Games

Samuel A. Donaldson returns with some advice for people trying to date.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — The first time I heard that Sam Donaldson was coming to the annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, I was very excited. Mr. Donaldson had been the highly respected chief White House correspondent for ABC for as long as I could remember, and there were rumors at the tournament that he enjoyed making crossword puzzles as well.So you can imagine my confusion when a man who was decades younger than the veteran journalist walked up to me and introduced himself as Sam Donaldson. It turned out that the puzzle constructor was a law professor in Georgia with the same name as the correspondent.I was not disappointed. I made a friend that day, and he is an incredibly nice person who happens to enjoy crossing words. Also, it may be the reason that he now uses Samuel A. Donaldson for his byline.This is his 39th crossword in The New York Times, and I’m happy to see him back. Also, it may be the reason that he now uses Samuel A. Donaldson for his byline.Today’s ThemeIn four places, two theme entries lie next to each other on the same row. Please note that the theme clues are not italicized or starred, but you will know that you are onto something when the answers don’t make any sense. I know. Welcome to the Thursday puzzle.At 18A, the answer to the clue “Highway crossing” is written as PASSOVER. Now, I have been to plenty of Passover seders in my life, and not one of them took place on a public roadway. There must be more to this entry. In fact, it makes a lot more sense if you flip the word and make it OVERPASS.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

Make some noise for Daniel Mauer’s musical crossword.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — If you have only recently begun solving the New York Times Crossword and reading the accompanying Wordplay column, you may be flummoxed by some of the terms that get tossed around here. Why is everyone always bringing up emus, for example? (It’s an apocryphal reference to our comment moderators.) And what the heck are veiled capitals? (They are hidden proper nouns in clues; read more about them in our solver’s guide.)One bit of crossword slang I’m still getting used to myself is the “revealer,” which is a clue that cracks the rest of the theme by pointing out its pattern. Some themed puzzles have them, while others — like today’s grid, constructed by Daniel Mauer — leave us to discover the pattern for ourselves.Shall we cross the threshold of revelation together?Today’s ThemeThe entries at 18-, 28-, 47- and 64-Across make up today’s theme set, and all of them deal in “refrain(s)” of hit songs. But repetition concerns more than just the choral hook. In the case of these particular songs, it comes down to the syllables themselves.What’s the “Refrain in a 1971 hit by David Bowie” (28A), for example? It’s CH-CH-CH-CH-CHANGES, as written. (Yes, he drops one CH- in the second line of the chorus.) And the “Refrain in a 1965 hit by the Who” might have come easily to you as MY G-G-G-GENERATION — depending on your generation, indeed.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

Victor Barocas takes a detour.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — Those who know me have learned that I tend to involuntarily vocalize. I yelp during suspenseful movies; I sigh while reading an emotional book; and I chuckle when I discover particularly clever crossword entries, a hearty handful of which can be found in today’s puzzle by Victor Barocas.This is Mr. Barocas’s 20th crossword for The New York Times, and you can be certain that my colleagues were treated to periodic cackles while I solved it. It’s nice to know that, even as constructors become more experienced, they never tire of keeping puzzlers on our toes.Today’s ThemeI was giddy about discovering today’s revealer because, while I didn’t know exactly what was going on with the themed entries, I could see that they were common expressions that had somehow been altered.The “Gist of a Dear John letter?” (21A), for example, is LOVE DONE, as in a breakup note. But since there are no spaces in the grid, my brain also read it as the more natural phrase LOVED ONE. Ditto with “Tinkling racket on a windy day?” (54A). That’s a CHIME DIN, though I’d normally read this string of letters as CHIMED IN.62-Across reveals there’s more to this game than just a few clever punchlines. Parsed in a certain way, “Change a map of southern England?” tells us what we “need to do to the answers to the starred clues.” It’s MOVE DOVER — which can also be read as MOVED OVER, in the style of the other odd entries, but cracks the formula when read as MOVE “D” OVER.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

