Sunday, June 14, 2026

LAT 7:55 (Kyle) [2.75 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
NYT 17:14 (Nate) [1.91 avg; 27 ratings] rate it
USA Today untimed (ZEB) rate it
Universal (Sunday) 8:03 (Jim P) [2.75 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
Universal 5:57 (Adam S) [3.00 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
WaPo 5:33 (Matt G) [3.00 avg; 3 ratings] rate it

John Kugelman’s New York Times crossword, “Limited Runs” — Nate’s write-up

06.14.2026 Sunday New York Times Crossword

22A: SOPH POOH POOHS POSH SHOP [10th grader critiques swanky boutique?]
34A: REEVES REVERES SERVERS [Why Keanu is such a generous tipper?]
52A: MAMA CASS SCAMS CMAS [1960s singer swindles Nashville awards?]
77A: NESSIE SEEN IN SEINE [Scottish cryptid spotted by the French?]
94A: DERRIER RIDER DERIDED [Harsh taskmaster taken to task?]

110A: SMALL CAST OF CHARACTERS [What a modest play has in common with the answer to each italicized clue?]

Neat! Each of the theme entries features a “Limited Run” of only four letters (a SMALL CAST OF CHARACTERS), used and reused to answer the theme entry’s clue. And just like in a modest play where actors often have to play many roles and be flexible, so too do the limited sets of four letters have to keep popping back up and reinventing themselves. (I appreciated how modest plays with SMALL CAST OF CHARACTERS also often have “Limited Runs” – nice double duty there with the title!)

I know this theme type might not be for everyone, but I appreciated the inventiveness of SOPH POOH POOHS POSH SHOP, the quite natural sound of NESSIE SEEN IN SEINE, and the hilarity of DERRIER RIDER DERIDED. Oh, and do we think that the production of Hamlet going on at 100A and 105A is theme adjacent?

The puzzle took me longer to solve than normal, mostly because there were places where I got stuck on which vowels to use (AH OK, YOWIE) and other places where I just had the wrong fill (osteo instead of ORTHO for [Bone doc], for example). I wonder if any solvers also had trouble with the crossings like EDEMA / DEE, AIKIDO / PEKOE, SNEAD / AVE, or LEHRER / CONGEE (or if I just need to know more proper nouns!)?

I was surprised to see UNALIVED as an entry! Older folks might not have heard of it, and younger folks might wonder if it’s okay to include. I’d be interested to hear folks’ take on this – and in the puzzle in general. It’s certainly as modern an entry as CD TRAY is not, so it’s got that going for it. Let us know in the comments what you thought – and have a great weekend!

Adrian Johnson and Alexandra Doumani’s Universal Crossword “Themeless Sunday 188” – Adam S’s write-up

Adrian Johnson and Alexandra Doumani’s Universal Crossword “Themeless Sunday 188” – June 14, 2026

Relatively brief write-up today, but we have a typical lively grid from Adrian and Alexandra. My favorites were I CAN’T WATCH, DON’T SETTLE, HOPE AGAINST HOPE, AS I TOLD YOU, the J-tastic IT’S JUST A JOKE, and PIPE DREAMS. Credit to the constructors on the italicized entries, which are either not in the two most commonly used wordlists or are scored lower than normal long fill minimums in Spread The Wordlist.

It’s definitely a first-person puzzle, with 4 Is and a ME. I wasn’t at all bothered by the number of Is in this puzzle and indeed appreciated the conversational feel it brought. For me, it’s another point in favor of not worrying about short dupes. YMMV.

This played hard for me by Universal standards, but looking back, other than not knowing the word [Towheaded] in the clue for BLOND, I’m not really sure why. Suspect it was more of a me thing than anything to do with the puzzle.

A few notes:

• 13A I CAN’T WATCH [“Tell me when it’s over!”] Nicely judged conversational clue
• 4D ANT [Morsel for an echidna] Echidnas are adorable! More echidnas in grids, please.
• 7D OTTER and 32D PIE. Otters are adorable! Please don’t take the subliminal hint in the middle column and put them into pies!
• 11D BRA STRAPS [What some people see when they look over their shoulders] Great clue!

