Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Jonesin’ 9:29 (Erin) rate it
LAT 4:26 (Erin) rate it
NYT 6:35 (Eric) [3.70 avg; 5 ratings] rate it
The New Yorker 4:50 (Amy) [4.17 avg; 3 ratings] rate it
Universal 5:30 (Eric) [2.75 avg; 2 ratings] rate it
USA Today tk (Jeffrey) rate it
Xword Nation tk (Ade) rate it
WSJ 5:32 (Jim Q) [3.50 avg; 1 rating] rate it

Matt Jones’s Jonesin’ Crossword, “Worry Free” — a freestyle puzzle is in order. – Erin’s write-up

Jonesin’ solution 7/14/26

Hello lovelies! I’m filling in for Jenni while she’s off the grid (hee hee). Matt has graced us with a themeless this week, so I’m going to go through a few highlights.

• 1a. [Jail-adjacent phrase?] JUST VISITING. The jail in question is on the Monopoly board.
• 55a. [Victorian-era waterproof leggings (so-called from Greek because they protect against wet mud] ANTIGROPELOS. From ὑγρός (hygrós, “wet”) and πηλός (pēlós, “mud”).
• 8d. [Post-slump comment]. I’M TIRED OF LOSING. Same friend, same.
• 3d. [Did some smishing, perhaps] SCAMMED. Smishing is SMS phishing, or a scam via text message.

Joshua Dobrow and Henry Lin-David’s Universal Crossword “Pardon My French” — Eric’s Review

Joshua Dobrow and Henry Lin-David’s Universal Crossword “Pardon My French” — 7/14/26

An perfectly timed puzzle for what I hope will be France’s exit from the World Cup. (Nothing against Kylian Mbappé et al., but I’m rooting for Spain.)

The theme is split between Across and  Down answers, with the Downs being visually appropriate:

• 17A [Office held by Emmanuel Macron] PRESIDENCY This doesn’t really feel like part of the theme, but I’ll assume that it is given its placement in the grid and the unnecessarily Francophilic clue.
• 37A [Symbol of France represented by the ends of three Down answers in this puzzle] FLAG
• 62A [July 14 celebration] BASTILLE DAY
• 7D [“Knives Out” sleuth with a Southern drawl] BENOIT BLANC
• 10D [2001 movie musical featuring a cabaret] MOULIN ROUGE
• 18D [Exclamation in 19th-century Paris] SACRÉ BLEU I guess the reference to the 19th century just points to the old-fashioned nature of that expression, but I don’t really have a sense of it as old-fashioned.

The theme holds together well enough, and most of the theme answers are interesting (or at least fresh feeling).

Other stuff:

• 19A [Manual reader] USER Yeah, right.
• 21A [Proboscis monkey’s pride] NOSE I doubt monkeys are proud of their facial features.
• 34A [Person with a helmet, hopefully] BIKER Speaking as a cyclist: Helmets can be helpful, but not when they are worn improperly. I see so many people riding with the helmet tipped back off their forehead or with the strap dangling, and I wonder why they even bother.
• 61a [Spanish relative hidden in “Ain’t I a Woman?”] TIA I guess Universal is now using the spell-it-out-for-the-solver clues for things other than proper names. But bonus points for including a German relative in there, too.

Gus Bloxham and Bharati Hemmady’s New York Times Crossword — Eric’s Review

New Yorker crossword solution, 7/14/26 – Wyna Liu

Today’s theme is a none-too-appetizing menu:

• 15A [Corrupting sorts, in an orchard metaphor] BAD APPLES
• 21A [Nightmares for nannies] SPOILED BRATS
• 35A [Movie review site with a percentage rating scale] ROTTEN TOMATOES
• 47A [Novelty dance with comical elbow-flapping] FUNKY CHICKEN
• 58A [Heading the wrong way … or, interpreted culinarily, a hint to 15-, 21-, 35- and 47-Across] OFF COURSE

Of the first four theme answers, I like SPOILED BRATS the best, as it has the most distinct non-food meaning of the food item. And the reimagining of OFF COURSE is pretty  nice, too.

Other stuff:

• 24A [“We come in peace” speakers, in a sci-fi trope] ALIENS Earlier today, we finally got to see Disclosure Day and were underwhelmed by it. The action sequences are well-staged, but the story seemed underdeveloped.
• 39A [Schnozzle] SNOOT Not SNOUT.
• 1D [Campsite crasher in the Rockies] BEAR They have a fantastic sense of smell. Just the other day, I read about a bear near here that came in an open window at night.
• 8D [Slice of Life or nick of Time?] PAPER CUT Nice clue.

Pam Amick Klawitter’s Los Angeles Times crossword — Erin’s write-up

LA Times solution 7/14/26

Hello lovelies! This week’s theme is rather dapper.

