Thursday, May 7, 2026, John Guzzetta and Jeff Chen

Today's solvers are meant to figure out what's missing from the four block-letter-and-blanks clues that make up the theme, which are all, in some way, less than they should be. :) Looking at 27A: ___TER, for example, the answer tells us that it is a WINLESSSEASON, meaning that if we add the letters WIN in place of the blanks in the clue, we get WINTER, which is a winless season in more ways than one! Kidding! Who doesn't love winter? Even though the theme is less, it's all win-win because the answers are both apt and common phrases. I especially liked how a CARELESSMISTAKE could be a BAD CAREER MOVE. We've all been there. 

Fortunately, the careless mistakes I made in the puzzle today were easily rectified. I first entered 'urn' for "Coffee container." Even as I did so, I thought, "there are other possibilities ...," and as soon as I read the clue at 7D "Country that boycotted the 1984 Olympics" (USSR), I downsized from 'urn' to MUG. The clue 26A: "Locale in the Christmas story" (INN) helped me correct my initial misspelling of Gary SINISE's name. I also went a little off piste with 54A" "___ bien" filling in 'très' before, frankly, seeing how it made the crosses incomprehensible. A change to Spanish and ESTA bien.

I enjoyed the C/APs "Does to perfection" (NAILS) and "Strike down" (LAYLOW). "Saucer contents, informally" for ETS is fun. I also very much enjoyed the Jeannette Rankin quote "You can no more win a WAR than you can win an earthquake." Talk about apt!

Call me out of touch, but I could have done without "Pedicure target" (TOE). I also don't really think of SLEDS as toys, so that slowed me down a bit. That being said, the puzzle's great cluing and fun fill like SNORKEL, SPRIG, SPEW, KNIT, SKUA, MUSCLECARS, and SORRYSIGHT serve as lessons in puzzle quality construction. 

In keeping with the theme, it's a short review today: less is more! :)

~Frannie.

Wednesday, May 6, 2026, James Mattina

Today's puzzle offers solvers a whole bunch of flowers as theme answers. In each quadrant, two flowers are CROSSPOLINATED at the Across/Down intersection where their shared letter is circled. For example, in the northeast we have ASTER and PEONY. The clues for the flowers convey interesting facts about each blossom. As a long-time crossword puzzle solver, "lei" is well-known to me, but, having never been to Hawaii, I did not know that lei's are made from HIBISCUS. We learn that the AZALEA is a "bloom whose toxic nectar is one source of 'mad honey.'" Coincidentally, I recently read a book ("The Towers of Trebizond" by Rose Macaulay) which featured a camel being driven crazy by "mad honey" from time to time as the main character rode it through mid-20th century Turkey. The theme C/AP that made me most gladiolus  was "Flower found along a metaphorical path of ease" (PRIMROSE). 

Overall, I thought the puzzle featured some colorful clues. I enjoyed "Don't believe it" (LIE), "Narrow margin of victory" (HAIR), "Charging option" (VISA), "First sign of fall" (LIBRA), "Bed cover" (MULCH), and "Alice, in Wonderland" (VISITOR) - so much depends upon a comma.

In the category we here at HAFDTNYTCPFCAWCCFP like to call QMCs, or Question Mark Clues but which, in this context, I'll call posies (heh), I very much enjoyed "Winter coat?" / ICE, "Airdrops?" / MIST - always a bonus when a plural clue results in an answer without an "S" at the end - and the theme C/AP "Flower found at the end of a rainbow?" / VIOLET - an arc de triomphe. :) 

Fill-wise, I liked INTRIGUE, HOLYTOLEDO, and MULCH. The only thorn that arose was the surprising-to-me MEAT for "Nitty-gritty," which I found kind of a weird anther. 

I'm guessing that loyal reader and commenter Huygens enjoyed the two math clues "All primes except 2" (ODDNUMBERS) and "Siete + uno" (OCHO) in the midwest. And possibly also "Pattern based on nature" (CAMO). :)

Myosotis and come back tomorrow for more dandy crossword commentary. :)

~Frannie.

