Jeff Stillman’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “A Little Bit Shy”—Jim’s review
Theme answers are familiar phrases that (mostly) indicate something is a little less than full. Playing on this theme, the answers themselves are all missing their last letters.
Wall St Journal crossword solution · “A Little Bit Shy” · Jeff Stillman · Thu., 3.6.25
- 17a. [Dimwitted, or what this answer is] NOT ALL THER.
- 27a. [Teacher’s allocation, or what this answer has] PARTIAL CREDI.
- 44a. [Failing to meet expectations, or what this answer is] COMING UP SHOR.
- 60a. [Lionel Richie song, or what this answer has] ENDLESS LOV.
Cute. I suspected the gimmick after reading the title and the first entry bore it out. That last entry though is not consistent with the others. Maybe the pun was impossible to resist and/or maybe a fourth suitable entry couldn’t be found. I’m fine giving the puzzle some leeway, but I would’ve preferred a consistent set.
Lots of Xs in the long fill: DOT MATRIX and TAX EXEMPT. Plus, the land of CARE-A-LOT and HOGSHEAD. I got a little bit hung up when I put in “IT HURT” instead of “I’M HURT” for the clue [“That was really uncalled for”], but I see now the correct answer makes more sense than mine.
Clue of note: 31d. [Gauntlet, in metaphor]. DARE. Feels a little incomplete, yeah? The act of “throwing down the gauntlet” is the DARE, not just the gauntlet itself. And why do we “run the gauntlet” anyway? (Wikipedia has the answer.)
3.5 stars.
Kiran Pandey’s New York Times crossword — Zachary David Levy’s write-up
Difficulty: Personal best (5m14s)
Kiran Pandey’s New York Times crossword, 3/6/25, 0306
Today’s theme: play it again, Sam
- BORN, BORN (presumably “born again”)
- NATURE, NATURE (presumably “second nature”)
- CARBON, CARBON (presumably “carbon copy”)
- DOWN, DOWN (presumably “double down”)
I think I’m missing something. I’m inferring the theme phrases (“presumably” above) because they don’t seem to be referenced in the puzzle, as far as I can tell. See Edit 1 below. I also don’t see a revealer, and there are other entries in the grid that hint at twins (YOKEd pairs, DUBS, etc.), though I could certainly be seeing illusory theme content (CHIMERAs, appropriately enough). There are an inordinate number of long downs here as well (6 non-theme entries of 10-11 letters), which further makes me think I’m blind to some other aspect of the puzzle, but I’ll leave it to you guys to set me straight in the comments.
[Edit 1: I was on such a tear, I don’t think I even read the clues for the repeat entries, which do hint at the theme.]
Cracking: ALY RAISMAN, the smirk heard round the world. [Edit 2: on further review, that was McKayla Maroney, but nevermind.]
Slacking: HITLER used to appear in the puzzle more often than you’d think, but sensibilities about what names belong in a puzzle have changed, and his name stopped appearing in the mid-1980s. Even Idi AMIN seems to have been retired about five years ago.. hence my surprise at seeing murderous drug lord EL CHAPO in today’s grid
Sidetracking: the SUNKEN PLACE
ZDL: “the theme phrases … don’t seem to be referenced in the puzzle.”
Sure they are, referring to the second instance:
17A [Like one with renewed beliefs] = (RE)BORN.
30A [Tying one’s shoes, e.g., for most people] = (SECOND) NATURE.
48A [Exact replica] = CARBON (COPY).
63A [Strengthen one’s commitment] = (DOUBLE) DOWN.
I agree that the clues are all the reveal we need.
I got a laugh thinking about the dupe haters and how they’d react. It’s probably a bit much to say Will is trolling them, right?
I agree, but I also think BORN (AGAIN) is probably the correct interpretation for 17A.
Fun theme and pretty solid fill. Last letter in was the “S” at the crossing of ASS and DOSA. I always forget about that use of -ass, and my knowledge of Indian cuisine is pretty limited. (Need to work on that.)
On the USA Today: is a PIZZA BAGEL actually “fusion food?” Do we want to live in the world where we call English muffin pizza “Anglo-Italian fusion cuisine” ???
NYT: I liked the puzzle, got the theme at 48A and 63A. But I don’t understand ZDL’s comment, “ALY RAISMAN, the smirk heard round the world”. I have actually heard of this gymnast even though I’m an Australian who lives in Australia, but I’m mystified by this.
I think it’s a mistaken reference to McKayla Maroney.
yes, apologies, when i did the write-up i was even more dim than normal. edits are posted above.
NYT: Loved the puzzle. And the dupe of “hurt” early in the puzzle (1A and 3D) was probably a “wink, wink” from Will to give a heads up to the other “legal” dupes in the puzzle. 🧩 Thanks Kiran for a fantastic Thursday puzzle