Burn After Solving

Black Ops

Although we don't have much intelligence on the layout of TORTOISE headquarters, five of our black ops agents were able to infiltrate their lair and break up some of their activities. Now we'd like you to figure out where they left their marks.

The black-square pattern in the grid has 180-degree rotational symmetry. There are no unchecked letters or 2-letter words in the grid. The answer for 1-Across begins in the upper left square.


    Across
  1. Hero in the Iliad
  2. Part of a clock, sometimes
  3. Deep canyon
  4. Goddess who tricked 1 Across in his final fight
  5. Diva's time to shine
  6. Outdoor dining venue
  7. Put in the fridge
  8. Popular guitar from Fender
  9. Terminate
  10. 13th or 15th
  11. Live ____ (Taco Bell slogan)
  12. Determiner of eligibility, often
  13. Building extension
  14. Hairstyle
  15. Appear, with "up"
  16. Mortgage, for one
  17. End
  18. "Notes on 'Camp'" author Sontag
  19. Astronomical table?
  20. Beverage brought by the wellerman, in song
  21. ____ Mis
  22. Zip
  23. Like humans and chickens
  24. Business magnate who perished on the Titanic
  25. Tiny amount
  26. Inactive
  27. Young lady
  28. Production company for most James Bond films
  29. University in the North Carolina Piedmont
  30. Flamboyant neckwear
  31. 2003 hit for Outkast
  32. Hanging down
  33. Wellness retreats
  34. Abbreviation following "Monsters" and "Murder" in movie titles
  35. TV coach Lasso
  36. Worry
  37. Shenanigan
  38. Rental truck company
  39. Peel off
  40. D&D, e.g.
  41. Alliance whose "alphabet" is familiar to many puzzle solvers
  42. Sandra Oh title character
  43. Terminate
  44. Lambaste
  45. Constitution-defending org.
  46. Taxonomic class that's for the birds
  47. Site of many D-Day landings
  48. Viola ____ (instrument with sympathetic strings)
  49. Gave some stars
  50. Sheltered
  51. Musician that orchestras tune to, usually
  52. Layers
  53. Coverings
  54. Suspicious strangers
    Down
  1. Broke into, electronically
  2. Leading ballet dancer
  3. Prickly pear relative
  4. Hint for a poker player
  5. Number of milliliters in a cubic centimeter
  6. The 'R' in RCA
  7. Malicious
  8. Brother of 16 Across
  9. Zip
  10. Program running in the background
  11. Many tax professionals
  12. Owns
  13. Within reach
  14. Blockades
  15. Deadpool actress Baccarin
  16. Limit
  17. Insult
  18. 1984 horror film whose title became slang for a repulsive individual
  19. No longer cool
  20. Went first
  21. Prominent element of Timberland's logo
  22. Vast array
  23. Damage
  24. Sorcerers
  25. Supreme Court justices, for example
  26. Baby's mealtime accessory
  27. Wedding vow words
  28. Preserve using artificial resin, as a medical specimen
  29. Ballad
  30. Dreidel, essentially
  31. Charged particle
  32. TV network with the slogan "Boom"
  33. Burning one's pants?
  34. Whirlpool
  35. Bowler or boater
  36. Colony member
  37. Ruler accused of instigating a fire in his capital
  38. Peter of children's literature
  39. Draws tight
  40. Go with
  41. Web services company headquartered near MIT
  42. Attraction
  43. Cooperstown's Ripken
  44. Bereft
  45. Very
  46. Goes back to the beginning
  47. Tease
  48. Elizabeth I's house
  49. Units used by some nuclear engineers
  50. Nailed
  51. Egyptian deity who became merged with Ra
  52. Grammy winner in 2021 for "I Can't Breathe"
  53. Oscar winner for Moonlight and Green Book
  54. Lawyers' org.