Jump to: Tricky Clues | Today's Theme
Sunday Puzzle — Will Shortz writes in the introduction to this grid: “John Westwig is a software engineer from Seattle. This is his ninth crossword that has appeared in the Times. The first one was in 2015, when he was 17 years old. John says: “I think I started making things because when I finished solving a puzzle, I looked at the answer grid and wondered how someone could have made something like this.''! Note the long answers at 16-Down and 50-Down. Each he spans three thematic entries. It's very elegant. ”
The amount of style in this grid is no surprise to Mr. Westwig, nor are the quirky and interesting fills. I always find his puzzles to be on the pleasantly difficult side. There are plenty of neat little surprises and misdirections that make a Sunday grid cruise fun.
Today's theme
This is the punchline theme presented with six italicized clues at 23-, 39-, 56-, 77-, 92-, and 112-Across. Each sets up an entry that uses idioms taken from corporate jargon for comedic effect. That's the point of the title of this puzzle: “Funny Business.''
This set of clues provides a top-to-bottom look at someone's unlucky work history and can be viewed as a resume failure reel. First, in 23-Across, the narrator says:First, I founded an aerospace startup. …” I had an idea.
It's a generally familiar term. But as the entrepreneur continues his career, the slang becomes more difficult to understand. 56-Across and “''Next, we pivoted to breakfast restaurants, but our competitors… '…' solves the 'poached employee' problem. Wow! Did you crack them open and gently slide them into boiling water? No, in business terms this means another company acquired them for itself. (Both usages may derive from the French word “pouch.”)
Thematic entries at the bottom of the grid create great visuals. “”In the end, I decided to shop at the grocery store at the intersection, but my rival… …” ends with CORNERED THE MARKET. I've heard this expression a billion times and wondered what it meant without picturing an actual store on a street corner. What kind of corner is this? Apparently, consumers of monopolized products can return to types of products where there is no competition and no choice but to pay the listed price. (While the concept may make greedy hearts flutter, there are plenty of cautionary tales, like this one about an onion caught in the Chicago River.)
tricky clues
53A. This is a great fact that is all over the internet, but I can't find any comments by the book's author, William Golding. Apparently, “what Ralph expresses in the Freudian analysis of Lord of the Flies'' is the ego. Piggy is the superego and Jack is the id.
81A. The only answer to this clue “Bleacher Seat Section” seemed to be “Bleacher”. It didn't add up and I was stumped until I received several letters from multiple entries: This is just the last line.
116A. The idiom in this clue, “'enjoyed' the humble pie,” seems much simpler than his ATE CROW in the entry. The word “humble” in question is a play on the word “humility,” which refers to modesty and the cheap, unattractive internal organs of animals. Ambre tastes awful, similar to the meat of carrion-eating crows.
16D. If the theme of this puzzle comes to mind easily, this clue may also come to mind. “Sloan or Wharton” are both business schools.
17D. It's been almost 20 years since this entry was published in The Times Puzzle. INTAGLIO is the “opposite of relief in prints”. Etching, drypoint, aquatint, and other techniques that create pools of ink all fall into this category, allowing for a variety of effects.
34D. In this puzzle, “Can it help you get a leg up?” Networking seems like a way to gain business advantage through buddies (or nepotism). Sometimes it is an aid for riding a horse or climbing a high fence, but in this case it is a piece of furniture on which you rest your feet – an ottoman.
Should I circle back?
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