Crossword Puzzles

Boaz Moser and Jacob Reed’s puzzle adds some zip to our Friday.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — Some crossword constructors try to limit the number of black squares they use in order to make room for those long, exciting entries that delight and surprise us when we solve them. I don’t know about you, but I smiled when I filled in 2D and 10D, both 15-letter grid spanners. The rest of the fill was very lively as well.Boaz Moser and Jacob Reed collaborated on today’s puzzle, and they make a good team. Mr. Moser constructed the grid and Mr. Reed wrote the original clues, although many were changed by the puzzle editors, as he mentions in his constructor notes. That’s a very common occurrence, and I think the larger collaboration between the constructor and the editors makes for a very nice way to open our solving weekend.Tricky Clues21A. A gratuity, or TIP, is generally not expected in Japan in the same way it is for servers in the United States.23A. When baseball coaches say [It’s a short walk from home], they are referring to FIRST BASE.43A. I wasn’t sure what MO-CAP stood for when I used the crossings to fill in MO-CAP SUIT as the answer to [Attire often used in filming C.G.I. scenes, informally]. It is a shorthand way of referring to a motion capture suit, which looks like this.47/48A. The liquid droplets called ICE RAIN and its cousin, sleet, reach the Earth in the same way: They both fall through a layer of warm air into a layer of freezing air that hugs the ground. If that freezing layer is thick, the droplets have time to freeze before impact and are called sleet. If it is thin, the droplets do not have time to freeze and become ICE RAIN.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

You won’t know which way you’re going with Daniel Grinberg’s puzzle.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — All I can say is, “Wow.” Normally, I don’t appreciate someone who pushes personal boundaries, but, by all means, please push crossword construction boundaries. And that’s exactly what Daniel Grinberg, the constructor of today’s puzzle, has done. This is a very elegant execution inside a 15×15 grid, a seemingly impossible feat to pull off without sacrificing much of the fill.On most Thursdays, the constructors and editors can let their collective hair down after a few days of relatively straightforward puzzles and present crosswords that make us use our lateral thinking skills. Lateral thinking is a form of creative problem solving and, when applied to puzzle solving, is best demonstrated when we ask ourselves, “What else could this clue or entry mean?”This is Mr. Grinberg’s eighth crossword in The New York Times, and he really impressed me with this one. I’ll wait until the theme section to spill the beans, but a word of advice: Once you’ve solved this puzzle, go back and look at it again. There’s more to it than is apparent.Today’s ThemeI’m going to discuss Mr. Grinberg’s theme, but first a story.Once upon a time (i.e., after 1993, when Will Shortz became editor of the Times Crossword), there were maybe two Schrödinger puzzles in The Times’s archive. In a Schrödinger puzzle, each theme entry can have two possible correct answers in the same slot that differ by one or more letters, and the crossing answers work with either entry. They were difficult to make, so not many constructors bothered with them.On Nov. 5, 1996, Jeremiah Farrell had a puzzle published that somehow magically predicted who would win the United States presidential election, but the puzzle would be correct no matter who won. And everyone who had solved the puzzle collectively lost their minds.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

Evan Park and Jeffrey Martinovic connect with us on the astral plane.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — I go back and forth on my feelings about outer space. On the one hand, there is the terrifying unknown of what lies beyond our solar system, the infinite vastness of which makes me feel about as significant as a dust mote. On the other hand, planets are neat.Today’s New York Times Crossword, constructed by Evan Park and Jeffrey Martinovic, tipped the scales a little further in favor of the cosmos. The grid features a witty visual representation of a certain celestial event. It was tricky to identify, but all the more satisfying once I’d done so.Today’s ThemeStarting a crossword puzzle in the top-left corner is generally a decent solving strategy. But in this puzzle, that quadrant contains the most frustrating parts of the theme.We begin with a tricky rebus square at the intersection of 16A and 3D: A [Place to take a break] should be a REST AREA, and [Skills of the past] would normally be LOST ARTS. But we don’t have enough spaces for either of these entries unless we extract and condense the word STAR to the confines of that rebus square. (Here’s a quick how-to on entering more than one letter in a square.)So the cluster of four circled squares at 23-/27A and 5-/21D should contain similar rebuses, right? Wrong. They’re just plain circles, spelling S-T-A-R. But this inconsistency isn’t an oversight — it’s the beginning of a [Chewy fruit-flavored candy … or a description of what’s depicted visually in this puzzle]: STARBURST (10D).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

