Notepad: When this puzzle is finished, the six circled letters can be arranged to spell an answer to the catchphrase reading diagonally from upper left to lower right.
Notepad: The circled letters, starting in square #27 and reading clockwise, will spell a familiar phrase suggested by 20-, 35- and 52-Across.
JNotes: This is the first NYT puzzle, in fact the first published crossword anywhere as far as I know, with two stacks of four 15-letter answers. There's another full-width answer dead center.
JNotes: I have shaded squares along the main diagonal to make it easier to see the full name of 62 Down.
Notepad: The answers to the combined Across clues are anagrams of each other. The order in which the answers in each pair are to be entered in the grid is for you to discover.
Notepad: The print version of this puzzle's grid has two arrows: one pointing from 15A to 17A, and one pointing from 69A to 70A.
JNotes: The grid in the printed paper looks something
like this.
Notepad: In the print version of this puzzle's grid, there are dotted vertical lines between the 11th and 12th columns, and between the 18th and 19th columns.
JNotes: Click here to see how the empty grid appears in print and
here to see the folded answers.
Wordplay has an extended interview with the constructors.
Here is how to parse the long answers: FOLD PAGE SO A AND B ARE LINED UP IN THE TOP AND BOTTOM ROWS. The A and B refer to the only As and Bs in the top and bottom rows of the grid. In Mad Magazine, you had to fold the page so that A matched up to B above and below the drawing. When this puzzle is
folded the highlighted answers reveal more things that fold.
JNotes: The print version of this puzzle (
PDF,
GIF) has nothing in the corners.
JNotes: With this puzzle, 19-year-old Zoe Wheeler became the youngest woman constructor in NYT crossword history. See
Wordplay for an interview.
Notepad: The words in the shaded spaces will spell a quotation from Linus Pauling.
JNotes: Starred answers end with DO, RE, MI, FA, SOL, LA, TI.
JNotes: Every across clue follows the same form.
JNotes: This is a rare Friday puzzle with a theme. It came out Thanksgiving evening.
JNotes: Ben Pall was 14 years old when this puzzle was published, making him the youngest ever constructor of an NYT puzzle.
Notepad: When this puzzle has been completed, connect the circled letters in order from A to N to get an appropriate image.
JNotes: This is the first NYT puzzle to stack four 15-letter answers.
JNotes: This is generally considered to be the most difficult puzzle of 2009.
Notepad: When this puzzle is completed, one letter of the alphabet will appear 22 times. Shade in its square everywhere it appears. The result will be an image suggested by 36-Across.
JNotes: There are twelve 15-letter answers in this grid, an NYT record. The 44 three-letter answer words is also a record for a 15x grid.
JNotes: In the print version of this puzzle, the four "-" clues are simply blank. PUB + LICE + DUCAT + ION = 36 Across.
JNotes: Four theme answers are compound words made up of "kinds" of TIME. 18 Across is DOUBLE PLAY and both DOUBLE TIME and PLAY TIME are common phrases. Similarly, HALF TIME and LIFE TIME, GAME TIME and FACE TIME, and AIR TIME (when a show is broadcast) and QUALITY TIME. Since the two kinds of TIME are together, one follows another and we have TIME AFTER TIME.
JNotes: The
print version of this puzzle varies from the Across Lite version. There is a blank square in the centre as shown here, 18 Across has a longer clue: "With 55-Across, direction indicator (and what to draw in the center of this puzzle)" and there is this mysterious clue for 55 Across: "See 18-Across."
Click here to see one particular compass rose.
Notepad: When the puzzle is done, the circled letters will spell, from top to bottom, the name of the town where all the people in this puzzle's theme once lived.
JNotes: Each rebus square is "normal" in one direction but in the other direction, you have to pronounce the letters individually. So, for example, 24 Down is BED KNOBS but 31 Across is TOOTH DK meaning TOOTH DECAY.
Notepad: HALF-CENTURY PUZZLEMAKERS' WEEK
All the daily crosswords this week, Monday through Saturday, are by puzzlemakers who have been contributing to The Times for more than 50 years. Mel Taub had his first Times crossword published on October 24, 1954. His Puns and Anagrams puzzles (of which this is an example) have appeared in the Sunday Magazine since 1955.
Notepad: HALF-CENTURY PUZZLEMAKERS' WEEK
All the daily crosswords this week, Monday through Saturday, are by puzzlemakers who have been contributing to The Times for more than 50 years. Charles Gersch, of New York City, had his first crossword published on February 21, 1944, when he was 13, in the New York Herald Tribune. He made his Times debut in 1951.
