| T | R | E | E | J | A | P | A | N | S | P | A | M | S | A | C | T | S | |||
| Y | E | N | S | A | I | O | L | I | A | E | R | I | E | L | O | I | N | |||
| R | E | C | T | A | N | G | U | L | A | R | P | R | I | S | M | E | L | M | O | |
| A | L | E | R | T | R | E | L | O | S | I | M | P | L | E | R | |||||
| L | O | V | E | W | I | L | L | T | E | A | R | U | S | A | P | A | R | T | ||
| D | R | A | G | N | O | T | E | D | O | E | S | C | O | B | ||||||
| A | I | D | E | T | W | O | S | W | I | N | G | A | T | O | P | A | ||||
| M | O | U | N | T | A | I | N | S | T | A | T | E | S | O | U | T | R | U | N | |
| E | T | S | H | I | E | P | A | R | F | I | N | E | A | R | T | |||||
| T | E | L | D | O | C | T | O | R | D | O | L | I | T | T | L | E | ||||
| A | X | I | O | M | T | O | O | K | Z | E | R | O | C | R | E | S | S | |||
| G | E | T | B | A | C | K | I | N | S | H | A | P | E | G | O | A | ||||
| I | N | S | I | G | H | T | E | R | R | S | U | R | P | A | T | |||||
| L | O | N | N | I | E | B | R | E | A | K | O | U | T | I | N | S | O | N | G | |
| E | N | O | M | A | N | U | A | L | S | N | A | N | A | S | T | I | ||||
| B | B | S | L | A | I | C | S | O | L | E | L | E | I | F | ||||||
| F | R | I | E | N | D | S | I | N | H | I | G | H | P | L | A | C | E | S | ||
| L | E | G | R | O | O | M | S | U | R | E | D | I | N | A | R | |||||
| U | R | G | E | P | I | C | T | U | R | E | I | N | P | I | C | T | U | R | E | |
| B | A | I | T | E | T | H | O | S | S | N | E | E | R | E | D | E | N | |||
| S | N | E | S | S | H | I | N | E | S | E | D | G | E | M | E | A | T |
RAFA: It's a huge honor to share a byline with two besties and crossword idols for what is undoubtedly the best NYT puzzle of 2023 so far!
Three things:
ADAM: While we're on the subject of pouring ones out, here's to Mike's absolutely brilliant (G)O(R)ILL(A) (C)OSTUM(E) = BLESSING IN DISGUISE.
And props to Rafa for the incredible, puzzle-saving (REC)TANGU(LA)R PR(I)S(M).
My main contribution is this preposterous grid design, where every single Down crosses at least one theme answer... and over half cross more than one... including an absurd 10 entries that cross three!
This is also a full circle puzzle for me, with GET BACK IN SHAPE and PICTURE IN PICTURE echoing the revealers of my last two Sunday outings.
MIKE: In addition to the one Adam mentions above, my favorites that didn't make the puzzle (because making paired symmetry work is truly, remarkably, unimaginably frustrating) are:
(PARTNER IN CRIME, BEST IN SHOW, ARTIST IN RESIDENCE, and DRIVE IN MOVIE)
| B | O | B | M | O | R | N | A | W | A | R | D | |||
| E | P | I | T | A | B | O | O | B | A | S | I | E | ||
| L | E | G | A | R | I | S | E | O | R | S | O | N | ||
| T | R | I | B | U | T | E | A | L | B | U | M | |||
| S | A | F | A | R | I | A | T | E | A | S | E | |||
| B | U | N | S | E | N | B | U | R | N | E | R | |||
| L | A | C | K | S | T | R | I | E | S | T | A | O | ||
| E | L | L | A | P | I | N | G | S | F | O | L | D | ||
| C | I | A | G | E | N | I | E | T | E | N | S | E | ||
| H | A | M | B | U | R | G | E | R | B | U | N | |||
| E | S | P | R | I | T | O | R | C | H | I | D | |||
| I | T | H | A | D | T | O | B | E | Y | O | U | |||
| P | R | A | D | A | P | R | I | M | A | A | T | E | ||
| S | O | L | A | R | T | A | K | E | N | T | A | T | ||
| T | E | L | L | S | S | T | I | R | T | S | O |
When my friend Erin Rhode who I worked with when we ran the 2014 MIT Mystery Hunt ("Alice Shrugged") got a puzzle in the NYT, I instantly put it on my bucket list. My first submission in 2016 wasn't great, but the NYT team kept sending helpful feedback throughout the years. I submitted a handful of puzzles a year, had three puzzles published by the LAT, one at Universal, and finally after 38 rejection emails, I got an acceptance email while I was in airplane mode on vacation due to Murphy's Law.
This theme came to me in my sleep. I am such a workaholic that I often write songs in my dreams; this is the first time I came up with a puzzle theme in them. I first searched phrases that were *B*U*B*U* but was pleasantly surprised to find that my favorite ones had BU together. You will find few other usable answers if you search *BU*BU*, so it was a miracle the theme answers worked lengthwise with each other... in fact, you could say it had to be them!
Clue-wise, I am happy that my terrible pun (58-A) was kept, and I always try to include a clue my nephew & niece will be able to solve (29-D). Plenty of other music/theater words also appear, which makes sense, given my career.
Speaking of, you can find me on FB/IG/Twitter/TikTok @sethbhdotcom. Please visit sethbh.com to learn more about me. I wrote the score to the award-winning off-Broadway musical, "Love Quirks" which ran 3 months last summer, and we're in the process of licensing the show, so if you know a theater or college that adores 4 person quirky musicals about love, send them my way! There's also my sitcom pilot: "Every Day a Little Seth", 3 soon to be 4 books, some hilarious music videos, my podcast "Millennials are Ruining the World? an Xennial perspective", pictures of my cats, my travel blog, my "selfie" with Barbra Streisand and more!
Before I go, I just want to thank everyone who does puzzles and everyone who writes puzzles. I am so honored to be a part of this community. I want to thank Jeff and Jim for running this site. I even want to thank Rex, but I'm writing this before he tears my puzzle apart, so I reserve the right to take the thanks back... I want to thank everyone at the NYT especially Wordle's own Tracy Bennett, for her encouraging emails through the years. Thank you to Erin for inspiring this bucket list item, to my ultimate test solver Melanie T. Morgan who I compete with daily for NYT puzzle times, and also my previous test solvers Staci and Aaron, for their early encouragement. Thank you to my family and friends for their undying support and of course, my wife and cat, Joni. And finally, thank you to the Academy... oops, sorry, wrong speech!
| R | I | M | S | N | A | R | F | C | A | P | O | |||
| O | W | E | A | T | O | N | E | R | O | R | A | L | ||
| S | A | G | M | O | V | E | F | A | S | T | A | N | D | |
| E | S | C | R | O | W | E | N | T | M | I | A | |||
| T | H | A | N | K | S | F | O | R | C | O | M | I | N | G |
| T | A | B | S | I | N | S | R | O | S | I | E | |||
| A | D | O | S | O | L | E | A | M | A | |||||
| T | H | E | W | E | S | T | W | I | N | G | ||||
| E | E | L | T | E | E | N | E | W | E | |||||
| I | S | L | A | M | L | A | M | S | N | A | G | |||
| T | H | A | T | S | S | U | R | P | R | I | S | I | N | G |
| S | A | T | O | U | T | A | T | T | U | N | E | |||
| B | R | E | A | K | T | H | I | N | G | S | S | A | D | |
| A | I | N | T | R | O | O | N | E | Y | E | G | O | ||
| D | A | T | E | A | R | S | E | S | S | O | N |
I'm thrilled to have the first Tuesday puzzle of 2023. As always, the editorial team added fantastic clues like 24-Down, but I particularly appreciate they kept 22- and 61-Across. With 3-Down, the literary mini-theme is one of my favorite parts of this puzzle.
