Bryan Cheong is indeed the youngest NYT themeless constructor, and he slots in at sixth youngest overall.
– puzzle by Bryan Cheong
Sat 9/6/2025
M
O
V
I
E
T
I
C
K
E
T
S
O
P
E
N
M
A
R
R
I
A
G
E
S
B
A
R
E
E
S
S
E
N
T
I
A
L
S
S
H
A
R
K
S
T
E
F
E
E
K
T
A
K
E
T
E
N
F
E
T
E
A
L
A
I
N
A
E
P
U
P
P
Y
M
A
M
A
B
I
R
D
D
A
R
W
I
N
P
I
N
A
T
L
P
R
Y
E
E
O
E
D
E
M
A
S
C
L
A
S
S
A
C
T
D
I
S
C
S
H
U
M
C
R
E
E
U
N
I
S
N
B
A
G
A
M
E
P
T
A
G
O
R
P
O
P
E
R
A
O
C
T
A
V
I
A
E
B
U
T
L
E
R
S
I
L
E
N
T
R
E
T
R
E
A
T
T
A
L
K
I
N
G
H
E
A
D
S
A fellow opera-loving friend used to ask years ago, "Which do you think will last longer — opera or democracy?"
That question isn't so funny anymore.
– puzzle by Kunal Nabar
Sun 9/7/2025 The Name Is the Game
H
A
V
A
N
A
U
P
D
O
E
M
I
R
S
C
A
B
O
R
A
T
O
R
N
E
A
P
B
A
N
E
C
A
S
A
B
I
L
L
W
I
T
H
E
R
S
S
L
A
M
D
U
N
K
S
N
A
V
E
S
H
A
V
E
G
E
A
R
O
B
O
E
S
O
N
E
A
T
I
R
E
T
O
N
Y
O
R
L
A
N
D
O
B
A
S
S
H
O
R
N
R
A
G
A
W
O
L
T
R
I
T
E
E
R
A
T
U
S
E
D
U
P
E
S
T
U
L
Y
S
S
E
S
G
R
A
N
T
N
O
P
E
L
A
O
T
S
E
S
O
B
A
U
G
I
E
A
N
T
S
S
U
M
A
T
R
A
C
O
W
E
R
N
S
B
L
O
T
T
W
P
S
M
A
R
K
C
U
B
A
N
P
L
E
D
S
E
A
R
C
O
C
A
S
N
L
Y
A
L
E
M
A
N
T
R
I
O
O
U
T
T
O
A
U
G
T
A
R
O
T
S
U
N
T
O
I
R
V
I
N
G
B
E
R
L
I
N
N
E
W
Y
E
S
M
A
N
C
A
L
L
E
A
M
E
S
L
E
E
R
B
E
E
E
Y
E
T
E
E
T
H
B
A
R
B
A
R
A
E
D
E
N
S
N
O
S
T
O
R
E
E
T
H
E
R
S
T
E
T
B
A
N
F
F
I
L
E
D
L
E
I
T
M
O
T
I
F
E
L
L
E
F
A
N
N
I
N
G
L
I
N
E
R
E
N
O
T
U
E
S
N
O
T
A
T
E
E
N
O
L
B
R
A
G
A
R
M
S
S
T
O
N
E
D
Some artists just need a large canvas. This is Mr. Niederman's 15th NYT crossword, all Sundays.
– puzzle by Derrick Niederman
Mon 9/8/2025
C
A
L
M
F
R
Y
E
R
C
O
W
O
B
O
E
A
I
O
L
I
P
A
P
A
P
O
W
D
E
R
P
U
F
F
O
K
A
Y
E
V
E
A
M
E
N
L
A
P
E
L
S
D
E
S
E
R
T
G
R
E
A
T
S
P
L
E
A
A
D
R
A
T
E
A
R
F
S
A
C
D
C
O
B
A
M
A
L
O
A
I
M
T
A
K
E
N
N
I
T
L
I
L
A
C
O
B
E
Y
H
D
T
V
L
L
B
E
A
N
T
E
T
E
B
R
I
D
E
S
C
U
R
T
S
Y
E
R
R
A
N
D
L
S
A
T
A
H
A
T
E
E
M
S
E
A
T
N
U
M
B
E
R
N
D
A
S
O
P
T
E
D
S
L
E
D
A
S
K
N
A
S
T
Y
G
E
T
S
To "take a powder" means to leave abruptly. It's origin is uncertain, but here are some theories:
Gangster Slang of the 1920s: The phrase gained popularity during the Roaring Twenties, especially in gangster films and pulp fiction. It was used to describe someone making a quick getaway.
Medicinal Powders: In the 1920s, many over-the-counter remedies—like laxatives or headache treatments—came in powdered form. The idea was that someone might take a powder and then need to lie low or leave the scene quickly, either due to the effects or as a euphemism for avoiding confrontation.