Tuesday, May 5, 2026, Max Schlenker

Today's theme answers were all as easy as ABC. After all, to solve a crossword puzzle, it's only necessary to put the correct letter in each box in the grid and TADA! Bob's your uncle. Of course, the clues the constructors come up with make it a little more challenging than that, and to come up with this puzzle's theme answers, you had to equate four idioms for simplicity with alternate, more literal interpretations, such as LADYFINGER for "It's a piece of cake," and NATUREHIKE for "It's a walk in the park." The grid-spanning "It's a no-brainer" might have had the most amusing answer (HEADLESSHORESEMAN), but it also the only one that doesn't actually exist. Why I thought that was odd, I don't really know, but I did. 

As much as this puzzle celebrated lack of difficulty, this solver encountered a couple of potholes on easy street. At the start, before I figured out the theme, the top middle section was unENRICHED by answers. I didn't immediately get which Greek letter was meant by the description ("Greek letter that looks like an 'O' superimposed with an 'I'"), while the answer to the Down clue "Prohibited in Islam" was also prohibited in my brain, leaving me with _OOH_ for "Ruckus." Fortunately, there are limited options for Greek letters and once I had the initial H, the correct answer, HOOHA jumped out at me. 

The rest of the solve was like taking candy from a baby - without the crying that usually follows. I was entertained by the C/APs (Clue/Answer Pairs) "Intermittently offered fast-food pork sandwich" (MCRIB), "Lipstick blunder" (SMEAR), and "English facilities" (LOOS). Both the clue "Effrontery" and the answer GALL are great words. I also TOTES enjoy BEEF for complaint. ADHERE, DATUM, and PACKANIMAL were fun fill. 

I do have a slight nit to pick with LICE for "Pet pests." The more obvious answer seemed like it would have been flea, but the plural in the clue precluded that option. Maybe I don't know enough about pet pests, although, come to think about it, I know as much as I ever want to. 

Now I think I'll go take a walk in the park.

~Frannie.

Monday, May 4, 2026, Kate Schutzengel

Greetings fellow puzzlers! It's been some time since I was here last. I'm not sure I remember how to do this, but I'll give it the old college try. 

Even though this is only Monday, I didn't COAST to victory. I had some trouble - not PANIC-level but not IDEAL - in a couple of places. I didn't know PADMA ("Culinary personality Lakshmi"), HBO ("Network for 'Succession' and 'The Wire'"), or SCAR ("'The Lion King' villain") right off the bat, but the crosses were good, and there were many answers, such as ABBA, LUMET, EEL, and an easy one in my native language, Latin, (AMAT) that helped this OLDIE complete the grid. :)

A fun puzzle despite being filled with ICK - and I mean that in a letter-al way, not a repulsed way. The solver who GETSTHEICK has an easy time completing four the theme answers, including the perhaps dated-but-popular CHICKFLICK, the sturdy BRICKBYBRICK, the catchy-but-possibly-rarely-enforced CLICKITORTICKET mandate, and the classic PICKUPSTICKS game. Overall, slick, without too much gimmick. The opposite, perhaps, of this review. :/

Fill-wise, I enjoyed GALORE, FOBS, BELAY, and MOPTOP. I felt lucky to be aware of the theme revealer thanks to seeing the show "Nobody Wants This," which Horace and I watched on a whim in the winter. As it turns out, keeping up with current cinema, TV, and news is a good way to maintain cultural knowledge that helps solve crossword puzzles. A good grasp of geography doesn't hurt, either. You're welcome. Come back here soon for more hot tips on puzzle solving: ITSLIT. 

~Frannie. 

Sunday, May 3, 2026, Mark Diehl

WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

I finished today's puzzle without understanding the theme, but it's a good one, and today's title, as usual on a Sunday, sets it up perfectly. Six pairs of answers work together in a clever way. It'll be easiest to explain with examples, so let's start at the top. 23-Across is "Moisture barrier supplies" (PLASTICSHEETS), and then 26-Across is "23-Across, oddly?" which is answered with GIVESADARN, a perfectly good phrase on it's own, but here, it refers to the word you get if you only take the odd letters from the answer to 23-Across, which spell the word "patches." What a complex and beautiful thing. I'll just give one more - 55-Across is clued with "Fictional diary writer" (BRIDGETJONES), and the answer to 60-Across is LOWDIGIT, and when you take the odd letters of BRIDGETJONES you get "big toe." Hah!

