Michael Schlossberg’s New York Times crossword, “Extra! Extra!”—Dave’s recap
Happy Spring Forward day!
NYT Crossword solution – Sunday, March 9, 2025
Today, we’re treated to famous headlines over the 20th century; I imagine these having more impact in their printed large font versions than any more recent ones seen online.
- 25a [London Herald, 4/6/12] – TITANIC SINKS and the opening scenes of Season 1 of Downton Abbey
- 27a [The New York Times, 8/9/1974] – NIXON RESIGNS I was 14 at the time and even taped his televised resignation speech on a tape recorder I owned. I wonder if the tape is at the Watergate Hotel now?
- 39a [Chicago Daily Tribune, 11/3/1948] – DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN I actually solved this one first and wondered if the others might be reporting on an event that didn’t happen
- 64a [Variety, 10/30/1929] – WALL ST. LAYS AN EGG – I went to make sure that “street” was abbreviated in the headline and indeed it was
- 91a [New York Daily News, 10/30/1975] – FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD hard not to draw a parallel to our recent withdrawal of aid to the people of Ukraine
- 113a, 115a [New York Post, 4/15/1983] – HEADLESS BODY IN TOPLESS BAR this was actually a true story
Nice that many different publications were referenced, yet I wonder if just a set of famous headlines was Sunday crossword-worthy (unless I’m missing something else that ties them together).
I found the lower section of the puzzle a lot more difficult than the top, in particular the crossing exclamations I DECLARE, AW COME ON, and FOR THE WIN. (Luckily IT’S A SHAME and OH ME were in other parts of the grid!) Though I’ve heard of assessors, I’ve never encountered those they assessed, or the rather ugly looking ASSESSEES. Finally I fell for the [Letters before Q] clue, trying MNOP before realizing it was LGBT.
¡ADIOS!
Evan Birnholz’s Washington Post crossword, “The Prefix Is In”—Matt’s recap
Evan Birnholz’ Washington Post crossword solution, “The Prefix Is In,” 3/9/2025
Something a bit down-the-middle from Evan this week after a run of envelope-pushing. In “The Prefix Is In,” we’re appending common phrases with prefixes and reparsing:
- 23a [What Optimus Prime experiences every day?] TRANSFORMER LIFE
- 33a [Really stylish formal dances?] SUPERFLY BALLS
- 51a [Heavenly glow?] SUBLIME LIGHT
- 69a [Ailment from advancing in one’s job?] PROMOTION SICKNESS
- 89a [Feuds between major celebrities?] MEGASTAR WARS
- 105a [Actor Gene, when he rode in a Chrysler Pacifica or a Nissan Quest?] MINIVAN WILDER
- 121a [Ones nerding out over illegal drugs, say?] CONTRABAND GEEKS
The possibilities here are broad enough that I wasn’t able to mull on possibilities as I was solving, but the theme tight enough that after the first few I was largely able to drop them in without many crossings. A nice balance there. I do wonder, as I do from time to time, if I’m missing an additional layer, such is the standard Evan has set. But I certainly had a good time without one.
Other highlights: Upon reaching 27a, I realized while I can picture it, I didn’t actually know the term SKIN TEST. Given eight letters, I was thinking “poke” TEST, but maybe I’ve also heard “scratch test”? // I don’t know much about ski resorts other than a handful of four- and five-letter names and the existence of TBARs, but that gets me pretty far // If SELA Ward was in “Gone Girl,” I’m mighty confused on her era. Feels like I’ve been seeing her in puzzles as long as I’ve been doing them. // I don’t know if it’s a personal blindspot or a generally under-the-radar film, but [2008 animated film featuring an Evil Science Fair] is a helpful clue with additional context for IGOR for those of us who don’t know it // Fun fact at 38d, learning that at least one Olympian has won a NOBEL PRIZE
Cheers!
Rebecca Goldstein’s Universal Sunday crossword, “Fellow Travelers”—Jim’s review
Theme answers are familiar phrases that hide a synonym of “guy” within, but said synonyms are to be found in the crossing Down entry at the appropriate location. The revealer is STAND-UP GUYS (67a, [Decent dudes, or a hint to understanding the starred clues’ answers]).
Universal Sunday crossword solution · “Fellow Travelers” · Rebecca Goldstein · 3.9.25
- 36a. [*”It’s quite sad”] SU(CH A P)ITY with crossing “MUCH APPRECIATED.”
- 44a. [*Pressure-tested medical storage vessel] OXY(GEN T)ANK with crossing BLOG ENTRY.
- 106a. [*Many a character in “Charlotte’s Web”] FAR(M AN)IMAL with crossing MOM AND DAD.
- 113a. [*Seafood dish on bread] CRA(B RO)LL. with crossing FRIAR’S CLUB ROAST.
Only four main theme answers, but each involves a long crossing entry, so it’s really more like eight, and together that’s a lot of theme material spread throughout the grid.
I’m not the biggest fan of themes that leave what looks like nonsense in the grid, but the letters are there, you just have to find and orient them. The revealer makes me think the “guy” words should be moving upwards instead of downwards — that would make reading the Across entries a little easier perhaps. But this works as well, and it’s simpler to read the “guy” words in the Down direction.
