I would not spell that soup correctly on the first try in a BOUILLON years.
@Mike R If it’s hard to spell, try using ramen numerals
@Mike R I'm gonna tell "Real Mike" on you! Nice interception, though.
Wow. That HAKA/AKELA cross was brutal.
@Francis Yeah, I didn't feel great about running the alphabet on a Tuesday. Nice puzzle, though!
@Francis Here are two HAKA videos. One traditional, one current. <a href="https://tinyurl.com/9expbbuj" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/9expbbuj</a> <a href="https://tinyurl.com/yck5pudw" target="_blank">https://tinyurl.com/yck5pudw</a> Old Cub scouts know that "The Cub follows Akela".
@Francis I'm surprised HAKA was not a gimme for you. I thought it was impossible to be familiar with the Maori but not HAKA.
@Francis thanks I needed that!
Fine puzzle, Gia. I'm sure your dad would be proud of you.
Why does bandana have two ens? Bandanna? I have never once seen it that way
@George Interesting, both are acceptable, but I’ve never seen it with one n.
@George Yeah, I've never seen it that way, but according to the dictionary it's an acceptable spelling; and in fact American Heritage lists it first. I started to type it in, but when I saw there were too many letters, I thought there must be some other gimmick in the puzzle, some sort of reverse rebus or something, and had to come back to it - and then check the dictionary.
@George “It's always something—if it's not one thing, it's another.” (IYKYK)
@George if you play Spelling Bee you know it's spelled both ways because it will catch you the first few times those letters are available
@George NYT Spelling Bee accepts both spellings, so when I saw the length of this answer, I instantly added the extra N.
Is it me, or was that really tough for a Tuesday?
Tuesday is usually my least favorite day of the puzzle solving week, but this is a major exception. What a delightful, celebration-worthy theme that gave us the right amount of challenge and fun. Gia's dad is surely smiling over this one.
@JBW Why is Tuesday in particular your least favorite day? It seems an unusual choice. It's neither overly easy like a Monday, nor potentially too hard like Wednesday-Sunday. The Tuesday themes are usually no different than those of Mondays, Wednesday's, and Sundays... I'm not being snarky - I really would like to know your reasons.
The appliance enthusiasts went to the mixer. (It created quite a stir.)
@Mike This one was pretty easy to process.
@Mike Some may think that pun a bit dicey, but I thought it was puree genius!
@Mike If you have trouble using your mixer you might need to turn to the blender of last resort
@Mike this should whip up a stir.... (You have a doppelganger...)
@Mike And! It’s quite a KitchenAide. 🍁☮️
Today’s discovery: there are shindigs for everyone! Shindig for ALTRUISTS: BLOOD DRIVE Shindig for CHEETAHS: ZEBRA HUNT Shindig for the CAFETERIA: FOOD FIGHT
So, haka was a pretty easy for one for me:) And happy to see it clued correctly as a ceremonial dance rather than how it’s commonly referred to as a war dance. Haka are used in all sorts of situations, and can be highly emotional - I’ve seen them at funerals & other charged situations and they are absolutely spine tingling. Highly recommend looking up the song “Poi E”, which combines kapa haka with some early ‘80s breakdancing
@Rebecca Whenever I see "Auckland," I am reminded of the poor guy in Cleveland who sleepily boarded a flight to Oakland....or so he thought...
This was definitely crunchy for a Tuesday. I got fairly far on acrosses, amazingly, because I lnew AKELA and HORAE off the bat—but needed downs for LAVA FLOW which is new to me, and MiLANESE because it’s always gonna be “schnitzel” in my house (although we use oil, not butter.) But I suppose we got our German call-out from GESTALT, one of my favorite words. And I had trouble pulling out BRIDAL SHOWER because my brain was thinking more immediate, like some sort of rehearsal dinner or bachelor party. And I had CAST before WRAP and couldn’t get the theme from that except maybe you cast the second word to the other side. All became clear with the downs of course and this was a very witty theme. My brain is still not quite satisfied with the wrap idea since it keeps telling me it should be on the same line, but I suppose especially for a Tuesday it’s more appropriate for one to follow the other instead of having them out of order, Gia, I’m sorry about your Dad. I’m glad he got to see you in print, he would indeed be proud.
@SP Do you ever use Excel or Google spreadsheets? You can choose to format the text to wrap, in which case the text within each wrapped cell will fall to the line below it instead of keeping going in one long line which is very difficult to read within the cell the cell itself. Hope that helps you. I use it all the time when I'm working in sheets because to do anything else drives me bananas.... I love pineapple, rum, strawberries, and coconut, I'll be all set though. No worries about no stinking spreadsheets here!!
