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If you had asked me a year ago about a Wednesday puzzle, I would have dismissed it because I thought it was too hard. These days Wednesday is my favorite puzzle of the week and today’s was a pure treat to do. Maybe in another year or two I will say the same about the Friday or Saturday puzzle.
On the last day of 2025, I would like to express my gratitude to all the constructors and contributors. I value all of you and your insights. Thank you for your commitment to wordplay and puzzles. I truly admire the dedication to this community and the love of words, puns and misdirection. Thank you for putting so much thought and energy into puzzles - without this column and commentary I would probably have given up all puzzles except Mondays. Happy New Year
Happy New Year everyone. I am so grateful to all of the amazing people who make this community so vibrant. The editors of Wordplay do a great job each day to keep things fun, light, fresh and informative. To the regular posters, I learn so much from all of you and I am grateful that you take the time to write thoughtful and constructive comments. To the constructors of these puzzles, I am in awe of your craft and thank you for making me chuckle every day at some of your clever clues. Happy New Year everyone.
@Barry Ancona. I laughed out loud after a few minutes of struggling to understand 10d (Against the rules). NO TOK, what the heck is NO TOK? Then I was reminded of the crosswordese knowledge you recently shared on being DOOKed. Did others DO OK with 10d or did others feel NOT OK about the clueing to NO TOK? My wife thinks it’s funny when I chuckle to myself while doing the puzzle. Thanks to the puzzling community for providing humor to my day.
@Sam Corbin I attribute all of this to you, the other columnists and this community. Regardless of my outcome with a particular puzzle, I read Wordplay and all of the comments. I’m always learning something new. Thank you
“Remember this!” (THE ALAMO) I hope this helps others learn more about puzzle nuances. I asked in yesterday’s comments about the clue “Call me!” (CAB) and @Lewis kindly explained it by writing, “ When you have a clue with an exclamation mark but no quotation marks, that clue refers directly to the answer. So the answer to [There's the rub!], for instance, which has appeared in the Times puzzle twice, is SPA, and that's what "there" refers to (a rub is another word for a massage). In [Call me!], the "me" refers to the cab.” I find it funny that “Remember this!” was a clue today. I will remember that.
I love the Wednesday puzzle and this one was really fun. Shout out to so many great women and Simon Biles being one of them. Regarding the wicked clue, I read the clue to my wife and she instantly said ELPHABA. She paused a minute and couldn’t resist saying “you’re the only person in America who doesn’t know that”. Chances are good I will need to ask again the next time ELPHABA is clued and that’s ok.
My Wordle streak ended the other day when it was sally. Today I read @Sam Corbin’s use of the idiom sally forth. Was it a coincidence or cosmic unconsciousness?* *Repo Man reference
I really love Wednesday puzzles. Hard but doable. It took me a while in the NE corner because I was certain 16A was PLUSONE which made 9D ALL, but with some perseverance I was able to finish without any lookups or help from my wife. All of this was possible without having any idea about CHAO or ERTE.
I will commit OPI to memory. I will commit OPI to memory. I will commit OPI to memory. Fun puzzle with just a few look ups.
After the past week or so, I finally committed NENE to memory. It's taken a long time but now I can fill it confidently.
Here’s a tip for people who are intimidated and struggle with Friday puzzles -like me. It might be obvious or sacrilegious to some. Solve the easy mode (I get it via email in the mornings ) and then solve the regular mode. It’s fun to see some of the variations in clues and I’m always surprised how quickly I forget an answer.
@Steve L said another way, it was awful. I giggled and thought is a funny.
Fun puzzle. Is it ARE SO, AM TOO, NEWB or NOOB - I’m learning. I liked the “rainbow” fish clue. @Caitlin with nothing but appreciation for your column, the picture of the fish is of brook trout not rainbow trout.
@Janine my condolences and I am glad you have those memories, her inspiration and this wonderful community. ♥️
Someday I may not need my wife’s help with Shakespeare clues, but I will still ask because as @Sam Corbin recently wrote in wordplay, it’s fun to do puzzles with someone else. Cheers to all
Congratulations on your debut. It was a fun puzzle that made me think of the movie, Toy Story……the claw, the claw, the claw. I am still reading all the comments each day and loving the puzzles -especially Wednesdays.
Some people do puzzles on a train, others create them. Kudos to Adam on crafting a fun and challenging puzzle.
