Lisse

I'm very disappointed to see a word perceived as a slur by many make it into the crossword. Calling someone a 'Slav' does not usually come with positive connotations and I would expect NYT to do much better than that. Furthermore, the Balkans are neither the 'native homeland' of Slavic people or populated solely by them - Greeks, Albanians, Romanians and other groups are present in large numbers as well.