Games

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

Were you on Billy Bratton’s wavelength?Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — In any themeless puzzle, there should ideally be a lot of open space (read: fewer black squares) so that the constructor can pack the grid with long, interesting entries. I consider these lively entries my reward for wrangling all of the shorter fill that I encounter earlier in the week. And when they are triple-stacked the way they are in Billy Bratton’s crossword, with exciting entries in all four quadrants, a good time is certain to be had by all. Or by most of us, anyway.I predict that there will be what I like to call the Goldilocks reaction to Mr. Bratton’s puzzle (“This puzzle is too easy!” or “No, this puzzle is too hard!”). But perhaps we can take a moment away from the competition to appreciate what we do have: a crossword with sizzling entries and fun clues. In particular, I loved 8D. The entry is a fairly common phrase, yet it is making its New York Times Crossword debut. It was fun to see the clue call our attention with a red siren emoji on each side of it.Whether you did or didn’t struggle with Mr. Bratton’s puzzle is unimportant, in my opinion. I just hope you enjoyed the experience. Remember, crosswords are games, and games are meant to be fun.Tricky Clues15A. The [Notes taken by a single person?] are musical notes, and that person is singing or playing a SOLO.16A. Not only is [Condescendingly spells out] a synonym for MANSPLAINS, but that spelling out is typically also done to someone who is already an expert in the area that is being explained.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

Ella Dershowitz calls us by (some of) our names — or does she?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 will follow starting today.THURSDAY PUZZLE — I’ve noticed that as I get older, I have a harder time keeping large amounts of information in my head. That’s perfectly natural — I forget who told me that — but add in an attention deficit disorder and it feels as if my short-term memory works like a sieve. Some facts are retained, but other important things, like my children’s names, fall through the little holes to make room for new information.That is why I write almost everything down. Taking notes and making lists helps with crossword solving, too. Ella Dershowitz’s clever puzzle requires you to hold certain aspects of the theme in your head, so I recommend writing the elements down as you solve it. It made a lot more sense to me that way.And you’ll be happy to know that we’ve solved the family names issue: We all wear name tags.Our dog wears one, too.Wikipedia CommonsToday’s ThemeIn four rows of Ms. Dershowitz’s puzzle, there are two theme entries consisting of pairs of words or phrases, and there are three circled squares in each of those entries.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

Brad Wiegmann has new takes on old wisdom.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — Brad Wiegmann’s puzzle has no big reveal — unlike the magician in this column’s image, yuk yuk — but I think the piecemeal discovery of his theme inspires just as much of an electric jolt. I couldn’t decide what impressed me more: Mr. Wiegmann’s constructing skills, or the uncanny coincidences of the English language that made up his theme. In the end, I settled on admiring both.Today’s ThemeWhen devising a theme, constructors often make certain concessions regarding the intelligibility of their clues or entries. In Alissa Revness and Chloe Revery’s clever letter-swapping puzzle from January, for instance, the theme needed bizarrely elaborate clues and nonsensical entries in order to work.Mr. Wiegmann, however, has managed to include common expressions on both sides of the equation. His themed clues are idiomatic two-word phrases, and his themed entries are single compound words whose halves mirror the terms used in the idioms. “Wait + see” (16A) solves to STOPWATCH because “wait” can mean “stop,” and “see” can mean “watch.” Combine two synonyms for “Give + take” (25A), and you get HANDHOLD.Speaking of HANDHOLDing, I don’t mean to do any more! Go ahead and enjoy discovering the rest of these entries — 36-, 51- and 60A — at your leisure.Tricky Clues5A. The solution to “Person of the year, for short?” is going to be some kind of play on the clue, on account of that question mark. It’s an ALUM, as in a person from a given year’s graduating class.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

Aaron M. Rosenberg compares and contrasts.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — Every writer should be allowed one pedantic grievance. Mine is the use of “kind of” as a (kind of) disclaimer before making a comparison. I’ve been guilty of this in my own writing, too, but it’s something I try to avoid, because it suggests a lack of confidence in one’s own capacity for analogy or metaphor — the “No worries if not!” of journalism.For instance, in a music review I read recently, the author wrote of sounds that seemed to “linger in a kind of harmonic limbo.” Don’t stop there, I thought to myself. Call it a harmonic limbo!I had to quash these convictions in order to solve Aaron M. Rosenberg’s crossword puzzle, in which several clues rely on the “kinda” hedge. In this case, the hesitation is not only warranted but necessary, because it’s the key to understanding Mr. Rosenberg’s theme. I admit that I kind of loved it. No, wait … I loved it.Today’s ThemeEach themed clue in today’s puzzle makes a timid comparison. We’re looking for something “Kinda comedic and saucy?” (16A) or a “Kinda religious institution?” (28A). These would be ambiguous categories even without the added qualifier, so don’t be afraid to use your crossings from the outset.Once we’ve got a few letters filled in, our “comedic and saucy” descriptor emerges: BURLESQUE-ESQUE. That religious institution turns out to be a SEMI-SEMINARY. Get the picture, sort of? Each entry uses a different affix that echoes either the first or the second half of the word and doubles as an expression of uncertainty. So, something “Kinda squishy and sting-y?” (39A) might be described as JELLYFISH-ISH, and a “Kinda hunchbacked figure?” (50A) could be called QUASI-QUASIMODO.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