You're staring at the grid. It’s a Wednesday, maybe a Thursday. The coffee is getting cold, and you’ve got four empty boxes staring back at you for a clue that feels like it should be easy but just... isn't. Back half of a 45 NYT crossword is one of those classic New York Times constructions that relies entirely on you knowing a specific era of music history that is rapidly fading into the "general knowledge" category of the past. If you’ve been stuck on this, don't feel bad. It’s a wordplay trap.
The answer is SIDEB.
Simple, right? Once you see it, the frustration usually turns into a "D'oh" moment. But the mechanics of why the NYT uses this clue—and why it works so well as a stumbling block—tell us a lot about how Will Shortz and his team of editors think about language and nostalgia.
The Logic Behind Side B
A "45" refers to a 7-inch vinyl record, which spins at 45 revolutions per minute. These were the staples of the music industry for decades, especially for singles. If you bought a record in 1965, it had two sides. The A-side featured the hit song—the one the radio stations played until the grooves wore out. The "back half," or the flip side, was the SIDEB.
Crossword constructors love this because "45" is a number that masquerades as something else. Your brain might go to a caliber of a gun. You might think about the year 1945. You might even think about age or a specific highway. By stripping away the context of "RPM" or "record," the clue becomes a mini-riddle.
Why Vinyl Clues Persist in Modern Puzzles
The New York Times crossword has a very specific demographic profile, though it has been changing. For years, the "Old Guard" of solvers grew up dropping needles on vinyl. For them, a 45 is a tangible object, not a historical artifact.
But for a 22-year-old solver today? A 45 might as well be a spinning jenny or a telegraph key. It’s something they’ve seen in movies or maybe a vintage shop, but the physical act of flipping the record to the "back half" isn't muscle memory.
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This creates a fascinating "knowledge gap" in the puzzle. Constructors like David Kwong or Robyn Weintraub often use these types of clues because they are short, they use common letters (S, I, D, E, B), and they fit into tight corners of the grid where you need a vowel-heavy string to make the "downs" work.
Breaking Down the Wordplay
Let’s look at the actual construction of the answer. It’s five letters.
In many puzzles, you might see "Flip side" as the clue, which leads to SIDEB. But "Back half of a 45" is more devious. It uses the word "half" to imply a division of a whole. In your head, you’re trying to divide 45 in half. 22.5? No, that doesn’t fit. Is it "five"? Is it "forty"?
The trick is realizing that "45" is a noun, not a value.
Common Variations You’ll See
Sometimes the NYT doesn't just give it to you straight. You have to look out for variants that appear in Friday or Saturday puzzles where the difficulty spikes. You might see:
- "Platter part"
- "Flip side of a hit"
- "Where the deep cuts are"
- "Single's tail end"
Honestly, "SIDEB" is a gift to constructors. Think about the letters. S-I-D-E-B. You’ve got three of the most common vowels/consonants in the English language, plus a 'B' which is just tricky enough to make a crossing word like "ABBA" or "OBOE" work.
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The Evolution of NYT Music Clues
Back in the day—we're talking the Margaret Farrar era of the 1940s—clues were much more literal. As the puzzle evolved under Will Shortz, the emphasis shifted toward "misdirection."
Music history is a favorite tool for this. You'll see clues for "LP" (Long Play), "RPM," and "STEREOS." But the "45" remains the king of the short-word clue. It’s compact. It’s punchy.
If you look at the data from the NYT Crossword Tracker, the clue "Back half of a 45" or similar variations has appeared dozens of times over the last two decades. It’s a "repeater." Once you learn it, you’ve unlocked a permanent tool in your solving kit.
How to Solve These When You’re Stuck
When you encounter a clue like this and the answer isn't immediately jumping out, use the "type of thing" method.
- Identify the Category: Is "45" a number, a year, a weapon, or an object?
- Check the Length: Five letters. If it was four, it might be "REAR." If it was six, maybe "SECOND."
- Look at the Crosses: Usually, the "B" at the end of SIDEB is the giveaway. If you have a down clue that ends in B, start thinking about musical sides.
I’ve spent hours on these grids. Sometimes the most "obvious" clues are the ones that take the longest because we overthink them. We look for a complex mathematical answer when the solution is sitting in a dusty crate of records in a basement.
The Cultural Shift in Crosswords
There is a brewing debate in the crossword world about "dated" clues. Is "SIDEB" still fair game? Some younger constructors argue that the puzzle should reflect modern life—Spotify playlists, TikTok trends, and digital culture.
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However, the NYT Crossword is a bridge between generations. It’s one of the few places where a Boomer and a Gen Z solver can sit down and actually have a shot at the same goal. The Boomer gets the 1950s jazz references, and the Gen Z solver gets the "LIT" and "YEET" clues that have started creeping in lately.
"SIDEB" survives because it is a bridge. It’s a piece of tech history that has remained in the lexicon long after the tech itself became niche.
Actionable Tips for Improving Your Solving Speed
If you want to stop getting tripped up by "Back half of a 45" and similar clues, you need to build a mental library of "crosswordese."
- Study the "Short" Words: Words like EPEE, ERNE, OREO, and SIDEB are the scaffolding of the puzzle. They appear because they are easy to fit into tight spots.
- Think Like a Constructor: Ask yourself, "Why did they pick this word?" Usually, it's because they were stuck in a corner and needed a word that ends in 'B'.
- Don't Fear the Re-read: If you're stuck, read the clue again out loud. Sometimes hearing "forty-five" instead of seeing the digits triggers the association with "RPM" or "record."
- Use a Pencil: (Or the digital equivalent). Put "SIDE" in the first four boxes. If the last letter doesn't work for the crossing clue, you can always delete it. But 90% of the time, that 'B' will be part of a word like "BOB" or "ABBE."
The next time you see "45" in a clue, don't reach for a calculator. Think about the flip side. Think about the B-side. Think about the fact that sometimes the best things in music—and in crosswords—are hidden on the back half.
Go back to your grid. Check the crossing clues for that 'B'. If you see something like "Ninth-century pope" (ADRIAN or LEO) or "Common street name" (ELM or MAIN), you’ll know exactly where you stand. The NYT puzzle isn't just a test of what you know; it's a test of how you can twist what you know until it fits into those little white squares.
Check the letters you have. If the second letter is an 'I', you're golden. If the last letter is a 'B', you're finished. Move on to the next corner of the grid and don't let the 45s get the best of you again.