August 26, 2026 - Will Shortz's birthday! Thank you, Mr. Shortz, for day after day, year after year, being the captain of this outstanding ship that takes us on a daily voyage of entertainment and education, never knowing what we'll encounter. A very Happy Birthday to you, and a wonderful year ahead, with much health to enjoy it! Please know that not only do you matter, but you, sir, are a legend. Thank you again. Salud!
@sotto voce Thanks for this! Happy Birthday Will and many more!!🎂
@sotto voce Yes, Happy Birthday 🥳 🎂 . Was glad to tell my dad how well you have recovered and he is now doing as well as ever, mentally. Somewhat older but you remain an inspiration and thanks for the good times with NYT Crosswords.
@sotto voce HB, Will. I hope you aren't tired of the constant discussion of puzzle difficulty. There are many of us who don't mind.
I saw tonight’s OPRY opened with a nice tribute to the great Dolly Parton. We lost a good one today. RIP Dolly.
@Striker I'm there with you. Dolly was love personified, in her words and actions. I happen to think that because of that, it was too difficult for her to carry on without the love of her life and companion of 60 years. I can only hope they're back together again. RIP
@Striker An imaginative, well-rewarded talent, the rewards generously shared, a taste for style, a devotion to truth, a life well lived by a free-spirited woman who never wavered from who she knew she was. She deserves our love, our admiration, our gratitude and our respect. I wish we could have another, but there was only one Dolly Parton, and there never could be another.
It took me a while to figure out that the "beans and salsa" associated with a MARACA had nothing to do with eating food. The beans are the things inside the MARACA that rattle, and salsa is the style of dance music (for which, apparently, there are specific "salsa MARACAS." Very clever clue!
@Bradley thanks, I was perturbed by being unable to find the connection between maracas and beans
Another in a long line of puzzles in which the theme only became clear to me after solving the themers and the revealer independently of any understanding of what was going on. Turns out to be a a clever trick. There many other names in the puzzle too, and I was pleased to remember MRSLATE thanks to childhood spent watching too much TV. It was fitting that the Grand Ole OPRY made an appearance on the day of Dolly Parton’s passing. She lived a uniquely American life, and reflected many of the qualities that characterize America at its best, talent, ambition, success, kindness, generosity, and joie de vivre. I feel her loss surprisingly keenly for someone I never knew personally.
@Addwhst What would happen if you drank one while smoking one on a beach in Maui?
@Add Ha! I googled it and nothing about it being a drink comes up. Thanks for clarifying!
@Add -- Yes, perhaps a cocktail of weed strains but that's all!
@Add It made me think of Maui Zaui pizza and now I'm craving pizza before 6 in the morning.
The theme wasn't in the slightest bit helpful, because it wasn't particularly good. I had to read the column to even understand what it was, and even then I was still unimpressed.
@Dave K. No pleasing some people, I guess.
@Dave K. Themes aren’t necessarily supposed to be helpful. Some are, some aren’t. For what it’s worth, I didn’t see the theme while solving, either, but I thought it was clever after the fact.
I had to come to the column to figure out the theme-- I think the 3x and 4x in the clues had me expecting something repeated 3 times (e.g. if MACADAMIA had been MACmacmac), and the revealer sounded like the theme entries used the letters of SOMEPEOPLE, which wasn't the case; and I just wasn't seeing names. Ah well. Solved the puzzle ok, just not the puzzle puzzle...
@Isabeau -- Ditto; I could not figure the theme even after solving the whole thing. Seemed disingenuous.
@Isabeau Same here. The names didn't leap out at me at all! A couple like Beau and Ty wouldn't actually register with me as names... Had to head to Wordplay to see what was going on. Enjoyable puzzle though
@Isabeau Maybe "3 ex." (for 3 examples) may have been better than "3x."
Is EDUMACATE a well-known word? This is the first time I can think of where I've never heard of a theme answer before.
@Bradley It's fairly well-known, especially on TV shows such as The Simpsons. This is the best explanation I've found: "It's a purposely humorous version of educate. It is used in a joking way to pretend you're educated but by using a word that's not a real word." I suppose it's similar to "embiggen".
@Bradley it's a dumb (IMO) slangy contrived word used in "redneck-speak". No it's not a common word it's not even really a word it's just like an idiom which has come out a bit of silliness. Like "it ain't rocket surgery".
@Bradley My parents said it sometimes. I've seen it attributed to the Simpsons and to the Beverly Hillbillies, but I think it's been around longer than that.
@Bradley It's a word used quite biggly by our President.
