Rebus Philbin would have loved this one.
@J And his sidekick. Kelly Rebus
I LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS!!!! My only complaint was I could not access my iOS keyboards so that I could use my Greek keyboard to enter Φ. This made me feel so good about the hundreds of hours I have spent learning the answers, the tricks, and the trivia. THANK YOU!!!
i phi had a dollar for every rebus in this puzzle… I’d have $8. T-phi-p puzzle, Mr Schiff
Could have clued the FAY Wray movie as Kphing
"Want to study the Greek alphabet?" "Φne by me!" ("Great! But let's Η piece of π first.")
@Mike We've been delta bad hand. Iota stop right now. It's late and we've been upsilon...
@Mike I would have beta lot you'd give us something nu today.
Beware of grids bearing Greek.
@Ed Why, Dylan, he doth bestride the narrow grid like a Colossus, and we petty solvers walk under his huge legs and phi about!
An absolutely ingenious puzzle. It deserves to be inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. I enjoyed this one immensely and certainly hope Mr. Schiff will amaze us soon with similar symbol play.
For those of us that solve on a mobile device, can we get another color added (maybe green) for puzzles we solve without lookups or hints but missed the 2-day cutoff? I do all the puzzles in order, but it seems odd that not being able to keep up daily is treated the same as revealing clues when it comes to the color pattern (blue). I'm okay with giving up the gold star, but I'd like to differentiate between puzzles I completed on my own vs puzzles I needed help with.
@MKEDan Email the games department and they can restore your streak.
@MKEDan Will Shortz's general philosophy seems to be that there's nothing wrong with asking for help, so I don't think it's too likely the team will be supporting the idea that you should distinguish that. I also feel like I made a bigger accomplishment if I solved all by myself, but there are also times where I've gone past the enjoyment stage because of my pigheaded refusal to get some help. So I understand your viewpoint, but I understand his as well.
@DocP: I'd have to email them 2 or 3 times a week and it's just not that important to me, but thanks for the suggestion nonetheless. @Derek: I don't disagree at all that there's no shame in seeking help. But I enjoy a personal moment of pride when I manage to complete puzzles with no lookups or assistance. It'd just be nice to see that. Because I can't commit time daily to doing the crossword, a "green streak" would be more valuable to me than a "gold streak". But that might just be me.
SHEESH! Themes don’t get any tighter than this, between the grid art, 7 phi rebuses, and 7 symmetric phrases with a double I/O phrase at the beginning (and PHI as an entry itself). That’s all a feat ONTO itself, and I would have forgiven some clunky fill as a result, but it was all pretty smoothly done save for the occasional ETHENE or OBELI, nothing too untoward. I enjoyed both the fill and the solve quite a bit. The real kicker? I had an error I had to flyspeck at the end. I had POSH instead of PISH. And in the worlds of Mary Poppins: Oh, PISH-POSH! <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8ozZiXIko9s" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8ozZiXIko9s</a>
@SP I was expecting PISH POSH to be one of the theme entries, but giot WISE when the crossing wouldn't work. What a hoot! I figured out the theme early when I figured PING PONG PADDLE was a themed answer, but took a bit longer to figure out how PHI fit in. Fun puzzle, one of my faster times for a Sunday!
@SP Where I come from, PISH means something totally different.
@SP Mary said, "Spit spot!" ("Hurry up") But I do not believe she would utter PISH TOSH incorrectly. I admit I haven't watched the movie (which took great liberties with the books, of course, but I'd like to think Ms. Travers did not write that.
Reading the early comments, I seem to be in the minority. But I didn't like this puzzle very much. I got the theme pretty easily (seen early with DINGDONGDITCH and SINGSONG_____). My problem is that the whole concept isn't very elegant. First because the answers can never look correct on the app. Second, because the repeated words won't look correct no matter what method or medium you use: DI/ONGDITCH, D[PHI]NGDITCH, or DΦNGDITCH. None of those look anything like DINGDONGDITCH. Maybe the whole theme is a technical achievement with respect to cluing, but it just looks clunky and kinda ugly.
@JAG Agree it's clunky and looks messy. Trying to be too clever for its own good.
