Thursday Puzzle -Dan Caprera has returned with another entertaining puzzle for The New York Times readers; hopefully, you can catch this one before it disappears altogether Don’t blink; otherwise the contents could vanish before your very eyes.
Today’s Theme
With binoculars at hand, six species of birds can be seen flying in V formation through Mr. Caprera’s grid as part of their WINTER MIGRATION (40A). Although not all the birds do travel this route, I really liked his idea: His theme phrases form the shape of a V with one leg representing a different bird name on its vertical leg – a fun take on an age-old riddle.
Update: My brain may have wandered a different way as well, as I thought that the birds in the Down entries represented their journey south for winter.
At 37A I made an important connection: this clue describes an “infamous presidential denial.” The answer to this clue is Nixonian I AM NOT A CROOK but breaks off after C; its remaining ROOK becomes 39D’s “Corner piece.” Across clues refer to entire theme entries while down clues refer to specific parts; an added nice touch was that part of answer clued as something other than bird.
Spoiler Alert: Need some extra help finding all of the birds in this puzzle? Click here for an easier solution containing only theme entries and revealers, making it easier for you to spot those pesky Vs.
Tricky Clues 6A. I wanted to highlight this puzzle’s wordplay with its theme entry and question mark clue combining, so here is another theme entry and question mark puzzle in one: MOH = MOHAWK which turns down to HAWK on 8D (MOHAWK is an acronym that stands for Mohawk Haircut.). A MOHAWK haircut involves having two rows of scissors placed along either side of your head for the ultimate MOHAWK.
14.A: Crossings were needed here because I interpreted “Half of a Rhyming Game Name” as meaning a game in which players must come up with rhymes themselves – rather than thinking Jai ALAI itself was an obvious candidate as its name is itself rhymeful.
24A. To answer the puzzle question “Capital of Washington?,” Mr. Caprera refers to both Olympia, as the state capital, and ONES, a U.S. bill with George Washington on it as being its capital of funds.
29A/29D – Take note of these nearly identical clues The Across clue, “Shows Indecision in Someway” (HEMS), and Down clue, “Show Indecision, in Some Way” (HAW).
45A. I love wordplay “Desire for a Lonely Hart?” refers to adult male deer, and the answer is DOE. Now all I can think about is picturing one singing Yes’ “Owner of a Lonely Heart” song while wearing deer antlers.
2D. From the “EPEE Her? I Don’t Even Know Her” department comes the “Competitive Poker?”. A blunt-ended fencing sword.
33D contains the clue “What do you do for fun?,” with the answer being to smile In order to participate, this clue requires smiling as an active action step.
Constructor Notes
I was very pleased with how this puzzle turned out: it features seven themed entries, 66 themed squares running both horizontally and vertically, and those fun, stacked entries in the center of the grid. And even without counting O.R. DOC as one of my fills (it is, admittedly, gluey), this grid’s fill was impressive given how tightly packed some sections were; sometimes crossword gods must smile upon us while filling out puzzle grids; such was certainly true here.
Hope everyone enjoyed my puzzle and thanks for solving it. Enjoy autumn (and the start of WINTER MIGRATION)
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