@SP Well, now I don't feel so bad. I stuck with the Across entries and got about two-thirds of the puzzle (even after looking up EGAN and SYMS) but then had to start looking at the Down clues. Still, it's a fun thing to attempt on the easier days.
"My brain is still not quite satisfied with the wrap idea since it keeps telling me it should be on the same line..." SP, I can't imagine why you would think so!
Very clever theme, combining wordplay on “wrap” along with graphic representations of WRAP PARTY. It took a stellar constructor’s mind to see the phrase “wrap party” and conceive of this. Brava Gia! Then there was the beauty – ALTRUIST, GESTALT, BANDANNA, SIDE QUEST, not to mention an answer that I can’t believe is showing up for the first time in the 80+ years of the Times puzzle, BOUILLON. WRAP PARTY tripped off memories of the night before Christmas, when my wife Susan and I did the present wrapping with Christmas music playing in the background. It was fun. It was a chore. And it’s one of those little things in life that end up being the big things. I loved seeing HAKA / KAVA / LAVA in the box. Happy brain, warm heart – a sweet start to the day. Thank you for making this, Gia!
Gia, I am so sorry for your loss. The love between you and your dad is palapable in your tribute.
@Lewis Thank you for many happy memories of WRAP PARTIES from many stages of life. As the eldest daughter, admitted to the adult mysteries of bringing joy to the little ones. [My mother could be counted on every year to cry "How did they EVER do this without Scotch Tape"] As a young bride with no kids to wrap for..and negotiating the fact that my family revelled in the pre-unwrap stage of poking and shaking and guessing whereas that was a big NoNo in his [although deceptive packaging was OK]. Wrapping for the kid. Helping the kid wrap for aunt and uncles. The year husband went all-in on the poking and shaking and wrapped a jar of nails in the box holding the snowshoes he was surprising me with.
Feels weird to be stuck on a Tuesday puzzle, but here I am, with: Iraqi port city crossing a writer named Jennifer City in Northern Ireland crossing a jazz singer A Maori dance crossing a book character Better luck next time
@Frankie B Yep, those were my three gold-killers.
Thank you so much for the fabulous surprise of a tricky Tuesday, Ms. Bosko! Not only that, but the fill was interesting and just enough on the tougher side to make for a delicious solve. It's also nice when one gets to feel lucky for knowing some of the less obvious entries. That's how I felt about HAKA and MILANESE. I can't say the same for AKELA and HORAE, but the crossers were gentle enough to REVEAL them to me. Really great puzzle. I loved it, Ms. Bosko, and I'm so sorry your father didn't get to solve this one because I'm sure he would have loved it, too. My sincere condolences. .................................... For some puzzle-inspired music, there's Country with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss singing "It's OVER"... <a href="https://youtu.be/MPZ575AC3wQ?is=Y5otuA4weRXCRydO" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/MPZ575AC3wQ?is=Y5otuA4weRXCRydO</a> ... and there's Soul with Teddy Pendergrass singing "Love TKO" – <a href="https://youtu.be/tQh-_llN_UY?is=NVxqC7KG31peP2bE" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/tQh-_llN_UY?is=NVxqC7KG31peP2bE</a>
@sotto voce Love the Plant/Krauss collaborations.
@sotto voce I still remember the first time I heard Alison sing. She was on PBS, probably ACL, and I made my wife come down and listen. “There’s an angel singing on our television!”
Just right for a Tuesday; no look-ups necessary, but some thinking required, and entertaining, as parties should be. Perfectly done, Gia. Thank you.
Too many crossed esoteric nouns for a Tuesday.
A little harder than usual for me for a Tuesday but fun. TIL you can legit spell bandana with two Ns never knew that. Derry/Syms gave me trouble but fair. I never cease to be amazed at how important a role Oreos play in the world. Thanks for a good start to the day.
@Crevecoeur - the two spellings of bandana are common in Spelling Bee, so I was ready for that one.
Here’s to Gia’s dad🥂 So many of us learned to love the puzz sitting by our fathers or mothers. And Gia, I can promise you- you will find him watching over your shoulder and beaming with pride for his brilliant child. Sometimes, he’ll even whisper how cool you are. Pinky-swear.
the Champagne of Tuesday puzzles wow! this is crossword heaven thanks Gia and al involved. Cheers! absolutely delightful!
I have yet another reason to comment on the HAKA/AKELA cross: What in the world is a wolf doing in a jungle? Did he take a wrong turn in Albuquerque?
@Francis It's been a while since I read 'The Jungle Book' by Kipling, so I had forgotten Akela.
