Nice tight theme, very impressive. And I think a chewier than usual Tuesday. The continuing baseball theme has already been mentioned. Love the twin English Johns clue. The only thing left to say is do people with big EGOS have I FEVER?
"Do you have your wedding dress?" "Yes, but I'll have to altar it." ("That'd be your gowning achievement.")
@Mike She had better know how, so no one will have to train her. (Is this a veiled threat?)
@Mike One way to fix a wedding date is to give them a ring
@Mike … and if you want to catch the train you’ll need an aisle seat!
This was great fun. I loved the crossing of the British John and john. HOTMINUTE was fun too.
Just between us here in the comments: ONTHEDL was poorly clued and is very much a USAism. A normal Tuesday otherwise
@Ιασων This USA-er has no idea what DL means. The same as QT?
@Ιασων I too have no knowledge of this expression. Is it a version of "the lowdown" on something.
@Ιασων Btw, why are you commenting at 3 or 4 am?
@Ιασων the expression is “on the down low” and, while I have heard it spoken a few times, I have no idea where down low comes from or what it means
That had a little more heft than the tuesdays lately. Thanks for the treat!
Feels like a lot later in the week to me🫤
@Antipodean I agree! Fun but felt tougher than a Tuesday.
Seriously concerned about any sports haters being able to handle two days in a row of baseball hints.
@Mo I don’t hate sports but I was thinking it was a bit crazy
@Mo I don’t follow sports at all and still enjoyed both puzzles with no lookups. I hope others did too
@Mo I'd pay good money to have a no sports guaranteed puzzle just once a week, i acknowledge that a lot of people know a lot about sports, but it would be nice to be confounded by some other area of knowledge once in a while. Due to NYT i now have an a huge set of nonsense baseball terms roaming around my brain.
@Mo Unfortunately, we'll never know. People on here who don't like sports usually tell us that only once, if ever.
I may have solved this in Tuesday/Wednesday time but it felt like a Friday 🤣 No, really! There was much more misdirection than in some recent late-week puzzles, and many of the clues actually required me to go back to them several times before I got them. There was a moment when I thought I might need reveals to finish, since multiple entries were a complete mystery to me, like some guy's position, an American brand, etc. I thought I was having a stroke when I saw "Where some monster home runs land." I read it once, twice, thrice, and I just could not parse it. It took me almost 15 minutes to resolve that, on my third pass of the puzzle 🤣. The terminology of baseball and American stadiums will probably always confused me. I wonder about ERG. The word appears quite often in these puzzles. Is it a common thing in the US? Is it something that comes up in real life? Or is it just about it being a short word with a grid-friendly E? I ask because I don't think I've ever encountered the word in Polish (even though it is in the dictionary, with a note that it's not a SI unit, and that it's dated). Now, I used to be annoyed by puzzles possibly somewhat too hard for their day, but given the recent great easening, this was a welcome challenge. However, I can't say I get the grand vision of the editors. Some weeks we get three Mondays in a row, and then there is this. It seems like the decisions on what day to run a puzzle on are made randomly, or at least haphazardly.
@Andrzej even as an American, I can tell you that baseball terminology always messes me up when reading it as well! As for ERG, that’s definitely because it’s a grid-friendly word with an E in it. Very few people find ways to force it into a somewhat regular use in their lives, but it’s easily a word you can go an entire lifetime never hearing or using
@Andrzej ERG is a physics term for a unit of work and has a precise definition, and if there are any physicists out that care to go elaborate, have at it.
@Andrzej depending on your age and how much physics you had at school ERG is either apocryphal or bread-and-butter. In astrophysics which works in a mishmash of CGS, SI and some other units ERG it’s still commonly used as in ergs per second per cm squared per Angstrom which typically gets counted in 10 to the minus 17 or units. Now aren’t you happy I’m not cluing 🤣🤣🤣
@Andrzej Erg is the main unit of energy in the non-metric system. The analogous unit in the metric (SI) system is the joule.
@Andrzej I'm a baseball fan, and it took me a moment to parse "Where some monster home runs land". I locked onto "monster" at first, then I'm thinking maybe some kind of fantasy story, something about a monster land, or the monster runs the land, the land is the monster's home - I wasn't making any sense of it. ERG!
