My opinion is that this is a fun, funny puzzle with a lot of puns that Andrzej will hate. In other words, a perfect Sunday.
@Francis Replying to my own now that A's posts have shown up... It's like I'm Nostradamus!
Two of my most hated things - puns and brands - all rolled into one 🤬 And I hated the fill in general, too! A double whammy? Actually, a triple one.
Loved the puns. UNITED WE STAND made me giggle out loud. Also- US AGAINST THE WORLD was strangely prescient.
“This is the perfect time to change to another bug spray!” TRADE IN THE OFF SEASON “Our deodorant expires very quickly” YOU CAN’T KEEP A SECRET “Our laundry detergent is no longer very popular” TIDE IS GOING OUT “Our dish soap formula no longer works” DAWN IS BREAKING These just go to show how hard this is, all of the included ones are so much better!
Fun theme today. I enjoyed the clever reinterpretations of the theme answers. Found the puzzle not too challenging. I had SNERd before SNERT, but realized pretty quickly that dEMPURA isn’t a fried Japanese fare. Regarding 80 across, I and my son have both had 20 year (non overlapping) stints working at the fruit company and I have yet to have one of their products crumble on me. Some regular readers here may be interested in hearing that my mother Suejean, who used to be a regular commentator here, has moved to a rest home in California after 48 years living in Yorkshire, England. She still does the occasional NY Times crossword, but is no longer up to the task of contributing to this forum. She is happy and enjoys visits from her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren who all live nearby.
@SonOfSJ I’m so glad to hear SueJean is well, if not quite as sprightly as she used to be. Having lived near to Harrogate in my youth I have fond memories of the beautiful spa town, but of course she must relish being near to her loved ones. Sending her love from ‘Gods own country’. Having lived with Yorkshire folk for so long I hope that gives her a chuckle.
@SonOfSJ Please give your mother my best wishes. I have fond memories of her posts here and have missed seeing them, but I am happy to hear that she is still solving. Her posts were always interesting and kind. I have a connection to Yorkshire through my husband and fond memories of beautiful Harrogate. I’d always hoped to take your mother up on her suggestion that we meet the next time I returned but, unfortunately, I haven’t been back. I’ll raise a toast to her and your family tonight.
@SonOfSJ Thanks for sharing the information about your mother. She was a valued member of this community. Please wish her well.
SonOfSJ, Please give her my best wishes.
@SonOfSJ: oh please say hi from me too!
@SonOfSJ I enjoyed your mother's posts, and always looked for them. Best wishes to her. I have a daughter who lives in Yorkshire and is employed in Harrogate.
@SonOfSJ Oh, thank you for that information. Suejean was always my best friend on this forum and I've missed her very much. Please let her know how much I've been thinking about her. Still hope she might get back here occasionally. ....
@SonOfSJ Say hi to her, and tell her that we've missed her occasional comments.
@SonOfSJ Thank you SO much for posting here and telling us about Suejean's new circumstances. She was one of the treasured regulars for so long! (I dreamt of attending a quilt show in Harrowgate and meeting her in person...but that remained only a dream..) My husband and I are now living in a "continuing care retirement center," which necessitated a big move--but not as big as her brave journey! Please give her my warmest regards and a hug.
@SonOfSJ Thanks for the update. Your mother has been one of my favorite commentators. Unless I'm misremembering, which happens more often these days, she and I are near contemporaries who attended high schools in New York City. Wishing her all the best in the new surroundings. A quick look at a map shows Campbell in an area I've visited. Hope that she is mobile enough to get to see the redwoods in Big Basin.
@SonOfSJ I join the chorus of well-wishers. Please let your mother know that she has been missed and inquired about, so we're very happy to know she's well and still solving. If she ever feels up to it, even if just a quick hi, her return is sure to be celebrated. And thank you for bringing us news of her!
@SonOfSJ What they said. I've been away from the puzzle and comments for awhile for various reasons and am chuffed that I chose to return today so I could see this news of Sue Jean.
@SonOfSJ Even if your mother is no longer contributing comments, I hope she sees this roll of supportive cheers. Sometimes people disappear and we're left to wonder what happened to them. Thank you for telling us where and how she is. (Hello, Sue Jean!)
I am a Filipino American from San Diego so the first few answers already hooked me in! I wanted to share that one of my faavorite memories as a child was packing a balikbayan box, or a big box of wares to send back to PH for our family there. The main staples, other than clothes, were chocolates, lotions, and boxes of DIAL! Thank you for sparking this memory.
