I expect I’ll wake up tomorrow morning to find out I haven’t done the puzzle yet.
@Cat Lady Margaret And it'll be the same puzzle.
@Cat Lady Margaret “Babe, I got you babe…”
@Cat Lady Margaret I came here specifically to find this comment to recommend - just like I did yesterday.
Groundhog Day is one of my favorite movies, with deep western Pennsylvania roots. I can watch it -- and have -- over and over, getting something new out of it every time (which is one of the points of the movie). Here's a mediocre joke: One Easter morning, the preacher gathered the children of the church in the front of the sanctuary for the weekly children's sermon. He began with a thematically appropriate question. "Children, today is Easter Sunday. What do we celebrate on Easter?" One girl spoke up quickly: "We remember our mothers and how much we love them." "No, that's not quite right," the pastor replied. "You're thinking of Mother's Day." Then, an eager boy took a shot: "Easter is a time when we say 'thank you' to God for all the good things in our lives." "We can always say 'thank you' to God," the pastor said, beginning to worry how these kids could know so little. "But, you're thinking of Thanksgiving, not Easter. Can anyone tell me the meaning of Easter?" A girl in a fancy Easter dress raised her hand confidently. "Easter," she said tentatively, "is the day when we remember that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Then he was buried in the tomb. On Easter morning, God rolled the stone away and Jesus came out of the tomb." "Excellent," cried the relieved pastor. "And then," the girl continued, "Jesus looked and saw his shadow, so he went back into the tomb and there were six more weeks of winter!"
@john ezra Great joke. One that I'm glad you told, and not me.
@john ezra I can’t count the number of times I’ve watched GROUNDHOGDAY. Favorite line, “Watch out for that first step, it’s a dooooozy.” It’s one of those movies where I wouldn’t change a shot or a line of dialogue, like Local Hero, Chinatown, or The Graduate.
@john ezra I was hoping that I would finally find out what dyed hard-boiled eggs, chocolate bunnies, and ribboned baskets have to do with Jesus being crucified and raised from the dead. Sixteen years of Catholic education didn't answer that burning question!
Even though GROUNDHOG DAY repeats itself over several rows, it is really the 11th row that stands out and resonates with me. YMMV.
@Andrew Excellent, excellent catch!!!!!
@Andrew Now that is funny. Thanks for pointing that out.
"This coffee tastes familiar." "You must be having déjà brew." ("This coffee tastes familiar." "You must be having déjà brew.")
@Mike (This coffee tastes familiar." I must be having déjà vu two.)
@Mike if it wasn’t for déjà vu coffee keeping me regular would I still find myself in the loo(p) every morning?
My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. Switch to a shorter line, say (4) 2. Group of alpha males? (4) 3. Ones who handle minor health problems? (13) 3. Old man? (11) 4. Crack open? (2)(4) EDIT FRAT PEDIATRICIANS NEANDERTHAL YO MAMA
My favorite encore clues from last week: [Spare part?] (3) [Jalapeño topper?] (5) PIN TILDE
I did not time myself solving this puzzle. I enjoyed the puzzle. I understood the theme. (The first five Acrosses went in without hesitation, and I wondered if I should try to solve using only Across clues. The sixth Across -- 16A -- made that not possible.) N.B. If the 52A answer must be in the puzzle, at least it shares a row with the 54A answer.
@Barry Ancona Too bad you got caught in a NORTH/SOUTH dilemma. I suspect you'd have had a pretty sweet run otherwise, had you gotten past ONAJAG.
@Barry Ancona Oh my gosh, I'm laughing so hard at myself to read your comment. My husband is driving back from North Dakota right now, so I just immediately put in North and kept going without a second thought! Apparently I think the puzzles are all about meeeee!!
@Barry Ancona On behalf of South Carolina, you’re forgiven.
@Barry Ancona I had a similar experience, and interestingly it happened again 38A (EARN/mAke) and 39A (SEA/Sky), at 63A (ROJO/ROJa) and finally 70A (TEST/exam).
@Barry Ancona I was hoping to solve with only across entries as well, and made it all the way to 24A. Never heard of ON A JAG before.
Well, like many, I’m sure, when I was midway through filling in the second theme answer, I broke into a huge “Hah!”-based smile. Didn’t matter that the puzzle after that filled in faster because the other theme answers were obvious. Nope. Having the theme recall the feel of that marvelous-and-never-forgotten movie on the exact holiday was enough to turn my thumbs up and keep them there. What a clever puzzle premise! I liked that the clues were different for each theme answer, echoing the movie, where it was the same day all over again, yet different things were happening. I also liked the quartet of three-letter answers ending in double-consonants (ITT, ATT, BRR, USS), as well as the prominence of red, with SOLO (as in cup), ROAN, ROJO, and the “painting the town red” ON A JAG. Like the movie, this puzzle, to my mind, is a beautiful gem. Congratulations on your debut, Colin, and thank you and John for this day-elevating creation!