@Andrzej Thank you. You've pretty much summed up my thoughts on the puzzle to a T! Saved me having to write the long comment on my phone 😂.
@Andrzej I’m still annoyed by puzzles too hard for their day. Some of the clueing was meh.
@Andrzej I’m not dyslexic but when I thought I read ‘ Where some monster runs home land’ I too was incredulous!😂
@Andrzej Erg is textbook crosswordese. It would be ridiculously obscure if it didn’t show up two times every week lol.
@Andrzej my bona fide first thought on encountering that clue was “something about Dracula?” You know, like the Monster Home that Runs the Land… English is my native language but baseball evidently is not.
it's a brilliant conceit and executed perfectly. easy, fun, classic Tuesday - thanks Hanh!
GAEA?!?! id never seen that spelling before, and ruled out Gaia because I had an EA. Bruh I even put in her daughter RHEA! I thought maybe they shared domains!! Cortisol officially spiked this morning
For me this was too difficult for a Tuesday. Give us Monday and Tuesday solvers a chance to play.
Holy moly this was a hard one! I’m new to the Tuesday puzzles, as I have only been doing the Mondays (some Tuesdays) until now. Not being a native English speaker did not help!
@Marte Try again in a week; you'll almost certainly do better. This was a very difficult Tuesday IMO.
@Marte keep it up! I started with Mondays too, had a hard time with Tuesdays for a while, but now I’m doing Monday-Wednesday every week and usually finish the Thursdays during the weekend.
@Marte This was like a child of a Tuesday and a Friday, no wonder you found it hard. From experience, I recommend you attempt to solve all the puzzles throughout the week. The late week ones will be impossible, at first, but you'll be surprised how quickly you improve. All it takes is experience - the tricky clues have a certain logic to them, and the more of them you see, the easier it will be to deal with further ones. The autocheck feature is great for beginners. I used it a lot while solving archived puzzles.
Wow! Is this theme clever or what? And dense. To find four (4!!!!) in the language phrases in which each half works with HAND separately and the two halves also work with each other is inspired. And to find the perfect revealer! I don't think that would be something that a computer program or AI could come up with -- though of course I could be wrong. Hope I'm not. There's some glue, of course, when you have a theme this dense. I will never remember what SMS is, never, and OXO, LUV, ORC and NAVI don't exactly make my heart pound. Also, I'm perplexed by the choice for the ODE. I know you're an important poet, Pablo, but if you're writing an ODE to your SOCKS, for heaven's sake, all I know is that it better be pretty darned special. Socks by their very nature are seldom special. Personally, I prefer skylarks, nightingales, Grecian Urns and Joy. But a clever, clever theme. The kind of theme that, when the constructor comes up with his fourth theme answer and, glory be, the symmetry works, I can imagine him leaping to his feet and shouting "Eureka!" at the top of his lungs.
@Nancy As someone who used to have a tendency to "save" my favorite things, I found ODE to My Socks very instructive.
@Nancy a poet can write anything. I once wrote a poem to driveway stones. I’m not saying it’s good.
@Nancy Finding compound words with "hand" in them is extremely easy with a computer, no specialized program required. Just Google "compound words with hand" and see what you get. Spoiler alert: There are hundreds! And you can find them in two minutes. And it doesn't ruin the quality of the ultimate puzzle; it just gives the constructor a lot of suggestions to work with.
Wasted a couple of minutes with ONTHEQT instead of ONTHEDL. Otherwise, very straightforward.
I thought this a slightly nicely Toughened Up Tuesday. Today I learned that a HOT MINUTE also means the opposite of what I thought it means. Confusing and I've not heard it or read it in the puzzle's context. Last week we had an early celebration of Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life's 50th anniversary. Well, today Stevie issue an EP of 4 songs from the recording of that album that were never released. Here's one: <a href="https://youtu.be/DXutdlnM5pM?si=MS8s9jrANOd7hLum" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/DXutdlnM5pM?si=MS8s9jrANOd7hLum</a>
@Vaer, ever since the Stevie Wonder tribute puzzle by Eric Agard, I've been on a Wonder kick, constantly humming and seeing and listening. Thanks for adding to my playlist!