Powder Room Connection: Another theory links it to the phrase "powder one's nose," a discreet way for women to excuse themselves to the restroom. Over time, "take a powder" may have evolved as a broader euphemism for making a quiet exit.
Hollywood Influence: Its use in films and novels helped cement the phrase in popular culture, even if its exact origin remains a bit fuzzy.
It's mostly considered old-fashioned now, but it still pops up in noir-style dialogue or retro storytelling.
– puzzle by Margaret Seikel
Tue 9/9/2025
C
A
S
A
E
D
A
M
C
U
P
I
D
O
V
E
R
I
M
A
G
I
N
A
T
I
V
E
M
E
D
I
C
I
N
E
C
A
B
I
N
E
T
I
D
A
O
N
E
S
T
A
L
E
C
A
N
I
N
E
S
S
U
R
E
C
A
N
R
I
M
W
I
R
E
O
L
E
C
U
B
I
C
B
O
R
A
T
N
I
X
O
T
I
S
V
O
W
E
L
M
E
N
U
M
E
L
H
I
R
E
D
F
U
S
E
S
E
R
A
I
C
E
D
D
E
N
T
O
T
A
L
E
D
D
E
M
I
G
O
D
E
R
I
C
H
U
L
A
A
L
A
M
O
R
E
T
O
C
O
M
E
L
A
T
E
R
O
N
A
S
E
P
A
R
A
T
E
N
O
T
E
C
O
L
O
R
B
A
S
E
I
R
A
S
Cluing answers like FEMALE is fraught. 39-Down is an interesting option. Back in 1955, the clue could be "The intuitive sex."
Marshal's RegEx query returns too many results, but you can narrow it down using the options in the yellow box. Sort by score to see the most interesting ones first, or select a specific length for the slot you're trying to fill. 15's that alternate vowels and consonants include MEXICAN AMERICAN, PUNITIVE DAMAGES, and RICE WINE VINEGAR. The only 21 that fits the pattern in NYT history is this quote from Aristotle.
Click Analyze below to see the lovely green/white checkerboard in the Thumbnails section showing the consonant/vowel distribution.
If you've been solving crosswords for a while, you've seen "Have a cow?" before, but it's still a fun clue.
– puzzle by Cole Vandenberg and Harit Raghunathan
Thu 9/11/2025
N
A
P
L
E
S
T
E
E
N
S
Y
E
L
A
I
N
E
W
E
N
T
A
P
E
W
A
L
K
I
E
N
E
E
D
A
N
A
P
I
E
D
S
A
L
D
A
B
I
N
D
T
E
S
T
S
U
M
T
O
L
S
D
R
O
U
T
S
H
R
I
E
K
M
A
R
G
E
L
Y
M
E
I
C
E
S
D
O
U
B
L
E
H
E
A
D
E
R
S
R
O
M
A
O
R
A
L
A
L
O
H
A
A
R
E
N
O
T
B
O
W
S
S
O
T
M
A
S
O
N
T
I
N
A
C
C
T
V
C
A
I
T
S
H
O
O
B
A
D
L
A
N
D
S
H
U
M
P
T
Y
A
A
M
I
L
N
E
A
M
P
E
R
E
R
A
Z
Z
L
E
Y
E
S
S
I
R
Rebus entries work as normal for Down clues, so 1-Down in NEWT. Across clues use each letter one at a time, so 15-Across is WALKIE TALKIE.
– puzzle by Gia Bosko
Fri 9/12/2025
E
V
A
D
E
F
A
L
L
R
A
S
P
S
A
N
A
N
T
O
N
I
O
A
R
M
Y
O
N
E
S
T
R
O
G
E
N
W
E
A
R
S
E
W
R
I
D
I
N
G
E
Y
R
E
F
O
L
D
B
E
S
O
T
C
O
U
P
L
E
S
C
O
S
T
U
M
E
C
U
R
R
Y
S
H
O
W
S
G
O
V
A
L
A
S
B
E
E
R
S
C
O
N
E
S
T
L
T
E
R
R
A
S
H
O
E
S
A
L
R
I
G
H
T
A
L
R
E
A
D
Y
E
E
R
I
E
S
H
E
D
P
A
P
I
M
I
G
N
O
N
B
A
N
I
D
O
S
O
C
E
A
N
O
L
O
G
Y
M
E
R
E
T
E
A
K
E
T
T
L
E
S
A
R
T
S
H
E
R
E
E
R
O
D
E
I guess an area bereft of grocery stores would be a FOOD DESERT, but that term generally means a lack of nearby healthy, affordable food. A McDonald's on the corner doesn't cut it.
