"Thread Component" Thursday August 8 2024 New York Times Crossword Puzzle SOLVED

Solve Time: 16:35
Constructor: Christopher Youngs
Gratitude: getting stuff done
Word of the day: DESI - as in Desi Arnaz, famous for acting with and dating Lucille Ball.
CHAR - Arctic food fish
This Thursday NYT puzzle has a simple yet satisfying theme to it - the MINUTE HAND. Note that the word MINUTE can mean several things (so can HAND). One meaning for MINUTE is small, which is the theme revealer. 4 different long across entries contain a REBUS. A Rebus is where multiple letters fit inside one box. In this case, the word HAND fits inside each of the appropriate boxes, and it becomes MINUTE because the letters are so small. So it's a MINUTE HAND!
Note how the Rebus satisfies both the Down and Across clues.