Some Garage Sale Goods - The New York Times

WEDNESDAY PUZZLE — A little more than a year ago, my family moved from the house where I had raised my children over the past 22 years.

I was ready to scale down and buy a smaller house. It was done partly to try to lower our monthly costs and partly to relieve myself of the burden of owning so much house and, well, so much stuff. I would be lying if I denied that I was also trying to encourage my young adult children to think about eventually fledging the nest.

Before I put the old house on the market, I had the job of plowing through multiple decades of gifts received, toys played with and left to languish, furniture passed down through the generations and child-rearing detritus. Maybe “detritus” is a harsh word. Trying to decide what to keep and what to let go of among my children’s artwork and school-made Mother’s Day presents was excruciating. Each one was a memory. But I did it, thanks to Marie Kondo, the patron saint of tidying and eventually, only the larger pieces of furniture that we were not taking with us were left.

I briefly considered having a garage sale, but quickly came to my senses. I have had exactly one garage sale in my life, and it was an unmitigated disaster. It basically amounted to my sitting in the hot sun for hours on my driveway, waiting for the occasional car to cruise by. The shoppers who stopped — to a man — bypassed the reasonably priced “good stuff” and wanted to engage me in a negotiating battle to the death over a 10 cent spoon.

What I learned from this experience is that if there is a ring in Dante’s hell made for me, it would look like an eternal garage sale in the middle of August. I wound up donating the furniture.

Why was I telling you this? Oh yes, Ross Trudeau’s puzzle. Mr. Trudeau would like you to take a look at some stuff he has up for sale, and to enjoy his lovely midweek puzzle while you shop.

Tricky Clues

7A. Someone might go through drug withdrawal at a hospital, but in this puzzle, we’re supposed to be thinking of withdrawing money from an ATM.

18A. Al COWLINGS, who drove the white Ford Bronco that helped O.J. Simpson avoid the police in 1994.

31A. If you are just joining us, a “partner” clue is one where you are given what seems to be a common phrase — in this case, “Law partner?” — but is really asking you for a word that is usually paired with the clue and separated by the word “and.” In this case, the answer would be ORDER, as in “law and ORDER.”

33A. Mr. Trudeau delves into the archives to resurrect the entry WORKS OF ART, which last appeared in the puzzle in 1959. The singular WORK OF ART appeared more recently, in 2012.

36A. “Vein contents” can be blood, but the kind of vein we are thinking about is the kind that contains ORE.

48A. The ID in “What an ID may substitute for?” is not an identification card. It’s the postal code for IDAHO.

3D. A “performer without a speaking part” could be an extra, but we don’t have enough letters. Can you think of another kind of performer that doesn’t speak? If you were thinking MIME, you were correct.

9D. This “Daily run, for short?” is not exercise but a run of letters that are abbreviations for the days of the week: MTWTF.

54D. This one had me going for a while. My brain was convinced that we were supposed to be thinking of gangsters, but the kind of “Racketeer’s org.?” this clue was hinting at was the U.S.T.A., or the United States Tennis Association. Ohhh. That kind of racket.

Today’s Theme

Mr. Trudeau offers us a set of five theme entries, and the revealer at 52A tells us that each entry hides a piece of USED FURNITURE that might be sold at a garage sale. They are contained in the circled squares.

For example, at 15A, the answer to the clue “Get major hang time, in snowboarding lingo” is CATCH AIR, which hides a CHAIR. Similarly, at 62A, the answer to the clue “Verses-vs.-verses competitor” is SLAM POET, which contains a LAMP.

Constructor Notes

Back in March of 2017, I clued ALL RED as “visibly embarrassed,” deciding that while Gloria ALLRED was crossword-worthy, a non-trivia clue would be better for a Tuesday-ish puzzle. (She was even in the news at the time, representing multiple women in sexual assault cases.)

Since this puzzle was accepted, in August of 2017, #MeToo began, grew, and flourished into the robust and essential movement we know today. If ALLRED had found its way into one of my 2018, or 2019, or 2020 grids, I would have clued it as Gloria in a heartbeat.

Also, if you’re looking to get into crossword constructing, and especially if you identify as nonmale, L.G.B.T.Q., or as a person of color, I’d be thrilled to offer whatever assistance I can to help you get your puzzles published. Contact me via Instagram (@rosstrudeau) or Twitter (@trudeauross).

The Tipping Point

Almost finished solving but need a bit more help? We’ve got you covered.

Warning: There be spoilers ahead, but subscribers can take a peek at the answer key.

Trying to get back to the puzzle page? Right here.

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