An incredibly difficult Wednesday puzzle. For me.
@Fred Jines I was worried a few minutes in, as well. I was leaving a lot for later, for a Wednesday. A couple of regions had me bumfuzzled for a couple minutes.
Two of the four theme entries take out the double A to make the shorter word. The other two take out a different letter (T and U). Ideally it would have been nice if all four had taken the letter A. Then the revealer DO A DOUBLE TAKE would have had even more meaning. Still a nice idea and well executed.
@Andrew The revealer is not worded such that the letter A has any special meaning so I do not agree with your suggestion.
@Andrew Well, we already have 8 themers (that cross each other!) and a revealer. Adding a constraint like that would likely have forced some really questionable fill. I'm glad Ben quit while he was ahead.
@Andrew -- Making all the take-out letters "A" would have been terrific. So would making the take-out letters spell something related to the revealer (GAPE?). I'm guessing that it was hard enough to get the answers to cross before adding another condition to the theme answers, and that maybe there aren't four pairs of answers where a double-A removal was possible, nor that the take-out letters could spell a related word. Sometimes reality doesn't conform. Meanwhile, I found it quite impressive in any case that the theme pairs crossed.
I’d give lots of bonus points all around. Very challenging for a Wednesday, really felt at least like a Friday especially these days, I had a hard time getting started. Very challenging theme material to fit into one puzzle and expertly done. A lot of decent fill especially given the constraints. Good clues, very tangential (in a good way) if not really misdirecting. Although I did get tricked by “Curry complements” because I did not notice the spelling, and was thinking “Just the right amount of spice!” Or maybe “He was a great actor, we will miss him” (since Dolly got a call-out, why not Tim?) Finally, although I suppose you could solve it like a themeless, I used the theme for every cross but the first. And double bonus points for the Reds call out, though they haven’t been doing so well this year. There was an old joke we used to say about Cleveland but alas it fits for us this year: Why doesn’t Columbus have a Major League Baseball team? Answer: because then Cincinnati would want one too. Anyway, I got a good workout! Thanks!
@SP originally from southern indiana here (Connersville), so I also enjoyed the reds call out.
@SP I also read "Curry complements" as "compliments." But I thought "Curry" meant "solicit", as in "currying favor." I got the answer from all the crosses, and only then realized rotis are meant to scoop up curry flavor.
Do I love word quirks? OH ,BUT I DO. And seeing a new word formed by taking the same letter twice out of another word – four times! – thoroughly filled my word quirk quotient. Do I Iove wordplay? OH, BUT I DO. And DO A DOUBLE TAKE brought a sweet and satisfied smile. Do I love nifty construction? OH, BUT I DO. And fitting four of these pairs in the same box – having them cross! – not to mention having the last letter of one of the long theme pairs abut the first letter of another – twice! – and still fit in a 13-letter revealer and make everything fit symmetry? Very, very impressive to pull this off. So, I mightily “Huh!”-ed, and “Wow!”-ed, along with the pleasure of filling in the squares, and left the puzzle thinking, “Ain’t crosswords grand!?!” Thank you for making this, Ben!
As a volunteer usher at several theaters, I can assure you that S.R.O. is a very common abbreviation.
Clever idea for the crossword, and it must have been difficult to build. Tricky, but very satisfying. Thanks much
Anyone else tempted to put BOAS for "Curry complements?" (viz. Rocky Horror)
@Matt No, but I confidently entered BOAS for queen's regalia.
@Matt No, but I loved the double nod to both Tim Curry and Dolly Parton!
What a doozy! Very unexpected difficulty for a Wednesday, yet worth every minute of the almost four dozen (!!!) it took me to finish the solve. I cannot remember any other time this might have happened except for when I first started solving. Really great workout. Thank you, Mr. Zimmer! In looking for my favorite ALANIS song to post here, "Uninvited", I found this video of her at a Brandi Carlile concert: <a href="https://youtu.be/sDgGsIOK72M?is=j0IvL8mffI33hIeP" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/sDgGsIOK72M?is=j0IvL8mffI33hIeP</a> (It's an amateur video, but the concert-goer does a pretty good job of holding steady after the initial adjustments. And it captures one h3lluva performance.)