As we start the New Year, happy reading and happy solving!
| M | U | G | G | L | E | A | C | C | E | N | T | |||
| A | M | O | R | E | S | D | R | O | O | L | E | R | ||
| S | N | O | O | T | S | B | I | G | D | U | M | M | Y | |
| S | O | N | O | S | P | U | T | E | P | E | E | S | ||
| M | A | G | E | N | T | A | E | R | A | T | ||||
| R | O | B | T | A | P | O | I | L | ||||||
| A | W | A | Y | S | S | N | R | O | C | K | E | T | ||
| C | E | L | E | S | T | I | A | L | B | O | D | I | E | S |
| E | D | I | T | O | R | P | U | N | L | A | R | K | ||
| X | I | A | C | B | S | S | O | S | ||||||
| S | A | S | S | C | U | B | I | S | T | S | ||||
| T | I | T | H | E | D | I | A | R | O | S | E | N | ||
| O | R | E | O | T | H | I | N | H | E | R | E | T | O | |
| W | E | I | R | D | O | S | A | E | R | A | T | E | ||
| E | R | N | E | S | T | S | T | Y | L | U | S |
We're so excited to each make our debut and share this otherworldly puzzle! We developed the idea after Laura attended a very strange and intense moon ceremony in Central Park and excitedly shared all the heavenly details with Tom. That week, primed by the talk of space, the phrase CELESTIAL BODIES came into Tom's head and it felt like the perfect 15-letter fill to build our grid around.
The hardest part was the cascading ASTEROID — we had to try so many configurations to get a fillable grid. The pattern we ended up with is maybe not the most recognizable, but at least we were able to avoid fills like AAARGH.
Laura is the cohost of a crossword podcast Cross Talk (with Laura and Colin), a weekly show where we discuss the Thursday puzzle, our favorite constructors, and a lot of irrelevant nerd banter. Tom is a tech-y entrepreneur-y word lover who believes the world would be better if everyone rode bikes and did crosswords (just not simultaneously). Look out for some more Laura + Tom collabs in the future!
| L | I | A | R | C | A | T | H | E | L | L | I | S | ||
| I | N | C | A | O | G | R | E | N | A | U | R | U | ||
| L | E | T | E | C | L | E | A | S | I | N | A | I | ||
| A | B | S | T | H | E | S | T | A | U | R | A | N | T | |
| C | L | O | S | E | S | T | R | T | E | S | ||||
| S | E | N | N | A | S | P | A | R | S | M | A | Y | ||
| O | R | C | A | S | I | V | I | S | A | |||||
| C | U | R | B | Y | O | U | R | H | U | S | I | A | S | M |
| O | N | U | S | R | N | A | M | A | V | |||||
| D | O | G | S | T | O | L | I | T | R | O | T | S | ||
| J | E | E | P | S | O | B | E | R | U | P | ||||
| S | Q | U | E | E | Z | E | P | L | A | Y | A | L | I | |
| O | U | S | T | S | N | E | A | R | C | C | A | N | ||
| P | I | E | T | A | E | T | T | E | U | L | N | A | ||
| S | T | R | A | W | D | E | E | D | P | E | E | L |
I hope this theme appeals to fans of baseball and/or musical theater, or to those who just like any excuse to smush a bunch of letters into a single rebus square.
I wish I could have fit in another play or two (e.g., AID And abet), but my attempts for more theme density caused a lot of unpleasant gluey fill, so I opted to prioritize that instead.
| I | T | S | J | U | S | T | M | E | W | I | L | C | O | |
| N | A | T | A | T | O | R | I | A | A | C | O | R | N | |
| F | U | R | B | A | B | I | E | S | L | E | V | E | E | |
| O | P | U | S | K | N | E | E | D | E | E | P | |||
| R | E | M | L | T | E | P | O | S | S | E | S | |||
| Y | O | U | A | V | I | C | P | A | ||||||
| C | O | U | R | T | S | I | D | E | S | E | A | T | ||
| J | U | D | I | T | H | H | E | U | M | A | N | N | ||
| T | R | E | A | S | U | R | E | T | R | O | V | E | ||
| O | P | S | R | U | N | A | R | E | ||||||
| Y | A | H | E | A | R | S | L | Y | C | B | S | |||
| C | E | L | L | O | B | O | W | M | O | A | N | |||
| S | M | E | L | L | R | I | O | G | R | A | N | D | E | |
| R | A | T | I | O | I | L | L | M | A | N | A | G | E | |
| I | N | S | E | T | E | Y | E | O | P | E | N | E | R |
Glad to be back with another Friday! I based this grid on a puzzle by themeless maven Aimee Lucido because I loved the flow as a solver. For the fill, I'm happy I was able to highlight the amazing 35A. A couple of my favorite clues that didn't make the cut:
Thanks for solving!
| G | O | S | H | D | A | R | N | I | T | B | E | D | ||
| O | U | T | O | F | T | O | U | C | H | J | A | V | A | |
| O | N | A | P | L | A | T | T | E | R | E | K | E | D | |
| S | C | R | E | A | M | S | T | U | N | N | E | R | S | |
| E | E | K | T | I | N | A | N | D | Y | |||||
| S | N | O | A | D | D | I | C | T | S | |||||
| M | I | S | T | I | T | A | L | I | A | N | L | I | T | |
| O | N | C | E | M | I | N | E | D | G | A | M | Y | ||
| S | T | A | N | D | U | P | G | U | Y | S | M | E | E | |
| S | H | R | O | O | M | S | T | O | M | |||||
| E | E | R | O | S | U | E | H | E | M | |||||
| P | L | A | S | M | A | T | V | H | E | L | E | N | A | |
| I | O | W | A | T | H | E | S | E | P | A | R | T | S | |
| C | O | A | X | M | E | N | I | A | L | W | O | R | K | |
| S | P | Y | S | U | N | D | R | E | S | S | E | S |
Excited to usher in 2023 with the first Saturday of the year! This puzzle is weird, but in a good way, I think. The long entries are weird, the fill is weird (THE U? Who puts that in a crossword?), and the chunks of black squares are weird. I kinda like it, and I hope you do too!
This puzzle's publication date caught my eye since it's my sister's birthday! Happy birthday Lindsey, you can finally [checks notes] rent a car!
| H | E | R | O | E | S | I | G | U | E | S | S | D | A | M | S | T | Y | |||
| A | M | I | L | L | I | B | O | N | S | A | I | T | R | E | E | O | H | O | ||
| S | E | R | I | E | S | M | O | D | E | L | T | R | A | I | N | L | I | U | ||
| P | R | I | N | C | E | S | S | D | I | A | U | C | O | U | R | A | N | T | ||
| E | T | N | A | E | D | E | R | I | O | U | A | R | G | H | ||||||
| P | H | O | I | O | W | A | N | C | I | E | N | O | B | E | Y | S | ||||
| E | U | P | H | O | R | I | C | R | O | S | E | G | A | R | D | E | N | |||
| A | G | A | I | N | N | E | T | T | L | E | S | X | E | D | G | A | T | |||
| T | O | L | E | D | O | T | H | E | I | R | D | I | P | S | T | I | C | K | ||
| A | S | T | O | R | S | S | P | E | L | L | I | N | T | O | ||||||
| C | A | N | D | Y | C | A | N | E | A | L | L | A | C | C | E | S | S | |||
| A | M | O | R | E | P | E | E | S | A | S | I | A | N | A | ||||||
| B | I | G | S | H | O | T | S | C | A | R | E | W | T | R | O | P | H | Y | ||
| O | D | E | A | L | A | C | O | N | T | O | R | T | P | A | L | E | O | |||
| N | O | N | A | P | O | L | O | G | Y | A | U | T | O | F | I | L | L | |||
| M | Y | T | H | S | L | E | T | S | A | P | B | I | O | E | L | K | ||||
| R | E | L | O | L | E | D | S | T | A | T | E | L | L | S | ||||||
| T | A | E | K | W | O | N | D | O | G | O | L | D | I | L | O | C | K | S | ||
| O | H | M | E | C | T | O | M | O | B | I | L | E | N | A | M | E | I | T | ||
| A | N | A | L | A | R | G | E | B | I | L | L | S | G | N | A | R | L | Y | ||
| D | O | N | P | L | Y | N | I | C | E | S | T | S | E | D | A | T | E |
Ever since I discovered the joy of puzzle hunts and meta-puzzles, I've wanted to make a crossword whose theme entries were connected by an additional layer. Today's theme was inspired by a couple of visual wordplay puzzles I saw in an old Games Magazine compilation, and it originally included the use of pictures.
