For those who found this a tough Wednesday crossword, maybe it might be best described as a cereal killer. 🤪
@Strudel Dad Yup. Plenty of solvers just went cold and flaked out - snapped, crackled and ... POOF? PTUI? 😉 "Hey, why are you chuckling at your screen?" "Nuttin, honey"
@Strudel Dad I literally laughed out loud when reading your post! The theme reminded me of Jerry Seinfeld since he’s a huge cereal buff. Thanks for your witty post and I wish I was where you are too! Namaste!!
@Strudel Dad Munster Mike award goes to you for that one!
@Strudel Dad Congrats on breaking 100 Recommends!
@Mr Dave I didn’t know that was a noteworthy accomplishment. Will have to update my CV.
@Strudel Dad Apt. Bravo!
It's good that they publish the really bad ones. Makes you appreciate the good ones.
@turner So which was this one for you? From your statement, I can't tell.
@turner Oof, that seems unnecessarily harsh
Quite a test of brand awareness.
From someone living on the other side of the world, the theme is near-impossible to solve without looking up the brands and certain proper nouns. The clues about a baseball team, a General Mills brand, a razor brand, a shampoo brand, an American labor union, an American highway, the two clues about skiing, and American cereal brands are just...bad. 0/10
@Santiago wow! I didn’t realize all the American things until I just read your post. Ever since 1/20/2025, I vowed to myself not to recognize/celebrate/participate in anything “American” such as holidays, sports, foods, festivals, songs, and The Pledge of Allegiance. If I could move out of the country, I would. If I could not have to buy American items, I wouldn’t. Now, I’m in deep mode thinking so time to get writing! Hopefully you’re having a Wonderful Wednesday and Namaste!!
Suspect this was a tough Wednesday puzzle for those who live in North America and nigh on impossible for the rest of the world. No criticism of the constructor; on the other hand, the editors would do well to remember that their audience is indeed global - or at least that’s what management hopes for !
@Francis Wilden I'm used to looking up US sports teams and various unions and govt departments, and I appreciate that NYT is a US publication. However, even if I had known the US brands etc. today, and despite the clever theme, this seemed more like a crossquiz than a crossword. I thought I'd finally nailed one with the Nissan clue. At last, one in the bag - it's X-Trail of course! Sadly, I discovered it's the X-Terra, a model never imported to Australia. PS Am I the only one who turns their head 90 degrees to work out the long down clues?
@Francis Wilden It wasn't bad for me but that might have just been my background as a casual jazz fan and somewhat of an ivory tower elitist (so DDS was easy too).
@Francis Wilden that’s a very good point. I’m in North America (the armpit of the country) and I even had a rough go of it. It was pretty neat that the Xs were involved. Hopefully the editors will remember that they’re global (at least for now)! Everyday the monster is attacking so many people and businesses to the point where I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to attack this publication and no more games. One day at a time! Namaste!!
Crossword puzzles are usually a fun way to challenge myself and learn something new, but this one was disappointing. The overuse of brand names, proper nouns, and slang (colloquialisms) made it feel more like a trivia test than an enriching word game. I would’ve appreciated a better balance, ideally with a few fresh or thought-provoking words and phrases to walk away with.
"You were supposed to go cereal shopping with me!" "Sorry, I've been flakey lately." ("No worries! Tomorrow is a bran new day.")
@Mike Couldn't go along with you, Mike, due to the time crunch.
@Mike I was watching a movie about an ogre. I didn't like it at first, but then it Gru on me. (I was hoping you'd give me aframe for that one.)
This was impossibly hard not only for me but also for my wickedly smart wife. This has never happened before. When I struggle, I will sometimes hand my phone to the Wife, and she does in minutes what has been stumping me for half an hour. Not today though. Just wow. All the names, brands, abbreviations... It's like the grid was designed to frustrate me. The area directly North was especially nasty, with a name and brands crossing. I haven't enjoyed a puzzle as little as this in a long time. Also, PTUI... I feel like taking a break from NYT grids after this.