@sotto voce Good choice. I knew about this because Brandi was on Jimmy Kimmel's show a couple of weeks ago and was talking about it, among other things. <a href="https://youtu.be/rpBfB5JoS-M?si=74T9hDxy0WSCe_ip" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/rpBfB5JoS-M?si=74T9hDxy0WSCe_ip</a>
@sotto voce Beautiful! Love when performers have that much fun. Three nights of Brandi and the twins at Red Rocks? With guests like Alanis Morissette, Stephen Wilson Jr., and SistaStrings? You’ve got me watching every video I can find from that stand.
RE SRO: I first started doing crosswords in the 1980s. My mother was a big crossword puzzle devotee, so everytime I do one today I remember her. Anyway, back then it became apparent to me that some answers that were -- well -- "puzzling" to me were easy for her. I came to believe that ofttimes puzzle answers (and their clues) were geared towards those who were at least a generation older than I. At that time, I had an extensive background in films of the 1930s and 40s, so some answers came more quickly to me than to my contemporaries. I would compare crosswords with my mother and ask "How do you know that?". Her reply: "Everybody knows that!" (A conversational strategy I would employ when playing trivial pursuit - and that's a clue to how old I am! So SRO is not a common phrase now. But in my mind's eye, I can still see movie scenes of newspapers coming off the press describing a hit film as "SRO" - Standing Room Only. It has become a phrase these days only kept alive by crossword puzzles, but at one time was a part of the common vernacular.
Man, one of those puzzles where you just shake your head at the ingenuity of puzzle creators. Bravo.
Tricky Wednesday! Nice to mix it up a bit.
Went from panic, took a deep breath and finally got it. Upper left particularly vexing for a few minutes. Enjoyed the challenge. Thank you!
SRO = Standing room only!!! As a Brit, I had no idea. Never came across this in real life. Only in the NYT crossword, where i have got (sorry, gotten) used to plugging it in alongside Oreos (which i have never tasted) and IHOP (which i long thought was something to do with the Easter bunny). I was trying to guess what SRO meant… i thought it might be some play on “sorry”, but i guess that’s unlikely in corporate America. I finally assumed it meant “sold right out”. Now i know! Are you actually allowed to stand in theatres (sorry, theaters) in America? (Not sure if we’re talking “movie” theaters —aka cinemas?) I would think health and safety regulations would mean everyone must have a seat?
@Petrol I think at one time, yes, they allowed folks to stand along the upper back walkway area before you head down the aisles. I’m willing to bet fire codes changed that.
@Petrol There is SRO at the Metropolitan Opera in NYC. There was an empty seat next to me in upper most section where I noticed all these people standing. I asked one person if they would like to sit and he said no- he preferred to stand.
@Petrol I believe it's more prevalent at sporting events or any event in a large arena/stadium, particularly at playoff baseball games (hint, hint).
@Petrol I came to say the same! I’ve always assumed Sold Right Out, though it didn’t sound right.
@Petrol I was taught "theatres" for plays (or sites for concerts) and "theaters" for movies or war zones. I haven't seen any SRO notices, but I sort of think it's still "a thing."
@Petrol Standing room is definitely a thing on Broadway, depending on the theater and the production. Some theaters (mostly the older ones, I think) were built to accommodate standing, with a partial wall behind the last row of orchestra seats, maybe around 4 ft tall (that's an estimate, could be higher or lower) with a ledge to lean on and numbered spots. Generally only made available when the show is sold out, hence SRO. Playbill currently lists 6 Broadway shows with SRO. <a href="https://playbill.com/article/broadway-rush-lottery-and-standing-room-only-policies-com-116003" target="_blank">https://playbill.com/article/broadway-rush-lottery-and-standing-room-only-policies-com-116003</a>
@Petrol In the 1980's I went to a lot of performances of the San Francisco Opera with SRO tickets. It was the best way I could afford to go to more operas. The tickets were cheap, you bought one, staked out a spot in front of the doors, marked it with a coat and asked someone to save your place in line, dashed to McDonald's for a quick sandwich, ate it while you waited, and when the doors opened, everyone rushed inside to find a place at the rails at the back of the house (balcony or mezzanine preferred). As the house lights dimmed and the curtain rose, we scoped out empty seats, and if the seats were still empty at the end of the first intermission, we could take one for the rest of the opera. Once, when we had a rather insignificant earthquake, the house lights came on, the out-of-towners rushed to the exits, and we had terrific seats for the rest of the opera. When the shaking had begun, the soprano was just then singing, "Please don't leave me!" and of course we didn't.
