LAT 8:32 (phone) (Kyle) 
[2.75 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
NYT 13:06 (Eric) 
[3.03 avg; 17 ratings] rate it
USA Today tk (Darby) [3.00 avg; 1 rating] rate it
Universal (Sunday) 8:00 (Jim P) 
[3.67 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
Universal 4:28 (Adam S) [3.25 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
WaPo tk (Matt G) [2.50 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
Lance Enfinger and John Kugelman’s New York Times Crossword “Initial Thoughts” — Eric’s Review
Lance Enfinger and John Kugelman’s New York Times Crossword “Initial Thoughts” — 4/12/26 (Click to Enlarge)
Pretty quick and smooth for me, despite needed two or three theme answers to figure out what was going on:
- 22A [HOT woman worth fighting for?] HELEN OF TROY
- 28A [GOT in the ballpark?] GIVE OR TAKE As I was solving, I thought “ballpark” was literally something like Fenway Park or Wrigley Field. But of course it’s used in the sense of “ballpark estimate.”
- 43A [BOB Dylan album?] BLONDE ON BLONDE This is where I caught on to the theme. Bob Dylan “went electric” and released Bringing It All Back Home in March, 1965; Highway 61 Revisited in August, 1965; and Blonde on Blonde in May, 1966. Those one of the best three-in-a-row rock album feats that I know of. There are a few duds on the last one, but the good stuff is fantastic. (OK, boomer.)
- 64A [MOB wives?] MAIL-ORDER BRIDE This one makes me realize that it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Jonathan Demme’s Married to the Mob.
- 89A [SOAP film?] SNAKES ON A PLANE
- 104A [KID napper’s demand?] KEEP IT DOWN I had six siblings. My dad was constantly telling us to “Keep it down to a dull roar.” It’s scary sometimes how much like him I am.
- 113A [THE big game?] TEXAS HOLD’EM
This theme seems pretty obvious to me: The capitalized letters in the theme clues are initials for parts of the theme answers. That makes it a tiny bit easier to solve because once you’ve figured that out, you at least know how each of any remaining theme answers begins.
I didn’t find the theme particularly amusing, but the theme answers are not wholly uninteresting. Sometimes that’s the best you can hope for.
Other stuff:
- 10A [Starting point of Diana Nyad’s 2013 swim to Florida] CUBA I might have gotten this immediately even without having seen Nyad. I really like Annette Bening and Jodie Foster is not bad, either, but that movie didn’t do a lot for me.
- 18A [Actress ___ Grace Moretz] CHLOË Another gimme. I know her mostly from Let Me In, the American remake of the better Swedish movie Let the Right One In.
- 24A [Throwing weapon known in Japanese as a shuriken] NINJA STAR I picked “shuriken” up from a crossword puzzle about six months ago, but probably got the answer mostly from crosses and letter patterns.
- 50A [“It’s ___. Do you know where your children are?” (old P.S.A.)] TEN PM That goes back to at least the 1970s, I think.
- 55A [Time’s 2023 Person of the Year] Taylor SWIFT
- 61A [Portuguese wine] MADEIRA This was my biggest slowdown; I had MARSALA for a long time. But that’s from Sicily, not Portugal. At least they’re both fortified wines (not something I generally drink.
- 72A [Poker in the Olympics?] ÉPÉE Cute clue. I’m sure I’ve seen it before, but there’s always someone seeing a clue like that for the first time.
- 82A [Org. founded to fund foreign projects] USAID That was defunded months ago, wasn’t it? It’s hard to keep up with all that.
- 93A [Alternative to a Les Paul, for short] Fender STRATocaster Someday, I hope to get back to New York City and see the guitar collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Some of those instrument are just gorgeous.
- 109A [Loses emotional control, in gamer-speak] TILTS That’s new to me; I assume it comes from the tilt sensors that can cause a pinball machine to end the game.
- 114A [Socialite Sedgwick, the supposed inspiration for Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”] EDIE Another gimme.
- 112A [Winning country at the 2022 World Cup] ARGENTINA I knew this, so why did I need so many crosses to drag it out of my memory? I was surprised to read recently that Lionel Messi is expected to play in the 2026 World Cup. Not bad for someone pushing 40.
- 117A [“Baywatch” actress Eleniak] ERIKA Not a name that means anything to me.
- 2D [Line of latitude?] I’LL ALLOW IT Nice clue.
