Thursday, Could 1, 2025 |

BEQ 7:52 (Eric)
Fireball untimed (Jenni)
LAT (Gareth)
NYT 6:54 (ZDL)
Common 5:03 (Eric)
USA At this time 10:17 (Emily)
WSJ 12:13 (Jim)

Be aware: As of right this moment, we might be forgoing star scores for puzzles, however do please proceed to provide us your puzzle reactions within the feedback part beneath. Thanks!

Wall St Journal crossword resolution · “Place Holders” · Desirée Penner & Jeff Sinnock · Thu., 5.1.25

• 4d. [*Character who famously said “Don’t call me Junior!”] (IN) JONES.
• 11d. [*Miley Stewart’s alter ego in a Disney Channel series] HANNAH (MT).
• 39d. [*1992 portrayer of Malcolm X] DENZEL (WA).
• 48d. [*Writer who penned the 1927 essay “The Art of Fiction”] (VA) WOOLF.

Nice theme. It took me means too lengthy to see it, however I loved the aha second that got here with it. I can’t consider it hasn’t been completed earlier than. (Perhaps it has; I don’t really feel like trying proper now.) It does really feel a bit odd to have a mixture of actual and fictional names, however no less than there’s two of every.

That mentioned…oof. This puzzle is bonkers. It’s not typically I’m going to name out a grid, but it surely wants it this time. With a theme reliant on well-known names, possibly attempt to restrict the variety of correct names in your grid. This puzzle appeared to do the alternative and cram in as many as potential. Let me rely the names: RAMI Malek, JEN(nifer) Garner, TISH Addams, FAY Weldon, Hugh HEF(ner), KEV(in) of Dwelling Alone (despite the fact that he’s by no means referred to as that within the movie), Elsa PERETTI, CALE Yarborough, Phillipa SOO, Roman goddess CERES, NEDS Lamont and namesakes, Vietnamese emperor Bao DAI (that is the purpose the place you simply shake your head and chuckle), ARI Shapiro, and Butch GORING. And that’s to not point out the 4 theme solutions and different correct names DEIMOS and ULAN. And crossing UAR with DAI is just unconscionable. Yeesh!

There are some good bits of fill like IN TOO DEEP, SAMURAI, OBVIOUS, ACOLYTE, AMPHIBIAN, and JALAPEÑOS, however what I’m going to recollect about this grid is that it went means too far with the right names. I’d a lot quite have a clean grid with fewer sparkly entries than one like this with sparkle that comes with a ton of trivia.

I loved the theme however not the clear up because of the over-the-top reliance on correct names. 2.5 stars.

Justin Werfel’s Fireball Crossword, “Slippery Characters” – Jenni’s write-up

I knew there was one thing happening and I assumed I’d figured it out and I virtually had. Not fairly.

In 8 rows of the grid, an I slips from one reply to a different.

Fireball crossword, April 30, 2025, Justin Werfel, “Slippery Characters,” resolution grid

• 14a [Any of more than a thousand for Edison] must be PATENT and 15a [Office of a certain monk] must be PRIORATE. What now we have as an alternative is PATIENT and PRORATE.
• 17a [Tree, e.g.] must be CORNER and 18a [Brains] must be GENIUSES so we get CORNIER and GENUSES.
• 26a [“I don’t like my choices”] must be NEITHER and 29a [Dupes] must be CONS and now we have NETHER and ICONS.
• 52a [Rescuers] must be SAVIORS and 55a [“Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now” author Osnos] must be EVAN which leaves us with SAVORS and EVIAN. This was my error, as you’ll be able to see – I had SAVERS which in fact is smart and I assumed the crossing was a play on MEDIAL. Flawed.
• 62a [Opulent] must be PALATIAL and 66a [Brought up] must be REARED and now we have PALATAL and REAIRED.

Not my favourite. REAIRED is strained at greatest and PRIORATE is obscure. I’m additionally not a fan of the unnecessarily obscure reference to the Biden e-book – there are lots of better-known EVANs. Enjoyable trick, although, and total a well-constructed puzzle.

