AV Membership 5:33 (Amy) 
[2.75 avg; 2 ratings] fee it
LAT tk (Gareth) fee it
NYT 3:43 (Amy) 
[4.00 avg; 2 ratings] fee it
The New Yorker tk (Kyle) fee it
Common tk (pannonica) fee it
USA At present tk (Emily) fee it
WSJ 6:04 (Eric) fee it
Okay.J. Sarr’s AV Membership Traditional crossword, “Orientation Facilities”–Amy’s recap
AV Membership Traditional crossword answer, 10/8/25 – Okay.J. Sarr “Orientation Facilities”
Orientation facilities are locations to get your bearings, however right here, the facilities of 4 of the longest entries are sexual orientations. Inside AGE GRACEFULLY is circled ACE, or asexual. RAPA NUI has PANsexual. INSOMNIACS comprises OMNIsexual. (Right here’s a obscure rationalization of the excellence between PAN and OMNI.) And Florida Dem VAL DEMINGS hides DEMIsexual. (Rationalization of DEMI.)
On high of the theme, now we have further illustration:
- 55. [Bi ___ (certain queer figure like Auli’i Cravalho, Stephanie Beatriz, and, in my semi-expert opinion, Emily Dickinson)], ICON.
- 49a. [Mom’s wife, in some families], MAMA. There’s additionally Ima, from the Hebrew.
- 22a. [Advocacy nonprofit with a Transgender Media Program], GLAAD.
At present I realized: 20a. [What a “mermaid’s purse” protects], EGG. As within the egg case of some skates or sharks.
3.75 stars from me.
Daniel Trujillo Diaz’s New York Occasions crossword–Amy’s recap
NY Occasions crossword answer, 10/8/25 – no. 1008
Our theme tonight is MAGIC EIGHT BALL solutions to the query “Will Ruby go to the promenade with me?” This being October, I really feel prefer it ought to point out the homecoming dance as a substitute of promenade. The solutions are MY SOURCES SAY NO, ASK AGAIN LATER, and WITHOUT A DOUBT.
Reality-check: The toy’s official title is the Magic 8 Ball with the numeral.
Fave fill: The neighboring ARMENIA and IRAN (don’t neglect “Aberbaijan” and Albania, of us!), AMSTERDAM clued by way of its canals (Staff Fiend’s Jenni would possibly staying on a houseboat in mentioned canals proper now!), UPROARS, and BUNDLES up within the chilly (’tis the season, quickly).
A shock: 48A. [Author of “L’Île Mystérieuse”], VERNE. I don’t know of that work.
3.5 stars from me.
Robert S. Gard’s Wall Road Journal Crossword “Crossing Paths” — Eric’s Overview
Wall Road Journal 10/8/25
Possibly I’m simply drained this night after spending a lot of the day driving on windy mountain roads, but it surely took me a bit to see how this theme works. (In fact, that’s assuming that I do perceive how the theme works, which is rarely assured.)
- 20A [One whose job is spent going around in circles?] NASCAR DRIVER
- 28A [One for whom success is a long shot?] BIG GAME HUNTER
- 42A [Ones helpful in shifting positions?] CAREER COACHES
- 48A [Microsoft Word feature, or what 20-, 28- and 42-Across may focus on] TRACK CHANGES
I feel the revealer is making an attempt to inform us is that every of the opposite theme solutions has a sort of “monitor” — respectively, an auto racing monitor, the monitor of a wild animal, and a profession monitor. I just like the number of tracks, and the theme solutions are all familiar-enough phrases.
The fill is usually wonderful, with a couple of solutions that don’t present up too typically:
- 24A [Broom room] CLOSET/27D [Flying a blue, pink and white flag, perhaps] TRANS Attention-grabbing juxtaposition of solutions.
- 33A [119, in old Rome] CXIX If I had my means, Roman numerals wouldn’t seem in crosswords ever once more.
- 36A [Preacher curl target, casually] BICEP I used to be glad to see the “casually.” The muscle is the biceps even when you’re referring to 1 arm.
- 59A [Fan sound] CHEER/40D [Boobirds, e.g.] JEERERS I just like the crossing of those two solutions, even when I might do with out this form of “Verb+er” phrase that nobody ever makes use of.
- 62A [Leaves on the grill too long, say] CHARS I char stuff on the grill purposely on a regular basis.
- 5D [Fiery beast battled by Gandalf in “The Lord of the Rings”] BALROG A gimme for which I didn’t want no matter letters the crosses offered.
6D [National park in Maine] ACADIA Ditto.- 7D [It may get a part] HAIR Cute clue. Possibly too cute.
- 9D [Three-nation economic union of Europe] BENELUX I used to be mildly shocked to be taught simply now that this union survived not solely the creation of the Widespread Market, however the European Union.
- 10D [Role in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”] OBERON It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen that play, however I keep in mind it being fairly humorous.