@Andrzej Nooooo Andrzej! It's bound to happen that a puzzle can make you feel defeated, but how could you know what's in American CEREAL AISLES? You'll be back on track by tomorrow. Don't abandon us! 🇵🇱|🇵🇱|🇵🇱|🇵🇱|
@Andrzej yep, this was just pointless for anyone outside of the US. I really dislike heavy use of brand names and so on - it's almost always stuff I won't know. But there was also a lot of slangy nonsense here too. Not a pleasure at all. Turned on autocheck and started revealing words quite early, often to the sounds of groaning
@Andrzej I don't even think the theme works. Why do the theme entries have question marks? Given how the entries are spelt, the only thing they CAN mean is the description given!
@Tim I think the question marks are because they are puns, as explained in the column. Endorsed checks. Getting one’s kicks. Whole bag of tricks. I admit I am a U.S.er but I thought they were fun.
@Andrzej Came to the comments just to see what you had to say about this one 😂 FWIW my experience was much the same
@Andrzej It was hard for a lot of Americans too. My slowest Wednesday in a while. But don't let one puzzle discourage you! Many of us enjoy your comments!
@Andrzej You've built up a well-deserved following on this side of the pond. As they say over here, " keep on trucking." :)
@AndrzejI was thinking of you and all of our other global solvers while doing this one. It had so many names in it and all of it was American except for the frog legs. And nutritionally, American cereals are the worst breakfast food, despite the companies claiming otherwise.
Was this a sponsored post??? Way too many brand names
As someone who isn't from America, I really struggled with this one. TOTAL, AKRON, USTEN, AFLCIO, and all the cereal brands really made it a challenge for me. I'm just glad the constructor didn't throw in any senators or judges into the mix, it would have been very painful for me.
@T I sympathize with those difficulties, Could you comment on Singaporean breakfast favorites? I assume FROGLEGS are not high on the menu.
@T I’m amazed you could even finish it. Great job.
@T as someone who is from and lives in America, I struggled with it and if the constructor threw “current politicians” in the mix, I would be in pain too! Namaste!!
Along with others, I thought this puzzle and theme was almost impossible to solve without knowing some seemingly very obscure Americanisms. REOS, ROID, ATRA, AFLCIO, XTERRA, USTEN, TGEL, DDS and OSTER mean absolutely nothing to me. I thought the theme was interesting and well-composed once I’d revealed it but was entirely inaccessible to me as we don’t have these brands in the U.K., nor am I familiar with them at all. I understand this is an American paper and this is what I pay for, but I would like to see some more internationally friendly clues to give those solving outside of the U.S. a fair chance at solving.
@Connor It wasn’t easy IN the US either 😂
@KStandiford I'm glad I'm not the only one. I felt those theme answers were more contrived than usual. Not a fan of this Wednesday puzzle.
@Connor I always feel bad for international solvers, guilty even. But I doubt there's a good way out of it. There are so many Americanism and American brands, and constructors need all the words they can get. Puzzles are already so constrained, to use only terms known to English speakers across the globe, may be... I am surprised to read Sam, in her column, say she wasn't particularly familiar with the AFL-CIO. I thought the name was pretty well known.
@Connor looking at that list, my first thought was that I knew most of them from crosswords rather than being American...but looking again, I'd say you're right. Likewise, I am sure if I tried the London Times puzzles I would be at sea. Hmmmm I'm definitely considering it.
@Connor other than REOS none of those are obscure. Maybe you’d be happier doing a London crossword? “When in Rome,” as they say
@Charlie only one of if not the biggest union in the world, responsible for many worker protections
@Ernest I just let the gold star go, checked my letters, googled the REO vehicles (and some other things), and enjoyed the cereal. I ate all 4 kinds as a kid. A sweet puzzle.
@Andrzej Seriously, Yes! You would not want to be working in an 1890s factory. Read Dickens describing the blacking factory in Oliver Twist. Labor rights have come such a long way that we take them for granted now in the Western world.
@Jane Wheelaghan Does rugby have a ball kicked into the air to start play? American football does. The longer the hangtime of the ball in the air, the farther down field your defenders can get to stop the return.
Almost want to cancel my subscription when we get this sort of meaningless brand name salad
What an accomplishment to have your puzzle featured in the NY Times, and what a bummer to come to the comment section to learn everyone hated it. I thought it was great!
