AV Club untimed (Amy) 
[4.00 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
LAT 7:00 (Gareth) 
[4.75 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
NYT 6:22 (Amy) 
[3.73 avg; 13 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker tk (Kyle) [4.33 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
Universal untimed (pannonica) [4.00 avg; 1 rating] rate it
USA Today 7:01 (Emily) 
[1.25 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
WSJ 4:49 (Jim) [3.83 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
A plug for the upcoming Westwords crossword tournament. It’s on Sunday, June 22 in Berkeley, and there’s an online version being handled by John Lieb of Boswords fame. The whole shebang is run by Rebecca Goldstein, Kate Chin Park, and Stan Park. I love love love that the in-person event requires masking! So considerate for folks like me. I can’t take part this year, but maybe next time. If you’re in Northern California or you’re up for an online puzzle event, check out Westwords!
Daniel Hrynick’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Cram for the Finals”—Jim’s review
It’s that time of year for students to get ready for their final exams. (My own HS junior is prepping for her AP Physics test this Friday.) In honor of that, this puzzle brings us familiar phrases whose final words can also be synonyms of “cram.”
Wall St Journal crossword solution · “Cram for the Finals” · Daniel Hrynick · Wed., 5.14.25
- 17a. [Large grocery buy] FAMILY PACK.
- 23a. [Cushaw or Hubbard, e.g.] WINTER SQUASH.
- 37a. [One you might hope to have chemistry with, in two senses] HIGH SCHOOL CRUSH.
- 48a. [Treatment for a sprain] COLD COMPRESS.
- 59a. [Braking point, of a sort] TRAFFIC JAM.
Lovely theme and an excellent theme set. I especially love that central grid-spanning entry with its cute clue. I also like that the title serves as revealer freeing up space for five solid theme answers.
Fillwise, we get ULTRASOUND and SIGHT LINES anchoring two of our corners. I’m not in love with HR REP especially with an awkward and wordy clue about one being a disciplinarian. I’m getting closer to remembering ALIA Shawkat’s name (though still not quite there yet).
Clue of note: 14a. [Club’s equivalent on German playing cards]. ACORN. Huh. Never considered this. The four German suits are Acorns, Leaves, Hearts, and Bells. Going back to the year 1450, this apparently predates the French suit system of that we use today.
Pleasant theme with excellent execution. Four stars.
Rebecca Goldstein & Adam Wagner’s New York Times crossword–Amy’s recap
NY Times crossword solution, 5/14/25 – no. 0514
This theme plays on the shapes of letters, embodied in phrases describing them.
- 17A. [Color-changing fad jewelry … or a description of this answer’s shaded letters?], MOOD RINGS. The shaded O’s are rings within the word MOOD.
- 24A. [Heroes’ journeys, say … or a description of this answer’s shaded letters?], CHARACTER ARCS. The letter C is an arc of sorts.
- 39A. [Visual aids on scatter plots … or a description of this answer’s shaded letters?], REGRESSION CURVES. The S’s are curves.
- 51A. [Some painting in a parking lot … or a description of this answer’s shaded letters?], DIVIDING LINES. The letter I, particularly without a serif, is a line.
- 63A. [Awkwardly lanky … or a description of this answer’s shaded letters?], ALL ELBOWS. This one’s my favorite–always neat to save the best for last.
New to me: 1D. [2010s documentary trilogy about training for a very difficult wine exam], SOMM. Short for sommelier, I guess, but not anything I’d heard of. Any of you familiar with it? Not familiar with the term PR GURU either, but it Googles up okay.
Fave fill: LIGHT VERSE (started with LIMERICKS but that’s a 9, not a 10), CORN BELT, X-RAY CAMERA.
Food history: 19A. [Colombian cakes that have been around since pre-Columbian times], AREPAS. Now, this clue may pull from the very top of the Arepa Wikipedia article. Read a little further down, and learn that arepas date back about 3,000 years! That’s pre-pre-pre-Columbus. That reminds me: It’s becoming outdoor-dining season and there are arepas waiting for me!
Four stars from me.
Geoffrey Schorkopf’s AV Club Classic crossword, “Movie Marathon”–Amy’s recap
AV Club Classic crossword solution, “Movie Marathon” – 5/14/25
Movie titles chained together, that’s the name of the game:
- 18a. [*Push-up innovation (2004 sports film; 1985 sci-fi …)], MIRACLE BRA. “Miracle” was a movie about the hockey Miracle on Ice. Shaded BRA hooks up to ZIL in the next themer, so Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil.”
- 23a. [*Uncountable amount (… flick; 2016 biographical drama; 1993 erotic…)], ZILLIONS. “Lion” starred Dev Patel, and then “Sliver” is the next flick.
- 35a. [*Benign skin blemish (… thriller; 2015 Best Picture …)], LIVER SPOT. “Spotlight” links up.
- 53a. [*Drizzle (… winner; 1989 Best Picture …)], LIGHT RAIN. “Rain Man.”
