Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Jonesin’ 4:17 (Erin) rate it
LAT untimed (Jenni) [2.50 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
NYT 5:35 (Eric) [2.73 avg; 15 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker untimed (pannonica) [3.94 avg; 8 ratings] rate it
Universal 5:29 (Eric) [3.13 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
USA Today tk (Sophia) [2.00 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
Xword Nation tk (Ade) rate it
WSJ 5:17 (Jim Q) [2.75 avg; 2 ratings] rate it

Matt Jones’s Jonesin’ Crossword, “Alphabetically Correct” — in the right order. – Erin’s write-up

Jonesin’ solution 9/30/25

Hello lovelies! For this week’s Jonesin’ theme we have phrases containing the word BEFORE in which the first word precedes the last word alphabetically.

• 20a. [Instruction on liquid medicine or salad dressing] SHAKE BEFORE USE
• 25a. [Brand-new, like film footage] NEVER BEFORE SEEN
• 43a. [Door holder’s quip] AGE BEFORE BEAUTY
• 48a. [Villainous “Superman II” demand (RIP Terence Stamp)] KNEEL BEFORE ZOD

Other things:

• 56a. [Vegan brand made with mycoprotein] QUORN. It’s fermented Fusarium venenatum.
• 55d. [Garth’s portrayer in “Wayne’s World”] DANA. I love how this crosses with 58a’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” clue given how Wayne and Garth rock out to it in the 1992 film.

Until next week!

Shmuel Schmell’s Universal Crossword “On Deck” — Eric’s Review

Shmuel Schmell’S Universal Crossword “On Deck” — 9/30/25

I’m not a fan of crosswords where the theme is in the Down answers — unless there’s a good reason for it. Here, there is, as the theme answers have circled letters that hold a trio of famous hitters, running UP from bottom to top:

• 4D [*Deteriorate] GO TO SEED I’m guessing this is Juan Soto, who in eight seasons (if I counted correctly) has played for the Washington Nationals, the San Diego Padres, the New York Yankees and the New York Mets. At least that last move may have spared him the hassle of relocating.
• 8D [*Says no more] LEAVES ÍT AT THAT That surname is new to me, and I don’t know if this is Fernando Tatís, Sr. or Fernando Tatís, Jr. Both seem pretty accomplished players;. Given that the other two names are active players, I’m going with Junior here (not that it matters for purposes of the puzzle).
• 14D [*0.1%] ONE IN A THOUSAND This is undoubtedly the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani.
• 37D [Umpire’s cry, and a theme hint] BATTER UP

These phrases are all nice finds and would make good answers in a themeless crossword. But without making a list of the many baseball players known for their hitting, it’s impossible to know what other possible theme answers there are. Between the relatively unfamiliar names and the fact that they run backwards, I didn’t use the theme to help me solve the puzzle.

Other stuff:

• 9A [Beer ingredient] HOPS Not MALT.
• 17A [Marilyn Monroe’s given name] NORMA The original version of Sir Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind” is likely forever etched in my brain. “Goodbye, Norma Jean [Mortenson].”
• 19A [Embarrassing outtakes] BLOOPERS I’m moderately surprised this wasn’t clued as “a weakly hit fly ball.”
• 27A [Quick pitch] FASTBALL
• 32A [French friend] AMIE/28D [Spanish friend] AMIGO One can’t accuse this puzzle of being unfriendly.
• 50A [Fencers and boxers, e.g.] ATHLETES I’m also a bit surprised that this didn’t get a baseball clue, too.
• 1D [Grant’s ___, Manhattan mausoleum] TOMB Isn’t the real question who is buried there?
• 39D [Untamed] WILD This could’ve been clued “Like some pitches.”

Justin Werfel’s New York Times Crossword — Eric’s Review

Justin Werfel’s New York Times Crossword — 9/30/25

We’re dropping the fourth letter of the alphabet a bit inconsistently here, turning familiar phrases into slightly wacky ones:

• 17A [*What a straw man in a cornfield is for?] CROW CONTROL
• 28A [*Ref who makes a ruling against your favored team?] GARBAGE UMP
• 35A [*Primate with perfect pitch?] ON-KEY KONG
• 47A [*Kelley Blue Book?] CAR CATALOG
• 59A [“I love this!” … or, phonetically, remark about the answer to each of the starred clues] IT’S A DELIGHT I guess you don’t get much lighter than something that’s not there at all.

This is a solid theme that most solvers have seen variations on before (which is fine). I’d be a little happier with the theme if the D’s had been more consistently located in the original phrases.

Other stuff:

• 19A [Palindromic woman’s name] NAN I lost a few seconds here considering EVE.
• 55A [“Shush!”] CAN IT The clue suggests something a bit more polite than the answer.
• 65A [Sign between Virgo and Scorpio] LIBRA I suppose this could have been ARIES, but I know that’s a spring sign and Scorpio is not. Libra fit; Libra worked. Time to move on to something more important.
• 6D [Movie house] CINEMA This afternoon, we saw Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. I wouldn’t say it’s his best movie, but we were entertained.
• 40D [Fitness guru Jack] LALANNE I remember the guy, but he was around a long time ago.
• 41D [Puppeteer with “Sesame Street” and “The Muppet Show”] FRANK OZ It’s just as well that I couldn’t come up with Jim Henson’s name and needed a few crosses to make me think of Oz.

Zhouqin Burnikel’s Los Angeles Times crossword — Jenni’s write-up

I went down the wrong path with this theme and now I want a snack.

Each theme answer begins and ends with circles.

