Monday, September 22, 2025

BEQ 15:16 (Eric) [3.33 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
LAT 1:58 (Stella) rate it
NYT 3:46 (Sophia) [3.79 avg; 12 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker 5:59 (Amy) [3.56 avg; 9 ratings] rate it
Universal untimed (pannonica) [2.75 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
USA Today tk (?) [2.50 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
WSJ 4:40 (Jim Q) rate it

Dena R. Verkuil and Andrea Carla Michaels’s New York Times crossword — Sophia’s recap

New York Times, 09 22 2025, By Dena R. Verkuil and Andrea Carla Michaels

Each of the theme answers today end with a distinct spelling of the sound DOH, clued as:  [Cry from Homer … or a phonetic hint to the ends of 18-, 27-, 48- and 62- Across]. In order, there’s RED BORDEAUX, JUSTIN TRUDEAU, SUPER NINTENDO, and COOKIE DOUGH. What a fun mix of answers! Since there are a lot of phrases that end with this sound, I loved how the constructors chose ones that stand out on their own as phrases. COOKIE DOUGH is sort of the odd one out as all the other phrases have “doh” as part of a word rather than a separate word by itself, but that’s a pedantic nit to pick. I also forgot that JUSTIN TRUDEAU is the son of a P.M. so I liked that clue as a fun fact.

Quick hits on the rest of the puzzle:

• Pangram alert!! This puzzle contains at least one instance of every letter in the alphabet.
• Not too much non-theme long fill but I do like the words CODDLE, QUACKED, and DOG BEDS
• Biggest issue for me was “rub in” instead of RUB ON for [Apply, as ointment]. I also wasn’t sure between “aleut” and INUIT for [Alaskan native].
• [Kids these days] for GEN Z – not really anymore, actually! The internet says GEN Z are folks born between 1997 and 2012, meaning the youngest gen z-ers are 13. I was born in 1997 and just celebrated my 28th birthday this weekend… so yeah, kids these days are more Gen Alpha than Z.
• Missed opportunity to clue MARIO in relation to SUPER NINTENDO!
• New to me: the fabric ORLON. 

Happy Monday all!

Robert E. L. Morris’s Los Angeles Times crossword — Stella’s write-up

Los Angeles Times 9/22/25 by Robert E.L. Morris

The revealer at 58A [Jukebox musical featuring Gloria Estefan songs, or where to find the ends of 17-Across and 10-, 24-, and 33-Down] is ON YOUR FEET, because each theme answer ends with a part of the foot. Personally, I’d have clued this as [Command to stand up, or…], given that a jukebox musical that premiered 10 years ago and didn’t last that long on Broadway doesn’t seem like a reason for a puzzle even though the phrase is a legit revealer. (But I was prompted to listen to some of Gloria’s ’80s hits after solving the puzzle, so there’s that.)

• 17A [Architectural component of many a stained glass window] is a GOTHIC ARCH.
• 10D [Pencil game that often has no winner] is TIC-TAC-TOE.
• 24D [Billiards game] is SIX-BALL.
• 33D [Flatfish native to the northern Atlantic] is DOVER SOLE.

This theme has problems IMO. Not in the theme words — ARCH, TOE, BALL, SOLE are all legit. But placing one theme entry in the Acrosses and three in the Downs? I’m one of the most experienced solvers there is and I found that confusing as hell (not to mention it renders the revealer clue 19 words and 112 characters long). Plus, the shortest Down themer is the same length as four other Down answers! I’d have preferred to see fewer but longer themers (how about I FEEL LIKE A HEEL?).

I do think this puzzle is enjoyable if you think of it as an easy themeless.

Hal Moore’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Child’s Play” — Jim Q’s write-up

THEME: Common phrases/terms that begin with playground equipment

Hal Moore’s Wall Street Journal Crossword “Child’s Play” — 9/22/25

THEME ANSWERS:

• [Contest with dramatic shifts] SEESAW BATTLE
• [Court tiebreaker] SWING VOTE
•  [Many a presentation] SLIDESHOW
• [The Sims and Minecraft, for example] SANDBOX GAMES

This was a fun ride for me! Lots of unfamiliar terms and interesting entries that aren’t all that common in crosswords, especially on a Monday. At 74 words, the grid is still quite clean too. It’s a testament to the cluing and editing that with so many new terms (for me) that it still plays with the ease and smoothness of an early-week puzzle.

I’ve never heard the term SEESAW BATTLE (I’m literally picturing people trying to outdo one another on seesaws right now) or SANDBOX GAMES, which according to Wikipedia is “…is a video game with a gameplay element that provides players a great degree of creativity to interact with…” That makes sense! Both terms a lively and welcome additions to my vocab.

OTHER NEW-TO-ME/INTERESTING ENTRIES:

• 22A [They’re into the hot new thing] FADDISTS. I hadn’t read the clue yet and had FA??ISTS. I was momentarily concerned that it was going to be a different word in there.
• 38A [Condition resulting in flushed cheeks] ROSEACEA. Read about it here.
• 52D [Chloe Lanier’s “General Hospital” role] NELLE. There’s a name that is not gonna stick for me.
• 65A [Wavy pattern] MOIRE. Not sure how one pronounces this.
• 14A [“Free Solo” peak, familiarly] EL CAP. I’ve seen this entry a few times, but can’t seem to get it to stick.

Other colorful entries include DO TIME, GREEN TEA, ACT FAST!, NILE DELTA, SPLIT PEAS (seems odd pluralized), PET PEEVE, and NO PULP, which reminds me of a Gary Gulman bit… Just saw him last week live. A+

Fun, quirky, and interesting Monday. 4 stars.