@Lewis Curious what SOLO as in cup has to do with red?
As one with a birthday on Groundhog Day (no I haven't seen my shadow, don't ask 😂) I loved this puzzle.
@Joe Happiest of Birthdays and I hope this is a banner year for you.
I keep clearing the puzzle and redoing it in hopes of getting gold, but I keep making the same mistakes over and over and over again... Fabulous and perfect February 2 puzzle! —And quite the honor to have The Times' crossword editor constructing for us across the pond. Thank you, gents!
I liked this, mostly because of how my solve unfolded. On Mondays I don't usually pay attention to the theme, and I quite mindlessly hop from clue to clue not looking at the greater picture. The first themed clue was a gimme, but the other two were not. I actually grew annoyed: "%@$@$ trivia-based themes!" I thought. Now, the fill, extremely straightforward in the upper third of the puzzle, began to give me (minor) trouble in the lower two thirds. In fact, I was forced to take a step back and look at the grid as a whole - and then I was struck by the realization of the repetitive theme. Wow! To be surprised? On a Monday, of all days? That was quite something! What's most important, to me, is that I still solved in quite typical Monday time. I really don't enjoy toughened-up Mondays (I consider those a betrayal of solver-constructor-editor trust) - happily this wasn't one, and yet I found it unusual. Very cool. I also liked the somewhat perverse clue for SOLO. I find duets kind of special. Taking away one of the performers in a duet changes everything. Mathematically the result may be a solo, but artistically it is a complete transformation. I love it when math, my nemesis, fails to describe what's happening in any sense that matters to living, breathing people 🤣 (If you find the final paragraph confusing, I don't blame you - the ramblings of Andrzej are often understood by him only. I would have expressed it better in Polish...)
@Andrzej "I love it when math, my nemesis, fails to describe what's happening in any sense that matters to living, breathing people 🤣" Oh...you're going to regret that. Prepare yourself for the justice and retribution that is about rain down upon you. *insert comically serious and stupid looking face here*
@Andrzej Not sure anyone with the barest grasp of the concepts of "math" and "people" would ever suggest that elements of the first could ever account for emotional states in the second. I think someone's been tippling at the vodka this morning...
@Andrzej "I love it when math, my nemesis, fails to describe what's happening in any sense that matters to living, breathing people 🤣" It amuses me that you are amused. 😀
Below is DeepL's quite good attempt at translating the above. It's a pity one can't appreciate my simple yet refined style without actually speaking Polish... Mathematically speaking, a duo minus one person is a solo performance. However, the mathematics of this calculation in no way reflects what the listener feels when listening to a piece performed by a duo or a solo artist. The emotional and artistic dialogue between a pair of singers creates a value that goes beyond simple arithmetic – what the listener experiences is not only related to the music and singing itself, but also to the relationship between the performers. Is it real or just created for the purposes of the song? Is it a duel, or perhaps an act of symbiosis, the effect of which goes beyond anything that can be achieved solo? The answers to these questions – different for different listeners, yet true without exception, as art allows, though mathematics does not – cannot be expressed in numbers and mathematical symbols.
@Andrzej I think you'd change your mind about duet v solo if you heard my rendition of "I Got Me Babe".
Best Monday I can remember! Wow, you can say that again! Best Monday I can remember! Wow, you can say that again! Best Monday I can remember! Wow, you can say that again! Talk about deja vu.
Loved this one - very fun once I realised the twist! And my fastest Monday (or any puzzle) ever, which I’ll feel quite smug about all week.
@NotMandatory Personal record by far for me as well! Almost 20% faster than I've ever done an NYT puzzle before! It certainly helps when you can just fill in all the long answers without looking at the clues!
New York Times, you have an opportunity to run this exact puzzle again tomorrow. Don’t waste it
@Alasdair New York Times, you have an opportunity to run this exact puzzle again tomorrow. Don’t waste it.
As soon as I saw the themer at 20A, I thought “It’d be funny if they…”. They did. One of my absolute favourite movies. New PB though for Mondays since they did this, but I love it nonetheless.
