LAT tk (Gareth) 
[2.83 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
NYT 16:13 (Eric) 
[3.32 avg; 17 ratings] rate it
USA Today tk (Darby) 
[2.00 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
Universal (Sunday) 9:21 (Jim) [2.00 avg; 1 rating] rate it
Universal tk (Norah) [3.13 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
WaPo 5:52 (Matt G) [3.00 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
Michael Schlossberg’s New York Times Crossword “Ten Point Spread” — Eric’s Review
Michael Schlossberg’s New York Times Crossword “Ten Point Spread” — 7/20/25
For me, this one played like a themeless puzzle, with the theme found in the 10 punny clues that echo each other:
- 23A [Cardinal point?] SISTINE CHAPEL
- 27A [Tipping point?] CASH REGISTER
- 51A [Fine point?] SPEED TRAP
- 53A [Plot point?] HERB GARDEN
- 69A [Match point?] DATING SITE
- 72A [Flash point?] PHOTO BOOTH
- 85A [Style point?] BARBERSHOP
- 89A [Low point?] DAIRY FARM “Low” as in “The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes/But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.” (I never expected to quote a Christmas carol in a puzzle review, but that song is probably, for many people, the most familiar example of cattle “lowing.”
- 111A [Sticking point?] TATTOO PARLOR
- 121A [Brownie point?] GIRL SCOUT CAMP
I was lukewarm about the theme as I was solving, perhaps because I struggled in a few places with some of the fill. But the more I look at the overall puzzle, the more I like the theme. The idioms used in the clue are all very familiar and in each case, the meaning of the first word is completely different than the meaning needed to solve the clue. In other words, the puzzle makes you think a little. And isn’t that why we solve crosswords?
Other stuff:
- 1A [The small screen’s second Golden Age, informally] PEAK TV I momentarily blanked on that phrase. Wikipedia says it ran from 1999 to 2023. I’m not crazy about the phrase because of the implication that TV will never be that good again, but if you interpret “TV” as “broadcast television,” you can make the argument that streaming has completely overtaken it. (And the recent Emmy nominations, in which streaming services did pretty well, supports that argument.)
- 25A [Philanthropist ___ French Gates] MELINDA A gimme that I missed for a while because I misread “philanthropist” as “philosopher” or something else. (I also had no idea of her surname before she married Bill Gates.)
- 38A [Father of Transcendentalism] Ralph Waldo EMERSON I think of Emerson primarily as a writer (if I think of him at all, which isn’t often). I learned from some crossword about this connection to the 19th century “philosophical, spiritual, and literary movement,” but I promptly forgot it. Maybe this time it will stick.
- 43A [“Absolutamente!”] SI SI The clue’s in Spanish. So why did I lose time trying to think of a French answer?
- 60A [What the Mosquirix vaccine targets] MALARIA That’s one of the few vaccines I haven’t had. The disease should’ve been obvious from the vaccine’s name, but I needed too many crosses to get the answer.
- 79A [Mary Westmacott, for Agatha Christie] ALIAS I’ve never read anything by Agatha Christie under any name. For all I knew, Mary Westmacott was one of Christie’s characters.
- 2D [Jannings who won the first Best Actor Oscar] EMIL A gimme for a movie fan like me, though I had to look up the movies: The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh. (For the Oscars awarded in 1929, they considered multiple roles. I don’t think I knew that.)
- 5D [Beater of pocket rockets, in Texas hold ’em] TRIPS I knew “pocket rockets” were aces in that form of poker. The internet tells me that a “trip” is “a three-of-a-kind hand where you use one of your hole cards (the two cards dealt to you) and two of the community cards on the board.”
- 10D [One of the 10 plagues of Egypt] LICE I tried ASPS first (I think that was one of them; I know locusts was. That S really threw me off for a while.)
