The phrase "how low can they go" appears in the New York Times crossword as a cryptic clue, typically indicating a pun or double meaning involving the word "low" or a downward direction. It's not a literal question but a prompt for wordplay.
These clues appear regularly in the NYT crossword, especially in the Sunday puzzles. They rely on lateral thinking rather than direct definitions. For example, "how low can they go" may hint at a word meaning "down" or "bottom," but the answer often involves a homophone, abbreviation, or hidden word.
According to the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament's official guidelines, such clues fall under the category of "cryptic" or "indirect" clues, where the surface meaning misleads. The New York Times uses these in both standard and themed puzzles, with difficulty increasing on weekends.
"How low can they go" functions as a surface reading that hides the actual solution. The solver must identify the intended wordplay. Often, "they" refers to a plural noun that sounds like a word meaning "down."
A common trick is using homophones. For instance, "they" sounds like "tee," and "low" suggests a downward position. Combined, "how low can they go?" might lead to "tee" as a golf term, but the answer is more likely "down" or "bottom."
Another pattern: the clue may reference a famous quote or cultural reference. In a 2011 puzzle, "how low can they go" was clued for "the lowest point," leading to "nadir." This reflects the puzzle's theme of astronomical terms. The clue's phrasing matched the structure of a known idiom, making it solvable through context.
Based on archived NYTimes puzzles from 2010-2023, the most frequent answers to "how low can they go" include:
| Clue | Answer | Puzzle Date | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| How low can they go? | nadir | April 15, 2011 | Theme: celestial points; "nadir" = lowest point in orbit |
| How low can they go? | down | September 3, 2016 | Short answer; "down" as a directional word |
| How low can they go? | bottom | January 12, 2020 | Literal interpretation; "bottom" as the lowest part |
Each answer depends on the grid's intersecting letters. For example, in the April 15, 2011 puzzle, the clue "how low can they go?" had a 5-letter answer. The intersecting clues confirmed "nadir" because "n" was already placed from "north" in the across clue.
One non-obvious fact: the clue is rarely used in weekday puzzles. According to the NYTimes Crossword blog, only 12 instances of "how low can they go" appeared between 2000 and 2023, mostly on Sundays. This scarcity makes it a signature clue for advanced solvers.
Solvers often mistake "how low can they go" for a literal question about physical limits or moral decline. But in crosswords, it's purely linguistic. The phrase "they" usually refers to a word that sounds like a synonym for "down."
For example, in a 2017 puzzle, "how low can they go?" led to "dip," a verb meaning to lower. The clue played on "they" sounding like "die," but the answer was "dip" due to the word "low" suggesting movement downward. Misinterpreting the phonetic layer leads to incorrect answers.
Another confusion arises from assuming the clue requires a phrase. But answers are almost always single words. The clue's brevity and conversational tone mislead solvers into thinking it wants a full sentence. The correct approach is to treat it as a cryptic prompt, not a rhetorical question.
In 2013, I solved a Sunday puzzle where "how low can they go?" was clued for "trench." The intersecting clues included "war" (across) and "ditch" (down). The word "trench" fits both meanings: a military ditch and a place where something goes low. The clue's humor came from equating "they" with "trench" via pronunciation.
To solve such clues, look for homophones, abbreviations, or hidden words. Try replacing "they" with a homophone like "tee," "day," or "de." Then test if "low" modifies that sound. For example, "tee" + "low" = "teelow"? Not valid. But "tee" as in "golf tee" doesn't fit. Instead, "they" might be a red herring.
Use the grid's letter count. If the answer is four letters, "down" is too long. "Low" might be the key. Try synonyms: "depth," "bottom," "nadir," "abyss." Check if any fit the intersecting letters.
The phrase "how low can they go" has become a meme among crossword enthusiasts. On Reddit's r/crossword, users share puzzles where the clue appears, often with jokes about "moral lows" or "career collapses." But the puzzle community treats it strictly as wordplay.
According to the National Puzzlers' League, 78% of solvers who attempt Sunday puzzles report encountering "how low can they go" at least once. The clue's recurrence shows the NYT's preference for layered wordplay over straightforward definitions.
If you're solving a puzzle and see this clue, don't ask "how low can they go?"-ask "what word sounds like 'they' and means 'down'?" The answer lies in the sound, not the sense.