Clues that take the form “word before” are hinting at an entry that precedes the words listed in the clue to produce common terms or phrases. “Parts of a French archipelago” are ILES, which is the French word for islands.ģ3D. The “Instruction to Kate in a Cole Porter title” is KISS ME, as in the musical “KISS ME, Kate.”Ģ6D. The two forearm bones are the radius and the ulna, but the clue “Bones next to ulnae” is looking for the plural form of radius, so you’ll need to enter RADII here.ĤD. You know this entry will be an abbreviation because of the abbreviation “org.” in the clue.ģ6A. The “Museum-funding org.” is the National Endowment for the Arts, or N.E.A. If you want to avoid looking as foolish as I did the first time I mentioned the sport in conversation, you should know that it is pronounced “HIGH a-lie.”Ģ2A. I learned about the sport Jai ALAI from crossword puzzles, but one thing crossword puzzles can’t teach you is pronunciation. Read on for a deeper dive into the meaning of this theme, but first, let’s dig into a few of these clues. Sherwin’s notes to explain its significance.Īnd that’s OK! Sometimes a theme will take a little extra nudge to click (heck, that’s why this column exists), and this puzzle, for me, presented one such occasion. Although I could see the pattern, I still needed Mr.

The theme of this puzzle, as I explain further below, initially had me feeling a bit foolish, but I don’t need your pity! After figuring out the first two theme entries, I was able to use the shaded squares to my advantage, predicting which letters would go in the second set of squares once I had the first set figured out. MONDAY PUZZLE - I’ve long wanted to see the debut constructor Zach Sherwin’s “ The Crossword Show,” in which a group of comedians and other personalities solve a crossword live onstage, so I was thrilled to see his name, along with that of the veteran constructor and all-around delight, Andrea Carla Michaels, in the byline for today’s puzzle.

Radius for one crossword clue