AV Membership untimed (Amy) 
[3.67 avg; 3 ratings] charge it
LAT tk (Gareth) 
[2.50 avg; 2 ratings] charge it
NYT untimed (Amy) [2.50 avg; 8 ratings] charge it
The New Yorker tk (Kyle) charge it
Common untimed (pannonica) 
[3.17 avg; 3 ratings] charge it
USA In the present day tk (Emily) charge it
WSJ 6:17 (Eric) [3.25 avg; 2 ratings] charge it
Chad Hazen & Jeff Chen’s New York Occasions crossword–Amy’s recap
NY Occasions crossword answer, 11/5/25 – no. 1105
Solved this one whereas catching up on Sluggish Horses (such a very good spy present!), therefore untimed.
The theme revealer is THE LIKES OF YOU, clued, 52A. [Someone comparable … or what 20-, 26- and 43-Across may be, in different senses]. 20a DOPPELGANGERS are individuals who seem like you. SECRET CRUSHES are folks you want. And net PAGE BOOKMARKS are the websites you’ve appreciated. Uncommon theme, however definitely recent and sudden.
One actually tough crossing, the place 18a. [Indigenous Canadians of Labrador], INNU meets 7D. [Astronaut ___ Lee Fisher, the first mother to fly into space], ANNA. An post-Apollo astronaut from 40+ years in the past, we’re anticipated to know that? With this INNU crossing? I attempted ANYA first, considering that INYU sounded believable, given Inuk/Inuit. By no means heard of the Innu earlier than. There are such a lot of extra acquainted ANNAs that would have appeared right here as a substitute of the astronaut, who’s notable however not a family title. It’s a Wednesday puzzle, for crying out loud! Not a Newsday “Saturday Stumper” the place you anticipate to robust out troublesome crossing clues. I mustn’t have wanted to run the alphabet to search out the proper letter right here.
Fave fill: JOB POSTING, BUNGEE, NO ONIONS (this isn’t in any respect green-painty in my e-book! am an enormous fan of NO ONIONS orders), STUNT CAR. Not so eager on the adjective IGNEOUS being clued mounishly ([Rock that’s hot, then cool]).
3.5 stars from me. Mad that the modifying put/left that ANNA clue there.
Kiran Pandey’s AV Membership Traditional crossword, “Two-Form Resolution”–Amy’s recap
AV Membership Traditional crossword answer, 11/5/25 – “Two-Form Resolution”
This one’s additionally untimed, inadvertently. Forgot that the Crossword Nexus Solver isn’t set to robotically flip the timer on.
The revealer right here is 58a. [Perform a certain mathematically impossible operation … or a totally possible instruction for completing parts of this puzzle], SQUARE THE CIRCLE. I don’t know what meaning mathematically, however cruciverbally, it implies that 4 round issues seem in crossword squares, rebus-style.
I had bother with the primary themer, as a result of I wished 18d FONT with its question-marked clue to be the place the rebus sq. is. Difficult to have PO{ORB}OY crossing new-to-me MAGIC F{OR B}EGINNERS there, when BEGINNERS and POBOY look so proper (regardless of the POORBOY clue calling for an un-shortened title). Oof! Managed to get the rebuses found out for STA{RING} AT and E{RIN G}RAY, HANNI{BAL L}ECTER crossing TRI{BAL L}AND, and WORT{H A LO}T with S{HALO}M, although I’m not wild about WORTH A LOT as an entry.
Fave fill: “GATHER ‘ROUND,” FREE SPIRITS.
4 stars from me.
Drew Donovan’s Wall Avenue Journal Crossword “Sportswear” — Eric’s Assessment
Drew Donovan’s Wall Avenue Journal Crossword “Sportswear” — 11/5/25
This seems to be Drew Donovan’s crossword debut in a publication lined by Diary of a Crossword Fiend — congratulations! Compound nouns related to completely different sports activities are remained as items of knickknack and are clued correspondingly:
- 15A [Bling for Caitlin Clark?] BASKETBALL HOOPS
- 22A [Bling for Pete Weber?] BOWLING PIN
- 56A [Bling for Laila Ali?] BOXING RING
- 62A [Bling for Shohei Ohtani?] BASEBALL DIAMOND
It’s a strong sufficient theme set, and the athletes used within the clues are all well-known sufficient that even a non-sports fan like me knew three out of 4. The grid is a bit uneven, with stair-stepping blocks within the center 5 rows chopping off any alternative for Down solutions longer than six letters.
Different stuff:
- 6A
[Papal crown] TIARA Speak about bling. The final pope to put on it was Paul VI, in 1963. - 50A [Latin American inn] POSADA I don’t keep in mind seeing that in a crossword earlier than.
- 4D [Hayseed] YOKEL That reply all the time appears so pejorative to me.
- 11D [They mean the world to us] GLOBES Cute clue.
Mark Budovitch and Andrea Carla Michaels’ Common crossword, “Step on the Scale” — pannonica’s précis
Common • 11/5/25 • Wed • “Step on the Scale” • Budovitch, Michaels • answer • 20251105
- 57aR [1965 Julie Andrews film, and a phonetic hint to the ends of 17-, 25- and 44-Across] THE SOUND OF MUSIC.
- 17a. [Earned tons of money] RAKED IN THE DOUGH.
- 25a. [Celebrity chef known for “30 Minute Meals”] RACHAEL RAY.
- 44a. [“Pretend I’m not ere”] DON’T MIND ME.
Do, re, mi. Doubly apt revealer as a result of now we have homophones. It’s a little bit distracting relating to the primary theme reply as a result of in slang, dough as a time period for cash has been additional prolonged to do-re-mi.
- 36a [They’re often glossed over!] LIPS. Exclamation mark probably not vital, I really feel.
- 38d [Awful smell] ODOR. My (33d) USUAL criticism hereon.