A bit of a toughie, but DEF doable. Spent 4 minutes flyspecking to find my error and just decided to try a C and change MAn to MAC, which did the trick. Well, it's been decades since I've eaten any of those except CHEX, but I still see them whenever I go down the CEREAL AISLES, so they're familiar names. And there was part of an old favorite—GRAPE Nuts—included. I'm kinda surprised that we didn't have the crossword's favorite cereal: Oreo-Os. Well, that's Life, and I'd better say Cheerio! Thanks, Kathy, it was delicious.
@JayTee I had exactly the same experience with the N to C.
@JayTee Me too with MAn to MAC. I knew something was wrong when the name of the Solitaire game was AnESUP. I'm not familiar with this particular game, but ACESUP makes a whole lot more sense!
@JayTee @Beth Me, too. And I liked MAn, so I thought the solitaire game might be onES UP. Just couldn't figure out why TRIX should come in a BoG!
This was my least favourite puzzle in a very long time.
Can we all agree - most difficult Wednesday of the year? What an absolute beast 😅
@Striker it wasn’t hard for me so I won’t agree. Under my average by close to four minutes.
@Striker Are you kidding? We will never all agree on difficulty! 😄🤣
@Striker I found it pretty easy. About average time and no lookups....
Oh dear. I make a point of not being a negative Nellie when it comes to crosswords, particularly in a (for me) foreign publication. I pays me money, I takes me choice. So, happy for all who enjoyed it, for all those who found it chewy but doable. Utterly impossible for none American me without Google and Wordplay, ergo not a great solve. Hey ho. Onwards and upwards.
@Helen Wright and please, by all means, don't become a Debbie Downer.
20 proper nouns, not to mention the additional slang sprinkled throughout. i don't understand why the nytxw continues to move in this direction. trivia already exists. just a truly horrible puzzle. this is not enjoyable.
@Emily Lol. That was a gimme! Pretty sure I've seen it in writing outside of crossword puzzles, but I couldn't tell you where. <a href="https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/ptv" target="_blank">https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/ptv</a>
Terrible grid. The theme is lame, the PPP is random and unnecessarily excessive, and the riddles are not even remotely clever. Mac is the worst entry YTD. This should have been published in QVC's magazine with all these product names.
@Michael MAC was in a grid less than a week ago. So I guess it's doubly worst year-to-date.
@Michael. Different strokes for different folks. I really enjoyed this one and found it clever. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
@Michael Seems like your cheerios have an alternative liquid in them this morning.
@Michael, Mac is hardly an obscure reference. And add my voice to those who don't get the rage against the brand names. The brands are literally the theme. I'm sure there will be a day when I don't love the theme, but that doesn't make it a bad puzzle; it simply makes it a puzzle I didn't personally enjoy. 🤷🏼♀️
@Michael How would you feel about a sports-themed puzzle? I would struggle through it and move on, as sports are not in my wheelhouse. But I wouldn't complain that they shouldn't have created a puzzle with sports as a theme. Plenty of people enjoyed this puzzle, and plenty of others did not. Why the indignation?
A remarkably unenjoyable puzzle. Full of non-universal brands (cereals aside, how is ATRA meant to resonate?) some incredibly obscure words (PTUI is not cute) and mean spiritedly obtuse clues (who is associating DDS with calculus?). I'm all for a challenge but this is like a murder mystery where the killer is revealed despite no evidence or clues being present prior.
"I'm all for a challenge..." As long as it's not too challenging?
@Justin it was a hard puzzle but DDS was well-clued, clever and not too hard. One of the first things I filled in before struggling with the rest of it.
@Justin “ I'm all for a challenge but this is like a murder mystery where the killer is revealed despite no evidence or clues being present prior.” Perfect metaphor, this is exactly what it felt like.
@Justin All three of those were gimmes for me, and actually my way in for some of the entries. I had difficulty with other entries. We're all different, aren't we?
Tricky for a Wednesday! Not a bad thing at all. This felt a little "old school" to me in a way I have trouble articulating. Still accessible enough to solve trickier clues with crosses.
