Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Jonesin’ untimed (Jenni) rate it
LAT 3:57 (Erin) [2.25 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
NYT 6:00 (Eric) [3.45 avg; 10 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker tk (pannonica) [3.44 avg; 8 ratings] rate it
Universal 6:00-something (Eric) [3.17 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
USA Today tk (Sophia) [2.00 avg; 1 rating] rate it
Xword Nation tk (Ade) rate it
WSJ untimed (Jim Q) rate it

Matt Jones’s Jonesin’ Crossword, “The Potato Eaters” — a tasty work of art – Jenni’s write-up

I enjoyed the theme of this puzzle. The fill had a few too many partials and fill-in-the-blanks for total solving pleasure. I also appreciated being reminded of our day in the Van Gogh museum last fall.

“The Potato Eaters” by Vincent Van Gogh, the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, and yes it is that dark

The title is the revealer. The four theme answers are all edibles made from potatoes.

Jonesin’, May 26, 2026, Matt Jones, “The Potato Eaters” – a tasty work of art; solution grid

• 11d [Flat trays for weddings] are CAKE STANDS.
• 17a [Mennen aftershave brand] is SKIN BRACER.
• 28d [Recycled paper products used for backing] are CHIP BOARDS. Not sure I’ve ever seen that used in the plural.
• 60a [Divisive political topic] is a WEDGE ISSUE.

Potato CAKE, potato SKIN, potato CHIP, potato WEDGE. Now I’m hungry. There are lots of Pennsylvania Dutch diners around here so I am happily familiar with potato CAKE. The next time you have leftover mashed potatoes, try it.

What I didn’t know before I did this puzzle: that SYLPHS are air dwellers. I don’t know what I thought they were.

Sharing the earworm from this puzzle:

Adam Vincent’s Universal Crossword “Creative Flow” — Eric’s Review

Adam Vincent’s Universal Crossword “Creative Flow” — 5/26/26 (Click to Enlarge)

A few folks from the entertainment industry (or their ghosts) are here to help us cry our eyes out:

• 15A [*Comedian and author of “Diary of a Mad Diva”] JOAN RIVERS
• 23A [*Grammy winner for “Channel Orange”] FRANK OCEAN
• 33A [*Director of “Young Frankenstein” and “Blazing Saddles”] MEL BROOKS Young Frankenstein is one of the funniest movies I know, but admittedly, I have not seen it in many years.
• 49A [*Director of “Transformers” and “Armageddon”] MICHAEL BAY I’m pretty sure that on a business trip to Chicago, we watched an action scene from one of the Transformer movies being shot inside the Loop. But I have no photographic evidence of that readily available, and as the saying goes, “Pictures or it didn’t happen.”

57A [Crying, idiomatically … or what the starred clues’ answers produce?] WATERWORKS

Rivers, an ocean, brooks and a bay. Yup, all waterways or bodies of water. All show biz personalities. Check off the box for theme coherence.

To the extent I have any dissatisfaction with the theme, it’s that the theme answers slightly favor older solvers. Rivers died in 2014; Brooks is 99. Ocean and Bay are still active artistically. I knew all the names, but I wouldn’t have gotten JOAN RIVERS or FRANK OCEAN without a few crosses.

Other stuff:

• 8A [Sputnik launcher, briefly] USSR Another clue for us older folks; I hesitated slightly because whatever rocket carried Sputnik into space probably had the initial CCCP on it.
• 12A [Fuzzy fruit] PEACH I’m too used to seeing KIWI in response to a clue like that.
• 27A [Red chili paste from northwest Africa] HARISSA I’m not sure if I’ve ever had harissa, though I like all the spices that typically flavor it. If you know of a good recipe for it, or even for something that uses it, please post a link in the comments.
• 29A [Acting piggish] OINKING Ah, a literal pig, not a figurative one.
• 40A [“Neato!”] COOL Not KEEN/11D [“Neato!”] RAD I suppose to young people today, “rad” sounds as dated as “cool.”
• 3D [Foretell the future using a crystal ball] SCRY That’s not Tuesday vocabulary! Or any day of the week vocabulary! (But yeah, I know the word.)
• 10D [Guitarist Carlos with an eponymous band] SANTANA Still apparently making music at 78.
• 38D [Sounded horse?] NEIGHED Cute clue. A little too cute for my taste.