In the 1980's I went to a lot of performances of the San Francisco Opera with SRO tickets. It was the best way I could afford to go to more operas. The tickets were cheap, you bought one, staked out a spot in front of the doors, marked it with a coat and asked someone to save your place in line, dashed to McDonald's for a quick sandwich, ate it while you waited, and when the doors opened, everyone rushed inside to find a place at the rails at the back of the house (balcony or mezzanine preferred). As the house lights dimmed and the curtain rose, we scoped out empty seats, and if the seats were still empty at the end of the first intermission, we could take one for the rest of the opera. Once, when we had a rather insignificant earthquake, the house lights came on, the out-of-towners rushed to the exits, and we had terrific seats for the rest of the opera. When the shaking had begun, the soprano was just then singing, "Please don't leave me!" and of course we didn't.
@dutchiris Very funny! Reminds me of the actual plot of the movie “San Francisco” involving an opera singer and of course a quite famous earthquake.
Went from a near record Tuesday solve to a Friday/Saturday solve time on a Wednesday
I found this very hard. After my first pass I had some entries around the edges but almost nothing anywhere in the middle. I thought I might have to use reveals, or lookups, at least. I managed to complete the grid on my own though, in the end, and actually in Wednesday time, too, which surprised me. TRUE BLUE was new to me. I am familiar with TruBlue, the climbing auto belay system. I guess now I get where the name came from - you need to trust your belayer, also when it's a machine. I've never associated ECRU with silk, specifically. To me, it's a typical color for cotton or linen. TAMRON was a huge unknown. I remember Arsenio Hall - who also had a show, right? - but he didn't fit the grid, even if he did fit the clue (or was his show not daytime?) I'm hopeless with fabric names even in Polish (I i know many of them from books but I'm unable to associate with with a specific look or texture), and I'm even worse at it in English, so TOILE was another tough entry. I suppose the theme was well implemented but I get excited over themes very rarely, and today was not one of those days.
@Andrzej Toile (actually a French term) is not a common term for most people, but you’ve likely seen it without knowing the name. It’s fabric printed with small, repeating pastoral scenes—used mostly for curtains or lampshades, but also clothing. Has an old-fashioned look—very French and British, too. And the term is also used to refer to a test piece when sewing, usually done in muslin, to sample the sizing and fit.
@Andrzej I always thought true blue was in reference to blue blood but research shows it is related to 17th century blue dye that dud not fade with time.
@Andrzej arsenio was late night
@Andrzej Totally agree with you on ECRU. That brings to mind linen, non silk, but I didn't struggle with getting it. I remember an old children's book I read where a girl wears her sister's white dress to a party and gets a big stain on it. The mother helps her out of the situation by dying it with tea and making it all ecru and putting it back in the closet. I'm sure that's where I learned the word, and it stuck with me for 50 years. Reading as a child is EVERYTHING!
@Andrzej Arsenio Hall was also Eddie Murphy's sidekick in the hilarious "Coming to America."
@Andrzej Some fibers, especially those derived from plants or other "natural sources" such as animal hair, have a "natural color" before they are dyed. For example, I use inexpensive muslin as a base for some quilt blocks (especially if the base is going to be totally covered) and it is naturally ECRU. It has to be bleached if one wants white muslin.
@Andrzej TOILE is extra tough because it has two adjacent fabric cousins: vOILE and mOIrÉ. Not quite kealoas but pretty confusing. Here are some pictures: *Toile <a href="https://www.french-nc.com/shop/Fabrics/French-Fabrics/French-Toile-de-Jouy-and-Drapery-Fabric-108in-wide.htm" target="_blank">https://www.french-nc.com/shop/Fabrics/French-Fabrics/French-Toile-de-Jouy-and-Drapery-Fabric-108in-wide.htm</a> *Voile <a href="https://fabricwarehouse.com/sheer-voile-b-blue-lightweight-voile-fabric-home-decor-fabric-58-wide" target="_blank">https://fabricwarehouse.com/sheer-voile-b-blue-lightweight-voile-fabric-home-decor-fabric-58-wide</a>/ *Moiré <a href="https://www.textileindustry.net/what-is-moire-fabric-definition-and-uses" target="_blank">https://www.textileindustry.net/what-is-moire-fabric-definition-and-uses</a>/ Voile is sheer and pliant. Moiré is heavier and has a watery-looking woven finish that can be hard to see in photographs. Toile is a stiffer fabric with pictures either woven or more cheaply, printed.
