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Laura Dershewitz’s first solo puzzle is a musical Monday grid.MONDAY PUZZLE — Laura Dershewitz created her first crossword puzzle for The New York Times with Katherine Baicker in March. Now she is back with a solo puzzle just as clever and challenging as her collaborative debut. This crossword has it all: tricky fill, unconventional clues and a satisfying theme to bring it all together.Joel Fagliano, a puzzle editor for The Times, appreciated the puzzle’s musicality. “Musical note themes are tried and true, but the elegance of this one set it apart,” he said. He added that the theme was executed well and had “a pleasing consistency.”Mr. Fagliano complimented Ms. Dershewitz on her use of “clean Monday vocabulary” that made the puzzle feel “lively and fresh.” I couldn’t agree more — this puzzle pleased my beginner’s heart. I solved it without looking anything up and learned new phrases in the process.Today’s ThemeThe circular overlays in this puzzle tip us off to the theme. Let’s look at the corresponding clues: 21A, [Explain something in steps]; 31A, [Acts like one’s true self, colloquially]; and 41A, [Was understated in one’s description]. The answer to 21A is BREAK IT DOWN, 31A is KEEPS IT REAL and 41A is PUT IT MILDLY.What do these answers all have in common? The revealer at 50A suggests it has something to do with “sticky yellow squares” — POST-IT NOTES. We can look to the circled letters to find our next clue. They’re notes on a scale: DO, RE, MI. The notes come after the letters I and T in all of the answers, so they’re literally “post-IT” notes.Tricky Clues16A. To [get one’s story straight?] is to EDIT. I liked this witty take on an idiom that typically means to communicate clearly and accurately. Editing is one way to achieve that.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

Finding your way into Jacob McDermott’s puzzle may be a challenge.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — Here at the Wordplay headquarters, we usually give beginning solvers two pieces of advice: Start with Mondays and solve your “gimmes” first. Gimmes are those entries you definitely know.By the time solvers work their way to the Friday puzzles, finding those gimmes becomes harder because the clues are considerably more opaque.You don’t believe me? Let’s look at an example, RAYON, a fairly common entry in puzzles. (RAYON is a random choice to avoid spoilers; the word is not in Jacob McDermott’s puzzle.)Some early-week clues for RAYON include [Synthetic fabric] and [Synthetic fabric that feels like silk]. With those clues and one or two crossing entries, most people would probably be able to figure it out. When the word has appeared on Fridays, however, some of the clues have included [So-called “laboratory’s first gift to the loom”] and [Chardonnet’s invention]. You can see how finding a way into some late-week puzzles might be difficult.That’s how I felt when I read the clue list for Mr. McDermott’s puzzle. On my first pass, I was able to fill in a bit of the eastern section of the grid, starting with 33A. (Don’t judge, I never said I was classy.) And that was it. I was stuck.My heart sank a little, which I actually consider to be a good sign for a Friday puzzle. It means that there is going to be a hopefully fun tug of war between me and the constructor. But the sinking feeling is also a signal to put the puzzle down and come back to it later. No sense in getting frustrated, right?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

Like the TARDIS in “Doctor Who,” Kareem Ayas’s puzzle travels through time and space.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — A note to those who would like their Thursday crosswords to have no tricks, one letter per square and no pop-culture references: I hear you. I really do. And you are more than welcome to your opinions. But you are not going to convince me that Kareem Ayas’s puzzle isn’t an excellent example of how creative constructors can be within the confines of a 15×15 grid.Mr. Ayas made his New York Times Crossword debut in 2023, and this is his third puzzle to be published.Today’s ThemeYou probably noticed that there were three unchecked squares in Mr. Ayas’s puzzle. If you are not familiar with the term, an unchecked square has no crossing entry or clue. If you are solving online, hyphens take the place of those clues.You also probably noticed that the answers stemming from those unchecked squares are incomplete. There is a good reason for that.Those unchecked squares are the openings of WORMHOLEs (39D). Parts of the answers emerge from those portals, but we need to find their entry points. Fortunately for us, those entry points are represented by circled squares in the first row 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

