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New York Times, Thursday, September 4, 2025

Author:
Colin Ernst
Editor:
Will Shortz
Blog:
"___, that love, so gentle in his view, / Should be so tyrannous and rough in proof!": "Romeo and Juliet"
TotalDebutLatest
42/9/20219/4/2025
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
0011200
RebusScrabDebutFresh
11.571029%
Colin Ernst

This puzzle:

Rows: 15, Columns: 15 Words: 78, Blocks: 39 Missing: {JQXY} This is puzzle # 4 for Mr. Ernst. Thursday freshness: 7%
Jim Horne notes:

Backward answers have a long history, and DOES IT SCALE nicely implies starred Downs have to be read upward, without making it obvious.

1
C
2
A
3
R
4
T
5
B
6
A
7
R
8
E
9
R
10
E
11
C
12
T
13
S
14
A
L
E
15
E
L
L
E
16
N
A
R
N
I
A
17
B
A
B
18
E
R
U
T
H
19
I
C
A
N
S
O
20
I
M
M
U
N
E
21
S
22
A
V
E
S
23
N
O
I
R
24
M
A
L
E
25
E
26
D
27
G
28
E
29
L
E
30
D
31
S
W
A
P
32
D
O
O
R
33
B
34
A
C
K
I
35
N
G
36
S
A
37
G
38
E
M
O
39
A
N
K
A
R
A
40
R
O
41
U
S
E
D
42
T
I
C
43
T
M
44
C
45
A
G
O
N
I
Z
E
46
I
M
O
47
N
48
R
O
49
W
S
50
F
I
T
51
K
A
R
O
52
E
N
O
S
53
O
S
54
H
55
A
56
T
57
I
D
E
D
58
M
59
I
N
C
E
S
60
A
61
R
62
M
A
N
I
63
N
64
O
A
H
S
A
R
K
65
B
I
G
T
O
P
66
I
N
T
O
67
L
O
U
68
C
O
M
E
T
S
69
W
E
E
P
70
E
S
P
© 2025, The New York Times9/4/25 ( No. 27,694 )
Across
1
Train unit : CAR
4
One means of going up a hill : TBAR
8
Builds : ERECTS
14
Tap it : ALE
15
Reese Witherspoon's role in "Legally Blonde" : ELLE
16
Fictional land of magic and talking animals : NARNIA
17
Baseball great who said "If I'd just tried for them dinky singles I could've batted around .600" : BABERUTH
19
Playground retort : ICANSO
20
Untouchable : IMMUNE
21
Goalie's stat : SAVES
23
Genre for "Sunset Boulevard" : NOIR
24
Designation for some audio connectors : MALE
25
Inch (toward) : EDGE
29
Had the reins : LED
31
Give and take : SWAP
32
Word with stop or prize : DOOR
33
Financial support : BACKING
36
Lose firmness : SAG
38
Punk subculture : EMO
39
World capital in central Anatolia : ANKARA
40
Woke : ROUSED
42
That little thing you do? : TIC
43
Inits. for cinephiles : TMC
45
Struggle to decide : AGONIZE
46
"___ a roll!" : IMON
48
Spreadsheet units : ROWS
50
In good shape : FIT
51
Corn syrup brand : KARO
52
Book of Mormon book : ENOS
53
Plant watcher, for short : OSHA
56
Helped temporarily, with "over" : TIDED
58
Chops : MINCES
60
High-end suit : ARMANI
63
Locale for a couples cruise? : NOAHSARK
65
Milieu for the Flying Wallendas : BIGTOP
66
Obsessed with : INTO
67
Reed in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame : LOU
68
Celestial omens, to some : COMETS
69
Make tears : WEEP
70
Mind meld? : ESP
Down
1
Part of an airplane : CABIN
2
Where Davy Crockett died, with "the" : ALAMO
3
Athlete tackling El Capitan, e.g. : ROCKCLIMBER
4
Relative of a gull : TERN
5
Down : BLUE
6
___-country : ALT
7
See 49-Down : WASHER
8
A bunch of fruit may grow on it : GRAPEVINE
9
Hurry : RACE
10
Wiped out : ERASED
11
___ International, channel seen in hotel rooms worldwide : CNN
12
"Deck the Halls" contraction : TIS
13
___ Tiago, largest of the Cape Verde islands : SAO
18
Problem solver's cry : EUREKA
22
"___, that love, so gentle in his view, / Should be so tyrannous and rough in proof!": "Romeo and Juliet" : ALAS
24
N.Y. Rangers' home : MSG
26
Investor's question for a start-up, to which 3-, 8-, 35- and 49-/7-Down reply "Yes!"' : DOESITSCALE
27
One of the Addams family : GOMEZ
28
Slowly diminish : ERODE
30
Gossip : DIRT
33
Dyeing technique : BATIK
34
Jungian archetype : ANIMA
35
Who popularized the proverb "With great power comes great responsibility" : SPIDERMAN
37
Clown : GOOF
41
Weddings : UNIONS
44
Traffic director : CONE
45
Fool : ASS
47
Write, as music : NOTATE
49
With 7-Down, worker who likely knows the ropes : WINDOW
54
Subs : HEROS
55
Invite from atop the stairs, say : ASKUP
57
When ties get untied, for short : INOT
58
___ in three : MATE
59
Place offering a Rise 'N Shine breakfast : IHOP
60
Epitome of simplicity : ABC
61
"Flying Down to ___" (1933 film) : RIO
62
Lion keeper? : MGM
64
Start to count? : ONE

Answer summary:
2 unique to this puzzle, 1 unique to Modern Era but used previously.

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