@Francis That would be a wascaly wabbit.
@Francis More troubling is that wolves don't talk. If AKELA *did* speak, it might be to say "Mowgli tastes good!"
@Francis Why not protest "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the LION sleeps tonight"...? Eh?
Thank you, Gia, for this delightful grid that you dedicated to your beloved dad. He would be proud, for sure. I, too, was very close to my dad who passed away four years ago at 93 years young. I would like to think he'd be proud of me today for completing #500 in my streak. When the music played upon my completion it definitely felt like a WRAP PARTY!🎉😊
@Kelly H, Congratulations on reaching 500!! That’s a nice streak and a big milestone. Well done! 🎉🍾🥂🎈👏🏻
Sorry not sorry to be a pedant. Pulp Fiction was widely celebrated and awarded when released, thought by some not only to be the best film that year, but a landmark in unorthodox storytelling. Farthest thing from a cult film you could imagine. Otherwise…I had to resolve the Akela/Haka thing by going through the alphabet letter by letter, and the wraparound trick was mildly amusing I guess. I’m looking forward to the rest of the week.
@DAH I'm a big Tarantino fan, and I've never thought of Pulp Fiction as a cult movie.
@DAH Does "cult movie" mean something else in English and Polish? Over here a film being popular and critically acclaimed does not prevent it being "kultowy". In fact, one of the most celebrated Polish films of all time, "Seksmisja", is the epitome of "kultowy film". We call a movie that when it becomes an iconic part of culture, rematched, remembered and quoted by devoted fans - there being millions of them is perfectly fine. I'm surprised by how many posters didn't get HAKA. I thought that if you know anything about Maori people, this is it.
my deepest condolences Gia - your dad would be so proud of you and this puzzle. keep up the wonderful efforts you've made. thank you!
Excellent puzzle, Gia. What a lovely tribute to your dad.
@sam – How did you find that perfect photo? How did you even think of looking for a photo of turtles noshing to represent “Gradually eat away”? Standing O!
@Lewis There's a captivating video of the turtles preparing that snack if you have 937 hours to spare.
I had so much trouble spelling BOUILLON. Where did that troublesome 'I' go? I asked Alexa, out of frustration, and she said, " B O U ellllllllllllllllllll" and faded away. I guess she has bad days too. I asked a second time and she spelled it wrong again! This time she put the I in the wrong place. I just went with my gut (because I had a couple of other cross letters in that had to be correct) and the result was right. Poor Alexa. I think she had a migraine.
@Marlene...... Sorry for Alexa. Next time use google or wikipedia. I have found both to be reliable.
@Marlene I think it's because Bullion as in Gold Bullion is spelled with the I after the Ls.
@Marlene I had about 3 different spellings there until I finally realized I'd better work on the crosses!
I ended this one with a big smile as my last entry was OREO. Got me! Thanks.
Fun fact: Jason Momoa danced the haka as his audition for Game of Thrones for the role of Khal Drogo. You can watch it in this video - it's easy to see how he got the part! <a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=2dE786RERGE&pp=ygUQSmFzb24gbW9tb2EgaGFrYQ" target="_blank">https://youtube.com/watch?v=2dE786RERGE&pp=ygUQSmFzb24gbW9tb2EgaGFrYQ</a>%3D%3D
I don't accept “--” as a crossword clue. It means different things in different puzzles. I know it's a convention: the dash tells us that the answer is clued somewhere else. But that's an unnecessarily vague way to communicate* something that could easily be made explicit. There's nothing difficult about splitting GENDER REVEAL into two entries and cluing each separately, even with the tedious “With 21-Across…” My objection is logical: “--” doesn't actually tell us anything. We're simply expected to pretend it does, and that everyone knows what it means. *A thought I had earlier, in private, that you have to guess.
@Asher B. It's a common way of indicating gimmickry in crossword puzzles - your not knowing that doesn't change things.
@Asher B. I see what you are saying, but I'd rather have the fun theme than put "With 22-across" (etc) on all of them.
@Asher B. It tells me something - to skip that one until I figure out what's going on! Which is fun for me. But I respect your right to not like it.
I was AKELA in the Cub Scouts for about 10 years, and have seen a few HAKA before the rugby on tv. Really enjoyed this one. Needed a bit of thought but not too tortured. Yes, GUV is used in a lot of police dramas but I don’t know if it’s still used now. My father used Gov’nor for the boss many, many years ago. On holiday in Puglia, Italy (in case there’s another on in the US) and I walk into a shop and the first thing I see is ….. a packet of OREO!
