NYT Crossword Answers for June 18, 2024

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TUESDAY PUZZLE — Every writer should be allowed one pedantic grievance. Mine is the use of “kind of” as a (kind of) disclaimer before making a comparison. I’ve been guilty of this in my own writing, too, but it’s something I try to avoid, because it suggests a lack of confidence in one’s own capacity for analogy or metaphor — the “No worries if not!” of journalism.

For instance, in a music review I read recently, the author wrote of sounds that seemed to “linger in a kind of harmonic limbo.” Don’t stop there, I thought to myself. Call it a harmonic limbo!

I had to quash these convictions in order to solve Aaron M. Rosenberg’s crossword puzzle, in which several clues rely on the “kinda” hedge. In this case, the hesitation is not only warranted but necessary, because it’s the key to understanding Mr. Rosenberg’s theme. I admit that I kind of loved it. No, wait … I loved it.

Today’s Theme

Each themed clue in today’s puzzle makes a timid comparison. We’re looking for something “Kinda comedic and saucy?” (16A) or a “Kinda religious institution?” (28A). These would be ambiguous categories even without the added qualifier, so don’t be afraid to use your crossings from the outset.

Once we’ve got a few letters filled in, our “comedic and saucy” descriptor emerges: BURLESQUE-ESQUE. That religious institution turns out to be a SEMI-SEMINARY. Get the picture, sort of? Each entry uses a different affix that echoes either the first or the second half of the word and doubles as an expression of uncertainty. So, something “Kinda squishy and sting-y?” (39A) might be described as JELLYFISH-ISH, and a “Kinda hunchbacked figure?” (50A) could be called QUASI-QUASIMODO.