BEQ tk (Eric) rate it
Fireball untimed (Jenni) rate it
LAT tk (Gareth) rate it
NYT tk (ZDL) 
[3.83 avg; 6 ratings] rate it
Universal tk (Eric) rate it
USA Today tk (Emily) rate it
WSJ tk (Jim Q) rate it
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.
Puzzle: NYT; Rating: 4 stars
I liked the concept of this one, and fitting 13 rebus squares in a daily grid is no easy feat. Not to mention all the rebuses were in across entries that reinforced the theme. On the downside, it did lead to some less than ideal fill (SKED, MDCCC, the dreaded INRE, and a couple awkward plurals).
I was between 3.5* and 4* and rounded up for the amount of work that went into this idea.