For such a good theme, we are asked to tolerate entries like LEAPERS (The lords in "The 12 Days of Christmas," e.g.), HOR (Vert. counterpart), the ACC, the AEC, and TCU, BANQUE (French financial institution) and BELIKE (Mimic), three German words, a German chocolate company, and a German actress who starred in such hits as "When Women Had Tails," and PARI (___-mutuel betting), to name some. 

And while I don't know that I have ever used GAH to mean "Why, why, why?!," I did enjoy some clues. "Blue blood vessels?" for YACHTS was nice, "Pert blurt" (SASS) was cute, and the best might be "You smelt it!" for ORE. Anybody have a different favorite?

Overall, I liked the theme so much that I let the rest go without having to cry out AHME or ALAS too frequently. 

- Horace 

p.s. Was it coincidence or design that put OBTUSER just below the circled "Acute?" 

Saturday, May 2, 2026, Hanna Slovut-Einerston

Phew! This was one of those Saturdays where, a couple minutes in, I was panicking that I wouldn't finish. I started on the top with just ORA ("How We Do (Party)" singer Rita) and ARABIAN (Preceder of Sea or horse), and then RARER (Like the Aian elephant vis-à-vis the African elephant). And then just the BAN part of PERMABAN (Harshest punishment a website can give. And then nothing. I had considered "too long" for "How an annoying conversation might go," so I smiled when the answer turned out to be ONANDON. 

 

Finally the more interesting answers started to come in. AUNATUREL (Bare), TEMPORARYTATTOO (Disappearing ink?) (Should have seen this one sooner!), TENANTS (Residents without a title). They all seem to make perfect sense now.

I love me some Hamlet, so WORDS (When tripled, a response from Hamlet to Polonius) ("What do you read, my lord?") went right in. "One wrapping up a meal before eating anything" (BOA) was fun, and "Rounded up?" (DOMED) was cute. RAWBAR (Establishment that might have a "buck-a-shuck" promotion) reminded me that I haven't had oysters in quite a long time. The same is true for YORK Peppermint Patties, but somehow those don't have quite the same appeal.

SOANYWAYS, GOLDSTARS all around for finishing this one. Good job!

- Horace 

 

Friday, May 1, 2026, Rena Cohen

It's Friday, and the themed puzzles are over, but this one, anchored as it is by that COLLEGEROOMMATE running down the middle, feels like it may have a mini-theme. Or at least a vibe. To back this theory up I present as evidence THEMUNCHIES (A craving for snacks), the AP Bio trio - "Myosin's partner protein" (ACTIN), "Oxygen-dependent micro-organism" (AEROBE), and "There are approximately 30 trillion of these in the human body" (CELLS) - and then there's "Angle variable, in math" (THETA), and, well, that's it. Unless you will also allow the amusing and young-sounding COLDTAKES (Uncontroversial opinions). 

Us Olds don't need to hang down our heads, though, because we've got that classic #1 from 1958, Tom DOOLEY, the very mature sounding BANKAUDIT (Annual F.D.I.C. requirement), and everybody's favorite Dad-joke types, the PUNSTERS. 

I love the Aztec's "turtle-rabbit" name for ARMADILLOS. That is how I will be referring to them from now on. OCCAM would have loved it, had he ever seen one. 

There's a slight violence vibe with LOCKANDLOAD (Prepare, in military slang), CIAASSET (Plant overseas, perhaps) (nice clue), and "Combat sport, for short" (MMA), which, in this time of war, isn't the greatest, but I can MAKEBELIEVE it's all ok and focus on ART - the only thing that really matters in this crazy world. 

Best clue: "Announcements before giveaways" (SPOILERALERTS). 

- Horace