My ten favorite original clues of 2025 (in order of appearance): 1. Play with one's food? (6)(7) 2. Feature of a safe landing, perhaps (4) 3. Literary bird with a one-word vocabulary, apparently (5) 4. Downward facing dog? (5)(5) 5. Caaaaaaar, you might say (4) 6. Adjunct faculty? (5)(5) 7. Focus of an airplane battle (7) 8. Plan B, for seniors (6)(6) 9. Handled press agents? (5) 10. Pan in the butt? (4) DINNER THEATER (Kelly Morenus) RAIL (Simeon Seigel) RAVEN (Robyn Weintraub) CANIS MAJOR (Willa Angel Chen Miller and Erik Agard) LIMO (Ginny Too) SIXTH SENSE (Katie Hoody) ARMREST (Ryan McCarty) SAFETY SCHOOL (Kelvin Zhou) IRONS (Juliana Tringali Golden) GOAT (Kevin Curry)
@Lewis I'm still tickled by many of these and hope for many more in 2026. Thank you for sharing. Happy New Year!
@Lewis, thanks for sharing! These clues are so clever. I can't wait to see your picks for 2026.
First time I have figured out it’s a rebus and got them in the right place without help. Go me. Also, this was such a fun puzzle. The theme was a good one and the other fill was clever. Thank you, Topher! Deb, you’ll be missed. Thanks for all your tips and help over the years. Best wishes for your retirement! Looking forward to your column tomorrow. Happy New Year, y’all!
Well good riddance 2025, and here’s to peace, love and more loving thy neighbor, regardless of who they are, where they come from and who they love, in 2026. Looking forward to 365 more crosswords too!!!
@Nom De Plume it’s not a leap year. Thank you for the nice wishes, though.
I guess that for New Year's Day, three clearly located and gently clued rebuses should offer a gentle Thursday for post-revelry solving. I mean, this puzzle has ANSWER KEYS in the grid! I hope to see some actual trickery next week. (Nice to see your byline, Deb.)
Thanks, @Barry Ancona. I’ll be here all week, or at least through tomorrow!
Arrghh! Thought I had a shot to be the first commenter of the new year (sorta), but couldn’t get past the broken link. Oh, well. Loved the puzzle, great to start the new year with. Happy New Year, everyone! 🎉🥳🍾🥂🎈
@NYC Traveler That link is fixed now. Happy New Year!
@NYC Traveler Happy, happy new year NYC Traveler!! Hoping it brings you loads of joy and funtastic puzzlement! 🤗🩵🤗
@NYC Traveler Happy new year!! 🎊 May 2026 be filled with more rebuses!
I usually listen to music while doing the puzzle at night, and when I saw SPINALTAP in the puzzle I turned my amp up to eleven. I was able to spot the rebus without too much trouble, and even spotted the theme before seeing the revealer (not that common for me). I did get a little twisted in the NW by entering strum for 1D instead of THRUM, but caught my mistake relatively quickly. I mostly just came tonight to say that I hope all my fellow puzzlers had a joyful holiday season and to wish you all the merriest of new years, and that all your puzzles bring a bit of happiness to your days.
@Marshall Walthew I had HOST in there early, so no STRUMming for me...
I don't comment much, but I just wanted to say I love rebuses and I'm not an expert player! I worry sometimes that the people who hate them will be vocal enough to sway the editors to do them less. Please keep them! Even on a day where I can't get figure it out and have to look at the article to get it, I still think they're clever and fun. Hapy New Year, everyone!
@Wyra, whenever someone complains about a rebus the swarm of NYT Crossword defenders attacks and says that it’s been a feature of the puzzle for decades and any critics should just get over it. So, I don’t think the precious rebus is in any danger, unfortunately.
@Deb my crossword addiction here began a year ago. youve been a superb enabler. thank you.
