LAT 2:55 (Stella) 
[4.00 avg; 3 ratings]
Newsday 15:42 (pannonica) 
[4.50 avg; 1 rating]
NYT 7:11 (Amy) [4.35 avg; 10 ratings]
Common tk (Matthew)
USA As we speak tk (Matthew)
WSJ untimed (pannonica)
Shaun Phillips’s New York Instances crossword—Amy’s recap
NY Instances crossword resolution, 5/10/25 – no. 0510
You don’t usually see a 3×3 chunk of black squares in a crossword grid, however you additionally don’t usually see 60-worders, a lot much less puzzles with an uninterrupted diagonal swath of white house, and so many longish (7 to 13 letters) solutions sprawling by way of the center.
Fave fill: CHARISMA, NODDED OFF, HUNGERS FOR, RECRUITERS, DROVE NUTS, TURN IT ON, HOMEOWNER, ALIEN ENCOUNTER, “LET’S GO FLY A KITE.” Not eager on “I MISSED,” which is just about pronoun + verb reasonably than an idiomatic phrase. Is likely to be a notable quote, although?
After I see FREESTONE, I consider peaches, not 25D. [Fine-grained rock that can be easily cut in any direction]. Nothing towards geology!
RV TRIPS crossing ERRS clued as [Trips], actually? It could be really easy to not do this.
New to me: 38A. [Mediterranean plant named for its brightly colored flowers], SUN ROSE. Per Wikipedia, this succulent is native to the Japanese Cape area of South Africa, so it might be deceptive to name it a “Mediterranean plant.”
The opposite day, I checked Merriam-Webster’s pronunciations of auto and OTTO. They don’t begin with the identical vowel sound! I’m bored with all of the clues like this, [Apt name for a NASCAR driver?], that faux the 2 phrases sound the identical.
I crammed in ST LOUIS for 17D. [Team for which Sandy Koufax pitched for all of his 12 M.L.B. seasons] as a substitute of DODGERS. I used to be considering of the Cardinals’ Stan Musial, who was not a pitcher however understanding who performed what place is just not a trivia class I’ve allotted any mind cells to.
Dan Kammann & Zhouqin Burnikel’s Los Angeles Instances crossword — Stella’s write-up
Los Angeles Instances 5/10/25 by Dan Kammann & Zhouqin Burnikel
This puzzle had a few difficult surprises for the unwary, however principally wasn’t too exhausting. The difficult surprises I’m referring to are RACER X at 26A and TAKES AN L at 55A, each of which have uncommon letter patterns on the ends (RX? NL? What the hell?) that may lead you to assume you’re on the unsuitable observe if you happen to work in from the fitting facet.
Stuff I observed:
- 12A [AMC model whose passenger’s side door was longer than its driver’s side door] is PACER. If the clue is supposed to be one thing that helps you infer or verify the reply, I don’t get it. If it’s only a “enjoyable reality you didn’t learn about PACERs,” IMO the trivia itself is difficult sufficient that I’d attempt to make a extra inferable clue. Between this, the unfamiliar-but-inferable ICE RESCUE, and the exhausting clues on the Acrosses, the NW nook was actually the one extra-tough portion of this puzzle.
- 13A [Herb also known as dragon’s wort] is TARRAGON. Right here, against this, is a stunning “one thing you didn’t learn about one thing you in all probability know nicely” sort of clue.
- 17A [One looking for a deal?] is a NARC. Intelligent!
- 36A [Take care of a gray area, perhaps] is DYE. Sadly, that is all too relatable.
- 42A [Faucet handle] is MOEN — as a result of “deal with” refers to a reputation right here, as in a model title of sink fixtures.
- 18A [Minnesota team with four championships] is LYNX. I’m embarrassed that my WNBA information is so dangerous as to have additionally made this part of the puzzle tougher than the remaining, on condition that X on the finish of a crew title is uncommon.
Zhouqin Burnikel’s Wall Road Journal crossword, “Lower Flowers” — pannonica’s write-up
WSJ • 5/10/25 • Sat • “Lower Flowers” • Burnikel • resolution • 20250510
Theme’s simple to understand, particularly with the useful title. The circled letters spell varieties of flowers, and every is interrupted by a black sq., therefore ‘lower’ flowers.
- 22a [Phone speaker?] SIRI.
23a [Place to sit on a hot day] SIDE PORCH.
(iris) - 23a redux
24a [“Beats me”] I DUNNO.
(orchid) - 29a [Daytona-based co.] NASCAR.
31a [What one of the letters in 29-Across stands for] NATIONAL.
(carnation) - 54a [Hard-to-find sneakers?] NINJAS.
57a [Underground workers] MINERS.
