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wordplay, the crossword column
We’ve caught wind of something going on in this crossword by Alex Eaton-Salners.
Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues
WEDNESDAY PUZZLE — Whenever my friends and I were confined to our cabins on hot, buggy summer afternoons at sleep-away camp, one of us would pull out a game of Mad Libs. She would exhort the others to shout out nouns, verbs and adjectives of any variety — though they couldn’t be too sensible as that was against the rules — and then fill in a short story to be read aloud for laughs. (How many times did the main character of our stories leave his home to take a “fart” to the store? I can’t say.)
You can’t be quite so liberal with the phrasal template in today’s crossword, which was constructed by Alex Eaton-Salners for your enjoyment. It does have correct answers. But after solving it, you might imagine a few absurd replacement entries as a little treat.
Shall we fill in some blanks?
I’ll bet you breezed through the top row of this puzzle’s clues and thought you had the rest of its theme — which tells a story using every Across clue in order — in the bag. But then the obviousness of clues like “Once ___ a time” (1A) gave way to the baffling ambiguity of others, such as “Her prized ____” (15A), and you realized that the game was afoot. Well played, Mr. Eaton-Salners.
Once you’ve filled in a few essential details using your crossings, a sweet story begins to take shape. It’s a love story between two high school bandmates, Ava and Dana.
Ava plays the OBOE (15A), while her crush plays the TUBA (26A). They connect over a silly pun about Dana’s YOGA (36A) tee, and then discover a diverse range of things about each other, by dint of Mr. Eaton-Salners’s need to fit entries into his grid. Yes, some story elements feel more strained than others, and I won’t be rushing to read the full novel — but as a bit of crossword romance, I’m charmed.
39A. This is the first time that AIR LEAK has appeared in a New York Times crossword. If it’s used again, the clue will probably be a bit more overt than “Wheezing laughter like an ____ in an old tire.” Though you have to admit it’s a vivid image.
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NYT Crossword Answers for Aug. 30, 2023 – The New York Times
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