THURSDAY PUZZLE -- Do you have any pet peeves?
Of course you do. What a silly question, Deb. Like any other human being, I am riddled with peeves, but there is only one on which I would bestow the title "pet." I won't tell you what it is until the theme section, however, because as Dr. River Song of "Doctor Who" is fond of saying, "Spoilers, sweetie."
Today's puzzle by Adam Wagner highlights that pet peeve, but I will forgive him for that, because he has made such a fascinating puzzle. It's perfect for those who want to stretch their Thursday crossword-solving skills.
Today's Theme
And the answer to the question "What, exactly, is Deb's pet peeve?": People not using their directional signals when driving. If this sounds like you, please take a moment to rethink your life choices and commit to letting the drivers around you know in which lane you are planning to cut them off. Thank you.
I bring this up because Mr. Wagner’s theme includes alternating left and right directional signals. There is a post-solve screen that demonstrates this idea visually, so please look back at your puzzle after you finish it. Isn’t that cool? It makes the art directors so happy when we notice their work.
Back to the theme: There are two circled squares in each of the four Across theme entries. The letter L belongs in each left-hand circle, and the letter R belongs in each of the right ones. There are more theme entries in the Downs, but let’s focus on the Acrosses for now.
There are two clues for each of the theme entries, and they are separated by a slash. At 16A, for example, the clue is [Played a bar game?/(Yawn)]. The answer, as we need to write it, is -- and don’t feel bad if you need to use most of the crossings to figure it out -- (L)IMBO(R)ED.
For the first part of the clue, include the L on the left and ignore the R. This gives us LIMBOED, which makes much more sense. Ignore the L but include the R, and we have the answer to the second part of the clue: I’M BORED.
Somehow, Mr. Wagner also makes this work in the crossing Down entries. The L at 16A crosses 1D, and 1D’s set of clues is [Southwestern neckwear/Baby’s footwear]. When the L is included, the answer is BOLO TIES, and when we ignore the L, the answer is BOOTIES.
There is a revealer at 60A. The clue is [Directional signals that flash on and off, as suggested by the circles in this puzzle], and the answer is BLINKERS.
Tricky Clues
There is a lot of theme material in Mr. Wagner’s puzzle, and I feel the editors went easy on the clues to give us a way to fill in crossings to help solve the theme. Nonetheless, here are some clues that stood out to me.
- 30A. One's EGO [might be bruised in a fall].
- 38A. Someone who is DESI is of Sri Lankan, Pakistani, Nepalese, Bangladeshi or Indian descent and a [Member of the South Asian diaspora].
- 62A. My first thought about the answer to [Features of many war hero statues] was "pigeon poo," but I grew up in New York City, so perhaps that's just me. The real answer is STEEDS.
- 43D. [Them's fighting words!] is a clue in search of a synonym phrase. If you are fencing, you would say EN GARDE.
Constructor Notes
Is 2025 the year of the slashed-double-clue late-week theme? This is the fifth puzzle of the genre so far, and the second in two weeks! OK, fine. Yes, three of those five themes have been my own puzzles, so this may just be a case of me trying to make 'fetch' happen. But still interesting!
This one came up in the same text chat that led to this puzzle. It's a similar concept, but I thought these finds were cool, and the 'blinking' down crossing component made it different enough. Shout-out to Rebecca Goldstein for her blessing for me to pursue this one on my own.
I had a playwriting professor in college who said that in every play you write, you should always include one element that's impossible to stage. That way, everyone involved is forced to be creative in bringing the play to life instead of operating by rote.
I submit a lot of puzzles with elements that are impossible to print -- in this case, animated clues where the left and right halves become bolded in an alternating, blinker-esque pattern. Similarly, I wanted the circled squares in the grid to flash back and forth, left to right, while you were solving. The puzzle editors put the kibosh on those ideas this time (though I hear there may be a post-solve overlay), but it won't stop me from continuing to try to push the boundaries of the medium in the future.
More puzzles soon -- of the non-slashed-double-clue variety!