Today is a milestone day for me -- my streak reached 2,000 days with this puzzle. I just wanted to drop by to thank all the constructors, editors and great people that make this place what it is. Have a wonderful week ahead!
@RP congrats! I hope to make it there in a couple years! I think I’m around 1400.
@RP Amazing work! Congratulations on your streak! (I've got just over a year to go until I join you. Currently at 1585.)
@RP Congratulations from a fellow Minnesotan (and former Minneapolitan)! I'm in the 1460's somewhere. Great dedication!
@RP Congratulations! That's quite an accomplishment!
@RP I thought there should be an electronic fireworks display or something to mark the occasion of reaching a streak of 2,000 puzzles. Alas, I got only the usual gold star and little melody.
@RP, Woohoo!! Congratulations! That is quite a feat. 2000 is truly up there!
My five favorite original clues from last week (in order of appearance): 1. Exchanged words? (4) 2. What am I, chopped liver? (4) 3. Announcements before giveaways? (7)(6) 4. Composite numbers? (7) 5. Rounded up? (5) VOWS PATE SPOILER ALERTS MASHUPS DOMED
My favorite encore clues from last week: [Toys for tots, perhaps] (4) [One wrapping up a meal before eating anything?] (3) TYPO BOA
Nice puzzle! As a NYT puzzler for about a year and a half now, I had to leave a comment saying that this was my fastest solve ever, at 6:36! While I often struggle with the days later in the week, Mondays have become more or less a time trial for me. Still lots to learn that’s for sure, but I was proud of this one.
Here is the proof of our PNW meet-up, lol! ( I hope I've figured it out and it works, with many thanks to Andrzej for the idea)... Left to right: sotto voce Mean Old Lady Nancy in Seattle Seward Parker Cheers! <a href="https://imgur.com/a/eSf3xsP" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/eSf3xsP</a>
@sotto voce Terrific pic! The Frixion pen 🖊 gives MOL away. :)
@sotto voce It's so great to put faces to names! And it's wonderful to see you all so happy (even when some of you are Mean at heart!)
@sotto voce Love the little origami elephant.
@sotto voce Thank you for managing this! and thanks to Andrzej for the help (even if he believes I'm Mean at heart!) Cindy in Seattle made the adorable origami elephant, now in a place of honor on my buffet, viewed daily! Cindy is the only one with her "real life name" in view.
@sotto voce I don't know...you could all have just been Photoshopped in together. But I prefer to believe you all met. How terrific! Bravi!
@sotto voce I'm relieved to see that MOL doesn't look "mean" at all! I've been so afraid for so long!
@sotto voce Terrific picture!! Fun to see the faces behind the words! Thank you for sharing!! ❤️
@sotto voce The NYT should use that pic as the icon for the Wordplay comments. (Among other things, it would subliminally suggest that we all look that good. Don’t lie, did you hire professional stand-ins?)
To all- I'm loving these comments. You guys are cracking me up!
@sotto voce This made my day! I don’t comment often but I read every day and I loved seeing those smiling faces behind the names! Imagine my surprise to see that MOL looks neither Mean nor Old! 😂
This puzzle tICKed all the right Monday boxes. Thank you, Kate! And Alex, your column was also great. I might even be yearning for a fountain pen now. As for AÇAÍ, allow me to help you pronounce it: AH (as a doctor would ask you to open your mouth and say AH. SSAH (do the same again, but this time add a strong S sound to the start) E (yup, E as in A,B,C,D,E) 3 syllables, with a smooth flow from one to the next, and equal emphasis. There. Go order out loud that AÇAÍ concoction, with your head held high and shoulders back, like the fluent Portuguese speaker that you now are! ;-)
@sotto voce Thanks for the lesson! (Now I see your face when I read your Comments!)
Fifteen minute solve! That was a good record for me.
What’s wrong with buying a train ticket? Unless maybe it means the date doesn’t have a car and is therefore poor? I don’t understand that particular “ick” factor. I also don’t like the term “chick flick”. The word “chick” is denigrating to start with, and it implies that romantic comedies are trivial options appealing only to inferior women. Sorry, but was His Girl Friday only for chicks? When Harry Met Sally? Bull Durham? Great movies are for everyone, regardless of genre.
