Games

Kate Hawkins opens our solving weekend.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — This is Kate Hawkins’s lucky 13th puzzle in The New York Times, and it’s a fun one. It’s enjoyable for all the usual reasons — lively fill and amusing cluing — but it also has something else.Accessibility is an important part of crossword construction and editing, and it’s a consideration no matter what day of the week a puzzle is slated to run. The Times Crossword becomes progressively more difficult as the week goes on, and solvers need ways to make headway.Puzzles that run early in the week must be evenly edited so that the entries and clues are suitable for beginner solvers. Slowly opening the tap midweek to allow more difficult entries and more challenging clues is an art form. But it’s the Friday and Saturday puzzles that tend to freak out newer solvers, and for good reason: The reputations of those grids precede them. Paul Sorvino, the actor, once used a term I can’t repeat here to describe — with admiration — how difficult the Saturday puzzle can be.So I’m happy when I solve a Friday crossword that is fairly accessible, as the one by Ms. Hawkins is, because it means that I can encourage solvers who don’t think they’re ready for one of the toughest puzzles of the week. That doesn’t mean that getting through it was easy, but, in this case, the pleasure of the solve far outweighed the struggle. And that, to me, makes Ms. Hawkins’s puzzle a perfect opportunity for those who would like to try their hands at a Friday crossword.Tricky Clues5A. The “Things attached to spines: Abbr.” are not nerves or muscles, but PGS, which is short for “pages,” because this clue refers to the spines of books.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

David Kwong makes magic again.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — David Kwong is a magician, and one of the things I like about his puzzles is that his enigmatist’s sensibilities and knack for illusion inform his crossword themes.In his last puzzle in The New York Times, Mr. Kwong used elements of a common idiom as a cipher to describe other phrases. When I finally understood what was going on, I sat back and gasped like Mr. Kwong had just pulled a rabbit out of his hat. Not that Mr. Kwong would stoop to such a cliché. I’m not even sure he owns a hat.Today’s puzzle solved like an exercise in misdirection: While I was busy looking at the grid one way, Mr. Kwong was palming a relevant bit of the theme and hiding it in a not-so-obvious place. It’s a lovely example of the kind of prestidigitation I like to see in his crosswords, and I’m happy that he’s back.Today’s ThemeAsterisks, which are also called stars when they are included in crossword clues, are a fairly common feature in puzzles. They typically indicate that the clue and its answer are part of the theme.In Mr. Kwong’s puzzle, the stars mean something else, and solvers must read the revealer at 63A in a different way in order to figure it out.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

Joseph Gangi makes our eyes play tricks on us.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — A cognitive phenomenon known as frequency illusion, also called the Baader-Meinhof effect, describes that feeling you get after encountering something once and then seeming to notice it everywhere. This phenomenon came to mind as I was solving Joseph Gangi’s crossword, which happens to use a theme style I just wrote about (click at your own puzzle-spoiling risk) only two weeks ago.This is Mr. Gangi’s third puzzle for The New York Times, and one might refer to its theme as a frequency illusion, in the sense that once the grid is complete, we realize how infrequently a certain bit of language was inside of it.Today’s ThemeThe revealer for Mr. Gangi’s puzzle is tucked at the bottom of the southeast corner, occupying the last Across clue. A “Feature of 20-Across” is, “when sounded out, a feature of today’s puzzle” (73A), clues included. (Say that three times fast.) There’s nothing obviously out of the ordinary — nothing glaring, one might say — and for me it was only when the Greek mythology in the grid came together that everything snapped into place.POLYPHEMUS (20A) is the “Cave dweller of Greek myth” in Homer’s ODYSSEY (41A). He is also called THE CYCLOPS (60A). A “Classic feature” of this character is his ONE EYE (73A). And now, even with only ONE EYE open — I hope you can see where this is going — the entire grid and clue set features only one “I.” That’s in the circle at the top of 18-Across, and it’s fittingly centered in the upper part of the grid, just like the eye in POLYPHEMUS’s head. Tricky Clues18A. The nature of this “Cry after a poke” is ambiguous — “That hurt!” or “I’m awake!” both fit in our squares, for instance. This grid’s answer is I CAN’T SEE, and presumably the poker is the one who needs a better sightline. (N.B.: Please do not poke a stranger. May I recommend a gentle tap?)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

Adam Vincent keeps us young at heart.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — Today marks the first anniversary of my first day at The New York Times, a cause for celebration, certainly. But the milestone that comes to mind when I think about my beginnings here is the first appearance of one of my Wordplay BYLINES (20A) in print. And no, “milestone” is no exaggeration: I had a clipping of the column professionally framed and hung it in my apartment.That day’s crossword — a Monday collaboration by Alina Abidi and Matthew Stock — featured common expressions using the names of animals, and to this day I retain a special fondness for any puzzle that uses animals in its theme. Imagine my delight, then, when I discovered what Adam Vincent had in store for us today.There’s more to Mr. Vincent’s trick than just animals — depending on your interpretation of the term, I suppose — but I found it to be the perfect accompaniment to a happy occasion.So, shall we brighten the day with a solve? Better ELATE (1A) than never, as they say.Today’s ThemeThe term for a “Certain immature adult” hints at each of today’s four themed entries at 16- and 62-Across, and 10- and 24-Down. Let’s take a look at one of our clues: The “Actor who played Oscar Wilde in ‘Wilde’” (16A) is STEPHEN FRY, which somehow also refers to a “fish.” At 10-Down, the “Mouseketeer peer of Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake,” RYAN GOSLING, is related to a “gander.” The tie-in here is clearer: a GOSLING is a young gander.A “Certain immature adult” is a MAN BABY (see also: man child), the definition of which is self-evident; it’s a MAN who behaves like a BABY. The term seems to have emerged in its current definition in the 2010s. Google’s Ngram Viewer shows an odd spike in the term MAN BABY in the mid-19th century, though the term probablyhad a different meaning at the time: The New York Times, for instance, used the term in 1878 to refer to a medical anomaly.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

