Quick Answer - Piece of equipment in curling or Quidditch NYT
Clue: “Piece of equipment in curling or Quidditch”
Answer: BROOM
Length: 5 letters
Position: 5-Across
In the grid, BROOM will appear as BROOM, matching the five-square slot for 5-Across exactly.
Why BROOM Is the Right NYT Answer
Both curling and Quidditch prominently feature a broom as a key piece of equipment: in curling, players sweep the ice with brooms; in Quidditch, players ride brooms.
The clue uses the word “equipment” in a straightforward way, so the entry is a literal object, not a pun or abbreviation, which fits BROOM perfectly.
Because the clue covers two very different activities but the same object, BROOM is the only common, 5-letter noun that satisfies both contexts cleanly.
What BROOM Means in Plain English
A broom is a cleaning or sweeping tool made of a long handle with bristles or brush at one end, used to sweep surfaces.
In pop culture, especially in fantasy worlds like Harry Potter’s Quidditch, a broom also serves as a flying implement or “sports gear” that characters ride.
The NYT clue cleverly leans on both the everyday cleaning sense and the fantasy-sports sense to guide you to the same word.
Solving Tips for Similar NYT Clues
When a clue mentions two very different domains (“curling or Quidditch”), look for a single noun that logically fits both, often a simple object like BROOM, BALL, or MASK.
Always check letter count: a 5-letter slot plus a sports-equipment angle immediately narrows options to short, concrete nouns.
For 5-Across, crossings such as B_R_O would strongly lock in BROOM, especially if the downs give you the initial B and final M
Possible Variant Clues for BROOM
Clues that might also lead to BROOM in NYT or other crosswords include:
- “Sweeping tool”
- “Cleaner with a handle”
- “Quidditch player’s ride”
- “Witch’s vehicle, in stories”
All of these still point to the same 5-letter entry, helping you recognize BROOM more quickly in future puzzles.
