Go to: Sneaky Clues
FRIDAY PUZZLE — Any themeless puzzle should ideally have plenty of open space (read: fewer black squares) so the builder can pack the grid with long, interesting entries. I consider these spirited entries my reward for arguing with all the shorter fills I encountered earlier in the week. And when they’re triple-stacked the way they are in Billy Bratton’s crossword puzzle, with exciting entries in all four quadrants, everyone’s sure to have a good time. Or most of us, anyway.
I predict there will be what I like to call a Goldilocks reaction to Mr. Bratton’s puzzle (“This puzzle is too easy!” or “No, this puzzle is too hard!”). But maybe we can take a moment away from the competition to appreciate what we have: a crossword puzzle with sizzling entries and fun clues. In particular, I liked the 8D. The entry is a fairly common phrase, but it still makes its debut in a New York Times crossword puzzle. It was fun to see the clue grab our attention with red emoticons with cheeses on each side.
I don’t think it matters whether you’ve struggled with Mr. Bratton’s puzzle or not. I just hope you enjoyed the experience. Remember that crossword puzzles are games, and games are meant to be fun.
Clever clues
15A. The [Notes taken by a single person?] are musical notes and this person sings or plays SOLO.
16A. Not only is it [Condescendingly spells out] synonymous with MANSPLAINS, but this spelling is also usually given to someone who is already an expert in the field being explained.
24A. Clues that end in “for example” suggest a category to which the rest of the clue belongs. For example, [Scottish fold and Russian blue, e.g.] are BREEDS of cats.
35A. Today I learned about Popeye Village, a resort in MALTA that was originally built as a set for the 1980 production of Popeye, starring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall.
36A. Does your brain interpret first [Peddled good] like “Good pedal?” Mine too. However, this trail has nothing to do with bicycles. A delivery is a sale, and the commodity sold is a commodity.
51A. This [Sign of sluggishness?] not a health comment. The answer is SLIME because we are supposed to be thinking gastropods.
3D. If anything [Didn’t go down well?], it means that one had trouble swallowing or that the news was not received well. In this puzzle, the thing that didn’t go well is usually a vessel, which means it SINKS.
5 E. Yesterday, some of our international readers wrote about the US-centric nature of Ella Dershowitz’s puzzle. Mr. Bratton’s puzzle offers an international comparison, [Dummies : pacifiers :: ___ : diapers]. Pacifiers are often called dummies outside the United States, and diapers are called diapers.
8D. What a living trail that enters our minds with sirens wailing. The answer to [🚨 “Serious situation developing!” 🚨] is THIS NOT A DRILL.
13D. With a question mark inside [Blue yarn?], we know we’re not just thinking about yarn that’s blue. When people are blue, they are sad (or Na’vi), and yarn is synonymous with history. Put them together and you get SOB STORY.
24D. I love the sassy trail. [Rings given to a lover] not necessarily jewelry. These rings are phone calls or more precisely BOOTY CALLS.
25D. When you see the word “nesting” in the clue [One might be nesting], you’re probably thinking birds, but that trail isn’t there. We are supposed to be thinking of a Russian matryoshka doll.
42D. What a sweet trail! The [Dome-icile?] there are NEEDLES in this puzzle.
Join our other gaming discussions
Want to be a part of the New York Times gaming conversation, or maybe get help with a particularly thorny puzzle? There they are:
Spelling Bee Forum
View Wordle
Connections Companion
Improve crossword solving
Work your way through our How to Solve the New York Times Crossword guide. It contains an explanation of most of the types of clues you’ll see in the puzzles, and a practice mini at the end of each section.