@JAG agree. Should have changed on the fly rather than at the end when we are having to manage multiple word salads.
@JAG Yeah, the constructor said he got the idea from I and O on his keyboard, but it just. does. not. work. visually. At all.
@JAG Definitely in the minority, because this is a masterpiece. If you input the phi symbol, it works 3 ways (O/I/phi) and the grid is a giant via. This must have been a wry difficult to construct. It is sheer elegance.
@JAG - I stormed through this puzzle nearly setting my record, so it wasn't all the challenging... but I don't know how I feel about I/O (or phi or however you filled it) meaning that the word that features this vowel is repeated with I then O. I don't know how that follows from phi being the revealer. It says "... resembles and I atop an O..." Why would it follow that I should have PING then PONG? Why not PINGPADDLEPONGPADDLE or PIONGPADDLE? I get that those aren't words and none of the I/O words were unknown or tricky (for me at least), but the crossword logic just didn't quite land for me despite easily completing the grid.
This was the first Sunday puzzle I got a gold star on since mid-November. The theme was nice - DEL[PHI] gave half of it away very early into my solve. However, it took the revealer to make me understand how the other half of the trick worked. I never thought of the letter phi looking like an I crossed an O, but it does seem like it, does it not? The clueing was Tuesday-level, really, but I actually think that's great on Sunday. I never enjoy hard puzzles this time of the week - a huge and hard grid just takes too much effort, for me, and facing it feels like a chore rather than a fun, weekend activity. If I don't get a gold star upon entering the last letter, I just check the puzzle as I can't be arsed to flyspeck the immense grid. It felt great to not have to do that for once. For comparison, here is a screenshot of my "solve" of the tedious David Kwong Sunday on December 21st 2025: <a href="https://imgur.com/a/0esWg4w" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/0esWg4w</a> Also, I enjoyed how few proper names, abbreviations and crosswordese entries there were today - and what little of it there was I either knew or got from crosses without much effort. Perfection, for me. The constructor gets an A-plus from me. Can we please have more easy-ish, fun grids on Sundays, NYT? And now for something completely different - Lucek the Poodle resting after yesterday's walk in a snowy, freezing forest: <a href="https://imgur.com/a/9xFlEfx" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/9xFlEfx</a>
@Andrzej Earlier tonight we watched the first three episodes of a show on Netflix set in Warsaw. We watched the dubbed in English, but it was fun to see some of the stuff that wasn't dubbed, like the songs. One of the executive producer or one of the producers was named Andrzej, which I could only assume was youl. How could there be more than one in all of Warsaw or even Poland!? Lawyer and professor by day, movie executive by night! I love it!! 🤣😘
@HeathieJ Songs, eh? Was it a... Musical? 🤣 That would be something, eh? Andrzej is really a musical producer! He also has 3 little children, a diesel minivan, countless badges from Bible camp, a red baseball cap *and* a taste for deep dish pizza! (I haven't watched any Polish series in decades. The acting is usually atrocious, the scripts schmaltzy or otherwise kitschy. /Shudder. Also, I've had more than enough of Poland in real life...)
@Andrzej I always get messages that your pictures of Lucek are unavailable in the UK. Otherwise I agree with your post. Except in my case I failed to spot that I had typed on E instead of an S in the last clue and ended up pressing the check puzzle key. Too much to keep going through. That typo might have cost me my record Sunday solve time.
@Andrzej Congrats on the gold star and thanks for the photo of the adorable Lucek. What a cutie!
@Andrzej Well done!! Huzzah! And thanks for paying the the Lucek TP tax.
Wow. I adored the big fat Greek gridding. Great work, Dylan. Constructing this must have been quite an odyssey. What ever happened to Fay Wray?
@ad absurdum A ray did afay with her.
@ad absurdum Man, it’s been a long time since I saw or listened to Rocky Horror. Somewhere along the way, I must’ve gotten rid of the movie soundtrack album. Ya think it’s available on the web?
@Eric Don't dream it, buy it! @Andrzej Don't be absurd.
HIΦPHOORAY for a most lovely theme! Et tu, emu.
