In his New York Times debut, Greg Snitkin has finally made it.
Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues
WEDNESDAY PUZZLE — Today, Feb. 28, would normally be the end of the month. But since 2024 is a leap year, we have the luxury — or the misfortune, depending on your opinions about February — of one extra day before March hits. What are we going to do with ourselves?
Since you don’t have to worry about the first of the month just yet, kick your feet up and try your hand at solving today’s crossword, constructed by Greg Snitkin in his New York Times debut. Unlike the month in which we currently find ourselves, it requires no great leaps to understand.
Today’s Theme
The thing that ties today’s themed entries together might be described, per the revealer at 53-Across, as “The main takeaway.” But what could that takeaway — which also must be “considered in three different senses” — be?
Our big hint, I think, comes at 33-Across. “Someone terrorizing kids in a 1986 Stephen King novel” is somewhat generically described as a SCARY CLOWN, but most of us know this monster as “It” (or as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, but that name hardly fits into a standard grid). Once we learn about the HOKEY POKEY (41A) — the “Participation dance in which you ‘turn yourself around’” — we can deduce the revealer and its meaning. That’s WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT (53A), indeed.
These are lyrics from the HOKEY POKEY, but can also be applied to 33-Across — SCARY CLOWN summarizes the plot of Stephen King’s “It.” And above that, COMPUTER SYSTEMS (20A) are what I.T., short for information technology, is all about.
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Source: Elections - nytimes.com
