Monday, December 29, 2025

BEQ untimed (Eric) [2.75 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
LAT 1:41 (Stella) [2.83 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
NYT 2:42 (Sophia) [3.11 avg; 9 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker 6:42 (Eric) [3.61 avg; 9 ratings] rate it
Universal untimed (pannonica) [3.13 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
USA Today tk (?) [2.75 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
WSJ 3:20 (Jim Q) [3.00 avg; 2 ratings] rate it

Chase Dittrich’s New York Times crossword — Sophia’s recap

Theme: Each theme answer ends with a word that is part of packing material, so when taken together they are THE TOTAL PACKAGE

New York Times, 12 29 2025, By Chase Dittrich

• 17a [Is severely underpaid] – WORKS FOR PEANUTS
• 27a [Motown or RCA] – RECORD LABEL
• 39a [Seating area for 12 peers] – JURY BOX
• 47a [Works that are heard rather than read] – BOOKS ON TAPE
• 63a [Description for an ideal partner … or what the ends of 17-, 27-, 39- and 47-Across create?] – THE TOTAL PACKAGE

Quick write up today as I’m traveling for New Years! I thought this was a cute theme, and I liked that the answers were in vaguely the order that they’d be needed for putting THE TOTAL PACKAGE together. There’s an impressive amount of thematic material here – five theme answers, two of which are grid spanning. Each of the theme answers does a good job of obscuring its word’s meaning – I particularly liked BOOKS ON TAPE. I will admit that my first thought with WORKS FOR PEANUTS was that we were sending a box full of peanuts-the-food, not packing peanuts – maybe this is why I shouldn’t solve crosswords after a long travel day :)

Clue highlights: [Where Shrek lives] for SWAMP, [Part of a drill assembly or comedy routine] for BIT

Fill highlights: LOBSTER, WANNABE, PITCHY

Happy New Year all!

Keegan Edgar’s Los Angeles Times crossword — Stella’s write-up

Los Angeles Times 12/29/25 by Keegan Edgar

Looks like this might be a debut puzzle! Congratulations to the constructor.

The revealer is in the center of the puzzle, at 36A: [“This doesn’t seem right,” or what can be said about 17-, 23-, 46-, and 57-Across], which is SOMETHING’S FISHY. Each theme answer contains the name of a fish:

• 17A [Hangout with ramps and rails for boarders and bladers] is a SKATE PARK, with SKATE, the fish, at the beginning of the phrase.
• 23A [Exclamation of surprise] is HOLY MACKEREL, with the fish at the end of the phrase this time.
• 46A [Diving stance with bent hips and straight legs] is PIKE POSITION, with PIKE at the beginning of the phrase.
• 57A [A-OK], which has to be the shortest clue for a theme answer in recent memory, is HUNKY-DORY, with DORY at the end of the phrase.

I know this is a debut puzzle, but I probably wouldn’t have given the constructor a pass on having the theme entries be inconsistent in the placement of the theme word, although I do appreciate that there are two of each rather than a single outlier. I have to believe there are enough fishy phrases out there to have come up with a fully consistent set, which I do think makes a difference for beginning solvers. On the plus side, the fill is pretty clean, leading to a very quick solve.

Kevin Christian’s Universal crossword, “Rock Star” — pannonica’s write-up

Universal • 12/29/25 • Mon • “Rock Star” • Christian • solution • 20251229

• 59a^R [Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll, and a description of this crossword?] TINA TURNER. The circled consecutive letters in the theme answers are progressive rotations of T-I-N-A.
• 17a. [Disoriented] LOST IN A FOG.
• 23a. [Primary draw] MAIN ATTRACTION.
• 37a. [Something under debate] QUESTION AT ISSUE.
• 49a. [Dr. Seuss book whose main character wears a red bow tie] THE CAT IN THE HAT.

The theme mechanic is a little more constrained than a standard anagram/rearrangement, and it accurately reflects the ‘TURNER’ of the revealer, but it still feels like a rather unexciting early-week crossword. Admittedly, that’s exactly what it is, so I wouldn’t say it’s an especially salient 11d [Quibble] CRITICISM.

• 6d [Hut] SHANTY. etymology: probably from Canadian French chantier lumber camp, hut, from French, builder’s yard, ways, support for barrels, from Old French chantier, gantier support — more at GANTRY (m-w.com)
• 9d [“__ more, bark less”] WAG. Not a phrase familiar to me, but easily inferable.
• 12d [Eliciting a “Yippee!” reaction] TONS OF FUN. 27d [Boatloads] A LOT.
• 28d [Proboscises] NOSES. Proboscides is also a valid pluralization.
• 40a [ __ threat] IDLE.
  
• 56a [Quibble] NIT. Callback to 11-down.
• 67a [Dance in a pit] MOSH. Is there an actual pit?
• 68a [Having a body mass index over 30] OBESE. It’s a problematic metric.

