If you're not talking with your local Christmas cookie baker, Yule want to batch things up. (Otherwise you'll feel crumby.)
@Mike At first I read “crumby” as “crumbly” but now I get that the joke only works with Noel
@Mike I like that your puns are always original, never cookie-cutter. But sometimes this thread gets out-of-hand and starts to snowball.
@Mike Merry Christmas, she said icily.
@Mike Stocking up on the Christmas puns I see?
@Mike Dough! Glad to see you were able to press some out today.
@Mike The baker and the candlestick maker dropped by, wreathed in smiles, in a menorah speaking. A real treet.
I liked this tight theme and its spot-on revealer, as well as the left-right symmetry, the three palindromes, the COIN and CASH echoes of yesterday’s SHORTCHANGE puzzle, and the septet of answers ending with a schwa (including PINA and CICADA, and when you put them together, it sounds like a drink). Amazed to find that AND CUT has never appeared in the 80 years of NYT puzzles. The Hanukkah gelt shot me back to my youth, happy memories of sitting around a big table in a small apartment with generations of family during that holiday. Those coins were hard to open, but oh the reward! Oh, I saw the double-C theme answers, and saw their sweetness, but my brain finally uncled after burning many ergs trying to guess the revealer without reading its clue. My ego sighed, but my brain adored the work. Happy brain, happy memories and the beauty of a clean, well-built puzzle. One terrific springboard for the day. Thank you, Nathan!
@Lewis Sorry to break it to you, but if you like pina cicadas I don't think we should escape together. You made me laugh.
@Lewis @ad absurdum I will never be able to unhear that.
@Vaer Even if you are able to get it unstuck, you'll end up remembering it every 13 or 17 years.
I guess Nathan Hale was wrong when he said he only had one life to give for his country. Here is writing crosswords for his country 250 years later...
Steven, This is not the same Gary Larson.
@Steven M., He’s actually the author and illustrator of a very popular series of graphic novels called *Hazardous Tales* written for young readers, largely biographies of important people in American history. My grandson is a huge fan.
Ahem. Is CANDY CORN a “treat”, though? Give me a Cinnamon Cannoli or a Crème Caramel instead, please!
@Cat Lady Margaret Candy corn tastes very nostalgic to me.
@Cat Lady Margaret You're not their target demographic. When I was a kid, CANDY CORN was the only real justification for Halloween.
@Cat Lady Margaret As youngsters, my kids enjoyed candy corn. As adults, they call it “a headache in a bag.”
Cute how many additional C's appear in this puzzle, the whole thing is a C-suite! I also noticed that not only do we have STEP UP and DIAL-UP, but a fair few entries to which UP could easily be added: shook up, scoop up, save up, use up, eat up, sip up (that pina colada) and cut up (your seered steak) and better caesar up your salad, too! Upon my word! Nathan Hale had a great puzzle on March 26 of this year that's been nominated for The Griddies, featuring black squares that stood in for the four bases in baseball, such as NOT MY ⬛ RODEO ... worth looking at again. Dude's pretty clever, or should I say ASTUTE.
@john ezra Upscale puzzle, I'd say.
@john ezra Lively UP Yourself, B Marley <a href="https://youtu.be/bDnNqsy7rYE?si=x4B7IW0QocVrBTXJ" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/bDnNqsy7rYE?si=x4B7IW0QocVrBTXJ</a>
@john ezra What are the Griddies? Or was that comment ALL IN FUN? When I looked it up, I found NADA.
Sweet Tuesday! Two early week puzzles in a row with more interesting fill than usual, an interesting theme and some clever cluing. Keep them coming!
Fun puzzle. Was breezing along at a Monday pace, then could not for the life me get 43D. Even when I brute-forced it, I said SEERED?! Like what you do to a steak?
I once had that problem with an answer clued as an old song that had to be MEAN TOME. A song about an unkind book?
@Michael B. Parse it as SEE RED. It's a DOOK, which in turn is a mistake in putting a spaces or spaces in a multi-word answer (DO OK).
@Michael B. I was similarly confused by 2D - what does a ski jump have to do with a CAT CHAIR? Shouldn't the clue be, "Your lap, perhaps?"
@Francis I eventually figured that out, though thank you for introducing me to the term "dook". We can make that into a verb, right? "Man, I dooked 43D."
