Quite the Friday tag team! An R&R Production. These are two constructors I'm happy to have BACKSOSOON.
"I got a discount on the hotel!" "Suite deal!" ("It helps to be inn the know!")
I got one with a gray coupon, and it passed musterd.
How's the mini bar? Any B and B in there?
I got a discount because imaretired person.
@Mike -- I just want to let you know that I always look forward to your puns in these comments. Something to smile at (or, more often, groan at) nearly every day. Thank you!
Wow what a Dream Team. About as smooth a grid as you can imagine, which shouldn’t surprise anyone given the constructors. Not a particularly difficult Friday but lively and very consistent—I never really got stuck anywhere, but also never breezed through anything, everything was engaging. Thanks for the Ohio Buckeye callout. Yes real buckeyes are poisonous—but the yummy chocolate and peanut butter confections are not. I’m sure Taylor Swift will not not thank you for reminding everyone of Cats. On the other hand, thank you for the Ali Stroker callout, I’ve been a waiting to see ALI clued to her name. The puzzle omits her particular accomplishment, perhaps deliberately so, as did Sean’s column. She was the first actor who uses a wheelchair to win a Tony. She was cast as Ado Annie in an “Oklahoma” remake which adds an extra layer of depth to “I’m Just a Girl Who Cant’t Say No”. I had HOT ____ for awhile, and HOTHEAD would be an interesting take on keeping the lid on for too long (although HOTHEADS generally don’t). What a great clue. Had to flyspeck at the end since I had MOTELSUITE and I thought perhaps MAN was a nod that after all humans are one people (although I suppose clearly not an ethnic group). Thanks for coming together Rafael and Robyn to create a great puzzle!
T.S. Eliot is in heaven going what have they done with my poems !!!! C.A.T.S. will always be the worst musical of all time yet we all love kitties cats tigers and Bears oh my! Dog's often do hate cats this is true - Cats don't give a damn
Judi Dench recently had an honest interview with The Guardian. She commented on "Cats", too, and her take on her costume was right up my alley: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/oct/20/judi-dench-cats-film-was-a-waste-of-goodwill-and-talent?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/oct/20/judi-dench-cats-film-was-a-waste-of-goodwill-and-talent?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other</a> I had no idea Taylor Swift was in that fiasco.
I did your puzzle - the one you linked yesterday. Or sort of did it, anyway - the theme ultimately defeated me, mostly because I didn't know the revealer: I desperately wanted it to be "No shave November". Not being familiar with the cross entry for "brown-nose" didn't help, especially as that unknown crossed with another one (___ chamber, secret court). The Utah mountains were cruel, and most of the Midwest not solving to FARMland confused me, too. I still liked most of the fill, but overall the puzzle was too hard for me. I needed to check the grid and reveal entries to finish.
Ha ha, both of us referenced the candy (only the home-made ones were really good!) ...I remember that fondly. Clearing the sidewalks in Chagrin Falls whilst walking to the Methodist church (very near the Triangle) was always a chore, but if we didn't do it, PhysDau would have been sure to take a fall because the buckeyes were underfoot everywhere!
An easier but much-enjoyed Friday. Thanks for this lovely puzzle!
I love the tension between the abutting KEEPS HONEST and BENDS THE RULES. I love seeing SASS close to SMART TVS, as it immediately gets me imagining a TV that talks back to you. I love seeing EDGY on the border, and SORE next to hurts, and seeing row six – HENS IN POWER – which gets me thinking, “Yes, that might be just what we need.” Speaking of hens, I love seeing NEST crossing NEST in the SW corner. These are all serendipities, of course. What I love most of all today is the feel-good of this puzzle. Underneath it all is a dedication to fun in wordplay and riddle-cracking and beauty in answer, a dedication toward smoothness and quality. “Have a good time,” this puzzle says, with ahas and ha-ha’s. And I did. This was satisfying, fun, and a hoot. I came to the box neutral, perked up when I saw your names, Robyn and Rafael, and after solving, left with a bounce to my step. This was a gift, and a thanks to both of you!
