Killian Olson makes his Crossword debut.
Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues
TUESDAY PUZZLE — Many readers of this column know that I spent several years as a competitive punner. I would go onstage at various local or national tournaments and come up with wisecracks for spontaneously announced categories such as “finger foods” or “headwear” — beret-ve of me, I know.
I now prefer to be in the peanut gallery, with a Statler and Waldorf-style vantage point of the action (and license to shout my opinions at it). I can say with confidence that the punchline of today’s crossword, constructed by Killian Olson, would have made him a strong contender for championships. Congratulations to Mr. Olson on his wonderfully witty debut; I look forward to enjoying more of his puns in puzzles to come.
Today’s Theme
Once you’ve solved 16-, 22-, 35- and 46-Across, the shaded squares in the grid should read FORD, TESLA, HONDA and GMC.
The function of these car brands vis-à-vis their shaded backgrounds becomes apparent at 58-Across, where a word that means [Completed without manual, input as an online form] doubles as a description of the shaded squares — they’re AUTO-FILLED.
As cute car puns go, that’s satisfying as anything. And if you didn’t like it, one might say you took the cynic route. Eh? I’ll show myself out.
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