@Michael B. 😂 Ok. Now I see SEE RED. 🙄 Thank you! Our PhD daughter still remembers puzzling over the word "unDERFed." : ))
Enjoyed this very much. CSUITED my sweet tooth to a tee. Got all the themes and the revealer. As a teacher appreciated the AMSO, SAYSWHO, and CUPCAKE clue. Happy Holidays everyone. Three more sleeps til Christmas
@Megan And Hannukah is receding into the distance, leaving me to pick off the dribs and drabs of wax that accumulated on the menorah. Sigh.
My first puzzle with NO hints, lookups or cheats! Doubt if I’ll ever say that about a Sunday but I’ll take the win where I can!
Enjoyable Tuesday puzzle. Typical workout for me, and the reveal was one of the last things I filled in. That was just a nice 'aha' moment when I paused and reviewed and finally got it. One puzzle find today was inspired in a roundabout way by CANDYCORN. Wondered about... JIMMYCRACKCORN And.. it was an answer once - in a Saturday puzzle from January 23, 2010. And... came across a quite remarkable puzzle find. I'll put that in a reply. ....
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: A Sunday from February 25, 2018 by Will Nediger. Don't recall another one like this. Six pairs of theme answers - the pairs crossing each other as across and down, and.. the down answer would be straightforwardly clued while the crossing down answer would add the phrase... "Spelled using only the letters of... 2 down" (e.g.) - every one referencing the crossing down answer. Some of those pairs. 2 down: "Historical period" IRONAGE 22 across: "Historical period spelled using only the letters of 2-Down" GEORGIANERA and 13 down - "Revolutionary War hero" ETHANALLEN 28 across - "Revolutionary War hero spelled using only the letters of 13-Down" NATHANHALE and 39 down - "Really impressive" OUTSTANDING 95 across - "Really impressive, spelled using only the letters of 39-Down" ASTOUNDING And there were more. Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/25/2018&g=28&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/25/2018&g=28&d=A</a> ...
A tasty puzzle, full of goodies, and a treat to work. Thank you, Nathan! (I'll pass on the CANDY CORN, though)
@dutchiris Anyone else start confidently putting in POTATOLATKES at 20A, only to hesitate and peter out about six or seven spaces in?
@dutchiris I’ll join you in skipping the CANDY CORN. Even as a kid, I didn’t understand its appeal.
Nice puzzle, with a solid theme and seasonally appropriate themers. Enjoyed this one. In the corner of our family room, we have a cozy recliner, which we've more or less ceded to our feline companion. We call it the CAT CHAIR. All the fur left there used to make me SEERED, but I've come to accept it, and now I DOOK.
@Xword Junkie "Cats sleep anywhere Any table, any chair..." About 15 minutes before my alarm goes off, Charlotte the Kitty comes in and gets comfy on top of me; when I try to slither out from under, she watches balefully, unmoving.
I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle and even more so enjoyed the number of comments about CATCHAIR. We share our home with four felines and as you can imagine every horizontal surface equates to a cat resting place, no matter it's original purpose! I wonder how many times a day my husband or I say, "I'm coming back and taking my chair back, Kiki/Nala/Otis/Milo." Now that my Tuesday puzzling is complete, I'm going to make some of those CHRISTMAS COOKIES that were also mentioned. Happy holidays one and all!!
@Michelle your cats all have handy Xwordese names! 😻
Had to come here to find out that I was DOOKed by SEERED. 😀
@Ιασων Me too! After getting music even though I was sure SEERED was wrong, I spent time looking up "SEERED" before the AI finally told me about SEE RED so I could see the light... Duh!
This was a real truite! Et tu, emu.
@Lewis Maybe it was the meal my Partner and I shared last night at a good French restaurant, but before I saw the pun, I thought of the *Truite amandine*, which my Partner ordered: <a href="https://www.marmiton.org/recettes/recette_truite-fondante-aux-amandes_20530.aspx" target="_blank">https://www.marmiton.org/recettes/recette_truite-fondante-aux-amandes_20530.aspx</a> (For dessert, we shared *Clafoutis aux cerises*: <a href="https://www.marmiton.org/recettes/recette_clafoutis-grand-mere-aux-cerises_29896.aspx" target="_blank">https://www.marmiton.org/recettes/recette_clafoutis-grand-mere-aux-cerises_29896.aspx</a>
This easy puzzle was as SUITE as a CANDYCANE. Just 1 second slower than my personal best.
