Games

Robert S. Gard brings us a little sunshine.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — You’ve come here to register a complaint, I presume, about the fact that there’s a rebus in your Wednesday crossword. You’re wondering what it’s doing there and why it refuses to leave.I can’t make the rebus go away, but it would be a shame to let its presence discourage you from tackling this utterly delightful crossword, constructed by Robert S. Gard. (And in case you’re wondering what the heck a rebus is, here’s a quick guide.) Even solvers just beginning to get their sea legs ought to give this grid a go — it’s a wonderful introduction to the kind of trickery one faces regularly in Thursday puzzles. Let’s size up the puzzle together, shall we?Today’s ThemeThe gambit begins at 17-Across, where the well-known [Coloring implement since 1903], CRAYOLA CRAYON, doesn’t quite fit in the squares allotted. Whenever you encounter an entry like this one — which meets the criteria of the clue exactly, but doesn’t fit where it’s supposed to — check the crossings to verify that more than one entry is affected. Rebus squares, as a rule, must work with both Across and Down entries. 17-Across crosses 2-Down, and the [Reef predator with extendable pharyngeal jaws], known as a MORAY EEL, doesn’t fit, either. That confirms it: rebus puzzle!A total of six squares require entering R-A-Y to make sense (though if you’re solving online and having trouble entering several letters, the game will also accept just R). These three letters, squeezed into one square, demonstrate the effect of a [Downsizer?] (64A): SHRINK RAY. Note that R-A-Y isn’t shrunken here; a rebus puzzle’s revealer generally lays out the gimmick without repeating it.Tricky Clues26A. [Blade runner?] has a clear indicator of deception: the question mark. This clue refers not to a film character but to a blade-bottomed vehicle that moves quickly: a SLED. Many makeshift sleds do not have blades, mind you. I have slid down snowy hills on plastic mats, skateboard decks and inflatable pool toys — whatever floats your butt.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

Erik Agard runs down the clock.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — People tell me that I’m elusive. I hear from one friend or another that I’m hard to get a hold of, that I seem eternally busy. Despite my protestations, these assessments may have some truth to them: My social calendar is active to the point of exhaustion, and I can’t resist sopping up any free hours with hobbies (sign language classes, a gym routine, sourdough).Erik Agard has a solution for those in a similar position, but he has hidden it in the theme of today’s crossword. How many minutes can you spare to solve it?Today’s ThemeMr. Agard’s novel approach to scheduling consists of a yin and a yang: We should SAVE THE DAY (17A) and SPEND THE NIGHT (38A). This cycle of saving and spending is described at 62-Across, [What 17- and 38-Across combine to form?] — a TIME BUDGET.I don’t know that I’ve ever seen such a minimalist theme, nor one so cleanly and cleverly executed. Mr. Agard used just two themed entries to achieve the wordplay in his revealer, but the effect was exponential.Tricky Clues19A. I confess to being a fair-weather fan of spoken clues. It’s satisfying if I can solve one at first glance, but when I can’t, I feel justified in criticizing them as a group. The phrase [“Who ___?”] might be completed by “says” or “said,” for instance, but in this case it solves to ISN’T.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

Rajeswari Rajamani calls this meeting to order.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesMONDAY PUZZLE — I have an inexplicable obsession with irreversible binomials. There’s no rhyme or reason to my interest; they have just become near and dear to my heart.Irreversible binomials, for those unacquainted, are pairs of words whose order can’t be flipped — for no particular reason other than the fact that hearing these word pairs in reverse gives us the linguistic “ick.” Had I said above, for example, that there was no “reason or rhyme” to my interest, you would have shuddered.Rajeswari Rajamani constructed today’s beginner-friendly crossword around a few such fixed phrases, and the result is thoroughly satisfying. If you get stuck while solving, just remember: Lose or win, it’s how you play the game. (Ick, right?)Today’s ThemeTo do [Personal bidding, in an idiom] (17A) is to be at someone’s BECK AND CALL (“beckon call” is the result of a common mishearing). Note that you wouldn’t phrase it as “call and beck,” because it just wouldn’t sound right.A similar pattern follows: The pair [Who went “up the hill” in a nursery rhyme] (28A) is billed only as JACK AND JILL. A certain [Two-player offensive sequence in basketball] is a PICK AND ROLL. And if you’re listening to [a hard-to-believe story] (59A), you might describe it as COCK-AND-BULL. How these two animals became stand-ins for skepticism remains unclear, but there are some cock-and-bull theories about it out there.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

