Monday, December 8, 2025

BEQ 11:23 (Eric) [3.50 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
LAT 2:11 (Stella) [2.00 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
NYT 3:35 (Sophia) [3.17 avg; 9 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker 5:06 (Amy) [3.44 avg; 9 ratings] rate it
Universal untimed (pannonica) [2.90 avg; 5 ratings] rate it
USA Today tk (?) [2.50 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
WSJ untimed (Jim Q) rate it

Dan Kammann and Zhouqin Burnikel’s New York Times Crossword — Sophia’s Recap

Theme: DIG IT –  Each theme answer ends with a word that can also mean “a hole in the ground”

New York Times, 12 08 2025, By Dan Kammann and Zhouqin Burnikel

• 17a [Wyoming skiing mecca] – JACKSON HOLE
• 62a [End successfully] – WORK OUT WELL
• 10d [Eleventh-hour] – LAST DITCH
• 34d [Center of a stone fruit] – CHERRY PIT
• 40a [Finger or toe … or, when read as two words, what you can do to the ends of 17- and 62-Across and 10- and 34-Down] – DIGIT

Hey, LAST DITCH could have also been a revealer for this puzzle! I found the re-parsing of DIGIT into DIG IT fun, and I didn’t realize how many words for “hole in the ground” could be used in different ways. The four answers chosen by the constructors are all interesting, and I like the windmill layout.

I didn’t have much trouble with the theme answers today, but I found the rest of the puzzle to be trickier than usual. I had a whole bunch of write-overs, for example: “icon” instead of SCAN for [Computer image], “lyres” for LUTES for [Medieval stringed instruments], “stamped” instead of SEALED for [Like an envelope that’s ready to be sent] (although that one was the wrong length). Did the puzzle play harder than usual for anyone else?

Other miscellaneous thoughts:

• Since last week I have now finished the Lord of the Rings trilogy of movies – just in time for Sean ASTIN to make an appearance here! I did have to look at the length of the answer to know if this was going to be Bean instead, though…
• [“Enola Holmes” actress ___ Bobby Brown] for MILLIE is a little out of date as a clue – Millie has gotten married and changed her name. I recommend this video of her and Noah Schnapp on the “Stranger Things” press tour as a way to remember her full name now :)
• I’d never heard the quote about OPERA and got it entirely from crossing answers, did other folks know it?
• Fill highlights – OIL PAINT, HAMSTER
• Clue highlights – [The eyes may have it] for MASCARA, [Toy on a string that’s not a kite] for YOYO, [Run out of clothes?] for STREAK

Happy Monday all!

Brian Gubin’s Los Angeles Times crossword — Stella’s write-up

Los Angeles Times 12/8/25 by Brian Gubin

I find myself slightly stumped here: Can this theme really be as literal as I think it is? The revealer at 62A [“Sounds about right,” and what can be said about 18-, 28-, and 49-Across] is THAT TRACKS, because each theme entry is someone or something that TRACKS something else:

• 18A [Sleuth for hire] is a PRIVATE EYE, who TRACKS suspicious activity.
• 28A [Important tool in weather prediction] is DOPPLER RADAR, which TRACKS a storm.
• 49A [Tour guide off the coast of Washington or Maine, e.g.] is WHALE WATCHER, and what they TRACK is right there in the name. While I was solving I wondered why this wasn’t clued with reference to a tourist rather than the guide, but I guess the tourist is just enjoying the sight and the guide’s job is to TRACK where the whales might be.

It seems unusual that the connection between the theme answers is so literal and the only wordplay involved is the phrase used to express what that connection is. Am I wrong?

Jake Halperin’s Universal crossword, “Cut the Act” — pannonica’s write-up

Universal • 12/8/25 • Mon • “Cut the Act” • Halperin • solution • 20251208

• 20a. [Inaccessible bank holding] FROZEN ACCOUNT (front).
• 34a. [Conjugation category] PRESENT TENSE (pretense).
• 43a. [Children’s book feature] ILLUSTRATION (illusion).
• 58a. [Letter’s numeric value, in computing] CHARACTER CODE (charade).

