Fri 8/1/2025
| P | I | T | H | S | | I | N | R | E | | C | N | B | C |
| S | T | R | E | E | T | F | O | O | D | | A | E | R | O |
| S | C | A | M | A | R | T | I | S | T | | M | W | A | H |
| T | H | Y | | W | E | A | R | E | | S | E | R | V | E |
| | | S | E | A | R | | P | A | T | R | E | O | N |
| N | A | P | P | E | D | | B | E | R | E | A | L | | |
| A | P | H | I | D | | H | O | T | C | E | R | E | A | L |
| I | P | O | D | S | | O | R | A | | P | E | A | C | E |
| L | A | T | E | A | P | R | I | L | | L | A | S | E | D |
| | O | R | L | E | S | S | | S | E | D | E | R | S |
| M | A | S | S | A | G | E | | R | A | C | Y | | | |
| A | C | H | E | D | | R | O | U | G | H | | L | O | T |
| M | O | O | N | | C | A | R | N | E | A | S | A | D | A |
| B | R | O | S | | A | C | C | E | S | S | R | O | A | D |
| A | N | T | E | | T | E | A | S | | E | A | S | Y | A |
Sat 8/2/2025
| B | A | T | T | E | D | | A | T | A | N | C | H | O | R |
| A | D | H | E | R | E | | M | A | N | G | I | O | N | E |
| D | R | E | X | E | L | | I | M | D | O | O | M | E | D |
| J | O | N | A | S | | T | R | E | E | S | | E | M | O |
| O | P | E | N | | H | A | I | R | S | | C | M | O | N |
| K | I | X | | K | I | L | T | S | | B | L | A | M | E |
| E | N | T | R | A | N | C | E | | G | E | O | D | E | |
| S | T | B | A | R | T | S | | P | R | E | V | E | N | T |
| H | I | D | E | S | | T | R | I | F | E | C | T | A |
| B | E | G | I | N | | S | W | I | M | S | | O | P | T |
| R | O | T | I | | T | H | E | S | E | | D | O | L | E |
| A | C | H | | H | A | R | E | M | | B | A | K | E | R |
| H | E | I | N | E | K | E | N | | L | A | R | I | A | T |
| M | A | N | I | P | E | D | I | | L | I | K | E | S | O |
| A | N | G | L | A | I | S | E | | C | L | O | S | E | T |
Sun 8/3/2025 Heavenly Voices
| B | O | W | | | T | H | E | E | | | | R | I | S | E | | | Y | U | P |
| A | N | E | T | | A | E | O | N | S | | P | E | D | I | S | | T | O | N | E |
| A | S | H | Y | | M | I | S | T | E | R | S | C | O | T | T | | R | U | D | E |
| S | T | A | P | L | E | R | | E | X | I | S | T | | H | E | R | O | C | O | P |
| A | V | O | W | | | C | R | Y | P | T | O | S | | | A | D | A | B | |
| E | K | E | | O | K | G | O | | | | | | A | R | F | S | | N | U | T |
| M | E | T | | R | E | A | L | I | D | | S | A | V | E | U | P | | A | T | E |
| O | O | O | | D | E | M | O | T | E | | T | R | O | L | L | S | | L | T | R |
| J | U | M | P | | P | E | R | O | N | | P | E | R | I | L | | I | W | O | N |
| I | T | A | L | I | C | S | | O | N | K | E | Y | | C | T | S | C | A | N | S |
| | K | I | L | O | | | K | Y | O | T | O | | | H | U | E | Y | | |
| T | H | E | G | Y | M | | M | A | S | S | E | U | R | | R | E | D | S | O | X |
| W | I | T | H | | P | A | I | R | | | | H | U | L | U | | I | C | B | M |
| A | C | H | T | | O | M | N | I | S | | B | U | S | E | S | | N | O | V | A |
| S | K | I | | A | S | S | I | S | T | | E | R | S | A | T | Z | | U | S | S |
| | S | T | R | U | T | | K | A | R | A | T | | D | E | I | G | N | | |
| S | Q | U | I | R | E | S | | R | I | M | | W | A | R | P | A | T | H | |
| S | W | U | M | | E | R | A | | T | O | M | | A | C | S | | L | O | O | M |
| H | A | I | T | I | | D | Y | E | R | | E | A | S | T | | G | O | N | N | A |
| I | N | C | U | R | | A | N | T | E | | U | N | T | O | | A | R | M | O | R |
| A | S | K | M | E | | M | O | C | K | | P | I | E | R | | B | E | E | R | S |
Mon 8/4/2025
| A | M | F | M | | U | S | T | E | D | | A | G | R | A |
| S | A | R | I | | S | H | O | N | E | | G | O | O | D |
| A | R | I | L | | A | A | R | O | N | J | U | D | G | E |
| D | I | A | L | | B | R | A | | | P | A | N | E | L |
| A | E | R | I | A | L | P | H | O | T | O | | O | R | E |
| | | O | N | E | S | | T | A | P | A | | | |
| G | H | A | N | A | | | A | R | C | | L | U | L | U |
| A | I | N | T | G | O | N | N | A | H | A | P | P | E | N |
| Y | E | A | H | | R | E | Y | | | C | A | C | T | I |
| | | S | H | E | A | | R | O | T | C | | | |
| A | M | O | | A | O | R | T | I | C | V | A | L | V | E |
| W | A | L | T | Z | | | D | D | T | | F | A | I | L |
| A | U | D | R | E | L | O | R | D | E | | A | N | G | I |
| I | D | E | A | | A | D | U | L | T | | R | A | I | D |
| T | E | R | M | | G | E | N | E | S | | M | I | L | E |
Tue 8/5/2025
