Crossword Puzzles - Wordplay Blog

Oct 28 10:00 pm

Foot Specialist

By Deb Amlen

The Crossword

Wednesday Puzzle »

By Elizabeth C. Gorski

Oct 29, 2014

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WEDNESDAY PUZZLE — True Story: When The Boy was younger, he went to a day camp that was known, among other things, for its famous spaghetti dinner on one of the last evenings of camp. The kids would stay late, playing games and doing what campers do, while the Italian-born mother of the camp’s owner cooked a homemade meal for roughly 200 people. The fact that this woman was still doing this well into her 80s always amazed me.

Every year, The Boy would come home afterward, rhapsodizing about the red sauce Mrs. Breene made. He’s a fussy eater, so I was duly impressed that her homemade sauce made such an impression on him. He told me that while everyone was playing soccer and swimming, the smells coming from Mrs. Breene’s kitchen were tantalizing, and I imagined her standing over her pot of sauce, stirring it for hours with love and care.

In his last year there, I felt that I knew her well enough to ask her for the recipe. I wanted to be able to make this wonderful sauce at home for my son, since he was moving on to sleepaway camp. Sidling up to her as she watched the campers devour her food, I shyly asked her if she would be willing to share the secret of her sauce with me. Wiping her hands on her apron, she looked at me and said, “You want to know how I make my sauce? First, you open a jar of Prego…”

“Wait…you use jarred sauce?”

“Of course I use jarred sauce. I’m 86 years old. What am I going to do, cook from scratch for 200 people? That’s crazy talk.”

She had a point, and today’s puzzle by Elizabeth C. Gorski humorously salutes Prego’s longtime motto, “IT’S IN THERE” by hiding the word ITS in the starred clues.

Oct 27 10:00 pm

Keep Cool in Summer

By Deb Amlen

Administrivial Links Alert! As many of you have noticed, the box that contains the links to the puzzle and the syndicated Wordplay posts is not working. I am removing it from posts until it is fixed, so until then, please download your copy of the puzzle from the main puzzle page. The New York Times apologizes to its syndicated readers. Thank you for your patience.

TUESDAY PUZZLE — Sometimes a theme is just a set of items that all have something in common. Sometimes it can present an observation that turns out to be a fun fact. Today, Andrea Carla Michaels’s theme offers us both.

From our The More You Know department, there are a total of 30 teams in the N.B.A., and apparently only four of them — the Utah JAZZ, the Oklahoma City THUNDER, the Miami HEAT and the Orlando MAGIC — have nonplural names. That’s your fun fact right there.

In nontheme news, we have DISCOUNTED and SEMITROPIC making their debuts (DAYS OF THUNDER in the theme is fresh as well), and Clue(s) of the Day for me were 32 Across’s “Bad things from sharks?” for LOANS and “Place for a kiddie hawk?”, which is wordplay for Kitty Hawk, for AERIE.

Will Shortz’s Notes:

Andrea’s puzzle today does something I like. It involves a complete set of things — in this case N.B.A. teams whose names don’t end in the plural -s. There’s something neat about completeness that appeals to a puzzle solver’s mind. Or at least my mind. And as the N.B.A. season opens tonight, this puzzle couldn’t be timelier.

Constructor’s Notes:

The original idea came as a follow-up to the FOOTBALL MATCHUP crossword made with my neighbor Kent Clayton (Dec. 7, 2010). This is really a naming puzzle disguised as a sports theme. Unbelievably, all the sports clues are mine (ROY, TONYA, LET, YDS).

It might surprise some folks to see me on a Tuesday, but I swear I send 90 percent of my puzzles thinking they are Tuesdays…inevitably, Will asks me to get rid of some “later-week” entries and try again! In this case I had to get rid of ECZEMA and a few other entries, but I’m glad I did. I had to start from “scratch” (pun intended!) and this is my fifth rendition.

I feel giddy getting in GLITTERATI and the “Splish Splash” clue.

In the earlier versions, at least three of the clues had Beatles lyric references (AND I love her, Come TOGETHER, I’M A Loser, but I didn’t want to cause a STIR.)

There is my usual Minnesota shout-out (See if you can spot it!)

It’s still technically the beginning of the week, and we need something to open our eyes. Coffee won’t do it. We need an electrifying Broadway number to wake us up and ALL THAT JAZZ. Let’s do a Bob Fosse strut over to the Wednesday puzzle.