@Vaer There's been an article about this release in The Guardian today. I'm linking it since you might find it interesting: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/sep/28/stevie-wonder-releases-four-unheard-songs-from-songs-in-the-key-of-life-sessions?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/sep/28/stevie-wonder-releases-four-unheard-songs-from-songs-in-the-key-of-life-sessions?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other</a>
@Vaer I also learned that though Stevie never released I Can See the Sun in Late Decenber, Roberta Flack did record and release a version of the song in the 70s.
@Vaer It's beautiful. Pacifies me to the nth degree. Thank you for posting it
I'm 50 and a bisexual guy, so I was a little surprised to SEE ONTHEDL clued in a non-sexual context. In the US, it's long-standing slang in the Black queer community for straight-presenting men who may have female partners, and who secretly also have sex with men. Like many queer terms, I think it has filtered into the straight world and is used in other contexts, but this meaning is still the main result that comes up when you Google the term, and it's the primary Wikipedia article. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down-low_(sexual_slang" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down-low_(sexual_slang</a>)
@Andrew I don't know if you saw my post, nine hours previous, but I raised that issue. Thank you for confirming. (FWIW, I identify as a cis-gendered, gay, white, male.)
@Andrew - As a 56-year-old queer Black trans guy, I had the same thoughts. I also recall it coming up in an episode of "Law and Order: SVU", where Tutuola (played by Ice-T, a Black actor/rapper) explained the concept to the other (white) detectives. After a beat of silence, he then said, "Don't look at me like that, I just know stuff!" :-D
Love the shout out to Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs . Great, unique voice.
@Tom was excited for this gimme
Always at the pharmacy? alone was worth the price of admission.
@Bill in Yokohama Good clue but I got it very late because pads are not sold at pharmacies here - unless it's a huge, chain pharmacy that doubles as a cosmetic and hygienic product store (however, the pads are not in the pharmaceutical section of the store but in the non-pharmaceutical self-serve space). Typically one buys pads at a general store. Surely it's similar in the US?
@Bill in Yokohama -- Three men chatting about pads; how droll. Anyway, in the US we usually just say "drug store." But how about this for a clue: "Always on her shopping list."
@Bill in Yokohama The clue was tasteless in my estimation.
Random thoughts: • Nice to see ARM in the hand puzzle. • Pair of crossword terms illustrated today. First, NOONE is a “dook”, a two-word answer that reads like a nonsensical single word. Second, ON THE _ _, which could be QT or DL, is a “kealoa”, where two answers could legitimately fill the slot and you have to wait for crosses. • Another possible answer: FULLBACK, but it wouldn’t fit in this grid. • Lovely cross of EXED and EXEC. • Elegant that no other answer in the grid goes with “hand”. Honorable mention to wannabe RED, which goes with “handed”. Hanh's grids are uber-polished, with hardly a whisper of junk answers. He hits my sweet spot, because he has a penchant for wordplay themes based on language quirks. And you did it again today, Hanh, with an engaging solve and marvelous theme finds. Thank you, sir, for another splendid solve!
@Lewis ...and here we see another benefit of Not Knowing Football-- (I can't even figure out *where* FULLBACK could have been an answer to any of the clues, lack of space aside.)
@Mean Old Lady -- FULLBACK could be one of the theme answers, as both FULL and BACK go with "hand".
Another double dose of baseball with UPPER DECK home runs and Rickey Henderson in LEFT FIELD. The achy KNEE could have been clued to a catcher, who is on his for half the game. Up until recently, you could have included ON THE DL, too, as DL in baseball used to be used for the "disabled list," for players who were out with injuries (such as a catcher who TORE UP his knee); now they call it the IL, or "injured list." And EXEC could have been in the mix, too, as those guys make the trades that firm up the lineups. I'd leave you all with a "Go Yankees!", but everyone here knows I'm a Mets fan. Sigh.
