Sunday, October 25, 2026, Dylan Schiff and John Kugelman

RELATIVELY SPEAKING

Hola, all our loyal readers! After a week suffering from the actual influenza, I'm happy to have my health mostly back, and the opportunity to review more New York Times crossword puzzles! Kudos to Frances for another fine week of pun-filled reviews.

Today's theme takes phrases of two words where the first word ends in -ER and pretends that those words are actually comparative adjectives. Reclue in humorous ways, and wackiness, as they say, ensues. These are, in fact, silly in lovely ways.

Take 24A: Peridot vis-à-vis jade? (OLIVERSTONE) - one stone is more olive than the other, you see! Just the idea of "oliver" as an adjective makes me chuckle. I suppose that's partly because one of my dogs has that name for himself.

I also laughed at 63A: Zipper up vis-à-vis zipper down (SHUTTERFLY) and 111A: "OMG THIS IS AWESOME!!!!" vis-à-vis "good job i guess"? (HYPERTEXT). 

I am not convinced by BOMBERJACKET (is a blazer supposed to be more dope than a windbreaker? I think that depends on the windbreaker). 

Hilary Duff as Lizzie MCGUIRE

In other unknown areas of knowledge, what are UVTATTOOS? Looking them up, this seems like a pretty niche thing. How often will you be showing your tattoos under UV light? In my world, never. That's how often. But I also don't have any tattoos, so I'm probably not one to talk.

Also, who knew NEWTS had gone on at least six different space missions? Nice clue to spice up our frequent crossword puzzle visitors (at least "eft" has gone the way of the "dodo").

18D: Cover letters, say? (TEACH) required all of the crosses to get. What an unexpected twist the clue takes! 

Finally, I'd like to acknowledge the chutzpah of crossing SIGN and SEGNO, as well as UHNO and OHOK. It's rare that a Sunday puzzle can SATISFY, but this one's pretty good.

- Colum

Saturday, October 24, 2026, Robert Logan

In a reversal of the usual order of things, I completed today's puzzle in half the time of yesterday's. Maybe the shape of the puzzle meant that everything was in my wheelhouse. :) I was able to drop in PEACENICKS and HYDROPONICS, 1A and 10A respectively, which made almost all the Down answers across the top immediately gettable - all that is, except for 3D: "Butter up?" Even with the AR start and an answer of only five letters, I was not able to predict the outcome. It was in the stars that I would eventually discover the answer was ARIES, but I did not immediately understand *why* it was the answer. In time, the answer to this particular Question Mark Clue (QMC) resolved from a series of letters to the image of ARIES as a ram, an animal that could be considered a "butter," which, as a constellation appears up in the heavens. Ha! That's some MENSA level work.

Another fun QMC was "Tip of Baja?" for PESO, a nice twist on clues relating to local currencies. I enjoyed  two other QMCs, "Singer who had us at 'Hello'?" (ADELE), and "Drawings of various states?"  for LOTTOS. 

In the non-QMC category, "Perfect place to be" for EDEN and its companion, "Perfect places to be" for UTOPIAS were spot on. Another fun pairing was 7D: INEPT ("Like Inspector Clouseau, despite all of his successes" and 5D: EPT ("Opposite of 7-Down, humorously"). I especially liked the clue/answer pairs "Likes and dislikes, collectively" for TASTE, and AWARE for "Witting." 

With a PILEON/PYLON of three-letter answers, clueing makes a difference, and in this category, standouts were "Attribution word" for PER, the ambiguous "Connection letters" for DSL, the self-referential "Crossword clue type" for PUN, and "Basic logic gate" for AND. Nerd much? :)

The only thing that RAMONEs to be mentioned is the round of fine long answers including ROYALPAIN, SLEEPDEPRIVED, and NONLINEAR. All in all, a virtually STAINLESS end-of-the-week puzzle.

~Frannie.

Friday, October 23, 2026, Katie Hoody

Katie Hoody appears to be able to generate excellent puzzles with the regularity of a METRONOME :). I wish I could say I SPED through the grid, but according to the app I solve on, I completed the puzzle two minutes slower than my average. I was held up at the end by a Natick, at the cross between 2D: "Emma ___, protagonist of 'A Woman of Substance'" and 18A: "American court org." I had to run the alphabet on that square and wait to hear the completion jingle, which didn't happen until I got to the letter T, finally revealing HARTE and USTA. 

My lack of knowledge of American court org acronyms aside, the rest was NITRO. There were several super dupers including "Annual appraisal statement" (WHATAYEAR) - ha! - "Boundaries between areas with different amounts of coverage" (TANLINES), "Kind of joint associated with smoking, informally" (BBQ), "They can help one get a leg up, informally" (QUADS), and "Track event won by the fastest four legs" (HORSERACE) and if you told me that the constructor did not know that relayRACE also fit perfectly in that spot, I would say, ITSALLALIE. :)

QMCs took a back seat to the above today, but there were still two good ones : "What all the buzz is about?" (WASPNEST) and "Cellphone hot line?" (SEXT). I also enjoyed the economy of the C/AP "A.M. cupfuls" for OJS. CHIEF for "Most imporant" was admirable in that the answer didn't end in a guessable EST.

It was a nice call back to THOSE days with "Three-time Olympic figure skating champion" Sonja HENIE. I also enjoyed the accurate and amusing DATINGTIP "'Let go of unrealistic expectations, e.g." Ha. Fill-wise,  my expectations were met with CLAD, SLANTRHYME, AFTERGLOW, and NIXES. 

Besides the Natick mentioned above, my only other trouble spot was parsing the clever-but-confusing-to-me clue "With whom one pools pounds for quarters" for FLATMATE. It put a real spanner in the works, but I was chuffed when I figured it out. :) 

~Frannie.