| S | T | U | B | | S | Y | N | O | D | | S | T | U | D |
| T | A | S | E | | R | E | A | I | R | | A | R | L | O |
| A | C | U | T | E | A | N | G | L | E | | V | I | N | E |
| S | O | R | T | A | | | S | P | A | C | E | B | A | R |
| I | M | P | E | T | U | S | | A | M | O | S | | | |
| S | A | S | | A | S | C | E | N | T | O | F | M | A | N |
| | | S | T | E | A | L | | | P | A | I | G | E |
| B | O | O | T | | S | M | E | A | R | | C | R | E | W |
| R | O | D | E | O | | | C | L | O | S | E | | | |
| A | H | E | A | D | O | F | T | I | M | E | | A | R | T |
| | | M | I | C | A | | T | E | A | T | R | E | E |
| G | A | G | R | E | E | L | S | | | M | A | D | A | T |
| O | R | E | O | | A | C | O | R | N | S | H | E | L | L |
| D | I | N | O | | N | O | L | I | E | | O | N | M | E |
| S | E | E | M | | S | N | O | O | T | | E | T | S | Y |
Wed 8/6/2025
| E | V | I | L | E | Y | E | | | O | P | T | I | M | A |
| L | I | N | E | M | E | N | | | A | O | R | T | A | S |
| S | O | F | A | B | E | D | S | | T | W | I | S | T | S |
| A | L | L | S | E | T | | C | A | S | E | | N | E | T |
| | A | E | R | | B | R | R | | R | I | O | | |
| J | E | T | S | | D | U | E | T | | N | O | T | C | H |
| U | S | A | | P | O | S | E | | C | A | S | T | L | E |
| D | A | B | S | A | T | | N | E | A | P | | H | A | M |
| O | I | L | U | P | | S | P | O | T | | S | A | P | S |
| | E | V | E | | H | A | N | | H | A | T | | |
| D | I | P | | R | Y | E | S | | L | E | T | D | I | E |
| E | R | O | I | C | A | | S | C | A | R | I | E | S | T |
| L | O | O | K | U | P | | | U | N | D | R | E | S | S |
| I | N | L | E | T | S | | | B | A | S | E | P | A | Y |
Thu 8/7/2025
| B | U | M | P | | A | L | O | U | D | | A | S | T | I |
| A | F | A | R | | G | O | D | N | O | | L | O | A | N |
| T | O | P | E | A | R | N | E | R | S | | P | O | R | E |
| | | P | R | A | G | U | E | | L | A | T | T | E |
| H | A | S | A | T | | I | M | P | E | A | C | H | E | D |
| A | V | E | R | S | E | | | | A | G | A | S | S | I |
| Y | A | L | E | | P | U | E | R | T | O | | A | T | T |
| | F | R | U | I | T | L | E | S | S | L | Y | | |
| F | C | C | | P | L | A | S | M | A | | E | E | L | S |
| O | R | O | M | E | O | | | | T | I | G | R | I | S |
| R | O | M | A | N | G | O | D | S | | C | A | S | T | E |
| G | A | M | I | N | | G | R | A | V | E | R | | | |
| E | T | A | L | | P | R | O | B | L | E | M | O | N | E |
| T | I | N | E | | T | E | S | L | A | | O | P | A | L |
| S | A | D | D | | A | S | S | E | D | | R | I | N | K |
Fri 8/8/2025
| S | T | O | W | E | | | T | E | N | T | P | O | L | E |
| L | Y | C | R | A | | B | A | R | T | R | I | V | I | A |
| O | P | T | I | C | | E | C | O | H | O | T | E | L | S |
| G | E | E | T | H | A | N | K | S | | W | A | R | T | Y |
| S | A | T | E | | L | G | S | | W | E | S | T | | |
| | | B | A | B | A | | C | E | L | | U | S | A |
| S | C | A | M | A | L | E | R | T | | C | R | U | X |
| Y | O | U | C | A | N | C | O | U | N | T | O | N | M | E |
| T | U | S | K | | I | A | S | S | U | M | E | S | O | |
| D | R | S | | F | A | T | | A | R | I | D | | | |
| | W | E | A | N | | C | D | S | | S | P | O | T |
| S | T | O | A | T | | S | H | E | E | T | P | A | N | S |
| N | O | R | T | H | S | T | A | R | | W | O | N | K | A |
| U | N | D | I | E | R | U | N | S | | O | R | D | E | R |
| B | E | S | T | R | O | N | G | | | S | T | A | Y | S |
Sat 8/9/2025
| A | C | C | O | S | T | | | | A | S | S | E | T | S |
| W | A | L | U | I | G | I | | | B | L | I | G | H | T |
| C | R | O | S | T | I | N | I | | H | A | N | G | E | R |
| M | O | U | T | H | | E | P | S | O | M | | W | W | I |
| O | L | D | S | | B | E | H | A | R | | S | H | I | P |
| N | E | S | | L | E | D | O | N | | L | A | I | R | S |
| | | C | U | T | A | N | D | P | A | S | T | E | |
| | J | U | S | T | B | E | C | A | U | S | E | | |
| E | A | S | T | E | R | C | A | N | D | Y | | | |
| T | A | M | P | S | | E | A | S | E | S | | C | U | D |
| E | R | A | S | | L | A | S | T | S | | R | O | P | E |
| T | M | I | | Y | O | K | E | L | | H | E | S | S | E |
| R | A | S | T | A | S | | S | E | A | O | T | T | E | R |
| I | R | V | I | N | E | | | S | P | O | R | C | L | E |
| S | K | U | L | K | S | | | | S | P | O | O | L | S |
Many thanks to David P. Williams for showing us that NYT loves accepting this grid shape.
