Etaoin Shrdlu

Clever Sunday offering. Nice to see a Variety Puzzle bearing Will Shortz's name. Hope he's doing well.

Very nice inaugural Sunday puzzle from Zachary Schiff.

Nice Sunday puzzle. Another inspired Acrostic that unfortunately too few will get to see.

Haven't touched Sunday yet, but cannot let the opportunity slide by without singing the praises of the Acrostic. What a team the constructors make, and their selections are top notch. Patrick Berry had a nice offering, as well.

Pixar Box Set was truly enjoyable and fairly demanding to solve for me. Cryptic Crossword, by Nate Cardin, was a really nice challenge that would have been fun to read about in a Caitlin Lovinger piece. Alas, the NYT has abandoned the wholly civil Variety Puzzle community altogether.

Yes, the Sunday puzzle was very fine. However, the Acrostic soared with ingenuity. DB & JS took a fascinating quote and went one better. Each clue doubled the enjoyment factor. What an accomplishment.

Apropos of nothing, but since the comments section for the Variety Puzzle has already been closed down, let me say that this Sunday's Split Decisions was particularly enjoyable.

All in all, a satisfactory Sunday offering.

Just want to pay a compliment to the constructor of the fine PANDA, Samuel A. Donaldson.

Picture Day was quite pleasing. Crazy Eights, by Patrick Berry, always delights. Patchwork, an ingenious gem from Eric Berlin, took some getting used to before turning into a very satisfying puzzler.

Since there is no other outlet on the NYT site to express wonderment and appreciation for the Acrostic confection created by David Balton and Jane Stewart, let me say so here. Their puzzles are satisfying and delicious low-calorie treats.

40D gave me an idea: "Lier associated with nine Muses" Four letters.

Ali Gascoigne's Cryptic Crossword kept me busy for a long time. Nice to have finished finally. Well done, AG.

The Saturday puzzle was fine, and the Acrostic is magnificent.

HOP CROSS FUN, by Alex Eaton-Salners, appeared as the Variety Puzzle on Sunday. The concept was delightful, challenging, and ingenious. ONE FOR THE BOOKS, by Aimee Lucido, did not procrastinate enjoyment in solving.

Last year's Super Mega 2023 was announced on January 18, 2024. It's a full week later than that, and for all the hoopla surrounding the 2024 version there's just crickets. What gives? It is supposed to appear in Wordplay, but the article is nowhere to be found.

The 2025 Super Mega has seemingly contradictory instructions: 1. "Locate the four italicized clues, whose answers provide instructions to the contest. Follow those instructions in the grid to reveal a word or phrase that is this year's solution." (Page 7. of actual paper version.) 2. "Slide out Page 11 for the clues to the Super Mega. After you’ve finished the puzzle, remove one letter from each set of circled squares to spell a word. The letters you remove, from top to bottom, will form an appropriate two-word phrase." (Guide to the 2025 Super Mega from Gameplay)

Sounds great, but this is not the puzzle in the Sunday magazine section which also happens to be great.

To the NYT, and only the NYT: What ever became of the 2024 Super Mega? Otherwise, nice Monday puzzle.