The grid is up. Today’s puzzle leans hard on pop culture. Movie fans will recognize the references immediately.
Skip the preamble if you want the answers fast. I linked them above for the daily rush. There’s a bot now too, right inside the app. Play through your puzzle then hit analyze. You get a number score and some breakdown. If you log in to Times Games it gets even better for stats geeks. Win rate, perfect scores, current streaks. You can watch yourself improve or spiral. It doesn’t matter. The puzzle is the puzzle.
Where to look before guessing
There are four tiers today. Yellow is simple. Purple is… well, purple.
May the Force be with you, literally.
Yellow Hint
Think “Shag”.
Green Hint
Don’t wait. Act now.
Blue Hint
Captain America. Spider-Man.
Purple Hint
See the Star Wars hint above. It’s in the titles.
The Breakdown
Here’s how it actually falls. No tricks this time.
Yellow: Hairdos
Old school cuts mostly.
– Beehive
– Bouffant
– Chignon
– Pompadour
Who even does these anymore?
Green: Synonyms for “More Readily”
This group was about priority or preference.
– First
– Preferably
– Rather
– Sooner
Standard green stuff. Easy points.
Blue: Marvel Characters
You have to know the names.
– Daredevil
– Hawkeye
– Nightcrawler
– Wolverine
Nightcrawler is X-Men obviously but it’s still Marvel property. Don’t overthink it.
Purple: Words after “The” in Star Wars
The hardest slot usually. Today it was straightforward wordplay.
– Empire (Empire Strikes Back)
– Force (Force Awakens / Last Jedi… wait, check that)
– Last (Last Jedi)
– Phantom (Phantom Menace)
Did you catch The Last Jedi? It has “Last” not “The”. Actually the pattern is just words following “The” in the full title. The Empire, The Force, The Last, The Phantom. It works.
Some people miss Force. It feels weird without “Dark Side”. But it’s correct.
Tomorrow brings a fresh board. Until then
