Inm, screwed up coding. Will repost.
Was it the four letter word that ends with “osh”? Because that one threw me. I just tried different letters until I got it right.
I’m wondering what you were thinking of.
It was 86A:
2 vis-a-vis 8; 3 vis-a-vis; etc., and the answer was
QUEUE
I couldn’t think of how a QUEUE could possibly be a cube root, and I still can’t. I think the intent might be to think of the first two items in an ascending list of integer cube roots. QUEUE-B roots?
If you’ve been here long enough to know the “Hi Opal!” meme, I think it applies here! A QUEUE should have at least three items, like a list.
That got me too; I’ve never heard it. I’ve heard BOSH used the same way, but that wasn’t it as we know.
Think how cube root sounds
You need to read 86A with 89A (QUEUE BRUTES)
Who was it who said that an Englishman, on finding himself alone, will form an orderly queue of one?
The puzzle:
It has several 2-word soundalikes:
Nocturnal bird known for its distinct calls, informally : WHO TOWEL
Some outdoor seats : LAUNCH HEIRS
Secret lairs : HIGH DOUBTS
etc.
I’m just curious – how did you handle the clues of 22A, 31A, 38A, 50A, 68A, 81A, 89A and 100A? All those clues are just a hyphen. And all those clues point back to the previous across clue in order to complete them. In other words, why is it this clue/answer combo the one that stuck out to you and not, say, 30A, which is clued “Some outdoor seats” and whose answer is just LAUNCH if you don’t take into account 31A, in which HEIRS fills in for the hyphen clue, and whose complete answer is LAUNCH HEIRS = “lawn chairs.” How did you manage all that other theme fill without realizing the theme or that the one-word answers don’t make sense with the clue?
There is also a “revealer” in the puzzle for the theme at 58A “Hit Mach I … or a hint to answering eight pairs of consecutive entries in this puzzle.” Whenever you see several hyphens for clues in a NYT crossword puzzle, it usually means that the fill is continuing or otherwise connected to some other fill in the puzzle, usually immediately before, or possibly after. Maybe even with a cross – I’m not sure if I’ve seen that. But it’s typically the continuation of another clue. (On the other hand, if you see a lonely hyphen or dash in the clues, it might be DAH or MINUS or DASH.)
Sometimes when I didn’t understand a particular NYT crossword answer, I’ll read the Wordplay column for that day. It often explains the odd ones. Or in the comments, I’ll find I’m not the only one who was confused.
Yeah, there’s a link from both the app and the web version to the column. Also, I like to read Rex Parker/Michael Sharp’s usually somewhat crabby takes at the puzzle at rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com, but the Wordplay column is usually immediately available, while Rex’s takes a few hours after the puzzle comes out.
I have to admit that I could not figure out the gimmick for the puzzle from Thursday last week, so I had to read the Wordplay column for a hint. (This was the one with the sleeping cars.)
That last Thursday puzzle kicked my ass. And then Friday was a piece of cake.
Took me forever to get the theme and even then, one of the answers eluded me until the very end (upper left).
I thought the Sunday theme was pretty good.