Funny how everyday the last several days in the puzzles, seeing ice is so jarring. This isn't a complaint and I get it. It's a common crossword ease. Still. My husband has been a citizen of the United States for about 55 years.... Arguably, and I will fight to the death for this, he's the most amazing and wonderful human being ever! But lately, here, in a place we've called home for so very long, he has to carry his passport just to go to Walgreens... Or wherever. Oh yeah, the puzzle was great. Thumbs up!
Sorry, probably not supposed to say such things here, but this is currently our reality.
@HeathieJ It is heartbreaking and terrifying. I send you and your family and neighbors and community my sincere thoughts (and resistance and votes) of support and solidarity. Hugs. And yes, it is a great and well needed puzzle, Nate.
@HeathieJ I am horrified by what's going on in the US. It's heartbreaking to know your husband is at risk - that you all are, in reality.
@HeathieJ I watch from over the pond, but can’t believe the current state of the State. Horrified doesn’t begin to describe how your post makes me feel. Wishing you peace and protection.
@HeathieJ O Lordy, the events in Minneapolis are terrifying and shocking. So sorry that the fear ICE has generated is even felt by you although you don't live in Minneapolis.
@HeathieJ - that is horrible! All the best to you and your family!
@HeathieJ No, I'm sorry. I haven't been able to sleep, latest events have been so distressing, but for you and your husband, it must be worse. The beauty and strength of this country is its diversity, the embracing and acceptance of all, inclusion and freedom for all. My heart is truly with you both, I wish I could stop this. Take care, my friend.
@HeathieJ So glad you spoke up. Silence and exhaustion are relied upon by these thugs. As for ice: that's why I changed my location. We are with you. Not just people on this list but, if you can gird yourself to listen to nonUS news, people around the world. Cheering you on from next door.
@HeathieJ Your former senator and denizen of St. Paul was in my H.S. graduating class in Brooklyn — New York, not Minnesota. He started out the way most of my classmates did, as a liberal during the Vietnam era, and somehow lost his way. I tried to find out if he's made any statements about what's been going on, and came up empty. I know he's been ill, but can only hope he's not still supporting this wretched situation. My heart goes out to you and every other family that is facing this ugly reality.
@HeathieJ So sad, so insane. There is no justification for what your husband and so many others are going through. I’m very sorry for that. I keep waiting for the Statue of Liberty to be toppled by a wrecking ball. Metaphorically, it’s already dust.
@HeathieJ So, so sorry. I am following the news from Minnesota with a very heavy heart. Even as an old white woman, I am leery of traveling back to the U.S., as there are reports of permanent residents abroad being harrassed and even detained, not to mention the fact that we appear to be a police state now. Yet, I need to visit my elderly mother.... Although I know that this isn't really the place for politics, keep us posted at least a bit.
Oh my goodness, thank you everyone for your support and empathy! I'm so grateful that so many of you get it. Truly! Reading your comments is a balm. ❤️ @Ms. Billie M. Spaight, the issue is actually all over Minnesota, but particularly in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul and their metro areas.
@all Also, my husband wants you to know that it's more like 48 years as a US citizen. I accidentally aged him a bit more than he likes. 🤣
Great debut Nate. Nice theme entries that had me guessing what the theme could be, and as a pediatrician I appreciate the NEONATALNURSE clue and the nurses themselves. That’s not a wet paint clue, we really do call them that—although to be honest they are often far too busy to do the rocking and we luckily have volunteers for that. Interesting little story, when I was a resident I would do the rounds at night in the neonatal intensive care unit. Before bed I would often sing them songs and every night would have a theme (yes Andrzej often show tunes—poor babes). I also told them that if they slept and didn’t have any issues through the night they could come to me when they were 5 and I would buy them an ice cream. No one took me up on it. Anyway, fun puzzle, fun clues. I especially enjoyed the call out to TCHALLA and Yogi BEAR who indeed must have been a cub sometime.
