Crossword Puzzles

Joe Rodini’s puzzle hits the spot.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — The school cafeteria is a cultural fixture. Its symbols are instantly recognizable: the lunch lady ladling mysterious slop onto trays, a bully who teases the meek, girls and boys tittering about their crushes.Today’s crossword puzzle, constructed by Joe Rodini, plays on one such scene from the cafeteria canon — or “cannon,” alternatively, considering the theme. While I’ve never participated in this high-octane activity myself, I’d say solving the puzzle provides a comparable thrill.Today’s ThemeThere’s an obvious answer to [Cafeteria shout] at 38A — FOOD FIGHT! We’re also told that this shout might provoke certain “moves” at 17-, 26-, 54- and 64-Across. And because the revealer clue ends in a question mark, we can expect a wordplay-based twist on the answer.Indeed, these “moves” are punning interpretations of the cited themed entries, each of which features a food item and a synonym for a fighting gesture. It starts with a [Ladled party drink]: FRUIT PUNCH (17A). That escalates to a descriptor for [The Midwest states, agriculturally speaking], i.e., the CORN BELT (26A). A [Bone-in cut whose name became an endearment] comes in with a LAMB CHOP (54A), and the final thwack comes with a [Bright yellow creature that moves about 6.5 inches per minute]: a BANANA SLUG (64A).Tricky Clues1A. A mere 24 hours after citing “classic cars” as a challenging category for crossword clues in this week’s Gameplay newsletter, I got stumped by the very same. [Gremlins and Pacers of old autodom] are AMCS, as in cars of the American Motors Corporation (defunct since the ’80s).We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Boy, oh, boy: Christina Iverson’s latest crossword is a fun one.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesMONDAY PUZZLE — Solving a crossword constructed by a New York Times puzzle editor is a funny exercise in restraint. You have to pretend as though the puzzle’s constructor — Christina Iverson, in this case — isn’t just steps away from you and available (theoretically) to answer questions about her puzzle.Even without her help, though, I found this puzzle to be eminently doable. It’s a beginner-friendly grid with lots of ways in. I didn’t know either of the 15-letter spanners at 17A and 59A, but I managed to crack them, using crossings and a little deductive reasoning.Today’s ThemeIn her constructor notes for the puzzle, Ms. Iverson said that today’s theme came to her while playing a game with her kids, who are 4 and 7. I’d say it shows: The joke is pretty silly, but it’s also adorable.When clicked on, themed entries are highlighted in yellow for digital solvers, so they’re relatively easy to spot. The first, at 17A, is a [Dessert cocktail with crème de cacao] — that’s a BRANDY ALEXANDER (news to me). At 34A, the [Classic board game with the Peppermint Forest and Lollipop Lane] is CANDY LAND. And the [Move from an acrobat or breakdancer] at 42A is a HANDSTAND.These entries certainly have a rhyming quality to them. What ties them all together, however, is a [Boy’s name … or how you might describe 17-, 34-, 42- or 59-Across?]: ANDY. These entries are AND-Y because AND appears multiple times in each one. If I could, I’d be shaking my head in dismay and nodding with delight at the same time.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Willa Angel Chen Miller and Erik Agard open our solving weekend.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — Even though this is only Willa Angel Chen Miller’s third crossword in The New York Times, her style is really growing on me. Ms. Miller’s puzzle fill is lively and clean, and her cluing makes me smile. You really can’t ask for more than that as a solver.Now consider this collaboration with Erik Agard, who is known for the thoughtfulness and topical breadth of his puzzles.What we have is a grid that is packed with spirited stacks and long entries. None of these answers are dull or obscure, which is the result of meticulous word list grooming and a high standard for fill.Here’s a homework assignment: Pore through the fill and try to find some crosswordese in Ms. Miller and Mr. Agard’s crossword. I’ll bet you can’t do it.Tricky Clues18A. I think this is a very clever clue. [Downward-facing dog?] is the name of a yoga pose, but from the Earth’s point of view, the constellation CANIS MAJOR is “looking down” on us.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Dan Caprera wants us to mind our own business. Are we going to take that from him?Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — The following is a public service announcement for those of you who are just starting to solve Thursday puzzles: Today’s crossword is not broken. It’s supposed to be like that.I know that some of the words don’t match their clues, and that some solvers will not expect to see this sort of theme in a crossword. I’m being deliberately vague so as not to spoil things for readers who are still solving, but all will be revealed in the theme discussion section.Before we do that, however, let’s all extend our hands in friendship and camaraderie to Dan Caprera, today’s constructor. He seems to be a bit cranky, which is an unsolicited opinion I’ve formed based solely on the revealer in his puzzle.Seriously, Mr. Caprera, we like your crossword. No need to push us away. Sure, we need to think outside the box for it, but, in the end, we are not a bunch of bums. We have the chops to solve whatever you throw at us. And if some solvers need help, someone will be there to help them. Hence the Wordplay motto: “No solver left behind.”Today’s ThemeCrosswords where letters escape the boundaries of the grid are rare, but they appear approximately once a year, according to Ian Livengood, a puzzle editor. That’s what we are dealing with today and why some of the answers in Mr. Caprera’s puzzle don’t seem to make sense.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Tom McCoy makes a few corrections.