Josh Goodman sees things clearly.
Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues
TUESDAY PUZZLE — In the past, whenever I was indecisive or needed sage advice, I often turned to the Magic 8 Ball — a weighted, black plastic toy designed to look like an oversize billiard ball and filled with a viscous blue fluid. Inside the ball bobbed a 20-sided die that gave affirmative, negative or noncommittal answers to yes-or-no questions: Does my crush like me as much as I like him? “Very doubtful.” Will I become rich and famous someday? “Cannot predict now.” In hindsight, was my trust in the Magic 8 Ball as a child a precursor to my interest in astrology and tarot as an adult? “Without a doubt.”
Now that we have search engines, group chats and astrology apps to provide counsel, the Magic 8 Ball may be relegated to its original use as a paperweight. But if you happen to have one lying around at home, it may help you identify the themed phrase in Josh Goodman’s crossword. Regardless of when the trick floats to the surface for you, I’d say “it is certain” you’ll enjoy the solve.
Today’s Theme
Strings of circled letters seem to be either emanating from the grid’s center or angling toward it. Mr. Goodman lights the way for us with his revealer clue at 38-Across: [What all signs point to in this puzzle].
The eight “signs” in question appear in circled letters, which must be read from the outside to the inside of the puzzle: CALL, EXIT, PEACE, PLUS, DOLLAR, STAR, NEON and STOP. Taken together, they illustrate the hidden expression: All signs points to YES (38A).
I couldn’t determine the exact origins of the phrase “All signs point to yes,” but its popularity since the 1990s seems correlated with that of the Magic 8 Ball. The device was first patented in 1944, as a cylindrical “liquid-filled dice agitator,” before it took on its familiar name and black-and-white form. Then, shortly after it appeared on a 1992 episode of “The Simpsons,” sales of the Magic 8 Ball boomed. In fact, a New York Times report on its comeback used today’s themed phrase: “Can a middle-aged toy find happiness in the hard-bitten 90’s? ‘Signs point to yes.’”
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Source: Elections - nytimes.com
