Crossword Puzzles

Try your hand at Daniel Bodily’s puzzle — it’ll all work out.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — I’m tempted to characterize this as Daniel Bodily’s “opening day” of the New York Times Crossword season. Mr. Bodily constructs puzzles regularly for The Times, but this is the first appearance he has made in 2025.A little fanfare is fitting, anyway, because today’s crossword contains eight — eight! — themed entries, including a split revealer. Let’s get a few reps in, shall we?Today’s ThemeWhat happens when you [go out with a bang]? You get a [hint to 16-, 21-, 29-, 34-, 46- and 54-Across]. The answer to this revealer clue is FINISH STRONG — split between 1D and 44D — and refers wittily to the fact that each of the cited themed entries finishes with a synonym for “strong.”At 16-Across, for instance, [Frame, apron, molding, etc.] are examples of WINDOW TRIM. (If you’re wondering whether “trim” is really a synonym for “strong,” see Mr. Bodily’s constructor notes below.) [Like some photos of yesteryear], pictures may be SEPIA-TONED (21A). One who [Collected hot wheels?] has CARJACKED someone, as “hot” is slang for “stolen” (29A).Now that I’ve personally trained you (eh?), see if you can crack the remaining entries on your own.Tricky Clues5A. I thought that the clue [Threat to a king, maybe] referred to a usurpation of royal titles. This king happens to be a chess piece; he can be threatened by a PAWN.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

Sande Milton makes his Crossword solo debut in The New York Times.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — Let me guess: You’re staring at the scribbles in today’s crossword, wondering how someone could have started it before you did. I sympathize. Then again, it is April Fools’ Day — and I have a feeling that Sande Milton, who constructed the puzzle, is celebrating the occasion.Those penciled-in letters aren’t entirely trustworthy. In fact, some of them are plain wrong. But I encourage you to think of these less as mistakes than as points of departure. They add to the satisfaction you’ll feel when Mr. Milton’s brilliant joke finally lands.Today’s ThemeAs I mentioned above, only some of the filled-in squares are correct. [“___ Misérables”] (22A) is LES, just as the existing letters suggest. But [Declare openly] (17A) can’t be “aver,” because that would leave us with a Nobel Prize winner named “Teni” Morrison. (It’s Toni.) There’s also a problem with 44-Down: If [___ power] solved to “horse,” as is written in the grid, then to [See red] (54A) would be to “get M.S.D.,” which sounds more like an off-brand psychedelic.Our suspicions of sabotage are confirmed at 49-Across: There’s a [Person who may have ruined your puzzle experience]. In order to identify the vandal, though, we’ll need answers to 18-, 29- and 61-Across. These clues are “partners,” so to speak, because each one relies on another’s solution. In general, the best way to break into such clue sets is to use crossing entries to figure out one answer, and then use that solution to crack the other clues.As far as which one to begin with, your mileage may vary. I found 18A — [Publication where this puzzle might be found] — easiest to fill in using my crossings: IN-FLIGHT MAGAZINE. This gave away 29A: [Where the 18-Across is commonly found] is a SEAT BACK POCKET. Finally, we’re on the same plane (yuk, yuk) as the puzzle.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

Ryan Mathiason makes his New York Times Crossword debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesMONDAY PUZZLE — This is Ryan Mathiason’s first puzzle for The New York Times and, in keeping with today’s theme, I’m already starting to like what I see. Today’s crossword has some wonderfully original fill, but it all jells. Or gels, you might say. In any case, I hope we’ll see more of Mr. Mathiason soon. Shall we comb-over the puzzle together?Today’s ThemeAs soon as I figured out what was going on, I thought to myself, [“I’m starting to like this”… or a hint to the starts of 16-, 24-, 47- and 58-Across, in order] — in other words, “IT’S GROWING ON ME!”Each of today’s themed entries begins with a kind of hairstyle (or lack thereof, in the case of 16A), arranged so as to be “growing” as they move down the grid, from BALD to BUZZ to FADE to AFRO. And while I can never tell whether certain entries are intentional winks on top of the theme, I appreciated the mention of HATS at 1-Across, because that’s what one would use to cover a bad haircut.Tricky Clues13A/14A/15A. I’m bundling the entire second row of this puzzle into one tricky clue, because all three of its entries are proper names, which are generally pure trivia (i.e., you know it or you don’t). It’s lucky that none of these entries cross with other proper names — I’m not counting CHEEZ-Its (8D), mind you — because otherwise we might be looking at a Natick. Here are the row’s answers, from left to right: OPIE (13A), LEAH (14A) and AMON (15A).52A. [U-turn from WSW] gives us a lot of information in relatively few letters. WSW is short for a compass direction, west by southwest. To make a “U-turn” from that direction would mean moving toward its inverse: ENE, or east by northeast.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

Zhouqin Burnikel returns to deliver a Friday puzzle that is packed with misdirected clues.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — It’s been nearly five months since we’ve seen a puzzle from Zhouqin Burnikel, and I, for one, am very glad she’s back. Ms. Burnikel has a way of filling her puzzles with lively entries and — for her late-in-the-week puzzles, where the high-wire walks happen — packing the clues with all sorts of twisty misdirection. In fact, I enjoyed the cluing in today’s puzzle so much that I’m going to address a larger-than-normal selection of the hints. I hope you admire them as much as I do.And don’t forget to enjoy the triple stacks, both vertical and horizontal. All 12 entries are winners, and there is no junk in the grid at all.This is Ms. Burnikel’s 81st crossword in The New York Times. I highly recommend savoring it.Tricky Clues11A. This [Story of a lifetime?] really encompasses an entire lifetime: It’s an OBIT.15A. When a business is going down, it’s bad news for the owner. Not in this case, though. The [Sort whose business is going way down?] is a SCUBA DIVER, because divers make it their business to go way down into the sea.25A. [Sinks one’s teeth into?] sounds as if we were supposed to be thinking about eating something delicious, but these teeth are those on a saw. The answer is SAWS UP.28A. The worker in [Worker’s performance that informs the colony of a nearby nectar source] is not human, but a bee. And it performs a wiggly dance called a BEE DANCE, or waggle dance, that essentially says, “This way to the nectar.”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