Your thoughts?

Numberplay Oct 27 12:00 pm

Ignited by Martin Gardner, Ian Stewart Continues to Illuminate

By Gary Antonick

The late popular math and science writer Martin Gardner was well-known for inspiring generations of students to become professional mathematicians. This week, as part of a series of posts commemorating the 100th anniversary of Mr. Gardner’s birth (see prior posts here and here), we feature one such student-turned-mathematician: best-selling author and mathematician Ian Stewart. In addition to being a remarkably productive university professor and researcher, Dr. Stewart took on what Mr. Gardner was most famous for: writing a popular math column for Scientific American. Dr. Stewart’s Mathematical Recreations column ran for a full decade, covering topics as diverse as kissing numbers, elegant tiling and origami.

For this week’s challenge, Dr. Stewart (known for inventive names) suggested the following. Let’s try —

Not Breaking the Duck

Amanda collected some duck eggs, and took one third of them. Belinda took one third of the remaining eggs. Charity took one third of the remaining eggs. Drusilla took one third of the remaining eggs. Elspeth took all of the remaining eggs. Everyone got at least one egg, and no eggs were broken. What is the smallest number of eggs that Elspeth could have got?

Dr. Stewart is an enormously popular writer in mathematics, with books ranging from challenging (Galois Theory) to fun (Math Hysteria). I asked him about Martin Gardner’s influence on him, and about his decision to write for a popular audience. Here’s his reply:

Martin Gardner’s column in Scientific American was one of the two things that, above all others, convinced me I wanted to be a mathematician. The other was an inspiring teacher, Gordon Radford. I read the column every month, and often copied ideas from it into a notebook I was keeping on math that went beyond the school curriculum. It may have been “recreational,” but that just made it fun to read. There were often deeper ideas behind the games and puzzles. The overwhelming message that I received was: New mathematics is being created all the time. I decided I wanted to become one of the creators.

Wrapping Up the 2014 Crossword Contest

By Deb Amlen

Administrivial Across Lite Solvers Alert! Did you solve the Saturday, Oct. 25 puzzle using Across Lite? The answers were locked away until the contest closed, but if you’d like to unlock them now, the code is 1356.

SPECIAL POST – One of the things I admire about a constructor like Patrick Blindauer is his ability to think ahead. It’s one thing to plan a theme for a single puzzle, but to plan a week’s worth of puzzles that are ultimately all interconnected is amazing. I wonder if he and Patrick Berry share a war room, filled with complex charts and plans for world domination.

But that’s not why you’re here. You’re here to either find out the answer to the meta-challenge in the crossword contest or to confirm that your entry was correct. What follows is a brief recap and explanation of the week’s puzzles, and please feel free to discuss your solving experiences and your journey to the meta-challenge in the comments. Stay tuned for Will Shortz’s announcement on Oct. 31 of the winners of the online subscription.

Allow me: The answer to the meta-challenge is TEMPUS FUGIT, or Latin for “time flies.”

Let’s look at how that worked.

On Monday, Mr. Blindauer offered us a puzzle that had increasing increments of TIME as its theme, signaling its passage.

On Tuesday, we continued the TIME theme with three “synonymous” theme entries: MARATHONER’S STAT, PARTNER OF WARNER and WHAT PRISONERS DO.

On Wednesday, Mr. Blindauer encouraged us to perhaps put in some FACE TIME while we keep smiling and solving. Maybe this puzzle was there just to keep our spirits up, but I think the EYES in the face of the puzzle are sort of pointing at something important. Remember, PEEK-A-BOO I SEE YOU and FOR YOUR EYES ONLY were the longer entries.

On Thursday, I told you that time was just zipping by, didn’t I? And haven’t I been talking all week long about how much fun I was having (as in “time flies when you’re having fun”)? See what happens when you don’t read the blog posts? This puzzle about TIME(s) SQUARE was a nod to the crystal ball that drops every New Year’s Eve, representing the passage of TIME, as well as a neat way to depict the TIMES SQUARE district by placing TIME twice around a single black square.

Oct 26 6:00 pm

What You Are

By Deb Amlen

MONDAY PUZZLE – Stan Newman is one of the strongest constructors and editors in the business. His puzzles are usually rigorously clean and clued well.

