Sunday, July 12, 2026

LAT 6:29 (Kyle) rate it
NYT 11:47 (Nate) [2.75 avg; 4 ratings] rate it
USA Today untimed (ZEB) rate it
Universal (Sunday) 7:58 (Jim P) [5.00 avg; 1 rating] rate it
Universal Untimed (Adam S) rate it
WaPo 5:22 (Matt G) rate it

Collin Drown’s New York Times crossword, “Slight Adjustments” — Nate’s write-up

07.12.2026 Sunday New York Times Crossword

23A: BITING REMARK [“I vant to suck your blood!”]
33A: GROUNDLESS ACCUSATION [“I know you’re the one who used up the last of my artisanal coffee!”]
55A: THINLY-VEILED THREAT [“If you don’t find the rings this instant, I’m calling off the wedding!”]
66A: PATRONIZING COMMENT [“I love your paintings so much, I’d like to finance your next exhibition!”]
87A: BACKHANDED COMPLIMENT [“Wow! With form like that, you’re headed to Wimbledon!”]
107A: BALD-FACED LIE [“I’m so glad you shaved! I hated when you looked like a sexy lumberjack!”]

This Sunday’s crossword is a gorgeous NYT debut from Collin Drown! Congrats to the constructor for a fun theme and wonderfully clean grid – what a pleasure to solve. In the puzzle, different terms for slights are reimagined (adjusted) and clued quite literally. Simple, effective, and seemingly a tight set of theme entries!  What’s not to enjoy?  (Be sure to check out the Wordplay Constructor Notes for more fun notes about this puzzle.)

In addition to the solid theme, there were some fun bonus entries like EASY MODE and HAZMAT SUIT, as well as clever cluing, like [Turkey part] for ANKARA at 32A, [Bull rings?] for PRANK CALLS at 66D, and [One looking after pupils, for short] for EYE DOC at 94D.  That this is the constructor’s first attempt at making a Sunday crossword is a testament to his puzzle-making skill!

Slight nits: If folks aren’t familiar with BRIC-a-brac, the BRIC / EOIN crossing at 54D / 62A could be tricky, but it’s reasonable to expect that a vowel needs to go there at least.  My only main qualm with this puzzle (aside from the Harry Potter reference at 56D) is in someone not preferring the sexy lumberjack look! I can’t compute.

How was the solve for you? Let us know what you thought about the puzzle in the comments – and have a great weekend!

Evan Birnholz’s Washington Post crossword, “Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition!” – Matthew’s writeup

WaPo solution, 7/9/17

Evan is off this week (or rather, was off some recent week, however long ago produced a gap today) and we have a rerun from 2017. I remembered solving it a few themers in:

• 23a. [Female horse handle? (Surprise! Did you expect a clue about a movie star?)] MARQUEE NAME
• 25a. [Start of a conversation with Fox News analyst Hume? (Surprise! Did you expect a clue about a moniker?)] SOBRIQUET
• 39a. [Wedding VIPs’ fight? (Surprise! Did you expect a clue about flowers?)] BRIDAL BOUQUET
• 55a. [Minimum number of roles an actor can get? (Surprise! Did you expect a clue about hardwood?)] PARQUET FLOOR
• 80a. [Field for analyzing an old medical show? (Surprise! Did you expect a clue about LGBT issues?)] QUEER STUDIES
• 93a. [Opposed to a Vegas worker? (Surprise! Did you expect a clue about selling heirlooms?)] ANTIQUE DEALER
• 111a. [Valentine’s alias, briefly? (Surprise! Did you expect a clue about a famous drummer?)] QUESTLOVE
• 114a. [“Are there breaks in this song?” (Surprise! Did you expect a clue about asking what someone wants from the market?)] ANY REQUESTS
• 115d. [Word of Spanish inquisition that maybe you didn’t expect to see in this puzzle’s theme entries]. QUÉ

Many thanks to 2017 Erin for saving me the typing, there! The theme is a reference to a classic Monty Python sketch centered around “no one expects the Spanish Inquisition,” and we also have 117a and 21a [With 21 Across, member of the comedy troupe that made this puzzle’s title famous] ERIC IDLE.