Amanda Winters makes her New York Times debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesMONDAY PUZZLE — The origin of the phrase at the heart of Amanda Winters’s crossword theme rests in myth and is often attributed to Hermes Trismegistus (also called Thoth), the Egyptian-Greek god whose Emerald Tablet is considered the founding text of alchemy. And although the puzzle describes this phrase as a “philosophical principle,” the interpretation varies widely. The maxim has been used by astrologers to describe the influence of planets on our lives; by culture writers to excuse flakiness during the holidays; and by Madonna to credit guardian angels for her survival after a dangerous fall.This puzzle is Ms. Winters’s debut in The New York Times, and it seems apt to describe her beginning as auspicious. Have a crack at the grid and see how its philosophy squares with you. And if you struggle with any clues, you can blame the absence of guardian angels or planetary interference. Mercury is in retrograde, after all.Today’s ThemeBy filling in the grid, we see a cluster of letters repeated throughout the shaded areas: A-S-S-O. We don’t have an immediate indication of how the letters are meant to be read — and for a while I was convinced that the constructor was trying to name-drop a certain British online clothing company. Ms. Winters’s revealer provides us with much-needed guidance.AS ABOVE, SO BELOW — the “philosophical principle in which Earth mirrors heaven” — is split between 39- and 41-Across. And just like that, the pattern emerges: AS appears in the top row of each shaded square, SO below that row. Should we struggle with any clues that cross these squares, we now know at least part of the answers: “Where sailors go” (15A) must be AS_ _, and the “Noise that accompanies a shock wave” (18A) is SO_ _ _ _ _ _ _. (ASEA and SONIC BOOM are the answers there.)The alignment of these pairs of letters is no cosmic coincidence. Christina Iverson, a puzzle editor at The Times, said that the stacking of theme entries was “hard to pull off,” requiring from both the constructor and the editors “a lot of time tinkering to get the best fill around it all.”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

Evan Kalish opens our solving weekend.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — The bar for publication in The New York Times is set very high for constructors of themeless crosswords. The reason, said Christina Iverson, a puzzles editor on the Games team, is that themeless puzzles run only two days a week, so the editors only select the best out of the submissions they receive.“Themeless puzzles are no mean feat to make from the get-go, especially with the low word count required,” said Sam Ezersky, another fellow Times puzzles editor. “But it’s so tough to go from making a themeless crossword to making a standout themeless crossword.” Mr. Ezersky explained that a standout themeless puzzle uses the extra white space to include a wide variety of fresh, longer vocabulary and clues that are both fun and challenging.This is Evan Kalish’s 15th crossword in The Times, and I can see why it was accepted. The stacks are lively and fun, and the cluing is tough enough to put up a good fight.Tricky Clues17A. I loved this clue (“Partner who’s deep undercover?”), mostly because it made me think of our recently adopted dog, Malou, whose breed might as well be called the American Staffordshire BLANKET HOG. If you know, you know.22A. “Makeup of some sleeves, informally” made me think of sewing a garment, but the sleeve in this clue is made up of TATS, short for tattoos.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

Dan Caprera’s puzzle contains more than you think.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — If you are here because some of the entries in your puzzle don’t make sense, welcome. I’ll just scoot over, and you can sit next to me. Let’s figure it out together.I like crosswords that have some sort of visual element, and Dan Caprera’s puzzles tick that box for me. This is his fifth grid in The New York Times, and each one has had some sort of extra layer.The road to uncovering the special element in today’s puzzle may be difficult, but don’t worry: This too shall pass. And after you find your way, look back and stare at your completed grid for a while. You may want to keep a pen and paper nearby.There’s more about this puzzle in the theme section. I’ll see you on the other side.Today’s ThemeI don’t usually begin with the revealer, but for this puzzle I think it will help.At 44A, the clue reads “With 46-Across, some areas in Clue … or a hint to the first, fourth, twelfth and fifteenth rows of this puzzle.” The combined answer to 44A and 46A is SECRET PASSAGES.If you have never played Clue or don’t remember the setup, the board includes SECRET PASSAGES that allow a player to move across the board to a room in the opposite corner instead of rolling the dice.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

Bill Thompson makes magic.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — We’re a long way from next Halloween, but today’s crossword by Bill Thompson felt like a bit of seasonal creep. Solving it brought to mind a lyric from Donovan’s “Season of the Witch,” a song often added to spooky playlists come October:You’ve got to pick up every stitchMm-hmm, must be the season of the witchMr. Thompson’s witchy theme certainly requires some stitching to be perceived, so I hope all of you solvers are in the mood for dark arts and crafts. What say you — shall we cast about for the answers together?Today’s ThemeA series of magic spells are being “broken” throughout the grid, and the culprits are other themed entries. A “Spell that’s ‘broken’ by 23-Across” (11A), for example, is a HEX. But at 23A, we’ve got the “First U.S. secretary of war,” HENRY KNOX. One may not seem to have anything to do with the other, until we peer closely at the letters in each entry. HENRY KNOX “breaks” the word HEX.Again, at 17-Across: The “Popular Italian entree, informally” known as CHICKEN PARM, “breaks” a CHARM at 39-Across.It was only upon review of my completed grid that I appreciated the extra wordplay in the word “spell.” It refers both to the magic words and to the fact that we have to break up their spelling in order to spot them in other phrases.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