NYT Crossword Answers: Platte River People - The New York Times

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WEDNESDAY PUZZLE — Congratulations to Dan Caprera, the constructor of the Wednesday puzzle, connected his 3rd quality successful the New York Times Crossword. Mr. Caprera’s past puzzle was a existent doozy of a Thursday situation that required solvers to crippled their answers connected a grid … literally. Today’s puzzle, portion not rather truthful flummoxing, is decidedly fun: It features a ocular practice of a taxable that brought to caput this xkcd cartoon (theme spoiler successful the link).

I’ll accidental much astir that taxable below, but first, let’s get into immoderate of the tougher clues successful this Wednesday grid.

Tricky Clues

21A. We’ve seen a hint akin to “Diesel recovered successful thoroughfare racers?” for VIN once before, but it is conscionable arsenic comic the 2nd time. (For those who don’t get the joke: The histrion VIN Diesel is celebrated for his relation successful the “Fast & Furious” movies, successful which helium thoroughfare races.)

34A. I’ve learned from solving crosswords that the “Adult signifier successful insects” is IMAGO.

52A. The “Site of a unspeakable fall?” is EDEN — specifically, the Fall of Man.

65A. I loved the hint “Performer who mightiness measurement connected immoderate toes?” for BALLET DANCER — specifically, BALLET DANCERs often “step” connected their own toes.

2D. I wasn’t truly acquainted with the “Building wing” meaning of the connection ELL, but immoderate net probe confirmed that the word refers to a wing of a building that runs perpendicular to the main part.

6D. Wow, it has been a agelong clip since the past quality of AAR, the crossword’s favourite European stream and the “Longest stream wholly successful Switzerland.” It past showed up successful a New York Times puzzle successful 2017 but, successful total, has appeared astir 300 times.

8D. The hint “When ‘Time Warp’ is sung successful the philharmonic ‘The Rocky Horror Show’” isn’t a peculiarly tricky hint for ACT I, but I wasn’t astir to walk up an accidental to embed a video from “Rocky Horror” successful the Wordplay column!

27D. ETO, abbreviated for the European Theater of Operations, was a “W.W. II warfare zone, successful brief.”

39D. I had to deliberation astir this 1 for a bit! “Half of D” is CCL, if you’re doing Roman numeral math: D is 500, and CCL is 250.

54D. “It’s bound to beryllium eaten by livestock” is simply a amusive hint for BALE: A hay BALE is bound (typically with baling twine) to transport it to a spot to beryllium eaten by livestock.

Today’s Theme

This puzzle features a neat ocular taxable successful which 3 alien vessels (the shaded entries) are beaming up 3 unsuspecting victims (in circled letters). The taxable entries each person the aforesaid hint (“Science fabrication vessel”), and their abductees are embedded successful longer words, with clues that extremity with the sounds they mightiness marque upon realizing that they are trapped. All of this is tied unneurotic by the revealer astatine 58A (TRACTOR BEAMS), the hint for which is “Science fabrication vigor rays that mightiness suck up earthly bodies, arsenic depicted 3 times successful this puzzle.”

First up, astatine the apical of the grid, we person a FLYING SAUCER with a COW (inside the introduction SCOW) caught successful its TRACTOR BEAM. The hint for SCOW is “Trash hauler [Moooooooo!]”; the “Trash hauler” is the SCOW, but the [Moooooooo!] tin lone beryllium the dependable of an indignant COW connected the mode to conscionable its captors.

Next up, we person a MOTHERSHIP abducting a CAR, embedded wrong the introduction BARCAR (“Place for a portion portion traveling [Hooooonk!]”). I wanted the [Hooooonk!] to bespeak a goose, but successful retrospect I tin spot wherefore a CAR is simply a much logical people — particularly since GEESE appeared elsewhere successful the puzzle.

Finally, an unspecified SPACECRAFT caught a MAN successful its beam, recovered wrong the introduction MAGIC MAN (“1976 deed by Heart [Heeeeelp!]”).

I enjoyed the ocular elements of this theme, and I anticipation the alien captors instrumentality the COW, CAR and MAN location safely. Now let’s instrumentality a look astatine Mr. Caprera’s reflections.

Constructor Notes

Remember erstwhile we were each talking astir aliens a fewer years ago? That was decidedly the inspiration for this one!

There’s tons to similar and tons to dislike astir this puzzle. It was accepted 2 years ago, and I inactive deliberation that, visually, this puzzle is awesome. I truly similar however the grey squares and the circled letters enactment unneurotic to marque an archetypal grid. And I emotion the New York Times Crossword editorial team’s summation of the assorted [screams] wrong the clues. That was specified a beauteous touch! But, oof, successful bid to get aggregate symmetrical entries with centrally located intersections, some the taxable acceptable and the grid layout ended up being absurdly constrained. So my apologies for immoderate of the much egregious uses of crosswordese successful this puzzle. Hopefully you each inactive had a blast!

As always, acknowledgment to The New York Times for taking a accidental connected 1 of my submissions — it’s specified a immense honor.

Finally, I’ll extremity this by giving a speedy shout-out to my uncle Charlie, my aunt Elise, my relative Michael and my mom, Anne, who are each regular crossword solvers and volition get a footwear retired of seeing their names successful this column!

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