(Erin’s original writeup can be found here)

When Evan told me he’d be using a rerun, I was excited to see how a decade-old puzzle would compare to today’s trends. I’d say this one fits in much better than most newspaper puzzles of the late 2010’s, the most noticeable difference to me being a more direct cluing voice. Since 2019 we’ve seen big trends in image-rich clues, far more room for constructor voice in clues, and of course conscious efforts to broaden the trivia canon that contributes to clues.  I can see the last in places here, and I didn’t notice any particular “icks” that wouldn’t publish today, but it’s fun to enjoy a well-made smooth puzzle even as it’s clearly of a different time.

Cheers!

Amie Walker and Rafael Musa’s Universal Crossword “Themeless Sunday 191” – Adam S’s write-up

Amie Walker and Rafael Musa’s Universal Crossword “Themeless Sunday 191” – July 12, 2026

Quick one today, as I’m more than a bit bleary-eyed after watching yesterday’s World Cup games with some fellow Brits (and drinking accordingly!). I solved today’s puzzle untimed as a result while caffeinating…

Lots of nice conversational fill today in Universal’s sweet spot. My favorites were VIRAL VIDEO, EVER SO MANY, SO DOPE, A WIN IS A WIN, TOY STORY, FRITO PIES, and I WON’T BITE. I suspect many others will absolutely adore the marquee spanner, HOW’D YOU GUYS MEET, but since that’s an elision that isn’t in my personal speech patterns, I liked it more than I loved it.

By the exceptionally high standards these two constructors set it felt a tad gluey in places, although I might have been more inclined to overlook WFH, ASST, EPA, COCA, ESS, CGI, STP, and SAO if RAPP [Actress Renee in the “Mean Girls” musical] and SHI [“Turning Red” director Domee] hadn’t been WOEs for me that needed every single cross. But that is a minor quibble on a symmetric 72-worder with so much lively fill that it was highly enjoyable to solve even through a mild hangover.

A few notes:

• 34A MILE [One of 500 in a Proclaimers song title] Always happy to be reminded of this song!
• 48A THIS [Emphatic “I agree” on social media] Nice cluing angle for what can be a boring entry.
• 2D ARENA [The Eras Tour venue] Can we give the Eras Tour a bit of a break as a cluing angle? Feels like it comes up about once a week, and with the nearby ART also clued relative to Taylor Swift in an already pop-culture heavy section, a different clue might have been more balanced.
• 37D OBIT PAGE [Place for parting words?] Nice clue!

Will Nediger and Beth Rubin’s LA Times puzzle “OPPOSITE DAY” – Kyle’s write-up

LA Times solution grid “OPPOSITE DAY” – Will Nediger & Beth Rubin – Sunday 07/12/2026

Thanks Will and Beth for today’s puzzle. Theme answers contain pairs of antonyms indicated by circled letters (underlined below). It’s interesting to find patterns like this, though the theme mechanism was largely incidental to my solving process.

• 26A [Took unnecessary risks, in a British idiom] SAILED CLOSE TO THE WIND (lose, win)
• 43A [Backup for a proofreader, perhaps] ANOTHER PAIR OF EYES (no, yes)
• 58A [Grow increasingly recalcitrant] BECOME UNGOVERNABLE (come, go)
• 70A [Suffer public humiliation] FALL FLAT ON ONE‘S FACE (all, none)
• 85A [2010 animated film featuring Princess Fiona] SHREK FOREVER AFTER (fore, aft)
• 100A [Oxymoron, or what can be found five times in this puzzle] CONTRADICTION IN TERMS

Notes on fill and clues:

• 14D [Figure that comes with strings attached] sounds like a too-good-to-be-true sale offer, but it’s literally a MARIONETTE. Just before that is 13D [Digital protection device?] for STEEL TOE, also clever although the question mark gives away that the clue isn’t what it seems.
• My final letter in the grid was the crossing of MEEMAW (96D [Grandma, to some]) and TWEED (120A [Woolen cloth]), as shown in the grid image above.
• I didn’t know NFL DRAFT (81D) was an informal name–per the clue, it’s officially the Annual Player Selection Meeting.
• 81A [Org. nicknamed “No Such Agency”] telegraphs the answer, but it’s still a fun and fresh clue for NSA.
• Great pairing of clues at 98D [“Farewell, amigos!”] “ADIOS” and 100D [“Farewell, amici!”] “CIAO”.

