You’re staring at a grid of white and black squares. It is 11:45 PM. Or maybe it’s a Tuesday morning on the subway, and you’re desperately trying to find a five-letter word for "Desert plant" that isn't CACTUS. Then you hit it. A clue that feels like it’s written in a foreign language: button that might make a whoosh sound nyt.
It’s a classic New York Times Crossword move.
The "whoosh" isn't a physical sound you hear in the room. Well, usually it isn't. It’s the digital sound effect of a specific action we take dozens of times a day without thinking. If you’re stuck on this today, don't feel bad. Crossword puzzles, especially the ones edited by Will Shortz (or the contemporary team at the Times), love to use "onomatopoeia" clues. These are words that sound like what they describe.
The answer is SEND.
Think about it. When you hit that little paper plane icon on an iPhone or a Mac, what do you hear? Whoosh. It’s the sound of your social anxiety being delivered to someone else's pocket.
The Psychology of the NYT Crossword Clue
The Times crossword is a beast of habit. It scales in difficulty throughout the week. Monday is a breeze; Saturday is a nightmare that makes you question your education. A clue like "button that might make a whoosh sound nyt" typically lands in that mid-week sweet spot. It requires a bit of lateral thinking. You aren't looking for a physical button on a jacket or a microwave. You're looking for a digital interface.
Crossword constructors call this "misdirection."
They want you to think about wind. They want you to think about rushing water or maybe a vacuum cleaner. But the NYT loves tech-adjacent clues because their primary demographic is glued to their smartphones. The "Whoosh" sound is technically a "skeuomorphic" audio cue. That’s a fancy way of saying it’s a digital sound designed to mimic a real-world physical action—like a letter flying through the air.
Honestly, the sound is so baked into our brains that we barely notice it until a puzzle forces us to visualize it. If you use Slack, the "whoosh" is different. If you use WhatsApp, it’s more of a "pop." But for the Apple ecosystem, which dominates the mental space of many crossword writers, SEND is the definitive whoosh.
Why "SEND" Is the Answer You're Looking For
When you see "button that might make a whoosh sound nyt" in your grid, you have to look at the letter count. Usually, it's a four-letter word.
- S
- E
- N
- D
It fits perfectly. But why "might"? That’s the clever part of the clue. Not every device makes the sound. If your phone is on silent, there is no whoosh. If you're using a desktop browser for Gmail, it’s silent. The "might" is the setter’s way of being factually accurate while still being annoying.
The New York Times Crossword is famous for these subtle qualifiers. They use words like "perhaps," "maybe," or "to some" to signal that the clue is metaphorical or conditional.
Other Common "Sound" Clues in the NYT
If you’re new to the NYT Crossword, you’ll realize they have a whole library of these audio-based clues. They love them. They can’t get enough of them.
- Clap of thunder: Often leads to "PEAL."
- Sound of a dry branch breaking: Usually "SNAP."
- A dull heavy sound: That's almost always "THUD."
- The sound of a leaky faucet: "DRIP," obviously.
The "Whoosh" is newer. It’s part of the "New Wave" of crossword clues that started appearing more frequently in the last decade as the puzzle modernized. You’ll also see clues for "Icon with three horizontal lines" (HAMBURGER) or "Way to move through a feed" (SCROLL). The puzzle isn't just about Greek mythology and obscure 1950s actresses anymore. It’s about how we live now.
How to Solve These Clues Faster Next Time
Don't get frustrated. Everyone hits a wall. When you see a clue that describes a sound, stop thinking about the physical world for a second. Ask yourself: "Is this a computer sound?"
Most of us spend eight hours a day looking at screens. The vocabulary of the modern crossword reflects that. If the clue mentions a "ping," think about "ALERTS" or "NOTIFICATIONS." If it mentions a "click," think about a "MOUSE" or "LINK."
Another trick is to look at the surrounding words. If you have the "E" in the second position and the "D" at the end, "SEND" becomes obvious. Crosswords are a game of intersections. If you can't get the "whoosh," get the "down" clues that cross it.
The NYT Crossword is a conversation between the constructor and the solver. Constructors like Robyn Weintraub or Brendan Emmett Quigley have specific "voices." Some are more playful, some are more academic. The "whoosh" clue is playful. It’s meant to make you go, "Aha!" once you finally realize it. That little burst of dopamine is why millions of people do this every single day.
The Evolution of the "Whoosh"
Interestingly, the word "whoosh" itself has become a bit of internet slang. On platforms like Reddit, "r/woooosh" is a subreddit dedicated to people who miss the joke—the joke "whooshes" over their head.
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While the NYT clue is almost certainly referring to the "Send" button on an email or text, the word carries that extra layer of meaning in modern culture. It signifies speed, missing information, or a digital transition.
In the world of puzzle construction, this is called "currency." A puzzle feels fresh when it uses words and concepts that are part of the current zeitgeist. A crossword from 1985 wouldn't have used "button that might make a whoosh sound" to mean SEND. It would have meant a physical button on a fan or maybe a rocket ship. The fact that we immediately go to our phones shows how much our collective vocabulary has shifted.
Actionable Tips for Crossword Success
If you want to stop getting stuck on clues like "button that might make a whoosh sound nyt," you need to change your approach to the grid.
- Say the sound out loud. Seriously. Make the noise. Sometimes hearing it helps your brain trigger the associated action.
- Check for plurals. If the clue is "Buttons that might make a whoosh sound," the answer is probably "SENDS." Always check if the clue is plural.
- Think about icons. Crossword clues often describe an icon without saying "icon." A "whoosh" is the sound of the "paper plane."
- Use a pencil (or the "Check" feature). If you’re playing on the NYT app, don't be afraid to use the "Check Square" or "Check Word" tool if you're truly stuck. It’s a learning tool, not "cheating" if it helps you understand the logic for next time.
The NYT Crossword is meant to be a challenge, but it's also meant to be solved. Once you realize that the "whoosh" is just your outgoing mail, you'll never miss that clue again. You’ll see it in a Friday puzzle three months from now and fill it in within two seconds. That’s the beauty of becoming a regular solver. You start to speak the language.
Go back to your grid. Fill in S-E-N-D. Watch the box turn gold. Move on to the next one. Maybe the next clue is "Sound of a cow," and you can breathe a sigh of relief because "MOO" hasn't changed in a hundred years.
To improve your solving speed, start timing your daily sessions and track which types of clues—cultural, technical, or wordplay-heavy—trip you up the most. This data helps you focus your "crosswordese" study on your weakest areas. Use a secondary app like "Crossword Tracker" to look up common recurring answers for specific clues to build your mental database of puzzle vocabulary. Finally, always read the "Wordplay" column on the NYT website after finishing a puzzle to understand the specific logic the editor used for that day's trickiest clues.