I’ve just finished it and this definitely has to be in on of my favorites for connections to my personal life alone, with one being that we are getting married at a chapel named after St Francis de Assisi this summer!
@AT This reminds me of when my family moved from New Jersey to the Midwest. Whenever we went back to NJ for a visit, we were tasked in bringing back certain items, usually tomatoes and pork roll.
“New York paper’s crosswords aren’t what they used to be!”? TIMES, THEY ARE A CHANGIN, Maybe, but I have no complaints today. I appreciate the difficulty of finding and placing all these themes and I’m glad you stuck with it, Sam. These all made me laugh inside and finding a place for 8 long themers is no walk in the park. I ESPECIALLY appreciate the time Sam and/or the editors took to polish some of the shorter clues—the clues for ANT, WATER, ZIT, NOMAD, and TATAS show that just because an entry has been around the block a few times doesn’t mean you can’t take time to find a fresh clue for it. I found this entertaining and reasonably challenging for a Sunday. Last comment—one can’t see EJECT in a puzzle, especially clued the way it was, without saying a prayer for the safe return of both our downed pilots in Iraq. God speed!
SP, Unless I missed a development, there is only one MIA. N.B. One is one too many.
@SP -- And, it looks like ... happy ending!
@SP You're being ironic about the prayers, right? You don't even seem to know which *country* the pilots were lost in. Does your hotline to a monotheism have bandwidth for prayers for the thousands of families whose members have been murdered and the millions whose homes have been destroyed in your government's campaign? I don't know if they will help either way. Happy Easter.
Punny crosswords are my favorite crosswords
I loved the theme and the long solves. Very enjoyable all around!
After uncovering a couple of these theme answers, I found that I couldn’t wait to uncover more. That doesn’t happen very often with me. Much of the time, after uncovering a couple of punny theme answers, I become involved in guessing each of the others as mainly a riddle-cracking exercise. That is enjoyable in its own right, but when you add that extra layer of being so entertained by the answers that you can’t wait to see more, and you feel, while solving, like a kid on an Easter egg hunt, well, that is special. It helped that the first one I got was DON’T TOUCH THAT DIAL, where its moxie and humor, combined with the cleverness of the theme gimmick itself, practically made me stand up and applaud. I eagerly bounded on the hunt for more. I stayed on that what-else-is-he-going-to-come-up-with pursuit through to the end, and what a rare and wonderful way to experience a crossword, especially a Sunday. All the time and effort over those months that you put into this, Samuel, handsomely paid off for me, and surely many others. I loved this. Thank you!
p.s. – Two answer-related standouts. First, that gorgeous answer INPINGE. And second, CLEMONS and CLEMSON – what are the chances these almost-dupe anagrams would appear in the same box, much less cross? Mwah!
Not my puzzle at all. Brand-based puns? I can hardly imagine a theme I would enjoy less, as a pun and brand hater. The fill didn't vibe with me, either. I abandoned the solve when I wasn't even half-way done. It feels great to not be a slave to the streak.
No, the constructor is not that Gary Larson. Lots of Sunday fun for USians. International solvers may not be familiar with all of the brands in the themers. Nice fill and enjoyable clues, too. (Way to) Play it, Sam.
@Barry Ancona LOL. The constructor isn't even that Sam Donaldson.
“Our cereals are sugar bombs, and result in a complete glucose crash after the buzz.” POST: APOCALYPTIC
This was a classic Sunday puzzle with a very clever theme. My favorites were JUSTTAKEAGUESS and DONTTOUCHTHATDIAL. I fear the heavy focus on US brands and idioms may frustrate some of our non-US colleagues.
"United we stand" sounds like the airline's future Ultra Basic Economy class.
The caption to today's Wordplay photo: "Our extra large printers provide home security!" I assume that the editors are giving us a bonus themer. Has anyone figured it out? Something involving (ink)jets, perhaps? OH! I think I've got it: BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING!?!
@The X-Phile I was thinking: [Did you know we're in Chapter 7 bankruptcy? Your computer may not be updated.]. BROTHERCANYOUSPAREADIME
@The X-Phile By the way, another great bygone brand from the photo: Howard Johnson's, a favorite road stop and also Manhattan lunchery. Specialty: ice cream!
