Advertisement
Supported by
Wordplay
WEDNESDAY PUZZLE — Sometimes you just need to break up the week with a return to nature, and today Jacob Stulberg takes us on a field trip. Put on your waders, because we’re going fishing.
It’s always fun to see a visual element incorporated into a grid made of words, and today Mr. Stulberg has stocked his grid with six different kinds of fish that seem to swim back and forth across the puzzle.
Not getting any bites? Here’s a hint: They’re disguised in the starred clues as noun or verb synonyms. For example, at 4A, the starred clue is “*Complain,” and the answer is CARP, which is also a fish. As your hooks sink deeper into the grid, you will also reel in SMELT, PIKE, BASS (the only one that bothered me a bit, because while the spelling is the same, the pronunciation of the BASS singer and the BASS fish is different), PERCH and SOLE.
Mr. Stulberg offers us two revealers today, at 3D, where the warning for easily provoked types lies (DON’T TAKE THE BAIT), and at 9D, where a fishing line drops to the bottom of the puzzle (the series of letter I’s and the J, which represents the hook).
As he notes below, we can celebrate a fine day outside with some CAVIAR as bonus theme material.
■ 15A: Clues like “What used to be yours?” are misdirection about the past. It sounds like the clue is talking about something that used to belong to you, but it’s really asking you to come up with a word from the past that would have meant “yours.” In today’s puzzle, that would be THINE.
■ 26A: More wordplay! The word “refrain” has two meanings: It can mean that you stop yourself from doing something, or it can mean a regularly recurring verse or phrase in a song. That means that the clue “Refrain from singing” can either mean “stop singing” or it can be a regular verse or phrase in a song. The question mark at the end of the clue is a hint that it’s the latter, and the answer is TRA LA LA.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Advertisement
Warning for Easily Provoked Types – The New York Times
Posted by