So, while anagrams are on the table, I’d like to share one I like that I recently ran into: A DECIMAL POINT – I’M A DOT IN PLACE Et tu, emu.
@Lewis But Lewis, didn't we just learn earlier this week that for our British friends, that will mean that anagrams are off the table? 😏 I'm not sure why I internalized that one so much but it was the first thing I thought as I read your comment. The second thing I thought was wow, what an awesome anagram! Thank you for sharing! ☺️
@Lewis are we not drawn onward, we few, drawn onward to new era?
Amazing construction. I can’t even imagine the brain power it took to come up with 11-letter anagrams like that! My first thought at 24A was that it had to be wrong. My kids are GENERATION X and *they* aren’t middle-aged … oh, wait, they actually are! How did that happen??
@Connie No idea how that happened, but if you figure it out, please let me know! Signed, A very confused Gen X! 😏
@Connie No, middle aged is half way between where I am and 100. My daughter thinks I'm middle aged because she's 50 and I'm 75. When I turned 40 and my dad turned 70 I congratulated him on being middle aged. He said it was way worse to have a daughter who was 40 than to be 70 himself!
John has had 13 Times puzzles in the past two years, which is impressive enough, but 11 of them have been Sundays. Sundays are beasts to make – you not only have to come up with a worthy theme, but you have to design a grid to accommodate it, fill it, and come up with clues for some 140 words! John not only does this ably, but he injects humor and inventiveness as well. Here’s an example from today’s puzzle that incorporates both – [Apt name for a narcissist?] for MIMI. That’s an answer seen well more than 100 times in the major crossword outlets, almost always clued to a famous Mimi in real life or the character in Rent or La Bohème, but never with the narcissism angle before. Plus, the clue made me smile. It’s a little thing, that MIMI clue, but also a big thing. I’ve learned over time that when I see John’s name atop a puzzle, I know I’m in for the unexpected and for a dip into levity, and I plunge in with great expectations. And, as with today’s puzzle, I end up well rewarded. Just want to thank you for that, John. You are a one-of-a-kind and a pro.
Whoa Nellie dropping in, big pants and down jacket: HOORAY, I SOLVED IT! | OH, I SORTED IT, YO!
I have a strong opinion that if you are going to use anagrams in a crossword puzzle, there has to be a point to it (besides a cute revealer). This was a great example of it done well. The theme was funny and brilliant and clever, and the rest of the grid had a lot of lively answers also. And of course two Star Wars references, one Star Trek, one Harry Potter and Fantasia all tickle my fancy (your mileage may vary). Top marks from me.
im gonna call iffy on 56D. the force cannot be taught. it is the chi of the star wars universe. it simply is and abides in all things. now...teaching how to USE the force? great. MANIPULATE it? fine. CORRUPT it, even? groovy. but teach the force itself? doesnt work.
@Matt I’m far, far away from being an expert on the Star Wars universe, but that clue struck me as a bit off as well. Your nit was nicely defended!
@Matt ❤️ If anything, the *use* of the force can possibly be taught (to those strong in it, anyway). But THE FORCE as such is not any sort of skill.
@Matt Without checking, I think at some point in Star Wars, Obi Won mentions The Force, and Luke says "The Force?". The conversation after that is Obi Won "teaching" Luke what The Force is. I give it a pass.
@Matt I cringed at that. One cannot learn THE FORCE, but one can learn to access it.
@Matt I came to say the same thing. The entry could have been clues much better.
SIGIL was a new one for me. But I did come up with a new term: PROM rock. "Stairway to Heaven" anyone? (I'm showing my age.)
@Infidel I skipped my senior prom, but I know “Stairway to Heaven” was in the running for the theme.
@Infidel reminds me of the Harry Dresden books. I think he makes use of sigils.
@Infidel At least you had the correct toggle - AMPM For a sec, had FROG rock blasting outa the AMFM radio . . . 🎶 So, do you think you can tell Axolotls to spell? Salamanders in Maine? Can you spot a green frog on a copper rail? A newt with a new tail? Do you think you can tell? 🐖🎈🐖🎈🐖
@Infidel Last square to fill for me. I was running with PROM and SIMIL… Honestly, I thought prom rock was a thing.