– puzzle by Joe Marquez
Sat 9/13/2025
A
C
A
D
E
M
I
C
P
R
O
G
R
A
M
L
U
D
O
V
I
C
O
E
I
N
A
U
D
I
C
L
O
S
E
D
E
C
O
S
Y
S
T
E
M
O
K
R
A
S
A
P
E
X
A
N
O
V
I
E
S
E
V
I
L
S
R
B
I
S
E
N
D
A
L
O
N
E
D
I
A
N
A
R
O
G
U
E
R
A
N
G
E
T
A
K
I
S
M
A
Z
D
A
H
U
N
A
N
T
O
M
E
S
P
O
R
K
Y
D
O
M
E
D
B
O
P
A
W
N
S
J
A
P
A
N
R
E
N
O
W
E
B
A
O
N
E
L
A
G
E
R
P
L
U
M
T
U
C
K
E
R
E
D
O
U
T
A
S
L
O
O
S
E
A
S
A
G
O
O
S
E
W
E
L
L
I
T
S
N
O
W
O
N
D
E
R
Ludovico Einaudi. Powerful and passionate, or predictable and smarmy? You decide.
That six-character code at 28-Down is the RGB value. The colors of the pixels on the screen you're looking at have 0 to 255 values for Red, Green, and Blue. It fits into six characters because the values are usually expressed in Hex 00 (black) to FF (white). Bright green would be 00FF00.
Actually, designers are more likely to use RGBA, which adds an Alpha component, an opacity that ranges from 0 (invisible) to 1 (opaque).
– puzzle by Adam Wagner
Fri 9/19/2025
A
D
O
P
T
B
R
A
G
R
B
I
S
L
U
N
A
R
P
R
O
B
E
O
O
N
A
T
R
I
L
O
B
I
T
E
S
M
O
R
N
O
A
T
J
A
N
E
T
A
C
K
E
D
F
A
N
G
G
A
B
O
R
B
E
H
I
N
D
T
H
E
T
I
M
E
S
I
N
O
N
J
O
I
N
E
D
P
O
D
E
D
D
I
E
L
A
T
E
M
O
T
E
N
O
G
F
A
I
L
L
E
A
R
T
S
W
E
I
R
D
F
L
E
X
B
U
T
O
K
P
R
O
V
E
G
P
A
S
S
L
O
A
N
E
P
I
E
R
B
O
S
A
U
D
I
R
O
Y
A
L
F
L
U
S
H
R
I
G
S
T
U
R
N
S
L
O
O
S
E
I
S
E
E
S
T
E
T
Y
O
Y
O
S
STEM is all well and good, but you need that A in STEAM for a full life, right?
– puzzle by Erica Hsiung Wojcik
Sat 9/20/2025
S
C
R
E
W
T
H
A
T
A
M
I
S
H
T
R
A
D
E
W
A
R
S
R
E
C
T
O
L
I
V
E
L
A
R
G
E
I
D
E
A
L
E
M
E
N
D
P
O
L
S
I
D
L
E
O
P
S
R
E
T
I
E
A
L
E
C
F
E
A
R
S
O
M
E
A
B
A
I
N
S
E
R
T
S
T
I
G
H
T
E
R
M
O
P
E
R
S
T
O
O
T
E
D
A
M
I
D
O
N
E
M
O
T
H
E
R
S
T
E
D
R
E
C
K
O
N
S
O
A
G
E
S
S
H
I
N
E
H
O
G
L
U
R
K
T
O
N
S
S
T
A
V
E
O
S
M
I
C
I
G
O
T
T
A
J
E
T
S
T
A
R
S
S
M
O
K
E
R
I
N
G
S
A
N
T
A
M
E
N
O
M
O
S
S
O
Sun 9/21/2025 Gimme a Break!
A
C
R
E
T
R
I
P
S
E
L
M
P
S
S
T
R
O
O
M
S
H
E
N
R
I
M
E
A
T
O
T
T
O
K
A
B
U
K
H
E
A
T
E
R
B
O
N
O
D
O
O
R
S
T
O
L
E
I
N
R
O
S
I
E
I
N
A
C
O
M
A
S
T
A
R
T
E
D
U
P
W
R
E
C
K
R
A
L
P
H
T
A
S
T
E
D
D
I
S
G
U
S
T
S
A
G
L
E
T
B
E
G
I
N
G
R
U
T
I
E
S
B
I
O
S
A
D
O
R
E
S
O
N
E
M
S
N
B
C
E
G
O
E
R
A
S
L
A
C
R
O
S
S
E
F
O
O
T
I
K
O
R
C
H
E
S
P
O
N
G
W
E
C
A
N
T
M
U
R
A
L
H
I
P
P
O
C
A
R
D
S
O
B
E
R
O
N
T
O
N
E
T
E
S
T
K
C
H
E
N
R
O
N
L
A
S
E
R
T
A
G
D
I
A
S
I
T
O
G
H
O
U
L
N
A
T
R
E
S
I
S
T
F
O
R
D
S
O
W
S
S
E
A
P
E
R
O
T
D
I
N
E
S
A
T
T
A
C
H
E
D
L
E
C
T
E
R
F
O
S
T
E
R
K
T
E
N
G
I
D
D
I
N
E
S
S
E
C
H
O
D
O
T
A
S
S
E
S
C
L
I
P
O
U
T
L
E
A
D
V
A
S
T
K
I
T
K
A
T
M
I
N
I
S
L
A
R
A
E
C
C
E
I
C
E
E
S
S
T
I
N
K
A
N
D
Y
K
I
D
D
O
N
N
E
S
A
G
S
Rebus squares are KIT Across and KAT Down.