You can almost say that about this Monday puzzle as well. Is it a “Monday” puzzle, with easy-as-pie cluing and entries? Well, I’m not sure APACE and its somewhat cryptic clue “Speedily” would fit that bill, and we have a longish Roman numeral at 47 Down. (Roman numerals aren’t in and of themselves junk; but I think it could have been avoided. Your mileage may vary.)

I was a bit disappointed, given the current trends in theme development, that there were only two theme entries and a revealer, but I would bet that there just weren’t any other entries that fit this particular theme. Mr. Newman charmed me, however, by including The DICK VAN DYKE Show in his theme. I loved it so much that I will overlook the fact that the entire title of the show is not part of the theme entry, yet DEATH VALLEY DAYS is complete. The DICK VAN DYKE Show was my very favorite television show when I was growing up (I watched it in syndication, for those of you who are counting and trying to guess my age), and it remains a favorite to this day. I never watched DEATH VALLEY DAYS.

I liked PAPA JOHN’S and NERVE CELL, and the revealer, DVD RECORDER and its accompanying clue, were kind of amusing. All in all, though, I expect so much more from a Stanley Newman byline, that I confess to feeling a bit let down by this one.

Oct 25 6:00 pm

Winners’ Circle

By Deb Amlen

SUNDAY PUZZLE – This puzzle comes with a note in the Notepad that says: “When this puzzle is completed, the eight circled letters, starting in the upper left and proceeding roughly clockwise, will spell an appropriate word … or a different appropriate word.

“Although this puzzle can be solved in Across Lite, the print version contains elements that the software cannot reproduce. We recommend playing the web game to solve electronically, or using the PDF.”

Caleb Emmons is back, and he has constructed a puzzle that is really a nifty feat. I was so focused on trying to figure out what was going on that I can’t tell you whether or not I enjoyed the solve. It seems to me like there were a lot of three-letter entries for a Sunday, but I’m chalking that up to construction constraints.

It took me a while to understand what was going on here, and I realize that not everyone reads the notes so, as a public service, I will explain it.

What we have here are pairs of opponents, like HERCULES and the HYDRA of Greek mythology, the TORTOISE and the HARE of fables and Muhammad ALI and George FOREMAN of sports fame. They cross each other and the circled letters at the point at which they cross share a square. But wait, as they say in commercials, there’s more. Can’t remember who won the fight? Check out the circled letter. If you proceed roughly clockwise (and I would recommend that you take the word “roughly” seriously), the circled letters of the victors spell the word “CHAMPION.” The letters of the losers in the fight spell the word “DEFEATED.” There are eight such pairs of winners and losers.

Oct 25 12:00 pm

Variety: A Much-Needed Diagramless

By Deb Amlen

Administrivial Links Alert! As many of you have noticed, the box that contains the links to the puzzle and the syndicated Wordplay posts is not working. I am removing it from posts until it gets fixed, so until then, please download your copy of the puzzle from the main puzzle page. Thank you for your patience.

VARIETY PUZZLE – It’s a really good thing that Fred Piscop is offering us some HELP, what with all we’ve been through this past solving week.

We still can’t discuss the contest (there will be a special post after the contest closes at 6 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday where you can talk about your solving strategies to your hearts’ content), but we do have some household staff to make life easier for us today. Just what I wanted, Mr. Piscop. Thank you.

I had trouble in the western portion of this grid, at the crossing of ODER and OCHS, but otherwise, this one fell — or built — pretty smoothly.

Am I bothered by those western troubles? I am not, because thanks to Mr. Piscop, I had the SIMOLEONS to hire a BUTLER to bring me my cocktail, a MAID to clean up the stray black squares and emu feathers (it’s molting season), a NANNY to look after my kids and a DRIVER to take me anywhere I want to go. Life is good.

Your thoughts?

Oct 24 10:00 pm

They Come and Go

By Deb Amlen

Administrivial Puzzle Contest Alert! All the puzzles this week, from Monday to Saturday, have been created by one person, Patrick Blindauer. gather up all the solutions from this week and get to thinking, because the Saturday puzzle conceals a meta-challenge involving the solution grids of all six. When you have the answer to the meta-challenge, send it to crossword@nytimes.com. (Please do not post them here on the blog; they will not be counted as submissions.) Twenty correct solvers, chosen at random, whose entries are received by 6 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Sunday, will win one-year online subscriptions to the New York Times crossword. Only one entry per person, please. The answer and winners’ names will appear on Oct. 31, at www.nytimes.com/wordplay. Good luck to all who enter!