@Infidel. Yup , I had to run the alphabet there to get the gold star. Always happy when you don’t have to get to X,Y and Z.
@Infidel SIGIL was one I knew well as a fan of the show Supernatural! They use a lot of sigils as protection in the show.
@Infidel Yes, "Stairway to Heaven" was always the last song of the night at high school dances across America in the mid to late 70's. It was either considered a great or dreaded song, depending if you really liked your date/dance companion at the moment. (Definitely showing my age infused with some past teenage angst).
I am consistently amazed and humbled at the cleverness of these late week puzzles. Bravo and thank you to all of you constructors.
@Sal A Mander I myself am consistently amazed by the clever "Puzz-Names" people come up with for their CrossWorld identities! Yours is a newt one on me!
Those of us who come back to the "Comments" at the end of the day to see where we stand in the "Reader Picks" list, I guess we're CLOUT CHASING? Guilty as charged. At least now I have a name for the phenomenon. C'mon, friends, give me those "Recommends".
@The X-Phile Is there a reason to look at Reader Picks and NYT Replies? I already spend too much time just looking at the Comments after I solve the puzzle. (So much to do! And I don't seem to get as much done in a day now,--can't even finish an episode of a PBS series like "Grantchester," which I like to watch. Tsk.)
@CCNY Thanks so much. Maybe one day you can teach me your trick. @MOL There's absolutely no reason. You're right; I spend too much time here as it is. Except that a few of us have fragile egos, and we need them stroked every now and then. "Oh my, X-Phile, what a big wit you have!!!"
Okay nobody judge, I haven’t been cross wording for very long 🙈 but this was my first Sunday completed in under an hour!
CB, Can we at least congratulate you?
@CB Hey, listen....it used to take me all week!
My daughter, my son and I live in different places and team up on the NYT Crossword. It takes some of the burden off of the grueling ones and it is a really nice family thing to do. We are on a streak of 244 in a row and chat every morning. Sometimes, to keep the streak going, and faced with a toughie, we are still at it late at night. Thank you NYT!
No exoneration needed for these delightfully dad joke-y anagrams—whatever generation you may be! They all hit just the right balance between silly and stretchy. It seems creating these must have been a daunting endeavor, indeed. In college, as a NEWB at chess, I had occasion to play a game with a German gent who I think styled himself a CHECKMATING CHICK MAGNET. Due to my ignorance of the standard openings and gambits, my moves were thoroughly idiosyncratic, and served to flummox my more knowledgeable opponent, who slunk away in ignominy. A most satisfying victory for me, who was not feeling the magnetism! 😉 Thanks for the puzzle, Mr. Kugelman!
@Darcey O’D 😂 I'm glad you won. You sound like the cooler person by far. Still, I think you may be undervaluing your own inherent skill. I'm no chess master, but it seems to me that anyone who can be flummoxed by unorthodox play must have some serious holes in their own game. I mean, the whole point of the openings and such is to achieve strategic positions in the game: solid center, good pawn structure, as many knights and bishops on powerful squares as possible, and rooks looking to take control of columns. If one's opponent fails to do any of that, isn't the answer just to do that, and then find an attack from an invincible position? I'd love to hear a chess lover comment.
Well that's two times I've had to reveal a square in the last week or so. Not loving this journey for me. HARRUMPH! 😏 Once again, I was clipping along my merry way but could not come up with the cross of PRO? and SI?IL for the life of me. I certainly know that music but I didn't know it was ever called PROG. I looked it up later and see that it is short for progressive rock but all I could come up with at the time was the possibility of PROm, which really didn't make a lot of sense... although dancing to "We don't need no education" at one's prom might be kind of cool, though I never did go to prom. Not really my thing and I was a bridesmaid many times in that era, so I didn't lack for the big froofie '80s and early '90s frocks! Ooh, boy, I had some doozies!! 💃 Anyhow, it was my last square and I don't allow myself to run through the alphabet in the app, so when my taking a chance on PROm didn't work I did the reveal. And SIGIL is another word I just don't know. My voice to text just spelled it absolutely correctly on the first attempt, so it must be known well enough. I love the word SVELTE for some reason. It just rolls off one's tongue! Although, for the record, my voice to text does not spell that one correctly. Anyhow, lots of errands today so this puzzle was a good way to come home and chill out afterwards. Lastly, and this is important: We are GENERATION X!! We don't need no stinkin' EXONERATION!! Yeah!! (Insert Judd Nelson's iconic fist in the air.)✊😂✊
@HeathieJ Talking about proms...the only dance I ever went to throughout high school was the one I got my football letter (junior varsity). At that time I was involved with an evangelical church that didn't allow dancing or movies (along with all the other fun stuff that is more generally disallowed). I was a very self-conscious kid, and really didn't want to go to dances. So I used that as an excuse. I'll never forgive myself for never learning to dance. I am Baby Boom generation, and we need all the EXONERATION we can get.
@HeathieJ As I trust you know, the "mean girls" called you names because they were jealous of you. They thought of themselves as "superior", but your attractiveness to boys put the lie to that assumption, so they struck out in the way adolescent girls can do so well, leaving mental scars. There's an old adage that says that boys are cruel with their fists, while girls are cruel with their minds. It's clear which leave the more lasting scars.
@Jane Wheelaghan I got the same advice! Especially about math, "Boys like to be the best at that, so don't raise your hand in class, and stop making 100s." I think part of the problem was that teachers tended to call out our grades as they handed tests back. They made everything a competition, but the competition was not fair. I didn't go to my prom either. I didn't want to go with the person who asked me, and didn't want to hurt his feelings by showing up stag (and being a wall flower the whole evening), so my dad took me to see my first live Shakespeare production, at the Alliance Theatre. It wasn't really an adequate substitute, but I appreciated his effort. He and I had a truce for the evening in our ongoing arguments.
@HeathieJ The poof! Permed, shoulder length bob with curling iron bangs and half of a can of Aqua Net. Yearbook pictures were 79% hair. 🤣 I went to middle school dances with my sister or a friend and only slow danced with the boys who didn't have much interest in girls, if you catch my drift. No high school dances until senior year when I went to the winter formal with a guy in my friend group, and we started dating a little after that. I had to ask him to prom because he forgot to ask me. One of the "mean girls" told me to my face that she couldn't believe he was going out with me. We've been married for 26 years. 😁
TIL that "It's'a me, Mario!" is an anagram for Marisa Tomei and it made my day!
I laughed out loud when I wrote "IT'S A ME MARIO" So stupid, but so funny...🤪
@Ragland me too. Laughed and cried out, “Oh no they didn’t!”
Having had the luxury ( and absolute pleasure ) of constructing with John, I am in awe of his standards. His high bar for fill, adherence to symmetry, and willingness to scrap a week’s work (or three…hypothetically?) to avoid a sub-standard corner or even a single word, is (a smidge) frustrating and *insanely* impressive. Kugelman ain’t lazy. And man, does it show. Solid, heavy-duty construction, every single time. Thank you John! Sunday puzzle rockstar!
@CCNY Cheers! Let's make another.
HOLY MOLEY!!! I'm a little slow sometimes. Everybody's commenting on the anagrams and I'm thinking yeah, that word sounds familiar. Then it dawned on me that the two answers had all the same letters! Looks like it's gonna be a DUH kind of day 🥴
I've done 100's of these and never commented. But this puzzle deserves special recognition. Well done.
Biggie Smalls is the name I gave my 1/2 inch to 3/8 inch socket adapter. You can probably guess what Smallie Biggs is.
@MC Someday has to do it so... I don't get it. Please explain. I hope this is about p3nis sizes.
