Lindsay Rosenblum’s Crossword debut is a hit.
Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky Clues
TUESDAY PUZZLE — You might expect a New York Times Crossword debut to be more simple and less thrilling than one constructed by a longtime puzzler, in the same way that a black-diamond-level ski run offers definitively more excitement than a bunny hill. But we only use the term “debut” to indicate the first time a given constructor is featured in The Times. It is by no means indicative of how much you can hope to enjoy the puzzle itself. If anything, a debut means you’re more likely to see something you’ve never seen before.
Today’s crossword is Lindsay Rosenblum’s debut, and I found it to be exceptionally lively. Her theme is subtle, but smart. The grid contains one or two debut Crossword entries, too, and an Easter egg entry that may help you uncover the theme. In short, Ms. Rosenblum has set a high bar for herself with this puzzle. I can’t wait to see her vault over it with her next one.
Today’s Theme
Whether it’s Tinder, Bumble or the [Match.com alternative], OKCUPID (1D), there’s no shortage of ways to find love online. But how does one [Show interest on a dating app]? The answer to this clue, at 60-Across, is key to discovering what connects the themed entries 16-, 25-, 36 and 51-Across. More specifically, as our revealer suggests, it will tell us what these Across entries [must do to be successful]. The answer is SWIPE RIGHT.
Each of today’s themed entries must, in a different sense, SWIPE RIGHT (as in correctly). Your CREDIT CARD (16A) must swipe properly through a payment machine. A PICKPOCKET (25A) has to swipe valuables without being detected. An INSULT COMIC (36A) must take effective verbal swipes at a roast’s honoree. And you’ll see many a swipe dealt by an M.M.A. FIGHTER (51A), who, incidentally, participates in a different kind of “match” than the one alluded to by the revealer.
Tricky Clues
1A. I half-jokingly wondered whether [No longer taking, as a medication] might solve to “Cured!” but relented once crossings proved that it didn’t. The correct answer is OFF OF, though to my mind, simply saying “off” is just as common. Perhaps other constructors agree with me, since OFF OF has appeared in the Crossword only once before — in 1966.
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Source: Elections - nytimes.com
