Games

Ilana Levene and Scott Hogan are here to make friends.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — During a recent cleaning-out of my inbox, I noticed that I tend to address groups of friends via email almost exclusively as “pals.” I wonder now whether that seems unusual to those reading. Should I be rotating in words like “gang,” “team” or “folks”? What other options are out there, really?Today’s crossword, constructed by Ilana Levene and Scott Hogan, has a few creative ideas. This is the first collaboration between Ms. Levene and Mr. Hogan for the New York Times Crossword, as well as Ms. Levene’s debut. Constructing a puzzle with another person is no small undertaking, so I certainly hope they became pals — or friends, or buddies, or chums — in the process.Today’s ThemeIn her constructor notes, Ms. Levene says that this theme makes her laugh to think about. That makes two of us — it’s goofy, but I’m grinning.Each of today’s themed entries is a common term or name, with a witty alternative interpretation suggested by the clue. [“Smile for the photo, dude!”] is CHEESE, DOG (17A). I would have preferred “dawg” for elegance, but I’ll accept this spelling for the pun. [“Work on your enunciation, bro!”] can be expressed as DELIVERY, MAN (24A). My favorite is at 33A: [“That is messed up, girl!”] means TWISTED, SISTER.The pattern, in case you missed it, involves terms of address: dog, man, sister, buster and honey. Also, I couldn’t have told you what a cheese dog was without my colleague’s assistance. But after looking at a picture of one, I wish I’d stayed in the dark. 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

It’s just one thing after another in Kiran Pandey’s puzzle, isn’t it?Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesMONDAY PUZZLE — Until my teenage years, the only section of the newspaper that interested me was the comics page. I refused to get ready for the day until I’d caught up with the goings-on of “Mutts,” “Zits,” “Calvin and Hobbes” and “Peanuts.” The only strip I skipped was “Doonesbury,” because I could not — and still can’t — understand what was funny about it.Today’s crossword puzzle, constructed by Kiran Pandey, belongs right up there with the signature groans of comic characters, like Charlie Brown’s “Oh, brother!” and Cathy’s “Ack!” The theme uses a gently minced oath for just as gentle a pun, a perfect grown-up substitute for the funny pages to get the day started.Today’s ThemeA certain expression meaning [“Yikes!”] serves as a key to the themed entries in today’s puzzle — at 17-, 28-, 46- and 61-Across — but only when interpreted phonetically. The answer is OH, GEEZ, because the first word in those entries begins with O and the second with G.The [Casual dining chain with unlimited breadsticks] is OLIVE GARDEN (17A). The [Event whose symbol is five interlocking rings] is the OLYMPIC GAMES (28A). [Theater binoculars] are called OPERA GLASSES (46A), and the [Starting point for Tropicana or Florida’s Natural juice] is an ORANGE GROVE (61A).If you can think of any other O.G. phrases, feel free to share them in the comments. I’ll offer an, ahem, opening gambit — what else do you have?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

August Lee-Kovach opens our solving weekend.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — August Lee-Kovach is building a good name for himself as a constructor of late-week puzzles.This is his fifth grid in The New York Times, and his first Friday puzzle. Mr. Lee-Kovach has had a Saturday crossword published already, which means that he has some experience with themeless grids. It shows: He packs his puzzle with some lively nine-letter stacks, and while there are a couple of speed bumps, I found it to be a fun tug of war between me as solver and Mr. Lee-Kovach as puzzle maker.Tricky Clues1A. [One shooting for the stars?] sounds as if we are supposed to be thinking of a person, but the “one” in the clue is a SPACESHIP.19A. I needed help for this one, but I’m proud to say that I still have enough brain cells left to recognize that [The “1” in 3-1-4, say] is a sports clue. The answer is LOSS, as in wins, losses and ties.48A./45D. These near-twin clues — ([It/They might grab a bite to eat]) — are somewhat grizzly. The “it” at 48A is TALON, as in the claws of a bird grabbing its prey, and the “they” at 45D are MOLARS, as in one’s back teeth. And now for a question from the Department of Pedantic Arguments: Don’t we bite food with our front teeth, and then transfer the food to the MOLARS to be chewed? No judgment if you do it the other way, of course. The department was just wondering.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

Simeon Seigel doesn’t not entertain us.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — You may have heard the saying “Two wrongs don’t make a right, but three lefts do.” Keep that last bit in mind as you solve Simeon Seigel’s puzzle.We’re not going to be turning to the left in his puzzle, but the saying is a good reminder to keep your thinking flexible and to try to look at things from different points of view.But first, a bit of history from our archives:On This Day in Games History: May 15, 1949The New York TimesEugene T. Maleska, the third Crossword editor of The New York Times (1977-1993) and most prolific Times constructor to date, submitted his first grid to The Times. Can you solve this 66-year-old puzzle? https://www.xwordinfo.com/Solve?psdate=5/15/1949Today’s ThemeOur old friend, the rebus theme, is back. If you are solving online and are not sure how to enter more than one letter in a square, here is a handy-dandy set of instructions.Mr. Seigel offers a set of four theme entries that each contain two contiguous rebuses. Both rebus squares say NO, which is a DOUBLE NEGATIVE, as the revealer at 39A tells us. The revealer clue is [Statements that can be seen as positive … or a hint to interpreting 17-, 26-, 49- and 62-Across], and now you will learn why I asked you to keep in mind the “three lefts” part of the saying in the first paragraph. Flexibility is crucial here. I had to stare at my finished grid for a while before I understood what the rebuses really meant.In this puzzle, two NOs make a “yes,” the word we need in order to make sense of the theme entries. For example, at 17A, the answer to the clue [Some colorful apparel] as we need to write it is TIED(NO)(NO)HIRTS, but if we mentally swap out the (NO)(NO) for YES, the answer is now TIED(YES)HIRTS, or TIE DYE SHIRTS. The Down entries must still be read using the (NO)s.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

