John Kugelman author page
9 puzzles by John Kugelman
with Editor comments
See the 88 answer words debuted by John Kugelman.
John Kugelman, of Gainesville, Va., is a software engineer and musician.
| S | P | R | E | E | C | O | G | L | A | B | E | L | P | A | D | M | A | |||
| A | I | A | R | T | H | O | I | P | O | L | L | O | I | A | H | E | A | D | ||
| S | Q | U | E | A | L | O | F | F | O | R | T | U | N | E | C | O | E | D | S | |
| S | U | N | S | A | C | W | I | S | E | S | K | Y | P | E | ||||||
| Y | E | C | H | T | U | B | A | S | H | O | M | E | S | F | B | I | ||||
| S | H | U | T | T | L | E | S | P | R | O | W | A | R | T | R | A | P | |||
| G | R | E | A | T | S | Q | U | A | L | L | O | F | C | H | I | N | A | |||
| T | W | E | E | S | O | U | R | C | E | S | L | E | E | K | S | |||||
| A | R | A | L | S | E | A | R | I | S | E | S | B | R | A | I | D | ||||
| H | O | L | Y | S | Q | U | A | T | T | E | R | M | O | O | N | R | O | C | K | |
| A | P | R | U | R | N | S | O | U | R | S | R | O | O | |||||||
| S | E | U | S | S | I | A | N | P | L | E | D | G | E | S | Q | U | E | A | K | |
| S | E | E | P | S | B | U | I | L | D | D | I | A | B | O | L | O | ||||
| M | A | M | M | A | A | I | R | N | E | S | S | T | O | S | S | |||||
| S | Q | U | I | R | R | E | L | L | E | D | C | A | P | I | T | A | L | |||
| R | U | S | S | V | I | A | G | R | A | R | E | V | E | R | T | E | D | |||
| P | A | T | P | E | N | N | E | D | E | C | O | N | S | R | I | S | ||||
| T | A | S | E | R | P | R | A | Y | R | O | C | O | N | E | ||||||
| T | I | C | K | S | S | Q | U | A | W | K | A | F | I | N | E | L | I | N | E | |
| A | C | H | O | O | H | U | M | B | L | E | P | I | E | L | A | C | E | D | ||
| U | S | E | R | S | H | O | P | E | S | P | B | S | S | O | A | R | S |
John Kugelman, of Gainesville, Va., is a software engineer and musician. Remarkably, this is his seventh Sunday Times crossword since January last year — by far the most of any contributor.
"All the time and creative energy I used to pour into music," he says, "now goes to crosswords. I used to spend my nights writing music. Now it's all crosswords, all the time. It seems to scratch the same itch."
| P | U | S | H | P | O | P | M | A | D | A | M | A | T | O | O | F | A | R | ||
| A | S | Y | O | U | D | O | O | R | A | T | O | R | A | R | C | A | N | A | ||
| C | O | M | P | L | I | M | E | N | T | S | F | O | R | F | I | S | H | I | N | G |
| P | E | L | E | W | I | S | H | C | A | L | L | O | N | I | T | |||||
| Z | A | H | N | M | E | S | P | O | K | Y | T | K | O | |||||||
| A | L | O | O | P | F | O | R | T | H | R | O | W | I | N | G | S | O | A | P | |
| P | O | N | T | I | A | C | S | E | A | U | S | T | O | L | A | F | ||||
| S | T | Y | N | T | H | G | R | I | F | T | L | O | C | H | T | E | ||||
| P | O | S | I | T | I | O | N | F | O | R | J | O | C | K | E | Y | S | |||
| G | S | P | O | T | E | R | S | E | T | H | I | C | S | A | P | T | ||||
| O | O | R | T | L | A | N | A | T | O | G | O | T | R | E | E | |||||
| U | N | E | L | E | D | O | F | F | P | E | N | S | I | T | A | R | ||||
| D | I | S | A | S | T | E | R | F | O | R | A | R | E | C | I | P | E | |||
| A | C | T | S | A | S | E | R | I | E | S | L | A | O | P | O | E | ||||
| O | U | T | G | U | N | U | N | A | L | E | G | O | L | A | N | D | ||||
| O | R | C | S | O | N | E | S | M | O | N | E | Y | F | O | R | A | R | U | N | |
| N | I | H | J | A | Y | S | T | N | T | M | E | S | A | |||||||
| S | T | A | N | P | A | R | D | I | M | E | D | E | C | O | N | |||||
| P | U | N | I | S | H | M | E | N | T | F | O | R | A | G | L | U | T | T | O | N |
| E | A | G | L | E | D | S | E | A | S | O | N | P | A | R | T | A | K | E | ||
| C | L | O | S | E | S | T | Y | R | O | N | E | A | N | D | A | L | S | O |
John Kugelman, of Gainesville, Va., is a software engineer and musician. When he isn't making puzzles, John likes to spend his time off rock climbing and attending weekly trivia competitions with his dad, sister and niece.
