You're staring at the grid. The cursor is blinking. You’ve got three letters, maybe four, and the clue reads "umlaut rotated 90 degrees." If you’re a New York Times Crossword regular, your brain probably did a little backflip. Is it a math symbol? Is it some obscure architectural term? Nope. It’s a colon.
Actually, let's be real. It’s one of those "aha!" moments that makes you want to throw your phone across the room and simultaneously marvel at the cleverness of the constructor. These types of clues are the bread and butter of the NYT puzzle, especially when Joel Fagliano or Will Shortz are leaning into the "tricky" side of wordplay.
The Mechanics of the Umlaut Rotated 90 Degrees NYT Clue
Crosswords aren't just about vocabulary. They’re about visual reinterpretation. When you see an umlaut (those two dots over a German vowel like in München), you see them horizontally. Rotate that image 90 degrees in your mind. Suddenly, the dots are stacked. That's a colon.
It sounds simple when you say it out loud. In the heat of a Saturday puzzle? Not so much.
The umlaut rotated 90 degrees NYT clue is a classic example of "lateral thinking." The puzzle isn't asking for a synonym; it’s asking you to treat the word not as a linguistic marker, but as a physical object. This is a common trope in the NYT Crossword, where symbols like the ampersand, the hashtag, or even a simple dash are described by their physical attributes or how they look when flipped, mirrored, or turned.
Why this clue trips up even the pros
Crossword solvers are trained to look for synonyms. When you see "umlaut," you think "diacritic," "accent," or maybe "German." You don't immediately think about geometry. That’s the trap.
Experienced solvers like those over at Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle blog often talk about "crosswordese"—those words like ETUI or ARETE that only exist in puzzles. But this isn't crosswordese. This is a visual pun. It forces you to stop reading and start looking.
Think about the colon for a second. In a digital clock, it separates hours from minutes. In a sentence, it introduces a list. But in a crossword, it’s just two dots. If you’ve ever solved a "Schrödinger’s Square" where two different letters could work, you know the NYT loves to mess with your perception of what a character can be.
Crossword Puns and Visual Shifts
The NYT Crossword has a long history of these visual clues. Sometimes they're called "cryptic-lite." For example, a clue might be "I" and the answer is EYE. Or "1/2" might lead you to JANUARY SECOND.
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The umlaut rotated 90 degrees fits perfectly into this lineage. It’s about the transformation of the symbol. If you look at the history of the puzzle, constructors like Elizabeth Gorski or Patrick Berry have used visual orientation to hide answers in plain sight for decades.
I remember a puzzle a few years back where the clue was just " . " and the answer was PERIOD. Then there was one where "..." led to ELLIPSIS. The umlaut clue is just a more sophisticated version of that. It requires a two-step mental process:
- Visualize the umlaut.
- Rotate the image.
If you’re stuck on a puzzle right now and this is the clue holding you up, don’t feel bad. It’s designed to be a speed bump. It’s there to break your rhythm and make you look at the grid as a canvas rather than just a word game.
The Linguistic Side of the Dots
Let's nerd out for a minute. An umlaut isn't actually just "two dots" in a linguistic sense. Historically, it started as a tiny "e" written above a vowel in Middle High German. Over centuries, that "e" simplified into two vertical strokes, and eventually, two dots.
So, in a weird, historical way, rotating it 90 degrees almost brings it back to its vertical roots—sorta.
In English, we rarely use them unless we're talking about Brontë or naïve (technically a diaeresis, which looks the same but functions differently), or if we’re a heavy metal band like Mötley Crüe. The NYT loves these distinctions. A diaeresis and an umlaut look identical but have different jobs. One indicates a sound shift (umlaut), and the other tells you to pronounce two vowels separately (diaeresis).
But the crossword doesn't care about phonetics. It cares about the ink on the page.
How to Handle Visual Clues in the Future
The next time you see a clue that mentions "rotation," "flipping," or "looking from the side," stop looking for words. Start drawing.
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Here’s a quick mental checklist for when the NYT throws these curveballs:
- Is it a symbol? If the clue mentions a punctuation mark or a diacritic, the answer is likely another punctuation mark or a description of one.