Psst: Brad Lively is playing Ping-Pong with parts of the theme entries. Pass it on.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — Brad Lively, an aerospace engineer who lives in Connecticut, makes his New York Times Crossword debut today with a nod to a game some of us played in childhood.Today’s ThemeThe first thing I’d like to say about this theme is that I think it’s very clever. The second thing I’d like to say is that my brain apparently works backward, and this puzzle proves it.We are passing the word IT back and forth throughout Mr. Lively’s theme, hence the direction at the end of the theme clues: Each one concludes with either “pass it on” or “pass it back.” Our job is to figure out where the IT goes.There are two reasons not to worry about this. First, the passing is done within the same row, so you don’t have to search the whole puzzle for a place to leave the IT. And second, you will figure out pretty quickly that something needs to be done about the entries that don’t match their clues. Once the theme crystallizes for you, the rest is smooth sailing.Let’s look at 17A and 19A as an example. The clue at 19A — [Minty Cuban cocktail … Pass it back] — asks us to “pass it back.” When read another way, the instruction is “pass the letters I and T back.” The answers as we need to write them in the grid are CIRCUITS for 17A and MOJO for 19A.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

Nathan Hale’s puzzle is fully loaded with fun.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — When it comes to crossword themes, every part of a puzzle grid is fair game. Black squares and borders can serve as visual representations of concepts, like language “barriers” and state lines. They can even be arranged to represent architectural wonders.In today’s crossword, Nathan Hale is especially 9-Down in his use of black squares to represent a themed phrase, timed to (nearly) coincide with a certain American sport’s opening day. Let’s root, root, root for the answers together, shall we?Today’s Theme“Waiter, there’s a hyphen in my clue!” Don’t send back the puzzle — this just means that the clues’ entries are part of a longer phrase that begins in a separate place. I’ll give you an example: At 19A, the clue reads [“I’ve done this before”]. To the right, 20-Across is just [-]. The phrase that solves 19A extends through 20A: NOT MY FIRST RODEO. Hang on, you may be thinking. I don’t see the word FIRST in the grid. That’s because it’s represented by the black square between 19A and 20A.Repeat the exercise at 25A, and you’ll find that [Not so sure about a wedding, say] solves across the [-] at 27A to HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS. Once again, the word SECOND seems to be missing, replaced by a single black square.This is where the revealer clue comes in handy: To [Take care of everything] is to COVER ALL THE BASES (40A) — which is exactly what four squares in this puzzle do. Now that we’ve identified first and second bases, you should have an easy time determining the remaining phrases: One uses the word “third,” and the last uses the word “home.”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

Bob Benson makes his New York Times Crossword debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — In 2021, AMC released a melodramatic ad to encourage people to return to movie theaters. Nicole Kidman starred in the ad, and she has yet to outlive the jokes about her opening line: “We come to this place for magic.”Whether or not you seek magic in movies, you may be enchanted by today’s crossword, constructed by Bob Benson in his New York Times debut, which plays cleverly on certain film titles. As I invite you to solve it, I’d like to paraphrase Ms. Kidman: Shall we go somewhere we’ve never been before, to be not just entertained but somehow reborn, together?Today’s ThemeWhen you can’t find a revealer clue — which usually describes the puzzle itself — it means that the theme is somewhat plain to discern. In this grid, the pattern is made up of movie descriptions that double as common expressions. You might refer to [“The Lego Movie”?] (17A), for instance, as a PLASTIC FILM, while [“Star Trek”?] (23A) is a SPACE PROGRAM.I won’t spoil the fun by giving away the full answers, but here’s a hint if you’re stuck: Each entry uses a word that can also serve as a synonym for “movie” or “TV show.”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

Victor Schmitt makes his New York Times Crossword debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesMONDAY PUZZLE — Geography has never been my strong suit. In fact, there are few things more terrifying to me than being asked to identify a country by its shape. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised to be able to solve today’s crossword, constructed by Victor Schmitt in his New York Times debut, which takes us around the world in 225 squares (or in however many minutes it takes you to solve it).Now, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my travels to countries whose shapes I cannot identify, it’s to never be shy about asking for directions. So if you’re still stuck on the crossword after reading today’s column, ask away! I’m giving you the, ahem, latitude to do so.Today’s Theme[Here, there and everywhere], as a figure of speech, is ALL OVER THE MAP (57A). In today’s puzzle, the expression also hints at the fact that the ends of 20-, 33- and 41-Across are elements of a physical map. [Something you might step on before or after a shower], for instance, is a BATHROOM SCALE (20A). A [Set of ethical standards] can be referred to as a MORAL COMPASS (33A). And you might call a [Person who has reached near-mythical status] a LIVING LEGEND (41A).Once I cracked the final entry, a phrase that ETTA (36A) James is known for came to mind: “At laaaaas(t) … ”Tricky Clues13A. If the question mark at the end of [Major or Minor in astronomy?] didn’t tip you off, then the choice to capitalize “Major” and “Minor” should have: URSA Major and Minor are constellations.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