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

Thursday, April 30, 2026, Lance Enfinger and John Kugelman

Why have I never heard of the "Seafood dish known as the King of Salads," the CRABLOUIE? Why!? Google tells me it's a west coast thing, but I have a brother out there. Dave, why have you kept this from me?!

OK, rant over. 

What an odd theme! Three Oscar-winning movies are found in the shape of fish hooks, and they are "catching" three kinds of fish. Who thinks of these things? Anyway, I like it and I applaud it. Nice work messieurs Enfinger and Kugelman. 

There's a little bonus material, perhaps, in SHREK (First movie to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature), and in Oscar-winner CHER. 

I loved DOTBOMB (Mocking name for failed businesses of the early 2000s) - Hah! - and it's odd, isn't it, that an insurance company would name itself after a volcano (AETNA)? Would they even cover damage caused by an eruption? 

"What 'R' might stand for on an envelope" (RHODE) was fun. And "Class that might be all play and no work?" (DRAMA) was cute, and I get that they're just trying to be funny, but acting is work! 

Best clue: "Tag line" (YOUREIT) 
Runners up: "References as references" (CITES) and "Toys for tots, perhaps" (TYPO) 

- Horace 

Wednesday, April 29, 2026, Joseph Gangi

Another amusing theme. Is it just me being happy to be back blogging these puzzles? Or have the themes been extra fun lately? Today’s is a cute play on dot coms, with normal words beginning with “com” being clued wackily to make them sound tech-related. As in, “*Assurance from an internet company?” (COMPROMISE), “*Exposure for an internet company” (COMPRESS), and my personal favorite, “*Illustrative story from an internet company” (COMPARABLE). Hah! 

In the fill, there were two entries that made me feel it was Wednesday – SPARGE, which is, apparently, to “Rinse with water, as grain in the brewing process,” and CABERS, the “Poles tossed in a Highland competition.” I vaguely remembered the second, but not the first. In my paper Webster’s from the ‘90s, it just gives “to splash or sprinkle,” from the Latin spargere, which means the same thing. I suppose it makes sense. I’m more familiar with the non-S variety, parge, which means to apply a thin coat of plaster or mortar to seal a wall. Interesting, right? This is what keeps you coming back to this blog! :)

To the list of things I didn’t know you may add the fact that Yoko ONO wrote something called “Mrs. Lennon,” and that Mao Zedong’s successor was named HUA Guofeng. Hopefully, I will now remember both. All.

Best clue: “Where seeds might be placed” (TOURNAMENT). But "Trait for a good waiter?" (PATIENCE) was also good, and funny, I'm guessing, because it's true.

- Horace

Tuesday, April 28, 2026, Hal Moore

This theme amused me. I smiled at CLOSEENOUGH (Not perfect, but acceptable) before I had any idea what was going on, and I laughed again at the revealer – “Like children, ideally, in an old adage … or a hint …” (SEENANDNOTHEARD). Hah! And upon further inspection, the word “seen” can be seen in the three long theme answers. What will they think of next? 

In the fill we have some nice entries in STRINGENT (Rigorous), GRAMMAR (Linguist’s concern), and PAPAYAS (Ingredients in some tropical smoothies). And a quality clue for the quaint word CANST (“____ thou not minister to a mind diseased?”: Macbeth). I recently saw a fantastic production of Macbeth at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. They really played up the dark side of the Scottish play.

It feels odd to see ARREAR (Overdue debt) in the singular, but there’s nothing wrong with it, I suppose. Everybody seems to like ARREAR. And speaking of - BRAS was a surprising answer to the innocent-sounding “Some supports.”

Speaking of clues, “Sink-or-swim competition?” was cute for WATERPOLO, if a little too much.

Had a couple little missteps, guessing TApaS instead of TACOS for “Some cantina fare,” and seeIN in place of ASKIN for “Welcome at the door, say,” but nothing that wasn’t fixed up in a jiffy. 

