Crossword Puzzles

Damon Gulczynski wants to make sure you’re paying attention.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — Verbal communication is a funny thing. I might say something to someone and assume the person heard me correctly, both in words and intent. Successful communication, however, does not happen as often as we would like.Damon Gulczynski’s puzzle isn’t difficult, but it may be easier to solve if you really focus on what he’s saying in the clues. I needed to repeat them to myself a few times before I understood what was going on. At some point, you may even slap your forehead, saying, “Ohh, that’s what he meant,” followed by, “You know what? That’s pretty clever.”Today’s ThemeEggcorns are words or phrases that are misheard or misinterpreted. If the misinterpretation occurs in a musical lyric, it is called a mondegreen. (Think “There’s a bathroom on the right” instead of “There’s a bad moon on the rise” in “Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival.)Mr. Gulczynski has written some crafty theme clues that contain eggcorns, and, once you understand what he means, the answers will make much more sense.I can tell you, for example, and with apologies to the French, that Americans don’t think of the EIFFEL TOWER as a [Rod-shaped parasite]. We might, however, refer to it as a “Paris sight” or “site” (both are appropriate here).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

Samuel A. Donaldson gives us a chance to beat him fair and square.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — You’ve probably heard me whine about my distaste for math before. The truth is that I don’t actually hate it: Math seems cool! I envy the heck out of Will Hunting, or really anyone who can write a long and complex equation spanning several chalkboards. I just wish that it came naturally to me.That’s why the theme for today’s crossword, constructed by Samuel A. Donaldson, gave me such a thrill: I was suddenly, albeit briefly, pretty good with numbers. The calculations in the grid are simple — we are still a word puzzle, after all — but I think you’ll feel, as I did, that the combination of mathematics and language adds up to something special. Or does it multiply?Today’s ThemeA certain [hairstylist’s observation], split between 48- and 56-Across, doubles as a key calculation to solve Mr. Donaldson’s theme: YOUR ROOTS ARE SHOWING. The themed entries, at 17-, 25- and 34-Across, refer to common phrases that include a number. But instead of the actual number, we need to write its square root into the grid.Luckily, these entries are mere tricks of language. Imagine how disappointing [Seventh heaven] would be if you felt like you were on CLOUD THREE instead of cloud nine.Tricky Clues20A. Unlike other university sports teams, whose nicknames often have something to do with their mascots or states, [Virginia Tech athletes] are called HOKIES only because a past student dreamed it up during a cheer contest at the turn of the 20th century.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

Shaun Phillips is back again already? You better believe it.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesMONDAY PUZZLE — Shaun Phillips made his New York Times Crossword debut just two weeks ago. You might remember his puzzle, which appeared on a Wednesday, for its visual cleverness: The black squares formed the arm of a claw machine, which was also the theme.Given the hundreds of submissions we receive each week, it might be surprising to see Mr. Phillips back so soon. But today’s theme suggests that he might actually like keeping us in a state of mild disbelief. Will he return with a third puzzle two weeks from now? Time will tell. And if he does, I will have foretold the time. Does that work? Moving on.Today’s Theme[The answers to the starred clues in this puzzle] (49D) are just MYTHS, right?Either way, the folklore that shrouds the figures in this puzzle — SANTA CLAUS (53A) and the LOCH NESS MONSTER (46A) among them — is key to the wordplay at 32-Across: The phrase that means [“Seriously?!” … or what one might ask of the answers to starred clues in this puzzle?] is ARE YOU FOR REAL?I learned that the TOOTH FAIRY (17A) wasn’t real after losing the last of my baby teeth, when I felt my mother slipping money under my pillow. Rather than outing my parents in the morning, I hid the cash and complained that I hadn’t received my usual gift. My mother, baffled by this news and unable to confess, was forced to hand me some more as a consolation.Tricky Clues19A. I blame the frequency illusion — the false sense of seeing something everywhere shortly after you first notice it — for the fact that, mere hours after learning that [Southern cornbread] was called PONE, I came across some in the pastry display of a local cafe.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

Hemant Mehta opens our solving weekend with one of the crunchiest crosswords in recent memory.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — Once in a while, readers may hear commenters refer to grids as crunchy or chewy. When applied to crosswords, the terms are interchangeable, and the best way to define them that I can think of is to compare them to peanut butter. Stay with me on this.An easy puzzle that flows well is like smooth peanut butter.A crunchy puzzle is like extra-chunky peanut butter. There are smooth areas, and there are areas that require a bit more chewing. The crunchy parts are unique and fun entries that will give you a run for your money, but you are willing to put in the work because you’re having a good time.The Wordplay column is the refreshing beverage you drink after you finish, to help pry the puzzle off the roof of your mouth.See? It’s a very useful analogy.Anyway, Hemant Mehta offers a puzzle that requires a considerable amount of chewing, and I definitely had a good time. His crossword is packed with unique entries (a whopping 10 debuts, by my count), and many of the clues contain that devious wordplay that Mr. Mehta mentions in his note below.So crunch away on today’s puzzle. I thought it was delicious, and I hope you will, too.Tricky Clues19A. [Short elevations?] should be read as “A shortened version of a word that means elevations.” The answer is HTS, which is short for “heights.”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

Christopher Youngs’s theme spotlights one of the toughest types of clues.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — In 2017, I was asked to write a comprehensive guide to how to solve the New York Times Crossword, and my task was to show readers how to think about the different types of clues. As we know, there are a lot of them, which is why I won an unofficial award from the production desk for the longest Times guide in existence, along with a polite suggestion that I never do that again. It wasn’t a Pulitzer, but it was nice to be recognized for something.I bring up the guide because it may help some solvers understand Christopher Youngs’s revealer at 58A. The entry utilizes one of my favorite facets of the English language to bamboozle people, and I discuss this trick in the theme section below. Seeing this concept used in an entry instead of a clue is a nice twist, and it makes today’s crossword a worthy foray into Thursday puzzles for Mr. Youngs.Today’s ThemeMr. Youngs’s theme played out for me in the way he probably intended. I solved the puzzle, including the rebus (here’s an article on how to enter more than one letter in a square), and then I looked back at the revealer at 58A. It took a minute for the penny to drop, and when it did, I laughed out loud.There are four HAND rebuses in this grid, and solvers can enter either the entire word or just the first letter, H, to be marked correct. For example, at 17A, the answer to the clue [Mixed drink with an alliterative name] is SCOTC(H AND) SODA. The rebus works for the Down entries as well: The answer to 5D’s [ “Let me go, you brute! “] is UN(HAND) ME.Now let’s talk about heteronym clues and entries. Heteronyms are two or more words that are spelled the same way, but they are pronounced differently and have different meanings. The revealer clue at 58A is [Part of a clock depicted four times in this puzzle?], and the answer is MINUTE HAND. While it’s true that the word HAND is part of each of the answers, why are we focusing specifically on the HAND that indicates the minute?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