No U.S. city of Puglia (that I'm aware of), but there has been a Puglia restaurant in Little Italy in New York for a few years... <a href="https://www.pugliaofnyc.com/welcome" target="_blank">https://www.pugliaofnyc.com/welcome</a>
Sam - The Furies will be furious with you for not remembering them as a group of goddesses... 🙂
@Lee I’m not sure I would call the Furies goddesses. But how about the Moirai (the Fates)? The Moirai think about it, the Moirai think they should be included.
HORAE were surprisingly niche for a Tuesday. I'm not bad with Greek mythology but I was stumped - I associate Demeter and Persephone with Greek beliefs relating to the changing of the seasons. Strangely, for once I had to rely on an actual *baseball player* to give me the letter at the crossing of his and the goddesses' names! (AROD has appeared so many times in these puzzles his name is now a gimme, at least with a few crosses, even though I still don't know anything about him 🤣). Stills, I solved the puzzle quite quickly for a Tuesday. The theme seemed slightly Thursdayish, like a Thursday super-lite, and I enjoyed that - it was refreshing to see an unusual gimmick this time of the week, even if it was very easy to get. MILANESE was new to me. I never thought of the common practice of frying breaded stuff as having an actual name, but I suppose this is it (in Italy? Among Italian Americans? Come to think of it, I can't recall seeing dishes done this way in Milan or elsewhere in Italy and in Italian restaurants in Poland).
@Andrzej Since you asked (I know you didn't): Alex Rodriguez—known as “A-Rod”—is a former MLB shortstop and third baseman, widely regarded as one of the most talented hitters of his era, and now a businessman and baseball broadcaster. He played 22 seasons for the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and New York Yankees. He finished with a .295 batting average, 3,115 hits, 696 home runs, and 2,086 RBIs. HTH! 😁
@Andrzej, Schnitzel? (That fit, as well, and was my first pass guess as I tried to solve only with across clues)
Andrzej, <a href="https://www.foodandwine.com/cooking-techniques/6-ways-make-milanese" target="_blank">https://www.foodandwine.com/cooking-techniques/6-ways-make-milanese</a>
Great Tuesday puzzle. Some tricky clues, a relatively simple theme, no naticks and limited common filler words. Enjoyed it!
Legalese like this has no place in crossword puzzles. I had to keep flipping back and forth between the party of the first part and the party of the second part. So of course, I turned to the experts: <a href="https://youtu.be/cXFH9h1FR-Y?si=LqxYBAmUc7Reosh" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/cXFH9h1FR-Y?si=LqxYBAmUc7Reosh</a>-
@JohnWM, For those who may not know, that joke about 30 seconds into the clip is a reference to the Dionne quintuplets, born in Canada around that time.
Best Tuesday puzzle ever!
@kkseattle Sorry, no. November 5, 1996. Not only the best Tuesday puzzle ever, but the best puzzle ever. Go find it in the archive and tell me I’m wrong. If you don’t want to solve it, or you do and still don’t get why it’s the best puzzle ever, here’s the xwordinfo page for it, where Jim Horne explains it (there was no Wordplay yet): <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=11/5/1996" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=11/5/1996</a>
uncommonly tricky for a Tuesday
It's been a lifelong dream of mine to be called GUV. At least as long in my life as I've been watching British mysteries and police stories... which has been a good part of my life. Alas, I have no hars to give. I am opening up my raw desires before you. After all, I'm just a girl, standing in front of a crossword puzzle forum, asking to be called GUV.
@HeathieJ Have you read Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley novels? If you haven't, that's a nice chunk of reading. If I'm remembering correctly, plenty of GUVs there, in part because of his rank at Scotland Yard and in part because he's an earl.
@HeathieJ Alright GUV?
@HeathieJ, ‘allo, GUV! 😊
I bet no one was more surprised than the constructor that this appeared on a Tuesday. The trick is not a Tuesday-level trick. (How often does a Tuesday even have a trick?) The clues are not Tuesday-level clues. Once you've figured out the trick -- I figured it out at GENDER REVEAL -- the puzzle isn't all that hard. But boy do I feel sorry for the person who only solves on Monday and Tuesday and then had to wrestle this to the ground with no previous experience of such a thing as blank clues. I had a wonderful time, of course. It's like having an extra latish-week puzzle in the week. An interesting grid, nice cluing, and more than a little thinking required from me. More challenge than I expect on a Tuesday and a lot of fun to solve.
OREO led me to do an answer history search. Interesting results. Appearances: OREO - 409 times OREOS - 87 times OREOCOOKIE - 10 times. And... the most frequent appearance of any other answers containing that string of letters: MOREORLESS - 6 times. BALTIMOREORIOLE - 5 times. POREOVER - 5 times. Hmmm.... ...
