NYT Crossword Answers for May 16, 2024

Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues

THURSDAY PUZZLE — It’s not uncommon for beginners to miss or be confused by the theme in a crossword. They may even solve the entire grid without using the theme as a solving tool or without looking back to appreciate that the theme even exists. My heart always goes out to these people, because I think that deciphering the theme is a bonus, an extra bit of fun while you’re untangling the clues.

Well, today it was my turn to be flummoxed. This doesn’t happen often, but I finished Sarah Muchnick’s clever puzzle and couldn’t figure out the theme. There was a revealer, and I technically understood what needed to be done, but it turns out that I was trying to do it in the wrong place. After a push in the right direction by Christina Iverson, a puzzle editor, the proverbial lightbulb went on, and I was able to get closure.

Maybe you missed the theme, too, and you’re frustrated. No need to worry — I will spill the beans on this terrific New York Times debut in the theme section of this column.

Today’s Theme

Yes, I know. The theme entries and their clues seemingly have nothing to do with one another. As always, there’s a reason for that.

Whenever a revealer has the format “___ for ___,” solvers usually need to swap one letter or word for another. The revealer clue at 63A reads “When read forward and then backward, motto that suggests how to interpret this puzzle’s starred clues,” and the answer is ONE FOR ALL (and ALL FOR ONE, when read backward). That means you are going to swap the word ONE where you see the word ALL, and vice versa.