NYT Crossword Answers for Sept. 9, 2024

Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues

MONDAY PUZZLE — Last week was the beginning of the academic year for many. The months of learning ahead are neatly planned out. But where does that leave those us of who don’t go to school? What lessons can we expect to learn, aside from how to cope with fewer hours of daylight (a Himalayan salt lamp, I’ve heard)?

My suggestion is to bring a bit of scholarly rigor to your daily Crossword habit. If you haven’t made it past the Wednesday puzzles yet, push yourself to try the Thursday and Friday ones through the end of 2024. If you have Monday solving down pat, test your personal best with time limits or speed runs. And if you’re just starting the New York Times Crossword, welcome! Monday puzzles are the place to begin, and today’s grid, by Tim D’Alfonso, can be a lovely introduction.

Remember that these courses of action are neither graded nor pop-quizzed by anyone but you. Our columnists and puzzle editors hold de facto office hours in Wordplay and in the Easy Mode newsletter in case you have questions — and you can always ask your fellow classmates in the comments section for help.

Today’s Theme

Gray is the default color choice for highlighting specific themed squares in our crosswords, since it’s friendly to black-and-white print. Today, that choice happens to be essential to the theme: To [Make a subtle insult] (63A) is to THROW SHADE. If you look at the shaded areas in Mr. D’Alfonso’s grid, you’ll see that they contain synonyms for THROW.

A [Beach project that rarely survives high tide] (18A) is a SANDCASTLE, the [Sandwich specialty of Maine] (56A) is a LOBSTER ROLL and so on. If the idiom for a [State of total happiness] (39A) is HOG HEAVEN, though, why aren’t we saying “All hogs go to heaven”? And while I accept that a [Numbskull] (23A) is a CHUCKLEHEAD, what’s the difference between that and a knucklehead? I welcome your insights, theories and observations on these matters.