@Andrew Most recently courtesy of The Simpsons, it is Homer's malapropism for 'educate'. No longer smirk-worthy, now it's just terrifying.
Another grid with too many names 😉
First, I smiled at [Wait for it!], for TIP. Then, I laughed at the super-silly EDUMACATE. That primed me for one of the best solving moments of the year, when, after unsuccessfully trying hard to crack the theme, I finally unveiled the revealer, then saw the theme answers with new eyes. Not only did I get gotten good, but I was amazed -- amazed! -- as I saw the names in the answers. That was a huge wow, followed by a how-did-they-think-of-this, followed by a how-did they find these answers-at-all-not-to-mention-have-them-fit-symmetry‽‽‽ That’s a big bang for my buck today. Chuckles, plus sweet riddle-cracking effort, plus jaw-dropping amazement, brought me spontaneously to wild inner applause. This was terrific, John and Lance – thank you!
@Lewis. Of course educmacate is a word. You go to school to get your edumacation, silly.
@Lewis Man, is there a way to cultivate this attitude? For me, it’s so hard not to focus on the flaws that I miss out on appreciating the good parts.
@Lewis I thought of you at 34A, with your clues of the week. Glad to read it made you smile! You and me both. :)
Great timely nod to the Opry today. RIP Dolly!
Theme didn't make sense to me even after solving and reviewing. Haven't read Wordplay, but I shouldn't need a separate column to explain the theme
@Steven M. Okay, I figured it out now. The numbers are referring to the number of consecutive first names that comprise each theme answer
I thought I'd try Lance Enfinger's bonus theme entries. How about: GENERICALLY for IN A NONSPECIFIC WAY (4,3,4) SIDELINED for FORCED TO SIT OUT AND WATCH (3,3,3) NORMALITY for STATE OF ORDINARINESS (4,3,2) CAMBODIAN for FROM A CERTAIN ASIAN COUNTRY (3,2,4) (NORMALCY also works for this but is a 4,2,2.) Just feeling playful! Thanks, Lance!
@Ma Stiles You got them all! Great job! The specificity on CAMBODIAN’s clue was necessary because: BO LIV IAN and MACE DON IAN would have also worked.
It's very sad to hear of Dolly Parton's death. We have been hearing for a while that she was suffering from many problems. She looked frail in the last video I saw of her. What an amazing woman. The song, "I Will Always Love You," especially sung by Whitney Houston in the film "The Guardian" will bowl me over every time I hear it as it did Dolly Parton. She said she nearly wrecked her car hearing it on the radio while driving. She gave away over 300 million free books to children!!?? What a force. I hope I'm not off topic but one of our favorite constructors, Paolo Pascal, is on *two* "Jeopardy" championships this week: the Tournament of Champions and the Master's Championship. One is at the regular 7 pm slot here in New York and one is on at 8 pm.
@lucky13 I think you mean “The Bodyguard” and yes, a force for good in the world.
@lucky13 Topic adjacent. Paolo also constructed today's Midi.
@lucky13 Topic adjacent Part II. Paolo also constructed yesterday's New Yorker crossword.
@lucky13 What's Whitney Houston's favorite coordination? HAAND EEEEEEEYE..
@lucky13 Thanks! I’ll try to watch him in those.
Apt names for this puzzle? THEO NEIL IKE (Not to play favourites…)
I'm always pleased to see reference to one of my favorite places on the planet, and one I have had the privilege to have visited and done research on: the deep-sea hydrothermal vents. A truly magical and wondrous thing on our world and one that was completely unknown until 1977, when research largely conducted by marine geologists and geophysicists from Oregon State University pointed to their existence, finally confirmed by the first visit to the vents in the Alvin. There were no biologists on this research cruise, since the assumption was that the environment around the vents would be highly toxic and barren of life. Little did they know The first message we received was "Send biologists!" (I was working in the Marine Geology Department at the OSU School of Oceanography at the time.) It was two years before a biological expedition was made. And its was 15 years before I went there myself. A research cruise I will never forget.
@Captain Quahog my daughter did her masters on pillow lava at one of those vents and there were biologists on that cruise. Some really wild and fascinating creatures!
@Captain Quahog That sounds remarkable. I love stories where science thinks one thing, and it turns out to be the complete opposite. The ability for life to "find a way" is truly breathtaking.
@Captain Quahog as a former CEOAS postdoc, I also loved this clue as well as your anecdote here! Great to see an OSU shout-out :)
Love, compassion, goodness, vivacity – the essence of feel-good wrapped up in one person, brightening the world. Dolly, you showed us what really counts. Thank you.
