Jeremy Newton and Tracy Gray’s New York Times crossword, “Breakout Performance” — Nate’s write-up
09.22.2024 Sunday New York Times Crossword
This Sunday’s puzzle is a 23-wide by 19-tall, two-part tribute puzzle to THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION on the day before its 30th anniversary.
The top half is largely a straight forward set of theme entries related to the film and one of its quite-relevant main characters:
– 3D/6D: THE SHAWSHANK / REDEMPTION [With 6-Down, prison drama released on September 23, 1994]
– 15D: TIM ROBBINS [Portrayer of 18-Down]
– 18D: ANDY DUFRESNE [Lead role in 3-Down/6-Down]
– 57A: TORNADO [“Bad luck, I guess … It was my turn, that’s all. I was in the path of the ___” (quote from 18-Down)]
The bottom half of the puzzle, on the other hand, plays with a more representative depiction of ANDY DUFRESNE‘s prison break, as hinted by three entries:
– 114A: TUNNEL OUT [Stage a jailbreak à la 18-Down]
– 50A: ESCAPE ACT [Houdini’s signature feat … or a hint to the circled squares in this puzzle]
– 119A: RUN [Make a break for it]
Starting from the bottom of 110D EDNA [Irish novelist O’Brien], we have a series of circled squares across a maze of highlighted corridors that spell ANDY DUFRESNE as he travels to freedom: AND(E) Y –> DUCT(TAPED) –> SHAFT(ED) –> TRENCH(COAT) –> (TEAM E)VENT –> (YOU)TUBE (CLIP) –> (PARA)CHUTE –> (SAFE) PASSAGE –> CANAL (ST) –> TUNNEL (OUT) to safety!
AS A BONUS: Because it is unchecked, the circled Y between 115A and 116A was given to us. Have there been other NYT crosswords where letters were both uncrossed and given to the solver right off the bat? That was a surprise, but it’s also a fun visual depiction of ANDY breaking out of that bottom cell of black squares. Is that Y what’s behind the poster of Rita Hayworth?
Wow, so much going on in this two-part theme and a largely fun grid to go with it with little in the way of crosswordese. Quite the feat! I probably haven’t seen this movie in 20+ years, but it’s one of my husband’s favorites and he got a kick out of seeing this puzzle, so I hope other fans of the movie will also enjoy it!
What did you think of this puzzle? Let us know in the comments section – and have a great weekend!