Patrick Berry‘s got a new challenge this week called “The Blabyrinth.” “The Blabyrinth” is a puzzle extravaganza set in a whimsical fantasy realm of word-based adventure. There are 10 variety puzzles total, including a metapuzzle and a bonus puzzle, all laid out in a handsome PDF. Cost is $15 at Patrick’s A-Frame Games store.
Owen Bergstein’s New York Times crossword – Kyle’s write-up
The New York Times solution grid – Owen Bergstein – Saturday 12/14/2024
Kyle here, filling in for Amy. Quick write-up as I am ready for some shuteye. Congratulations are in order for Owen on their New York Times crossword debut. Highlights: CAST PARTIES with the tricky clue [Post-run celebrations], stacked over GAY MARRIAGE and COTTAGECORE, “EXCUSEZ-MOI“, “IT’S SERIOUS“, CAR CHARGER, SESAME clued as [A little bit of everything?] (as in an everything bagel). Slight deductions in my book for BISMARCK ND (liked the trivia clue, but not a fan of entries that shove in a US state postal code after a city name) and GOSSIPER (is that -er superfluous?).
Did you watch Linda ELLERBEE on Nick News growing up?
David Karp’s Wall Street Journal Puzzle “Cheer Up” — Eric’s review
David Karp’s Wall Street Journal Crossword 12/14/24
David Karp’s Wall Street Journal Crossword 12/14/24 (bottom rows)
Is there a less user-friendly crossword solving interface than the Wall Street Journal‘s? I have trouble imagining one. This being my first time doing a 21X21 WSJ puzzle, I couldn’t figure out how to get a screenshot of a complete grid. Hence, two images.
The somewhat chopped-up grid has four theme answers with circled letters:
- 21A [Seal in a box, say] ANIMAL CRACKER Nice misdirection in that clue.
- 45A [NASA project set to launch in 2027, named for the former chief of astronomy] ROMAN TELESCOPE It’s named for Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first Chief of Astronomy throughout the 1960s and 1970s. I was unfamiliar with Dr. Roman and her work.
- 64A [Publication that covers some significant suits?] SPORTS ILLUSTRATED The misdirection was lost on me because by the time I read the clue, I had enough of the answer that I could easily fill in the rest.
- 90A [Person soon to be a sister, say] SORORITY PLEDGE
The revealer 112A [Oft-hidden holiday toy that can be found four times in this puzzle] ELF ON THE SHELF suggests that the lettergram ELF appears four times, but instead, the circled letters spell shelf-like places where one might “hide” the elf. [Edit: Thanks to Fiend reader placematfan for pointing out that there is an ELF, directly above each “shelf.” That’s a nice touch that must have made the construction much more difficult.]
The longer down slots are fine if not terribly sparkly:
- 3D [Natalie Wood of “Miracle on 34th Street” and Macaulay Culkin of “Home Alone”] CHILD ACTOR
- 68D [List of last options?] DESSERT MENU
Adrian Johnson & Victor Sloan’s Los Angeles Times crossword — Stella’s write-up
Los Angeles Times 12/14/24 by Adrian Johnson & Victor Sloan
It’s 5 AM local time as I write this — don’t ask — so maybe that’s why I’m a bit crabby about this puzzle, which was more challenging than usual but felt like not in a good way. BLUE SWEDE, PAT PARKER, and PARAMORE (plus MON clued as [Ethnic group in Myanmar]) all crossing the central stack of 13s, were YEKIOYDs that I didn’t know. WRONG MISTAKE and IT’S KISMET felt contrived to me.
On the plus side: HOME BIRTH, RACE TO THE BOTTOM, GEOMETRIC clued as [Plane-related, say], which definitely led me down an aerospace path.
Matthew Sewell’s Newsday crossword, “Saturday Stumper”–Amy’s partially completed grid
Newsday “Saturday Stumper” crossword solution, 12/14/24 – Sewell
Well, the NW and SE corners came together all right, but the rest of it was me drawing a lot of blanks.
So, not the “whew, thank you for explaining those impossible clues”/”I agree that clue was stretching things a bit far” sort of write-up you’d have if pannonica weren’t booked this weekend, but you can dialogue inthe comments, of course.
WSJ: Eric, did you get that there’s an ELF on each of the four circled “shelves”? Your use of “but instead” made be think it may have slipped by you. :)
You’re right, I missed that.
Thanks for pointing it out.
NYT: A good Saturday workout. Felt impossible for the longest time. Except for the SW, which fell like a Monday.
CAR CHARGERS and AKBAR were very helpful to me, but I had to cheat in that SABRES, CEREBRO neighborhood. And a Natick at BSA/AMALA –didn’t know AMALA (my bad) and had no idea what the clue was referring to for BSA (Boy Scouts of America?).