The working title for this puzzle was "Over Here!" The criteria I settled on for the themers were that they were each three syllables long and that every segment in a theme clue would have a different spelling than its corresponding part in the answer.
Some early theme entries I considered, but couldn't use for one reason or another, were "Place for rouge + ___ + Pre-euro German money," "Deadly offense + ___ + Piece of legislation + Happy cat's sound," "___ + Vietnamese noodle soup + Midler's "Divine" persona" and "Martial arts legend Jackie + ___ + Knight's title + Christmas tree." Thanks to Joel for workshopping themers with me!
My favorite clues are for 59-Across and 83-/95-Down; the latter clue combo is a nod to my mother, who loves Disneyland. (生日快樂媽媽! Happy birthday, mom!).
| A | S | K | E | W | S | S | N | C | O | L | D | |||
| S | P | I | R | E | A | T | E | B | Y | L | A | W | ||
| S | A | C | R | E | D | C | O | W | A | N | D | R | E | |
| A | R | K | S | A | H | I | G | R | I | E | V | E | ||
| Y | E | S | C | R | A | C | K | E | D | C | R | A | B | |
| B | L | O | T | E | L | S | ||||||||
| P | L | A | I | N | T | H | A | I | P | L | I | E | ||
| B | A | C | K | G | R | O | U | N | D | C | H | E | C | K |
| J | O | K | E | E | T | T | U | A | I | M | E | E | ||
| P | I | E | O | S | L | O | ||||||||
| J | A | C | K | A | N | D | C | O | K | E | N | A | P | |
| A | L | T | E | R | S | O | U | I | A | S | T | O | ||
| P | E | R | S | E | A | C | T | E | D | C | O | O | L | |
| A | X | L | E | S | P | O | E | O | D | D | L | Y | ||
| N | A | V | Y | E | A | R | S | C | A | L | P |
KEVIN: It's always a pleasure to collaborate with Andrea. She's the best Monday constructor out there in my opinion.
AC/DC was a significant part of the soundtrack of my teenage years. This puzzle is dedicated to their original lead singer Bon Scott who died in 1980.
ANDREA: Some collaborations are equal back and forth, ironing out themes, grid layout, fill, and cluing. Others, one might do most of the theme (my preferred role), the other most of the grid. Today's puzzle was 90% Kevin: his idea, his grid. I merely offered advice from the sidelines, smoothed out a section or two, and clued it for Monday difficulty.
My biggest contribution was ignored all around! I wanted circles, not just to ease the solve, but to highlight how brilliantly Kevin found phrases that did not just contain the letters A, C, D, C in that order (no mean feat) but phrases that paired them together!
I was assured by Kevin (and every editor I pleaded with) that solvers would be able to pick up on that construction subtlety by the reveal alone. We shall see!
I look forward to many future collaborations between Kevin and me, or should I say, AC/KC?
| M | I | M | I | V | O | I | L | A | T | G | I | F | |||
| O | D | O | R | M | O | P | P | E | T | E | L | S | E | ||
| P | I | N | K | P | A | N | T | H | E | R | N | A | P | E | |
| T | O | S | S | I | N | O | C | E | A | N | S | ||||
| O | T | T | T | O | N | Y | T | H | E | T | I | G | E | R | |
| P | I | E | D | O | O | O | A | S | O | N | E | ||||
| S | C | R | A | P | E | B | Y | S | I | S | W | O | N | ||
| H | E | L | L | O | K | I | T | T | Y | ||||||
| S | O | D | T | I | E | A | N | T | E | A | T | E | R | ||
| E | N | O | L | A | T | R | A | H | O | M | E | ||||
| C | O | W | A | R | D | L | Y | L | I | O | N | P | A | M | |
| N | O | D | E | A | L | D | O | M | I | N | O | ||||
| W | E | P | T | C | H | E | S | H | I | R | E | C | A | T | |
| I | P | A | S | A | T | R | A | I | N | M | A | T | E | ||
| T | A | T | E | F | I | S | T | S | O | L | E | S |
I was inspired to construct a feline-themed crossword after we adopted our cat, Sperry, in 2021. Every day she sits in my lap as I complete the NYT crossword, so it seems fitting that her feline family members feature in a puzzle of their own. Cereal is also an important component of my morning crossword routine, so I'm pleased that 24-Across made it into the final version.
I had a lot of fun diving into the universe of fictional cats, and my only regret was having to cut Puss In Boots.
| J | O | G | S | S | A | F | E | S | A | R | I | A | ||
| A | N | E | W | A | D | U | L | T | C | O | M | B | ||
| B | E | T | A | C | A | R | G | O | S | H | I | P | S | |
| T | P | S | Y | A | L | I | E | |||||||
| O | P | I | W | O | O | R | E | L | M | A | P | |||
| S | A | N | P | E | D | R | O | N | O | L | I | T | A | |
| M | E | G | A | D | E | A | L | S | A | S | H | Y | ||
| O | L | L | I | E | L | E | I | A | N | S | E | L | ||
| S | L | O | G | B | O | N | D | R | A | T | I | O | ||
| E | A | S | E | L | S | S | C | A | L | I | E | S | T | |
| D | S | T | O | H | M | E | Y | E | E | T | S | |||
| A | R | O | A | R | S | O | N | |||||||
| D | A | N | G | E | R | S | I | G | N | H | U | L | U | |
| E | L | I | E | T | O | N | T | O | I | S | I | S | ||
| L | I | E | S | U | N | D | E | R | O | A | T | H |
I don't watch a ton of TV anymore, but when I do, I often watch crime/courtroom procedurals, so I get a lot of lying-under-oath moments, which inspired this puzzle. It was a tough fill, and I went through a lot of iterations. One version had only three LIEs and then the revealer UNDEROATH ("Bad place to lie, this puzzle notwithstanding"), but it didn't quite work.
Then I realized that LIES/UNDER/OATH could work across a row of the grid, and suddenly what looked like it was going nowhere seemed to have a chance. I first tried LIES/UNDER/OATH in the middle (row 8), but that failed quickly, so I moved it to the bottom.
My favorite cutting-room-floor entries were MEGADETH and FANDANGO. This puzzle was a nice reminder that sometimes you can't just knock out a puzzle in a few hours and that an interesting idea is worth stewing over — it took almost four months from my first version to the version that I sent the Times. I hope that everyone enjoyed solving the puzzle as much as I enjoyed making it.
| P | A | R | R | A | M | P | M | N | A | G | S | |||
| A | L | O | E | C | O | I | L | V | I | L | L | A | ||
| S | T | U | F | F | I | N | G | S | T | O | C | K | E | R |
| T | O | G | E | D | A | M | O | C | E | A | N | S | ||
| A | S | H | M | I | M | E | F | A | T | |||||
| S | A | U | C | I | N | G | F | L | Y | E | R | S | ||
| S | A | T | Y | R | T | E | E | F | O | O | ||||
| T | R | A | N | S | A | M | M | E | G | A | F | A | N | |
| A | I | R | T | E | A | E | B | O | N | Y | ||||
| B | E | T | T | I | N | G | G | E | T | T | E | R | ||
| U | N | O | E | M | U | S | T | S | A | |||||
| S | T | E | R | N | O | N | O | L | A | L | E | E | ||
| N | U | M | B | I | N | G | T | R | A | C | K | E | R | S |
| O | N | T | O | E | I | R | A | N | I | S | T | O | ||
| B | A | S | S | T | Y | P | E | A | S | A | P |
If any solvers are curious about 51-Across's 1932 Australian "war," I'd check out the Puppet History video. It's fascinating.
