CROSSWORDS: Discover the Theme

embrace ambiguity

Introduction

  • "I stick to simple themes. Love. Hate. No nuances. I stay away from psychoanalyst's couch scenes..." ~John Wayne
  • aha"I think the next best thing to solving a problem is finding some humor in it." ~Frank Howard Clark
  • "Many American crossword puzzles contain a 'theme' consisting of a number of long entries (generally three to five in a standard 15×15-square 'weekday'-size puzzle) that share some relationship, type of pun, or other element in common. [Examples:]
    • category theme, where the theme elements are all members of the same set;
    • quote themes, featuring a famous quote broken up into parts to fit in the grid (and usually clued as 'Quote, part 1',...);
    • rebus themes, where multiple letters or even symbols occupy a single square in the puzzle (e.g., BERMUDAΔ);
    • pun-based themes (perhaps the most common), where all the answers are similar puns;
    • commemorative themes, based on a particular event or person (often published on an appropriate anniversary)."

    ~Wikipedia

  • Summary: Does puzzle have a Title?
  • Do long (esp. across) answers have 'marked' clues (?, *, CAPS), or circles in grid?
  • Specific clue 'explaining' the theme? (often later in clue list)
  • Author: puns (Reagle); age (literature, history, slang references); ...
  • rebusAnswers not fitting (esp. on Thu or Sun): extra letters, or numbers; rebus?
  • Adding/removing a letter or letter sequence from/to all of the theme entries
  • Answer or some words reversed; palindrome; malapropism; spoonerism
  • palindromeGrid pattern; insets or circled letters
  • Use crossing words to figure out 1 or 2 longer answers;
    if you recognize a pattern, test/apply your theme hypothesis on other likely theme answers
  • HSW 4: Figure Out the Theme; Wonder 3. Work out Crossword Themes
  • Become a Crossword Super Solver by Will Johnston Themes; [.pdf; p1]; 1/19/2010
  • examples below (earlier NYT Sun 1/23/2011, plus other recent puzzles I've solved) are organized by day of week (Fri and Sat usually don't have themes), and then by date (note: subtract 7 days from Sun Mail Tribune for official NYT publication date)


    click on title link for solution (and even more clues & answers) and clue discussion
    click on any "clue"= to reveal the answer ignore spaces & punctuation; except: older browsers?

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday, Saturday

  • Usually themeless (and very hard!)...
  • NYT; Fri, 9/29/2000 [.puz]; Will Shortz says (why 1 of 5 favorites): "This themeless 68-word puzzle contains ten 15-letter answers spanning the grid, with 8-Down intersecting the nine going across. As typical with Bob Klahn, he spices up the puzzle with lively vocabulary, and the grid doesn't have a single unnecessary black square."

Sunday