Thursday, October 22, 2026, David J. Kahn

OMg, what a clever puzzle today. I didn't really notice the asterisks on some clues until I reached the third one and realized I was leaving a lot of white space behind me. I switched to the Downs and then hopscotched around, ending with almost the whole right side empty, including the revealer, because there was so much I didn't know in the lower right corner, I didn't know the "Region that produces Riesling wine" (SAAR), and I couldn't immediately figure out the ambiguous "First out" (ORIGINAL), not to mention the one mis-matchbox for this solver, "Item in a miniature collector's collection" (MODELCAR). I fancy myself something of a miniature collector and I don't have a single model car, so it took me a while to come up with that one. Also, as our dear Readers know, I am always at something of a loss when it comes to sports clues ("Team with the most Super Bowl wins in the 1970s" (STEELERS) :(). However, even when I did finally get the revealer ("'Forget it!' ... or a phonetic hint to aligning seven answers in this puzzle with their starred clues") I didn't get it. I ended up solving the entire puzzle without knowing why "*Trendy" was ALAMODOME or "*Subs" was HOMEROOMS. I closed the puzzle, and closed my eyes. Not looking at the spelling of the revealer answer helped me with the phonetic element because, about ten minutes later, the solution came to me. One needs to read NOCHANCE as "no chants," which, as far as the theme answers are concerned indicates that one needs to remove the OMs from each to get an answer that matches the clue. So, for the two mentioned above, the "real" or aligned answers are ALAMODE and HEROS, the latter containing two chantses being especially cool. Additionally excellent that the answers with the OMs make completely legitimate entries. And, plus, too, I loved the careful and accurate description of the revealer. It tells you what you need to know without giving it away. 

My one aforementioned non-matchbox not withstanding, there were a bunch of clues where my first guess was the right answer. I mention it not because that makes me a good puzzle solver but because I felt I was on the right wavelength for once. In particular, I enjoyed "Something passed at a charity event" for HAT, NIT for "Small grouse," and "Display, with 'out'" (TROT).

Also fun were the several mini puzzles within the puzzle like "What makes her hear?" (ANA [the letter A]), - ha! - "Island capital that's an anagram for a word meaning 'steamy baths'" (NASSAU [saunas]), and the QMC "Tops of palaces?" (TIARAS). 

Only a few clue/answer pairs HANOI'd me, to wit "Nursery cry" (WAH), HIRER for "ZipRecruiter client," and IMPISH for "Bratty," the former being possibly cute or funny, the latter never so, but maybe that's me.

I'm not sure I've done the puzzle justice with this rambling review, but I thought it was great and great fun.

~Frannie.

Wednesday, October 21, 2026, Rebecca Goldstein

One could describe today's theme answers as descriptive report card entries. The idea is to replace the class name and letter grade in the clue with a common two-word phrase that expresses an equivalent idea. For example,"Driver's Ed: B" is lined up with PARKINGFINE. I give the idea itself high marks, but for this solver, both PARKINGFINE and especially MOVINGAVERAGE ("Gym: B+"), are not such common phrases. When I am the perpetrator of malparkage, I usually get a ticket, not a parking fine. And I'm not even sure what a MOVINGAVERAGE is. And furthermore, is a B+ average? I would have thought that would be a C, but I am old and largely out of touch with modern life. Although, come to think of it, I have heard tell of grade inflation at universities in the past year, so maybe that explains it. The third theme answer, BUILDINGSUPER ("Wood shop: A"), is quite good, but they saved the best for last with PASTPERFECT ("History: A+). 

Several other answers over the course of the puzzle played a little off to me. For example, we always called a "Teacher's pet, say, in slang" a suckUP, not a KISSUP, but maybe you can put "suck" in an NYT puzzle, or, maybe it's just a regional/temporal variation. Also, the adjective ACED for "Like a tennis player who didn't even swing, maybe" seemed awkward, "Mono-" for UNI was utilitarian, and the "Nutrition sources" for DIETS, uninspired. I also thought that LAIDBARE was a bit extreme for its clue "Made public." Again, I plead my ERA. 

On the plus side, "Tender bend-er" for BUMKNEE was amusing, "First and last" for FULLNAME was nicely ambiguous and "Alt tab?" for LSD was excellent. KNOTTY, KAPUT, and TOUGHNUT were fun fill. To sum up, I  had a little bit of a tassel at commencement, but I also applaud the diploma-tic effort.

~Frannie.

Tuesday, October 20, 2026, David Falkowski

ALLKIDDINGASIDE is literally what we find in the four theme answers WEENIEROAST, SLEIGHRIDE, BRUISEDRIB, SPACENEEDLE. The second word in each (ROAST, RIDE, RIB, NEEDLE) appears to the right side of the two-word nouns. All four, in this context, evoke an element of discomfort, although only "roast" and "needle" carry that element with them intrinsically. Even after I got the revealer, I didn't really get the theme answers until the grid was complete. Also, WEENIEROAST turned out to be my bête noire as I didn't know "Gymnast Suni" LEE, and spelled "weenie" with an interior EI. ERR. 

Other TRIALS for this solver turned out to be ECIG for "Device with an addictive aerosol, for short." Apparently, I don't know much about ecigs. I also struggled to find the parallel between the clue "Laid back" and the answer ATEASE, reading it as a personality trait rather than a position description. I found the correspondence between the clue "Appears to be going down the drain" and the answer SEEMSBAD to be LAX. And, the final issue I'll RAISE is the C/AP "Piece of goalie gear" for LEGPAD, which left me cold. :)

What helped pick up the PACE, though, were clue/answer pairs like "Flattering lines?" for ODE, "Loud speaker, maybe" (ORATOR), "Overlook" for LEDGE, and the fun-to-spell out ROLAIDS, of days gone by ("One way to spell relief, per ads"). FLAY, at 22A, describes some pretty harsh criticism, although, it also makes me think of the hilarious Simpson's Itchy & Scratchy episode, "Flay me to the Moon." Heh. 

~Frannie.

Monday, October 19, 2026, Michele Govier

Today, the SUN, from its place in the top left corner of the puzzle, shines down on three items, an AWNING, a TREE, and a HAT, creating SHADOWBOXES, one row below and one square to the right, that contain "shadows" of the items above within a longer answer: FAWNINGOVER ("Giving excessive praise and flattery"), STREETWEAR ("Urban casual fashion"), and THATSRIGHT ("'You are correct'"). Looking at the grid just now, I thought another approach that might have been cool would be to have corresponding black squares appear under each of the shade-generating items, but maybe that would just be throwing shade.