The amusing theme was good enough for me today. Nice Tuesday. What'd you think? 

- Horace 

Monday, April 27, 2026, Neville Fogarty

Four two-word answers where the first word starts with V an the second with R anchor the puzzle today, all lit up by the revealer answer VRHEADSET (Device worn by a video gamer ... or a hint to ...). I'm not all that familiar with the "Spinoff of 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'" (VANDERPUMPRULES), but it is a Monday, and the crosses were all fair, as long as you remember that ELON is that North Carolina university.

I was actually happy to see the "dubious medical advice" ("Feed a cold, STARVE a fever"), because I think about that phrase every time I have a cold, and I can never remember which goes with which. I think usually I think about it as though it were alliterative and ending with "feed a fever," but I never actually do either, so I'm not sure why it rattles around in my head at all. Sigh.

Lots of classics today - EKE, UGG, ERMA, OHARE, RAVI, ITSY. A nice cozy Monday.

- Horace 

Sunday, April 26, 2026, Rebecca Goldstein

WELL-SUITED

Clever clues are given to normal phrases, most of which are not actually clothing-related, making them sound like things you could wear. KIDGLOVES, of course, are actual articles of clothing, but the phrase has become generic, and the use of the word "nanny" in the clue makes this one extra punny. I especially liked DUSTJACKET (Fashion item for an aspiring housekeeper?), and MARKETWATCH (... for an aspiring grocer?), but they're all pretty good.

I enjoyed ICETRAYS (Freeze frames?), and the fact that there are 14,000 species of ANT was interesting to learn. ATSIGNS (Name tags?) was cute, and "One clicking with an audience?" got a little guffaw.

I'm pretty sure I've never used the word DUAD (Pair), but maybe, just maybe, I have uttered OCTAD before. And I guess I just wasn't wowed by the fill in general. TITER, ESTA, TERABIT, INKMARK, INRE, YULES... 

Any mention of Tom LEHRER is good, though, and the theme did make me smile several times. So let's call it a wash.

SEEYA! 

- Horace 

 

Saturday, April 25, 2026, Sam Ezersky

OK, so, if you bend your head to the left and look at this grid sideways, you can almost imagine that it is meant to represent an IOMOTH (Showy insect with dark eyespots on its wings). 

See what I mean? No? Harrumph. VERYWELLTHEN!

"Start of an old request for advice" (DEARANN) was tricky, and I was fooled, yet again, by "Driving necessity" (GOLFTEE). And how about "feel seen" debuting yesterday, and FEELHEARD (Be validated for vocalizing one's opinion) debuting today! Nice. 

Personally, I prefer the word "murse" to MANBAG (Guy's carryall), but I am not, sadly, the one who gets to name everything. 

Remember LEGGS eggs? Mom used to knit covers for them and make them into Humpty Dumpty-like characters. 

What else? I don't know from DOCOCK (Spider-Man foe with metal "tentacles," familiarly). Oh wait, is that short for Doctor Octopus? Who comes up with these things? Oh right... the one who gets to name everything.

I keep seeing PRAGENCY (Image editor, informally?) as some weird misspelling of "pregnancy," and INFLIGHTWIFI (Air traveler's connection) never works for me. Of course, I never pay for it ... maybe that has something to do with it. And finally, "Helpful pointer, say?" is cute for SEEINGEYEDOG, but they're usually German Shepherds, aren't they? 

Still, a fun, challenging Saturday. Just like we like.

- Horace 

Friday, April 24, 2026, Andrew Spooner

Fun Friday. I LOL'd when I finally sorted out "Acrobat's display" (PDFFILES) to finish this one off. Whew! 

Interesting that Orwell enjoyed STILTON. Or did he? That "The best cheese of its type in the world," could be somewhat backhanded ... but I don't know the whole story. I guess it's more likely that he actually did like it, because it's a pretty damn good cheese. Anywhooo...