As a self described connoisseur of breakfast cereal I enjoyed this grainy puzzle. I thought using three cereals with X in their names was a pretty nifty trick. I shudder to think how many bowls of sugary and heavily dyed Trix I ate as a child. Kix on the other hand are still somewhat palatable, and Chex are quite decent. Seeing Al HIRT in the puzzle took me back to the sixties. HIRT and Herb Alpert formed pretty much my sole experience of jazz until I got to college, fell in with a hip crowd, and discovered Miles and Coltrane et al. That changed my musical world for good.
@Marshall Walthew What about Doc Severinsen fronting The Tonight Show Band? Our family lawn mower was a REO, BTW.
I would be shocked if anyone anywhere got HIRT/REOS/DDS without cheating. Poor editing there.
@Chrissy I got DDS immediately, but the HIRT/REOS intersection was the last square I had, and took multiple guesses-- started with N, L, C, anything that seemed plausible, then ran the alphabet on it. So yeah. People who recognize the names for the REOS may have gotten it, but I'm too young (?).
@Chrissy got them without cheating. It wasn't easy, but once I got the Howd across, and then the OneAct and WholeBagOfTrix (awkward answer IMO) down: Reos, DDS, and InHD all feel into place (I never heard of Al Hirt, but fortunately getting all those acrosses filled out HIR in Hurt for me).
@Chrissy I think you are underestimating the audience here.
@Chrissy Both my parents were Al Hirt fans. My dad had an Al Hirt eight-track tape in his car that he just left in the player for about a year...it started up as soon as he turned the key and stayed on until he shut the car down. I came to hate the thing after it got permanently burned note-for-note into my memory. I still don't like hearing anything by Al Hirt. I think my dad did that on purpose. Trolling me when I was a teenager amused him. He did the same thing with a Benny Goodman tape, with similar long-term results. I guessed the less-obvious meaning of "calculus" immediately, so DDS was an instant gimme. REO was completed with a single-letter leap of faith.
@Chrissy "Cheating" is subjective. I was stuck and had to look them up. If your goal for crosswords is to learn, I don't consider looking as cheating.
@Chrissy I got them all, without cheating. I'm old enough to remember Al Hirt, and came up with DDS and REOS with crosses and a little contemplation.
@Chrissy Get out the defibrillator.
@Chrissy HIRT and REOS were gimmes, though I only know those car models from crosswords. Sorry you didn’t know either. Maybe you’ll remember them next time.
@Chrissy some of this comes with solving the puzzle daily for years. Both REO and HIRT have appeared in the puzzle with some frequency. These are clues and answers you should file away in your memory.
@Chrissy No cheating. Got them immediately, and I'm not that bright.
@Chrissy Got REOS fine with some crosses. HIRT/TOTAL was my problem
@Alexis HIRT / TOTAL / OSTER, I should say
@Lily Do you remember the end-of-civilization chaotic SNL they shot in New Orleans during Mardi Gras? The one that had the fake annual 'Throw a Brick at Al Hirt" event, with John Belushi as Al Hirt desperately trying to play the trumpet while dodging thrown bricks and bottles? That came from an incident where someone threw a real brick at the real Al Hirt in New Orleans. Hit him, too.
@Chrissy No cheating here, if by "cheating" you mean looking up answers, although I was tempted. I didn't know HIRT/REOS either but got them from running the alphabet. DDS was a gimme.
@Chrissy I struggled with that area for a long time, not knowing Al HIRT. I spent a long time with possibly “Doc” for a calculus professor but then “?NHo” didn’t make any sense. Getting “INHD” helped a lot, and some time after that I thought of DDS and half-remembered that calc-something was another word for tartar. I also struggled with REOS, but may have been helped along by the fact that REO appeared in the crossword last week. I thought that clue was a little unfair, since those cars haven’t been made since the 1930s, but they were famed in their day and constructors need Es and Os!
@Chrissy If you'd been doing the puzzles as long as I have, then HIRT/REOS would have almost been crosswordese. And DDS was simply cute wordplay.
@Chrissy I got all three without cheating.
