WEDNESDAY PUZZLE — It seems only fair that, after years of mandatory schooling as kids, we should be allowed to avoid any further education as adults. I’ve done all the required reading. I’ve memorized facts, taken exams and amassed stores of fundamental knowledge across subjects. Sure, a lot of that knowledge has been pushed out to make space for recipes, celebrity gossip and the ability to quote “The Simpsons,” but you understand my point. As adults, we should get to enjoy our hard-earned hooky. School’s out, forever!
That’s not quite so today, solvers. And it is only because Rebecca Goldstein is such a familiar face of the New York Times Crossword, and because I have enjoyed so many of her puzzles, that I vouch for the delight of this grid, where class is back in session.
Today’s Theme
The theme is without a revealer, which probably means that it’s easy to figure out. Each themed clue features a high school class and a letter grade. Are we the students? Again, I was told I wouldn’t have to go back to school. But I’ll play along.
At 17A, we have [Driver’s Ed: B]. The solution is PARKING FINE, which isn’t a penalty but an assessment of someone’s driving skills (imagine a colon between the two words). “Fine” is equivalent to a B. In [Gym: B+], at 28A, the answer is MOVING AVERAGE. This term was unfamiliar to me, but seems essentially to mean “average over time.” Statisticians, sound off in the comments.
This theme is especially fun to discover, so have at the remaining clues, at 42A and 56A, at your leisure.
Tricky Clues
1A. I grew up with different expressions for a [Teacher’s pet, say, in slang] other than KISS-UP, but this one is more suitable for a crossword.
15A. The trick with a clue that ends in a question mark is to read past whatever term or figure of speech is in there. [Driving range?] seems to refer to a golf course, so that’s almost definitely not the answer. Instead, it’s describing a physical area within which driving occurs: a LANE.
19A. [Alt tab?] isn’t a keyboard command. It’s shorthand for a tab that’s used to reach altered states (or one associated with “alt” lifestyles, maybe): LSD.
26A. It’s usually easier to solve a clue when you’ve filled in a few letters, but not always. For [Tender bend-er], I stared at my B _ MK _ _ _ in utter bafflement for longer than I’d like to admit. The solution describes a BUM KNEE.
11D. [First and last, say] seems as though it’s using two examples to indicate a larger category, but that’s a sly misdirect. The answer combines first and last, to make up one’s FULL NAME.
49D. It was only by playing Spelling Bee that I learned the word LICIT, meaning [Allowed]. I imagined that “illicit,” meaning disallowed, was one of those unpaired words like “disgruntled.” (Some argue in favor of “chalant,” “gruntled” and the like.)
Constructor Notes
We’re back with another episode of “One day I will make a puzzle without the help of Adam Wagner, but today is not that day.”
The spark for this theme was the reinterpretation of “science fair” as a report card comment, clued as [Chemistry: C]. PARKING FINE and BUILDING SUPER came quickly, and then I bounced other potential theme entries — like “talking trash,” clued as [Debate: F] — off Adam for about 10 days. He talked me out of trying to cram in five theme entries, and offered the excellent “rock solid” [Music: B], which, along with the initial idea, didn’t make the final set.
My favorite clues that survived the edit are at 19A and 26A.
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