Crossword Puzzles

Nathan Hale makes his New York Times debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — Among the especially fitness-conscious, the days of the week may be remembered not as they appear on the Gregorian calendar but by the parts of the body that get exercised on them. Leg day, I am told, is the Monday of workouts.Since I’m more of a mental-fitness buff myself, I like to think of Wednesday as my brain day. It is on this day that the crossword invariably pushes my wits to their limits in ways that no other days’ crosswords do. For example, in today’s grid — his New York Times debut! — Nathan Hale has crafted a two-part theme that blends wordplay and trivia. His deftly worded clues also require some patient rereading. I managed to solve the puzzle, with some effort, but I think I pulled something in my frontal lobe.Shall we do some reps together?Today’s ThemeIf you are the kind of crossword purist who prefers your theme content neat as a pin, with no additional enjoyment beyond that which is required to solve the puzzle, then you may be disappointed by Mr. Hale’s antics in today’s grid. He has chosen to give us additional wordplay at no extra charge, albeit with little relevance to the final reveal at 51-Across.Question marks punctuate themed clues at 20-, 34- and 41-Across. All of the entries for these clues follow a similar pattern of punning: One who “Prepared to fight Goliath?” (20A) READIED A ROCK, for example, which plays on the sound of the common expression “ready to rock.” To have “Invested on Broadway, say?” (41A) is to have BACKED A WORK (sounds like: back to work). Mr. Hale’s central theme, however, hinges on noticing what these witty Across answers do to the gray-shaded ones at 6-, 24- and 29-Down.Did you notice what a certain “Presidential nickname of the early 20th century” (6D) had in common with an “Owie” (24D) and “Motown legend Robinson” (29D)? TEDDY, BOO-BOO and SMOKEY are the names of famous bears. And each of today’s themed Across entries “Betrayed Paddington?” (51A) — that is to say, they CROSSED A BEAR.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?  More

Freddie Cheng assembles a body of experts.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — How do you know when you’re doing too much? The question seems to plague New Yorkers more than most other people, if only because they live in a bustling metropolis that compresses their personal and professional lives into a smaller area than that of the average American. But whether we’re city or country folk, our bodies rebel against overexertion — or burnout, as it is sometimes called — in a bid to shift us back into balance. Do less, says the body. (Not now, body, I’m busy.)Freddie Cheng’s latest crossword, on the other hand, multitasks with ease. Unlike our mortal coil, his clever theme has no signs of burning out. In fact, it burns brighter as it takes on more meaning.Today’s ThemeThe New York Times Crossword likes to toy with solvers’ brains by challenging them to interpret clues as either verbs or nouns. “Check box of last resort” comes to mind as an example of a recent clue whose first words read like a directive, but were meant as a noun.In today’s puzzle, the opposite is true: To understand how “Bodies of advisory experts,” (63A) — called THINK TANKS — hint at the theme, we’re told they must be “reinterpreted as an imperative.” Think tanks? No. Just think: tanks.The theme entries represent various kinds of TANKS: a vessel that HOLDS WATER (17A); a military COMBAT VEHICLE (24A); a verb describing how an object DROPS LIKE A STONE (38A); or the shorthand for a SLEEVELESS TOP (52A).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?  More

Garrett Chalfin and Andrew Kingsley give us inside information.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesMONDAY PUZZLE — It’s back to the early-week puzzles for me. Delightful as it was to guest-star on Caitlin Lovinger’s column for the weekend, I forgot that it required solving weekend crosswords. I admit I breathed a sigh of relief when today’s first clue was a simple four-letter word for “Completely enthralled” (1A); I was RAPT in no time.This crossword is the second published collaboration by Garrett Chalfin and Andrew Kingsley in The New York Times. Their first, in May 2023, was a Thursday puzzle that featured “split peas” (words with double P’s, split down the pair). This grid may not have the complexity of their last one but is loaded with whimsy. Like the Cheshire cat smiling down at us from a tree in Alice’s Wonderland, the puzzle promises mischief — and delivers.Today’s ThemeWords and phrases that read the same both backward and forward have been the subject of fascination for centuries. An ancient Greek palindrome, written in English as “Nipson anomimata, mi monan opsin,” which translates to “Wash my sins, not only my face,” can still be seen in certain churches.Mr. Chalfin and Mr. Kingsley have taken their interest in the subject one step further by giving us six themed entries — four Across and two Down — that can be identified as PALINDROMES (36A) but only “when their first and last letters are removed.”A certain “Amorous cartoon skunk” (16A), for example, is PEPÉ LE PEW. But when we strike the first and last letter of his name, the reversible EPELEPE is born. Likewise, “Just a sec!” (43A) is ONE MOMENT, but strip the answer of its outer letters, and we get the palindromic NEMO MEN — followers of a certain Jules Verne character, perhaps?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?  More

