Alex Murphy makes his New York Times Crossword debut. Here are your smelling salts.
Jump to: Tricky Clues
FRIDAY PUZZLE — Every once in a while, I get mail from solvers whose main question, when you get right down to it, is “Really?”
That query covers a lot of topics, but I know what these readers are actually asking. They’re asking, “Is … is that something you can say in The New York Times?”
The answer is yes, more or less. The Times may be known as the Gray Lady, but the puzzle editors really don’t mind including certain entries of a sexual nature. Sex is a part of life, the topic has been covered in The Times quite a bit and as long as no one violates newsroom standards, everything is hunky dory. Many of us, for example, survived the great EDIBLE UNDERWEAR scare of 2011 with our dignity intact and our pearls unclutched. And the clue, [Tasteful bedclothes?], was brilliant, which I believe more than made up for the shock factor.
Today’s puzzle is Alex Murphy’s debut in The Times, and it’s a good one. There are two areas — in the northeast (the juxtaposition of 18A to 12D) and in the southwest (the entry and a clue that could be used as a 31A in misdirection) — that might cause a raised eyebrow or two. But I think we’ll be OK.
Tricky Clues
35A. The answer to a question like [Head cold?] is: “Yes it is. I am suffering from BRAIN FREEZE as we speak.”
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
