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NYT tk (ZDL) 
[3.80 avg; 5 ratings] rate it
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David Karp’s Fireball Crossword “Stink, Stank, Stunk” – Jenni’s write-up
This did not go where I expected. I knew there was something odd about the NE corner and when I got to the revealer I thought I had it figured out. I did not.
The revealer is 18a [Demonic St. Nick accompanier of Germanic folklore…or when parsed into three syllables, a phonetic hint to four squares in this puzzle] is KRAMPUS. I thought that meant there was something funny going on with Ks. Nope. When I realized that didn’t work, I took another look at the title and realized the revealer is actually CRAMP P-U’s. Each theme answer has a rebus square containing a synonym for (you guessed it) stink.
Fireball, July 1, 2026, David Karp, “Stink, Stank, Stunk,” solution grid
- 1d [Restart after soccer foul] is F{REE K}ICK crossing 11a [Climbing marsupial of the Australian rainforest], T{REE K}ANGAROO.
- 30a [Eggy Mexican restaurant choices] are BREAKFA{ST ENCH}ILADAS crossing 26d [“Pay attention, kid] for LI{STEN, CH}ILD.
- 39a [Art with golden pipes] is GAR{FUNK}EL crossing 40d [Hiding place, in military slang], {FUNK} HOLE. 40d is new to me.
- 54a [It’s front and center on an antique auto] is HO{OD OR}NAMENT crossing 50d [Lonely Planet competitor], F{ODOR}‘S.
Nice! A smaller grid (13 x 15) makes it work and all the theme answers are solid (Google assures me that FUNK HOLE is a real thing). I love a good rebus puzzle and this one qualifies.
What I didn’t know before I did this puzzle: see above re: FUNK HOLE. I also had never heard of a TREE KANGAROO. Say it with me, now: awwww.
And I couldn’t resist this:
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 5 stars
NYT-
Lots of themed material, fun.
5 stars
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 3 stars
I’ve always entered rebus squares when solving the NYT on my laptop by hitting the ESC key. Today that isn’t working anymore, and I had to use the button in the GUI. Kind of a hassle, especially with that many of them. Is that a change in the NYT site, or something specific to my browser (firefox on a mac)?
As for the puzzle itself, it was timely and fit a lot of theme material in, but I feel like I’ve done puzzles with state abbreviations as rebus squares too many times before. And the OLETA/SHILO crossing is something of a natick (though I had heard of OLETA Adams before).
The extra work in entering the rebuses was a little added annoyance in what I already thought was a not-very-interesting Thursday puzzle.
+1
Yes, ESC for rebus also not working for me in Firefox on a Mac :-(
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 5 stars
Totally agree with TJK. Great theme, great fun, great timing and less difficult than I would have thought given the density of the theme. Thank you David and Will. 5.0.