AV Club 4:39 (Amy) 
[2.50 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
LAT 4:33 (Gareth) 
[2.83 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
NYT 4:01 (Amy) [2.93 avg; 14 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker 3:30 (Jim Q) 
[4.00 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
Universal untimed (pannonica) 
[3.39 avg; 9 ratings] rate it
USA Today 7:04 (Emily) [2.67 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
WSJ 8:04 (Eric) [2.50 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
Mike Shenk’s Wall Street Journal Crossword “Ship Mates” — Eric’s Review
Mike Shenk’s Wall Street Journal Crossword “Shipmates” — 1/14/26 (Click to Embiggen)
Four guys on a boat? In a boat? Of a boat:
- 17A [“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” star] HOWARD KEEL
- 28A [Hockey Hall of Famer with a career 741 goals] BRETT HULL Not BOBBY, whose career covered the five minutes I paid attention to ice hockey. Bobby was Brett’s father.
- 36A [Rafters and gondoliers, and a punny category for 17-, 28-, 41- and 54-Across] BOATMEN
- 41A [Nobel-winning physicist who was nominated 82 times] OTTO STERN I should probably know that name, but it’s not all that familiar. He received the physics prize in 1943 “for his contribution to the development of the molecular ray method and his discovery of the magnetic moment of the proton.” My friend Greg could certainly explain that to me if I were interested enough to bug him.
- 54A [Utah senator who was president pro tem in the 2010s] ORRIN HATCH That’s a name I knew, all too well, thanks to his traditionalist stance on LGBTQ issues and lots of other topics.
That’s a pretty basic theme. I’m not sure how many solvers know all four men, but that’s why crosswords have crosses, innit?
Other stuff:
- 1A [Poor support] ALMS Oh, not poor as in inferior.
- 24A [You may get down from them] GEESE I saw the “them” and still started with GOOSE.
- 37A [McKellen of “Gods and Monsters”] IAN I’m not sure that including a movie title in the clue much helps anyone, but it’s a good movie.
- 44A [New York Public Library benefactor] John Jacob ASTOR In his will, he left $400,000 to create a library that originally bore his name.
- 8D [“Clockers” director] Spike LEE Another movie I remember as being pretty good.
- 11D [Teamsters, e.g.] TRADE UNION If you watch movies all the way through the credits, you’ve seen their logo (it has two horse heads). If you don’t watch movies all the way through the credits, try getting a smaller soda next time.
- 24D [Tübingen tongue] GERMAN It took me a bit to get that one, mainly because I don’t recognize that city or town. I guessed Austria and I was . . . wrong. Actually, I first guessed Sweden or Norway which is why I didn’t get it quicker.
Joseph Gangi’s New York Times crossword—Amy’s recap
NY Time crossword solution, 1/14/26 – no. 0114
When you see a warning above the puzzle on the NYT page explaining that you gotta play connect-the-dots when you’re done to spell something out, well, that is an excellent time to solve the puzzle on the NYT site so that the afterwork will be done for you, and in color. Here, those dots spell out “LOOK, I MADE A HAT,” in a roughly (sharp-edged) hat-shaped polygon. This is, we’re told, a lyric by STEPHEN SONDHEIM, 60A. [Pulitzer-winning composer and lyricist of “Sunday in the Park With George”]. And 17A. [“Sunday in the Park With George,” for one] is a BROADWAY MUSICAL. I think that’s the extent of the theme. Is that lyric from “Sunday in the Park,” or is it from another Sondheim musical? Probably that one. There’s a book for Sondheim fans titled after the lyric.
Sondheim was famously into making cryptic crosswords, which is neat, but I don’t have any real affinity. I’ve seen the old movie adaptation of West Side Story, and none of his other shows. How much would I enjoy stage musicals when very few performances provide subtitles/captions and I struggle to make out the lyrics in songs? Awfully spendy way to sit there wondering what the point is. So! If you adore Sondheim musicals, good for you. Can’t relate.
Fave fill: GUCCI clued slangily as [Fashion name that’s become slang for “excellent”], LOOKIE-LOOS, “OKAY, THEN …,” and SHIP clued as [Modern suffix with situation]. That last one, situationship, basically means a liaison that’s not quite a romantic relationship thats going somewhere. Might not be exclusive, might not ever progress to marriage.