Got TRENCHCOAT and GHOSTPEPPERS relatively quick. Find it interesting that BULL appears 3x between the main and the midi. Lost another great actor today RIP Sir Patrick Stewart. Chekov and Picard within 3 days of each other so sad
Where do you see BULL in the main puzzle?
Is it me or has Spelling Bee been very hard this week? Typically my wife and I can get to Genius quite easily, but this week we have failed to do it twice, already. (I'm asking here because the Spelling Bee board is... Weird) And obviously, no spoilers please! I'm just curious.
@Andrzej Yes! I thought it was just me getting dimmer with age. There have been words this week that I’ve needed a dictionary to understand, then words that are in daily use for me that the Bee rejects. Most infuriating.
@Andrzej It was definitely an uphill climb this week.
@Andrzej I haven’t had time for the Bee this week so I can’t confirm difficulty level, but regarding the comment board I can confirm the weirdness level.
I agree. Ten minutes in general, but not today! I kept thinking, "I should have gone back to sleep instead of waiting for 2 a.m. to arrive!" There was much variety in the answers, too!
can't answer your question but just taking this opportunity to complain that it isn't accepting CANNELLONE today.
Hi, @Andrzej, Sidebar from your question, and I do get you re: the Bee forum. But Weird Wild West though it may be these days, I still appreciate the wicked-clever and word-nerdy bees who created the Hivemind in a thread here within Wordplay before it migrated to its own forum (for better or worse or an olio of both). So, a shout-out to Puzzlemucker; Leapfinger; Annie Towne; Sam Lyons; Doug from Tokyo; RAH; White Plains Michael; Cheryl At Home, Like Everyone Else; Monicat; Martin from Yonkers; michaeltide; Little Deer; et.al. (and apologies to those getting lumped into that et.al.). Nice to see some of you still posting here from time to time.
Definitely more difficult. Do we detect the sinister hand of A.I. at work? In the past I have had to come up with 60 words to make it to Genius (I never quit until I get there), and now sometimes it takes only 18, after rejecting everyday language, presumably because it's Spanish, but accepting toro. I am so relieved that others are finding it maddeningly difficult and that it isn't just my creaky old cabeza (oops!) head.
@Andrzej Agreed! I wasn't sure if it was more difficult, or if I was just being grumpy and impatient (maybe a little of both) but I haven't reached genius much this week either. Re: the forum.... I've always found it fascinating that they see engagement in the thousands with a no spoiler rule. I do enjoy Steve G's clues when I take the time to visit though!
Here’s how I came to terms with Spelling Bee: Play to Genius level but no four letter words. Gold stars for getting a pangram first and hitting the Genius number on the nose.
@Andrzej interesting in that opposite to most others comments I found this week's Bee difficulty on par with other weeks, maybe even a tad easier. As my family often points out, my brain just might work differently though. Lol
I loves me a Weintraub Friday! Thank you Robyn (and Rafa).
Who, besides me, confidently slapped in HAT HAIR instead of HAT HEAD?
Had to use "Stone-Out" on that one.
How would Lewis know of either, I wondered.... (Ducking and running! Couldn't resist! Don't hurt me!)
Come for the smooth fill. Stay for the clever clueing! Pure R&R!
Some of these clues turned into answers like super saturated solutions crystallising.
Sabotaged myself right from the start by entering "Debra" very confidently at 1 down. Then got distracted pondering that name as meaning the removal of an undergement. Things fell into place eventually though, and most of the rest of the puzzle went without too many hiccups. Fun one, no complaints, thanks!
Haha, I love "debra" for removing a garment 🤣 May depart be construed to mean "to put together again"? 🤣
Today I learned what an "OAST" is! I had "oases" (IDK why; it doesn't make much sense lol) so it caused me some confusion for quite some time until i figured out DONUT SHOP. Love learning something new each day of my life. :)
@Eli Edwards If you hang around long enough here you will certainly see it again; it’s where I learned it.
@SP I wonder how many of us learned oast from the crossword. I did 🤓
The guy in the TRENCHCOAT both kept people honest *and* bent the rules. Sam Spade, Lew Archer, Jake Giddes, Philip Marlowe, among many others. One reason I love them. My current favorite, VI Warshawski, well, not a trenchcoat type. Better in many ways. Hardly a very common xword word in this one… maybe only SSN. Terrific puzzle.