– puzzle by Adrianne Baik
Mon 9/22/2025
G
P
A
F
U
N
G
I
C
A
C
T
I
E
L
M
I
N
U
I
T
O
R
L
O
N
N
E
E
R
E
D
B
O
R
D
E
A
U
X
Z
A
N
Y
V
I
E
A
D
A
P
T
S
E
W
E
S
F
I
L
M
J
U
S
T
I
N
T
R
U
D
E
A
U
E
T
A
I
L
U
S
E
P
R
A
Y
T
A
G
D
O
G
B
E
D
S
B
R
O
S
H
A
Q
N
E
O
A
V
A
I
L
S
U
P
E
R
N
I
N
T
E
N
D
O
A
L
O
E
M
O
S
T
A
S
H
C
A
N
M
S
G
S
W
I
M
C
O
O
K
I
E
D
O
U
G
H
O
N
O
T
U
N
E
D
M
A
R
I
O
O
F
T
S
L
E
D
S
S
T
E
N
T
D
O
H
Tue 9/23/2025
T
S
P
S
S
U
B
B
L
A
S
T
H
A
L
L
S
A
P
R
A
O
R
T
A
E
M
A
I
L
S
P
O
O
N
S
O
U
T
C
O
N
G
A
H
E
A
P
E
D
N
A
W
A
S
H
B
O
A
R
D
A
B
S
T
S
A
L
E
I
G
H
M
E
S
S
H
E
N
S
A
T
E
A
M
A
P
E
J
U
G
B
A
N
D
E
R
A
T
I
T
L
E
G
A
G
A
S
K
E
W
C
H
E
S
T
V
E
T
S
T
O
V
E
P
I
P
E
H
A
T
E
N
O
S
F
A
M
E
S
P
E
C
S
B
O
N
E
S
U
P
O
N
O
M
A
H
A
B
L
U
N
T
O
R
C
M
O
V
E
R
S
A
S
S
Y
R
Y
E
M
E
D
S
Wed 9/24/2025
D
A
B
S
P
I
P
S
E
A
S
T
A
L
O
T
A
N
D
I
E
A
N
T
E
V
O
T
E
C
H
A
R
L
E
S
T
O
N
I
H
O
P
E
S
O
I
M
L
Y
I
N
G
S
A
X
D
U
M
B
L
A
T
E
P
E
N
E
L
O
P
E
O
W
E
B
A
R
O
N
O
M
E
N
X
O
X
U
S
E
D
L
O
N
G
I
E
I
R
E
L
S
D
P
E
N
D
D
I
N
K
S
B
O
P
I
N
T
E
R
N
E
D
C
A
A
N
S
I
A
M
L
A
A
F
I
N
G
E
R
S
C
R
O
S
S
E
D
M
A
D
E
Y
A
L
O
O
K
W
A
R
E
A
T
A
N
T
A
B
L
E
A
T
O
P
J
E
S
T
B
E
A
D
P
S
S
T
Thu 9/25/2025
A
G
R
A
P
E
T
E
R
T
E
R
M
R
E
E
L
S
C
U
S
I
E
R
I
E
E
L
A
L
T
I
R
E
S
N
E
M
O
S
K
I
M
O
F
F
T
H
E
T
O
P
O
P
R
Y
S
E
T
I
L
I
E
N
E
E
S
H
A
R
I
A
I
P
A
S
S
R
A
T
E
L
A
N
D
E
L
M
T
R
E
M
O
R
S
I
O
S
V
E
E
S
U
S
E
M
E
O
G
L
E
E
A
R
T
A
G
S
B
E
E
R
H
A
T
T
E
R
I
P
U
T
T
F
I
R
S
T
T
W
O
L
E
T
T
E
R
S
A
S
U
S
O
B
A
M
A
O
N
I
T
N
I
N
E
F
I
L
E
T
N
U
D
E
T
S
K
S
F
E
S
T
S
S
P
E
D
In the Down answers below the grid, I added the FIRST TWO LETTERS that had been skimmed off the top. (They come from the first two letters of the clues.)