@SP That's actually quite touching. I'm rarely moved, but you managed it. Thanks. (And I don't mean the jab at me)
@SP lol, fellow ped here and I never thought of trying to bribe those preemies with future ice cream, brilliant even if it didn't work. I used to show tunes (or the risk of them) to get my kids to stop fighting in the car when they were little. Worked like a charm. I didn't even reprimand them, just launched into song. "Nooo, mom, please don't sing "The Hills Are Alive" again, we'll stop"!
@SP great story about the NICU! My son spent three weeks in the NICU as he was born 8 weeks early and my daughter spent 6 weeks in the PICU when she was 6 months old. Superheroes in both of those specialty areas.
@SP Love your story! I’m a retired hospital administrator and used to make the Peds unit my last stop after long difficult days before heading home. I’d just go to chat or play games with the kids. Probably helped me more than them, as the challenges of my day would soon be forgotten and paled compared to what they were facing. I was in awe of these amazingly brave and resilient human beings.
@SP If it was late 1980, I'll let PhysDau know to stop by and take you up on the ICE cream! (She was on 1-South for 15 days.) I am guessing you weren't there yet.... I agree about the NURSEs-- I never saw one rocking a baby, but it was easy to see why.
I asked about your favorite ending of CLUE, the classic murder mystery movie, so it's only fair to share mine. [Spoiler Alert!] “But here’s how it really happened.” The last (and best) ending reveals that each victim was killed by a different character, and each killer had a different motive. The highlights are when Professor Plum (Christopher Lloyd) learns he killed the wrong man (“Oh shucks,” he replies.) and when Mrs. White (Madeline Kahn) stammers about her anger feeling like "flames on the side of my face!" Best of all, this is the only ending where Tim Curry is revealed to be one of the bad guys, a role he plays so well.
@Crystal Arroyo I who almost never watch any movies (newer than about 1968) have actually seen Clue just a few months ago. At the time I thought it was too inane but I did find it funny & liked the characters, so stuck it through to the end, um, ends. I thought the last one was intended to be the "real" truth; like you, I found it was the best surprise ending. Thanks for your fun column!
@Crystal Arroyo I can’t think of Tim Curry without “Janet! Dr. Scott! Janet! Brad! Rocky! Janet! Dr. Scott! Janet! Brad! Rocky! Janet! Dr. Scott! Janet! Brad! Rocky!” And then the rest of Rocky Horror flows back.
@Crystal Arroyo This answer might not be valid, but I like all three endings edited together in the film. That aside, the best one is C and I think most would agree
@Crystal Arroyo I was so excited to see CLUE as an answer. I agree that the third ending is the best. So many good quotes as well! ‘Flames, flames, on the side of my face…’
@Crystal Arroyo My favourite of the three endings would have to be : "How It Could Have Happened". In which Miss Scarlet is revealed as the mastermind. Mainly due to her debate with Wadsworth over how many bullets remain in the revolver. Was it One + Two + Two + One, or One + Two + One + One?
@Crystal Arroyo Not an ending, but... Da-da da da da da (hey!) I! Am! Your singing telegram! Best small part ever. She left us too soon.
@Crystal Arroyo You may enjoy his new book, Vagabond. It’s not a kiss-and-tell tawdry thing, but a lively journey through the events that led him to playing villains with such nuance and personality.
@Crystal Arroyo they did a theatrical rerelease last year on the occasion of the 40th anniversary and apparently they screened it as they originally had, with only one ending per screening and changing up the ending each night.
I found this one of the easiest NYT puzzles in recent memory. Maybe it and yesterday's grid should have switched places? I still enjoyed the solve. The theme was quite nice, and the fill had its moments - I especially liked "Yogi, once" for BEAR CUB featuring right after "Yogi's pose." I have one nit to pick though. The Inca weren't really pyramid builders, unlike the Maya or Aztec people, were they?
Lucek the Poodle tax - my dad took the photo below several weeks ago when my wife and I were on Madeira. I love how he captured both dogs mid-air: <a href="https://imgur.com/a/s5YrhHa" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/s5YrhHa</a>
Andrzej — I never heard of Incan pyramids, either, but your comment sent me to google this, and sure enough if you google the words [incan pyramids] and then go to Images, there seem to be quite a few (or many photos of one).
