Wednesday, May 27, 2026

AV Club untimed (Amy) [2.90 avg; 5 ratings] rate it
LAT 3:32 (Gareth) [3.00 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
NYT 4:25 (Amy) [2.95 avg; 10 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker untimed (Jim Q) [3.50 avg; 6 ratings] rate it
Universal tk (pannonica) [2.50 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
USA Today 9:18 (Emily) [2.83 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
WSJ 6:45 (Eric) [3.67 avg; 3 ratings] rate it

Marc Goldstein’s Wall Street Journal Crossword “Hardheaded” — Eric’s Review

Marc Goldstein’s
Wall Street Journal Crossword “Hardheaded” — 5/27/26 (Click to Enlarge)

Leave no stone unturned. My dictionary defines that idiom as “try every possible course of action in order to achieve something.” That’s usually sound advice, though what is “possible” is often open to interpretation. Anyway:

• 17A [Bicolor dessert] MARBLE CAKE
• 23A [North American rattlesnakes] DIAMOND BACK
• 29A [Green land?] EMERALD ISLE
• 40A [Artist awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011] JASPER JOHNS
• 46A [Movie pair in the Smithsonian] RUBY SLIPPERS
• 58A [Difficult beginning, and a trait shared by 17-, 23-, 29-, 40- and 46-Across] ROCKY START

This theme, like many crossword themes, doesn’t really help one solve the puzzle. Most solvers will recognize the theme answers easily (except perhaps for JASPER JOHNS, depending on how interested one is in abstract painting). They’re all fine as theme answers go, and I don’t remember seeing any of them in crosswords too often.

Other stuff:

• 9A [Alliance] BLOC/50D [Diplomatic achievements] PACTS I tried PACT at 9A and quickly jettisoned it when the crosses didn’t work.
• 13A [Caribbean resort whose official languages are Papiamento and Dutch] ARUBA I’m not sure I’d heard of “Papiamento” (also “Papiamento”) before. It’s a Creole language based principally on Spanish and Portuguese and is also spoken and written in Bonaire and Curaçao.
• 28A [Longbow wood] ELM Not YEW.
• 53A [Sagrada Família architect] Antonio GAUDÍ You’ll probably recognize his masterwork if not his name.
• 7D [Alan of “Little Miss Sunshine”] ARKIN I’m so accustomed to seeing Alan Alda in crosswords that I was momentarily puzzled by the five spaces here and my inability to picture Alda in that movie. Then I remembered the other Alan.
• 11D [Maker of Elevate vacuum cleaners] ORECK Not DYSON.
• 14D [“Road Less Traveled” singer Lauren] ALAINA I didn’t know that name or the song and got it entirely from the crosses. It’s from 2016; I can’t say that it does much for me musically, though the message is fine.
• 51D [Spiral shells strung on bracelets] PUKAS Man, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a puka shell choker.

Dario Silvucci’s New York Times crossword—Amy’s recap

NY Times crossword solution, 5/27/26 – no. 0527

The theme revealer is 53A. [Noun or verb … or a description of 20-, 30-, or 46-Across?], PART OF SPEECH, and the themers are parts of famous speeches, clued by the dates they were delivered:

• 20A. [November 19, 1863], FOUR SCORE AND…. The start of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
• 30A. [January 20, 1961], ASK NOT WHAT…. The start of a notable clause in JFK’s inaugural speech.
• 46A. [August 28, 1963], …HAVE A DREAM…. MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech, with a floating phrase missing its subject. Feels awkward to drop the beginning of a phrase when the other two don’t.

I like the riff on what “part of speech” means, but it would work better if all the themers behaved the same way.

Fave fill: BAD CREDIT, LEADFOOT, “DARN IT ALL,” THE GAP. Never keen on A B OR C ([Multiple choice choices, maybe]), contrived. Guessing many of us filled in “GOT A LIGHT?” instead of “GOT A MATCH?,” because who’s carrying matchbooks rather than a lighter? (Note: I am not up on current smoker etiquette.)