Also, I'm thankful the editorial team added the "Sticky ___ pudding" clue to 18-Down because it brought back great memories of when I worked at a Burns Night supper at a theater and got to take home a whole Ziploc gallon baggie of the leftovers. That stuff is too good!
| P | E | I | D | A | M | E | S | S | C | A | R | F | ||
| I | N | D | U | E | T | I | M | E | A | L | T | E | R | |
| S | T | E | P | S | O | N | I | T | M | U | L | T | I | |
| C | R | A | C | K | P | O | T | B | E | A | R | D | ||
| E | E | L | S | A | T | S | E | A | N | I | A | |||
| S | E | S | P | A | N | E | R | A | S | T | A | Y | ||
| M | I | R | R | O | R | Q | U | A | L | |||||
| B | R | E | T | T | B | U | R | N | S | |||||
| L | E | T | T | E | R | C | O | A | F | |||||
| P | A | T | H | S | N | O | B | B | Y | P | C | S | ||
| I | C | H | S | T | A | R | R | A | A | R | P | |||
| S | K | A | T | E | N | E | A | T | I | D | E | A | ||
| A | C | T | I | V | S | E | A | L | A | D | D | E | R | |
| N | A | C | R | E | R | A | C | E | W | A | L | K | S | |
| O | T | H | E | R | A | S | H | E | S | E | S | E |
Q: So Brad, how would you describe today's puzzle?
A: It's just very unfortunate.
Q: I know, right? I was so disappointed not to get my regular awesome themeless Friday today. Do you have any comment for people like me who are feeling a little let down or even annoyed by your work?
A: I dunno ... tough luck?
Q: And then there's the "rorqual" issue. C'mon — who's ever heard of a rorqual? Some kind of obscure whale?
A: Yeah. Didn't you ever tell rorqual jokes when you were a kid?
Q: What?
A: You know, like, "did you hear about the guy who hired a rorqual as his mechanic?"
Q: No.
A: His car was a whale-oiled machine.
Q: No. Just no.
A: Or the rorqual who had a lot of hopes and dreams? . . . He was a wishing whale.
Q: OK. That's a wrap.
| M | A | A | M | S | W | H | A | P | S | |||||
| G | A | L | P | A | L | H | I | G | H | E | R | |||
| H | O | S | T | I | L | E | T | A | K | E | O | V | E | R |
| E | S | C | A | L | E | R | T | E | D | I | P | O | ||
| A | L | A | S | S | P | E | C | S | F | L | E | X | ||
| D | O | R | I | S | L | A | H | S | A | L | L | Y | ||
| W | A | L | K | I | E | T | A | L | K | I | E | S | ||
| K | O | R | S | M | O | O | R | |||||||
| N | O | T | R | E | S | P | A | S | S | I | N | G | ||
| B | E | F | I | T | N | E | C | H | E | A | R | T | ||
| L | I | F | E | V | I | R | A | L | S | P | E | W | ||
| A | G | S | D | O | G | S | L | E | D | S | E | E | ||
| T | H | E | B | A | C | H | E | L | O | R | E | T | T | E |
| S | T | A | Y | A | T | I | N | U | R | E | S | |||
| S | N | O | B | S | T | I | G | E | R |
I submitted this crossword to the Times when my son Mattias was four months old, and there were some SLEEPLESS NIGHTS for my wife and I. Luckily, he is a champion sleeper now!
When I started making crosswords, I found grid design to be the most intimidating part of the process. My early attempts at making themelesses involved taking a blank grid from a crossword I really enjoyed solving (often a Robyn Weintraub!), and then adding my own favorite words and phrases before writing clues.
In the last year or so, I gained the confidence to experiment with making my own grids from scratch. This grid is the result of me wondering whether an X-shaped themeless grid was doable. I'm pleased with the result, which has not only your typical rotational symmetry but also left-right and up-down symmetry. I hope the four grid spanners and two 13's in the middle give solvers some fun aha moments and help them navigate the grid smoothly.
| I | N | F | O | S | C | A | L | Y | E | L | N | I | N | O | S | S | N | |||
| N | E | A | L | T | A | L | I | A | M | A | T | T | E | R | E | E | O | |||
| A | M | I | D | S | U | M | M | E | R | N | I | G | H | T | S | D | R | E | A | M |
| P | E | R | I | L | P | A | N | D | E | R | S | E | A | N | C | E | ||||
| P | A | Y | S | O | F | F | B | I | A | N | C | A | A | U | T | O | S | |||
| T | H | E | W | I | N | D | I | N | T | H | E | W | I | L | L | O | W | S | ||
| B | A | A | D | R | Y | E | R | E | L | L | E | N | ||||||||
| A | P | L | U | S | E | G | A | D | S | S | U | C | K | L | E | |||||
| T | R | E | P | I | D | I | S | L | A | M | G | O | L | E | M | |||||
| C | R | I | M | E | A | N | D | P | U | N | I | S | H | M | E | N | T | |||
| A | W | R | Y | R | O | C | C | O | A | S | K | M | E | P | E | T | S | |||
| T | H | E | C | A | T | C | H | E | R | I | N | T | H | E | R | Y | E | |||
| M | E | A | L | Y | K | O | R | M | A | B | I | T | R | O | T | |||||
| S | E | R | E | N | E | M | E | G | A | N | P | E | O | N | S | |||||
| C | I | G | A | R | Y | A | W | E | D | A | O | K | ||||||||
| F | O | R | W | H | O | M | T | H | E | B | E | L | L | T | O | L | L | S | ||
| A | L | O | H | A | P | O | S | T | I | T | W | H | E | A | T | E | N | |||
| T | E | N | O | R | S | U | N | E | S | C | O | E | S | P | N | U | ||||
| T | O | M | A | K | E | A | L | O | N | G | S | T | O | R | Y | S | H | O | R | T |
| E | L | I | E | R | M | I | N | E | T | O | R | T | E | E | R | O | S | |||
| R | E | X | N | A | P | L | E | S | S | P | A | H | N | D | K | N | Y |
Sunday! This puzzle has a two-part gimmick: a title within a title, and a single clue that describes both works. I started by breaking apart shorter, well-known titles. A search of *H*A*T*C*H*E*T*, for example, resulted in THE CATCHER IN THE RYE. I wound up with a pretty small list, so I was happy to find five theme entries plus a revealer that gave me pairs of 18, 19, and 21 letters.
I like OTHELLO and HATCHET the best, MEDEA and HEIDI are solid, and DUNE is only meh (it's four letters, and you can find it within another of today's long answers). One neat find was that HEIDI also fits into the 21-letter gem WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. I had to go with the 19-letter THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS, though, because it paired with FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS.
The hardest part of this puzzle was writing the themed clues. I told myself that the editors wouldn't bail me out if I botched the one clue/two works execution. Fortunately, those clues survived pretty much intact. Not so much for most of the clues for my fill words. I am glad that my clue for 16-Across made the cut, though.
I hope you enjoyed this literature-themed Sunday puzzle. And I hope that everyone has a great 2023!
| S | A | G | S | J | O | N | G | M | A | I | N | |||
| A | M | A | T | A | V | E | R | H | O | R | D | E | ||
| L | O | W | E | R | C | A | S | E | L | E | T | T | E | R |
| T | I | K | T | O | K | G | O | A | H | E | A | D | ||
| O | U | T | A | O | R | R | ||||||||
| P | A | S | S | P | O | R | T | S | T | A | M | P | ||
| A | L | L | O | T | P | A | R | E | S | E | A | R | ||
| M | A | I | L | S | O | B | E | R | I | T | I | N | ||
| P | I | C | E | L | F | I | N | A | R | E | N | A | ||
| T | E | R | M | O | F | A | D | D | R | E | S | S | ||
| E | M | U | N | Y | E | T | ||||||||
| A | R | T | D | E | C | O | L | I | B | R | A | S | ||
| P | U | S | H | T | H | E | E | N | V | E | L | O | P | E |
| O | N | P | O | T | N | A | P | E | O | P | E | N | ||
| P | E | S | T | O | U | R | S | T | E | X | T |
The NYT sends final drafts of crosswords to their constructors for one last review before the puzzles go to print. I rarely have any comments or changes at this stage of the process, but when I realized that this puzzle was running today I felt compelled to introduce an element that might honor Dr. King's legacy in some small way.
