Sun Feb 09 12:40:00 UTC 2025: ## Puzzle Masters Katz and Chen Craft Devious Sunday Crossword

**New York, NY** – Renowned crossword constructors Rich Katz and Jeff Chen have teamed up to create a challenging Sunday puzzle for the New York Times, featuring a unique twist on common phrases. The puzzle, built around a double entendre at 86-Across, plays on the use of common letter-pair abbreviations within familiar expressions.

The puzzle presents solvers with seven themed clues, each a riddle leading to a common phrase containing a letter pair that doubles as a common abbreviation. The key to solving lies in recognizing and interpreting this abbreviation to unlock a new, related meaning.

For example, the clue “[Broadway offering titled with dots and dashes?]” leads to the answer “SHOW REMORSE”. Solvers must interpret “RE” as “regarding,” thus reinterpreting the phrase as “SHOW RE(garding) MORSE,” referencing Morse code’s dots and dashes.

Another example, “[Instructions for slaying Dracula?],” solves as “MANUAL RECOUNT,” where “RE” is again understood as “regarding,” creating the phrase “MANUAL RE(garding) COUNT,” alluding to instructions (a manual) concerning Dracula’s count.

The puzzle’s creators describe the process as transforming a small detail of everyday language into something “delightful”. While the initial concept is simple, the execution, according to early solvers, proves both challenging and rewarding. The puzzle’s seed entry, [U-Haul ad?], which solves to “SPOT REMOVER” (interpreted as “SPOT RE[garding] MOVER”) further exemplifies the cleverness of the theme.

The puzzle, a collaboration stemming from a shared observation of the double meaning at 86-Across, has been praised for its ingenuity and entertainment value. Even seasoned crossword enthusiasts will find themselves challenged by this inventive creation from Katz and Chen.

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