Fun With Crosswords

In the LaMarbedian/ZoraMarche household, the New York Times Sunday crossword is a team sport. Jeff and I make a good team, as he knows a lot of factual information while I am a genius at decoding Will Shortz's word play and mind games. That said, the following conversation occurred last night:

Una: Babe, this one is four letters and the clue is "Sale locale". The last two letters are RD.
Jeff: Well, what's the clue on top?
Una: "Without an out"
Jeff: At bat?
Una: Yes! You're a genius .... so that leaves T_RD.
Jeff: Turd!
Una: It is NOT turd. There is no such thing as a turd sale.
Jeff: What about fertilizer?
Una: Will Shortz would not use the word "turd" in the Sunday Puzzle. Could it be "tard"? Is there such a thing as a "tard sale?" No, that's impossible.
Jeff: What, like retard? So you think there IS a retard sale but no turd sale.
Una: Um ....
Jeff: Oh, it's not "At bat", it must be "at bay", making it a YARD sale.
Una: Oh. Right.
Jeff: I got you at the 'tard sale.
Una: Shut UP!

Fun With Crosswords