@Heidi Have people really put Bull Durham in the chick-flick bin? I and many others have long held it to be one of the greatest baseball films ever made for its accurate and poetic description of America's pastime.
@Heidi there's nothing wrong with the train ticket. It's that all the theme answers have the letters "-ick-" In this case, chick flick becomes a double theme answer
@Heidi I agree. IMO, buying a train ticket is definitely swoon-worthy. But to where?
@Heidi As I suspect you already know, the idea here is to show how strange some people can be about what they find ICK-y, But here's the video evidence to back up the claim that there's at least one woman in the world who finds "buying a train ticket ICKy behavior in a man: <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@wyszkay/video/7275024960542887200" target="_blank">https://www.tiktok.com/@wyszkay/video/7275024960542887200</a>
@Heidi Agreed about CHICK FLICK. I thought we had moved beyond such sexist language, but it appears we have not.
@Heidi Am important part of the concept of "the ick" is that it's not something most people would be averse to. It's meant to express that for this one person, it's a dealbreaker. It's usually not rational, but instead more of a gut feeling.
I doubt there's a puzzle solver alive who missed the ICKs today. They sort of clobber you in the face, BOINK, don't they? I thought the revealer would be THE ICK FACTOR -- but that's because I've never heard the phrase GETS THE ICK. I'm pretty sure that phrase was never used about a romantic partner back in the day. What a thing to say! Could it be that romantic partners these days are not what they used to be? A pleasant puzzle with no junk.
@Nancy Romantic partners today! Apparently they even buy train tickets! ICK!!! <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@wyszkay/video/7275024960542887200" target="_blank">https://www.tiktok.com/@wyszkay/video/7275024960542887200</a>
@Nancy I was definitely expecting ICK FACTOR for the revealer, maybe with a S tacked on the end to fill the squares, Never heard that Tik Tok expression.
A personal milestone today with my 365th consecutive gold star. While it pales in comparison to others, I'm proud enough to celebrate with an OREO while listening to ONO. No, make that ENO.
@Greg B Congrats! And add ORA to your playlist!
The slogan in the UK from the 70’s was ‘Clunk, Click every Trip’, unfortunately spearheaded by the late and very unlamented Jimmy Saville (Google him. You think Epstein was ICK? This creature was way ahead sadly). A slightly trickier than normal Monday for me as it seemed to include a lot of US specific stuff. Not complaining, just mentioning. I was so sure LUMES was spelt with a Z it threw out that whole area. Still, an enjoyable foray on this sunny May Day Bank Holiday.
@Helen Wright Did you get that 30A's Sidney was LUMET (T, not S or Z)? I so rarely know directors! Gave me a little thrill.
ICKY theme, okay I'll see myself out!
I may be in love with our constructor. No, that's not quite right. I may be in love with our constructor's *name*. Unless I'm terribly mistaken, "Schutzengel" is German for "Guardian Angel." What a beautiful name! In an Anglophone nation, you could never get away with a last name "Guardian-angel", could you? But in German, it works! And it even sounds lovely. I'd hate to lose my "X", but it may be time for a name change. As for the puzzle? It had just the right amount of ICK for a Monday, IMHO. Thanks, Kate Schutzengel. May those you guard be safe and happy!
@The X-Phile Name change? Hmm We wouldn't want X-engel, but what about Engel-Phile?
@The X-Phile My grandmother's maiden name was Eberhardt, which is German for, "tough as a boar." Maybe not as lovable.
At the risk of giving the ick, I'm here to hype myself for a Monday PR!
A slick trick for a quick shtick. I'm just glad that Kate didn't Rick-roll us.
"The ick" wasn't the only new thing for me in this puzzle but I might not have gotten it if the acrosses hadn't been full of hints. On the other hand, "acrosses" seems fairly normal but the electronics that reads what I type in insists there is no such word.
@kilaueabart Sounds like you're having technical issues. Good luck with that. It feels like we're always the same distance, at best, away from everything working just as it should.
Nice, quick Monday that didn't give me any grief. Thanks, Kate!