@Steve L If there's going to be a subway series this year, it'll have to be the Red Line from Addison to 35th. :-)
@Steve L I was thinking the same about on the DL
Steve L, I noticed there was a DERIVE out to Ricky in left field - or am I making an inferred hit? Also, a reminder of how he regularly CASED the joint before robbing the bases at will.
@Steve L That's what I thought DL stood for. But I got the DL part of the answer only from the crosses, so I was scratching my head a bit, wondering what that had to do with baseball. So I did a search, and now I think it was poorly clued.
@Steve L And Rickey has the most leadoff home runs in MLB.
Had to look up the theme to get it even after I finished the puzzle 😅
Just curious: what's the idiom for which HOT MINUTE means a "pretty long time"? I'd always heard this as a pretty _short_ time. Is this one of those phrases which means something different depending on which coast you're on? Don't get me wrong, though; I enjoyed the puzzle. :)
@O. Sharp I’ve always felt like it depends on context. Using HOT MINUTE in a future tense means a short time, but past tense it means a long time (probably because of sarcasm/irony). So saying “I’ll be there in a hot minute” means “arriving soon”, but saying “I haven’t done that in a hot minute” means “it’s been a long time”. That’s how I’ve always used it
@O. Sharp I would think of it in a phrase such as, “That hasn’t been in style for a HOT MINUTE!”—though hopefully I would not be so snarky as to say that out loud! 😉
@O. Sharp if someone said to you “it’s been a hot minute” you would think that literally means a minute/short time? Maybe it is just an east coast thing
@sam "It's not too late to bale." Triple "Hah!"
@Lewis Agreed! She knows how to make hay while the pun shines.
Really liked the revealer. Fun puzzle. Karen, neatened, and gaea had me scratching my head for a bit. I wasn't expecting to get the congratulations screen when I thought I was misspelling Gaia. TIL Gaea.
@V “Gaia” is the much more common (and closer to Greek) spelling. Personally, I have only ever encountered GAEA in British literature because they just love retaining Romanized spellings of words
Nice Tuesday puzzle. Typical slow start for me, but finally catching on to the theme was the big turning point and that's always a nice touch. And... puzzle find today: A Wednesday from August 13, 2008 by Victor Fleming. Don't recall another one quite like this. Four theme answers and all of them had exactly the same clue, which was... "Kitty." Those answers: ACTRESSCARLISLE POKERTABLEMONEY GUNSMOKEBARKEEP NICKNAMEFORACAT And all of those were 15 letters. Pretty amazing. Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=8/13/2008&h=13d" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=8/13/2008&h=13d</a> ....
@Rich in Atlanta And... one more answer history search was inspired by our constructor's name. Wondered how many answers there might be that had two sequences of "NH." And... ... only one answer ever had that twin sequence: UNHUNH And that was an answer in two puzzles (A Friday and a Saturday). ....
RIGHTOFF, I've been finding it hard to come up with additional theme answers.
poem made from words in today’s puzzle the life of god a/ fill the heart of the defeated monster with a can of black earth the road’s long — a viper unconcealed — who halves the land you hitch up for home where cream runs from d/ great pitchers feeling the hum of distance you stand in the lines of heat If you could reach out you could a/ join the sun
Second poor puzzle in a row. Monday and now Tuesday. These are feeling tedious with no tangible reward. I very much dislike calling a puzzle “chewy.” It’s used too broadly, sometimes for difficult clues, sometimes for unexpected wordplay. This puzzle isn’t “chewy,” it’s tedious.
@RL Ah, yes, "tedious" is so much more precise and unambiguous than "chewy." I totally understand what you mean in the minutest of details.
@RL Agreed re: chewy. It’s a descriptor that gives me the ick when people use it.
@RL Not sure how long you've been viewing puzzle comments here, but there's certainly a sameness to them.
Just saw awful news about Jonathan McKinsey, engineer of the NYT Games, was killed in a bizarre case. My thoughts are with McKinsey's family and the Games department at NYT. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/us/jonathan-mckinsey-new-york-times-shooting-california.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/us/jonathan-mckinsey-new-york-times-shooting-california.html</a>
@john ezra that is so awful and intense. You truly never know what people are going through.
