance work in corporate restructuring and bankruptcy liquidations. He and his wife recently relocated from Utah to San Francisco, where their new home has a view of the ... read more
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© 2025, The New York Times9/28/25 ( No. 27,718 )
Across
1
Caveat ___ ("Buyer beware") : EMPTOR
7
Spice that's characteristic of Hungarian cooking : PAPRIKA
14
Marvel Comics mutant who can freeze his own body : ICEMAN
20
Arizona county or Indigenous people : MOHAVE
21
Tries some water, say : HASASIP
22
Like a win-win situation : NOLOSE
23
___ law, concept in computing technology : MOORES
24
Alternative to a nanny : DAYCARE
25
Fire starters : FLINTS
26
Contents of a flagon : ALE
27
Ole Miss athletes, to fans : REBS
29
X : CHI
30
___ Scott, whom the Supreme Court said was not free to sue for his freedom : DRED
32
Org. not getting many happy returns? : IRS
33
Remove surgically, as tissue : ABLATE
35
"They tell me …" : IHEAR
37
Beethoven symphony originally intended to honor Napoleon : EROICA
39
Class that might cause some high schoolers to blush : HEALTH
40
Sprawling Indian metropolis : DELHI
41
Like some bridges : DENTAL
42
"Let me check on that" : ILLASK
44
Expiates, with "for" : ATONES
46
Man's name that's 49-Across plus a letter : EVAN
49
Woman's name that's the first three letters of 46-Across : EVA
50
Rap battle participants : MCS
53
Tampa Bay athlete, in brief : BUC
54
Twists off course, as a ship : YAWS
58
Witch : HAG
59
Exploited : USED
60
"Weekend Update" co-host Michael : CHE
61
All over again : ANEW
63
___Guessr, hit online game whose players deduce locations from Google Street View images : GEO
64
Where a hurricane forms : OCEAN
66
Wish someone "Happy Birthday," perhaps : SENDACARD
69
At dawn, say : EARLY
71
Mammal with long whiskers : WALRUS
73
Extra : BONUS
74
They stand for art : EASELS
75
Called : TERMED
77
___ Day, Billie Holiday's portrayer in "The United States vs. Billie Holiday" : ANDRA
78
Celebrity chef Ina : GARTEN
79
Demanding entertainer : DIVA
80
X : TEN
82
He was né Clay : ALI
83
Watchdog's warning : GRR
84
Words of understanding : ISEE
86
Outback baby : JOEY
87
Familiar initialism coined by a U.S. Air Force captain : UFO
88
Do-over at Wimbledon : LET
89
Kind of sauce at a sushi bar : EEL
90
Sewer in American history : ROSS
91
"Weekend Update" show, for short : SNL
92
Zipped : SPED
93
Like some alcohol … or places that prohibit alcohol : DRY
94
Not present and not excused, for short : AWOL
96
Foreign policy grp. : NSC
97
Brezhnev of the Soviet Union : LEONID
99
Cherokee and Cheyenne : TRIBES
101
Relationship featuring casual intimacy … or a hint to six pairs of intersecting answers in this puzzle : FRIENDSWITHBENEFITS
108
Starbucks competitor : PEETS
109
Spot for an ornament : CARHOOD
110
Giants in California and New York : TEAMS
112
"Beat it!" : AMSCRAY
115
Actor Wilson of "The Office" : RAINN
116
Rye, e.g. : WHISKEY
118
"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" : IMTHERE
119
Like slow filers and fast drivers, at times : FINED
120
Furniture retailer owned by Williams-Sonoma : WESTELM
121
Lives (in) : RESIDES
122
Iditarod transports : SLEDS
123
Involves : ENTAILS
Down
1
Title heroine described as "handsome, clever and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition" : EMMA
2
Dough : MOOLAH
3
Fly-catching bird with a name derived from Greek : PHOEBE
4
Driveway goo : TAR
5
As a whole : OVERALL
6
Moves elsewhere : RESETTLES
7
Tenured profs, often : PHDS
8
Small battery … or an org. that might help with a battery : AAA
9
It's all in your head : PSYCHE
10
Mother of Joseph and Benjamin, in the Bible : RACHEL
11
Book after Song of Solomon : ISAIAH
12
French cocktail made with crème de cassis : KIR
13
Mirrored : APED
14
Reasoned conclusion : INFERENCE
15
Brewski : COLDONE
16
Bulldog fan in Connecticut : ELI
17
Santa ___ : MONICA
18
Stellar : ASTRAL
19
Van ___ Avenue, thoroughfare in San Francisco : NESS
28
Minds one's P's and Q's : BEHAVES
31
Contribute (to), as one's reputation : REDOUND
34
Been asleep, say : LAIN
35
Texter's "Beats me" : IDK
36
Small inlet : RIA
38
Li'l : ITSY
43
One-named singer born in Nigeria : SADE
45
Skier's conveyance : TBAR
46
Online site for DIYers : EHOW
47
Time out, perhaps : VACATION
48
Info commonly shown on a board game box : AGELEVEL
50
Clown around with food? : MCDONALD
51
City SE of Phoenix : CHANDLER
52
Purpose of some cameras : SECURITY
55
Reaches a shared opinion about : AGREESON
56
Holistic contentment : WELLNESS
57
Some beans or sauces : SOYS
59
"E pluribus ___" : UNUM
62
Sport : WEAR
65
Matrix : ARRAY
67
Sun bloc? : NBA
68
Pretty ___ picture : ASA
70
Moving around : ASTIR
72
Attack : SETUPON
74
You can put a ring on it : EARLOBE
76
Back : DEFEND
78
Came back, as hair : GREWIN
79
Music's Fatboy Slim and David Guetta, informally : DJS
81
Error message on a Blu-ray device : NODISC
83
Targeted (to) : GEARED
85
Key for a quick exit : ESC
92
Boils with rage : SEESRED
95
Liberal-leaning : LEFTIST
97
Chinese "nut" that's really a fruit : LITCHI
98
Makes small in comparison : DWARFS
99
Government debt obligations, familiarly : TBONDS
100
40 winks : SIESTA
101
___ fatale : FEMME
102
Gets 40 winks : RESTS
103
Letter-shaped train track piece : IRAIL
104
"To ___ own self be true" : THINE
105
Sharpened : HONED
106
George of "Star Trek" : TAKEI
107
Bad thing to discover in the pantry : SMELL
108
AA or JJ, e.g. : PAIR
111
Jazz singer Sylvia ___ : SYMS
113
Come to : ARE
114
"For sure" : YES
116
Org. that merged with the U.F.C. in 2023 : WWE
117
Kind of party : HEN

Answer summary:
5 unique to this puzzle.

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