Where Some Things Are Really Hopping - The New York Times

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Daniel Mauer has us all turned around.

THURSDAY PUZZLE — Once in a while, I like to try to predict how solvers will react to a crossword puzzle, especially when it contains an unusual element.

I believe that the verdict on Daniel Mauer’s puzzle will be divided. There will be those who find the theme very clever, as I did, and there will be those who are still sitting there, wondering what just happened to them.

There’s no right or wrong camp to be in. It’s your puzzle, and you are allowed to enjoy it or not enjoy it as you see fit. There’s a new one tomorrow.

But I think you should at least give it a chance. It’s a terrific example of the kind of creative thinking we have come to expect of our constructors, and the aforementioned unusual element is there for good and entertaining reasons. And it’s Thursday. You know how I love my Thursday puzzles.

Tricky Clues

15A. “People calling the shots at the zoo?” are the VETS. They may not call the shots in terms of being the bosses, but they do decide which immunizations, or shots, the animals get.

26A. I had a difficult time parsing ODED ON, as I got it through the crossings, and then tried to read the entry once it was filled in. I generally don’t think of stuffing one’s face as OD’ing on something, but that may just be me.

60A. The “Big Apple?” in this puzzle is not New York City, but an Apple that is bigger than your average laptop. The answer is IMAC.

3D. My first thought for “Ill-advised opinions” was HOT TAKES, but a better answer is BAD TAKES.

34D. The abbreviated answer to the clue “T or F, e.g., Abbr.” is ANS for ANSwer.

49D. Things are really hopping in AUStralia, where we are supposed to be thinking about kangaroos.

Today’s Theme

At first, the completed grid may seem perfectly normal. All of the words in the puzzle are real. But you may find yourself stuck on a few entries here and there that don’t quite make sense.

And then there are those circled squares. What do they mean?

The answer, as usual, is in the revealer. At 56A, the answer to the clue “Automotive safety feature represented (and to be followed) eight times in this puzzle” is TURN SIGNAL.

Ohh, that’s what those circled L’s and R’s are! In Mr. Mauer’s grid, the circled letters are turning directions. As we proceed through an entry, we are to put on our blinkers and make a turn at the signal in the given direction. The rest of the letters in the new direction will finish the answer.

The genius here is that the directional signal works for both the Across and Down answers.

Our first example is at the crossing of 17A and 5D. The answer to 17A, as far as the grid is concerned, is MODERNISTS. But the clue is “Not radical.” That doesn’t make any sense. What’s going on?

Let’s proceed eastward through the entry the way the revealer wants us to. We start with M, O, D, E and R, but we are supposed to put on our TURN SIGNAL and turn right at the R. That turns us south, and if we continue, we can add A, T and E to our answer.

That gives us MODERATE, a perfectly cromulent answer for “Not radical.”

But what of 5D, Deb? If one is feeling BORATE “on a lo-o-ong car trip,” you need more help than I can give you. But if you obey the rules of the road, you will turn right at the R — remember, we are headed south, so “right” is toward the west — and you will find yourself filled with BOREDOM.

That’s pretty nifty, isn’t it? Let’s do one more.

At the intersection of 22A and 10D, we are working with a left turn signal, indicated by the circled L. At 22A, the answer to the clue “Cry from a survivor” is I’M ALONE, which is ghastly. See what happens when you don’t use your TURN SIGNAL?

But the answer isn’t I’M ALONE. We need to make a left turn at the L, which makes the answer I’M ALIVE. Whew. That’s much better.

Heading south at 10D, the answer to the clue “Satan, with ‘the’” seems to be (THE) EVIL EYE, which is not quite right. Let’s put on our signal, turn left (which in this case is right) and find the correct answer: (THE) EVIL ONE.

There are an additional four turns (two signals) to make in Mr. Mauer’s puzzle, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Constructor Notes

Thursday is my favorite New York Times Crossword day: I love puzzles that stump me until at some point it just clicks. This puzzle is my second published “Tricky Thursday,” and I hope the theme gives solvers a bit of that “Aha!” feeling.

My first attempt at this theme just had the “signals” applying to Down answers, signifying the direction to continue from the circled square — so an “L” meant you’d proceed toward the left side of the grid. But as I started to fill it in, I realized it felt completely wrong, since turning left when driving south sends you east, not west. So, I decided to aim for actual “turning,” and to make it work for both Down and Across answers. In order to find word pairs that could support that, I wrote a computer script to help crunch through millions of possibilities. Thankfully, I found enough decent pairs to make it work.

All those crossing theme entries put a lot of pressure on the fill, but after some back and forth with the editing team and a couple of revisions, I’m pleased with the result and I hope you enjoy it!

Some favorites in the puzzle:

Clue that hit the editing room floor: “Golf tournaments for which one might qualify by being a celebrated guitarist” for PRO-AMS

Beverage: AMARO

Place: the Temple of Dendur at the MET

Clue the editing team wrote: "People calling the shots at the zoo?" for VETS

Finally, cheers to my lovely wife and our wonderful extended family, and here's to a happy and healthy 2021 for everyone. Happy solving!

The Tipping Point

Almost finished solving but need a bit more help? We’ve got you covered.

Warning: There be spoilers ahead, but subscribers can take a peek at the answer key.

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