AV Club untimed (Amy) 
[2.60 avg; 5 ratings] rate it
LAT 4:33 (Gareth) 
[3.50 avg; 1 rating] rate it
NYT 4:04 (Amy) [3.50 avg; 7 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker tk (Kyle) 
[4.25 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
Universal untimed (pannonica) [3.50 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
USA Today 7:42 (Emily) rate it
WSJ 4:50 (Jim) [3.50 avg; 1 rating] rate it
David Karp’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Workplace Revelations”—Jim’s review
Theme answers are occupations that might involve “scoops” or “scooping.” The revealer is “I’VE GOT THE SCOOP” (57a, [Words from someone in the know, or what the pros in 20-, 26-, 36- and 50-Across might say]).
Wall St Journal crossword solution · “Workplace Revelations” · David Karp · Wed., 5.21.25
- 20a. [One working a cold case?] ICE CREAM VENDOR. An ice cream scoop.
- 26a. [Post office worker?] JOURNALIST. “Post” as in the Washington Post. And we’re talking inside information here, which is the same definition of scoop as in the revealer.
- 36a. [Worker who has a ball on the job?] DOG WALKER. A pooper scooper I presume? And I’m skeptical about the ball in the clue. Most people walking a dog aren’t throwing a ball around and should have their pups on a leash.
- 50a. [One whose hustle may be a bustle?] DRESSMAKER. A scoop neckline.
The wordplay in the clues isn’t actually part of the theme, so it’s a little bit distracting. But on the other hand, it makes the puzzle a bit more interesting, so I’m cool with it. So all in all, a good theme.
The 14-letter outer theme answers and the 9-letter central theme answer really put the kibosh on any long Down fill so we need to be content with the stacks of 7s in the corners. But they’re quite nice with highlights “GOOD DAY“, PALOOKA, MARIMBA, “I LOVE IT“, CAYENNE / PEPPERS, and PERIDOT. I’ve never heard of a SKOOKIE (skillet cookie), so that was interesting to learn about. NO TV isn’t much of a [Punishment for a misbehaving kid] these days. Probably time to retire that entry. MELMAC [Home planet of alien ALF] should probably go as well.
Clues of note:
- 43a. [Trim]. NEAT. “Trim” is an adjective here. Less common but legit.
- 70a. [Grey or Tan, e.g.]. AUTHOR. The capital T gave it away. Zane Grey and Amy Tan.
Good puzzle. 3.5 stars.
Ilana Levene & Scott Hogan’s New York Times crossword—Amy’s recap
NY Times crossword solution, 5/21/25 – no. 0521
Five phrases are reimagined with a comma and an exclamation point, altering the meaning:
- 17A. [“Smile for the photo, dude!”], “CHEESE, DOG!” Riffing on a hot dog with cheese. Now, if you’re addressing someone as “dog,” are you saying “dawg”?
- 24A. [“Work on your enunciation, bro!”], “DELIVERY, MAN!”
- 33A. [“That is messed up, girl!”], “TWISTED, SISTER!” Playing on the 1980s hair band Twisted Sister.
- 49A. [“Protect the quarterback, buddy!”], “BLOCK, BUSTER!”
- 57A. [“That’s unbelievable, love!”], “WILD, HONEY!” Wild honey is … honey made from wildflower pollen? Not sure, as I don’t much like honey.
The theme doesn’t really grab me, but “DELIVERY, MAN!” amuses me.
Fave fill: SPLURGES, PORTENT. Not a ton of sparkle but overall, the fill is better than NOT BAD, it’s quite smooth.
I misread 36D. [Biblical birthright barterer] as “biblical birthright bartender.” The Old Testament would be a lot more fun with cocktails instead of slaughter.
3.5 stars from me.