@Andrzej They were actually <a href="https://peruways.com/the-enigma-of-inca-pyramids/#:~:text=One" target="_blank">https://peruways.com/the-enigma-of-inca-pyramids/#:~:text=One</a>%20of%20the%20most%20well,center%20crowned%20by%20a%20pyramid.
@Andrzej I did today's puzzle about 40% faster than yesterday's. It was worst Monday time in over a year, and my best Tuesday time in about the same time.
The pictures on those websites supposedly about Incan pyramids are actually from Mexico. AI slop, maybe? As far as I know, there exists not a single Incan stepped (or non-stepped) pyramid, even if the Inca sometimes constructed structures somewhat recalling pyramids. --------- Also, the clue for MGs made me sad. The brand once associated with fun British roadsters is now Chinese and found only on boring, ugly SUVs and crossovers... Sic transit gloria mundi.
@Andrzej OT I hope your frequent sparring partner is doing okay. But I can understand why he's not feeling up to it right now.
Tired tonight, so for some reason put in TEUTONIC PLATE. Hmm: serving dish for spätzle and bratwurst? And: it will rock you because it’s the best spätzle and bratwurst you ever had?
@Cat Lady Margaret - will be sure to ask for one the next time I’m in die Bergen and stop at an Einkehr locale
@Cat Lady Margaret And I was having trouble with my computer right before I was about to print the puzzle, so I tried to fit in TECHtonic before I realized what I was doing.
@Cat Lady Margaret Surely the inspo answer for a new puzzle!
What a fantastic debut! Such a fun solve and a superb theme and revealer. Well done!
Geologists study granite-tary motion. (It's gneiss work if you can get it.)
@Mike I marble at your ability to come up with these.
@Mike You know that sedimentary habits are bad for your health, right? You need to get rolling!
@Mike Seismologists, study clothing parameters.
@Mike This is good to know. I was about to make an inquarry about jobs and was keeping this one in mine.
Side note on ASANA. In a recent puzzle, YOGA was clued [Discipline for the flexible]. Well, yes, it is, so it passes as a clue. But it is misleading, as it implies that yoga is only for bendy people. In actuality, it is also for the non-bendy, medium-bendy, and everyone else. It brings benefits to all.
@Lewis I forgot that you are yoga instructor--yogi? Good point.
That was so enjoyable I came right here to comment! The theme rocked my socks off.
Fantastic debut, Nate. We are all Queen fans in my family, including my kids. We joke that we’ve put them through the school of rock. 🤘🏼 My middle child spent his first three weeks of life in the NICU, and he definitely got lots of rocking time when he wasn’t in his incubator. 🥰 NEONATAL NURSES are all heroes in my book. As a native Californian, I have experienced more than my fair share of TECTONIC PLATE movement 🤣 And I have ridden a MECHANICAL BULL exactly one time and that was definitely my last! 🤠 I mentioned my love of Psych yesterday. The 100th episode was 100 Clues and featured cast members from the movie CLUE as well as Curt Smith from Tears for Fears. One of the best episodes IMO. Thank you, Nate. YOU ROCKed us with this one 🤘🏼🎸
@Jacqui J I think this puzzle was made for you. I am glad your son got the care he needed and agree that NEONATAL NURSES are heroes. I give you kudos for getting on a MECHANICAL BULL even once. You are braver than me.
Very fine puzzle. Well done. Thank you for the nod to Minnesota. It was well taken today.
This was a fine Tuesday with some nice long themed answers. I want to sing a song of praise for NEONATALNURSES. My grandson spent his first two weeks in the NICU, and the nurses there were angels, taking great care of him and keeping my daughter and son in law on an even keel during a time of great emotional stress. I don’t know how they constantly deal with patients and their families at their most vulnerable and remain as empathetic and professional as they do. I also got a smile out the reference to CUTCO knives. I learned everything I know about salesmanship from a friend who received training on how to PITCH CUTCO knives. Two statements work in almost any situation: 1. That’s exactly why you need it; and 2. I used to think that.