Literal winnowing has nothing at all in common with literal paring, although I can imagine metaphorical usage in which one can substitute for the other; Alice Braga and Clarence Clemons were unknowns; and "I'm up"? Do people say that, outside of softball? All that made for a tough quadrant! *** As happenstance should have it, earlier this afternoon, the Wikipedia Effect took me to the entry on "Wheel of Fortune." From that article (slightly edited): "After Stafford left to become a humanitarian worker,[41] over two hundred applicants signed up for a nationwide search to be her replacement.[55] Griffin eventually winnowed/pared the list to three finalists, which consisted of Summer Bartholomew, former Playboy centerfold Vicki McCarty, and Vanna White.[56] Griffin gave each of the three women an opportunity to win the job by putting them in a rotation for several weeks after Stafford's departure.[8] In December 1982, Griffin named White as Stafford's successor,[57] saying that he felt she was capable of activating the puzzle board letters (which is the primary role of the Wheel co-host) better than anyone else who had auditioned." *** Happy Easter to all who celebrate!
@Bill No need for alarm (clock)—I’m already up and out of bed.
@Bill “I’m up, I’m up, I’ll take the dog out now!” (Says me every morning) He winnowed the number of jurors down to 12. He pared the number of jurors down to 12. Works for me.
SP, Bill said the two words' *literal* meanings have nothing in common. He is correct. Your "metaphorical usage" (to use his words) with jurors is just fine.
@Bill I say "I'm up" every morning to my dog.
Apropos of Artemis: my all-time favorite NYT crossword clue-- [Cosmic eruption on the moon?] CHEESEQUAKE
@lucky13 A friend of mine from Minnesota once visited me here in Jersey. We were driving down the GSP when he sees the sign for Cheesequake State Park, and asks, "Is that anything like Rye Quisp?" I almost wrecked the car.
Enjoyed it muchly. Not American, but was able to deduce the brands. That being said “UNITED WE STAND” is global and funny. 6A/D was worked out by running the alphabet, but felt the crossword was fair. Loved the conjoint at 77A/D of CLEMSON/CLEMENS. In honour of which … <a href="https://youtu.be/iMq5XRGWh_E?is=HhhXSrx8loLVBL5U" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/iMq5XRGWh_E?is=HhhXSrx8loLVBL5U</a>
@Caitríona Shanahan Regarding 57 across Ryanair immediately leapt to mind 😄
I'll admit that I didn't get them all, but this was a very refreshing puzzle. The viewpoint was delightfully skewed and so much fun to figure out. NB: The oreos are back. Second day in a row. Will the emus follow on?
Thank you Agatha Christie for giving me 60D, although I believe Hercule Poirot's DIGESTIF of choice was a creme de menthe. My contribution to this fine theme: "Our weekly news magazine is now printed every other week." TIME IS FLEETING
My first Sunday solve with no clues! Started doing NYT puzzles about a year ago and suddenly can do most without help.
@Alys That is a great milestone to get! Congratulations!
@Alys If you left any uncompleted from back when you started, it could be fun to go back and finish them. I recently did that for the puzzles when I started in 2020, and kept being surprised at what I couldn’t figure out back then that now seems so easy.
This was my favorite solve in a long time -- so fun and so funny. I laughed out loud as I solved 2D, about 2/3 of my way through the puzzle.
[Once you start reading our magazine, it's impossible to stop!] - - - - - TIMESUCK
@Lewis Hmm, I could think of another "Badvertising" clue for that answer. It involves adding an "S" to your answer, but it's not as tactful as your proposal.
This should have been run on Father's Day for all the dad jokes! So much fun. Thank you!
@Ed H. My first thought was that should have been called "DADvertising"
Do I really have to watch "The Office" and listen to Ariana Grande? Tune in to cartoon sci-fi? Take statistics? REALLY? I finally got enough crosses to get one of the themers, and I realized the brand names would be unaltered; that helped a bit...but only a bit. Tough but fair--great Sunday grid! Favorite thought: 40A. I can't tell you how many "Good Ole Days" rants I endure in relative silence...although the steam coming out of my ears might have given me away. My chief fear, nowadays, is a return to those days of suppression, oppression, and depression for many. Well, everyone --enjoy a peaceful Sunday. (It's very windy, gray, wet, and chilly here, after some days in the 80's. Practice for being in Seattle?) I will continue to "advertise" a Sunday (April 26th) Meet-up for us Puzzlers at Cloud City Coffee in the "Maple Leaf" neighborhood. It looks like early afternoon will suit the most folks... All who can show up it will be greeted with joy. I will be disguised as a mid-sized old lady with white hair, armed with a FriXion pen.
