This is the crossword puzzle thread

http://www.crosswordtournament.com/info/brochure.htm

The judges and referees include leading names in crossword puzzling.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/07/opinion/what-74-years-of-times-crosswords-say-about-the-words-we-use.html

Had to check before posting that jaymc didn't write this </xls>

...to be slightly clearer/less creepy, not bcz of the opinions stated, but because, hey, crosswords + ngrams

Tournament is going on now. Not in attendance.

I have never done a tournament because I've never really focused on speed, but it might be fun some time.

BTW the Sunday Washington Post Magazine had a great revolving cast for many years. Not to speak ill of the dead but I was annoyed when it went all-Merl Reagle all the time.

These days, Evan Birnholz is bringing some pretty enjoyable puzzles in that space. Some stretches but not too hard; theme-based but not too cute.

Unfortunately the Post dropped the Post Puzzler, a weekly hard themeless puzzle from Peter Gordon. Fortunately one can still subscribe to Gordon's Fireball Crosswords, which I cannot recommend more highly for those not already aware of them.

Ah, do you do the Fireball, YMP? Good for you. I was wearing my Fireball cap earlier today.

I spent a lot of time on getting faster, finished about 77th one year and then dropped back a little bit, haven't really been doing puzzles a lot the past few years.

Did manage to get to Lollapuzzoola last year, at which I sat next to between Erik A and Evan B, nice guys both.

I don't subscribe to the Fireball but I buy the books. I get AVX and MGWCC, and I do the freebies from WSJ online and PMXwords.

Cool. Have you been submitting the WSJ meta solutions?

Just went over to look at ACPT standings. Must be missing it a little bit.

I'm not eligible for the WSJ prizes since I'm in Canada. I enjoy thinking over metas but my success rate isn't very high.

after more or less thirteen years of practice I'm finally at a point where I can pretty consistently finish the NYT xword Monday to Friday and (of course) the magazine. Is the Saturday arts section that much of a leap forward? I never quite get around to it.

Saturday similar to Friday.

I will try this week!

Please let us know how it goes.

oh in excruciating detail no doubt

My current "up the difficulty" ploy is to finish the monday puzzle in my mind without writing anything on the page. generally makes for a half hour of work; maybe i should time it.

I've not read this article, but it looks like it could be interesting - a friend posted it on facebook and from a quick skim it seems to be a rather detailed UK-centric scientific study of cryptic crossword solving abilities published in a psychology journal: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00567/full

Saturday WAS only slightly harder so i've added it into the weekly mix.

So I'm working the Washington Post Magazine sunday puzzle this morning.

Clue: Hefty closers

I already have _ _ _ _ _ _ I E S.

So I confidently (too confidently) fill in FAT LADIES.

You know, like the opera isn't over until?

It quickly becomes clear that I'm wrong, and the correct answer is the much more mundane TWIST TIES.

On the one hand it is a wokeness fail. On the other, I'm giving Evan Birnholz a little too much credit for cleverness and misdirection.

I've probably said this before but the worst thing about the Post Sunday is the shift to one regular constructor. They used to have a revolving stable and life was good. Then they went to all Merl Reagle all the time. People loved him; he died recently and everybody in town was oozing tributes. But I thought his puzzles were lame, partly because after a year or so you get sufficiently into his head that he can't surprise you anymore.

Birnholz is okay but I would still like a rotating cast, rather than one brain whose style you can pick up on and anticipate.

For me the perfect difficulty was hit the Post Puzzlers - very hard themeless puzzles in the Saturday Style section, edited by Peter Gordon. I do subscribe to the Fireball series, but mixed in with the very hard themeless puzzles are a bunch of themed ones that are either too cute or too inscrutable.

Too bad I'm not going to Lollapuzzoola today, otherwise I would pass along your comments to Evan.

Nah, I wouldn't do that.

In any case, have taken a long break from xwords myself, more or less ran out of gas, like Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer in that one SNL parody.

I will probably at least email him. And yeah, it's understandable to go through phases where you're really into a thing, then you take some time away. Then some day you'll idly pick up a pen in an airplane or whatever and get hooked again.

I loved the Post Puzzlers too. My impression was that Peter G had some kind of mixed feelings about those because he himself didn't own those puzzles, the way he owns the FIreballs, but yeah they really hit the sweet spot.

Wonder who the new champ from yesterday is

Just got an email about the home version of Lollapuzzoola from Brian C.

hoofed it all over town to track down today's NYT with the special puzzle section, featuring as its centerfold a 50x50 (!) crossword. haven't done a xword in ink for awhile, may time myself while i do it (i don't usually)

starting all over again

Had fun with Rachel's NYT on Friday, though I needed help to finish and we got one letter wrong, albeit mostly as a matter of not having the patience to reach certainty.

Particularly enjoyed 35 across and 11 down.

Here she introduces it, in fashion that reminds that even to the degree scripted it's hard to find the same realness level elsewhere on (non-sports?) commercial tv. Love the ending.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/maddow-proud-to-announce-first-new-york-times-crossword-puzzle-1174756419980?playlist=associated

Has anyone tried the New Yorker crosswords? I solved one and was refreshed by how unique the entries/clues were (at least from a NYT xword solving POV).

agreed, tho i haven't done this week's yet

I did the first one and liked it well enough, but it made me appreciate how the AV Club xword is even more refreshing. Highly recommend that one.

Bonus clue from https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/24/2018:

Breaking pitch thrown by an oddsmaker? (6,6)

That would be CUTTER BOOKIE or some variation, right?

Butter cookie? If there are lots of spoonerisms...

bookie cutter

Finished the latest New Yorker crossword in 21:08 with no cheating! They seem to have gotten a lot easier after several weeks of being almost frustratingly obscure/hard.

nyer one is great, but knowing one of the long references can open it up pretty quick

Today's Washington Post puzzle by Evan Birnholz is grebt.

gf and I have gotten pretty serious about the times puzzle, yesterday's broke our 47 day streak. I'm afraid to look at non-times puzzles since this is already becoming such a reliable time suck.

Tell me about it. I had to stop for several years.

avcxword is pretty solid

also: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laurabrarian/the-inkubator

oh and i really like the new yorker puzzle too, although its software hangs at times

Fireballs are wonderful.

Birnholz can be good, but I preferred it when there was a variety of constructors, not the same guy every Sunday. Once I learn how a particular person's mind works, it gets less.

Less fun

Okay, you twisted my arm, so I reupped for Fireball.

The Crossword Jesus wrote today's NYT. Also enjoyed the BIrnholz again.

I just switched from Android to iPhone and one of my biggest regrets is that Crosswords Plus (free NYT crosswords!) isn't in the App Store. What's a good iOS crossword app?

the nyt app is pretty good, you should just pay for it and support the crossword industry

the sunday themeless from this week was awesome, I wish NYT would run those more often