Ryan Judge opens our solving weekend.Jump to: Tricky CluesFRIDAY PUZZLE — When constructors mention seed entries for their themeless puzzles, they are referring to words or phrases that enchant them so much that they choose to build entire crosswords around them.These entries are usually placed in the grid first, just as a gardener plants a seed in the ground. The rest of the fill is entered into the grid around that seed, the clues are written and then the entry is watered in well. With diligence, a dose of well-timed fertilizer in the spring and a bit of luck with regard to the weather, a constructor can look forward to a decent crop at harvest time.I’m sorry, I drifted. What I meant to say was that these seed entries can sometimes be the most interesting answers in the grid. While today’s puzzle by Ryan Judge is no different, he also includes a lot of other lively fill and clues for us to enjoy.Tricky Clues1A. This “Sky-high” is an emotion rather than a location. The answer is IN ECSTASY.15A. My brain has been trained to look for any misdirection in the clues, to the extent that I sometimes overthink them. I thought that “Solo act?” might have something to do with Solo cups, the ubiquitous party fixtures. In this puzzle, it’s an actor’s solo, and the answer is MONOLOGUE.17A. I knew that the “Footwear with distinctive yellow stitching” was made by the Doc Martens brand, but I had never seen it referred to as DR. MARTENS. A visit to its website showed me that’s actually the official name.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 takes us on a white-knuckle roller coaster ride.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTHURSDAY PUZZLE — Like Simeon Seigel, today’s constructor, I have never liked amusement park rides. Call me a buzzkill if you want, but I am terrified of heights and sudden drops, as well as rickety contraptions that look and feel as if the last time anyone did maintenance on them was 50 years ago.As always, your mileage may vary.What I do like is Mr. Seigel’s crossword. The people who dislike rebuses will be relieved to learn that there are none. What they may have difficulty with is figuring out how the circles in the grid function (and perhaps keeping their breakfasts down).Trust me, this one is very clever and well worth a try. Just keep an open mind about how theme entries are supposed to appear in a puzzle.Today’s ThemeGot a tight grip on the arms of your chair? Good, let’s get this ride started.The three theme clues are starred for visibility. Oh, and one thing to note if you haven’t seen this before: When a circle encloses four squares, as it does here, all four letters are included in the answer.Mr. Seigel’s theme is a series of LOOP DE LOOPS (61A) on a roller coaster, and the letters needed to complete its theme phrases follow those loops. Two loops are in each theme entry, one going clockwise and the other going counterclockwise.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?  More

Nathan Hale makes his New York Times debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesWEDNESDAY PUZZLE — Among the especially fitness-conscious, the days of the week may be remembered not as they appear on the Gregorian calendar but by the parts of the body that get exercised on them. Leg day, I am told, is the Monday of workouts.Since I’m more of a mental-fitness buff myself, I like to think of Wednesday as my brain day. It is on this day that the crossword invariably pushes my wits to their limits in ways that no other days’ crosswords do. For example, in today’s grid — his New York Times debut! — Nathan Hale has crafted a two-part theme that blends wordplay and trivia. His deftly worded clues also require some patient rereading. I managed to solve the puzzle, with some effort, but I think I pulled something in my frontal lobe.Shall we do some reps together?Today’s ThemeIf you are the kind of crossword purist who prefers your theme content neat as a pin, with no additional enjoyment beyond that which is required to solve the puzzle, then you may be disappointed by Mr. Hale’s antics in today’s grid. He has chosen to give us additional wordplay at no extra charge, albeit with little relevance to the final reveal at 51-Across.Question marks punctuate themed clues at 20-, 34- and 41-Across. All of the entries for these clues follow a similar pattern of punning: One who “Prepared to fight Goliath?” (20A) READIED A ROCK, for example, which plays on the sound of the common expression “ready to rock.” To have “Invested on Broadway, say?” (41A) is to have BACKED A WORK (sounds like: back to work). Mr. Hale’s central theme, however, hinges on noticing what these witty Across answers do to the gray-shaded ones at 6-, 24- and 29-Down.Did you notice what a certain “Presidential nickname of the early 20th century” (6D) had in common with an “Owie” (24D) and “Motown legend Robinson” (29D)? TEDDY, BOO-BOO and SMOKEY are the names of famous bears. And each of today’s themed Across entries “Betrayed Paddington?” (51A) — that is to say, they CROSSED A BEAR.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?  More

Freddie Cheng assembles a body of experts.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — How do you know when you’re doing too much? The question seems to plague New Yorkers more than most other people, if only because they live in a bustling metropolis that compresses their personal and professional lives into a smaller area than that of the average American. But whether we’re city or country folk, our bodies rebel against overexertion — or burnout, as it is sometimes called — in a bid to shift us back into balance. Do less, says the body. (Not now, body, I’m busy.)Freddie Cheng’s latest crossword, on the other hand, multitasks with ease. Unlike our mortal coil, his clever theme has no signs of burning out. In fact, it burns brighter as it takes on more meaning.Today’s ThemeThe New York Times Crossword likes to toy with solvers’ brains by challenging them to interpret clues as either verbs or nouns. “Check box of last resort” comes to mind as an example of a recent clue whose first words read like a directive, but were meant as a noun.In today’s puzzle, the opposite is true: To understand how “Bodies of advisory experts,” (63A) — called THINK TANKS — hint at the theme, we’re told they must be “reinterpreted as an imperative.” Think tanks? No. Just think: tanks.The theme entries represent various kinds of TANKS: a vessel that HOLDS WATER (17A); a military COMBAT VEHICLE (24A); a verb describing how an object DROPS LIKE A STONE (38A); or the shorthand for a SLEEVELESS TOP (52A).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?  More