The complete answer to the NY Times October 10, 2023, Crossword puzzle is shown below.
Across Clues-
| Cheeky talk | SASS |
| Yearbook superlative | MOST |
| Sick of, with “with” | FEDUP |
| Luau performance | HULA |
| Trade show | EXPO |
| Chicken ___ (Filipino dish) | ADOBO |
| The H or O in H2O | ATOM |
| Stereotypical techie or Trekkie | GEEK |
| Many Michelangelos | NUDES |
| *Gyrating performers at a nightclub | GOGODANCERS |
| Valuable rock deposit | ORE |
| Museum pieces | ART |
| Ready for dental work, say | NUMB |
| ___ pal (female friend) | GAL |
| *2019 Taika Waititi film about a boy with an animal nickname | JOJORABIT |
| Film’s story line | PLOT |
| Captain in multiple Jules Verne novels | NEMO |
| Funny Silverman | SARAH |
| God, in Islam | ALLAH |
| Tolkien tree creatures | ENTS |
| Calif. school that’s home to the Aztecs | SDSU |
| *Walk the Dog and Around the World, e.g. | YOYOTRICKS |
| Observe | SEE |
| ___ chicken (spicy Jamaican fare) | JERK |
| “? sorta” | ISH |
| Smallest prime number | TWO |
| *Hit 1925 musical that inspired the sequel “Yes, Yes, Yvette” | NONONANETTE |
| Washing machine cycle | RINSE |
| “Finished” on a walkie-talkie | OVER |
| “___ and the Real Girl” (2007 Ryan Gosling film) | LARS |
| Lacking skill | INEPT |
| “It’s a ___!” | DATE |
| Summer coolers | ICES |
| Flat-topped hills | MESAS |
| “Frozen” character who says “You can’t marry a man you just met” | ELSA |
| Affectionate sign-off ? or a pattern hinting at the starts of the answers to the six starred clues | XOXO |
Vertical Clues-
| Layered haircut | SHAG |
| Kind of insurance | AUTO |
| Tedious trudge | SLOG |
| Apia’s country | SAMOA |
| Measure of explosive force that sounds like a weight | MEGATON |
| Plow-pulling animals | OXEN |
| Blueprint detail | SPEC |
| Joint hit | TOKE |
| Foreign films translated and captioned by enthusiasts | FANSUBS |
| School email address ender | EDU |
| *Extinct creatures of Mauritius | DODOBIRDS |
| Lyft competitor | UBER |
| Something a model strikes | POSE |
| Nickname for N.B.A. great Erving | DRJ |
| Genetic messenger | RNA |
| Degrees held by many C.E.O.s | MBAS |
| A 3.0 one is a B | GPA |
| Any member of NATO, to another | ALLY |
| *Olympian who competed as both a hurdler (2008 and 2012) and a bobsledder (2014) | LOLOJONES |
| Boo loudly | JEER |
| Upscale hotel chain | OMNI |
| Campus military org. | ROTC |
| Zap with a stun gun | TASE |
| Actor Diggs | TAYE |
| Shade of color | HUE |
| Stinging wasps | HORNETS |
| Vail or Aspen | SKIAREA |
| Certain boxing win, for short | TKO |
| Nine-digit ID | SSN |
| Corkscrew shape | HELIX |
| Quick haircut | TRIM |
| Rhyming partner of “dine” | WINE |
| Lymph ___ | NODE |
| Presidential office shape | OVAL |
| They might be cut down after basketball victories | NETS |
| Hand-held Tex-Mex food | TACO |
| Fierce, short-armed dino | TREX |
| “Put a tiger in your tank” gas brand | ESSO |
| Pampering place | SPA |