Crossword Puzzles

Enrique Henestroza Anguiano offers a challenging Friday puzzle.Jump to: Tricky CluesNote to readers: In the past, Wordplay indicated crossword clues with quotation marks. In crossword construction and editing, though, clues are typically indicated by brackets, a practice Wordplay is now following.FRIDAY PUZZLE — I’m only human, despite what the puzzle editors might have told you. That means I find some crosswords tough, too, even though I’ve been a daily solver for years.And I love it when that happens. Yes, I get frustrated and wish it were easier, but my overriding feeling is one of excitement because I know I’m about to learn some new things. That feeling is what keeps me solving until the very end. Well, that and the fact that it’s in my job description.This is Enrique Henestroza Anguiano’s eighth puzzle in The New York Times, and it gave me a pleasing run for my money. Mr. Anguiano’s grid is packed with lively entries, nine of which make their debuts, some of which I had to look up, such as 17A and 26A. In my opinion, the clues are just right in terms of Friday difficulty, in my opinion, and there is enough wordplay in them to keep even a struggling solver happy: Even if I don’t know the answer right away, I can admire a well-written misdirection.Your thoughts?Tricky Clues10A. I wasn’t sure at first how IN IT was an answer for [Still alive]. But upon further rumination (the non-cud kind), I think it has to do with remaining in the game, so to speak. If you’re IN IT, you’re still alive.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

Paolo Pasco and Sarah Sinclair deliver.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesNote to readers: In the past, Wordplay indicated crossword clues with quotation marks. In crossword construction and editing, though, clues are typically indicated by brackets, a practice Wordplay is now following.THURSDAY PUZZLE — I’m hungry. Are you hungry?Let’s sink our teeth into this crossword by Paolo Pasco and Sarah Sinclair. That should assuage our cravings for a fun puzzle. If you’re solving online, try not to get any pixels caught in your teeth; I’m all out of grid floss.And if you are tempted to give up on this one for some reason, don’t — there’s a nice surprise when you’ve had your fill.Today’s ThemeAt first, I thought that Mr. Pasco and Ms. Sinclair’s rounded grid represented a cell, with all its parts swirling around inside, and that the revealer was going to be something like “The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.”I was disabused of that notion when I got to the actual revealer, at 26A, which reads [Pepperoni, mushroom or green pepper … or what each cluster of black squares represents in this puzzle]. The answer is PIZZA TOPPING, but I had a problem: The answer, like many of this puzzle’s entries, didn’t fit in its slot.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

Rebecca Goldstein’s puzzle is anything but pedestrian.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesNote to readers: In the past, Wordplay indicated crossword clues with quotation marks. In crossword construction and editing, though, clues are typically indicated by brackets, a practice Wordplay is now following.WEDNESDAY PUZZLE — Like many of the brainy, industrious solvers who play the New York Times Crossword, I find it hard to unplug my brain and do nothing. My penchant for productivity lurks behind even the most seemingly inane activities. I’m not just watching “The Bachelor,” I’m gathering meaningful data about mainstream culture!As a leisurely source of self-improvement, the Times Crossword needs no defending. Every grid is filled with trivia both light and profound — about nature, sports or language itself — and I feel that I emerge from each solve an infinitesimally better person. To that end, I’d like to thank Rebecca Goldstein, who constructed today’s crossword. Ms. Goldstein taught me so much in this grid that I won’t feel guilty when I go home tonight to binge-watch “Curb Your Enthusiasm” — ahem, I mean, to meditate on a modern-day parable about the pitfalls of extreme wealth.Today’s ThemeEven if you haven’t seen the 1969 film “Midnight Cowboy,” you’ve probably heard of its most famous line — which, as the revealer at 52-Across points out, was improvised. That [Memorable ad-lib] is I’M WALKIN’ HERE! The phrase is emblematic of the gruff, no-nonsense New Yorker, but it’s also [what the starred clues would say about their answers].[Jesus] walked on the SEA OF GALILEE (20A). [Dorothy Gale], the heroine of “The Wizard of Oz,” walked on the YELLOW BRICK ROAD (24A). And [Neil Armstrong] walked on the moon, but this entry names the specific site of his small step for man: the TRANQUILITY BASE (45A).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

Seth Bisen-Hersh and Jeff Chen game the system.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesNote to readers: In the past, Wordplay indicated crossword clues with quotation marks. In crossword construction and editing, though, clues are typically indicated by brackets, a practice Wordplay is now following.TUESDAY PUZZLE — Seth Bisen-Hersh, who constructed today’s crossword with Jeff Chen, wrote that he was inspired to craft this grid’s theme while watching a TV show hosted by Penn & Teller, the prolific magician duo. I grew up admiring Penn & Teller, too — only it was because of their prank book, “How to Play With Your Food.” The book was given to me by my aunt, no doubt in the hopes that I’d terrorize my parents with it. And reader, I did: One my favorite tricks from the book involved palming a single-serve creamer from a restaurant’s dining table, and then casually starting to play with a fork near my face. Having subtly brought the hand with the creamer near my eye, I’d stab the cup with the fork and scream as the creamer spattered unsuspecting family members with a stream of white liquid that my eye seemed to have expelled.This puzzle’s theme relies on slightly higher-brow sleights of hand — hint — but I’m willing to bet that you’ll love it.Today’s ThemeYou may know the [Card game whose winning hands can be found hidden in 17-, 27-, 42- and 54-Across] (33A) as blackjack, but constraints in the grid led the constructors to refer to it by its other name, TWENTY-ONE. Each of the entries cited in the revealer clue hides a pair of cards that adds up to 21 — or blackjack — in the game.[Sloppily making out, in slang] (17A) is known as SUCKING FACE. The [Piece of jewelry consisting of a single line of diamonds] (27A) is a TENNIS BRACELET. An ace is worth 11 points, while the remaining honor cards — jack, queen and king — are worth 10 apiece. TWENTY-ONE is played with a two-card hand, which means that to reach exactly 21, you have to have draw an ace and an honor card.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

Anthony V. Grubb makes his New York Times debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesNote to readers: In the past, Wordplay indicated crossword clues with quotation marks. In crossword construction and editing, though, clues are typically indicated by brackets, a practice Wordplay is now following.MONDAY PUZZLE — The first day of sweltering summer heat can feel either welcome or dreadful, depending on your climate preferences. The heat wave last week made for a few exceptionally sticky days in New York City.I see this siesta-friendly season as a boon for puzzle lovers. So long as we have a little shade and a breeze — be it from a fan, an air-conditioning unit or an ocean — we can entertain ourselves with the simple pleasure of a daily crossword.Today that crossword comes to us from Anthony V. Grubb, in his New York Times debut. With a beginner-friendly theme but clues challenging enough to appeal to skilled solvers, this grid has something for everyone.Christina Iverson, a puzzle editor for The Times, said that editors were particularly impressed by Mr. Grubb’s theme set. “It was one of those ‘Oh, wow, how’d he find those?’ moments,” she said. “It’s a nice example of a common theme subject that is elevated by adding another layer.” Ms. Iverson’s compliment is especially — ahem — fit for this puzzle, given the theme subject.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