- 8D [Nickname for the 6’9″ Dallas Cowboys great Ed Jones] TOO TALL A rare football gimme for me; Jones was playing for the Cowboys when I lived in Dallas in high school.
- 12D [Idiot mistakes] BONERS Any 12-year-old boys solving this puzzle are snickering over that one.
- 14D [Dazzling displays of skill] MASTER CLASSES
- 28D [Treaty of ___, official close to the War of 1812] GHENT I took me too long to remember that.
- 41D [Common Wordle starting word (for all those vowels)] ADIEU It’s also not a very good Wordle starting word.
- 44D [___ Greiner, inventor and “Shark Tank” personality] LORI I’ve never seen that show and based on what I know about it, I don’t feel like I’m missing anything.
- 54D [Hip-hop artists with unintelligible lyrics] MUMBLE RAPPERS That’s new to me, and I’m not sure I get the point of rapping if you’re not going to speak clearly enough that most people will understand you.
- 57D [Council of ___ (Counter-Reformation body)] TRENT Not to be confused with GHENT.
- 66D [Genre for Stevie Ray Vaughan] BLUES The last house we had in Austin was two down from a house that, 20 or so years earlier, had been rented by SRV.
- 67D [Celebrity chef DiSpirito] ROCCO New to me.
- 73D [Basic drumming pattern] PARADIDDLE Wikipedia tells me it’s a form of “drum rudiment.” I have the worst rhythm on the planet, and had never heard this term before.
- 102D [What a Bohr!] NIELS That’s a clue I could’ve done without.
Darryl Gonzalez’s LA Times crossword “MAJOR CHANGE” – Kyle’s write-up
LA Times solution grid “MAJOR CHANGE” – Darryl Gonzalez – Sunday 04/12/2026
I wasn’t familiar with the constructor’s name—it looks like it has been a few years since Mr. Gonzalez’s last publication. Welcome back Darryl and thanks for today’s LA Times puzzle.
We’ve got phrases reimagined as college majors. For example, 22A DIGITAL MARKETING becomes [Degree in promoting mani-pedis?]. As I’m writing this on my phone, I’m afraid I’ll have to forgo listing out all the clues and answers. Overall I enjoyed seeing how the base phrases were retooled, though at times I wasn’t entirely sure how plausible they sounded as something you’d find in a list of majors (looking at you, WEB DEVELOPMENT).
The rest of the fill was clean and I enjoyed seeing some less common mid-length answers like ARANCINI (yum!), CLEMSON, RUB IT IN, and INFLAME. I had a couple bumps like putting in mezcal for MESCAL and Nestea for SALADA.
Good luck to all the ACPT solvers today! I’m in Stamford so please say hello if you’re a regular Fiend reader.
Evan Birnholz’s Washington Post Crossword “Pluses and Minuses” — Matthew’s Review
Evan Birnholz’ Washington Post crossword solution, “Pluses and Minuses,” 4/12/2026
Apologies for the dark mode image and and abbreviated write up; I’m working from my phone at ACPT.
This week, eight theme clues included either “Plus” or “Minus.” In the former, a common phrase adds a letter to fit the funny clue, while in the latter a common phrase drops a letter. Those added or dropped letters spell PROS from the “Plus” clues, and “CONS” from the “Minus” clues. PROS and CONS are also the last two across entries in the puzzle, pointing solvers to the added theme layer.
I enjoyed this one, as it’s a flexible mechanism that allows for interesting themers and fill. PRAISED AN ALARM (+P) and CURSE OF STUDY (-O) were particular favorites.
Cheers!
Adrian Johnson and Alexandra Doumani’s Universal Crossword “Themeless Sunday 179” – Adam S’s write-up
I can’t find any record of Alexandra Doumani having a previous puzzle in the Fiend database, but some real-time research at ACPT suggests she had a previous Universal. So belated congratulations on your debut, Alexandra!
I very much enjoyed imagining apparent conversational flow in the longer fill. If something is important, ONE CAN HOPE that it will HIT THE SPOT. If THAT’S NOT IT and your reaction is WHAT A CONCEPT, then you may need to say CAN WE TALK? Hopefully that won’t leave you saying LORD GIVE ME STRENGTH! This ability to evoke interaction among the entries is one of the many reasons that we all love conversational fill. Alexandra and Adrian did a fantastic job in lacing this grid with very evocative entries
The grid really leans into its asymmetry. This might just be me, but I like asymmetry better when it lets fun, tight themes see the light of day than when it’s used for themeless grids. This may simply be a Pavlovian, conditioned reaction, but there’s something a little disconcerting about seeing a double stack of grid spanners on one side of the grid not balanced by anything similar on the other side. I wonder if I will feel the same way in 5 years as we all get much more used to this. Quite possibly not, especially if editors make sure they hold asymmetric grids to the highest standards of cleanliness on the short fill.
