BEQ untimed (Eric) 
[3.33 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
Fireball untimed (Jenni) 
[4.00 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
LAT tk (Gareth) 
[1.63 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
NYT 8:26 (ZDL) [4.00 avg; 17 ratings] rate it
Universal 6:08 for the grid + ? for the theme (Eric) 
[2.67 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
USA Today 6:15 (Emily) [2.25 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
WSJ 5:32 (Jim) 
[2.00 avg; 1 rating] rate it
Jill Singer’s Universal Crossword “Math Problem” — Eric’s review
Jill Singer’s Universal Crossword “Math Problem” — 7/3/25
Despite telling myself that I was going to pay more attention to the theme this time, I jumped into the NE corner and steadily connected answers Across and Down, almost ignoring the circled letters:
- 16A [Vehicle identification digits] PLATE NUMBER As the number of registered cars and trucks constantly grows, and because most states no longer issue new license plates each year, don’t almost all states use letters as part of the plate “number”? Yet, that description lives on.
- 26A [Anticlimactic occasion] NON-EVENT
- 35A [“Relax!”] DON’T WORRY
- 49A [Exacts revenge] GETS EVEN
- 57A [“This makes total sense,” or a theme hint] IT ALL ADDS UP
There’s a bit more: 14D [The word hidden in 16-Across, e.g] SUM
And of course everything adds up: (1 + 2 + 7) = 10, which I assume is the correct interpretation of the theme because of 14D.
That all seems rather opaque as themes go, and I spent a long time figuring it out. (My first attempt was summing all four numbers.) The theme certainly didn’t help me in solving the grid.
Other stuff:
- 21A [Beetle sometimes found in flour] WEEVIL My husband has been through the Master and Commander series of novels many times. I think he’s almost as fond of the character Jack Aubrey’s “lesser of two weevils” pun as Aubrey is.
- 28A [Bishop’s territory] DIOCESE As someone raised Catholic, this should have been a gimme. It wasn’t.
- 34A [Sigur ___ (Icelandic band)] RÓS Does the parenthetical help the solver? Either you’ve heard of the band (I have) and it’s a gimme, or you haven’t and you’re unlikely to guess the Icelandic word for “rose.” Maybe it signals to a solver who’s not a music fan that they’re unlikely to know this answer and should just move on.
- 44A [She helped Theseus] ARIADNE Greek mythology has Ariadne helping Theseus escape the Minotaur. I didn’t know or didn’t remember that tale, but both names are familiar.
-
“Bacchus and Ariadne,” Guido Reni, c. 1620
46A [They’re found under hoods] ENGINES Oh, that sort of hood. Tough one for anyone who speaks British English.
- 10D [“It’s a necessity for me!”] I HAVE TO The answer is fine and in the language. The clue, not so much.
- 22D [How much broccoli a mother might want her child to eat] EVERY BIT Try tossing cut-up broccoli florets in a little oil with some salt, pepper and a tiny bit of sugar, then roasting at 450º it until it starts to char. Very tasty.
- 24D [“Bath” that fades denim] ACID WASH I just let jeans fade naturally. And then I wear them until they’re full of holes.
- 38D [___ Pass (border between Italy and Austria)] BRENNER I didn’t recognize that. It doesn’t seem to be clear where the name came from, but it’s been used as a trade route for centuries.
- 48D [Long-range weapon in “Fortnite”] SNIPER I’ve never played that game, and it seems odd to me to refer to a person as a “weapon.”
Mike Shenk’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Flying Colors”—Jim’s review
Well, this is much nicer than last week’s horrible Thursday puzzle. Don’t think I’ve forgotten that one.
In honor of the upcoming patriotic holiday, this puzzle engages in a bit of FLAG WAVING (63a, [Patriotic activity suggested by the circled letters]. Each group of circled letters spells out a synonym of “flag” in alternating rows, evoking a flag billowing in the wind. My listing here won’t make much sense; better to look at the grid.
Wall St Journal crossword solution · “Flying Colors” · Mike Shenk · Thu., 7.3.25
- BANNER: BINGED + LAUNDROMAT.
- ENSIGN: GENTIANS + LEIS/GORSE.
- PENNANT: GORSE/NINO + OPEN CAST.