Not wild about 4D. [She, in São Paulo], ELA. I feel like Spanish and French pronouns are reasonably familiar to many Americans, German less so, followed by Italian, Portuguese (as seen here), and all the rest.
51A. [Unappetizing gruel], SLOP. Cross-referenced LADLE nearby. The editors missed an opportunity to reference Merriam-Webster’s and the American Dialect Society’s Word of the Year choice, AI slop. Tech companies continue jamming AI slop down our throats in the hopes that they can someday make AI profitable, to help make up for the massive amounts of electricity and water that AI data centers swallow up. Ugh.
Three stars from me.
P.S. to the constructor: If you want folks to be able to easily look up all your reviewed puzzles here, please try to get the publishers to use one version of your name. Joseph here, Joseph A. elsewhere, and also Joe.
Val Melius’s AV Club Classic crossword, “Wild Ways”—Amy’s recap
AV Club Classic crossword solution, 1/14/26 – “Wild Ways”
I’ll be brief because it’s getting late.
The theme revealer is CHANGE COURSE. Change the order of the letters in COURSE and you get the circled letters in the other three themers, “YOU’RE SCREWED,” PRESSURE COOKER, and ROSE-CUT DIAMOND.
Overall, I found the grid to be quite smooth and the clues fun and flavorful. To wit, 38a. [(Spoiler!) “The Giving Tree” character, ultimately], STUMP. It’s a terrible story! Let’s not teach children to devour a female-coded carer, shall we? More flavor: 18a. [Seasoning blend that may include Scotch bonnet pepper], JERK. The constructor is from the Caribbean (St. Lucia)—I’ll bet they have a good jerk recipe.
Four stars from me.
Dena R Verkuil’s Universal crossword, “Split Decisions” — pannonica’s write-up
Universal • 1/14/26 • Wed • “Split Decisions” • Verkuil • solution • 20260114
- 62aR [Some vacation condo arrangements … or a hint to what can follow the starts and precede the ends of the starred clues’ answers] TIMESHARES. Nifty idea, nifty finds, great revealer, IFFY (1d) title.
- 17a. [*Break for a student] FREE PERIOD (free time, time period).
- 25a. [*”Later!”] PEACE OUT (peacetime, time out).
- 40a. [*Curbside trash recycling service] WASTE MANAGEMENT (waste time, time management).
- 50a. [*Scented item for a soak] BATH BOMB (bath time, time bomb).
I like it.
- 5d [Psychic’s “power,” briefly] ESP. Good, but then uncritical 6d [Psychic energy field] AURA, and 33a [House part that may be haunted] ATTIC. Huh?
- 11d [Review of the past] RETROSPECT. Not an inflection we typically see.
- 28d [Cats’ dogs?] PAWS. The clue looked a little weird at first blush, but it was soon deciphered.
- 31d [Pleased as punch] GLAD.
- 50d [Elephant of kid-lit] BABAR. Yes, but also royalist and colonialist, alas.
- 51d [Dollar alternative] ALAMO. These are rental car companies.
- 53a [Displaces from an overbooked flight] BUMPS.
- 60d [City known for its fjords and Accords] OSLO. Not Hondas.
- 64d [EPA pollution measure] AQI, air quality index.
- 6a [Three-syllable berry] AÇAÍ. 22a [Palm or olive] TREE.
- 28a [Post-sunburn phase] PEELING. Had HEALING first and was never entirely happy with it.
- 34a [It’s working!] LABOR. Note lack of quotation marks.
- 14a [Carnivores in a skulk] FOXES. 43a [Like 14-Across] SLY.
- 45a [They’re not wrong] FACTS. Ideally …
- 67a [Like six and half a dozen] EQUAL. Easy to misread the clue.
- 68a [Upbeat, as an outlook] ROSY. 66a [Swiss mountains] ALPS.
(As a postscript, there are some rather good anagrams of DENARVERKUIL.)
Robyn Weintraub’s New Yorker crossword — Jim Q’s w
rite-up
Super smooth offering from Robyn Weintraub today.