Notepad: HALF-CENTURY PUZZLEMAKERS' WEEK
All the daily crosswords this week, Monday through Saturday, are by puzzlemakers who have been contributing to The Times for more than 50 years. Arthur Schulman, a retired psychology professor at the University of Virginia, had his Sunday Times debut on September 14, 1954. The puzzle below should be easy for solvers who remember their old-fashioned crossword vocabulary.
Notepad: HALF-CENTURY PUZZLEMAKERS' WEEK
All the daily crosswords this week, Monday through Saturday, are by puzzlemakers who have been contributing to The Times for more than 50 years. Maura Jacobson, of Hartsdale, N.Y., published her first crossword in the Sunday Times on March 6, 1955. Her popular weekly series of puzzles for New York magazine began in 1978.
Notepad: HALF-CENTURY PUZZLEMAKERS' WEEK
All the daily crosswords this week, Monday through Saturday, are by puzzlemakers who have been contributing to The Times for more than 50 years. Lou Sabin, of Milltown, N.J., sold his first puzzle to The Times in 1950. He now constructs crosswords with his wife, Fran. Altogether Lou has had more than 150 puzzles in the paper.
Notepad: HALF-CENTURY PUZZLEMAKERS' WEEK
All the daily crosswords this week, Monday through Saturday, are by puzzlemakers who have been contributing to The Times for more than 50 years. Bernice Gordon, 95, of Philadelphia, had her first Sunday crossword published on January 23, 1955. Her first weekday puzzle appeared three years earlier. She is the oldest known puzzlemaker in the newspaper's history.
Notepad: This crossword was the playoff puzzle at Lollapuzzoola, a crossword tournament directed by Brian Cimmet and Ryan Hecht, held in Jackson Heights, Queens, on August 22. The winner, Dan Feyer, of New York City, finished it perfectly in 7 minutes 10 seconds.
JNotes: This grid is a map of Manhattan. Broadway diagonally crosses 8th, 7th, 6th, and 5th Avenues.
JNotes: This theme is tricky. CUT removed from CIRCUMSTANCES = take out of context, GORE removed from GOVERNMENT UNREST = bloodless revolution, TIE removed from ARTICLE describes "the" (the article) missing "tie" (the link), RIMS removed from PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS = doctors without borders, FEE removed from FIFTH WHEEL means a spare (tire) but with no expense, WHAT A PANDA DOES IN LEISURELY FASHION minus PLUS means "eats shoots" (what the panda does) but "and" (that is, PLUS) leaves or is taken out, WORTHLESS ROADSTER is a lemon so with OREO cut out it's lemon, drop cookies. See
blog commentary for more discussion.
JNotes: The original NYT Across Lite file inadvertently had a circle in each rebus square. The print version was correctly SIR-cle-less.
JNotes: As the long answer at 7 Down implies, there are ten symmetrically arranged Across answers which need the word DOG added to make sense. 1 Across is HOT DOG, 9 is DEVIL DOG, 15 is ALPHA DOG, 36 is DOG EAR, 34 is DOG CATCHER. Those are all in the top half. Rotating the grid to see the symmetric answers in the bottom half you get DOG TAG, DOG BREEDER, LUCKY DOG, SALTY DOG, and at 74 across you need to add the missing word twice to get DOG EAT DOG.
Notepad: When this puzzle is done, interpret the answers to the seven starred clues literally, in order from top to bottom.
Notepad: When completed, this puzzle grid will contain an unusual feature that appears nine times. Can you find it?
JNotes: This amazing puzzle has nine Word Squares: four 3 x 3, four 4 x 4, and one 5 x 5 right in the middle.
This image shows all the word squares highlighted.
See
Wordplay for more.
Notepad: After finishing this puzzle, color the circled squares blue, and color all the Across answers containing an "R" red, to reveal an image related to the puzzle's theme.
JNotes: The circles outline a shift pattern for a five-speed standard transmission.
Notepad: Every letter in the answer to each asterisked clue appears an even number of times in that answer ... except one. Altogether, these eight unpaired letters can be arranged to spell the answer to 68- and 70-Across.
Notepad: When this puzzle is done, start at the end of 57-Across; then, beginning counterclockwise, connect the circles in one continuous line to identify a figure invented by 29-Down. The answers to the five asterisked clues will provide a hint to the figure.
JNotes: The four rebus squares must be interpreted differently Across or Down. The answers shown here are correct only for the Across clues. 1-D should be CIRCLE LINE. 14-D is ZERO HOUR. 47-D is SIZE ZERO. 55-D is CROP CIRCLE. Notice that this makes a nicely symmetric set: HOOP/CIRCLE, RING/ZERO, RING/ZERO, HOOP/CIRCLE.
