‘That’s My Cue!’
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THURSDAY PUZZLE — Not that anyone asked, but one reason I write about Thursday and Friday crosswords is that I’m greedy.
In 2021, I needed to reduce my workload and, thankfully, Rachel Fabi came onboard to help solvers with the Monday through Wednesday puzzles. (Sam Corbin writes those columns now.) We could have alternated days, but I am particularly fond of Thursday shenanigans and Friday challenges, so I planted my flag there.
Enjoying the high-wire act that is The New York Times’s Thursday crossword depends a lot on how you view these puzzles. Not everyone is quite as enthusiastic as I am about the grids that require solvers to stretch their imagination, preferring to test their knowledge based on whether they can figure out the clues. There’s nothing wrong with that approach, and, as always, your mileage may vary. There are plenty of Thursdays that are difficult without being inordinately tricky.
But I live for the grids that require solvers to think outside the box. For me, it’s like trying to find my way through a fun house. I never know what’s around the next corner, and the themes sometimes force me to concentrate as the constructor throws one red herring after another at me. I look forward to the Thursday puzzle all week long, and I’m always impressed by the creativity of the constructors and the puzzle editors.
Source: The New York Times