@Marshall Walthew I completely missed the CUTCO answer as I must have solved it through the crosses. We sat through a sales pitch for a good friend’s son. We were his first customer and his pitch was both hilarious and disturbing 🤣 We bought a full set anyway and told him that he probably shouldn’t refer to Henckel knives as “made by German n@zis” 😬 He didn’t last very long with CUTCO 🤣
@Marshall Walthew Seeing NEONATAL NURSES in the grid immediately brought to mind the massive strike that began today here in NYC: <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/largest-nursing-strike-new-york-city-history-looming/story?id=129100789" target="_blank">https://abcnews.go.com/US/largest-nursing-strike-new-york-city-history-looming/story?id=129100789</a> Here's hoping the nurses get the respect they so deserve! They had gone on strike in the aftermath of the covid crisis; now "hospitals have threatened to cut health care benefits for frontline nurses and to roll back safe staffing standards that were won by nurses in a strike two years ago". In other headlines... 👀 Luigi Mangione was back in the news today... <a href="https://ny1.com/nyc/manhattan/news/2026/01/12/judge-orders-early-hearing-on-luigi-mangione-backpack-search" target="_blank">https://ny1.com/nyc/manhattan/news/2026/01/12/judge-orders-early-hearing-on-luigi-mangione-backpack-search</a>
Raise your hand if you, put FLOOR, for the caution wet clue.
Raise your hand if you saw our columnist said she did.
I’m not sure when the old one-two punch became a Yoga move, but those two clues were smarter than your average pair. …and boo-boo inducing, reasoning-wise.
@JohnWM I hope to be able to say one day that Nate Hall is "smarter than your average constructor," but time will tell on that.
What a sweet puzzle, love the theme. Yes, sadly 12D I fear will forever be tarnished by current events. I may be reading more into recent crosswords than is intended, but do I detect a little NYT resistance movement in the inclusion of certain clues? Today it’s 43D (what a missed opportunity). My addled brain can’t remember what else stood out, but I’m definitely picking up a vibe. Good work editors. 19A brought up a memory of the early days of my first born. All my offspring were born early and Small For Dates. (I deny it was because I could not be bothered cooking them the whole 9 months). This meant they spent a few days in NEONATAL. I went into the unit on day 3 post birth, said hello to the NURSE, who was ROCKing a baby, then walked off to his incubator. Finding it empty I turned in horror back to the nurse, imagining the worst. Yes, dear reader, it was my son in her arms that I had not recognised. Cue much teasing until he was eventually released to my, clearly incompetent, charge. He’s now expecting his own firstborn any day now.
@Helen Wright All the best for the new family!
@Helen Wright Cut yourself some slack! Don’t all newborn humans look like Winston Churchill? Congratulations on your soon-to-arrive grandchild!
Fun puzzle, and a Tuesday PB for me! P.S. BALI, JAVA, and BATIK in the same puzzle? Seems like someone has Indonesia on the brain!
I have to say that Tuesday puzzles have especially shined recently, with sparkling themes that made me go “Oh!” rather than “Oh.” Like today's. The best kind of riddles, IMO, are those you struggle mightily to crack, but remain impervious to your efforts. Finally, you cave, then get the answer, and it turns out to be SO OBVIOUS, you wonder how in the world you missed it. That’s the best way to be gotten. And that’s what I got today after leaving the reveal blank and trying to guess what it was. Speaking of sparkling, three of those theme answers are NYT debuts, and the fourth (MECHANICAL BULL) is a once-before. Nate also beautified the grid, with NICHE, SCONCE, ADEPT, and BATIK. SERENDIPITY WATCH. Rare sighting of seven double-L’s, plus, a rare-in-crosswords five-letter palindrome (SOLOS). Creating this theme out of that iconic rock song title – well, that’s prime constructor mind, Nate. Congratulations on your NYT debut, and thank you for this!
Well... not all that easy for me, but managed to work it out. Two of the theme answers and the reveal were all debut entries. And.. even the other theme answer had only ever appeared once before. That's unusual. Mostly just a lot of working the crosses and pondering until something dawned on me. Good puzzle. That's all.