@Lewis Hip-hop hooray? Somehow, “hooray” doesn’t sound very gangsta.
@Lewis HIIP HIOP HOORAY ? Did you mean HΦPHOORAY ?
I shall return later to the comments to φnd out who won the φght between “it was horriφc” and “it was magniφcent”…
This one was so fun, I enjoyed it a lot! Thank you for making my Sunday better
Beat my average by 27 minutes. Some of you are probably wondering how high my average must be that it can be beaten by 27 minutes. Your average may well be less than 27 minutes. I like to think that I get more time to enjoy a good puzzle.
@Agent86 I like that perspective.
@Agent86 I agree, and I do try to take my time with the puzzles. It's like reading a good book: I don't want it to end, but the momentum is unstoppable.
@Agent86 Agreed 100%, Mr. Smart. I've been saying this all along. --Agent 99
King Kong weeps he couldn’t find his way into this clever puzzle.
34A suggests that he must have been edited out in the final version.
@Tony But he’s there at 81A!
When I started playing crosswords about a year ago I really disliked rebus puzzles. But this is the kind of puzzle that’s helped me come to appreciate a rebus grid. Really well-constructed and well-clued. Bravo!
Caitlin says: “You probably recognize the depicted symbol.” Well, it’s hard for me to be PHIlosoPHIcal about this, but I was halfway done before the giant PHI hit me between the eyes. In trying to figure out a soPHIsticated method of getting the ping pong etc., the graPHIc obviousness eluded me. We all live for the teeny endorPHIn rush that comes with the delayed aha!
@Cat Lady Margaret Don't feel bad. I didn't notice the giant Φ until I was writing my Fiend review.
@Cat Lady Margaret Obviously. Everyone knows it's the symbol for the Green Lantern
This was a really excellent theme. A shifting rebus with a clever reveal clue AND the grid itself is designed to look like the Greek letter Phi? Fantastic. Phi-nominal, even.
I love a good rebus, and this one was brilliantly constructed. It was perfect for somebody from the (PHI)LADELPHIA area. To start, I admired the grid’s elegant look, but I did not recognize it as a depiction of phi. I spotted the Greek letter trick at DEL(PHI), and expected a variety of other Greek letters to appear as rebuses throughout the puzzle. That idea was quickly dashed and I began looking for phis. I was a little perplexed as to why phi only worked in one direction, although I could at least discern the pattern, thus my ignorance did not hinder me. Because I had no idea what phi looked like, the reason for the I/O pairings eluded me until I finished. When I became enlightened I went from thinking the rebus was wonky to thinking it was very clever.
@Marshall Walthew I had a similar trajectory but knew what phi looked like. It was only after solving, while telling my mom on the phone about the Greek letter theme, that I had the aha moment of why phi was standing in for I and O in the crossing entries. Glad I managed to come to that on my own before reading the column today!
I don't think I've ever been on this kind of a week end wavelength with this many constructors!! Breezed through Friday [25:07], Saturday [21:57], and today's Sunday [35:52]! I made an effort to get a star every day for 2025, and my goal this year is to get more gold stars than last year until I get an entire gold star year. Clearly my consistent effort last year is paying off already in 2026! How fun to develop a goal and stick with it to the point that it truly becomes a pleasure and the morning highlight of my day. :-)))) Is anyone else feeling this positive and proud today?
@Lizzie Boredom I love your vibe and excitement, and it boosted my ( already lovely) mood! Congrats on a sweet solving week! Ride the wave, and thanks for sharing.
@Lizzie Boredom Congratulations on what you’ve accomplished so far and good luck with the rest of the year! And most importantly, have fun!
@Lizzie Boredom (Does your 'screen name' give your folks pause? Hilarious, though...) I was able to get out of the bed without disturbing the cat, remembered my eye drops, sorted the week's-worth of meds and vitamins for both DHubby and myself, printed the puzzle on the backs of previously-used pages, and solved that sucker! Yep, feeling positive (that it's best to set the bar low!) LOL See you in the funny-papers!
@Lizzie Boredom My first response was emu'd (I mentioned the source of your nom-de-puzzle) and can only guess that it might eventually surface, but OH well. I claimed to feel good about silly things, and I cheered you on.
