Sun Mar 10 NYT Crossword Hints – Condensation

Hints, not direct answers to Sunday NYT Crosswords…

THEME HINTS:

14-Down Last possible moment: There’s a common phrase to describe this in two words.  But here, the second word isn’t quite all it’s supposed to be.  Is this what’s meant by “Condensation”?

27-Across holds the secret.     Are all squares on a grid created equal?   No, some hold a lot more water than others.  And how a square is used going across may not be the same as how it’s used going down.

If you can’t get the 27-Across / 1-Down combo, try 109-Across/84-Down.   Getting one of the theme answers will solve a lot of the rest of the theme answers.

The general rule of the longest answers being based on the theme doesn’t hold completely here.  A couple short ones also have the same trick and a couple of longish ones (25-Across & 112-Across, for example) don’t.

(Incidentally, I found Across Lite was very strange in how it handled this one.   It found everything I put in the “special” square wrong, including what, when I finally gave up and let it reveal, the very answer I’d put there as my third or fourth guess of what it wanted.)

10  Specific Hints

5-Across Way up a mountain:  It’s still winter, so you might need one of these, even if you do end up right where you started.

20-Across Elliptical:  Like an egg, not the thing in your basement you haven’t used in the last five years

62-Across Not loco:  No, señor, soy completamente ________.

63-Across Some college dorm rooms:  As viewed by the students’ parents

91-Across Places to eat a late breakfast:  Think of being on vacation with your kids

63-Down Frame jobs:  As in cons, not pictures; 2 words (or 1 dashed word, if you prefer)

93-Down It’s clear:  2 words.   Often seen by optimists, at least in song.

97-Down NYC Airport:  As a New Yorker myself, I can testify to the fact that we can’t spell, not even the names of their airports.  (Apparently the correct spelling was already taken by Venezuela;  Can’t blame that on Chavez!)

102-Down Responded sheepishly:  The puzzle constructer should be sheepish about this classic way to get 3 vowels in a row!

110-Down Drop _____:  Yes, Virginia, the NYT is getting more risqué in its old age!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *