Sunday, June 14, 2026

LAT tk (Kyle) rate it
NYT 17:14 (Nate) [2.33 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
USA Today tk (ZEB) rate it
Universal (Sunday) tk (Jim P) rate it
Universal 5:57 (Adam S) rate it
WaPo tk (Matt G) 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!