ACROSS 1 Sudden desireWHIM 5 Painter’s standEASEL 7 It can precede Joel and goatBILLY 8 Ecosystem that rivals only the rainforest in biodiversityREEF 9 Unit for a comedian or weightlifterSET DOWN 1 Internet, with “the”WEB 2 ___ and makeupHAIR 3 Parts of an archipelagoISLES 4 All-out brawlMELEE 6 Uber alternativeLYFT

ACROSS 1 Palm ___, award for Best Canine Performance during the Cannes Film Festival (seriously!)DOG 4 Get up in the morningARISE 6 Get down at a weddingDANCE 7 Break one’s silenceSPEAK 8 No longer dampDRY DOWN 1 Enjoyed a fancy mealDINED 2 High-profile film awardOSCAR 3 Like a nerdGEEKY 4 What streaming shows often lack, compared to network showsADS 5 Jay-Z’s genreRAP

ACROSS 1 Coffee and Coca-Cola, on the pH scaleACIDS 6 DaybreakSUNUP 7 Dwarf planet that’s only about half the width of the United StatesPLUTO 8 Bit of web trafficCLICK 9 ___ crow flies (directly)ASTHE DOWN 1 Pet adoption org.ASPCA 2 Selects from a large groupCULLS 3 Indigenous people of the ArcticINUIT 4 Language in AmsterdamDUTCH 5 Thin rod on a bicycle wheelSPOKE

ACROSS 1 Took to the airFLEW 5 Actor Ledger of “The Dark Knight”HEATH 6 Words that can precede 1-Down and 5-Down, to mean “Undecided” and “Liable”ONTHE 7 Group of eightOCTET 8 Boat’s bottomKEEL DOWN 1 Backyard borderFENCE 2 Coffee-and-milk orderLATTE 3 Broadway actress MermanETHEL 4 Stimulate, as an appetiteWHET 5 End of a fishing line

ACROSS 1 Opponent of “shirts,” in a pickup basketball gameSKINS 6 Dangerous thing to skate onTHINICE 8 PurseHANDBAG 9 “x + y = z” subjectALGEBRA 10 Knocked overTOPPLED 11 Little biting bugsMITES 12 Publicly funded medical org. of BritainNHS DOWN 1 Hebrew for “hello,” “goodbye” and “peace”SHALOM 2 Leader of a drug operationKINGPIN 3 Far from surface-level, as researchINDEPTH 4 Little bitesNIBBLES 5 FrightensSCARES 6 “___ being said…

ACROSS 1 J.F.K.’s successorLBJ 4 Taking out the trash, e.g.CHORE 6 With 2-Down, it has roughly tripled in size since the time of australopithecinesHUMAN 7 Once moreAGAIN 8 First U.S. coin to feature a presidentPENNY DOWN 1 Willy ___, “Death of a Salesman” protagonistLOMAN 2 See 6-AcrossBRAIN 3 Forrest Gump’s love in “Forrest Gump”JENNY 4 BlokeCHAP 5 EnormousHUGE

ACROSS 1 Kiss soundMWAH 5 “… then again, I might be wrong”ORNOT 7 Weather forecast symbolized by a yellow circleSUNNY 8 Investigate furtivelySNOOP 9 Popular Greek sandwichGYRO DOWN 1 Rock coverMOSS 2 Squeezed the water from, as a towelWRUNG 3 BotherANNOY 4 Give an award, e.g.HONOR 6 Notorious feature of 1631’s Wicked Bible, which read “Thou shalt commit adultery”TYPO

ACROSS 1 Director Guillermo del ___TORO 5 “Put ___ in it,” advice for solving four answers in this puzzleAPIN 6 BackboneSPINE 7 Sound of a Slack messagePING 8 Greek god of warARES DOWN 1 Animal that looks like an elephant/pig hybridTAPIR 2 Offer a viewpointOPINE 3 Parts of the Olympics logoRINGS 4 Number of stars on Puerto Rico’s flagONE 6 Place to get a massageSPA

ACROSS 1 The “fact” that Albert Einstein flunked math class, e.g.MYTH 5 Where River City is, in “The Music Man”IOWA 6 The “B” of R&BBLUES 7 End to a chess gameMATE 8 Crisply shown, as a TV broadcastINHD DOWN 1 Italian city that’s home to da Vinci’s “The Last Supper”MILAN 2 ChildhoodYOUTH 3 Fabric for…

ACROSS 1 “___ Lives” (hit 2023 film)PAST 5 Speak without soundMOUTH 6 Nostalgic tuneOLDIE 7 Golfer’s errant shot #1SLICE 8 Golfer’s errant shot #2HOOK DOWN 1 Spanish for “chicken”POLLO 2 Sound componentAUDIO 3 Fetch item during a walk in the woodsSTICK 4 “Shall I compare ___ to a summer’s day?”THEE 5 Dance wildly at a…