For the first time ever, I actually thought I was going to solve on all the crosses only. I got a good bit in, but 24A ONAJAG would never have come to me in a million years! I mean I recognize it and understand it in its context, but it's definitely not a thing that I would have thought of or have ever said. I'd be more likely to actually say paint the town red. I also didn't know 47 across FOY either, so even if I did use JAG in that context. I would have been stopped there. It's okay, it's never been a goal of mine to do it, but it was a bit exciting to get that far. I was just going to quote my favorite line from GROUNDHOGDAY, but I just remembered it's actually from What About Bob. Nice, gentle puzzle with the reminder that I guess I have to turn our calendar pages. Gosh, those first 9 months of January sure flew by... 😏 May they never be repeated and may February bring some winds of change. 🦆
@HeathieJ I've never gotten off the ground trying to do only across. I can't keep myself from sneaking a look at the down clues, which I assume is cheating for that style of solve.
When I lived in Kenosha, I'd take occasional trips out to places in northern Illinois, like the IL RR Museum, and often those routes took me through Woodstock, IL, where GHD was partially filmed. I had heard that there was a plaque placed on the sidewalk on the town square, and one time I stopped to take a look. It's on the north side of the square, on the north side of the street, and has a "shoe print" and the words "Bill Murray stepped here". Nice puzzle, and very appropriate for the date, and a nice reminder of past adventures. Thanks, gents.
That was so much fun, I feel like I should do it again.
Just repeating Eric Hougland's announcement of the winners of The Griddies from yesterday: Eric wrote: John Ezra, Marshall Walthew and I are pleased to announce the winners and runners-up for the 2025 Griddies (f/k/a the Puzzle of the Year Awards): Best Early Week Puzzle: Winner August 27 (Zhou Zhang), Runner-Up April 1 (Sande Milton) Best Thursday Puzzle: Winner October 2 (Aidan Deshong); Runner-Up July 17 (Sam Brody) Best Friday or Saturday Puzzle: Winner July 19 (Erik Agard); Runner-Up October 24 (Kelvin Zhou) Best Sunday Puzzle: Winner July 6 “Escape Room” (Zhou Zhang and Kevin Curry); Runner-Up May 25 “Travel Bug” (Dylan Schiff) Congratulations to all the winners and almost-winners! Thanks to everyone who voted. And double thanks to everyone who had to re-enter their votes in the second round.
I don't usually comment this early but . . . Showed the completed puzzle to my wife who is still laughing, so thanks for that. Very cool to learn that Mr. Thomas edits the Times of London puzzles. I really need to get into those cryptics, right after I master the Lambada.
@John Carson You know yourself best, but cryptics come at all levels of difficulty. The thing that strikes non-crypticizers as odd is that each clue comprises two pieces -- one-half is a "regular" clue; the other half is a tricky clue. So you must start by figuring out where to split the clue, then deciphering the tricky half of the clue. If you think Thursdays are tricky around here, every day is Thursday in Cryptic-landia. In tougher cryptics, there may be tinkering /in the clue's very words/; so, instead of EARLY, the clue might say 'nearly' (+ N) or 'earl' (- Y) or 'relay' (anagram). So you have to figure out the clue before you set out to figure an answer. Guaranteed at least two 'Aha!'s per clue. So worth it.
Excited to say I'm joining the puzzle team! Arduous hiring process and Will is a mean interviewer but once my notice is served and I've had a small break I'll be the writing three columns per week. Cannot wait to get started.
@Hubert de Havents Congratulations! Nice of you to stop by and introduce yourself. We hope you won't be a stranger in these ex-urbs of Crosslandia.
@Hubert de Havents Not to upset you all but these days I feel compelled to ask: Is this for real?
Well, at least it's not DONALD/DONALD/DONALD! If you're going to break all the rules of puzzledom, at least be funny about it -- that's what I say. And for anyone who's seen the movie, this is very, very funny. The fact that the puzzle is appearing on GROUNDHOG DAY is a real coup. But we don't need Phil to either see his shadow or not see his shadow -- I never remember which one it is -- because we already know how long the winter of 2026 will last. The answer is: forever. I am wondering, though, what people who have never seen the movie and don't know its premise would think of this puzzle. Answer: They might think that they were losing their everloving minds. Nonetheless: A terrific idea for February 2nd!
@Nancy In re "DONALD" That's DHubby's first name. He generally goes by DON. The scene plays out thusly: "Hi, I'm Don." [Offers handshake] Other person: [shakes hand] "Good to meet you, Bob." I'm not making this up; it happens again and again, and we're at a loss to explain it, as his speech is clear, unaccented, and at a decent volume. Life is full of mystery!
