Games & Sport
HardOlympics Crossword: Olympic Equipment
Category: Games & SportDifficulty: Medium14 × 11
Tuesday, September 8
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Enter one letter per square. Answers run Across or Down. Omit spaces and accents; any special spelling convention is stated in the clue. This is a freeform themed grid, so some letters are not crossed.
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About This Theme
A piece of equipment can reveal a sport before you see anyone compete. This crossword works from that idea, using the tools and apparatus associated with events on the Olympic program. Some answers are thrown, some are worn, and others become the surface on which athletes perform. The clues specify the relevant sport when a word has several uses. Focus on its function before thinking about its shape.
Clues
Across
- 5Word before horse in a men's gymnastics apparatus (6)
- 7Light thrusting weapon used in one fencing discipline (4)
- 8Fencing weapon used for cutting as well as thrusting, international spelling (5)
- 12Projectile struck in badminton (11)
Down
- 1Spear-shaped implement thrown in athletics (7)
- 2Narrow elevated apparatus used in women's artistic gymnastics (4)
- 3Eyewear swimmers use to see underwater (7)
- 4Heavy disk thrown in an athletics event (6)
- 6Implement used to propel a rowing shell (3)
- 9Object passed between relay runners (5)
- 10Fencing weapon whose discipline permits the whole body as target, accent omitted (4)
- 11Archery implement that launches an arrow (3)
Answers and Explanations
After Your Solve
FOIL and EPEE are both fencing weapons, but they are not interchangeable names. BATON belongs to relay running, while BOW points to archery. POMMEL and BEAM lead into gymnastics through different pieces of apparatus. This range is intentional: recognizing equipment offers an accessible route into sports you may not follow closely. The puzzle avoids records, rankings and changing event counts, so its challenge lies in matching a stable object to its sporting use.
- 5 acrossPOMMEL
The pommel horse has two handles.
- 7 acrossFOIL
Foil is one of fencing's three weapon types.
- 8 acrossSABRE
Sabre is a cutting-and-thrusting weapon.
- 12 acrossSHUTTLECOCK
A shuttlecock behaves differently from a ball in flight.
- 1 downJAVELIN
The javelin is designed for a distance throw.
- 2 downBEAM
Balance beam routines use a narrow surface.
- 3 downGOGGLES
Goggles protect the eyes and provide a clearer view.
- 4 downDISCUS
A discus is thrown from a circle.
- 6 downOAR
An oar works against the water to move the boat.
- 9 downBATON
The baton carries the relay from runner to runner.
- 10 downEPEE
Epee has a different target area from foil.
- 11 downBOW
A bow stores energy before release.
Further Reading
- Theme referenceolympics.com
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