Solution: Gave much less than 100% - NYT Crossword

Knowing your Time Warp prevents any misdirection here; I always used the “mailed” version of the idiom, but HIPS necessitates PHONED IT IN. This is a debut: Don’t sue me if I’m wrong, but it’s possible that the first use of this phrase to mean a lame half-effort might be in a 1981 Times theater review by Mel Gussow. I mention this because the end of the year tends to be nostalgic, and in one of my first jobs at The Times I sat across from Mr. Gussow. He wore a hat outside year-round and habitually pushed back his chair as if to stand when I did, which was often, as I was more or less a gofer.