Any Verse or Piece of Poetry Crossword Clue
wordplay, the crossword column
Frost Bit
Matt Fuchs returns with an accursed puzzle.
THURSDAY PUZZLE — There are a lot of misconceptions about The New York Times — better known to some by the sobriquet "The Gray Lady" — and chief among them is that anything even remotely salacious is unceremoniously quashed by a team of white-shoed editors in an ivory tower.
Anyone who has spent any time in a newsroom knows that journalists and editors love to have a good time, even if it doesn't always come across in the printed end product. I once walked into work and was greeted by an enormous inflated dinosaur wearing a party hat, and that wasn't even on Casual Friday.
Even so, a certain amount of professionalism is expected. My colleague Pam Belluck once wrote an entire article about condoms without actually mentioning the part of the anatomy on which they are worn. I'm not sure that I would have had that kind of restraint, which is probably why I write for Games and not for the Science section.
This level of professionalism is also why Matt Fuchs's second puzzle for The New York Times is fairly mild, at least with regard to his theme content. You'll see what I mean. Things could have really gotten out of hand here, but thanks to our intrepid puzzle editing team, our reputation stands.
Tricky Clues
1A. If something has LEGS, it means that it's up and running for the foreseeable future. From a marketing perspective, I suppose that "Long-term appeal" could also be seen as having LEGS.
13A. You see, because you park in A LOT … it's a pun. You park your car in a lot at a stadium, and it costs A LOT.
29A. This "Frost bit?" is a veiled capital clue. The clue refers to the poet Robert Frost, and the bit is a VERSE.
49A. Let's play "Is it a Verb or a Noun?" "Head across the pond?" sounds like an action, but this clue is really asking you for a British synonym for a "head" or toilet. The answer is LOO.
56A. An ELI is a wearer of a "Y" sweatshirt, because ELIs attend Yale University.
58A. Another round of "Is it a Verb or a Noun?" "Stand by the pool, maybe" sounds like someone is just hanging out next to the water, but this clue is hinting at a drink stand. The answer is TIKI BAR.
68A. "It may be on the house" sounds like we are getting something for free, but in this puzzle, the thing that is on the house is a LIEN.
2D. "Juneteenth," Ralph ELLISON's second novel after "Invisible Man," was a work written over a period of 40 years and published in 1999, five years after his death in 1994.
12D. "Glass elevator?" made me think of Willy Wonka, but this is another game of "Is it a Verb or a Noun?" The elevator — in this case, one who elevates a drinking glass — is a TOASTER.
39D. You may encounter body waxing at a salon, but in this puzzle, the body being waxed is a car, and the business offering the service is a CARWASH.
45D. Not a billiards cue, sorry, I meant clue. "Balls in a pocket" refers to FALAFEL, which is served in a pita pocket.
63D. Watch out for these! "Is after you?" is not referring to someone who is chasing you. The clue is asking for the word meaning "is" that would come after the word "you" in a sentence, and the answer is ARE, as in "You are …"
Today's Theme
Mr. Fuchs offers us five common phrases that are reimagined as mild expletives. The first word in the phrase is the expletive, and the second word is the item or concept at which the expletive is directed.
For example, at 36A, which was Mr. Fuchs's seed entry, the phrase DARN SOCKS is clued as "'I keep losing things in the dryer!'" You can practically envision Mr. Fuchs shaking his fist at his dryer.
Similarly — and this one may have more impact on our international solvers than our American ones because the word "bloody" is not as mild an oath in other countries — the answer to the clue "'My allergies are really acting up!'" is BLOODY NOSE.
Constructor Notes
I am thrilled to be returning to The New York Times with my second puzzle! A lot has happened since my Times debut in 2014. I was halfway through high school and my understanding of crossword construction at that time seems rather naïve to me now.
During college, my crossword productivity slowed to a trickle, but now that I've graduated, I have been able to be a much more active puzzle maker. If I can attribute something positive to the pandemic, it's that I finally had time to turn my ideas into fully realized puzzles. By day, I am studying to become an architect, and in my spare time, I'm pursuing several interests — puzzles included — such as studying French and creating art projects at a local glass studio just outside Washington, D.C.
The seed for this theme was the expression DARN SOCKS, which I realized could be interpreted as a funny expletive. I let this entry sit idle for a while until I managed to hunt down other phrases to complete the set of themers. I tried maximizing the number of seven-letter entries when I designed the grid, because I've found them to be a sweet spot for evocative words and phrases (answers like TIKI BAR, I'M NO USE, LAB MICE and CARWASH appeal to me, because they pack so much color into a mid-length slot and are ripe for clever clues). As someone who majored in architecture and French, I was also pleased to include references to figures like I.M. Pei and Captain Nemo.
I'd like to express my sincere thanks to The Times's puzzle team for their help and edits. Special thanks also to Amanda Chung and Karl Ni, who kindly provided feedback and, of course, to my expert test solver: my mom. I am looking forward to writing and contributing more puzzles and hope it's not another seven years before my next appearance in The Times!
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Any Verse or Piece of Poetry Crossword Clue
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/13/crosswords/daily-puzzle-2021-10-14.html
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