Notepad: When this puzzle is done, the nine circles will contain the letters A through I. Connect them with a line, in alphabetical order, and you will form an illustration of the puzzle's theme.
JNotes: In the print version of this puzzle, each block of four circles is represented by a single larger circle covering all four squares in that block.
Click here to see what the grid is supposed to look like.
JNotes: This clever puzzle confused many people. Despite the answer at 33 Across, the key is to read the FIRST letter of each clue. Then it all makes sense.
Notepad: The answers to the eight starred clues all have something in common, each in a different way.
JNotes: This grid looks like a compass and the four unchecked squares on each edge place N, W, E and S in their appropriate locations.
JNotes: This unusual rebus puzzle by Carolyn Stewart doesn't follow the normal rules. Each rebus square can contain either IN or OUT. Both work in each direction.
JNotes: This is the first puzzle for Mr. Wechsler in the Will Shortz era but it is not, in fact, his N.Y.T. debut. He tells me that his previous puzzle was published the day Apollo 11 launched on its historic mission to the moon in 1969. Forty years between puzzles is quite a stretch!
Notepad: For the answer to each starred clue, including the first letter is good; dropping it is bad.
Notepad: The answers to the 9 starred clues all contain 5 letters in common, reading left to right, not necessarily consecutively.
JNotes: This puzzle appeared the weekend before the 2009 Presidential Inauguration. OBAMA appears in each theme answer.
JNotes: This crossword celebrating Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election briefly held the record for the most rebus squares of any puzzle in the database — 28.
JNotes: Shaded squares outline planetary orbits in the
print version of this puzzle. (Across Lite used circles since it can't do shading.) Each of the eight rings hides a planet name in order of mean distance from the Sun. See the
Wordplay blog for information about a couple of hidden Easter eggs as well.
JNotes: There's something very unusual about this puzzle. Stare at the answers until you see it. Wordplay has an
interview with the author.
JNotes: This puzzle was used for a set of granite coasters sold at the
NYT Store.
JNotes: The second half of each theme answer recycles the letters of the first half.
Notepad: When this puzzle is done, read the circled letters in the top half of the puzzle clockwise starting with the last letter of 66-Across; and read the circled letters in the bottom half of the puzzle clockwise starting with the second letter of 77-Across.
JNotes: Click the thumbnail above to see a larger image of Le Bateau, the Henri Matisse masterpiece that inspired this puzzle.
JNotes: This amazing puzzle has a direct tie-in to the episode of
The Simpsons that aired the same day. Both the show and the crossword are self-contained but key plot elements are hidden in this puzzle. See the
Wordplay blog post.
Notepad: DIAGONAL
1 Disappearing
12 Proceeding with little effort
Notepad: TEEN PUZZLEMAKER WEEK
All the daily crosswords this week, Monday through Saturday, have been contributed by puzzlemakers under the age of 20. Today's crossword is by Will Nediger, 18, of London, Ontario. He is a second-year student at the University of Western Ontario. This is his sixth puzzle for The Times.
Notepad: TEEN PUZZLEMAKER WEEK
All the daily crosswords this week, Monday through Saturday, have been contributed by puzzlemakers under the age of 20. Today's crossword is by Natan Last, 17, of Brooklyn. He is a first-year student at Brown University. This is his sixth puzzle for The Times.
Notepad: TEEN PUZZLEMAKER WEEK
All the daily crosswords this week, Monday through Saturday, have been contributed by puzzlemakers under the age of 20. Today's crossword is by Caleb Madison, 15, of New York City. He is a sophomore at Bard High School in Manhattan. This is his fourth puzzle for The Times.
When this puzzle is done, connect the circled letters in alphabetical order, and then back to the start, to reveal something seen on the 32-Down 4-Down.
Notepad: TEEN PUZZLEMAKER WEEK
All the daily crosswords this week, Monday through Saturday, have been contributed by puzzlemakers under the age of 20. Today's crossword is by Lucas Gaviotis Whitestone, 18, of New York City. He is a first-year student at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. This is his first puzzle for The Times.
Notepad: TEEN PUZZLEMAKER WEEK
All the daily crosswords this week, Monday through Saturday, have been contributed by puzzlemakers under the age of 20. Today's crossword is by Patrick John Duggan, 19, of Arlington, Va. He is a second-year student at Boston University. This is his second puzzle for The Times.
Notepad: TEEN PUZZLEMAKER WEEK
All the daily crosswords this week, Monday through Saturday, have been contributed by puzzlemakers under the age of 20. Today's crossword is by Oliver Hill, 18, of Pleasantville, N.Y. He is a first-year student at Yale University. This is his fifth puzzle for The Times.