There were some nice gimmes in "Oscar winner for "The African Queen" (BOGART), and "Surname of a Tolstoy heroine" (KARENINA). VINNIE (Role for John Travolta on "Welcome Back, Kotter") should also have been a gimme, but it took me too long to remember Mr. Barbarino's first name. Sigh. 

I'll tell you what wasn't a gimme - DAFFODIL (It has a light bulb). Sheesh. And "Low volume?" was a tricky way to get to TEASPOON. But overall, things came clear pretty quickly. I even guessed BIRTHS off the clue (Once-in-a-lifetime events), although I realize now that "deaths" would also have fit. But BOBSLEDS went right in after that, and I was off and running.

There are three entries today that remind me of "The Great British Sewing Bee," which is all Frannie and I have been watching for weeks: OHISEE is something that host Esme Young is wont to say; FIT is what it's all about in the "Made to Measure" segment, and DRESS, well, that's obvious. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I suggest you watch an episode or two. (Esme comes into it in Season four.)

Best clue: "Game" (UNAFRAID)

Best word: DAWDLE (Dillydally)

- Horace  

 

Thursday, April 23, 2026, Zhou Zhang and Kevin Curry

This is a clever one!

The revealer appears, unusually, in a Down answer in the top right corner of the grid. It makes sense for it to be in a Down answer, though, because the theme is so vertical. So what's going on? The answer HANDMEDOWN (Something that's kept in the family ... or a hint to making sense of three pairs of answers in this puzzle) is interpreted to mean that the letters "ME" must be removed from the upper answer and inserted into the lower one, in the same column, but for the clues to work with the answers that appear in the grid, you must imagine that the removal and insertion never happened. Simple, right? Let's look at one example: 3D is "*Material for a sidewalk," and the answer that is forced into the grid by the crosses turns out to be CENT. Makes no sense, but if we imagine that ME is still in the word, we get "cement," which works perfectly well. For the entry directly below that, the answer BEEFLOMEIN doesn't work with the clue "*Choice cut," but if we remove the ME, we get "beef loin," which does work. Ahh, Thursdays. 

It would have been kind of cool if the revealer could have been somehow spread across both Down answers in its column, but I can't really think of a way that could have been achieved, so it's hardly worth mentioning. Heh.

I had a bit of a misstep in the beginning by guessing "infact" instead of FACTIS ("Truth be told ..."), and then running "nike" off the "n" for "Adidas competitor" (AVIA). But NAT Geo cleared that up pretty quickly. And in the top right, the revealer was slow in coming to me because I had entered ScAM for "Hoax" instead of the correct SHAM. 

I liked FEELSEEN (Experience deep affirmation, in modern lingo), and it's hard to believe that this is the first time it has appeared in a grid. (But if xwordinfo says it is, then it is!) 

I just listened to "Under Pressure" yesterday in the car. Such a good song. 

Also, why do I insist on entering "bolos" when faced with the clue "Alternative to bow ties" (PENNE). When will I learn?!?

Best clue: "Test release?" (TIMESUP). 

Really good Thursday.

- Horace 

Wednesday, April 22, 2026, Hoang-Kim Vu

Happy Earth Day, Everyone! We've got a heck of a puzzle to celebrate it with, so let's get right to it.

The classic refrain of REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE is invoked today to create a very clever puzzle. Each of the three pillars of the environmental motto is represented in a different way in the grid. First, the three Across answers with circles in them take one answer and REDUCE it to a synonym, as in "Spurred on" being answered with ENCOURAGED first, and then the circled URGED, or "One offering lessons" being answered with INSTRUCTOR and then TUTOR. Beautiful. Second, REUSE is represented by the word CAN being used four different times. Hah. And finally, for RECYCLE, four answers are created by reusing the first three or four letters of a word in the second half of the answer in a different order, as in REAPPEAR for "Emerge once more" and TEAMMATE for "You might pass to one." The more I write and think about this, the better it gets. It's just really, really well done. 