I was lucky enough to see Les Miz SRO (Standing Room Only) in 1983 in the London West End. One does not mind standing 2 1/2 hours if the show is amazing and one is young! Perfect Wednesday puzzle with intriguing theme. Merci! Favorite fill was "Oh but I do"!
Decent puzzle with a nicely constructed theme. I got slowed down by TIBIAE, having entered tibias and letting yss get filled in without looking at it. A+ for including ALANIS and ADELE.
@Marshall Walthew That's exactly how I finished.
@Marshall I made the same mistake with the leg bones, but luckily I noticed YSS fairly quickly. Of course, I had a bazillion other little mistakes to slow me down.
@Marshall Walthew I do the Spelling Bee so TIBIAE is muscle memory by now. Don't take that as an endorsement of Sam's choice of words and non-words.
A fun, lighty chewy Wednesday. Sort of a Hump Day al Dente.
I thought the theme was cute and clever! The answer for 34 down surprised me. But that might be because I have recently been cramming for the AWS Cloud Practitioner Exam and I have only been seeing references (besides AWS) to Google and Azure.
Late to the party today but had to post after completing the puzzle…. At first pass (and maybe a second) I was thinking this would be a Wednesday with headaches and lookups.. Even after getting the theme entry, I was still VEXED in several areas. But then after doing A DOUBLE TAKE, I slowly figured out the shaded entries which of course helped me fill the grid. In the end, I LOVED this puzzle.. My most common comments on this forum is how much I love it when the theme helps you solve the puzzle. To me, any my modest crossword skills, this solve would not have been possible without the theme. But once you got it, the rest fills in (even the more obscure words). Bravo! Rating: 10/10
I jumped around the puzzle, filling in what I knew to be correct, tried it, and accepted when I had to TOSS OUT what I knew to be correct but was not correct, and one way or another, filled in all the blanks. I didn't look for a theme until the puzzle was done, because it always slows me down when I'm on a roll, and weirdly, tonight I was. Themes are often propped up with words that are too easy or too wrong, but Ben did this the hard way: a solid puzzle with fun cluing, and no clunkers. MERCI, M. Zimmer. I'm looking forward to another.
Excellent example of a puzzle in which the theme is both fun and useful during the solve, very satisfying. And I must be getting better at these crosswords - I could immediately put in SRO and BTU despite never having seen them IRL outside the NYT!
Wow! I didn’t solve using the theme (didn’t even read the revealer) so when I finished and looked to see what was afoot: BOOM! Very impressive. What a nice puzzle. Well executed, a double take for me, indeed.
A typo got me a "not quite" and when I found "satyrday" I wanted the clue to become "skirt chasing boozer's favorite day of the week."
Fun bio factoid* for the day: The AVIAN lineage is not merely descended from dinosaurs -- birds *are* dinosaurs. I suspect some of you are already aware of this. For an excellent and readable treatment of this, check out the recent book by Steve Brusatte: The Story of Birds: A New History from Their Dinosaur Origins to the Present. It is surprisingly readable, considering it is written by an actual scientist heavily involved in this kind of research. He has also written a couple of other books about dinosaurs that are worth reading. And for those across the pond: Although Steve is a Septic by birth, he is now at the University of Edinburgh. *Yes, I know. But I want to use the newer, less favored meaning of "factoid." So, don't bother. Your pedantry is not welcome here.
@Captain Quahog I'm reminded of that scene in "Jurassic Park" where the group encounters a herd of dinosaurs in a field, behaving like a flock of birds evading a predator, and Dr Grant notes the evolutionary reason for that. Then there's that moment when he realizes that there must be a predator...