14 mins faster than usual so based on that makes it an easy one for me. No complaints or judgement though as it had a nice chill vibe making it a fun solve. Looking forward to Thurday's Christmas puzzle and trying to solve under the spell of a festive food coma!
Thanks for a fun and cheery puzzle Nathan Hale. I’m a bit stressed out from all the holiday activities and this was a wonderful distraction. The Christmas cookie theme was especially fun because I just made a batch of cookies—very easy ones with no oven involved, called Coconut Joys. I used to make many other kinds every Christmas but now my daughters and grandsons make many of my old favorites, which is great. Lucky me. Happy Holidays to you all.
@Shari Coats I had to google your cookie – and it looks cute, and yummy! I may have to "test" it out. Soon! How wonderful that the holidays are maybe a little bit less hectic because Santa – I mean Shari's – helpers have taken on the cookie task. Enjoy the holiday, and your family!
I managed to fill in the pina colada song clue without getting it stuck in my head. Then I read the comments, and thanks to the commentariat, the song is now living rent free in my head. Though, courtesy of Lewis (I think?) what I am singing is: do you like pina cicadas… That makes the experience slightly better.
@Karen In my head it’s always, “do you like bean enchiladas?”
@Karen Hi Karen! Thanks for the description of life in Whitehorse, in a previous reply. I love reading about the north. It surprised me that you only get a couple of feet of snow. I tend to think that it just gets snowier and snowier as one gets farther north. Obviously I'm not meteorologist material. I would love to experience those extremes of night and day.
A nice sweet treat for the holidays. Thanks, Nathan! Now I feel like making a crumb cake.
Happily for me today, my Dad (now 79) still likes to sail his scow during warmer months. I didn’t know they also have a US variant, apparently larger and faster. Merry Christmas
@H Thank you and Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Am I the first (yeah, probably; and probably the only) person to explain that "gelt" means money? Not coins, not chocolate coins, just money. For Chanukah, we give/get chocolate gelt. I have fond memories of my father-in-law saying to Mom-in-law, with a little tap on her arm, "Give gelt" before he would take my kids out for a treat. He made the money; she guarded it. My dad would say the same to my mom when we were out to dinner, before credit cards were the norm for paying a bill. "Give gelt, Git," he would say. "Git" was part of her name. The result of all this was that my kids, on allowance day, would tell us it was time to "give gelt." Hah. I haven't thought about that in years! My daughter just completed a Duo Lingo in Yiddish. I think we'll have a discussion about this. Partly in English. She has learned such useful phrases as "My parrot likes pickles."
Marlene, No. It was explained earlier.
@Marlene But it has to wrapped in gold foil, right? It's not /gelt/ if it isn't/gold/.
@Marlene Naturally! The Geman word for money is geld -- but a final 'd' is always pronounced like an English 't'. German and Yiddish words sound the same -- as do many other German and Yiddish words, of course.
Seems I can't finish a puzzle these days without making a typo that I then gotta find and fix. And this one was no exception. Oh, well. (Nice puzzle, though!)
I’ve been missing cross word input & culture vignettes from Andrzej. Hope all is well. Enjoy this sweet & breezy Tuesday puzzle
@C Andrzej felt singled out by the emus at the end of last week and said he would no longer be posting.
@C What Vaer said. In all honesty, an entire message thread that he started got taken down, without explanation of course. I'm actually wondering if a reply I did, positing that the American economy was an cooperative oligarchy, may have incensed enough people here to bring down the whole thread. So in that case, it is I who should be boycotting, right Andrzej? Would you come back if I left?
@C I suspect he's still among us. Undercover.
@Times Rita I'm aware of his pseudonym. I was only saying what he said he was going to do. I can't help if he can't not post.
@C No disrespect, but I kinda enjoy the break.
@C I put my subscription on hold for about a week and look what I missed! I was expecting to hear about a December holiday, not emu interventions. I’m glad it’s not a full blackout. I very much enjoy auditing his classes After touring the Baltics and getting a sense of life where the walls have ears, censorship by emu takes on a new gravity
My Diary of a Crossword Fiend review: <a href="https://crosswordfiend.com/2025/12/22/tuesday-december-23-2025/#ny" target="_blank">https://crosswordfiend.com/2025/12/22/tuesday-december-23-2025/#ny</a> I also reviewed the Sunday puzzle, but I forgot to post a link here. <a href="https://crosswordfiend.com/2025/12/20/sunday-december-21-2025/#ny" target="_blank">https://crosswordfiend.com/2025/12/20/sunday-december-21-2025/#ny</a>
@Eric Hougland Thanks. I was wondering about the Sunday puzzle's comments.