@Mean Old Lady Dang. I will be in Portland, Oregon this Thursday (the ninth), but will fly back on the 15th. A side trip to Seattle would have been doable, but the dates don't line up.
@Mean Old Lady I'll treat your choice of neighbourhood as the Canadians' attendance by proxy. 🍁 See if they offer any Nanaimo bars, pancakes with maple syrup, or (in a pinch) Canadian bacon. Wish I could be there.
This was one of my favorite puzzles of all time. Exactly my type of punny humor. I've been published once in the NYT as a co-constructor (04-09-24 - one of the best days of my life). Would love to collab with you sometime, sir. Bravo! Are you going to the ACPT next week?
@Caroline S. Had to go look up that puzzle. I remember that one - very clever. Always nice to see a different kind of theme. Hope you get another one published some time. ....
@Caroline S. Oh yeah, that one was really cute! And definitely on the same wavelength as today's. Selfishly, I hope you get your collab!
Been away from puzzling for a couple of months for various reasons, but for no particular reason decided to give this one a whirl. I see most of the usual suspects are still here saying their usual things. Hi, Everyone. Don't have much to say about this one that hasn't been said already, but I'm glad I picked today to come back, since I got to see the news about Sue Jean. (The way the comment section is set-up is somehow different and looks a little strange to me.)
Vaer, You were missed! Nobody knew where in Brooklyn to look for you to see if you were okay.
@Vaer I'm so happy and relieved to see you back! Like BA said, you were missed *and* nobody knew how to find you. Please try to not disappear like that again. You're a very important part of this forum!💕
@Vaer They switched where the recco and flag it options are? That's gonna take some adjusting to. Also, I can't refresh the Wordplay column, and so the comments, on my phone anymore? Maybe that's just an Android/Galaxy problem, but still a pain.
@Vaer Hey there! I've not been spending much time here lately myself, so I'm glad to have bumped into you on your return. Thanks for dropping in.
@Vaer Late to chime in – I haven't been here much of late because the comments redesign makes me a little nuts, but I got word that you'd been sighted, so I just had to say hi! Hi! Happy Spring! Welcome back! 🤸♀️
It's hard to fathom people including the infamous Rex blog can't enjoy the humor in this puzzle - the theme clues and answers are hilarious and a real feat of construction. bravo Sam!
I can't stop thinking that the better name for today's puzzle should have been "Dadvertising."
This was an excellent puzzle! An appropriate level of difficulty for a Sunday, and a super-fun theme. The pun-lovers are pleased today. Plenty of fun fill, too. CLEMSON crossing CLEMONS was delightful, and any reference to FUTURAMA automatically puts the constructor in my good graces. I haven't seen DARIA in a very long time, so I'm not sure if it still holds up or if that LIAR nostalgia is tricking me again. I do remember an episode where she goes to get a piercing, and she's looking at a list of the body parts they will pierce for you. DARIA: You spelled "uvula" wrong. Guy behind counter: No we didn't. DARIA: *eyes widen in horror*
My Philippine friend says no one says ADOBOS -- it's "adobo" or "adobo marinades" but doesn't get pluralized. Like "sheep" or "deer" or whatnot. (I was amused at ADOBOS being right over MANILA. Too bad the pattern didn't continue...) Also, I am never going to remember SNERT.
@Isabeau Don't get me started on the abomination that is "pierogis". A single Polish dumpling is a "pieróg". Many of them are "pierogi". "Pierogis" is rhe sort of perversion of my native tongue that almost makes me feel physical pain. Still, you can't expect native English speakers to know how to properly pluralize loan words from hundreds of languages, can you? So while ADOBOS and pierogis may seem offensively wrong to those who know better, they're not, really - not as loan words in English woth its own grammar.
Quiz time! Predictably, a hamburger in Polish is called "hamburger". But what is the Polish plural of the word? 1. Hamburgers 2. Hamburgeri 3. Hamburgery 4. Hamburgere 5. Hamburgerz 6. Hamburgerja 7. Hamburgerlo I'll be back later to reveal the correct answer. The prize might or might not be a tamale or a panini 😃
@Isabeau I did know SNERT. I have no idea how. I don't think I've looked at that comic strip since the last century. I'm flummoxed.
