NYT Crossword Answers: “Write before a late-night call, maybe”

So, how does this theme work? The detector here, at 64-Across, is FLIPSIDES, with the key to “opposites…or instructions to answer the clues starred in this puzzle.” Essentially, you take the “both sides” of the word divided by the thick line and “flip” them the other way.

For example, at 45-Across, we have a WINGBACKS answer with the idea of ​​”*beginning golfer’s work”. Now, I’m no golf expert, but I do know that chairs are not a vital part of the game. If you flip the sides of the word, you get BACKSWING, which seems more about sports.

I am a big fan of topics like this. I’ve solved a number of other Mr. Seigel puzzles, and this is definitely my favourite. I’m definitely looking forward to his next post, and I hope you all enjoyed solving this as much as I did.

Creator Notes

Tons of compound words can be “flipped” to create a new, unrelated term. Flip HANGOVER to become OVERHANG, for example. The ingredients, HANG and OVER, haven’t changed, so it’s not very interesting. I looked up the terms in which the distance between the components must shift in order for the face to work, so one component is completely new to the equation. Adding an “s” turned out to be the most reliable and proven method: TOOLBARS morphed into BARSTOOL, and I liked how unexpected the “stool” appeared. I was surprised at how few good candidates I could find with this property. Some of the discard pile included: HOTPOTS, HOTBLOODS, WAYSIDES, PACEMAKERS, and WINGCHAIRS. Sometimes an additional “s” suffix is ​​needed to make the network work; Many of them can feel like extra fluff rather than more important vocabulary. For this puzzle, I loved how the added “s” is the key to the gimmick.

My original submission highlighted one side of each composite answer, as an option to make the “sides” easier to see. The editors went without shaded boxes; A little trickier, but hopefully fun, not frustrating.

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The turning point

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