In scanning the grid, I came across 39-Down, which I had originally clued with reference to a character from "Back to the Future." That entry could be re-clued to reference an important figure of the Civil Rights movement instead. And given that he and his mother had been unanimously nominated by the House for the Congressional Gold Medal just days prior, it felt especially timely. I proposed the change to the NYT team, and they graciously agreed. For any solvers out there who aren't familiar with Emmett Till's story, I encourage you to learn about it.
| B | A | M | A | V | C | R | S | L | O | G | S | |||
| A | M | E | N | T | O | R | A | H | E | X | A | M | ||
| N | O | T | O | N | E | I | O | T | A | T | E | N | S | |
| D | I | A | M | O | N | D | W | E | D | D | I | N | G | |
| A | P | T | D | I | E | T | ||||||||
| A | M | B | L | E | D | A | G | N | A | B | B | I | T | |
| N | A | R | Y | T | I | S | E | L | E | C | T | S | ||
| A | L | A | D | E | N | T | I | S | T | C | E | L | ||
| C | I | G | A | R | S | I | N | S | D | E | M | O | ||
| T | A | G | S | A | L | O | N | G | M | I | D | S | T | |
| A | G | A | R | P | A | L | ||||||||
| L | E | T | S | C | A | L | L | I | T | A | D | A | Y | |
| S | A | V | E | O | C | E | A | N | S | T | A | T | E | |
| I | K | E | A | I | L | O | S | E | E | T | O | N | ||
| T | E | R | M | L | E | N | T | S | A | P | S |
Movin' on up! For my second published puzzle, I'm proud to have a Tuesday under my belt. (I was lucky enough to have my debut published on my birthday in 2021, a Monday.) Wednesday, here I come!
What started as a pandemic hobby turned into one of my favorite things to do. Whenever I have a spare 20 minutes here or there, I always want to work on my next puzzle. (I have a few half-baked ones in the works right now.)
For this puzzle, I thought, "What common phrase can have a few meanings?" And that led me to this theme. It took a decent amount of trial and error to come up with just the right "day" words, but I hope you like the finished product.
By day, I run a business helping people navigate the world of online dating (profiles, pictures, coaching, you name it). I'm also avid in the competitive pun circuit (you read that correctly!), having won the 2022 O. Henry Pun-off and next competing in the Punderdome in Brooklyn on February 7th.
Besides that, I'm just a regular gal who loves her dog, Broadway musicals, dad jokes, and bourbon.
Come say hi! @ALittleNudge
| E | B | B | H | A | N | D | I | N | U | M | N | O | ||
| L | E | E | E | L | O | I | S | E | B | R | A | N | ||
| I | T | S | M | Y | T | R | E | A | T | E | R | G | O | |
| O | C | E | A | N | I | T | P | R | O | |||||
| T | H | E | G | O | A | T | A | L | I | B | U | Y | ||
| A | N | S | W | E | R | T | H | E | P | H | O | N | E | |
| O | O | H | E | A | T | U | P | |||||||
| C | L | E | A | N | Y | O | U | R | R | O | O | M | ||
| F | R | O | N | D | S | P | Y | |||||||
| D | O | Y | O | U | N | E | E | D | A | R | I | D | E | |
| R | C | A | L | O | L | O | N | E | T | I | M | E | ||
| L | O | T | S | A | A | L | V | I | N | |||||
| J | E | F | F | P | I | C | K | U | P | L | I | N | E | |
| O | L | A | F | I | N | V | I | T | E | N | O | W | ||
| B | I | N | S | N | E | S | T | E | D | E | R | S |
As a senior in high school, I'm familiar with the unwanted cringe that women are often subjected to under the guise of romance. I wanted to reimagine the meaning of PICK-UP LINES, combining my interests in wordplay and gender parity, and today's theme answers were born fairly quickly. The plant lover in me is excited that the clue for FROND made it in — I love all things biology, and this clue also serves as a mini reference to the theme.
Part of my interest in crossword construction stems from the fact that young female constructors aren't always represented well in the Times. For my Gen Z solvers out there: I tried my best to incorporate "BRUH", but tragically, it did not survive the editing process. We will get there someday. I'd still like to extend my gratitude towards the NYT and Ross Trudeau for guiding my initial efforts in the wonderful world of crossword construction. Happy solving!
| P | A | L | S | N | A | T | O | O | R | C | A | S | ||
| E | S | A | U | B | O | W | L | T | A | R | D | Y | ||
| T | O | Y | P | I | A | N | O | S | S | P | O | O | F | |
| F | I | E | S | T | S | E | T | B | A | B | Y | |||
| T | R | I | E | S | N | E | G | A | T | E | ||||
| P | R | O | A | A | H | S | A | N | T | |||||
| H | E | N | C | H | M | A | N | S | U | T | R | A | ||
| D | E | M | O | M | A | C | L | U | I | S | ||||
| L | E | M | M | A | S | U | B | G | E | N | R | E | ||
| B | A | R | S | B | I | N | U | S | A | |||||
| D | E | A | R | T | H | A | G | A | S | P | ||||
| P | A | S | T | S | R | I | B | R | O | A | D | |||
| O | N | T | A | P | E | S | C | A | L | A | T | O | R | |
| S | C | E | N | E | W | E | N | T | M | A | Z | E | ||
| H | E | R | T | Z | D | E | N | S | I | B | E | X |
RUN UP A TAB was on my list of potential revealers for some time before I pieced together this puzzle's presentation. The constraint set was pretty tight. I required word breaks within TAB, and for the second word (starting with "B") to be clued independently. After applying symmetry and fitting in the revealer, this set made the most sense to me (sorry COSTA BRAVA fans!).
Part of the fun of making crosswords is seeing how seemingly random concepts get tied together. For example, you might consider eating a CHIQUITA BANANA today... while you watch replays of ATLANTA BRAVES games?
Anyway, Happy solving and HASTA LA VISTA, ... uh ... not sure that Terminator line really applies here... BUH-BYE!
| T | A | R | P | C | R | A | G | S | O | P | T | S | ||
| A | L | E | E | H | A | G | E | N | D | A | R | E | ||
| H | A | T | E | T | O | E | A | T | A | N | D | R | U | N |
| I | N | A | R | O | W | R | I | P | O | S | T | E | S | |
| N | O | I | S | O | M | E | T | O | T | I | D | O | ||
| I | N | N | T | E | C | H | N | A | S | C | A | R | ||
| S | I | L | O | S | B | O | L | T | ||||||
| C | O | I | N | A | P | H | R | A | S | E | ||||
| C | O | D | E | T | I | R | E | D | ||||||
| C | A | M | E | R | A | N | E | H | I | R | O | D | ||
| O | R | B | O | R | S | D | A | D | T | O | B | E | ||
| Z | O | O | M | L | E | N | S | S | E | A | T | E | R | |
| Y | U | V | A | L | N | O | A | H | H | A | R | A | R | I |
| U | S | E | S | A | R | G | U | E | T | R | O | D | ||
| P | E | R | K | S | E | A | M | S | S | Y | N | E |
The first crossword puzzle I ever made ended up melting.
I live in Toronto, and each winter, I build a skating rink in my backyard for my three daughters and me. After it snows, the rink is like a giant Etch-A-Sketch. Using a shovel, hockey stick, and my boots, I've carved numerous designs in the snow, including Snoopy, the Mona ("Snowna") Lisa, and my hometown Chicago Blackhawks' logo.
