TUESDAY PUZZLE — If not for its appearance in a crossword puzzle, any theme might be dismissed as mere happenstance. Three or four distinct phrases contain a similar letter pattern or word sequence; so what? Crosswords elevate these patterns from happy accidents to linguistic marvels. They make facts seem stranger than fiction.

Love crossword puzzles but don’t have all day to sit and solve a full-sized puzzle in your daily newspaper? That’s what The Mini is for! A bite-sized version of the New York Times’ well ...