@Captain Quahog Birds are evolved from dinosaurs? Really? Then why do we still have dinosaurs? Huh? Huh? 😀
Fun puzzle! My Diary of a Crossword Fiend review: <a href="https://crosswordfiend.com/2026/10/06/wednesday-october-7-2026/#ny" target="_blank">https://crosswordfiend.com/2026/10/06/wednesday-october-7-2026/#ny</a>
@Eric Hougland You weren't wrong about Pittsburgh; its erstwhile stadium for the Pirates and the Steelers, was Three Rivers Stadium, located at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, forming the Ohio River. The current Cincinnati REDS stadium, Great American Ballpark (the first two words are a sponsor, not a descriptor of the ballpark) is also located on the Ohio River, just a few blocks from Paycor Stadium, where the Bengals play. PNC Park, the Pirates' current stadium, is just a few blocks from where the old stadium was, but it's now situated wholly on the Allegheny, a short walk from where it runs into the Monongahela. Acrisure Stadium, where the Steelers play, is located where Three Rivers used to be.
@Eric Hougland I need to get better at reading your daily posts on Crossword Fiend. I appreciate the perspective of you and the other contributors and I too am hoping for a banner ski season.
I found some of the clues a bit iffy, but I liked the theme. I thought this was a good Thursday-ish Wednesday. PS- HeathieJ, I really wanted 14A to be Har. But at least we got a RUMBA?
@Heidi Right!? I sure was hoping!! Well, maybe next time. RUMBA made me HEH HEH! It might have been too much glee for me to handle if both were in the same puzzle though, so maybe it's for the best. 😏
Great Wednesday! I found that harder than I should have, probably because I stubbornly stuck with 'reproach' for way too long 😬. And as usual a couple of US themes answers took a bit longer to infer. Always the mark of a good puzzle when you feel you're not going to finish it, even as you finish it.
I really enjoyed having a bit of a challenge. Too straightforward for Thursday. An excellent Wednesday. Thanks.
I enjoyed the theme. Didn't realize what was going on until I got the revealer. I'm reminded of the time I gold medaled with my floor routine at the Comedy Olympics in Pyongyang. I segued masterfully from a slow burn into a double take followed by my patented Oreo Crumbs spit take.
Wow, I struggled with that one! Took me double the amount of time I usually take for a Wednesday. Thanks for the challenge (:
Nowhere near a SATURDAY, but a STURDY workout -- kinda like a TRIMMED-down Sunday, HEH HEH.
@LBG Well, Sundays are supposed to be about Wednesday-level. so that scans. Not always adhered to, but that's fine by me.
Didn’t love this one. I thought the theme was fine. I appreciated the construction and that it helped me solve the SW corner. I also appreciate there was little in the way of trickery - no dreaded rebus. However I found the collection of answers a bit vague and obtuse, obscure for the sake of being obscure, intentionally zagging when anyone would zig, if that makes sense, which left me feeling dissatisfied with the puzzle as a whole by the end.
Good Puzzle. I think many people would have appreciated it more on a Thursday.
Good long workout for me. Typical slow start and I remained puzzled about the theme for a good long while. But... finally catching on is what led me to be able to finish and that's always a nice touch. And.. my puzzle find today. A Tuesday from December 27, 2016 by Herre Schouwerwou. Some straightforwardly clued theme answers: HEARTSHAPE COVERCHARGE BACKAWAY DOWNHOME AFTEREFFECT And then the reveal: "Surprised reaction, or a hint to what can precede both halves of the answers to the starred clues." DOUBLETAKE (e.g. - TAKEHEART - TAKESHAPE etc.) Thought that was quite clever. Here's the link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=12/27/2016&h=60a" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=12/27/2016&h=60a</a> ...
I always appreciate a Wednesday puzzle that requires me to think. I knew who TAMRON was because I sometimes run into the rebroadcast of her talk show when I'm awake in the middle of the night and flipping channels. She is African American so has that in common with Arsenio. Here's the first paragraph of her Wikipedia entry, which lists her journalist/broadcast gigs to date. Tamron Hall (born September 16, 1970) is an American broadcast journalist, television talk show host and author. In September 2019, Hall debuted her self-titled syndicated daytime talk show, which has earned her two Daytime Emmy Awards. Hall was formerly a national news correspondent for NBC News, daytime anchor for MSNBC, host of the program MSNBC Live with Tamron Hall, and a co-host of Today's Take, the third hour of Today. She hosts Deadline: Crime on Investigation Discovery channel. In summer 2016, Investigation Discovery premiered the TV special Guns on Campus: Tamron Hall Investigates, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the tower shooting at the University of Texas at Austin.
