AV Club 5:52 (Amy) 
[2.70 avg; 5 ratings] rate it
LAT 3:41 (Gareth) [2.50 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
NYT 5:18 (Amy) [2.48 avg; 20 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker 3:21 (Jim Q) 
[4.00 avg; 7 ratings] rate it
Universal untimed (pannonica) 
[3.00 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
USA Today 9:45 (Emily) [3.00 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
WSJ 7:34 (Eric) [3.00 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
Marc McGarry’s Wall Street Journal Crossword “The Famous Mr. Ed” — Eric’s Review
Marc McGarry’s Wall Street Journal Crossword “The Famous Mr. Ed” — 1/21/26 (Click to Embiggen)
I didn’t recognize Mr. McGarry’s name and I wondered if he were a debut constructor. He is — or at least, he’s not in the Diary of a Crossword Fiend database. So congratulations, Mr. McGarry!
Mr. Ed came on the air when I was two and its last episode was released when I was almost seven. I doubt I watched many episodes of it in during its network run. But for as long as I can remember, I’ve thought it one of the stupidest TV shows ever. So I was not looking for much amusement from this theme, expecting answers that played on Mr. Ed’s speaking patterns (I think he dragged out the last syllable of “Wilbur,” his owner, but I do not want to spend time looking for a YouTube video of that.)
The theme turned out better than I expected. The puns all involve different horse-related things:
18A [Mr. Ed, speaking in his native tongue?] NEIGHSAYER This is my least favorite of the theme answers, because it seems stale or at least predictable.- 24A [Mr. Ed, with a huge crush?] FILLY FANATIC The Philly Phanatic just might give Mr. Ed a run for his money in the stupidity department. But I have no fondness for most sports mascots, a tradition I once saw described as “American kabuki.” I struggled a bit with this one because I had guessed D for the end of 13D PART C.
- 39A [Most reliable sources, maybe the sources of 18-, 24-, 53- and 63-Across?] THE HORSE’S MOUTH
- 53A [Surfeit of straps for Mr. Ed?] BRIDLE SHOWER
- 63A [Artisans who supply Mr. Ed?] REIN MAKERS
If you like punny themes, this is a solid puzzle. And I hate to knock any puzzle’s theme, just because it doesn’t appeal to me. I find coming up with a good theme difficult and I know how exciting it is to hit on one you think might be publishable.
Other stuff:
- 5A [Island near Naples] CAPRI I’ve never been to Italy. Maybe someday.
- 28A [Body off the Antarctic coast] ROSS SEA I had those three esses before reading the clue and was sure I’d made a mistake somewhere.
- 35A [Hops oven] OAST We’re meeting friends for dinner at a pretty good brewpub in a few hours. Mmm. Beer.
- 51A [YouTube show where celebrities eat spicy wings] HOT WINGS I knew such a show existed, but couldn’t remember the title. The appeal of such shows is lost on me.
- 70A [Game played with a revolver] CLUE Christopher Walken won an Oscar for his performance in The Deer Hunter, probably in no small part because of the truly unsettling Russian roulette scenes.
- 73A [Like some lemonade] HARD Not TART.
- 2D [Service roads?] PAVE Nice clue.
- 4D [Helvetica’s lack] SERIFS Helvetica is just cool, innit?
- 10D [Med. watchdog] FDA [Sigh.]
- 25D [Father of Goneril, Regan and Cordelia] LEAR A few years ago, I set a goal of reading the major Shakespeare plays that I hadn’t read or seen before. I’m about halfway through The Merchant of Venice and get more of it than I did from Othello. King Lear might be next.
- 49D [Concrete-strengthening rods] REBARS I’ll bet anyone who works in the construction industry would say the plural of “rebar” is “rebar.”
- 56D [Cartoon character Hardy Har Har, e.g.] HYENA That’s not a name I knew. I’m guessing they’re from The Lion King, but I don’t care enough to look it up.
Ginny Too & Avery Gee Katz’s New York Times crossword–Amy’s recap
NY Times crossword solution, 1/21/26 – no. 0121
This 15×16 puzzle brings us a bilingual set of theme answers. Across the PACIFIC OCEAN, we find two guys named Lee. For breakfast there’s CONGEE (a Chinese rice porridge; I’ve had a Filipino variant for dinner, with ginger and garlic), on the west side of the Pacific, and OATMEAL on the eastern shore (fiber!). Our Lee chaps say NI HAO in China, HELLO in the U.S. And in the evening, they gossip and drink over a game of MAH-JONG (China) or BRIDGE (U.S.; is there beer at most bridge tables?).
I like some of the longer fill, but it’s mildly vexing to see 6- and 7- letter Across themers engaging with 8- and 11-letter Acrosses. With the grid expanded vertically by a square to accommodate the central Down, PACIFIC OCEAN, the theme entries stray from perfect symmetry–NI HAO and HELLO are both in row 8 rather than one in 8 and one in 9. Sure didn’t notice that while solving, though.