Brian Callahan & Olivia Mitra Framke’s AV Club Classic crossword, “Child’s Play”–Amy’s recap
AV Club Classic crossword solution, 5/21/25 – “Child’s Play”
The theme revealer is RUGRATS GO WILD, and the theme entries contain scrambled-up names of Rugrats characters. That cartoon was after my cartoon-watching heyday and before my son’s, so the theme was lost on me till I reached the revealer. Angelica, Tommy, Susie. Phillip, and Chuckie are in the circled squares. The phrases chosen are a great bunch: AMERICAN EAGLE, “WELL, SHUT MY MOUTH,” GOOD SHIP LOLLIPOP, and BARBECUE CHICKEN.
Fave fill includes KEN DOLLS, SRSLY, and my favorite emoji, SHRUG.
Unknown to me: 34a. [Willie who broke the NHL’s color barrier in 1958], O’REE. Here’s his Wikipedia page. His forebears found their way from American slavery to Fredericton, New Brunswick, via the Underground Railroad. O’Ree played for the Boston Bruins, the first Black player in the NHL. Some interesting sports trivia to learn.
3.5 stars from me.
Drew Schmenner’s Universal crossword, “Highly Intelligent” — pannonica’s write-up
Universal • 5/21/25 • Wed • “Highly Intelligent” • Schmenner • solution • 20250521
As this puzzle could SEEMingly (70a) easily have been constructed using standard 180º rotational symmetry and across themers, I conclude that the title was in the mix from the beginning. This explains the unusual choice of having all four theme answers weighted toward one edge of the grid, with synonyms for ‘intelligent’ beginning each entry.
- 3d. [Sudden stunt-driving maneuvers] SHARP TURNS.
- 5d. [Good things in bad times] BRIGHT SPOTS.
- 7d. [Dress code that allows a jacket with jeans] SMART CASUAL.
- 9dR [Brief glances … or a homophonic hint to the starts of 3-, 5- and 7-Down] QUICK PEEKS, or quick peaks.
I feel using 9-down as a revealer is a bit too much, although I can appreciate the urge to do so. The puzzle would have been at least as satisfying if presented as four theme answers sans explanation. To further remove temptation, how about getting rid of PEEKS and going with something like QUICK CHANGE or QUICK BREAD?
That quibble aside, it’s a smoothly constructed crossword well-suited to a midweek slot.
- 1a [On the __ of greatness] CUSP.
- 25a [“Silly me!”] DOH. 44a [“You think I didn’t know?!”] NO DUH. In fact, I tried DUH first for 25-across.
- 36a [“Me day” spot] SPA. Am growing tired of so many similar clues for this crossword staple. Easier to complain than do, though.
- 37a [Turn, as a wheel] STEER. Was wondering how something like ROTATE could possibly fit here.
- 55a [Picture made of tile] MOSAIC. The esteemed jazz label Mosaic Records is located in Stamford, Connecticut—home also to the annual ACPT. If they offered tours or something I’d love to go.
- 29d [Baristas’ garb] APRONS. An instance of metanalysis, or rebracketing. The original word was napron and ‘a napron’ became ‘an apron’. It derives from the French, meaning small tablecloth. Napkin, though sharing this etymology, did not experience such alteration, and as a result we don’t put apkins on our laps.
- 35d [Tons and tons] BOATLOADS. (11d [Toward the boat’s rear] AFT.) 38d [Some Lionel offerings] TRAIN SETS. No, there is no transportation subtheme going on with these symmetrical midlength entries. Just one of those things.
- 49d [“You’re just __ much”] TOO.
- 62d [Picnic-crashing insect] ANT. There’s something amusing about describing an ant as ‘crashing’ a picnic. The idiom feels weird here.
- 63d [Soccer icon Hamm] MIA.
Brian Callahan’s USA Today Crossword, “Lore Drop” — Emily’s write-up
Settle in for this one!