(jasmine) - 82a [Third-largest ocean] INDIAN.
85a [In this manner] THUSLY.
(dianthus) - 103a [Over the moon] JUBILANT.
106a [Garland worn on the head] ANADEM,
(lantana) - 117a [Mild cigars] CLAROS.
118a [View from Yosemite Valley] EL CAPITAN.
(rose) - 118 redux
- 120a [“Auld Lang __”] SYNE.
(tansy) - 39d [Vegan gelatin substitute] AGAR.
71d [Defense mechanism] DENIAL.
(gardenia) - 35d [Pinter products] DRAMAS.
81d [Shore flier] TERN.
(aster)
It’s a dense but well-constructed theme; pleasurable to unravel. The three-square blocks in the course of Rows 1 and 21 are a bit odd-looking, although. A small compromise.
Absolutely I wasn’t the one one to preemptively enter PANSY the place TANSY goes. Close by, I additionally had ERASE for 101d [Totally wipe out] EAT IT. With 96d [Large church] MINSTER and 106a ANADEM lurking in the identical neighborhood, that was by far the knottiest part of the grid.
108
- 6d [Right on time?] III, three o’clock, on the fitting facet of the dial. 110d [Time out?] DATE.
- 30d [Constellation containing Canopus] CARINA. “Carina is a constellation within the southern sky. Its title is Latin for the keel of a ship, and it was the southern basis of the bigger constellation of Argo Navis (the ship Argo) till it was divided into three items, the opposite two being Puppis (the poop deck), and Vela (the sails of the ship).” (Wikipedia)
- 43d [“We finished the project!”] IT IS DONE. Unexpectedly scribbled IT’S DONE, which doesn’t match. Maybe the clue ought to’ve been [“We have finished the project”].
- 50d [Moves slowly] TRUNDLES. This appears fairly incorrect. Definition right here. Ah wait, I’ve discovered help right here.
- 104d [Main story line of a sitcom episode] ‘A’ PLOT. New to me, however makes excellent sense.
- 114d [Toyota truck model] DYNA. Sounds electrical? Nope. It’s a venerable mannequin, been round since 1959.
- 62a [Three, in Chinese] SAN. That’s a special spin on a typical crossword entry, normally clued as a partial/fill-in-the-blank.
- 75a [Noise on a baby monitor] CRY, not COO.
- 89a [Stick figure] BEANPOLE.
“I obtained every little thing required for the physique, soul, and thoughts / I obtained water, grub, and crossword puzzles too” - 108a [Navel base] ABDOMEN. Straightforward to fall for the misdirect if you happen to’re fixing shortly.
Matthew Sewell’s Newsday crossword, Saturday Stumper — pannonica’s précis
Newsday • 5/10/25 • Saturday Stumper • Sewell • resolution • 20250510
When first tackling it, I believed this one was going to be a bear, nevertheless it turned out to yield reasonably simply.
I’m going to maintain this temporary for now as a result of it’s an unexpectedly chilly morning and my fingertips are going numb. Plus I’ve a bunch of duties that want doing.
Simply rigorously went by way of all of the clues and solutions and located no cryptic-style hidden phrase (I missed it final week).
- 4a [Pot filler] DIRT, 4d [ISP option] DSL. Not ANTE and AOL.
- 11a [Academy award recipient] ALUM. Notice that award was not capitalized, eliminating the Oscars.
- 22a [Address book contents] SPEECHWRITING. oof.
- 25a [Sudden expiration] SNEEZE. 17d [Avoid sounding like a 25-Across] ESCHEW. Examine ATCHOO.
- 28a [Small sneaker] IMP. 31a [Take away?] ELOPE. >side-eye<
- 47a [Sweet nothings?] LOVABLE LOSERS. Good one.
- 57a [Rank and file, say] GET IN ORDER. Verbs, not nouns.
- 1d [Piano players] HANDS. My instant guess however waited for crossings.
- 3d [Far out] OUTRÉ. Looks as if a giant dupe to me. I resisted placing this reply in for a really very long time.
- 6d [Egg beater, essentially] ROTOR, not WHISK.
- 8d [Cut out to be put on] TELEGENIC. Straightforward to see after getting it.
- 15d [Neighbored in a nitery] SAT NEAR. Nitery is new to me; it’s a nightclub. Clue doesn’t appear nice.
- 33d [Small circle stuff] ESOTERICA. As in, information shared by a small circle of initiates.
- 44d [Homeboys] DAWGS. For some time I had DEWDS(!).
- 58d [Speak ill of, these days] NEG. It has even worse connotations as a part of the fashionable pick-up artist subculture.
- 35a [Line outside a bar] BEER WINE SPIRITS.
Okay, that turned out to be longer than I supposed/anticipated.
