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wordplay, the crossword column
You won’t crack Blake Slonecker’s puzzle right away, and that’s good.
Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues
WEDNESDAY PUZZLE — It seems unfair that the “Flap of skin hanging from a bovine’s neck” (43A) should have a name, as well as a prominent mention in the New York Times Crossword, while the flap of skin that has been hanging from my arms since I turned 30 has neither. Here I am, flush with the knowledge of how to refer to a jiggly bit on a cow and at a loss for a word I need.
Blake Slonecker’s crossword contains a bevy of non-bovine vocabulary, mind you, and much of it is the sort of stuff that actually comes in handy.
I should add that a friend of mine once notably referred to that flap of skin hanging from her triceps as her “bon voyage,” inspired by the way it seemed to wave farewell after her every movement. As far as I know, it hasn’t yet caught on, but please feel free to use it.
Mr. Slonecker manages to craft his theme using reasonably modest materials, much the same way “Canning tomatoes” (26D) are simmered into a rich, flavorful marinara. His revealer asks us for a phrase that means “It’s a plan” and also “might be said of 17-, 23-, 35- and 48- Across.”
SOUNDS GOOD is the answer. Indeed, all of the cited themed entries do “sound good”: They rely on various spellings of the word for “right,” itself a synonym of “good,” and in doing so they create punny entries that “sound good,” or make for convincing doubles of the expressions they play on.
An especially pleasing example to the ear appears at 35-Across: “Pens a seafaring tale?” is WRITES OF PASSAGE.
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NYT Crossword Answers for Sep. 6, 2023 – The New York Times
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