Well-read Thing and Then Some Crossword Clue
wordplay, the crossword column
Full of Oink
Jacob McDermott's puzzle is likewise cute to handle.
TUESDAY PUZZLE — When it comes to crossword puzzles, there are themes, and and so there are themes. Some crossword puzzle themes are fairly straightforward bits of wordplay, based on a keen ascertainment about language or a fun ready of puns. These tin be nifty fun, leaving the constructor with room to breathe and build in squeamish bonus entries with heady clues. Other crossword themes, however, are the clear outcome of intense devotion, bearing layers of significant and multiple connections beyond the grid.
Jacob McDermott's puzzle today is the rare construction that manages to reach all of these things: It's complex, yet rooted in a simple ascertainment; it contains fabulous, long bonus entries and fun clues; it works on iii dissimilar levels; and it was just a joy to solve. Although the trick to this puzzle may exist a petty outside the norm of what we typically see this early in the week, I hope that newer solvers find the payoff rewarding!
Catchy Clues
18A. When a inkling has a conversational phrase like "Uncool, human being" in quotation marks, the solver needs to identify another colloquial phrase that ways the same affair. In this example, you lot might say "Uncool, man" or "IT'South Non OK" to someone doing something unkind, rude or only plain mean.
38A. "Pen that's total of oink?" is a ridiculous, hilarious clue for STY. Instead of a pen that's full of ink, we accept a pen that's full of oinking pigs, which is a pig STY.
41A. Although I don't totally know how to apply the function keys on my Mac, I think from my PC days that F6 (or FSIX) is a "Shortcut to highlighting the address bar on most cyberspace browsers."
62A. The clue "Bad consequence for a QB" contains an abridgement for quarterback, which indicates that the reply will likewise be an abbreviation. A QB who throws an INT, or interception, would probably consider that a bad upshot!
64A. I acknowledge I don't totally follow the clue "Tertiary degrees, for short" for PHDS. Are the first two degrees a high school diploma and a bachelor's degree? Many PHDS also have master's degrees, and then it could be their fourth caste, or fifty-fifty their fifth if they are wild overachievers. In crosswords, a clue doesn't have to exist a perfect fit for every instance of the entry, simply when this is the case we usually see some sort of qualifier, similar "perhaps" or "say."
5D. The "D.C. media giant, for brusque" is WAPO, short for The Washington Mail.
53D. "Well informed about" is the clue for UP ON, equally in Upwardly ON electric current events (and non, as my encephalon originally parsed it, UPON).
Today's Theme
Well that's something you lot don't see every week. (No, not TUESDAY — nosotros practice in fact see TUESDAY every week!) But a rebus on a TUESDAY?! That'south highly unusual. In fact, this is simply the ninth TUESDAY rebus of the 483 rebus puzzles that have run in the Will Shortz editorial era (since 1994!), and the last one was over six years ago.
Although this may have been a tad outside the typical Tuesday difficulty range thanks to the rebus elements, it was not without justification. The rebus elements, the theme and a bonus visual element that reveals itself after the solve (in the online version) all drive home Mr. McDermott's clever observation about today'south date: This is the puzzle for TUESDAY, Feb. 22, 2022, or two/22/22. The puzzle therefore contains five "TWO" rebus squares, like the five TWOs in the date, to celebrate TUESDAY (or, more to the bespeak, twosday).
For early-week solvers who may be unfamiliar with the rebus mechanism, I recommend checking out Deb Amlen'south guide to rebuses. Essentially, this type of puzzle requires the solver to enter more than one letter of the alphabet into a single box — in this case, the iii messages of the word TWO. Encounter, for example, the circled square at the intersection of 21A ("Well-trodden, every bit a path") and 3D ("'American Gothic' artist"). These entries are FOOTWORN and GRANT WOOD, but there aren't enough spaces to fill in the respond with one letter in each box. Instead, the solver must enter TWO in the circled box where the entries intersect, either by writing them in on paper or using the Rebus part in the top right of the solving interface online. This occurs in iv other circled locations in the filigree as well. My favorite crossing is probably at 54A (LEAST WORST) and 41D (FORT WORTH).
The revealer, in the center of the puzzle, ties information technology all together with the clue "Calendar column … or a punny hint to the circled squares" for TUESDAY. Once the puzzle is correctly solved, the grid online animates to connect the 5 circled TWOs, drawing a "2" into the grid. This is a cherry-red on top of what would have been a bully trick on its own.
Congratulations to Mr. McDermott for pulling off this incredible bit of construction as a commemoration of today'southward unique date. Constructors, I expect to see a Iii rebus for March 3, 2033. Better first working on it now!
Constructor Notes
This was a difficult puzzle to construct! In one case I staked out the rebus squares and the central revealer, in that location were a express number of filigree layouts I could find that maintained rotational symmetry while yet providing varied "Ii" answers. Usually I play effectually with several grid layouts and potential fill options, merely in this case I was pretty locked in to the grid that you see published.
In my original puzzle submission, the fill I settled on was rather hard for a Tuesday slot — every bit an example, I had KNORR crossed past NSW, EPODE and NARA in the primal section — but the senior puzzle editor, Joel Fagliano, helped me piece of work through some alternative fill up options to make this filigree more Tuesday-friendly. One compromise we had to make was the 43-Down "Two" answer in the southwest corner: I tried to slot in CATWOMAN (which required removing the bottom row cheater square), just we just couldn't find good make full to support that entry.
Outside of puzzle world, today besides happens to exist my mother'southward birthday! She works as a pianoforte instructor then, in her laurels, I challenge y'all all to exit and do something musical today … perhaps Two musical somethings in the spirit of the day!
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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/21/crosswords/daily-puzzle-2022-02-22.html
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