In the NYT Crossword realm, the word rebus has many different meanings and you cannot always rely on just one of them. In today’s puzzle, the rebus shows its visual side: symbols for red and green lights. You may ask, What about the yellow light? (if you were thinking of traffic lights) but unfortunately, I have no answer! Either way, Thursday’s NYT Crossword brings us to the streets and makes us “stop” and “go.”
Theme of NYT Crossword of Jan 22 starts with section 11-Down and 42-Down: With 42-Down, they tell you when to stop and go … as seen in this puzzle’s theme (11D) and See 11-Down (42D). Their answers are TRAFFIC and SIGNALS, respectively. Put them together: you have traffic signals.
In the grid, there are two bold spaces for “red” and “green” lights. Let’s start with 18-Across: Happens. That’s it. The answer is COME[RED]ASS. On the other hand, Section 45-Across contains another set of red light. The question is: Result of missing the boat whose answer equals LO[RED]PORTUNITY.
I sat at the 18-Across and 45-Across red lights for a full minute before realizing I did not need a green light to keep typing. (I’ll be here all week, folks!). Ok, it is time to move. 27-Across is the first green light: Tackling the task at hand. The answer is WORKIN[GREEN]NIT. Moreover, 56-Across section (Striking through) is XIN[GREEN]UT.
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As you can see, the four answers I discussed earlier are meaningless. However, there is a nice trick to add meaning to them. In the introductory section of NYT Crossword of Jan 22, I mentioned the words go and stop which are symbols for green and red, respectively.
With that hint in mind, we should start reviewing the answers from the very beginning. Comrades is a word that I know you were wondering how you should interpret it. Please replace “red” with “stop” and the real answer shines: Comes to pass. The same strategy applies to green and go: Xingreenut will be Xing out. It is smart, isn’t it? Do the same for two remaining sections!
Thursdays are famous for breaking the rules, and today’s traffic light rebus was no exception! Did you find the Stop and Go trick immediately, or were you stuck at a literal standstill? Drop your solve time 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.
