LAT untimed (pannonica) 
[2.71 avg; 7 ratings] rate it
NYT 4:55 (Amy) 
[3.77 avg; 13 ratings] rate it
Universal 4:55 (Jim P) [2.67 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
USA Today tk (Emily) rate it
Hemant Mehta’s New York Times crossword — Amy’s recap
NY Times crossword solution, 12/19/25 – no. 1219
Nice puzzle, breezier than I was expecting.
Fave fill: ILLINOISE (that’s based on the Sufjan Stevens album, Illinois), FREE-SOLOED, NEPO BABIES, LOOMED LARGE, SWAG BAG, BLENDED FAMILIES, CAT IN THE HAT, newer vocab INSPO.
Three more things:
- 35A. [Silver of the Silver Bulletin], NATE. He’s the guy who used to have the Fivethirtyeight political forecasting site. He gets made fun of by a lot of people on Bluesky now.
- 37A. [L.G.B.T.Q.+ rights activist Windsor], EDIE. I kinda wanted ELLY, misremembering her name.
- New to me: 44A. [___ Hadley, “Clever Girl” novelist], TESSA. British writer I hadn’t known.
Four stars from me.
Samantha Podos Nowak’s Los Angeles Times crossword — pannonica’s write-up
LAT • 12/19/25 • Fri • Nowak • solution • 20251219
- 36aR [Soliloquy dilemma, and a phonetic hint to 17-, 25-, 51-, and 61-Across] TO BE OR NOT TO BE. I reasoned with this information for a while before understanding that the theme is simply removing the letter B from the sensible answers to create wacky phrases that answer the clues.
- 17a. [“Pencils down,” for one?] TIMBERLINE (timer line).
- 25a. [“What I did last summer” essay penned by a lifeguard?] POOL TABLE (pool tale).
- 51a. [Ice cream truck jingle, e.g.?] SUGAR CUBE (sugar cue). Hmm.
- 61a. [Fee for a reunion dinner?] ALBUM COVER (alum cover).
Not sure how to assess this. On the one hand, the theme is internally consistent, but on the other, it’s kind of a radical step to have the derived answer be nonsensical. My reflex is to dislike it, but I question whether that’s because it’s so unusual for a crossword.
- 1d [So-so ranges?] OCTAVES. So being one of the notes of the solfege. I believe it’s more commonly called sol, but that would ruin the fun wordplay here.
- 7d [Home of the Cubbies and the Bears] CHI. Why “Cubbies” instead of “Cubs”? Does it somehow constitute a signal that the answer should be an abbreviation?
- 11d [Floor model?] ROOMBA. Quite a stretch.
- 12d [The Penguin’s first name] OSWALD. If I ever knew this, it had been long forgotten.
- 26d [Bill with round numbers?] OPEN TAB. A stretch, but quite clever.
- 1a [“Black Widow” singer Rita] ORA.
5/4 time! - 10a [Harvest] CROP, not REAP, as I’d initially attempted.
- 14a [Loonie currency, briefly] CAD, Canadian dollar.
- 50a [Keebler baker] ELF. Quotes, please.
- 67a [Ish] OR SO. 44d [In a way] OF SORTS.
- 69a [Season opener?] ESS.
Val Melius’s Universal crossword, “Holding Periods”—Jim P’s review
Theme answers are familiar phrases that feature letters that spell out two instances of the same word. Said words are periods of time. The revealer is DOUBLE TIME (58a, [Quick marching pace, or a theme hint]). (Not to be confused with “two-time” which is to cheat on one’s significant other.)
Universal crossword solution · “Holding Periods” · Val Melius · Fri., 12.19.25
- 17a. [Firefighter’s number] NINE–ONE–ONE. Eon.
- 25a. [Precipitation statistic] AVERAGE RAINFALL. Era.
- 43a. [Theater responsibility] STAGE MANAGEMENT. Age.
Good theme executed nicely. I like that each phrase hides a different word twice. Very consistent. I was going to pick a nit that the second one hides an AGE in addition to the two ERAs, but since those ERAs take two of the letters from AGE, I couldn’t find fault with it. I also don’t mind the spelled-out 9-1-1 in this instance.
