SATURDAY PUZZLE – This is Ryan McCarty’s 21st Saturday lineup for The New York Times. In my opinion he’s one of our weekend regulars and a dependable constructor of the right kind of themed training. There’s a handful of tough debuts, great trivia, and misdirections. There’s plenty of detail, too, like the duel with Romance languages in the south-west corner and thundering herds near the center of the grid – little inside jokes that make me feel like I’m smart enough to notice (as if it were wouldn’t be able to find out every entry at all). cerebral enough). Each of us may notice something different – I see at least four other echoes and coincidences – and they are all signs of the fine art of puzzle-making.
Tricky hints
14A This ‘Squid Game’ actress, HOYEON Jung, makes her Times Crossword debut. I ticked every letter of her name, but I was initially wrong about 9D, because “word said in passing?” I think has two logical answers. I’ve opted for “ave,” which admittedly is usually referred to as “ancient salute” or “salute in ancient Rome,” instead of AYE, a vote used when passing a bill. Just me?
23A. This is a misdirection. “In a way, it doesn’t work” leads to ON STRIKE. I had the far more benign “pause” for a long time, until a critical mass of crossing letters put me on the right path.
36A. This debut is a longer version of a colloquial entry that pops up every now and then. “‘Don’t make me laugh!'” dissolves into OH PUHLEASE, a sentence I can’t say to myself without reflexively rolling my eyes a little.
41A. It’s been more than six decades since this entry appeared in a daily riddle. “,See you soon!’ in France” resolves to a phrase you’re learning in French 101, which can also feel like distant past (if you even learned it in school): À BIENTÔT. A polite response in France might be “Très bien!” – but that mystery shifts to Spain for 42D, which is cruising here. “‘Qué _____’ (‘Excellent’ in Spanish)” is BUENO.
6D Sometimes a little bit of stuffing is worth mentioning. Note that “string accompaniment for a hula” has no relation to music or instruments. This is not an “uke”; it is a garland of flowers, a LEI.
14D “Horses, collective” breaks down the old, unromantic term HORSES, which reminds me that farm animals serve many purposes. HORSEFLESH transcends 39A, “Informal Talks” which I first thought might be “unofficial” but are actually BULL SESSIONS. (Is the BULL in BULL SESSIONS a shortened profanity? Another meaning for BULL, ‘appearance’ or ‘fake’, dates back to the 16th century, and I’ve always considered BULL SESSIONS to be gossip or idle chatter, not just informal. )
30D Maybe all those big animals reminded me to head west when I read that clue. Knowing that 57-Across were BOOTS, I figured the “piece of entertainment that 57-Across is worn to” would be a “line dance” stuffed with spurs and stacked heels. Instead, the boots are sky high and fit for a GO-GO DANCE.
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