Overall, the puzzle was a mix of light and dark. Bright spots include the SUN, obviously :), the Question Mark Clue "Made some waves?" (PERMED), and "Floats in the breeze" (WAFTS) - not to mention some fun fill like SERENE, NEAPOLITAN, and the always entertaining OAF. 

OTOH, I thought it played on the easy side, even for a Monday, with an array of gimmes like "Clear, as a chalkboard" for ERASE, "Uses oars" for ROWS, "Month with Mother's Day" (MAY), and, my least favorite kind of clue/answer pair, "180° from SSE" for NNW, where I feel like the clue is equivalent to "enter these letters." Also, what's the deal with SINEW muscling in on every grid of late? Is that a trend, or mere coincidence? I WANDA.

~Frannie.

Sunday, October 18, 2026, Peter Gorman

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF

This was a tough one for me. I understood most of the rebus-y clues for the theme answers only after I solved them. IMABITCONFUSED (Taib? Tbia?) was an understatement! But ITELLYOUWHAT ("What") was my favorite. That's beautiful.

In addition to the theme answers, there were some very clever clues in this one. QMCs "Extended play?" (ENCORE) and "Undercover?" (ABED) were cute, but the real stars were the non-QMCs. "It turns when driven" (SCREW), "Drill" (REHEARSAL), "Smash hit" (HOMER), "They can make a pronounced difference" (UMLAUTS), and "Something in which you might stand for a spell" (BEE) were all very good. And where else but in a crossword can you find OVID rubbing shoulders with Bob ROSS, and Teresa of AVILA standing beside the VEDAS (Sacred Sanskrit texts). 

It was a challenge, but a satisfying one. I hope you enjoyed it too.

Frannie takes over tomorrow, so stay tuned for that! And I'll see you again in a few weeks.

- Horace 

Saturday, October 17, 2026, August Miller

0:22:48

Whoosh! It started well up in the NE when CRANES (Birds whose wings might be folded) (Cute), HELIO (Prefix with -trope), and other Downs made CHEFSTABLE (Award-winning culinary documentary series), and RECIPEBOOK (Where some family secrets may be written) come into focus. And I like to think that the editors were hoping that PAINTJOB (Part of many home improvement projects) would align with the timeline of a certain bathroom renovation that I was talking about a while ago, but no, sadly, it's not there yet thank you very little.

So anyway, then it got tough. I was wondering how I missed the story about the phenomenal athlete who was "Gold medalist in women's soccer and women's team foil (fencing) at 2024's Olympics, in brief," but it wasn't a single person, it was THEUS. It was just one of many general answers today - TECHCEO, CASHAPP, BEERBARS, and SEDERPLATE, to name four.

Elsewhere, I racked my brain trying to remember the section of the Boy Scouts manual that dealt with "Poison classification," but no, it was a different thing entirely - HAIRMETAL. Hah! And I was also misled by "Tie with string." I wanted so many different verbs, never thinking of a noun until BOLO was forced on me, and even then it took a second to realize they were talking about neckwear. 

We love a good challenge on a Saturday, and this certainly fit the bill!

- Horace 

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 

Friday, October 9, 2026, Nam Jin Yoon

0:07:37 

A breezy Friday puzzle to start the week today with a wide range of influences. Latin and Greek play a big part, with PLATO in the SW, AFORTIORI (By an even stronger argument, at law) crossing SIRENSONG (What Odysseus' crew waxed on about?) (Timely!) in the NW, and SISYPHEAN (Extremely difficult and ultimately futile) in the opposite corner. Also down in the SE we have the exotic ELCLASICO (Much-anticipated rivalry game in soccer's La Liga) and KAISER (Kind of roll). 

We've got geography in ORINOCO (World's third-largest river by discharge, after the Amazon and the Congo) and RELIEFMAP (Visual aid with a three-dimensional aspect), nostalgia with NERFBALL (Squishy projectile) and SPIROGRAPH (Device geared to draw rotationally symmetrical shapes), gaming in SET (Mahjong grouping) and TOPPAIR (Two aces, say), and a little something for the war buffs with HELLCATS (Some Navy aircraft during W.W. II), Psy-OPS, and RECON. There's even content for the crosswording DOGOWNER in WHIPPETS (Hounds that can run up to 35 m.p.h.) and HYENAS (Cackling carnivores).

"Accounts for checking?" (ALIBIS) was cute, and it was nice to be reminded of FRESHAIR. Overall, a smooth, maybe-a-little-too-easy Friday. How'd you like it?

- Horace 

Thursday, October 8, 2026, Rachel Grey and John Kugelman

A little rebus wordplay today, with italicized clues needing to be taken in reverse to make sense for the answers. My favorite might be "Trams" for RETROCHIC. Retro "trams," really, making "smart." Or take FLIPOFASWITCH, which is "Paws" flipped. It's a decent trick. 

The full was good too. I had never heard of Meredith VIEIRA or SIVA (Counterpart of Brahma and Vishnu, but it's getting later in the week, and I can't know everything! BALLSY (Audacious, informally) was BALLSY, and HAIRYBACK (Dessert) was unexpected too! 

"Meteor shower?" was a cute clue for TELESCOPE, and "Something inside or outside a wine bar?" was cute for CAB. Is "cute" the right word? I don't know. I'm distracted today. I'm sorry. I will try to get it together for tomorrow's review.

One last thought: A BLUEWALL this fall would UPEND things in Washington, wouldn't it? 

- Horace 

Wednesday, October 7, 2026, Ben Zimmer

Interesting theme today wherein four Down answers are TRIMMED versions of Across answers that they intersect with. So, for example, STURDY (Durable) is SATURDAY (Popular date night) with the As removed. And TREBLE (Knob on an amplifier) is TRUEBLUE (Staunchly loyal) without the Us. Very nice.

In the fill I particularly enjoyed the Downs in the skinny NW and SE corners: SHATTER (Break to pieces), REPROVED (Gently scolded), EASEINTO (Slowly get familiar with), and TOSSOUT (Chuck). The crosses are, naturally, where we find the most crosswordese: SRO, APB, ANO, BTU, etc., but if you do crosswords enough, you know to look past those to where the good stuff is.