@John ezra Heartbreaking. And also, almost unbelievable. Like a whodunit or a movie plot. So many moving parts, and at the center of it all, innocent children whose lives will be permanently affected. You have to wonder if those adults gave any thought to them at all!
Wow, that was really tough for us. It's not often a Tuesday has fills we haven't heard of-- KAREN (O), DIVAN, SANAA were all new. We couldn't make heads or tails of PADS until reading the Wordplay (somewhat ironic considering what's in our bathroom cabinet) and I think that's the first time I've seen ERG clued as the unit and not the rowing machine (TIL the etymology!) But what really delayed us was me confidently and sleepily filling in LAKOTA before promptly passing out last night and letting it cruise unchallenged this morning. I like the theme though it didn't really help filling in anything, more of a post-hoc "That's cute." More confusing than satisfying I think but if this is the caliber of the puzzles this week, I'm looking forward to whatever evil trick the Thursday might have to offer.
@Erin & Erin You'll be seeing a lot more ERG.
Seeing lots of folks tripped up by the "monster home run." That confused me too, but because the most famous "monster" in baseball is Boston's Green Monster, a 30-foot wall out in LEFTFIELD at Fenway Park. I briefly tried that, and was amused when it showed up as a correct answer later in the puzzle.
@Brooks same for me and Lansdowne St is on the other side of The Monster so I was thinking "In the street/road" or something because that's where a real monster home run would land lol
A nice, somewhat resistant Tuesday. Fortunately for this non-TV-watcher who is not keeping up with the indie music scene, the crosses were helpful and the puzzle did not require any lookups. Thanks, Hanh!
Insomnia, and I already have the puzzle done, before work:-( Have I been misusing "hot minute"? For me, it means a relatively *short* time--just long enough to be a fad. Also, it is my understanding that, in the African-American community, "on the DL" has a more specific, restricted sense. Input? Here is the brilliant Ms. Cordova's ODE to Courier and Century Gothic: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ck-NPqf2c8" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ck-NPqf2c8</a>
@Bill Scanning the comments, it seems many folk agree with me about "hot minute," although I can accept the (ironical) instance, where it is the equivalent of "coon's age." Have to get ready for work, now.
@Bill Genius! "The place for Comic Sans is surely not in proper legal documents."
@Bill I think it can work both ways but culturally, I can’t hear HOTMINUTE without thinking of Chappell Roan and her song Hot to Go in which she sings about a hot minute. In that context, hot minute is synonymous with a long time.
@Bill there was a best selling non-fiction book about the down low. It really permeated black American culture because the author wrote about this community of men. Giving language to something previously unknown in this way totally took off! Leading people to speculate on the sexuality of seemingly straight men. The author included personal stories too but then proceeded not to come out as gay for another 6 years after he published. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Down_Low?wprov=sfti1" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Down_Low?wprov=sfti1</a>
@Bill I very much agree about HOT MINUTE!
@Bill Even tho it says there are 7 replies, on the phone app, I can only see 3, with no option to expand.
Took me a while to spot TOREUP where I had TORNUP. I don’t know the Muslim holiday, but I finally decided that NID didn’t look right. Phew!
Great Tuesday puzzle. Fun clues, just enough hmmm required
I will never, ever, ever get the gods and goddesses of the universe in order. Which is why I love monotheism. So much easier. But seriously, folks... This was a fun and engaging puzzle, though maybe a bit more Wednesday than Tuesday for me. (For ME, I said. You do you.) And I'm fine with that because there is not one single thing on my calendar in this extremely busy week. So I will now leisurely put away laundry and make lunch. In my pjs. All day.
@Marlene I feel the same way about atheism. So uncomplicated!
My Diary of a Crossword Fiend review: <a href="https://crosswordfiend.com/2026/09/28/tuesday-september-29-2026/#ny" target="_blank">https://crosswordfiend.com/2026/09/28/tuesday-september-29-2026/#ny</a>
@Eric Hougland, good review, may you never use Always! And thanks for anapodoton, new one for me. You can indeed teach an old dog...
@Eric Hougland Nice review. It took me closer to my usual Wednesday time, so you're not alone in finding it crunchier than the average Tuesday puzzle. As always, your song choice is perfect.