Happy New Year to all. This is my annual thank you to all of you. I started reading Wordplay on New Year's Day 8 years ago, so I have had 7 full years of daily enjoying the wit and intelligence in the comments. I tend to go down the 'rabbit hole' when someone writes about some topic I didn't know about. Keeps me occupied. Today's puzzle brought back memories of my 5 years or so of being a PAPER BOY. The routine was to get up at 4 AM and go into the darkness to fold and deliver 50 papers at a profit of maybe 50 cents a day. I don't know how other newspapers handled it but the Des Moines Register charged the PAPER BOY 4 cents for each paper weekly. Then I had to collect a nickel for each paper from the subscriber, so it not only involved delivering in the morning but collecting at night. I survived the ordeal. And made my next job as a 'soda jerk' seem like heaven.
@coloradoz Paper boys had really tough, thankless jobs. Quite exploitative, as my memory serves.
@coloradoz Thanks for this post! Poland never had paper boys (that I know of). I was always fascinated by them. It's such a trope to open an American movie by panning across suburbia, with a paper boy doing his rounds! I have always wondered what the reality of it was. (We did have milk deliveries once, in my lifetime, but I can't for the life of me remember when it was - I think it was in the "communist" era, weirdly... My childhood straddled the old and new regimes and I sometimes can't recall what happened when, exactly).
@coloradoz -- When I was in ninth grade, I was the best and worst PAPERBOY ever. The worst because I consistently delivered the morning paper late, and my erratic aim as I tossed the paper from my speeding bike resulted in smashed flowerpots and papers buried in bushes – and I didn’t care! The best because when it came to the monthly collections I was supposed to make from my customers, well, I was usually delinquent, and often simply forgot to do it altogether. So, for many of my customers, receiving the paper was often a cause for grrrrr, but then again, it was free!
@coloradoz I used to help my brother fold the newspapers for delivery. Girls weren't allowed to be 'paperboys'. I remember sometimes we had to insert a section, too. We folded the papers into a square shape making it easier to fling... and break things on the porch. And, yes, we lived in suburbia.
@coloradoz I usually had more customers that I collected from than papers I passed out.
@coloradoz I had the evening paper (remember those?) route, so no early weekday mornings for me, although collecting in the dark was sometimes a bit scary. Sunday mornings, however…ugh.
@coloradoz, the clue for PAPERBOY was my favorite one in the puzzle. Thanks for sharing your memories with us. 4 AM is early! How long did it take you to complete your route, and how old were you?
@Logan I started at 9 years old. I had to walk a mile to pick up the papers, walk back to my route and then had a route that was about a mile long.i probably started more like 4:30 AM.
As your resident alphadoppeltotter, a role I’ve inexplicably taken in the past eight years, it is my duty to inform you that this puzzle has an unusually low number of double letters, at four, where unusual is any number less than five. This is the first time this year that this has happened. I remain your humble servant, ever on the alert.
Lewis, Wouldn't any number of double letters in this puzzle have been the first time this year that had happened?
Lewis, Speaking of tricks, it's been almost three years since we've seen a Sunday or Thursday from you here. Are you taking a break from tricks, or are the editors now afraid to turn you loose with another tricky construction?
A happy new year to all! 🎉 And hopefully a better one than the last. 2025 was kind of a bust for me, but it's been nice getting slowly back into puzzling and crosswords (I just started trying out diagramless ones, and gosh, they're fun!) in the last few months. I absolutely do not have any confidence in myself to actually see it through 365 days in a row, so rather than resolve to complete the crossword daily, I think I'll resolve to attempt the crossword daily!
@Evan I strongly support your modulated ambition. If there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that we should find enjoyment in our own approach to puzzling. Looking forward to hearing from you again soon.
@Evan My goal is to finish every day -- but I don't mind searches or looking up the answers. Starting today. I was stuck in the SE. DEvil instead of DEMON threw everything off-- but I couldn't figure out why. IMAM had to be right, but then everything else made no sense. I finally gave up and looked at the answer key. Ah DEMON!!! All then fell into place. I also had to look up the Natick of MEEMAW and LAURENCE. I don't know either show. The pop-culture clues are always my downfall.
