NYT Crossword Answers for Aug. 7, 2024

Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues

WEDNESDAY PUZZLE — Forgive me if I’ve shared this poem before. I have a large and colorful carousel of interests and references, I swear, but the horses come around again at some point. In any case: A little over a century ago, a Dutch writer who went by the pseudonym Charivarius laid out his gripes about the irregularities of English pronunciation in a poem, which he titled “The Chaos.” His verses demonstrated hundreds of inconsistencies, using eye rhymes like the following:

Wholly, holly, signal, signing,
Same, examining, but mining,
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war and far.

Meghan Morris engages with the same idea in today’s crossword — but she lets us discover the chaos for ourselves.

Today’s Theme

Several themed clues in today’s grid are nested, meaning that they rely on your having solved one or more previous clues. Don’t panic! You can find your way in by solving a few gimmes. For example, here’s a clue I solved right away: [It gets baked] (21A) — DOUGH. This entry helped me tackle two themed clues.

• 29-Down is a [Rhyme of DOUGH, but not a homophone of 43-Across]. And 43A’s [By way of] solves — with the help of crossings, for me — to THROUGH. What rhymes with DOUGH but isn’t a homophone of THROUGH? The answer is THROW.

• 8-Across is a [Rhyme of 46-Across, but not a homophone of DOUGH]. 46A’s [Attention-getting sound] is a COUGH. What rhymes with COUGH and isn’t a homophone of DOUGH? The answer is DOFF.

(And, in case it’s not clear, the word THROUGH doesn’t have a homophone, nor do the other words clued this way. That aspect of the clue is intended to hint at the answer, because THROW would be a homophone of THROUGH if both -OUGH words were pronounced with that long O.)

Give it a try. You’ll be saying OHH — or your [Exclamation of understanding] (36A) of choice — in no time.

Tricky Clues

12A. In a puzzle in the middle of the week, you’re less likely to see a question mark at the end of a clue like [Key that might be part of a chain], even though there’s misdirection involved. An ISLE is also called a key, and it can be connected to other ISLEs in a chain (often called an archipelago).

25A. In the category of words I don’t think I’ll ever need: ASSAY, which means to [Evaluate for purity], as with gold or chemicals. When will I next be conducting such an evaluation? I can’t ASSAY.