Listen carefully to Wyna Liu’s Sunday puzzle — there’s a secret message.
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SUNDAY PUZZLE — Wyna Liu has been an associate puzzles editor for The Times since 2020, helping edit and select clues. What she loves most about her job, according to the print introduction to this puzzle, is “talking puzzles with other people who love them.” Wyna also makes jewelry and magnetic objects, teaches yoga and “spoils her dog.”
This is Wyna’s sixth Times crossword but only her second Sunday grid; it feels like a triple shot because of its extra layers and flourishes, which reward close attention. Just filling in the last square is satisfying, but I hope solvers listen to that little whisper in the breeze that says, “Wait, there’s more!”
Tricky Clues
56A. Did anyone fixate on Vatican City and wonder what was afoot in this clue? The “‘Holy’ city” in question here is TOLEDO.
61A. This was city-centric trivia that went over my head until I had filled in the entry on crosses and parsed it correctly — much to my embarrassment, as I live a stone’s throw from Astoria, Queens! “‘The landlords of New York,’ once” refers to the ASTORS, the family that owned a “vast portion” of New York by the middle of the 19th century.
116A. I think I’ve seen this in my neighborhood a few times recently. The “Iconic 1984 movie vehicle that was a combination ambulance/hearse” is known as the ECTOMOBILE because it runs on recycled ectoplasm from successful ghostbusting, if I remember right.
59D. This is a term for a common lower-carb alternative to a bagel or a bun. It is also a puzzle debut. A “Burrito-shaped lunch counter item” is a DELI WRAP.
71D. A “Path covered with diamonds” refers to something uncommon on New York City streets: a CAR POOL LANE. I needed a lot of crossing letters for this one. (Can the ECTOMOBILE use the CAR POOL LANE if it’s fueled by multiple spirits?)
Today’s Theme
The title of this puzzle — “Do You Hear That?” — is a wonderful cue for today’s theme and works its magic twice. If you’ve delved into the cryptic world or played with puns and homophones, it probably pricked up your ears, as “hear” is a common indication for an entry that will make use of sound-alike words and phrases.
There are 10 clues in the theme set that fit the bill, each italicized, at 26-, 28-, 44-, 46-, 66- 70-, 90-, 93-, 107- and 110-Across. They are all presented as equations, and I certainly couldn’t make much sense of them at first. It took some crossing letters to get going, at which point I appreciated at least part of this gorgeous presentation.
I was lucky to have filled in a section around the middle of the east side of the grid, where 70- and 93-Across fall. 70-Across is “Punching tool + Chopping tool + __,” and I had a handful of letters in place: A _ L A C C E _ _. After so many crosswords, my mind recognized two ubiquitous three-letter filler words: “Punching tool” as an “awl” and “Chopping tool” as an “ax.” Although the letters in the grid didn’t jibe, I took a stab at ALL ACCESS: “awl” + “ax” + “ess,” or the letter S, spoken aloud.
Now to 93-Across, “Word of obligation + __ + Punxsutawney name.” I knew the last bit, at least (and it’s less than a month until the groundhog Phil appears). I also had a few letters to work with in this entry: A _ T O F I L _ . I was able to deduce AUTOFILL, which strikes me as wry; the homophonic equation is “ought” + O + “Phil.”
After realizing that I really just needed to sound out each clue, the entries came fast and furious. I always find it delightful how a clue that looks completely indecipherable at first yields easily after its code is cracked. I was boggled, frankly, by my first read of 26-Across: “Presses CTRL+P + __ + Easter egg coloring.” However, “prints” + __ + “dye” is a nickname that sprang to mind instantly. I started off on the wrong foot at 107-Across, “Rug rat + magic stick + __,” thinking of a “brat” for a “Rug rat.” I needed to tune my inner ear to actual homophones, like “tyke,” to start off this martial art entry.
Don’t get sidetracked by looking for definitions of the actual entries (ALL ACCESS, AUTOFILL and so on). They’re merely vessels for their homophonic ingredients. Do, however, keep track of the part of the recipe that you need to come up with to complete each entry (S and O). If you look at those letters in order, they spell a hidden phrase that’s perfect commentary for the theme.
Constructor Notes
Ever since I discovered the joy of puzzle hunts and meta-puzzles, I’ve wanted to make a crossword whose theme entries were connected by an additional layer. Today’s theme was inspired by a couple of visual wordplay puzzles I saw in an old Games magazine compilation, and it originally included the use of pictures.
The working title for this puzzle was “Over Here!” The criteria I settled on for the theme entries were that they were each three syllables long and that every segment in a theme clue would have a different spelling than its corresponding part in the answer.
Some early theme entries I considered but couldn’t use for one reason or another were “Place for rouge + ___ + Pre-euro German money,” “Deadly offense + ___ + Piece of legislation + Happy cat’s sound,” “___ + Vietnamese noodle soup + Midler’s “Divine” persona” and “Martial arts legend Jackie + ___ + Knight’s title + Christmas tree.” Thanks to Joel for workshopping themers with me!
My favorite clues are for 59-Across and 83-/95-Down; the latter clue combo is a nod to my mother, who loves Disneyland. (生日快樂媽媽! Happy birthday, Mom!)
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"hear" - Google News
January 08, 2023 at 06:00AM
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Do You Hear That? - The New York Times
"hear" - Google News
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