@Lizzie Boredom Yes! Good news always welcomed. Congratulations! 🥧 🥧 🥧
This was my kind of puzzle! I loved the multiple A-ha! moments: figuring out the need for rebuses; figuring the difference between the across and the downs; figuring out how best to enter the correct answer. And as a student of Classical Greek and [PHI]LOSO[PHI]A, you might say that I'm a fan of the Φ! You might even say I'm a Φ-Phile. And yet I'd never noticed that a Φ looks like an I superimposed on an O. That's why the constructors earn the big bux! My hat is off to you, Dylan Schiff. Great job!
Came here to laugh at Rebus hate. It's just a game, and the rules are sometimes a bit flexible. There are plenty of other sources out there for always-traditional puzzles, but one of the things that I and many other NYT soccer enjoy is the occasional Rebus or other rule-defying puzzles. I especially like being surprised by them, and today's was extra fun. I didn't quite get it with PI/O NG PADDLE, but DI/O NG DITCH confirmed it. About 90 seconds faster than my Sunday average, about 30 minutes for the star.
Tony, 1. Well said. 2. I see you too enjoy soccer as well as solving.
Such a clever trick! One of my favorite puzzles from the last few months. 👏
My 5 roommates plus I finished in under 40 minutes and had a blast! We loved the puzzle visual and the creativity with the words. Thank you Dylan! Keep up the good work and can't wait for your sixth puzzle <3
I like that the puzzle started even before filling in the first letter – wondering what picture those black squares were making. I’m uber-impressed that those theme answers in which the phi represents I/O, are symmetrical. I’m also impressed with how the two islands in the middle (the phi halves) are filled and clued, showcasing the art of puzzle-making. If it’s too hard you’re stuck forever; if too easy, it’s boring mindless fill-in. I think they nailed it. Finally, I’m impressed with the tightness of the I/O phrases (such as FLIP FLOP and SING SONG). There are not too many in our language aside from those in the box today. The solve incorporated the fun of finding the Φ’s with the delight of seeing the two answers each engendered. All on top of the normal riddle-cracking pleasure of filling in the boxes. I came into the box neutral and left it feeling the buzz of a rich experience. Bravo and thank you, Dylan!
@Lewis I often don't initially notice who is posting a comment. I didn't with yours...but when I got to "I’m uber-impressed that those theme answers in which the phi represents I/O, are symmetrical," I thought: "This has to be Lewis in Asheville."
One of the best Sundays ever. Loved everything about it. The theme, its symmetry, the graphics, the rebuses, the extra revealer. A work of art. I come here rarely, but solve daily. Hi Barry, Rich and Mean Old Lady - the only familiar names I found today.
@Viv You don't know me, because I'm after your time but I recognize you. It's nice to know you're still out there.
Hi, Viv! Good to see you! I'm glad you're still solving daily.
@Viv I remember you. Hope all is well. Weren’t you from Jerusalem back then?
GRIDDIES 2025 VOTING ANNOUNCEMENT First-round voting on the 2025 Griddy Awards is now underway. You can find the ballot here: <a href="https://form.jotform.com/253465756808167" target="_blank">https://form.jotform.com/253465756808167</a> John Ezra, Marshall Walthew and I were pleased to see so many puzzles nominated. That does make the ballot rather lengthy — I think there are about 100 puzzles across the four categories. The puzzle descriptions are not meant to simply remind you of the puzzle. We’ve done our best to make sure that all the nominated puzzles are on the ballot. Our sincere apologies if you nominated a puzzle and it’s not on the ballot. If you wish to vote, be sure you’ll have time to finish the ballot. As far as I can tell, there’s no way to save your choices if you start the ballot and don’t submit it. However, you’ll get an email with your votes and may be able to add votes if you’re under five in any category. You will get a somewhat generic error message if you try to select more than five puzzles in any category. The message pops up as soon as you choose a sixth puzzle, so it’s easily fixed by deselecting one of your choices. It’s actually a pretty good way of keeping you focused on the best of the best. And if you want to be sure you’ve selected five, try choosing one more. At the end of the relevant section of the ballot, it will say “The maximum number of selections allowed is 5.” We hope you’ll find the ballot user-friendly. If you have any trouble with it, comment here. One of us will see it. Thanks for voting!
