Jonesin’ untimed (Jenni) rate it
LAT tk (Erin) rate it
NYT tk (Eric) 
[2.75 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker tk (Eric) rate it
Universal tk (Eric) rate it
USA Today tk (Sophia) rate it
Xword Nation tk (Ade) rate it
WSJ tk (Jim Q) rate it
Matt Jones’s Jonesin’ Crossword, “I Am Here To Make Friends” — get acquainted – Jenni’s write-up
I caught on to the trick almost right away and that helped me solve the puzzle. The theme answers are pretty funny and the puzzle fell easily into place. Each theme answer inserts the word PAL into a name or phrase with wacky results.
Jonesin’, June 30, 2026, Matt Jones, “I Am Here To Make Friends” – get acquainted, solution grid
- 20a [Well-hidden royal residence?] is a PALACE IN THE HOLE. Ace in the hole.
- 25a [Report that a torso is lacking in color?] is TRUNK PALLID. Trunk lid.
- 43a [Flower holder that hides easily in your hand?] is a PALMING VASE. Ming vase. I’m not sure that really works with the clue. I would have preferred something along the lines of [Stealing the flower holder?] and I realize that really requires an “a” in the answer so perhaps I should leave this to the professionals.
- 50a [Danish film director who’s more minimalist?] is LARS VON PALTRIER. Lars Von Trier.
Fun theme set! Could have done without EELY in the NW; the rest of the fill was solid and overall it was fun. I realize that running into a so-so piece of fill in the NW makes more of an impression than if it’s further down in the grid. If I’ve done enough of the puzzle to decide I like it, I’m more willing to overlook something like EELY.
What I didn’t know before I did this puzzle: that Téa LEONI starred in “Jurassic Park III.”
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 3.5 stars
So, looks like we got a pretty clean debut today from Mr. Liber!
Firstly, the theme is pretty basic, yet all the themers are nice and sparkly enough to make it interesting to solve. I caught on almost immediately before I even saw the revealer after plopping in the first two themers and realizing they both began with MT, making the rest of the themers and the revealer easy to figure out. MISTERTOAD and MAGICTOUCH were my two favorite themers, yet POWERNAP and its clue blew them out of the water as my favorite entry in the entire grid.
Additionally, the fill was squeaky clean, with zero-to-no blots of ickiness. OSS, SADD, MADS, and WIIU (though I do enjoy Nintendo) weren’t the best for me, but nothing horribly bad. Besides the aforementioned POWERNAP above, HOGCALLS, OUTSMARTS, and GODARK also made me happy.
All in all, a very nice debut with solid fill and a solid theme! Keep it up, Mr. Liber, and I do hope to see more of your work in the future! ;)