Daniel Trujillo Diaz makes his New York Times Crossword debut.
WEDNESDAY PUZZLE -- Childhood is rife with games of divination. We start trying to predict our futures as soon as we can conceive of them, and we enlist various tools to do so: cootie catchers (origami fortune tellers, by another name); MASH games (which land you in either a Mansion, Apartment, Shack or House); and a certain object at the center of today's crossword, which was constructed by Daniel Trujillo Diaz.
This is Mr. Diaz's New York Times Crossword debut, and it is a delightful one. I'm no psychic, but judging by his successful foray into the medium (yuk, yuk), I expect we'll see more of him soon. Solving the puzzle probably can't tell you what the future holds -- but it's a great way to pass the time until you find out.
Today's Theme
This grid's narrator has one question: "Will Ruby go to prom with me?" He asks it doggedly in the clues at 16-, 32- and 37-Across, and the entries serve as replies. 55A is the [Provider of the answers at 16-, 32- and 37-Across] -- and I think you'll recognize it by the answers it provides.
In response to 16A's ["Will Ruby go to prom with me?"], we get MY SOURCES SAY NO. At 32A, [I repeat: "Will Ruby go to prom with me?"] yields a waffling ASK AGAIN LATER. And at 37A, the reply to [Third time's the charm: "Will Ruby go to prom with me?"] is WITHOUT A DOUBT.
These are all stock phrases of the MAGIC EIGHT BALL (55A). As I mentioned in a column last year, the ball was originally marketed as a paperweight but was rebranded as a fortunetelling device once the inventor noticed how it was being used. I think that most of us learned to play with the MAGIC EIGHT BALL the way this puzzle's protagonist did: by asking it the same question over and over until we got the answer we wanted.
Tricky Clues
- 5A. As a passive verb, [Turns red, say] might refer to someone feeling embarrassment or anger. But this is an active verb about one who turns something red, as in DYES it.
- 49A. Some may be unfamiliar with the term "solfège" (I was, until a couple of years ago), but most people will recognize the musical scale notation to which it refers. A previous form of this word was "sol-fa" -- which you probably recognize as the notes that follow the [Solfège start], DO-RE-MI.
- 62A. Spotting sports references in the Times Crossword is like building calluses on one's fingers by playing guitar: It's a sign you're getting good. The numbers in [A 2-1 record has one] reflect game outcomes -- two wins, one LOSS.
- 5D. Note the second word in [Truth's alternative]. It's not asking for an opposite, which might solve to something like "lies," but an alternative option. The answer is DARE.
- 7D. No demons are involved in the making of a [Demonym suffix]. Demonyms are terms used to identify groups by nationality or living place, many of which end in -ESE.
- 33D. At first glance, the clue and entry seem unrelated. But in the context of live sports -- ahem, see my note above for 62A -- the [Receipts] from ticket sales are referred to, collectively, as the GATE.
Constructor Notes
I've never consulted a MAGIC EIGHT BALL to help me make important decisions, but perhaps in some alternate universe this is how I started dating my wife, Ruby. Every year, I make her a crossword puzzle for our dating anniversary, and this year marks eight wonderful years together; hence the choice of theme. This puzzle was actually my fifth submission to The Times overall -- every previous submission was met with an ASK AGAIN LATER. As it turns out, sometimes you just have to shake things up and try, try, try again to get a different result.
To Ruby: Love you lots and lots! And hopefully next time I can get the difficulty just right to have the puzzle published on the actual date of our anniversary.