Under the Big Top
Giuliano Plorutti’s book of photographs of small-town circuses, which we found on a shelf in our local library, captivated us with its black-and-white portrayals of performers and animals behind the scenes. Eschewing the glitzy, glossy glamour on display in typical circus posters, Plurotti reveals the human side of the talented though often marginalized performers who carry on the tradition of traveling circuses in European countries such as Hungary, Italy, France, and Czechia.
People have widely varying opinions about circuses today. Some continue to enjoy their allure and theatricality, as well as the virtuosity they bring to their audiences. Others raise concerns about the treatment of circus animals and the working conditions overall. What are your thoughts on the subject?
We confess to being big fans of Cirque du Soleil, the extraordinary French-Canadian troupe that performs in our area at least once a year. They regularly astound us with their imaginative programs and mind-bending feats of strength, agility, and daring. If you’ve never taken in one of their shows, give one a try!
This week’s acrostic includes a variety of circus-themed words and phrases, including two that refer to Charles S. Stratton, a.k.a. General Tom Thumb (pictured above), who came to fame in P.T. Barnum’s circus in the mid-1800s. What other themed clues and answers did you spot?
And if you’ve never seen the 2017 film “The Greatest Showman,” or just want to see the final scene once again, here it is:
Thoroughly enjoyable Acrostic. Clue F. is a great inside joke.
Great fun, as usual. The pervasive (and impressive) linking of clues and answers to the theme really add an enjoyable dimension to solving. For instance, I originally confidently filled in Clue N (“common type of binder (hyph)”) as “loose-leaf.” But as the circus theme emerged, I went back and changed it to “three-ring.”
I solved this puzzle steadily, greatly helped by the plethora of “THE”s in the quote. I loved ROWDYDOW.
I agree! All the “the’s” did help. But “rowdydow” was one of the last clues I solved; I haven’t heard that word in decades!
Discovering early on that circus is the theme made me eager to see how you devised clues – and, of course, they are brilliant as always. Indulge me for one personal story: Several years ago the education school where I teach solicited comments on what drives success in school. My response was an essay about my 5th grade teacher, who insisted on appropriately tabbed three-ring binders for every subject – hence Clue N was a special treat!
The Cirque du Soleil is fabulous. I”ve lived both sides of the circus debate. it is an astonishing display of talent, and an often overhelming experience that I delighted in as a child. But the expoitation of people and abuse of animals kept me from introducing my kids to it. The circus community is strong, and a uniue culture to be sure. At a cost.
The first word I got was THREE-RING, and I thought, hmm, could have been clued as a circus. Then I shortly realized why it hadn’t been. Fun puzzle and I’d like to see the film. Hugh Jackman is one of my favorites. I have seen Cirque du Soleil and enjoyed it, once with no animals and once showcasing horses. In general, I have mixed feelings about both circuses and zoos. I worked many years as a veterinary technician, and worry about the animals’ welfare.
The author’s last name is misspelled in your blog. You can delete this note when you fix it. It’s OK in the puzzle, one of the hardest ever for me.
Thanks, Lois! Good catch.
Your website was very helpful and I was finally able to solve one of these for the first time! I did the May 3, 2026 one in the New York Times magazine. However, I’d love to see online a picture of this completely solved so I can make sure I did it correctly. Is there a way to see this somewhere? For example, I couldn’t understand how to get the author’s name so I don’t know if I did it correctly.
Congratulations on solving the puzzle, Amy. You can find the solution in next Sunday’s New York Times Magazine (hard copy only), along with next week’s puzzles. In any event, the name of the author of this quote is Giuliano Plorutti. You’ll find it spelled out in the first letter of each answer, followed by the title of the work (“Circus”).
Dave and Jane
Another fun puzzle. Thank you!
It took me awhile to let go of my concept of ivy and couch grass as being “invasives” (I never played Minecraft, but I could infer the same for its mobs) — but finally I let the quotation solve it for me as “creepers.”
And I couldn’t remember ever seeing the word “homuncular,” but I restrained myself from looking it up until after I had solved the clue … whereupon I discovered that it seems to be your own coinage? A back-formation of “homunculus”?
Dastardly. 😉
(*P.S. I guess your “homuncular” wouldn’t be a back-formation but some other neologism … or is it in a dictionary? I couldn’t find it anywhere. Okay, letting go now. 😄)
Hi Heather — Thanks for doing our acrostic! We use Merriam-Webster as our go-to dictionary. You’ll find “homuncular” there!
Jane and Dave