Solution to Evan Birnholzs April 30 crossword, Third Times the Charm

Celeb Gist

It’s another meta weekend. The instructions say we’re looking for a six-letter word. This is where I would normally say let’s start by looking at the theme answers … except, where are they? There are a pair of 10-letter answers (SET A RECORD at 16D and ASSOCIATES at 71D) and a pair of nine-letter answers (TREASURER at 12D and PLACE NAME at 81D), but those aren’t exactly standout phrases and they don’t take up that much real estate as the longest answers in the grid.

This is a meta where keeping the title in mind can really help. The central answer at 65A: [One of a group of three] is TRIPLET and it’s a subtle hint to the theme, but the biggest hints are both the title and the clues. While solving you may have experienced a feeling of deja vu a few times; that’s because several clues are repeated word-for-word. There are six clues in this puzzle that show up three times each:

  • [Handle] is the clue for GRIP at 1A, MANAGE at 31A, and ALIAS at 58D.
  • ["Square” thing, maybe] is the clue for ROOT at 54A, DEAL at 61A, and MEAL at 70D.
  • [Drive] is the clue for TEE SHOT at 27A, STEER at 39D, and URGE at 91D.
  • [Rank] is the clue for FETID at 44A, ROW at 83A, and LEVEL at 102D.
  • [Fair] is the clue for JUST at 45D, SUNNY at 92A, and EXPO at 110D.
  • [What X might mean] is the clue for KISS at 41D, CHI at 97A, and TEN at 112D.

Now that you’ve found the six trios of key answers, the next step is to apply the title by looking at the third example in each set — meaning, the third one in grid order:

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  • GRIP / MANAGE / ALIAS
  • ROOT / DEAL / MEAL
  • TEE SHOT / STEER / URGE
  • FETID / ROW / LEVEL
  • JUST / SUNNY / EXPO
  • KISS / CHI / TEN

The first letters of those third key answers, in order, spell AMULET. That’s a type of charm, and it’s the meta answer.

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I’m guessing the easiest inroad for cracking the meta is to spot the repeated ["Square” thing, maybe] and [What X might mean] clues because those stand out more than the repeated one-word clues like [Drive] or [Fair]. The reason I chose those one-word clues is because I wanted examples of three vastly different things that could each be clued the same way, and it’s just easier to accommodate that criterion with shorter clues to describe all three answers. TEE SHOT is a kind of drive you hit in golf, STEER is a verb meaning to drive a vehicle, and URGE is a type of emotional drive or wish. “Fair” could mean JUST or equitable, but it can also refer to fair or SUNNY weather, and it can be a type of fair like an EXPO. I didn’t want three synonyms of a word meaning exactly the same thing each time. I suppose I could have used people’s names in a few cases, like [“Star Wars” character] could plausibly clue HAN and YODA and either LUKE or LEIA to hint at the L in AMULET, but again, I wanted all three answers in each set to arise from completely different contexts. In any case, here’s hoping that the repeated trios of clues were large enough breadcrumbs to lead you to the finish line.

Some other answers and clues:

  • 20A: ["Dungeons & Dragons: Honor ___ Thieves” (2023 film)] is AMONG. It’s funny; when I wrote this puzzle a couple of weeks ago, my friends were planning to go see the new Dungeons & Dragons movie in the theater, but I wasn’t aware until a few hours before showtime that it had that subtitle. Thus a clue was born. The film was really fun, too.
  • 26A: [Tried to recall, maybe?] is VOTED. One of my two favorite clues today.
  • 69A: [He preceded Lightfoot as mayor of Chicago] is EMANUEL. Lightfoot will be followed shortly by Johnson on May 15.
  • 73A: [Wednesday’s roommate on “Wednesday”] is ENID. I watched “Wednesday” on Netflix a few months ago and it was delightful. After it was released, I imagine crossword constructors everywhere were overjoyed to have another current way to clue ENID.
  • 118A: ["Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” actress Wong] is ELLEN. It’s still one of my favorite movies. Ellen Wong played Knives Chau.
  • 2D: [Field goal?] is ROLE. Perhaps one of the trickier clues in the puzzle — this refers to Sally Field, whose goal is to get film roles.
  • 3D: [The ___ of Cats (board game where you rescue stranded cats)] is ISLE. I got to play this game for the first time last month and I enjoyed it.
  • 12D: [Green party?] is TREASURER. This was my other favorite clue because it spins both words; think of “green” as in money and “party” as in a person.
  • 76D: ["Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for ___ Equality” (memoir by Sarah McBride)] is TRANS. Sarah McBride became the first openly trans state senator in the U.S. in 2021.

What did you think?

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