– puzzle by Aidan Deshong and Akshay Seetharam
Sun 8/10/2025 Passing Glances
| E | H | O | W | | U | M | A | | | C | O | R | D | | | C | H | E | W | |
| T | A | X | A | S | S | E | T | | A | I | M | E | E | | S | H | A | N | I | A |
| C | H | E | N | N | E | M | O | U | N | T | A | I | N | | H | O | W | O | D | D |
| A | S | T | O | R | | A | S | G | A | R | D | | P | I | C | K | L | E | D |
| | | O | W | N | | S | O | L | D | | | D | O | N | K | E | A | R | S |
| A | B | U | N | D | A | N | T | | E | E | R | | A | P | E | | | | | |
| D | E | M | | E | M | O | | E | R | L | E | N | M | E | R | F | L | A | S | K |
| J | A | P | A | N | E | S | E | N | | S | T | I | E | S | | R | A | T | T | Y |
| S | U | S | S | | | E | L | S | A | | O | K | S | | G | A | Y | B | A | R |
| | | A | B | I | D | E | | R | O | O | K | | A | A | S | | A | L | A |
| I | S | P | Y | W | I | T | H | M | Y | L | I | T | T | L | E | E | Y | E | |
| S | H | H | | P | I | N | | A | G | E | E | | H | O | A | R | D | | | |
| N | E | U | M | A | N | | S | V | U | | D | I | E | M | | | A | F | A | R |
| O | A | T | E | S | | S | H | O | A | L | | S | M | I | L | E | M | O | J | I |
| B | R | E | R | S | I | C | E | C | R | E | A | M | | Z | O | O | | C | A | P |
| | | | | M | R | E | | D | A | G | | R | E | N | F | A | I | R | E |
| H | O | N | E | A | T | E | R | | | S | E | M | I | | G | N | C | | | |
| U | N | I | B | R | O | W | | L | A | T | O | Y | A | | L | E | E | K | S | |
| B | E | L | A | I | R | | D | O | U | B | L | E | L | L | O | W | L | I | N | E |
| S | U | L | L | E | N | | A | C | R | I | D | | T | O | S | T | A | D | A | S |
| P | A | L | L | | | P | H | A | T | | | O | P | T | | S | A | G | E |
Chandi Deitmer: Been a big fan of Adam's work forever, and was so excited when he asked to collab on this lovely idea. The revealer really felt like it justified the mechanism of the puzzle, and it was also fun to evoke childhood car rides. He also historically has pulled off viciously inventive and difficult-to-construct Sunday grids (think Rainbow Connection and Detours Ahead), so I knew he had the best chops for this structurally ambitious theme.
Fave Adam clue is obvious: 8-Across!
Fave construction moment: When Adam went "off-gridding" and vastly improved our center fill by realizing ARMGUARD could pull things together at 53-D.
Adam Wagner: Chandi's Aural Surgery puzzle lives rent free in my head, so when we finally got in touch I started spamming her with more sound-changey theme ideas. I eventually realized I was basically just pitching her worse versions of the amazing puzzle she already made, so I shifted my suggestions from sound to a different one of the five senses.
It was Chandi's idea to make all of the across EYEs hidden, but have all of the down EYEs be the standalone word. And also to include EYE OF NEWT threaded through two themers. All that on top of eight long rebus entries and a central 19-letter revealer made this grid no small feat to fill, but luckily Chandi and I both live for the challenge. I'm so glad for her ambition, and couldn't be prouder of what we were able to achieve as a result!
Lastly, here's to you ISPY. You've served us well as common crossword fill over the years — we hope you enjoy your well-earned day in the spotlight.