Despite what you might think, he laments that "being good at crosswords means jack squat on trivia night." Still, he's holding out hope: "One of these weeks, they'll have a Yoko Ono-Brian Eno round, and we'll show them all!"
| I | N | S | T | A | B | E | T | I | K | E | A | |||
| N | E | P | A | L | M | O | T | H | G | R | A | B | ||
| C | A | R | I | B | B | E | A | N | C | R | U | I | S | E |
| A | R | I | U | L | T | R | A | E | A | S | E | L | ||
| N | A | M | E | A | N | N | ||||||||
| B | I | G | B | A | D | W | O | L | F | A | N | T | S | |
| A | S | T | E | R | I | B | A | R | S | U | R | E | ||
| M | A | I | T | I | D | E | P | O | D | T | A | C | ||
| B | A | M | A | F | E | S | S | E | N | A | C | T | ||
| I | C | E | R | F | R | E | E | S | T | Y | L | E | S | |
| C | A | Y | H | A | U | L | ||||||||
| A | R | I | A | L | A | Z | T | E | C | E | G | G | ||
| T | O | M | D | I | C | K | A | N | D | H | A | R | R | Y |
| O | P | I | E | P | I | N | T | E | D | G | A | R | ||
| M | E | N | S | A | N | Y | S | A | Y | S | O |
| S | L | E | P | T | I | N | M | A | D | A | M | E | X | A | O | K | ||||
| U | P | A | N | D | A | T | E | M | O | N | E | N | A | M | E | B | Y | E | ||
| D | O | N | T | Q | U | O | T | E | M | E | O | N | T | H | I | S | L | S | D | |
| O | R | D | S | M | I | A | S | E | A | L | L | E | T | S | ||||||
| N | T | H | B | O | N | A | N | Z | A | S | L | I | P | A | S | E | ||||
| Y | O | U | R | M | O | N | E | Y | S | N | O | G | O | O | D | H | E | R | E | |
| N | O | A | H | P | O | O | R | A | R | A | B | Y | ||||||||
| H | A | L | T | W | H | O | G | O | E | S | T | H | E | R | E | M | A | E | ||
| S | H | E | E | N | A | N | B | A | S | W | E | A | R | J | A | R | S | |||
| N | A | A | N | S | U | I | T | E | S | S | C | I | O | N | S | |||||
| D | O | N | T | S | T | A | R | T | W | I | T | H | M | E | ||||||
| A | M | E | L | I | E | T | R | E | A | D | S | W | A | R | E | |||||
| C | R | U | D | E | N | E | S | S | I | L | L | F | L | A | M | E | S | |||
| O | T | S | A | L | L | Y | O | U | N | E | E | D | I | S | L | O | V | E | ||
| M | C | C | O | O | U | N | P | C | O | L | A | S | ||||||||
| P | U | L | L | Y | O | U | R | S | E | L | F | T | O | G | E | T | H | E | R | |
| R | E | D | S | U | N | C | A | L | I | P | E | R | S | N | A | P | ||||
| F | A | C | E | I | C | E | S | A | M | I | A | L | I | A | ||||||
| E | T | A | Y | O | U | C | A | N | T | W | I | N | T | H | E | M | A | L | L | |
| N | O | R | A | U | R | O | R | A | E | D | E | M | O | N | I | C | A | L | ||
| D | R | S | P | I | L | L | A | G | E | S | I | N | G | L | E | T |
John Kugelman, of Gainesville, Va., is a software engineer and musician.
