It’s Going Down (2024)

Jump to: Tricky Clues | Today’s Theme

SUNDAY PUZZLE — Will Shortz, in his print introduction to this grid, writes: “Matt Linzer, of San Francisco, is a former professional ballet and contemporary dancer who now works in graphic design and art. Rafael Musa, also of San Francisco, is a software engineer at Airbnb. This is Matt’s second puzzle for The Times, Rafa’s ninth. After Matt solved Rafa’s Pride-themed puzzle in the paper last June, he reached out for help in developing this one’s theme.”

This grid had me plotting more routes on paper than I have since the advent of online maps, though it is possible to breeze through it without noticing the fabulously complex theme. But hey — that’s life. Happy New Year!

Today’s Theme

There are five examples in the theme set. Each one involves three different entries, two in the Acrosses and one in the Downs. Once you see this relationship, you’ll be popping the Champagne, but it doesn’t easily swim into focus. The clearest way to explain it is with an example.

Start with 25-Across, “Before midnight: One with major influence.” With a few crossing letters, I was able to deduce a straightforward answer to the second part of this clue: POWER BROKER. I didn’t pay too much attention to the “Before midnight” portion at this point; that happened when I arrived, circuitously, at 40-Across.

This entry is only four letters long, appears three rows below POWER BROKER and comes with another italicized clue: “After midnight: Journey’s ‘Open Arms’ and Guns N’ Roses’ ‘November Rain,’ e.g.” Using only crossing letters, I was able to fill in LADS, which certainly describes the members of the two rock bands in the clue, but doesn’t work for the clue itself. I know me some “November Rain,” though — I wish I could sing it for you right now. The genre of this song and the Journey track has a name: POWER BALLADS. Could I get there, working backward from LADS?

Yes, it turns out. The “Foot part” at 26-Down is the BALL. It starts at the “B” in 25-Across’s POWER BROKER and ends at the “L” in LADS to create a detour of sorts:

POWER BROKER
A
L
LADS

This allowed me to fill in the blanks in other spots with the same setup, and then a whole other series of realizations took place. At 68-Across, “Before midnight: Some household expenses” solves to WATER BILLS. At 85-Across, “After midnight: Synchronized swimming” solves to LET, à la LADS in the above example. We all know this one, right? Esther Williams? That’s WATER BALLET, or:

WATERBILLS
A
L
LET

But what about the connector between these two entries? That’s 69-Down, “Wad up,” or … BALL. Again! Why?