That was so fun. It was the closest I have come to completing a Thursday on my own. Like others, I knew the rebus theme/answers but I couldn’t remember how to enter the U/PEN. Still it was so clever and fun- I’m not hung up yet on always getting the gold star or maintaining a streak. Also, I still needed some help with some of the names but figured out a bunch of clues by the crosses and some newly discovered crossword confidence. I loved 25D. OOPS
@CCNY I read your name and always think of CSNY and some of my favorite songs like Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.
This morning was filled by doing the Friday puzzle in the easy mode and then trying it in regular mode. I still struggled with some clueing but I think it will help in the long run.
I have come a long way in my puzzling journey but I have to admit that I have been that passenger on multiple occasions. Very clever and congratulations on your solo debut.
I have mixed emotions. I am sorry so many people had issues with the app and weren’t able to enjoy the theme. I am also feeling incredibly proud of myself for being able to decipher the theme and solve (most) of this puzzle. Off to the archives….
Great puzzle. For all those who enjoyed Holes, I encourage you to read The Cardturner. It’s a great story that I recommend it all the bridge players I know.
I struggled with 44D (Turn off) and then I thought it was so clever to clue to ENTRANCE but no it was ESTRANGE. Double misdirection.
@Amy. I love it! This is such a great post. It made me think of the trend “tell me you’re from Manhattan without telling me.” (Written with good intentions and praise for your post not a judgment of people from Manhattan.)
That was hard yet a lot of fun to work through many times before finally finishing it. Didn't quite understand the theme until reading the column,D'OH! Can someone please explain H, to Homer? ETA Thanks in advance.
thanks all, I didn't understand 43D either. Although I think I read a similar explanation in the past few months. I will try to remember it.
@Splat that is so funny, I always thought it meant So Much Hate. 🤦♂️ I went with OMG before changing it to SMH.
@Lewis thank you, this is great explanation. I’m always learning from this community.
@Crevecoeur The Overstory was one of my favorite books. It’s a wonderful story and beautifully written. I recommend to anyone who is looking for their next book.
@Lewis what was the date of your first published puzzle?
Chances are good if you’re on SKI BOARDS (aka blades, scorpions) you are either under 15, intoxicated, it’s the last day of the season or wearing jeans… or all of the above.
@history teacher a NOOB is a beginner gamer. I think the online gaming community continuously mistyped the word “owned” (as a disparaging remark) as “pwned”. The o is near the p on keyboard. DONEZO might be similar to slang for “used up” which might clue to GONEZO
@HeathieJ same here. I love that movie and specifically that scene.
Question for all you record breaking solvers: are you doing the puzzle on a computer, iPad, phone or do you print it and set your timer? I'm impressed that you solve the puzzle so quickly (even people who report 6 minutes is pretty amazing and way faster than I could ever finish) and while I don't currently care about how long it takes me, I may become more enthralled by my times as I get more gold stars. I personally solve it on my phone because it's more comfortable holding my phone than using my iPad. I do appreciate printing it out so I can see more than one clue at a time- like it is on the computer. I haven't tried solving it on my phone using the three bars mode because I enjoy seeing the entire grid. Just curious.... Nate, I enjoyed your puzzle and sorry for your loss. I really enjoyed 28A (magazine for small screen since 1953) and I didn't need help from my wife with 22a (Shakespeare clue) because I solved it with the crosses. Written from my phone so please excuse typos
@Mady I had the same and was pretty shocked to have A-HOLER Fun puzzle that I needed a lot of help with but fun nonetheless
@Steve L Thank you. That was fun and very manageable.
@Heidi lol, great reference to a show about nothing
@Nancy J. I hope you also thought of Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions. I will try to find it but can you please tell me the clue from yesterday's New Yorker puzzle with the answer of the Grateful Dead? Thanks
Haha, I love it - Anthem to the Sun is a pretty obscure clue but fun to see.
@dk I like that you incorporated the word carped into your post. YIL carped from connections. And I had no idea what SIDER is, so thanks for asking.
@G Yes dot, not bot. Thank you for the explanation. That makes sense.
@Amy I had DEAD and OVER before DONE
I always love reading @Lewis’s five favorites clues from the previous week. Can someone explain “Call me!”(CAB)? I don’t get it. Does it have something to do with calling a taxi? Thanks in advance
Kudos to Christina Iverson and the Easy Mode. Thank you!
A question not related to this puzzle. When I opened the Wordplay column on Safari on the iPhone, there was a blue bot in the bubble that shows the number of comments. Can someone please tell me what that signifies? Thanks
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