He dedicates this puzzle to his sister Julie Buffington, a.k.a. "Mrs. B," a second-grade teacher at nearby Haymarket Elementary. For authenticity, she provided all of the red pen marks in this puzzle's original submission
| U | N | D | R | E | S | S | E | S | M | A | J | O | R | S | I | N | |||||
| P | A | R | I | S | T | E | X | A | S | T | I | M | E | L | A | P | S | E | |||
| D | O | U | B | L | E | C | L | I | C | K | S | E | C | O | N | D | M | A | T | E | |
| O | H | M | S | R | A | D | I | O | S | P | E | A | K | C | O | D | |||||
| A | L | E | X | D | E | E | D | K | I | T | E | ||||||||||
| I | T | S | A | B | E | T | E | B | I | L | L | E | Y | E | M | A | S | K | S | ||
| R | A | P | D | U | O | O | N | E | A | F | T | E | R | A | N | O | T | H | E | R | |
| A | L | I | S | T | C | L | O | N | K | U | M | P | S | O | P | T | |||||
| N | O | R | P | O | L | A | S | F | A | R | A | S | O | U | T | T | A | ||||
| N | I | G | H | T | B | I | R | D | I | P | O | O | H | H | |||||||
| T | H | I | S | B | E | A | R | S | R | E | P | E | A | T | I | N | G | ||||
| E | N | D | N | Y | U | R | A | G | E | R | O | O | M | S | |||||||
| B | A | S | E | D | L | E | G | L | I | F | T | A | R | O | I | C | E | ||||
| A | C | T | A | I | D | E | O | U | T | D | O | I | F | N | O | T | |||||
| T | H | E | M | U | M | M | Y | R | E | T | U | R | N | S | A | L | L | O | W | S | |
| H | E | A | R | T | I | E | S | V | A | L | E | T | C | L | E | A | R | L | Y | ||
| D | I | E | D | C | E | N | T | M | A | T | S | ||||||||||
| E | L | I | S | T | A | R | K | I | L | L | E | R | G | A | S | P | |||||
| B | A | C | K | U | P | C | O | P | Y | P | A | I | R | O | F | P | A | N | T | S | |
| B | R | A | I | N | D | U | M | P | M | A | L | L | S | A | N | T | A | S | |||
| S | A | M | A | D | A | M | S | R | E | S | U | R | G | E | N | T |
John Kugelman, of Gainesville, Va., is a software engineer and musician.
His puzzles often have a playful sense of humor to them, a style he attributes to his crossword constructing "North Star," the great Patrick Berry. About Patrick, he writes "He doesn't have a flashy gimmick behind every puzzle; it's just how well he pulls off the simple themes." This puzzle likewise has a simple concept, pulled off quite cleverly.
| A | M | B | I | G | O | N | G | D | A | N | G | C | V | S | ||||||
| C | O | I | N | S | A | W | O | R | D | I | G | O | R | S | L | I | T | |||
| K | N | O | C | K | O | N | W | O | O | D | S | O | M | E | T | O | R | O | ||
| N | A | I | L | S | A | R | I | A | L | S | E | N | E | G | A | L | ||||
| F | I | S | T | K | N | I | T | T | I | N | G | N | E | E | D | L | E | |||
| C | E | C | E | G | R | A | S | S | R | K | O | S | L | A | V | |||||
| U | M | A | M | O | O | N | P | I | E | T | I | N | S | N | I | C | ||||
| B | U | R | N | A | F | T | E | R | R | E | A | D | I | N | G | A | C | D | C | |
| A | R | M | A | N | I | S | E | A | R | L | S | O | O | T | I | E | R | |||
| R | A | S | C | P | U | S | F | A | T | L | E | N | O | |||||||
| A | R | C | H | A | E | O | L | O | G | I | C | A | L | D | I | G | ||||
| D | I | A | L | D | O | T | N | A | V | E | O | F | T | |||||||
| P | O | R | T | E | N | D | S | I | R | E | S | C | O | U | R | G | E | |||
| D | O | P | E | B | L | A | S | T | F | R | O | M | T | H | E | P | A | S | T | |
| F | R | O | S | C | E | N | E | R | Y | O | A | T | S | D | U | A | ||||
| B | R | A | H | N | E | O | A | D | O | B | E | W | I | I | S | |||||
| P | U | T | D | O | W | N | O | N | P | A | P | E | R | F | O | O | T | |||
| E | S | C | A | P | E | E | I | S | L | A | M | A | W | I | N | G | ||||
| A | T | O | M | I | V | A | N | F | R | E | N | C | H | R | O | A | S | T | ||
| R | E | D | S | R | E | N | T | T | A | B | L | E | S | U | G | A | R | |||
| T | R | E | D | R | N | O | N | A | S | T | T | A | X | I |
John Kugelman is a software engineer and musician from Gainesville, Va.
