Friday, October 16, 2026, Adam Shapiro

0:13:20

A wide-open Friday with four fifteens and two thirteens, lots of seven-letter Downs. The black squares make regular and upside-down smiley faces, and they worked in kind of an opposite way for me. I was slow to get a footing in the top, while the bottom went more smoothly.

Where to begin? How about with Britney, and her "2000 hit song with the lyric 'But to lose all my senses / That is just so typically me'" (OOPSIDIDITAGAIN). This is the fifth time that classic has appeared in a NYT crossword. Its stackmate EPISTOLARYNOVEL is appearing for the first time. When I think of such novels, the one that always leaps to mind is "Possession" by A.S. Byatt. I'm not even entirely sure that that book is an EPISTOLARYNOVEL, but letters do factor into it. 

Hey, you know what also fits for the clue "Reality show whose contestants report to the Judge's Table? "Bake Off." Of course, that's not the official name of that show, so TOPCHEF it is.  

Tricky clues abounded: "Flow down the neck" for MANE, "Hot pockets?" for RAVIOLI, "Small sounds" for INLETS, and the very odd "20-20, e.g." for TIEVOTE. And is it okay to have the clues "Rocky openings?" (YOS) and "Indiana Jones or Rocky Balboa, e.g." (ALLAMERICANHERO)? 

 This wasn't exactly smooth, but it was a good Friday challenge. What did you think of it?

- Horace 

Thursday, October 15, 2026, McKay Fritz

0:10:24

It too me so long to understand this trick! I knew something was up with those blanks, and I was happy when I finally got to the revealer because I thought it would help, but even then, the clue "One way to start a race ..." was so oblique that it took me several crosses to realize they didn't want something like "in pole position" or "back in the pack." I know neither of those would have fit, but it's where my head was. And then, as soon as FIREBLANKS became clear, everything made sense immediately. I especially like this trick because when I was first starting to do crossword puzzles I used to think that the "fill in the blank" clues were often the easiest to start with. Today's puzzle turns that idea on its head.  

In addition to the fire theme, which is fire, as the kids say, there are loads of nice entries. OPTIMIZE (Make the most of), AGHAST (Shocked), ECLAIR (Patry whose name is French for "lightning"), SINEW (What's close to the bone?) (nice!), READLIPS (Eavesdrop from afar, maybe), and ORNERY (Cantankerous) are all great entries. 

A solid Thursday, and a great start to the Turn.

- Horace
 

Wednesday, October 14, 2026, Jacob Stulberg

0:06:16

Remember before Zoom? Yeah ... that was great. But now that we have it, we can have a theme like this. One that makes fun of pretty much everyone who has ever used Zoom. At one time or another, we've all heard these lines:

YOUREMUTED
WECANTHEARYOU
TURNYOURMICON

But unfortunately, none of us could probably get away with saying OHFORGETIT. Stupid work.

I made five missteps while solving - AtOn for ALOT (Oodles), culTS for SECTS (Amish, Shakers and others) (What's the difference?), ExES for EKES (Scratches (out)), aciD for ROAD (____ test), and NEedLE for NETTLE (Irk). All of them except the first were corrected during the solve. Luckily, Atlan and Ane looked bad right away when I had to start looking for an error, but this is your annual reminder to check the crosses when you have any doubt! Solving at home, this is a mild irritation, but if I had handed my puzzle in at a tournament, it would have bothered me for a long time. 

Moving on, that central SEX ("A conversation carried out by other means," per Peter Ustinov) really anchors the whole thing. The idea of "conversation" works with the theme, and, well, it's a great quote on its own. 

HAZEL (Tree with edible nuts) is nice because it was my grandmother's name, and it's also a name that's made its way back - we know a very talented young musician/singer named Hazel. The same has not been the case for my grandmother's sister's name, Gladys. And speaking of HAZEL, it's odd to see HAZE not far away in the same grid, isn't it?

This review is getting long, but I can't go without mentioning the two long Downs - PEACHYKEEN and WIZARDOFOZ, both good entries. And I should also mention the two clues: "Poe's middle name" and "First word of 'Ode on a Grecian Urn.'" Always good to have poetry represented.

- Horace 

 

Tuesday, October 13, 2026, Gia Bosko

0:04:26

An early week surprise today, with four answers that WRAP around the grid. The clue for 36-Across, for example, is "Shindig for someone settling into a new home," but all that fits into 36-Across is HOUSE. But when we get to 37-Across, we notice there is no clue, and we also notice that WARMING fits in there and finishes that answer perfectly. Each of the four answers that do this has been given a clue beginning with "Shindig," so each answer that wraps around the grid is a party. Fun!