Notepad: The
print version of this crossword has a dotted line around the outside of the grid.
JNotes: This astounding puzzle holds the NYT record for
fewest blocks.
JNotes: With this puzzle, 15-year-old Caleb Madison became the youngest ever constructor of a Sunday NYT crossword, breaking the record set
the previous January by 17-year-old Natan Last. (This record was subsequently broken by 14-year-old Ben Pall on
Nov. 23, 2009.)
Notepad: When this puzzle is done, unscramble the five circled letters to find out how the circles could have been left with the puzzle's solution still being correct.
Notepad: When this puzzle is finished, the 11 circled letters in reading order will spell the subject of the quote starting at 20-Across.
Notepad: The eight two-letter answers in this puzzle are all state postal abbreviations, representing (in some order) the Beaver State, Beehive State, Big Sky Country, Heart of Dixie, Pine Tree State, Show Me State, Sunflower State and Volunteer State.
JNotes: Clues with lies, or at least errors: 1-, 14-, 19- and 24-Across; and 8-, 9-, 28-, 47-, 49- and 50-Down. In an
interview with the Yale Daily News, Will Shortz called this his favorite puzzle of 2008.
JNotes: The way to read the rebus squares depends on your perspective. If you're looking at Across clues, read them as ACROSS and for the down clues, read them as DOWN. The answers shown here are correct only for the Across clues.
Notepad: When this puzzle is done, the seven circles will contain the letters from A to G. Starting with A, connect them alphabetically with one continuous line, and you'll get an image of a 39-Across.
JNotes: Caleb Madison was 15 years 3 months old when this, his debut puzzle, was published, making him he youngest constructor in NYT history.
Notepad: 17- and 64-Across and 11- and 34-Down each conceals an article of clothing.
JNotes: Be sure to see 65 Across for an explanation of this unusual puzzle.
JNotes: There are so many horsey theme answers it's easy to miss one: Silver (Lone Ranger), Scout (Tonto), Trigger (Roy Rogers), and Topper (Hopalong Cassidy.) Then in the middle, Had a Bit crosses Ride 'em Cowboy.
Notepad: When the puzzle is done, the letters in the following squares spell a bonus phrase: 7A - 3rd letter, 31A - 5th, 65A - 4th, 104A - 6th, 136A - 3rd, 151A - 1st, 149A - 4th, 133A - 4th, 100A - 1st, 62A - 1st, 29A - 6th
JNotes: Following the convoluted notepad instructions yields the bonus phrase SOLAR SYSTEM. Note that the planets spelled out in the circles are listed in order of mean distance from the sun.
The instructions in the print version of the puzzle are far more elegant. The squares indicated in the notepad are shaded light grey and the clue for 9 Down reads "Center of many revolutions (whose first letter starts a bonus phrase reading clockwise around the shaded squares.)"
JNotes: Every clue starts with the letter C. Four of the clues are simply the letter C.
JNotes: I have added circles to this puzzle to show where the splits and mergers happen. The second clue in each theme entry requires a right-angle turn at the circle so, for example, 31 Down is KILLER BEE and 59 Across can be read as EVEN THOUGH.
JNotes: I have added circles that did not appear in the published puzzle to show the theme answers. The Forward Thinking letter substitutions go through the alphabet in order. In 1 Across, A becomes B. In 29 Across, C becomes D, through to 126 Across where Y becomes Z.
JNotes: This grid numbering reflects the Across Lite version of this puzzle. As Linda G explains in her blog
Madness..Crossword and Otherwise, the grid numbering is different in the printed version. See her
blog post and her
completed print version for details.
From Jerry Greenfield: The answer for clue "Titanic transmission" is SOS. This is incorrect. The SOS distress call was not in use at that time. The message the Titanic sent was "CQD" — Come Quick Danger. James Cameron has it correctly in the movie.
Notepad: The circled letters in the answers to the seven starred clues, reading left to right or top to bottom, spell words that can complete familiar phrases that start with "break."
JNotes: Natan Last was a 17-year-old Brooklyn high school student when he became the youngest ever Sunday NYT constructor with this puzzle. The record lasted until 15-year-old Caleb Madison broke it on
August 17, 2008.
JNotes: When you connect the Os you get a bow tie. So what's the clarinet relative? Ellen Ripstein had to tell me: "It's an O-bow (bow of O's, pronounced like the instrument oboe.)"
JNotes: The 16 circled letters, starting in square #34 and proceeding roughly counterclockwise, ending at #38, spell the opening lyric of a popular song. If you use your imagination, you can see a snowman in the pattern.
JNotes: This is generally considered to be the most difficult puzzle of 2007.
JNotes: Rather remarkably, not only are there no missing letters but the four rarest letters in Crossword puzzles, J, Z, Q, and X, are placed symmetrically in the four corners. Bravo.
Notepad: Bonus puzzle: When this crossword has been completed, try to find the word ELF hidden in the grid 20 times, word search-style -- horizontally, vertically and diagonally in any direction.
Notepad: The answers at 17- and 51-Across and 11- and 24-Down can all be defined by the same missing three-letter word. What is it?
JNotes: The missing three-letter word is BUD.
Notepad: DIAGONAL
What you might do eventually to make up for lost time
Notepad: The clues in the print version of this puzzle appear in a single list, combining Across and Down. Where two answers share a number, they also share a clue.
JNotes: The normal rules don't apply to this Halloween puzzle. Six squares read TRICK in one direction and TREAT in the other. Three have TRICK across and TREAT down; the others have the reverse. The solution shown here is correct only for the Across answers.
JNotes: DEMs on the left, REPs on the right, and the sole IND at dead center.
JNotes: Nine theme answers contains all five vowels, once each, in order.
Notepad: The answers to the 13 starred clues have something in common.
JNotes: They are all Broadway musicals.
JNotes: Todd McClary and Jeffrey Harris are uncredited co-authors of this puzzle.
Notepad: The clues in the print version of this puzzle appear in a single list, combining Across and Down. Where two answers share a number, the unclued Down answer is a homophone of the corresponding Across answer.
Notepad: While some Across clues in this puzzle are blank, every answer is in fact clued.
JNotes: Answers on the far right wrap around to the far left so, for example, 10 Across is NOT ONE.
JNotes: Constructor Peter Collins celebrated his 50th birthday on the day this puzzle was published.
Notepad: When this puzzle has been completed, shade in the letters of 35-Across everywhere they appear in the grid, revealing three letters and three lines.
Notepad: Diamond (starting at third square of 109-Across)
NE "Now I've seen everything!", NW Swipes a base, SW Show, SE Didn't go out
JNotes: Each "&" crosses a two letter abbreviation with a longer phrase using the same initials.
Notepad: DIAGONAL
1 Face imaginary enemies
7 1972 Bill Withers #1 hit
37 Bettor's buy
JNotes: This has the highest Scrabble score of any puzzle in the database.
Notepad: Note: When this puzzle has been completed, the following answers will form a progression: 76A, 10D, 112A, 22A, 51A, 15D, 37A, 86D, 97A, 62D and 131A.
JNotes: Note that the abbreviated states along with Canada and Mexico are all correctly geographically distributed.
Notepad: In this schizophrenic puzzle about emperor penguins and daily newspapers, the answer for 46 Across can be either BLACK or WHITE. Each works for all the crossing clues.
JNotes: The 10 hidden body parts (see 38 Across) are ARM, EAR, EYE, GUM, HIP, JAW, LEG, LIP, RIB and TOE.
JNotes: I love this puzzle. Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, Hannibal crosses the Alps, and so on. And of course at 57 Across a chicken crosses the road!
JNotes: The rebus entries should all be read OFF horizontally and ON vertically.
JNotes: The secret to solving this puzzle is to THINK outside the box. Write that word outside each corner adjacent to the five-letter answer and the rest will make sense.
JNotes: This puzzle has a clever trick. To understand the answers for 1 Across, 29 Across, and 58 Across, you have to think INSIDE THE BOX. Follow the squares all the way around.
JNotes: G.K. added to LADY'S NIGHT = GLADYS KNIGHT; O.S. added to LIVER TONE = OLIVER STONE; etc.
Notepad: The eight theme answers in this puzzle are clues to common words. When the grid has been filled, guess these missing words, whose letters correspond to the numbers shown. Every number from 1 to 25 is used exactly twice. When you're done, arrange the letters in order from 1 to 25 to reveal a bit of advice about getting ahead.
JNotes: This puzzle has an embedded grid. In case your browser doesn't show it correctly, you can remove it by
clicking here. This
PDF file shows how the puzzle appeared in the New York Times Magazine.
JNotes: I have shaded the squares that we're asked to circle at 65 Across.
Notepad: When this puzzle is completed, the circled letters, read in order from left to right (column by column), will reveal the name of a Mystery Person.
JNotes: The 22 rebus squares in this puzzle is the third highest count in the database. The other two are both Sundays.
JNotes: This amazing puzzle uses only 10 different letters, a record it shares with
this puzzle.
Notepad: Can you figure out what's unusual about this crossword? If not, when you're done, read the first letters of the clues in reverse order.
JNotes: Reading as directed in the notepad: the grid contains all the letters and only the letters touchtyped using the left hand.
JNotes: In this unusual grid, no two black square touch each other, even at the corners.
Notepad: This puzzle was never published in Across Lite format on the NYT website and it's available here for the first time. Note that for 1 Across, 1 Down, 34 Down, and 69 Across, the original split clues have been combined.
Click here for a PDF showing how the puzzle appeared in print,
here for the answers as published, and
here for a new Across Lite version.
JNotes: Shifting each letter in 38-Across one letter earlier in the alphabet produces the message YOU BROKE THE CODE.
JNotes: As the central Across answer MAN IN OUTER SPACE suggests, the six words at 1-, 18-, 27-, 47-, 62- and 68-Across (CHESTER, MILITIA, HANDLE, DRAFTS, SERVANT and TRIGGER) need to be preceded or followed by MAN (MANCHESTER, MILITIAMAN, MANHANDLE, DRAFTSMAN, MANSERVANT and TRIGGERMAN) to answer their clues.
JNotes: You can watch Merl Reagle construct this puzzle in the movie Wordplay.
Notepad: As a demonstration of speed puzzle construction at the 28th American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, on March 11 in Stamford, Conn., Mike Shenk took a theme proposed by the audience and created this puzzle, start to finish, without computer-assisted fill, in 60 minutes. Later, in a race to solve it, Trip Payne, of Boca Raton, Fla., finished first, in 3 minutes. About two-thirds of the audience completed the puzzle correctly within the 15-minute time limit.
Notepad: When this puzzle is completed, solve the maze in the grid, traveling through the openings in the squares, beginning at 69-Across, ending at 103-Down...and passing over the word spelled at 71-Across 18 times. As you proceed, the consecutive letters of 71-Across will always be in their correct order, in straight lines reading forward, backward, up or down.
JNotes: This amazing former record holder still has the second-fewest count of blocks (black squares) in my database. It was eclipsed on
August 22, 2008.
JNotes: This puzzle holds the record for lowest word count in my database.
JNotes: This grid has only 63 vowels, the fewest of any 15 by 15 puzzle in my database.
Notepad: The three circled letters will spell a word that is missing from 14 answers in this puzzle.
JNotes: The word RED is needed to complete LETTER DAYS, LOBSTER, SKELTON, HOT CHILI PEPPERS, HERRING, BLOODED, EYE SPECIAL, ANT, HEAD, ALERTS, SHIRT, BREAST, CENT and INK.
Notepad: Former President Bill Clinton, whose presidential library opened in Little Rock on Nov. 18, is a regular crossword solver. He pretested this puzzle for us, finishing it in "less than an hour." (How does your time compare?)
JNotes: This solution shows the punctuation marks spelled out so the crossing answers work correctly although solvers would probably use symbols instead. 65 Across should read STOP THE #@%*& CUSSING.
JNotes: This puzzle has a visual element that cannot be reproduced in Across Lite or on this site. The block in the top left corner has been chipped off.
Click here to see how it looked in print.
JNotes: The clue for the three theme answers is WED.
JNotes: Many of the Down answers here have extraneous letters in this ingenious themed Saturday puzzle. To read them correctly, you have to drop in, drop by, drop out, or drop off as directed in the appropriate Across clues.
JNotes: The original printed Sunday NY Times Magazine puzzle included comics. See
this PDF.
Notepad: Arrange the four circled letters in the grid to get a word that defines the four unclued answers.
Notepad: The unkeyed square to the right of #36 has this "Down" clue: John Philip Sousa offering. And the unkeyed square numbered 42 has this "Down" clue: "Little Women" family name.
JNotes: This extraordinary grid has only 17 Across clues.
Notepad: Note: The circled letters will show a "change in the weather."
JNotes: The experience here is not quite the same as the
print version so it's best to print this out and solve it on paper.
1. unsymmetrical grid; 2. two-letter answers; 3. LORE in grid twice; 4. ACROSS heading instead of DOWN; 5. PUZLE misspelled (56A); 6. 50A clue out of order; 7. two 13D clues; 8. phony 37D clue; 9. 47D repeats answer as clue; 10. Will "Shorts"?
JNotes: This minder bender (literally) is considered one of the toughest puzzles of the Will Shortz era. To read the answers correctly you have to follow the instructions and turn where indicated. So, for example, 4 Down is SATURN'S RINGS and 17 Across is LOW TURNOUTS.
JNotes: Every single clue starts with the same letter you see in the center: S.
JNotes: I believe this is the first puzzle where solvers draw an image by connecting the dots in alphabetical order.