While solving a crossword puzzle a few years ago, a light bulb went off, and I had the idea to make a rink-sized winter-themed crossword puzzle. I enjoyed constructing that puzzle, which led me to create others, including this regular-sized one. Fortunately, you don't need a hockey stick to solve it. I'm happy to be done making crosswords that melt (though I still couldn't help also make a Wordle — "Snowdle" — on the rink last winter).
I'm so grateful to my wonderful wife and kids for their encouragement (and tolerance) of my creative projects. Solving and making puzzles is fun, but the enigmas who I live with are the most fun of all.
| A | G | R | A | H | A | I | L | S | I | C | K | |||
| T | R | I | P | A | C | M | E | S | A | C | H | E | ||
| T | I | N | S | E | L | T | O | W | N | B | E | E | N | |
| I | N | D | E | X | F | U | N | D | W | I | P | E | ||
| C | D | S | T | S | P | B | I | T | E | R | S | |||
| S | R | I | D | E | E | T | L | I | U | |||||
| S | H | A | B | B | A | T | S | H | A | L | O | M | ||
| P | E | O | P | L | E | W | A | T | C | H | E | S | ||
| N | O | T | D | O | I | N | G | S | O | H | O | T | ||
| A | S | H | I | N | T | S | F | E | Y | |||||
| S | T | R | O | N | G | U | S | E | C | A | B | |||
| D | O | L | T | W | I | N | E | S | A | U | C | E | ||
| L | O | G | E | N | A | T | I | V | E | S | O | I | L | |
| A | C | E | S | E | L | I | T | E | A | C | D | C | ||
| M | S | N | O | L | S | E | N | P | O | S | H |
I'm a bit verklempt to be debuting SHABBAT SHALOM on, appropriately enough, a Saturday. Not to get all schmaltzy, but it's so exciting I could plotz or kvell, maybe both, who knows. Mazel tov to me!
With this, my fifth puzzle (but who's counting), I truly feel like part of the New York Times crossword mishpocheh.
Now I hate to be a kvetch, but oy vey did it feel like forever to get a response on this puzzle and I had major shpilkies while waiting; my pulkes were pulsating, my tuchus was twitching. I know — it wasn't pleasant for me either.
But then those mensches on the editing team had the chutzpah to email a big "Yes" and all that other mishegas just disappeared.
If you could have seen me in that moment: my schmatte completely shvitzed through, my punim covered in schmutz, tchotchkes strewn across my bathroom floor. This schlub couldn't have been happier if he was noshing on some blintzes and rugelah, Bubelah.
Anyway, enough of my shitck — enjoy this meshuggeneh crossword and, as my Zayde used to say, "Gesundheit."
| T | H | A | W | S | P | R | O | O | F | S | G | A | B | I | S | L | E | |||
| L | O | V | I | N | L | A | P | T | O | P | A | C | E | F | O | O | D | |||
| C | H | I | L | I | F | A | C | T | O | R | Y | S | T | R | A | Y | D | O | G | |
| O | D | D | D | U | C | K | H | I | P | P | I | E | B | O | O | T | Y | |||
| G | E | N | E | S | C | E | N | E | S | A | L | U | M | S | ||||||
| B | R | I | S | K | R | E | O | R | G | S | S | L | E | W | ||||||
| P | O | I | N | T | Y | O | U | T | I | E | T | I | L | I | S | L | A | |||
| A | G | O | G | R | I | L | L | N | O | S | Y | B | E | S | T | I | E | |||
| M | O | T | E | L | A | N | I | B | A | S | S | L | A | H | I | R | I | |||
| R | E | S | T | S | L | R | S | U | F | O | S | L | A | O | ||||||
| C | D | S | S | W | E | E | T | I | E | T | R | E | A | T | Y | L | S | U | ||
| R | E | P | L | I | S | P | M | A | Y | A | T | S | A | I | ||||||
| O | L | L | I | E | S | S | P | E | D | T | I | C | S | T | R | E | P | |||
| W | H | I | N | Y | S | T | O | R | Y | E | T | N | A | C | A | R | L | |||
| S | I | T | S | A | N | T | C | R | A | F | T | Y | F | A | I | R | Y | |||
| T | A | R | T | A | L | A | S | N | O | H | A | N | D | S | ||||||
| C | H | I | N | A | S | L | O | P | E | S | L | E | N | T | ||||||
| P | H | O | N | Y | B | O | O | K | I | E | H | E | A | T | H | E | R | |||
| L | O | G | C | A | B | I | N | T | E | S | T | Y | G | R | O | U | P | I | E | |
| E | R | A | T | I | N | N | E | S | T | A | D | O | D | R | E | S | S | |||
| D | E | N | S | S | K | Y | R | H | Y | M | E | S | S | T | E | E | P |
So nice to be back for puzzle #2!! After a few single sound change submissions didn't work out, I got the idea to double down (literally!) for one last attempt. Once I started getting some amusing results (especially SWEETIE TREATY) I knew this one had a chance to go the distance. Big thanks to Christina Iverson for sticking with me through a couple of theme revisions and my co-counselors, Alex and Alex, for keeping me company when I wrote this grid's first draft. Here's hoping this one was nice and ease … e!
Clues I was excited to see survive the edit:
Themers I was sad to leave on the cutting room floor:
Lastly, echoing Adam Wagner's note from a little while back: this puzzle was accepted ~2.5 months ago; that Sunday queue is short! If you're a new constructor with a Sunday theme you like, I'd encourage you to grid it up — you've got a shot!
| E | A | V | E | C | H | E | M | O | G | L | E | ||
| C | R | O | C | A | U | T | O | H | U | E | Y | ||
| H | E | L | L | M | E | A | N | G | I | V | E | ||
| O | N | T | I | M | E | G | E | O | D | E | S | ||
| T | A | P | E | R | E | C | O | R | D | E | R | ||
| S | H | O | E | H | O | R | N | ||||||
| P | O | L | E | O | L | E | S | O | P | E | N | ||
| I | M | O | A | N | S | W | E | R | I | D | O | ||
| T | A | C | I | T | E | A | T | I | N | ||||
| C | H | A | M | P | A | G | N | E | F | L | U | T | E |
| H | A | L | F | R | A | I | N | G | I | S | T | ||
| D | O | N | T | B | L | O | W | I | T | ||||
| O | S | I | R | I | S | C | H | E | A | T | S | ||
| L | E | V | I | T | Y | H | U | R | R | A | H | ||
| D | E | E | T | S | P | S | Y | C | H |
The day I received the proof of this puzzle was also the day my grandfather died. Normally I'd have a profound puzzle insight to share but instead what's on my mind today is gratitude — for the time I spent with him, but particularly for the friendship Alvin, a dear family friend, forged with him during his final years.
Alvin, who began as his landscaper, first came by as a casual friend after grandpa's hip replacement, continuing to come over regularly during many of the 11 years grandpa outlived my grandma. Alvin's visits often took the shape of coffee and conversation after dropping his kids off at school. They discussed everything from family, to life, hobbies, and current events. Some days grandpa would invite Alvin for steak dinners, but other days they'd barely speak and spend the morning watching the news.
The important thing was his presence — the conscious, routine decision to be involved and engaged and make the mundane life of an old man meaningful. Tonight, this morning, whenever you're reading this, take a few minutes to say hello and check in with someone older that you care about. Those hellos can make all the difference.
| B | A | S | K | P | I | T | A | W | A | G | S | |||
| C | A | P | O | C | M | O | N | E | Q | U | U | S | ||
| C | H | E | A | P | S | H | O | T | A | I | M | T | O | |
| S | E | L | A | E | L | E | C | T | S | U | B | |||
| C | A | S | T | R | O | O | H | S | U | R | E | |||
| N | A | H | S | E | E | N | H | E | L | P | E | R | ||
| C | L | A | W | A | T | G | E | N | R | E | ||||
| I | D | I | O | M | A | D | S | B | A | B | A | R | ||
| S | O | D | O | I | D | I | P | A | Z | U | R | E | ||
| F | L | O | O | D | F | L | Y | B | Y | S | ||||
| C | A | R | E | E | R | N | E | I | L | B | A | T | ||
| A | V | E | R | S | E | T | A | R | O | I | L | |||
| L | I | N | T | O | U | R | S | O | N | E | S | |||
| M | A | T | Z | O | R | E | I | G | N | I | T | E | D | |
| S | T | E | I | N | G | A | L | A | N | E | A | R | ||
| E | D | G | E | E | D | Y | S | K | A | L | E |
AARON: When I first submitted this puzzle, the editors took issue with one of my proposed theme entries, I'(M) (I)(N)(T)O YOU. First, for not being as idiomatic as the other entries; second, because MINT tea is a subset of HERBAL tea. Not having a lot of good backup options, I considered abandoning the theme. Then I remembered the secret ingredient for when your puzzle needs a little something to push it over the finish line: Just add Jeff Chen!