Perfect title. Some of the base phrases may share etymologies with those bracketed synonyms for act.

• 1d [Plant mergers?] GRAFTS. The question mark made it easier. Without a question mark it would seem borderline nonsensical.
• 6d [Wedge -shaped cut] NOTCH.
  
• 10d [Result alongside a remainder] QUOTIENT. It’s a common thing, but somehow it seems mired in elementary arithmetic lessons.
• 27d [“Stay Playful” cookie] OREO. Yet another OREO clue. At least it isn’t one of the myriad flavors that they keep introducing.
• 45d [Bad smell] ODOR. 53d [Good smell] AROMA. You all know my opinions on this topic. 25a [“Ppl might disagree, but …”] IMO.
• 59d [Paul Revere, or anyone you revere] HERO. Interesting clue choice.
  
• 19a [“Guess that was fragile”] OOPS. 48d [Drop the ball] BLOW IT.
• 23a [Type of pole that’s carved] TOTEM. Not sure what this clue is trying to do.
• 41a [“Queen of Bebop” Vaughan] SARAH. I’ve never heard that appellation, but I don’t dispute it.
• 66a [“I’m the boss,” to a lion] ROAR.
  
• 69a [The Eiffel Tower was built for one] EXPO. I’d forgotten that. Took a little over two years to construct.

All in all, a pretty nifty crossword.

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

NY Times crossword solution, 12/8/25 – Natan Last

Surprised this one took me just a bit over 5 minutes, given the plethora of names and such, lots of tricky crossings. To clue TORAH as [Simchat ___ (Jewish celebration that includes the year’s first reading from Genesis)], with crossings like EBT, LMAO, and “HEY MR. DJ”? JAMAICA with a historical clue, [Island where Tacky’s Revolt and the Baptist War took place], with crossings like JED (as part of a Grateful Dead song title), ARENDT, MINAJ, nonspecific Roman numeral (could be VII or XII as well as III). Not-especially-idiomatic phrases like “TASTE THIS” and “IS IT REAL” crossing names ASH, SIA, DEERE, MANTEL, and MAHMOUD KHALIL?

Fave fill: EMMA GOLDMAN, STYROFOAM, MAHMOUD KHALIL, MOTHER JONES, “OK BOOMER.”

New to me: [Playfully, in music], SCHERZANDO. The crossings in that section were all easy enough for me.

Three stars from me.

Kathy Lowden’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Native Dress” — Jim Q’s write-up

THEME: Articles of clothing with geographical locations in the name

WSJ • 12/8/25 • Mon • “Native Dress” • Kathy Lowden • solution • 20251208

THEME ANSWERS:

• CAPRI PANTS
• BERMUDA SHORTS
• BIKINI UNDERWEAR
• HAWAIIAN SHIRT
• PANAMA HATS

Nice set with no revealer necessary! Surprised that it happens to fit symmetrically (ok… PANAMA HAT(S) had to cheat a bit). Are there any other commonly known articles of clothing that follow this pattern… lemme think… Oxford shirt? I vaguely recall the argyle pattern being geographical… Scotland is it? What about jerseys? Do they have anything to do with Jersey?

I think it would be fun to name some places after patterns. Based on my go-to style, I belong in a town named Plaid.

I don’t think I ever put it together that the BIKINI is named after the BIKINI Atoll. From Google AI (and mildly fact-checked):

The name “bikini” comes from the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific, where the U.S. conducted atomic bomb tests in 1946, the same year French designer Louis Réard unveiled the revealing two-piece swimsuit. Réard chose the name to evoke the “explosive” impact and shock he predicted the scandalous new swimwear would have on society, similar to the atomic tests. 