This puzzle is mostly theme, and it's a good one.

- Horace 

Tuesday, October 6, 2026, Adam Vincent

I've just about had it with this trolling! Here I am in the middle of a difficult bathroom renovation, and what's 1-Across? "What a leaky faucet has" (DRIP). Harrumph!

But seriously folks, this ACTION FIGURE theme today amused me. We've got four examples of phrases that use a verb and a number: PICKSIX, TAKEFIVE, HANGTEN, and CONNECTFOUR (Strategic disk game played on a vertical board). Speaking of that last one, it might not surprise you to know that when I went through a phase of playing CONNECTFOUR online many years ago, I found that there had been significant work done on its opening theory. Furthermore, it has since been "solved," meaning that white, playing perfectly, can always win. (Spoiler alert: start in the middle.) 

In good fill we include IMPROMPTU (Spur-of-the-moment) (also brings to mind Chopin, which is never a bad thing) and HAYDN (Nice letter combination. Also, music). And "Midnight's opposite" (NOON) was fun, and it reminded me of the quote from Mary-Kate Olsen talking about her sister: "To me, the difference between us is pretty obvious. She thinks the opposite of fire is water, and I think the opposite of fire is no fire." 

I had never really thought about TON being a "Suffix in the names of many U.S. cities," even though the nearest major city to me - Boston - uses it. 

Fun Tuesday. Keep 'em coming. :)

- Horace 

Monday, October 5, 2026, Chase Dittrich

.... To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, THERESTHERUB; ...

                                    - Hamlet, Act III, Scene I 

Ay, indeed! For in that Monday grid what themes will come? Today we get three items that are rubbed: a MASSAGETABLE, SPARERIBS, and a MAGICLAMP. Hah! Pretty nice trio - all so different, yet connected. 

So the theme is solid, and we've got some fun answers in the fill, too. COWHAND, REPLETE, DIRNDL, and CROSSLEGGED are all nice to see. The photographer in me likes seeing the now-nearly-obsolete FSTOP. I therefore LEAPTO the decision that this is a solid Monday puzzle! The only reservation I have is that once again, the puzzle is trolling me - never more will I "Luxuriate in a bathtub" (SOAK) at home. I helped smash up our old tub myself with a sledgehammer. Was it the right decision? That still remains to be seen.

Stay tuned!

- Horace 

Sunday, October 4, 2026, Katherine Bale

10-4

I like to learn something new from a crossword, and today I learned that October fourth is TRUCKERDAY. And why should that be? Because of the famous sign off on a CB radio - "10-4 Good Buddy," of course. Ahh... the Seventies. Good times. 

To commemorate this momentous day, Ms. Bale has created a puzzle using only ten and four-letter answers. It's a remarkable achieveMENT, and it has made for a very pleasing grid. So symmetrical! And believe it or not, it's remarkably clean. So let's get into it.

The clue for the first ten-letter answer is, appropriately, "10-4" (UNDERSTOOD), and it sits symmetrically opposite the revealer. The other Acrosses in that top section are all good: CREAMPUFFS (Profiteroles, by another name), SUITTOATEE (Fit perfectly), and REDUCEDFAT. INDISPOSED (Busy with something else) is solid, TOETHELINE is good. Sure, ABUDHABIAN (Resident of a Mideast capital) is a little unexpected, but I'll allow it. 

Elsewhere, ADAPTORDIE (Maxim about surviving in a rapidly changing world) reminds me of a different approach, "Let go or be dragged." Hah! 

OLDERPIPES (Drawback to a brownstone) is entirely too soon. I believe Colum referenced a certain bathroom renovation, and let's just say older pipes were just one of the problems encountered. I would CUSS but this is a family blog.

TRUCKERDAY itself may be little known and little celebrated, but if this review can do anything to promote and praise this puzzle, then I will be happy.

10-7 Y'all.

- Horace 

Saturday, October 3, 2026, Kameron Austin Collins

We had a lovely night last night celebrating our upcoming 30th wedding anniversary, at Sid Gold's Request Room, a live piano karaoke bar. We were joined by our daughters and Cece's boyfriend, and everybody sang and had a great time! Hope and I got everybody singing along to "Happy Together." Good times!

So things started a little slowly this morning. But I can't blame that for how long it took me to solve Mr. Collins' latest masterpiece. This is a brilliant Saturday NYT Crossword, showing his classic mix of clever clues, innovative answers, and a wealth of reference to Black cultural and historical touchpoints.

1A: Five-note jingle for "The Gift That Grows" (CHCHCHCHIA) is a perfect example. I had to work my way around the puzzle to complete this section, and even after I recognized the pattern, I was still uncertain what I was looking at. The item referenced in the clue is the classic Chia Pet, but the collection of eight consonants in a row is crazy looking in the grid. This sort of answer allows for other fun words like HALCYON and CRIKEY. I also love IRENEPAPAS next to AESOP, a Greek corner.

13D: Something you may be willing to hold? (ESTATESALE) is a loopy clue, riffing on inheritance. I was amused by 18A: To: Abbr. (ATTN), because having the abbreviation be longer than the reference clue word is silly. 

In the Black American experience area, we get a number of answers, such as the SAVOY Ballroom in Harlem, Maya Angelou's "Phenomenal WOMAN," ERMA Franklin, Aretha's sister, UPPERVOLTA (now Burkina Faso in West Africa), and the fact that DIANFOSSEY is buried in Rwanda.

Welp, that's my week done. I think Horace is subbing for Philbo this week, but you'll find out tomorrow!

- Colum

Friday, October 2, 2026, Joe Marquez

Steady does it, was my feeling on finishing today's puzzle. No great bursts of solving, but a even-keeled pace of figuring things out, leading to a solve time just slightly slower than my typical for a themeless. I really enjoyed the easy-going nature of many of the answers today, leading to a grid filled with colloquialisms.

