Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues
THURSDAY PUZZLE — Oh, hi. You must be here because you solved or tried to solve Adam Vincent’s very clever puzzle and are wondering what just happened to you. Please have a seat, the theme explainer will be right with you.
First, on behalf of the Wordplay team, I would like to wish our readers a happy Independence Day. That wish is related to the theme of today’s crossword, and is a hint but not a spoiler.
I’d have to go into a lot more detail to spoil the multilayered theme in this puzzle. Mr. Vincent’s grid put up a mighty fight, but I did eventually crack it, by which time I had worked up a sweat, plowed through my supply of anxiety chocolate and slapped my forehead silly.
On the other hand, conquering it gave me a tremendous boost: There is evidence that the “aha!” moment we chase when solving is connected to the release of dopamine — the feel-good chemical — in the brain.
So if you tried to solve this puzzle and quit, give it another chance. Try talking to yourself. I mean it — say the entries out loud as you enter them. It may help. And scientists say it may make you feel great.
Today’s Theme
To celebrate the holiday, Mr. Vincent wants us to join him in singing the first bar or two of the United States’ national anthem. Good thing it’s just the first five words, or this might have been the world’s longest crossword.
How do I know it’s five words, you ask? Well, we have five theme entries that have groups of shaded squares at the end, and those entries are somehow related to the grid-spanning 3D, HOLD ON TO YOUR HAT, clued as [“Get ready!” … or what to do upon hearing the ends of the answers to the starred clues?].
If we remove the shaded squares one group at a time and read them from top to bottom, we get the following:
OUGH
SEI
KANE
IEU
SSEY
Now, pop that last piece of anxiety chocolate into your mouth and say those out loud with me:
Oh
Say
Can
You
See
By the dawn’s early light, we’ve got it! It’s the first five words of the national anthem. But wait, there’s more.
We are removing our hats (or holding them) because that’s common practice when you hear the anthem.
I agree with the constructor’s note: The theme in this puzzle does look a bit like a flag waving in the breeze. Nicely done, Mr. Vincent.
Tricky Clues
31A. The [Six Flags coaster with a Spanish name] is EL TORO (“The Bull”) and, with its track record, it falls distinctly into the category of “No thank you!” for me.
38A. I probably haven’t been around enough tractors in my time, but I’m not sure I see how OHIO, [when written in upper- and lowercase], resembles a tractor. I get that the Os are the wheels, but what am I missing?
58A. The yoga pose I am most fond of, the [corpse pose], is performed when I LIE flat on my back and don’t move. Sheer bliss.
62A. I tried this out on my family over brunch by enthusiastically saying “This frittata is the EGGIEST!” They asked me never to do that again. The clue, however, is [Superlative for a quiche or frittata].
4D. I’d like to imagine that the puzzle editors see the occasional comments about the Crossword being too U.S.-centric and, in response, encouraged Mr. Vincent to add the TIM Tam, [“Australia’s favorite cookie”], instead of the ubiquitous Oreo.
7D. The only experience I have with BALSA wood is watching my father put together model airplanes, but isn’t it a bit delicate to be [used in some surfboards]?
25D. The [Two out of 10] are PINKIES. The answer can’t be any of the other fingers because they don’t fit the squares here.
36D. What a clever clue. The [Ambient musician whose name is found in white noise”] is ENO, the father of music meant to be played in the background but not listened to intently.
Constructor Notes
If your team is not in the Super Bowl, you have to make your own fun, and for me that consisted of realizing during the national anthem that its opening words are each only one syllable long. My mind immediately jumped to hiding those sounds in words like CHEERIO and BEYONCÉ.
I was originally tempted by the fact that “The Star Spangled Banner” would nicely span a Sunday-size grid. I initially brainstormed a list of entries that hid sounds all the way down to MAFIA DONS / SHIRLEY / ACOLYTE, but I worried that the conceit would wear thin over the course of a Sunday puzzle. I also didn’t like that “early” was a pattern-breaking two syllables.
Once I decided to shoot for a weekday puzzle, laying out the theme answers in the grid presented a fun challenge. I wanted the ends of the theme answers to be in proximity so that solvers could see the series of sounds more easily, which meant I needed to get inventive with horizontal symmetry. Out of the variations I tried, I liked this layout the best because it resulted in the cleanest fill and also (to my eyes) it sort of evokes a waving flag.
Happy Fourth!
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