NYT Crossword Answers for April 8, 2024

Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues

MONDAY PUZZLE — Solve crosswords for long enough, and you may start to perceive entries not as words, but as mere strings of letters whose meaning rests entirely on their clues. At 29-Across, for example, we have a “Witty reply to ‘You’re the kind of person who asks too many questions’” — AM I? But if the clue were “French friend,” we would interpret this same string as AMI. The same ambiguity could be true of “Door.” As one word, it represents a “Way out.” As two words, the entry fills in the blank for “____ die.”

Peter Gordon also relies on multiple meanings for his theme in today’s crossword. In this case, however, seeing through the ruse isn’t so much about peering downward into the puzzle as it is about looking up.

Today’s Theme

The good news about Mr. Gordon’s theme, in contrast to the subject of its theme, is that you won’t need any special glasses to take it in. This TOTAL ECLIPSE, revealed to the naked eye at 46-Across, is clued as both an “Event across the U.S.” and part of a “1983 Bonnie Tyler hit” perfect for such an occasion. With 57-Across, we complete the hit’s title: “TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART.”

The rest of the theme set makes up what one might call the ideal eclipse playlist, filled with songs deemed “apt to play” during the moon’s passage between the Earth and the sun. There’s “MOONSHADOW” (17A) by Cat Stevens, Santana’s “INTO THE NIGHT” (23A) and U2’s “STARING AT THE SUN” (36A).

Do you have any songs to add to Mr. Gordon’s list? I would love to hear your recommendations for eclipse-viewing music. (New York City, while not in the path of totality, will still have an impressive partial eclipse if clear skies prevail.)