BEQ tk (Eric) rate it
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NYT 4:09 (Sophia) 
[3.50 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker tk(Amy) rate it
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USA Today tk (?) rate it
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Tom McCoy’s New York Times Crossword — Sophia’s Recap
THEME: Par Amount – each theme clue’s bracket indicates how many times the string PAR is in the answer
New York Times, 06 08 2026, By Tom McCoy
- 18a [Popular board game adapted from India [1]] – PARCHEESI
- 23a [Challenge for student drivers [2]] – PARALLEL PARKING
- 41a [Never stop having fun [3]] – PARTY PARTY PARTY
- 50a [Of the highest importance … or, when parsed differently, what each bracketed number in the clues indicates?] – PARAMOUNT
PARAMOUNT to “par amount” is a fun re-parse! I like that the “par”s are all at the start of their respective words. PARALLEL PARKING is a great grid spanner, and PARCHEESI is an interesting answer for the theme answer with the most options. I didn’t know that it was adapted from India before now! Is PARTY PARTY PARTY a known phrase? I was able to parse it out pretty easily, but it’s not a phrase I’ve heard in the wild.
I found this puzzle to be harder than the average Monday. The middle section with KNAVERY and NIPS/LEVER as clued was the last part that I entered into the grid. Looking at the puzzle as a whole, I don’t think any of the crossings were unfair – everything overall just felt a little trickier than usual.
Clue highlights: [Characterize?] for SPELL, [Deer sir?] for STAG, [5×5-square crossword] for MINI, [Apt zodiac sign for Bert Lahr, who played the Cowardly Lion]. Lots of interesting clues for a Monday!
Fill highlights: POP-UP store, SPAM FILTER, REPORT BACK, GOTCHAS
Happy Monday all!
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 3.5 stars
“I found this puzzle to be harder than the average Monday. The middle section with KNAVERY and NIPS/LEVER as clued was the last part that I entered into the grid. Looking at the puzzle as a whole, I don’t think any of the crossings were unfair – everything overall just felt a little trickier than usual.”
Agreed! Coupled with some tricky cluing, it felt a little off in terms of placement. I think some of the easy clues could have been toughened a bit an it would have fit better on Tuesday.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 3.5 stars
NYT. 3.5. Cute concept and cute revealer. Interesting how different solvers experiences can be. I thought this was one of the easiest NYT puzzles ever, even for a Monday. The entire east half put up less than zero resistance. TWO, MEAD, LEO, LEAF. Before I read Sophia’s write up and huda’s comment I told my wife the puzzle could have been printed on a Denny’s placemat. Maybe I was just lucky. Sunday’s puzzle put up a lot of resistance.