Yay me! Finished in 14:38 without looking at any of the down clues. I only used the acrosses. Took me a while to get CLICKITORTICKET because the crosses were so mercurial and thus impossible to guess with confidence (IHOP or cHOP or sHOP? StUNS or ShUNS? aMOK or IMOK? BLARE or BLAmE or BLAzE?), but i knew the slogan had to be something catchy, so i got there in the end. Nice puzzle.
@Petrol Not sure if you know that flapjack is another word for pancake and that IHOP is short for International House of Pancakes. That makes that clue/fill combo a gimme for most in the US.
@Vaer I'm guessing there is no International House of Crepes. Maybe there should be.
Today's poem made from words found in today's puzzle <br> <br> a/ life is a shaggy rope <br> used to fasten spaces between columns <br> <br> spaces for a chair <br> a radio <br> a fireplace <br> <br> and life d/ is going on aplenty <br> you know this <br> from the largest imaginable limit of pancakes <br> <br> a/ it’s a huge stack <br>
@Peter Valentine Made me laugh out loud!
Alex, Re: 64A BELAY (Tricky Clues) Veterans and rock climbers know from rappelling that belaying a rope stops that rope (and whomever it’s attached to).
P.S. On ships, ropes not called ropes.
As a NYC taxi rider around the Millennium, I was hoping that BUCKLEUPFORSAFETY might somehow make 37A
@Richard That's interesting--more supportive/positive...compared to the threat approach (sort of, "Buckle up or else!") Meanwhile--recently some teens were killed in an accident...and none were wearing seatbelts. Such a sad waste...
Congrats on the puzzle, Ms Schutzengel! Just right for a Monday, breezy with a little crunch.
This comment is for Alex Barron. This Wordplay column is a perfect blend of information and personality. More from you, please.
Re 64A. BELAY, like columnist Alex I got this from the crossings, having only heard it from a ship captain telling a crew member to ignore a previous order. But in my case, the ship captain was Jean-Luc Picard, of the Starship Enterprise. :-) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYtwG18Uygg" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYtwG18Uygg</a>
@Pax Ahimsa Gethen He's the only ship captain that really matters! ☺️
After being away from crosswords for over a week, I finally got caught up completing them all. I did not try to go back and catch up with all the comments, but I did begin reading Sunday's comments starting with the newest first. I was reminded of something I mentioned before, but bears repeating after reading some of the complaints of Sunday's puzzle: it matters not whether you have heard of an answer or even if it actually exists; it only matters if the answer is getable. If you are not willing to accept that, then you need to consider if NYT crosswords are for you.
@Jim Charming words afte a week's absence. Nice to see you back.
@Jim By the same token, if the comments on difficult puzzles bother you, you need to consider whether the comment sections on those days are for you.
Thanks for a delightful Monday puzzle Kate.Gave me joy on a cold and rainy day.
How I thought AMENITsKIT was a word for almost ten minutes, I’ll never know 😵💫
@Sebastian After I watch another mediocre musical act on SNL, I often say, "AMEN, IT's a SKIT!" Close?
I asked this in the Sunday comments, as well, but it was pretty late in the commenting day. In the play that I went to last night, the program showed the existence of a puzzle book called Murdle... It's a logic puzzle book with mystery themes. It's right up my alley, so I already ordered a copy, but I was just wondering if anyone has experience with it or thoughts to share.
@HeathieJ Not sure if it's similar to the online version at <a href="https://murdle.com" target="_blank">https://murdle.com</a>/, but i find it fun!
@HeathieJ I have a copy but haven't opened it yet. Lots of good reviews though, and now I see there are multiple volumes.
One more puzzle find. A Thursday from June 21, 2001 by Peter Abide. Three theme answers: "Management group for a pro team." FROFFTONICE "A Star is Born" co-star. KRISTONERSOFF "Gridiron ploy." OFFSIDEKICKON And then the reveal; "Electrical device with a hint to answering 17-, 27- and 48- across." ONOFFSWITCH Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=6/21/2001&g=11&d=D" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=6/21/2001&g=11&d=D</a> ...
fun breezy Monday puzzle. I haven't heard the movie term "chick flick" in ages, but some people call a certain fast-food chicken place "chick-a-flick" (scrambling the name accidentally or on purpose)
Woah! @Alex Barron, you've done many great things, but I am gonna flaunt the "I knew the Wordplay column writer" card at least once this week! Congrats! Georgia (Drew U).
I consider “Chick Flicks” to really be “Rom-Coms”
Monday is all about speed. 5:10 today. My personal best.
Very slICK for a Monday. Glad the constructor didn’t have to resort to using QUICK TRICKS which, in its use in the oldest profession, really does give one the ICK. Interesting clue for IONIC, and was fascinated to learn that IBM was started in 1911–I had to look it up to learn whatever they could have been building back then, there certainly weren’t any proper computers back then (Babbage’s Engine and Ada Lovelace, crossword darling, not withstanding).
@SP IBM built typewriters, for sure, but I don’t know if those were their original products. If your office had an IBM Selectric, you were being treated well.
@SP You are right, Steve, I forgot about typewriters. But it appears they got their start with time clicks and punch cards, which makes sense.
In Saturday comments I mentioned I was working on a puzzle (the 2025 ACPT Final Puzzle 8-A ("The most difficult version of puzzle 8, solved by the top three finalists in the A division"), in GAMES World of Puzzles magazine, October 2025 issue)). I'm happy to report that I correctly solved it, no assistance/cheats! However, even after solving, there was one clue I didn't understand. GAMES included the B and C (easier, easiest) versions of the same puzzle, and checking those clues I *still* didn't understand. Yesterday, I was about to ask here, when while writing my comment it finally hit me. Clue below, and I'll include the B and C version clues in replies: 4 letters: Small place for the summer?
@Bill in Yokohama Ones, as in the "ones" column when doing addition to get the "sum"? Just my humble observation.
the B clue: Low notes? the C clue: Individuals
@Bill in Yokohama I think we've seen the "summer" misdirect before in the NYT puzzle, so I got it pretty quickly, I think. But I was hoping the answer might be TENTHS of HUNDRETHS. This misdirect pairs nicely with the LOW DIGIT we had yesterday.
It was very enjoyable to me, while working on this puzzle, when the important parts would light up in yellow! That added much pizzazz and fun!
Here's something that will be of no interest to anyone but me... hooray! I was watching the Netflix series "Nobody Wants This." It wasn't great, but it was light and kind of cute. Then they had an episode about "The Ick." The whole premise was so juvenile and offensive that I stopped watching on the spot--clearly the target audience was meant for those even more petty and immature than I am. What a ridiculous concept. It's something that people literally imagine into existence.
@Jeff Z I think any generation has sayings or ideas that their parents and grandparents think are immature and petty. I thought the TikTok video was mildly amusing but I couldn't watch for more than a few minutes. It doesn't bother me at all if young people want to "ick." Kids are kids.
I don’t know how long it has been back, but today I saw that the original-style Stats display is back, and I just want to say THANK YOU to whoever makes these decisions! I find this display much more intuitive and satisfying.
"This place is fire"....??? Words for someone who can't manage an actual description ...or what? I'm also a bit mystified by the associated entry: IT'S LIT. (Words from a pyromaniac, mayhap? Phrase of praise from someone lacking vocabulary...? ) Why sully a nice puzzle like this one? ICK. Fortunately, Kate has (or IS) a guardian angel. Cool!
@Mean Old Lady Its a very common phrase for people of my generation, in their 20s. Just because you're not familiar with modern turns of phrases, does not the make clue or answer any less.
@Mean Old Lady It's a gas, ya dig?
What, no love for Ickey Woods? Best known for his elaborate rouchdown dance, the "Ickey Shuffle." The refs banished him to the sideline, because he was holding up the game.
@Grant That would make it a Wednesday puzzle. 🙂
30A [Sidney who directed "12 Angry Men" and "The Wiz"] Sidney LUMET's "12 Angry Men" is an inspiring film starring Henry Fonda and lots of other popular actors (not actresses) of the day (1957). <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050083" target="_blank">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050083</a>/ A recent film with a similar premise is "Juror #2" starring Toni Colette (and others). This one's in color! <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27403986" target="_blank">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27403986</a>/
@lucky13 Fonda saw the stage play and was so enamored that he bought the rights and produced the film. I'm so glad he didn't turn modest and cast someone else as the lead. He was a squishy liberal democrat even in the 1950s and he raised a bunch of them too, thank heavens. I'm hoping that Bridget's kids carry on the tradition but I haven't heard much. (And for unsquishy unliberal undemocrats who also love crosswords: it's great to have you here. I understand it's supposed to be a two-party system in the US, right?)
