Tuesday, September 2, 2025

Jonesin’ 5:09 (Erin) [2.50 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
LAT untimed (Jenni) [2.17 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
NYT 6:23 (Eric) [2.95 avg; 11 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker untimed (pannonica) [3.63 avg; 8 ratings] rate it
Universal 4:51 (Eric) [3.70 avg; 5 ratings] rate it
USA Today tk (Sophia) [1.50 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
Xword Nation tk (Ade) rate it
WSJ tk (Jim) rate it

Matt Jones’s Jonesin’ Crossword, “That’s Right” — of this we can be certain. – Erin’s write-up

Jonesin’ solution 9/2/25

Hello lovelies! Hope the long weekend was enjoyable. This week’s puzzle will add some positivity to your life!

• 17a. [Colorful theft deterrents] DYE PACKS
• 21a. [“The Great Race” or “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”] COMEDY EPICS
• 36a. [TV offerings where the cast might learn the true meaning of the season — or go trick-or-treating] HOLIDAY EPISODES
• 53a. [Slightly darker, earthier-tasting Swedish breakfast fare] RYE PANCAKE
• 60a. [Pirate costume feature] EYE PATCH
• (Revealer) 67a. [Did we figure out what the long theme answers have in common?] YEP! The affirmation bridges the two words of each theme entry.

One of the cairns on Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park

Other things:

• 24d. [Easternmost U.S. national park] ACADIA. My family just got back from vacation in Maine, where we were able to spend time in Acadia. For most of the year, Cadillac Mountain there sees the earliest sunrise in the continental United States.

Until next week!

Guilherme Gilioli’s Universal Crossword “Family Business” — Eric’s Review

Guilherme Gilioli Universal Crossword “Family Business” — 9/2/25

I hope everyone had a safe and pleasant Labor Day weekend. I’m retired, so a three-day weekend doesn’t affect me much, but I appreciate everyone who works 9 to 5 (or whatever) to keep things running.

Is it just me, or have we been seeing a lot of puzzles from Guilherme Gilioli lately? I’m not complaining — their work is solid and the constructor wannabe in me is jealous of their apparent unending capacity for themes.

I’ve mentioned many times now that a theme didn’t help me much in terms of solving a puzzle. Despite the circled letters in the grid, this is one of those not-so-helpful themes. But the revealer is so perfect that I don’t care that I solved the puzzle like a themeless grid:

• 16A [Dish with leafy vegetables (Williams, letters 2-7 in this)] GREEN SALAD Serena I don’t really follow sports, but I think you could make the case that she’s the women’s tennis GOAT. (If you think someone else deserves that designation, please speak up in the comments!)
• 24A [Massive astronomical body (Kardashian)] BLACK HOLE Khloe Any puzzle that makes me think about the Kardashian clan loses a point or two in my rating scale, but this answer was such a nice entry anyway that I’ll overlook the youngest Kardashian daughter.
• 38D [“We’re Not Gonna Take It” band … or each scrambled name in this puzzle?] TWISTED SISTER I had four sisters. At least one of them was a bit twisted. But I just got done talking for half an hour to my closest-in-age sister, so that evens out, right?
• 50A [They may be batted (Olsen)] EYELASHES Ashley This answer is another nice find. I don’t have an opinion one way or the other regarding the Olsen twins.
• 61A [Boundaries crossed by armies (Brontë)] ENEMY LINES Emily Bringing in a 19th-century English novelist and poet gives the grid a bit of class, doncha think?

I saw SERENA in the GREEN SALAD, but my reluctance to think about the Kardashians kept me from mentally reciting their names. It was easier just to ignore the circled letters in BLACK HOLE, and when I hit the revealer, it was all obvious.

Other stuff:

• 14A [Sense of dishonor] SHAME As long as you don’t take it too far, it’s a good thing to have if you want to live in a civil society.
• 21A [Music rights org.] ASCAP A year or so ago, a crossword puzzle led to me learning about the 1941 boycott of radio broadcasters by the members of the America Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Radio without popular music!
• 57A [Word found backward in “benevolence”] LOVE I missed this clue while solving and got LOVE from crosses. I don’t see any other possibilities.
• 5D [___ Na Na] SHA Kinda hard to believe those guys preceded Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock. (Kinda hard to believe those guys were even onstage at Woodstock.)
• 9D [Informal midday meeting] LUNCH DATE “Informal” led me to try SESH before DATE.
• 28D [Work on the side, say?] EAT Clever clue that I missed by getting EAT from crosses.
• 36D [When tripled, a winter song] LET IT SNOW I’m looking forward to ski season starting in a few months. But who do I sue for giving me an insipid earworm?