A banjo player thrums? I doubt a banjo player would agree. Heart strings not banjo strings might.
@ER I had STRUM before THRUM—agreed that’s an odd way to clue it—engines thrum, heartstrings thrum, even banjo strings thrum when they are vibrating, but I’ve never heard of anyone thrumming something else. I did see one usage where someone thrummed their fingers, so maybe that’s legit, but would love to hear any banjo players’ opinions about whether that’s really in use.
@ER Definition 2: <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thrum" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thrum</a>
@ER I was confused by this clue because I thought plucking and strumming (or thrumming) would be considered quite distinct from each other.
@ER First thought of strum even though it did not seem to fit the clue that well. Got THRUM with the crosses. As a musician who plays with a lot of banjo players, thrum has yet to come up in conversation.
Happy New Year, Wordplayers young and young-at-heart! This is a very geographically appropriate puzzle for me. It’s snowing outside my window on this dark first Thursday morning of 2026, but here’s a hello to the truckload of my in-laws who are ringing in the New Year in BALI. They’ve been texting us sunny photos. We’ve been replying in kind with pictures of ourselves with a truckload of my extended family, with whom we’re spending the holidays, out here in the land of Edvard Munch. All our photos use flash. Speaking of things Norwegian, I thought that for 39A we were looking for The THCREAM because I assumed that Macaulay Culkin’s character lisped. An Oscar for an actor named PCI? Many things are possible when you’ve mixed beer with champagne and the sun won’t rise till 10am. Best of everything in the New Year to y’all. (Nobody’s UNCLE) SAM
@Sam Lyons Godt nytt år. Just watched the Utes end their season with a 44-22 rout of Nebraska in something called the Las Vegas Bowl. What's the story behind firing the coach in mid-season? Btw, I'm having trouble with my local inter-library loan computer system. Not getting any response to requests for The Magic Mountain. May actually have to talk to a person about it. I have been finding a few pages of various editions on the internet. Can't wait to see what our "einfachen , wenn auch ansprechenden jungen Menschen", (simple-minded though pleasing young man [L-P] or perfectly ordinary, if engaging young man [Woods]), gets himself into over the period of seven years. I did find a video Why you should read The Magic Mountain or something like that. Not the work of a reviewer or journalist, it was delivered by a "primly voluptuous" professor who I suspect was a native speaker of German. She gave a good indication of the major themes and provided several quotes in both German and English and recommended the Woods translation. Best wishes for 2026.
Really pleased to have set my best time for a Thursday puzzle this year!
@OsteoSynth You got me searching my stats! I see the puzzle of 12-11-2025 was my fastest ever (oh, there must have been so many complaints of 'too easy' that day!) Today's puzzle took five minutes less than the average. But... THIS year? Hah, ha... Yes, my best time THIS year, grin! Happy New Year!
@OsteoSynth First belly laugh of the year. Thanks.
I love THRUM. It’s fun to say, sounds cool, and because it shares so many letters with “strum”, it makes for a lovely crossword misdirect. It was fun to see it sharing the box with the rhyming PLUM, and for the same reason, it was fun to see SLANG and GANG. And while I’m on serendipities, there’s IMAM crossing a backward IMAM in the SE. Huh! I love good puzzle construction, such as how the rebus boxes in their long answers each tied together two words, rather than just being buried in one. I love that many found this tough and many found it easy, and yet we’re all here because we love doing crosswords. Vive la difference; vive le même chose. So, Topher, your puzzle triggered much love; can’t think of a much better portent to start the year out than that! Congratulations on your debut, and thank you!
@Lewis PhysicsDaughter and I take exception to THRUM as clued. THRUM is the sound, not the action. I would even have accepted THUMB, but No. Repent! The End is at Hand! Last night. Oh, well.