The seeds for this puzzle must have been the two grid-spanning answers, WHENCANYOUSTART and LETMESAYMYPIECE. Two great 15-letter entries, with somewhat opposing tones of voice! Other fun answers in the same style include IFEELGREAT and 14A: Sugar substitute? (SWEETIEPIE). That's a great QMC.

3D: Written posts? (EPILOGUES) evaded me until I had almost all the crosses. The clue is nicely misleading, I wasn't certain where I was being asked to go. 

SOFIA

What are we to make of 23A: Whose fault your mistake might be (NOONES)? Are we being facetious? After all, it's already recognized that the mistake was yours! I chuckled when I put the answer in.

Epictetus is, as is typical, pithy when he says that WEALTH comes from needing little. Hah!

Overall, I found this puzzle to be entertaining and smooth, with good entry into the areas that are more cut off (like the NW and SE sections). 

- Colum

Thursday, October 1, 2026, Jill Singer

Rabbit, rabbit!

Happy October all. And yes, I've managed to do it - solve the puzzle the night before and have the review ready to go first thing. I'm so proud of myself.

Well, you know we all enjoy a good rebus puzzle here at HAFDTNYTCPFCAAPTF (that's getting a little unwieldy even in acronym form). I particularly like it when the squares are unpredictable, adding a little flair to the solving process. Today I figured out only one of the three squares prior to being forced by crosses to get it.

Our revealer comes at 55A: Obstacles ... or a hint to three squares in this puzzle (STUMBLINGBLOCKS). And indeed, in three squares we have a synonym for stumbling! Thus PLEDGEO[FALL]EGIANCE, PAY[SLIP]SERVICE, and MAGNETICS[TRIP]E. I like the first two better than the last one, because the hidden word crosses multiple words from the original phrase. But they're all excellent entries, and you wouldn't get the first one in a standard 15 x 15 grid without the rebus!

Some great clues here on our tricksy Thursday, as well. 16A: Features of gathering clouds? (AEIOU) is outstanding. 38A: It's just a state of mind, to some (AGE) is pretty good advice for most of us, I'm sure. I even get one of my all-time favorite composers mentioned at 41D: French composer who refused the Legion of Honour in 1920 (RAVEL). Apparently he declined all state honors from the French government.

A fun Thursday, if a touch too easy.

- Colum

Wednesday, September 30, 2026, Joel Woodford

My apologies for the late review today. I mean every day to get in the habit of solving the night before and having the review ready to go, and then forget! Habits can be hard to form, it turns out.

Today's theme is a winner in my book! We start with noting that each of the theme answers (written in italics) ends with an exclamation point. In standard clue parlance, this means that the clue is instructing the solver to imagine doing the clue to the answer. Thus, the clue "Beat it!" might lead to the answer "drum."

But none of the clues have "it" in them. But actually they do! The "it" is hidden inside of the clue word. For example:

17A: Market! (EXAMPAPER) - should be reinterpreted as "Mark it!"

24A: Ticket! (CHECKBOX) - should be reinterpreted as "Tick it!"

Very nicely done. I especially like SURPRISEPARTY in the middle of the grid.

Any puzzle that finds room for GIBBOUS is impressive, if you ask me. And the symmetric answer has PANACHE. What flair! And then to have 24D: Collection of dishes? (CUISINE) cross over FOODIE is well done.

Also, we often have SULU, but how often do we get

SCOTTY

- Colum

Tuesday, September 29, 2026, Hanh Huynh

This sort of theme used to be quite common - common phrases which can then be split into two other common phrases by the addition of a shared word across the puzzle. I had heard that the NYT Crossword team had tried to move away from these themes, unless there was a great revealer. Well, I think this puzzle has one.

58A: Wedding officiant's directive ... or what both halves of 17-, 25-, 35- and 50-Across do? (JOINHANDS). Thus, if we add "hand" to the front and back of the theme answers, we get new common phrases. 17A: Where some monster home runs land (UPPERDECK) gives us "upper hand" and "deckhand." Nice call back to yesterday's puzzle, by the way!

Explaining 5D

Fun to have 9A and 10D crossing each other: similarly clued, but with a key difference. 9A: British John (ELTON) has a capital letter, while 10D: British john (LOO) does not. Later in the week these would have both been clued "John in England" and you wouldn't have the giveaway of the capital letter. Interesting how these sorts of things work!

It's not that remarkable that GREENDAY's American Idiot has gone platinum six times over. Do albums do that any more? Has streaming removed the meaning of the term? A quick Google search tells me that it's still in use, but now refers to a combination of downloads, physical album purchases, and streaming. A sogn/video has to be streamed 1,500 times in order to match a purchase of an LP/CD. The most recent album to go platinum was Cardi B's "Am I the Drama?"

- Colum

Monday, September 28, 2026, Helen Chen

Take me out to the ballgame ...

Ms. Chen is inviting us to enjoy the upcoming playoffs, with a LEADOFF / HOMERUN. The theme has us reinterpreting the first word in four common phrases as slang for a dinger. Thus, BOMBSHELL, TATERTOTS, BLASTZONE, and JACKFRUIT. It's a fun idea, and it's supplemented by non-theme entries such as 43D: Like the score going into extra innings (ALLTIED), 63A: San Francisco ballplayer (GIANT), and 17A: Solid baseball hit (LINER).

I note that my interpretation of 37D: Complete series (BOXSET) was biased by all the baseball lingo. I couldn't fit "three/five/seven games" into the space allotted, however.

Greta GARBO

I've always been amused by the saying "Time flies like an ARROW; fruit flies like a BANANA." The play on different meanings of the word "flies" is great. I am reminded of the great Groucho Marx saying: "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."

Otherwise, it's a smooth and enjoyable Monday puzzle. I realized as I was solving that I was moving down the West side of the grid, which is unusual. When I solve quickly, I tend to move from NW to SE. But this grid has the diagonal line of black squares blocking that flow.

- Colum

Sunday, September 27, 2026, Adam Wagner

THE FULL 12 ROUNDS

Hey, everyone! Fun to be back on such an interesting Sunday puzzle. I've been solving and not reading the blog much, which means I've got a lot to catch up on. Philbo's biking, Horace and Frannie are redoing their bathroom, and the world's only getting more and more crazy. There's a Nor'Easter hitting NYC even as I'm solving and typing. But the crossword is always a nice escape!

