Crossword Puzzles

Sarah Sinclair wishes all of us, coupled or single, a happy Valentine’s Day.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — Whenever I see Sarah Sinclair’s byline, I know we’re about to see something really entertaining. And I don’t just mean her crosswords, although those are great. Ms. Sinclair has developed a fun habit of sending theme-adjacent photos of herself and her collaborators to Wordplay, which I consider to be a kind of dessert after solving the puzzle.Today’s confection is a video of her barbershop quartet (below her notes) wishing us a happy Valentine’s Day, and I think it’s the perfect end to a lovely solving experience.Tricky CluesToday’s puzzle is a themeless one, but there is quite a bit of good thematic material here, highlighted by the central entry, CATCH FEELINGS, at 36A.14A. [Clean energy?] has minimal or no impact on the environment, but in this puzzle the clue refers to what some believe to be vital life energy. If yours is clean, you have probably racked up some GOOD KARMA in your lifetime.18A. Get your minds out of the gutter, please. These [Bad things to blow] are FUSES.22A. Let’s play our favorite crossword game that doesn’t actually exist: “Is It a Verb or a Noun?” When it’s a noun, a [Parcel] is a package, but the word can also be used as a verb to mean to METE out something.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

Don’t throw away this chance to solve Jem Burch’s puzzle.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — This is Jem Burch’s seventh crossword in The New York Times, and I am quickly becoming a fan (or 53D) of his work. Most of his past puzzles have been on Thursdays and Fridays, the days when I write the Wordplay column, so I’ve gotten to know his work pretty well.Mr. Burch has a knack for including rich nonthematic fill, and is good at writing entertaining clues for even the most ubiquitous entries. Have a look at the clue/answer pair at 48D, for example. It got a laugh out of me.Well done, Mr. Burch. I’m looking forward to your next puzzle.Today’s ThemeBrass yourself for impact: We are looking for metals hidden in the entries that we’ll need to remove in order to discover the real answer to the theme clues. Mr. Burch’s theme is not difficult, but you should alloy yourself to zinc outside the box.Please don’t let me steel the show, though. Join in the fun and leave your metal puns in the comments. Rust me, there are a lot of them.Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system:I knew something was up when I figured out that the answer to [Emerge, as teeth] at 17A was GROWING OLD. That made no sense, so I used my award-winning*, patented** “stare at the grid until the answer makes sense” process to figure it out. If you remove GOLD, what’s left of the answer is GROW IN, which matches the clue.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

Extra, extra fun awaits you in Philip Koski’s crossword.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — Do you ever feel as though a crossword puzzle is speaking directly to you? That was my experience while solving today’s puzzle, constructed by Philip Koski. Some of it is just too relatable: I can’t be the only one, for instance, who winced in recognition at 65-Across. But the theme itself struck me as uncannily tailored to my interests, and I expect that anyone who works in media or journalism will feel similarly spoken to.This is an especially chewy Wednesday otherwise, with ample room for barely noticeable mistakes (some of which I made and have reviewed for your convenience in the Tricky Clues section below). Shall we read it and weep together?Today’s ThemeYou’ve no doubt found out [where some journalism is located] (60A/63A) through your own online reading habits: BEHIND A PAYWALL. This phrase also reveals a key to interpreting the ends of 20-, 30- and 44-Across in relation to the shaded squares.First, let’s review the entries in question: [The] is a DEFINITE ARTICLE (20A) — or the definite article, as it’s the only one we have in English. It is not to be confused with “the genuine article,” which is just a nice thing to say. But I digress: One who [Talks frankly] (30A) SPEAKS ONE’S PIECE, and [Success against all odds] is known as a CINDERELLA STORY (44A).The shaded squares, once filled, spell WAGE and SALARY. And they represent a literal wall of pay-related words, behind which we find ARTICLE, PIECE and STORY — i.e., news items. You might have also seen Mr. Koski’s extra wink at 26A with [Cover story?], which refers not to front-page news but to a FIB.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