Well there are ALE, EON, and SASS, but I agree with you.
Typing this in Notes before I open the comments: today’s forum will be full of complimentary remarks about how this may not have been the toughest puzzle, but gosh it was just so fresh and sparkly. Some might even call it “deceptively easy”. Naturally, Rex Parker had glowing things to say about today’s puzzle, despite the early-week clueing. This, too, was totally predictable — if Robyn made a Harry Potter-themed puzzle, Rex (a major hater of Rowling/Potter content) would find a way to like it. Yeah, the answers in this puzzle were mostly pretty fresh…but jeez, these clues were just waaay too easy for a Friday. Coming off of a Thursday-lite from Ezersky, I’m afraid the Easening has reached a point where even late-week puzzles from household-name constructors are likely to be defanged to an extent that makes them quick, forgettable solves.
But at least this was fun-easy rather than just boring easy-easy. That's gotta be worth something! Somebody below reported a solve time below their Monday average. For me it was between a Thursday and a Friday, so it wasn't *that* easy. It was enjoyable though.
Sorry, but there were plenty of enjoyable but not very hard Fridays in pre-Easening days, from Robyn Weintraub and other constructors. Take a look in the archive if you don't remember. And I'm sure last Friday's killer skewed the median on xwstats and pushed this one to Very Easy.
I'm with you. When it comes to late week puzzles, I'm here for a challenge, and this was not that. It's very sad that the NYT is no longer the place to go for puzzles that push us to be better solvers.
it's hard to take seriously a post that is by Anonymous USA what are you MAGA of the Crosswords - show you you ARE! Rex Parker is a beloved commentator on our beloved pastime.. who are YOU? happy halloween BOO!
A charming puzzle from two fantastic constructors. OT: Can someone do a wellness check on HeathieJ after yesterday's sad news about Sir Patrick? And in his memory, here he is pondering B or Not a B for Sesame Street. <a href="https://youtu.be/hA7lv1SDzno?si=4lSBM23fQyxt0VfD" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/hA7lv1SDzno?si=4lSBM23fQyxt0VfD</a>
I always liked the Star Trek TNG episode where he goes back to the family vineyard and he and Jeremy Kemp play grouchy old siblings going at it. <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lpmw3BV2q9Y" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lpmw3BV2q9Y</a>
LOVED Patrick Stewart...always a good sport, eh?
@Vaer Sad sad day. I saw him on Broadway doing “Waiting for Godot” with Ian McKellon, what a fantastic talent.
And remembering him in the Washington Shakespeare Theatre's photo- negative Othello.
Wonderful actor. Community theater actors like myself love to play roles previously played by our favorite actors. So my kinship with Patrick Stewart is we both played Claudius in Hamlet. I think that puts me on a first name basis with him.
Thank you, Vaer. He was a great actor and an even greater human. What a tremendous loss! And to think of him suffering with lewy body dementia, which is about the worst of the worst, is simply heartbreaking. I'm grateful for the light he was, and will remain through his body of work and through his many good works, in this world. "Seize the time, Meribor. Live now. Make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again." (Jean Luc Picard, The Inner Light) ❤️
Also, the B or not a B is one of the Facebook posts I made about him yesterday.
A toast to the OAST who can boast the most MOTES!
Just thought I'd take a beat from whirling like a Dervish to write that I've been whirling like a Dervish since solving. WOODSTOVES!!! Which one of them came up with that gem?! Feeling a little vertiginous when I stop whirling...so...back to it...
I was sure Robyn had never collaborated before -- and I was right. So, dying with curiosity, I looked up the Constructor's Notes to see if Robyn and Rafael would tell me how it came about. And there it was -- all charmingly explained. What a marvelous puzzle -- fresh, colorful fill along with fresh, SASS-y clues. What a great clue for HATHEAD -- also, btw, a great answer. Great clue for BACK SO SOON -- a funny clue that makes a funny answer even funnier. (I actually did laugh out loud at this clue/answer combo.) Everything in this puzzle is filled with pizzazz and exudes the joy of making it. A dream-team, I'd say -- not that either constructor ever needs help. Fun from beginning to end.