OTHER STUFF:

• [Chinese sailing ship] JUNK. Srsly? Is this a Monday clue? Not sure why in an area with crosswordy AUK, less-than-common SLAKE, and proper noun SKYE, a rather obscure clue for JUNK was used.
• [Norse queen of the dead] HEL. New for me. Surprised I don’t know this, being that it has some past, recent-ish crossword usage. Again, that corner with ETRE, TSAR, and TERRA might be difficult for new solvers who look forward to Monday’s expected ease.
• [Grammatical answer to “Who’s there?”] IT’S I. Erm… not sure why this is a “grammatical” answer. Seems like it’s just an answer. A weird answer… that no one would ever say.
• [Reeves of “John Wick”] KEANU. Just saw him in Waiting for Godot with his co-star from the Bill and Ted franchise, Alex Winter. Alex Winter was fantastic…

3.5 stars from me.

Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Crossword #1842 — Eric’s Review

Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Crossword #1842 — 12/8/25

This one seemed on the easier end for me, though Brendan has labelled it “Hard” and there were a lot of answers that I didn’t know.

Most of the longer answers are the Downs in the NW and SE corners, and they’re almost all at least a little interesting. Stuff that caught my eye:

• 7A [Big expense for a furniture maker] TIMBER I would have said that “timber” is trees still standing in a forest and “lumber” is trees that have been sawn up for use. I’d have been wrong.
• 14A [Like a ginger’s hair] CARROTY I’d have said that the redheads I’ve known have not had hair that is the pure orange of a carrot. But I looked up “carroty” and it means “(of a person’s hair or whiskers) orange-red in color.” Score another one for BEQ.
• 15A [Preparation for a long drive?] TEEING I’ve been warped by doing too many crosswords. I see “drive” in a clue and I instantly assume it’s talking about golf.
• 16A [Pouty selfie pose] DUCK FACE Not FISH FACE. I don’t get why anyone would want a picture of themselves looking like that, but then, there are many things about social media that I don’t get.
• 17A [First person elected speaker of the House in nonconsecutive terms] NANCY PELOSI That’s a more challenging clue than “First woman elected speaker of the House.” The challenge was lost on me because I got OSI first and knew the answer was Speaker Pelosi without reading the clue.
• 20A [“You convinced me”] LET’S Not DEAL.
• 21A [Warrior who wielded a chakram] XENA I’ve no idea what a “charm” is, but I immediately thought of XENA. I held off because X is such a difficult letter to work into a grid.
• 34A [Animal with a four-chambered stomach] COW That should’ve been a gimme, but after all those decades, I’d forgotten learning about bovine digestive systems.
• 38A [Radice cubica di ventisette] TRE It took me longer than I’d have liked to realize that “ventisette” is Italian for “twenty-seven.”
• 42A [“Rockin’ Chair” singer McCrae] GWEN I just listened to that song and don’t really remember it. Wikipedia says it was an answer song to “Rock Your Baby” by George McCrae (Gwen’s husband). I’m pretty sure I remember that one.
• 44A [Portmanteau in fashion] JORTS I’ve never seen that word outside of a crossword puzzle.
• 4D [Brownie ___] POINTS That was the first answer I got. CAMERA would have also fit, but even for a BEQ puzzle, that would have been a hoary answer.
• 7D [Some meals on wheels?] TACOS Cute.
• 16D [Sherlock Holmes hat] DEERSTALKER I was glad for this because it kept me from hanging on to FISHFACE for too long.
• 22D [Device for removing an unwanted passenger] EJECTOR SEAT As in the Aston Martin DB-5 James Bond drives in Goldfinger. I lost a little time here with EJECTION.
• 23D [Shampoo bottle’s promise] NO MORE TEARS Specifically, Johnson & Johnson’s baby shampoo.
• 43D [The Manhattan Transfer singer Siegel] JANIS I needed most of the crosses here. I’m familiar with the group but couldn’t name any members.
• 44D [___ Gahr Støre (Norway’s prime minister)] JONAS The parenthetical was of no help.
• 46D [UFC champ Holly nicknamed “The Preacher’s Daughter”] HOLM Another name new to me, though I think I may have seen her in a puzzle before.
• 48D [2025 NBA Finals MVP, to fans] SGA a/k/a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. I had to recently look him up. Maybe this time his name will stick?