Patrick Gramza and John Kugelman make their collaboration debut.
Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues
MONDAY PUZZLE — The Wordplay column exists chiefly to serve the solver community, and as one of its authors I try my best to remain magnanimous. But I do have a selfish streak, and it comes out whenever I am fixated on a word or phrase in the puzzle. Today’s crossword, for instance — constructed by Patrick Gramza and John Kugelman — plays on a once-popular expression that seems to have faded from use; I had to will myself not to make a personal research project of its disappearance.
I know that not everybody cares to hear the back story of a single idiom, but I can’t help telling it anyway. And if I get carried away waxing about the etymology of an entry, it’s only because I believe that half the thrill of doing a crossword is discovering new words, or revisiting old ones with fresh eyes. Shall we take a look at this one together?
Today’s Theme
If I ask you to name a [Trio of average guys] (62A), who comes to mind? Larry, Curly and Moe? The Three Amigos? Neither of these would be wrong, necessarily, but today’s puzzle seeks a figurative group — TOM, DICK AND HARRY. These men, according to the revealer, can be found “at the ends of 16-, 25- and 48-Across.”
Each of today’s themed entries ends in the last name of a famous Tom, Dick or Harry. At 16A, the [Island-hopping vacation that might start and end in Miami] is a CARIBBEAN CRUISE, alluding to one Tom Cruise. 25A’s [Huffer and puffer in a classic fairy tale] is the BIG BAD WOLF, which this longtime “Law and Order” fan recognized right away as a reference to Dick Wolf. (I even own a baseball cap modeled after the series’s iconic title card.) We’ve got just one name left for [Raps off the cuff] at 48A: A notable Harry can be found at the end of FREESTYLES.
Tricky Clues
20A. I have always found it strange that Michelob ULTRA is the name of a [light beer]. Shouldn’t a word like ULTRA refer to a stronger drink? Something described as ultrarare, for example, would be rarer than rare. Could the misleading name be evidence of some shadowy Miche-lobby?
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Source: Elections - nytimes.com
