Jump to: Tricky Clues | Today’s Theme
SUNDAY PUZZLE — Will Shortz, in his print introduction to this grid, writes: “Emily Sharp, of San Jose, Calif., is an ecologist who does habitat restoration and environmental education. Her partner, Kunal Nabar, is a software engineer in Brooklyn. They met when they lived next door to each other during their freshman year at Vanderbilt. Together, they brainstormed this puzzle’s theme answers during a road trip through Oregon last summer.”
This is Ms. Sharp’s New York Times Crossword debut, and Mr. Nabar’s second construction. Its theme set is beautifully orderly, but the supporting fill is gently loopy, making for an entertaining solve.
Today’s Theme
There are seven “problems” in the theme set today, at 22-, 31-, 51-, 66-, 82-, 99- and 112-Across. I call them problems because of the puzzle’s title, “Word Problems,” and because each theme clue is written as a mathematical equation, with words instead of numbers. Each solves to an expression or term that includes the mathematical symbol from the equation.
The topmost entry is a straightforward example, I think: 22-Across, [Hard / work]. The answer is DIVISION OF LABOR, which is visually represented perfectly by its clue in a way that never occurred to me. Conversely, 31-Across uses multiplication (and is nicely meta, considering where this puzzle is appearing): [New York x paper] solves to PRODUCT OF THE TIMES.
99-Across stymied me for a minute because I forgot what its symbol meant: [∫ workout routine] contains the integral indicator from calculus and solves to INTEGRATED CIRCUIT.
I think my favorite is the final of the “problems,” which involved the simplest of symbols — I give it an A+. 112-Across, [Rocket science + brain surgery], solves to ADDED COMPLEXITY and made me wonder if there was anyone out there with achievements in both of these fields (and if that person is insufferable because of it!).
Tricky Clues
56A. As evidence of my abject domestication, I admit that when I read this clue — [Brush wolves, by another name] — my first thought was a hairbrush. But this is actually a reference to denizens of North and Central American fields, forests and parks: COYOTES.
65A. This is a crossword debut entry, and unfamiliar trivia to me: The [Nashville neighborhood known for its many recording studios] is MUSIC ROW, which includes a studio made from a military Quonset hut where Patsy Cline, Bob Dylan and others recorded tracks.
118A. This dish has never been a crossword clue and was also unfamiliar to me (until I tried it). [Boondi _____ (yogurt dish with fried chickpea flour)] is boondi RAITA; the boondi are crispy little balls of chickpea flour or ground lentils.
61D. Relatedly, this information wasn’t top of mind for me either: [One of the “holy trinity” ingredients in Indian cuisine] is GINGER, which is often combined with onions and garlic.
87D. Unrelatedly, this clue solves to a funny culinary idiom. [Ticked (off)] can be expressed as CHEESED, but nobody really knows why.
Constructor Notes
Kunal: Whenever I hear an everyday phrase that includes a math word, I imagine it written out as a formula. For instance, when someone says “squared away” aloud, I picture the word “away” to the second power. This gave me the initial idea for the puzzle theme. Over the course of a long road trip last summer, Emily and I came up with the rest of the theme entries and the puzzle started to come together.
This is my second Times puzzle. It’s exciting to run a Sunday, especially with a theme that’s so math-oriented. I’m particularly excited about some of the debut words. MUSIC ROW is a shout-out to Nashville, where I lived for four years (and where Emily and I met).
Emily: It was so fun to work with Kunal on this puzzle. I particularly enjoyed coming up with silly clues for the theme entries. My favorite theme clue is [(Pixar movie)^2] (SQUARED UP). This is my first puzzle in The Times, and I’m so thankful to Kunal for the stellar theme idea and constructing expertise!
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