Today, we have six oval shapes, each with 12 letters in them, with helpful arrows and start and stop points placed within. I suppose that the "12" in the puzzle title refers to the number of letters in each encircled answer? Also, nicely, each of the circles has at least one answer which is bounded by the circle, so that it's six letters long. This the answer that gets the clue for the circle.

That made a lot of sense.

But if you look at 28A: ... outdoor festivals)(Bathrooms at ... - you'll see what I mean. The answer to this particular clue is PORTAPOTTIES, only it comes as ES|PORT over ITTOPA. 

I see this is not helping.

Anyhoo, clever that all across answers still make sense as acceptable crossword entries, whether they are words on their own as in SORTER and PECT|IN, or parts of larger answers, like DRAGRACES.

SAMIN Nosrat

To finish out the theme, there are two revealers, one at 49A (CORIOLIS effect - note that the three answers in the Northern "Hemisphere" of the puzzle go clockwise, while the three answers in the Southern "hemisphere" go counter-clockwise), and the other at 85A (LOOPBACK). 

That's a lot of explanation for a Sunday theme. There are a couple of clues which are clever, including 92D: Shaders of gray? (AGEISTS), and 39A: Baby who's up all night? (OWLET).

See you all tomorrow!

Saturday, September 26, 2026, Brian Callahan

0:21:48

Today Horace and Frances are doing a joint review and they found a GENDERGAP in their solving approach. (And in their approach to writing the review!) You might think think Frannie's approach was more SHAPELY, but Horace has more TALON. (Frannie's joke!) When Frannie complained about SIDEBANGS and WEREGOOD, Horace said, GETAGRIP! (TEEHEEHEE.)

There was some talk during the solve, but no TRADEDEAL was reached. They both remembered that Tim Tebow existed, for example, but were not able to come up with the act of TEBOWING itself. Was it something to do with taking a knee? 

Frannie enjoyed the QMCs "Watch party?" (SENTINEL) "Gag reflexes?" (HAHAS), and "A bit corrupt, perhaps? (DATAROT), and the non-QMC "Camp distribution" (RATIONS). Horace's favorites were "Critical response concerning a piece of fiction?" (YOULIEDTOME), "Real page-turner?" (SPEEDREADER) (even though he's not one), and "It's in the eye of the beholder" (RETINA). Hah!

We wouldn't say this puzzle went to ELEVEN, but it wasn't PHONED in either. 

- Horace (and Frances) 

Friday, September 25, 2026, Rafael Musa

0:15:05

Those NW and SE corners were a struggle, IKIDYOUNOT. The clue "Olympic slalom equipment" is tricky in two ways - wrong sport and wrong season! I though Winter Olympics and skiing, but it's Summer Olympics and CANOE! And because I skipped around so much while solving, "U2 producer Brian" was the absolute last clue I saw, probably about ten minutes in. I didn't know he produced U2, but "producer" plus "Brian" plus "music" plus "three-letters" can only be one answer. Say it with me, ENO. That kind of clue is an easy way to GAMETHESYSTEM in crosswords.

In the opposite corner, I spent an eternity thinking about Hell before TAROT was finally made clear by crosses (The Devil's domain). And "Ptolemaic royal, familiarly" is not how I usually think of CLEOpatra. Likewise, "Poke alternative" was nicely misleading, as I thought only of food until, again, crosses forced my pen.

Some nice long answers today. ASKSNICELY (Says "please," say), ORALHEALTH (Focus for the foul-mouthed?) (gross), and "Invasive plants?" (ENEMYSPIES) were all good. The geographic cluster of AMMAN (World capital once known as Philadelphia) ROME (Forum setting), and SAIGON (Ho Chi Minh City's former name) was fun, with NANTES (Port on the Loire) and ASIA Minor not far away. 

This has been a bit of a crazy week, but Frannie should BERIGHTBACK with you again tomorrow.

- Horace 

Thursday, September 24, 2026, Jeff Stillman

Today's constructor scores big on the chutzpah scale for putting together a set of CRISSCROSSWORDS that celebrate Scrabble. The theme answers spell out points of interest in the game's history - from ATT to ZA - including its original inventor, ALFREDBUTTS, the above mentioned original name of the game, and the bonus score for using all seven letters on one's tray (FIFTYPOINTS), not to mention two highly unusual two-letter entries, one for ZA at 1A and two [BLANK]s at 67A, in proper Thursday-puzzle rebus format, that complete the corresponding Down answers WENT[BLANK] ("Forgot what you intended to say") and LEFT[BLANK] ("Didn't fill in, as a field on an application"). The presence of the letters Z, X, and a copious number of W's made me think the puzzle might, to score extra points, contain all letters, but no. Such a feat would have been tray difficile. :)

Solvers were kept entertained between game-related entries by amusing clue/answer pairs like "Hanger-on" (LEECH), "Ones who have trouble finishing sentences?" (ESCAPEES) and "Hamburger connection?" (UND), and the lovely "Wish undone" for RUE.

Ambiguous clues like "Ring" (4D), "Doctor" (9D), and "Ford or Lincoln" (41A) made me rack my brains for the correct semantic categories, in theses cases TOLL, EDIT, and AUTO, respectively. I was only able to enter some of the exotic fill such as GAEL, EIDETIC, and ORYXES after a process of tile and error. :)

OTOH, some fill scored less well with this solver, including STEPWISE ("From one tone to the next adjacent tone, in music"), RES ("Some scale members"), and INF ("Like Brahms's Symphony No. 3"), but I give them a pass considering the high value of the rest of the puzzle. 

~Frannie.

Wednesday, September 23, 2026, Dana Edwards

0:06:11

The theme today is three things about which one might say THATSFAIRGAME: SPORTSMANSHIP, OPENSEASON, and BALLOONPOP. Weird. SPORTSMANSHIP sort of works. OPENSEASON is a little off. I mean, when it's OPENSEASON the game that you shoot is fair game, or it's fair to shoot game... and BALLOONPOP is fine, I guess. I haven't been to a fair recently, so I can't be sure that's the name for it, but it certainly is what you need to do. So I guess a comment I might make about the theme is, UHNO.

