SUNDAY PUZZLE — Note to readers: Please spot the correction below. This puzzle was constructed by David C. Duncan Dekker, not Tina Labadie, and seemingly helium thought sending the puzzle successful nether a pseudonym would beryllium a hilarious applicable joke. Ha ha, bully one, Mr. Dekker! This file has been edited to found the close byline. — D.A.

This is 1 of those Sunday grids wherever speechmaking Will Shortz’s people instauration earlier solving affects the experience. He writes: “David C. Duncan Dekker lives successful London, Ontario. It has 1 of my favourite kinds of themes — 1 offering galore antithetic ‘ahas.’ The illustration astatine 118-Across, astatine the bottommost of the puzzle, is simply a small antithetic from the others, similar the kicker of a joke. As a operation fillip, each missive successful the alphabet is utilized astatine slightest erstwhile successful the completed grid.”

That benignant of praise sets a precocious barroom for immoderate puzzle, fto unsocial a debut, and today’s dilatory burner of a taxable doesn’t disappoint. I yet got to those “ahas,” but not earlier respective “uh-oh” moments erstwhile I disquieted that I was missing something. A small suspense makes the lick adjacent better.

Tricky Clues

47A. Clues similar today’s — “W.W. I helmet, informally” — outnumber a hint similar “Stereotypical deterioration for the paranoid,” which tin besides specify this entry, by 16 to 1 successful the Times crossword. I inactive deliberation of conspiracy fans erstwhile I spot TIN HAT (or “The Wizard of Oz”!).

79A. “Google ___” could lick to a fewer things: “Docs” oregon “apps” are possible, arsenic good arsenic the close entry, MAPS. This is simply a instrumentality I often usage to double-check hard geography trivia — contiguous I drew a full blank connected IBADAN, Nigeria’s third-largest city, and the Gulf of SIDRA.

101A. This is simply a slightly foggy clue. “Crystal-clear” made maine deliberation of thing easy understood earlier I thought of thing really transparent, oregon LIMPID, similar a tranquil pool. This is specified a calming word, isn’t it? Every possible definition — an even-keeled mood, the wide code of an instrumentality — is neutral and relaxed.

3D. I’m impressed by anyone who gets a hint similar this consecutive away; I needed crosses. The “Jazz vocalist calved Eunice Kathleen Waymon” is NINA SIMONE, who chose her ain alias, erstwhile she started retired singing successful bars, to debar getting successful occupation with her mother.

19D. “Introductory course” sounds academic, but it’s a culinary notation to SALADS.

61D. This is 1 of respective clues successful the capable that I thought could beryllium successful the taxable set. “They’re filled with X’s” could notation to the missive X, the Roman fig 10 or, possibly, a precise lucrative treasure map. I wasn’t expecting BALLOTS, which can, indeed, beryllium marked disconnected with crosses. (It seems risky, though.)

Today’s Theme

This is different taxable with paired entries — we’ve seen a fewer of these lately, and they adhd a bully furniture of deduction to solving, adjacent erstwhile the 2 entries are connected successful the clues oregon successful the integer puzzle presentation. There are six pairs successful the taxable set, and they’re each large examples of “Letterplay,” arsenic the puzzle’s rubric indicates. There’s besides a neat numerical constituent that I didn’t announcement until I went implicit things a 2nd time.

You volition astir apt tally into, and solve, taxable entries successful random bid — I surely did. The archetypal 1 that I knew for definite was astatine 42-Across, “Beer named for a founding father,” which is SAM ADAMS and which I assumed was conscionable normal, innocuous fill. This hint happens to beryllium rather adjacent its paired entry, which is 52-Across: “D.S.T. starting clip … oregon a hint to 42-Across.” Nothing struck maine there. I got to 90-Across, “Club for workplace kids … oregon a hint to 97-Across,” and figured it had to beryllium “4-H.” If the introduction hadn’t been 5 letters long, I’d person astir apt tried HHHH; instead, I sat connected it for a spot and tried 97-Across, “Secretive.” Because of immoderate crossing letters, I got this introduction right: HUSH-HUSH. Or, I realized, HUSH-HUSH — those 4 H’s indispensable mean something.

Because of the placement of OAHU, QUIT and JACUZZI, I figured retired 27-Across next. “Visitor to a website, successful analytics lingo,” is UNIQUE USER. Its companion hint is astatine 71-Across, “23rd successful a bid … oregon a hint to 27-Across.” We’re dealing with “Letterplay,” truthful the bid that comes to caput is people alphabetical, but what does “W” (the 23rd letter) person to bash with the introduction astatine 27-Across? Aha — UNIQUE USER contains 2 U’s, oregon a DOUBLE U.

DOUBLE U got maine attuned to however to reply 68-Across: “Top recognition standing … oregon a hint to 25-Across.” That recognition standing (for corporate bonds) is AAA, oregon TRIPLE A. What could that person to bash with 25-Across, “Not true?” Thank you, crosses! This 1 made consciousness lone erstwhile I reverse engineered it; a enactment that’s “not true,” oregon straight, mightiness beryllium AT AN ANGLE. There are your TRIPLE A’s.

So what astir 90-Across? “Quadruple” doesn’t fit; the introduction is FOUR H. And what astir 52-Across, that “D.S.T. starting clip …”? That’s TWO AM, referring to the TWO “AM”s successful SAM ADAMS.

There are 2 much examples — 1 fantabulous brace of puns astatine 89- and 115-Across and a saltation astatine 54- and 118-Across — that marque the limits of the numerical sequence. (It’s almost a sequence, anyway. It’s missing “one,” oregon “single,” and alternatively goes ZERO — TWO — DOUBLE — TRIPLE — FOUR — FIVE.) That ZERO introduction is simply a coup de grâce. 54-Across, “Weightlessness … oregon a hint to 118-Across,” is ZERO G. 118-Across is “Baseball announcer’s telephone connected a location run.” What’s that they say? “It’s outta here?” In this case, it’s a more suspenseful statement, that, with ZERO G’s, reads, OIN OIN ONE.

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