Ooh, anagrams! Impressive to have such long ones, and incorporated into a crossword puzzle, too. This may have been the first John Kugelman puzzle I enjoyed. Yeah, yeah, I know he's one of the beloved constructors of this community, but his previous grids never resonated with me. I'm a weirdo 🤷. The fill was mostly enjoyable. It wasn't all smooth sailing for me though. I had NooBS rather than NEWBS, which seemed sensible, but made that area of the grid unsolvable for me, as I did not understand Down Easter and the 100 DC thing (I assumed it would be an address of some important place in Washington, starting with an S. Senate, maybe? But I just could not think of how to abbreviate Senate to 4 letters). In the end I looked up SENS, and only then was I able to deal with that area. I don't get SENS, really. What is it short for, exactly? Senators? But how can Senators, rather than the Senate, have an address? I'm so confused 🤪. The crossing of OST(E)R and S(E)LIG was a natick, for me. What's an Army BRAT? I know I could google it, but I can also have AI solve the puzzle, yet I don't, so please humor me. Of course, as is usually the case on Sunday, as I filled the final square I got the dreaded "So close, suckaaaahhh" pop-up. I CBA to flyspeck a huge grid so I checked the puzzle. It turned out some wild guesses I had in one corner of the grid were wrong.
@Andrzej An Army brat is someone with a parent in the military--it typically refers to people who moved around a lot when they were young, as their father or mother was reassigned. There are 100 senators in Washington D.C., two for each state. Hence, the "D.C. 100".
Andrzej, Wait for Mean Old Lady to weigh in on Army BRAT.
@Andrzej Noobs first for me too, plus I struggled with the same naticks. Living near the main UK Army flying base while my kids were at school, we came across quite a few Army BRATS, as they became school chums. In fact most were absolutely delightful, generally mature for their age group presumably as a result of moving so often between countries (Germany, Cyprus, Australia to name a few). We personally came across more brattish behaviour in some of the local families, whose entitled kids could be quite the little monsters.
@Andrzej OooooKAY. The families of military folk (referred to as Dependants) usually move whenever and wherever the Army/Navy/AirForce/etc. assigns the individual serving, as long as the post is not in a danger zone. (This is also true of the other families of different nationalities whom we came to know.) My father was an artillery officer, and we lived in NC, West Germany (during Army of Occupation years), ARkansas, TX, Hawaii (Territory and then State!) and finally--in the year before he retired--Atlanta, GA, where we three kids were actually born. I do try to be polite about it, but I find the term BRAT offensive. (Clue it some other way, Will!) We prefer "Army kid." It was not easy to be uprooted, and sometimes Dad was away for long periods--the longest being 16 months. But I digress. We were told how to conduct ourselves and expected to behave...and we did. (In the vein of "May as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb," I rather wish I HAD been sassy, wild, and rough, dang it all!)
MOL, I know how you feel about the term, and awaited your comment, but see paragraph two. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_dependent" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_dependent</a>
@Andrzej re: the SENS clue, did you perhaps misread “Abbr” as “Addr?”
A bit of a tangent, related to the clue for 97D. The most famous speaker of the line "Bah Humbug!" is Ebenezer Scrooge, of course. But do you really know what he meant by that? One of the 19th century definitions of the slang term "humbug" was related to "insincerity," and THIS is what he was railing against (he didn't just hate Christmas, as he's often portrayed on screen). Because Scrooge had no Christmas spirit in his heart at the beginning of the story, he assumed that those displaying it (through acts of charity, generosity, merriment, etc.) were just faking it to make themselves look better. After I read that in a modern introduction to the story, it really cast his character in a whole new light and made his transformation at the end more understandable.
The title should have been "Rearranged Marriages". Change my mind.
@ad dumb ursa The title should have been a two(or more)-word phrase meaning "making changes" in which the second word was a anagram of the first. Like "Ahem, Impostors: Metamorphosis" ...but better.
@ad dumb ursa I like the modified user name, but to be grammatically correct Latin, it should be @ad ursam, bud. (I always knew you were a she-bear at heart. Grrrr.)