@Eric Hougland Another great job, Eric! You have taken the Griddies (née POYs) to a new level. Since Tito had the original idea for these awards, I’m tempted to suggest renaming them The Titos. But The Debs might be even better? In any event, you have made voting easy and a pleasure, even with so many potential nominees. Thanks for your hard work!
@Eric Hougland Thanks Eric! My votes are in. And this one is starting my list for next year.
Eric, Done! Thanks to you and the team.
@Eric Hougland - When is this prelim ballot due? I'm watching the Packers and Bears tonight and am busy the next two days.
@Eric Hougland Really tough to choose just 5; 2025 gave us many great choices! Thanks for everyone's hard work in putting this together. I'm curious how others choose their favs. The puzzles you found most challenging? Those with most impressive construction? Most interesting clues/answers? Give any weight to number of debut answers or if it's a constructor's debut in the NYT? I can't say there's much method to my picks; I considered all of the above for each nominee.
@Eric Hougland Done! Thank you all for your work on this!!
As I've said before, I especially love rebus puzzles that are doing different things in the Acrosses and Downs. But a big thank you to Will Shortz for explaining the why of it in 107D. I knew the what of it as early as PING-PONG PADDLE/AMPHIBIA, but having no idea what the letter PHI looks like, I had no idea why. I skipped ahead, looking for a revealer that might tell me, and was extremely pleased to find one. "Aha," I said --" now it makes sense!" There was plenty of opportunity to exercise my new-found understanding as the theme answers are very densely placed. And I'm glad the placement wasn't telegraphed with tiny little circles. The surprise of the rebus answers is where the fun in solving lies. Excellent embedding of both varieties of rebus answers. I enjoyed this a lot.
Too complex. Gimmick is annoying. Did not finish. Very disappointing.
This is a fabulous puzzle, one of my personal favorites of recent weeks. Well constructed, not too much fluff, and a meaty theme set. What's not to love?
I don’t want to distract people from the exciting “No” vs. “Yes” battle going on just below, between Mike b. and Katie ;) But I am curious, how many say it “Phee” and how many say it “Phy”. And how many swing both ways. Since I’m guessing “Phy” will win, let’s say rec this comment if you say it like that: Phi = Phy = rhymes with fly.
Recommend this if you are team Phi = Phee = rhymes with fee.
@JohnWM I’d forgotten until now that there are two accepted pronunciations for Φ. (That is a tidbit I learned from these comments some time back.) Thanks for the reminder. (Team Fie all the way!)
@JohnWM You all led to another puzzle find - a Monday from May 3, 2021 by Ross Trudeau. Theme answers: ICEDCOFFEE AIRPORTWIFI THEINSIDEINFO EAUDEPARFUM And then the last theme answer: FEEFIFOFUM Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/3/2021&g=60&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/3/2021&g=60&d=A</a> ...
@JohnWM I say "phee? phi? pho*? phum?" *rhyming with no, not the Vietnamese soup
@JohnWM Have you ever heard anyone say that they were FEE Beta Kappa? @Murhatroid Of course, since PHI Beta Kappa is a fraternity, all of its members are frat boys and girls. When speaking to fellow students of Ancient Greek, I prefer FEE. When speaking with normal humans, I say FIE. But I might add that I also say short-lived with a long-I.
@JohnWM Which language am I speaking at the time?
My first rebus puzzle that I was able to ID as a rebus before finishing!!!!! Loved it, so smart, and really enjoyed the diversity of clues, lots of stuff I've never seen before.
@Emily Congrats!! That's awesome!!
So on the one hand they want to push everyone to do the puzzle online and on the other hand they make it impossible to figure out how to fill the squares online to have it count as completed. 🤷🏻♂️
@lujoc I didn’t have any trouble at all figuring out what to do. After uncovering the theme, I knew the rebus squares would all be Φ (PHI) in one direction and I/O in the other. Since the programmers give you a great deal of leeway for entering the rebus squares, I figured that I, O, I/O, O/I, PHI and even Φ would be acceptable. Since I didn’t want to fool around with the I/O combinations, I settled on PHI or Φ. Since I didn’t have an easy way to enter Φ, I entered PHI in all the rebus squares. And it was fine. But I’d bet most, if not all, of the other choices would work.