Evan Birnholz’s Washington Post Crossword “Ordered Pairs” – Matther’s write-up

Evan Birnholz’s Washington Post Crossword “Ordered Pairs” solution, 7/14/2023

 A meta this week prompts us to name an NBA team. Our title is “Ordered Pairs,” so I was looking for doubled letters from the get go. The longest entries jump out nicely:

• 22a [Outgoing tide] EBB CURRENT
• 33a [Vegetables featured in the Philippine stew ginataang labong] BAMBOO SHOOTS
• 63a [“Black Panther” antagonist played by Michael B. Jordan] ERIK KILLMONGER
• 73a [Jana Kramer song about the difficulty of moving on from an ex] WHY YA WANNA
• 99a [Credit card charges] ANNUAL FEES
• 112a [Post-shower activity] GETTING DRESSED

There’s also a generous point spread over 72d and 78d: [With 78 Down, basketball player’s feat involving a pair of statistical categories] DOUBLE DOUBLE

Looking through our themers, each has two pairs of a doubled letter – we might call it a “double double” as the revealer hints. Those letters, in order, spell BROOKLYN NETS, indeed an NBA team and our meta answer.

DOUBLE DOUBLE has appeared as a theme mechanism here and there over the years, and with “pairs” in the title, it wasn’t a hard theme to spot. But it’s done well. I’m unfamiliar with Jana Kramer or her song WHY YA WANNA, which contributed to some difficulty in that middle area for me, but a largely pleasant song. 

The themers serve somewhat as gates in the vertically symmetrical grid, so I’m glad most of theme were familiar. ERIK KILLMONGER may be unfamiliar if you didn’t watch the Marvel movies, but it’s also one of the longer theme entries, so more opportunities to get crossings.

Other highlights: I initially had OARS for [Lowers one’s blades?] thinking myself clever. ALAS, as 1a would say // Timely entry for ROOS, as I write this minutes after Australia’s soccer team, nicknamed the “Socceroos” defeated Turkiye in the World Cup. They look like a tougher challenge for the US next Friday than I expected // [Studio Ghibli co-founder Takahata] is a new (and welcome) to me clue for ISAO, who has only been a golfer in my awareness. But several Studio Ghibli movies are on my to-watch list, and I’m glad to learn this bit of trivia 

Cheers!

Zhouqin Burnikel’s LA Times crossword “IF YOU ASK ME” – Kyle’s write-up

Thanks Zhouqin for today’s puzzle. The theme is in the clues today, as different questions are clued literally as “___ question”:

• 22A [Trick question?] “COULD IT BE MAGIC?” I’m not sure I’ve heard anyone say this…
• 27A [Open question?] “ANY VACANCIES?”….or this. Is this spoken by someone looking for a job, or looking for a hotel room?
• 53A [Good question?] “IS THAT CORRECT?”
• 87A [Gotcha question?] “AM I BEING CLEAR?”
• 112A [Leading question?] “WHO’S IN CHARGE?”
• 119A [Quick question?] “ARE YOU IN A HURRY?”
• 31D [Burning question?] “IS THE STOVE ON?”
• 42D [First question?] “WHERE TO START?”

Apart from the first two theme entries, it’s a solid set, and moderately amusing as Sunday themes go.

Notes on fill and clues:

• 59A [Like week-old mantou] STALE. Mantou is a Chinese steamed bun. Chinese foods are a hallmark of Zhouqin’s puzzles. See also HOT POT (118A).
• We also have a pair of foods in the grid clued as analogs of foods from other cultures: 28D [French kin of a dosa] for CREPE and 116D [Greek dish similar to shawarma] for GYRO.
• 72A [Watch a friend’s monstera, say] PLANTSIT. Did you, like me, first read the clue and think monster? Monstera are tropical plants whose leaves naturally contain holes. The name indeed derives from the same Latin root as monster.
• Good way to clue a potentially tricky proper noun in MR. SALT (49D) [Mrs. Pepper’s partner on “Blue’s Clues”]. Even if you’ve never seen the show, the factoid leads pretty clearly to the answer.
• 37D [“Gnarly” and “Gabriela” girl group] KATSEYE. I needed a lot of crossings. Any commenters familiar with them? They were apparently formed via a reality competition series.