Despite only starting to make puzzles in 2023, he is The New York Times' most-published Sunday crossword constructor this year (with three). As a lifelong puzzle solver, he doesn't know why it took him so long to discover crossword construction — "I wish I'd thought of it 20 years ago!".
| P | R | O | B | B | U | S | E | S | A | G | A | S | P | P | E | D | I | |||
| D | O | V | E | A | M | U | S | T | J | E | L | L | O | O | N | E | S | |||
| F | U | E | L | S | S | P | E | C | U | L | A | T | I | O | N | O | P | A | L | |
| S | T | R | I | P | E | S | A | P | E | X | P | I | L | L | A | G | E | |||
| E | A | T | S | P | O | T | W | I | S | E | A | S | S | E | S | |||||
| H | O | L | D | S | W | A | T | E | R | G | I | L | S | I | R | S | ||||
| E | L | O | M | O | N | O | H | O | L | L | A | L | E | A | D | S | ||||
| W | I | S | P | S | G | O | E | S | A | L | L | I | N | A | S | N | E | R | ||
| E | V | E | L | F | U | D | G | E | S | F | A | C | T | S | O | T | T | O | ||
| D | E | T | A | I | L | S | G | A | P | S | I | S | U | Z | U | |||||
| R | O | N | C | O | Y | O | N | H | U | T | P | E | R | M | S | |||||
| T | E | A | M | O | A | M | I | S | P | E | N | C | A | P | S | |||||
| M | E | N | S | T | A | K | E | S | O | R | D | E | R | S | E | S | A | U | ||
| G | R | E | E | D | D | O | N | T | S | T | A | R | E | T | S | A | R | S | ||
| M | A | U | V | E | D | O | R | I | S | A | P | B | S | L | E | I | ||||
| R | I | C | H | N | O | N | S | E | T | S | A | T | E | A | S | E | ||||
| H | E | A | D | C | A | N | O | N | R | I | C | O | S | O | N | |||||
| O | N | L | E | A | V | E | F | O | N | Z | I | Q | R | A | N | G | E | |||
| V | O | N | N | E | X | C | H | A | N | G | E | S | N | U | M | B | E | R | S | |
| E | L | E | C | T | U | P | A | C | I | M | A | G | E | L | E | A | P | |||
| R | A | T | E | O | S | A | G | E | T | A | X | E | S | E | D | D | Y |
John Kugelman, of Gainesville, Va., is a software engineer and musician. This is his third crossword for The Times — all Sundays.
Crossword construction and music "tickle all the same brain cells," he says, as each is "half-creative and half-technical". He adds: "Sundays are like the progressive rock of crosswords. I love 20-minute songs, and I love 21x21 grids."
