You’re staring at a grid of yellow, green, and gray squares, but today, something feels different. You’ve already nailed the Wordle in three. Connections was a breeze. But then you hit the crossword, and there it is—a clue that feels like a defensive wall you just can't penetrate. "Like some soccer shots." It’s five letters. You start cycling through every possible athletic verb in your head. Is it "lofts"? No. "Kicks"? Too simple. Maybe "bends"?
Honestly, if you’re a regular at the New York Times Games section, you know that the "soccer shots" clue is a classic bit of misdirection. It pops up more often than you’d think. It’s one of those clues that makes you feel like an absolute genius when the lightbulb finally flickers on, or it leaves you staring at the screen until your phone screen timeout kicks in. We’ve all been there.
The answer, more often than not, is ARCED.
It’s a beautiful word, isn't it? It describes the physics of the game perfectly. Think about a corner kick from Megan Rapinoe or a vintage David Beckham free kick. The ball doesn't travel in a flat line. It defies gravity, spinning through the air in a parabolic curve to evade the goalkeeper’s outstretched fingers. That’s what "like some soccer shots NYT" is really getting at—the geometry of the beautiful game translated into a five-letter crossword staple.
The Logic Behind the Clue
Crossword constructors, the devious minds behind your morning frustration, love words like ARCED or LOFTY because of their vowel-to-consonant ratio. They’re "glue" words. They help connect the more exciting, longer themed entries. When a constructor needs to link a long vertical word about 19th-century poetry to a horizontal word about a specific type of cheese, they look for words like "arced."
But why is it so hard to get?
Usually, it’s because our brains go straight to the action. We think "hard," "fast," "missed," or "goaled" (which isn't even a word, but hey, it's 7:00 AM and the coffee hasn't kicked in). We forget about the shape of the shot. In the world of the NYT Crossword, descriptors of shape and trajectory are king.
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Common Variations You'll See
Sometimes the clue isn't exactly "like some soccer shots." The NYT likes to keep us on our toes. You might see:
- "Path of a lob" (also ARCED)
- "Curvy, like some kicks" (BENT)
- "High-flying shots" (LOFTS)
- "How some balls are kicked" (ASPIN)
If you see a clue about soccer shots and the word length is different, check for those. But if it's five letters, ARCED is your primary suspect. It’s the "Usual Suspect" of the sports sub-genre in crosswords.
Why NYT Game Players Obsess Over This
There is a specific kind of dopamine hit that comes from solving a puzzle without hints. It’s a ritual. For many, the "NYT Games" app is the last bastion of sanity in a chaotic digital world. You start with the Mini, move to the Strands (which is surprisingly difficult lately, right?), and then tackle the big one.
The "like some soccer shots" clue represents the broader challenge of the NYT crossword: learning the "constructor's language." Once you realize that the NYT loves words like "Area," "Erie," "Oreo," and yes, "Arced," the puzzle stops being a test of trivia and starts being a test of pattern recognition. It’s like learning a secret handshake.
I remember one Tuesday puzzle back in '23 where "arced" appeared twice in the same week under different clues. People in the Reddit forums were losing it. "Again? Really?" But that’s the charm. It’s a recurring character in your daily story.
Decoding the Difficulty Spike
The difficulty of the NYT crossword scales throughout the week. Monday is a "gimme." Saturday is a "why do I even bother?" If you see "like some soccer shots" on a Monday, the answer is almost certainly ARCED. If you see it on a Thursday, be careful. It might be part of a rebus where multiple letters fit into one square, or it might be a pun.
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For example, a Thursday clue might be "Soccer shots?" and the answer could be KNEES (shots to the knees... get it?). The question mark at the end of a clue is the universal symbol for "I am trying to trick you with a pun." If there's no question mark, stick to the literal interpretation.
The Physics of the Arc
Let’s get nerdy for a second. Why do we even call them arced shots? It's the Magnus effect. When a player strikes the ball off-center, it creates spin. This spin creates a pressure differential in the air, forcing the ball to curve.
The New York Times crossword editors—historically Will Shortz and now the expanded editorial team—love clues that are factually grounded but linguistically flexible. "Arced" is a perfect word because it’s both a verb and an adjective in common parlance. It describes the motion and the result.
Solving Strategies for Sports Clues
If you aren't a "sports person," these clues are your nightmare. You see "soccer" and your brain shuts down. Don't let it.
- Look for the Tense: If the clue is "Like some shots," look for an adjective or a past-participle (ending in -ED).
- Check the Crosses: Never try to brute-force a sports clue. Fill in the words crossing it first. If you get the 'A' and the 'E', "ARCED" becomes obvious.
- Think in 3D: Soccer isn't played on a 2D plane. Think about height, curve, and depth.
- Ignore the Sport: Often, "soccer" is just flavor text. The clue could just as easily be "Like some basketball shots" or "Like some rainbow trajectories." The answer remains the same.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest mistake? Overthinking. People try to remember the names of famous players or specific stadiums. "Is the answer Pelé? Messi?" No. The NYT crossword rarely asks for specific current athletes unless they have very common, vowel-heavy names (like Arthur ASHE or OTT). If the clue is about the shot itself, stay away from the roster and look at the ball.
Another trap is the word "GOALS." While soccer shots become goals, they aren't "like" goals. The clue is asking for a quality of the shot. Keep your parts of speech aligned. If the clue is an adjective phrase, the answer is an adjective.
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Beyond the Grid
The "soccer shots" phenomenon is part of why the NYT gaming ecosystem is so successful. It creates a shared vocabulary. Whether you're playing the Mini on the subway or the big Sunday puzzle on your porch, you're engaging with a language that has been refined over decades.
The NYT crossword isn't just about what you know; it's about how you think. It's about recognizing that "like some soccer shots" isn't a question about sports—it's a question about curves.
Practical Tips for Tomorrow's Puzzle
- Keep a Mental List: Start a mental (or digital) folder for "NYT Repeaters." Words like Arced, Area, Etui, and Aloe will appear hundreds of times in your lifetime.
- Use the App's "Check" Feature Sparingly: If you're stuck on the soccer clue, check just that word. It's better to learn the answer and move on than to give up on the whole puzzle.
- Read the Wordplay Column: The NYT publishes a daily column called "Wordplay" that breaks down the logic of the day's clues. It's the best way to understand why a certain clue was used.
Next time you see those five squares and a hint about a pitch or a field, don't panic. Take a breath. Visualize the ball leaving the foot, rising over the wall of defenders, and dipping perfectly into the top corner.
ARCED.
Type it in. Watch the squares turn white. Move on to the next one. You've got this. Keep your eyes on the crosses, and remember that the constructor is your dancing partner, not your enemy. They want you to find the answer—they just want you to work for it a little bit first.
Focus on the trajectory, not the player. Look for the "ED" endings in plural or descriptive clues. Familiarize yourself with "crosswordese" to bridge the gap between the clues you know and the ones you don't. Build a habit of doing the Mini first to warm up your brain for these types of linguistic shortcuts. Stick with the process, and eventually, even the most cryptic clues about soccer shots will feel like second nature.