The word/name Horae (in Greek, Ὧραι) is sometimes rendered in English as "the Hours." Why the confusion? Because the Greek, and Latin, "hora"--the source of the (Norman English) word "hour"--can mean any season or period of time, large or small. "Hora" stems from the Indo-European root "*yóh₁r̥"--make sure you enunciate that subscript "1" clearly!--which is also the source of the (Germanic) word year. Turn, turn, turn. The Horae were generally depicted as a trio, but their names varied depending on which sources you consult--sometimes Eunomia, Dike, and Eirene; sometimes Thallo, Auxo, and Carpo; and sometimes Nicole, Julianne, and Meryl. Among other tasks, one of the Horae's duties was to act as fluffers for the goddess Aphrodite. Why, here comes one now!: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgO3JugGMm0&list=RDhgO3JugGMm0&start_radio=1" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgO3JugGMm0&list=RDhgO3JugGMm0&start_radio=1</a> (One of my all-time favorite bits of orchestral writing.)
@Bill Lol. Whatever you say, Mrs Dalloway.
@Bill Thank you for the great explanation. I particularly loved the special attention to the subscript 1, lol. You've helped me commit HORAE to memory. I'd been stuck on seeing "hora" the dance, knowing full well it has nothing to do with the Greek trio, and completely failing to see the obvious "hora" – "hour" in Portuguese! Duh.
@Bill Nicole, Julianne, and Meryl indeed! No love for Sandra, Meg and Geena?
My Diary of a Crossword Fiend review: <a href="https://crosswordfiend.com/2026/10/12/tuesday-october-13-2026/#ny" target="_blank">https://crosswordfiend.com/2026/10/12/tuesday-october-13-2026/#ny</a>
@Eric Hougland Your reviews always make for a fun read. Thanks for posting the link. Keep 'em coming! ;-)
@Eric Hougland Yeah, I had Fens at first, too.
@Eric Hougland I recently experienced lava flows as one of the drinks offered at a luau. About what you’d expect from a fruity frozen drink. It helped the meh poke go down.
Wonderful tribute to your father. Excellent puzzle and excellent memories. I'm sure he's very proud.
A gentle "missing clue" puzzle, perfect for a Tuesday. I'm sorry about the loss of your dad, Gina. It's nice that he saw your other six puzzles make it to print over the past few years.
It's always interesting to see what crossword creators think we get up to in the UK. GUV is perhaps acceptable though I haven't heard it in a while.
@Steve I just hear it in one of your crime shows. BTW British crime shows are SO much better than US!
Apt, crossing BRIDAL SHOWER with Take me AS I AM. Love the turtle party pic, Sam.
@Linda Jo Have a little Faith: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvkMm_nXZdY" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvkMm_nXZdY</a>
poem made from words in today’s puzzle a/ this is the boy who wrote this book in dirt and breadcrumbs this is the selfless boy who goes away to lie with the wolf this is the wolf boy who d/ left me in the city with a mop and a wrinkled shirt and dissolved in a broth of cars and mediocre losses before a quiet sunset a/ warming over
Another cracker of a puzzle this week. Solved pretty quickly, definitely in my wheelhouse. Lots of gimmes; (London)DERRY, with apologies to our Irish friends. AKELA, from my boys time in Beavers (pre cubs), GUV natch, etc. A fun theme, nice clues, what more could I ask for?
I finished the puzzle, really enjoyed it too. Just crunchy enough for a Tuesday I thought, and I was a bit surprised to get the happy music bc I hadn't quite grasped what was going on. I went to comments and tried to comment on another solver's comment and the site wanted me to log in (or something, not sure now) and asked for my name and city, neither of which has changed, and which has always appeared when I commented. Not sure what is going on. Lately--in this AI era--it seems like weird things happen when I'm using my iPhone or my Mac. I know I'm getting on in years but I still love all the puzzles and do many of them, small and large, every day. I will get over this set back today--more important things to worry about and deal with. But I felt like venting anyway. Barry, do you have an explanation for me? :-)
LOL. I think all of us have, at one time or another, been told to log in when we are logged in, or add information already there. It definitely predates AI.
@Shari Coats You need to learn to think like a bottomless greedy computer which is programmed to hector you endlessly until you buy something or at least have been forced to look at a bunch of ads and click your way out of them. The real skill here is calibrating the relentlessness to the sweet spot where it is maximized but not quite so infuriating that you are driven to cancel. There ya go.