 Hannah Slovut-Einertson’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Sliced and Diced” — Jim Q’s write-up

THEME: Sandwiches can be found “chopped” at the ends/beginnings of other entries in a row

WSJ • 12/29/25 • Mon • Sliced and Diced • Hannah Slovut-Einertson • solution • 20251229

THEME ANSWERS:

• EXCALIBUR / GERMY
• WINGSPAN / IN IDLE
• GRUNGY / ROBOT ARM
• ACTOR / TABLE FLIP
• [Viral hero, and a description of what’s found in each set of circled letters] CHOPPED SANDWICH

Wow. That’s a LOT of real estate for themers in this grid. Tough to appreciate that in this theme type because while it feels like there are four themers plus a revealer, there are really eight entries (sans revealer) required to pull it off. With a grid spanner to boot, it is very impressive how relatively little crud there is (or at least it felt quite clean during the solve). I winced a little at the choked off corner in the NW where I started, but there is nothing there that isn’t extremely fair for a Monday where that bottleneck should cause a TABLE FLIP moment for anyone (great entry btw… aka The-End-Of-Every-Monopoly-Game).

Not overly familiar with the phrase CHOPPED SANDWICH, but it must be an internet thing based on the (very good and deceptive) clue [Viral hero, and a description of what’s found in each set of circled letters]. Let’s see… looks like its a TikTok thing. Here’s a brief lowdown.

ERRATA / MISSTEPS:

• I know BURGERs are always in the sandwich section on a menu, but for some reason I don’t think of them as falling into that category. But hey… more-so than a hot dog for sure… remember that debate some years back?
• Had IDLING for IN IDLE [Like a car at a stoplight, perhaps]. I would argue my incorrect answer is correcter. But as noted earlier, in a theme with this many constraints, if this is the most egregious of the inelegancies,  then I’m a happy solver.
• Love that both GRUNGY and GERMY are in the puzzle. They both seem like made up words sorta kinda, but the fact that they’re both proudly together in the same 15x is a show of solidarity.
• [Rapper Mensa] VIC. New to me. As most rappers are.
• [Beer ___ (party pastime)] PONG. The word “pastime” evokes a sense of classiness that is wonderfully lacking in Beer PONG. Like, I’m trying to picture a Norman Rockwell where Solo Cups are the subject.

Fun idea, very well executed in this grid. 4 stars.

Elizabeth Gorski’s New Yorker Crossword — Eric’s Review

Elizabeth Gorski’s New Yorker Crossword — 12/29/25 (Click to Embiggen)

The New Yorker continues its Holiday Crosswords with 2025 in music (mostly popular music, but with a few classical references thrown in). I’m a big music fan and recognized almost all the names, so I found it fairly quick going, with the crosses helping me get things I didn’t know.

Stuff I noted:

• 14A [Section of Bach’s Mass in B Minor based on an aria from his “Ascension” Oratorio] AGNUS DEI I like Johann Sebastian Bach, but don’t know his oratorios well at all. Once I had ___S DEI, I guessed at the other four letters based on my familiarity with that term.
• 16A [Grande whose “Brighter Days Ahead” won Video of the Year at the V.M.A.s (September, 2025)] ARIANA “Singer Grande” would have been enough of a clue for me, but I get that the point of these year-end puzzles is that they try to incorporate as many significant events of the past year as possible.
• 17A [Sabrina Carpenter hit with the lyric “If I’m not there, it won’t get done” (June, 2025)] MANCHILD No idea on this one.
• 

  Edouard Manet
  Music in the Tuileries Gardens
  1862

  25A [Rapper who hosted a thirty-one-show residency in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in support of his album “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” (July-September, 2025)] BAD BUNNY Again, no idea here, but he’s a familiar name if for no reason other than his upcoming Super Bowl performance.

• 28A [“Music in the Tuileries Gardens” painter Manet] ÉDOUARD The name of the painting didn’t add much here other than the thematic reference to music.
• 31A [Pioneering double-bassist Gary who died in July, 2025] KARR I didn’t recognize that name. He appeared as a soloist with many orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
• 35A [Marin who conducted the final round of the quadrennial Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (June, 2025)] ALSOP That’s a name I know.
• 47A [French chef and restaurateur Lefebvre] LUDO That’s a new name for me.
• 51A [Rapper Lamar who performed “Not Like Us” at the Super Bowl a week after the song won all five of its Grammy nominations (February, 2025)] KENDRICK Another clue that seems expanded just to show its timeliness.
• 62A [Double-bassist Orin (subject of “The Only Girl in the Orchestra,” which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film in March, 2025)] O’BRIEN We watched this several months ago. It’s an interesting movie. I have a friend who plays viola in an orchestra and she says that blind auditions have only partly addressed the gender imbalance among orchestral members.
• 3D [Maryland city that’s home to the Baygrass Music Festival] ANNAPOLIS I’ve not heard of that festival.
• 13D [Country legend Travis who was the subject of a tribute from Carrie Underwood in the concert special “Opry 100: A Live Celebration” (March, 2025)] RANDY Again, a clue that’s overly wordy just to fit the theme.
• 37D [“___ the Rainbow”] OVER Nice bit of trivia: There’s no “Somewhere” in the title of the Harold Arlen/Yip Harburg classic.
• 46D [Medical term for the inability to swallow] APHAGIA Not APHASIA (the inability to speak). Kinda yanks you out of the music vibe, though.
• 62D [Travis who is widely understood to be the subject of Taylor Swift’s innuendo-laced song “Wood” (October, 2025)] KELCE I couldn’t remember if it was KELSE or KELSO or what.