I almost did a spitTAKE when I filled in the revealer! Most truly, I was hoping for DOAspitTAKE there, but I didn't know what the opposite of a rebus would be... is there a way to stretch letters out over two boxes, instead of cramming two or more into one box? Hmm. The world may never know.... OHBUTIDO! Fun puzzle!! A most enjoyable Wednesday! Getting the THEME helped me with RINGER and TRUEBLUE (I had to give up SmAshup at 1D). Anyhow, I always like it when figuring it out helps.
@HeathieJ There was a puzzle in recentish history that featured extra large letters over more than one square. More than that my mind does not recall, but I bet others do. I believe it was controversial.
TIBIAE! Finally got to use my eighth grade Latin – thanks Ben!
So, does one write a fancy program to find words that have another word/common name buried within? Wanted SCATTER, got SHATTER. RAIN GEAR or RAIN WEAR? All those old enough to know Betty GRABLE, raise your hand (if you can manage it--(can guide your walker one-handed for a parsec.) And 6D is there for those who'd never heard of this color yesterday! My work here is done.
@Mean Old Lady SHATTER seems more true to the clue. Why did you want scatter?
@Mean Old Lady, 🙋🏻♂️ A little before my time, but her poster had a memorable cameo in “Stalag 17”. <a href="https://youtu.be/qyo1HCPNgUM?is=AMnSb8oSTb_tnZwf" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/qyo1HCPNgUM?is=AMnSb8oSTb_tnZwf</a> (About 1:50 into this)
I can’t put my finger on it… but I didn’t like the clueing. That said, I might have just been tired.
Great Wednesday puzzle--you know you're no longer in the Oreo-land of Monday and Tuesday, but you don't yet need that extra cup of coffee required on Friday and Saturday. As for SRO, sot, Evite (not to mention old standards like the SST , ELO and Lance Ito)... I like it when such clues show up, as they balance out the Harry Potter characters and boy bands that exist for me only as crossword puzzle answers.
I used Evite for my (29th) birthday party, and my younger cousin called me a boomer, so I think you may be right! 😂 I am obviously out of the loop, so that hint made me smile.
@Macy, As a bona fide Boomer, your post made me smile!
A short play today… a/ (a clearing, night.) (2 men, Curry and Sot, in wellies) Sot: There. Well… that’s that. Date night has been brought into being and The Big Surprise?…. Snow!…. from the air conditioner. Curry: Air conditioner snow. Sot: … and no dinosaurs. Yes. Big surprise… No dinosaurs! No-no-no! And no sign of a comeback. Been there, done that. Curry: d/ You can’t know! Sot: a/ True… true. But I do. Curry: You lie. Sot: I lie? Oh?.. (reproved) Oh but I tried. I tried. [note/confession: I broke from my normal rules to have the names of the two characters carry through to the down clues and the answers]
@Peter Valentine, Well done ! Hints of waiting for Godot! (An all-time favorite of mine!)
Fun one! I got tripped up with GANGER instead of RINGER for the longest time (thinking doppleganger). Macs and wellies sounded British, so I convinced myself that GAAN was some kind of Welsh sport I had never heard of, and since DIRNDL from Monday looked just as nonsensical, I ran with it for for a long time. Finally came to my senses and then switched HEH for HAH and got a very satisfying gold star :)
I'm back home after 3 weeks of being out-of-pocket, crossword-wise. This was a good puzzle to dive back in, thanks, Mr. Zimmer. The blank grid by itself was lovely, and hinted at the theme complexity. I do feel a bit rusty at solving!
Just wondering whether anyone has ever done a TREBLE take.
@Marshall Walthew I don't know about treble takes, but spit takes, typically involving morning coffee or tea, are reportedly a common reaction to Steve G.'s clever Spelling Bee hints.