One more puzzle find - truly amazing. A Sunday from January 18, 1998 by Ed Early and Bob Klahn with the title: "Prophecy." A 23 wide puzzle with the theme answers placed symmetrically from top to bottom with matching length. And... the theme of course being a an actual historical phrase. Here are those answers in order, with the length in parentheses after each one: IHAVEADREAMTHATONEDAYON (23) THEREDHILLSOFGEORGIATHE (23) SONSOFFORMERSLAVESAND (21) THESONSOF (9) FORMERSLAVEOWNERSWILL(21) BEABLETOSITDOWNTOGETHER(23) ATTHETABLEOFBROTHERHOOD(23) Wow. Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/18/1998&g=37&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=1/18/1998&g=37&d=A</a> ....
It took me awhile to figure out the revealer. After staring at nearby letters, it finally “clicked”! The last few clues I literally had to take a guess, such as 27-A and 23-D. A nice way to start the week. :)
Re: the Midi Puzzle. Obviously a decision was made to withhold this puzzle on certain days of the week. May I suggest that the language of the landing page be changed? Now it says "This Page Doesn't Exist." That's really off-putting. Why not "The Puzzle Will Return Tomorrow" or some such?
@CathyS There is a Midi today. This happens to certain solvers a lot. Maybe one of them will tell you how to find it.
@CathyS I usually solve on a desktop PC, sometimes on an iPhone. I occasionally use an iPad. I've never once had an issue with either the desktop or the iPhone, but one time when I used the iPad, I saw what some solvers have been saying. So there's a problem that only occurs with certain devices, and not with others. People say that if you refresh the page, the Midi will eventually come up, even if you have to do so several times. When I had that issue that one time, one refresh was enough to do it. Ultimately, the techs at NYT will figure it out, although I can't imagine why it's taking them so long.
@CathyS to my knowledge there's been a midi every day since it was introduced in late February, and they are all available in the archives. For some reason the tech team has been unable to solve the issue of it often being hard to find. I've bookmarked the page. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/midi" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/midi</a> even with that I often get the "doesn't exist" message; usually a few refreshes will cause it to appear. Here's the archive: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/archive/midi/2026/05" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/archive/midi/2026/05</a> enjoy.
@CathyS I've found that I can get the Midi by refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, it always comes up after completing another puzzle, like the Crossword or the Mini. I solve on my laptop.
Nice Monday puzzle and a clever theme. Not all that easy for me, of course. A number of answers I wasn't going to get just from the clues, but managed to work it out from the crosses. Just made for a number of nice 'aha' moments. I'll put my puzzle find today in a reply. ....
@Rich in Atlanta As threatened: A Sunday from December 21, 2008 by Elizabeth C. Gorski with the title: "Laughing all the Way." Some answers.... KRISKRINGLE SANTABABY ...and others. But then the main trick was a 21 square answer down the middle of the puzzle. The clue was: "Greeting from 74-down" (74-down being JOLLYSTNICK) And then that answer was 21 rebus squares: (HO) (HO) (HO) (HO) (HO) (HO) (HO) etc. .... 21 times in total. Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=12/21/2008&g=3&d=D" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=12/21/2008&g=3&d=D</a> ....
I don't remember ever hearing the seatbelt slogan that's in the puzzle. But I do remember the jaunty song from the 1960s Buckle Up for Safety. <a href="https://youtu.be/Ma0DiwJBpyI?si=JreFtsSa8w_LzA1m" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/Ma0DiwJBpyI?si=JreFtsSa8w_LzA1m</a> Buckle Up!
@Vaer I've seen it plastered on billboards, hardly ever in a commercial.
@Vaer Somewhere in the back of my brain it had been nagging me that the Buckle Up song reminded me of something else. It finally resurfaced. Buckle Up was adapted? from Buckle Down Winsocki, from a 1940s movie, starring Lucille Ball, among others. <a href="https://youtu.be/xQEmrnJpQx0?si=cyeJONaFzeIqgjN2" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/xQEmrnJpQx0?si=cyeJONaFzeIqgjN2</a>