Context Needed

PSA: It’s the holidays! Don’t leave your gift shopping too late, and consider getting the people on your list an experience instead of a thing. Tickets to a show, a restaurant gift card… I’ve become a big fan of consumable gifts over the last few years, in what I’ve realized is a shift toward anti-consumerism. But, if you do want to get that special someone something physical, maybe consider a plirt.

Last night was the inaugural You Can Make A Crossword Workshop, and it went well overall. Thank you to those who braved the deadly cold to be there! You can tune in here to be the first to hear about the next date (early 2026).

Final PSA: Everyone deserves a break (yes, even me). Next week (Dec 19) will be the final issue of 2025 - I might send you an email during the break if it feels right, but expect YEGwords to pick back up on January 9.

I don’t know exactly what I want to say about this week’s crossword - just that I think it’s a fun one, and I’m sure you’ll have feelings about it.

Discussion (and spoilers!) below the break.

Play

Context Needed by Brandon Cathcart

Discussion

I like a theme that breaks the rules of what a crossword “should” be - it’s part of what I love about publishing my own crosswords (take that, The Man!). One of the things that draws me to wordplay and word puzzles is all the strange quirks of the English language, and I was excited to showcase one of them today.

As always, here’s a banger from the puzzle to take you into the rest of your day (and a staple of my childhood).

Today’s Theme

The word RUN has the most definitions of any word in the dictionary, and is used as a synonym for so many disparate contexts. Today’s theme highlights that - RUN appears 11 times in the puzzle, with each clue following the pattern [SYNONYM (words needed after “run” to make it a true synonym)]. Here they are for your reading convenience

Practice (lines in a play), Cost (you), Publish (a story), Barrel (over), Do (some errands), Be in charge of (an organization), Fill (a bath), A vertical line (in your tights), Vie (for an elected position), Go through (a red light), Put on (an event)

And this is only 11 of the 645!

Behind the Clues

14A. [Some will put on 40-50 pounds for their role] is a fun one that is meant to harken to actors gaining/losing weight for roles. I wanted to make it a little more misleading with the subtle wording changes [Profession that sometimes puts on 40-50 pounds for a role] but it started to feel disingenuous. Still fun that GOALIES, specifically hockey goalies, and their protection from getting slammed by pucks for an hour.

24A. [Food ___, the domain of the Burger King and the Dairy Queen] is an idea I stole from a previous NYT theme I thought was fun and clever. There’s a lot of fun to be had with the idea of a food COURT. Order in the court? I’ll have a slice of pepperoni and a medium drink, please!

27A. I didn’t put in too many misdirects this week, but this one was too fun and came to me quickly. [Give a hand?] isn’t helping someone out, it’s inviting them to play a round of cards - DEAL IN. As a card game enjoyer, you can always deal me in.

5D. No one ever talks about this, despite UNO being an overly frequent crossword entry. [It's basically branded Crazy Eights], change my mind. Ooo, you added a reverse card - very cool and creative, Mattel. I’ve been playing Crazy Eights long before Uno was even… Sorry what’s that? 1971, really? Ah, you get the point.

19D. Though I haven’t read it for many years now, [Alfred E. Neuman's magazine] or MAD magazine was a staple of my teen years. It was one of those things that makes you feel like you’re part of the adult gang, provocative but not so much that my parents let me read it.

30D. I gave myself a good chuckle with [Boring tool that I think is cool] both because of the wordplay, and I got to nod to my past training as a mechanical engineer. I do think an AUGER is a cool tool. It’s essentially a screw, one of the six classic simple machines that have empowered everything around you to exist.

I hope you enjoyed this puzzle!

Until next Friday,

Brandon