FAVE FILL:
- DIRTY DISHES
- LOBSTER RO
New Yorker • 1/14/26 • Wed • Robyn Weintraub • solution • 20260114
LL
- BRAIN TEASERS
- SPACE FORCE
- CRIME RATE
- DIM THE LIGHTS
I mean, the longer fill entries typically steal the show, but they did so in brute force today.
ERRATA:
- [A three-line poem: / five syllables in line one, / then seven, then five] HAIKU. Cute meta clue for this!
- [U.S. military branch with the motto “Semper Supra” (“Always Above”)] SPACE FORCE. I always forget this exists. Cool motto bro.
- [Fuddy-duddy quintet?] DEES. These types of clues can get you over and over again… until they don’t anymore. There are 5 DEES in Fuddy-duddy.
- [Half of 31-Down] TRES. I grimace at fully cross-referenced clues while I’m speed solving.
Fun solve! Almost crud-less. 4 stars.
Jeff Stillman’s LA Times crossword – Gareth’s theme summary
Jeff Stillman’s puzzle today features a fairly open-ended theme concept. The explaining answer is FILMRIGHTS, and each of four across answers ends in a mid- to late 20th century film of one word length. There have been any number of one-word films, though obviously a certain level of general and lasting fame is required…
- [Part of the bus…], DRIVESHAFT
- [Part of the Blessed Trinity], HOLYGHOST
- [Folded flyer], PAPERAIRPLANE
- [Command aboard the USS Enterprise], WARPSPEED
Gareth
Zhouqin Burnikel’s USA Today Crossword, “Botch Job” — Emily’s write-up
Let me help you with that!
USA Today, January 14, 2026, “Botch Job” by Zhouqin Burnikel
Theme: each themer contains –ERR– plus a type of worker
Themers:
- 17a. [Person giving the forecast], WEATHERREPORTER
- 26a. [World Cup whistleblower], SOCCERREFEREE
- 52a. [Utility company employee who measures the usage of gas, water, etc.], METERREADER
Today’s themer set included WEATHERREPORTER, SOCCERREFEREE, and METERREADER. With the theme we get: ERREPORTER, ERREFEREE, and ERREADER. The title hint truly helped today since I saw the jobs but took a couple of minutes for “botch” to click and –ERR– to pop out of the themers. Nicely done!
Favorite fill: GUAVA, ONEPOTMEAL, TIANA, and HOTMIC
Stumpers: POSH (needed crossings) and INT (new to me)
I practically flew through this enjoyable puzzle today and couldn’t stop staring at the gorgeous grid! Fun and fresh overall fill. What’d you all think?
4.5 stars
~Emily
The quote is from a pivotal song in Act I of “Sunday in the Park,” Finishing the Hat.
NYT: In response to Eric’s question, “Look, I made a hat” is from “Sunday in the Park with George.” The lyrics are from the song, “Finishing the Hat,” sung by Georges Seurat, the painter, in a song about how an artist can find his need to create leaves little space for anything else, but for him, “the kind of woman willing to wait’s/Not the kind that you want to find waiting.”
The song ends as he looks at his sketches and sings:
Look, I made a hat
Where there never was a hat
Which is a nice summary of the art of creation.
After Sondheim died in November 2021, someone, I think Francis Heaney, wrote a wonderful tribute puzzle. I think it involved colors in some way, although my memory is fuzzy. I’d love to solve it again, but I can’t remember where I saw it. Does this ring a bell with anyone? Does anyone have a copy? Thank you in advance!
Sorry, I think Martin posted while I was writing my response!
I believe that the Francis Heaney puzzle you mentioned is this, available for free –
https://avxwords.com/puzzles/987/
Thank you, that’s the one!
Is this the Heaney tribute puzzle you were looking for? https://avxwords.com/puzzles/987/
Thank you for posting that! I hadn’t had a chance to do it when it came out, and it was fantastic. Admittedly, though, I don’t know if I would’ve done as well on it when it came out as opposed to now when I’ve heard so much more of his work.
Thank you for finding that!
Thank you. I knew it had to relate in some way…. It was too cute to not be part of the theme.
Also Seurat essentially invented pointillism, that is painting with dots. So connecting the dots into an object is apt.
Agreed!
