Refrain from making assumptions about Zachary David Levy’s puzzle.
Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues
MONDAY PUZZLE — Zachary David Levy knows his audience. I say this because Mr. Levy, who constructed today’s puzzle, opted to use a Scrabble reference to reveal his theme. While I hesitate to paint solvers of the New York Time Crossword with a wide brush, I’m willing to bet this meant that many of you figured it out without missing a beat (or stroke, to continue the metaphor).
My assumption is biased by my own love of Scrabble — I recently discovered that I owned two versions and had trouble convincing myself that I needed only one — so if your wordy board game affinities lie elsewhere, feel free to correct me! The only time that I mind being wrong is when it rains after I’ve left the house without an umbrella.
Today’s Theme
The [Coveted Scrabble space] at 58-Across is a TRIPLE-WORD SCORE. We’re told the entry also describes [the sheet music for 16-, 21-, 34- or 51-Across]. That’s because each of the themed entries is a song title consisting of three identical words. The [ABBA hit of 1979] (16A), for example, is “GIMME! GIMME! GIMME!” The [’NSync hit of 2000] (21A) was “BYE BYE BYE.” Since sheet music is also called a score, this gives us our TRIPLE-WORD SCORE.
Solve the two remaining theme entries on your own, or click to reveal them below.
34A. [Mötley Crüe hit of 1987]
GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS
51A. [Beach Boys hit of 1964]
FUN, FUN, FUN
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Source: Elections - nytimes.com