Rena Cohen’s New York Times Crossword — Eric’s Review

Rena Cohen’s New York Times Crossword — 9/2/25

I just ate a sizable bowl of Cajun red beans and rice, which is filling stuff. That’s probably not the best thing to do before tackling a puzzle with a food-based theme, but what can you do?

Four apparently unrelated items get together in the snack aisle:

• 18A [Surgical implant] TITANIUM ROD
• 24A [Soother for sore gums] TEETHING RING
• 39A [Salty snack whose varieties are found at the ends of 18-, 24-, 52- and 61-Across] PRETZEL
• 52A [Core-strengthening exercise] RUSSIAN TWIST That’s not an exercise I’m familiar with, at least not by that name.
• 61A [Travel blogger’s gadget] SELFIE STICK

I don’t particularly care for pretzels. I’m fairly sure the last time I ate one was during Super Bowl LII in 2017. The theme answers are all fine, though none really grabbed me. But I imagine that inexperienced solvers will easily see how this theme works, which is a good thing for an early-week puzzle.

Other stuff:

• 4A [Sailboat’s post] MAST Maybe I misread the clue as “Sailor’s post,” but I didn’t immediately think of mast.
• 29A [“This is more than a want!”] I NEED IT The answer is squarely in the vernacular; I have to try hard to imagine someone speaking the clue.
• 56A [Greenland native] INUK I should have gotten this more readily.
• 66A [“This decision is hard!”] I’M TORN That clue sounds almost as off as 29A.
• 70A [Its symbol is Pb] LEAD In Latin, “lead” is “plumbum,” hence “plumber.” But you knew that.
• 3D [What a schemer schemes] SECRET PLAN I like that in the grid, for some reason.
• 10D [Certain parent overseeing a child’s career, in showbiz lingo] MOMAGER Ugh (as a coinage).
• 27D [Young adult novelist Shusterman] NEAL Not a name I knew, and scanning Wikipedia’s list of his titles, I don’t see any I recognize (not that I’ve paid much attention to YA fiction in 50 years).

Noelle Griskey’s Los Angeles Times crossword — Jenni’s write-up

Cute theme! No revealer needed. There’s a pattern to the theme clues.

Los Angeles Times, Tuesday, September 2, 2025, Noelle Griskey, solution grid

• 17a [It’s on a roll] is SPICY MAYO.
• 24a [Who’s on a roll] is a STAR STUDENT. The syntax of that clue seems a little off. Maybe it needs a question mark?
• 36a [They’re on a roll] are COLOR PHOTOS.
• 47a [They’re on a roll] are SESAME SEEDS.
• 57a [It’s on a roll] is RICE PAPER.

All solid answers and smooth fill despite the amount of theme material. Nice!

What I didn’t know before I did this puzzle: I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t know LETITIA Wright’s name even though I thoroughly enjoyed her performances in both “Black Panther” movies.

Brooke Husic’s New Yorker crossword — pannonica’s write-up

New Yorker • 9/2/25 • Husic • solution • 20250902

Once again, not really up to the ‘moderately challenging’ description, so I guess I’m just going to have to calibrate my expectations, as the magazine’s editorial staff clearly has not yet bowed to my will. It’s going to be a process, folks. (So I’ll continue making the same observation for a while no doubt.)

Anytime there was a clue I didn’t immediately know the answer for, there was a crossing entry or two that was conveniently much easier. So no thorny areas to work, just a stream of bips and bops.

