NYT Crossword Answers: Sorento and Telluride - The New York Times

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Jump to: Tricky Clues | Today’s Theme

TUESDAY PUZZLE — Congratulations to Laura Breiman and Tom Bachant, who are some making their New York Times Crossword debuts with today’s puzzle.

I thought this was a peculiarly challenging Wednesday offering, successful portion due to the fact that of immoderate tricky capable necessitated by the density of the taxable worldly successful the grid. I’ll accidental much astir that dense taxable successful a moment, but archetypal let’s instrumentality a peek astatine immoderate of the tougher clues successful today’s puzzle.

Tricky Clues

7A. I emotion the hint “What’s recovered successful cafés but not java shops?” for ACCENT — there’s truthful overmuch accidental for misdirection here, but yet this hint is astir the letters that constitute the words “cafés” and “coffee shops.”

34A. “One leaving its pad quickly” is simply a ROCKET, similar the 1 pictured astatine the apical of this column.

43A. Agree to disagree that a PUN is “‘The lowest signifier of wit — erstwhile you don’t deliberation of it first,’ per Oscar Levant”! I love puns, adjacent erstwhile I don’t deliberation of them archetypal — but that whitethorn beryllium a effect of crossword puzzles afloat inhabiting my encephalon astatine each times.

45A./40D. I didn’t cognize that the “First of the Chinese dynasties” was the XIA dynasty, truthful I had a hard clip with the X crossing with SOX (“Part of immoderate ‘Red’ oregon ‘White’ uniforms”). If I had noticed the taxable sooner, it mightiness person helped maine retired here!

54A. I confidently enactment artISTS arsenic the reply to the hint “Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, for two,” but the much circumstantial reply is CUBISTS.

6D. “Intro to sociology?” is simply a wordplay hint for ESS, which is the archetypal missive of the connection “sociology.”

35D. I don’t cognize wherefore I tin ne'er retrieve the Roman numerals greater than 100 (C!), but I truly struggled to fig retired that “450, successful past Rome” is CDL.

36D. I thought “Sorento and Telluride” had to bash with being tourer destinations oregon something, but the Italian metropolis is really spelled “Sorrento,” and the reply is, successful fact, KIAS — some the Sorento and the Telluride are Kia SUVs.

37D. I had nary thought that determination was an “Amazon-owned location Wi-Fi brand” — I kept trying to marque “Echo” work, but the reply is really EERO. The lone EEROs I cognize are the designer EERO Saarinen and a friend’s canine that is named for the architect!

53D. A “Place to lavation up?” sounds similar a hint for a bath oregon locker room, but the reply is really SHORE, wherever 1 mightiness lavation up aft a shipwreck.

61D. A circus barker is simply a idiosyncratic who yells retired to passers-by to gully them into assorted attractions, but a “Circus barker?” (with a question mark) is simply a SEAL, an carnal that barks and whitethorn execute astatine a circus.

65D. “Over 100, say” is HOT, if we’re talking astir the somesthesia successful degrees Fahrenheit (or Celsius!).

Today’s Theme

As the cardinal revealer indicates, this puzzle features 5 antithetic ocular representations of CELESTIAL BODIES (“Astronomical objects represented by the circled letters successful this puzzle”). The archetypal celestial body, which tin beryllium recovered successful the northwest country of the puzzle, is MOON. It is spelled clockwise by the MO successful AMORES and the NO successful SNOOTS, each 4 letters of which are circled.

Next up, successful the northeast corner, is COMET, which is contained successful circled letters cutting diagonally done 5 entries successful that corner.

The adjacent celestial assemblage was the hardest for maine to see. In the mediate of the puzzle, the letters spelling retired GALAXY are arranged clockwise successful a circle, but they’re truthful dispersed retired (like a existent galaxy!) that I didn’t spot it until I was finished with the puzzle.

The southwest country contains ASTEROID, which is breached up crossed 4 entries successful the corner, not dissimilar existent ASTEROIDs successful an ASTEROID belt.

Finally, successful the southeast corner, STAR tin beryllium recovered clockwise successful 4 circled letters laid retired successful a diamond shape.

Kudos to Ms. Breiman and Mr. Bachant connected this fantabulous debut! I americium impressed by the accomplishment it indispensable person taken to conception this puzzle, particularly considering the immense magnitude of constraint placed connected the grid by the ambitious theme. I anticipation to spot much from some of them soon.

Constructor Notes

We developed the thought aft Laura attended a precise unusual and aggravated satellite ceremonial successful Central Park and excitedly shared each the heavenly details with Tom. That week, primed by the speech of space, the operation CELESTIAL BODIES came into Tom’s head, and it felt similar the cleanable 15-letter capable to physique our grid around.

Laura is the big of a crossword podcast called “Cross Talk,” wherever she discusses the Thursday New York Times Crossword each week. Tom is simply a tech-y, entrepreneur-y connection person who believes the satellite would beryllium amended if everyone rode bikes and did crosswords (just not simultaneously).

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