MONDAY PUZZLE — Zhouqin Burnikel has a talent for spinning figures of speech into lighthearted crossword themes. I particularly enjoyed a Monday puzzle of hers from last year whose central phrase, “I’ve got you covered,” referred to coverings in the animal kingdom — i.e., shells, feathers, scales and hair. Today’s puzzle is of that ilk: one phrase, twisted, with several examples of that twist.
If you’re just starting out with the New York Times Crossword, welcome! You’ve come to the right day of the week. We always recommend that new solvers start with Mondays, because they tend to be beginner-friendly and to have accessible themes. You can always read the Wordplay column for tips and explanations about clues or entries you don’t understand and get extra help from your fellow solvers in the comments section. Eventually, you’ll do the same with Tuesdays. And so on.
Today’s Theme
The revealer clue in a crossword puzzle is the one that cracks the theme. You can generally tell where that clue is by its length and structure, because it tends to be the longest of the set, and because it will refer, in some way, to the puzzle itself. Here’s the revealer in today’s puzzle, at 58-Across: [Positioned precariously … or where the ends of 16-, 24-, 35- and 49-Across can all be found].
Don’t worry about the second half of a revealer clue until you’ve solved the phrase it seems to be hinting at — which, in this case, is OUT ON A LIMB. Now, use it to make sense of the cited entries.
The [Electric vehicle from Japan] at 16A is the NISSAN LEAF (news to me), and you might describe the [Total mess] at 24A as a MARE’S NEST. Those who expected this clue to solve to “rat’s nest” — not that it fits, mind you — may have cause: The etymologist Michael Quinion suspects that the original meaning of “mare’s nest,” which was more like “an unbelievable situation,” took its modern sense in part from the phrase “rat’s nest.”
At 35A, an [Unpredictable emotional shift] is a MOOD SWING, and the [Celtics legend nicknamed “The Hick from French Lick”] at 49A is LARRY BIRD.
The ends of these entries, as the revealer suggests, are all things you might find out on a tree limb: leaf, nest, swing (hanging from the limb) and bird.
Tricky Clues
18A/34A. As with many ancient gods, the [God with a bow and arrow] goes by one name in Greek mythology and another in the Roman tradition. Cupid is also known as EROS. In [Mercury, Venus or Mars], by contrast, each names a Roman DEITY. Their Greek equivalents are Hermes, Aphrodite and Ares.
27A. The first word of [Contents of a sleeve] is deceptive, because it’s generally used to refer to things in plural — but since these are the contents of just “a” sleeve, the answer is the singular ARM.
2D. “It” clues, as I refer to them, use figures of speech as a form of misdirection. [It isn’t working] seems like a comment about dead batteries or a faulty appliance. In fact, the “it” describes a state of not working, which in this case is LEISURE.
8D. Many a solve of mine has been undone by [“Clemency” actress Woodard], because I keep expecting to see a “D” at the end of ALFRE. Blame the fame of Hitchcock!
46D. Normally, a “timepiece” is a watch, but this [Time piece?] is two words. Moreover, the clue ends in a question mark, which suggests a witty twist. “Piece” refers to a unit of time, as in a MINUTE.
Improve Your Crossword Solving
Work your way through our guide “How to Solve the New York Times Crossword.” It contains an explanation of most of the types of clues you will see in the puzzles and a practice Mini at the end of each section.
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