Larry Snyder and Jonathan Kaufman make their collaboration debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — There’s wordplay inherent in the French expression “faux pas,” which came to mind as I cracked the theme of today’s crossword puzzle. Indulge me in a brief digression: Faux pas translates to “false step,” and usually refers to behavior that violates social etiquette — as in, it’s something you shouldn’t do. I often think about how it would have the same figurative meaning if it were spelled “faut pas,” which translates to “should not (do).” Don’t you think that’s neat? I do. And I can’t think of an idiom in English that does this kind of homophonic double duty. (If you have one to share, I’d love to hear it in the comments section!)You’ll find nothing gauche about today’s puzzle, which was constructed by Larry Snyder and Jonathan Kaufman in their collaboration debut. It’s a fun and flawless solve — and for a Tuesday, I’d say it really fits the bill.Today’s ThemeSo, technically, [Knocking over someone’s drink, e.g.] would be referred to as a PARTY FOUL. But it’s party fowl you’ll find flapping around today’s grid at 17-, 27-, 39- and 54-Across. There’s a DISCO DUCK (17A), clued as [1976 #1 novelty song by Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots]. Not far away, you can nab a SILLY GOOSE (27A) — [“You goofball!”] — and just below that, spy the [Dance fad of the 1970s]: FUNKY CHICKEN (39A).Can’t “quack” the last clue on your own? Click to reveal it below.54A. [Bourbon brand whose name originated from a hunting expedition]WILD TURKEYTricky Clues34A. “Perhaps” is a loaded word in crossword clues. It’s not an indication of wordplay, but it tells us not to trust our first instincts. So [First-year college student’s assignment, perhaps] is not, as it may seem at first, a homework assignment but a DORM.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

Kathy Lowden gives her all.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesMONDAY PUZZLE — If I ever wake up in a funk, I can trust a crossword puzzle by Kathy Lowden to pull me out of it. I’ve had the pleasure of writing about two of Ms. Lowden’s recent puzzles, both of which were so blithely whimsical that I hardly knew what to do with myself after I’d solved them. Dozens of cousins! Flip-flop flaps! I was left smiling ear to ear.This crossword theme is more observational than experimental in its humor. It’s a timely nod to a certain group that’s honored each March.Today’s ThemeI sensed we were in wordplay territory after solving [Emmy-winning actress for “Hacks”] to JEAN SMART (17A): If a name contains a common noun, it’s likely that the theme is going to use it to some witty effect. And indeed, a pattern emerged shortly thereafter: The [Only person in the arts ever to be named Time’s Person of the Year] is TAYLOR SWIFT (24A), and the actress who [played Serena on “Gossip Girl”] is BLAKE LIVELY (49A). Smart, swift, lively … what might all of these complimentary (and possibly complementary) adjectives mean?The revealer tells us that a certain [Slogan that celebrates a young woman’s confidence and independence] doubles as a hint to the above entries. That phrase is GIRL POWER, which plays on how the last names of the women in those entries express powerful traits.There’s one more name to solve, split between 40- and 41A. If you don’t think you have the power to get it on your own, you may click to reveal the answer below. (But I believe in you!)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

