Ilana Levene and Scott Hogan are here to make friends.
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WEDNESDAY PUZZLE — During a recent cleaning-out of my inbox, I noticed that I tend to address groups of friends via email almost exclusively as “pals.” I wonder now whether that seems unusual to those reading. Should I be rotating in words like “gang,” “team” or “folks”? What other options are out there, really?
Today’s crossword, constructed by Ilana Levene and Scott Hogan, has a few creative ideas. This is the first collaboration between Ms. Levene and Mr. Hogan for the New York Times Crossword, as well as Ms. Levene’s debut. Constructing a puzzle with another person is no small undertaking, so I certainly hope they became pals — or friends, or buddies, or chums — in the process.
Today’s Theme
In her constructor notes, Ms. Levene says that this theme makes her laugh to think about. That makes two of us — it’s goofy, but I’m grinning.
Each of today’s themed entries is a common term or name, with a witty alternative interpretation suggested by the clue. [“Smile for the photo, dude!”] is CHEESE, DOG (17A). I would have preferred “dawg” for elegance, but I’ll accept this spelling for the pun. [“Work on your enunciation, bro!”] can be expressed as DELIVERY, MAN (24A). My favorite is at 33A: [“That is messed up, girl!”] means TWISTED, SISTER.
The pattern, in case you missed it, involves terms of address: dog, man, sister, buster and honey. Also, I couldn’t have told you what a cheese dog was without my colleague’s assistance. But after looking at a picture of one, I wish I’d stayed in the dark.
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Source: Elections - nytimes.com