Get into shape with Rebecca Goldstein and Adam Wagner’s crossword.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — I was getting to be too big for my breeches. After a streak of successful solves, I was beginning to feel invincible. But I see now that the puzzle gods are quick to punish such hubris: Today’s crossword, constructed by Rebecca Goldstein and Adam Wagner, was so challenging that I actually felt my stomach knotting.This is a compliment to the constructors, not a criticism. Any puzzle that catches me unawares is a puzzle worth solving, so I’m sincerely thankful to Ms. Goldstein and Mr. Wagner for the challenge. I’d just ask that they never put me through it again.Today’s ThemeDon’t overthink the interpretation of the shaded letters in today’s themed entries. I did, and I can tell you that this theme is far simpler than it looks. The entries at 17-, 24-, 39-, 51- and 63-Across are merely descriptions for the shapes of the shaded letter inside them. (The shaded letters appear in bold type below.)For example, the [Color-changing fad jewelry … or a description of this answer’s shaded letters?] at 17A is MOOD RINGS because the two Os are “rings” inside the word “mood.” At 24A, [Heroes’ journeys, say … or a description of this answer’s shaded letters?] are CHARACTER ARCS, in that the Cs are arc-shaped and inside the word “character.”Here’s where I overshot the mark: My solving brain interpreted the word “character” at 24A as a reference to the fact that letters can also be called characters. At 51A, the DIVIDING LINES in question are I’s, and they just happen to visually divide the word in which they appear. These are bonus layers of wordplay! But they are not essential to the theme, as far as I can tell.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

Joe Rodini’s puzzle hits the spot.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — The school cafeteria is a cultural fixture. Its symbols are instantly recognizable: the lunch lady ladling mysterious slop onto trays, a bully who teases the meek, girls and boys tittering about their crushes.Today’s crossword puzzle, constructed by Joe Rodini, plays on one such scene from the cafeteria canon — or “cannon,” alternatively, considering the theme. While I’ve never participated in this high-octane activity myself, I’d say solving the puzzle provides a comparable thrill.Today’s ThemeThere’s an obvious answer to [Cafeteria shout] at 38A — FOOD FIGHT! We’re also told that this shout might provoke certain “moves” at 17-, 26-, 54- and 64-Across. And because the revealer clue ends in a question mark, we can expect a wordplay-based twist on the answer.Indeed, these “moves” are punning interpretations of the cited themed entries, each of which features a food item and a synonym for a fighting gesture. It starts with a [Ladled party drink]: FRUIT PUNCH (17A). That escalates to a descriptor for [The Midwest states, agriculturally speaking], i.e., the CORN BELT (26A). A [Bone-in cut whose name became an endearment] comes in with a LAMB CHOP (54A), and the final thwack comes with a [Bright yellow creature that moves about 6.5 inches per minute]: a BANANA SLUG (64A).Tricky Clues1A. A mere 24 hours after citing “classic cars” as a challenging category for crossword clues in this week’s Gameplay newsletter, I got stumped by the very same. [Gremlins and Pacers of old autodom] are AMCS, as in cars of the American Motors Corporation (defunct since the ’80s).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

Boy, oh, boy: Christina Iverson’s latest crossword is a fun one.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesMONDAY PUZZLE — Solving a crossword constructed by a New York Times puzzle editor is a funny exercise in restraint. You have to pretend as though the puzzle’s constructor — Christina Iverson, in this case — isn’t just steps away from you and available (theoretically) to answer questions about her puzzle.Even without her help, though, I found this puzzle to be eminently doable. It’s a beginner-friendly grid with lots of ways in. I didn’t know either of the 15-letter spanners at 17A and 59A, but I managed to crack them, using crossings and a little deductive reasoning.Today’s ThemeIn her constructor notes for the puzzle, Ms. Iverson said that today’s theme came to her while playing a game with her kids, who are 4 and 7. I’d say it shows: The joke is pretty silly, but it’s also adorable.When clicked on, themed entries are highlighted in yellow for digital solvers, so they’re relatively easy to spot. The first, at 17A, is a [Dessert cocktail with crème de cacao] — that’s a BRANDY ALEXANDER (news to me). At 34A, the [Classic board game with the Peppermint Forest and Lollipop Lane] is CANDY LAND. And the [Move from an acrobat or breakdancer] at 42A is a HANDSTAND.These entries certainly have a rhyming quality to them. What ties them all together, however, is a [Boy’s name … or how you might describe 17-, 34-, 42- or 59-Across?]: ANDY. These entries are AND-Y because AND appears multiple times in each one. If I could, I’d be shaking my head in dismay and nodding with delight at the same time.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

Willa Angel Chen Miller and Erik Agard open our solving weekend.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — Even though this is only Willa Angel Chen Miller’s third crossword in The New York Times, her style is really growing on me. Ms. Miller’s puzzle fill is lively and clean, and her cluing makes me smile. You really can’t ask for more than that as a solver.Now consider this collaboration with Erik Agard, who is known for the thoughtfulness and topical breadth of his puzzles.What we have is a grid that is packed with spirited stacks and long entries. None of these answers are dull or obscure, which is the result of meticulous word list grooming and a high standard for fill.Here’s a homework assignment: Pore through the fill and try to find some crosswordese in Ms. Miller and Mr. Agard’s crossword. I’ll bet you can’t do it.Tricky Clues18A. I think this is a very clever clue. [Downward-facing dog?] is the name of a yoga pose, but from the Earth’s point of view, the constellation CANIS MAJOR is “looking down” on us.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