New York Times Crossword Answers for July 7, 2024

Jump to: today’s subject | Hard evidence

Thursday’s Puzzle — Hello. You must be here because you solved or tried to solve Adam Vincent’s very clever puzzle, and you are wondering what just happened to you. Please have a seat, and the topic explainer will get back to you right away.

First, on behalf of the Wordplay team, I would like to wish our readers a Happy Independence Day. This wish is related to the topic of today’s crossword puzzle, and is a hint, not a spoiler.

I would have to go into much more detail to spoil the multi-layered theme of this puzzle. Mr. Vincent’s network put up a tough fight, but I eventually got it solved, and by then I was sweating, running out of worry chocolate, and slapping my forehead foolishly.

On the other hand, overcoming it gave me a huge boost: There is evidence that the “Aha!” moment we seek when solving a problem is Linked to the release of dopamine – the feel-good chemical – in the brain.

So if you’ve tried to solve this puzzle and failed, give it another try. Try talking to yourself. I mean it – say the words out loud as you write them. It might help. And scientists say it might make you feel great.

today’s subject

To celebrate the occasion, Mr. Vincent wants us to join him in singing the first or second verse of the United States National Anthem. Luckily, those are just the first five words, otherwise this would be the world’s longest crossword puzzle.

How do I know it’s five words, you ask? Well, we have five subject entries that have sets of shaded squares at the end, and these entries are somehow connected to the extended three-dimensional grid, HOLD ON TO YOUR HAT, which is identified as [“Get ready!” … or what to do upon hearing the ends of the answers to the starred clues?].

If we remove the shaded squares one group at a time and read them from top to bottom, we get the following:

Ooooh
CIE Institute
Ken
International Union of Architects
Sisi

Now, put that last piece of worry chocolate in your mouth and say out loud with me:

Oh
He says
Can
You
be seen

As dawn broke, we realized it! It was the first five words of the national anthem. But wait, there’s more.

We remove our hats (or carry them) because this is common practice when the national anthem is played.

I agree with the creator’s note: The subject of this puzzle looks like a flag waving in the breeze. Great work, Mr. Vincent.

Hard evidence

31A. [Six Flags coaster with a Spanish name] He is EL TORO (“The Bull”), and With its proven track recordIt clearly falls into the “no thank you!” category for me.

38A. I may not have used tractors enough in my life, but I’m not sure I see how Ohio could be, [when written in upper- and lowercase]It looks like a tractor. I understand that the O’s are for wheels, but what am I missing?

58A. My favorite yoga pose is: [corpse pose]It’s done while I’m lying on my back and not moving. It’s pure bliss.

62A. I tried this with my family during brunch, and I excitedly said, “This is the eggiest pancake!” and they told me not to do it again. But the proof is [Superlative for a quiche or frittata].

4d. I would imagine that the puzzle editors saw the occasional comment about the crossword being too US-focused, and in response, encouraged Mr. Vincent to add TIM Tam, [“Australia’s favorite cookie”]Instead of the ubiquitous Oreo.

7d. My only experience with balsa wood is watching my dad collect model airplanes, but isn’t it a bit sensitive to have it? [used in some surfboards]?

25d. [Two out of 10] They are the little fingers. The answer can’t be any of the other fingers because they don’t fit into the boxes here.

36d. What a clever idea. [Ambient musician whose name is found in white noise”] ENO is the father of music that is meant to be played in the background but not listened to carefully.

Creator’s Notes

If your team isn’t in the Super Bowl, you have to make your own fun, and for me that was realizing during the playing of the national anthem that the opening words of the anthem were only one syllable. I quickly came up with the idea of ​​hiding those sounds in words like “Cherio” and “Beyoncé.”

I was initially tempted by the fact that “The Star Spangled Banner” would stretch well on a Sunday-sized grid. I initially brainstormed a list of entries that would hide the sounds up to MAFIA DONS/SHIRLEY/ACOLYTE, but I was concerned that the idea might wear thin as the Sunday puzzle went on. I also didn’t like that “early” was a two-syllable, pattern-breaking syllable.

Once I decided to try a days-of-the-week puzzle, placing the topic answers in the grid was a fun challenge. I wanted the ends of the topic answers to be close together so that solvers could more easily see the series of sounds, which meant I had to get creative with the horizontal symmetry. Of the variations I tried, I liked this design the best because it resulted in the cleanest fill and also (to me) kind of evokes a waving flag.

Happy 4th of July!

Join our other discussions about games.

Want to be part of the conversation about New York Times Games, or maybe get some help solving a particularly tricky puzzle? Here you go:

Spelling Bee Forum

Wordle Review

Communications companion

Improve crossword puzzle solving

Solve New York Times crossword puzzles with our guide “How to Solve New York Times Crossword Puzzles”. The guide includes an explanation of most of the types of clues you will see in the puzzles and a mini-training at the end of each section.

Want to submit your crossword puzzle to The New York Times?

The New York Times Crossword Puzzle has an open submission system, and you can submit your puzzles online.

For tips on how to get started, read our series How to Make a Crossword Puzzle.

The turning point

The solution is almost done but needs to be fixed. a little Need more help? We’ve got you covered.

Spoiler alert: Subscribers can take a look at the answer key..

Trying to get back to the main game page? You can find it here.