A few notes:
- Is STAR ANISE ever used to flavor CHAAT? Apparently, it is, notably in South Indian sweet potato chaat. That little digression is making me hungry.
- Speaking of CHAAT, it has only 6 uses in the Crosserville database, and this is only its second in a daily crossword. Its an entry I’d love to see more often.
- Lovely echo in 29D [Feline visitor to the Emerald City] LION and 30D [Canine visitor to the Emerald City] TOTO. Very elegant as consecutive clues.
Pam Klawitter’s Universal Sunday crossword, “Talking Nonsense”—Jim P’s review
Sorry for the very late write-up. I succumbed to the ACPT activities this morning and completely forgot to post this.
Theme answers are familiar phrases where the final words could be synonyms of “statement” (as in something a person says). Changes in meaning, either in that word or in the first half of the entry, lead to punny clues.
Universal Sunday crossword solution · “Talking Nonsense” · Pam Klawitter · 4.12.26
- 21a. [“How did you make that card disappear?,” e.g.?] TRICK QUESTION.
- 32a. [“It’s time for a pep rally!,” e.g.?] ASSEMBLY LINE.
- 39a. [“The floss, the Macarena, the Nae Nae, the Electric Slide …,” e.g.?] DANCE RECITAL.
- 64a. [“Go to the finish line!,” e.g.?] RUN-ON SENTENCE.
- 92a. [“My petunias and marigolds have been growing nicely,” e.g.?] ANNUAL REPORT.
- 100a. [“Four score and seven years ago,” e.g.?] PART OF SPEECH.
- 117a. [“It wasn’t my baseball, Mom! The dog knocked over your vase!,” e.g.?] BREAKING STORY.
Fun punny theme with my favorites being ANNUAL REPORT and BREAKING STORY. If one wanted to pick nits one could point out that the word that changes meaning (either the beginning of the phrase, the end, or both) isn’t always consistent, but I think it’s sufficient that there’s a pun somewhere in each phrase, and each clue is consistently presented as a verbal phrase.
In the fill, I like the corresponding pair of UNICYCLE and LIMO RIDE being sort of opposite ends of a spectrum. Other highlights include FLY SOLO, CHARIOT, ALI BABA, BONOBOS, and YALE LAW. I’d say the iffiest entry is probably IT HELP but it fell easily.
Clue of note: 6d. [Name that rhymes with “sweat”]. BRETT. I went with BETTE at first.
3.5 stars.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 4.5 stars
As an avowed Bobcat, I saw that instantly. We commonly refer to the albums by initials BIABH, TOOM, BOB, so that was a well appreciated clue for me.
My 20&23 year old sons love BOB, boomers indeed. We were just talking about how good those 3 were, that I don’t even like ranking them because calling one 3rd is too negative. The only reason some songs seem like duds is because of the there are just so many masterpieces to compare to. And in discussing, my favorites on the album are different than theirs, they only reason I think it’s a bad song is relative to the rest.
Tell your sons that this old guy in Colorado admires their taste. And kudos to you for introducing them to Dylan’s music.
My “(OK, boomer)” was a bit sarcastic. I actually identify more as Generation Jones and feel like I have more in common with many people born in the 1960s than the 1950s. But in any case, good music is good music, regardless of when it was made.
I became a serious Dylan fan in the early 1970s when I had custody of my older sister’s stereo and LP collection for part of the time she was in college. I think I listened to everything Deb owned, but it was really only the Dylan that made a positive impression. (Though I did somehow manage to retain her 45 of The Who’s “Substitute” — the American version that replaced the lyrics “I look all white but my dad was black.”)
