UNIVERSAL CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Like the highest degree

4 “___ the Explorer”

8 Name before “lemon,” in an activewear brand

12 Nays’ opposites

14 “That’s my cue!”

15 Does some modeling

16 A-lister

18 Sports or concert venue

19 *Urban intersection boundaries

21 PC’S “Get me outta here!” key

22 Get an F

23 Expects that one will

27 When woolly mammoths roamed the Earth

31 In ___ land (spacey)

32 *+++

35 Big primate

36 Renaissance ___ (historical reenactment)

37 Chinese zodiac rodent

38 *First letters of Lima and Lisbon, aptly

41 Lavish party

42 Sharing a common culture

43 Naive

46 Iowa college town

48 ___ de cologne

49 Temperature on a hot day, or a hint to the starred clues’ answers and each black square arrangement in the grid

55 Word after “man” or “picky”

56 Underlying reason

58 Bill collectors?

59 Golden Rule preposition

60 Breakfast-in-bed surface

61 One who has your back

62 Rounded hammer end

63 Caustic cleanser

DOWN

1 The Big Apple, briefly

2 Summer tops

3 Come to a stop

4 Straight to the point

5 Neglect to mention

6 Campus military org

7 “Don’t give me ___ your lip!”

8 Rhine siren who inspired Sylvia Plath

9 Product consumer

10 It helps you focus

11 “Born in the ___” (Springsteen anthem)

13 Sister and sometime rival of Venus

15 Loses one’s cool

17 Nickname similar to Beth

20 Confident poker player’s move

23 Finish second at Belmont

24 Gently splash against

25 Hebrew alphabet starter

26 Iridescent gem

28 Concur

29 Pesky flyers

30 ___ Park, Colorado

33 Start of many rap names

34 Major in astronomy?

36 Aspect

39 In a silly way

40 Kitchen gizmos that ding

41 Well-versed in a language

44 Normandy or Aragon

45 Root for a luau

47 Pancake topper

49 Execute perfectly

50 “___ never fly!”

51 Copenhagen resident

52 Major addition?

53 Countess’s counterpart

54 Kill it at a comedy club

55 Letter after zeta

57 Retina’s organ