Please don't take her just because you can.
@ad absurdum Bravo. Stopped me in my tracks to admire the subtleness and depth of the tribute. Most beautiful one I've seen.
So I got the first three or four lines with just acrosses, and I’m thinking, well, this is pretty tame for a Kugelman adjacent puzzle—maybe Andrzej might even tolerate it. Then, of course, I got to EDUMACATE—ok, here we go. Then some of the clues like the one for MARACA and TIP and SIESTA and SWEAT—check. And finally trying to wonder what the revealer would be, and seeing this offbeat SOMEPEOPLE, then wracking my brain for a minute, then, “wait for it”—the big groan—yeah, it’s a Kugelman puzzle. No offense, Lance, we know you are a co-conspirator, maybe even the biggest one, that’s no excuse. Loved some of the connections today. Of course OPRY which is pulling everyone’s heartstrings. ATLAS who was involved in Hercules’ LABORS when he was looking for the golden APPLE, and in OVID—and there’s LABOR day but also ARBOR day and IAMBS and FEET and MARACA crossing CARACAS, all kinds of MESSY fun today. So, a blast, like what Fred has at MR. SLATE’s quarry. Working on the bonus clues, so far, got SID/ELI/NED. I’m dying to know if any AIs were harmed in the making of this puzzle. If so, don’t tell me.
@SP And another: GENE/RIC/ALLY (that one’s a little weak)
@SP And the last CAM/BO/DIAN (that’s a bit of a stretch too.) Ok I admit I had to look at a map BTW JORDAN/IAN works too.
@SP I didn't hate this, which is saying something considering it was a Kugelman. The theme did nothing for me, but again, Kugelman effluence usually annoys me, so being ambivalent about his creation is a win, for me.
r.ip. Dolly somehow you sorta made it into the puzzle today by chance or fate we will never know 'grand ol opry' brilliant puzzle. thanks John & Lance
@acjones I've said it before and I'll say it again: The laws of karma and synchronicity work in mysterious ways.
Seeing IAMBS and FEET in this puzzle almost made my French Literature degree pay off!
new to this hobby and this puzzle proved I have a long way to go, or perhaps I should return to simply taking a nap instead. Infuriating puzzle. I am certainly not edumacated enough for this
@Drew Widney This is not a starter puzzle by any means, even for a Wednesday. Don’t hang up your spurs yet, pardner.
@Drew Widney Despair not, pilgrim. Into each solver's life a little Kugelman must fall. Just look at it as an extra week's worth of desert wandering on the way to Canaan.
@Drew Widney I'm chipping in to encourage you to not put a lot of weight on this particular puzzle. No disrespect to the puzzle, but though I've been doing these daily for over two years now, Kugelman often presents something odd and fascinating.
Sadly, sometimes I think it is better to have no theme at all than a tenuous theme such as this one. Fun solve, but the theme added nothing.
@Loui I disagree, but that’s what makes themed puzzles so interesting. I didn’t “get” the theme even after accurately writing in the revealer, but I was pleased with its cleverness once I read the column. To each their own.
ATLAS held up the heavens, not the earth.
@DIVAS IVLIVS Right: it's turtles that hold up the earth: turtles all the way down!
@DIVAS IVLIVS what’s he holding up in the sculpture in front of Rock Center
@DIVAS In Greek mythology yes. But somehow, through time, the image of him holding the terrestrial globe became attached to books of maps which took their name from Mercator’s
I enjoyed the puzzle today, lots of fun clues. The theme didn't do much for me, knowing the theme didn't help solve them. EDUMACATE cute answer. In general I thought the clues were just indirect enough for the "Aha" when you get them.
I did get the theme early on, but the "names" were mostly pretty obscure so it didn't help at all getting any of the answers. Not such a fan of themes that you can only look at afterwards and "note". Kinda helps confirm the entries I suppose, but "nut" - MACADAMIA etc weren't tricky enough to need it. There were lots of nice clues, looking at it as a themeless I actually did enjoy the puzzle a lot.
Maybe I'm being picky, but the "x" in the clues was slightly misleading. Simply having a number in parentheses would have made more sense. Three names appeared, but no name appeared three times. Or maybe I'm just grouchy because I didn't get the theme until I read Sam's explanation.
@Michael G An "x" after a number is often used to indicate a certain amount of units. I see it all the time at my job, which deals with radio advertising. If a salesperson sells three ads for a show, we would say the client ordered 3x spots.