What else is there to say? Well, I suppose I should add that for all that beautiful theme, it doesn't even feel like there's much slop or glue. Sure, our old crossword friends Teri GARR and UTA Hagen make appearances, but there's nothing wrong with that. And there's the usual smattering of abbreviations: USC, UPC, NSC, ATVS, VSOP, etc. Again, nothing outrageous. We even get some entries that feel like bonuses - GOODALL (Jane ____ Institute (wildlife conservation group), some nice pairings - CELTIC and GAELIC for "Like some Scots" - and some fancy words - LOUCHE (Rakish) and AVERSE (Opposed (to)). 

Really, just a lovely, lovely puzzle. 

- Horace 

Tuesday, April 21, 2026, Victoria Fernandez Grande

The day is off to a FLYINGSTART, with airline companies beginning each theme answer: Spirit, United, Frontier, and Delta. Nice, tidy Tuesday theme. I have no complaints.

How is it that I have never before heard of the Haitian currency unit, the GOURDE? (You don't need to answer that.) Seems like that would have come up somewhere along the way, but no, you may count me among the IDIOTS. No SAGE, I. Another thing that hasn't come up a lot for me is TEAURN (Steeping container), and while I believe that the GOURDE is a thing, I am more skeptical about a TEAURN. Coffee urn, sure, but I wanted tea pot, or even tea cup. Anywhoo...

What about the things that I did like? Well, I enjoyed seeing YIELDS for "Surrenders" at the outset. Nice to have something other than "cedes." And SPURN (Snub) is a nice word. Well, not a nice word, but you know what I mean. And we watch a lot of BritBox, so it was fun to see ERM (Hesitation sound across the pond) in the grid. 

No actual CONS to speak of in this one, and that makes for a quick review, but "ITLL have to do."

- Horace 

p.s. I went looking for images of ASPS on papyrus to use for the photo today, but they're not all that easy to find! 

Monday, April 20, 2026, Freddie Cheng

Kind of a funny theme today where NATURECALLS are hidden in theme answers. As in:

T[WOOF]HEARTS - Low red card in a deck
CHOOC[HOOT]RAINS - Locomotives, to kids
T[HISS]UCKS (!) - "The worst!"  
MET[ROAR]EA - City and its surroundings
NOTROU[BLEAT]ALL - "Don't mention it – it was easy"

BLEAT is a nice word, isn't it? 

Continuing one of my hobby horses since restarting the blog, there are several entries that might not have passed the Sunday Morning Test a decade or so ago. First is the theme entry THISSUCKS. It's a little crass, but times have changed. ASS has been in puzzles for a long time, but usually clued with something like "donkey," not "____-backward." And I'll also include EARWIG in this category, because they are such disturbing creatures. EWW! And really, the revealer itself, with its "I need to use the bathroom" clue... OK, I know I'm coming off as something of a prude (and as someone who uses the phrase "something of a...") but I am just doin' my job! (ITRY).

And here's another thing... I love the word TRAIPSE, but never have I thought of it as meaning "Walk wearily." Sure, the AI summary will support this clue, but if you look in Merriam-Webster it just says "To go on foot: Walk," and "to walk or travel about without apparent plan." This is more how I think of it, and how I use it. I like its lighter meaning. And sure, I know that it's fair game to use third and fourth level definitions, but this one has such a nice primary definition, why not use "Wander," or "Meander?"  

But apart from that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?

