Monday's New York Times crossword puzzle solved: July 16, 2018

My time: 5:27.

--

Erik Agard confidently constructed this puzzle, which riffs off the animated film COCO to feature four themed answers that start with co- and co-.  These are COUNTRY CODE, COUNTERFEIT COIN, COMPLETE CONTROL ("what a micromanager would like to have") and COME CORRECT.

Apparently Australia has a national gemstone, and it's OPAL.  Known to indigenous people as the fire of the desert, it is supposedly a symbol of Australia's arid interior.  In indigenous stories, a rainbow created the colors of the opal when it touched the earth. 

"Latest dope" is POOP.  Ha!  Poop.

New to me is Indian yogurt dish RAITA.  It is made with dahi (yogurt, often referred to as curd) together with raw or cooked vegetables and seasoned with coriander or other spices.

Also totally new to me is R&B singer NE-YO, known for his singles "So Sick," "Closer," and "Miss Independent."  I'm old.

Boys' school ETON College is well-known, but it's clued today as "near Windsor."  Interestingly, it was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor." 

The Fast Life Yungstaz song "SWAG Surfin'" was referenced on April 9.

This solve took longer than I would have liked.  I'll TRI harder next time.  I'M OUT!