Fave fill: POTHEADS (wish they didn’t smoke in moving cars because I hate catching their draft when driving behind them), SERIAL COMMA, PILAR as an anatomical adjective (because I watch the Dr. Pimple Popper shows on Hulu and she removes a lot of pilar cysts from scalps).
Questions:
- Is EBAY SALE idiomatic enough to be crossword fill, or is is as random as TARGET PURCHASE, BEST BUY SALE, etc.?
- Does anyone use RATABLE (or the prettier rateable spelling) to refer to government bonds or rideshare drivers?
- How much do EPA LABS actually measure pollution anymore? They have stopped caring about excess deaths attributed to pollution.
3.5 stars from me.
David Steinberg’s AV Club Classic crossword, “Choice Words”–Amy’s recap
AV Club Classic crossword, “Choice Words” – 1/20/26 -Steinberg
It’s getting late, but let’s see if I can cogently explain the theme. (Note the diagonal mirror symmetry across the NW-to-SE axis.) In three rows, there are a circled A, B, C, D, and E in columns 2, 5, 8, 11, and 14. Black out the first A in 24a ABABA, making 2d CHINA into the CHIN that matches the clue, and making ABABA into Ali BABA. 14d PROBE needs that second B in ABABA, so don’t fill in that circled A. (A little distracting to have ADDIS clued as the first half of Ethiopia’s capital when ABABA appears in the grid.)
The second part of that row has COLD ONES, and the C D E are all needed for the down crossings.
Keep the circled A and B in KABOB, and black out the C in square 42 to get HAD and HI-C rather than CHAD / CHIC.
Final row of this test sheet puzzle, AAA and BRYCE work with their circled letters and crossings. Blacken the E at the end of 55a DALE. The clue, [Pulse of India], uses the not-so-common-in-the-U.S. use of pulse to mean a legume; DAL is a tasty Indian lentil dish. The 37d TENSE crossing needs that circled E filled in for the clued answer, TENS.
In the last row, the revealer, ACE IT, is clued [Get 100% on this puzzle’s test, both by solving it and by filling in the right bubbles]. The right bubbles to fill in are the A, C, and E, from top to bottom. Quite clever, giving away the answer right there!
It’s bedtime so I’ll end there. Four stars from me; a nice little mind-bender for the end of the day.
Caitlin Reid’s New Yorker crossword — Jim Q’s write-up
New Yorker • 1/21/26 • Wed • Caitlin Reid • solution • 2026012
Another Wednesday, another smooth New Yorker puzzle.
Love the layout of today’s themeless offering with the two grid spanners connected by THE DAILY PLANET (which for some reason I couldn’t remember and needed way more letters than I should’ve needed to fill in). There’s something about those cheater squares in the corners of a themeless that I frequently like. It’s an aesthetic thing, I think. Seems to give it a shape that I find satisfying.
Smoothness abounds, and though I can’t say anything really jumped out as completely novel, I can’t say there was any entry I didn’t like either.
ERRATA / STUMBLES:
- [Horse’s digs] STABLE. Really wanted STALLS. Had a hard time seeing the answer as singular, although it totally works. A horse’s digs is its STABLE.
- [___ Panic (rhyming hair-dye company)] MANIC. Fun name for a company, though I’m wondering if I ever want my hair giving MANICky PANICky vibes. Not that it matters. I’ve had the same haircut since I was 6. Actually, it looks like a company that completely embraces that vibe.
- [“Persuasion” author Austen] JANE. Never read this one and know zilch about it. Should it go on my list?
- [Forlorn donkey of children’s literature] EEYORE. Forgot how to spell this. Looks perfectly normal now. Didn’t at the time.
- [Put in stitches?] SEWED. I knew it had something to do with sewing, but the possibilities seem endless… could be present, could be past, could be a participle. SEW UP? Sure, why not! For some reason, that was my initial guess.
- [What a frightened pony does] SHIES. I only vaguely recall this as a definition.
- [Units of measurement for diamonds] CARATS. What’s the trick for remembering if it’s a C or a K at the start of that word?
3.25 stars from me. Perfectly fine Wednesday puzzle :)
Noelle Griskey’s Universal crossword, “Head Honcho” — pannonica’s write-up
Universal • 1/21/26 • Wed • “Head Honcho” • Griskey • solution • 20260121
- 62aR [Narrated by the protagonist, or a hint to the start of 18-, 24-, 41- or 51-Across] FIRST PERSON. That is, each of those entries begins with a synonym for person.
- 18a. [Compete in a rink] FIGURE SKATE.
- 24a. [“Company” song about taking a chance on love] BEING ALIVE.