Evan Birnholz’ Washington Post Crossword “Going Through the Motions” — Matt’s Review
Evan Birnholz’ Washington Post Crossword “Going Through the Motions” solution, 7/20/2025
A meta this week, where we’re asked to find a nine letter word. Happily we have nine theme clues, marked with asterisks:
- 25a [Flag-bearing group at a parade] COLOR GUARD
- 27a [Athlete who really goes a long way] MARATHONER
- 46a [Desert rodent] JERBOA
- 58a [Arctic birds that serve as symbols of Quebec] SNOWY OWLS
- 68a [Indoor air circulation devices] CEILING FANS
- 80a [North Pacific giant with a hue in its name] GRAY WHALE
- 93a [Antelope also known as a rooibok] IMPALA
- 111a [They shouldn’t be sunk too early] EIGHT BALLS
- 116a [Olympic champion who, in 1948, was the first to land a double axel in competition] DICK BUTTON
After nothing jumped out tying these nine entries together, I went looking for the nudge that Evan often places in one of the last clues. Didn’t find any of that, but did clock the “Going through” part of the title and figured we’d pull one letter from each themer from intersecting entries.
Since I was already in the lower left, I saw SKATE [Kite-shaped fish] crossing DICK BUTTON, who isn’t identified as a skater in his clue, but was indeed a skater.
Poking around, each themer is crossed by a motion they do:
- MARCH crossing COLORGUARD [C]
- RUN / MARATHONER [R]
- HOP / JERBOA [O]
- SWOOP / SNOWY OWLS [S]
- SPIN / CEILING FANS [S]
- SWIM / GRAY WHALE [W]
- LEAP / IMPALA [A]
- ROLL / EIGHT BALLS [L]
- SKATE / DICK BUTTON [K]
And our meta answer is CROSSWALK. A consistent little presentation that really relies only on one step. I had a small hiccup trying to make BEND work with COLOR GUARD. While I sorted that out quickly as I pulled more letters of CROSSWALK, it’s also obvious in retrospect, as none of the MARCH, RUN, HOP, etc, are clued as motion verbs themselves. A nice touch!
Sam Cordes’s Universal Sunday crossword, “Changes of Scenery”—Jim’s review
Theme answers are familiar words and phrases that have a geological formation added in, thus creating crossword wackiness.
Universal Sunday crossword solution · “Changes of Scenery” · Sam Cordes · 7.20.25
- 22a. [Some Earth-loving travelers?] GREEN-CAR DRIVERS.
- 39a. [Where Goldilocks eats?] PORRIDGE TABLE.
- 47a. [People who let others borrow their jewelry?] BLING LENDERS.
- 67a. [Describe a college major for an aspiring advertiser?] EXPLAIN COMMUNICATIONS.
- 83a. [Hire military officers for the record label?] SIGN MARSHALS.
- 95a. [Realtor’s success after facilitating eight purchases?] NINTH HOME SALE.
- 112a. [Legal counsel’s command?] “DO AS I SAY IN COURT.”
Pretty nice. There’s a lot of theme material here and we have a wide variety of geological structures added in. Each one changes the original term to something completely different (without alluding to geology), yet each one still has solid surface sense. I especially like that last one which is a fabulous find. Overall, an impressive theme set.
Beyond the theme, LOITERER and AQUEDUCT are nice, but JOE PESCI, TERRIBLE TWOS, and SPEAKING PART are really nice. DOG HAIR and CAT MOM make a great pair, and there’s also “POOR ME,” “SEE TO IT,” and GHASTLY which is anything but. This might be divisive, but I loved “I WAS LIKE…” which we’ve probably all heard countless times.
Clues of note:
- 21a. [“I can assist”]. “USE ME.” These don’t seem synonymous to me. In fact, I just can’t picture anyone simply saying “USE ME” without any other embellishment.
- 28a. [Whiskey ___ (cocktail)]. SOUR. I am currently finishing up a vacation in Costa Rica where I’ve discovered the Guaro SOUR drink, which is popular throughout Central America. Guaro is made from sugar cane and is slightly sweeter than comparable liquors, though sadly it may be difficult to find in the US.