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — I have been to the city at the center of today’s crossword theme only once, roughly four years ago, but it has had my heart since then. There’s just something about it — and there’s something about today’s crossword, too. Tom McCoy’s puzzle is both clever and subtle. The clues are charming even in their occasional silliness. It’s exceptionally buoyant but has just the right amount of Wednesday bite.It will no doubt appeal to denizens of the city, but I think there’s something in this puzzle for you all — or yinz, as their regional dialect goes.Today’s ThemeThis one takes some thinking, so let’s walk through it slowly. The revealer at 62A hints at a certain [City that had the final letter of its name removed in 1891, only to be restored in 1911]. This reversal seems to align with the way that the themed clues are written: The first part of the clue is crossed out and rewritten, then crossed out again, and restored to its original. (I’ve put the crossed-out parts of the clues in bold for easy reference.)16A’s [Nonviolent protest A farewell to artist Chagall? Nonviolent protest] solves to PEACE MARCH, which fits with protest but not with Chagall. 30A’s [Endure Display some humorous posters? Endure] solves to PUT UP WITH. This definitely works with “endure,” but not so much with displaying posters. What gives?The answer to 62A is PITTSBURGH, which means that the letter H was removed and restored. If we do the same to our themed entries, we discover why their clues are written the way they are: Without the letter H, 16A would read PEACE MARC — a cute farewell to the artist Marc Chagall. At 30A, the entry would read PUT UP WIT, as in display humorous posters.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

The air is sweet in Enrique Henestroza Anguiano’s crossword.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — Some puns roll right off the tongue, light as air and witty as anything. Others feel so heavy-handed and strained that you almost resent yourself for understanding them. Today’s carnival-themed crossword, constructed by Enrique Henestroza Anguiano, walks the tightrope between these two extremes. The wordplay that solves the puzzle is certainly silly — I might even call it pure fluff — but the grid is well worth the groan.Today’s ThemeThe circled letters represent a certain [Carnival confection … or, when re-parsed, a hint to what appears three times in this puzzle]. We’ve got to solve a few regular clues in order to fill those letters in (emphasized in bold here). 18A’s [Orange-colored fruit pastry] is an APRICOT TART, and a [Mistake in logical reasoning] at 21A is called a FALLACY. Solve another pair of stacked clues, like 49A and 52A, and you’ll see that the pattern repeats itself. A [Dairy product with curds] is COTTAGE CHEESE and [Looks that might send a chill down one’s spine] are ICY STARES.What could these strange little cones of COTT/CY mean? Get this: The carnival confection at 62A is COTTON CANDY. When re-parsed, it explains how the letters C-O-T-T can be found ON top of the letters C AND Y.I prefer to call this treat “candy floss” because the second part of the term reads as a dentist’s caveat for the first.Tricky Clues58A. Since when is a [Disposable coaster at a bar] not called a coaster? Today I’m learning that it can also be called a BEER MAT. I’ve heard of a bar mat. Are we sure we’re not talking about that?We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Wishing you all a very happy Robyn Weintraub Friday!Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — It would be easy to assume that today’s column is about physics based on the headline alone, but it isn’t. I just admired the clue for 24D. I think you will, too.A great clue-answer pairing isn’t totally unexpected, of course. This is a Robyn Weintraub puzzle, and while I try not to play favorites with the constructors, I think we can all agree that she makes some of the zingiest crosswords in the community. Look at the lively phrases with which Ms. Weintraub has salted her grid — I liked 14A, 17A, 25A, 40A, 51A, 55A, 6D, 24D, 11D and 27D.Try not to race through this one. Savor the entries by saying them out loud. Stop to admire the wordplay-packed cluing. I promise that you will enjoy the experience that much more if you really look at the grid you’re solving.Tricky Clues14A. The answer to the clue [Gatsby or Hamlet] is TRAGIC HERO. I’m unsure whether Jay Gatsby and Hamlet are really heroes, given their moral ambiguity, but they certainly are tragic.17A. For [Sides of circles?], I employed my well-known “stare at the grid until the penny drops” method of solving. I mulled over the meanings of the word “sides” until I realized that Ms. Weintraub was referring to side dishes, and that the circles were ONION RINGS.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Aidan Deshong and Adam Levav move their rears. In a completely innocent and cruciverbal way, of course.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — I don’t know about you, but I am not a fan of business jargon. I like plain talk, as you can see from this relatively simple, 15-word sentence.When I entered the corporate world, I was suddenly surrounded by people who spoke what sounded like English but was really a carefully assembled cluster of clichés. The banter in meetings took on the cadence of a postgame interview in which athletes are asked their opinions on how things went.Executive: “Well, the team was out of the loop for the first quarter, but once we leveraged our core competency and drilled down to the silver bullet, we experienced a paradigm shift and, at the end of the day, succeeded in picking the low-hanging fruit. That’s when the team was finally able to move the needle.”Boss: “You forgot to use the word ‘synergy.’”Executive: (Panicking) “Oh my God, I’m so sorry! May I please start again?”Boss: “No. You obviously don’t have enough buy-in to be part of this team. Put him on the back burner, boys.”Executive: (Being dragged from the conference room) “Nooo. …”I bring this up because Aidan Deshong and Adam Levav, the constructors of today’s puzzle, have used a popular business cliché as their revealer, and it is mission critical that we fly it up the flagpole to see what happens, impactually speaking. It’s also so much cheaper than therapy.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More