With Valentine’s Day approaching fast, some people try to prepare themselves for celebrating this occasion. You may want to surprise your partner with a gift or go on a romantic date. However, I have better advice for you: solve the NYT Crossword of Feb 12 with your partner and celebrate Valentine’s two days early!
How can Valentine’s Day be related to a crossword? The answer is exactly what Kareem Ayas did with today’s puzzle. By constructing this grid, Mr. Ayas combined Lovers’ Day with some witty clues which are great reminders of how love should be integrated into our everyday lives. Let’s start today’s NYT Crossword analysis Feb 12 with love!
Theme of NYT Crossword Feb 12
There are two revealers for the Across and Down clues which relate to love in different yet similar ways. When you find the answers to these clues and get close to the “Aha!” moment, the real enjoyment of solving the puzzle will be upon you.
Starred clues in the Across sections are the theme entries. For example, 1-Across (To succeed) solves to DWELL. Or 18-Across (Public messages of appreciation) and 37-Across (New England-style chowder, for one) are SHUTOUTS and CLAM SUP respectively. Finally, 54-Across (Long-legged wader) solves to FLAMING.
As you may have noticed, all these answers are weirdly wrong and don’t make much sense. However, the big hint comes at the 58-Across revealer: “Provide comfort, in a way … or a hint to the answers to the four starred Across clues.”
The first revealer of the grid is GIVE A HUG. Did you get the hint of a “hug” with the starred clues? The shape of the letter O is like hugging someone. Now, add an O to the Across answers and they become meaningful: DO WELL, SHOUTOUTS, CLAM SOUP and FLAMINGO. Try it yourself and see the magic trick!
For the Down clues, you have to do the reverse. To be much clearer, you have to omit something. I was stuck on this hint for about 10 minutes. God bless me for giving you the direct hints and saving your time!
5-Down (Behind in payment) and 11-Down (Forevermore) are two of the four starred Down clues which solve to LATEX and EXTERNALLY respectively. The other two are 29-Down (Word appearing 51 times in the New Testament) and 52-Down (Severely harm) whose answers are AXMEN and MAXIM.
Like the Across clues, these answers are not related to the questions. The key to the grid lies in 26-Down: “Quickly smooch … or a hint to the answers to the four starred Down clues.” This solves to STEAL A KISS. All you have to do is “steal” an X (the symbol for a kiss) from the entries to reach the true answers: LATE, ETERNALLY, AMEN, and MAIM.
After finding the main theme of the NYT Crossword of Feb 12, I was excited to see how a crossword can be linked to everything in our world. To me, crosswords are a testament to the power of words, which are, in fact, our main way of communication.
Did the “Steal a Kiss” mechanic trip you up or did you find the hidden “O” hugs right away? Let me know your favorite romantic clue in the comments!
If you need the answers for daily crossword puzzles like the NYT Crossword or the NYT Mini, make sure to check Daze Puzzle every day to find the solutions you need in record time.