- 64a. [Surname hidden in “channelways”]. ELWAY. Hmm. That’s pushing it. “Channelways” is a word?
- 12d. [Newspaper clippings, etc.]. CUT-OUTS. That’s not how I’ve usually heard the term used. Typically, I’ve seen it refer to a particular shape cut out of something else. Newspaper clippings are “cuttings” in my experience.
Good puzzle with an impressive theme and fun fill. Four stars.
Agree…trickier than many recent NYT Sundays…good! Didn’t get the theme (i.e. 10) until I came here. Thx!
PS you put the same clue and the answer for 53A and 111A just FYI
Oops. Sloppy and hurried editing on my part. Thanks for catching that!
Does everyone but me know the word BRIO (54 down, “Joie de vivre”)? I’ve never heard of it before.
I obviously can’t speak for everyone, but the word has been in my vocabulary for a while. It used to show up in the NYT crossword three or four times a year, but that’s dropped off in the last few years.
As an aside: It’s helpful to other commenters if you make sure the puzzle you’re commenting about is clearly identified. Thanks.
I knew it as part of a musical direction – “Allegro con Brio”
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 2.5 stars
Breaking point? OMELETBAR
Boiling point? TEMPERTANTRUM
Extra point? MOVIECROWDSCENE
My point? TENCLUESLIKETHISWASNOFUN
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 3.5 stars
Hey, Lee Glickstein. I was wondering how you were doing after all these years! Last I saw you was in Stamford when you were visiting the Crossword Tournament. Fond memories of my Sweet 16 and that telegram you sent me. Telegram? Jeez, we’re old.
I liked this puzzle a little more than you.
Sheila, that was like 40 years ago and your memory has held up better than mine. Would you email me? Lee at speaking circles dot com
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 4 stars
So did she hand YOU the mirror?
Nope. Asps were not one of the 10-plagues.
Rather, snakes, not clear which type, appear earlier in the Old Testament, prior to the plagues, when the staffs of Moses and Aaron were cast to the ground
Thanks.
My knowledge of the Hebrew Bible is spotty at best.
I really hated the NYT, maybe more than any to date. The theme amounts to just omit the word “point” and see what the other word means to you. No puns to speak of, just omit it. But then you’re left with a word that could lead you pretty much anywhere. What does “fine” make you think of? Style? Sticking? Oh, whatever. The actual answers are no less “whatever.”
The sheer vagueness makes the theme harder to get without for me corresponding rewards. And same problem makes remaining theme answers harder to get once you have the theme. The sheer number of them, the 10 promised in the title, necessarily takes quite some real estate, making the puzzle otherwise on the hard side for lack of crossings. So again in consequence you really have to love the theme. I did not.
I disagree; each clue was a regular phrase, re-interpreted where “point” meant location / place:
* Place to find a Cardinal? SISTINE CHAPEL
* Place for tipping? CASH REGISTER
* Place where you’d get a fine? SPEED TRAP
* Place for a plot? HERB GARDEN
* Place to find a match? DATING SITE
* Place to see a flash? PHOTO BOOTH
* Place for a style? BARBERSHOP
* Place to hear a low? DAIRY FARM
* Place to get a sticking? TATTOO PARLOR
* Place to find a Brownie? GIRL SCOUT CAMP
I think Plot point? / HERB GARDEN was the weakest, but overall, I liked it. Definitely has a punny / dad joke feel to it. So it probably depends on your tolerance / enjoyment of dad jokes.
I got stuck when I put in ER DOCS instead of OR DOCS, which made the SW the last section to complete.
I did recognize that “point” here means place. I was describing only how it played out in practice, at least for me. I am not fond of dad jokes, I suppose, but I can only wish it had functioned more like dad jokes and less like a loosely clued themeless.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 2.5 stars
Honestly, a bit of a letdown after Schlossberg’s last grid included HEADLESS BODY IN TOPLESS BAR.
Be fair: It’s awfully difficult to beat that headline.
