It seems that wordplay is the major factor of this weekend’s NYT Crossword. Friday and Saturday’s puzzles were themeless, but they contained subtle wordplay throughout. Today’s crossword is a flawless example of a grid that combines both puns and a cohesive theme. If you are a tech enthusiast, the NYT Crossword for Jan 25 will be a fun challenge!
There are seven clues in the grid in italics. Each one is a mundane real-world observation that serves as a pun for a computer error. To solve these, you have to think outside the box. Let’s look at the biggest puzzle of the week!
23-Across is the first theme question: “That cabinet with plates looks awfully full.” How can we relate this to the world of computers? Ok, let me help you. Imagine you have tons of movies, photos and music stored in your PC. Then, you may have a notification saying the storage is full or simple, OUTOFDISKSPACE (Out of Disk Space).
Spoiler Alert: The answers are visible in the below image.
43-Across is a computer joke which I think is the star of the show; it made me laugh while I was dying to find the answer. The question is: “It’s saying you completed the marathon in under two hours, which can’t be right.” I’m sure you have encountered a RUNTIMEERROR (Runtime Error) in your daily work with PCs.
51-Across section is another computer-medical joke: “Is that a cough I hear?” It is really interesting that after a cough (read bug in computer world), both body and PCs react in the same way: VIRUSDETECTED (Virus Detected).
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Section 70-Across is the nightmare for those users who want their system to be updated: “Sorry, we’ll have to put the old panes back in” For answering this riddle, pay attention to these words: pane, sorry and back. Then, link them to computer science and replace them with words like update, window and fail. Ok, I know, it is difficult. The answer is WINDOWSUPDATEFAILED (Windows Update Failed).
If your computer has low-memory RAM, you may encounter this software issue which is the answer to 91-Across: “Those pancakes are piled way too high!” That error is STACKOVERFLOW (Stack Overflow) which occurs when a task needs too much memory and system cannot handle tons of data at once.
98-Across clue question is: “Your emery board will never fit in this tiny toiletry bag.” In the digital realm, we have all faced the same frustration when trying to upload a massive video or high-res photo to an email or a website. The crossword translates this situation perfectly into the annoying computer error: FILETOOLARGE (File Too Large).
And finally, we reach the final theme clue of the grid which is a terrifying monster for online users and players. Section 122-Across’s question is: “Your waiter’s nowhere to be seen!.” Replace waiter with server and “nowhere to be seen” with not found. Together, the answer is SERVERNOTFOUND (Server Not Found).
There is one clue that defies the direction of Jan 25 NYT Crossword theme. 127-Across question is: “Chips may go into it.” By chips, you may think of processors or system-on-chips. However, the answer is much simpler: ONIONDIP (Onion Dip).
Today’s puzzle was a Runtime Error for my brain until it finally clicked! Which tech pun was your favorite? Did you get Stack Overflow immediately, or did Onion Dip throw you off the scent? Let’s talk tech 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.