Well of course this was an easy fill for me; it was composed by compatriots! Thank you John and Colin, great fun plus a reminder of GROUNDHOG DAY the film, which I haven’t watched for years. I needed NYT to advise me that it is, in fact that day today, as we have no groundhogs in the UK. Hedgehogs, yes, straight up hogs, though we call ‘em pigs. But no groundhogs. They do look cute. This was a nice lift for me as I’m feeling pretty miserable having just had an emergency tooth extraction this morning. The pain level of an exposed nerve was off the chart. The bliss of anaesthesia is starting to lift now, but the pain cannot possibly be worse than I experienced yesterday. The joy of implant v bridge is still to come. I love getting older 😦
@Helen Wright may your dental recovery and future procedures be EASEd by more fun puzzles from the other side of the SEA. (And pics of groundhogs ofc)
@Helen Wright Groundhogs may look cute, but they are so destructive to gardens! Years ago, one of them came each evening and gobbled up one tulip at a time. To thwart it, I put chicken wire around the remaining flowers, but, alas, that made my early spring garden look pretty pathetic, defeating the purpose to save any remaining beauty. Ruinous little buggers! Oral surgery can be so unbearable -- I hope your recovery quickly becomes pain free!
@Helen Wright Wishing you speedy relief.
Rise and shine, campers! When I saw it the first time I hoped it would repeat. You didn't disappoint!
@Waitsjunkie And another Xlandia "Thou shalt not" bites the dust!
The flashback quiz in the NYT had an entry: the first printed crossword in 1924. "Detractors deemed the crossword addictive and a menace to society."
@Becky M And they were right
I feel like I've seen this before...
No. They wouldn't. They did! Touché. What a fun start to the week!
Oh, this forum is crackling today with wit and humor – thoroughly entertaining and the perfect chaser to such a feel-good puzzle. My mood has gone from neutral to soaring!
This just in . . . "On Groundhog Day, February 2, 2026, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow at Gobbler's Knob, Pennsylvania, and saw his shadow. According to the 140th annual tradition, this signifies six more weeks of winter. The prediction was delivered at roughly 7:25 a.m. to a crowd in frigid, below-zero temperatures. " Apologies if someone beat me to this.
@John Carson No shadow for Wiarton Willie, Ontario's rodent sage. So get a move on, spring! Heaven knows, we're ready!
Such a fun puzzle. I'd love to solve it over, and over, and over, and... Bravi to the constructors! British cryptics are a totally different animal (a hedgehog?). Love to solve them too, but they can be frustrating. John Ewbank and Colin Thomas succeeded in creating an enjoyable, clever, Monday-level NYT-style puzzle. More, please.
Very good. Psyched me out for a minute til I got the joke.
Perfect for a Monday and features one of my favorite films ever.
@Kal Except it is still Sunday and I never finished that one this morning.. Was going to save it for later when I was relaxing. When does the day change?
Fun puzzle about one of my favorite movies! A Monday-level introduction to some crossword trickeration. A Thursday gateway drug.
Marvelous Monday grid that had me cracking up. Happy Groundhog Day, Crosslandia! Here is a compilation of clips from GROUNDHOG DAY for those who haven’t seen it (I can’t imagine that, but just in case) 😉 <a href="https://youtu.be/lZO3OjrmJQg?si=gcMZlp_DotUsmekw" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/lZO3OjrmJQg?si=gcMZlp_DotUsmekw</a> Thank you, John and Colin. That was the bee’s knees.
Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania and General Beauregard Lee in Georgia both saw their shadows this morning. I've yet to hear from Wiarton Willie (Ontario), Fred La Marmotte (Quebec). Shubenacadie Sam (Nova Scotia). or Staten Island Chuck (New York). Let me know what y'all hear from your local critter forecasters.
@Linda Jo SI Chuck saw his shadow. The puzzle was fun.
@Linda Jo. We have a woodchuck named "Woody" here in Michigan, six more weeks to go. If only.
@Linda Jo No shadows on the fresh snow in my neighborhood of Milwaukee. Booya!
@Linda Jo Well, we have conflicting prognostications here. Yonah the North Georgia Groundhog in Cleveland, Georgia, did not see his shadow as General Lee did.
@Linda Jo In Canada, Willie, Fred and Sam (and Lucy the Lobster) have all predicted an early spring. Still waiting on Manitoba Merv, Balzac Billy and Van Isle Violet from western Canada.
Today's GROUNDHOG DAY weather forecast, courtesy of Phil Connors: "It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be gray, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life."