@Eric Hougland Great writeup today! Lots of fun personal anecdotes. (I'm very glad you haven't gone seriously airborne in a few decades, given that photo. Yikes!!) I, too, am getting started today on my one contribution to the holiday cookie platter: bourbon balls. I like the way your husband thinks!
Count me in the P Suite, preferring PIZZA PARTIES, PEPPERMINT PATTIES, PUMPKIN PIES, and ... PICKED PLUMS. Yes, the famous picked plums. That's why I solve, not construct.
TIL when ski jumpers squat down as prepare for lift off, they’re sitting in the CAT CHAIR
I almost got stuck on the upper right corner--I could not let this stand on a Tuesday! With a cry of "I only regret that I have but one morning to lose for this puzzle," I managed to power through before having to get ready for work.
@Jeff Z And the Nathan Hale jokes just keep coming...
Need to confirm that shipment of Christmas Crackers! Jackie Gleason upon checking in: "How Suite It Is!" Nice puzzle. Thanks.
Maybe it’s because I’ve never stopped loving CANDY CORN that CHOCOLATE COrN for Hanukkah looked very yummy till crosses snatched away. Always love me a Nathan Hale puzzle. Light, breezy, and fun—just what the doctor ordered for the post-trip-to-the-mall-a-day-before-Xmas state of bodily shock. Granted, I thought it should be single malt Scotch instead, but we did buy that for a stocking stuffer. Thanks, Nathan.
@Sam Lyons You’re welcome to any CANDY CORN that I somehow acquire. It’s right next to Peeps on my list of undesirable candies.
A nicely Toughened Up Tuesday with a sweet theme. Fun to solve.
Rats! How could anyone mess with Escape, The Pina Colado Song? It's silly perfection. Happy Holidays to all my moanin' groanin' rootin' tootin' boastin' toastin' always postin' online amigos and amigas!
@Whoa Nellie First album I ever bought for myself was a K-Tel compilation with Escape, the Pina Colada Song as the first track – and the one compelling me to make the purchase – at the local Woolworths. Now *that* was a lifetime ago! But certainly made the answer a gimme. :)
@Whoa Nellie Rupert Holmes is super talented! He has written some great, fun, mystery novels and he has a couple of Tonys.
Let me be the 125th to note that our constructor claims to be "Nathan Hale." Very SUS. But... Moviing right along, where's the EGGNOG? And the PECAN PIE? In a previous century, our mom baked sugar COOKIEs (shaped with the 'gingerbread man' cutter) and decorated them as Santas, using fondant icing. Our CHRISTMAS EVE dinner tradition is a big baked lasagna; our neighbors--an older couple with no grands--came to the festive table and shared the anticipation. I made the pasta, so we're ready for tomorrow. Oops. The puzzle! Okay....how did the Halloween CANDY CORN get in there?
Several people have admitted to being dooked by SEERED--I've listened to that Chevelle song enough times to not be fooled by that. OTOH, CATCHAIR completely mystified me--what the H is a "cat chair," and how do you use it? I've heard of (but never used) a T-bar, but that's for going up the slope, not down. Were it not for @EH's Diary review, I'd still be lost.
@Bill Aforementioned review (via @Eric H's post earlier): <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4cl9e1?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4cl9e1?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share</a>
One more puzzle find. Quite amazing. A Sunday from August 19, 2010 by Derek Bowman with the title "Going for a run." The only hint to the theme was that the clues for the theme answers were italicized. Otherwise those were straightforwardly clued: Here are some of those answers in order. ARMYBRAT CARBONDATING EXHAUSTFANS GRAYHAIRS INSIDEJOB KITTYLITTER MIXEDNUTS OUTERPLANET QUICKREAD SPEEDTRAP USEDVEHICLE WINTERXGAMES YEARZERO Think about it. Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=8/29/2010" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=8/29/2010</a> ...