Los Angeles Times, September 30, 2025, Zhouqin Burnikel, solution grid

• 17a [Documents submitted after a fender bender] are CLAIM FORMS.
• 24a [“I thought you just left!”] is BACK SO SOON?
• 39a [Is a trailblazer] is BREAKS NEW GROUND.
• 50a [Six-time “Dancing With the Stars” champion] is DEREK HOUGH. This could have been a Natick since the U crosses 42d [“Loki” actress Mbatha-Raw] for GUGU and I haven’t heard of either of them. The theme would have saved me if I hadn’t inferred HOUGH.

So I thought this had something to do with food; until I got to BREAD I thought it was “things that are treyf.” Then I found the revealer: 62a [Wealthy, and what 17-, 24-, 39-, and 50-Across literally are] is IN THE MONEY. CLAMS, BACON, BREAD, DOUGH. Nice!

What I didn’t know before I did this puzzle: see above re: HOUGH and GUGU. I also did not know COLE Sprouse was in “Riverdale.”

Wyna Liu’s New Yorker crossword — pannonica’s write-up

New Yorker • 9/30/25 • Tue • Liu • solution • 20250930

Both the duration of my solve and an innate sense tell me that this puzzle was closer to the ‘moderately challenging’ moniker than these Tuesday offerings have been of late.

Much of the fill felt fresh and new, at least to me.

Incidentally, not a fan of the new interface, now powered by Puzzmo. The differences are subtle, but enough to be nuisancesome.

• 15a [Funny bone?] COUNTERFEIT BILL. Not convinced that I’ve ever heard ‘bone’ as slang for money.
• 17a [Game played with gelt] DREIDEL. I didn’t know that that was the name of the pastime as well as its main feature.
• 32a [Aggression caused by P.E.D.s] ’ROID RAGE, performance-enhancing drugs. But I’m also now imagining that Bond villain Rosa Krebbs’ preferred method of attack was spurred by her hosiery.
• 34a [Gardener’s supply] SOIL. Interesting: ‘In soil science, peds are aggregates of soil particles formed naturally as a result of pedogenic processes”. (Wikipedia)
• 45a [Nickname for Maureen or Mohammed] MOE. I feel as if MO is much more common for both?
• 5d [Parent of Spam and Skippy] HORMEL.
  
• 11d [Emerald __ ] ISLE. This answer was my reflexive thought, but than I considered that it might be CITY and had to wait for some time before crossings led me back home to it.
• 31d [Cloying] TOO SWEET.
  
• 33d [Brand of lampshade-shaped chocolates] ROLO. That’s a frustum.
• 39d [Heavy-bottomed glass] TUMBLER. My only real misstep, where I initially entered TANKARD.
• 39d [Semiotician Eco] UMBERTO.
• 54d [Main ingredient in zongzi] RICE. Took an educated guess here, with one letter already in place.
• 59d [Beverage rarely consumed in the summer] NOG >shudder<

Christopher Youngs’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Want Fries With That? ” — Jim Q’s write-up

THEME: The word SELL can be found going upwards in common words/phrases

WSJ • 9/30/25 • Tue • “Want Fries With That?” • Christopher Youngs • solution • 20250930

THEME ANSWERS:

• 4D [Would you also like to add a rental car to your flight to the D.C. airport?] DULLES
• 39D [Would you also like to buy binoculars for your safari to get a better look at the antelopes?] GAZELLES
• 28D [Would you also like to hire a private boat for island-hopping while visiting Africa’s smallest nation?] SEYCHELLES
• 8D [Would you also like to hire a tour guide for your visit to Louis XIV’s palace?] VERSAILLES
• 10D [Would you also like to add crutches to your bill for your calf tendon surgery?] ACHILLES
• 50D [What the clues for 4-, 8-, 10-, 28- and 39-Down are trying to do, and what their answers feature] UPSELL

A somewhat bizarre (but entertaining!) execution of a common theme-type. I was solving this during my break period at school while two students were talking my ear off (they’re used to me half-listening… it’s our schtick), so I was not fully processing or reading the theme clues. For most- erm- all,  I let the themers fill themselves in. Same with the revealer. So at the end I stared at the clues and the themers completely baffled. I only noticed that ELL was featured in each. Eventually I went back to the revealer and read it more carefully. Aha.

The clues are literally UPSELLing us.

That’s hilarious, especially if you’ve ever worked a job where upselling was pushed like gospel. Sure, the clues are wordy, but the excess is the joke. It’s a fresh spin on a familiar mechanic. Wish I’d solved it distraction-free so I could’ve enjoyed the gag from the start.

I also wasted a moment thinking TAILGATERS and ALEGRETTO were theme entries. Right length, right spots. Wrong puzzle.

NEW TO ME / STRAY MUSINGS

• 16A CHEX. Originally called Shredded Ralston. That sounds less like cereal and more like insulation you’d find in your attic

• 20A EYELIDS. Cute clue: [They’re usually closed overnight].

• 41A SIRI. Susan Bennett = the original Siri. That’s a top-tier cocktail party brag

• 43A MCKEAN. Love him in A Mighty Wind, but Waiting for Guffman remains peak Christopher Guest.

• 45A [Id ___] EST. Meh. Fillers gonna fill. Didn’t like the fill-in-the-blank clue for this.

• 51A EIDER. [You might get down from it]. Dad-joke level groan, but I chuckled anyway.

• 54A COOL MIL. Slick entry.

• 28D SEYCHELLES. New to me, but fun to learn.

This grid ran remarkably smooth considering the density of theme material. Almost no junky fill—bravo. Plus, the title “Want Fries With That?” is spot-on, even if it didn’t help me crack the trick early.

Fun one. 4 stars.