I liked it a lot also. Nice to hear compliments instead of ppl complaining about how “easy” it was or something obscure. Thank you, lovely constructors! Happy & Safe Halloween, all!
This was a fine, fresh puzzle from a pair of reliable constructors, but definitely not a SLOWMOTION solve.
This smooth, savory Friday was just what I needed to get over my grumpiness from yesterday’s non-Thursday. Nicely done, team! For those who may not know, crossword constructor Sarah Sinclair was a contestant on today’s Jeopardy. Sarah has published several NYT crosswords, including a couple of collaborations with today’s co-creator Rafael Musa. She also did a memorable Thursday grid with Jeopardy champ Paolo Pasco: a puzzle in the shape of a pizza, with rebuses in the crust! Those were the days. (Check out June 27, 2024 in the archive.) Sadly, Sarah does not get to add Jeopardy champ to her resume, but she was a lot of fun to watch.
@Heidi I thought I saw two different people with NYT Xword affiliations this week. One was Sarah, and another had a 1827 day streak going. There were so many nice people to root for this week on Jeopardy! :)
Yes, Sarah also gave a quite complicated explanation about how knitting led her to crosswords, which I couldn't quite follow. (Can anyone explain it?) Also, in her photo on xwordinfo she is wearing a knitted beanie, with bees depicted on it. <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Author/Sarah_Sinclair" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Author/Sarah_Sinclair</a>
Lovely, lovely puzzle. It’s not often I get through a Friday grid with zero look ups, so today was, yes, as rare as HENS teeth. Thank you both and here’s to many more, if Robyn can make room in her busy schedule.
Off-topic re: today's puzzle, but on-topic re: a puzzle a week or two ago. Some may recall that, when ONYCHOPHORAN showed up in a puzzle, someone mentioned me in the comments; I responded, mentioning that when I was a larval biologist, I thought about becoming an "expert" on velvet worms. But then I became totally distracted by... sea slugs. nudibranchs. saccoglossans. There was a great story earlier this week, which I just saw today. It has some great images of nudibranchs in the PNW - many taken in the Salish Sea, where I was based for a while before returning to New England. Sadly, the New England region is depauperate in sea slugs, as with most other intertidal invertebrates. It doesn't show any of the species that I worked on, but you can still get the general idea. And I think you'll understand why I have always been so fascinated by them. FYI, you can see even more abundant diversity in the PNW tide pools, compared to the docks featured in the story. If you click on the link in the story that takes you to the page where the topic of what some sea slugs smell like is discussed, with emphasis on citrus and vanilla, I always thought that Melibe smelled more like pineapple. I'm surprised that wasn't mentioned. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/27/science/docktober-nudibranchs.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/27/science/docktober-nudibranchs.html</a>
They're beautiful. I hope you had a none-too-sluggish National Sea Slug Day yesterday!
Really interesting! They actually smell like vanilla, citrus, and pineapple? And I learned the word "depauperate". I don't know how I got along without knowing it all these years. I wish I were a intertidal invertebrate.
A lovely puzzle by two of my favorite constructors. Marred only by, as Vaer kindly and correctly noted, my sadness about Sir Patrick Stewart's death. Much more sadness than I typically have about a celebrity death, given that though I might very much enjoy their body of work and not wish anyone grief, I don't actually know them. To some degree, I feel like I might have actually known Patrick Stewart... just a bit, through his openness, through his causes, through his loves, through his humor, through his antics with Sir Ian McClellan, through the sonnets he read to us daily during covid, etc. so this feels a bit closer. He was so much more than a great actor. Plus, I was once close enough to touch him.... but on advice from my lawyer, I did not. Sad har. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4k17r6?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/4k17r6?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share</a>
Sir Ian's surname is incorrect in your post. McKellen.
This was a lot of fun! I laughed out loud at a few of the clues, and marveled at the cleverness of others. Much more fun than most Fridays. And, what about today’s Midi? Tunics and parables — hilarious! These puzzles were a wonderful way to end the day. Thanks!
