The New York Times Crossword Puzzle thread

Today's ("ramp up") was quite a treat.

I love these kinds of crossword puzzles.


A diagonal series of letters in today’s puzzle creates a six-letter word that, the source who alerted me to it says, was unintentional. 

Since it’s not officially part of the puzzle, and I couldn’t find it without help, I’m going to go ahead and give a hint: It starts with an O.


I'm about 10 days behind, and I'm loathe to jump ahead (why, I don't know. some kind of purism I think.) but I'll try today's puzzle today.


G-d, I hated today’s (Sunday, May 19) puzzle. Stupid. 


Cannot figure out how today’s theme works. Are they jumbles?


Edited to add: Caved and went to Rex Parker’s blog. Have never seen or heard of that before.


NO SPOILERS! I'm struggling with it now.


well, I think I finished iti but I have no idea what the italicized clues mean. I figured out the configuration, so to speak, of the answers but their meaning totally escapes me. I guess I'll go look at Rex Parker although I'm usually loathe to do that.


“works from homer!”  What a great answer!   


drummerboy said:
Tough one today.

 33% slower than my average Saturday.


**spoiler alert, but it's an old puzzle**




Hi all - I am pretty new to doing the NYT puzzles & asking for *help* please.  I was working the puzzle from Thurs June 27, which has 4 single boxes where the solution is "check" (mic check, coat check, etc., but with just one box for "check").  The puzzle doesn't show as complete if I leave those boxes blank.  I don't know what to fill in, or where to look for help, and the time keeps running up and up as i search and ponder....

thanks! for any advice


Are you using Across Lite to fill it in? If so, if you press the Insert key on the empty box, you can type in multiple letters into the box.

Though I think I've found that sometimes the solutions are too funky for Across Lite to actually determine whether the puzzle is finished or not.


Not using Across Lite, will try it.  (What is Across Lite, in general?)  If it doesn't work, maybe I'll try X's.  Or maybe just leave it incomplete because the time is now so high, though that would ruin my 100% complete stat....  Getting way too involved with this.


Well, Across Lite requires opening the file in...something.  Only one I recognize is Adobe, and it won't do it.  Entering X's in those boxes gets the puzzle to say it's complete but wrong....

So i gave up and hit Reveal, which shows a red tag in each of the 4 boxes, with "check" in very small letters.  And now my stats include both an Incomplete and the monster time that ran up on this one.  oh well.

Possibly taking this a little too seriously.

thanks db : )

eta: Next time, if any, maybe i'll try using the Insert key without Across Lite? hmm


mjc: There should be a "Rebus" label or button on the puzzle screen. Click that, and your cursor will appear in a box. There you can type in "CHECK" (or whatever letters or word an answer in a future puzzle calls for).


Oh thanks, Dave! I have seen the Rebus option but didn't know what it was for.  Hopefully will remember till another time....



Across Lite is a standalone program that lets you fill in the puzzle. I find it more convenient than filling it in on the website.

You can download and install it from here.

https://www.litsoft.com/across/alite/download/

Then, if you click on the downward pointing arrow, it will download the puzzle and open up Across Lite.



Thanks to you guys, i found that playing on the website i can just hit Insert and that opens the square to >1 letter.  The next puzzle i tried had every instance of On and Off (as in Bride oF Frankenstein) in single cells.  Time-consuming, but no longer maddening. : )


drummerboy said:
Tough one today.

 Today's was way easier.


I finished Wednesday's, but damn if I knew what it was about.

e-what?


Look for other vowels in the answers.


jimmurphy said:

Look for other vowels in the answers.

 oy. ok

Wasn't there a similar theme very recently?


Anyone here a digital subscriber? I also get the Sunday edition in print.

This weekend, the Times turned the crossword and spelling bee into subscription only access. Had this increase been previously announced? 


I’m a digital subscriber to the paper and the online crossword. Have been paying separately for the crossword for a couple of years. I like it for the archived puzzles.


Another digital subscriber here - as far as i know, the main crossword (not the mini) has been a separate charge for several years.  I just succumbed to it, about $20 a year & I think "guaranteed" not to change.


Yes, the crossword has cost money for as long as I can remember.


I am a digital subscriber also.  I resented having to pay extra to get the daily crossword online, and I wrote a long letter of protest to the Times, but I succumbed and paid, and I enjoy the puzzles on line.


I am a digital subscriber also.  I resented having to pay extra to get the daily crossword online, and I wrote a long letter of protest to the Times, but I succumbed and paid, and I enjoy the puzzles on line.


lizziecat said:

I am a digital subscriber also.  I resented having to pay extra to get the daily crossword online, and I wrote a long letter of protest to the Times, but I succumbed and paid, and I enjoy the puzzles on line.

 I agree.I called and complained, too. I've been a Mon-Sun, 7-day print subscriber for a period measured in multiple decades. I prefer to do the puzzle in ink so I didn't get too exorcised about it but I thought I should have the digital option. Who's a better customer than I?



I am so missing the spelling bee! I would imagine the mini puzzle is next to need a subscription. I emailed them, but all I got was an acknowledgment of receipt. Don’t know how long I can hold out. tongue wink


CHEAPSKATE NYT has won! After the paper’s last email saying it could not find my account and after I supplied the info again, I gave up and subscribed this am

In a nano second, it located my account and I was admitted!

I believe this crossword deal was a first attempt at piecemeal increases . What section goes next?



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