WEDNESDAY PUZZLE There are tribute puzzles, and then there are
tribute puzzles. Most are matter-of-fact, with little connection between the subject and the constructor not that there is anything wrong with that but this puzzle felt different.
After reading Ashish Vengsarkar’s notes below, you may agree that there is something warm and fuzzy about his tribute. You may also agree that there is something loud about it. Very, very loud. (I know, tagline for the movie “Alien” notwithstanding. Physicists, please resheathe your lasers. Thank you.)
Mr. Vengsarkar, who returns to the New York Times Crossword after a 10-year absence, is clearly fond of the subject of his puzzle. It’s no surprise, as they worked together, and it’s lovely to see the respect that Mr. Vengsarkar has for him.
Yacob Yonas directs us to a coffee spot, as well.
Would you like a beverage with that?Credit.Tim Boyle/Getty Images
May 13, 2021, 10:00 p.m. ET
FRIDAY PUZZLE â Yacob Yonas has a way of evoking a specific memory, of making a solitary solver laugh out loud and then stopping us dead with a seemingly light clue that leads to a weighty answer. He does all three in this puzzle, his eighth crossword for The New York Times.
One of the most amusing was 6D, âStops lying.â The answer, RISES, was far from my initial suppositions. Another fun entry was ââHow now?,â to a cow?â at 50D. Is it a human who is greeting the cow, or vice versa? Or does it matter, since the cow, as far as we know, has only one thing to say about it or anything else: âMOO.â
Get a Load of This!
The J.A.S.A. constructing class asks the important questions, ably assisted by Andy Kravis and Natan Last.
Katie Reynolds pulled clothing from a commercial dryer at a Maytag laundromat in Mount Prospect, Ill.Credit.Tim Boyle, via Getty Images
May 12, 2021
THURSDAY PUZZLE Yes, hi there. Did you solve this entire puzzle without understanding the theme? Well, you just come here and sit down here next to me. Because I didn’t understand it either at first.
I did, however, have the advantage of being in direct contact with the puzzle editor Joel Fagliano, so he and I will explain it together in the theme section.
Zhouqin Burnikel brightens our Monday.
A mechanic from the 2019 Ferrari team worked on the German driver Sebastian Vettel’s car at the Interlagos racetrack in Sao Paulo, Brazil.Credit.CARL DE SOUZA/AFP, via Getty Images
May 9, 2021
MONDAY PUZZLE It’s possible that solvers who are new to crosswords don’t really notice themes, and if they don’t, I think they’re missing out. Themes add a bit of color to the more straightforward early week puzzles where new solvers theoretically start to build experience before being subjected to the twisted clues of later week puzzles.
Zhouqin Burnikel, or “C.C.” as her fans know her, returns to embellish your grid beyond the usual black and white squares.