Alex

@SusanEM And I thought there was also a TWITW theme for Connections, but no. it was a misdirect. Too bad there was no double whammy!

@Helen Wright me too! Thanks for the tip, that was the last clue to fall.

@Bob LOL 😂

@Bill in Yokohama really? you got animation at the end? usually my iphone has no problem with animation, but i got nothing on this crossword.

@Bill in Yokohama Aha! I went back to the puzzle after reading your comment and now there are mines that appear. added late, I guess.

@Francis agreed. apparently it is also easy to trigger in horses and chimpanzees. for me, it is completely illogical, but i remember the trigger: around 5 years old, seeing a snake in a surprising situation. i can date before and after that moment, and my reaction. dogs have a critical period where they can gain fears that last a life time. i guess people do too.

@SusanEM oops. that should read COMMENTS on the NYT. my phone does odd autocorrects.