Drew Schmenner’s Universal crossword, “Killer Performance” — pannonica’s write-up

Universal • 9/22/25 • Mon • “Killer Performance” • Schmenner • solution • 20250922

• 27d^R [*Emphatically ends a performance … or what this puzzle literally does] DROPS THE MIC.
• 4d. [*Spanish expression of hospitality] MI CASA, SU CASA.
• 18d. [“You understand me?!”] AM I CLEAR?
• 25d. [*Connectors from laptops to external monitors] HDMI CABLES, high-definition multimedia interface.
• 34d. [*Classic video game cheat] KONAMI CODE.

Hmm. In each case, a down answer features the letters M-I-C in sequence, so they are ‘dropping down’. Maybe it’s because I’ve done so many crosswords over the years, but I don’t find this satisfying. Given the revealer’s prompt, I’d expect either an editing out of the MIC trigram or seeing it literally dropping down from across answers. Sure, it’s a nice touch that all of the appearances present those letters as spanning more than one word/element of the entry, but that seems kind of pedestrian, no?

• 

  (found on bluesky)

  29a [What a philosopher might ponder] IDEA. 47a [Why is the __ blue?] SKY.

• String of geography: 40a [Where Incas once ruled] PERU, 42a [Land of Mount Everest’s South Base Camp] NEPAL, 43a [Muslim pilgrim’s destination] MECCA, 45a [Havana’s land] CUBA.
• 55a [Ends, as a practice] ABOLISHES. Or, say, a government agency.
• 60a [“__ cost ya!”] IT’LL. 61a [Inexpensive] CHEAP.
• 6d [“We __ Young” (No. 1 hit for fun.] ARE.
  
  (it’s extremely 1990)
• 9d [Guys unboxing car seats, say] DADS-TO-BE. Unusual clue, but effective.

And that’s all I’ve got for this one.
↓
↓
🎤

Natan Last’s New Yorker crossword–Amy’s recap

New Yorker crossword solution, 9/22/25 – Natan Last

Out the door in a bit, so I’ll be quick.

Was expecting this to be tougher than it was. Didn’t know ADAM PHILLIPS, [British psychoanalyst who wrote “Unforbidden Pleasures”] or the SNAIL KITE, a bird that eats snails. Also new to me: [Arabic word that means “religion”], DEEN. A less controversial clue than TV cook Paula.

Fave fill: STEPHANIE (didn’t know the meaning and origin), ARANCINI, THE NATION (I subscribe to lawyer/writer Elie Mystal’s Friday newsletter from The Nation, love it), GRATEFUL DEAD, GRAYSCALE, “YOU SEND ME” by Sam Cooke, TEACHABLE moment, tech history’s ARPANET, AP CALCULUS.

Iffy about UNIRONED. I guess? Basket of wrinkled clothes are unironed?

Four stars from me. I enjoyed the venture.

Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Crossword #1820 — Eric’s Review

Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Crossword #1820 — 9/22/25

I found this not too difficult until I looped back to the top part, especially the NW corner.

Stuff that didn’t give me any trouble:

• 17A [Alma mater of twenty British prime ministers] ETON That’s pretty basic crossword knowledge, no?
• 27A [___ flag] PRIDE We moved over a year ago and still haven’t found the Pride flag we had in Texas. We finally caved and bought a new one.
• 46A [Life lines?] AORTAS
• 9D [“Family Affair” singer] SLY STONE
• 28D [Longest serving attorney general of the 20th century] JANET RENO Floating in my head is the fact that Reno was the only member of Bill Clinton’s cabinet who served the whole eight years of his administration.
• 47D [Only zodiac sign that is an object] LIBRA

Stuff that I didn’t know before:

• 14A [“Messy” singer Young] LOLA I don’t know the song or the singer.
• 23A [Denim jacket and jeans combo] CANADIAN TUXEDO I got TUXEDO and expected COWBOY to be the first part, but that obviously didn’t fit.
• 25A [MLS team that plays in the El Tráfico rivalry] Los Angeles GALAXY The other team is Los Angeles FC; the name of the crosstown derby not unsurprisingly alludes to the notorious freeway traffic in Los Angeles. I don’t know all the MLS team names, but I should have been able to figure this out a little quicker.
• 56A [“The Glass Bead Game” author] Herman HESSE Not a title I recognized.
• 6D [“Your Honor” actress ___ Kay] LILLI I don’t recognize that series.
• 51D [German city whose name means “to eat”] ESSEN Wikipedia seems to suggest that this is just a coincidence.

Other stuff:

• 41A [Biblical character whose cousin shares the same first three letters] ENOS I’m guessing the cousin is Enoch. My interest in Biblical characters is limited to whether they help me solve crosswords.
• 47A [Having to do what you want, when you want, where you want] LIVING THE DREAM That clue seems a bit off to me; doesn’t “Getting to do what you want . . .” make more sense?
• 53A [Use pruning shears] SNIP Not CLIP.
• 2D [Was decreased in availability] GOT SCARCE I started with GOT SPARSE, which slowed me down a bit. The correct answer is better.
• 4D [Announced new products, perhaps] RAN AN AD I expect many of those new products are various shades of green paint.
• 8D [Eurostar cars for sleepers] WAGON-LITS I came across this in another crossword some months ago, but had forgotten it. The LITS part (from the French for “bed”) looked wrong for quite a while.
• 31D [1973 folk song with the lyrics “Like the singing bird and the croaking toad”] I GOT A NAME I’m chagrined that I needed a few crosses to get this one. Jim Croce was one of the first artists I started listening to on my own (as opposed to picking up on whatever my older sibs were listening to).