@lujoc If you read the column it’s clear that there are a myriad of acceptable answers, although oddly Caitlin omitted the usual link about how to enter rebuses online. Here it is: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/08/crosswords/rebus-crossword-puzzle.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/08/crosswords/rebus-crossword-puzzle.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share</a>
@lujoc I wasted a lot of time at the end thinking I had the rebus entries in the wrong format. Changed all of them twice, still no happy music. Discovered my error, ETHANE instead of ETHENE and all was well.
@lujoc SPOILER? SPOILER? SPOILER??? AHEAD?? I tried to enter the Φ via copying the Φ from elsewhere and pasting, but the grid wouldn't take the Φ, so I tried the rebus instead, hoping it would work. which it did. I was surprised I did something right for a change.
@lujoc I had phi in the rebus squares at first. No happy music. I went bakc and changed it all to I/O. Still no happy music. It turns out that I had OBELs instead of OBELI. Moral of the story: both phi and I/O would have worked.
@lujoc PHI, I/O, and IO all were accepted. What about this was difficult? Generally rebus squares that are different for across/down accept either the across or down fill, which was the case here. very straightforward.
Loved it. I had grumbled at "Ladybug's prey" only having three squares, because I was fairly certain they didn't eat Ant; but DEL[PHI] was definite enough that I was able to correct Ant to A[PHI]D. I'm sure there are complaints about a rebus (sigh) but I loved this.
Nice! This one revealed itself in four layers. What a treat. First, the awareness that something was going on at 32A and there weren't enough spaces for any puzzle I could think of. Second, when I got to 107D, thinking I understood the theme. I put PHI in for Regis and a few other places, working my way back upwards. Third, again at the top, staring at PphiNGPADDLE. Realized we needed a bidirectional rebus. Tried various combinations of /phi and phi/. Realized that nothing I was trying would work consistently throughout my remaining gaps. Fourth, rereading the reveal at 107D and interpreting it more literally. Very literally. That worked in the four places I had phi's and in the four places I still had holes. Wish I'd thought of pasting in a Φ the way Rob from Boston did. But I found this puzzle packed with delights.
This was a bit unfair as I had the “phi” and an o in each of the correct spaces and my puzzle wouldn’t solve. Respectfully, this puzzle wasted my time and this was a little “too smart” for its own good. If my keyboard can’t make a symbol, then maybe don’t do puzzles like this. Thanks
@Cree jay entering PHI worked just fine for me
@Cree jay I entered PHI throughout, but I have to imagine that PHIO would have worked as well. I just skimmed past but I think this is covered in the column...
@Cree jay I entered PHI or I/O depending on which clue I solved first, and they both worked.