Ceci n’est pas une hat
Yeah, this one was lost on me. Even after finishing the puzzle, I had trouble figuring out the quote. “Look, I’m a dea…” what now?
Is there some reason why this was published today? Anniversary of something or other?
Also, the NW corner was tough for me — couldn’t remember PABA and had trouble coming up with PALED. And the clue for GUCCI was meaningless for me.
I didn’t know the quote and parsed it wrong, too, so I didn’t relate to the NYT puzzle all that much. Doesn’t help that I’m not a fan of Sondheim’s solo musicals, as opposed to West Side Story, nearly as much as people I respect. Like David L., I also didn’t know GUCCI’s slang use.
But then I always have a little trouble with circled-square grids, since my ink tends to overwrite and obscure the circles. And I hadn’t known LOOKIELOOS or situation-SHIP, the meaning of which puzzled me. Still, of course the two long themers were gimmes, making for an easy puzzle even for a Wednesday.
Ariana Grande and her “Wicked” costar, Jonathan Bailey, visited the Seurat “Sunday on the Island Grande Jatte” (is that the title?) at the Art Institute of Chicago yesterday, with a photo promoting the upcoming London production of the Sondheim show, starring Grande and Bailey.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 4 stars
I gave it a high rating even though I really didn’t know exactly how it held together when I solved it. I had vaguely heard the expression “Look, I made a hat” . But the puzzle itself was smooth, with a number of fun entries, and the visual was great at the end. Most importantly it was an occasion to learn something cultural. Some people of course already knew all that and got the reference and may have delighted in it, but I felt that for someone like me it was an invitation to know more. So I listened to, and enjoyed, the song (thanks for the link, Martin) read the other comments, looked up more online about context, and enjoyed the process. That’s a good outcome from solving a Wednesday puzzle.
Now back to work!
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 3.5 stars
It does look like a hat.
What doesn’t look good though, is that DID OK and OKAY THEN sharing the same column.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 2.5 stars
I parsed the NYT as LOOK I’M A DEA HAT. The connect-the-dots-to-make-a-picture gimmick doesn’t do it for me.
NYT: not to be picky, but to be consistent with the clue, the answer should be ‘2’, not ‘TWO’.
Which was just an excuse to tell one of my favorite math jokes.
“There are 10 kinds of people in this world: those who understand binary, and those who don’t”.
I wonder what those that do think all the fuss over “101 Dalmations” was about?
lol. A mere 5!
WSJ: 41A (Otto Stern) is also the full name of my grandfather who passed in 2013. He escaped Germany in the late 1930s, enlisted in the U.S. Army, and returned to German to fight against the Germans in World War II. He was used heavily as a translator and received a Purple Heart for being shot in the butt. One of my favorite stories involved him forcing some Nazis to clean and repair a Jewish cemetery they demolished, after the Americans took over the town. He is one of my heroes, and I was delighted to see his name in the puzzle today.
Thanks for sharing, Zach. Your grandfather was a hero to all of us, whether we knew it or not.
.Yes, Zach, thanks for telling us about your grandfather. I’d be interested to hear more about him.
There is a group of soldiers known as the Ritchie Boys (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritchie_Boys) that were German and Austrian Jewish immigrants recruited to interrogate Nazis. My grandfather was not officially a Ritchie Boy because he was not recruited, and he also fought in combat, but his duties were similar to that of the Ritchie Boys. There is a book called “The Enemy I Knew” (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7055000-the-enemy-i-knew) which contains mini-biographies of about two dozen of these men, including my grandfather. The most notable name in the book is Henry Kissinger, who was a Ritchie Boy. Despite Kissinger’s controversial political history, he was a hero in WWII.
NYT: Very fun puzzle for many of the reasons others have already pointed out. For Amy, if you’re interested, there’s a filmed version of the stage show with Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters that is really wonderful (also with Brent Spiner playing a small role). That would likely have captions and be much less expensive than seeing a show live, plus with the people who originated the roles.
It’s a great, deep, show. I think the staging of the song “Putting It Together” in Act II is so amazing; the first time I saw it, I thought “This can *only* be done as musical” which is part of what I like about Sondheim—so much of his work is only possible as a musical. Anyway, I hope sometime you have a chance to take it in in a way that you can appreciate and enjoy.