- 67a. [* Like — fun fact — all of Georgia’s lakes (… winner; 1998 family …)], MANMADE. Did not know that about Georgia’s lakes! Maybe it’s not true? Most of Georgia’s lakes are manmade bodies or dam reservoirs, but all? “Madeline.”
- 76a. [*One rudely cutting into the queue (… film; 2008 action film — phew!)], LINE JUMPER. Hadn’t been aware of “Jumper.
Neat theme mechanism, the “Before & After” melding of movie titles across successive theme entries.
I forgot BUBBLE PIPEs existed! Back in the day, I had a blue plastic bubble pipe with four receptacles for bubbling. Other fave fill: PIGGY BANKS, PONCHO, OLD TIMES, PLUS ONE, TRASH TV.
Four stars from me.
Mark Budovitch and Andrea Carla Michaels’ Universal crossword, “Musical Taste” — pannonica’s write-up
Universal • 5/14/25 • Wed • “Musical Taste” • Budovitch, Michaels • solution • 20250514
This was by far the easiest crossword puzzle I’ve solved in a very long time. Every clue was straightforward, every answer went in without the slightest hesitation. I would expect a speed solver to complete it in well under two minutes and perhaps even close to one minute, if such a feat is even possible.
I worked it as a themeless and, when finished, took a couple of beats to make sense of the revealer. But! if I’d looked at the title beforehand, even that small struggle would’ve been obviated.
- 59aR [Fruits and dairy, for example … and a hint to the ends of the starred clues’ answers?] FOOD GROUPS. The last word is the name of a rock band that’s can also name a type of food.
- 17a. [*Enjoy a meal with a friend] BREAK BREAD.
- 25a. [*Barber shop supply] SHAVING CREAM.
- 44a. [*Wins it all] TAKES THE CAKE.
Bread, Cream, Cake. 70s, 60s, 90s+
7d [Pub pints] ALES.
Brian Callahan & Tim Giannetti’s LA Times crossword – Gareth’s summary
LA Times
14 May 2025
Brian Callahan & Tim Giannetti’s LA Times theme today features a common enough concept, but neatly executed. The puzzle is revealed in the bottom left with RISINGSTAR. The letters STAR are found running downwards in four long down answers, progressively higher in the grid. I get the feeling the theme is quite restrictive, as the entries themselves are mostly pretty quotidian:
- [Certain business quota], SALESTARGET
- [Some turnpike turnoffs], RESTAREAS
- [Secret recipe passed down by Nonna, perhaps], PASTARECIPE
- [“Don’t try to do everything at once], STARTSMALL. It was important to not use STAR itself as a word here.
In the rest of the puzzle, it felt like there was a concerted effort to seed the longer entries: APSTATS, WAVEDHI, HASGAME, THESIMS, MRSPOCK; maybe not all of them work, HASGAME sounds a little contrived, but it’s nice to see some ambitious entries nonetheless.
Gareth
Erik Agard’s USA Today Crossword, “In (Super)Power” — Emily’s write-up
Makes me wanna play some 3 Doors Down.
USA Today, May 14, 2025, “In (Super)Power” by Erik Agard
Theme: each themer has M—IGHT (aka “power”)
Themers:
- 17a. [Something the superhero The Ray can do], MANIPULATELIGHT
- 35a. [Detective played by Simone Missick in “Luke Cage”], MISTYKNIGHT
- 53a. [Catchphrase used by supporters of an “X-Men” mutant], MAGNETOWASRIGHT
A fun themer set today with MANIPULATELIGHT, MISTYKNIGHT, and MAGNETOWASRIGHT. They all took me multiple crossings to get, as superhero are my kryptonite. Cool theme though! I’m sure for some of you those were easy to fill.
Favorite fill: MONTAGES, NOTAGAIN, VIGILANT, and WALKONBY
Stumpers: DANGLE (needed a few crossings) and SOIHEAR (also needed crossings)
Overall a fun and fairly quick solve for me today. Loved the cluing and fill, especially the lengthy bonus fill. Great grid design!
4.0 stars
~Emily
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 3.5 stars
I would have rated it higher, but calling a C an arc is a bit of a stretch for me.
Any portion of a circle is considered an arc. Even if it is ~80% of it, like a ‘C’. We are just used to thinking of rainbows and NBA courts as our ‘normal’ arcs.
PR guru means press releases expert.
Isn’t PR public relations here?
I thought public relations as well.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 4 stars
Somm was a good movie (we saw it a bunch of years ago at our local film festival). If it sounds interesting, it’s worth a watch. One of the people in the movie liked my kids and ever since we’ve gotten good wine advice!
Also, heading to Westwords for my first in person tournament. Looking forward to it.
It’s been in our Netflix queue forever…
Puzzle: USA Today; Rating: 1 star
Tones
Hots
Magneto
Puzzle: USA Today; Rating: 1.5 stars
This puzzle was probably made for a niche group of the creators friends, but it didn’t do anything for me and I don’t know why it was published.
(And who needs “gastrocnemius muscles” as a clue anyway?)
“Gastro” made me think the muscle was part of the digestive system. I was surprised to learn that it’s in the calf. I sometimes get intense cramps in those muscles and have a hard time getting rid of the cramps.