@Lewis I heard he sang a good song, I heard he had a style, And so I came to see him, To listen for a while… I wonder if I’m still tipsy from last night. I can’t get lyrics out of my head I just can’t get you out of my head…
In answer to Deb’s opening question, I have done NYT crosswords on and off for many years but only began in earnest after everything shut down for the pandemic. That’s when I did all the Mondays in the archive. But it wasn’t until I discovered this column in October 2023 that I understood enough about what was going on later in the week to become a daily solver…and I haven’t missed a day since! Wishing you all a healthy, safe, prosperous, fantastic, and fulfilling 2026. Happy New Year!!!!!
@Deb I know this sounds crazy but I don't think I'm going to enjoy the puzzles nearly as much without you. You've obviously been the greatest Wordplay mentor ever. There's not many people who have crossed the bridge from Wed to Thursday without your support, empathy, encouragement, humor and of course the tips on where the rebuses are and your equal frustrations to why the rebus exists at all. Today was the first time I solved a rebus puzzle without any help. If I was a conspiracist I might think it was purposefully done. I'm hoping we will find you doing stand-up comedy or something related to puzzling on your own YouTube Channel. I personally am hoping you are writing a mystery novel about the puzzle community with your classic satire and exceptional wit filling the pages. I wish you the best and will always remember that you were the person who taught me how to solve crossword puzzles. I have a 802 streak and I have never done anything that consistently in my 60 odd years. And without you I would never have had the confidence to even try. Thank you @deb for sharing your gifts with the world. Enjoy your next evolution and please stay in touch with your thousands of mentees. Judith
A fine puzzle to ring in this fabulous New Year! If only it were a little harder, but alas, I will have to wait for tomorrow (as I always do (I LOVE Friday and Saturday grids)). I doff my hat at the constructor, and would gladly cover their TAB if I ever were to see them at a bar while I give them my thorough EVAL of their lovely and most succulent puzzle!
First time ever! No lookup, shortest time to complete:) what a puzzle to kick off the year! Lover it! I could not alt-tab my way out!
@Girish B Wonderful, B. First of many, we all hope. When you run into puzzling troubles, feel free to check with the Wordplay columnist or even us here. Some of us might have an answer -- you never know!
Perhaps they figure that we’re all going to be hung over when we do the puzzle or still drunk. It was fun, though.
@Jake G As a former WI resident, that sounds very typical for the state. 😄
I think this would have been more enjoyable without the italicized clues. That there was a rebus was pretty apparent; with the italicized clues directing you precisely to where, a bit too much hand-holding. But a nice start to 2026! Hope it's a good year for y'all.
@Bill in Yokohama My paper copy didn't have italicized clues and it was still too straightforward. Maybe some tougher clues would have helped.
@Bill in Yokohama This is the first I've heard of italics... You're correct--unnecessary clutter!
Congrats on your debut, Topher! As you suggested, a very user-friendly rebus puzzle that was not hard to SCOPEPOUT—for me at least, as all the culture references were gimmes for me—Joe PESCI, THESCREAM, THISISSPINALTAP (agree, too soon), WHATABOUTBOB—not to mention MEEMAW. It’s too bad you couldn’t fit in a fourth key. Could have been clued a lot trickier for a Thursday, but that’s not up to you, I suppose the editors wanted to be gentle for everyone with hangovers. Anyway, what a great New Year’s gift for you, and I look forward to seeing you hone your craft and more of your work!
@SP Man! How do you remember all those pop culture references? Celebrity names and movie names are just impossible for me to remember 😅
We're getting ready to move and I can cross words only when my husband isn't looking - because I should be involved in packing-related activities AT ALL TIMES. 😁 But still determined to finish the puzzle before the end of the day, with little or no damage to marital discord. 👍
@Molly in Wake Forest You can it! The puzzle, the move, AND the intact marriage! We’re rooting for you!