– puzzle by Adam Wagner and Chandi Deitmer
Mon 8/11/2025
| R | I | F | F | S | | | D | E | E | M | | D | R | S |
| A | D | O | R | E | D | | E | L | S | E | | E | E | K |
| F | I | R | E | C | R | A | C | K | E | R | | A | H | I |
| T | O | N | E | | A | C | L | | | C | A | R | E | |
| S | T | O | W | | T | R | A | F | F | I | C | J | A | M |
| S | W | I | G | | E | R | I | E | | H | O | R | A |
| | | F | I | T | | E | S | T | A | | H | S | N |
| M | I | N | I | F | I | G | | H | I | H | O | N | E | Y |
| A | T | E | | T | E | A | S | | D | A | N | | | |
| M | A | T | T | | O | R | E | O | | S | E | C | T | |
| A | L | I | S | O | N | B | R | I | E | | B | R | U | T |
| I | P | A | S | | | P | L | Y | | Y | O | R | E |
| S | A | O | | C | H | E | E | S | E | B | O | A | R | D |
| E | N | T | | A | E | O | N | | D | U | N | K | E | D |
| A | S | S | | R | E | S | T | | | T | E | S | T | Y |
Tue 8/12/2025
| S | K | I | | H | A | R | R | I | E | T | | A | S | H |
| O | O | F | | A | M | O | U | N | T | S | | U | A | E |
| C | A | N | T | H | O | L | D | A | C | A | N | D | L | E |
| A | L | O | H | A | | L | E | S | | R | U | R | A | L |
| L | A | T | E | | C | E | L | E | B | | M | E | D | S |
| | | C | A | N | D | Y | C | A | N | E | | | |
| S | A | T | U | R | N | | | | N | O | R | M | A | L |
| C | R | A | T | E | | B | F | S | | M | O | A | N | A |
| R | E | X | | S | T | R | I | P | E | S | | G | I | S |
| A | W | E | D | | H | A | L | A | L | | P | I | T | T |
| M | E | X | I | C | A | N | A | M | E | R | I | C | A | N |
| B | L | I | G | H | T | | | | M | O | E | S | H | A |
| L | I | L | | A | S | H | A | M | E | D | | H | I | M |
| E | V | E | | T | O | U | C | A | N | S | | O | L | E |
| D | E | S | | | K | N | E | L | T | | | P | L | S |
Wed 8/13/2025
| C | A | L | E | B | | S | T | A | B | | B | O | I | L |
| D | I | A | R | Y | | A | U | N | T | | I | L | S | A |
| C | L | O | U | D | A | T | L | A | S | | G | L | U | T |
| | | D | E | M | O | S | | | A | M | A | Z | E |
| R | A | I | S | I | N | I | N | T | H | E | S | U | N |
| B | E | S | T | I | E | | | O | O | H | S | | | |
| U | N | P | E | G | | S | A | N | D | | S | A | L | E |
| D | E | C | | N | E | W | M | O | O | N | | S | E | A |
| S | E | A | L | | V | E | T | S | | O | T | T | E | R |
| | | I | S | E | E | | | U | S | H | E | R | S |
| N | U | M | B | E | R | T | H | E | S | T | A | R | S | |
| U | B | E | R | X | | | A | L | E | R | T | | | |
| R | O | N | A | | S | K | Y | W | R | I | T | I | N | G |
| S | L | U | R | | A | I | D | E | | L | O | O | F | A |
| E | T | S | Y | | P | A | N | S | | S | O | U | L | S |
Thu 8/14/2025
| A | T | P | | J | U | M | P | | L | I | T | H | E |
| S | L | U | R | | A | S | E | A | | A | S | W | A | N |
| H | E | R | D | | W | H | A | T | I | S | L | O | V | E |
| A | P | B | I | O | | | T | I | N | | A | F | E | W |
| W | H | O | S | T | H | E | B | O | S | S | | O | N | S |
| | | A | C | U | R | A | | T | H | A | R | | |
| O | R | B | S | | L | U | G | S | | O | R | T | H | O |
| W | H | A | T | S | U | P | | W | H | O | S | W | H | O |
| N | O | N | E | T | | T | R | I | O | | P | O | S | H |
| | G | R | E | W | | A | M | O | C | O | | | |
| G | N | U | | W | H | A | T | S | T | H | E | T | E | A |
| R | I | P | A | | A | R | T | | | A | T | O | L | L |
| I | N | J | E | O | P | A | R | D | Y | | I | D | I | E |
| F | J | O | R | D | | B | A | R | E | | C | O | A | X |
| T | A | B | O | O | | S | P | E | W | | A | S | S | |
Fri 8/15/2025
| | R | A | S | T | A | | C | L | O | G | S | | |
| D | O | E | S | N | O | T | C | O | M | P | U | T | E | |
| I | N | T | H | E | N | E | A | R | F | U | T | U | R | E |
| S | T | Y | L | E | S | | S | P | A | S | | B | O | X |
| P | A | P | E | R | | B | E | S | O | | C | H | I | C |
| E | P | E | E | | B | O | D | E | | S | A | U | C | E |
| L | E | D | | M | I | N | I | | V | E | R | B | A | L |
| | | H | E | A | D | S | H | O | T | S | | | |
| F | I | B | E | R | S | | M | A | T | H | | J | O | B |
| A | M | O | R | E | | T | I | M | E | | P | A | N | E |
| U | F | O | S | | B | O | S | S | | D | A | S | H | I |
| C | U | T | | C | U | P | S | | G | E | R | M | A | N |
| I | L | L | D | O | T | H | E | T | A | L | K | I | N | G |
| L | E | M | O | N | A | D | E | S | T | A | N | D | S |
| | G | S | P | O | T | | C | H | A | S | E | | |
Sat 8/16/2025
| B | L | O | W | D | R | Y | B | A | R | | H | U | S | H |
| L | O | W | E | R | H | O | U | S | E | | A | N | T | E |
| O | P | E | N | M | O | U | T | H | S | | S | W | A | Y |
| B | E | S | T | A | D | V | I | C | E | | T | A | T | A |
| | | C | R | E | E | | A | L | L | E | V | E | N |
| G | A | L | O | I | S | | M | R | L | O | N | E | L | Y |
| O | C | E | L | O | | S | I | T | E | S | | R | E | B |
| A | T | A | D | | H | E | X | E | R | | T | I | V | O |
| T | I | S | | P | A | V | E | R | | M | I | N | E | D |
| B | O | A | R | D | I | E | S | | G | I | G | G | L | Y |
| U | N | L | E | A | R | N | | A | R | C | H | | | |
| T | H | O | S | | T | H | E | B | A | R | T | M | A | N |
| T | E | N | T | | R | O | S | E | T | O | F | A | M | E |
| E | R | G | O | | A | U | S | T | E | N | I | T | E | S |
| R | O | A | N | | P | R | E | S | S | S | T | A | R | T |
Sun 8/17/2025 Ixnay That!