A puzzle deserving of a Friday! I really enjoyed this one. Difficulty level was on point, cluing was great, and trivia was inferable from other answers (and a little subconscious voice in the back of my brain that had heard of them before 🤣). Spent an age on 'edgy', as had no idea what grok was (and also spelled yews with an h 😬). Well done to the creator and editor! For me, this was a perfect Friday solve! A+!!!
_Stranger in a Strange Land_?? Back to the earliest of 70's, I think. But people do use it.
@Hitch "Grok" comes from Robert A. Heinlein's novel "Stranger in a Strange Land." The best description of its meaning I can come up with is to grasp the essense of something completely, from every angle and on every level. People have taken up using it online, so when it's encountered by someone who never read the book they usually infer that it's just a synonym for "understand," so the meaning has, as usual, shifted with use towards something less precise. That process is inevitable, I guess, but it doesn't make me happy.
Since this puzzle is deserving of a Friday, I say: Give that puzzle a Friday!
My very first entry was 37A--with pleasure I typed in ESTUARIES. Felt so pleased! Only the last 2 letters were correct. Sigh. Okay, show of hands, please: All those who eat the leaves of nut trees? Anyone? What's the most obvious tip not to eat the nuts? Or "squirrel them away"? This is a lot like the warning not to eat the leaves and stems of elderberries; who would? I was at a quilt guild potluck on Monday. Only 2 CASSEROLES! Several ladies had sliced up ham or chicken. Numerous salads (including my pickled bean salad.) Notably missing: deviled eggs! Possibly too costly. We didn't even run out of desserts! Hmm. Another potluck Saturday (fiber artists group.) Pray for me. 6D: I had LENTO and MOLTO in the margin...so many choices! 41A--living dangerously, Robyn and Rafa? 27D was my fave clue; I held off because BURNER or STOVE were both possibles. Oh, and 53A? God created oil of ANISE so that there would be Springerle. Amen.
Too easy for a Friday. I prefer more of a challenge.
You know those days when you read the clues and the answers just come to you because you think the same way the puzzle writers did? That’s how this one was for me. What a pleasure.
there seems to be an obsession by many that the 'speed'in which they solve the puzzle is the most important thing - as if that's why we do puzzles! speed is not the object of this endeavor it's not a race or a sport.. that's why it's so unique and beloved. this obsession of speed and data surrounding it detracts from the puzzles meaning, phrases, words, puns, alliterations, adages, syntax, trivia with depth, geography, poetry, music, art, science, beloved people and horrible people - speaking of which... love to see the editorial staff and puzzle makers call out dictators including the one running the usa at this moment! election interference anyone? it's right in our face courtesy CIC happy halloween indeed...
*Is there some reason people should not solve these puzzles for any reason and in any manner they choose? *Are you unaware of the many crossword competitions that award prizes for speed? *Can a speed solver not admire a puzzle after solving? (I am not a speed solver, and I don't rush to solve.)
Please keep references to current politics out of your posts. Many of us are here as a respite from that.
@acjones And I don’t understand why commenters such as yourself interpret others’ comments regarding solve time as an “obsession”. Speaking for myself, a primary motivation behind solving crossword puzzles is to be challenged — you might even say *puzzled*. So when I complete a late-week (Thursday-Saturday) NYT crossword puzzle and find it woefully lacking in challenge, that’s disappointing to me. And if I want to talk about it (e.g. by posting a comment in this forum), solve time is really *the* only remotely objective/shared measure available. Personally, I’m not a speed runner: as I’ve said before, I solve these puzzles on an iPad, with coffee, sitting on a sofa with a dog in my lap. But my own *relative* solve times still provide an indicator that tracks pretty closely with my subjective sense of challenge. Again, I can only speak for myself…but it seems like many other folks around here feel the same way.
