‘Now!’ (Published 2021) (2024)

FRIDAY PUZZLE — The two constructors of today’s puzzle, Jim Horne and Jeff Chen, are the creator and operator of the website XWordInfo, which is an important resource for crossword constructors. Without it, we might still be in the era of exclusively using dictionaries to fill grids. The clue and answer finder and the constructor directory are powerful tools that make finding granular information about crossword puzzles easy. If you haven’t checked out the site before, I recommend it.

As far as the grid goes, our constructors are no slouches, either. This is Mr. Horne’s third puzzle for The New York Times. All three have been collaborations with Mr. Chen, for whom this is his 123rd puzzle. It’s an astonishing number that ties him for 26th most prolific of all time, according to XWordInfo; the constructor he is tied with is Peter Gordon.

I’m a huge fan of this puzzle. It’s full of interesting and lively fill, such as 15A, 20A (which probably surprises nobody), 35A, 37A, 28D, 31D and 36D. That only covers what I don’t have listed below. So pick up your pencil, pen, phone, tablet or whatever you use to solve, and enjoy this gem.

Tricky Clues

1A. The clue, “Barrel of fun?” refers not to a barrel of monkeys but to a KEG.

21A. Neither the K-pop group BTS nor the Spice Girls: The “Super group” referenced here is the AVENGERS.

41A. Nice misdirect. I thought this would be something to do with stocks or bonds. The answer is actually MBAS, since many people in the corporate world “hold” the degrees.

51A. Another good misdirect, the “sweaters” in the clue refers not to the garment but to people who are sweating. The answer here is GYM CLASS.

57A. This was the best clue in the puzzle for me. While it looks like the revealer for a theme, remember that today is Friday, so the puzzle is themeless. The answer for 17-Across, where the clue is “Fictional home with a secret basem*nt,” became clear after a few crossers. WAYNE MANOR is the home of Bruce Wayne, the secret identity of Batman. So the answer is THE BATCAVE. The three images in the grid are the bats formed by the black squares, which I only figured out after reading Jeff Chen’s constructor notes. An amazing marquee answer.

1D. The KIWI is a flightless bird from New Zealand and the unofficial mascot of the country. They lay the largest eggs of any animal relative to the size of their body. They’re also adorable, and I’ve included a photo for proof.

29D. The clue “Driver around a lot?” refers to the actor ADAM Driver, not to someone looking for parking.

32D. I thought this would be something about an obscure track and field event, but I was off the mark. The clue, “Its players never want to be at the top,” refers to the video game TETRIS, where players drop tetrominoes to form and clear complete lines. It was created in 1985 by Alexey Pajitnov, a Russian programmer, and has since become one of the best-selling games of all time across all versions of the game.

Constructor Notes

JIM: Wordplay has evolved since its 2008 debut. For two years, a single writer contributed eight columns a week. In year three, Patrick Merrell joined the team, writing every other week. His deep understanding of crosswords made for compelling reading. Then Deb Amlen took over. Her humor and infectious love for puzzles grew Wordplay’s loyal audience significantly.

Now, a cadre of writers contribute, each bringing their own perspective and personality. The Bee gets its own daily column. New features introduce us to the people who create crosswords and teach us how to build our own. The result is an unprecedented number and diversity of debut constructors this past year, leading to an increased diversity and creativity in the crosswords themselves.

A quick note about Jeff Chen: If you are a fan of XWord Info, you should know that it exists today only because he was willing to take over its operation. Running a complex website is no easy task. Jeff had to learn a giant etui-full of technology and tools. He makes his personal scored word list available through that site, and he writes commentary on each daily crossword. Thank you, Jeff!

JEFF: Originally this comic book nerd wanted to do a giant Bat Signal in the sky, but that felt a bit too obvious. It had nothing to do with the fact that all my Bat Signal attempts looked like Bane smashed his fists into the grid.

After noticing that WAYNE MANOR and THE BATCAVE were matching lengths, that felt like something! Until we realized that regular crossword symmetry would place THE BATCAVE in the opposite corner, not directly underneath. Mirror symmetry wouldn’t work, and Will Shortz dislikes up-down symmetry. Once we settled in on diagonal symmetry, the bats sort of emerged on their own.

Hopefully, solvers will notice the bats after uncovering THE BATCAVE. Or at least, that effort won’t drive them batty.

The Joker made me say that.

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The Tipping Point

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