Jeff was gracious enough to accept my plea for help and the end result speaks to his expertise. In addition to conjuring up PASS A MILESTONE and the inspired TOO LONG, DIDN'T READ, he suggested a vertical orientation for the puzzle to make it seem like the bubbles were being sucked up through straws.
There's a more colorful entry for 3-Down that would have never passed the Breakfast Test. You can DM me on Twitter if you want to know what it is.
| L | I | S | Z | T | W | E | L | D | I | C | E | D | ||
| O | N | T | O | E | O | K | A | Y | N | A | M | E | ||
| A | V | I | O | N | M | E | I | N | S | T | U | N | ||
| F | A | N | T | A | S | Y | D | R | A | F | T | S | ||
| E | D | T | B | E | N | S | E | A | M | A | N | |||
| R | E | S | O | L | E | C | U | T | E | E | R | E | ||
| P | E | N | A | L | T | Y | S | H | O | T | S | |||
| A | S | H | E | S | I | A | O | W | E | S | ||||
| S | T | A | R | P | I | T | C | H | E | R | S | |||
| A | I | D | A | M | O | K | L | E | T | S | U | P | ||
| P | R | I | M | P | S | A | M | C | U | N | A | |||
| T | R | I | P | L | E | D | O | U | B | L | E | S | ||
| P | R | A | Y | E | U | R | O | S | A | T | A | T | ||
| A | C | L | U | N | A | I | R | A | B | A | S | E | ||
| W | A | L | K | T | U | N | E | L | A | N | E | S |
OMG OMG OMG is what I shouted upon reading the acceptance email! After 12 rejections, I guess 13 is my new lucky number. What began as birthday gifts to my pal Bern Noack became a challenge — to get published in The New York Times. And now, constructing is something I can't imagine not doing.
I'm a proud Colombian and Immigration Attorney, married to an incredibly supportive husband (Mike), and mom to 3 awesome and sporty kiddos. I'm thrilled to increase the ranks of published Latina constructors. I also love having been able to represent my family's diverse heritage with PAPI and BABA in the puzzle.
This puzzle began with TRACK SPIKES and UNEVEN BARS as a nod to my runner (Max) and gymnast (Ella). The puzzle became an ode to Henry, highlighting his passion for all sports. With my kids now all being in college and Max having spent the better part of the pandemic brewing cider at home, the punniness of sports bar purchases just felt right.
Thanks to Steve Mossberg, #BestMentorEver, and sounding boards Megan Nelson, Riza Rosales, & Matt Schnall. Happy to help any newbies from underrepresented groups on their own journey! I'm on Twitter @NancySerranoWu.
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| R | A | U | L | A | M | I | N | O | A | R | T | Y | ||
| A | N | N | E | S | T | R | O | P | K | C | U | P | ||
| M | A | D | R | E | S | S | H | E | E | N | A | |||
| P | R | E | S | E | T | S | S | H | A | R | P | E | R | |
| S | Y | D | L | U | C | H | E | Y | S | S | T | |||
| B | A | S | I | L | ||||||||||
| S | N | O | W | B | A | L | L | E | F | F | E | C | T | S |
| A | T | B | A | Y | A | Y | S | O | M | A | H | A | ||
| C | H | A | T | T | E | R | T | R | A | P | P | E | D | |
| M | E | E | T | O | M | A | R | |||||||
| A | F | A | R | S | S | S | S | S | N | I | K | E | ||
| P | L | E | B | E | E | A | T | H | A | S | I | T | ||
| P | A | R | E | R | E | T | E | A | D | U | L | T | ||
| S | P | A | D | E | T | Y | R | W | A | N | N | A |
DAN: This puzzle was inspired by something that neither of us remembers at this point. I was playing around with building some Thursday-style puzzles and especially liked this idea but was having trouble figuring out a way to execute it cleanly. Quiara had given me feedback on prior puzzles on the Crossword discord, so I was extremely grateful to collaborate more closely on this one to bring it to fruition. Hopefully, you enjoy it — or for those that dislike rebus puzzles, at least most of the squares only have one letter in them.
As an aside, I'm happy the clue for 1-Down was kept, as that was a small homage to my grandfather's family name. He liked orange circus peanuts and disliked crosswords.
QUIARA: It's nice to finally have an NYT grid to my name, although I'll be honest with you — I cannot point to a single aspect of this grid and say, "Hey, I did that!" I definitely wrote some of the clues here, although in the past 18 months, I've forgotten which are mine and which are Dan's. (Not to mention which are the editorial team's — our original RAUL clue referenced Raul Julia's star turn in Addams Family Values, IIRC, but that's the only edit I can spot without consulting the original submission.) My biggest contribution to the grid itself was an alternate northeast corner where the rebus squares spelled out BULK instead of FORM. That one got left on the cutting room floor.
Ah, well — there are worse things in life to have your name attached to than a good crossword grid, especially one which you created in tandem with someone as lovely as Mr. Ziring. Getting the chance to work with Dan again would have made making this puzzle "worth it" even if it hadn't gotten the greenlight from the Gray Lady. (Not that I mind the prestige and the national audience that comes with running in the Times, of course. Nor the $250.) But yes, I love collaborating with other constructors, particularly new and aspiring ones, and especially ones who, like me, don't fit the mold of the "average" (read: older, whiter, dudelier) constructor. If that sounds like you, then hit me up. (Even if you think your grids kinda suck. Especially if you think your grids kinda suck! Trust me, my first handful of grids su-u-ucked. As Jake the Dog put it, "sucking at something is the first step towards being sorta good at something.")
On that topic: Boswords announced their roster for the 2023 Spring Themeless League last week, and like with the last two, the final constructor will be determined via open submissions. (More details on their submissions specs here.) The one caveat is that, being for a competition, you can't publicly show off your grid for feedback. But, since I test-solve all the Boswords grids, I am one of the very, very few people to whom you CAN send your grid for feedback. Making a puzzle for Boswords was a career highlight for me, and it's an incredible opportunity for relatively unknown constructors to get their work seen — I'd highly recommend giving it a stab.
