Were you on Billy Bratton’s wavelength?
Jump to: Tricky Clues
FRIDAY PUZZLE — In any themeless puzzle, there should ideally be a lot of open space (read: fewer black squares) so that the constructor can pack the grid with long, interesting entries. I consider these lively entries my reward for wrangling all of the shorter fill that I encounter earlier in the week. And when they are triple-stacked the way they are in Billy Bratton’s crossword, with exciting entries in all four quadrants, a good time is certain to be had by all. Or by most of us, anyway.
I predict that there will be what I like to call the Goldilocks reaction to Mr. Bratton’s puzzle (“This puzzle is too easy!” or “No, this puzzle is too hard!”). But perhaps we can take a moment away from the competition to appreciate what we do have: a crossword with sizzling entries and fun clues. In particular, I loved 8D. The entry is a fairly common phrase, yet it is making its New York Times Crossword debut. It was fun to see the clue call our attention with a red siren emoji on each side of it.
Whether you did or didn’t struggle with Mr. Bratton’s puzzle is unimportant, in my opinion. I just hope you enjoyed the experience. Remember, crosswords are games, and games are meant to be fun.
Tricky Clues
15A. The [Notes taken by a single person?] are musical notes, and that person is singing or playing a SOLO.
16A. Not only is [Condescendingly spells out] a synonym for MANSPLAINS, but that spelling out is typically also done to someone who is already an expert in the area that is being explained.
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Source: Elections - nytimes.com