@Chrissy I got lucky guessing. If I hadn't I would've given up immediately I think
@Chrissy I instantly knew Al Hirt, but thought a lot of younger people would not. I knew Reos, but probably only from the puzzles. I was mystified by 9D because I read it as perhaps referring to song lyrics: "How's it go?" and couldn't figure out the connection between SDS and calculus. (Were all those '60's radicals math majors? ;) )
This should've been a Friday or Saturday. Too hard for a Wednesday.
Well, that one definitely passed the breakfast test, although FROG LEGS almost made me want to PTUI. A lot of negative comments today, but I for one rather enjoyed the unusual entries and challenging clues. I agree it would be tough for a non-North American.
Didn't bother trying to finish this one, for many of the reasons already listed by other international commenters. Not sure how this one got through editing but here we are.
I look forward to reading comments, especially because the international solvers weigh in early and provide a fun perspective. Today was no exception! I thought about the cereal brands and how tough that would be for non-Americans, plus a lot of names and places. Some days you're the pigeon, some days you're the statue. As an Ohioan, I had to laugh when AKRON Rubber Ducks revealed itself. As a sports ignoramus, I didn't know the team, but Akron is known as Rubber City, because it is the rubber capital of the world!
@Nora Akron took forever for me too and I grew in Cleveland and went to school at Kent! 🤯
@Nora I'm still in AKRON so that was one I got right away. Nice to know the 'obscure' answers every so often.
@Nora One thing that helps make you good at crosswords is the ability to reason out something you do not know, using what you do know. As many of you know, I am a baseball fan, but like practically all baseball fans, do not know the names of most minor league teams. Maybe a fan knows the names of the teams associated with the major league team they root for (their farm teams). Or someone lives in a minor league city. But the name Rubber Ducks gives the game away if you consider where rubber is manufactured. And that’s AKRON.
@Nora Oh I got Akron quickly, once Loa changed to KEA. But what a great name for a team! A sense of humor is much more fun than trying to sound intimidating.
I am sorry folks but todays cross word was NOT GOOD. Too many bloody american-isms for old Bridget's liking. Reminds me a lot of the, now infamous in Ireland, Terry Veg crossword from a few months back. Scandalous that was. Either way i hope you all have a grand day. Bridget O'Doole
@Bridget Ah yes i remember that Terry Veg crossword. Disgusting that was! no one wants or needs to remember that man after his pumpkin patch antics.
@Bridget I agree, that was a controversial decision to bring up old Terry Veg. I don't particularly want to remember him or his show. I hope you too have a grand day.
@Bridget Could someone enlighten me about what you're talking about? What was the Terry Veg crossword?
@Bridget I'm sorry this one was difficult for non-Americans. It was certainly difficult for many Americans too. But why does that make the puzzle NOT GOOD?
@Bridget Would also like to know about Terry Veg. I read the comments most days and didn't remember that.
Very tricky one for international solvers. I'm not complaining, as I enjoy the challenge and learning about other cultures, but it was definitely over my Wednesday average.
@Paul yes, lots of brand names is a dampener for those who didn't grow up stateside. Childhood references might be heartwarming for those familiar with them but can be tedious for the rest of us. At least there weren't a lot of baseball and gridiron clues. I got most of the way on my own but had to use Autocheck to finish.
Started off well but quickly lost interest as the proper nouns stacked up. Having never heard of REOS, TOTAL, Al HIRT, ACES UP, TBAR, GREGG Popovich, ATRA, AFLCIO, AFRAMES, XTERRA, CHEX, KEX, DDS, AKRON and OSTER made this particular rough going.
@Neil REO(S), TBAR, ATRA and OSTER are all fairly common crossword fill. Just something you need to know to successfully complete crosswords like you need to know various French, Spanish and Italian phrases that pop up.
I like it when a Wednesday isn't a Tuesday
Really disliked this one. I got the themers somehow (brand names, but also puns, so acceptable in my book), but the top central part was just awful. Brand next to brand next to brand (OSTER, REOS, TOTAL - even that could not be clued differently??). And the completely mysterious DDS, which made me doubt HOWD (and my life choices, as somebody who also teaches calculus for a living). I ended up doing a double alphabet run: all vowels for _STER, and all letters for HIR_, and this worked only because Flying Cloud and Royale kind of sound like something that could be cars, so R seemed the most reasonable guess for _EOS. My streak is fortunately intact, but my Wednesday average probably went up by several minutes.