Alex Eaton-Salners shows signs of life.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — There’s so much to love about Alex Eaton-Salners’s crossword puzzle that I don’t quite know where to begin. If you’ve glanced at the grid then you know at least the half of it, because you’ve seen that Mr. Eaton-Salners’s theme relies on illustrated clues. That, on its own, is worth the price of admission.As it happens, I wrote about the very language illustrated in this puzzle earlier this year. How thrilling to feel well equipped — for once! — to tackle a Wednesday puzzle.A note to solvers: This puzzle has picture clues. If you solve on an app that hasn’t been updated, you may see a description of the missing image instead of the intended clue. If you aren’t able to update your app, you can solve on your desktop or in print for the full experience.Today’s ThemeNot “all signs point to yes” as they did in a puzzle earlier this month. Instead, these bits of AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE (54A/65A) — at 18-, 25-, 27- and 52-Across, as well as at 23- and 40-Down — might have you saying HELLO (23D), I LOVE YOU (25A) and YOU’RE WELCOME (18A).The illustrations, created by Daniel Savage, represent common hand shapes and gestures for various words in ASL. That said, there will always be regional distinctions and home signs; feel free to share your own in the comments section.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 Richardson makes her New York Times Crossword debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — I really think that you’re going to love today’s crossword puzzle, constructed by Kelly Richardson. On the off-chance that you don’t, Ms. Richardson has done you the favor of including the most diplomatic way of saying so right here in her grid.Today’s puzzle also continues our recent streak of unusually tough Tuesdays; one misdirection in the top right quadrant is especially dastardly. That said, don’t be intimidated if you’re just beginning your crossword journey! The challenge makes you a better solver. (And don’t make me tap the “It’s OK to look things up” sign.)Today’s ThemeThe more you sit with this theme, the stronger it becomes. I am alluding, of course, to the [blend at the heart of this puzzle] (51A), which stacks three varieties of tea: PEACH (37A), which is [popular in the South]; PEKOE (43A), [a major export of Sri Lanka]; and ASSAM (46A), [named for a region in India]. And they’re in a teacup of black squares!You may prefer to drink tea over ice, but, as pointed out by a [1959 Marilyn Monroe film] (14A) that doubles as a comment on the drink, SOME LIKE IT HOT.And, should you take a sip of the maximalist blend at the heart of the puzzle, you may be tempted to utter the final revealer phrase, which, as I mentioned, is also a diplomatic option for sharing crossword opinions: NOT MY CUP OF TEA [51A].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

Malaika Handa’s puzzle is lively and satisfying.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — This is Malaika Handa’s sixth crossword in The New York Times, and, as far as I’m concerned, her work just keeps getting better. Ms. Handa constructs for several other outlets, so she’s not a beginner; it’s just that most of my exposure to her work is through The Times.But, as I said, she has grown as a puzzle maker, and today’s grid is packed with the “fun and breezy” entries that she mentions in her notes below. I’d like to avoid spoilers, but you’ll know these entries when you see them. They’re the ones that will make you smile as you fill them in. I had that experience several times while I solved her puzzle.Tricky Clues11A. This is a very clever clue. [What connects money to everything?] is the word ISN’T, which completes the saying “Money isn’t everything.”17A. Who doesn’t love a CRAZY STRAW? [It has many twists and turns] and makes drinking any beverage more fun.42A. A [Fashion line?] is the branded work of a clothing designer, but with the question mark in the clue, we know that the answer can’t be that simple. This line in fashion is a STRIPE.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

Mat Shelden takes us for a ride.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — The hardest part of making a crossword puzzle is getting through your first submission. It’s the anxiety that gets you.You spent countless hours trying to make a puzzle that you think people will enjoy solving, got stuck countless times while trying to fill the puzzle, mulled over your clues without knowing exactly how hard they’re supposed to be and now it’s time to send it off to the editors.You fill out the submission form, attach your puzzle in the format the editors requested and, with palms sweating, you hit “send.” From there, it goes into a black hole, never to be seen again.Ha-ha, just kidding! That’s how it feels, but, in reality, the puzzle editors receive your creation, and it goes onto the pile of crosswords that have yet to be reviewed. From there, the editors discuss your creation at length and talk about what tweaks will need to be performed on your baby to make it ready for prime time. You try not to picture the puzzle editors laughing at your puzzle.Submitting crosswords becomes less anxiety-producing as time goes on. Today’s grid reminded me of the stress of the submission process because it is Mat Shelden’s New York Times Crossword debut. In fact, it is his first publication anywhere, but not his first submission, so he’s already been through the anxiety.“I felt confident in what I made, uncertain in how it would be received and was prepared to wait for an answer,” Mr. Shelden said in an email. “I had received rejections in the past, so my optimism was tempered.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

Hal Moore lets things escalate.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — Considering how many films I’ve consumed over the course of my life, it feels disingenuous to claim I have a favorite movie. Just one favorite? Impossible. But today’s crossword brought to mind one of my top contenders for the slot, an animated French movie from 2003 called (in translation) “The Triplets of Belleville.”To describe the film in any detail would spoil the secrets of Hal Moore’s puzzle when you’ve hardly scrolled past the headline. Rather than letting you spin your wheels to figure out the theme, though, I’ll take you on a 48A of it below.Today’s ThemeRight away, we notice two diagonal strings of circled letters in the upper-left quadrant of the grid. That’s our first cue to expect a somewhat visual theme. But what could they mean?48A is a good place to start, with a [Three-week bike race, such as the one featured in this puzzle]. The answer is GRAND TOUR. Three European races hold this designation, but the best known among them is the Tour de France. Lucky us: That happens to be the one featured in Mr. Moore’s puzzle, as we discover with the [Typical ending point for this puzzle’s race] (16D) — the CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES.Now that we’ve got these details down, we can address the meaning of the circled letters, hinted at by the revealer clue at 40A: [Hard patterns to break … or a punny description of the climbs up the circled letters]. Using crossings from our regular entries, we can identify those strings of climbs — ALPS and PYRENEES.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