NYT Crossword Answers for May 6, 2024

Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues

MONDAY PUZZLE — It is uncanny to realize, when admiring the range of her constructing skills, that Malaika Handa made her New York Times Crossword debut just over a year ago. After introducing herself with a rebus puzzle — which is a feat in itself — Ms. Handa brought us a Friday collaboration with Erik Agard, an early-week puzzle with a pithy theme and a beautiful themeless grid of her own.

Since I joined The Times, I have learned that the effort to have a crossword published on every day of the week is known as “hitting for the cycle,” taken from the baseball expression. Whether or not that is Ms. Handa’s strategy here, I’m thrilled to see her flexing her talents at the top of the solving week.

Today’s Theme

Puzzle editors occasionally suggest the use of circled letters in a grid where the theme might otherwise be too subtle to notice. In this case, however, the circles were Ms. Handa’s original suggestion for her theme, the discovery of which may induce a groan.

“Mischievous little devils” are IMPS (12A), which gives us I and M in one set of circles. The same letters appear in RIMS (22A), and again in IMAGE (43A). But here’s the secret: 16-, 29- and 47-Across are part of the theme, too. How? Because they reveal the way in which a certain expression for “Things could not be going better for me!” (64A) serves as a “hint to the placement of the circled letters.”

What do SNAKE EYES (16A), a CLASS ROSTER (29A) and a CINNAMON BUN (47A) have in common? Each one is a different kind of ROLL. And the I’s and M’s sit on top of them. Yes, you’ve guessed it by now: The mystery phrase is I’M ON A ROLL.