- Horace 

Sunday, April 19, 2026, Michael Lieberman

NUCLEAR FUSION

It's a Sunday puzzle with a rebus, but I'm not exactly sure what the rebus is doing, or why the puzzle is titled "Nuclear Fusion." A first, with ISLAN[DH]OPPED (Traveled from Syros to Naxos to Mykonos, say), I thought, OK, the center two letters are fused into one square, and that idea sort of still works with IFEE[LG]REAT ("That was rejuvenating!"), but it's three words instead of just two, making it a little less elegant. But then we look at the Downs that run off the rebuses, and we find that they are all four-letter, two-word answers, with rebuses at both ends and the same two letters in the middle. As in: [DH]EA[DT] (Race that's too close to call) (to be read as "dead heat"). Maybe this is the real theme? The nuclei of both Down words are fused? But then what of the Acrosses? They are just working in service of the Downs. (And yes, I am fully ready for there to be some beautiful explanation that I just didn't GET on this early Sunday morning, and if you know what that explanation is, please tell me in the comments.)

So, the theme is a little hard to figure out, at least for this rusty blogger, but taken as a themeless with a ton of variable rebus squares, it was a lot of fun. So we're all HAPP[YC]AMPERS, right? Or was it HOHUM?

"Locks up?" (HAIR) didn't quite work for me. I would have preferred something like "coif." Hair just seems to general for that "up" in the clue. On the other hand, I did like the aha moment when PRISM (What might be found at the end of a rainbow) came clear. Nice one.

PALISADE (Defensive fortification) is a lovely word, isn't it? I prefer the plural version that doesn't have anything to do with conflict, but still... and just after that in the puzzle was a word I did not know: FAE (Winged beings of folklore). I see from xwordinfo.com that it has appeared three times before this, in puzzles that I probably completed, but I did not remember it. Perhaps this time I will. 

And finally, another word I don't remember hearing before, but that I enjoyed learning: PROMPOSAL (Elaborate invitation from a senior, maybe). Hah!

Overall, I enjoyed figuring out the rebuses, and there were some fun entries. What did you think of it?

- Horace 

Saturday, April 18, 2026, Jesse Cohn

What was I just saying about large areas of white in a Saturday puzzle? This grid features stacked thirteens and fourteens with a nice nine-letter entry dead center. Not the chunkiest, but not bad at all. For me, the top went a lot easier than the bottom, and I ended in the SE, where I knew neither DWADE (All-time scoring leader for the Miami Heat, familiarly) nor MARTIN (Mathematics writer Gardner), but was saved by three fine clues - "Cutting stuff" (SATIRE), "Cuts a line?" (EDITS), and "It takes two hands to show" (TEN). Hah!

The long entries were all solid. Interesting, but not surprising, to learn that the CALIFORNIAROLL is a "Dish purportedly invented in Los Angeles's Little Tokyo neighborhood." CROCODILETEARS (Make-believe sorrow) is as close to a gimme as you're going to get on a Saturday, but ROOKIEMISTAKE (Cause of amusement to a vet, maybe) took a few crosses, and got a smile when it finally came clear.

More evidence of the bar for acceptable words and phrases being lowered over the past decade in SAFEWORD (Term in the bedroom, maybe). When that topic comes up, ODDS are you can RESTEASY, and you know you're INFOR "a treat." Ahem.

My favorite clue today was "How people get into a swimming pool, typically." It made me think of things like "all at once," or "little by little," but no, it was BAREFOOT. Hah! "Silky-haired toy," tricked me too, although I don't know why, as "toy" is used so frequently to mean "dog." Anyway, that one is MALTESE, not Barbie, or anything like that. And finally into the "false start" category I put "Breakfast dish that might go over well?" I dropped in FlapjackS off the F in SPINOFF ("The Jeffersons" or "The Simpsons," notably) (OK, that was also a gimme...), but no, the answer was FRIEDEGGS. 

Overall, a fun, challenging puzzle with very little slop (I'm looking at you, LIM and GEOS).