| S | C | R | A | M | S | P | E | C | I | O | T | A | S | ||
| T | H | E | S | O | C | I | A | L | N | E | T | W | O | R | K |
| J | U | S | T | I | N | T | I | M | B | E | R | L | A | K | E |
| O | N | T | I | L | T | R | I | C | K | Y | M | A | E | ||
| E | K | E | S | O | L | O | S | F | O | N | Z | ||||
| S | Y | D | W | A | F | T | S | L | O | U | S | Y | |||
| S | E | E | S | F | I | T | O | S | S | A | |||||
| C | H | E | E | R | S | I | R | I | S | E | S | ||||
| R | O | I | L | E | O | N | L | I | N | E | |||||
| N | E | O | N | S | S | P | I | L | T | I | R | L | |||
| B | A | L | E | I | C | E | U | P | G | E | E | ||||
| A | M | I | L | I | A | N | E | A | R | E | N | A | S | ||
| J | A | G | G | E | D | L | I | T | T | L | E | P | I | L | L |
| A | L | A | N | I | S | M | O | R | I | S | S | E | T | T | E |
| M | E | N | U | S | A | N | Y | A | S | E | E | Y | A |
When my daughter, now almost 3, was an infant, I'd pace around our house rocking here to sleep, singing whatever popped into my mind. While singing "You Learn", I realized ALANIS MORISSETTE and JAGGED LITTLE PILL were both 16 letters long and stacked pretty well. Onto the idea list that one went where it sat for a while. Eventually I decided to look for a similar duo to build a full puzzle around –- IMDB has data files available that I was able to mine for this. I'm sure the cool kids would have used Python, but I must admit to using a combination of Excel and SQL. Other candidates that popped up, for those interested:
Quentin Tarantino / From Dusk Till Dawn
Jennifer Connelly / Requiem for a Dream
Stephanie Beatriz / Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Yvonne Strahovski / The Handmaids Tale
Michael Stuhlbarg / Call Me by Your Name
Reginald Gardiner / The Great Dictator
Maureen O'Sullivan / Tarzan and His Mate
Erich von Stroheim / La Grande Illusion
| J | U | N | E | T | E | E | N | T | H | P | O | P | S | |
| A | R | I | S | H | A | P | I | R | O | O | B | O | E | |
| M | A | L | T | E | S | E | C | A | T | M | I | S | T | |
| B | L | E | H | T | E | E | D | P | O | E | T | S | ||
| E | W | E | R | E | A | L | N | A | M | E | ||||
| M | A | S | T | E | R | S | G | O | A | W | A | Y | ||
| O | L | L | I | E | L | A | C | E | D | A | L | E | ||
| O | P | E | C | P | A | I | R | S | P | R | O | S | ||
| C | H | E | W | A | Y | M | O | G | O | D | N | O | ||
| H | A | P | P | E | N | C | O | A | R | S | E | N | ||
| E | V | I | L | D | E | A | D | U | S | E | ||||
| D | I | N | E | S | T | E | A | S | O | K | O | K | ||
| O | L | G | A | M | O | E | S | T | A | V | E | R | N | |
| F | L | I | T | O | N | T | H | E | F | E | N | C | E | |
| F | E | N | S | D | E | S | E | R | T | R | O | S | E |
This puzzle started with JUNETEENTH in the NW corner. The first time I heard that phrase, I knew it was crossword puzzle gold.
I put POST MALONE in the NE corner because my son Tim liked him at one point.
I placed WAYMO in the middle because I wanted at least one 5-letter debut entry in that area. ("Debut" means never previously appeared in an NYT crossword.)
I started the SW corner with EVIL DEAD. That movie is a classic because it's so funny and cheesy.
I did the SE corner last. I had to decide which entry I liked the best in the 38-Down spot. Once I chose PORE OVER, I liked that I could put ON THE FENCE at 61-Across and clue it with the single word "Torn."
I got an enormous amount of help with clues for this puzzle. Brendan Quigley did a zoom call with me to talk about overall philosophy for writing themeless clues. Byron Walden and I emailed back and forth a lot. I also got help from Trent Evans, Jules Markey, Julian Lim, both Tracy's (Bennett and Gray), Michael Dewey, and Robyn Weintraub. Thank you all very much!
| M | A | P | S | B | O | S | U | N | M | A | H | O | M | E | S | |||||
| B | E | E | R | Y | S | E | A | T | R | I | P | I | S | O | L | A | T | E | ||
| A | D | I | O | S | L | A | S | A | G | N | A | S | P | R | A | Y | O | N | ||
| L | O | O | M | O | V | E | R | R | E | E | L | D | E | S | A | N | T | |||
| K | C | U | P | P | O | D | M | C | S | Z | O | N | E | S | ||||||
| O | S | O | M | E | H | C | G | I | T | S | A | P | R | E | ||||||
| B | O | D | S | M | O | A | N | A | B | O | U | T | R | E | L | A | Y | S | ||
| I | H | E | A | R | N | E | U | R | O | N | S | S | E | N | O | R | E | S | ||
| O | N | A | L | E | R | T | T | L | C | D | O | E | S | O | K | |||||
| G | E | T | S | A | B | I | T | E | S | U | G | A | R | E | N | A | M | I | ||
| A | A | H | S | P | A | C | E | T | R | A | V | E | L | V | A | N | ||||
| S | T | E | E | R | T | R | O | P | E | R | E | F | A | S | T | E | N | S | ||
| A | L | I | S | O | N | I | R | E | E | N | T | E | N | T | E | |||||
| F | A | T | I | G | U | E | E | L | E | V | A | T | E | P | A | U | L | A | ||
| A | L | E | T | A | P | G | O | O | D | E | A | R | T | H | S | E | E | M | ||
| D | A | R | E | M | E | E | N | G | N | A | Y | E | K | E | ||||||
| S | A | R | A | N | B | T | S | R | F | I | D | T | A | G | ||||||
| S | I | M | R | B | I | L | I | L | A | C | A | T | C | H | A | I | R | |||
| I | N | A | M | O | O | D | C | O | O | L | M | O | M | K | A | R | M | A | ||
| R | O | Y | A | L | W | E | D | U | A | L | I | P | A | M | I | T | E | S | ||
| S | N | I | V | E | L | S | S | T | Y | L | E | E | R | S | E |
Professionally, I deal with messy corporate bankruptcies and reorganizations. Away from those messes, I live with my wife and dog in Park City, Utah, where I ski, hike, and stare intently and incessantly at Crossword Compiler screens. My wife says my behavior is puzzling.
Fun fact about me: I performed with a mime troupe in college. As you can see, I still struggle with words.
I got the idea for this puzzle after idly noticing that DUALIPA could be parsed as either a pop star (normally) or a complex beer (comically), and I decided to look for more such strings. At first I was focused only on people and didn't get very far. (Was the musician HERB ALPERT sufficiently well-known to be recharacterized as a fragrant shampoo? I thought not.) So I turned to technology and sent my word list to my programming-whiz son Teddy to do some filtering of it. Many awesome options came out of that; the proverbial cutting-room floor is littered with the likes of NASCAR NATION [Flower for a rapper?], MAIN EVENT [Breezeway in Bangor?], ONE ALARM [What Shaq has up his sleeve?], BOWL OVER [Either character in an iconic "Titanic" scene?] and START OUT [Celeb recommendation?].
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| T | M | I | H | A | R | D | C | A | P | |||||
| A | U | D | I | O | I | N | P | U | T | I | N | S | ||
| S | H | E | O | E | R | B | E | A | T | |||||
| S | U | V | B | U | R | N | B | E | R | G | ||||
| T | H | I | S | I | S | A | N | O | U | T | R | A | G | E |
| L | I | N | E | A | B | B | A | R | O | D | ||||
| T | E | N | D | D | M | V | Z | A | G | |||||
| C | O | D | L | I | E | I | N | S | T | A | T | E | ||
| I | B | E | R | I | A | N | O | U | I | |||||
| R | I | G | H | T | B | E | T | W | E | E | N | T | H | E |
| C | A | G | E | S | R | E | A | L | G | O | O | P | ||
| A | S | S | A | Y | S | A | G | S | E | Y | E | S |
Nice to be back in The Times again! I was a bit surprised to see this crossword slated for a Monday—I'd assumed the complexity of the theme, the presence of a meta-answer, and some potentially challenging fill would land the puzzle in the Wednesday-Thursday range. But as a longtime solver who's rarely competitive, I do appreciate when a Monday crossword has a twist. In fact, perhaps my favorite Monday of all time was Dan Schoenholz's multilayered state nickname puzzle from 2016. Enjoy!
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| T | O | E | D | E | N | T | O | M | I | N | T | |||
| O | P | R | A | H | R | E | A | P | A | C | E | S | ||
| L | I | B | Y | A | O | Y | S | T | E | R | ||||
| L | A | S | S | I | F | L | Y | L | I | S | T | S | ||
| O | R | E | O | O | S | M | A | O | R | I | ||||
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| S | A | T | I | S | A | W | A | R | C | |||||
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| C | A | T | C | A | F | E | Y | V | E | T | T | E | ||
| O | N | A | U | T | O | S | A | Y | Y | E | S |