Spencer Leach opens our solving weekend.
Jump to: Tricky Clues
FRIDAY PUZZLE — One of the things that really floats my boat when it comes to solving crosswords is the discovery of entries that are making their debuts in the New York Times Crossword. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen certain entries over and over again, so when something new and exciting comes along it catches my attention.
Sometimes I try to guess which entries are debuts and, not to brag or anything, I am usually wrong. I chalk that up to the fact that I write only two columns a week now, so I don’t see all the entries anymore. But I was surprised that 13A, for example, was not a debut. (I look these things up on xwordinfo.com.) The entry has appeared only once before, in this puzzle from April, and in the same position, oddly enough. But just the presence of the entry and its rarity was enough to tell me that I was in for a fun solve.
Today’s puzzle, constructed by Spencer Leach, is full of lively entries, seven of which are debuts. His puzzle put a smile on my face — a lovely distraction in an uncertain time.
What are your thoughts on debut entries? Do you ever wonder whether a word or phrase is new to the Crossword or marvel at how fresh the grid feels?
Tricky Clues
16A. The [Small scale business?] in today’s puzzle is a DELI, where things are measured on a countertop scale.
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Source: Elections - nytimes.com