What I didn’t know earlier than I did this puzzle: clearly I’d by no means heard of EVAN Osnos or his e-book. I additionally didn’t know that OSCAR the Grouch has a pet worm named Slimey.

Aidan Deshong and Adam Levav’s New York Occasions crossword — Zachary David Levy’s write-up

Issue: Straightforward (6m54s)

Aidan Deshong and Adam Levav’s New York Occasions crossword, 5/1/25, 0501

At this time’s theme: CIRCLE BACK (Brings up a previous subject … or a touch to creating sense of the solutions to this puzzle’s starred clues)

• BASELINE / BALINESE
• RICOTTA / RIOT ACT
• KIMONOS / MONOSKI
• AVENGER / ENGRAVE
• DUSTPAN / STANDUP
• REVILING / EVIL GRIN

Transfer the circled letters to the again of every theme entry — two circled letters within the higher half themers, and three circled letters within the decrease half themers.  I feel that’s only a coincidence although?

Cracking: TRES CHIC

Slacking: ILEFT, the oft-overlooked anticlimax to Caesar’s boast — Veni, vidi, vici, discessi

 Sidetracking: KIMONOS

Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Crossword #1779 “Going With the Grain” — Eric’s Evaluate

Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Crossword #1779 “Going With The Grain” — 5/1/25

Brendan labels this one “Medium” issue; I discovered it to be on the better finish.

The theme is an oft-seen sort: Add a string of letters to a typical phrase or phrase and provide you with one thing that’s inherently wacky or that may be given a wacky clue:

• 20A [Benedick’s depressed girlfriend in “Much Ado About Nothing”?] DOWN BEATRICE Downbeat
• 28A [Final figures to think about before going to an electric car?] LAST GAS PRICES Final gasps
• 42A [News bulletin about an upper-arm muscle?] TRICEPS REPORT TPS Report I don’t keep in mind encountering that phrase earlier than, which slowed me down even after I had TRICEPS. It comes from the film Workplace Area and refers to meaningless, bureaucratic duties in a company setting. I spent most of my profession with one of many least bureaucratic businesses in state authorities, and most of our duties have been roughly significant — even the boring ones.

47A is an additional trace: [Activity many runners do before a marathon, or another name for this puzzle] CARBOLOADING That phrase sounds completely regular to me, however when CARBOLOADS appeared in a current New York Occasions puzzle, some folks objected that CARBLOAD was extra frequent. Your ideas?

Lastly, if we’ve missed what’s happening, there’s 62A [Grain added to three of the four theme answers in this puzzle] RICE

It’s a superbly effective theme, if not a novel one.

The marginally uneven grid design provides 4 eight-letter slots within the Down solutions:

• 4D [Plaything for a 35-Across] YARN BALL After all, to get something right here, you first have to determine that 35A [Abyssinian, e.g.] is CAT.
• 9D [“A snap!”] SO SIMPLE
• 37D [Soccer player who frequently scores when coming off the bench] SUPER SUB About the one sport I pay even a bit consideration to is affiliation soccer. However I don’t keep in mind listening to this time period earlier than.
• 38D [Idiot’s grunt, in some memes] HURR DURR I’d by no means heard that one earlier than.

Different stuff:

• 36A [Where you might catch some butterflies] POOL Good misdirection. I’m a awful swimmer and will barely handle the crawl and the backstroke.
• 46A [Yossarian’s tentmate in “Catch-22”] ORR I’m starting to suspect that Brendan is as huge a fan of that novel as I’m. I consider New York Occasions readers selected it as the most effective novel of the twentieth century or the most effective American novel from the publish WW II period, however I can’t discover that article. When you’ve by no means learn it, give it a attempt!
• 5D [Line of dialogue?] ACCENT Intelligent clue.
• 10D [Arm bones] HUMERI I usually don’t look after Latin plurals, however even I feel HUMERUSES would simply sound bizarre. I misplaced a couple of seconds right here as a result of all I may provide you with was ULNA and RADIUS.
• 13D [Dweller in a Mojo Dojo Casa House] KEN As I guessed, it’s from the film Barbie. I nonetheless haven’t seen that, although it’s on my record.
• 28D [Brezhnev of the USSR] LEONID I’m sufficiently old for that to be a gimme, however I’m wondering if youthful solvers knew that one.