Paul Coulter conducts an experiment.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — One of my goals for this year is to construct a crossword puzzle. I’m aware that most elements of puzzle making can be learned by rote, but it worries me that there’s no study guide for imagination. Judging by the creativity and originality of the puzzles that come across my desk each week — including today’s crossword, constructed by Paul Coulter — I’m in need of a crash course.Mr. Coulter’s grid plays with a language pattern so subtle that I would never have thought to point it out, and uncovering that code was tremendously satisfying. If you haven’t cracked it yet, I hope that the body of this column illuminates things for you.Today’s ThemeThe revealer at 35-Across reads as follows: [Like some harmony … or a hint to 17-, 30-, 47- and 59-Across]. The answer is TWO-PART — music theory heads rise up — and refers to the fact that each of today’s themed entries is made up of two body parts.The [Emoji that means “I’m crazy about you!”] (17A) is the HEART EYES emoji, as in heart plus eyes. Another word for a [Harmonica] (30A) is a MOUTH ORGAN, made of mouth and organ (technically a wider category that includes the heart, but I’ll allow it).Incidentally, the harmonica featured prominently in two movies I watched recently, one old and one new: It was a central plot point in “Once Upon a Time in the West” and appeared with Timothée Chalamet in “A Complete Unknown,” the recent Bob Dylan biopic. Who knew an instrument could be so, uh, instrumental?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

Kelly Morenus opens our solving weekend.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — This is Kelly Morenus’s second puzzle in The New York Times (with more to come!), and it’s high time we got to know her.Ms. Morenus is a middle school social studies teacher on Long Island who conducts her classes in Spanish as part of an immersion program. When she’s not making puzzles, she likes to read, binge Britbox shows, sew, travel (often solo) and hang out with her two dogs, Eli and Lucy.“I love the challenge of making a puzzle with fun entries and clean fill,” Ms. Morenus said in an email. “I’d love to craft a themed puzzle, but, alas, all of my themes have been rejected so far. Hopefully one of these days I will land on a worthy theme!“I’m also looking forward to attending the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament for the first time this year,” she continued. “I don’t consider myself a speedy solver, but I think it will be fun to attend and meet other puzzle people. If you’re there, I’d love to say hello!”It’s interesting to note that her grid design is nearly identical to the layout she used last time. There’s nothing wrong with that, mind you. Some constructors find certain grid designs easier to fill than others, and the ones Ms. Morenus chose are amusing to look at and to solve. They have room for those long, luxurious stair-step entries at the top and the bottom, as well as the fun diagonal slide to the center of the grid.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 makes a few changes.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — When the cold weather first sets in, which often happens right around this time of year in New York City, the gloomy, chilly days that sweep through can bring about the winter blues. On days like those, I am especially grateful for the reliably sunny experience of solving a crossword. You can have your SAD lamp; it’s word puzzles for me (and possibly for some of you, too).It’s particularly delightful amid such melancholy to encounter a puzzle constructed by Kathy Lowden, because she is an utter whiz at whimsical themes. On Halloween last year, she collaborated with Erik Piepenburg, a writer and horror columnist, to pull off the perfect fright of a puzzle, in which movie titles combined to form a scary story. This October, she brought us a series of witty rhymes for groups of various people and things: dozens of cousins, oodles of poodles and so on. Today’s theme uses wordplay of another kind, but retains Ms. Lowden’s signature winking style of humor. Let’s smile on it together, shall we?Today’s ThemeThere are technically only two terms in today’s themed entries, but their cleverness is in triplicate. A [Snide comment about a collectible figurine?], for instance, is a KNICKKNACK KNOCK (17A). A [Kerfuffle over beach footwear?] would be a FLIP-FLOP FLAP (26A). If you’re experiencing a [Feeling of guilt after cheating at table tennis?], it might be referred to as a PINGPONG PANG (48A). And [Singer Parton when she’s aimlessly wasting time?] is DILLYDALLY DOLLY (63A).Only the vowels change from syllable to syllable, and the effect is just wondrous. It reminded me of a tongue-twister that we used in my college acting classes to warm up our voices, though that had decidedly darker instances of alliteration than those used in today’s grid:To sit in solemn silence on a dull, dark dockIn a pestilential prison with a lifelong lockAwaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shockFrom a cheap and chippy chopper on a big, black block.Tricky Clues33A. As someone without a putting bone in her body, I don’t quite relate to the idea that GOLF is [“a good walk spoiled,” per Mark Twain]. The implication, as I understand it, is that an otherwise pleasant walk through green fields is rendered monotonous when it’s just for a round of golf. To my mind, the quote makes more sense if the “good walk” being spoiled is that of a non-golfer’s when hit in the head by a stray ball.40A/7D. If you discover two identical clues in a puzzle — in this grid, it’s [“Scram!”] — you’ve stumbled onto what we call twin clues. Be careful, though: While the hints may have similar meanings, their entries are never “twins.” At 40A, [“Scram!”] solves to GIT! At 7D, the same clue solves to SCAT!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