@Rich in Atlanta And... for those who didn't get it. I'll list the first few answers with appropriate letters capitalized: ArmyBrat CarbonDating ExhaustFans GrayHairs InsideJob Hope that makes it clear. ...
@Rich in Atlanta Cool puzzle – thanks Rich! For anyone who happens to look for this one in the archive, there's a slight typo in the date Rich provided (but not in the Xwordinfo url). Worth tracking down: fun one!
Smooth solve right up until I forgot how to spell VIGNETTE and thought the Nobel Prize winner could be OLnA.
Today was an easy yet easing Tuesday puzzle. Had a brain fart and was confused until I remembered "suite" isn't pronounced as "suit." 🫠 I liked the puzzle, except for one little nitpick. 5D, "Playground Retort," is SO lazy imo. I get it's a Tuesday, and it's probably the only way besides a fill-in-the-blank to clue this, but still. (Btw, I do also realize "AMSO" is the only 4-letter word, right?) Overall, I still like the crossword. Very cute, I have to say, and very "suite." Welp, C you, and Merry Christmas to y'all! 🎅
@Maxwell Edison Let's get something straight. You just don't like "playground retort" clues. And that's fine. Others have no problem with them; they're just one of many different quirks that appear in crosswords that experienced solvers learn to just enter and move to the next clue without a lingering thought. That does not have anything to do with the constructor's ambition or lack thereof. When you characterize this as "lazy," all you're doing is reducing your credibility to zero. As you said, it's there for a good reason. I'm sure you couldn't rework that section to get rid of it; I certainly don't see a way to do it. So fine, don't like something; that's just fine. But don't call it "lazy" just because you don't like it.
@Maxwell Edison So, Maxwell, not sure if you construct, but it’s not lazy—sometimes certain phrases come up and you have to use them to avoid worse fill elsewhere. Of course it’s trite and a little clunky—and if I am constructing I will try to avoid it. But if I can’t without messing it up worse—and this is particularly true for early week fill— then you go with it. But I guarantee you this constructor spent a lot of time coming up with the best fill they could.
Fun one today -- thank you, Mr. Hale! Happy Tuesday, everyone! Big snowstorm headed our way -- just in time for a white you-know-what!❄️🎄
late to the puzzle today, but a easy, breezy one. I really came here to say that CANDYCORN is not a treat of any kind. Even for Emus
This was probably more of a Monday than a Tuesday but it’s my first gold star in 13 days and I’ll take it.
Judging by 13D and 31A, this puzzle must have been submitted before Jan. 20. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Like others here I’m missing @Andrzej’s commentary. Today would a delicious delight. None of the CCs were part of my cultural heritage in the contexts they were presented and thus the puzzle felt a bit chewy. CHOCOLATECOINs used to be everywhere. I was given some very special ones for Xmas some years ago. Not particularly connected with a religious event for me. I have no concept of what CANDYCORN is and I’m probably better off for it and that goes for a CHRISTMASCOOKIE as well. The ignorance of KEMP meant the spelling of KAKHI with a C was the last to fall Thanks and enjoy the end of year festivities
@Ιασων One of my previous careers was chocolatier. Chocolate coins, aka gelt, are really big for Hanukkah.
@Ιασων I do believe @Andrezej is back, having commented under the pseudonym a bit later as @Emu fodder. The location listing as Emu poop AKA Warszawa, Polska kinda gives it away.
@Ιασων German lebkuchen are a CHRISTMAS COOKIE, both in your country and ours. Personally, I thought that answer a little "green painty" because it's such a broad term (albeit for a seasonal event). In the US, there are a wide range of cookies made just/primarily at this time of year.
No Wicked or Swift clues gets Nathan an A+. Cheers.
@Ann Frances Phrasals. A new vocab word for me. I like it! 💃🏻
Had it not been for SEERED ( couldn’t see it as two words!), I would have solved the puzzle. Even though tricky in places, I still enjoyed it. Fun mix of easy and brain twisting.
Ahh, well that makes much more sense. Thanks! Here I was thinking that the clue contained a grammatical error and the answer contained a spelling error. The chances of both mistakes appearing together and getting published in the Times seemed vanishingly low.
Got delayed by SEERED for far too long. I did SEERED by the end. 😡
Glad to check the comments and see I wasn't the only person who thought 2D was CAT CHAIR. I also caught onto the revealer quickly, so a very fun Tuesday (and my last day of work before the holidays!).