Though I may have enjoyed Dr. Schlossberg’s headline puzzle more than this one, I think this one is actually more approachable for most people. With his earlier puzzle, solvers who were already familiar with those headlines had an advantage.
Has anyone else had issues with AcrossLite on an iPad? I’ve emailed them but I think it’s no longer supported. Most of the time the grid just disappears and I have to force close and re-open the app. Switched to Puzzazz and that works.
The only oddity I have noticed is that if I leave the app, when I return to it, the grid is empty. But clicking the library icon brings back whatever answers I’ve entered.
I think it’s been that way for months.
Yeah, it’s weird. Disappointing that support is gone but you can still pay for it. Should be free if it’s unsupported. Oh well.
I use Black Ink on my MacBook and have been satisfied. I believe there is an iOS version
NYT: I thought the theme was OK but a bit weak, with HERBGARDEN (why herb in particular?) being the least convincing. But the puzzle itself was pretty good. ‘Sawbones’ for ORDOCS seems pretty random. I think of ‘sawbones’ as being an old wild west term for any kind of doc or surgeon, and maybe even dentists too.
WaPo: Nice puzzle, as always. I stared at the theme entries for a while, pondered the title of the puzzle and gained no insight, so (as usual) set it aside. But at least my inability to solve metas doesn’t make me made any more. I have learned to let it go. Ommmmm.
I was thinking over HERB GARDEN, and I wonder if the constructor wanted to make VEGETABLE GARDEN work but just couldn’t get it to fit, and eventually settled on HERB instead.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 4 stars
NYT – classic theme style, well executed. Knew there would be people who wouldn’t like it. HERBGARDEN was my least favorite. This was a very good puzzle in the classic sense. Some good fill as well.
+1
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 3 stars
Eric, I wonder how it is that you have never read a single Agatha Christie book. Is that because you don’t read mystery novels? Or is it because Christie, in your view, is not sufficiently “literary” for you? As a lifelong high school English teacher, I have never thought of Christie’s novels as appropriate for advanced literary study, but I had read virtually every Christie book by age 13. They definitely helped to make a reader of me. At age 12, I wasn’t ready for “The Grapes of Wrath” or “Pride and Prejudice.”
I moved from The Hardy Boys to “adult” novels around 11 or 12. I inherited my older brother’s bedroom when he went to college; he had a lot of good books on his shelf.
I’ve never read that many mysteries. Occasionally, one will grab my attention (I’ve read the The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo trilogy).
Sadly, I don’t read as much now as I used to
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 2.5 stars
I actually enjoyed the theme, not sure why so many have a problem with it. Maybe I’m uncultured but ENTEBBE and GOA are new to me. I found some of the fill and clueing pretty frustrating.
ENTEBBE is familiar to older people like me because of this hijacking and the subsequent rescue mission:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entebbe_raid
I didn’t know until I solved this puzzle that the Ugandan presidential palace is located in Entebbe.
WaPo: fun puzzle, and nice little meta too! After I finished the puzzle, I looked up JERBOA to see what it was; they look like little kangaroos! Anyway, I wrote down all of the theme answers, then after realizing the first letters didn’t spell anything, I went back to the title, and realized that everything did something. I started writing down what actions they took, and then remembered seeing some of the words in the puzzle; that’s when I saw they crossed, and knew I had it. Very satisfying meta to add on. Thanks for a great puzzle, Evan!
WaPo: Just my own personal opinion, but I found too many red herrings (intentional or not) that made me give up on solving the meta without coming here for a hint.
e.g.
COLORGUARD + 28D = Guard rail
125A + DICKBUTTON = Print button
102A + EIGHTBALLS = Gum balls
jerBOA ~ 103A LEI
dickBUTTON ~ 44A SNAP
ceilingFANS ~ 73A NERDS
[dead end]
[oh well]
As Matt Gaffney is often known to say, accidental red herrings creep into his metas so often that they don’t need his help. Same with me; it’s extremely rare that any red herrings would be intentional, and they weren’t in this one.