| V | O | R | T | E | X | E | S | D | I | S | C | I | P | L | E | |||||
| I | N | A | I | L | E | D | I | T | P | I | N | O | T | N | O | I | R | |||
| S | U | P | E | R | D | U | P | E | R | J | U | N | K | D | R | A | W | E | R | |
| A | S | T | R | O | S | E | E | P | A | G | E | P | E | N | S | |||||
| A | Y | E | R | D | E | F | Q | U | E | E | R | |||||||||
| A | L | E | C | W | A | N | D | E | R | A | R | O | U | N | D | T | O | W | N | |
| S | U | N | K | S | T | O | R | E | R | E | M | A | I | N | F | O | O | |||
| P | R | O | S | T | F | B | O | M | B | B | E | S | T | A | C | T | O | R | ||
| I | C | K | A | L | I | E | N | O | M | A | N | I | A | W | E | S | ||||
| C | H | I | C | K | E | N | T | E | N | D | E | R | S | S | T | R | O | D | E | |
| L | E | A | K | E | Y | E | M | A | I | D | ||||||||||
| P | I | P | E | I | N | F | L | I | C | K | E | R | O | F | L | I | G | H | T | |
| E | L | E | A | A | C | E | L | A | L | A | P | E | L | E | A | R | ||||
| C | U | R | R | I | C | U | L | A | M | E | S | S | I | S | E | I | Z | E | ||
| A | V | E | C | A | R | E | S | S | N | I | T | E | R | A | C | E | S | |||
| N | U | M | B | E | R | O | F | T | H | E | B | E | A | S | T | T | O | S | S | |
| P | E | T | E | R | A | S | L | T | E | E | N | |||||||||
| V | O | T | E | T | I | M | C | O | O | K | R | O | B | I | N | |||||
| A | N | O | F | F | E | R | Y | O | U | C | A | N | T | R | E | F | U | S | E | |
| S | T | R | E | A | M | E | R | S | R | O | B | O | C | A | L | L | S | |||
| T | O | Y | D | R | I | V | E | W | H | I | T | T | L | E | S |
John Kugelman is a software engineer and musician from Gainesville, Va. He has worked in cybersecurity for many years. John says, "I like anything that's complicated and puzzle-y. Any engineering problem is fascinating to me."
(And what is crossword construction, after all, but the engineering of words?) This is John's second crossword for The Times — both Sundays.
| A | S | P | C | A | C | A | R | B | I | S | S | A | E | M | I | T | S | |||
| C | H | A | U | T | A | U | Q | U | A | B | E | A | U | N | O | L | A | N | ||
| M | I | S | T | E | R | B | U | N | N | Y | M | A | G | S | D | O | L | M | A | |
| E | V | S | M | E | A | N | I | E | L | E | T | G | O | B | A | G | ||||
| F | O | B | E | S | T | E | E | R | E | F | U | E | L | S | ||||||
| W | E | A | R | A | B | L | E | T | H | I | N | G | T | O | T | A | S | T | E | |
| E | V | I | L | L | A | U | G | H | T | S | O | A | N | A | ||||||
| E | E | L | E | T | R | E | R | B | I | R | U | N | E | O | S | U | ||||
| G | E | E | K | S | B | E | A | R | I | N | G | G | R | I | F | T | S | |||
| S | A | T | O | N | T | A | X | M | E | N | G | R | A | N | T | E | E | |||
| C | L | O | T | H | A | S | H | U | P | S | Y | D | E | A | R | |||||
| O | P | T | I | M | A | L | A | U | N | T | I | E | D | U | N | K | S | |||
| W | H | E | N | I | T | P | A | I | N | S | I | T | R | O | A | R | S | |||
| L | A | D | S | E | E | R | T | A | T | D | K | N | Y | U | T | E | ||||
| I | S | R | E | P | I | J | U | L | I | E | N | N | E | D | ||||||
| T | H | R | E | E | M | A | R | E | S | Q | U | E | A | L | S | A | D | A | Y | |
| W | E | E | K | D | A | Y | O | D | E | U | M | T | E | E | ||||||
| Y | E | S | A | D | R | A | G | W | I | P | E | R | S | R | Y | E | ||||
| A | T | T | I | C | T | H | R | O | N | E | S | S | T | O | W | A | W | A | Y | |
| T | H | E | E | U | L | E | A | R | R | O | S | E | P | A | R | A | D | E | ||
| T | E | R | R | E | E | M | M | A | O | N | E | S | D | R | Y | A | D |
John Kugelman is a software engineer and musician from Gainesville, Va. His father, who turns 80 this year, is a sounding board for John's puzzle ideas and John finds that brainstorming with him is a great way to stay connected. "Every time I see him we throw around all kinds of wordplay, just spitballing and letting our minds roam."
This is John's first crossword for The Times. It grew out of 38-Across.