What about the rest of the grid? I noticed the other day that ENBY had made it into the accepted word list in the Spelling Bee, so it was fun to see it in the puzzle again. And I liked that AHYES ran Down right next to the UHNO I used above. That was a nice touch. 

The most interesting clue for me today was "Rural structure seen in a Grant Wood lithograph." If you've heard of Grant Wood, you know "American Gothic," but in that painting there is only a house. But still, you know that it depicts a farmer holding a hay fork, and you think "midwest" and that gets you to SILO, even though you've never seen a lithograph by the artist in your life. That's cool, isn't it?

The Turn starts tomorrow. I'll see you again then.

- Horace 

Tuesday, September 22, 2026, Erik Agard

0:05:20

Today's puzzle comes to us from the reigning champion of the A.C.P.T., Erik Agard. I was in attendance when he won this year's final by more than a minute and a half over the second place finisher. His time in that puzzle, incidentally, was more than a minute faster than my time on his puzzle today, and that final was not a Tuesday-level grid.

But let's get to the puzzle - a tribute to the legendary album SONGSIN THEKEYOFLIFE by STEVIEWONDER. The song SIRDUKE, especially, from that album, makes me smile every time I hear it. Next time it's on, listen during the last runs to hear Stevie shout with joy, and then I'm pretty sure he yells "Down with the love!" just before the final descent. I challenge you to find a more joyful and exuberant moment in pop music.

In other news, how have I missed that TUESDAYS are "popular times for tacos?" Is it simply the alliteration? I suppose I might have paid more attention if I ate tacos with any regularity. Me, I'm more prone to eating foods flipped with a SPATULA. You know, galettes, ployes ... those sorts of things. Also, "Vase with a base" seemed odd for URN. "Vase with a cover" might have been more appropriate, no?

And speaking of ARENAS, you can still get a ticket to see the 50th anniversary tour for this album at Madison Square Garden. The cheapest seat I found on StubHub was $1,089.00 - Oy VEY!, but it might just be worth it.

- Horace 

 

Monday, September 21, 2026, Alexander Liebeskind

0:04:05

An ODE to the FORTIES, or, more to the point, "the four Ts." Four theme answers are strings of four words each, and all the words start with the letter T. In cases like these, Colum often likes to rank the entries, so today I will do the same.

TOOTIREDTOTHINK (Mentally pooped) - This is my favorite because it is where I am right now.
TOTELLTHETRUTH (If I'm being honest ...) - Even though the TV show of the same name debuted in the decade after the forties, this one is still very much alive.
TEACHTOTHETEST (Deliberately give instruction in a way that targets an exam) - This one needed too much of a clue, and who wants to think about taking a test?
TAKESTWOTOTANGO ("A fight requires more than one person") - Again, the clue is a bit forced, and the expression often includes a fifth word, "it."

So there's the ranking, what else? I liked TROPE (Familiar narrative device), USEME ("I'm available to help"), and even RADIOAD (Commercial that may come with a jingle). But what did you think about "Any Olympian" as a clue for ATHLETE? Don't they have skeet shooting in the Summer Olympics? Can we call someone who fires a gun an ATHLETE? Oh, what do I know, I'm just sitting here on the couch.

- Horace 

Sunday, September 20, 2026, Tracy Gray

RISE TO THE POWER

This puzzle answers the question "How can math be entered into the crossword solving experience?" Five answers include a BASE and an associated EXPONENT that must be put together to make the proper answer. For example, SWEETTWO works with FOUR to make "sweet sixteen" (March Madness tournament round), and WHENIMFOUR and THREE working out to "When I'm Sixty-Four" (Beatles classic with the lyric "Will you still need me / Will you still feed me"). My favorite of the theme answers was the unexpected NINEARMEDBANDIT and ZERO adding up to "One-armed bandit."

I liked learning about TONETAGS (Online forum qualifiers such as /j ("joking") or /s ("sarcastic")), and RICOCHET (It's off the wall!) was nice. I don't use the term TOPFLIGHT nor its clue "A-one" very much. TAKEARAINCHECK (Reschedule, so to speak) was good, and I like the expression ITSFORTHEBIRDS, but is "Don't pay any mind to this" the right clue for it? "Tables," on the other hand, was perfect for PUTSASIDE.

Tricky clues included "Things that drivers sometimes leave behind?" (TEES), and "Sped or bled ... or led" (RAN). 

I liked this one.

- Horace 

Saturday, September 19, 2026, Hannah Slovut-Einertson

0:20:53

You know it's a Saturday because you have learned there's something called a GUITALELE (Instrument also known as a ukitar), and that Siva SAMOA is a (traditional dance named for its country of origin). And speaking of learning things, who knew that a sawtooth shark is actually just called a SAWSHARK? Or that there's a narrative device called RETCON? It's short for "retroactive continuity," and I'm guessing it comes from tweaks to the timelines of franchises like Star Wars or X-Men. 

Interesting to find the full TEEHEEHEE ([Giggle]) in the grid instead of just a "tee" or a "hee." Speaking of, there are a lot of "spoken" answers today: GODHELPME (Request for assistance from a higher-up?), IMEANYEAH ("Sure ... that's true ..."), LIGHTENUP ("Just relax!"), LETS ("I'm in!"), SHAPEUP ("Behave!"), ORELSE (Intimidating words),  SMARTMOVE ("That's good thinking"), and ILLSHUTUP (End of a rant, perhaps). And are the answers TALKSENSE and OSCARSPEECH related to all this somehow? I suppose I'm the reviewer, I should be able to DECODE it for you, but, again, speaking of talking - I am sitting in a room full of people who are all talking, and it's hard to concentrate on writing this, so I may MISS things. Like how SETS is equivalent to "Goes down." 

I'm either an EMPTYSUIT or a PEON full of HOTAIR, but I hope you get the GIST.

- Horace 

 

 

Friday, September 18, 2026, Ryan Mathiason

D.N.F.

