Bowling Venue NYT: A Crossword Clue That Stumped Many Solvers

If you are a fan of crossword puzzles, you might have encountered a clue that puzzled you: “Bowling venue”. This clue appeared on the New York Times Mini Crossword on April 27, 2023, and it had many solvers scratching their heads. What is the answer to this clue? And why is it so tricky?

The Answer: ALLEY

The answer to the clue “Bowling venue” is ALLEY, which is a synonym for a bowling lane or a place where people play bowling. This might seem obvious to some, but it is also a word that has many other meanings and uses, such as a narrow street, a passage between buildings, a place for cats to roam, or a part of a garden. This makes it a common word in crossword puzzles, but also a potential source of confusion.

According to Daze Puzzle, a website that provides crossword clue answers, ALLEY is one of the most frequent words in the New York Times Crossword, appearing 329 times since 1942. It has been used as a clue for various answers, such as LANE, PATH, SLUM, STRIP, and even OOP, which is a term for an alley-oop in basketball.

The Difficulty: Multiple Meanings

The difficulty of the clue “Bowling venue” lies in the fact that it is very vague and ambiguous. It does not specify what kind of bowling it is referring to, nor does it give any indication of the length or format of the answer. It could be a four-letter word, a five-letter word, or even a longer word that contains ALLEY as a part of it. For example, some possible answers could be:

  • BOWLS: A sport that involves rolling balls on a green surface, also known as lawn bowling.
  • CANDLES: A type of bowling that uses pins that are shaped like candles, also known as candlepin bowling.
  • DUCKS: A type of bowling that uses pins that are shorter and fatter than regular pins, also known as duckpin bowling.
  • SKITTLES: A type of bowling that uses pins that are shaped like bottles, also known as skittles or ninepins.
  • TENPIN: The most common type of bowling that uses ten pins and a large ball, also known as tenpin bowling.

These are just some of the possible answers that could fit the clue “Bowling venue”, but none of them are correct. The clue is not asking for the name of the sport, but the name of the place where it is played. And the place where all these types of bowling are played is an ALLEY.

The Solution: Logic and Knowledge

The solution to the clue “Bowling venue” requires a combination of logic and knowledge. Logic helps to eliminate the answers that are too long or too short, or that do not match the letter pattern of the crossword grid. Knowledge helps to identify the correct meaning of the word ALLEY and to recall the different types of bowling that exist.

If you are not familiar with the word ALLEY or the sport of bowling, you might need to use some external sources to help you solve the clue. For example, you could use a crossword solver tool, such as Levels Answers, that provides the answer and the explanation for the clue. Or you could use a search engine, such as Bing, that can give you more information about the word ALLEY and the sport of bowling.

However, if you are an experienced crossword solver, you might be able to solve the clue without any help, just by using your own logic and knowledge. You might recognize the word ALLEY as a common crossword word, and you might know that it is a synonym for a bowling lane. You might also know that there are different types of bowling, and that they all use an ALLEY as a venue. In that case, you might be able to solve the clue in a matter of seconds, and feel a sense of satisfaction and achievement.

The Conclusion: A Fun and Challenging Clue

The clue “Bowling venue” is a fun and challenging clue that tests your vocabulary, your logic, and your knowledge. It is a clue that can stump many solvers, but also a clue that can reward you with a sense of accomplishment. It is a clue that shows the beauty and the difficulty of crossword puzzles, and why they are so popular and enjoyable. It is a clue that makes you think, learn, and have fun. It is a clue that is worth solving.