Brandon Koppy provides us with small pleasures.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — Something happens when I’m solving a really good puzzle, and I’m curious whether it happens to you, too.I smile when I write in a particularly lively entry or read a fun clue. For me, this happened in today’s puzzle at 21- and 44A, which were Brandon Koppy’s seed entries, as he mentions in his constructor notes. They are both making New York Times Crossword debuts. I also liked 3-, 7-, 19- and 26D. That last one makes a return to the Crossword after not appearing for 57 years. Oh, and Mr. Koppy has tucked a whopping eight debut entries into his grid.The smile is involuntary, but it’s a response I wouldn’t trade for anything. The joy is real. It’s a small pleasure in a fractious world, and I’m grateful that Mr. Koppy is here to share that with us.Tricky Clues13A. The clue [Knight shtick?] is a pun on the phrase “night stick,” and the answer is HONOR, because it’s a knight’s obligation to behave honorably.15A. It’s funny how the mind works. The clue [Wonderland directive] made me hum Taylor Swift’s “Wonderland (Taylor’s Version)” while trying to solve. It turns out that the answer is EAT ME, the label on the cake that made Lewis Carroll’s Alice grow or shrink.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

Rich Proulx and Simeon Seigel encourage us to use questionable table manners.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — I’m hungry. A snack would go down really well right now. Are you hungry, too?Rich Proulx and Simeon Seigel have kindly set out a buffet for us, but we will have to figure out what to do with it. You’re probably thinking, “Duh, Deb; we’re supposed to eat it,” and of course, you would be right. Sure, we can snack away, but here’s the question we need to ask ourselves: Are we really getting the most out of this buffet?There must be a way, elegantly or inelegantly, to maximize our snack intake. Just don’t listen to Mr. Proulx or Mr. Seigel, or you might be ridiculed for your table manners.Today’s ThemeThis puzzle has a fun theme and an Easter egg hidden in the grid for snackers who like to know what they’re eating. More on that later.Two things convinced me that there was more going on in today’s puzzle than I had originally thought.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

Chandi Deitmer and Kate Hawkins make their collaboration debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — No matter your level of skill as a solver, it’s natural to be curious about the logic behind crossword puzzles: why constructors opt for certain words over others, the choice between a vertical theme and a horizontal one, and so on. Anyone curious about these aspects in today’s crossword is in luck; its constructors, Chandi Deitmer and Kate Hawkins, have offered a wonderfully detailed look into the thinking behind their grid and theme design in the Constructor Notes below. Their insights really highlight the complexity of theme creation, and made me appreciate how well they pulled it off.For more behind-the-scenes crossword content, you can also subscribe to the Easy Mode newsletter. In it, Christina Iverson, a puzzle editor, answers a different reader question each week.Today’s ThemeWe’ve got to crack a few entries in the grid before identifying the [classic magic trick that’s depicted figuratively in this grid?] at 58-Across. Since shaded squares are a sure indication of themed content, let’s focus on a couple of those. 32-Across is pretty much a gimme (an obvious answer, in puzzle-speak): [The Wicked Witch of the West, in “Wicked”] is ELPHABA. To the right, at 35-Across, there’s another partially-shaded celebrity figure: The [Grammy’s Album of the Year winner for 2024’s “Cowboy Carter”] is BEYONCÉ. Shaded letters between these two entries read B-A-B-E. Hmm.At 52-Across, the [Kid-lit character with telekinetic abilities] is MATILDA; next to her, at 54-Across, sits the [“Brand New Key” singer, 1971], MELANIE. Between these two names we get D-A-M-E in the shaded squares.Both of these are slangy terms for a woman (for better or worse), which help us identify the “classic magic trick” from 58-Across: SAW A WOMAN IN HALF (58A). Not only do the shaded squares “saw” synonyms for the word “woman” in half, but each half also belongs to part of a woman’s name. MISSUS is split between ARTEMIS at 17-Across and SUSANNA at 18-Across. There’s one thing you can say about either Ms. Deitmer or Ms. Hawkins: When it comes to crossword themes, she never missus. Yuk, yuk! (I’m getting the hook.)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