The NW was my undoing today. I stared at it for five minutes and then decided that I had to get on with my life. I like it, though, with its IQS (Brightness measures, in brief), ITSHOT (Server's warning at a restaurant), and TREERING (Element of a dating profile?). Cute. I don't think HORDE is just right for "Mass," and I was never going to get TED (Sci-fi writer Chiang) or TRAE (Four-time N.B.A. All-Star Young), but that's the way it goes sometimes.

I found some old MADLIB pads while cleaning out my old family home recently. They're really not all that funny. At least not when you read them forty-five years or so after they were filled in. Sigh. 

 

Two of the stutter-step thirteens went in off the clues - UNITEDNATIONS (Country club?) (the question mark gave away too much today) (see also: "Ones catching the rays, perhaps?" (ORCAS)) and GOALLINESTAND (Defensive effort in the red zone) (what else could it be?). SPLITDECISION (Not everyone agrees on this) was the best of the lot. 

 

Can't spend too much more time on this, as I have to get going, but I'll be back tomorrow, when hopefully we can have a more leisurely chat.

 

- Horace 

Thursday, September 17, 2026, Enrique Henestroza Anguiano

0:10:42

Today the em dashes found across the entire top row of Down answers are explained by the revealer, INFINITESCROLL, telling us that we should imagine the puzzle as being able to scroll such that the bottom row becomes the top, over and over again. That would have been a fun visual component to add after solving, like yesterday's Utah drawing, they could have made the puzzle scroll. Ah well, maybe it's more complicated than I realize. Many things are, it turns out.

So how was the solving experience? For me, it was more fraught than usual - dashes are never my favorite trick device - but in the end, it took me a little less time than yesterday's, and there were some clever clues to enjoy along the way. "Promising places?" (ALTARS) was clever, HOCK (Pawn) was tricky, and my favorite was "Inspired stuff" (AIR). Hah!

I am not really sure why MACS is equivalent to "Buds," and the EVO tournament is new to me. How'd you enjoy it?

- Horace 

Wednesday, September 16, 2026, Peter Gorman

0:12:20

Tricksy Wednesday! I didn't see it coming, and even once I came to the revealer - "State whose outline can be made by connecting the seven particular squares in this puzzle" ([UT]AH), I didn't use that information to place what was then for me the only remaining rebus square in the NE. I blame the fact that I was out at a show last night until about 11:00 and then walked most of the four or five miles back to my house. But we've all got our reasons. La chose terrible sur cette terre, c'est que chacun a ses raisons, as Jean Renoir put it. Sigh.

Anywhoo, it's a pretty nifty feat to have the state abbreviation rebus squares positioned as the corners of the featured state - one that can be drawn with all straight lines. (I don't think it's a coincidence that the answers in the Mini today use only letters that can be made with straight lines.) 

In addition to the rebus and the cool drawing, there were plenty of quality entries. TOPPLE, with it's confusing clue "Fall or fell" was tricky, PROTOTYPES (Early models) is strong, "The remotest of remote jobs? (ASTRONA[UT], was fun, and NECTARINES (Fruits named after a mythical drink) was interesting. I have never heard of a BASENJI (Small hound that doesn't bark), but it's nice to find out about, and I have heard that for some anyway, folding a fitted sheet is not an ORDEAL. 

If you were here on Sunday, I mentioned that I liked the clue "Chilling" for the answer ATEASE. Today that same clue appears, for an answer in almost the same spot in the grid, but this time it clues ONICE. Nice.

Lots to like today. Really solid Wednesday. What'd you think?

- Horace 

Tuesday, September 15, 2026, Nate Cardin

0:03:27

A thick theme today of six "blank-R-something" answers that rely heavily on television shows, some very old. I never watched, but have have heard of HRPUFNSTUF, and I watched and remember JREWING, but I needed several crosses for "Many characters on 'The Pitt'" (ERDOCTORS). So it goes.

 

The C/AP "The 'R' in R.I." (RHODE) got me wondering about the etymology of that name. From the RI.gov website I can tell you that RHODE Island "was named by Dutch explorer Adrian Block. He named it 'Roodt Eylandt' meaning 'red island' in reference to the red clay that lined the shore. The name was later anglicized when the region came under British rule." Interesting! At least for those readers not native to the Ocean State. :)

In other clue-related trivia, Paddington, who comes from deepest PERU, was inspired by the only bear native to South America, the Andean, or spectacled bear. Strangely, Paddington doesn't retain the spectacled look, but has a more general teddy bear coloring.

And why are PEP rallies called that? It's short for "pepper," which has been used since at least 1847 to mean "spirit" or "energy." The first attested use of "PEP rally" is from the "Daily Review" out of Decatur, Illinois in 1915, according to the crossworder's favorite reference, the OED.

And so ends our daily review.

- Horace 

Monday, September 14, 2026, Andrea Carla Michaels and Dena R. Verkuil

0:03:14

Well, Dear Reader, Frannie and I spent the weekend with Colum et uxor, and I unloaded on them about all the things that have been worrying/bothering/upsetting me lately. I won't go into all of it with you (You're welcome), but I imagine that they will now be checking this site for proof of life, so I'll be trying to get the posts up early. :) ( :( )

 

Happily, the puzzle week starts with a fun one. GOBANANAS is the revealer, and it reveals that the word "banana" can precede the first word in all the theme answers:

BOATHOUSE - Crew building
BREADBOX - "Is it bigger than a ____?" (Nice to hear this phrase again)
SPLITDECISION - Close boxing match outcome
and
SLUGFEST (All-out boxing match) (Banana slug ... gross)

SLANG (Word hidden, aptly, in "teen's language") was an interesting find, and IBEFOREE (Lead-in to "except after C") is one of the strangest entries I've seen in a while. And did you notice that EGGS lit up when you were on 62-Down "Things traveling through fallopian tubes" (OVA)? That was a nice little Easter egg. 

Let's see, what else? There's a nice old-timey crossing of EVA Gabor and Dale EVANS, the poetic, long-distance pairing of ERE (Before, in poetry) and ANON (Soon, in poems), and my favorite C/AP today - Pinocchio's are easily exposed (LIES). Hah!

- Horace