Author: Adam Wagner
Editor: Will Shortz
Across
| Lawn game played with a ball known as a pallino |
BOCCE |
| Thin snack |
WAFER |
| Formal words of commitment |
ISHALL |
| Omitted, as a syllable |
ELIDED |
| Toyed (with) |
FLIRTED |
| Neighborhood in lower Manhattan |
NOLITA |
| Exhibited heliotropism, as a flower |
FOLLOWEDTHESUN |
| Plus-or-minus one? |
ION |
| Joe’s co-host on “Morning Joe” |
MIKA |
| Part of a Tolkien army |
ORC |
| Big fuss |
ADO |
| What gives a gin fizz its fizz |
SODA |
| Novelist Brontë |
ANNE |
| Prepared for an oral exam? |
SAIDAH |
| Construction beam |
IBAR |
| Abolitionist who wrote “Twelve Years a Slave” |
SOLOMONNORTHUP |
| Fantasy sports scoring standard, informally |
ROTO |
| Bygone phrase for “gone by” |
OFYORE |
| “Enough! I get it!” |
OKOK |
| Overly proper |
PRIM |
| Cambridge or Oxford, to a Londoner |
UNI |
| Big initials in theaters |
AMC |
| Dip that might be made in a molcajete, informally |
GUAC |
| Poor review |
PAN |
| Went uneaten, as some groceries |
SATINTHEFRIDGE |
| Classic Asimov collection |
IROBOT |
| Part of a calendar septet, and a phonetic hint to this puzzle’s theme |
TUESDAY |
| Florida’s “Sunshine City,” for short |
STPETE |
| Futile |
NOHOPE |
| Philly basketball player |
SIXER |
| Leafs (through) |
PAGES |
Down
| Bully in “Back to the Future” |
BIFF |
| Home for the artist Edvard Munch |
OSLO |
| Spicy ramen condiment |
CHILIOIL |
| Monte ___ |
CARLO |
| John who sang “Bennie and the Jets” |
ELTON |
| Exploded |
WENTKABOOM |
| Lei man’s term? |
ALOHA |
| Rank’s counterpart, on a chessboard |
FILE |
| New Jersey city named for its most famous former resident |
EDISON |
| Come back |
RETURN |
| ___ Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, formerly) |
LEW |
| Ballet or ballroom, e.g. |
DANCE |
| First phase of a home reno |
DEMO |
| Finished off |
DIDIN |
| Word after kick or bad |
ASS |
| “The Way,” in Chinese Pinyin |
DAO |
| Track-and-field athlete with a strong arm |
SHOTPUTTER |
| Pretentiously avant-garde |
ARTY |
| Dweeb |
DORK |
| Te ___ (“I love you,” in Spanish) |
AMO |
| Yap from a lap? |
ARF |
| Jazz singer Jones |
NORAH |
| Elvis hit that was the B-side of “Don’t Be Cruel” |
HOUNDDOG |
| Caterer’s container |
URN |
| Smallest Canadian province, for short |
PEI |
| Stop in a desert |
OASIS |
| Once-popular big box stores |
KMARTS |
| Ocean creatures with nearly triple the neural wiring of humans |
OCTOPI |
| Rapper whose name sounds like a beverage |
ICET |
| Thousand-dollar bill, slangily |
GNOTE |
| Before surgery, informally |
PREOP |
| Writer/podcaster Harris |
AISHA |
| Mountain goat |
IBEX |
| A good time |
FUN |
| Be wide-open |
GAPE |
| Parts of the “Mona Lisa” that seem to follow you around |
EYES |