| A | G | R | E | E | T | O | | | | S | U | F | F | E | R | | B | A | C | H |
| R | O | A | D | G | A | N | G | | M | I | N | O | R | C | A | | A | L | S | O |
| N | O | T | Y | O | U | R | A | V | E | R | A | G | E | O | J | | B | L | U | R |
| E | D | T | | | S | U | Z | I | E | | | G | E | L | | G | E | T | I | N |
| T | O | L | L | S | | S | E | C | T | O | R | | P | A | R | A | S | I | T | E |
| T | H | E | E | I | G | H | T | H | U | N | D | E | R | W | A | Y | | M | E | T |
| | R | A | G | U | | T | Y | P | E | A | S | | | M | E | R | E | | |
| | | S | E | I | N | E | | | | S | E | B | A | S | T | I | A | N | |
| S | T | E | E | P | L | Y | | A | P | P | | | A | R | E | Y | O | U | O | K |
| O | H | M | S | | E | X | T | R | A | O | L | D | B | A | Y | | S | L | O | E |
| L | E | O | | | | | I | A | S | K | Y | O | U | | | | | A | D | E |
| U | L | T | A | | J | U | M | B | O | E | N | T | R | E | E | | G | I | L | L |
| M | A | I | N | P | A | G | E | | | R | X | S | | E | X | C | I | T | E | S |
| M | O | N | E | Y | G | R | A | B | | | | C | L | A | I | M | | | |
| | N | E | W | S | | | L | O | A | F | E | R | | C | A | L | F | | |
| U | V | A | | T | O | E | B | A | Y | O | R | N | O | T | T | O | E | B | A | Y |
| P | I | L | S | E | N | E | R | | S | C | O | O | C | H | | S | T | I | P | E |
| T | A | X | E | R | | Y | A | P | | | S | C | H | W | A | | | T | I | S |
| O | G | R | E | | T | O | S | S | I | N | T | H | E | A | S | H | T | R | A | Y |
| W | R | A | P | | C | R | I | S | P | U | S | | T | R | E | A | S | U | R | E |
| N | A | Y | S | | M | E | L | T | O | N | | | | T | A | B | K | E | Y | S |
Mon 8/18/2025
| C | A | S | E | | | I | H | O | P | | A | P | O | P |
| A | R | E | N | T | | T | O | F | U | | N | O | N | O |
| B | I | R | T | H | | D | A | F | F | Y | D | U | C | K |
| L | A | U | R | E | N | | R | E | F | I | | N | E | E |
| E | L | M | E | R | F | U | D | D | | P | H | D | | |
| | | | A | L | P | | | T | E | A | C | U | P |
| S | T | R | A | P | | T | H | A | I | | T | A | T | A |
| W | O | O | D | Y | W | O | O | D | P | E | C | K | E | R |
| A | D | A | M | | O | P | E | D | | C | H | E | S | T |
| N | O | D | I | C | E | | | U | F | O | | | | |
| | S | N | L | | P | E | P | E | L | E | P | E | W |
| A | M | I | | U | B | E | R | | W | O | U | L | D | I |
| B | U | G | S | B | U | N | N | Y | | G | R | O | W | N |
| U | L | N | A | | L | A | S | E | | Y | O | W | I | E |
| T | E | S | T | | B | L | T | S | | | S | S | N | S |
Andrea Carla Michaels: Mel Blanc "The Man of 1000 Voices" has resonated deeply throughout my life.
I grew up with Bugs Bunny shaping my sense of humor (he's still my mouse pad), to naming my naming company ACME Naming as both my initials, my puzzle "nom" and in a wink to Wile E. Coyote!
When I noticed how many of his most famous characters had 9 letters, with WOODYWOODPECKER as 15 letters, the game was on!
I really struggled with the grid, initially getting two rejections as it wasn't "Monday-friendly".
That's when my hero and one of my favorite folks on this planet, Christina Iverson, stepped in and offered to take a crack at constructing a super smooth offering that I can take zero credit for!