Did something in this puzzle or article contribute to that perspective or is it fully irrelevant? This article even says to "take your time" at the very start. I also agree with Barry's comment in that speed solving is still a valid, just different, way of enjoying these puzzles. If you look at other hobbies, speed seems to be a pretty natural progression for a lot of people looking to push themselves or their craft. The Rubik's cubing community for example, I think it's also fair to say it isn't a sport in the same way you say crosswords aren't a sport, yet speed is one of the many progressions for people looking to enjoy the hobby in a new way. Nothing wrong with it
The irony here is that most of the experienced solvers who talk about solving fast are actually complaining that the puzzles have become so easy that they’re finishing too fast.
Very hard solve, yet it was very fun!
All around great puzzle. But my favorite clue maybe my favorite clue ever-- Cover-up in an old detective film!!
I dunno, HAT HEAD seems pretty obvious to me… I was very excited to see today’s constructor byline. How did Will Shortz know today is my birthday? How sweet of him! Like a fun carnival ride, it was a lot of fun, but it ended too soon. I would happily welcome more R&R collaborations!
Hat hair Vs. hat head must be regional. I’m not familiar with the phrase “hat hair” and based on some posts here, I gather that’s how others feel about “hat head”.
@CrispyShot …my earlier post was missing a very important addendum, because apparently the comment system doesn’t like things that look like html tags: (scratches bald head)
Good Friday puzzle. Not all that easy for me, of course, but just a lot of working the crosses and pondering and I finally got there. And of course, my puzzle find today: A Sunday from March 19, 1989 by Caroline G. Fitzgerald with the title: "Doin' the Twist." A couple of theme clue and answers examples: "Betty Botta." BITOBETTERBUTTERBUYER "Peter Piper." PECKOFPEPPERSPICKER "Mollusk merchant." SEASHORESHELLSELLER "Caesar." SIGHINGSCISSORSSEIZER Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=3/19/1989&h=35a" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/PS?date=3/19/1989&h=35a</a> ....
Awesome Wednesday puzzle!
I started with “Debra” for 1D and felt pretty clever, right up until I had to erase it. I wonder if any other names would fit the criteria besides CALEB.
@Joe Caden is a 1990’s-2000’s baby boy’s name.
I had --EB in place (I start at the bottom and go upward)...and at first had misread the clue, so thought it was the first 5 letters instead of just 4 of the 5. That helped a lot, plus LIED-- it always reminds me of my ex. I was glad the crosses gave me AERO.
You led me to another puzzle find. Don't recall another one quite like this. A Monday from October 25, 2021 by Damon Gulczynski. Some theme answers, straightforwardly clued: PAULAZAHN PETTINGZOOS PRINCESSZELDA POLISHZLOTY And then the reveal: "So simple... like 17-, 24-, 40- and 52- across?" EASYPEASY Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=10/25/2021&h=64a" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=10/25/2021&h=64a</a> ....
These folks have to collaborate more often – this puzzle is top-notch.
I handicapped myself by relying on early guesses that seemed so good... for "Aid in evaluating some calls" I was sure SPAMFILTER was golden until it wasn't. And upon completion, no happy music. Flyspecking got me nowhere, and my one errant square was the first letter of MOTELSUITE, as I was sure that the "World's largest ethnic group" was MAN. Both are so, so wrong in retrospect but again, it's what I want on my tombstone: "It seemed like a good idea at the time"
As a general rule, it's a good idea to avoid Buckeyes, especially those that might stray into Michigan.
As a 39 yo woman I didn’t think I’d be so tripped up by the modern trivia but Swift, Eilish and Wicked clues in one grid was rough for me. The rest of the grid wasn’t too challenging, but an otherwise elegant puzzle deflated for me with so many references to, what the kids would call, “mid” media.
@Chan B Hey now. Some of us like our mid media and got this puzzle done lickety split!
Nice to see yet another crossword constructor on Jeopardy tonight. Shout out for Sarah Sinclair! I was enjoying the puzzle right to its completion, but didn’t notice that Ms. Weintraub was a co-constructor. I should have known - there is definitely something about her puzzles, they just flow!
Enjoyed this one. Crisp and clean, good wordplay, and no slop.
Push up targets for short? The NYTs puzzle has become less prudish over time but surely the first thing that popped into my mind wasn’t correct.
Much easier than Thursday’s poser. Somehow fun though.