Dominic Grillo takes me back to my childhood.
Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues
THURSDAY PUZZLE — If you are looking for an explanation as to why your crossword puzzle is stained light brown in the center, you are in the right place.
Dominic Grillo’s grid is all about nostalgia, and the brown color and shape, along with the answers in the circled squares, may remind you of more carefree days. They may also remind you to eat your vegetables, or at least play with them.
Today’s Theme
That tan oval you see in the center of the grid is a potato. More specifically, it’s a POTATO HEAD (1D and 58D), the toy that allowed children to design their own spud friends by adorning a plastic potato* with body parts and clothes.
These included, among other things, a nose, a pair of eyes, a smile, ears, hands and a hat, which can be found on the grid in the circled squares. With the exception of the hat, the circled square groups are in the approximate shapes of their body parts (e.g., the “smile” is a semicircle). Nice touch, Mr. Grillo. That must have been tough to do.
*Fun toy history fact: Mr. and Mrs. POTATO HEAD (the honorifics were dropped by the brand’s owner, Hasbro, in 2021) originally contained a set of parts that were meant to be pinned to a real potato or other vegetable. In response to consumer complaints about rotting vegetables, the manufacturers included a plastic body with the parts in 1964.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