@adu I like the new handle, but to be grammatically correct Latin, it should be @ad ursam, bud! (I always knew you were a she-bear at heart. Grrr!) (2nd attempt--don't tell me we have to start adding emu-proofing again!)
@The X-Phile So we should have had a hypothetical title? How about a title that will make you lose 20 pounds while adding 20 years to your pet's life, will bring about world peace and one more season of Frank's Place? My mind remains unchanged. Sadly.
This puzzle was anagrammatically correct. In my youth I sometimes imagined myself a CHECKMATINGCHICKMAGNET, but it was just my imagination running away with me. I solved this fairly steadily, and the spent way too long searching for a typo. Eventually I realized that a clock was not necessarily a clock radio and thus that amfm made no sense. And neither did fROG rock as the genre for Pink Floyd. Ah the perils of relying on crosses without checking the downs for accuracy. A fun and funny Sunday.
@Marshall Walthew When I got to the AMPM clue, I briefly (that is to say, maybe a quarter of a second) considered that it might also be AMFM. But I decided to fill in AMPM since there was no mention of radio, and it turned out to be correct. But I did think I might have to check back on it anyway.
I moved almost a thousand miles away from my family in November, to downeast ME, and it was all worth it just to get 53A on my first pass
@koty - Welcome to Maine! Care to share where downeast? (In the state, we generally define "downeast" as the coast east of Ellsworth... amd some consider THAT to include too much on the western end...)
@koty Can you explain 53A for me? It was the last to fall and I only got it on crosses!
@Catherine I got stuck here too but got naticked on the MAINER / SENS crossing. I still don't understand SENS (someone please explain??)
Any puzzle with Marissa Tomei in it is okay by me. And James Dohan's Scotty!* Who has the single greatest line in the original Star Trek series. <a href="https://youtu.be/sKLyXjMT07I?si=E8loYLV-UJIoBMwO" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/sKLyXjMT07I?si=E8loYLV-UJIoBMwO</a> *I also enjoy Simon Pegg's Scotty.
And they’re back for a second day in a row at 121D. This time as a pair!
Funny, SIGIL was one of my gimmes -- probably coming from a lifetime of devouring fantasy novels. Read the clue for 95A as "in German" rather than " in Genesis" at first. Very confusing, that. 113A I had AM_M as gimme but it's a toss up between F and P, so I left it blank at first... then 115D was _ROG and I got to imagine fROG rock before I sighed and put in the more boring P...
In fact, INXS’ Never Tear Us Apart was just yesterday voted number one on Triple J’s Hottest 100 of Australian Songs Triple J is the national youth(ish) radio station run by the national broadcaster, the ABC (Here that stands for _Australian_ Broadcasting Corporation, of course 😁 They have various TV and radio stations, including for instance Double J, which is for people who used to listen to Triple J when they were younger - e.g. me 🤣) Every year in Jan they run a Hottest 100, as voted by listeners. (Any song released in the previous year is eligible, not just Aussie songs.) Periodically they do variations on the Hottest 100 like The Hottest 100 of All Time or this Aussie only version. If anyone’s interested, the full list is here <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/countdown/hottest100/1-100" target="_blank">https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/countdown/hottest100/1-100</a>
@Alexis So many bands I never realized were Australian!
@Alexis. Thanks for the list. Shows how old I am… list doesn’t have Rolf Harris (Tie me Kangaroo… ), The Seekers, or Lucky Starr (I’ve Been Everywhere) The Bee Gees, Helen Reddy, or Olivia Newton-John. Just as well… some of those best forgotten…. although the fast talking of I’ve Been Everywhere is a Troubadour tradition, also followed by Jacques Brel in Vesoul. The list does have Midnight Oil and the Divinyls.
@Alexis Ha! I'm typing this in my beloved Gang of Youths shirt. 🕺🏻 I'll have to investigate the bands I hadn't heard of. Thanks!