Notepad: 18- & 22-Across and 53- & 57-Across have a hidden connection to 36-Across.
Notepad: Twelve answers in this puzzle are to be entered in an unusual way, for you to discover.
JNotes: 1 2 3, 4 5 6, 7 8 9, * 0 # are arranged as on a telephone.
JNotes: The black square immediately preceding or following 24A, 25A, 48A, 50A, 4D, 28D, 29D and 57D should be interpreted as a "block" and considered part of the adjoining answer. For example, 24A = SUNBLOCK, 25A = BLOCK PARTY, etc.
JNotes: This is a triple pangram! Each letter is used at least 3 times.
JNotes: Lance Armstrong is a "four-time champ" of the Tour de France, going into the 2003 race, which started last weekend. If he wins again this year, he will be a "five-time champ." Either answer fits at 35-Across.
Notepad: Note: A certain letter of the alphabet appears in this puzzle exactly 21 times. When you have finished solving, find and connect these letters to get an appropriate design.
JNotes: I have shaded in squares with the letter that appears 21 times.
JNotes: You need to turn a corner to read some of the answers.
Notepad: Sixteen answers in this puzzle have something unusual in common. What is it?
JNotes: 16 answers rhyme: GOOEY, PTUI, DEWEY, CHEWY, LOUIS, SUEY, BUOY, etc.
Notepad: Note on 5/22 puzzle: MAN + MAN = MEN
JNotes: MAN + MAN needs to be read as MEN.
Notepad: The circled diagonal letters will spell a hint to 8 other answers in the grid.
JNotes: "Catty-corner" answers: STRAY CAT, SIAMESE CAT, FAT CAT, TOM CAT, HEP CAT, etc.
Notepad: This puzzle was never published in Across Lite format on the NYT website and it's available here for the first time. Clues shown here as ellipses (...) were simply omitted in the print version.
JNotes: In this beautiful super-symmetric puzzle, the four long theme answer have to be read in the indicated directions.
Notepad: The seven circled letters, reading in order from top to bottom, will spell the title of this puzzle.
Notepad: The print version of this puzzle has white spaces following 23-Across, between 37- and 39-Across, and preceding 49-Across.
JNotes: X marks the spot in this pirate themed puzzled. The letters N, W, E, and S are arranged appropriately near the center.
JNotes: Every clue starts with the letter L. The four theme answers each have two words, each starting with L as well. There are 12 other L's in the grid. Can you spot them?
Notepad: Visual hints to the answers to the asterisked clues (*) can be found in the grid.
JNotes: This should probably be considered a pangram as well since there is a V in the rebus answer at square 92.
Notepad: This puzzle has a complete set of related key words - occupying appropriate places in the grid - to be discovered.
JNotes: Baseball positions are in their appropriate locations.
JNotes: Look closely. This puzzle has unusual symmetry. April Fools!
JNotes: A is the only vowel used in the entire grid. There are, amazingly, 69 of them!
Notepad: Note: In a letter bank, the letters of one word are used (and repeated as necessary) to spell a longer word or phrase. For example, IMPS is a letter bank of MISSISSIPPI.
JNotes: Every answer word in this grid is 6 or more letters long. It's the only puzzle in my database with this property.
Notepad: Note: Across Lite will consider a correct solution to 36-Across to be XXX.
Notepad: Despite appearances, every square in this themed puzzle appears in two answers, across and down.
JNotes: The letters in the fifth, eighth and eleventh rows, reading left to right, spell the theme entries.
JNotes: This puzzle has the lowest average Scrabble score in the database. In fact, if you look closely at this crossword you'll see that this is a record that can never be broken.
JNotes: This is a double pangram. Each letter is used at least twice.
Notepad: The answer to 39-Across, when translated by the cipher key at 20- and 55-Across (A = Z, B = Y, C = X, etc.), spells OUR COVER IS BLOWN.
JNotes: Connect the numbers in order to "make the face."
Notepad: The tree shape when read counterclockwise gives the name of a Holiday tune.
Notepad: Each answer at 26-, 39-, 63-, 84- and 101-Across is a quiz question for which there is one correct response among the four choices in the clue. The circled letter in the answer is the correct response.
Notepad: In the print version, the squares at 5, 10, 45, 60, 90, 108, 139 and 140 were not numbered. There were no clues at 5-Down, 10-Down, 45-Across, 60-Down, 90-Across, 108-Down, 139-Across or 140-Across. Adjustments to accommodate Across Lite have resulted in the online puzzle having different clue numbers than the print version.