Certainly SIDEQUEST is theme-adjacent today, right? And how about GESTALT (Whole that's greater than the sum of its parts, from the German)? That's a nice entry. And did you think about Spelling Bee when you entered BANDANNA (Cowboy's kerchief), and how that game accepts both the two-N and the one-N spellings? (Well, I guess it's two-N and three-N, but you know what I mean...)

I smiled to see BOUILLON in the grid. I was just talking with our contractor about how our mothers always kept jars of the gold (chicken) and red (beef) foil-wrapped cubes in the cupboard when we were little, and how we would occasionally sneak one out of the jar and eat it as a snack. So saltyyyy.... And in related news, I also enjoyed learning exactly what MILANESE means (Like a dish of veal or chicken dipped in egg and breadcrumbs, then fried in butter). Furthermore, it was interesting to hear that there exists a cocktail called a LAVAFLOW (Tropical cocktail with bananas, strawberries, rum and coconut cream). Not my usual libation style, but I'd try one.

 Overall, an interesting Tuesday. Lots of non-early-week answers (HAKA, KAVA, GUV, HORAE (no relation), etc.) and a trick. How'd you like it?

- Horace 

Monday, October 12, 2026, Zhouqin Burnikel

0:03:37

Here we are a few weeks into the fall season, and the puzzle gives us a positively summery theme. Four things that can be found OUTONALIMB: Leaf, Nest, Swing, and Bird. Oh sure, I suppose all these things could still be found on limbs in the fall, but doesn't it feel summery? Maybe even Springy? Anyway, I don't mind. I like it.

I liked seeing ANN Patchett in the grid. I read her most recent book "Whistler" about a month ago and I loved it. Now maybe I'll go back and read "Tom Lake." Another thing I like is SASHIMI, but I haven't had any of it for quite a while now. Maybe, if I ever get any LEISURE time, I'll go out and get some.

Only one QMC today (Is it normal that Monday puzzles don't have as many question mark clues? I suppose it makes sense.) and it's a good one - "Time piece?" (MINUTE). Hah! And the Non-QMC "Sound from the horse's mouth" (NEIGH) was also good. 

Had RANriOt before RANAMOK (Went hog wild), but not too many other slow-downs in this smooth, fun, and clean Monday puzzle. 

- Horace 

Sunday, October 11, 2026, Michael Lieberman

HEART TRANSPLANTS

What a theme today. Eight entries wherein all but two letters are repeated in order as though puzzle phonemes. Or something like that. Let's look at all of them, in order from most normal to most absurd. 

ELICITFELICITY - Spark joy?
LASTINBLASTING - Like the world's worst demolition company?
OVERDIDVERDI - Listened to "Rigoletto" way to many times? (Been there!)
HINDISHINDIG - Diwali or Holi?
KLINGONLINGO - Some "Star Trek" slang?
LOTSAFLOTSAM - A whole bunch of ocean detritus?
EARCANALARCANA - Secrets known only to E.N.T.s?
PAPERCUTAPERCU - "A sharp edge recalls a splinter's bite" or "The forest's final revenge is whisper-thin," e.g.?

That last one is some grade-A puzzle nerdery. Love it.

In other nerdery, we have the fine QMC "Anti-matter?" (POINTLESS). Hah. And being a nerd, I find it fun that we have TAPIN and TAPIR, ERIE and ELIE, and ETTA and ATTA in the puzzle. It's almost like bonus theme material! Speaking of, I like how REDDIT got dragged into the theme, too, with its clue "'The heart of the internet,' per its tagline."

In other fun fill, we have both the AEGEAN and the ADRIATIC, the fun word POMADES (Some hair products), a Massachusetts shout-out (ESSEX), and our old friend REN. :)

This begins one more week of reviews for me. I hope you'll come back.

- Horace 

 

 

Saturday, October 10, 2026, David Levinson Wilk

0:13:09

Quick start today with "Artist whose first two initials stand for "Maurits Cornelis" (ESCHER), then ESTOP (Legally prohibit) running down off of that. I errantly guessed "cascading" for "In free fall" (CASCADING), which slowed me down a bit (OHWELL), but TRAGIC (Like Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear) and OATH (Part of a swearing-in ceremony) got me back on track. 

I had not heard the name BOOGIEDOWNBRONX (Hip-hop's birthplace, colloquially), but I'm glad to know it now. And on the other hand, some entries, like NHLREF (Sports figure who traditionally wears an orange armband, in brief), EPCOT (Walt Disney initially designed it as a utopian city), and TRUCKSTOP (Refueling spot) seemed fairly straightforward. 

I enjoyed the raciness of THIRSTED (Was hot (for)) and "Played by oneself" (HADASOLO). And in tamer material, "Determine the going price" (SETBAIL) got a laugh, I smiled at the clue "Likely gonna" for APTTO, and OHHELLNO ("Not today, Satan!") was fun.

 I enjoyed it. How about you? AREYOUIN?

- Horace