- Check the length. "COLON" is five letters. If you have
C _ _ _ N, it’s almost certainly the answer. - Look for "90 degrees" or "turned." These are dead giveaways that you need to manipulate the shape of the clue's subject.
Honestly, the best way to get better at these is just to fail at them a few times. You’ll never miss a "rotated" clue again once you’ve been burned by one on a Thursday or Saturday.
Common "Visual" Clues to Watch For
The NYT is nothing if not consistent in its sneakiness. You'll see clues like "T-square?" for ANVIL or "Sinuous curve" for S-LINK.
I've seen "U-turn?" lead to STOPSIGN (if you're thinking about driving) or just the letter N (if you're thinking about the shape of the letter U flipped over). It’s all a game of perspective.
The umlaut rotated 90 degrees NYT clue is actually quite generous once you see it. It’s literal. It’s not a metaphor. It’s just a geometry problem disguised as a trivia question.
The Evolution of the NYT Crossword
Under the editorship of Will Shortz, and now with the influence of Sam Ezersky and Joel Fagliano on the Mini, the puzzle has moved toward these more "playful" constructions.
In the 1970s, clues were much more dry. They were encyclopedia-based. "Capital of Assyria" style. Today, the "New York Times style" is defined by this kind of wit. A colon is just a colon, unless it’s a rotated umlaut. A period is just a dot, unless it’s a "Full stop."
This shift is what keeps the puzzle relevant in an era of AI and instant answers. You can't always Google "umlaut rotated 90 degrees" and get the vibe of the puzzle. You have to understand the intent of the constructor. You have to be "in" on the joke.
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Practical Steps for Mastering the NYT Crossword
If you want to stop being stumped by things like the rotated umlaut, you need to change how you practice.
First, stop using the "Check Word" feature immediately. It’s a crutch. If you’re stuck, leave the puzzle for an hour. Your brain continues to process the clues in the background (this is actually a documented psychological phenomenon called the Zeigarnik effect). When you come back, the "COLON" answer might just jump out at you.
Second, start reading the Wordplay blog on the NYT website. Deb Amlen and her team do a fantastic job of breaking down the "why" behind the clues. They often interview the constructors, who explain exactly what they were thinking when they came up with things like the umlaut rotation.
Lastly, pay attention to the day of the week. Monday and Tuesday won't usually have these visual tricks. By the time you hit Thursday, all bets are off. Thursday is the "gimmick" day. If you see a weird clue on a Thursday, expect that you might even have to write outside the boxes or put multiple letters in one square (a rebus).
Solving the Grid
When you're looking at the grid and you find yourself stuck on a clue like this, look at the "crosses"—the words that intersect it. Usually, the crosses for a visual pun are very straightforward. The constructor "rewards" you for getting the tricky one by making the surrounding words easier. If you have the 'O' from an easy word like "DOG" and the 'N' from "RUN," that _ O _ O N pattern for the umlaut clue becomes much more obvious.
Crosswords are a conversation between you and the person who built the puzzle. When they throw a "rotated umlaut" at you, they’re basically winking. They’re asking if you’re paying attention.
Actionable Tips for Solvers
- Think Physically: When a clue mentions a specific symbol (umlaut, tilde, cedilla), imagine it on a piece of paper and physically rotate your phone or head.
- Ignore the Language: Don't get bogged down in German or French grammar. In crosswords, an umlaut is a shape first and a linguistic tool second.
- Watch the Punctuation: If you're stuck, ask yourself if the answer could be a piece of punctuation. Words like COMMA, SEMICOLON, DASH, and HYPHEN appear more often than you'd think as answers to tricky visual clues.
- Trust the Crosses: If "COLON" fits the letters but doesn't "feel" right as a word, trust the letters. The NYT is famous for answers that make sense only after you've filled them in.
- Learn Your Diacritics: Familiarize yourself with how a tilde (~) looks versus a macron (¯) or a circumflex (^). These are frequent targets for visual puns.
At the end of the day, the umlaut rotated 90 degrees NYT clue is a reminder that crosswords are supposed to be fun. They are a test of how flexible your mind can be. So, next time you see those two dots, don't just think of a vowel shift. Think of a clock, a list, or just a very simple piece of geometry. Once you master that mental shift, you'll be finishing Saturdays in no time.