Brendan Emmmett Quigley’s Crossword #1848 — Eric’s Review

Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Crossword #1848 — 12/29/25 (Click to Embiggen)

I solved this on Brendan’s website (instead of in AcrossLite, as I usually do) and didn’t notice the clock hadn’t started. Maybe I should be glad, because this felt a little tougher than some of Brendan’s recent themeless puzzles. The SW corner was especially challenging.

Stuff of note:

• 1A [Engines on NASA’s uncrewed X-43] SCRAMJETS Wikipedia tells me this is “a variant of a ramjet airbreathing jet engine in which combustion takes place in supersonic airflow.” Well OK then.
• 15A [$1 nickname, up north] THE LOONIE I knew the nickname but wasn’t expecting the definite article as part of the answer.
• 16A [Flagship Hearst mag] COSMO My first fill-in. I can’t really remember what magazines are Hearst and what magazines are Condé Nast, but I lucked out with my guess.
• 17A [Mostly-domestic carrier with destinations like Bocas del Toro and Chitré] AIR PANAMA I don’t recognize either city, but you could hardly put the airline’s headquarters, Panama City, in the clue. I needed a few crosses for this one.
• 25A [Game variation in which spicy dares are written on building blocks] STRIP JENGA That’s new to me. I doubt I’ll be playing it anytime soon.
• 35A [Relating to pions and kaons] MESONIC My knowledge of subatomic particles is pretty small. The SW corner would have gone a lot faster if I’d been able to quickly get more than just the last two letters.
• 38A [Coke addict’s burden] SODA TAX I knew this had nothing to do with cocaine, but I don’t often drink soda and don’t live in Boulder, which may have the highest “sugary beverage tax” in the country.
• 43A [Abrasive, aggressive music subgenre with elements like deliberate mic feedback] NOISE METAL Based on the description, that’s not a genre that appeals to me. I eventually remembered it from some previous BEQ puzzle.
• 45A [Crocodile shooer, in a Disney film] SMEE Not HOOK. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Disney’s Peter Pan.
• 49A [“Blast from the past” social media inits.] TBT For “Throwback Thursday.” Is this dated enough now that the #TBT hashtag is meta?
• 52A [Removed from the can, so to speak] BAILED OUT Cute clue, though I’d rather not see jokey clues about our criminal justice system.
• 55A [Actress Wallis of “Peaky Blinders”] ANNABELLE I didn’t recognize that name, though I enjoyed that series immensely. She played Tommy Shelby’s wife Grace and now I can picture her.
• 57A [Storage cylinder whose rising-and-falling top maintains pressure on invisible contents] GAS HOLDER Based on the specificity of the clue, I’m going to assume this is not as green-painty as it sounds.
• 1D [Flavor saver, e.g., for short] ‘STACHE I’m not a prude, but I am getting a little tired of Brendan’s use of this clue/answer pair.
• 5D [Utah site of an annual Jeep Safari] MOAB An absolute gimme. That town is dead during the winter.
• 12D [Melodic phrase repeated throughout a score] OSTINATO I made an educated guess off the S in COSMO. Sometimes those guesses pay off.
• 21D [Weapon with a V-shaped groove] ÉPÉE That’s a clue you don’t see every day.
• 24D [Skipjack served with ginger, wasabi, and soy sauce, say] TUNA SASHIMI
• 39D [Predawn canonical hour, at a monastery] MATINS Another educated guess that worked out.
• 35D [Receiving satellite beams?] MOONLIT Cute clue.
• 38D [Reacts disdainfully] SNIFFS Not SNEERS.
• 44D [Disney princess who sings “This old town can slow you down,” referring to New Orleans] TIANA I was irked with myself because only last week, I ran into this character from The Princess and the Frog in some other puzzle. But I couldn’t remember it today until I had a few crosses.
• 48D [Biblical Mount discovered in the phone book?] NEBO That’s not a name I knew. It’s apparently where Moses died, after seeing the Promised Land.
• 53D [Key to some character assassinations?] DELete. Cute.