The answer to “Hamburger connection” in the NYT Crossword is UND — three letters, the German word for “and.” Why UND? The capital H is the entire puzzle. A lowercase “hamburger” is the sandwich — but a capitalized “Hamburger” is…
The answer to “Features of gathering clouds” in the NYT Crossword is AEIOU — the five vowels, in order. Why AEIOU? This clue has nothing to do with weather — it’s about letters, and that’s the whole trick. Look at…
The answer to “Don’t make me blush!” in the NYT Crossword is OHYOU — five letters, entered in the grid as OHYOU. Why OHYOU? The quotation marks and exclamation point are everything in this clue. They tell you the answer…
The answer to “Splashy gambler, in lingo” in the NYT Crossword is WHALE — five letters for a high-stakes casino player. Why WHALE? This clue is a miniature pun machine with two gears that mesh perfectly. “Splashy” points one way…
The answer to “Lawyers org.” in the NYT Crossword is ABA — three letters, the American Bar Association. Why ABA? This clue is a textbook example of how NYT constructors signal abbreviations. The “Org.” in the clue is doing double…
The answer to “Video game company named after a term in the board game Go” in the NYT Crossword is ATARI — five letters, the legendary company behind Pong. Why ATARI? This is a trivia clue dressed as wordplay, and…
The answer to "Head turner" in the NYT Crossword is OWL — three letters, for the bird famous for swiveling its head almost all the way around. Why OWL? The joke is deliciously literal. In everyday speech, a "head turner"…
The answer to "Browser in Mario games" in the NYT Crossword is BOWSER — six letters, and a perfect homophone pun on the web browser you use every day. Why BOWSER? Say it out loud: "browser" and "Bowser" sound almost…
The answer to "Pop-up button" in the NYT Crossword is OUTIE — a five-letter word for the kind of belly button that pops outward instead of sinking in. Why OUTIE? Your first instinct probably goes straight to gadgets: a toaster…
The answer to "You can't make me" in the NYT Crossword is IWONT — five letters, a flat-out refusal meaning "I will not do it, no matter what you say." Why IWONT? Crossword constructors love clues that sound like something…
