See the 4 answer words debuted by Kevin Curry.
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E | R | A | R | A | G | T | I | M | E | I | R | S | ||
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R | E | D | O | S | K | N | E | A | D |
Hi, Crossworld! I'm a part-time corporate carbon footprint consultant and part-time stay-at-home dad of three young kids (although the title is ironic since it seems like we're never at home). I'm thrilled to be making my solo NYT debut on lucky 4/4.
This puzzle came to me at the end of a long day, when I was at my wits' end with my kids. They were running around the house while we were trying to eat dinner, and one knocked over her milk for the third time that day. "Rag time," I groaned. Then a light bulb went off. I wrote the Scott Joplin clue and stuck the entry in a prominent spot of a blank grid. Even though I don't drink and had to look up what a martini is, the rest of the puzzle somehow fell into place.
A big thanks to my wife, Zhou, for enduring years and years of dad jokes while I looked for the perfect one to print in the Times. I hope this makes it all worth it. After all, when does a joke become a dad joke? When it becomes apparent!
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E | X | P | E | L | P | S | Y | N | E | E | D | Y |