Matthew Stock’s USA Today Crossword “Funny Business” – Zachary Edward-Brown’s write-up

Matthew Stock’s USA Today Crossword “Funny Business” – 6/14/26

14A – [*Challenge for a great employee’s successor] = BIG SHOES TO FILL
28A – [*Matchup scheduled after a rainout] = MAKEUP GAME
43A – [*Annual campaign run by Comic Relief] = RED NOSE DAY
58A – [*Hit song from Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music,” and a hint to this puzzle’s theme] = SEND IN THE CLOWNS

I feel like most USA Today puzzles have themes that are solid and clever, but I’m usually not delighted at uncovering the theme. Today, when I finally got to the revealer and realized that BIG SHOES, MAKEUP, and RED NOSE were all referring to clowns, I had a major “aha” moment. I had taken a second at BIG SHOES TO FILL to try to see if I could grok the theme: from the title “Funny Business,” I thought maybe it would be hidden laugh texts, like LOL, or maybe that each themer starts or ends with a synonym for “funny.” I couldn’t see the connection, so I moved on. BIG SHOES in particular is a wonderful find. I paused at MAKEUP GAME, vaguely thinking that as a stand-alone entry, it was sort of weak-ish. But now, seeing the theme, I understand why it was chosen and I am perfectly happy with it. Getting MAKEUP to change meanings like that was a very nice move by the constructor. Very well done!

I do have a major problem with this themeset: RED NOSE DAY doesn’t change its meaning at all. The red noses worn in the campaign are literally the red clown noses. Gah! I really want to love this theme – it’s very well done for the most part, and very creative, particularly incorporating longer keywords (MAKEUP, six letters; BIG SHOES, eight letters; RED NOSE, seven letters) which was very impressive. But this inconsistency in the third themer throws it a little for me.

I like the grid shape. LEMON-LIME and SAFE SPACE are really nice bonuses, and the cluing was above-average all around. TAU, PSI, and DELTA – three Greek letters today, all clued as such. Usually I appreciate efforts to tie answers together, either by clever cross-references, clue echoes, or similar moves. Today though, I just felt like the Greek letters became excessive. I mean, multiple Greek letters isn’t much to get excited about anyway. I’d rather have seen DELTA and PSI get clues about the airline and tire pressure respectively.

Favorite clue: 22A [Pixar boy who travels to the “Communiverse”] ELIO From 2025’s “Elio.”

4.25 stars

Jared Goudsmit’s Universal Sunday crossword, “Getting a Big Break”—Jim P’s review

Theme answers are familiar phrases with circled letters that spell out famous mononyms but with single letters breaking up the stars’ names. The revealer is THE FAULT IN OUR STARS (104a, [Bestselling John Green novel, or a hint to spotting the six-letter word spelled out in the gaps dividing each set of circled letters]).

Universal Sunday crossword solution · “Getting a Big Break” · Jared Goudsmit · 6.14.26

• 21a. [Weather warning, e.g.] EMERGENCY ALERT. Enya.
• 27a. [Place to see “Aida” or “Akhnaten”] OPERA HOUSE. Oprah.
• 43a. [Spanish nickname for Puerto Rico] LA ISLA DEL ENCANTO. Sade.
• 56a. [“So, so frequently …”] TIME AND TIME AGAIN. Iman.
• 77a. [Fruity, sugary cereal balls] CRUNCH BERRIES. Cher.
• 85a. [“We made a choice, there’s no reversing it now”] “THE DEED IS DONE.” Dido.

It’s pretty clear a choice was made to include only women celebrities, and I do wonder at that since there’s nothing gendered about the theme. I wouldn’t mind normally, but here it seems to have constrained the grid such that normal diagonal symmetry couldn’t be maintained.

My other nit to pick is that the singled-out letters collectively spell out CELEBS when I was expecting some synonym of “fault”, like ERROR or MISTAKE or even SAN ANDREAS. After all, the revealer says there’s “fault” in the stars(‘ names), not more stars.

Moving on to the fill we find highlights FREE SPIRIT, GAINED FAVOR, ON PURPOSE, INDIE FILM, “DON’T LIE!”, PRE-SEASON, and SIDESTEPS. I also liked seeing the shout-out to a Mardi Gras KREWE.

Glenn Close as a pirate in “Hook”

Clue of note: 24d. [Glenn Close’s appearance in “Hook,” e.g.]. CAMEO. Never saw the film, but apparently her role was uncredited and she’s quite unrecognizable as a bearded pirate.

Three CELEBS from me.