Monday, January 12, 2026

BEQ tk (Eric) [3.67 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
LAT 2:13 (Stella) [2.00 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
NYT 4:07 (Sophia) [3.31 avg; 8 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker 7:04 (Amy) [3.94 avg; 9 ratings] rate it
Universal tk (pannonica) [3.83 avg; 6 ratings] rate it
USA Today tk (?) [2.50 avg; 1 rating] rate it
WSJ 3:16 (Jim Q) [2.00 avg; 1 rating] rate it

Carolyn Davies Lynch and Christina Iverson’s New York Times crossword — Sophia’s recap

Theme: Rhyming “advice” to different groups of people

New York Times, 01 12 2026, By Carolyn Davies Lynch and Christina Iverson

• 18a [Rhyming advice to a spitting talker] – SAY IT DON’T SPRAY IT
• 31a [Rhyming advice to a gym rat] – NO PAIN NO GAIN
• 47a [Rhyming advice to a renter of VHS tapes] – BE KIND REWIND
• 64a [Rhyming advice to a procrastinator] – YOU SNOOZE, YOU LOSE

Not the most earth-shattering of Monday themes, but I really like the answers the constructors chose, and that makes up for a lot! YOU SNOOZE YOU LOSE and NO PAIN NO GAIN are standouts (although I guess I think of them more as mantras than as “advice”?). I’m too young to remember renting VHS tapes but BE KIND, REWIND was still an instant get for me – I think it’s a bit of 90’s nostalgia that has stood the test of pop-culture time. Also, the grid is 16×15, so if you had a longer than average time like I did, that may be the reason why.

Lots of fun fill in the puzzle while still remaining Monday-level clean. Besides the standout SCARY GOOD and DELI CASES, I was impressed by the “interesting-ness” of the short fill, for example MY FAULT, CELEB, INSPO, ILY, SHISO (new to me!). I also really liked a lot of the clues/clueing angles, some highlights were: [Phrase sometimes chanted after a dare] for DO IT, [Put in a good word, perhaps?] for EDIT, and (of course, for anyone that knows me) [Massachusetts’ Cape ___] for COD. The term ODD LOTS was new to me and slowed me down in the SW corner a little, but it was gettable from crosses.

Happy Monday all!

Patti Varol’s Los Angeles Times crossword — Stella’s write-up

Los Angeles Times 1/12/26 by Patti Varol

Despite all the complaining I do on Fridays and Saturdays when a puzzle is easier than I’d like it to be, I am all for the trend in the last several years of puzzles being more accessible to absolute beginners, as in Universal/Andrews McMeel and USA Today (although I think the latter is starting to move back toward a more moderately easy place). And I’m all for that on Mondays in NYT, LAT, and anywhere else that wants to do an easy-to-hard pattern for the week.

So, I was surprised by this puzzle, which feels like an old-school Monday in that a beginning solver could very easily not be able to figure out what connects this puzzle’s theme answers together. There’s no revealer to tell you that every theme answer ends, in a non-word context, with a function that a multi-function printer has:

• 17A [1980s Atari racing game] is SUPER SPRINT, which ends in PRINT.
• 29A [Minimally invasive surgical procedure] is ARTHROSCOPY, which ends in COPY.
• 45A [Hall of Fame pitcher who threw four no-hitters for the Dodgers] is SANDY KOUFAX, which ends in FAX.
• 60A [Cylinder in the snack aisle] is PRINGLES CAN, which ends in SCAN.

I did not love that there were two cross-references in the puzzle, nor the couple of entries that could have more than one answer as clued (fine on Saturday, not so much on Monday): 27A [“Doggone it!”] could just as easily be RATS, DANG, or CRUD as the correct DRAT; I had NO-NOS in place of the correct DON’TS for 68A [Frowned-upon acts], and put in YIKES instead of YEESH at 4D [“Oof, that’s not good”].

