Kate Chin Park offers a challenging puzzle.
FRIDAY PUZZLE — It has been a while since I’ve written a First Pass Friday, the occasional feature in which I show readers how I forged my way into the dreaded, second-hardest puzzle of the week (the hardest is on Saturday). I had trouble finding a way into Kate Chin Park’s entertaining, formidable puzzle, so I thought that some of you who are just starting to play the crossword might be interested in seeing how even an experienced solver can be tripped up. Based on the reader responses to earlier First Pass Fridays, it is also an excellent opportunity to feel smarter than me before the solving even begins. No, don’t thank me; that’s what I’m here for.
The best way to break into a grid, in my opinion, is to scan the clue list and find the gimmes. Fill in the answers you definitely know first, and you’re in.
Your gimmes may not be the same as my gimmes, and your knowledge base will be different from mine, and that’s OK. Work the crossings if you are having trouble with an entry. And don’t forget to take breaks when you’re stuck. That way, you can come back to the crossword with a refreshed brain. Keep a bag of chocolates nearby for when the going gets tough.
But don’t be afraid of what’s ahead. A good late-week puzzle should make your heart sink a little.
Fortunately for me, there were a couple of entries that I had committed to memory over the years because they appeared frequently and were usually clued in similar ways. For example, if there is a three-letter slot that is clued as [Adornment for a kimono], or that has anything to do with a kimono, the answer is invariably going to be OBI, a wide sash that wraps around the wearer’s waist. Similarly, if a five-letter slot is clued as [First name in cosmetics], you can bet that the answer will be ESTÉE, as in ESTÉE Lauder. The clue for 36D was a fill-in-the-blank of sorts, [Rae of “American Fiction”], which tripped the pop culture wire in my brain, and I was able to write in ISSA.
Also, in the past, readers have asked why I solve using Autocheck. The answer is that I work on deadline and have to solve the puzzles quickly.
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Source: Elections - nytimes.com
