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TUESDAY PUZZLE — Context is everything, especially when communicating with emojis. To a chef, for example, the eggplant emoji could be read as a simple ingredient suggestion. But to the rest of us, well, I don’t really need to spell it out, do I?
To put it another way, emojis are to writing as gestures are to speech: They are visual cues that rely on the surrounding communication to convey their meaning.
And today’s grid, constructed by Margaret Seikel, gestures wildly. As you solve it, you’ll find yourself appreciating just how context dependent what we do with our hands, and words, can be.
Today’s Theme
What would you call this emoji? ✌️
Your success in solving today’s crossword may depend on your answer — or, I should say, on your open-mindedness about how many possible answers there are:
“When ordering” (4D) at a restaurant, the symbol indicates TWO, PLEASE.
But place it above someone’s head for “a silly group photo” (10D), and it’s BUNNY EARS.
If you’re flashing it “at an antiwar protest” (20A), it’s a PEACE SIGN.
As a message “from Winston Churchill” (52A), it meant V FOR VICTORY.
I now find myself itching for more anecdotes of emoji ambiguity. Share ’em if you’ve got ’em.
Source: The New York Times