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 3 stars
As someone who has never understood the appeal of listening to Dylan sing (don’t get me wrong, he’s an amazing songwriter), I’d counter that there have been many better 3-in-a-row releases… a few that leap to mind are actually a 6-in-a-row feat by REM, starting with Green in ‘88 and ending with Up ten years later. I honestly can’t think of anything by any band that could touch that level of output. U2 had 4-in-a-row starting with Unforgettable Fire in ‘84 and ending with Achtung Baby in ‘91. Wilco’s first 4 albums are likewise amazing, and if you add in Mermaid Avenue (with Billy Bragg) and Uncle Tupelo’s 4 albums prior to disbanding, that’s a nine-in-row run for Jeff Tweedy (who I’d take over Bob Dylan as a performer of rock music any day of the week).
[Thanks for getting my music critic juices flowing after a super boring puzzle!!]
Also — as should be obvious from my list — GenX had the best formative pop/rock music! ;)
Way over yonder in the minor key.
I’m also a fan of R.E.M., but their albums almost always seemed to be a mix of really good songs and stuff that I really didn’t need to hear again. But I will take another listen.
Thanks.
There is no accounting for taste ;)
I agree that the REM albums all have some duds, but even the duds either sound pretty good (compared to the average) or are experimental in some way or have something interesting about them (IMHO). I just can’t think of another band/individual where I would happily listen to 6 consecutive albums and really enjoy the entire experience.
Taste is almost entirely subjective.
It could just be a matter of maturity. I was about 15 when I started listening to Dylan and R.E.M.’s Chronic Town EP came out the year I graduated from college. (Which is a little weird, because I always think of hearing it in my dorm room.) Maybe if I had encountered Dylan in my mid-20s, I would see him differently.
Ooh, this is a good game! I’m a couple of years older than Eric, I think, and although I’ve always admired Bob Dylan I have never really been a true fan. For my three in a row I choose Neil Young’s Everybody Knows this is Nowhere/After the Gold Rush/Harvest.
I wanted to pick three by Van Morrison but his albums are more erratic. My faves were not issued consecutively.
The puzzle? Dull, frankly.
Outstanding consecutive albums – Simon & Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Ray Vaughan. Those guys from Liverpool had a decent string, too
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 4 stars
I caught on to the NYT theme reasonably early and finished pretty quickly as well.
Eric, if you are a fan of both Let Me In and Let the Right One In (I liked them both) and you’re a reader, you should read the book on which they were based by John Ajvide Lindqvist.
I got the theme from the very first themer, Helen of Troy, which fell fairly quickly, and the pattern helped in solving. I couldn’t get over the feeling, though, of inconsistency. Some were straightforward, some were factoids, and some took thought. Go figure. But reasonably clever and smooth.
Maybe too much contemporary fill for me, but having Blonde on Blonde makes up for a lot.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 4 stars
I think this is one of the easiest Sundays in recent history. The theme fills are quite fun, but the theme itself not so much.
Unfortunately for me, I have always spelled 46D as BRIAR, which crossed with MADEIRA.
BRIAR x MADEIRA screwed me up, too.
Me too. Took a minute or two to find that error. Not a bad puzzle, not great either.
Super fast and smooth; ended up with a Sunday PR. Hopefully that bodes well for ACPT puzzle 7 later today!
It didn’t even occur to me that “briar” has more than one spelling because I’ve only ever seen it spelled with an A.
I wonder what the awareness rate is on Canada’s national curling championship, which is called The BRIER. (I always thought it was named after someone, but it’s not.) Maybe not high enough for a Sunday clue.
I have learned to skip the penultimate letter in BRIAR/BRIER.
I’ve always written “briar,” too, and it slowed me up. Not that then I couldn’t come up with MADEIRA, but I couldn’t come up for a long time with what had gone wrong.
But it turns out that the usual dictionaries all call “briar” a variant. How interesting that we’ve a large-looking circle here alone that disagrees. I wonder if it’s regional. There are certainly words I’ve held back from entering until the crossing told me what usage to choose, but this just wasn’t it. I guess it will be next time.
Today, “briar” is preferred over “brier,” but the adjective “briery” is preferred over “briary.” In 1880 “brier” won hands down.
NYT: Solid puzzle. As a Gen Z, I would say the definition of the word TILT is slightly off. I would say “He is on tilt” rather than “he tilts”. You generally use it with on tilt, or I’m tilted. Not sure the origin, I would assume it’s when you’ve been losing a lot you say I’m on tilt, like I’m fighting an uphill battle.
I believe it comes from poker, where a player who is ON TILT is losing, but flailing about trying to get back in, and prone to making bad bets.
WaPo: really fun theme, with a nice revealer at the end. Always enjoy Evan’s puzzles!