NY Times Crossword
September 5, 2019
Alex Eaton-Salners

This clever puzzle involves adding two letters, one at a time, to the beginning of a word (which you have to determine) to get two new words that satisfy the clues.

For example, given the clue More than a bird, but less than a facial expression, the answer would be COWL. COWL is more than OWL (the bird) - that is, it has more letters. And COWL is less than SCOWL (the facial expression) - having fewer letters. Determining the base word (in this case OWL) is the hardest part.

1. More than a bagel, but less than a walk
2. More than a card, but less than a track pet
3. More than a symptom, but less than a jerk
4. More than a snake, but less than a bodily organ
5. More than a court filing, but less than a status change
6. More than a color, but less than a trade/occupation
7. More than an ancient boat, but less than a fire starter
8. More than an insect, but less than a U.S. President
9. More than one form Edinburgh, but less than a team symbol
10. More than a weather forecast, but less than a muscle injury

HINTS:
Base words:
1. Roll
2. Ace
3. Itch
4. Adder
5. Motion
6. Umber
7. Ark
8. Ant
9. Scot
10. Rain

Answers:

1. TROLL (STROLL)
2. LACE (PLACE)
3. WITCH (TWITCH)
4. LADDER (BLADDER)
5. EMOTION (DEMOTION)
6. LUMBER (PLUMBER)
7. PARK (SPARK)
8. RANT (GRANT)
9. ASCOT (MASCOT) 
10. TRAIN (STRAIN) 

BONUS QUESTION
Credit: Jeff Chen

More than a feature of a famous statue, but less than boring

Answer:

HARMLESS   (CHARMLESS)