- 41a. [2011 hit for LMFAO] PARTY ROCK ANTHEM.
- 51a. [Aretha Franklin or Ray Charles] SOUL SINGER.
figure, being, party, soul—sure, works.
Overall, the clues and answers were straightforward and since I’m not in a particularly ‘up’ mood, solving the puzzle felt like an easy chore.
- 3a [Face blowing a kiss, for example] EMOJI.
- 5d [Maker of Bubble Bath nail polish] OPI. Contemporary crossword rule of thumb, nail polish companies edition: 3 letters = OPI, 5 letters = ESSIE.
- 31d [Feature of an empty house] ECHO.
- 36d [Alaskan cruise, say] TRIP. Tried TOUR first.
- 60d [Wineglass feature] STEM. Have stemless glasses’ moment passed? Stability versus temperature.
- 65d [Pac-12’s Beavers] OSU.
- 22a [Makes a quilt] SEWS, 23a [Scatter seeds] SOW. (60a [Already cut, as lumber] SAWN)
- 45a [Young who’s 80 years young] NEIL, as of 12 November of last year. As an aside, I don’t care for the expression “someone is x years young”, it just sounds so forced.
- 47a [Monopoly token, or something Mr. Monopoly wears] TOP HAT.
- 57a [Therapist’s org.] APA, the American Psychological Association, or perhaps the the America Psychiatric Association. Anyway, this entry is the less frequent cousin of crossword staples AMA and ABA (medical and bar, respectively).
- 67a [One might use acid] ETCHER. Soo, MC Escher did some etchings, but his most famous works are lithographs, woodcuts, and linocuts. Also, it’s a trope that the trippy denizens of 1960s college dorm rooms would have Escher posters as decorations. Irony?
Rafael Musa’s USA Today Crossword, “Me Day (Freestyle)” — Emily’s write-up
Relax and enjoy!
USA Today, January 21, 2026, “Me Day (Freestyle)” by Rafael Musa
Favorite fill: CANOODLES, KOREANSPA, TETTER, and EREADERS
Stumpers: SPAREUS (needed crossings), SKIPS (also needed crossings), and ELIDE (new to me)
Tons of fresh fill and delightful phrases, including IMALLEARS. A little on the nose with USATODAY but I’ll let that slide given the awesome grid and playful nature of this freestyle–plus it really is a fun entry to incorporate. Even without a formal theme, this puzzle overflows with SELFCARE of all types: PASTA and SALSA, GREENTEA and MULLEDWINE, ROADTRIPS, ART, and some of my faves CANOODLES, KOREANSPA, and EREADERS. We all lead busy lives with many stresses in an often chaotic world these days, so it’s important to take time for ourselves, the ones we love, and enjoy ourselves even if it is for 10 minutes or less (cluing got me a bit today for my solve time!). This puzzle is a good reminder to take care of yourself and those around you, today and everyday, however you can.
4.0 stars
~Emily
Ilana Levene & Scott Hogan’s LA Times Crossword – Gareth’s theme summary
Ilana Levene & Scott Hogan’s puzzle is explained at ENDOVEREND. The second of those ENDS, plus another three, have a second END stacked underneath them. This leads to a lot of EE, NN and DD action. The ENDs are found at ENDO/ENDORPHINS; WENDY/SPLENDA; GENDERS/LENDS; ENDOVEREND/VEND.
Gareth
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 1.5 stars
NYT: I don’t ever like asking “how did this puzzle get accepted,” because it’s damn hard to get a puzzle in the NYT these days and constructors deserve their flowers, but this idea just seemed so underdeveloped. Sigh… how did this puzzle get accepted? You have the NI HAO – HELLO pair where one is just the straightforward dictionary translation of the other. You have CONGEE – OATMEAL which aren’t direct equivalents but I guess you could make a strong case that they are the closest possible analogues to each other. Then you have MAHJONG – BRIDGE which just feels like a totally arbitrary pairing based on BRIDGE having the right number of letters. Surely DOMINOES is more of a direct parallel to MAHJONG. But BRIDGE is six letters, so I guess BRIDGE it is. So, the theme is the postulation that life is “much the same in” two cultures because both have porridge, a common greeting word, and some kind of a table game? That’s it? A pretty superficial observation.
And if you’re relying on PACIFIC OCEAN to give the theme a visual component, having OSAKAN straddle it is kind of a disaster.
Sorry, but this one didn’t work for me at all.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 2 stars
I think my conclusion is I just don’t enjoy Ginny’s puzzles. The theme idea was interesting, but the examples we came up with to compare cultures were OATMEAL and BRIDGE? Huh?