@Michael G Yes, the x was probably the biggest misdirect of all! My first thought at 17A was that perhaps it was a multiplier. The first themer I filled in was MACADAMIA, so I counted repeated letters. But no, 2 M's and 4 A's... After I got the revealer, I could see the final name in each theme entry — but it took reading the column to see the rest. When I reached the constructor's notes, I took one glance at the bonus entries, and took a pass! For me, the theme only worked in retrospect. Sussing out the words without the benefit of crossers seems like a game for a *really* rainy day. Like tomorrow's forecast!
There's one thing better than a Kugelman Sunday and that's a Kugelman Wednesday. Less is more.
@Matt I strongly disagree, as does our Polish friend. But that's what makes horse races. Although, thinking of horses is reminding me that eating beef in this country is soon to be a no-no.
Kind of meh on this one. The theme didn’t add anything to the solve, since the clues were so straightforward, and many of the “names” barely qualify as such.
Joe, 1. Only the very trickiest Thursdays (or Sundays) require understanding the theme to solve the puzzle; in all other cases, it's an add-on to the solve (if you care to add it). 2. Which of the names in the theme answers are you suggesting people don't actually use?
First thought on "instrument associated with beans and salsa": TORTILLACHIP
On the eve of the US Open, glad to see Rafa here, a great athlete, and OCD to the point of being very [picky, picky, picky] as this puzzle would have it, in an almost literal way: part of his service motion (at first oft ridiculed until no-one thought the more of it) was to reach back and loosen his shorts with a quick tug -- so that was an apt combo! Having given but a glance to the themers and paying them no heed (though the groaner of a revealer did make me snort) there's so much to love here -- manscaped, macadamia, salted caramel, the weird edumacate that makes my mouth want to wash itself out with soap each time I whispered it just now. Edumacate. If only I could be like Rafa, reach behind me and pluck that word out of my brain... And Caracas and maracas, how beautiful is that, and my favorite dessert: apple melee. Have you seen the Times recipe for it? So simple: Ingredients: 3 dozen apples, preferable nearly rotten 12 hooligans Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Invite hooligans, preferably from the neighborhood, to your backyard for a cookout. At least a 12, but don't be afraid to add a pinch more to taste. Make hooligans angry by taunting them and repeating what you heard from one hooligan about another. Push in barrel of apples and ask the hooligans to settle differences of opinion by having a melee. Open oven door and withdraw, using an oven glove, a big rotten Granny Smith and throw it right on the face of the biggest hooligan there, shouting "Apple Melee!"
Mark, Cate, Mel and Adam? Not much of a theme…
@Selective Walrus Nevermind. I’m an idiot.
Didn't need or see the theme today. Just blissfully skipped right past the * until I had enough fills to solve. No point wasting bandwidth on something I don't see right away.
@Your Fired Not trying to be snarky or presumptuous, just honestly curious—isn’t solving the crossword at all pretty much “wasting bandwidth”? It’s not like anyone accomplishes anything but neural satisfaction by doing these puzzles, so a couple more seconds or minutes of bandwidth to appreciate the theme doesn’t seem like such a sacrifice and for some may be a bonus (more time solving for your money). I guess what I’m getting at is it seems your brain appreciates the word entry part of this activity, but not the bizarre tangential theme part of this activity, so doesn’t want to engage that aspect of it if it’s not obvious. Is that more to the point?
@Your Fired Great attitude to avoid the annoyance some feel here for not seeing the theme.
How can it be that I didn't register the numbers in parentheses, and didn't even really see them? I thought the themers were MARK, CATE, MEL and MIA and had to come to the column to be hit over the head with the actual theme. I'm so impressed. Never in a million years would I look at a word and see people's names in it, much less consecutively with no breaks in-between. The minds of constructors are something else! Thank you, John and Lance, for gifting me this state of awe. Well done, gentlemen! As for today's song, there's Steve Miller singing 🎵"SOME PEOPLE call me Maurrrrice..." but I leave you with something else because in the world we live in, yes, some people are unbelievable, but then again, it takes Every Kinda PEOPLE... Here's Robert Palmer: <a href="https://youtu.be/dV3AziKTBUo?is=-u3Ahs7YpD71dg8s" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/dV3AziKTBUo?is=-u3Ahs7YpD71dg8s</a>
@sotto voce OMG, the pompatus of love. What does that even mean????
@sotto voce For me, Belouis Some's SOME PEOPLE was an instant earworm! <a href="https://youtu.be/Firti40JqJw?is=wx82l78OCPgy9_77" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/Firti40JqJw?is=wx82l78OCPgy9_77</a> Robert Palmer is likewise 80's gold. And who doesn't love "the pompatus of love"? All are great music for a sunny summer day like today!