Administrivial Links Alert! As many of you have noticed, the box that contains the links to the puzzle and the syndicated Wordplay posts is not working. I am removing it from posts until it gets fixed, so until then, please download your copy of the puzzle from the main puzzle page. Thank you for your patience.

SATURDAY PUZZLE – First, no, the puzzle is not broken. The answers have been hidden until the contest is officially over on Sunday at 6 p.m Eastern Daylight Time. If you are solving in one of our electronic formats, you might see Xs or ?s when you reveal, or your answers might just be counted as incorrect. Do not despair. All will be revealed in a separate post after the contest closes.

This won’t be the hardest Saturday puzzle you’ve ever solved, but it won’t be the easiest, either. The cluing is devious, but in a fun way. I missed the misdirection of “Half a cigarette?” for example, and wasn’t thinking in terms of brand names (the answer is BENSON of BENSON & Hedges.) I love Middle Eastern food, but I had to really think about the clue “Some Arabian food.” The answer is OATS, and I tried to remember ever eating a dish that contained them. The reason I was unsuccessful is because the Arabian being referred to in today’s puzzle is — wait for it — a horse. I’m willing to bet that that was a Will Shortz clue.

Oct 23 10:00 pm

They Think They’re Special

By Deb Amlen

Administrivial Puzzle Contest Alert! All the puzzles this week, from Monday to Saturday, have been created by one person, Patrick Blindauer. Keep your solutions handy, because the Saturday puzzle conceals a meta-challenge involving the solution grids of all six. When you have the answer to the meta-challenge, send it to crossword@nytimes.com. (Please do not post them here on the blog; they will not be counted as submissions.) Twenty correct solvers, chosen at random, whose entries are received by 6:00 p.m. E.T. Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014, will win one-year online subscriptions to the New York Times crossword. Only one entry per person, please. The answer and winners’ names will appear on Friday, Oct. 31, at www.nytimes.com/wordplay. Good luck to all who enter!

Administrivial Links Alert! As many of you have noticed, the box that contains the links to the puzzle and the syndicated Wordplay posts is not working. I am removing it from posts until it gets fixed, so until then, please download your copy of the puzzle from the main puzzle page. Thank you for your patience.

FRIDAY PUZZLE – This whole solving week has felt weird, hasn’t it? We know that the Monday through Saturday puzzles are a suite that must be solved as part of the crossword contest, yet even though the Monday through Friday puzzles are “normal” puzzles, many people have debated as to whether the puzzles “feel” like they belonged on the days they were run. I’m not so much a believer in expecting a Friday puzzle to “feel” exactly like a Friday puzzle, but I can understand other people’s expectations.

And yet, today’s puzzle did feel remarkably easy to me, what with the fill-in-the-blanks and other eased-up clues. Could Patrick Blindauer and Will Shortz be throwing us a bone before the Saturday met- challenge? That central diagonal of black squares in today’s grid sure looks like a bone, but my SPIDEY sense tells me it’s more of a red herring than anything else. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Oct 22 10:00 pm

Where the Ball Drops

By Deb Amlen

Administrivial Links Alert! As many of you have noticed, the box that contains the links to the puzzle and the syndicated Wordplay posts is not working. I am removing it from posts until it gets fixed, so until then, please download your copy of the puzzle from the main puzzle page. Thank you for your patience.

THURSDAY PUZZLE – One of the things most native New Yorkers know is that the last place they would want to be on New Year’s Eve is Times Square (on the ground, at least; watching from a penthouse doesn’t count). It’s not that we’re not capable of having fun; rather, it boils down to not wanting to spend the frigid last night of the year packed like sardines amongst the revelers, where you might get pushed around, trampled or have your pocket picked. It’s much more cozy to watch the goings-on on television in the warm embrace of friends and family, with a delicious meal and a glass of champagne.

How is it Thursday already? This week is just zipping by, and we have Patrick Blindauer and Will Shortz to thank for that. Mr. Blindauer takes us on a field trip to Times Square today, and we actually visit it four TIMEs in his puzzle. If you look at the letters surrounding the lone black squares near each of the four corners of the grid, you’ll notice that the letters spell out TIME twice. And they’re in a square shape, so that’s our TIMES SQUARE.

The Crossword

Will Shortz’s Notes:

Constructor’s Notes:

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