14 seconds off my Tuesday best. My time in Africa has come to an end. En route to Paris, then back home. Glad I managed to find time to do the puzzle each day while away
As I sit here at my desk, still 2 hours from dawn, watching it sleet outside my window, I’m humming my new favorite song, the earworm courtesy of the [“Heyo!”] clue. Only the one I’m humming—yes, yes, Señor Gato, I know singing disturbs cats, but your lying on my keyboard (so much for having a LAPCAT) isn’t exactly conducive to my working, now is it. Anyhow, as I was saying, the song I’m humming has “heyo” spelled a little differently: it goes, “Hejo, guter alter Mond,” and it’s a snowshoeing song my nieces thrice removed infected me with over the Christmas break as we trekked through Bergen’s Seven Mountains (of which there aren’t seven; but I digress). It’s… technically a kids’ song? But I loved belting it out so much, even though I was admonished by my younger niece repeatedly—and with overt frustration—that both my r’s and my vowels are hopelessly substandard. So, hejo to you all on this wintry Tuesday morning, and here goes: <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e691kkCRfK8" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e691kkCRfK8</a>
@Sam Lyons I respect you so much I actually clicked the link, and in fact so much that I won't say what I thought about the song :D
@Sam Lyons I know some english words to that tune (or similar)- hey ho nobody's home/ Meat nor drink nor money have I none /Still i will be merry Sang it as a round hiking in the Adirondack mountains as a teen with friends. Definitely a good trekking song!
@C Diamond "Hey, Ho, Nobody Home is a 16th century folksong from England. It was originally associated with Christmas carol singing, but in recent history has not been considered to be exclusively a Christmas song." I found a bunch of different versions online, but none that validated my remembering "Anybody home".
Fabulous Tues-debut! Themers all felt fresh and, *totally* unrelated. Revealer was a...champion. Are we, my friends?
Well, this was a ROCKing good time. Well-done theme, fresh fill, some twists and tweaks. Thanks, Nate.
Fun, quick puzzle! And a funny moment wondering if those dating show men could be lunks or punks lol. The mini today though, whew. I haven't ever had to do a lookup on a mini before but finally had to cave. Perfect combo of 4/5 cultural references outside of my lane plus a two line vague cross clue. Probably just me though.
@Leontion. Not just you - I didn’t want to brother with the lookups, and for the first time ever just left the mini undone.
@Leontion I had the same experience as you. Weird to have to resort to lookups for a mini puzzle!
@Leontion My first thought was punks, too. I don’t know what that says about my dating life. 😆
@Leontion I have never watched a datings show, but I am skeptical of their hunkiness. I went for punks, initially.
"Heyo"?? HOLLA?? Hmm... so a MECHANICAL BULL "ROCKs" riders? Then I suppose a 7.2 earthquake is just a jiggle. The biggest quake we experienced whilst dwelling in Northern California was a 6.3. Did it "ROCK us?" Um, no. More like a very firm JOUNCE--an up-and-down shaking that made it hard to get down the hallway and snatch up the sleeping darlings on the way to the front door. Talk about your "rude awakenings." Not my most popular move. Oh. The puzzle: I got NEONATALOGIST right off the bat! Only, of course, that wasn't entirely correct. The hard-working, busy-every-moment NURSEs at the NICU seldom if ever sat down to ROCK, but they were geniuses at picking up a baby with tubes, bandages, IVs, stitches, oxygen, etc., and putting that baby right into your empty arms. It was only 45 years ago, so--still fresh in my mind.
I was stuck trying to figure out what Yogi Berra was once. I would posit that Yogi Bear was created fully formed, and due to the magic of television, never at any moment was a BEAR CUB. Unless he was also a baseball player, and played at Wrigley Field.
@Steve L Tch! In order to create a fully rounded and mature character like Yogi Bear, a back story is a necessity. And every back story starts the same way: You were born...
Fun puzzle, and just four seconds off my best. I have to disagree with Crystal on the movie Clue. We didn't like it at all. After watching that in the theater when it first came out, we wouldn't let our friend Mary Li pick movies any more.