USA Today, May 21, 2025, “Lore Drop” by Brian Callahan
Theme: each downs themer contains —LORE—
Themers:
- 3d. [“Coal Miner’s Daughter” singer-songwriter], LORETTALYNN
- 4d. [Art supplies that need sharpening], COLOREDPENCILS
- 7d. [Reality show with one woman and 25ish men], THEBACHELORETTE
- 26d. [Oscar-winning actress with a 70-plus-year career], SOPHIALOREN
What a themer set with LORETTALYNN, COLOREDPENCILS, THEBACHELORETTE, and SOPHIALOREN. None were too tricker for me today, and everything was fairly crossed. Also, the theme word shifts downward with each themer, starting at the top of the grid in the first and ending on the bottom on the grid with the last.
Favorite fill: LIPSERVICE, REDWOOD, CRINKLECUT, and BAO
Stumpers: DISCOS (needed crossings) and GREWUP (also needed crossings)
Smooth solve today! Loved the grid, the fresh fill and lengthy bonus fill, plus the excellent cluing. How’d you all do?
4.0 stars
~Emily
Prasanna Keshava’s LA Times crossword – Gareth’s summary
Prasanna Keshava’s puzzle theme takes no HALFMEASUREs… Wait. Each of four eight-letter entries conceals a four-letter old-timey measure, two of length, one of area, and one of volume. A fourth kind of measure would be ideal, but the four-letter constriction is already pretty taxing. So:
- [Calling the shots…], INCHARGE
- [Tear apart], RIPINTWO
- [In the soup], UPACREEK
- [Request from a photographer], BIGSMILE
Gareth
Puzzle: AV Club; Rating: 3 stars
I typically roll my eyes when I read in a crossword blog that there’s too much pop culture in a crossword, but in this case, the constructor/editors went overboard with the pop culture.
I’m too lazy to count the answers, but one after another, “normal” English words are clued via some pop culture reference, be it video game names or song lyrics or whatever.
It doesn’t help that the theme is centered on a show that older solvers like me might have only a tiny bit of familiarity with. Getting the revealer didn’t help me at all, since I don’t really know any of the character names.
I don’t expect every theme to be aimed at my demographic. And I’m sure that there is a group of solvers who enjoyed this theme.
I did enjoy many of the clues, especially the ones for KEN DOLLS, HOES and KEGEL. And I can’t say that I ever expected to solve a crossword puzzle that refers to rimming (a practice that is fine with me).
I’m not a fan of puzzles being edited by the same person or persons who constructed the puzzle. I’ve done enough writing that has been professionally edited to appreciate the value that a good editor adds to any writing. What is clear to the author is not always clear to anyone else.
Amy, I’m a bit surprised that you didn’t recognize Willie O’REE. Im no hockey fan, but I have seen his name in plenty of crosswords.
Puzzle: AV Club; Rating: 5 stars
FYI, this puzzle was not edited by either of the authors. The email just meant that the authors are editors in a different division of AVCX (the midi division).
Thanks. I misread the credits on my puzzle in AcrossLite; Ben Tausig’s name is there as the editor but half of it is chopped off.
OREE has been in just 10 puzzles indexed in Cruciverb, starting in 2021, vs. ORR showing up about 30 times a year, going back many years. He’s newer fill!
OK, boss. Throw out data and bust my anecdotal evidence apart.
Maybe I was thinking that Willie OREE had been in more puzzles than he has because when I first saw his name (in an Erik Agard grid, I think), I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of him before, the way that even non-sports fans like me know who Jackie Robinson was.
Like Sara said, that isn’t what happened here, but leaving that aside it is more or less what I do for the Post and I know you’ve commented positively about my work in the past. That said I also have test-solvers and a copy editor who give me suggestions for things I may have overlooked or gotten wrong, and I’d assume AVCX has their own test-solvers too.
You’re probably right about AVCX having test-solvers.
I realize that you and Mike Shenk and some other talented folks edit your own puzzles. I’m not saying that it can’t be done, just that to my mind, it’s not the ideal situation. (I could obviously use a good editor sometimes for my Fiend reviews and comments.)