Nathan Hasegawa’s second puzzle is a hit.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesSUNDAY PUZZLE — At first glance, it may look as though a wide-legged stick figure is dancing at the center of today’s crossword. Should we pay it any mind as we solve?That may depend on your appetite for wordplay. In his print introduction to this puzzle, Will Shortz described it as having a “multifaceted theme.” He also noted that the constructor, Nathan Hasegawa, “is a junior at Harvey Mudd College, majoring in mathematics,” and that his debut puzzle in 2021 was published “during his senior year at high school.”In light of these details, I’d say Mr. Hasegawa wasn’t yet around to hear the 1990 M.C. Hammer single “U Can’t Touch This” — the source of this crossword’s title, “Hammer Time” — when it first came out. While he may have intended the title as a witty reference to his theme (and I happen to think he did), any harem pants-clad figures in his grid must be in my imagination. Nevertheless, I’m including the music video for those who wish to revisit the moves that defined an era.Today’s Theme“Multifaceted” is certainly an apt description of today’s theme, which uses puns, rebuses and clever grid shading to work its magic. It really does, as 58-Across suggests, GO WHOLE HOG. And this phrase — meaning to “Approach something with gusto” — contains just one of the rebuses that make up the “Game represented visually in this puzzle” (113A): WHAC-A-MOLE.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?  More

Grace and Greg Warrington make their New York Times debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesSATURDAY PUZZLE — Well, hello there. Are you surprised to see me hanging around Wordplay so late in the week? As regular readers of the column may have already surmised, Caitlin Lovinger indulged me in a little column swap: You got her “Take” (52A) — that is, ANGLE — on Monday and Tuesday’s crosswords, so I’m writing about the weekend puzzles. Think of it as an exchange program.The view from this side of the week is lovely. Today’s themeless grid was constructed by Greg and Grace Warrington, a father and daughter duo — cue the “Aww!” from our imaginary studio audience — who are making their New York Times debut. The generational span between constructors may explain why this puzzle feels so charmingly versatile in its subject matter; it really has something for everyone. Its pacing also varied notably from quadrant to quadrant. The northwest corner came naturally, while the southeast nearly took me out. Your mileage may vary with your knowledge base, as always. Shall we take it for a spin?Tricky Clues33A. Out of context, a “double albatross” sounds like a cursed creature that escaped extinction during the last ice age. To those with some sports slang in their arsenal, however, this reads as a golf reference. The answer is PAR FIVE — a “Possible (but extremely unlikely) setting” for this whimsically named hole-in-one shot (also known as a condor).49A. Mensa seems a fitting guess for this “Pioneer in I.Q. testing,” if only because it’s the organization that jumps to mind whenever I.Q. tests are mentioned. But the origins of intelligence quotient testing are back a little further: Alfred BINET, a French psychologist, developed the test questions at the turn of the 20th century. (Mensa was founded in 1946.)50A. It’s been a while since the New York Times Crossword caught a glimpse of Josep Maria SERT, the “Muralist who was a colleague of Dalí.” The painter’s last appearance in a puzzle was on Sept. 6, 2020.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?  More

Sarah Sinclair and Rafael Musa invite us in.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — I met Sarah Sinclair online when she posted a free knitting pattern for a Spelling Bee beanie on social media and tagged both me and Sam Ezersky, the editor of the game. As someone who knits, I thought this was fabulous, so I included a link to the pattern in a Wordplay column.Sarah Sinclair’s Spelling Bee beanie pattern features Beeatrice, the game’s cartoon mascot.Sarah Sinclair, via RavelrySam Ezersky, the Spelling Bee editor, with a hat made by Ms. Sinclair.Sarah Sinclair, via RavelrySince then, Ms. Sinclair has created patterns for a Wordle hat, a Crossword streak hat and more. She also made her New York Times Crossword debut in 2022, and has had bylines in the Universal Crossword and the Modern Crossword, a part of Puzzle Society.This is Rafael Musa’s 10th puzzle in The New York Times and, from what Ms. Sinclair says in her notes below, he is an excellent collaborator.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?  More

Sam Ezersky raises the temperature in his grid.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — Sam Ezersky has a reputation for constructing some of the trickiest New York Times Crosswords, but sometimes he can be a softy. Today’s puzzle, for example, is fairly gentle by Thursday trickiness standards.That may disappoint some of the hard-core solverati, but for people who have been reluctant to push past Wednesday solving, this 16×15 grid is a compelling way to get started. It’s not an easy puzzle by any means, but it is a lot of fun.Mr. Ezersky is also a digital puzzle editor and the man behind Spelling Bee (please send all strongly worded correspondence to buzzwords@nytimes.com). This puzzle is his 53rd in The New York Times.Today’s ThemeMr. Ezersky offers a theme set in which the four italicized clues hint at the places where one could find “mercury.” Are we supposed to be thinking solely of the element or the planet? Of course not; this is a Thursday puzzle. There are more mercuries than that. You just have to use your imagination.The theme clue at 17A reads “Mercury is in this,” and the answer is GLASS THERMOMETER. This was a no-brainer for me, which I’m frankly surprised still works at full capacity, considering that my mother allowed my sister and me to play with the silvery stuff every time a thermometer broke.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?  More

John-Clark Levin expands his repertoire.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — Last week, New York City saw its first significant snowfall in nearly two years, breaking a streak of 701 days without accumulation. The flakes, at last, didn’t flake.It just so happens that both wintry weather and a kind of accumulation lie at the heart of today’s puzzle, which was constructed by John-Clark Levin. Coincidence? Almost certainly. Let’s just hope that you don’t break your crossword streak — however long or short it may be — trying to solve it.Today’s ThemeWhen temperatures dip below freezing, you may want to don a thermal layer under your clothes before setting foot outside. The term for this “Winter underwear” (35A) is our revealer, and describes what “appear(s) four times in this puzzle.”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?  More