Drew Schmenner’s Common Crossword “Break up a Meal” — Eric’s Evaluate

Drew Schmenner’s Common Crossword “Break up a Meal” — 5/1/25

Circles within the grid! Not my favourite factor to see, as in some interfaces, I’ve bother studying the circled letters after I’ve stuffed them in. And, this being Common, the theme clues embrace annoying numerical references for the circles (as a result of not the entire newspapers that run Common puzzles can deal with the circles).

Regardless of that, this was enjoyable, and I stuffed within the revealer with out understanding how the theme labored. A minute later, it clicked:

• 16A [Latte shot] ESPRESSO/18A [Thick coin] NICKEL Sonic I don’t normally misspell phrases in a grid, particularly one thing as acquainted as NICKEL, however I spent a couple of minute till I spotted I had NICKLE. Why? As a result of English.
• 22A [’50s auto feature inspired by jets] TAIL FINS/24A [Sign prohibiting 180s] NO U–TURNS In ‘N’ Out That California-based chain reached Austin a couple of years in the past, however I’m unsure they’re all around the US but.
• 34A [Bacon and eggs, e.g. … or a theme hint] BREAKFAST FOOD I puzzled what Sonic and In ‘N’ Out needed to do with breakfast. I don’t know whether or not both chain serves breakfast, despite the fact that I take pleasure in consuming breakfast out. Then I spotted that I wanted to learn it as BREAK FAST FOOD, that means that the quick meals chains have been cut up throughout two solutions. Good!
• 44A [Catholic Church head] THE POPE/46A [“Aye, captain” : ship :: ___ : kitchen] YES CHEF Popeye’s Has the conclave to pick a successor to Pope Francis began? I’m not paying a lot consideration. And is YES CHEF actually one thing mentioned in restaurant kitchens, or is it simply one thing from The Bear?
• 53A [She is considered China’s first supermodel] LIU WEN/56A [Opposite of paradise] DYSTOPIA Wendy’s I don’t pay a lot consideration to supermodels, Chinese language or in any other case. The “She is taken into account” appears superfluous. However bonus factors for working DYSTOPIA right into a puzzle. Nice phrase that’s sadly well timed.

Different stuff:

• 58A [Type of Thai curry] PANANG Yum.
• 15D [About to be scolded] IN FOR IT I don’t know why I like this reply, however I do.
• 54D [Name hidden in “macadamia nut”] IAN I misplaced half a minute attempting to get ADA to work. I ought to know by now that in a clue like this, the title is at all times cut up between the 2 phrases.

Michael Berg’s USA At this time Crossword, “TV Units” — Emily’s write-up

Tune in!

USA At this time, Could 01, 2025, “TV Units” by Michael Berg

Theme: every themer has T—A—

Themers:

• 20a. [Demo product], TRIALVERSION
• 40a. [World traveler’s document], TOURISTVISA
• 59a. [Single-minded concentration], TUNNELVISION

This themer set is giving me trip vibes for a vacationer bent on seeing all of it: TRIALVERSION, TOURISTVISA, and TUNNELVISION.

Favourite fill: TEA, DYNAMO, NAAN, and NOOK

Stumpers: SOLOED (wanted crossings), ETVOILA (new to me), and OOH (tried “man”, “boy”, and “child”)

A tricker clear up for me right this moment, with an extended time. How’d you all do? I discovered a number of the cluing to be difficult and several other have been both new to me or I wanted crossings. S and SE have been notably difficult areas however I received there ultimately.

3.5 stars

~Emily