I wrote my comment in the middle of the night. Strike the penultimate paragraph of it, but the rest is still an accurate description of my solving experience (TL; DR: A theme that didn’t resonate with me, but some nice clues and answers throughout the grid.)
Enjoyed the NYT except for the eyebrow I raised at 17a. Shouldn’t that be DAWG, not DOG?
Puzzle: AV Club; Rating: 1 star
Indirect anagrams aren’t a thrilling premise for a theme to begin with, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen the cheat with the spare O in GOODSHIPLOLLIPOP. You can’t just skip squares at random, defeats the whole purpose of the theme. Try harder.
It’s been said on here that 1 star rating should be reserved for the “unpublishable” puzzle. That’s apt here. Fatally flawed.
would it change your assessment of the puzzle at all to know that the skipped square is not random but in fact separates two distinct anagrams (the two characters in question being twins)?
The “spare O” isn’t a random square they skipped over. It’s meant to separate two anagrammed characters: PHIL and LIL. They’re twins and I think it’s apt that they appear in the same entry. So no, this isn’t a fatally flawed puzzle at all.
(ETA: Dunno why I hadn’t seen e.a.’s comment before posting mine, but what he said.)
I liked the NYT a lot – the theme answers made me chuckle (despite not knowing what WILDHONEY might be), and the rest of the fill was good too.
It was solving like a Monday for me until I got to the SE. I’ve heard of WILD HONEY, but it’s less familiar to me than the other themers. STOLID took me a while to come up with. Didn’t know SLIME from that clue. Went with YA DO rather than WE DO at 64-A, so I had BOY! rather than WOW! at 57-D. Took a little while to sort things out.
@pannonica – I was hoping that you’d pick the classic Beach Boys song “Wild Honey”. It’s one of the few songs that used a theremin — a few years before synthesizers came out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne7xL-oip6o
Actually, the Monkees used a Moog the year before but you might question to what purpose.
Whoa Martin, you just blew my mind because I didn’t know the Monkees did a trippy psychedelic song with a MOOG!
(And let us not forget the immortal Mellotron that was used extensively by the Moody Blues, King Crimson, Yes, and Genesis.)
In fact I’m not very familiar with the Beach Boys’ oeuvre, so I had no idea about the song—or even the eponymous album. If it’s the same instrument they used in “Good Vibrations”, it’s an Electro-Theremin, which is not quite the same as a theremin.
AV Club- 2 down. Really. No class.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 3.5 stars
Cute theme, smooth fill, and waaay too easy. Really should’ve run on a Monday or, better still, have received some editorial help to stiffen up the clues a bit.
Kinda surprised at the comments on unfamiliarity with WILD HONEY. Wild bees were making wild honey long before humans domesticated them, and of course still are. Remember Winnie the Pooh searching for “hunny” in the Hundred Acre Wood?
Puzzle: Universal; Rating: 3.5 stars
I’m confounded by the theme answer “Quick Peeks (peaks)”. (Review is posted above.)
Does this mean that synonyms for “quick” are the answers “sharp”, “bright”, and “smart”; and that they are at the peak of the grid entry?
I didn’t solve that puzzle, but based on pannonica’s review, that’s what it sounds like to me.
TY Eric for being a great reviewer and for helping us solvers who ask questions. You are a great addition to the Fiend Team who is moving up the ranks fast, and I hope you stay around for a long time!
Thanks for taking the time to let me know you appreciate my efforts. I enjoy doing these reviews and hearing from other solvers.
I’m glad that Amy took me up on my offer to join Team Fiend. There are some smart, incisive folks here.
Universal:
“36a [“Me day” spot] SPA. Am growing tired of so many similar clues for this crossword staple.”
An option for an easy clue — a few variations on a theme:
[Relaxation spot found in Estes Park, Colorado]
[Relaxation . . . in Grants Pass, Oregon]
[Relaxation . . in one’s spare time]
[Relaxation . . . in Regents Park]
Oh sure let’s crypticize matters!