Alina Abidi opens our solving weekend with a very chatty puzzle.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — Today’s puzzle is Alina Abidi’s fourth in The New York Times, and it’s a good one as long as you don’t mind all the noise.In it, there are more than a few answers that are verbalizations, or entries that you would most likely say out loud. Examples include the answers to 17A and 55A.If there were such a thing as crossword librarians, they could ask one to “Shush!” these entries, but I like verbalizations. They make puzzles more lively and bring out the humanity behind the grid.Enjoy this one. It doesn’t really matter whether you found it too hard or too easy. That’s a fairly limited way to judge a crossword. What matters is that you had fun, if just for a little while.Tricky Clues6A. I had “yay” and “yea” for [Shout of jubilation] before I corrected it to YES because I am a very informal person.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

Matthew Faiella makes his New York Times Crossword debut. I sincerely hope he comes back.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — Let’s welcome Matthew Faiella, the constructor of today’s puzzle, who has impressed me with the intricacy of his first crossword in The New York Times.Some people who try crossword construction find it tough to put together a cohesive, entertaining theme. There’s always one entry that just doesn’t work, or one that works but doesn’t have the right letter count to match a would-be symmetrical partner. It can be incredibly frustrating. A lot of people give up and, in some ways, I don’t blame them.Among the people who don’t give up, there is a subset of constructors who can turn grids into art. I don’t necessarily mean people who make pictures out of the black squares, although those puzzles are fun, too. I’m thinking about the people who can build a grid that not only is delightful to solve but also reveals its secrets little by little until you finish and realize that you’re smiling.That’s the kind of puzzle that Mr. Faiella has made, and I hope we see another from him soon. No pressure, Mr. Faiella.Today’s ThemeThe first thing you should know is that the word BACK is “written” inside three black squares of this puzzle. You don’t have to write the words and you can’t see them, of course, but you need to keep track of them to make sense of the theme.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

Todd Gross reviews the state of things.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — When Todd Gross constructed today’s puzzle, he was unaware that it would be published the day I formally decided to switch to decaf. I know that it’s cliché to blame anything on either coffee or on the lack thereof, but I really could have used the strong stuff ahead of solving this labyrinthine grid.None of this is intended as a criticism of Mr. Gross — who, incidentally, plays something of a critic in his own puzzle — as I genuinely enjoyed myself once I got going. I’d love to hear how you all fared, too. Give me your takes, caffeinated or otherwise, in the comments.Today’s ThemeI love a theme that begins at 1-Across. It just thrills me to hit that obstacle right away. In this case, 1A reads [RATING: ★ A big ditch in a big desert. Big deal]. Something’s getting panned, but what could it be? The star ratings continue at 24-, 35-, 51- and 67-Across, with increasingly positive impressions in each entry.35A receives three stars with [RATING: ★★★ Graceland and the Great Smoky Mountains. I volunteer to visit again!], while at 67A top marks are awarded: [RATING: ★★★★★★★★★★★★★ Peaches, peanuts and pecan pie. You’ll always be on my mind!].Americans may have had an easier time than others detecting that these ratings are for U.S. states. Peaches, peanuts and pecan pie, for instance, are emblems of GEORGIA (67A). That “ditch in a big desert” is ARIZONA (1A). Graceland and the Great Smoky Mountains are in TENNESSEE (35A). These ratings weren’t delivered at random, though. We learn at 66A that the sources of these STARS (31D) were STATE FLAGS (8A/66A). ARIZONA’s state flag features only one star, while GEORGIA’s has 13. I have, incredibly, been to none of the states named in this puzzle, so now I have a nice road (or several-flight) trip to plan for the future.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 heard it here first: Avery Gee Katz and Aaron Gee make their collaboration debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — Calling all gossips: They’re talking about you in the crossword of the day. And by “they,” I mean its constructors, Avery Gee Katz and Aaron Gee. This buzzy puzzle is the siblings’ first collaboration for The New York Times — Ms. Katz made her solo debut earlier this year — and it’s a pure delight to solve. If you would rather not take my word for it, though, you can hear it directly from the theme’s key source at 56A.Today’s ThemeThe source [From which to hear the real story, as suggested by the starts of 20-, 26- and 51-Across] is the HORSE’S MOUTH. At the beginnings of the cited entries, we have phonetic plays on the sounds made by a HORSE’S MOUTH:20A. Father KNICKERBOCKER, a [personification of New York City in old cartoons]26A. [Vocal skeptics], often referred to as NAYSAYERS51A. WINNIE THE POOH, the [Bear who sings “I’m so rumbly in my tumbly”]As horse sounds, these are generally written as nicker, neigh and whinny. I interpreted the location of each of these sounds — at the “mouths” of their respective entries — as another layer of humor.Tricky Clues5A. The use of vernacular in a clue is no accident. It’s an indication of how formal or colloquial the entry will be. [Li’l fella] is playful and casual, so it solves to a similarly playful term for a child — KIDDO.25A. My solution for [Smooth sailing, so to speak] was just one letter off, but it was only after solving the rest of the puzzle that I discovered the error. The answer is EASE, and I had “easy.” In my defense, I tend to use the phrase “smooth sailing” as an adjective — everything was decidedly not smooth sailing in this case.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