Altho the crossword is a bit "list-y" without a big reveal, it just makes me smile throughout. It's meant to be an homage to the genius of Mr. Blanc.
"That's All Folks!" 😊
– puzzle by Andrea Carla Michaels and Christina Iverson
Tue 8/19/2025
| D | I | G | | I | P | A | S | S | | | P | R | E | Y |
| E | S | O | | N | I | C | E | R | | L | E | A | V | E |
| B | L | A | N | K | E | T | P | O | L | I | C | I | E | S |
| T | A | L | E | | R | O | I | | O | M | A | N | | |
| S | N | I | P | S | | R | A | I | L | I | N | G | A | T |
| D | E | T | E | R | | | T | A | T | | E | R | A |
| | | U | T | O | P | I | A | | | F | A | I | R |
| M | O | N | I | T | O | R | L | I | Z | A | R | D | |
| R | O | D | E | | | L | A | Y | M | A | N | | | |
| A | N | D | | A | S | K | | | S | P | A | M | S | |
| M | O | B | I | L | E | A | P | P | | S | T | A | I | R |
| | A | N | T | E | | A | H | A | | I | D | L | E |
| W | E | L | C | O | M | E | T | O | M | Y | C | R | I | B |
| A | T | L | A | S | | L | I | T | E | R | | I | C | U |
| N | E | S | S | | | M | O | O | N | S | | D | A | S |
Wed 8/20/2025
| B | A | R | O | N | | | | L | A | B | | T | E | Y |
| E | M | O | R | A | P | | D | E | M | O | M | O | D | E |
| G | O | L | I | V | E | | M | I | S | O | S | O | U | P |
| G | E | L | | | T | H | C | | T | O | G | O | | |
| A | B | E | | S | R | O | | R | E | F | | F | I | B |
| R | A | D | I | C | A | L | | E | L | F | | T | S | A |
| | | N | O | T | I | P | S | | S | P | E | L | T |
| H | A | I | K | U | | D | I | E | | T | U | N | E | S |
| E | L | M | S | T | | A | P | E | M | A | N | | | |
| M | M | A | | S | P | Y | | D | O | G | K | I | S | S |
| P | A | M | | H | A | S | | E | R | E | | S | U | E |
| | O | D | O | R | | F | D | R | | | A | N | I |
| V | E | R | O | N | I | C | A | | I | R | O | B | O | T |
| P | R | O | M | O | T | E | D | | S | E | N | E | C | A |
| S | A | N | | R | Y | E | | | | C | O | L | O | N |
Thu 8/21/2025
| O | A | R | S | | S | P | A | N | S | | I | C | I | E | R |
| K | L | E | E | | A | G | R | E | E | | B | I | T | T | E |
| S | I | V | A | | G | A | M | E | R | | M | A | S | O | N |
| B | O | W | T | O | | | D | V | R | S | | L | I | D |
| T | A | K | E | I | | P | A | Y | E | E | | C | O | L | E |
| I | B | E | E | N | H | A | D | | S | A | Y | O | V | E | R |
| L | A | D | D | | E | R | A | T | | D | O | M | E | S | |
| | | W | H | A | T | G | O | E | S | U | P | | | |
| K | I | R | O | V | | E | U | R | O | | A | W | E | D |
| S | E | N | A | T | E | S | | C | I | N | E | R | A | M | A |
| P | E | R | P | | H | E | S | H | E | | L | I | V | E | R |
| I | P | A | | Z | O | R | K | | | W | I | S | E | R | |
| G | E | N | I | I | | T | O | N | Y | A | | O | D | I | N |
| O | R | G | A | N | | A | R | B | O | R | | N | O | T | E |
| T | S | E | N | G | | S | T | A | N | D | | S | N | I | T |
Fri 8/22/2025
| A | D | A | P | T | O | R | | C | A | B | E | L | L | O |
| R | E | V | E | R | S | E | E | N | G | I | N | E | E | R |
| F | A | I | R | Y | T | A | L | E | E | N | D | I | N | G |
| S | L | A | T | | E | D | I | T | | G | U | S | T | Y |
| | | A | U | N | T | S | | S | O | S | | | |
| L | O | G | I | N | T | O | | G | A | P | E | S | A | T |
| A | M | A | N | D | A | | E | M | M | A | | P | R | O |
| R | A | I | S | E | T | H | E | C | U | R | T | A | I | N |
| A | N | T | | V | I | O | L | | E | L | O | I | S | E |
| M | I | S | S | I | O | N | | C | L | O | W | N | E | D |
| | | H | A | N | | N | A | C | R | E | | | |
| H | A | S | A | T | | R | O | T | H | | R | O | M | P |
| T | R | A | D | I | T | I | O | N | A | L | I | R | A | S |
| T | A | K | E | N | O | P | R | I | S | O | N | E | R | S |
| P | L | E | D | G | E | S | | P | E | T | G | O | A | T |
Sat 8/23/2025
| C | O | B | R | A | P | O | S | E | | C | P | A | S |
| D | A | L | A | I | L | A | M | A | S | | A | L | D | I |
| A | N | D | R | O | I | D | A | P | P | | R | E | S | T |
| N | A | S | | | A | S | H | | N | E | P | A | L | |
| C | R | A | N | K | S | | A | G | R | E | E | S | O | N |
| E | D | W | I | N | | | | R | A | G | | E | G | O |
| | | K | O | O | L | A | I | D | | E | D | A | M |
| M | Y | J | O | B | H | E | R | E | I | S | D | O | N | E |
| Y | E | U | N | | I | T | S | G | O | O | D | | | |
| S | A | M | | B | O | A | | | | M | I | T | T | S |
| T | O | P | F | O | R | T | Y | | L | E | E | R | A | T |
| R | E | I | K | I | | O | T | O | | | I | P | A |
| U | N | D | O | | V | E | G | A | N | B | A | C | O | N |
| M | A | I | N | | E | V | I | L | G | E | N | I | U | S |
| M | Y | N | A | | R | E | S | C | U | E | C | A | T | |
Welcome back to edition 4 of Ryan Judge Saturday! This puzzle has a couple baseball clues which is turning into a hallmark of mine, and I'm glad I got in a reference to my current home of Pittsburgh.