Brad Lively’s New York Times Crossword — Eric’s Review

Brad Lively’s New York Times Crossword 5/26/26 (Click to Enlarge)

A meat puppet with attitude? Flesh and bone with bite? I’m not coming up with a pithy theme summary here, so I’ll just lay it out:

• 17A [*Aids for biting] SHARP TEETH
• 26A [*Attribute for spotting what others miss] KEEN EYE
• 37A [What the answers to the starred clues are, collectively?] BODY OF KNOWLEDGE
• 49A [*Cheeky sort] WISE-ASS
• 63A [*One given to insolence] SMART MOUTH

Sharp, keen, wise, smart — all reasonably associated with knowledge.

Other stuff:

• 9A [Bryce Canyon’s state] UTAH Bryce (which is not really a canyon) is one of the most otherworldly places I’ve ever seen. I hope to get back there again someday.
• 14A [Cookies featured in Weird Al’s “The White Stuff”] OREOS Really, what else could the answer have been?
• 7D [“Finding Nemo” setting] REEF Hmm. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that movie; I would have said it’s set in the open sea.
• 10D [Customized bit of marketing] TARGETED AD Some ads that show up in my social media feeds seem a bit too targeted.
• 22D [Mountain visible from Anchorage] DENALI Is that its name again?
• 30D [Huge props] MAD RESPECT I had a terrible time getting past MADRE SPECT. But it’s a fun answer to see in a grid.
• 39D [Home of Xenia, the U.S.’s largest city whose name starts with “X”] OHIO I was hoping that the origin of the city’s name was more interesting than coming from the Greek word Xenia (ξενία), which means “hospitality.”
• 46D [Technique whereby a shirt is lowered into a pigmented bath] DIP DYE I hadn’t heard of that before, though I expect I’ve seen such clothing.

Stella Zawistowski’s Los Angeles Times crossword — Erin’s write-up

LA Times solution 5/26/26

Hello lovelies! Today’s LA Times theme is one I can get behind — Taco Tuesday!

• 17a. [Toyota pickup since 1995] TACOMA TRUCK
• 26a. [Sarcastic “Great idea!”] WHAT A CONCEPT
• 45a. [Requires sacrifice to achieve] COMES AT A COST
• 61a. [Portable Tex-Mex snack, or a progression depicted in this puzzle] WALKING TACO. The letters TACO appear at the head of the first theme entry, and amble deliciously through the next entries, finally closing out the revealer. In the culinary world, a walking taco consists of whatever fillings you prefer mixed in a bag of chips, usually Fritos or Doritos, instead of nestled in a shell.

Other things:

• 44a. [“Toy Story” boy] ANDY. “Toy Story 5” comes to theaters June 19. How are there five of these?!
• 9d. [Substance that makes jelly gel] PECTIN. It’s a vegan alternative to gelatin and helps cough drops coat the throat.

Mike Shenk’s Wall Street Journal crossword “Counter Offers” — Jim Q’s write-up

THEME: Phrases that end in words that have to do with mathing

WSJ • 5/26/26 • Tues • “Counter Offers” • Mike Shenk • solution • 20260526

THEME ANSWERS:

• PUFF ADDER
• THIS SUMMER
• TEETOTALER
• (revealer) [“You can figure it out,” and what the last words of 17-, 28- and 46-Across accomplish] DO THE MATH

This was a genuinely delightful Tuesday. And while I don’t think many people in real life refer to those doing arithmetic as ADDERS, SUMMERS, or TOTALERS, the fact that they appear as a goofy little set gives the whole thing a nice tongue-in-cheek charm.

PUFF ADDER was new to me. And I’m not exactly a song-title expert, but the clue for THIS SUMMER sent me down a brief rabbit hole: [2015 Maroon 5 song with a longer profane title]. Apparently the full version is This Summer’s Gonna Hurt Like a Motherfucker, which feels like a dramatic escalation from the sanitized clue version. Protect the children, I suppose.

TEETOTALER also feels hilariously formal for [Designated driver, perhaps]. Sounds less like someone holding your keys and more like a Victorian reformer giving a lecture on the dangers of gin.

The fill was a blast too: SCREW IT!, STARBURST, AT TIMES, FIZZES, HORSE SENSE, HAVE AN EDGE—all lively enough that the awkward partial AN EAR barely registered.

Favorite clues:

• BRAILLE [Like books that make you feel things?] — Excellent.
• FRAME [Oil container?] — Took me a second. Very satisfying once it clicked.

Strong theme, fun fill, clever title. Hard to ask much more from a Tuesday.

4.25 stars