This was something. No idea how hard this must have been. Thanks Wordplay for some help. Great puzzle. Thanks.
Great puzzle! Only 4 minutes off my best Sunday time this week with no lookups. Fun theme and reasonably challenging clues with not many naticks, except for Mainer, newbs and craig. I got stuck with noobs instead of newbs for a while after the rest of the puzzle was filled. Can someone enlighten me on the cluing for Mainer? Google has revealed that Downeaster is an Amtrak line from Massachusetts to Maine, but I’m failing to understand how that ends up as Mainer. Otherwise very fun; hats off to the creator. I’m dipping my toes into crossword creation and it’s so much harder than solving one :p
@Ruben Sandwich Maine is known as Down East, thus someone from Maine could be a Mainer.
@Ruben Sandwich People from the southern/coastal area of Maine are said to be from "down east", so a "down easter" would be a MAINER.
Not sure why searching Down East didn't take you here: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_East" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_East</a>
@Ruben Sandwich people from Maine call themselves MAINERs. People from away call us Mainiacs, one of the many ways we can identify people from away 🤣 I, myself, am from away. Even though both of my parents were born here, I was not, and will forever be from away, even though I have lived here for more than half my life!
Calling someone from Maine a Mainer seems very normal to me. It's the Down Easter moniker that feels obscure...
Great to see INXS in there today, as yesterday (Saturday in Australia), their song Never Tear Us Apart was voted in at #1 in the Hottest Australian Songs of all time. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-26/inxs-never-tear-us-apart-hottest-100-australian-songs-all-time/105576582" target="_blank">https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-26/inxs-never-tear-us-apart-hottest-100-australian-songs-all-time/105576582</a> The song is the unofficial anthem for my Australian Rules football team Port Adelaide, so it was a pity it couldn't help them defeat crosstown rivals Adelaide in the Showdown last night. A huge 133-35 loss :'( Some background on the "World's Greatest Music Democracy": <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/triple-j-new-hottest-100-australian-songs-poll-1236000674" target="_blank">https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/triple-j-new-hottest-100-australian-songs-poll-1236000674</a>/
@Paul I used to try to be cool when teaching chemistry. There is a concept when two or more reactants are weighed out to react to form products, one reactant will run out before the other(s). That's called the limiting reagent, and everything else is "in excess". When I'd do those problems on the board, underneath the reactants in excess, I'd write INXS. Then I'd turn around to see how cool they thought I was. It was very, very subtle, but I could tell they were profoundly impressed. I could tell by their yawns and vaguely hostile espressions.
@Paul we used to joke about the "Never tear us apart" video, which featured Michael Hutchence and his romantic interest both with beautiful long dark curly hair, that it should be "they'll never tell us apart"
@Paul Just also posted about the Hottest 100 before I saw this 😅 .. but also: Carn the Crows!
@Paul INXS was definitely a hot band for those of us in GENERATIONX
@Paul INXS for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!!! (I was a HUGE fan but my husband only got into them about 15 years ago and every year they announce nominations without them, he goes on a new Kick. 😉)
I'm with Rich in Atlanta; wow. How you guys put these things together mystifies me. ( That's not what a technocrat is BTW).
This is perhaps my favorite NYT crossword of all time. Ok, I am admittedly biased as it contains my favorite band (Dream Theater) and favorite TV show (Seinfeld) of all time. I also just happen to be driving past Gainesville as I write this. The cluing was excellent and the theme is [chef’s miss]. Bravo John!
@AyAyRon Yes! So satisfying to see a nod to Prog. Growing up, I learned it was a genre only when someone pointed out to me that every one of my favorite bands fell into the genre. Previously, i’d thought i just liked good music.
Very clever and not an easy solve for me. I had GOTHS instead of GAULS for the longest time and also COLA instead of SODA. I knew about loofah and luffa, but loofa was a surprise.
A baffling grid until the puzzle got underway, then it was cheeky and fun. A new-to-me fill: SIGIL (needed the column for that one), and a lot of oldies cleverly clued (Money for money—pretty cool). Hopped around a lot and watched the anagrams surface, one after another. I applaud your convoluted puzzle constructing genius, John Kugelman, and now I am a genius too for solving this one. Thank you!
