Jake Bunch opens our solving weekend.
Jump to: Tricky Clues
FRIDAY PUZZLE — Jake Bunch, the constructor of today’s puzzle, made his New York Times debut in March. In his second offering, he tries to pack as many unattached black squares as possible into the grid, which is an interesting setup for a themeless crossword.
That may cut off some opportunities for the extra-long entries that themeless grids are known for, but I still found Mr. Bunch’s puzzle satisfying and a pleasure to solve.
Tricky Clues
13A. The “root” in [Root words?] could mean the root of a plant or word, but in this case it means to cheer on a player or a team. These encouraging words are GO TEAM GO.
14A. [Well-insulated homes] are IGLOOS, which are made of compressed snow. The snow is roughly 95 percent trapped air, making it a good insulator that traps the warm air from your body inside such structures. Off-topic comment: Hand up if you think the plural of IGLOO should be “igli” or “iglae.”
22A. The answer to [What comes between dusk and dawn?] is TIL because the clue refers to the phrase “from dusk TIL dawn.”
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Source: Elections - nytimes.com