Jump to: Today’s theme | Delicate clues
THURSDAY PUZZLE — Oh, hello. You must be here because you solved or tried to solve Adam Vincent’s very clever puzzle and you are wondering what just happened to you. Please sit down, the theme explainer will be with you right away.
First of all, on behalf of the Wordplay team, I would like to wish our readers a happy Independence Day. This wish is related to the theme of today’s crossword and is a clue, but not a spoiler.
I would have to go into too much detail to spoil the multi-layered theme of this puzzle. Mr. Vincent’s grid put up a fierce battle, but I eventually broke it, after sweating, eating my entire supply of anti-anxiety chocolate, and slapping myself in the forehead.
On the other hand, conquering it gave me a huge boost: it’s proven that the “aha!” moment we seek when solving is linked to the release of dopamine — the feel-good chemical — in the brain.
So if you’ve tried to solve this puzzle and given up, give it another try. Try talking to yourself. I mean this seriously: Say the answers out loud as you type them. It can help. And scientists say it can make you feel good.
Today’s theme
To celebrate this holiday, Mr. Vincent invites us to sing with him the first bar or two of the United States national anthem. Fortunately, it is only the first five words, otherwise it might be the longest crossword in the world.
How do I know it’s five words, you ask? Well, we have five thematic entries that have groups of shaded squares at the end, and these entries are somehow related to the 3D grid, HOLD ON TO YOUR HAT, indicated as [“Get ready!” … or what to do upon hearing the ends of the answers to the starred clues?].
If we remove the shaded boxes one group at a time and read them from top to bottom, we get the following:
OWA
SEI
KANE
IEU
SSEY
Now put that last piece of anti-anxiety chocolate in your mouth and say it out loud with me:
Oh
Say
Can
You
See
At the crack of dawn, we have it! Those are the first five words of the national anthem. But wait, there’s more.
We remove our hats (or hold them) because it is common practice when you hear the anthem.
I agree with the builder’s remark: the theme of this puzzle is a bit like a flag fluttering in the breeze. Well done, Mr. Vincent.
Delicate clues
31A. The [Six Flags coaster with a Spanish name] is EL TORO (“The Bull”) and, with his backgroundThis clearly falls into the “No thanks!” category for me.
38A. I probably haven’t been around tractors enough in my life, but I’m not sure I see how OHIO, [when written in upper- and lowercase]looks like a tractor. I understand the O’s are the wheels, but what am I missing?
58A. My favorite yoga posture, the [corpse pose]is performed when I lie on my back and don’t move. Pure bliss.
62A. I tried this with my family during brunch and enthusiastically said, “This frittata is the EGGIEST!” They asked me to never make it again. The clue, however, is [Superlative for a quiche or frittata].
4D. I would like to imagine that puzzle publishers see the occasional comments about the crossword being too US-centric and, in response, encourage 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 dad put together model airplanes, but isn’t that a bit tricky to be [used in some surfboards]?
25D. The [Two out of 10] are little fingers. The answer can’t be any of the other fingers because they don’t fit into the boxes here.
36D. What a clever clue. The [Ambient musician whose name is found in white noise”] This is ENO, the father of music meant to be played in the background but not listened to attentively.
Manufacturer’s Notes
If your team isn’t in the Super Bowl, you have to have some fun of your own, and for me that was realizing during the national anthem that the first few words are one syllable. My immediate thought was to hide those sounds in words like CHEERIO and BEYONCÉ.
Initially, I was tempted by the fact that “The Star Spangled Banner” would fit neatly on a Sunday-sized puzzle. I first considered a list of entries that hid sounds all the way up to MAFIA DONS/SHIRLEY/ACOLYTE, but I was afraid the idea would fade over the course of a Sunday puzzle. I also didn’t like that “early” was a two-syllable syllable that broke the pattern.
Once I decided to tackle a weekday puzzle, arranging the thematic answers in the grid presented a fun challenge. I wanted the ends of the thematic answers to be close together so that solvers could see the series of sounds more easily, which meant I had to get inventive with horizontal symmetry. Of the variations I tried, I liked this layout the best because it gave the cleanest fill and also (to my eye) it kind of evoked a waving flag.
Happy fourth birthday!
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