Symbol of Love – The New York Times

30A. This entry is a nice portmanteau: [Throwing weapons for the Dark Knight] are BATARANGS, bat-shaped boomerangs. There’s one in the Smithsonian, from the 1995 version of “Batman Forever.”

13D. Solve this one and race on, if you must, but take a second to appreciate the wordplay in the clue. [Something you may be willing to hold?] is an ESTATE SALE. The “willing” here means more than able — it’s a reference to one’s last will and testament, which could involve the dissolution of property.

26D. This clue and its solution are gloriously squicky: The [Sluglike creature known for its soft, water-repellent skin] is a VELVET WORM, which has never been in a New York Times puzzle before. This terrestrial creature reaches only about four inches in length but it’s a creepily good hunter, entangling its prey in squirts of sticky saliva and then eating it bit by bit.

41D. I had the first two letters in place — C and D — by the time I reached this clue: [Primary PC storage]. Piece of cake, right? “CD drive” is a letter too long, though, and I didn’t realize how close I was because I drew a blank at 55A, the [Captain in Melville’s “Billy Budd”]. This is Captain Edward Fairfax VERE, and that region on your PC is the C DRIVE, which (in my defense) is a debut puzzle entry.

Constructor Notes

I have fond memories of making this puzzle. There are three or four entries that I’ve wanted to put into a puzzle since I started this hobby just over a decade ago, and CH-CH-CH-CHIA is one of them. I’m a bit nostalgic for the heyday of catchy, or at least endearingly pervasive, commercial jingles. And the actual phrase has an audacious — if annoying to work with — combination of letters that I enjoy.

This is my fifth puzzle (and counting) in The Times this year, which makes 2026 my most published year in The Times — a trend that I hope to continue. Thanks, as ever, for solving.