- Horace     

 

Friday, April 17, 2026, Rachel Fabi

A solid Friday puzzle pinned by two grid spanners running through the middle. ONAPOSITIVENOTE ("Bad news aside ...") is, well, positive, but I have never heard anyone use the term DARKESTTIMELINE (Worst of all imaginable chronologies). That could well just be me, though. Speaking of, I'm not sure I run with a crowd that uses DEADASS (Seriously, in modern slang) either. I'm getting up to the age where people are more likely to be talking about PARTB (Medicare subsection covering ambulance services). But before we get off of the topic of ass, if you haven't already seen it, this is pretty funny.

But back to the puzzle. The clue for ORCA (Sea creature known to mourn its dead) is troubling, isn't it? Elephants do this too, and crows. More and more we are made to realize that we are not the only animals on Earth who have emotions. And while this should not be surprising, since we sometimes act as though other humans have no emotions, every time I hear it, it makes me emotional. 

I thought the clue for REOIL (Start to season, as a skillet) didn't work well, but there were several others that were clever and/or fun, to wit, "Sticker that usually comes in sets of three or four?" (PRONG), "Get to the point?" (TAPER), "Stop being such a baby" (GROWUP), "What's going around?" (GIRTH), and the classic "Student center" (DEE). Ahhh ... crosswords.

- Horace 

Thursday, April 16, 2026, Rafael Musa and Sala Wanetick

What better day to return to blogging than a Thursday? It's the start of The Turn, as we call the Thursday-Friday-Saturday string of puzzles, and it's a perfect one for our restart, because I get to mention Bruce Haight again. He created a puzzle with two large black-square Is in 2016, and I gave it a not-very-positive review. I met him in person a couple months after posting that review, and we discussed that puzzle, my review, and the whole idea of "stunt puzzles." It gave me a better understanding of the constructor's art, and it made try to be a more balanced reviewer. So, thanks again, Bruce.

 

Now then, on to today's T-ridden grid. You'd think after all this time that I'd take a look at the shape of the grid right away. And to be fair, sometimes I do, but it's usually on a Saturday, when I marvel at huge swaths of open space. Today, I was so bent on finishing quickly so I could start the review (he offers as an excuse), that I just tried to get a foothold anywhere I could. When I finally realized what was going on and widened my view to see the six bold Ts staring out at me... well, I felt like an idiot. 

So what am I talking about? The revealer, DOWN TOAT explains that fifteen (!) Down answers use those large black-square Ts to complete the answers. And all the entries are valid and mostly normal. Some are quite good, even - "Source of a deal with The Devil?" (TAROT), and the nice geologic clue "Igneous rock that makes up most of Venus's surface" (BASALT). Sure, I can come up with that quickly, but could I remember that TOPAZ was number 8 on the Mohs Scale at the A.C.P.T? Not until it was almost too late! ... grumble grumble... 

Sorry, sidebar. 

OK, so the best clue today was "This isn't working!" for LEISURE. That's beautiful.

- Horace 

We're Back!

 

Hello Dear Readers, our break is now over. We got together at the A.C.P.T. last weekend, and much to my surprise, we all missed the blog a little more than we had expected to. And so, with barely any more fanfare than there was when we started this thing way back when, we're back. 

First off, before we get into the daily grind, I want to say that my favorite puzzle of the past few weeks was Alex Murphy's FLIPTHEBIRD from Thursday, March 26th. Such a clever trick, and very well executed. In talking with constructor Bruce Haight at the A.C.P.T., I mentioned this puzzle, and he told me that he had pitched a very similar idea ten or twelve years ago, but was told that it didn't pass the "Sunday morning test," or whatever they called their "good taste" filter. I'm not surprised that he didn't get to do it back then, or that it was published now. Certainly in the decade-plus that we've been doing the puzzles and blogging about them, things have loosened up a lot. I think it's a good thing, overall, and if it brings in solvers of a different mindset, then so much the better.

If you're reading this, thanks for checking in on us every once in a while, and I hope you'll continue to read and comment. And if you like us, tell someone about the blog. We'd really appreciate it. 

Thanks for reading,

- Horace