Crossword Puzzles

Josh Goodman has some good advice for us.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — I enjoy themed crosswords, mostly because taking the time to understand a puzzle’s theme offers an extra bit of enjoyment for me. It’s like savoring a good dessert after — or even during — a meal.But sometimes the very thing that defines a theme — a set of ideas that all share something in common — can make solving it a bit of a letdown. Once you understand the reasoning behind one or two theme entries in a puzzle, it’s not that difficult to figure out the others.But what if today’s puzzle, by Josh Goodman, mixed things up a little? What if a crossword theme set contained entries that all had something in common, but the way you got to each answer was different? Now that would be interesting, and it would be interesting throughout the entire solve.Enjoy that dessert, my friends.Today’s ThemeMr. Goodman’s theme offers great advice for navigating the world, even though we didn’t exactly ask for it. Each tip begins with the word “Don’t …” and a hint about where to apply that advice, as in 17A’s [A proverb about risk: Don’t …]. That’s our overall theme. Now we just have to figure out what Mr. Goodman is trying to say to us.The puzzle contains rebuses in both senses of the word. Each theme entry must be interpreted by using the letters in the circled squares to understand the entry phrase. In addition, 17A contains a traditional crossword rebus in that it requires solvers to write more than one letter in each of the circled squares.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

Casey Callaghan and Will Nediger reach new heights in their collaboration debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — Tourist season may be winding down in the Northern Hemisphere, but Casey Callaghan and Will Nediger are whisking us away for a last-minute vacation: Their crossword theme takes us on a sightseeing tour of Rome. As I prepare to spend all of my remaining vacation days for the year on a trip to the Maritime Provinces of Canada — which also means that this column will feature several guest stars over the next week or two — I’m thrilled about this bonus bit of travel.I’ll admit, however, that this grid is one of the more challenging Wednesday puzzles I’ve solved in recent memory, and that certain trivia-based entries made the puzzle feel more like a Friday crossword. That shouldn’t deter you from solving! I simply recommend tackling the grid from the safety of your comfiest chair, with a glass of whatever you please beside you.Today’s ThemeTo crack this multifaceted theme, start with 67A, an [Architectural attraction in Rome depicted by this puzzle’s grid?]. One must assume it has something to do with the circled letters that create a diagonal strip down the grid from left to right.This revealer clue, just like 29D, uses a question mark to indicate wordplay. THE SPANISH STEPS aren’t just an architectural attraction; they’re also hinted at by the Spanish numbers UNO, DOS, TRES and CUATRO in the circled squares, whose positions evoke the shape of a staircase.Then, we’ve got the [House of worship at the top of 67-Across] (17A). That’s the TRINITÀ DEI MONTI, a 16th-century Gothic church at the top of the Spanish Steps. Don’t feel bad if you got stuck here — unless you’re already familiar, this answer and THE SPANISH STEPS are nearly impossible to figure out without crossings. (Let that also be a reminder to us all to Use the Crossings, Luke.)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

Howard Neuthaler makes his New York Times Crossword debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — Do you believe in magic? There might be some of it in today’s crossword puzzle, constructed by Howard Neuthaler. I don’t know that I have convictions either way, but a skilled magician can, at the very least, persuade me to withhold my skepticism for an evening. Last year, for instance, I watched Penn & Teller perform a successful card trick on roughly 1,000 guests at a gala over Zoom. I have barely managed to pull my jaw off the floor since.Mr. Neuthaler’s talents will become evident once you start solving, though his trick is more about language than legerdemain. Today’s ThemeIf you begin your solve from the top-left corner, 17A is the first themed entry you’ll encounter. [“AB negatve?” or “B poditive”?] are two examples of a BLOOD TYPO. This is a play on “blood type.”At 28A, [Odysseus vis-à-vis Ulysses?] is the SAME HERO, because Ulysses is just a Latinized version of Odysseus. Here, the joke is subtler: It’s playing on a figure of speech, “same here.”We’ve just witnessed a brilliant illusion, and it’s explained by the phrase “Presto CHANGO!” (23D): At 17-, 28-, 41- and 52A, common expressions have their final E’s exchanged for O’s — which I’d suggest is also true of the word CHANGO, even though it’s spelled that way in the dictionary. Shouldn’t it be “change-O,” if anything? Aren’t you, too, compelled to rhyme CHANGO with “mango”?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

Boaz Moser makes his New York Times Crossword debut.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — It didn’t happen often, but on occasion, I used to sit down to solve a Friday puzzle only to discover that the grid contained a theme. That must be a mistake, I thought, with my brow furrowed. Fridays are always themeless puzzles. If the subsequent reader commentary and emails were any way to gauge the reaction to this supposed impossibility, I wasn’t alone in that assumption.I haven’t seen a themed Friday grid in a while, and while Boaz Moser’s debut for the New York Times Crossword does not actually contain a theme, I thought it did when I started solving. I have to admit, I got a little excited at the prospect of solving something a bit different.I originally thought Mr. Moser’s grid contained a theme was because of 1D and 26D. The two entries have twin clues and synonymous answers. They are both on the perimeter of the puzzle, which has been used as a place to “hide” theme entries, as this 2003 crossword does.Alas, that’s as far as today’s theme-that-was-not-a-theme goes, but no matter. Mr. Moser’s puzzle is packed with fun and unique entries, and I am looking forward to seeing more from him, theme or no theme.Tricky Clues1A. The “jackknives” in [What jackknives can help to carve] are exercises, not actual carving tools. They look like this and target, among other muscle groups, the ABS.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

Parker Higgins needs our help making good matches.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — Parker Higgins, the constructor of today’s puzzle, made his New York Times Crossword debut in 2022 with one of my favorite puzzles of that year. I remember thinking that Mr. Higgins had a flair for developing brain-twisting themes, and today’s crossword left me feeling no different.The only thing solvers will need to understand Mr. Higgins’s puzzle is familiarity with a certain type of clue. I’m not saying that this kind of clue is actually in the grid, but it will definitely help to know about it.If you’re not sure what kind of clue I’m referring to, here’s a hint: It’s in the “More Types of Crossword Clues” section of our guide, “How to Solve the New York Times Crossword.”Today’s ThemeMr. Higgins has taken a fairly common cluing device and turned it on its head. We typically see partner clues, not partner answers.A partner clue wants you to come up with a word that is typically paired with a word in the clue, separated by “and.” An example would be the clue [Partner of live], with the answer being LEARN, as in “live and learn.” The trick to solving partner clues is to run through all the idioms you know that contain the clue word, add the word “and,” and then figure out which idiom fits.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