Notepad: The 10 unclued answers in this puzzle (from 20-Across to 57-Across) comprise a word ladder, in which one letter is changed between each consecutive step.
JNotes: This puzzle was originally and erroneously credited to Manny Nosowsky.
Notepad: HEART (Clockwise): 1955 Four Aces hit (and theme of this puzzle)
Notepad: DIAGONAL
1 Pirate booty
68 More pirate booty
Notepad: The answers at 20-, 32-, 43- and 58-Across form a progressive word ladder of five-letter words, where each word is one letter different from the one before it.
JNotes: Note from constructor Charles Deber in his
Wordplay interview — In this puzzle which I believe Will Shortz called "diabolical" when he accepted it, the solver had to reverse the letters not only of the clue, but also of the clue number -- and then place the answer in the diagram at the site of the reversed number. Thus, for 27 Across: DRAB, one had to reverse the clue (BARD), and write in the answer at 72 Across (SHAKESPEARE).
Notepad: A particular thing -- a common part of almost all crosswords -- is wholly missing today. What is it?
JNotes: There are no E's in either the answers or the clues.
JNotes: Various sorts of alcohol are missing from the theme clues, but only in one direction.
JNotes: Only one vowel is used in the entire grid. It occurs 78 times.
Notepad: The names of 12 common animals are concealed inside some of the answers in the completed grid, reading across and down. Can you find them all?
JNotes: This is a triple pangram! Each letter is used at least 3 times. See 34 Across.
JNotes: This puzzle April Fooled many solvers who thought they saw an accidental repeat from
the day before. The grid pattern and the first three clues and answers are identical.
Notepad: Circled entries contain 2 letters
JNotes: The theme answers all have common phrases with the word ANT omitted making for "a nice picnic."
Notepad: Today the U.S. Postal Service unveils a 32-cent stamp commemorating the American invention of the crossword puzzle in 1913. (The stamp goes on sale February 3.) If puzzlers were in charge of the celebration, this might be the schedule of events...
JNotes: Missing clues: Grant, Ford, Pierce
JNotes: Each of the four long theme answers contains a string of five consecutive different vowels.
JNotes: This is an odd puzzle that doesn't follow the normal rebus rules. The Across answers require additional symbols that are not part of the Down answers. There's no good way to incorporate that logic into this website so the Across answers read incorrectly here.
JNotes: Nancy Nicholson Joline has the honor of being the first constructor with a first name at the NYT. Before this date, authors were identified only with initials before the surname.
JNotes: This amazing puzzle appeared the morning of the 1996 U.S. presidential election. The answer word at 39 Across can be filled in with either CLINTON or BOBDOLE and all the crossing down clues work either way.
Click
here for more info.
JNotes: The seven theme Down clues have to be read from the bottom up.
Notepad: More descriptive names to differentiate old things from their new form
JNotes: The three wise men, one of the seven seas, and the sixties.
JNotes: The images can be seen
here but since they are hard to read, I'll describe them. 23 Across is the letters "Quakerism adherents" arranged in a circle. 32 Across is "Approximately" arranged again in a circle. 105 Across is "Extension" in a wavy pattern. 117 Across is "Somers Islands formerly" shaped like a triangle. 4 Down is "Floor covering" in a circle. 16 Down is "Waltzing" in a box. 34 Down is "Pugilism" in a circle. 50 Down is "Place of business" in an oval. 58 Down is "Victoire" in an arch. 84 Down is "Castor Pollux" arranged in two peaks.
Notepad: In E-mail messages, faces are sometimes created by combinations of letters, numbers and punctuation marks, as :-( for a frowning face. Tilt your head 90 degrees to the left to view
Notepad: March 14, 1995 marked the 50,000 issue of the New York Times
Notepad: All the boxes in 74-Across have a diagonal line bisecting them allowing the entry of two letters. No answer is included...you'll know when you get it
JNotes: The print version of this puzzle had a normal 15x15 grid. You had to write four letters outside the box to complete it.
Notepad: The unclued answers have something in common
Notepad: The rebus squares below indicate where answers take a right angle turn. The first letter of each pair belongs to the answer that starts from the left and bends down. The second letter is from the answer that starts above and bends to the right. In the print version, those squares are bisected with a line from the NW to SE corner.
Notepad: This puzzle is dedicated to the memory of Eugene T. Maleska, who created the first Stepquote
Notepad: The 10 unclued answer in this puzzle are familiar phrases presented literally. When the puzzle is completed, the 12 circled letter - reading in order from top to bottom - will spell an appropriate phrase
JNotes: E is the only vowel used in the entire grid. There are a record 138 of them.
Notepad: Diagonal clue: Opening of 5/4/93