Dang! These comments (yours and the reply) make me want to solve that puzzle, but I’m not curious enough to actually subscribe to USA Today. Guess I should’ve done it yesterday when I had the chance.
I’m not going to rate the NYT but I found it unusually difficult for a Wednesday, and I had to come here to understand the theme. I didn’t get that the shaded letters are meant to represent (awkwardly) the clued items. I’ve never heard of the phrase ALLELBOWS, and the first definitions from googling refer to programs that steal computing resources from other programs (or something like that).
Difficult: SOMM, PRGURU, TSABIN (I had INABIN at first), plural TEAS, LESMIS (don’t know the song).
Also, ARI is clued as ‘nickname that omits -anna’, but the only ARI know is Grande, who spells her name Ariana.
There’s also Arianna Huffington, though I don’t know if she’s ever called Ari.
Not celebs maybe, but google shows many Ariannas going by Ari. Here’s one, for example.
I first had BRI then fixed it.
I was a little thrown by Les Mis, since my son is in a local production of Gypsy, which has the song “I had a dream” so I got briefly confused. But we’re also listening to Les Mis now, so it worked itself out.
NYT – SOMM. Short for sommelier, I guess, but not anything I’d heard of. Any of you familiar with it?
I thought I heard a bell ringing faintly when I encountered the clue but I don’t think I watched it. I did watch and enjoy “Drops of God”
I’ve seen it listed on Kanopy.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 3 stars
The movies are SOMM and detail the efforts of candidates to pass the [apparently very difficult] exam for Master of Sommeliers.
If you’re at all interested in wine – and even if you’re not – SOMM is an excellent documentary. It’s remarkable how accurately a sommelier can identify all of the notes in a wine and, more often than not, identify the exact vintage.
Interesting, because there’s a famous study where wine students couldn’t tell the difference between red and white wine. Here’s one quick article about it.
There have been at least three Somm documentaries; do any of them address or mention that bit of notoriety?
I can only imagine “oenology students” don’t have very discriminating palates. Reds and whites have such different mouthfeels that tannins and glycerols would be instant telltales for a moderately experienced taster. Yes, some very light reds and very complex whites might trip you up, but I call BS on this study meaning much.
Sommeliers can be very talented, but their biggest asset is the experience of tasting many different wines. Memory provides the magic.
When I tasted frequently someone in our group tried the white dyed red. Our group was mostly confused. We saw it was red but didn’t have strong feelings as to the varietal.
When I was in a more experienced group (I was relatively new) around 1990 we had a blind tasting with ten wines. We knew which wines we were tasting, just not which was which. At the time I did ok at the varietal level and nailed the Gaja and a Bordeaux. One person was 10/10
My palate tires quickly. I think it’s because I don’t spit and subsequently overload my senses
I don’t know what the consensus has been regarding ratings, but I’d like to put my 2 cents in and vote for going back to the old system. I understand the issue with the “drive by” one star ratings, but it’s really hard to get a feel for the community opinion from 5 total ratings (yesterday’s number)
I thought CF was dumping the rating system!
(PS: Big fan of that idea!)
+1. The so-called “drive by” ratings were an annoyance, not something that required an overhaul of the system. I find the ratings less useful under the new system.
+1
Puzzle: The New Yorker; Rating: 4 stars
Fun, crisp, breezy themeless from Robyn today. So much great fill!
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 3 stars
Bit of a stretch for a theme. PRGURU is a no from me. Upon googling it mostly comes up as a company with a website PRGURU.
WSJ – What is the second meaning of CRUSH regarding chemistry (37A)? I understand the boy/girlfriend kind of crush but not the other. I thought a better answer for that clue would be “high school FLAME” but that obviously doesn’t fit the theme.
There’s only one sense of CRUSH per the clue. It’s ‘chemistry’ that has two, one as the class itself and the other being how well two people get along.
Thanks for your explanation. It still doesn’t make sense to me, though, since in all the other theme answers, the clue directs you to the CRAM synonym. Why bother including two meanings of chemistry in the clue when the significant part is CRUSH?
The theme clues are just like regular clues, except they’re attached to theme answers.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 5 stars
NYT: I gave this crossword five stars despite my not understanding the gray squares right away and my letting Amy explain to me all the cute theme answers. I found almost every clue to be a joy, the wordplay offering a little resistance and then letting me in on the joke pretty quickly. Lots of fun! I did the puzzle on paper, and it turned out that I missed a square, since I did not know the SOMM. film, though perhaps it was guessable with the empty square crossing _ANIAC, a song I didn’t really know either. Other answers I wasn’t familiar with, such as NOOMI, all filled in nicely with pleasant crosses.
Puzzle: LAT; Rating: 5 stars
impressive grid!
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 4.5 stars
Fun puzzle today!
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 5 stars
NYT theme is outstanding
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 3 stars
I got trapped by AMOR (instead of EROS) and LSAT (instead of ORAL)
Puzzle: LAT; Rating: 4.5 stars
Five vertically-rising theme answers in one puzzle is impressive!