• 3d. [Omnivorous shark with a distinctive face] BONNETHEAD, the smallest of the hammerhead sharks
• 9d. [Horses awarded garlands of roses, perhaps] DERBY WINNERS
• 21d. [Course that may be taught by the Coast Guard] BOATER SAFETY
• 31d. [Collectible stuffed toy of the 1990s] BEANIE BABY
• 25d. [Places where magicians’ rabbits may hide, or what can be found in 3-, 9-, 21-, and 31-Down] TOP HATS. The top of each theme entry is a type of hat.

Other things:

• 58a. [Idaho city named for a Shoshone chief] POCATELLO. The chief’s name was Tondzaosha in the Shoshone language, meaning “buffalo robe.”
• 42d. [One with a plant- and fish-based diet] SEAGAN. This differs from pescetarian as the former does not eat any animal products besides sustainable fish, while the latter may eat dairy, eggs, and other non-meat animal products.

Zhouqin Burnikel’s Wall Street Journal crossword “Just Getting Started” — Jim Q’s write-up

THEME: Familiar “opener” phrases take on a new, somewhat wackified meaning

WSJ • 7/14/26 • Tue • “Just Getting Started” • Zhouqin Burnikel • solution • 20260714

THEME ANSWER:

• [Door opener?] KNOCK, KNOCK!
• [Season opener?] PILOT EPISODE
• [Home opener?] HOUSEWARMING
• [Letter opener?] DEAR FRIEND

I’m going to go ahead and label this puzzle as being published on 7/14, even though the website currently says otherwise. Hopefully that’s fixed soon. If not, it’s likely to further enrage the HORNET’S nest of solvers who haven’t exactly embraced the new interface.

For the most part, I actually like the new software. It’s a significant upgrade, in my opinion. My biggest gripe is that if I’m solving, say, in the southeast corner, the cursor insists on jumping back to an already-filled answer in the northwest every time I complete an entry.

This date needs fixin’!

Someone mentioned in yesterday’s comments that the completion stats are a nice touch. Mine have reported that I’m in the top 2% of solvers every time. I’m curious how that’s calculated. Is it comparing me against everyone solving that specific puzzle? Or is it more of a generalized estimate based on difficulty? For what it’s worth, I finished this one in 5:32 at about 8:30 a.m. Maybe those numbers change throughout the day.

date is wrong here too…

Anyway, the puzzle. I mean, it’s C.C., so it’s gonna be good. This one is, of course, and with only four theme answers, there is plenty of room for the grid to breathe and include fun, colorful entries in the fill like ADOBO SAUCE, MED STUDENT, and BARISTAS. No real EYESORES to be seen. Except at 38-Down, that is.

The only entry that gave me pause was DEAR FRIEND clued as [Letter opener]. I can buy DEAR FRIENDS as a generic salutation to a group. But if you’re writing to one specific friend… wouldn’t you just use their name? If not, I’m suddenly very interested in the dynamics of that friendship.

OTHER THINGS:

• [“Buss It” rapper Banks] ERICA. My rapper knowledge is as limited as my sports knowledge. I know Nikki Minaj, of course, because I’ve solved a lot of Eric Agard’s puzzles.
• [Driver of “Ferrari”] ADAM. Such an apropos name for this movie.
• [Number on a foam finger] ONE. Cute way to clue this entry.
• [Hill that might hide a sandworm] DUNE. Couldn’t escape the Beetlejuice imagery here.

3.5 stars from me!

Wyna Liu’s New Yorker crossword—Amy’s recap

New Yorker crossword solution, 7/14/26 – Wyna Liu

It’s Amy filling in for pannonica today. My solving time fits my expectations for a Tuesday New Yorker puzzle, and the constructors and editors really do a good job in calibrating clues for the downhill move from Monday hard through Wednesday easy.

Fave fill: SCARE QUOTES, KUNG FU MOVIE, FRUIT BAT, TRUE CRIME genre, BREATH MINTS, HOROSCOPE, IN LIMBO, CUMIN (yum). Can always do without ESTERS in a puzzle.

Not sure I knew: 7d. [Avian nickname for a Minnesota United F.C. player], LOON. The Twin Cities have an MLS team? That’s been playing since 2017? How did I not know this? Their logo features a loon.

Three more things:

• 57a. [Sticky food?], SATAY. Yum. Have your SATAY and SALAD with CUMIN, follow up with BREATH MINTS.
• 11d. [A drip may cause it to rise], WATER BILL. The clue’s more literal than I was expecting, but less literal than dripping water causing the water level to rise.
• 45d. [Strepitous], NOISY. Your obscure vocabulary word of the day.

3.75 stars from me.