Note: No WSJ puzzle due to the holiday. Also, the AV Club puzzle is a contest; we’ll post a write-up after the submission period closes.
Jacob McDermott’s New York Times crossword–Amy’s recap
NY Times crossword solution, 12/25/24 – no. 1225
This festive holiday puzzle features a symmetrical Christmas tree where the ornaments adorning it are made by doing connect-the-dots with all of the puzzle’s O’s. I like that the grid doesn’t have right/left mirror symmetry despite the tree’s cleanness. Entries that fill out the theme are “O CHRISTMAS TREE,
the LIGHTS and GARLAND and TINSEL on it, and a PRESENT to put beneath it.
Not persuaded by 14a. [Chump], SUCKA. With the answer’s spelling, I’d prefer a clue using Keenen Ivory Wayans’ 1988 movie title, I’m Gonna Git You ___. [Chump] has zero hint that the answer’s a more informal SUCKA rather than sucker.
3.75 stars from me. Happy all the Holidays to you!
Amanda Rafkin’s USA Today Crossword, “Twice the Fun (Freestyle)” — Emily’s write-up
Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
USA Today, December 25, 2024, “Twice the Fun (Freestyle)” by Amanda Rafkin
Favorite fill: CAFEAULAIT, RUGRATS, NOTATED, and IAMSOTHERES
Stumpers: ISITME (needed crossings), EMANANT (also needed crossings), and TUT (“hmm” came to mind first)
Though there’s no proper theme today, this puzzle is brimming with holiday cheer! It has a CHRISTMASTREE crossed with FROM (clued for a gift tag) and HANUKKAHGELT crossed with LIGHTBULBS (also clued for Hanukkah). Even with being a freestyle, the title to me hints at the two holidays included as lengthy fill. Overall a smooth solve, though some cluing took me a bit longer, and I enjoyed the grid design. What a wonderful treat to start of today!
Happy holidays!
4.25 stars
~Emily
NYT: Fun Xmas puzzle, and a nice tree drawn on the NYT app. I wonder if it plays as well in print, or on other apps. I do like that the only O’s make the ornaments for the tree. SUCKA was one of the last to fall for me. And I originally wanted to write in O Tannenbaum for the carol, but when it didn’t fit, my brain didn’t replace it with O CHRISTMAS TREE… still a pretty smooth Wednesday puzzle. Have good holidays everyone, and enjoy the first night of Hanukkah too!
I can’t swear whether I got the NYT. My connecting the dots, the pattern growing wider, isn’t nearly as convincing a Christmas tree as Amy’s with it’s ducking narrower and then back out a few times. (Colors, too.)
I’m reasonably impressed by that layer (connect the dots) on top of the four decorations plus full-length central “hint.” So it seems only right to cut the constructor a break here and there. (The preponderance of negative ratings suggests that not everyone agrees.) But yes, I agree that SUCKA was demanding. I needed to work out how to spell the otherwise easy national park (but crossing MARA) and somewhat harder violinist correctly, and I don’t think of GARLAND myself in this connection.
FWIW, I’m not sure cabbies do say GET IN, since why else do you think they pulled over? But then I’m not in the taxi-riding class, so what do I know?
NYT: Cute, clever uplifting crossword for Christmas morning. Challenging construction with the only Os being the ones that form the “dots” to connect to make the tree. Thanks!
Oh, I didn’t notice that. The O’s become the lights on the tree. Very nicely done!