Gov. Tim Pawlenty may not have high name recognition in polls but his name is good enough for the New York Times.

In today's New York Times Crossword Puzzle as it appears in the Star Tribune, the 51 across clue is, "Minnesota governor Pawlenty."

The three-letter-ans

wer: "Tim."

The puzzle originally appeared in the Gray Lady on February 17.

Question: The Wednesday crossword puzzles are designed to be challenging but not impossible -- puzzles get more difficult as the week goes on. What measure of Pawlenty name id does a mid-week puzzle mention portend?

UPDATE:

Via Twitter, Pawlenty (or his staff) offered crossword help.

The tweet: "Ask me if you need help with 51 across in today's NY Times crossword puzzle. http://bit.ly/aHpYpJ"