The New York Times crossword for February 26 features a theme centered around elongated words, using a rebus format. The puzzle, constructed by Dan Caprera, requires solvers to recognize a pattern where certain letters in the themed entries are doubled to visually represent a “long” word.
Theme explanation
The theme includes four entries in the Down clues: 4-, 9-, 15-, and 17-Down. One of the key clues, [What a stereotypical bartender asks after a horse walks into a bar] (15D), leads to the well-known phrase “Why the long face?” In the puzzle, it is written as “WHY THE FFAACCEE?” with the word “face” elongated. Another example is 4D, [Inspiration for a seafood chain], which refers to Long John Silver but appears as “JJOOHHNN SILVER.”
Tricky clues and solutions
Several clues in the puzzle may require extra thought.
• 14A [Contents of some shots] – The answer is SERA, the plural of serum.
• 39A [Numismatic rating] – The answer is FINE, a grading term for coins.
• 44A [1/13 or 2/13] – The answer is IDES, referring to the Ides of January and February.
• 62A [Competitive poker?] – The answer is ÉPÉE, a fencing weapon.
• 5D [Tune] – The answer is AIR, a classical music term.
• 60D [One who looks at slides?] – The answer is UMP, referring to an umpire in baseball.
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