[Condition which results in repeatedly appearing in crossword grids](11) YOKŒNYASIA
@Bill How about we call it ONO-MATA-POE-ISM? I know, MATO is spelled wrong but I was in a bit of a HARI.
I had to come here to find out what the numbers meant in the theme clues.
Did Ovid write any iambs? Not in his surviving verse--most of it is written in dactyls, with a few spondees thrown in for spice. But in English translation, however: Here's a passage from 1567, written by Arthur Golding in iambic heptameter, which may have inspired the Bard of Avon: Within the towne (of whose huge walles so monstrous high and thicke The fame is given Semyramis for making them of bricke) Dwelt hard together two yong folke in houses joynde so nere That under all one roofe well nie both twaine conveyed were. The name of him was Pyramus, and Thisbe calde was she. So faire a man in all the East was none alive as he, Nor nere a woman, maide nor wife in beautie like to hir. By comparison, here's a version published in 1717 by Samuel Garth, bringing together work "by the most eminent hands," a veritable who's who of the time, including Johnnie Dryden, Alec Pope, and Billy Congreve: In Babylon, where first her Queen, for State Rais'd Walls of Brick magnificently great, Liv'd Pyramus, and Thisbe, lovely Pair! He found no Eastern Youth his Equal there, And she beyond the fairest Nymph was fair. (not sure whose hands were involved.) Thank you, Wikisource!
@Bill Takes me back to the halcyon days of 9th grade, when we read "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and enacted the love story of Pyramus and Thisbe... much hilarity ensued, I think I got to play the Wall. Woo hoo.
I needed Sam's explanation of the theme. Thanks. Sam!
When I read the revealer, it made me wonder where they put the Soylent Green
EDUMACATE was a stretch, but it’s funny enough that I don’t mind!
@Aaron <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=edumacate" target="_blank">https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=edumacate</a>
The 'aha!' moment of this theme is definitely one I preferred getting at the end and exploring back over the answers. I usually prefer getting the theme early, feeling all smart about myself, then using that to figure out the tricky long theme answers. Excellent work, and an incredibly tight theme set.
Silly theme, and not in a good way. I feel less ED(J)UMACATED for having solved this. I thought Thessaloniki was the "Jerusalem of the Balkans" as so many Jews fled there after the Reconquista of Ferdinand of Aragon. TIL SARAJEVO also bears that moniker, probably because that city has been endlessly squabbled over. So, one redeeming quality in today's puzzle.
Sorry, guys -- you lost me at EDUMACATE, as I fairly screamed at the puzzle: "What on earth is this gibberish?" Then, there were an awful lot of "MA"s in the theme answers and I wondered if MA were the "SOME PEOPLE"? Oh, and btw, "Unbelievable!" does not translate to SOME PEOPLE in my lexicon. "What nerve" would have been a much better and fairer clue. The theme answer payoff seemed weird and forced -- they're all "names", I suppose, but how many of them would you choose to name YOUR kids? Nor did I figure it out on my own; I had to go to the blog to find out what was going on. Bottom line: Nothing about this puzzle worked for me.
@Nancy I did feel like if you are going to do this puzzle you ought to try to do it with more standard names and spellings. But not having tried this myself I imagine it’s harder than it looks, and I just appreciated the creativity and the sheer chutzpah of it all. I for one loved “EDUMACATE”. I also wanted to add, I work in a low income community clinic. The creativity and diversity of names there is refreshing and fascinating—I love asking parents how they came up with them. So in my book CARA and UMA and CATE are pretty darn standard in the grand scheme of things.
@Nancy (really to @SP) A few hours ago, I made a comment about the "weirdness" of current celebs' names. I should explain myself further: Our English language tradition of naming follows a system taken from ancient Rome (which they probably got from the Etruscans), in which is a closed set of first names--about a dozen for men, a few more for women--followed by a surname which is passed down from generation to generation. (This is not the original Indo-European system, which gave us Vladi-mir, Sieg-fried, and even Al-fred.) The operative words here are "closed set." I, myself, am part of that set. On the other hand, many communities--in particular the African-American community, but there are many others--have traditions in which new names are constantly being coined or modified. In other words, an "open set."Of course, once in a while you come across some pretty silly examples--O father of Lavoris, what wert thou thinking?--but, in general, I find it a genuinely admirable, beautiful practice. And, of course, as our American society becomes less WASP-centered, traditional names from other cultures will become part of the set.