Some tougher entries there with GENTIANS [Trumpet-shaped blue flowers], OPEN CAST [Mined on the surface, in Britain], and GORSE [Yellow-flowering shrub]. Didn’t know the first two, but I got the latter immediately as it grows all over the place here in western Washington. It was also prevalent where we lived in England, though the Brits called it scotch broom. Those entries slowed me down a bit in the middle, but the rest of the grid fell rather quickly.
In the fill I like DEEP DOWN and DRESSAGE (such a fancy word!) as well as MONTBLANC. AROAR at 1a isn’t great, but when you have stacked theme entries, choices quickly become limited. Same goes for RESAW.
Clue of note: 36d. [Wanders in airports?]. TSA AGENTS. Good clue. Sometimes it’s nice to have plenty of extra time before your flight just to roam around. I’ve only ever been to one of the world’s top airports (Incheon), but it was an experience just to explore the place.
3.5 stars.
Brian Callahan and Geoffrey Schorkopf’s Fireball Crossword, “Net Returns” – Jenni’s write-up
I figured this one out pretty quickly which is good because the revealer meant nothing to me. 37a [Court maneuver…and a hint to this puzzle’s theme] is STEP BACK THREE. This is apparently a basketball thing.
Fireball, July 2, 2025, Brian Callahan and Geoffrey Schorkopf, “Net Return,” solution grid
- 17a [Cheesy brunch order topped with an egg] is CROQUE MAD(ame) Pivot on the last letter and go back three.
- 25a [“Ain’t gonna happen] is LIKE HELL I W(ill).
- 51a [Remark after going off on a tangent] is SO WHERE WER(e we).
- 60a [Coach on “The Voice” starting in Season 26] is MICHAEL BU(ble).
The theme was fun – I enjoyed figuring out each answer.
What I didn’t know before I did this puzzle: that MICHAEL BUBLE is a coach on “The Voice.” Also did not know that ACAI is a top note in the Juicy Couture fragrance Oui.
Adam Wagner’s New York Times crossword — Zachary David Levy’s write-up
Difficulty: Easy (8m26s)
Adam Wagner’s New York Times crossword, 7/3/25, 0703
Today’s theme: BLINKERS (Directional signals that flash on and off, as suggested by the circles in this puzzle)
- LIMBOED / IM BORED
- LOVED ONE / OVERDONE
- BLACK TIE / BACK TIRE
- BALD SPOT / BAD SPORT
And the down/quasi theme entries (Either L or R, but not both):
- BOOTIES / BOLO TIES
- HAM / HARM
- IDEAL / IDEA
- RANDY / RAN DRY
- LOL / LOLL
- ROIL / OIL
- SPICES / SPLICES
- RABBI / ABBI
Lots of theme material; takes a familiar theme trope (add/subtract a letter) and adds a cute and intuitive twist. Some people dislike the little animations that grace the finished puzzle online, but I think it works well here.
Cracking: EN GARDE clued as (Them’s fighting words!)
Slacking: cluing INKY as the ridiculously obscure (and to most people, unnamed) ghost antagonist in the Pac-Man universe (along with Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde [I am on the edge of my seat waiting for someone to clue CLYDE this way]). Also, I knew this instantly, so I liked it at the same time. Turmoil!
Sidetracking: Borge does DEBUSSY
K.J. Sarr’s USA Today Crossword, “Happily Ever After (Freestyle)” — Emily’s write-up
Once upon a clue…
USA Today, July 03, 2025, “Happily Ever After (Freestyle)” by K.J. Sarr
Favorite fill: FAIRYTALEENDING, ROOMTEMPERATURE, EEYORE, and GETREADYWITHME
Stumpers: AERIE (new to me), LAWN (thought of “park”), and GLUT (needed crossings)
Lovely puzzle with fresh fill and fun cluing. Love the grid and found it to be a quick solve for me today—nice at the end of the week!
Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July tomorrow!
4.0 stars
~Emily
Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Crossword #1797 “Cleaning One’s Plate” — Eric’s review
Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Crossword #1797 “Cleaning One’s Plate”
An easy-to-understand theme, at least if you’re familiar with “American” food-based idioms for the entirety of something:
- 20A Everything, during a multicourse meal? FROM SOUP TO NUTS This phrase goes back at least to the 1850s and appears to have originally been meant literally.