Overheard at AMPHIBIA, that NEW, EDGY Hollywood DELHI . . "Can I TEMPT you with another slice . . . ?" "OHTHATSOK. My END was held ALOFT and SEWED into this FINERY." "IDSAY it's worth it. The place was ABUZZ when you made your grand ENTRE" "YES, they ADORE me. It's all stepping out of CABS, my million WATTAGE smile, a flash of TOPAZ and SAPPHIRE. They CRANE from AFAR for a better ANGLE, . . .yet I'd love to SKIP a PARTY and spend time ALONE! I coud be EASINGINTO FLIPFLOPSANDALS, and I could RIPOFF this WIIG! "Is that WISE?" "You mean, is it TREASON to ESTRANGE my TRIBE? So my next PICTURE could be my LASTACT - the END?" "Well, it won't help to ALIENATE your fans! Next thing some PODCAST will EDIT and CHOPIN a DOLPHIN, or a LIGER ONTO your 110D, and TAD -a, UNDOES everything. Your career is AWASH!" "SHEESH! LLAMA the only one, or do all stars have studio NURSES who DISCARD MORELS at the stage door?" "Like, what SANE person would ROOT around and FEDEX that stuff to uh, ..." "OK, for a sec, I lost the PLOT! SOS! Help me get a GRIP!" "GNATS what I'm here for. I'm going to be STRICTER in 2026! Now where's that PINGPONGPADDLE?" "You're right. I'll TAMP down this PIUS act. I've never MET a COIN I didn't like" "Now PASTE on that SINGSONGVOICE and PURR" "Well, INIGO" "My work here is DUNN"
Well done, Mr Schiff. This was elegantly done, from the double rebuses (let’s make rebii happen) to the grid construction. 👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾 👏🏾
I’m curious if there are many/any long-time solvers who hate rebus puzzles. To me it seems that once you’ve learned the typical language and habits of the daily crossword, added complexity is really welcome. I’ll never really understand those who complain that a crossword puzzle should just be single letters crossed with single letters and nothing beyond that. If that’s what you want, there’s no need to come to the NYT. Just go pick up a church newsletter or a worksheet from your kid’s school. And if your response is that obviously you want something more than that, ask yourself why you would then want to limit your solving experience (let alone everyone else’s), and why you want to draw your limiting line as low as “letter cross letter ONLY”? Anyway this was a PB Sunday time for me because I caught on immediately (thanks to the big spoiler that was the grid). Sometimes I feel guilty when I consider a fast solve time against the hours it must have taken to construct a puzzle. I wonder if constructors prefer to stump solvers, or if they like it when we are on their wavelength and can race against the clock.
@abelsey Constructors know about the Natick principle, and work hard to avoid it. Plus, I think most like to get positive feedback here. As to the question about rebuses, there are a few long-time solvers who insist that rebuses are not real crosswords. But you can’t please everyone.
abelsey, For most, rebus does seem to be an acquired taste, but not all acquire it.
@abelsey I have a 5+ year streak going, so I’d say I’m a pretty accomplished puzzler. I hate rebus puzzles, but the garden variety — where multiple letters go into a cell, and are used consistently for both across and down clues — at least retains the “cross word” ideal. Building a puzzle that allows for different values in a cell for each direction is unrewarding and lazy. Why not just have different answers all the way through?
Did anyone else feel like the puzzle was staring at them the whole time? Like some sort of Oracle-of-Hell Phi? (Or maybe the message was: don’t blink, or you’ll miss it :)
A fun puzzle. Was a bit tricked by the theme, especially how it works differently for downs and crosses throughout the grid. I will never understand the angry comments every Thursday and Sunday from people who are shocked that the puzzle is puzzling.
Ah the expected rebus uproar! Personally, I like when we mix things up a bit. Note: Ding Dong Ditch is a lot more dangerous these days.
This puzzle stretched the limits too far! Rebus squares that are spelled one way down, and another way across - come on.
The last Sunday crossword with bidirectional rebuses was just two months ago.
@Chuck Parker. Amen to that. And fellow commenters, just because you don’t care for it doesn’t make you automatically stupid either.
@Chuck Parker Yeah, that’s just lazy. If the fill requires a different value for across vs down, it’s no longer a crossword as far as I’m concerned.
Phee, phi, pho, phum, I smell the blood of a zillion comments coming in on this one. A flood of comments. A phlood. A good and chewy Sunday puzzle. More, please, Dylan.
@Linda Jo Why do I love reading ( out loud, repeatedly ) phlood? Phlood. Phlood.
@Linda Jo I'm always glad to phind the contribution from a fellow-Georgian! Take a stroll around Phort Phrederica for me, please!
An absolutely fantastic puzzle today. I thought the cluing especially was the perfect balance for a Sunday.
What a very ɸne Sunday grid -- thank you, Mr. Schiff!! So clever in every way with lots of sparkling gems even beyond SAPɸRE and TOPAZ. 💎🫶🏼💎 Happy Sunday, everyone!
My name is INIGO Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die! I loved the rebus, as always, and the grid art was very helpful. I started out filling in the PHI in DELPHI, and then switched to I/O so I could "see" CRISS CROSS, etc., and that worked nicely for me, although I was not familiar with that particular PUZZLE.