Matthew Luter’s USA Today Crossword “Full Steam Ahead” – Zachary Edward-Brown’s write-up

Matthew Luter’s USA Today Crossword “Full Steam Ahead” – 7/12/26

20A – [4-0 World Series win, for example] = CLEAN SWEEP
36A – [Song with the lyric “’tis the season to be jolly”] = DECK THE HALLS
53A – [Plenty of space] = ROOM TO SPARE

The first word can follow the word STEAM – steam clean, steam deck, steam room.

I feel like USA Today titles are usually better at communicating which part of the themer will be relevant – in this title, I guess it’s the word “ahead,” though that doesn’t feel as satisfying as something like “opener” or “start” to show that the first word will be the relevant part.

Grid-wise, I like that we get some strong mid-length fill in the corners: PANINI in the top-right and NEVADA + ANGELA in the bottom-left. Plus NBA STAR going across, which pairs nicely with nearby NHL and MESSI clued as [Soccer legend Lionel], which is super timely. I also like ICED LATTES, though LOG CABIN, SKI AREAS, and PEASHOOTER excite me a little less. Still, a very solid puzzle overall!

Favorite clue: 24D [“I told a joke about a ___, but it didn’t flow well”] DAM

4.5 stars

Paul Coulter’s Universal Sunday crossword, “Dancing Partners”—Jim P’s review

We have an excellent puzzle today from veteran constructor Paul Coulter—maybe my favorite puzzle by him that I’ve done. Theme answers come in pairs with the long Across answers in the center of the grid hinting at some letters being scrambled, and long Down answers toward the edges where we find those scrambled letters in actual phrases. All the phrases used are very familiar and make excellent entries in their own right.

Universal Sunday crossword solution · “Dancing Partners” · Paul Coulter · 7.12.26

The Across answers are:

• 24a. [Bittersweet feelings, e.g., or a hint to 3-Down] MIXED EMOTIONS.
• 48a. [Villainous characters in white coats, or a hint to 15-Down] MAD SCIENTISTS.
• 92a. [Household like the one in “The Brady Bunch,” or a hint to 75-Down] BLENDED FAMILY.
• 119a. [Safari sights, or a hint to 79-Down] WILD ANIMALS.

Each of those first words (“mixed,” “mad,” “blended,” “wild” as well as “dancing” from the title) are commonly-used indicators of scrambling or anagramming in cryptic crosswords (along with a plethora of others).

The corresponding Down answers are:

• 3d. [Where you might meet your match? (anger, bliss)] SINGLES BAR. Great clue, too.
• 15d. [Movie promo (Fermi, Tesla)] FILM TEASER.
• 75d. [Flower named after a legendary beast (grandpa, son)] SNAPDRAGON.
• 79d. [“Cactus Flower” actress (dingo, whale)] GOLDIE HAWN.

Obviously, the parenthetical hints are the emotions, scientists, family members, and animals being scrambled (or unscrambled, depending on your point of view).

What a wonderfully inventive theme! I’m just left to marvel at how Paul came up with this set. For example, when thinking about WILD ANIMALS, how do you find GOLDIE HAWN? Do you just pick two animals at random and see what you can make? There are a lot of options with that one, so finding potential entries probably wasn’t too difficult. But the scientist entry has a much smaller pool of possibilities.

Also, I love the grid design with the four central Across entries and the outer pillars surrounding them. Let’s not forget to mention what looks like the Eye of Sauron keeping watch on you as you solve.

And if the theme and grid design don’t float your boat, we have excellent long fill as well like PHRASEBOOK, “I’M ALL ALONE,” CREDIT SCORE, NAIL CLIPPERS, SCREWTOPS, EDIT WAR, and TAKING LEAVE. I kept waiting for some unsightly section of the grid to make itself known, but there was none. In a couple words, HANDSOME and ELEGANT.

Clue of note: 56a. [Is sporting]. HAS ON. This threw me completely and I needed all the crossings before I realized “sporting” meant “wearing” and not “up to the challenge”. Good clue for a mediocre entry.

All in all, the clues were straightforward but still felt fresh, and with the nifty theme and enjoyable long fill, this was a delightful breeze to solve. Five stars from me.