- 35A Do something perfectly, or what you might do if you went 20-Across, or had the 50-Across LEAVE NO CRUMBS This one is more recent. Merriam-Webster says the phrase “originated . . . in New York City’s Ballroom scene, a Black and Latino LGBTQ+ subculture, and began appearing on social media in the mid-2010s.”
- 50A Everything, at the taqueria WHOLE ENCHILADA This looks a bit naked without “The,” and I lost a few seconds trying to fit the whole phrase in there. Crossidomas.com says “Like many idioms, the exact origin of ‘whole enchilada’ is difficult to trace. However, most linguists agree that it likely originated in Mexico or other Spanish-speaking countries.”
These are all solid phrases and I’m unable to immediately think of any others that fit the theme.
The fill is all fine. Highlights include EYE TWITCH, LIKE WHOA, EARTH ART, and the inimitable ROZ CHAST.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 4 stars
NYT–Anyone who has ever played Pac Man, in an arcade or at home, has seen the attract mode animation that lists the ghost characters’ names (and nicknames. Inky is a nickname) and the number of points you get for eating them when they are safe to eat. This screen lists the point value for the various fruits that roam around the maze, too. This does not strike me as particularly obscure.
Obscure, at least to a US crowd, would be the original Japanese name for the same character. The blue ghost’s original Japanese nickname is Aosuke.
If I have a quibble with the puzzle, conceptually, it’s that turn signals don’t actually blink back and forth from right to left–that would be chaos. So the revealer feels off to me. Otherwise I thought the puzzle was really great.
Clever puzzle, I agree, but it may astonish you to know that I have never played Pac Man. I knew Inky only because it comes up moderately often in crosswords.
Yeah, I never watch baseball, so I feel your pain, like, a thousandfold.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 3.5 stars
Inky was obscure to me, not helped by Jacobson crossing. So (with less help from the theme) was SHA / LHASA and much of the east. Hard puzzle, but I did like the theme.
“… turn signals don’t actually blink back and forth from right to left–that would be chaos.”
Obviously, you’ve never driven in Michigan. ;-)
A neighbor has a Mini, with tail lights that are arrows pointing in the wrong direction. Worst design ever. For no good reason this puzzle reminded me of that car.
NYT: Fun puzzle, nice theme. Unfortunately I didn’t notice until I finished that the circled letters were all “L” and “R.” That would have made it a faster solve.
Nice! I did not notice that either!
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 5 stars
I didn’t notice it, either. That the circled letters were all “L” on the left and “R” on the right is very impressive. Great job, Adam Wagner!
Wow!
NYT: SACRUM crossing ESCUDO seemed pretty naticky to me
I nominate TOPANGA/YAW
NYT: 4a [It gets dropped in a pot] CHIP
“Don’t splash the pot.”
“And in my club, I will splash the pot whenever the f*** I please!”
“… I weel splyesh the pot …”
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 5 stars
Exquisite fun!
What a clever puzzle! Any criticism is nitpicking. Thank you for the Victor Borge clip. He was incomparable. I had never heard him perform a serious piece. It was sublime.
My recollection is he ended each performance with a serious piece. He was one funny dude!
The first time I’d ever heard a piece by Rachmaninoff was when Victor Borge played the famous prelude in C sharp minor at the Ravinia Festival near Chicago. It amazed me so much that I made a demand to my piano teacher to make that the next piece I would learn to play. I did, later that year.
Impressed! The middle section, if competently played, is often cited as a dividing line between being a mediocre and a talented pianist.
So what is it, Evan, “mediocre” or “talented”?
I was 13 when I learned to play it and I performed it in at least a few recitals, so I’m going with talented.
Not as much now since I’ve largely been out of practice for a long time, though we recently got an electric piano last year so I could start practicing again. I retained a lot more muscle memory on the Rachmaninoff prelude than most other pieces I played when I was a kid.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 5 stars
I loved that Borge clip as well!
NYT-Very cleverly constructed puzzle. 4.5 stars
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 4 stars
A couple of tough crosses, but a fun theme and good-looking grid overall.