In hindsight, some choices I made in the lower-right are not my favorite, like OTO/LONGU/LEERAT. I feel particularly icky about evoking the image of LEERing AT somebody; I've since removed that and all related terms from my wordlist.
Fun fact: I had AED (i.e., automated external defibrillator) in my original draft, but it got edited out. Can you figure out where? Hint: a total of 4 entries got changed.
– puzzle by Ryan Judge
Sun 8/24/2025 Mixed Company
| P | O | S | H | | | I | R | A | I | S | E | | P | S | A | | A | G | R | I |
| A | N | T | I | C | | F | E | R | N | E | T | | I | N | C | | L | E | O | N |
| S | T | E | T | H | O | S | C | O | P | E | S | | T | A | T | E | R | T | O | T |
| T | O | N | S | I | L | | | A | E | R | | A | F | F | I | L | I | A | T | E |
| A | P | T | | C | A | B | E | R | N | E | T | S | A | U | V | I | G | N | O | N |
| | | M | A | Y | E | R | | | D | A | H | L | | | | H | A | N | D |
| O | R | E | O | | | B | I | D | E | | D | E | L | I | G | H | T | | | |
| C | I | N | N | A | M | O | N | B | R | E | A | D | | M | A | E | | T | U | T |
| A | D | D | E | D | U | P | | A | I | D | S | | S | E | L | F | C | A | R | E |
| | N | Y | E | T | | A | C | E | S | | O | P | A | L | | L | P | G | A |
| C | H | O | P | S | T | I | C | K | S | | P | H | O | N | E | C | A | S | E | S |
| T | A | T | I | | E | T | D | S | | B | R | I | T | | R | A | S | H | | |
| R | H | E | T | O | R | I | C | | E | R | O | S | | A | I | R | S | O | U | T |
| L | A | S | | B | E | N | | F | L | O | W | E | R | G | A | R | D | E | N | S |
| | | R | I | D | A | B | L | E | | L | E | I | A | | | A | S | I | A |
| I | O | N | E | | | | E | I | N | E | | | S | I | X | T | Y | | | |
| G | L | O | V | E | C | O | M | P | A | R | T | M | E | N | T | S | | S | F | O |
| L | I | B | E | L | L | O | U | S | | R | I | A | | | R | A | S | C | A | L |
| O | V | E | R | L | A | P | S | | M | A | G | I | C | M | A | R | K | E | R | S |
| O | I | L | S | | U | S | E | | O | T | E | L | L | O | | S | I | N | G | E |
| S | A | S | E | | S | Y | D | | P | A | R | S | E | D | | | N | E | O | N |
Mon 8/25/2025
| H | I | P | | E | R | A | S | E | | B | U | S | T | S |
| A | D | O | | M | A | M | M | A | | O | N | T | O | E |
| L | A | K | E | T | R | O | U | T | | B | L | O | W | N |
| T | H | E | N | | E | R | R | | S | C | A | R | E | S |
| S | O | R | T | | L | E | F | T | T | A | C | K | L | E |
| | T | R | A | Y | | | H | A | T | E | | | |
| O | B | E | Y | S | | M | A | U | I | | S | S | N | S |
| O | I | L | | L | A | U | N | D | R | Y | | P | I | E |
| H | O | L | A | | T | R | I | S | | E | N | A | C | T |
| | | N | A | L | A | | | B | E | E | R | | |
| C | O | L | D | C | A | L | L | E | R | | P | E | D | S |
| A | L | E | R | T | S | | O | X | O | | A | T | O | M |
| V | I | D | E | O | | O | N | T | H | E | L | I | N | E |
| E | V | I | A | N | | R | E | R | U | N | | R | N | A |
| D | E | N | S | E | | B | R | A | G | S | | E | A | R |
Tue 8/26/2025
| K | E | G | | G | I | L | A | | | | S | I | N | G |
| E | C | O | N | O | M | I | S | T | | | E | V | I | L |
| P | R | O | U | D | P | A | P | A | S | | L | I | E | U |
| T | U | F | T | S | | N | E | T | E | F | F | E | C | T |
| | | | | A | E | R | I | A | L | | S | E | E |
| C | O | G | S | C | I | | | | M | O | E | | | |
| U | N | I | T | A | R | D | | T | E | A | T | R | E | E |
| R | E | V | E | R | S | E | | O | N | T | H | E | D | L |
| B | L | E | A | T | | A | A | A | | S | A | L | E | S |
| | | D | E | B | | C | D | S | | N | E | N | E |
| V | D | A | Y | | L | I | E | | W | H | O | A | | |
| E | E | L | | N | O | D | | T | O | O | L | S | E | T |
| S | A | L | M | O | N | B | E | R | R | Y | | E | A | U |
| P | R | E | O | R | D | E | R | E | D | | | M | S | N |
| A | S | Y | M | M | E | T | R | Y | | | | E | T | A |
When my first crossword ran almost two years ago, my kids made a big congratulatory sign to await me when I woke up. The whole family walked in the pouring rain to the grocery store to pick up a few copies of the paper on the way to school. Texts came in from family and friends all day, including from folks I hadn't heard from in years. It was the culmination of a years-long dream of mine, and I didn't want the day to end.