@Eric My husband is not a fan of the movie either so you have him on your side. I was too young to see the film in theaters so I’ve only seen the televised version with all the endings. I absolutely love the cast but I may have felt differently if I saw the movie when it was limited to an ending other than my favorite. I do think, however, that Mary Li deserved a chance to redeem herself!
@Eric why you gotta dox Mary Li like that though brah?
interesting word, HOLLA. I always thought of it as a noun ("give me a holla") but TIL it can also be the actual expressed greeting. And while current use surely harkens to "holler," Dictionary.com (can I trust it?) says it dates back to the 1500s as a contraction of the French "ahoy la," apparently kin to the Spanish "hola." Strangely, I had never put holla and hola together before. I love crossword puzzles. Great debut, Mr. Hall.
@Bay Area Native oh wow I had never made that connection between holla and hola before either! Crosswords and their comment sections really can be such a fun way to learn new things!
Bay Area Native — dictionary.com is OK but not great. I use onelook.com and at that site especially American Heritage, Merriam-Webster, and Collins.
I've only heard HOLLA as a colloquialism, either verb or noun, for holler, so I had a little trouble with that one given the down answer TCHALLA.
A great puzzle, held myself back by confidently putting NEONATOLOGIST in. All the more satisfying to fix!
@H Hand up for the same 'mistake.'
Wonderfully surprising reveal! But-and I'm sorry if this is too political-is no one enforcing child labor laws in this country? Neonatal nurses?! smh
@ad absurdum Well, you should see the bills! Those kids need to chip in, and I don't mean just a measly coupla dollars!
@ad absurdum [Predictable, truth-based Vatican bad joke]
@ad absurdum Have to get those 18 years of experience for an entry level job somehow
Congratulations on your debut, Nate! A thoroughly enjoyable puzzle. Loved the rock themed answers and the BEARCUB clue. Thanks for being a mentor, Ian!
A very nice puzzle with a 'rocking' good theme. I hope to see more puzzles from Nate Hall! Thank you!
To the constructor and editors: That was excellent restraint in clueing 12D.
@Jim Big ICK factor.
Had the wrong Yogi at first and entered CATCHER. He's my all time favorite baseball player and I strove to emulate him during my all-too-brief baseball days. But like my brief career, I had to pivot to another favorite Yogi.
Good morning Brad, The lovable Yogi Berra, and his endearing Yogi-isms, was top of mind for me as well. My favorite: "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."
This is my all time personal best time! By one second haha but I'll take it! A fun puzzle
Congrats Nate! A fun Tuesday solve. Not sure why but I love the clue at 49 across - maybe because I get hung up on this particular kind of clue fairly frequently and a singer’s pitch could be construed as a tool to sell music? It produced that giggle/groan that I love about doing these crosswords! (Autotune would’ve been a great clue in this puzzle — but I bet Queen never used it!)
Smooth Tuesday for me, just off a PB. ‘Yogi, once’ is a delightful clue. Speaking of which I have to admit I have not seen ‘Clue.’ Time to fix that! Nice column also! Very fun to have guest columnists - although Deb will always be missed.
Recently, it seems like the Tuesday crossword is the one I am most likely to spend more time than average to solve. It is not a bad thing for an early-in-the-week puzzle to put up a little bit of a fight.
Fun theme. I got 3/4 of the themers on the first pass, no crosses. While doing the puzzle, it seemed harder than a typical Tuesday, but still finished in Monday time so 🤷🏾♂️
Nice and simple to solve. Trying to come up with another way WEWILLROCKYOU, however, has me appreciating that it was likely much harder to construct. My best thought: "Someone you don't want to offend in a back alley? STREETFIGHTER." But "rock you" to mean "beat you up" is probably too niche/generational. I'll leave the constructing to the experts... Also, I'm pleased to report that I have actually seen 36A. Usually, if it's an 80s reference, I don't have a CLUE.
@Rory How about: [Prediction for grandpa's chair] or Dynamite sticks' threat?
forgot this was today’s puzzle and not from the archive and was like wow there’s so few comments on this for such a simple clean solve…sigh i need to stop doing these in the middle of the night 😭
Brilliant debut Nate!! After the horror that was last Tuesday, this was a delightful puzzle. Enjoyed solving this one, the Theme and the revealers along with the cluing was top notch!! Keep em' coming.