@Molly in Wake Forest Maybe someone ANYONE will ask him to come out for a pickleball tournament. 💃🏻
@Molly in Wake Forest Tell him you are packing letters into a rebus
In the spirit of “begin as you mean to go on,” I did this delightful puzzle curled up on my cozy couch with my sweet dog and a strong cup of coffee while the wind blusters outside. I could do this all year. What responsibilities? Happy new year, friends! Here’s to more learning from puzzles and less complaining about them! (just kidding, reading your complaints is part of the *experience*) xo
Late to the party today--yes, it was a work day, and yes, it was busy--but just wanna say-- To Deb, Caitlin, Sam; to Will; to Topher, where e'er he may be, and to all my fellow Commentariat: Health and Happiness, Peace and Prosperity in 2026! May all your rebuses be bidirectional!
First - Happy New Year to those who may have missed my wishes yesterday 😃 As for the grid... IMO this would have been a fine Wednesday or even Tuesday puzzle - I personally found the clueing way too straightforward for Thursday, and the theme was pretty much spoiled by the italics. Over the years I grew to enjoy rebuses, but I prefer having to suss them out with more effort: only then do they seem an appropriate challenge. Even being unfamiliar with some stuff, like MEEMAW and TAMPA (both as clued - I know the word/name), and WHAT ABOUT BOB (never heard of it, methinks) didn't really slow me down much. Btw, is the only link between the ANSWER KEY revealer and the rebus squares the fact they represent keyboard keys, and that they are answers to the rebus? That's what Deb seems to be saying in the column. For a moment there I thought maybe people grading American tests do so using those particular keys, for another layer of the theme. Not a bad puzzle, this, but not a Thursday one, for me.
@Andrzej If you're checking students' tests, you're probably using the ANSWER KEY (answers to the test)
@Andrzej And the clues were in question form so you needed the KEYS to answer them. Yes this was definitely clues at an early week level I hope that doesn’t continue
First, Congrats on retirement tomorrow Deb Amlen. As a recently retired person, I highly recommend it. Second, this has to have been the easiest Thursday in the history of the NYT Crossword. Breezed through it, even with the rebuses (rebi?) and when I typed TAB, I thought, "I know where this is going." Happy New Year all, or as we say in Lisboa, "Feliz Ano!"
Whew. Typical Thursday workout for me, but catching on to the trick was a big help. And... must confess that I don't feel like I'm entirely grasping the theme. I mean I kind of get it, but just think there must be something I'm missing. No big deal. And... puzzle find today. A Sunday from February 1, 2004 by Roy Leban with the title: "Film Sounds." Some theme clue and answer examples: "Cow's favorite movie of 1983?" ALLTHERIGHTMOOVES "Cat's favorite movie of 2000?" THEPURRFECTSTORM "Snake's favorite movie of 1981?" HISSTORYOFTHEWORLDPARTI "Frog's favorite movie of 1944?" ROSIETHERIBBITER "Sheep's favorite movie of 1991?" WHATABOUTBAAB "Bee's favorite movie of 1983?" RISKYBZZZNESS Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/1/2004&g=23&d=D" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/1/2004&g=23&d=D</a> I'm done. ....
@Rich in Atlanta Answer Key theme for me was that keys on keyboard were "key" to the answers of the italicized clues. Loved the film sounds! Thank you for sharing. HNY!
Rich, I don't think you missed anything.
I know I'm not alone in thinking that 1-Down was going to be stRUM, but did anyone else look at 1-Across's clue "You're looking at it!" and think "Grid"?
@The X-Phile I did as well... messed up that corner for a bit. 😄
@The X-Phile Yep. GRID before CLUE before blanking for 10ish minutes 😂 that NW corner probably took half my time!
MEEMAW is the kind of word that sets my teeth on edge, one that should never be taught to an innocent child, like the heehaw of a donkey. Sorry, but I had to say it, New Year's Day notwithstanding.
@dutchiris ya gave me an ear worm. Well, BEEBAW pa-lula, she's my baby <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDCSG97anKU" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDCSG97anKU</a>
@dutchiris ...and its Even Worse partner PEEPAW.
@dutchiris I'm with you. I cringe when I hear someone use the term.
@dutchiris Me too, and I've never heard it used!
