Succeed at All of Life’s Endeavors - The New York Times

WEDNESDAY PUZZLE — When we last saw Benjamin Kramer in The New York Times Crossword, he was serving his puzzle to us over a net in a raucous game of volleyball. In this puzzle — and at a time when we are pursuing hobbies within our homes — he is settling us down with a much quieter activity.

And at least we won’t break any furniture while we are doing it.

Tricky Clues

11D. The exclamation just before and after “just” is WOW, as in “WOW. Just WOW.”

24D. The clue “Group of Greek women” had me thinking of “Lysistrata,” but this clue is hinting at modern SORORITY CHAPTERs.

44A. This is one of those famous “You either know it or you don’t” clues. AVERY is a paper products company that makes those peel and stick “Hello, My Name Is …” tags.

55A. A “Class act?” is a TEST, because you take it in a class or as part of a class.

5D. HAP means “luck,” in the same sense that “hapless” means “unlucky.”

26D. I like my angel hair pasta with garlic and olive oil, but this angel hair accompaniment is a HALO on the angel’s head.

33D. There are a lot of ways to feel “the crunch,” but in this case, the clue is referring to ABS. That reminds me, with my gym closed, I need to take a break from writing this column and do a light workout here at home.

45D. OK, I’m back. Please excuse the perspiration. The lush, green VERDURE makes a comeback after nearly 50 years.

47D. This clue has been changed online. The print clue is “Stand-up performance?” and the answer is ANTHEM. While I appreciate wordplay in the clues, it feels strange to evoke the controversy about civil rights protests in a crossword clue. The new, online clue is the very clever “Country music?”

Today’s Theme

Tl;dr (Spoiler!)

The last word in the Across theme entries is a progression from book PASSAGE through OEUVRE.

I stared at my completed puzzle for a long time before I “got” it. And when that “Aha!” moment occurred it hit me in the brain in much the same way one might, say, throw the book at someone.

It’s not unusual for me to go hunting for a revealer when I can’t figure out the theme, but the only thing in Mr. Kramer’s puzzle that even remotely looked like one was the clue at 61D, but that wasn’t anything but a plain old clue.

When all else fails, I refocus on the theme entries and try to pry the words apart. SAFE … PASSAGE? SORORITY … CHAPTER?

Ooo! I know this! I actually wrote a couple of these!

The second part of each theme phrase demonstrates a progression, from a PASSAGE in a CHAPTER, to a CHAPTER in a BOOK, to a BOOK in a SERIES, and finally, from the SERIES to an overall OEUVRE or genre.

Over all, this is a fresh yet tricky midweek puzzle, and as soon as I recovered from being smacked with Mr. Kramer’s tome, I realized how much I enjoyed it. Could I have lived without TOEJAM? Of course. And I probably would have tried a different approach in filling the area that included CIDE at 34A. It’s crosser at 11D, WIN AT LIFE, is a winner, but OPEN ENDER could go and not be missed. These preferences are, of course, subjective, and your mileage may vary.

I did love seeing the actress Uzo ADUBA’s surname make its debut (we’ve seen her first name appear three times and her full name appear once), and there is a lot of crunchy fill in the puzzle.

Constructor Notes

As I recall, this idea came after completing Howard Barkin’s Sunday puzzle that gradually zoomed out from ANIMAL HOUSE, ON EASY STREET, until its revealer GOOGLE EARTH. I sought a well-concealed progression with a snappy revealer and was working my way up from LETTER to BOOK for the longest time. The theme didn’t seem worthwhile, though, until I zoomed out more and found OEUVRE hiding at the end of the last themer. Tying the progression up with a profane confederation of vowels seemed like the sort of thing a solver might enjoy. After triple-checking the French spelling, the puzzle came together.

The grid is a bit name-heavy and has a few warts holding it together, but hopefully the good outweighs the bad. Thanks to Will and company for polishing up the clues and keeping a couple of my favorites (26-D, 47-D).

In these tumultuous times, I’m delighted to contribute a few minutes’ diversion to the world. At minimum, I offer up the puzzle as a belated Mother’s Day gift to my dear mom, Chris, who has always been a voracious reader and willing Francophone.

The Tipping Point

Almost finished solving but need a bit more help? We’ve got you covered.

Warning: There be spoilers ahead, but subscribers can take a peek at the answer key.

Trying to get back to the puzzle page? Right here.

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