Therefore, Mr. Eaton-Salners’s debuting this is, in itself, a PWN, pronounced “pone,” as in old-fashioned cornbread. It comes from a simple typo — “P” for “O” — and I don’t know why it ever stuck in the lingo. I had a very early hunch that 2D had to include a rebus (before I knew the actual answer). This one, the MASTOID bone, has been in the grid before; the IT BAND makes its debut. But the tricks inform one another, somewhat, and the title of the puzzle — “Playing With Food” — is a broad hint.

Source: New York Times September 26, 2020 21:30 UTC