Little did I ever expect that a day like today would come. Again, I have a puzzle published; one that is quite meaningful to me because I nearly gave up on the idea after struggling mightily to fill the grid. But I persisted, and am proud of the output you see today. (It's grade A in my book!) However — this is the part I didn't expect — what I'm most excited about now is the moment that my puzzle gets moved aside. Because I'm even more proud of what comes next.
Without spilling too many beans, I'll say that I know tomorrow's constructor. I know how hard she's worked — both to support her family, and on this funny little hobby she has. I've seen her ups and downs in all areas of life, and I couldn't be happier for her tomorrow. I'm so incredibly lucky that I get to be her warm-up act (and her husband).
Lastly, in case this is helpful for any aspiring constructors, here is how I made this puzzle. (For constructors who know of a better way, I'd love to learn!)
- Lock in ASYMMETRY and all the As.
- Build a completely arbitrary black square pattern that is visually pleasing and fillable in Crossfire.
- Fill the puzzle using my standard word list over and over again, cursing every time I caught a stray A somewhere it didn't belong.
- Mentally prepare an email to Jeff Chen for help / collaboration.
- Decide I should regroup and try a new strategy instead.
- Make a smarter word list! For example, I only have one 11-letter entry in the grid, and its only A is locked to the second letter. Remove all 11s that don't fit this criteria. Do the same for the 10s, allowing only for A-less entries and ones that had As in slots 7 and 9. Repeat for 9s, 8s, etc.
- Now the original black square pattern was no longer fillable. Alter the grid slightly and update my new word list accordingly. Success! This one works.
- Clue up and submit to the NYT on 9/13/24. Get the acceptance email on 11/21/24. Watch it go live 9+ months later!
– puzzle by Kevin Curry
Wed 8/27/2025
| M | A | S | T | | K | P | O | P | | | G | M | S |
| U | H | U | H | | A | R | A | L | | I | R | O | N |
| N | E | N | E | | T | O | T | E | | D | A | D | A |
| I | M | D | F | O | R | W | H | A | T | E | V | E | R |
| | | A | H | I | | | | Y | A | Y | M | E |
| B | U | T | T | O | N | D | | U | P | S | | | |
| A | S | H | E | | A | S | A | M | I | | S | P | F |
| D | E | I | S | M | | I | M | P | S | | E | R | A |
| A | R | C | | U | N | D | O | | T | O | P | I | C |
| T | S | K | | S | P | E | N | T | | H | A | Z | E |
| | | S | I | R | | G | O | B | B | L | E | D |
| A | D | D | O | N | | | | F | E | E | | | |
| G | O | I | N | G | D | I | N | F | L | A | M | E | S |
| A | W | A | Y | | K | N | E | E | | P | I | K | E |
| I | N | N | S | | E | C | C | E | | A | N | E | W |
| N | S | A | | | Y | A | K | S | | L | I | D | S |
This puzzle has a very special place in my heart because it's the first one I had accepted by the New York Times. Looking back on it, I'm honestly shocked I even got it to work. Unusual grid size … a lot of theme material … plus a Schrödinger … rebus??? This is clearly the hubris of somebody who has no idea what they're getting themselves into, and I say that with only love and affection to my former self.
I came up with this idea because I kept saying to people, "I'm down for that! I mean, I'm up for that! Isn't it funny that you can use either ‘up' or ‘down' in that sentence and it means the same thing?" My friends and family were (shockingly) uninterested in this finding. I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I set about looking for more examples to make into a crossword puzzle. It turns out there's not that many of them! The only one I didn't end up using that I really liked was RIGHT UP / DOWN YOUR ALLEY.
Now that I've checked "publish a Schrödinger puzzle" off of my crossword goals list, I'm moving on to "get more puzzles published than my husband" and "publish a themeless". Hah! Given the level of themeless quality these days, I think I'm more likely to achieve the first than the second. But if you want to collab and help me reach either of these goals, hit me up! I'm at [zhou] [dot] [zhang] @ gmail [dot] com. I love working with people, and I'm really nice, I swear.
– puzzle by Zhou Zhang