Nice to see three Indonesia-related clues: 9-A, 58-A, 41-D. Fun puzzle!
Despite the rocky theme I didn't experience any turbulence. A very smooth and enjoyable ride. Congratulations, Nate, on an impressive debut.
Voting is still ongoing for THE GRIDDIES! You have three days left to vote for your favorite crossword puzzles of 2025, The Griddies! You all have nominated about 100 puzzles, showing what a good year 2025 was (for xwords, anyway). Here's the schedule moving forward: 1/11 - 1/16: Voting on First Round; voting ends 11:59pm EST 1/18 - 1/25: Voting for Second (Final) Round 2/1: Announcement of winners & runners-up Here is the ballot: <a href="https://form.jotform.com/253465756808167" target="_blank">https://form.jotform.com/253465756808167</a> The ballot is easy to use. Vote for as many as five in each category; at the end, click "Submit" and you're all done, until the next round! Anyone can participate; the ballot has descriptions of the puzzles, but all the puzzles are easily accessed in archives: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/archive" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/archive</a> You'll see other announcements from Eric Hougland about this; if you have any questions, you can reply to this post or one of Eric's and someone will get back to you!
@john ezra Thanks, John. If you have any difficulties with the mechanics of voting, blame me. I’m the only person who can actually edit the ballot and set restrictions like the cap on the number of puzzles you can vote for. Both John and Marshall Walthew have been incredibly helpful in tracking nominations, writing puzzle summaries and publicizing the voting. It’s no exaggeration to say that without their efforts, there would be no Griddy Awards this year.
My dog is a Zoomer. Every time he takes off on a tear around the house, all I can do is hold my breath and hope nothing breaks. I enjoyed this puzzle. Reasonably challenging, but gentle as a NEONATAL NURSE.
Had to guess at the HOLLA/TCHALLA intersection, but only H made sense to me. Realized today that TIMWALZ and JDVANCE both fit in seven boxes. Just looked back at my completed grid and saw CUTCO, which appeared entirely from the crosses. Which is good, since seeing the answer I had no idea what a clue would be. The two different appearances of "Yogi" was cute. Congrats on the debut!
Really enjoyed this one, and loving it even more after learning that it’s a debut! I feel like the clues and answers were diverse enough to appeal to solvers from all generations. Love the clever theme, especially TECTONIC PLATES. Growing up in California in the 1970s, we learned all about them, along with our duck-and-cover drills, so the term’s been in my memory about as long as the lyrics to WE WILL ROCK YOU.
I have a strategy question, and am seeking advice. Here's what led me to ask this of fellow solvers: I always start by cycling through the across clues, typing in my best guesses, then doing the same for the downs (which often show that my across guesses were wrong). Today I hand many more squares filled after my across pass than usual, but many turned out to be incorrect. So my question is, early on, do you think it better to enter a word when unsure, or to leave it blank until the fill provides some letter clues? Sometimes my wrong answers lead me astray, my brain can't handle the distraction of errant squares. Maybe if I'd left them blank, I'd have an easier time of it? Or is typing in an answer that has a high possibility of being incorrect the stronger approach? I don't know which approach is best for me and am curious as to how other solvers do their work.
@Don H I'm a chance-taker and plunge right in with whatever my current best guess is. I'll sneak a glance at the crossers if I feel unsure. But I've deleted plenty. Besides, the machine lets you express your doubts by making entries in 'pencil' mode. They appear in lighter print but are still recognized by the machine for solving purposes. I don't usually bother but if you get attached to answers once they've snuggled into their little spaces, this might let you be more ruthless about evicting them.
I solve with a stylus on the stone tablets delivered to my cave, so I measure twice before cutting. I check a cross or two before entering an answer I "know" is correct.
@Don H on my first pass I’ll only fill if I’m confident. If I’m unsure I’ll wait to fill, however I usually sort this immediately by looking at the down cross and figuring it out then and there. In the instances where I know neither the across nor down answer I eat three chili dogs and wait til dawn brah.