NYT Crossword Answers for July 22, 2024

MONDAY PUZZLE — Laura Dershewitz created her first crossword puzzle for The New York Times with Katherine Baicker in March. Now she is back with a solo puzzle just as clever and challenging as her collaborative debut. This crossword has it all: tricky fill, unconventional clues and a satisfying theme to bring it all together.

Joel Fagliano, a puzzle editor for The Times, appreciated the puzzle’s musicality. “Musical note themes are tried and true, but the elegance of this one set it apart,” he said. He added that the theme was executed well and had “a pleasing consistency.”

Mr. Fagliano complimented Ms. Dershewitz on her use of “clean Monday vocabulary” that made the puzzle feel “lively and fresh.” I couldn’t agree more — this puzzle pleased my beginner’s heart. I solved it without looking anything up and learned new phrases in the process.

Today’s Theme

The circular overlays in this puzzle tip us off to the theme. Let’s look at the corresponding clues: 21A, [Explain something in steps]; 31A, [Acts like one’s true self, colloquially]; and 41A, [Was understated in one’s description]. The answer to 21A is BREAK IT DOWN, 31A is KEEPS IT REAL and 41A is PUT IT MILDLY.

What do these answers all have in common? The revealer at 50A suggests it has something to do with “sticky yellow squares” — POST-IT NOTES. We can look to the circled letters to find our next clue. They’re notes on a scale: DO, RE, MI. The notes come after the letters I and T in all of the answers, so they’re literally “post-IT” notes.

Tricky Clues

16A. To [get one’s story straight?] is to EDIT. I liked this witty take on an idiom that typically means to communicate clearly and accurately. Editing is one way to achieve that.