Overall, solid theme made even stronger with the choices of theme answers, especially those long Down entries.
Top fill: SOLAR ENERGY, POOL SLIDES, MOTHER LODE, HOT PINK, VERTEBRA, Batman’s BATROPE, and a fun “TAKE IT ALL IN“. Did not know SATIVA [Dispensary strain], and crossing that with CELIAC and ARISTA might be tough for some solvers.
I ended with an error when I put MARCY instead of DARCY at 49d [49d. “A League of Their Own” actress Carden]. I should have realized the crosser was RFID [“Tap to pay” acronym] not RFIM, but I would still contend that crossing a lesser-known acronym with a proper name is problematic. Or at least give us a Jane Austen clue.
Clue of note: 109a. [Like serving wine in a teacup, in Topeka]. ILLEGAL. It’s always fun to learn of bizarre state laws. Here are some others.
Good puzzle. 3.75 stars.
I can’t say I enjoyed the NYT. The theme set was really not compelling and basically (without googling) offered no help. They were effectively unchecked squares for me. Then there were tons of proper noun clues that I felt multiple letters could go fit in the square. All in all it was a slog and it didn’t even feel worth it in the end. I wish there was something tying the headlines together at least. Sorry to be negative but hopefully I can offer this as constructive criticism.
I agree with those who found today’s NYT puzzle a slog. I particularly disliked those clues calling for rephrased expressions.: “Oh me” for “Jeez, I can’t catch a break “ (76D) is the worst of the lot, closely followed by “Aw, come on” for “Jeez Louise” (117 A). Come to think of it, these utterances accurately convey how I felt while doing the puzzle!
Yes I agree, “Jeez Louise” can be anything from “Not again!” to “I can’t catch a break!”
Good point. I stared at those forever to decide what they had in mind.
I could not finish this one with its impossible southeast and random unrelated headlines. The top half was Tuesday easy, so the whole thing had the consistency and nourishment of a half-baked overcooked frozen dinner.
NYT: Vindictive cluing. Garbage fill. Incoherent theme. They must have scraped all the way through the bottom of the barrel to find this one. One star because nothing lower is available.
Seemed like a pretty typical Sunday NYT to me, but maybe I just find entertainment in old newspaper headlines. Agree that the SE corner was significantly knottier than the rest of the puzzle.
Matt’s response regarding entertainment value gets at something real. I doubt the setter and editor think of these as random, unrelated factoids — more as headline-making events and, for New Yorkers with the bottom two headlines (bottom three theme fills), memorable headlines as well. I felt sure that DROP DEAD would be in the puzzle from the moment I started.
Still, that leaves knowing that the puzzle’s appeal is bound to extend mostly to those enjoying a quiz or nostalgia or both together. I disliked it from the start, although it wasn’t difficult, and I too ended up with some light entertainment.
I’d agree that the S/SE was harder, for me because of TYNAN and the odd spelling RIAN. But still passed quickly.
NYT: Held my interest sufficiently that I actually finished it (I often don’t bother on Sundays). All of the headlines were ones I was aware of, except for HEADLESS BODY … None of them jumped out at me just based on the date, but with the date and a few crosses, I could suss them out.
OARED oared-to be retired IMHO. PEACE, as an informal goodbye, seems dated. How often do you encounter a singular SCAD? Clue for PORCH seemed like a stretch.
Glad to know I’m not the only one who found the NYT a slog. If the headlines were all major events it would have made for a tighter theme and a more enjoyable solve. Also, I prefer cluing that does mot seem so intentionally misleading.
NYT: I’m with others on finding this one dull, although it didn’t give me any particular trouble.
WaPo: Cute, but I was hampered in not knowing VANWILDER or that BANDGEEKS is a thing. Are we talking schoolkids who love playing in the band, or groupies?
NYT: Hopefully it will be the worst Sunday of this year.
Naticks galore. Proper nouns everywhere. Clues made as obscure as possible, especially in strategic places. I can see the smug smile of the constructor’s face when he thought up the clue of 3D, “if people get the letter X here, they will get 27A easily! I gotta make the clue as hard as possible.”
Theme-wise it is actually pretty good until the last. We have the Titanic and various US presidents, and then what? HEADLESS BODY IN TOPLESS BAR. What the **** is this ****? After googling, I find out it’s a pretty famous headline, but still, it is a non-sequitur after the Titanic and various US presidents.
Last but not least, it is also tasteless. Just Thursday, this blog talked about how we no longer have Hitler or Idi Amin in the puzzles. Well, the dictators are off limits but we can have funny murders as the grand finale of a puzzle. Good job!
NYT:
Clue: Comment in modern lingo
Answer: SRSLY?
Thanks, Matt.
There was a tiny extra thing in the puzzle, though it wasn’t so much a meta answer that I’d ask people to find as it was an organizing principle for myself when I was building the puzzle. You can take one letter in each theme answer and spell out OPENERS (the O from TRANSFORMER LIFE, the P from SUPERFLY BALLS, etc.). I considered circling those letters, but I didn’t think it was a strong enough tie-in to the theme, so I just left it for myself.