@Eric Hougland Good review. A little tough for a Tuesday. Had no problem with "old dog," of course.
I've never seen the Goddess of earth spelt like that
@Gareth Baird iI’d say it is ‘more’ correct this way than the other. The αι diphthong gets converted to Æ as in Aegean Sea, aegis, ….
@Gareth Baird I believe that we here in the United States have never seen "spelled" spelled like that.
lucky13, I have seen spelled spelled spelt frequently in these comments. Watch for it.
Dance to the rhythm of Mother Earth: gyrate at the Gaea rate. Or if you prefer, just chill out to some FREE JAZZ.
TIL today: HOT HAND Wasn't familiar with this term, but enjoyed this deep dive from MIT - <a href="https://www.sloansportsconference.com/research-papers/the-hot-hand-a-new-approach-to-an-old-fallacy" target="_blank">https://www.sloansportsconference.com/research-papers/the-hot-hand-a-new-approach-to-an-old-fallacy</a> Also enjoyed @Jacob pointing out that a HOT MINUTE can be both short and long, depending on the usage. English never fails to amaze me...
Very clever, though I stared at the theme answers when I was done with the puzzle and didn’t get it. Had to read the column to understand. I think because I never heard of some of those “hands” terms. But a good and fun puzzle. Cooties are what all boys have in 6th grade, lice or no. It all changes in 7th grade.
One more puzzle find. A Sunday from February 1, 2015 by David Steinberg with the title: "This N' That." Some theme clue and answer examples: "Content of a demand to attend?" SUMMONSUBSTANCE "Freaky Funeral noise?" COFFINWHEEZE "Dive from a fire-breathing creature?" DRAGONDROP "Woe for a sunburned sea monster?" KRAKENPEEL And some other theme answers: FOREIGNTWENTY FISSIONCHIPS WARRENPEACE HERONMAKEUP FOREMANFUNCTION Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/1/2015&h=70d" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=2/1/2015&h=70d</a> ....
"Each word of these entries appears with “hand” in a common expression: upper hand, deckhand, hot hand, minute hand and so on." ....this makes no sense.
Moira, You may want to read the 58A clue and answer again and reconsider whether the quote from the column makes sense.
@Moira UPPERDECK --> 'upper hand' / "deck hand' HOTMINUTE --> 'hot hand' / 'minute hand' etc.
I know it's a Tuesday, but I finished this puzzle with no lookups, except for one tiny "Check puzzle" to correct *one square." Yea! 1A [Traditional poem for JOININGHANDS on Halloween?] Something old Something new Something borrowed Something boo!
How do you even find phrases that work this way? The only one I wasn't familiar with was HOT HAND, but now I know about the HOT HAND fallacy, so I learned something on a Tuesday. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_hand" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_hand</a> Hopefully, the "Toughened Up" trend will continue through the week. I'm having fun, so far.
A hard one, although I've had a few Tuesdays with no look-ups at all. Too many terms I just didn't know, the sport and the music, and I was unfamiliar with 'HOT MINUTE' and HOT HAND' and a few others. Let's see what tomorrow brings.
Another early week chewy puzzle, but I loved it and the theme. KAREN O is a complete unknown to me, but thankfully the crosses filled that in for me… Rating: 9/10
I should have tumbled to the HANDS theme after SECOND and MINUTE...but I didn't. Facepalm when I got to the revealer. Fun puzzle.
I have never heard HOT MINUTE said when it meant anything other than Right Now!! Q. If I offered you $35K, no strings attached, would you take it? A. In a HOT MINUTE! I could still be waiting for the check if we hadn't been on the same page.
@dutchiris I think the phrase is actually a contronym! Meaning that its definition is also its antonym. "Hot minute" has been observed to mean "in an instant" in some contexts and "in a while" in others. For example, "I haven't seen you in a hot minute" means that it's been a while, and "I'll get back to you in a hot minute" means that they'll get back to you as soon as possible. From what I could find, it first meant instantly, but people kept using it sarcastically to mean a long period of time that it became cemented as an additional definition despite the paradox.