Unusually, the longest fill answers are in the Across direction alongside the theme answers. SCARCITY and BAIT SHOP add some sparkle to the grid. The rest of the grid is workmanlike though rock solid.
Clues are very straightforward and I should have had a faster solve time, but my monitor is on the fritz and kept cutting out on me. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Solid puzzle. 3.5 stars.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 4 stars
that’s a smooth but. enjoyed it a lot.
i read the two long Acrosses above/below the middle row as a sad story: IDEAL MATE / DROPS DEAD
although maybe with a happy ending — a remarriage and a BLENDED FAMILY
haha, a romance novel in a puzzle with a HEA ending.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 4 stars
Enjoyed this one too. It was looking really tough for 2 or 3 minutes but then it cracked open nicely for me.
NATE Silver made a deep run in the World Series of Poker a couple years ago and I cannot tell you how happy I was when he got knocked out of the tournament by a nasty cooler (set over set).
I’m not in the know. Why do people not like him?
From what I can tell before I gave up social media he was a pretty extreme smarm merchant, cared more about numbers than people, that kind of thing. But I think it’s also a little bit about how you’re never allowed to be wrong or change your mind on the internet.
a nasty cooler (set over set)
Those are all simple English words and yet I have no idea what they mean….
I love poker lingo more than I actually love poker. Here’s what all that means.
In Texas hold ‘em, you take your own two “hole” cards and five community cards placed face up on the table to make your best hand.
Nate was dealt two 6’s and his opponent was dealt two 7’s. The first three community cards included a 6 and a 7. So Nate had a set of three 6’s and his opponent had a set of three 7’s.
Nate bet all his chips, his opponent called the bet, and Nate lost the hand to get eliminated from the tournament.
A cooler is when you make a really good hand at the same time that someone else makes an even better hand (unbeknownst to you of course). Naturally you big with your hand, and you end up losing a lot of money.
Thanks! I have never seen the attraction of poker, since so much seems to depend on pure luck. But clearly some players are better than others, so there must be more to it.
NYT: Today I Learned that the Sufjan Stevens album’s official title is “Illinois.” I always thought it was called, “Come On Feel the Illinoise” from the cover art.
The musical, “Illinoise,” was really great. I don’t think it’s been put on anywhere since its Broadway closure, but I hope that happens someday.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 4 stars
While most crosswords including NYT would have clued “dead” or “died” with something like “Empty, as in a battery”, today the constructor and editor casually put DROPS DEAD on the menu.
I approve of this. Either avoid that word altogether, or just go straight with the most usual meaning of the word, i.e. the ending of life. Don’t beat around the bush.
I wasn’t bothered by the entry. Yes, it’s simply a fact of our existence that it will eventually end.
But have you ever heard DROP DEAD applied to anything other than a person? (I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone use that about an animal, even.)
I don’t think it was so much a matter of editorial frankness as simply clueing the phrase the way people use it.
I wasn’t offended either – I don’t really have a “breakfast test” for crossword entries. Could have gone with DROP DEAD gorgeous, I suppose – but there might be sexist undertones there.
Though that won’t fly with DROPS DEAD, and most mainstream puzzles would try to avoid an 8-letter partial.
Oops – missed the “S!”
I guess The Week isn’t publishing their weekly crossword? Anyone know why? Thanks
I cruised through the left hand side of the NYT but slowed down in the right. Don’t know ILLINOISE or this guy DOLAN, and had FREESTYLED initially. I am largely ignorant of Seussiana so had to get CATINTHEHAT from crosses. Nice puzzle.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 4 stars
Similar experience, except I totally knew CAT IN THE HAT. I can practically recite tht book.
Puzzle: LAT; Rating: 3.5 stars
LAT – I’m on the fence about the theme. A Shakespearean revealer with wacky not wacky entries seems pretty dated to me. Not having a B outside of the theme material is a plus for me.
A Dr. John tune is always welcome
Puzzle: LAT; Rating: 2 stars
Editing woes continue to plague the once respected LAT. (Maybe it’s time for a long-deserved wake-up or a major shake-up.)