It’s a Little Shady – The New York Times

SATURDAY PUZZLE — This just isn’t a straightforward crossword, nevertheless it’s definitely a pleasant one. The humor is kindhearted, and the trivia is pleasantly nostalgic. It’s the primary collaboration between Barbara Lin and Lewis Rothlein, two terrific constructors. They’re each artful and intelligent, they usually harmonize fantastically.

Many entries on this grid aren’t notably tough, however their clues have a adequately subtle twist to look impermeable — till you tilt your angle of thought only a smidgen. That side makes for a winner of a remedy for a most viewers, and it’s no small feat.

Tricky Clues

1A. This is a witty begin: What might a [Shifty little sucker?] be? Creatures got here to my thoughts — eels, lampreys after which puppies — however the reply higher matches the “shifty” a part of the clue: a BENDY STRAW.

26A. A [Reason for foot-tapping] may very well be musical, however on this case it’s fidgety conduct brought on by ANTSINESS. This is a crossword debut, though “antsy” is widespread. “Antsy” dates again to the 1800s and precedes the expression “ants in your pants” by a few century, though each makes use of replicate “the identical picture.”

28A./58A. Here are two small entries with clues that exemplify twistiness. [Lines in bars], at 28A, solves to URLS. I didn’t perceive this in any respect for a minute. Was it wordplay wherein bar codes result in coding results in web sites? Nope: The “bars” are search bars on the high of an internet browser, the place you could sort or discover URLS. And 58A, [What some people display after getting stuck?], has nothing to do with resourcefulness. They are being “caught” with an inked needle whereas getting TATS, quick for tattoos.

1D. [X follower, perhaps] made me consider treasure maps (“marks the spot”) or chi (which is adopted by “psi” within the Greek alphabet). The appropriate reply, BOT, mystified me till I related the “X” within the clue to the platform that was beforehand often called Twitter.