• 1a [“Look at what I’m wearing,” on social media] FIT CHECK. One of those I didn’t know, but it’s crossed by the likes of 1d [Confronts] FACES, 2d [Word after mental or mirror] IMAGE, 5d [Fruit-drink brand whose name boasts of its vitamin content] HI-C, and 8d [Joints bent when sitting cross-legged] KNEES.
• 14a [A.C.L.U. part] AMERICAN. 38a [New York Taxi Workers Alliance and Student Workers of Columbia, for two] UNIONS. And the puzzle’s central, marquee entry: 34a [Winner of New York City’s 2025 Democratic mayoral primary] ZOHRAN MAMDANI.
• 16a [Request to tag along] CAN I COME. I misinterpreted the clue as a request coming from those heading out rather than one potentially being left behind. 7d [Hit the trail, in a way] CAMPAIGN.
• 28a [Feng-__ (literally, “wind-water”)] SHUI.
  
• 29a [Self-calmed, in a way] STIMMED.
• 33a [Competitions with freestyle events] MEETS. I can only think of swim MEETS, as gymnastics, ice skating, skiing, snowboarding, etc. events tend to formally be called competitions. I think.
• 39a [Big spoon or little spoon] UTENSIL. Deceptively straightforward.
• 44a [Informal assignment for a college student] ROOMIE. Minor misdirection, but I wasn’t fooled, especially because half the letters were already provided by crossing entries.
• 52a [Resting place for Cardinals or Orioles] DUGOUT. The capitalizations were easily noted.
• 58a [Garment offered in size NB] ONESIE. For newborn, presumably.
• 60a [Linguistic features of Yoruba, Navajo, and Punjabi] TONES. Three continents invoked.
• 61a [Course in which students often go back to the drawing board?] ART CLASS. Another not-so-oblique question-mark clue. I guess that’s indicative of the TENOR (3d [General vibe]) of these ‘moderately challenging’ crosswords—any potential toughness is a thin façade, easily tipped over.
• 11d [“Break My Soul” singer, informally] BEYoncé. Old crosswordese would have this clued as a provincial Ottoman governor.
• 13d [“Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” rock band, for short] TSO, Trans-Siberian Orchestra. >shudder<  On the other hand, it’s a change from the Chinese general of restaurant menus. 20a [“__ the season …”] ’TIS. 59a [Benevolence] GOOD WILL, notably mentioned by JFK in a 1962 Christmas message.
• 22d [Casual bottoms] SHORTS. But SLACKS sound more casual, don’t they?
• 28d [Yoga backbend named for a mythological creature] SPHINX POSE.
  
• 37d [Ba __ tss (onomatopoeia for a drum sting] DUM. Was this a gimme for everyone else too?
• 45d [Twenty-fourth letter of the Greek alphabet] OMEGA; helps to be aware that the Greek alphabet has 24 letters total. 34d [Sixth letter of the Greek alphabet] ZETA.
• 46d [Filter that significantly lowers pixels’ blue values] SEPIA. Much easier to understand retrospectively.
• 57d [Indifferent texter’s initialism] IDC, I don’t care.

Alexander Liebeskind’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Conversation PIECEs” — Jim Q’s write-up

THEME: Jobs that might interpret the word “volume” differently

WSJ • 9/2/25 • Tues • “Conversation PIECEs” • Alexander Liebeskind • solution • 20250902

THEME ANSWERS:

• 20A [Instructor who knows a lot about planes] GEOMETRY TEACHER
• 25A [Buyer of certain valuable works] BOOK COLLECTOR
• 46A [Pro who helps you make tracks] SOUND ENGINEER
• 53A [Conveys significant information, or holds a conversation with 20-, 25- or 46-Across?] SPEAKS VOLUMES

Clever theme with volume interpreted three different ways. I didn’t get the connection until the revealer, which I uncovered last. I do enjoy when that happens. I feel like that’s what the puzzle really wants to happen, but rarely does.

MISSTEPS / NEW TO ME 

• 49A [Words from a doorman] “GO ON IN!” I’m not often greeted by doormen. Is this what they say?
• 8D [Deli wares] MEAT. The word “meat” doesn’t make me think wares for some reason, although that is certainly what they’re selling.
• The title: “Conversation PIECEs” I don’t get why those letters are capitalized. I’m not sure I get the title at all.

Favorite was GALUMPH. Gawsh, that’s a fun word to think. Must be delightful to speak it aloud.

Side-eye to the plural of ODD COUPLE(s). When has one needed to refer to multiple ODD COUPLES at the same time. If there are so many… maybe they’re not even odd!

3.25 stars from me!