Never has a puzzle felt more exclusive than this one. There’s nothing here for me, better luck tomorrow, I guess.
@Sonja Yes, this was pretty brutal for us foreigners. The ends of the theme words were guessable, but had to google three or four of the other brands. And the trumpeter.
So many brands… way too many. Crosswords in a small reprieve from the constant consumerism, please don’t give in.
@Quentin, the brands were literally the theme, and a clever one at that, IMO. I'm quite surprised by the heated reactions to cereal!
Kind of lame to build an entire theme around made up brand names…
This puzzle was wretched and PTUI is the single most forced entry I've ever encountered. And that's not even the clue I gave up on. So many nouns and naticks, just a slog
@Joseph I guess you didn't bother looking up PTUI before commenting. <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=ptui+definition" target="_blank">https://www.google.com/search?q=ptui+definition</a>
It’s too bad so many solvers really hated this puzzle, and I hope Kathy has a pretty thick skin. I really enjoyed the solve. Just crunchy enough to be fun. We all have a right to voice our opinions but I wish folks could be a bit less hostile about it.
@Shari Coats, agreed. At first I did stop to ascertain that today is indeed Wednesday; it was more challenging than your average Wednesday, but the theme was clever and delightful. I solved with no look-ups, about 2 minutes slower than my Wednesday average. When I find a puzzle to be difficult, my first thought isn't that it's a bad puzzle. I think that it just wasn't in my wheelhouse or my preferred style. I solve and move on.
I know this is an American newspaper and the crosswords are constructed as such… but really?
It took me a while to get that Special Kea in 16A.
@replay One knows it will end in A, and assuming one has 10A filled, a glance at the clues for 10D and 11D will rule out LOA.
Was this crossword sponsored by General Mills?
When I loaded the puzzle last night there was a reminder that I had the usual Tuesday 2-day streak behind me. I decided to hold off on starting Autocheck this time until I got hopelessly stuck. I did have to quit for the night. When I restarted this morning a lot of the fill was still in Pencil, but I pushed on and finished a Wednesday just like in the old days. I wonder if it ever took me 56 minutes back then. Dare I try again tonight?
@kilaueabart Yes! Dare to try again tonight, and sleep on it if need be. If it works, it works; if it doesn't, it doesn't. One way or the other, we'll all be rooting for you. (Keep in mind that Thursday puzzles usually have some kind of trick, and good luck!)
I always keep an Atra in my murse in case I need to shave my frog legs. In case you were wondering, murse is not an acceptable word in Wordle. Can anyone hear "bag of tricks" and not think of Felix the Cat?: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L52GLlJFNuE" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L52GLlJFNuE</a> Seems like just yesterday me and Abe Vigoda were watching cartoons when we got home from kindergarten.
@ad absurdum - I know it dates me, but I enjoyed playing the Felix the Cat board game, and can never hear the phrase “bag of tricks” without fond memories of my old pal. Sixty-year-old memories, yet fond memories.
Dr. Bloomer's 4th puzzle since 2018 with an Xcellent and entertaining theme. Well done and many thanks.
@John Carson I'm glad you enjoyed this - it makes Dr. Andrzej's failure feel less bad 😆.
Naticked at 6D/18A, I’m a jazz fan and play alto sax, HIRT rings a bell but it’s obscure enough to need a more common clue for REOS, like “Certain Speedwagons.” PTUI is kinda ridiculous, there’s some good stuff here but altogether not a huge fan of this puzz. Yesterday’s with the cigar theme was much more fun.
@Charles Nelson Reilly PTUI is a real word that has been around for decades. Please look it up.
I get my Kix on Route 66. Where, I get my milk is udderly a mystery.
Listening to the Warriors game while I solved and thought my serial mistakes were from all the distraction. I was in a TOTAL jam and thought I was toast, but I stopped STUing and the WHOLE BAG OF TRIX sTARTed to HANG together. Sometimes when one fACES UP to a challenge everything turns out OKAY. Thank you Kathy. A great way for GETTING ONE's KIX on a Tuesday night. (Srsly!)
This one felt like it was made by an alien. Most answers were strange and off beat. 2/10