Nice Sunday puzzle, just a minute off my best. Off to the archives to see what sort of mischief I can get into. Have a great day.
Any puzzle with Biggie and anagrams is a hit with me, even though I feel that two Star Wars references are two too many.
@Murhatroid I'm pretty sick of Star Wars at this point. It's literally everywhere, including on the Coke I bought yesterday. I'm therefore asking that the puzzle become a No Star Wars Safe Space for the Easily Annoyed.
@Murhatroid Let's review: 2 Star Wars entries (can't get enough, personally.) 1 Star Trek 1 Harry Potter 1 rapper 1 video game Brian ENO Wow, that's a pop culture palooza - only missing Lord of the Rings for the grand slam. I'm not complaining; my bugaboos are Italian Renaissance painters and show biz trivia. Wait, they made CATS into a movie???
@Murhatroid What was the other Star Wars clue? I know that ANI is in there and then there's a Star Trek one, but I can't find the other Star Wars clue. I always have that trouble trying to refind a clue on a Sunday grid.
126A made me stop and kiss my fingertips.
I'm aware of sigils only because of repeated references to them in Game of Thrones.
A delightful puzzle! 😲😊 And I learned a new word — “sigil”. I’ve never seen it before, and not just in the context of crossword puzzles. Thankfully, as an amateur musician, I know my prog rock, so i didn’t have to cycle through the letters of the alphabet on the NYT app to get the letter “g” 🙂 The phrase “clout chasing” is also new to me, although since it’s described as “modern lingo”, I wasn’t surprised. As a member of Generation X, I hope that I’ll be exonerated for that 😉
Wow. Just Wow! Can't even imagine what it must have taken to come up with those 5 pairs of 11 letter anagrams and then manage to find a way to clue them together. Just amazing. Oh, and a tough workout for me, but finally catching on to the trick was a big turning point. And that made for one really enjoyable workout. Perhaps appropriate puzzle find today - another one with an unusual trick. A Sunday from January 16, 2005 by Damon J. Gulczynski with the title "Pledge of allegiance." The 'reveal' (or hint) in that puzzle was a grid spanning answer: ALLFORONEANDONEFORALL And a couple of theme clues and answers in the puzzle: "Klutzy dog's habit" DROPPINGTHEBONE "Bathroom on wheels" ROLLINGSTALL And some other theme answers: PONEBEARER HEIRTOTHETHRALL TONEINTHESADDLE HONEOFFAME GALLWITHTHEWIND And there were more. Here's the link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/16/2005&g=88&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/16/2005&g=88&d=A</a> .....
Now THIS is what I came here for today. An excellent puzzle and a great workout. Thanks John!
And with that, I made 8 gold stars in a row. Not my first time, but it’s not a regular occurrence. I enjoyed it, and appreciate the work that went into constructing it. But I have to disappoint Francis and say this was too quick for me. I was expecting to have this to work on from time all day, but I finished it in 45 minutes. YMMV. That being said, after the magnum opus that was 3 weeks ago (“Escape Room”), I’m afraid it will be hard for a Sunday to live up to heightened expectations.
Noemi, To me, themes of Shortz era Sunday Crosswords have always varied in difficulty: some are breezes, some are not. And once in a while recently there is no theme. On any given Sunday...
@Noemi No problem. I’m cool with it.
LOL (as we olds say). 🌎 Global Stats Difficulty Easy Median Solve Time 24:04 Median Solver 19% faster ⚡83% of users solved faster than their Sunday average. 48% solved much faster (>20%) than their Sunday average. 🐢17% of users solved slower than their Sunday average. 4% solved much slower (>20%) than their Sunday average.
A nice Maine connection in this puzzle - my home town of Brunswick, Maine has a delicious food truck called Taco the Town.
This puzzle is a masterpiece! Loved it. Well done :)