Well done that Topher. What a good start. Despite, as usual, not knowing the name answers (PESCI, TAMPA, the BOB and Sheldon films) I managed to solve with crossers. I could see where a rebus was required with MALTA so then I looked for the others. I was a PAPER girl from age 14-18 (desperate for money) as well a having a Saturday shop job from age 15. Nearly all of the deliveries were to flats, lots of running up stairs - no lifts. Buzzers at entrance doors didn't exist either. Auld Land Syne is usually sung before midnight (The Bells) and this is sung straight after The Bells: A guid new year tae one an' aw' An' mony may ye see; An' during' aw' the years tae come, O happy may ye be.
Caught on to the "something is hinky" not with the movie (the name of which came to mind but I wasn't sure enough of it) but with 39A, which was too long for "scream" and too short for "thescream" but it couldn't not be the answer. 40A was also a gimme for me. I did have SCOutOUT before SCOPEOUT, but uarkit made no sense. NW corner was the hardest because I wanted stRUM, which had me doubting HOST, and MEEMAW was a guess (I've never seen YS), and I forgot Us was a magazine, and my brain kept wanting 4D to be a person named Driver .. but I eventually got it :)
Also. Happy NYE / New Year! ...Even if January is a silly time for a new year (imo spring or fall, especially solstices thereof, make more sense). Grumble.
Great puzzle to start the year. Relatively simple for a Thursday rebus (YMMV), but a fun theme. I’m grateful for the gentle grid as it was a 02:30 bedtime for this household last night, then up at 9 for the village New Years Day tramp around the byways, accompanied by what felt like every dog and horse in the area. The alpacas declined the invitation, they’re still sulking from the enforced vitamin drenches of a few days ago. Hope everyone is off to a good start this morning, fingers crossed for peace, humanity and a little less madness in the coming year.
Loved the “answer keys”. Happy 2026! Love to read your articles, Deb!
Merriam Webster on line has THRUM as a transitive verb so I'll grudgingly give that one. I had no clue how to spell MEEMAW and ISSUE seemed a bit off to me: I didn't get the 'Us' magazine reference until I read the column. I thought maybe ISSUE was in the 'son or daughter' sense and 'one of Us' in the Christmas card sense - as in 'with love from all of us' - but I couldn't figure why Us had an upper case U. Fun as Thursdays usually are.
@Andrew I too struggled with 'one of Us'. The so-called magazine has not impinged on my life, so was at the bottom of my list of possible associations. I kept thinking of the horror movie of a few years back called 'Us', which had a brilliant premise. Of course, it helped me not at all. Eventually crossings forced me to see ISSUE which is such a uniquely shaped word. Whew!
@Andrew Never having read Us magazine (although being vaguely aware of it), I too “deduced” that 3D was a synonym for “descendants”. No doubt that conclusion stemmed from my 43+ year career as an estates lawyer. Of course, I ignored the fact it didn’t explain the capitalization of the word “us”. I join so many others in congratulating Deb as she embarks on the next chapter in her career/life. I haven’t had the pleasure of enjoying her columns for nearly as long as so many of you have, having discovered the NYT crossword puzzles only as a result of Sam’s having become a Wordplay columnist. And let me say also a big thanks to all of you commenters out there from whom I learn so much. A happy, healthy, prosperous and fulfilling 2026 to all.
Nice start to the new year. Thanks, Topher! And Deb, once again thanks for the columns and help over the years. I've learned a lot about crosswords from you over the years.
I think crossword solvers must have better access to the hive mind than the average non-solver. For instance, during the pandemic lockdown, I both started doing the NYT crossword and made some serious effort to improve my bread baking, and I can't think of any external prompt that pushed me in those directions. Today I immediately entered TAMPA as soon as I saw the clue. I know almost nothing about football. My only explanation is an unconscious tap into the hive mind.
@Bruce There was a nut in the UK many years ago with a "theory" about "morphic resonance", if I remember correctly. One of its correlaries was that it was easier to solve the London Times crossword late in the day because so many answers were out there. An alternate to the hive mind, maybe?