I did enjoy the pop culture of PEPPA PIG and My Neighbor TOTORO (the best Miyazaki movie!). But, taken together, IMO in 2026 this puzzle belongs in the middle of the week, not on Monday.

 Ryan Mathiason Wall Street Journal crossword, “Finish Strong” — Jim Q’s write-up

THEME: Phrases that end with explosive onomatopoeia

WSJ • 12/12/26 • Tue • “Finish Strong” • Ryan Mathiason • solution • 20260112

THEME ANSWERS:

• DOT-COM BOOM
• KING OF POP
• GRAND SLAM
• SUGAR CRASH
• (revealer) [Finishes dramatically, and what each of the starred answers does] ENDS WITH A BANG

Great Monday puzzle! This is about ideal as it can get- Crystal clear theme, fun revealer, smooth grid. At 3:16, my time was faster than usual (I’ve only hit the “under 3 minute” mark once), which is usually a sign of clean fill and accessible clues. It’s these kinds of puzzles that I use in school with my study hall students to hook potential solvers into becoming regulars. Just enough early-week bite (see the EMS clue or SKI CAP, for example) that provide some excellent AHAs perfectly crossed to help nudge the solver in the right direction.

I thought the revealer was in the title, so a very pleasant surprise to uncover the actual revealer, ENDS WITH A BANG! (which also ENDS WITH A BANG :) )

OTHER STUFF:

• [Toy brand with interlocking blocks] LEGO. Ever try going to the LEGO store in Rockefeller Center during the holiday season? Next to impossible. They put a LEGO land theme park a stone’s throw from the school where I teach. LEGO is everywhere. It was #1 on my teenaged niece’s Christmas list (she wanted the Starry Night set which… wowza $$$…) Whomever is in charge of their marketing department is doing a very good job at reaching all the demographics.
• [Mammal trio?] EMS. This refers to the EMS in the word Mammal, of which there are 3.
• [Mountain top?] SKI CAP, which presumably you’re wearing as a top whilst on a mountain, skiing.
• [Spam or lamb] MEAT. I’m directing Spamalot and realized I’ve never tried Spam. Something about the name and the colors on the tin and the fact that it seems to be the butt of a lot of jokes makes me more-than-apprehensive. But I hear it’s delicious (my Hawaiian friend said it’s the makeup of most of the island’s diet). Any reviews? Or are my instincts to stay away warranted?

4 stars from me. Not much more to want from a Monday!

Edit: My nephew, who is new to crosswords but very quickly developing Monday Muscles sent me this text for 67-Across [Aunt’s daughter]. I didn’t think twice before entering NIECE, but he has a point when he says that should be COUSIN… I mean, my NIECE is my sister’s cousin… still the clue doesn’t feel wrong to me, but I don’t know how to justify it clearly. Any thoughts on this? 

Anna Shechtman’s New Yorker crossword–Amy’s recap

New Yorker crossword solution, 1/12/26 – Shechtman

Sorry I didn’t have time to blog Monday morning. Had to edit, deal with some medical device BS, get ready for all-afternoon dialysis. Been a long day here.

Fave fill: LOVE-BOMB, SOFT LAUNCH, MEMESTOCK, Orwell’s FOREVER WAR, MAE WEST, BOHEMIA.

Never heard of C.L.R JAMES, [“The Black Jacobins” author, whom Edward Said called a “restless pilgrim between the West and its former colonial possessions in Africa and America”]. The only CLR I know is that calcium-lime-rust cleaner.

Not keen on fill like EXAMINEE, CAN YOU, I’M IN AWE, ALTO SOLO, RIFEST, BELTER.

Fun clue: VATICAN clued by way of its ATMs offering the Latin language.

Nope: [Capital city east of the Maldives], COLOMBO. Since 1978, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte has been the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is the “commercial capital,” but the term “capital city” generally means “the seat of government.” Would you call New York City a capital city? No, you wouldn’t. It’s the US’s primary city for business and the markets, but it’s not the US capital.

2.5 stars from me.