Did not know: 28D. [All-powerful avatar in “Ready Player One”], ANORAK. That crossing, 49A. [Hit way up in the air, as a baseball], SKY — kind of a tough clue for non-baseball fans, particularly with that clue for ANORAK lacking a “jacket” angle.

May or may not have heard of: 58A. [Engineering competition with two “battling” devices], ROBOT SUMO. Maybe saw it once on YouTube?

3.25 stars from me.

Priyanka Sethy & Rajiv Sethy’s AV Club Classic crossword, “Royal Mess”—Amy’s recap

AV Club Classic crosswors solution, 5/27/26 – “Royal Mess”

This 17×17 puzzle has four theme entries, no revealer beyond the puzzle title, “Royal Mess.” FAST-DRYING INK has four circled letters that anagram to KING. OPEN QUESTION has QUEEN and GETS WORKED UP has a DUKE. SUCH AND SUCHES (does that take a plural?) hides a DUCHESS. The theme feels a little lightweight to me. Would a 15×15 grid accommodate a 13/12/12/13 theme set?

Fave fill: MAMDANI, POBOYS, IN THE RED, LINGUINE, METADATA. Least fave: dangling partial AS I DO.

12d. [Fancy hand soap brand], AESOP. Love this brand! The Resurrection scent has orange, lavender, and rosemary oils and it’s gentle. Ridiculous price, it’s a definite splurge. Do they ever have sales?

3.5 stars from me.

Erik Agard’s New Yorker crossword — Jim Q’s write-up

New Yorker • 5/27/26 • Wed • Erik Agard • solution • 20260527

FAVORITE ENTRIES:

• POP STAR
• EN ROUTE
• SCHMUTZ
• “NAILED IT!”
• TORAHS/MENORAH Crossing

Can almost always expect a few never-heard-of-that-but-glad-I-know-now entries from Erik. In this case for me it’s the 2016 play IS GOD IS, which I’m surprised I know nothing about (I like to stay up on this stuff), TINASHE which I’m realizing now is one name, and ENM, which according to Google AI means Ethical Non-Monogamy.

I’m totally going to watch the movie IS GOD IS this week.

Awesome puzzle today, as usual.

4 stars.

Erik Agard’s USA Today Crossword, “Gtl” — Emily’s write-up

Queued up!

USA Today, May 27, 2026, “ Gtl” by Erik Agard

Theme: each themer contains –OSTONES prepended with G–, T–, and L– consecutively

Themers:

• 30a. [Black-and-white equipment for a Chinese strategy game], GOSTONES
• 32a. [Twice-fried slices of plantain], TOSTONES
• 36a. [1998 Lauryn Hill diss track], LOSTONES

A wide range of themers in today’s set with GOSTONES, TOSTONES, and LOSTONES. With the grid, the themers are stacked so that they are lined up on the bias for a cool visual effect.

Favorite fill: OUTSHINES, SEAURCHIN, CALAMARI, and AMUSEME

Stumpers: TONETAG (new to me), DUTY (needed crossings), and FIERCE (also needed crossings)

A trickier solve for me today. It was flying until the bottom half and then it was slower going for me, with the cluing not clicking as quickly though everything filled in without too much fuss once I got some starts in those parts of the grid. I loved the design though and it made for a fun stacked themer set!

4.0 stars

~Emily

Sala Wanetick’s LA Times Crossword – Gareth’s summary

Sala Wanetick’s puzzle is a synonyms puzzle at heart, but it has exemplary execution. The revealing entry, FAULTLINES, is both apt and idiomatic. The three other phrases are all well-established and fit the description well: THATSMYBAD, FORGIVEMEFATHER and GUILTYASCHARGED.

My favourite entry was found early at 4-D, GOTOGUY. I have to say finding an entry like that early on usually has me eating out of your hand…

Mystery answers:

• [Shred the ___: crush a black diamond run, say], GNAR. No ideas. Google suggests surfing slang that has been transferred to snowboarding as well?
• [Oft-pickled taco topper], RADISH. Can’t say I know either aspect of this clue, but tacos aren’t common down this way…
• [App that connects pet-sitters and owners], ROVER. But quite inferrable.

Gareth