Double Duty – The New York Times
Jump to: Tricky Clues | Today’s Theme
SUNDAY PUZZLE — In his print introduction to this grid, Joel Fagliano writes: “Tracy Gray lives in Hunt Valley, Md. She and her husband recently retired after 35 years of owning and operating a lawn-and-landscaping business outside Baltimore. This puzzle started with its title, which Tracy then brainstormed themes to fit — the crossword equivalent of putting the cart before the horse.”
This is a graceful Sunday grid that’s fun and fast-paced. It’s perfect for groups or for crossword mentors and their mentees. I’m knocked out by how Ms. Gray could reverse-engineer the trick from the title.
Today’s Theme
There are six entries in this theme set, at 23-, 39-, 63-, 74-, 100- and 118-Across. They’re presented with normal-looking clues, and there’s also a rebus. The theme entries are all clean and accessible: a little nostalgic pop culture and some well-known expressions.
I happened to pick up on 39-Across early in my solve: The “Group with the 2009 hit ‘I Gotta Feeling’” is the Black Eyed Peas, no doubt about it whatsoever. I was so sure that I started entering the solution, ran out of spaces at the very end and thus revealed the puzzle’s trick. There’s a homophone in the house: Think multiple P’s instead of Peas. How many P’s? This is when the title of the puzzle, “Double Duty,” comes into play; so does the down entry that crosses 39-Across’s final letter. That entry — 16D, “Variety of tiny dog” — solves to TEACUP POODLE. We are again one square short, so the crossing square contains PP (two P’s in a pod, I thought).
Once you understand that you must look for words that sound like pluralized single letters, the theme entries begin to emerge. At 100-Across, “Take advantage of an opportunity” solves to SEIZE THE MOMENT, or more accurately, (CC) THE MOMENT. My favorite is at 63-Across: “Fitness enthusiast’s mantra.” The answer is (UU) IT OR LOSE IT.
Tricky Clues
25A. I thought of frustratingly frozen devices and decided that “Give a kick, say” would be “reboot.” Instead, we’re in the kitchen, faced with a bland dish that might jump to life if we SEASON it.
35A. This word for a “Backless stool” returns to the crossword puzzle for the first time since 1952, although it appears now and then with a more common spelling. It’s a TABOURET, a little stand that was quite popular in 17th-century France. Also known as a “taboret,” it comes from the French for “drum.”
43A. An “Apple variety whose name sounds like part of a flower” sounds ripe for a cryptic puzzle; the entry is STAYMAN, a homophone of “stamen.” It’s a glossy red apple with a flavor that carries the “ghost of vanilla,” apparently.
80A. “POTUS’s military title,” commander in chief, is written CINC in this puzzle. I had never heard or seen this abbreviation before — it struck me as a little wink to the theme, perhaps, but maybe I’m just too far from the Beltway (or the military.)
3D. This is a debut entry and a pretty specific bit of equipment. The “Angle-measuring instrument” in the clue is a SINE BAR.
60D. Did I read right over the clever letter change in this clue — “It owns the trademark for ‘The Greatest Snow on Earth’”? You bet. It’s neither “Barnum” nor “Bailey”; the answer is UTAH, where the slogan is ubiquitous and even appears on license plates.
88A. A “Bad spot to leave food unattended” is a CAMPSITE, where critters are just waiting for you to leave so they can grab a bite. I’ll keep my snacks safe in the fridge.
Constructor Notes
The title and inspiration for this puzzle came from a phrase I saw emblazoned on a certain brand of cat litter in the grocery store. There’s got to be a theme in that phrase, my constructor’s brain screamed out, as I quickly typed the words into the notes app on my phone before I forgot them. Shortly thereafter, I looked up the definition of “DOUBLE DUTY,” which said “designed to fill two functions,” and a concept started to emerge: Double letters in the across theme entries would take on the homophonic sound of pluralized double letters (EE for “ease,” UU for “use,” etc.) and some double letters in the down theme entries would function as single letters spanning two words. This idea further led me to my favorite genre of puzzle construction: the rebus!
With 114 squares devoted to theme letters, I was concerned that I would end up with too many three-, four- and five-letter words, but I was able to keep the total down below my personal goal of 90 for a Sunday. I was also happy that I could introduce some debut answer words and phrases to the XWord Info database.
Among the theme entries that ended up on the cutting room floor, “PENNY (YY) AND POUND FOOLISH” had too many other double letter combinations, as well as an extra “Y” directly next to the “YY” rebus, which could have been confusing. And two more: “THAT’S THE (BB) KNEES” and “UU THE FORCE, LUKE.”
I had fun constructing this puzzle and I hope you enjoyed solving it!
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