7D. The question mark at the end of [Connections puzzle?] indicates wordplay, so this clue is not a reference to the actual Times Connections puzzle. Instead it solves to DOT TO DOT, which is apparently another name for the game “Connect the Dots,” where a sequence of points on a page form the outline of something. This entry has been in the crossword once before, and the game itself was playable as part of the theme in a great Sunday puzzle from 2003.
9D. [Destination for dermaplaning] is a DAY SPA. This procedure — a new term to me — is low-risk, even though a scalpel figures prominently in it.
21D. [Hard pass?] is another pun clue, and it’s much easier to solve if you don’t focus on the modern use of “hard pass” to express extreme aversion. Instead, it solves to a description for a sports feat that depends on a wing and a prayer: a HAIL MARY. Roger Staubach, a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, coined this term in 1975 when a reporter asked him what he was thinking when he threw a long, game-winning pass at the last moment.
44D. For an [Early home computer brand], I went all in on Atari. But the answer is AMIGA, a big, beige desktop box with a tube monitor that came out in the mid-1980s. If you still have one on a shelf somewhere, you should know that the brand has a small cult following.
Constructor Notes
We’re so excited to have our third NYT themeless together!
Some comments:
• We debuted ENEMY TURF in our first collab, so it’s fitting that this one has HOME TURF.
• DEEPFAKE was our seed entry.
• It’s fun to give Lake SUPERIOR some time in the limelight. Great Lake crossword representation is famously quite skewed.
• Sarah was really excited to get to use [Connections puzzle?] as a clue.
• This puzzle was accepted in June 2024, and we thought we might get to debut AYO … but she has already shown up four times this year!
• We’re grateful to David Steinberg, who originally introduced us to each other.
• Thanks also to Kell Pogue, our unofficial Constructor Notes photographer.
• Check out this mysterious note. It seems Wordplay readers might have a SECRET ADMIRER (or two)!
Want to Submit Crosswords to The New York Times?
The New York Times Crossword 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.”