A solid Thursday puzzle, which could serve as a fine model for a basic bidirectional rebus. Only three rebus squares, within six italicized clues. And a perfectly stated revealer. For the next 364 days, whenever folks post about their rebus-related befuddlement, we can just share a link to this puzzle and suggest it as starting point! Once again, I've forgotten what SEO stands for, so that will be today's review activity. Everything else fell into place, though "One of Us, say?" for ISSUE took a few seconds to grasp. Congrats on a nice debut puzzle!
@Xword Junkie Search engine optimization. It means your site will show up on top of more Google searches than your competitors.
@Xword Junkie PhysDau knew SEO...it's Search Engine Optimization--a dirty pool trick to make one's product/name/site come up first when an individual is performing a search.
Now I can't get a slightly altered version of a Heart song out of my head: I've been lonely, I've been waitin' for you I'm pretending and that's all I can do The love I'm sendin' Ain't makin' it through to your heart You've been hidin', never lettin' it show Always tryin' to keep it under control You got it down and you're well on your way to the top But there's somethin' that you forgot What about Bob? Don't you want someone to care about you? And what about Bob? Don't let him slip away What about Bob? I only want to share him with you You might need him someday
@ad absurdum I… Not sure what to say about that But now I’ve got that same Heart song stuck in my head. I just came here for the lamentations of the anti-rebi-alliance Why did you do that to me?
@heironymous Doesn't seem to me like such a bad song to have stuck in your head, but then I heart Heart.
I know I've picked this nit before, but I'm here to pick it again: ANIME is not a genre, it's a medium. It is used to refer to cartoons from Japan. There are many genres of ANIME, such as romance, horror, mystery, comedy, etc. For instance, the genre of Mob Psycho 100 is action. Saying ANIME is a genre is like saying "movie" is a genre. Anyway, happy new year everyone! Make a resolution to watch more anime this year.
@Katie What do you call a live-action version of an anime show, take "One Piece" for example? (I'm a fan, BTW...I even have the Lego set for the Going Merry.) I would say you have listed sub-genres, though.
Katie, In Japan and in Japanese, ANIME is not a genre. In the U.S. and in English, I think it is. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anime" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anime</a>
Good start to the year, getting a personal best Thursday (with rebuses)! Happy new year, all!
The puzzle was fun, lighthearted enough for a New Year's Eve, and just challenging enough to hold my attention while I was giving some of it to celebrations. Thank you, Topher, may the New Year bring you and us more puzzles.
@dutchiris, We all hope everything went well for you on Tuesday, and that 2026 will be a very happy and healthy New Year for you! 🎉🍾🎊🥳
Couldn't quite get a CTRL in there, eh? 🤔😘 Happy New Year to all reading THIS right now.
A wonderful start to the new year! Loved it. Happy New Year my fellow crossword solvers !
I enjoyed the puzzle too, and found myself imagining a version that added the DEL key, but with the meta twist that although the crossing words would each include the letter sequence DEL, the square would have to be left blank to get credit. That would get the 2026 comments off to a hot start.
@Paul Turner I was expecting DEL to show up in this grid, myself, after I got the theme.
Just a farewell note to Deb Amlen for all the wonderful columns she has written for the NYT games. She was the incentive for me to keep playing and I always enjoyed her sense of humor and playful tone. Thank you, Deb, and I wish you well in all your future endeavors.
Awesome puzzle to start the year! Really had fun with this one. The way I figured it out was just one of a number of strategies, the rest of which didn’t work. But I tried just writing out WHATABOUTB, THESCRE, and SPINALT, and realized there were keyboard commands embedded in each word. I plugged those into rebus squares where they made sense and it just happened to work! That’s my ANSWER KEY. Happy New Year!
Congratulations, Topher. Love a rebus. Happy new year Deb and all.
Starting off 2026 right, setting a new personal best time for a Thursday puzzle.