Aside from that, we had the usual collection of strange (SENORES), dubious (RATABLE), and archaic entries. And again I found weird spikes in difficulty. I cruised through most of the grid and then came to a screeching halt in the bottom right corner (AERIES crossing SPRIT and ESSEN – that wouldn’t be out of place in a Saturday from about 20 years ago). The challenge isn’t consistent at all.
If you weren’t a crossword solver, would you know where the Munch Museum, Ibsen Museum, Holmenkollen Ski Museum, and Nobel Peace Center are? Yeah, it is Oslo. It is quite ridiculous when “Capital of Norway” is considered overused as a clue and we have to mention the Holmenkollen Ski Museum as a result, but it is what it is. The crossword community simply cannot avoid the Viking settlement established in 845.
And I think ESSEN, just like Oslo, is too useful to avoid becoming crosswordese. I hope ESSEN can solidify itself into a cruciverbal mainstay like Oslo, Agra, or Reno.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 3 stars
The theme is very underwhelming and superficial. I agree with the blog reviewer that it is sad to see theme entries getting surrounded and crossed by longer, non-thematic entries.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 1.5 stars
NYT: Loved the clue for the Steely Dan album. That’s about it. How do Mahjong and Bridge even fit into the theme? Sorry Ginny and Avery, but 1.5 stars is my rating for today’s puzzle
One place where I used to play bridge regularly also hosted Mahjong games in an adjacent room at the same time. And there was no drinking at either of them!
NYT: At the risk of piling on, I guess I’ll pile on.
Too many foreign language entries – SCUSE, SENORES, MME, ESTOS, NI HAO – for a Wednesday (but credit for diversity). Green painty EBAY SALE and EPA LABS. And PILAR – when was the last time you used that in a conversation? RATABLE? No thanks! Clue for TORSOS was cute, but how many of us use that term in reference to sculptures?
Interesting idea behind the theme. I thought it was nice that the paired entries showed up on the side of the PACIFIC OCEAN that we’re accustomed to seeing in maps. And I liked that thing about AJA. But I think it needed more work.
WSJ – The answer and revealer at 39 across is actually THE HORSES’ MOUTHS which is really awkward because no one would ever use it as a plural. Still, I thought it was an entertaining puzzle with clever theme answers.
TNY:
Try these ;-)
Karat is a measure of purity, potassium also starts with P, but its symbol is K?
Too convoluted?
Carat is a measure of weight, the abbreviation for hundredweight is CWT?
I generally go with remembering that CARAT is one of the “Four C’s” of diamond valuation – Color, Cut, Clarity and CARAT weight.
Carat derives from “carob,” as it was originally the weight of a carob seed. The seeds of these sweet pods are remarkably consistent in size. Knowing that it’s the weight of a carob seed has always worked for me.
Thanks, Jeff! That just may stick!
I’m going to go easier on the NYT. I didn’t know the Japanese NI HAO in a themer or ULTRON but got them quickly enough, and the rest doesn’t seem as flawed to me. I admit it slowed me figuring out details from the habit of examining the longest and seeing themers, but this is original, and gotta say that 7 entries is enough theme material.
I can’t find the inconsistency in placement. All three pairs look two to a row, none of them two to adjacent rows. Nor a serious inconsistency in material for them, least of all games. I think of the pair as archetypical suburbia. And I wouldn’t look for a pattern over and above just games that isn’t there. Last, surely as foreign words to almost all of them (surely MME, SENORES, only slightly to a lesser extent ESTOS) are so common that almost everyone knows them, and they’ve been in puzzles goodness knows how often. I knew SCUSI once I got it. As I say, NI HAO was not without interest as an unfamiliar.
Agreed that PILAR is odd. And in the WSJ never heard of and disliked “Philly Fanatic.”
NI HAO is Mandarin, consistent with that Lee being Chinese.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 1.5 stars
JohnH – for symmetry HELLO should be at 42 across. This puzzle has sixteen rows so the normal center row symmetry doesn’t apply. Those should be in rows 8 and 9
NYT:
If you read either set of theme clues in full it makes a bit of a poem.
“Lee has a hot bowl of oatmeal to start off his day, says hello to his neighbor then heads on his way, with gossip and beer over friday’s bridge game, life across the pacific ocean is much the same”
Puzzle: WSJ; Rating: 3 stars
WSJ – Cute theme with nice fill. Good job for a first puzzle!
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 4 stars
In a week filled with unsettling geopolitical news, yesterday’s New York Times Crossword felt quietly hopeful. The sense of solidarity it expressed was a welcome reminder of our better priorities, and the resulting poem was genuinely beautiful.
Overall, my viewers found the grid meaningful as well. There were a few spots with slightly “inelegant” fill, but it also featured several clever and nostalgic clue–answer pairings, a breezy disposition, and just the right number of trickier clues to usher us into the circuitry of late-week grids. 🍷
Cin-Cin!
-christopher