It used to be that every day at 5 o’clock I’d see a little shadow. Now, it’s winter all year long. We had a three Pete. Was this a four Phil?
Hilarious-but not surprising-to see Chappell ROAN copying my fashion style at last night's Grammy's.
Oh Sisyphean streaks. We watch the golden stars accumulate. Our excitement mounts as they increase. Will we reach our current record? Will we surpass it? Letter by letter, clue by clue, We trudge on. A new record! Just one letter ends the streak. Down to the bottom we go To start all over again
I absolutely loved the film Groundhog Day, as did my whole family. A classic. Of course I knew that ‘I’ve Got You Babe’ is the song that plays as his alarm everyday- but didn’t expect the repeat answer until a while later, so I left it blank for a bit. TIL that there’s a musical based on the film! Must see this too! How are US puzzles different from UK ones? Enjoyed this very much, thank you both!
@Nina You obviously know what a US crossword looks like. A British-style one, also called a cryptic, has more of a checkerboard pattern; not every letter has a cross. Here's an example of a cryptic: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/29919" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/cryptic/29919</a> Cryptics are called that because the clues are made up of a definition part and a wordplay part. The combinations used require a lot of getting used to. They involve anagrams, homonyms, reversing the letters, etc. Here are some examples: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptic_crossword#Clueing_techniques" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptic_crossword#Clueing_techniques</a> It all looks convoluted, but you eventually figure out what the signal words are, and what they signal. ("About" means one word surrounds another, "rising" means write the letters up [in a down answer.]) The NYT also runs cryptics as the second Sunday puzzle about once every two months, alternating with the acrostic, which appears every other week, and a variety of other puzzles. They are not available on the NYT site or app, only the print edition, but xwordinfo.com has a playable version of these puzzles on their site. Unfortunately, you have to be a member (not that expensive), and also, you cannot solve on mobile devices. I once tried a few cryptics a while back just to see if I could do them. I found that with a little effort to understand how they work, I could, but I didn't like the experience, so I never did them again. Hope this helps!
@Nina Cryptic crosswords - there are far fewer clues but every clue is unique so has to be worked out from scratch, so no synonyms, "fill", few proper names. There is no symmetry or pattern to the squares, it's not an issue. Anagrams feature quite a lot. Any one clue has maybe one or two crossing clues. Many years ago I did The Scotsman crossword with my Dad, who despite leaving school at 14, was a good crossword and chess player. In the shipyards there was always a small group of men who would do both on their break.
lol as soon as I saw the first Groundhog Day I immediately filled it in the other themers, didn’t even read the clues. Cute!
Really enjoyed this one. None of the theme answers were dawning on me just from the clues, but the first couple fell together with some crosses and then the trick finally dawned on me. Always nice to have something just a bit different. And... ... speaking of that - a Thursday from February 2 (!) 2002 by Bob and Sharon Klahn. GROUNDHOG and SIXWEEK were among the theme answers but the most remarkable one was a 16 letter answer that actually extended one square above the top and ran all the way down the center of the puzzle. That clue and answer... "For the outlook, look out for his look out!" PUNXSUTAWNEYPHIL Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/2/1995&g=1&d=D" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/2/1995&g=1&d=D</a> ....
You know it's Monday, and that there's a sub writing the Wordplay column, when ETON is listed among the "Tricky Clues".
The X-Phile, Even with the veteran columnists, "Tricky Clues" has never just been about -- and often is not at all about -- tricky clues.
Thank you, John and Colin, for a wonderful February 2nd grid! I loved it and it was just what so many of us need to help us get through this long, cold, brutal winter. Now, off to see if anyone has seen their shadow today!
Thanks for a perfect Groundhog Day puzzle! I repeat...
Today is one of my son’s birthdays. He also said that we will have six more weeks of winter. I’ve always wished that we would run into bill murray at the saints stadium. But that would be more for me than for my son. I think both would roll their eyes if I asked them to take a photo together.
@Red Carpet - It is also my birthday today and so I enjoyed today's GHD references. Please wish your son a happy birthday from a "co-celebrant" who, nevertheless, hopes that both he and the Groundhog are wrong about 6 more weeks of winter! (My husband's family lives in Chicago, so we recently relocated here from California and I'm finding the cold a little ... oppressive. Having a February birthday does help a little, though. LOL)
@Red Carpet It's my son's birthday today as well! I shared today's theme with him and he said "oh, I've never actually seen the movie". 🤦🏼♀️ So I've failed as a parent. Hope your son had a lovely day!
@Red Carpet How many times was that son born? 😉