If the choice is between tide pods and a product to remove dust, I’d choose the latter. Take the pledge (I agree with Mr. Donaldson. These are really hard to come up with)
@Esmerelda There's a fun variant of Scrabble in which /only/ proper nouns can be used. It's delightful watching someone arguing that EMU, say, is a proper name. (KIWI, for example, would qualify because of the shoe polish.) If you've played that variant, these twists aren't so hard to find. "They keep stealing our insect repellent." TAKING OFF
Given the theme, it would have been fun to include the “big name in” trope somewhere else in the puzzle. Those crack me up for some reason. “Big name in powdered milk”. “Big name in ball peen hammers”. “Big name in alpaca socks”.
I'll have whatever she's having.
Theme was pretty silly but in the best possible way. Lots of fun.
Even exhausted and sore from the endless abyss of travel lines, TSA, passports, planes, trains, trams and automobiles, This was fun. Doggone good puzzle. I just want to be home…
@CCNY On my way home, too, although no sign of TSA or airport lines. Safe travels!
Grateful for a wonderful solve from an experienced constructor. Happy Easter and Zissa Pesach to those celebrating
Adding to the chorus of voices saying the puzzles are getting easier, I submit that I have set personal bests twice this week - including today. I was also within a minute of another PB. It's making me feel smarter than I suspect I really am.
Clever and fun!! I was lucky to have a class with Professor Donaldson in the Tax LLM program at the University of Washington! Nice job!
The first comments explaining "Don't touch that dial" cited television; an "older" poster had to step in to point out that the term dates from radio days. I wonder how many younger listeners grasp the meaning of this oldie: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb85NvjbBm8" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb85NvjbBm8</a>
@Barry Ancona Some of us don't even need to look....except by "looking back." Tuning in to listen to "The Lone Ranger" and "Gunsmoke" on the radio our dad built-- ah, Saturday mornings!
@Barry Ancona Maybe Gen Z and younger. As a millennial, I can remember being forced to act as the remote control for our ancient TV. Now I have a Google TV that's incredibly slow and clogged with ads for obnoxious youtubers. What a time to be alive.
@Barry Ancona I just barely remember before we had a TV. I'd sit in front of the radio with it playing loudly so I wouldn't hear my parents fight. Aw, memories of the Good Old Days.
An excellent Sunday puzzle. Good theme, well executed. Appropriate level of difficulty. Good fill. As the executives say in Hollywood, "No Nits!" ...or something like that. Thanks, Samuel Donaldson. Your hard work paid off, and I'm glad to be the beneficiary.
I knew I was going to love this puzzle when I saw the title. "Our planes don't have seats!" had me laughing out loud! Excellent Sunday puzzle! A fun theme, and yet the rest of the fill also felt challenging and fresh.
A great puzzle. The puns brought me back to the first NYT puzzles I attempted. It’s feeling like Spring here!
A fun puzzle. I got it filled in, but no happy music. So I went to the Wordplay and learned the actress is "BRAGA", not 'Brala'. 'Brala' came about with the crossing word of 'Looniness'. With that fix, I then had 'Gooniness'. But still no happy music. So I brought up the answer pdf and found myself returning to first error: the word is GOOFINESS! Thank you for the fun challenge! Happy Easter if you celebrate. Happy Sunday whatever you do!
@Joan Exact same sticking point! Loved the groan-worthy puns.
Surprised to see xwordstats label this "Hard" I enjoyed it, but flew thru it with very little resistance.
I think their labeling system is off. The median solve time for this "Hard" puzzle was 1% faster than usual.. <a href="https://xwstats.com/puzzles/2026-04-05" target="_blank">https://xwstats.com/puzzles/2026-04-05</a>
N.B. Same 1% faster, but now they've changed it to Average!
Loved it!!!!! Funny, fun, bright and cheery. 'Don't touch that dial!' Nice. Hope we see this constructor again soon!
Loved it! It reminded me of the puzzles of the great Merl Reagle.
Very good puzzle. A clever theme without a rebus. Surprising misdirects. Not too hard but with things to think about. My favorite clue was "No cause for alarm!"? I was surprised by Clemson -- not my favorite school. Happy Easter to those celebrating. 🐣🐰💐 Happy whatever to those celebrating something else. Cheer up to those not celebrating anything. I hope to be celebrating 🎉 in a few hours. If my ⛹️♀️ 🎮 🐓🐓 are 🍀 and focused! 🏵️
@marigold I was also surprised by CLEMSON. I had Alabama there, because it's always Bama.