Hints, not direct answers to Sunday NYT Crosswords…
THEME HINTS:
14-Down Last possible moment: There’s a common phrase to describe this in two words. But here, the second word isn’t quite all it’s supposed to be. Is this what’s meant by “Condensation”?
27-Across holds the secret. Are all squares on a grid created equal? No, some hold a lot more water than others. And how a square is used going across may not be the same as how it’s used going down.
If you can’t get the 27-Across / 1-Down combo, try 109-Across/84-Down. Getting one of the theme answers will solve a lot of the rest of the theme answers.
The general rule of the longest answers being based on the theme doesn’t hold completely here. A couple short ones also have the same trick and a couple of longish ones (25-Across & 112-Across, for example) don’t.
(Incidentally, I found Across Lite was very strange in how it handled this one. It found everything I put in the “special” square wrong, including what, when I finally gave up and let it reveal, the very answer I’d put there as my third or fourth guess of what it wanted.)
10 Specific Hints
5-Across Way up a mountain: It’s still winter, so you might need one of these, even if you do end up right where you started.
20-Across Elliptical: Like an egg, not the thing in your basement you haven’t used in the last five years
62-Across Not loco: No, señor, soy completamente ________.
63-Across Some college dorm rooms: As viewed by the students’ parents
91-Across Places to eat a late breakfast: Think of being on vacation with your kids
63-Down Frame jobs: As in cons, not pictures; 2 words (or 1 dashed word, if you prefer)
93-Down It’s clear: 2 words. Often seen by optimists, at least in song.
97-Down NYC Airport: As a New Yorker myself, I can testify to the fact that we can’t spell, not even the names of their airports. (Apparently the correct spelling was already taken by Venezuela; Can’t blame that on Chavez!)
102-Down Responded sheepishly: The puzzle constructer should be sheepish about this classic way to get 3 vowels in a row!
110-Down Drop _____: Yes, Virginia, the NYT is getting more risqué in its old age!