Ailee Yoshida crafts her origin story.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesMONDAY PUZZLE — I often hear solvers refer to taking shortcuts or asking for help on a crossword as “cheating.” Looking up trivia to solve a clue? Cheating. Asking a friend how to spell an entry word? Cheating! Such assessments are reductive, and they strike fear into the hearts of beginners everywhere. Friends of mine still balk at the idea that they’re capable of “actually” solving.I say that there’s no dishonesty in making an honest assessment of your knowledge. I have as much respect for the spartan solvers who mentally muscle their way through themeless grids as I do for those who prefer to solve on Autocheck. Whatever makes you a better solver is fair and square(s).While solving today’s puzzle, constructed by Ailee Yoshida, I had to ask for help from the internet. Stuck at intersection of 64A and 51D (I temporarily forgot the word ILIUM), I had to look up the name of Phil SIMMS. Was that cheating? You can say so, and we’ll agree to disagree. But I’d offer that, if you insist on swearing off shortcuts and lifelines, you might just be cheating yourself.Today’s ThemeHow do you take your COFFEE BREAK (34A)? If you’re like Ms. Yoshida, you might simply “break” a coffee beverage across a pair of entries in a crossword puzzle.A certain caffeinated beverage with steamed milk forms between 17A and 18A, for example, with SPLAT/TELL. Combine a [Hi-___ image] (22A) with a [Department handling media inquiries] (23A) and you’ve got a strong shot of RES/PRESS OFFICE. Two drinks remain to be discovered, but my break is over and it’s back to work, so I’ll leave the sleuthing to 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

Ryan Patrick Smith’s crossword put up quite a fight, but there is always a way to win.FRIDAY PUZZLE — Welcome to First Pass Friday, an occasional Wordplay column in which I show you my first few passes through the clue list. This serves two purposes: It provides encouragement for those who are just starting to solve the harder, end-of-the-week puzzles, and it proves to those who have finished the crossword that they are much smarter than I am.I kid, of course — you’re all smarter than I am — but I really did struggle with Ryan Patrick Smith’s clever puzzle. It could have been for any number of reasons: Maybe I wasn’t fully caffeinated when I solved, or perhaps the clues and entries were outside my wheelhouse. But writing in that first correct entry when you’ve been staring woefully at the opaque clues and the blank grid goes a long way toward inspiring solvers to hang in there. It’s a rush, and that rush pushes me to build on that success.And that, in a nutshell, is how you solve a tough puzzle. I once attended a yoga workshop where the instructor said that there were only two steps to a fruitful practice: 1) Start, and 2) continue. It’s good advice for just about any aspect of life.But if you’re still interested, I’ll walk you through my first couple of attempts at Mr. Smith’s puzzle. Please note that there will be multiple spoilers after the jump. If you don’t wish to see them, avert your eyes and scroll down to Mr. Smith’s notes on his puzzle.Deb AmlenWe 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