Loved EXCUSEZ MOI and the clue for SESAME!
The NW and SE were easy for me, but didn’t help much with the rest of the puzzle. Ended up being a fun, but slower than average, solve. I didn’t like the ND added to Bismarck, and I wanted COTTAGE CHIC instead of CORE. I’m not sure how BEIGE is a relative of Fawn, though…
BEIGE and fawn are both shades of tan.
I’ve heard of the COTTAGE CORE esthetic from crosswords, but I assumed it was limited to décor. It was easy enough to figure out with a few crosses.
Yes, BSA is the Boy Scouts. Since girls can now join, the organization will be known as Scouting America as of next February.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_Scouts_of_America#Organization_name_change
Thanks! Good to know.
No Stumper post?
Just in case an early warning is helpful, the Sunday NYT puzzle as printed in the magazine tomorrow has a novelty: instructions.
I don’t know how the Times app will present this, and I don’t know whether the puz version can preserve it. But they’re a feature. (They also translate the essentials into a theme you may not strictly need to know, with wording you may find witty or strained, but I’m sure comments will pile on tomorrow.)
Thanks for the tip.
Usually, the Games app will handle something like that under the Puzzle Info page, which is reached by clicking the i in the upper right corner. Sometimes, the i flashes to get your attention.
When I added this, I hadn’t actually tried the puzzle, just looked at the magazine. In practice (lucky you), an experienced solver can almost surely work without help other than from the cross-referenced clues.
I didn’t get far on a subway ride, of course, other than that. And I left my gym bag with the magazine at the gym. So I’ll be slow indeed getting to this one. Meanwhile, enjoy.
“Tea supplier”=“gossiper” I don’t get it.
“Tea” is slang for gossip. I believe it comes from drag culture; to “spill the tea” is to gossip.
Thank you. I know nothing about drag culture.
You can learn A LOT about it from NYT puzzles.
It’s definitely much more mainstream than just drag culture now.
Easy Stumper today, especially for a Matthew Sewell grid. But I still had to look up what a tetromino is and didn’t get the far NE correct – I had a Dud as a bad actor which eft “unDER HERE” as a mysterious patronizing instruction and an IDK for 12D. But it all makes sense now.
I knew the Galaxy cluster wasn’t astrally related but I thought it might be automotive.
I managed to finish it after many stops and starts, but I wouldn’t call it easy. “Alien power plants” for MOLES was a great clue, or so I decided when I finally got it.
Like David and Michael, I didn’t find it easy. I will say that most wasn’t too awful… but that upper right corner, oh my! Awful. I also didn’t understand 37A — St. Pete has always been a nickname and why would it suddenly appear on maps in 1994??
37A perplexed me, too.
Here’s what Wikipedia says: “Locals often refer to [St. Petersburg] as St. Pete. Neighboring St. Pete Beach formally shortened its name in 1994 after a vote by its residents.”
Since that’s the formal name, I guess it’s what appears on maps.
I still don’t understand the MOLES clue, though.
Re: MOLES – I think it refers to espionage. MOLES are plants put in place by an alien power.
Thanks. I think I just couldn’t get “power plants” as in “electricity generation facilities” out of my head.
I thought that I had clicked to reply to you, but it didn’t end out that way. My post below is in reply to you.
If it was 1991 it could be applied to St. Petersburg Russia
Ahhh! Did not know that, thanks!
I thought the Stumper was a killer — very happy to have gotten it all. One clue that was unusually interesting: “Fanfare orchestra participant.” I thought the answer — FLUGELHORN — was a bit arbitrary, as countless orchestral instruments can be playing a fanfare, and flugelhorns are not especially known for that. But a fanfare orchestra is a thing —
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanfare_orchestra
— though not a thing many people are likely to know about. The clue I’d like to see: “Miles alternative,” as Miles Davis played trumpet and flugelhorn, the latter, most famously, on Miles Ahead and Sketches of Spain. So FLUGELHORN, not KILOMETERS.
Stumper:
I don’t usually comment here, but I had to show my appreciation for Alien power plant. I had the entire puzzle filled in except for the L and put it aside yesterday. Not knowing what a tetromino is, I thought 35 D would be ELk, or ELm, but couldn’t square that with 41 A. With fresh eyes this morning, I was able to properly parse the clue. Probably one of my all time favorite clues.
Oops, sorry, that wasn’t supposed to be a reply to you. I started to craft a reply to say how much I liked your brilliant alternate clue for FLUGELHORN, then decided to post my own comment first.
UNI: Any puzzle that uses “Ugly Cried” as an answer deserves a bonus star. So I gave this crossword 4 Stars.